Kalman Rubinson

Recently, we've seen the digital "horsepower" race accelerate with the arrival of digital sources and devices with 24-bit and 96kHz sampling capability. Much of this has been spurred by the 24/96 labels emblazoned on the newer DVD players&mdash;and, within the purer confines of the audio community, by high-end DACs with this same ability. Indeed, it's possible that the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/digitalsourcereviews/259">dCS Elgar</A> DAC, near and dear to John Atkinson's heart and a perennial Class A selection in <I>Stereophile</I>'s "Recommended Components," performs so well with standard 16-bit/44.1kHz sources because its wider digital bandwidth permits greater linearity within the more restricted range of regular CDs.

The NHT Xd DSP powered speaker demo was held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City last week and representatives from <A HREF="www.nhthifi.com">NHT</A&gt; and its supporting cast, <A HREF="http://www.deqx.com/">DEQX</A&gt; and <A HREF="http://www.PowerPhysics.com/">PowerPhysics</A&gt;, opened by explaining the philosophy behind the new product and the essential components they each contributed (also see <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/022304nht/index.html">previous</A&gt;).

When PR guy Adam Sohmer first told me about the Fosgate Audionics FAP V1, I thought that the impressive-looking device would be the first all-tube preamp-processor&mdash;heck, the first tube <I>anything</I>&mdash;in my multichannel system. Then I looked closer at the user's manual I'd downloaded from Fosgate's website. Hmmm. No Dolby Digital, no DTS&mdash;just Dolby Pro Logic. Of course, the FAP V1 is Jim Fosgate's signature expression of Dolby Pro Logic, and I guess that counts for something. But the more I thought about it, the more interesting a prospect the FAP V1 seemed.

Without having intended to, I seem to have collected several "statement" products. I've already reported on the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/digitalsourcereviews/781">Weiss Medea</A> and <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/digitalsourcereviews/204theta">Theta Digital Generation VIII</A> digital-to-analog converters. I saw and expressed interest in the Nagra DAC at the 2002 Consumer Electronics Show, when prototypes of it were shown along with a forthcoming multichannel version, the Nagra Digital Audio Processor (DAP). The two units are based on the same chassis and interface, the DAP including additional modules and processing.

Usually, I review a component after it has impressed me at a show or in a store. Though this approach reduces the possibility of a bad review&mdash;I pre-select based on real experience&mdash;it does not minimize the possibility of disappointment. This makes me a sort of stand-in for the consumer who would like to take something home for a real shakeout, and only then decide to buy it or send it back.

For me, the iconic Adcom power amplifier was the GFA-555. As an aspiring audiophile, I was deeply impressed with <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/678">Tony Cordesman's review</A> in <I>Stereophile</I> in 1985 (Vol.8 No.4). That did it! After years of kit-building and doing it myself, the '555 was the first factory-built amp that I wanted and could afford. Over the years, I changed speakers several times, and even added a fully regulated power supply to the '555, but it never balked. At the end of its tenure at my house, it had been demoted to my third-string backup; today it's making someone else tap his toes.

Some months back, a poll at the Naxos of America <A HREF="http://www.naxos.com">website</A&gt; asked visitors about their preferences among high-resolution and multichannel formats. At that time, Naxos had been releasing DVD-As (and DVDs) in the US, but only released SACDs elsewhere.