Indholdsfortegnelse for November 2018 i Stereophile

THIS ISSUE: Why the upward price spiral benefits audio manufacturers. “At what price does a high-end product cease to exist for the ‘normal’ audiophile?” This question, which I asked in the February 2017 issue,1 was a follow-up to one I’d asked in our April 2011 issue: “If all someone is offered is a $150,000 pair of speakers… that person will walk away from this hobby, or build his or her system by buying only used equipment. Either consumer choice turns the price spiral into a death spiral for manufacturers.”2 Yet this issue sees me reviewing a loudspeaker that costs $215,000/pair. Last month I reviewed an amplifier priced at $55,000. In August, Michael Fremer reviewed a monoblock amplifier that costs $118,888/pair. And in September, Art Dudley reviewed a CD player that…

ATTENTION ALL AUDIO SOCIETIES: We have a page on the Stereophile website dedicated solely to you: www.stereophile.com/audiophilesocieties. 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 this is associated with a seminar or similar event. CALIFORNIA ■ Sunday, October 14, 2–5pm: The Los Angeles & Orange County Audio Society will hold its monthly meeting at Excel Audio, in Newport Beach (4678 Campus Drive). Our host, Mike Rose, will feature TAD speakers with Audio Research’s reference electronics and Clearaudio turntables. Aldo Filippelli from Audio Research, Garth Leerer from Musical Surroundings, and Jon Derda from MoFi Distribution will be on hand to answer questions. A raffle…

I used DRA Labs’ MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Tidal Akira’s frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield and spatially averaged room responses. I was neither able to move a speaker as large and heavy as this—each Akira’s polished stainless-steel base alone weighs 70 lb—out of the listening room, nor raise it off the floor to measure it. I aimed the speaker across the room’s diagonal to push back in time the reflections from the sidewalls, but the reflections of the speaker’s output from the floor and the 8' ceiling limit the acoustic measurements’ resolution below 1kHz. My estimate of the Akira’s voltage sensitivity was 87.5dB/2.83V/m. The Akira’s impedance remains above 8 ohms throughout the midrange and treble, but…

Description Three-way, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1.1” (27mm) pure-beryllium, inverted-dome tweeter; 6.5” (165mm) flax-sandwich-cone midrange unit; two 6.5” (165mm) flax-sandwich-cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 260Hz, 2700Hz. Frequency response: 35Hz–40kHz, ±3dB. Low-frequency point: 29Hz, –6dB. Sensitivity: 91dB. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 3.1 ohms minimum. Recommended amplification: 40–300W. Dimensions 44” (1118mm) H by 18.8” (477mm) W by 12.6” (321mm) D. Weight: 77.2 lb (35kg). Finishes High Gloss Black Lacquer (cabinet); High Gloss Carrara White, Black Lacquer, Gauloise Blue, Solar Yellow (baffle). Or: Walnut veneer (cabinet); Matte Finish Ivory, Warm Taupe, Gauloise Blue, Dark Grey (baffle). Serial numbers of units reviewed A1BPCF000222, A1BPCF000223. Price $9999/pair. Approximate number of dealers: “around 50.” Warranty: 5 years. Manufacturer Focal, BP 374-108, rue de l’Avenir, 42353 La Talaudrière Cedex, France. Tel: (33) 04-77-43-57-00. Fax: (33) 04-77-43-57-04. Web: www.focal.com. US…

Valued for its combination of light weight and rigidity—it’s seven times stiffer than titanium or aluminum—beryllium is used in the production of tweeter domes and midrange drivers by a number of high-end speaker manufacturers, including Focal. But, unlike manufacturers whose “beryllium” tweeter domes are actually made of an alloy containing, according to some reports, as little as 2% of the element, Focal’s beryllium cones and domes are 100% beryllium. The use of beryllium makes possible the extension of the frequency response of Focal’s tweeter to 40kHz, while minimizing unwanted resonances. Focal is forthright in warning buyers of the potentially toxic effects of beryllium when not handled carefully. The package of ancillary materials included with the Kanta No.2 includes a pamphlet, Beryllium: Precautions for Use. There the user is warned that…

Analog Sources Thorens TD 124 turntable (reconditioned by Schopper AG); Ortofon RMG-212 (rebuilt), Thomas Schick 12" tonearms; Ortofon 90th Anniversary SPU cartridge. Digital Sources Intel NUC computer with SSD drive running Roon Optimized Core Kit; Benchmark Media Systems DAC3 HGC, PS Audio DirectStream DACs. Preamplification Auditorium 23 Standard step-up transformer, EAR 834P phono stage, PS Audio BHK Signature preamplifier. Power Amplifiers Pass Laboratories XA60.8, PS Audio BHK Signature 300 Mono (both monoblocks). Loudspeakers DeVore Fidelity The Nine & X. Cables USB: AudioQuest Carbon & Cinnamon & Coffee, Comprehensive Connectivity DXLRP-DXLRJ-6EXF. Interconnect: Auditorium 23, Clarus Crimson (RCA, XLR). Speaker: Clarus Crimson. Accessories PS Audio PerfectWave P10 Power Plant power conditioner, Oswalds Mill Audio slate plinth (under turntable), Chilton’s Durham media console (cherrywood), Auralex ProPanel Fabric-Wrapped Acoustical Absorption Panel (2" by 2'…

I measured the Rogue Stereo 100 amplifier using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 “As We See It”1). Before doing so, I installed the KT120 output tubes and, following the instructions in the manual, checked each tube’s bias current. These were all around 50mA rather than the recommended 40mA, so, using the supplied tool, I adjusted the four trim pots. I checked the bias currents several times while performing the measurements, but none of the tubes had drifted from the recommended 40mA. The Stereo 100 has both balanced and single-ended inputs, 4 ohm and 8 ohm output-transformer taps, and its output tubes can be operated in Ultralinear or Triode mode. I took complete sets of measurements in both output modes from both sets of output taps, using…

Description Tubed class-AB monoblock power amplifier. Tube complement: one 12SJ7 (input), two 12SN7 (driver), four KT150 (output). Inputs: 1 pair single-ended (RCA), 1 pair balanced (XLR). Outputs: 1 pair binding posts. Output power: min. 160W into 4 ohms (19dBW) (other output options available by special order). Frequency response (1W): 10Hz–75kHz, ±1dB. Input impedance: 47k ohms (balanced, single-ended). Output impedance: 0.5 ohm. Damping factor: 10. Hum & noise: >90dB below 0dBW (1W) output (A weighting). Sensitivity: 1.4V (full output). Dimensions 17" (430mm) W by 10" (255mm) H by 19" (485mm) D. Weight: 70 lb (31.75kg) net, 86 lb (39kg) shipping. Finish Silver/gray; custom options available. Serial numbers of units reviewed 1803, 1805. Price $35,995/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 6. Warranty: 2 years parts, 4 years labor, 180 days tubes. Manufacturer Doshi…

Analog Sources Garrard 301 turntable; Audio-Creative GrooveMaster II, EMT 997 tonearms; EMT TSD 15, Ortofon SPU A Wood, Shindo Laboratory SPU pickup heads; Grado Labs Epoch, Koetsu Onyx Platinum, Miyabi 47 cartridges. Digital Sources Apple MacBook Air computer running Roon v.1.5, build 339; Sony SCD-777 SACD/CD player. Preamplification Auditorium 23 Hommage T1 & T2 step-up transformers, Shindo Laboratory Monbrison (2017) preamplifier. Power Amplifiers Luxman MQ-88uSE, Shindo Laboratory Haut-Brion. Loudspeakers DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93. Headphones AudioQuest NightHawk. Cables Digital: AudioQuest Carbon (USB). Interconnect: Audio Note AN-Vx, Luna Red, Shindo Laboratory. Speaker: Auditorium 23, Luna Red. AC: manufacturers’ stock. Accessories Shindo Laboratory Mr. T power conditioner, Box Furniture Company D3S rack (source & amplification components), Audiodesksysteme Gläss Vinyl Cleaner Pro record cleaner.…

BERNSTEIN Arias and Barcarolles Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano; Ryan McKinny, bass-baritone; San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas SFS Media SFS-0073 (24/96 download). 2018. Jack Vad, broadcast & mastering eng., postprod.; Jason O’Connell, post-prod. DDD. TT: 32:54 Why name this short, digital-streaming–only release of a live San Francisco Symphony performance from 2017—its native 24/96 PCM broadcast sound is a notch lower than the best-recorded titles in SFS Media’s series of Davies Symphony Hall broadcasts—as our “Recording of the Month”? Because, as the centennial of the birth of Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) draws to a close, this new recording of his eight Arias and Barcarolles from conductor Michael Tilson Thomas—whom Bernstein asked to play piano alongside him when the original version of the cycle, for four voices and piano four-hands, premiered in New York…

TAKE HEED! Unless marked otherwise, all letters to the magazine and its writers are assumed to be for possible publication. In the spirit of vigorous debate implied by the First Amendment, and unless we are requested not to, we publish correspondents’ e-mail addresses. The value of history? Editor: I was urging my TV/internet/phone service/cellphone provider to demo the LG V30 smartphone in their stores, based on the rave review in North America’s oldest audio magazine.1 It occurred to me Stereophile doesn’t indicate anywhere on its website or in the magazine just how old it is. I had to find on Wikipedia that its first issue was published in 1962. It’s something worth making very plain indeed. Not only has John Atkinson edited Stereophile for considerably more than half the time…

THIS ISSUE: Technics SL-1000R direct-drive turntable & Swedish Analog Technologies CF1-09 tonearm. Technics’ sudden decision, in October 2010, to stop making its iconic SL-1200 direct-drive turntable, then in its MK6 iteration, took vinyl fans by surprise. At the time, although sales of vinyl and turntables for home use were surging, their use in clubs was falling as DJs moved to the digits. According to Technics (a division of Panasonic), production of the SL-1200 was stopped not because professional sales dropped, but because the factory tooling for manufacturing them had worn out, and retooling wasn’t cost-effective. However, as the growth of the vinyl market exceeded even the most optimistic projections and previous Panasonic profit centers like plasma HDTV shrank, Technics’ Home Entertainment Business division—headed by Michiko Ogawa, an engineer who in…

STRAVINSKY MUSIC FOR VIOLIN, VOLS. 1 & 2 Vol.1: Pastorale; Excerpts from L’Oiseau de Feu; Chanson russe from Mavra; Danse russe from Pétrouchka; Suite from Pulcinella; Duo Concertant; Excerpts from Le Rossignol; “La Marseillaise” (de Lisle) Ilya Gringolts, violin; Peter Laul, piano BIS 2245 (SACD/CD). Vol.2: Pastorale; Ballad; Suite Italienne from Pulcinella; Divertimento from The Fairy’s Kiss; Apollo’s Variation from Apollon Musagète; Violin Concerto; Elégie; Tango (arr. Dushkin) Ilya Gringolts, violin; Peter Laul, piano; Galicia Symphony Orchestra, Dima Slobodeniouk BIS 2275 (SACD/CD). In the home I grew up in, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring was one of only three classical recordings we had. I first latched on to the pounding drums and awesome orchestral outbursts, which conjured images of dinosaurs in my child’s mind. Gradually, as I listened to it…

Doug White, of Philadelphia-area retailer The Voice That Is, has been a fixture at US audio shows the past few years, where he always gets great sound using loudspeakers from Tidal Audio. (There is no connection between the German audio manufacturer and the music-streaming service owned by Jay Z and Sprint.) In early 2017, Herb Reichert, Jana Dagdagan, and I visited White and spent a delightful afternoon listening to Tidal’s then-new Akira loudspeakers.1 I promised myself to review the Akira, which costs a wallet-straining $215,000, when my schedule opened up. As things turned out, it was more than a year before that opportunity presented itself. The Akira… … is an imposing yet elegant-looking tower standing almost 5' high on its bases, and finished in a high-gloss black lacquer. As I…

Analog Source Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv B cartridge. Digital Sources Roon Nucleus+ file server; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; PS Audio PerfectWave Direct-Stream D/A converter; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 USB A/D converter. Preamplification Channel D Seta L phono preamplifier. Power Amplifiers Audio Research Reference 160M, Lamm Industries M1.2 Reference (both monoblocks), Constellation Centaur II 500, Mytek Brooklyn Amp, Tidal Impulse LPX. Cables Digital: AudioQuest Vodka (Ethernet), Canare (15', AES/EBU), DH Labs (1m, AES/EBU), Esperanto Audio (S/PDIF). Interconnect: AudioQuest Wild Blue. Speaker: AudioQuest K2. AC: AudioQuest Dragon Source & High Current, Tidal with Tidal Impulse amplifier, manufacturers’ own. Accessories Target TT-5 equipment racks; Ayre Acoustics Myrtle Blocks; ASC Tube Traps, RPG Abffusor panels; Shunyata Research Dark Field cable elevators; Audio Power Industries 116…

I used DRA Labs’ MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Focal Kanta No.2’s frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield responses. All the measurements were performed without the grilles, other than the perforated metal screen over the tweeter. The Kanta No.2’s voltage sensitivity is specified as 91dB(B)/2.83V/m; my B-weighted estimate was a little lower, at 89dB/2.83V/m, but this is still higher than average. Focal specifies the nominal impedance as 8 ohms. The impedance does stay above 8 ohms through the treble, and above 6 ohms in the low-and midbass regions. However, the Kanta No.2’s impedance drops below 4 ohms between 80 and 180Hz, with a minimum magnitude of 2.97 ohms at 105Hz (fig.1). In addition, the electrical phase angle has…

Analog Sources AMG Giro G9 turntable & 9W Turbo tonearm; Linn Sondek LP12 Hercules turntable, SME M2-9 tonearm; AMG Teatro, EMT TSD 75, Hana SL, Koetsu Rosewood Standard & Signature Platinum, My Sonic Lab Ultra Eminent Ex MC cartridges; MoFi Master Tracker MM cartridge. Digital Sources Mac mini computer running Audirvana Plus 3.2; HoloAudio Spring “Kitsuné Tuned Edition” Level 3, Mytek Brooklyn, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil Analog 2 DACs; JVC X-Z1010 CD player (used as transport). Preamplification Auditorium 23, Bob’s Devices CineMag 1131, Dynavector SUP-200, EMIA, My Sonic Lab Stage 1030 MC step-up transformers; Lounge Audio LCR Mk.III, Musical Surroundings Phonomena II+ & LCPS power supply, Tavish Design Adagio phono preamplifiers; Pass Laboratories HPA-1, PrimaLuna DiaLogue, Rogue Audio RH-5 & RH-7 line-level preamplifiers. Power Amplifiers Bel Canto Design e.One REF600M (monoblocks),…

Our review samples of Doshi Audio’s Monoblock V3.0 amplifier were well traveled, having been shown at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver in 2017, and at AXPONA and Munich High End in 2018, before making their way to Washington and Jason Victor Serinus. Unfortunately, they then didn’t survive their transcontinental trip from Jason’s place to mine at the hands of UPS. Although the boxes seemed undamaged, they must have been dropped at some point: neither amp worked. Fortunately, Nick Doshi was able to drive up from Virginia to Brooklyn at short notice to repair them. (A solder joint had been fractured in one amplifier, resulting in a blown fuse when I turned it on; the other amp had a broken binding post.) Once the Monoblock V3.0s had been repaired,…

Description D/A processor-headphone amplifier. Analog outputs: 1 pair single-ended (RCA), 1 pair balanced (1⁄4” headphone jack). Digital inputs: 2 S/PDIF (RCA), 1 AES/EBU (XLR), 1 optical (TosLink), 1 USB Class 2. Headphone amplifier power: 3W. Headphone amplifier output impedance: 0.1 ohm. Dimensions 5.5" (140mm) W by 1.74" (44mm) H by 8.5" (216mm) D. Weight: 3 lb (1.5kg). Finish Dark gray. Serial number of unit reviewed 03003-1801-168 Price $995. Approximate number of dealers: 60. Warranty: 2 years. Manufacturer Mytek Digital, 148 India Street, First Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11222. Tel: (347) 384-2687. Web: www.mytekdigital.com.…

THIS ISSUE: PS Audio, Rogue, Doshi, and BorderPatrol respond to our reviews of their products. PS Audio DirectStream Power Plant P20 Editor: Thanks to Jim Austin for his thorough review of our DirectStream Power Plant P20. We’ve built power regenerators for decades now, but find that listeners are still flabbergasted by the improvement that clean power brings to their systems: amplifiers seem more powerful, preamps and sources are quieter and more dynamic. Things just work at their best. The power in Jim’s apartment isn’t unique, nor is the Power Plant’s improvement: “the total harmonic distortion in the incoming waveform (currently about 3.5% in my system) and in the outgoing waveforms (currently an impressive 0.2%).” At shows, we’ve seen THD greater than 10% and voltage drops of more than 10V—and the…

SUBMISSIONS: Those promoting audio-related seminars, shows, and meetings should e-mail the when, where, and who to JAtkinson@enthusiastnetwork.com at least eight weeks before the month of the event. The deadline for the January 2019 issue is October 20, 2018. UK: SOUTHEND-ON-SEA, ESSEX Paul Messenger Having briefly heard a prototype Rega Aura moving-coil phono stage when the Naiad was installed about a year ago, I tried hard to borrow one when I recently visited Rega’s factory, but was told that no review samples were available. I’m sure I’ll eventually manage to get hold of a sample, and hope that it really does sound as good as that prototype. In the meantime, I can at last write about a sensational-sounding record that I’ve been waiting to tell you about since April while digital…

THIS ISSUE: Arguments in favor of improving AC power seem compelling—but are they valid? Jim Austin puts that question to Nelson Pass. Virtually all of the active components in your system—DACs, preamplifiers, power amplifiers—work by modulating the DC output of their power supplies with an AC music signal. Surely, then, the more perfect your household AC is, the more perfect your audio system’s output will be. Analogies abound—to dirty water used in distilling good whiskey, to inferior thread used to weave fine fabrics—and all amount to the same thing: you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. The problem with that thinking, like so much of what passes for thought in high-end audio, is that it’s qualitative. Circuit designers work hard to design power supplies that stamp…

Description Three-and-a-half-way, five-driver, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1.2" (30mm) diamond-diaphragm tweeter, 5" (127mm) diamond-diaphragm midrange unit, three 7.5" (190mm) aluminum honeycomb-diaphragm woofers, five 7.5" (190mm) honeycomb-diaphragm passive radiators. Crossover frequencies: 250Hz, 2.2kHz. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Nominal power handling: 400VA. Recommended amplifier power: >30W. No other specifications published. Dimensions 58” (1480mm) H with bases by 11.5” (290mm) W by 22” (550mm) D. Weight: 348 lb (158kg). Finishes Midnight Black high-gloss lacquer with optional polished stainless-steel side-panel inserts, baffle insert, rings around woofers; other finishes available. Serial numbers of units reviewed 015-02170 & 016-2170. Price $215,000/pair. Approximate number of dealers: not disclosed. Warranty: 5 years. Manufacturer Tidal Audio GmbH, Immendorfer Strasse 1, 50354 Hürth, Germany. Tel: (49) 2233-966-9225. Web: www.tidal-audio.com. Premium US dealer: The Voice That Is, PO Box 445, Newtown…

“Any color, so long as it’s black.” That was the choice famously offered by Henry Ford to buyers of his Model T. Some makers of loudspeakers, notably GoldenEar Technology, follow the same dictum. Not Focal. The Kanta No.2 ($9999/pair) is available with a cabinet finished in High Black Lacquer or Walnut veneer, with baffles finished in a variety of colors, including High Glass Carrara White and Gauloise Blue. The review samples had black cabinets and white baffles, which made me think of the two-tone cars that were the rage in the 1950s and ’60s—and which may be coming back.1 My choice would be all black, but chacun à son goût! The baffles are very substantial, and specific cabinet/baffle combinations are factory-installed. (I’m told that at one point in the development…

Analog Source Acoustic Signature WOW XXL turntable & TA-2000 tonearm, Benz Micro ACE-SM cartridge. Digital Source PS Audio DirectStream Memory Player & DirectStream DAC. Preamplifier Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Renaissance Black Path Edition. Power Amplifiers McIntosh Laboratory MC275 LE, PS Audio M700 Stellar monoblocks. Loudspeakers Monitor Audio Platinum PL300 II. Cables Interconnect, speaker, AC: Nordost Valhalla 2. Accessories PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 5 power conditioner, Nordost QB8 AC power distributor, Arcici Suspense Rack, Audiodesksysteme Gläss Vinyl Cleaner, IsoAcoustics Gaia II Speaker Isolators & Orea Audio Equipment Isolators, Massif Audio Design Cable Risers.…

Description Regulated AC regenerator with 16 outlets and multiple output waveforms. Load capability: 3600VA peak, 2000VA continuous. Output impedance: 0.049 ohm. Distortion on output wave: <0.5% into resistive and reactive loads. High-frequency (100kHz–2MHz) noise reduction: >80dB. Peak current delivery: 70A. Dimensions 17" (430mm) W by 11" (279mm) H by 14" (360mm) D. Weight: 96 lb (43.5kg) net, 105 lb (47kg) shipping. Finishes Black, silver. Serial number of unit reviewed D20-A-8C157591. Price $9999. Approximate number of dealers: 60; also sold direct. Manufacturer PS Audio, 4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301. Tel: (720) 406-8946. Fax: (720) 406-8967. Web: www.psaudio.com.…

Description Stereo, push-pull, class-AB1, tubed power amplifier with transformer-coupled inputs. Tube complement: two 12AX7 (voltage amplifier), two 12AU7 (driver), four KT120 (output). Inputs: 1 pair single-ended (RCA), 1 pair balanced (XLR). Outputs: 2 pairs (4 and 8 ohms) five-way speaker binding posts per channel. Power output: 100Wpc into 8 ohms (Ultralinear mode, 20dBW), 60Wpc into 8 ohms (Triode mode, 17.8dBW). Frequency response: 5Hz–50kHz, ±1dB. Input impedance: 75k ohms. Sensitivity: 1V RMS. Dimensions 18" (455mm) W by 7" (180mm) H by 17" (400mm) D. Weight: 60 lb (27.2kg). Finish Black. Serial number of unit reviewed Stereo 100-0706. Price $3495. Approximate number of dealers: approximately 70. Warranty: 3 years, limited (tubes, 6 months). Manufacturer Rogue Audio Inc., PO Box 1076, Brodheadsville, PA 18322. Tel: (570) 992-9901. Web: www.rogueaudio.com.…

Digital Sources dCS Paganini SACD/CD transport & Scarlatti clock & Vivaldi DAC & Network Bridge; Apple MacBook Pro computer with Intel i7, SSD, 8GB RAM; Intel NUC7i7BNH with 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, running Roon; Linksys router with two TP-Link Gigabit Ethernet media converters, multimode duplex fiber-optic cable; external hard drives, USB sticks, iPad Pro. Power Amplifiers Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems Progression, Pass Laboratories XA200.8 (all monoblocks). Loudspeakers Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia 2. Cables Digital: AudioQuest Diamond, Wireworld Platinum Starlight Cat8 (Ethernet); Nordost Odin 1 & Odin 2 & Valhalla 2 (USB). Interconnect, Speaker, AC: Nordost Odin 2. Accessories Grand Prix Monaco rack & amp stands, 1.5” Formula platform; Nordost QB8, QX4 (2), QK1, QV2 AC power accessories; Tweek Geek Dark Matter Stealth with High Fidelity & Furutech options &…

I measured the Mytek Liberty with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 “As We See It,” http://tinyurl.com/4ffpve4), using both the Audio Precision’s S/PDIF outputs and USB data sourced from my MacBook Pro running on battery power with Pure Music 3.0 playing WAV and AIFF test-tone files. Apple’s USB Prober utility identified the DAC SE as “Liberty DAC” from “Mytek Digital,” its serial number as “03003-1801-168,” and confirmed that its USB port operated in the optimal isochronous asynchronous mode. Apple’s AudioMIDI utility revealed that, via USB, the Mytek Liberty accepted 24-bit integer data sampled at all rates up to 384kHz, and that its AES3, TosLink, and coaxial S/PDIF inputs accepted PCM datastreams with sample rates up to 96kHz. With data sampled at 192kHz, however, the outputs muted from…

When Art Dudley wrote about Luxman’s MQ-88uSE power amplifier in his September 2018 “Listening” column,3 he was impressed by what he heard from this classic, well-made tube design4 driving DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93 loudspeakers. He concluded his review by saying, “As for the brilliantly musical and unmistakably high-value Luxman MQ-88uSE, you might want to grab one while you can.”5 While visiting Art’s place in upstate New York last June to pick up the Kalista CD player featured on the September issue’s cover, I picked up the Luxman amplifier and took it back to my place, to perform on it a full set of measurements. I measured the Luxman MQ-88uSE using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 “As We See It”6). I mostly used the Direct inputs, but…

THIS ISSUE: The electric jazz guitarist talks about music, performing, and why musicians aren’t audiophiles. Electric guitarist John Scofield, winner of multiple Grammy Awards, has a knack for staying a step ahead of musical trends. In hundreds of jazz settings, “Sco” and his signature Ibanez AS200 guitar and Fender Reverb amplifier have created a unique style and sound that have earned him a popularity beyond jazz’s usual audience. “It doesn’t feel like I’m ahead of the [curve] at all,” Scofield told me, from his home in upstate New York. “Maybe musicians are more attuned to what’s happening than the public, just because we’re so obsessed with music. But I try not to follow trends. I see that in other people—when they shouldn’t be playing some kind of music, but they…