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Much has been made of the influence that Linn, Naim, and Rega have had on our ideas about music-system hierarchies: Before they and a handful of other British audio manufacturers kicked off the debate in the 1970s, the conventional wisdom worldwide was that the loudspeaker was more important than the record player, amplifier, or any other link in the domestic audio chain, and thus deserved to be the object of significantly greater care and attention, not to mention investment of cash. But the Brit-fi approach was different, and ostensibly better reasoned: Because musical information that's…
I once spoke to a blacksmith (named Smith, actually) about the wonderfully patterned bowie knives he made of Damascus steel. Struck by the contrast between the massive brutality of the knives themselves and the delicate beauty of the steel from which they were wrought, I asked Smith why he worked in Damascus, expecting him to extol its legendary temper or its aggressive cutting edge. After all, he was a pretty macho guy with a physique like, well, the village blacksmith's (Google it, young 'uns). He thought for a minute before responding, quietly, "Beauty is its own reward."
I…
My only other, very slight, concern was the shortness of the MS 400's cable. It's probably adequate for portable use, but using Phiatons with a desktop system kept me on too a short tether.
I was able to drive the MS 400s to greater levels than I could endure with just about any source I had, from an iPod Shuffle G1 to my iPod Classic G6. In fact, when I drove the Phiatons with the Cayin HA-1A headphone amplifier, they were so sensitive that I heard the tube rush of the Cayin's 6DJ8s at lower volume levels than I had with the harder-to-drive Sennheisers and AKGs.
Beauty is how…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Closed-back, circumaural, dynamic headphones. Frequency range: 15Hz–22kHz. Impedance: 32 ohms, ±15% at 2kHz, 1mW. THD: <1% at 1kHz, 1mW. Sensitivity: 98dB/mW at 1kHz. Audio connector: 3.5mm stereo plug; 6.3mm (1/4") stereo adapter.
Weight: 6.5 oz (185gm) without cord.
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: Not found.
Price: $249. Approximate number of dealers: online only. Warranty: 30-day satisfaction or money back, 1 year parts & labor.
Manufacturer: Phiaton Inc., 18662 MacArthur Blvd., Suite 405, Irvine, CA 92612. Tel: (866) 313-3203…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Apple Macintosh pro G5 computer; Apple iPod Shuffle G1, Apple iPod Classic G6.
Headphone Amplifiers: Cayin HA-1A, NuForce Icon.
Headphones: Shure ES 530, Sennheiser HD-280 pro, Grado RS-1, AKG K701.
Cables: Interconnect: Kimber Kable KCAG. Speaker: NuForce RJ45 1m.—Wes Phillips
Sidebar 3: Measurements
As I have written before, I lack the necessary hardware to measure the frequency responses of headphones. And, as Keith Howard wrote in the August 2008 issue, deciding what, exactly, is the optimal frequency response for a pair of headphones is neither obvious nor trivial.
But I do look at the drive difficulty for a pair of headphones by examining their electrical impedance. The result for the Phiaton Moderna MS 400 is shown in fig.1. I wore the headphones for this measurement, and found that the fine detail of the traces varied according to how tightly I…
With hindsight, it should have been obvious at the time that the 1970s witnessed a glorious flowering of high-end audio. Almost all the brands now regarded as leaders had their start in that decade, though with perhaps the exceptions of Audio Research, Linn, Magnepan, and Naim, those of us working at audio magazines missed the significance of the new names. Dynaudio, for example, was founded in 1977, but not until the end of the 1980s did I become fully aware of the ground being broken in drive-unit and overall system design by this Danish loudspeaker manufacturer.
Dynaudio…
The 1/3-octave warble tones on Editor's Choice (CD, Stereophile STPH016-2) extended smoothly down to the 40Hz band, with some energy still audible in the 25Hz band but not the 20Hz band. The 32Hz warble tone was somewhat exaggerated in level, which added a richness to the sounds of bass instruments that go that low, but also exaggerated the air-conditioning noise of some live recordings. At last October's Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, for example, I picked up a copy of Ray Kimber's 2008 Super IsoMike Test SACD (IsoMike AUD079), which includes pianist Robert Silverman playing two Mozart works,…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1.1" (28mm) soft-dome tweeter, 5.25" (130mm) Magnesium Silicate Polymer (MSP) cone midrange unit, two 8" (200mm) MSP-cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 450Hz, 2.2kHz. Frequency response: 30Hz–25kHz, ±3dB. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Sensitivity: 88dB/2.83V/m. Recommended amplification: up to 300W.
Dimensions: 53.1" (1350mm) H by 13" (330mm) W by 12.8" (325mm) D. Weight: 88 lbs (40kg) each.
Finishes: Ivory, Amber, Bordeaux, Mocca high-gloss wood veneers; matte black.
Serial…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Ayre C-5xe universal player; Cary Audio Design 306 Pro SACD player; PrimaLuna ProLogue Eight CD player; Mark Levinson No.30.6, Benchmark DAC 1 USB D/A converters; Logitech (Slim Devices) Transporter WiFi music player with Apple Mac mini for media storage.
Preamplifiers: Mark Levinson No.380S, Simaudio Moon Evolution P-7, Ayre KX-R.
Power Amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.33H, Ayre MX-R, Parasound Halo JC 1, Musical Fidelity 550K and 750K Supercharger (all monoblocks).
Loudspeakers: PSB Synchrony One, Revel Ultima Salon2.
Cables:…