Indholdsfortegnelse for November 2023 i Stereophile

When I think about landmark years in the history of British hi-fi, 1973 sticks out. Three companies got their start in the first half of that year that went on to become cornerstones of the British audio scene: Linn Products, Naim Audio, and Rega Research. That means they’re all celebrating their 50th anniversaries in 2023. The parallels among the three companies don’t end with their British origins and founding year. Each was started by someone born in the immediate aftermath of World War II. The late Julian Vereker of Naim, eldest of the three by a few months, was born on the very day that Germany surrendered to the Allies to end the war in Europe. Do the math, and you’ll find that all three founders were 27 years old,…

Ever since the company began trading in the early 1970s, Naim has embraced certain core engineering values. For good or ill, these have significantly differentiated their product line from the mainstream. Importantly, some of their connector choices have deviated from established hi-fi–industry practice. Such ostensibly awkward decisions were not made on whims or merely to be exclusive. Take Naim’s well-researched, early choice of the DIN specification, often combined with proprietary connection topologies and cable assemblies, which made their products less accessible and less compatible with the broader audio market. Naim products were best used in an all-Naim system. Another, supposedly superior alternative was the use of cables with XLR connectors, which were (and continue to be) widely used by broadcast and recording studios, ubiquitous on microphone feeds and common in…

Although the LōKē was reviewed by JVS in a system with the Wilson Alexia V loudspeakers, I measured it in a different context, paired up with the Wilson SabrinaX. As noted in the review in Hi-Fi News (December 2022), the scope of the LōKē’s lowpass (LPF) and subsonic (HPF) frequency and slope options plus phase, output level, parametric EQ, and placement scenarios allows many response combinations. For the sake of expediency, I left the subsonic (HPF) and PEQ features disabled for the flattest LF response and focused on the tunable (30Hz–125Hz, ±1Hz) LPF options. The Sabrina’s port has a 27Hz–85Hz range, supporting the 60Hz–280Hz passband of the Sabrina’s woofer (all limits –6dB), realizing a 52Hz bass extension (–6dB ref. 200Hz) despite a steep LF roll-off (dashed trace, fig.2). When optimally…

On April 2020, when I reviewed8 the original version of the top-of-the-line, two-box Innuos Statement Music Server / Streamer (then $13,750, now $16,700+), it was able to do all of the things you would hope a server could do: play back music from its internal SSD or an external NAS; stream music from several music-streaming services; and easily play and rip music from CDs inserted into a built-in disc drive (a feature some other servers lack). I liked that it allowed me to use either Roon or—for those who do not wish to subscribe to Roon or who don’t need that program’s rich feature set—InnuOS. I also had some concerns. I thought the Statement offered negligible sonic improvements over playback through my considerably smaller and less expensive Roon Nucleus+ music…

Often it seems we’re living at a time of hi-fi–industry contraction—that expansion in retail, if it exists at all, is online, and the number of real-world dealerships is shrinking. But at least two California dealerships, San Diego’s Alma Audio and Pasadena’s Audio Element, are expanding in the actual, offline world. Why expand? For the reasons you’d expect. The two dealerships want to expand their reach and capitalize better on the advantages that brick-and-mortar retail affords, especially when it comes to selling more expensive goods. They are aiming to reach more people in new locations with a more personal, experiential approach—much different than reading specifications, looking at pictures, and clicking the “buy” button online. Both dealerships are aiming to sell higher-end stuff at their new locations—the kind of sales that don’t…

If you’ve read any of my previous Dreams, you no doubt realize that I am an empiricist by trade—that I believe in the value of relaxed, mindful observation, especially if my solitary observances are independently corroborated by others. Whenever possible, I test my observations by getting either the Spin Doctor, the Audiophiliac, or my Russian neighbor to listen and tell me what they notice. If they notice the same things I noticed, independently, I relax. Corroboration is important because when I submit a review, I have an obligation to get it right. I need to be confident that readers, when they listen, will likely hear the same thing I heard, for themselves. After a review is submitted, my opinion about a product evolves, getting better or worse with further use…

How do you know you’re beyond help as a card-carrying audiophile? For me, it happened during a recent trip to Italy. Several times a day, my thoughts drifted to the Focal Maestro Utopia Evo speakers that had been delivered two days before I left for Europe. At one point, I considered FaceTiming the housesitter to request a live view of the listening room, where the Maestros were playing music, breaking in. Chrissakes! Couldn’t I just enjoy la dolce vita? Savor the belly-busting meals in Treviso and Civitavecchia, surrender to Tuscany’s soul-soothing landscapes, thrill to Rome’s old-world charms? Ninety-nine percent of the time, I did. The trip was a delight, and I wouldn’t have missed it. But yes, I thought of those Maestros several times a day. The heart wants what…

As I was talking with an audio-retailer friend recently, he reached for a Rolls-Royce metaphor to describe the McIntosh brand. Expensive? Sure, but not as expensive as some boutique high-end products. Fast? Sure, but there are faster things—also bigger things, smaller things, wackier things, and cheaper things. But when you look at a Rolls or a Bentley, you immediately recognize it for what it is, and you want to sit down in it. And so it is with McIntosh, except you don’t want to sit down in it; you want to sit down in front of it, between the speakers of the hi-fi system it occupies. History matters. When a new model from Bentley appears, there is a connection to what came before it, a long tradition. There is no…

For this modular audio component set—a review of the matching NSC 222 streamer preamp with a matching NPX 300 power supply is forthcoming—we first cover the standalone NAP 250 100Wpc stereo power amplifier, a new version of Naim’s 200-series amplifier, now so extensively revised that it must be regarded as a new model. Naim has long embraced two upgrade paths: the usual substitution route—replace an inferior component with a newer or better one—and progressive power-unit augmentation for components already installed. Setting aside for now the former route: Among many other changes, these Naim “New Classic”–series components may be more easily combined not only with other components from Naim but with items from other audio makers. This enhanced compatibility includes Naim legacy systems: All can now be mixed and matched more…

IT HAS BEEN A YEAR SINCE MY PIECE “ON THE ROAD AGAIN: A JAZZ FESTIVAL JOURNAL FROM A SUMMER OF PLAGUE AND WAR” APPEARED, IN THE NOVEMBER 2022 ISSUE OF THIS MAGAZINE. IT DESCRIBED THREE EUROPEAN JAZZ FESTIVALS I ATTENDED IN JULY 2022. In July 2023, I returned to Europe to attend two festivals. The COVID-19 plague and its fallout had significantly subsided. The war in Ukraine was still raging, but this time I didn’t get near it. In 2022, I went to a festival in Romania, which borders Ukraine. In 2023, I only went to Italy. Like the year before, my first 2023 stop was the Südtirol Jazz Festival. It is based in Bolzano but extends beyond it to other sites in the northernmost province of Italy, bordering Austria.…

Recorded in 2006 but not released until now, Wynton Marsalis Plays Louis Armstrong’s Hot Fives and Hot Sevens was recorded live at the Rose Theater, the largest of three performance rooms at the Jazz at Lincoln Center facility. House label Blue Engine Records has now released this concert for streaming. These performances are based on a series of recordings Armstrong made in Chicago for Okeh Records with the Hot Five—Louis’s first recording ensemble—beginning in 1925. Those recordings changed not just music but also how jazz was consumed. While some of the musicians had played together for years—the band included Armstrong’s wife, Lil Hardin Armstrong, on piano—the sole purpose of the group was to record this music; they never performed live under this name. This music itself was made to be…

SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT ACQUIRES AUDEZE Julie Mullins Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) announced in an August 24 press release that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Audeze, a well-established manufacturer of headphones and related speaker and driver technologies. SIE, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation, is probably best known for launching the PlayStation in Japan in 1994. Both companies are headquartered in California: Audeze in Santa Ana; SIE in San Mateo with “global functions” in London and Tokyo and game development studios in various other locations. Details about the transaction, including cost, were not disclosed. SIE is thought to be interested mainly in Audeze’s experience creating headphones intended for gaming. Stereophile received the following emailed comment from Audeze CEO Sankar Thiagasamudram: “Our business name…

When I learned that Rogier van Bakel was reviewing Focal’s Maestro Utopia Evo, I flashed back to the logistical difficulties I experienced when I reviewed an earlier version of this loudspeaker, the Maestro Utopia III, in July 2010.1 The Evo is the same size—almost 5' high—and weight—256lb—as the earlier speaker. It made sense, therefore, to drive my test gear the 500 miles to RvB’s place in Maine rather than struggle with the loudspeaker’s bulk at my Brooklyn home. For the measurements, I drove one of the Focal Maestro Utopia Evos, serial number A1BPEF00543, with RvB’s Krell FPB 200c. I used DRA Labs’ MLSSA system with a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the speaker’s behavior in the farfield and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield responses. It wasn’t possible…

I measured the McIntosh C12000 with the preamplifier chassis sitting on top of the controller/power supply, the two joined with the supplied umbilical cables. I used my Audio Precision SYS2722 system1 for the measurements, confirming some of the results with the higherper-formance APx500. The C12000 has five independent outputs: one balanced pair labeled “T” for tube output circuitry; another balanced pair labeled “SS” for solid state output circuitry; an unbalanced pair labeled “Main” that can be switched between tube and solid state output circuitry; a second unbalanced pair labeled “Rec/Fixed” for sending output to a recording device; and a 1/4" headphone jack. I performed a complete set of line-input tests from the two sets of balanced outputs and from the Main output in both modes, then repeated some of the…

I used DRA Labs’ MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone with an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the Monitor Audio Platinum 300 3G’s farfield frequency behavior and dispersion. For the nearfield responses, I used an Earthworks QTC-40 mike, which has a 1/4" capsule and thus doesn’t present a significant obstacle to the sound. I also used this microphone for the in-room behavior. The impedance magnitude and electrical phase angle were measured with Dayton Audio’s DATS V2 system. Monitor Audio specifies the Platinum 300 3G’s free-field sensitivity as 88dB/2.83V/m, which was confirmed by my measurement. The Platinum 300 3G’s impedance is specified as 4 ohms, with a minimum magnitude of 4.0 ohms at 3.75kHz. With the ports open,1 the impedance remains between 4 ohms and 7 ohms for most…

I measured a different sample of the Naim NAP 250, serial number 518784, than that auditioned by Martin Colloms. I performed the measurements with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system1 after preconditioning the amplifier by following the CEA’s recommendation of running it at one-eighth the specified power into 8 ohms for 30 minutes. At the end of that time, the cooling fan on the rear panel had turned on but the sidemounted heatsinks were very hot, at 127.1°F (52.9°C), and the top panel was only slightly cooler, at 116.4°F (46.9°C). The Naim NAP 250 preserved absolute polarity, ie, was noninverting, and its voltage gain at 1kHz into 8 ohms was close to the specified 29dB, at 28.6dB. The Naim’s balanced input impedance is specified as 47k ohms. I measured 47k ohms…

Piece of cake, thought I. All I needed to do to review Wilson Audio Specialties’ smallest active subwoofer, the LōKē ($8950 each in standard finish), was describe how low a pair goes in my room and how cleanly they woof. As I was soon to learn, though, there was a lot more to reviewing LōKēs than that. Why? Because a pair of LōKē subwoofers does more than reinforce the already deep bass extension1 of the Wilson Alexia V loudspeakers with which they are now paired in my system. Therein lies the tale. Behind the woof “Wilson Audio has a long history with subwoofers,” Wilson CEO Daryl Wilson2 explained during a Zoom conversation that also included Blake Schmutz, director of the Wilson Audio Special Applications Engineering (WASAE) division.3 “If you go…

When I read the news that songwriter and guitarist Jaime Royal “Robbie” Robertson had passed, I forwarded a link to the obituary in the New York Times to my friends Doug and Jon. They were with me in the balcony of the Berkeley Community Theater on the evening of January 31, 1970, to hear a performance by The Band. We were juniors at Berkeley High School that year and lived and breathed that music every day. I recall sitting around with them outdoors, singing songs from The Band’s first two albums. My pal Jon, a singer-songwriter now living in Sweden, responded to the emailed link. “This is very heavy and emotional for me. Almost as heavy as John Lennon’s death.” It is heavy and emotional for both of us. Robbie…