Analog source: Linn Sondek LP12/Lingo turntable and Ittok tonearm, Spectral moving-coil cartridge.
Digital source: Krell MD-1 CD transport, Theta Carmen DVD and Denon DVM-3700 DVD players, Lexicon MC-1 Controller.
FM tuners: Day-Sequerra FM Reference Classic, Rotel RH-10, Magnum Dynalab MD-102, Model 205 Sleuth RF amplifier.
Preamplification: Krell KBL, Mark Levinson ML-7A with L-2 phono section, Duntech MX-10 moving-coil preamplifiers.
Power amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.334, Denon POA-5200, Bryston 9B-ST.
Loudspeakers: Mirage HDT-FCH-1, HDT…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 2: Measurements
Measuring the Denon AVR-4800 took rather longer than I had anticipated, due to the sheer number of options it offers its owner. I ended up looking at the receiver's amplifier performance using either its CD inputs or its External discrete-surround inputs. But first, using a two-channel TosLink datastream, I examined the receiver internal D/A conversion. The power amplifiers clipped with the volume control set to "–07" with a full-scale digital signal, by the way.
The receiver locked on to an incoming datastream with a 96kHz sample rate. Fig.1 shows the…
THE TIERNEY SUTTON BAND: On the Other Side
Tierney Sutton, vocals; Christian Jacob, piano; Trey Henry, Kevin Axt, bass; Ray Brinker, drums; with Jack Sheldon, trumpet, vocal
Telarc SACD-63650 (hybrid multichannel SACD/CD). 2007. Elaine Martone, prod.; Robert Friedrich, eng. DDD. TT: 60:03
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
Tierney Sutton, vocals; Christian Jacob, piano; Trey Henry, Kevin Axt, bass; Ray Brinker, drums; with Jack Sheldon, trumpet, vocal
Telarc SACD-63650 (hybrid multichannel SACD/CD). 2007. Elaine Martone, prod.; Robert Friedrich, eng. DDD. TT: 60:03
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
It begins with Ray Brinker's bass drum, as ominous as an uncertain heartbeat, three dark chords from pianist Christian Jacob, and Tierney Sutton's haunted, wordless, floating voice, which finally breathes "Forget your troubles, c'mon get happy..." Harold…
"The whole band was in the hot tub. As water frothed over my bare breasts in the moonlight..."
Any book in which a chapter begins with words like the above gives a certain impression of where, and on what, it's going to focus. Yet once you get past the sensationalist aspects of oboist Blair Tindall's Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music (Grove Press, 2006, ISBN 0802142532)—"Tindall sleeps her way to the bottom [where] we learn more than we probably need to about the sex lives of some more or less prominent American musicians," said the New Yorker—it is actually a…
Home Entertainment 2006 in L.A. The weather is fine. The restaurants are cool. The company is très neat. I can't wait to schmooze with manufacturers, writers, dealers, and meet, for the first time, writers of letters to the editor of Stereophile. Play some jazz with John Atkinson and Immedia's Allen Perkins—one smokin' drummer since he's been studying with Peter Erskine (Joni Mitchell, Weather Report, Diana Krall). Of course, my prime objective at the Show is to seek out the best-sounding affordable loudspeakers, to keep my review hopper full for the next year.
This time, the choice is…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: 2½-way ported, magnetically shielded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) silk-dome, ferrofluid-cooled tweeter; two 5.25" (135mm) mineral-filled, polypropylene-cone woofers. Crossover slopes: 12dB/octave with 6dB/octave lower woofer low-pass rolloff. Frequency response: 70Hz–20kHz, ±3dB; 42Hz–22kHz, ±6dB. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 5–10 ohms above 100Hz. Sensitivity: 89dB/W/m. Recommended amplification: 20–200W.
Dimensions: 38.5" (985mm) H by 6.25" (160mm) W by 8" (205mm) D. Base: 9.25" (235mm) W by 10.75" (275mm) D. Weight: 38 lbs (…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: VPI TNT IV turntable, Immedia RPM tonearm, Koetsu Urushi cartridge; Rega Planar 3 turntable, Syrinx PU-3 tonearm, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood & Aurum Beta S cartridges.
Digital Sources: Lector CDP-7T, California Audio Labs Icon Mk.II Power Boss, Creek Destiny & CD53 Mk.II CD players; Pioneer DV-333 DVD player.
Preamplification: Vendetta Research SCP-2D phono stage, Audio Valve Eklipse line stage.
Power Amplifier: Audio Research VT100 Mk.II.
Integrated Amplifiers: Creek Destiny & 5350SE.
Loudspeakers: Monitor Audio…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Intimus 533-T was surprisingly sensitive, at an estimated 90dB(B)/2.83V/m on its tweeter axis, which is within experimental error of its specified 89dB. The 533-T's impedance was close to 6 ohms from 100Hz to 10kHz; it rose above that range, due to the tweeter's voice-coil inductance. Below 100Hz, the impedance curve (fig.1) shows the twin peaks typical of a reflex design, with the minimum value of 4.3 ohms at 44Hz indicating the port-tuning frequency.
Fig.1 Aperion Intimus 533-T, electrical impedance (solid) and phase (dashed). (2 ohms/…
Recently, on the Stereophile Web forum, reader Natal commented on Robert J. Reina's review of the Creek Audio Destiny integrated amplifier in the January 2007 issue: "Maybe it's just me but I've never found any piece of electronic equipment sexy."
My first reaction was pity. Be there a man with soul so dead / Who never to himself hath said / Hubba-hubba, zing-zing-zing / I've got to plug into that thing?
My second thought was somewhat more rational: Right on, Natal—stereo components are just appliances. After all, nobody thinks toasters or vacuum cleaners are sexy, right…
I don't want to make this sound any more onerous than babying a high-performance car for its first 1000 miles. Of course, you want to just get in and go hard, but things need to settle in before you can get the performance you've paid for. Once the MX-R got up to cruising speed, I could—and did—use the standby switch without having to go through the rough patches again.
Ayreborne
Dynaudio's Confidence C4 loudspeaker really likes to be bossed around by an amplifier, and the MX-Rs obliged, driving both of my C4s into submission with big orchestral crescendos, such as those presented…