However, a persistent number of audiophiles go into apoplectic dysrhythmia when the Apple iPod, music servers, or music downloads are mentioned in…
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As I write this in the first quarter of 2007, CD sales are off over 22% compared to this time last year. The music industry as we know it, based on sales of some kind of physical medium, is over. While CDs and even LPs will remain available—they're so easy and cheap to make—they've become irrelevant to the mass market and to the future of audiophile recordings. The major labels have also become irrelevant (not to mention highly irritating).
Synecdoche: That's what the Wilson WATT/Puppy is.
Synecdoche is not a city in upstate New York but a rhetorical device in which a specific example stands in for a whole class of similar things: fifty sail for fifty ships, cutthroat for assassin, etc. When it comes to high-end audio, Wilson's WATT/Puppy speaker has symbolized the entire high-end ethos throughout at least the product's last four generations—perhaps (to labor a classical metaphor) since the original WATT sprang fully formed from David Wilson's brow.
To those who view the High End as an attempt to fleece gullible…
Guitarist David Russell's performance of Albéniz's Malagueña, Op.165 No.3, on his Art of Guitar (CD, Telarc CD-80672), was fascinating. Although the W/P8s were widely spaced at 7' apart, they projected Russell's guitar solidly between them, enveloped by—no, suspended within—the reverberant acoustic of the recording venue. I'm not talking about a pinpoint guitar submerged within a big old cushion of warm decay, but a physical instrument—more soundboard than string—projecting into a supportive space that was rendered as solidly as was Russell himself.
The room acoustic of Toby…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, floorstanding, dynamic loudspeaker in two sections. Drive-units: 1" (25.4mm) titanium-foil inverted-dome tweeter, 7" (177.8mm) midrange cone, two 8" (203.2mm) woofers. Crossover frequencies: ca 125Hz, 2kHz. Frequency response: 21Hz–22.5kHz, +0/–3dB. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Sensitivity: 92dB/W/m.
Dimensions: 41" (1050mm) H by 13" (333mm) W by 18.75" (475mm) D. Weights: WATT, 65 lbs (29.5kg); Puppy, 105 lbs (47.7kg. Total net weight: 170 lbs (77kg). Total shipping weight, complete system: 566 lbs (257kg).
Finishes: Various…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Ayre Acoustics C-5xe universal player, Krell Evolution 505 SACD/CD player, Slim Devices Transporter network player.
Preamplifiers: Ayre Acoustics K-1xe, Krell Evolution 202.
Power Amplifiers: Ayre Acoustics MX-R monoblocks, Krell Evolution 600.
Integrated Amplifier: Cayin HA-1A.
Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Confidence C4.
Cables: Interconnect: Kimber KCAG, Krell CAST, Shunyata Research Aries & Antares. Speaker: Shunyata Research Lyra.
Accessories: Ayre Acoustics L-5xe line filter; Furutech eTP-609 distribution box, FP-20A(R…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I couldn't lift the 170-lb WATT/Puppy 8 onto a tall stand for the acoustic measurements, so the farfield response measurements have less frequency resolution in the midrange than is usual. I don't believe this negatively impacted the speaker's measured performance to any significant extent. In its various generations, the WATT/Puppy has always had a voltage sensitivity that is much higher than average, and the System 8 continues that tradition, my estimate coming in at 92dB(B)/2.83V/m. However, and also like its predecessors, the WATT/Puppy 8's impedance…
I've long admired Vacuum Tube Logic's line of amplifiers and preamplifiers. Owners Luke Manley and his wife Bea Lam routinely appear at the Consumer Electronics and Home Entertainment shows with luxurious, microprocessor-controlled tube gear, soothing new music, good-sounding rooms, and a friendly, unhurried manner. Their show setups are dialed in so well that I often find myself taking refuge there, sitting and listening for hours with other Stereophile writers.
I first heard VTL's TL-6.5 Signature line-stage preamplifier at HE2005, in New York City, playing Lyle Lovett's cover…
The VTL S-400 and Mark Levinson No.334 sat 10' away from the shelves on which I'd placed the TL-6.5, which meant I had to connect them to the preamp via 15' runs of interconnect. When using single-ended interconnects, I crimped the shields of their RCA plugs to make a snug fit with the power amps' single-ended jacks.
I flipped on the TL-6.5's rear-panel power switch, then toggled on the front-panel Power pushbutton. After the TL-6.5 had completed its 90-second turn-on sequence, its blue LED display read "00," indicating minimum gain. I pushed the CD1 input button for the Krell player,…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Tubed, remote-controlled line preamplifier with MOSFET output stage. Tube complement: two 12AU7. Inputs: 3 pairs balanced (XLR), 3 pairs single-ended (RCA), 2 pairs single-ended tape. Outputs: 1 pair balanced/XLR, 2 pairs single-ended RCA, 2 pairs single-ended RCA buffered tape. Voltage gain: 14dB to single-ended RCA outputs, 20dB to XLR outputs. Input impedance: 50k ohms (20k ohms minimum). Output impedance: 25 ohms (maximum 195 ohms at 10Hz). Polarity: non-inverting at all outputs. Frequency response: 1Hz–200kHz, +0/–1dB (20Hz–100kHz into 600 ohms…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ittok tonearm, Spectral moving-coil cartridge; Day-Sequerra FM Reference Classic FM tuner.
Digital Sources: Krell KRC-28 CD transport; Adcom GDA-700, Bryston B100-DA D/A converters; Roku SoundBridge network music player.
Preamplification: Duntech MX-10 moving-coil head amplifier, Margules Magenta FZ47 phono preamplifier; Bryston B100-DA preamplifier section; Krell KCT Current Tunnel, Mark Levinson ML-7A (with L-2 phono section) preamplifiers.
Power Amplifiers: Mark Levinson…