A fair question, and one of the few that attracts wisdom and selflessness as readily as their opposites. My own answers aren't set in concrete, but readers should know that the following survey falls into the latter…
search
Like most people, I'm not interested in long, windy essays about audio reviewing, having barely enough time and interest for audio itself. But I do perk up when the debate turns to the audio reviewer's purpose in life: Should I write about everything that crosses my path, or should I limit my attention to those products that interest me, and that stand a chance of being good?
Meadowlark Audio Swift: $1195/pair
You look at something like the Meadowlark Swift and you think, How can they sell this for only $1195/pair?
As I lifted them out of their carton and stripped off the packing, I had to laugh: The Swifts are made—and packaged—to absurdly high levels for this kind of money. Before I'd even hooked them up, these speakers already seemed to exude competence, craftsmanship, and professionalism; to see them was to assume that the company has been in business for decades, carefully refining what they do year after year. The truth is, Meadowlark is only…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Meadowlark Audio Swift: Two-way transmission-line-loaded floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" impregnated fabric-dome tweeter, 4.5" plastic-coated pulp-cone woofer. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal (minimum not specified). Sensitivity: 89dB/2.83V/m. Frequency range: 35Hz-22kHz.
Dimensions: 36" H by 7" W by 10" D. Weight: 35 lbs.
Serial number of units reviewed: W01197 (both).
Price: $1195/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 50.
Manufacturer: Meadowlark Audio Inc., 800 Starbuck Avenue, Suite A-103, Watertown, NY 13601. Tel: (315) 779-8875. Fax: (315)…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Linn LP12 turntable, Naim Armageddon power supply, Naim Aro tonearm; Rega Planar 3 turntable, Rega RB-300 tonearm; ZYX Airy S, Lyra Helikon Mono, Supex 900 Super, Dynavector DV10x5 cartridges; Tamura L2-D step-up transformer.
Digital source: Sony SCD-777ES SACD player.
Preamplifiers: Fi Preamp, Naim NAC32-5, Cary SLP98P.
Power amplifiers: Audio Note Kit One (300B), Fi 2A3 Stereo, Naim NAP110.Loudspeakers: Quad ESL-989, Lowther PM2A & PM6A in modified Medallion horns.
Cables: Interconnect: Nordost Valhalla & Valkyrja, Naim…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
The Meadowlark Swift is of only average sensitivity: an estimated 86.5dB(B)/2.83V/m. Its impedance (fig.1) doesn't drop below 6.5 ohms, however, rendering it a fairly easy load for the partnering amplifier. While Meadowlark describes the Swift's bass tuning as being a transmission line, the saddle in the impedance magnitude curve in the bass is characteristic of a reflex design. It indicates that the vent is tuned to 39Hz, which implies moderate bass extension.
Fig.1 Meadowlark Swift, electrical impedance (solid) and phase (dashed). (2 ohms/…
My wife's cousin Steve used to sell antiques. Whenever he would display in his shop's window an impeccable (and expensive) item such as a Colonial pie safe, someone would inevitably walk into the shop and demand to know its price. He'd quote a staggering figure, and the browser would get excited. "Why, I have a piece at home exactly the same as that one! Do you think I could get that sort of money for it?" Steve, having learned his lesson the hard way, would be noncommittal.
"Yes, it's exactly the same..." continued the customer, "only mine has new hinges and latches, and it's not…
Stuart is emphatic that not everything newer is better. Take the player's CD decoder, for instance. He's not happy with the newer parts he's tried—which seem to be built to cost less, not perform better—so he continues to use a model he's tried and found true. "Ours is very low-jitter and very low-noise...they don't make it any more, but we bought years and years' worth of stock."
The same...but different!
The Meridian 508.24 player is superb. Like the Mark Levinson No.39 and the Audio Research CD2, it is extremely hard to fault. It worked flawlessly throughout my audition—perhaps…
As with the Audio Research CD2 that I reviewed in April (Vol.21 No.4), I found little to fault in the 508.24, so after a lengthy solo audition I settled in to some level-matched comparisons with the Mark Levinson No.39 (December '97) and the CD2. The sound was remarkably good from all three sources—perhaps the convergence theory is correct. Certainly, the three units were all admirably close to one another in performance, their differences slight. That's not to say they were nonexistent, however. While I would never claim to be able to identify any one of them blind, when auditioned side by…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: CD player with Crystal 24-bit DACs and class-A analog output stage. Conversion: dual-differential 24-bit delta-sigma. Mechanism: 3-beam laser. Analog outputs: 1 pair balanced XLR, 1 pair single-ended RCA. Digital outputs: coaxial S/PDIF, optical EIAJ. Communications: two 5-pin DIN sockets. THD: <-93dBFS. Noise: <93dBFS. Maximum audio output level: 2V fixed.
Dimensions: 125/8" W by 31/2" H by 13" D. Weight: 14 lbs.
Finish: black textured enamel and glass.
Price: $3495. Approximate number of dealers: 120.
Manufacturer: Digital…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
LP playback: Linn LP12 with Naim Armageddon Power Supply, Naim ARO tonearm, van den Hul Frog cartridge; LP12/Lingo/Cirkus, Ekos tonearm, Arkiv phono cartridge.
CD playback: Audio Research CD2, Mark Levinson No.39.
Phono preamplifiers: Conrad-Johnson Premier Fifteen, Linn Linto, Naim Prefix.
Power amplifiers: Conrad-Johnson Eleven A, Krell FPB 600, Mark Levinson No.33H.
Loudspeakers: B&W Silver Signature, Dynaudio Contour 3.0, EgglestonWorks Andra, ProAc Response One SC; REL Studio II subwoofer.
Cables: Kimber KCAG and WireWorld GEI…