The most important measured quality of a tube preamplifier, for me, is the noise level on its phono input. With the inputs shorted, I measured the S/N ratio to be 54dB wide-band, and 69dB A-weighted (both figures referred to a nominal output of 1.5V). This is a respectably low noise level for a tube design, though not quite sufficiently low to make feeding a low-output MC straight in a viable proposition. It must be due in part to the heavy-duty power supply installed by Mr. Van Alstine. There should be no problems with conventional MM cartridges or high-output…
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One of the nicest features of the High End is its diversity. Regardless of whatever trend is fashionable, there will always be manufacturers to buck it, and sell alternative concepts and sounds. VMPS is just such a case. With few exceptions, the recent trend in speaker systems has been toward small-to-medium-sized "monitors" with good imaging and high resolution, but limited bass and dynamics (footnote 1). The VMPS SuperTowers provide the former, but buck the trend by adding reproduction of the deepest bass and outstanding full-range dynamics.
The SuperTower IIa/R is not the most…
J. Gordon Holt reviewed the IIa/R Special Edition in May 1988 (Vol.11 No.5):
It may have been audio pioneer Emory Cook (footnote 1) who once observed that "nobody has ever been able to miniaturize a bass violin." His point, of course, was that bass sounds involve a lot of movement of a lot of air, and it takes a large object to do this. While small speakers can now produce deeper bass than they could 40 years ago, we still have not managed to make a dent in that law of physics that says "Deep bass demands a large radiating area." VMPS has accepted this view, not only philosophically,…
Sidebar 1: JGH's System
Equipment used for my tests included the Ortofon MC-3000 cartridge in the Well-Tempered Arm, the SOTA Star Sapphire turntable, Sony CDP-705ESD CD player, Sony PCM-F1 digital tape system, Revox A-77 15ips open-reel tape deck, and Threshold's FET-10 preamp/line controller and SA-1 power amplifiers.
Audio interconnects were Monster M1000s, speaker cables were MIT Music Hoses, and the listening room is extensively treated with ASC Tube Traps. Program material was some of my own and others' original tapes, as well as CDs and analog LPs from Sheffield, Opus 3,…
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Descrption: 6-way floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units (each speaker): one 15" polypropylene-cone subwoofer with 15" passive radiator, one 12", polypropylene-cone low-bass, two 12", polypropylene-cone midbass, four 5" polypropylene-cone midrange drivers, four 1" inverted-dome tweeters, one ribbon supertweeter. Crossover frequencies: 80Hz, 200Hz, 600Hz, 5kHz, and 15kHz. Frequency range: 17Hz–30kHz. Sensitivity: 100dB. Maximum undistorted output: 130dB. THD at 1W in: 0.25%. Impedance: 6 ohms.
Dimensions: 76" H by 17" W by 21.5" D. Weight: 230 lbs each.
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Times are hard. Our current economic landscape bears more than a passing resemblance to that darkest of American nightmares, the Great Depression. As I write this, the House of Representatives is set to vote on a $700 billion bailout plan to buy distressed mortgages and thereby offer a crutch to our ailing financial system. Times are hard, yet we persevere. Though we may lack some discretionary income, we find ways to maintain the essentials: food, clothing, shelter, and, for audiophiles, music. So for a short while at least, let's put aside our struggles and lighten up. After all, this great…
2008 Joint Loudspeakers of the Year
KEF Reference 207/2 ($20,000/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.31 No.2, February 2008 Review)
Revel Ultima Salon2 ($22,000/pair; reviewed by Larry Greenhill, Vol.31 No.6, June 2008 Review)
B>Runners-Up (in alphabetical order)
Avalon Acoustics Indra ($19,995/pair; reviewed by Wes Phillips, Vol.31 No.10, October 2008 Review)
Definitive Technology Mythos STS SuperTower ($2998/pair; reviewed by Wes Phillips, Vol.31 No.8, August 2008 Review)
DeVore Gibbon Nine ($6500/pair; reviewed by Art Dudley, Vol.30 No.12,…
2008 Digital Source Component of the Year
Sooloos music server system ($7900–$10,500; reviewed by Jon Iverson & Kalman Rubinson, Vol.31 No.9, September 2008 Review)
Runners-Up (in alphabetical order)
Ayre Acoustics CX-7e CD player ($3500; reviewed by Robert Deutsch, Vol.31 No.1, January 2008 Review)
Bel Canto DAC3 D/A processor ($2495; reviewed by John Atkinson & Wes Phillips, Vol.30 No.11 & Vol.31 No.2, November 2007 & February 2008 Review)
Benchmark DAC1 USB D/A headphone amplifier ($1275; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.31 Nos.1 & 4,…
2008 Joint Analog Source Components of the Year
Continuum Audio Labs Criterion turntable & Copperhead tonearm ($56,495; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.31 No.3, March 2008)
Rega Planar 3-24 turntable & RB-301 tonearm ($895–$1295; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.31 No.7, July 2008 Review)
Runners-Up (in alphabetical order)
Denon DL-103 phono cartridge ($229; reviewed by Art Dudley, Vol.30 Nos.10 & 12, October & December 2007 Review)
EMT 997 tonearm ($4895; reviewed by Art Dudley, Vol.31 Nos.7 & 9, July & September 2008 Review)
…
2008 Joint Amplification Components of the Year
Conrad-Johnson ACT2 Series 2 preamplifier ($16,500; reviewed by Wes Phillips, Vol.30 No.11, November 2007 Review)
Parasound Halo JC 2 preamplifier ($4000; reviewed by Sam Tellig & John Atkinson, Vol.30 No.12 & Vol.31 No.3, December 2007 & March 2008 Review)
Runners-Up (in alphabetical order)
Anthem Statement D2 multichannel preamplifier-processor ($7499; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, Vol.31 Nos.9 & 11, September & November 2008 Review)
Ayre Acoustics AX-7e integrated amplifier ($3500;…