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In his 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne presents the enigmatic Captain Nemo, commander of the great submarine Nautilus, as powerful, charismatic, and mysterious. On first meeting Nemo, the narrator, M. Aronnax, notes, "I made out his prevailing qualities directly: self-confidence—because his head was well set on his shoulders, and his black eyes looked around with cold assurance; calmness—for his skin, rather pale, showed his coolness of blood; energy—evinced by the rapid contraction of his lofty brows; and courage—because his deep breathing denoted great power of lungs." All in all…
The Nemo's exterior is of black anodized aluminum. The wide, deep, U-shaped chassis is formed from 0.063" stock into panels to which are attached the frontplate and back panel, and which serves as a platform for the two MW180-based amplifier chassis inside. At 92 lbs, the Nemo is somewhat lighter than the Krell and Mark Levinson stereo amps used for comparison listening, and doesn't have those amps' sharp external heatsinks to complicate the job of handling and lifting it. Besides the common AC mains input, the Nemo's rear panel sports an XLR connector for signal input, and a second,…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state monoblock amplifier. Rated output power (20Hz–20kHz,<0.5% THD): 600W into 8 ohms (27.8dBW); 1200W continuous into 4 ohms (27.8dBW). Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.4dB. S/N ratio: >115dB (ref. 1W). Input impedance: 55k ohms balanced (only balanced input available). Total harmonic distortion: <0.001%, 1kHz, half power, 8 ohms. Maximum peak current: >150A. Noise: <150µV (with input shorted, 400Hz–30kHz). Voltage gain: not given. Input sensitivity (for 2.83V output): 41mV. Input sensitivity (for full output): not given.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Linn Lingo power supply and Ittok tonearm, Spectral moving-coil cartridge.
Digital source: Krell MD-1 CD transport, Adcom GDA-700 D/A processor.
FM tuners: Day-Sequerra FM Reference Classic, Rotel RH-10, Magnum Dynalab MD-102, Model 205 Sleuth RF amplifier.
Preamplification: Krell KBL preamplifier, Mark Levinson ML-7A preamplifier with L-2 phono section, Margulis and Duntech MX-10 moving-coil preamplifiers.
Power amplifiers: Krell KSA-250, Mark Levinson No.334, Bryston 7B-ST monoblocks, Bryston 9B-…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
All measurements presented here are for balanced operation. Following its 1/3-power, one-hour preconditioning test, the Electrocompaniet Nemo's chassis was quite warm to the touch, but not uncomfortably so. The amp's input impedance measured 301k ohms (595k ohms unbalanced, using the supplied adaptor). The output voltage was rendered slightly unstable by infrasonic noise—not enough to be of concern during normal operation, but enough to render such high input-impedance measurements less than fully reliable. I can say, however, that the Nemo has a far higher input…
The Phantom of the Opera: Original Canadian Cast
Jeffrey Huard, cond.; Andrew Lloyd Webber, music; Charles Hart, lyrics; Richard Stilgoe, additional lyrics
PolyGram 847 689-1 (LP), -2 (CD*). Martin Levan, David Caddick, prods.; Martin Levan, eng. DDA/DDD. TTs: 57:03, 69:45*
Jeffrey Huard, cond.; Andrew Lloyd Webber, music; Charles Hart, lyrics; Richard Stilgoe, additional lyrics
PolyGram 847 689-1 (LP), -2 (CD*). Martin Levan, David Caddick, prods.; Martin Levan, eng. DDA/DDD. TTs: 57:03, 69:45*
The crashing chandelier, the candelabras rising from the lake, the aggressive media blitz and hawking of souvenirs—it's easy to develop disdain for The Phantom of the Opera. Yet, if one can get past the technology and the hype, Phantom is not without its musical rewards, and, as a theatrical experience, it does…
If I had to pick one amplifier designer as having had the greatest continuing influence on the high-end market, as much as I admire John Curl, Audio Research's Bill Johnson, and Krell's Dan D'Agostino, the name of David Hafler inexorably springs to mind. Not because he challenged the very frontiers of hi-fi sound, but because he combined a fertile, creative mind (footnote 1) with a need to bring good sound to as wide an audience as possible, both by making his products relatively inexpensive and by making them available as kits. (The Major Armstrong Foundation apparently agrees with me—they…
Removing the top panel reveals the major surgery your PAS will have undergone in Minnesota. The original mains transformer is retained, but has been moved outside the chassis, to its right rear. In the space it once occupied, AVA has installed a new power-supply board featuring a nest of modern electrolytic filter caps. The heater winding from the transformer now feeds a twin silicon-diode rectifier, followed by no less than 44,000µF of smoothing, the heaters being DC-powered to avoid hum. (The four tubes must be identical for correct heater voltages.) The original 12X4 rectifier tube is…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Descrption: Tube preamplifier with four or six line-level inputs and one MM phono input. Measured specifications: Frequency response (phono): –3dB points at 3.5Hz and 52kHz. Frequency response (line-level): –3dB points at 1.5Hz and 54kHz. Input impedance: 47k ohms in parallel with less than 20pF (phono), 94k ohms (line). Output impedance: 2k ohms (main). Maximum output level: 5V RMS into 10k ohms. Sensitivity (phono): 3mV RMS input for 1.5V output. Sensitivity (line): 310mV RMS input for 1.5V output. Phono input S/N ratio: 69dB A-weighted, 54dB wide-band, (ref…
Sidebar 2: JA's System
The Super-PAS 3 was given a degree of environmental isolation by sitting it upon four Audioquest Sorbothane feet (which also damp vibrations in the chassis, due to their large contact area), and was auditioned in the following system: A pair of VTL 100W tube monoblocks was used to drive Celestion SL700s sitting on their dedicated stands. Source components consisted of a 1985-vintage Meridian MCD Pro CD player, as well as a modified Magnavox '471 from Precision Audio, and a 1987 Linn Sondek/Ittok combination sitting on a Sound Organization table.
Not having…