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Myryad MDP 500 preamplifier-processor Measurements

Sidebar 3:Measurements

I measured the Myryad MDP 500's performance through all three sets of inputs: digital, analog, and multichannel analog. (The last are the only ones fed to the outputs without being digitized.) The input impedance via both sets of analog inputs was a moderate 16.7k ohms at 1kHz. The MDP 500's output impedance was a low (good) 59 ohms at 1kHz, rising slightly and inconsequentially to 68 ohms at 20Hz and 61 ohms at 20kHz.

With the volume control set to "0" and the A/D analog sensitivity set to "–3," which is how Kal Rubinson had used the unit, a 1V input level…

Nirvana S-X Ltd. interconnect

Recently, I caught myself smiling at a tiny ad for Nirvana cables that proclaimed them to be "the quiet cable." My smile wasn't because the claim was outlandish, which it wasn't, but because it was so typical of Nirvana Audio Products—small, understated, and all too easy to miss. The ad could just have easily and just as accurately have read "Nirvana...the quiet company."

Nirvana's first product, their Transmission Digital Interface, went on sale in 1992. Although virtually no advertising surrounded its launch, it quickly became an underground success. Ever since, Nirvana's…

Nirvana S-X Ltd. interconnect Page 2

Monty Alexander's piano on Never Make Your Move Too Soon was another great example. It wasn't just notes—each note was a sharp, clean hammer blow, followed immediately by a blooming vibrating stream and enveloped a half-heartbeat later by the distinct, building resonance of the piano's soundboard and body.

Perhaps most obviously, the S-X improved dramatically on its predecessor's performance at the frequency extremes. One test I use for high-frequency performance is the cymbals on Never Make Your Move Too Soon, particularly "What a Dif'rence a Day Made." The image should hang tangibly in…

Nirvana S-X Ltd. interconnect Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Fully balanced interconnect cable.
Prices: $1095/0.5m pair, $200/m additional length (2001), $1185/0.5m pair, $1400/1m pair, $220/0.5m additional length (2008), single-ended (RCA) or balanced (XLR) termination. Approximate number of dealers: 10. Warranty: limited, lifetime, transferable.
Manufacturer: Nirvana Audio, P.O. Box 448, Lynbrook, NY 11563. Tel: (516) 593-4700. Fax: (513) 599-1997. Web: www.nirvanaaudio.com.

Nirvana S-X Ltd. interconnect Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog source: VPI TNT turntable, JMW Memorial tonearm, Grado Reference cartridge.
Digital source: Simaudio Moon Eclipse CD player.
Preamplifier: VAC CPA1 Mk.III.
Power amplifiers: Classé CAM 350, VAC Renaissance 70/70 Mk.II, Mark Levinson No.20.6.
Loudspeakers: Magnepan MG 3.6/R.
Accessories: Bright Star Rack of Gibraltar and isolation systems; MIT Z Systems, PAC Super IDOS, Nirvana AC isolation and delivery systems; VPI 16.5 LP-cleaning machine, Sumiko Fluxbuster; Nordost ECO3, Music Fidelity DiskSolution CD treatments; Sheffield/XLO Test…

The Blind leading the Deaf

As the person who "invented" subjective testing, I have followed with great interest the many articles in the mainstream audio press which purport to prove that none of us can really hear all the differences we claim to hear, particularly those between amplifiers. My reaction has usually been: "Why didn't they invite me to participate? I would have heard the differences under their double-blind listening conditions." I could make that assertion with supreme confidence because I had never been involved in any such test.

A few weeks ago, however, I was involved in such a test. It happened…

The Blind leading the Deaf Letter: Why Amplifiers Sound the Same

Letter: Why Amplifiers Sound the Same

Editor: In a recent conversation with my astrologist, I asked her why I have gotten so involved in the controversy over amplifier testing and design. She suggested that in a previous lifetime I was an evil radio repairman (which explains my use of tube circuits) who has come back in this lifetime to repent for my past sins. Judging by the number of phone calls I have received in the last two months from crazed audiophiles, I must have been very, very evil. The only way to pay my dues is to comment on recent Stereo Review and Stereophile amplifier…

MIT MI-330 Proline Shotgun interconnects & MH-750 Shotgun speaker cables

In the last year I've written about several components of a truly engaging system: the VPI TNT Mk.IV turntable and JMW Memorial 12" tonearm (February '99), Grado Reference cartridge; the Wadia 830 CD player (October 1999); and Thiel's CS7.2 loudspeakers (February 2000). I've recounted the evolution of my listening-room setup as well, and described its optimization using ASC Tube Traps and Art Noxon's MATT test in the February issue. The final piece of the puzzle, and the one I'll tackle here, was the cable package from MIT: the MI-330 Shotgun Proline interconnects and the MH-750 shotgun…

MIT MI-330 Proline Shotgun interconnects & MH-750 Shotgun speaker cables Page 2

MIT cables are designed as networks; the perameters of the network include impedances of the surrounding components. MIT designs interconnects to match load impedance ranges, for example. I used the medium-impedance (47k–100k ohm) interconnects to feed the Levinson No.20.6s, and high-impedance (100k–200k ohm) models upstream of the Adcom preamp. For speaker cables, it's the source impedance (tube or solid-state) that's matched by the cable, and I did the bulk of my listening with the Levinsons, hence I used the "solid-state" speaker cables.

But can good sound be "engineered in" with…

MIT MI-330 Proline Shotgun interconnects & MH-750 Shotgun speaker cables Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Input Specific Component Interfaces (interconnects) and Output Specific Speaker Interfaces (speaker cables) with built-in termination networks. Speaker termination via Iconn interchangeable, screw-on connectors, banana plugs, small or large spade lugs.
Prices: MI-750 Shotgun speaker cables (single-wire): $999/8' pair, plus removable Iconn ends ($9.95-$25.95/4). MI-330 Proline Shotgun interconnect: $849/1m pair, $1289/25' pair. Approximate number of dealers: 174. Warranty: 1 year.
Manufacturer: Music Interface Technologies/CVTL, Inc., 4130…