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Third: One of the most indispensable albums for any guitar enthusiast is the very first of Joe Pass's many Virtuoso albums (JVC VICJ-60256), which finds the artist playing without accompaniment on his trademark Gibson deep-bodied archtop: a characteristically dry sound, without a lot of sustain apart from that which seems to come from the guitar amplifier. The first song, Cole Porter's "Night and Day," opens with a descending G-minor arpeggio; it would be nice if your stereo is good enough to let you hear that Pass is playing it almost in the style of Django Reinhardt: all downstrokes. (…
Sidebar 1:Specifications
Description: Tubed integrated amplifier with built-in CD player, iPod dock, and FM tuner. Input: 1 line-level. Input impedance: unspecified. FM sensitivity: 1.5UV at 75 ohms. Digital sampling frequency: 44.1kHz. Output power: 3Wpc into 8 ohms at 1kHz (4.8dBW). THD: 10%.
Dimensions: 10.5" (270mm) W by 5.5" (140mm) H by 15.5" (400mm) D. Weight: 17 lbs (7.7kg).
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 07005944.
Price: $999. Approximate number of dealers: 25.
Manufacturer: Shenzhen Shanling Digital Technology Development Corp., Ltd., 10 Chiwan 1 Road, Shekou,…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Loudspeakers: Audio Note AN-E/SPe HE.
Loudspeaker Cables: Auditorium 23, DNM (new style).—Art Dudley
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the MC-30 Music Center's performance using Audio Precision's top-model SYS2722 system, as well as the older Audio Precision System One and the Miller Audio Research Jitter Analyser. Looking first at the MC-30's performance as a CD player, I examined the signal coming from the preamplifier outputs, which follows the volume control. (Up to that point, the circuitry is all solid-state.)
Error correction was excellent, the MC-30 producing no audible glitches in its output signal until the calibrated gaps in the data spiral on the Pierre Verany Test…
Late in 2006, I was watching John Atkinson set up a pair of DPA cardioid microphones in front of the stage of New York City's Otto's Shrunken Head to record a performance of my jazz quartet, Attention Screen (footnote 1). Before the first set, Wes Phillips approached me. "Bob, I found a piece of equipment you must review—the Cayin A-50T integrated amp. It's only 1300 bucks and you'll love it!"
In the two decades I've known Wes, I've learned to trust his hearing acuity and taste in equipment, but I've also learned that he rarely raves openly about a piece of gear, let alone an…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Vacuum-tube, remote-controlled integrated amplifier with four line-level inputs. Tube complement: four Mullard EL34, two 12AX7EH, two 12AUX7EH. Output transformer taps: 4, 8 ohms. Power output into 8 ohms: 35W Ultralinear (15.3dBW), 16W Triode (12dBW). Frequency response: 10Hz–50kHz, ±1dB. Input sensitivity: 370mV. Input impedance: 100k ohms. THD: 1.0% (1kHz). Signal/noise: 89dB. Power consumption: 280W.
Dimensions: 14" (360mm) W by 12" (310mm) H by 7" (180mm) D. Weight: 28.6 lbs (13kg).
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 05060811.
Price: $…
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: California Audio Labs Icon Mk.II Power Boss, Cayin CD-50T, Creek Destiny, Creek CD53 Mk.II, Lector CDP-7T 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, Creek 5350SE.
Loudspeakers:…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Cayin A-50T has two output transformer taps, 4 ohms and 8 ohms, and two modes of output-stage operation: Triode and Ultralinear. I performed a full set of tests in each mode from both sets of output taps, but discuss only a representative selection here. Before performing any measurements, I checked the bias on each of the four output tubes; it varied from 322mV to 332mV, all well within the recommended range.
The maximum voltage gain into 8 ohms was lower than usual for an integrated amplifier. Even in the higher-gain Ultralinear mode, it was 32.5dB…
Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries (DALI), a relatively large maker of loudspeakers, was founded in 1982 by the peripatetic Peter Lyngdorf, who has worked with or founded Steinway/Lyngdorf, Lyngdorf Audio, TacT, NAD, etc. Audionord International, another company founded by Lyngdorf, owns DALI as well as American subsidiary DALI USA, along with yet another Lyngdorf creation: the 60 Hi-Fi Klubben stores, said to be the world's largest chain of high-end audio retail shops. Whew! The guy keeps busy.
DALI began as a Hi-Fi Klubben house brand in 1982, and grew to become a much-sought…
While some listeners prefer midbass warmth to leanness, the tradeoffs are usually a loss of clarity and excessive "chest," male and female voices sounding overstuffed and enlarged. The Helicon 400 Mk.2 managed to sound sufficiently warm in the lower midrange without chestiness or bloom, as even DALI admitted the original Helicon 400 could be.
A recent 180gm reissue of Joan Baez's extraordinary eponymous 1960 debut album (LP, Vanguard/Pure Pleasure)—a two-microphone recording made in a hotel ballroom—demonstrated the Helicon 400 Mk.2's impressive clarity, tonal purity, focus, and ability…