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…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
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…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Checking the Meridian player's error correction with the Pierre Verany test disc, which has deliberate data dropouts engraved on its surface, revealed a good ability to deal with missing data. The CD2 could play up to track 32 (a 1.25mm gap in the data) without the sound muting, and didn't fail catastrophically until track 34 (a 2mm gap). This is considerably better error correction than required by the official CD standard, but it is interesting to note that Meridian machines from the early '90s actually did better than this.
At 2.54V, the player's output…
The Emerson String Quartet defies conventional wisdom. They like to take risks, and they use the adrenaline that creates to hone their music-making to a fine edge.
This extends to the composition of the quartet itself. Formed in 1976, the group gave its first concerts in 1977 and settled into its current lineup in 1979, when cellist David Finkel joined. But the Emerson has never settled on a permanent first violinist—Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer alternate those duties.
"We've just always done it that way," Philip Setzer explained. "On my last day at Juilliard, I mean…
Why Shostakovich?
"Back when we began the Beethoven cycle, someone asked us exactly the same question—'Why Beethoven?'—although the reasons there were very different," said violist Larry Dutton. "Many people knew the Beethoven quartets, many amazing musicians had recorded them, so our decision was based upon our need to confront those pieces. With Shostakovich, it's a little different. We love the music, of course, but it's not all that well-known, and perhaps our interpretations of it will make it possible for people who haven't heard it before to become Shostakovich listeners,…