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Listening #69

Janet watched the record spin wildly, mildly awestruck. She nodded its way—a gesture that took in all the other 78rpm discs piled nearby—and asked, "How long have you had those?"

"I got most of them in the '70s, when I was still in my teens," I said. "Some of those records were left behind by my stepfather's first wife, and I've carted them around ever since. I can't tell you how many times I've come close to throwing them out."

"Well, they really saved your ass today, didn't they?"

Remembering the Victrola
It started as a joke. With gasoline prices rising…

Listening #69 Page 2

As with the OFD 25, the OFD 65 responded well to resistive loads of less than 47k ohms, notwithstanding its very high output. Similarly, its treble range was sweeter and more natural when the cartridge drove my K&K step-up transformer—even though its output didn't need to be stepped up.

And, as serious record mavens know, reliably accurate frequency response can't be achieved when playing shellac records through most modern phono preamps: Standardized equalization curves for recording and playing back phonograph records didn't become a commercial reality until the late 1950s, and…

Music in the Round #32

Last time in "Music in the Round," I wrote about the fading presence of SACD in the hardware and software markets. However, the enduring interest in LPs seems to tell us that where there is a demand for high quality by discerning audiophiles, there will be a supply.

There is a reasonably vigorous release schedule for high-definition music videos on Blu-ray, in all genres, including opera and ballet. My experience has been that these discs' higher audio and video resolution makes them of more enduring interest than standard-definition DVDs, but nonetheless, the music bears repetition…

Music in the Round #32 Page 2

The question is not whether the Statement D2+ARC ($7499) did a great job (it did), or whether it was a better-sounding package overall than the Integra DTC-9.8 (it was), but how well it fares against Audyssey's standalone Sound Equalizer ($2500). I don't yet know. This report was delayed because I wasted too much time with an earlier sample of the D2 that arrived defective. Now I must take still more time to insert the Sound Equalizer into the system that contains the D2, listen, and measure before reporting. The upside is that I'm grateful to have an excuse to live with the Anthem D2 for…

Music in the Round #32 Contacts

Sidebar: Contacts

Anthem, Sonic Frontiers International, 205 Annagem Boulevard, Mississauga, Ontario L5T 2V1, Canada. Tel: (905) 362-0958. Fax: (905) 564-8726. Web: www.anthemav.com.
Ayre Acoustics, 2300-B Central Avenue, Boulder, CO 80301. Tel: (303) 442-7300, x233. Web: www.ayre.com.
Audioengine Corp. Tel: (877) 853-4447. Web: www.audioengineusa.com.

Cinepro PowerPro 20 Professional Series AC Line Balancer

Any difference that is at all audible must be treated as though it is huge!" John Atkinson declaimed, as Tom Norton and I rolled on the floor laughing. It was a slow day around the Stereophile offices, and the startlingly huge differences that our colleague was describing did strike us as rather piddling—so John began stentorophonically reciting rules from a mythical Guidebook for Audio Reviewers to gales of laughter all around.

Not, I hasten to confess, that I haven't been guilty of the same misdemeanor myself—with the purest motives, of course. We audiophiles tend to get so focused on…

Cinepro PowerPro 20 Professional Series AC Line Balancer Page 2

The rear panel couldn't be simpler: it has 12 outlets, four of them orange hospital-grade and designated as "digital isolation outlets to further isolate noise-creating digital components (CD, LD, DVD, etc.) from other sensitive analog components." (As we all know, sensitive analog components can have their feelings hurt if asked to use the same outlets as those rowdy digital types.)

Hush, hush—-did I hear somebody call my name?
But most people seem to get along just fine without fancy-schmancy line conditioners and such. Can they really make a difference?

Absolutely! And,…

Cinepro PowerPro 20 Professional Series AC Line Balancer Associated Equipment

Sidebar 1: Associated Equipment

LP playback: Linn LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply and Cirkus mod, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv cartridge.
CD playback: Audio Research CD2/DAC3 CD player and processor, Mark Levinson No.39 CD player, Sonic Frontiers Transport 3/Processor 3.
DVD player: Denon DVD-3000.
Preamplifiers: Audio Research Reference One, Conrad-Johnson ART, Mark Levinson No.380S, Linn Linto phono section.
Power amplifiers: Audio Research VT200, Mark Levinson No.332.
Loudspeakers: Alon by Acarian Systems Circe, B&W John Bowers Silver Signature.
Cables:…

Cinepro PowerPro 20 Professional Series AC Line Balancer Specifications

Sidebar 2: Specifications

Description: Line conditioner supplying balanced AC power. Output current: 20 amps (2400W at 60/120V). Voltage range: Normal, 90–130V; marginal (flashes alert), 80–90V or 130–130V AC; extreme (causes protective shutdown), below 80V or above 140V AC. Isolation (input/output): breakdown voltage, 1500V minimum; leakage current, 40µA; capacitance: 300pF maximum. Turns ratio: 1:1, windings isolated by Faraday shield. Transformer regulation: ±97% from no load to full load. Number of outlets: 12 (4 further isolated from other 8). Power consumption: 8.5W.
Dimensions…

CD: Promises Unfulfilled

If you are to believe all the promotions for the Compact Disc, simply buying a player will transport you instantly to sonic nirvana. No background noise! No distortion! Flat frequency response from 20 Hz to 20kHz, pIus or minus zilch! The most perfect sound that modern hightech can provide! But if CD sound is so perfect, what are so many people screaming bloody murder about? It seems that half the golden ears who hear it are smitten with hate at first hearing. The other half finds it the best thing since tax shelters.

CD sound is variously described as "liquid," "grainy," "gorgeous," "…