Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2019 i Stereophile

By the time you read this, Munich’s High End 2019 will be a distant memory.1 Yet as I write this, having just returned from Munich, the experience is fresh in my mind. It’s the most compelling audio topic I can think of, crying out for commentary. Munich! is to audiophiles—to this one at least—what New York’s 5th Avenue is to Black Friday shoppers. It’s the audiophile version of flying through a canyon with a wing suit on. It’s a giant rush, audio cocaine. In early May, over four days, 21,180 people visited 551 high-end exhibitors from 42 countries. According to the organizers, visitors were up 6.5% over the previous year. Exhibitors were up 3.8%. More than 500 members of the audio press attended. (Imagine 500 audio writers all in one…

ATTENTION ALL AUDIO SOCIETIES: We have a page on the Stereophile website devoted to you: stereophile.com/audiophile-societies. If you’d like to have your audio-society information posted on the site, e-mail Chris Vogel at info@xlinkaudio.com. Please note that it is inappropriate for a retailer to promote a new product line in “Calendar” unless it is associated with a seminar or similar event. CALIFORNIA Thursday, July 18, 4–7pm: You are cordially invited to be our guest for an intimate listening event featuring Dan D’Agostino’s Relentless Monoblock Amplifier, at Audio Video Integration (647 Francisco Blvd. E., San Rafael, CA 94901). The Relentless will be paired with Wilson Alexx speakers and Nordost Odin Supreme Reference speaker cables. We will have the top representatives from D’Agostino in attendance to provide a demonstration of one of the…

A visitor to stereophile.com named billmilosz commented: “Compared to these, everything else sounded like it was coming out of a cereal box.”1 When I read that, I laughed out loud. That reader was responding to my AXPONA report about Magnepan’s new $650/pair Little Ribbon Speaker (LRS)—which I presume he also heard at the show. Naturally, as a prattler who has long served at the altar of hyperbole, I was jealous of billmilosz’s simile. So I’ll try now to verify his observation—while fashioning a more thorough and maybe even philosophical description of Magnepan’s newest entry-level speaker. Description Magnepan’s more expensive speakers are available at 70 brick-and-mortar stores, but like the similarly sized MMGi that proceeded it, the LRS is sold factory-direct and through dealers, with a 60-day satisfaction guarantee. If you…

Analog Sources Dr. Feickert Analogue Blackbird turntable with Jelco KT-850L tonearm, AMG Giro G9 turntable & 9W Turbo tonearm; AMG Teatro, EMT TSD 75 SFL, Etsuro Urushi Cobalt Blue, Zu/DL-103 MK. II, Hana SL & ML, Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum, My Sonic Lab Ultra Eminent Ex cartridges. Digital Sources Mac minicomputer running Audirvana Plus 3.2; JVC X-Z1010 CD player (transport only); Chord Qutest, Schiit Yggdrasil Analogue 2, Mytek Manhattan II, HoloAudio Spring “Kitsuné Tuned Edition” Level 3 DACs. Preamplification Auditorium 23, Bob’s Devices CineMag 1131, Dynavector SUP-200, EMIA Phono step-up transformers; Lounge Audio LCR Mk.III, Musical Surroundings Phonomena II+ & LCPS power supply, Tavish Design Adagio RIAA phono preamplifiers; PrimaLuna EVO 400, Rogue Audio RP-7 line preamplifiers. Power Amplifiers First Watt SIT-3 & J2, EleKit TU-8600R, PrimaLuna Prologue Premium, Rogue…

Analog Sources Garrard 301 and Thorens TD 124 turntables; EMT 997, Sorane ZA-12 tonearms; Ortofon SPU Century and EMT TSD 15 pickup heads; EMT TSD 15 N SPH cartridge. Digital Sources Apple MacBook Air laptop computer running Roon v.1.5, Hegel Music Systems Mohican CD player, Mytek Liberty D/A processor. Preamplification Auditorium 23 Hommage T1 & T2, Audio-Creative Mediator 40, and EMIA Phono step-up transformers, Shindo Laboratory Monbrison (2017) preamplifier. Power Amplifiers Shindo Laboratory Haut-Brion and Montille CV 391. Loudspeakers Altec Flamenco, DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93. Cables Digital: AudioQuest Carbon (USB). Interconnect: Audio Note AN-Vx, Luna Red, Shindo Laboratory. Speaker: Auditorium 23, Luna Red. AC: manufacturers’ stock. Accessories Box Furniture Company D3S rack (source & amplification components), Audiodesksysteme Gläss Vinyl Cleaner Pro.…

Description Stand-mounted, three-way, DSP-controlled, powered loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) aluminum-magnesium–alloy dome tweeter with 8" (200mm) acoustic waveguide, 8" (200mm) aluminum-cone midrange, two 8" (200mm) aluminum-cone woofers with cast frames. Crossover frequencies: 100Hz, 1250Hz (fourth-order, Linkwitz-Riley, linear phase). Power amplifiers (all class-D): 250W (HF), 250W (MF), 500W (LF). Audio inputs: analog (XLR), AES3 (XLR), Ethernet (RJ45). Audio output: subwoofer (XLR). Control I/O: Ethernet (RJ45). Maximum linear SPL: 106dB continuous from 35Hz up. Dimensions 19" (485mm) by 10.5" (270mm) by 15" (380mm) (H by W by D). Weight: 57 lb (26kg). Finishes White/Natural, Black/Natural, Black/Brown, Black/Black, White/White, White/Black and Black/White. Serial numbers of units reviewed 8c-515, 8c-516. Price $12,500/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 50. Warranty: 1 year, 3 years with product registration. Manufacturer Dutch & Dutch, Claes de Vrieselaan 164, 3021 JZ…

Our staff has over 150 years of experience guiding music lovers on their unique audio journeys. Let us help you find your audio oasis. www.tenacioussound.com Syracuse NY (315) 928-6273 Louisville KY (502) 317-6310 Augusta GA (706) 940-4380 Audience, Audioquest, Coda, EgglestonWorks, Isoacoustics, Isotek, Klipsch, MoFi Electronics, Naim, Opera, Paradigm, Primare, Quad, Rega, Soundsmith, TAD, Unison Research, Vicoustic, Wharfedale, & more! HOUSE & STEREO Jacksonville FL (904) 642-6677 Part of the Tenacious Sound family. Other locations coming soon! www.houseofstereo.com Audience, Ayre, Bel Canto, Egglestonworks, Focal Monitor Audio, Isotek, JVC, KEF, Magnepan, Parasound, Primare, Quad, Rega, REL, Soundsmith, TAD, Van Den Hul, VPI, Wharfedale, Wireworld, Wolf, Yamaha, & more! WE ARE EXPANDING! Interested in joining our team? Send resumes and information to info@tenacioussound.com…

Help wanted: tonearm reviewer Dear Editor; As always, I enjoyed reading Mr. Dudley’s column, this time on the Wand tonearm (which sounds like something I’d like to have). But I felt compelled to write as I read of Art’s struggles with the Wand lying on its back, rolling about helplessly. I have to ask, where was the Plasticine? The Silly Putty? The Blu Tack? Surely, all that was needed to have the tonearm hold still was a few gobs of stuff. Of course, no one likes an armchair quarterback, but still! —Chris Hermansen, Vancouver, BC, Canada Dizzying digital Dear Editor, I am beginning to see the wisdom in going full vinyl in the next phase of my life as a lover of music. I’ve had it up to here with…

Description Two-way floorstanding quasi-ribbon panel loudspeaker. Frequency response: 50Hz-20kHz, ±3dB. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms (3 ohms minimum). Sensitivity: 86dB/500Hz/1m/2.83V. Dimensions 48" (including feet) by 14.5" by 1.2" (H by W by D). Shipping weight: 46lb. Finishes Natural oak, black oak, or cherry trim; off-white, gray, or black fabric. Serial numbers of units tested 011110-1/2 Price $650/pair Approximate number of dealers: 76. Also sold factory-direct. Warranty: 3 years to original owner. Manufacturer Magnepan Inc., 1645 Ninth Street, White Bear Lake, MN 55110. Tel: (612) 426-1645. Fax: (612) 426-0441. Web: magnepan.com.…

Digital Sources dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport & Rossini DAC & Rossini clock; EMM Labs DV2 DAC; Intel NUC-7i7BNH computer with 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, running Roon; Linksys routers with 2 sets TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters & multimode duplex fiber-optic cables; Small Green Computer linear power supplies (3); external hard drives, USB sticks, Apple iPad Pro. Power Amplifiers Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems Progression monoblocks. Loudspeakers Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia 2. Cables Digital: AudioQuest Diamond (Ethernet), Nordost Odin 1 & Odin 2 & Valhalla 2 (USB), Wireworld Platinum Starlight Cat8. Interconnect: Nordost Odin 2. Speaker: Nordost Odin 2. AC: AudioQuest Firebird HC, Kimber Kable Palladian, Nordost Odin 2. Accessories Grand Prix Monaco rack & amp stands, 1.5”-thick Formula platform. Nordost QB8, QX4 (2), QK1, QV2 AC power accessories, QKore 1…

Apple may not have been the first to market with a portable digital audio player, but its original iPod defined the genre: a device small enough to fit into a shirt pocket. When companies like Acoustic Research, Astell&Kern, Fiio, HiFiMan, and Questyle introduced portable players that could play high-resolution files, they echoed the iPod’s form factor. The exception was the Toblerone-shaped PonoPlayer, but even that was small. The subject of this review is another exception: The DMP-Z1, from Sony’s Signature Series, is comparatively enormous—almost the size and weight of a regular preamplifier. At $8500, it’s also considerably more expensive than other players. A Walkman? The last high-resolution music player from Sony we reviewed was the HAP-Z1ES ($2000), which Kalman Rubinson wrote about favorably in May 2014;1 that player is intended…

I’m fortunate to have reviewed in recent years not one but three different pairs of horn-loaded loudspeakers. My jaw dropped when I reviewed what would prove the finest loudspeaker to ever grace my home, the Volti Audio Rival.1 Second came a pricey but pleasing pair from handlebar-mustache king Gordon Burwell, the Burwell & Sons Homage.2 Then, at the urging of occasional Stereophile contributor Steve Guttenberg, I took on the fat-boy Klipsch Heresy III.3 As the Beatles used to say, I was dead-chuffed. Horn-loaded speakers achieve what few conventional cone-only speakers can: reproduce the note-perfect timing, rhythmic energy, and bloodpulsing impact of the real event. With their high sensitivity ratings and low power requirements, horns deliver music faster, like a skier blasting off a jump at warp speed: There’s no drag,…

Analog Sources Kuzma Stabi S turntable & Stogi S tonearm; Kuzma Stabi R & Kuzma 4Point 11” tonearm; Thorens TD 124 turntable & Jelco TS-350S tonearm; Denon DL-103, Hana EL. Digital Sources Sony Vaio computer running Qobuz and Tidal; BorderPatrol DAC SE, Tascam CD-200iL CD player; Western Digital T2 Mirror Drives (2). Preamplification Auditorium 23 A23 moving-coil step-up transformer, Shindo Laboratory Allegro preamplifier. Power Amplifiers Mytek Brooklyn, Shindo Haut-Brion. Integrated Amplifiers Heed Audio Elixir, Parasound HINT 6, Schiit Ragnarok. Loudspeakers DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93, Klipsch Heresy III, Elac B6. Cables Digital: Mytek (USB). Interconnect: AudioQuest Water, Shindo Laboratory, Triode Wire Labs Spirit II. Speaker: AudioQuest Castle Rock, Auditorium 23, Tellurium Q Black, Triode Wire Labs American. AC: manufacturers’ own. Accessories IsoTek EVO3 Aquarius line conditioner, Mapleshade Clearview Double Helix Mk.II…

EARLY IN 2019, THREE JAZZ CDS APPEARED ON A NEW RECORD LABEL. THEY WERE JASON PALMER’S RHYME AND REASON, JOHNATHAN BLAKE’S TRION (BOTH DOUBLE CDS), AND ERIC ALEXANDER’S LEAP OF FAITH. THE LABEL WAS GIANT STEP ARTS. GIVEN THAT HUNDREDS OF JAZZ RECORDS—MANY OF THEM GOOD—ARE RELEASED EVERY MONTH, AND THAT NEW JAZZ LABELS POP UP ALL THE TIME, IS THE RELEASE OF THREE NEW ALBUMS REALLY NEWS? GIANT STEP ARTS IS NEWS. FOR STARTERS, IT IS RADICALLY MORE THAN A RECORD LABEL. THE STORY BEGINS WITH JIMMY KATZ. You may not know his name, but if you’re any kind of jazz fan, his photographs are part of the imagery in your mind’s eye when you think about the music. Katz has documented more than 550 recording sessions and shot…

DESCRIPTION TTT-Slim II belt-drive solidplinth turntable with battery-powered DC motor. Speeds: 33.3 and 45rpm. Wow & flutter at 33.3rpm: +/-0.06% (IEC 386). Rumble: –60dB (unweighted). Dimensions 16.6" (423mm) by 12" (305mm) by 3.9" (100mm) (WxDxH). Weight: 26.4lb (12kg) Finish Anodized anthracite gray. Serial number of unit reviewed 266. Price $6750. DESCRIPTION Simplicity II Pivoting linear-tacking tonearm. Spindleto-pivot distance: 230mm. Effective length: 229mm. Effective mass: 19gm. Cartridge weight range: 7–23gm. Downforce: static. Antiskating: none. Tracking error: <0.006 degrees. Finishes Anodized gray, bronze, or black. Serial numbers of units reviewed 466 and 485. Price $9450. Approximate number of dealers 5. Warranty 5 years, parts and labor. Manufacturer HiFiction AG, Staffelistrasse 6, CH-8409 Winterthur, Switzerland. Tel: 41 52 202 43 12. Web: tonarm.ch. US distributor: Wynn Audio, Unit 31, 20 Wertheim Court, Richmond…

Description Tubed and solid-state integrated amplifier. Power section: Balanced bridge, zero-feedback, fully discrete, FET input, bipolar output. Power output: 150Wpc into 8 ohms (21.76dBW), 280Wpc into 4 ohms (21.4dBW). Frequency response at full power: 4Hz–150kHz, –3dB. THD at full power: <1%, both channels driven. Preamp section: Fully differential, zero feedback, tubed. Tube complement: two 6922. Inputs: 5 line, single-ended (RCA), balanced (XLR). Preamp output: single-ended (RCA), balanced (XLR), headphone (1⁄4"). Volume control: differential switched resistor network with 88 steps of 1dB. Input impedance: 20k ohms (single-ended), 40k ohms (balanced). Home-theater bypass. Control: RS232 (DB9), IR extender, 5V trigger. Dimensions 17 7⁄8" (434mm) W by 5 1⁄2" (140mm) H by 1711⁄16" (449mm) D. Weight: 44lb (20kg) net, 51lb (23kg) shipping. Finishes Black, silver. Serial number of unit reviewed 7578. Price $7000.…

Digital Sources Oppo Digital UDP-105 universal BD player, Baetis Prodigy-X music server running JRiver Media Center 24, exaSound e38 D/A processor, miniDSP U-DIO8, QNAP TVS-873 NAS. Preamplifier Audio Research MP1. Power Amplifiers Benchmark AHB2, Classé Sigma Mono, Hegel Music Systems B53, Parasound Halo A 31. Loudspeakers {Bang & Olufsen Beolab 90, Kii Audio Three?}. Cables Digital: AudioQuest Coffee (USB). Interconnect: AudioQuest Earth/DBS balanced, Kubala-Sosna Anticipation (RCA). Speaker: AudioQuest Oak/DBS biwire. AC: Kubala-Sosna Emotion, SignalCable MagicPower 20A. Accessories AudioQuest Niagara 5000, Brick Wall 8RAUD power conditioners; HDPlex 400W ATX linear power supply, CyberPower 850PFCLCD AC filter (supplied with Baetis server). Listening Room 24' by 14' by 8' (L by W by H), with two MSR Acoustics Dimension4 SpringTraps in front corners, two Ready Acoustics Chameleon Super Sub Bass Traps at sides,…

Description Bluetooth-equipped portable media player/digital processor/headphone amplifier with 3.1" (780mm) TFT color display, 256GB internal storage, two microSD slots, internal rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and vibration-isolating aluminum case. File formats supported: MP3, WMA, FLAC, WAV, AAC, Apple Lossless, AIFF, APE, DSD64/128/256, MQA. Supported Bluetooth codecs: SBC, LDA C, aptX, aptX HD. DSP functions: 10-band equalizer, tone control, DSEE HX (upsamples standard-definition data), DSD Remastering (transcoded PCM to DSD), Dynamic Normalizer, Vinyl Processor. Input: USB Type C (USB 2.0 compliant). Outputs: stereo 3.5mm headphone jack (single-ended), 0.17” Balanced-Standard jack (balanced). Frequency range: 20Hz–40kHz. Maximum output power: 570mWpc into 16 ohms (single-ended output, High Gain), 1.5Wpc (balanced output, High Gain). Battery life: 9–10 hours, depending on file formats played. Battery charging time: approx. 4 hours. Supplied accessories: USB Type-CTM cable (USB-A to USB-C),…

Description Three-way, horn-loaded floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: High frequency driver: K-100-TI 1" (25mm) titanium diaphragm compression driver on a K-79T horn. Midrange driver: K-70 1.75" (45mm) titanium diaphragm compression driver on a K-703-M horn. Low-frequency driver: K-281 12" (305mm) fiber-composite cone woofer. KD-15 15" (381mm) passive cone radiator. Crossover frequency: HF: 5.2kHz, MF: 650Hz. Frequency range: 38Hz–20kHz. Sensitivity: 99dB/2.83V/m. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal. Power handling: 100W/400W. Terminals: dual binding posts/biwire/biamp. Maximum spl: 116dB continuous. Dimensions 36" (914.4mm) by 16.5" (419.1mm) by 13" (330.2mm) (H by W by D). Weight 72lbs (32.7kg) Finishes American walnut, natural cherry, black ash, distressed oak Serial numbers of units reviewed 106423218220014, 106423218220013 Price $3998/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 65. Warranty: 5 years. Manufacturer Klipsch Audio Technologies, 3502 Woodview Trace, Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN 46268. Tel: (317)…