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A few nights ago, I listened to mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's recording of J.S. Bach's great solo cantata, "Ich habe genug" (It is enough), BWV 82 (Nonesuch 79692-2). Hunt Lieberson was one of those rare mezzos, like Janet Baker and Kathleen Ferrier before her, whose voice conveyed an innately spiritual sense of connection with something greater than the individual self. Especially when she sang softly, she was able to imbue her tone with a hallowed reverence that is easier to feel than describe in words. To the extent that anyone can communicate the "tender mercies" and sacred…
BON IVER: For Emma, Forever Ago
Jagjaguwar Jag 115 (CD). 2008. Justin Vernon, prod., eng. AAD? TT: 37:15
Performance ****1/2
Sonics ****
Jagjaguwar Jag 115 (CD). 2008. Justin Vernon, prod., eng. AAD? TT: 37:15
Performance ****1/2
Sonics ****
Everyone loves a record with a story, and this left-field near-masterpiece has a sad one to tell. For reasons he never specifically mentions, and which in the end could be plain old narcissism, Justin Vernon, whose nom de amor is Bon Iver, decided to lock himself away one winter in his dad's cabin in Northern Wisconsin with little more than a guitar, an analog recording rig, and a pack of voracious and unnamed torments. Available since fall…
Some of the old audio names, such as Eico and Pilot, are gone. Others—Fisher, AR, KLH, H.H. Scott, etc.—have been rendered meaningless by corporate mergers and acquisitions. Yet more than 50 years after their founding, McIntosh and Marantz, arguably the two most prestigious names in American high-quality audio electronics, survive. The products they make today are probably closer in spirit to their original classics of half a century ago than at any time since the early 1970s.
While their individual histories, and how each managed to survive more or less intact for all these…
Instead, when I powered up the SM-11S1 right of the box, driving it single-ended from Musical Fidelity's kWP preamp (which costs about three times as much), the Marantz delivered a jolt, particularly in terms of its organizational skills. The SM-11S1 produced startlingly clear, well-defined, appropriately compact, and exceedingly well-focused images across and within a generously wide, deep soundstage. If you like looking at your music, this amp delivered impressive visuals.
That was the first thing I noticed because, surprisingly, the Marantz's attacks and decays seemed faster, cleaner…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, stereo power amplifier, bridgeable for mono operation. Inputs: 1 pair unbalanced (RCA), 1 pair balanced (XLR). Outputs: 2 pairs of speaker binding posts. Rated output power: 110Wpc, both channels driven into 8 ohms (20.4dBW); 220Wpc, both channels driven into 4 ohms (20.4dBW); 420W bridged into 8 ohms (20.1dBW). Frequency range (at 1W, 8 ohms): 5Hz–120kHz. Input impedance (balanced, unbalanced): 22k ohms. Input sensitivity (balanced, unbalanced): 2.0V. Voltage gain: 17dB (gain setting –6dB), 23dB (gain setting 0dB), 29dB (gain setting +…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn turntable, Cobra tonearm, Castellon stand; Graham Phantom tonearm, Ortofon Windfeld cartridge.
Digital Sources: Musical Fidelity kW SACD/CD player, BPT-modified Alesis Masterlink hard-disk recorder.
Preamplification: Manley Steelhead, Einstein Turntable's Choice, WhestTWO phono preamplifiers; Musical Fidelity kWP, Marantz SC-11S1 preamplifiers.
Power Amplifiers: Musical Fidelity kW monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties MAXX 2.
Cables: Interconnect: TARA Labs Zero. Speaker: TARA Labs…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
As I usually do with power amplifiers, I preconditioned the Marantz SM-11S1 Reference by running both channels at one-third the maximum measured power into 8 ohms for one hour. Thermally, this maximally stresses an amplifier with a class-B or -AB output stage. At the end of that period, while the wire grilles set into the top panel were hot, the chassis was barely warm. The Marantz has adequate heatsinking for an amplifier of its rated power. In addition, the measured THD+noise percentage didn't change through the preconditioning, indicating a stable design…
This review should have appeared more than a few months ago. When I reviewed Linn's Troika cartridge back in the Fall of 1987, in Vol.10 No.6, Audiophile Systems also supplied me with a sample of the Linn LK1 preamplifier and the LK2 power amplifier, which I had intended to review in the due course of things. As it transpired, however, I was less than impressed with the LK2, finding, as did Alvin Gold back in Vol.9 No.2, that while it had a somewhat laid-back balance, it also suffered a pervasive "gray" coloration, which dried out recorded ambience and obscured fine detail.
I…
This may seem a pain in the you know what, but good XLRs offer at least three advantages over RCA connectors: they make the ground connection before the hot, thus avoiding the possibility of blowing up loudspeakers and amplifiers; they lock, providing a mechanically secure connection; and the contacts are both gas-tight and self-wiping, ensuring a consistent contact. It is not surprising that they have become the connector of choice for all pro-audio work where people's livelihoods depend on their connectors. If you are worried about soldering your own plugs and cables to use with the LK1,…
All in all, this is pretty good line-section performance for a reasonably priced, solid-state preamplifier.
Finally, a point that came up in my review of the Hafler Iris last month was the possibility that alien remote controls might inadvertently trigger false responses. I fired every infra-red remote I could lay my hands on at the LK1 and pressed every button. Nothing. No reaction. Like the Hafler, the LK1 is probably burst-proof in this respect, therefore. One thing did occasionally intrude, which was that changing the volume occasionally produced a faint background of soft clicks,…