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It isn't enough to say that engineer Denis N. Morecroft is one of contemporary audio's few visionaries: He's one of a very few mature designers whose passion for doing things a certain way hasn't abandoned him in the least, and whose well-argued convictions seem stronger than ever. Thus, as others cave in to commerce—the tube-amp designer who offers a solid-state product just to help his dealers fill a price niche, the source-component manufacturer who rails against digital audio one day and starts cranking out CD players the next—DNM Design remains the likeliest of all modern companies to…
To look inside the preamp or the power supply was to understand why some hobbyists custom-order the DNM 3D with optional clear acrylic casework: While other engineers have praised such concepts as short signal paths, star ground schemes, and consistent signal-path spacing, those ideals are executed with greater care, ingenuity, and comprehensiveness in the 3D Six than in any other product I've seen, in any field. I can't imagine that artificial hearts, prenatal monitoring devices, or even missile-guidance systems are made with greater skill or precision.
Installation and setup
My…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, full-function stereo preamplifier. Phono inputs: up to 2. Line inputs: up to 5. Tape loops: 1. Outputs: 1. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±1.0dB. Input impedance: 22k ohms, MM phono; 1k ohm, MC phono; 47k ohms, line. Output impedance: 75 ohms. Signal/noise: line stage, >75dB; MC phono stage, >60dB. Maximum output: ±19V. Distortion: <0.1%.
Dimensions: 10.65" (270mm) W by 5" (130mm) H by 7" (180mm) D. Weight: 3.5 lbs (1.6kg), less power supply.
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 118070050.
Price: $13,495. Approximate…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Linn LP12 turntable with Linn Basik power supply; Thorens TD-124 Mk.II turntable; Naim Aro, EMT 997 tonearms; Miyabi Mono, EMT OFD 25 & OFD 65, Shindo SPU, Ortofon SPU Synergy A cartridges; Auditorium 23 Hommage T1 step-up transformer.
Digital Sources: Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player; Sony PlayStation 1 CD player.
Preamplifier: Shindo Masseto.
Power Amplifiers: Shindo Cortese & Corton-Charlemagne, DNM PA3ȄS, Quad II, Fi 2A3 Stereo.
Loudspeakers: Audio Note AN-E/SPe HE, Quad ESL.
Cables: Interconnect: Audio Note AN-vx,…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the DNM 3D Six's measured behavior using Stereophile's loaner sample of the Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It" and www.ap.com), as well as my vintage Audio Precision System One Dual Domain. Like Art Dudley, I found that I had to place the power supply as far away as possible from the preamplifier chassis to avoid injecting hum into its output signal. Also, as AD had found in his earlier report on the 3D Primus, the preamplifier weighs so little that it's impossible to operate its pushbutton Mute control without using…
Here's how God makes audiophiles: He starts with several million blank brain cells, then programs each one, individually, to function as either a love for one single aspect of music reproduction or a hatred for another. There are over a thousand such cells—far too many to list here—but theologians and audio reviewers have worked together to compile this list of the Top 20, which, just like real life, contains a little more love than hate:
Love of lushly textured midrange
Love of laid-back treble
Love of good rhythm and pacing
Hatred of surface noise and tape hiss
Love of…
Next came the fun part: Measuring power, distortion, and frequency response. With a 1kHz signal across the inputs, we gradually raised the level until the wave began losing its shape, as seen on Neal's nice old HP oscilloscope: The upper half distorted slightly before the lower. At the clipping point, with 1% distortion, the Verdi produced 24.5W, or just 0.5W shy of the manufacturer's power specification. Its squarewave output was just about what we'd expect to see from a well-designed tube amp with a very good output transformer: slightly rounded corners, no egregious ringing, overshoot…
Founded in 1925, Luxman has long been one of Japan's most highly regarded audio manufacturers. Throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, Luxman's tube preamplifiers and power amplifiers occupied the top shelves of high-performance audio retailers, and to many older American audiophiles, the Luxman name is as familiar and esteemed as those of such storied American brands as McIntosh and Marantz. Luxman's combination of rich, warm sound, superb build quality, and indelible industrial design made its products fully competitive with other brands then considered among the world's best.
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But even from a cold start, the Luxman M-800A made music with extra doses of smoothness and unforced ease that the MF kWs lack. And, like the MF kW750, the Luxman seemed to have no difficulty whatsoever driving my Wilson MAXX 2s. Not for a moment during the many months the Luxman was in my system did I sense that it was coming close to clipping or sounding strained—this from an amplifier that outputs only 120Wpc into 4 ohms, compared to the kW750's 1100Wpc.
Nor did the M800-A have any trouble maintaining a firm grip on the MAXX 2s' bass bins. The bottom end was a bit warmer and lusher…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, stereo power amplifier with the output stage biased into class-A, bridgeable for mono operation. Inputs: 1 pair each, unbalanced (RCA) and balanced (XLR). Outputs: 1 pair speaker binding posts. Rated output power: 60Wpc, both channels driven into 8 ohms (17.8dBW); 120Wpc, both channels driven into 4 ohms (17.8dBW); 240Wpc into 2 ohms (17.8dBW), 480Wpc into 1 ohm (17.8dBW); 240W bridged into 8 ohms (23.8dBW). Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, +0/–0.2dB; DC–130kHz, +0/–3dB. Input impedance: 67k ohms balanced, 51k ohms unbalanced. Input…