Digital Source: Ayre Acoustics C-5xe universal player.
Preamplifiers: Ayre Acoustics K-1xe, VTL TL-6.5 Signature.
Power Amplifiers: VTL MB-450 SignatureSeries II monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Klipsch Palladium P-39F, YG Anat Reference II Professional.
Cables: Interconnect: Shunyata Research, Stealth Metacarbon. Speaker: Shunyata, Stealth Dream. AC: Shunyata Research Anaconda and King Cobra.
Accessories: Shunyata Research Hydra, Ayre Acoustics Myrtle Blocks, Furutech RDP panels, RealTraps Mini & Mondo Traps.—Wes Phillips
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Sidebar: WP's 2009 Associated Equipment
What the hell is going on with headphones these days?!
I mean, the past couple years have seen the whole headphone trip suddenly break on through to the other side after decades of numbingly bad sound. Yeah, the high-dollar Stax electrostatics had always been there if you really wanted some quality headphones, but even they had their problems with coloration and treble steeliness. Other than that, though, it was a real teenage wasteland, with Koss, AKG, Sony, and Sennheiser all battling it out to see who could produce a less mediocre pair of headphones than the rest of the pack. If you…
With the SR60, Grado specifically targeted the Walkman-style headphones that come with portable CD and cassette players—the littlest Grado has been given a higher sensitivity and an easier load than the Signature Series models to allow for better performance from the current-limited headphone circuits in most portable gear.
The SR60 looks like an HP 2 made of black plastic, with a vinyl headband instead of the HP 2's leather one. The dynamic speaker driver appears similar to the one used in the Signature Series 'phones. As with the expensive Grados, the SR60s are adjustable to fit even…
So what don't you get from the cheap Grados that you do from the HP 2s and other He-Man cans? The SR60s lack the ultimate HF smoothness and freedom from midrange coloration of the expensive headphones. With the HP 2s driven by the HeadRoom Supreme, it was easy to hear way the hell back into the farthest reaches of the recording, all the way below the noise floor—even the slightest bit of mike preamp hiss or studio background noise was laid bare to hear without even so much as a squint. The SR60s have excellent resolution, but they were clearly bettered by the HP 2s—the difference in low-…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Open-air dynamic stereo headphones. Frequency range: 20Hz-20kHz. Sensitivity: 94dB/1mV. Nominal impedance: 32 ohms. Driver match: within 0.1dB.
Weight: 7 oz.
Price: $69. Approximate number of dealers: 250.
Manufacturer: Grado Labs, 4614 Seventh Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11220. Tel: (718) 435-5340. Fax: (718) 633-6941. Web: www.GradoLabs.com .
Sam Tellig wrote about the SR60 in October 1994 (Vol.17 No.10):
I've owned a pair of Grado HP 1 headphones for years, but I haven't used them much—I have a big house and no neighbors nearby, so I can play my music as late and as loud as I like. Anyway, you just can't drive a pair of HP 1s with the puny little headphone amps found in portable CD players.
But the SR60s, that were reviewed by Corey Greenberg last June?
Now these are 'phones I can use—in place of all the crummy headphones I've been using for years with portable CD players. The good news is that the SR60s…
The dCS Purcell is named after Henry Purcell, the English composer, organist, bass, countertenor who was born in 1659 and died in, alas, 1695. It's a digital/digital converter intended for consumer use, as opposed to the less elegantly packaged pro-audio version, the dCS 972, that I reviewed in February 1999. Both devices increase the sample rate and/or word length of the output from linear PCM digital audio sources like CD or DVD up to a maximum sample rate of 192kHz and a word length of 24 bits. According to the extensive documentation, this is achieved by "using extremely powerful and…
Outputs comprise an RCA for S/PDIF up to 96kHz, with a BNC output next in line, also S/PDIF to 96kHz. Beside them are XLR connectors labeled AES 1 and 2. A single AES/EBU connection handles up to 96kHz, but you can run 88.2, 96, and above using a pair of AES/EBU connectors in dual AES output mode.
The IEC mains socket, fuse assembly, and On/Off switch finish off the back panel. While the Purcell is comprehensively equipped for a number of tasks, all you really need to get the best out of it is a single digital input from a transport (CD or DVD-Audio/Video) and a pair of AES/EBU cables to…
That's what I heard—no doubt about it—and clearly. Why it should have been so I can't imagine, unless the additional mass on top and the vibration-absorbent footers mimicked the overall lower resonant signature of the very solidly built Purcell. Less shakin' goin' on, less "mechanical jitter" to muddy the sound? I suppose it's possible...
As the Purcell and the 972 are D/D processors, all listening impressions were, of necessity, in combination with the Elgar Plus.
Sonus Upsamplus
Even maximized for audiophile needs, the 972 imparted a slightly different character—or lack…
It's difficult to characterize the overall SACD-like liquidity of the 24/192 presentation, a bit less obvious with the 972 than the Purcell. Imagine making a casting of the music with a material whose very atoms are liquid, filling every tiny nook and cranny of the mold with the sound. Pull it off, and you've got a perfect replica of the notes, down to what seems like way below the noise floor, so the music emerges whole. In direct comparison, the 972 sounded slightly less liquid and lacked a certain musically ebullient character that the Purcell embodied. The audiophile version of the…