Today, with the great increase in international trade, it's sometimes hard to know a product's nation of origin. British-designed loudspeakers are made in China, Dutch brands carry labels that say "Made in Belgium…
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When I first got into hi-fi, stereo was just over the horizon and imported products were still rare. The inexpensive ones came from Japan, and you could find them, often with names that changed from week to week, in the open-air displays in and around Cortlandt Street in lower Manhattan. The more expensive brands were European, primarily British, and beyond my financial grasp.
A big problem remained: The sound came distinctly from the two enclosures—even with mono sources. I found myself listening to the Jazzes standing up, walking around, or passing through, but seldom when sitting down in the "sweet spot," because the sonic image had no center-fill at all. I can't tell you how frustrating it was to have two speakers, each of which sounded decent independently, that just wouldn't talk to each other.
The solution was suggested by my preference, independent of other variables, for spacing the Jazzes farther apart. The hell with the manufacturer's…
For completism's sake, I also tried the Jazzes with the Sonic Frontiers Power-3 monoblocks—another case of overkill, or so I thought. But this combination was wonderful. The tube amps made the Jazzes swing ever so smartly. From about 60Hz up to about 10kHz, the sounds emerging from the SF/Jazz combo were unerringly enjoyable; I spent many hours in the sweet spot with disc after disc, just grooving to the music.
The price of this, however, was palpably less bass extension and definition than with the eVo2s, and a loss of some clarity in the upper midrange that compromised spaciousness to…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) soft-dome tweeter, two 6.5" (165mm) plastic-cone woofers. Crossover: 2kHz. Frequency response: 47Hz-20kHz, ±2dB. LF "corner": 40Hz, -6dB. Sensitivity: 89dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Maximum power: 120W long-term, 160W short-term.
Dimensions: 46" (1170mm) H by 9.75" (245mm) W by 13.75" (340mm) D. Base: 12.5" (320mm) W by 15" (380mm) D. Weight: 75 lbs each (34kg).
Finish: Matte black, polished wood veneer.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 226036 L/R.
Price…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Heybrook TT2 turntable, SME III tonearm, Ortofon SME30H cartridge.
Digital sources: Meridian Reference 800 DVD-Audio player (with 861 control unit), Sony XA-777ES SACD player, Mark Levinson No.360S DAC.
Preamplification: Sonic Frontiers Line-3 preamplifier, Audiolab 8000PPA phono stage.
Power amplifiers: Bel Canto eVo2, Sonic Frontiers Power-3, Classé CAM-350 monoblocks, McCormack DNA1 Rev.A.
Loudspeakers: Paradigm Reference Studio/60 v.2.
Cables: Digital: i2digital X-60. Interconnect: AudioQuest Anaconda & Python (both…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Audes Jazz is significantly more sensitive than average, at an estimated 90.6dB(B)/0.83V/m, this made even more beneficial by an impedance curve that remains above 6 ohms for much of the audioband (fig.1) and drops to a minimum value of 4.2 ohms at 190Hz. The saddle at 42Hz in this graph's magnitude trace indicates the tuning frequency of the speaker's twin ports, which in turn implies moderate low-frequency extension (42Hz is the frequency of the E string on a four-string electric bass guitar or double bass).
Fig.1 Audes Jazz, electrical…
Nothing quite new is perfect. —Marcus Tullius Cicero, Brutus
Back in the days when vinyl was our only source of high-quality recorded music, the first question when playing a new record was often, "How good is the pressing?" LPs varied so much in their mastering and pressing qualities that buying a new one was often a crapshoot.
With the advent of the digital compact disc, however, few of us bother to think about variations in CD quality. We assume that if the CD spins and makes sound, the disc must have been manufactured perfectly.
In reality, compact discs vary greatly…
Because the pits and land have nine discrete lengths, the signal reflected from the disc to the photodetector is composed of nine discrete frequencies. The shortest pit or land length produces a frequency of 720kHz; the longest pit or land length produces a frequency of 196kHz. These nine discrete frequencies are easily seen in the signal output from the photodetector. This signal, called the "HF" (High Frequency) signal, is ultimately decoded and converted into raw digital-audio data, then into an analog audio signal. Although the HF signal is a series of sinewaves, the digital data are…
All three discs sounded different, the Zeonex sounding the best. The standard disc had a drier, more forward sound, with less depth. The treble was more forward, yet the sound lacked the air, openness, and extension heard on the Zeonex disc. The Zeonex disc's bass was also better defined, and I heard an overall increase in resolution, with more musical information presented.
These sonic differences may be regarded as slight or even imperceptible to the casual listener through a low-quality stereo system. But to the audiophile with a keen ear, an open mind, and a high-resolution playback…
That's right; the amount of jitter on a compact disc is influenced by the highly variable mastering and developing processes—and the quality of the mastering machine itself.
Jitter has recently become a hot topic in the CD-manufacturing business. When the CD specification was created (codified in the Philips "Red Book" standard), jitter was never even mentioned, much less specified. Now manufacturers of CD-mastering machines are touting their models as having "low jitter," and disc replicators are beginning to measure jitter in the HF signal as part of the quality-assurance process.…