Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2022 i Stereophile

60 Years! It was September 1962. In the UK, the Beatles were recording their first single, “Love Me Do,” at London’s Abbey Road Studios. And in the US, a young journalist, J. Gordon Holt, born in North Carolina but raised in Australia from 1935 to 1947, had become dissatisfied with the advertiser-friendly atmosphere at High Fidelity magazine, for which he had been the audio editor. Holt quit High Fidelity and published the first issue of what was then called The Stereophile. Cover-dated September 1962, its 20 pages contained one equipment report (with four graphs), five record reviews, five feature articles, one classified advertisement, and an editorial leader1 in which JGH, as he was to become known, wrote: “The Stereophile isn’t a showcase for advertisers. It is the readers’ own publication.…

I used DRA Labs’ MLSSA system, a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone, and an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the KEF Blade Two Meta’s frequency response in the farfield. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield measurements. Because I perform the quasi-anechoic response measurements in-room, I usually place a loudspeaker’s tweeter midway between the floor and ceiling, which equalizes the timing of the reflections from those boundaries. But because of the speaker’s bulk, I wasn’t able to lift it as high as I prefer. The presence of an early reflection from the floor of the Uni-Q’s output therefore reduced the anechoic time window I used for FFT analysis, which in turn reduced the farfield response measurements’ resolution in the midrange. KEF specifies the Blade Two Meta’s voltage sensitivity as…

I used DRA Labs’ MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone with an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the Audiovector QR 7’s farfield frequency response and dispersion. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield and in-room responses and Dayton Audio’s DATS V2 system to measure the impedance magnitude and electrical phase angle. Audiovector specifies the QR 7’s anechoic sensitivity as 90.5dB/W/m. My estimate was slightly lower, at 88.7dB/2.83V/m, though this is still higher than average. The QR 7’s impedance is specified as 6 ohms. The impedance magnitude (fig.1, solid trace) varied between 5 ohms and 12 ohms in the midrange and treble, with a minimum value of 4.3 ohms between 120Hz and 130Hz. The electrical phase angle (dotted trace) is generally benign, though it does reach –59.75°…

Because the Gryphon Apex Stereo is big and heavy, I drove to Michael Fremer’s place in deepest, darkest New Jersey with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system,1 digital and analog oscilloscopes, and test loads. I preconditioned the amplifier by operating it at ⅛ the specified power into 8 ohms for 20 minutes. At the end of that time, the temperature of the heatsinks was 113.6°F/45.4°C and that of the top panel 105.3°F/40.8°C. The bias was set at High for all testing. The Gryphon Apex Stereo has only balanced inputs. The voltage gain at 1kHz was 30.85dB into 8 ohms, very close to the specified gain of 31dB. The amplifier preserved absolute polarity, ie, was noninverting. The input impedance is specified as 20k ohms. I measured 19.9k ohms at low and middle…

I performed the measurements of the LKV PWR-3 with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system.1 Because the amplifier has a class-D output stage, I inserted an Audio Precision AUX-0025 passive low-pass filter between the test load and the analyzer. This filter mitigates RF noise that would otherwise drive the SYS2722’s input circuitry into slew-rate limiting. Without the filter, 210mV of ultrasonic noise with a center frequency of 500kHz was present at the amplifier’s output terminals. I used the filter for all the tests other than frequency response. Because the PWR-3 is a class-D design, there was no formal need to precondition it before the testing. However, after operating the amplifier at1/8 the specified power into 8 ohms for 20 minutes, the top panel was slightly warm, its temperature measuring 94.2°F/34.6°C. The…

STEVE EARLE WAS BORN IN 1967. WELL, THAT’S NOT EXACTLY TRUE. EARLE WAS IN FACT BORN ON JANUARY 17, 1955, IN FORT MONROE, VIRGINIA, BUT THE SINGER, SONGWRITER, AND MASTER INTERPRETER’S MUSICAL AWAKENING CAME IN 1967, WHEN HE WAS 12 YEARS OLD, GROWING UP IN HIS ACKNOWLEDGED HOMETOWN OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS. “It was a big year, man,” Earle says. “A lot of stuff happened in 1967. My uncle, who was five years older than me, was living with us at the time. It was my dream come true, because he was always my hero. He brought a lot of records into the house, like Cream’s Disraeli Gears and the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Are You Experienced.” That was when Earle began unlocking the secrets of the stringed instrument that ultimately…

Quackery, etc. Mr. Bakel’s “Quackery, gullibility, and open-mindedness” raised troubling issues. Mr. Bakel seems to rely on a personal anecdote and Ross Douthat, a noted conservative and devout Roman Catholic, for the proposition that personal anecdotes constitute data worthy of reliance. Maybe for the reporting population of one, but the plural of anecdote is not data. Bakel writes, “Maybe it’s okay to approach these things as a whole human being and not as a scientist.” I have no idea what that statement means, even after rereading Bakel’s essay. More importantly, in these tortured times of broken epistemologies where the subjective supplants truth (QAnon, politics, etc.), there is such a thing as truth (albeit that’s a discussion we can pursue). Reliance on sound thinking has never been more critical or more…

Psychedelic visions I have a peephole in the door to my first-floor apartment. It looks down a straight hall to a glass wall framing the front door of my building. For 13 years, its job has been to let me see who is ringing my buzzer and who is making a racket in the hall. Over time, however, the peephole’s lens turned amber-yellow and frosted-foggy like those headlight protectors on cars. In recent years, it became so clouded that all I could make out were unidentifiable Sasquatch figures moving in a blurry space. I was startled one day when I peered through the peephole and recognized my UPS person. The view was still blurry, but it was much brighter and clearer than before. Then I realized: I was spying with…

Digital sources Oppo Digital UDP-105 universal disc player, Custom Intel/Win11 music server running JRiver Media Center v29 and Roon, exaSound s88 Mark II, and Okto DAC8 Pro D/A processors. QNAP TVS-873 NAS. Preamplifiers 3 Topping Pre90 preamps for buffer/line drivers. Power amplifiers Benchmark AHB2, NAD C 298. Loudspeakers Revel Ultima2 Studio with IsoAcoustics Gaia I isolation feet. Revel Performa3 f206. SVS SB-3000 subwoofer. Cables Digital: AudioQuest Coffee (USB). Analog interconnects: Benchmark Studio&Stage XLR-XLR, Kubala-Sosna Anticipation (RCA), Cardas Cross (subwoofers). Speaker: Benchmark Studio&Stage, Blue Jeans Canare 4S11. AC: SignalCable MagicPower 20A. Accessories AudioQuest Niagara 5000, Brick-Wall BrickWall 8RAUD, and CyberPower 850PFCLCD UPS power conditioners, Teddy Pardo 12V PS (for exaSound s88), HDPLEX 300W Linear Power Supply and AC filter (for server). Listening room 24' L × 14' W × 8' H,…

Digital sources dCS Rossini DAC, Clock, and Transport; EMM Labs DV2 Integrated DAC; Synology 5-bay 1019+ NAS, Uptone Audio EtherRegen with AfterDark Giesemann Emperor Double Crown Master Clock, Small Green Computer Sonore opticalModules (2) and Deluxe opticalModule, Linksys mesh router and Arris modem, all powered by HDPlex 300 linear power supplies (3); Roon Nucleus+ music server and Nordost QNET Ethernet Switch, both powered by Nordost QSource linear power supply; Apple 2017 iPad Pro and 2017 MacBook Pro laptop with 2.8GHz Intel i7, SSD, 16GB RAM. Preamplifiers Dan D’Agostino Momentum HD. Power amplifiers Dan D’Agostino Progression M550 monoblocks. Loudspeakers Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia 2 with Acoustic Diode supports. Cables Digital: Nordost Odin 1, Odin 2, and Valhalla 2 (USB and Ethernet); Frey 2 (USB adapter); Wireworld Platinum Starlight Cat8 (Ethernet), OM1…

Analog source Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv B cartridge, Channel D Seta L phono preamplifier. Digital sources Roon Nucleus+ file server; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; MBL N31 CD player/DAC; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 A/D converter; NetGear Nighthawk router. Power amplifiers Parasound Halo JC 1+ monoblocks. Loudspeakers Q Acoustics Concept 50. Cables Digital: AudioQuest Vodka (Ethernet), AudioQuest Coffee (USB), DH Labs (1m, AES3). Interconnect: AudioQuest Wild Blue (balanced). Speaker: AudioQuest Robin Hood. AC: AudioQuest Dragon Source & High Current, manufacturers’ own. Accessories Target TT-5 equipment racks, Ayre Acoustics Myrtle Blocks; ASC Tube Traps, RPG Abffusor panels; AudioQuest Niagara 5000 Low-Z Power/Noise-Dissipation System (amplifiers) and AudioQuest Niagara 1000 Low-Z Power/Noise-Dissipation System (source components). HDPlex linear power supply for Roon Nucleus+; AudioQuest Fog Lifters cable…

Analog sources OMA K3, Acoustic Signature Montana NEO and J. Sikora Reference turntables, Schröder K3, Acoustic Signature TA-7000, acoustical systems Axiom, and J. Sikora KV12 tonearms; Lyra Atlas λ Lambda SL and Etna λ Lambda SL, Ortofon Diamond and Verismo, X-quisite ST, and Luxman LMC-5 cartridges. Digital sources dCS Vivaldi One SACD player DAC; Lynx Hilo A/D-D/A converter; Mac mini (Roon), Audirvana Digital Audio Player; Vinyl Studio software. Preamplification darTZeel NHB-18S, Gryphon Commander, Ypsilon MC-10L, MC-16L, and MC-26L step-up transformers; Ypsilon VPS-100, CH Precision P1 with X1 PSU. Power amplifiers darTZeel NHB-468 monoblocks, Music Reference RM-200 Mk2. Cables Interconnect: TARA Labs Zero Gold, Zero Evolution, Zero, and Air Evolution, AudioQuest Dragon, Analysis Plus Silver Apex, Stealth Sakra & Indra. Speaker: AudioQuest Dragon, TARA Labs Omega EvolutionSP. AC: AudioQuest Dragon, Dynamic…

Analog sources Kuzma Stabi R turntable with 4Point tonearm and EMT TDS 15N moving coil cartridge; Thorens TD 124 turntable with Jelco TS-350S tonearm and Ortofon SPU Classic GE MkII cartridge. Preamplifiers JE Sugden Masterclass LA-4, Sculpture A Mini Nano SUT, Tavish Adagio phono pre. Power amplifiers LKV Research Veros PWR+, Mytek Brooklyn AMP+, Shindo Haut Brion. Loudspeakers DeVore Fidelity O/96, Fleetwood Sound Company DeVille. Cables Digital: Analysis Plus Silver Apex. Interconnects: Triode Wire Labs Spirit II (RCA). Speaker: Auditorium 23. Accessories IsoTek EVO3 Aquarius line conditioner, Pro-Ject VC-S2 ALU Record Cleaning Machine, Audiodesksysteme Gläss Vinyl Cleaner Pro, Salamander five-tier rack; IKEA Aptitlig bamboo chopping boards; mahogany blocks (2" × 2" × 0.5") under boards. Listening room 12' L × 10' W × 12' H, suspended wood floor, 6"-thick walls…

Reason to believe It would have been in the spring of 1967 that Tim Hardin’s music first wafted in over my transom. I was 13. My older brother, who loved Hardin at least as much as I did and was something of a fetishist besides, forbade me to touch his copy of Hardin’s debut album, Tim Hardin 1, not even the jacket. He had to be present when I auditioned it. Tim Hardin 2 didn’t especially float my boat, so my brother had it to himself. But the moment I heard Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, I took matters into my own hands, so to speak, and plunked my own $5 down. A singer, songwriter, guitarist and sometime pianist, Tim Hardin wasn’t a household name, but a cult hero.…

JAPAN: TAKATSUKI, OSAKA PREFECTURE Julie Mullins The industry has lost another luminary. Atsushi Miura passed away peacefully on May 25, 2022. He was 88 years old. Miura’s name may not have been as familiar as some, but audiophiles know his companies and products, from Luxman to Air Tight, solid state and tubed. Miura was an accomplished audio-electronics engineer who rose to prominence at Luxman, where he began his tenure in 1956, when Luxman was still a family business. Miura married the eldest daughter, Mari, of company head/co-founder K. Yoshikawa. Miura’s audio-engineer father later led Luxman. By the early 1980s, Miura had risen to prominence at Luxman, eventually following in his father-in-law’s—and his engineer father’s—footsteps and running the company. When Alpine acquired Luxman, soon after, Miura founded A&M Limited with designer/co-founder…

LOUDSPEAKER It seems as if I have been waiting for these all my life. Not in any existential sense, but in a literal, practical way: The arrival of the Blade Two Meta is the culmination of a lifelong fascination with KEF. As a teenager, I was introduced to founder Raymond Cooke and his innovative “race-track” woofer, Mylar tweeter, and Bextrene cones in Bud Fried’s IMF Newsletter. Shortly thereafter, I commenced decades of building loudspeakers, mostly with KEF drivers, and, beginning with the 104 in 1973, pining for their Reference speakers. They always seemed to strike the right balance of intelligent engineering, solid construction, and domestic suitability. Regrettably, they were always priced out of my reach. The project Cooke started has been sustained by a succession of notable designers and engineers…

MONOBLOCK TUBE POWER AMPLIFIER When I was a young man, blind dates were always laced with anxiety. (Proms were even worse. Once, when I arrived in a rented tux and my father’s prized dress gloves, my date’s father ordered me to take out the trash.) More than half a century later, blind dates—now with review equipment—remain fraught. Sure, expectations and the frisson of unknowns heighten the experience, but if it isn’t a good match, I’m stuck for the duration of our time together. If a component sounds so mediocre that I can’t be sure what’s on a recording, the review and my joy are compromised. When music’s emotion and beauty remain locked within cascading successions of bits or tightening spirals of grooves, it feels as though once again I’ve been…

LOUDSPEAKER Although Danish company Audiovector was founded in 1979,1 I had very little experience of its loudspeakers, other than at audio shows,2 until I measured the Audiovector R 8 Arreté that Jim Austin reviewed in May 2021.3 Jim nominated the R 8 as his “Editor’s Choice” for 2021, writing that “The gorgeous-looking Audiovector took me by surprise, doing things with imaging that I’ve never heard another loudspeaker do (like hearing a bass note directly behind another bass note).” Jim concluded that the R 8 “is a complicated speaker that sounds simple, sweet, and coherent.” At $75,000/pair, the R 8 Arreté—second from the top in Audiovector’s R series—is an expensive speaker, so it should offer superb sound quality. I think it was Laurie Fincham of THX, then with KEF, who told…