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Sitting in my usual seat at the center of Avery Fisher's 20th row, I concentrated on the sound. When I got home, I played the Milstein LP, which proved far quieter than the coughing and choking accompaniment provided by the hall full of alter kockers earlier that evening. The first thing I realized was that I'd had the system cranked up way too high during previous listening sessions to ever realistically reproduce the sound of a concert as heard from that hall's 20th row. Turned down, the system achieved remarkably believable, lifelike sound from this disc, though Milstein had been…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Tubed monoblock power amplifier. Tube complement: one 12AT7, one 12AT7, eight 6550C. Inputs: 1 pair unbalanced (RCA), 1 pair balanced (XLR). Outputs: 1 pair binding posts. Rated power output at <2.5% distortion: 425W into 5 ohms, Tetrode mode; 225Wpc into 5 ohms, Triode mode. Frequency range: 20Hz–20kHz. Output impedance: 5 ohms. Input impedance: 42k ohms. Input sensitivity: 2.0V for full output. Power consumption: 30W at idle, 1000W at full power.
Dimensions: 19" (487mm) W by 9" (230mm) H by 13.25" (340mm) D. Weight: 85 lbs (38.5kg) shipping…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn turntable & Cobra tonearm & Castellon stand; Graham Phantom tonearm; Continuum Audio Labs Criterion turntable & Copperhead tonearm; Lyra Titan, Air Tight PC-1, Koetsu Vermillion, Clearaudio Stradivari cartridges.
Digital Sources: Musical Fidelity kW SACD/CD player, Esoteric SA-60 universal player, BPT-modified Alesis Masterlink hard-disk recorder.
Preamplification: Manley Steelhead, Einstein Turntable's Choice phono preamplifiers; Musical Fidelity kWP, Balanced Audio Technology REX…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Although it has only one output transformer tap, VTL's MB-450 Series II Signature can be used with its output stage configured in either its Tetrode or Triode modes. I performed a full set of tests in each mode, using both balanced and unbalanced input connections, but discuss only a representative selection here.
The voltage gain into 8 ohms was the same for both balanced and unbalanced inputs, but varied with the mode. Tetrode mode gave 26.4dB gain, Triode 23.7dB. All combinations of mode and input preserved absolute polarity; ie, were non-inverting. The…
Wes Phillips wrote about the VTL MB-450 II in March 2009 (Vol.32 No.3)
VTL Amplifiers head honcho, Luke Manley, promised me a pair of his MB-450 Series II Signature monoblocks ($13,500/pair) to audition when he delivered a TL-6.5 Signature preamplifier for my Follow-Up in the July 2008 issue. Apparently, it took him a while to pry them out of Michael Fremer's hands. I had other things to worry about, but Michael Fremer's review in the January 2008 Stereophile (Vol.31 No.1) had really piqued my interest. I was once a rabid tubeaholic like Mikey, but have drifted away over the years as…
Sidebar: WP's Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Simaudio Moon Supernova CD player.
Preamplifiers: Parasound Halo JC 2, VTL TL-6.5 Signature.
Power Amplifiers: Parasound Halo JC 1 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Special 25, Thiel CS3.7, Usher Be-718, YGA Anat Reference II Professional.
Cables: Interconnect: Shunyata Research Aeros (balanced RCA), Stealth Metacarbon (balanced). Speaker: Shunyata Research Aeros, Stealth Dream. AC: Shunyata Research Python Helix Alpha.
Accessories: Ayre Myrtle wood blocks; Shunyata Research V-Ray power conditioner; Furutech RDP panels,…
"We've tried making it more powerful. When I was away on holiday, some of our people cooked up a more powerful version and presented it to me on my return. It sounded awful."
That was Naim Audio's founder, the late Julian Vereker, MBE, talking to Sam Tellig about the 15Wpc Naim Nait 2 integrated amplifier, as reported in the April 1990 Stereophile (Vol.13 No.4). His words were the first thing this ever-cynical reviewer thought of upon learning that, some seven years after Vereker's death, the company he left behind had been rattling those same pots and pans.
Then again,…
So it goes here: As a first step, one can upgrade the performance of a Naim Supernait with the addition of a Naim FlatCap2x power supply ($1150), whereby the latter provides a cleaner, stiffer, and altogether more serene 24V to the analog preamp section of the former. After that, the HiCap2 ($2050) and even SuperCap2 ($6350) power supplies may be applied.
The potential for upgrading a Supernait doesn't end there: One can also buy any of Naim's separate power amplifiers, for use in place of the Supernait's own, by means of its preamp-out jacks. Or, a Supernait owner who has biampable…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state integrated amplifier with built-in D/A converter. Line-level analog inputs: 6. S/PDIF digital inputs: 5. Maximum output power: 80Wpc into 8 ohms (19dBW). Line-level input impedance: 47k ohms. Line-level input sensitivity: 75mV. Preamplifier overload margin: 40dB, all audio inputs, all audio frequencies.
Dimensions: 17" (435mm) W by 3.4" (85mm) H by 12.3" (315mm) D. Weight: 28 lbs (12.7kg).
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 249147.
Price: $4950. Approximate number of dealers: 47.
Manufacturer: Naim Audio, Ltd., Southampton Road…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Linn LP12 (with Linn Basik power supply), Thorens TD 124 Mk.II turntables; Naim Aro, Rega RB300 tonearms; Miyabi 47, EMT JSD 5, Denon DL-103 cartridges.
Digital Source: Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Standard, K&K Audio step-up transformers; Shindo Masseto, DNM 3D preamplifiers.
Power Amplifiers: Quad II monoblocks; Shindo Cortese, DNM PA3S.
Loudspeakers: artdudleylistening/706listening">Quad ESL, De Vore Nine, Audio Note AN-E/SPe HE.
Cables: Interconnect: Audio Note AN-Vx, Shindo silver…