Indholdsfortegnelse for May 2024 i Stereophile

“I think both moving coil and moving magnet cartridges are terrible.” That’s what legendary Canadian audio designer Ed Meitner told me when I asked about the pioneering transimpedance current drive phono stage he created for his Meitner PA6 preamp some 40 years ago. Meitner has been designing innovative hi-fi gear for the pro and consumer audio markets for more than 50 years, but for most of the last 30, he has been best known for his work with high-resolution digital audio and DSD recording.1 Despite this focus on digital—and despite that comment about the two leading phono cartridge technologies—deep in his heart, Ed still loves analog and has fond memories of the Kenwood optical cartridges from the 1970s, which I discussed in the April-issue Spin Doctor. So when Ed read…

With every passing season, a new audiophile-grade network switch hits the market. These products, which can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, do the same basic thing as network switches bought at Best Buy for $30 or so (except, in some cases, slower), but their manufacturers claim they are built to a higher standard to achieve better sound. As with all signal-conditioning devices that operate completely in the digital realm—especially those that work at packet level (more correctly referred to as “frame-level” on the local side of the router, but that’s a distinction that even few experts make)—the sonic efficacy of audiophile network switches is debated, the debate being, as usual, mainly between those who insist they hear a difference and those who insist, on theoretical grounds, that no difference…

The popular history of quadraphonics (4-channel sound from LP records, tapes, and radio broadcasts) chronicles a spectacular failure. The major record labels, led by CBS/Columbia and JVC/RCA, invested millions in ill-fated schemes to convince music lovers to ditch 2-channel stereo for 4-channel surround sound. The concept was killed, so the story goes, by competing and incompatible LP formats, high prices on the better-sounding discrete-channel reel tapes, and a collective shrug by the buying public. That story is mostly true, though the format thrived for a while in Japan and Germany, and it never fully died. Now, modern tech has made possible rereleases of 1970s quad albums on relatively common formats: multichannel SACD and Blu-ray discs (BD). No more “meh” LP formats, no more fussy 1970s-tech decoders. With a few hardcore…

In the late 1960s and the early years of the next decade, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, like many of his contemporaries, was listening to such albums as Miles Davis’s Filles de Kilimanjaro and Miles in the Sky and pondering what it meant for his music. During this period, for better or worse, the rhythms and aggressive approach of rock music, including the use of electric rather than acoustic instruments, were mixing with jazz and giving birth to fusion. In hindsight, it seems inevitable that these two vital genres, both of which prize improvisation—be it on electric guitar or tenor saxophone—should become each other’s major influence. Jazz fusion based in jazz (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Tony Williams Lifetime, Return to Forever), and jazz rock based in rock (Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears, Soft…

Linn Klimax Solo 800 We are thrilled with Stereophile’s verdict on the Klimax Solo 800. Jason’s considered words acknowledge the innovation and hard work that have gone into development of this new flagship amplifier, in a new category for us at Linn. John Atkinson’s verdict based on his measurements is also graciously received. However, the charts published differ significantly from our own repeated measurements here at the factory. Linn’s working assumption is that the model measured by Stereophile was not performing to the level of a current, full-production Solo 800. We have decided to send a new amplifier to Mr. Atkinson for remeasuring, and Stereophile has kindly agreed to publish these new measurements in a future issue once they are available. Joe Rodger, Brand ManagerLinn Octave Audio V70 Class A…

I jumped at the chance to review T+A’s $47,900/pair Solitaire S 530 loudspeakers for a few reasons.1 First, because T+A is a well-established company with an approach I like and respect: They make hi-fi equipment of the highest quality but with prices that, though substantial, are in line with their technology and execution. Their stuff is very handsome with impressive industrial design, but T+A doesn’t do audio jewelry. What’s more, though T+A is aggressive in R&D—their “Company” webpage says, “Actually, we’re scientists …”—but they are selective in the use of new technology. The third reason I was interested in reviewing a product from T+A is that their prices and technical level place them in a market segment I know well. What I didn’t know until recently is that T+A makes…

For reasons that have as much to do with why the creek does or doesn’t rise as anything, almost all the UK-manufactured electronics I’ve reviewed over the years were from dCS of Cambridge. Through 2023, no electronics from Linn or a host of other UK-based companies have crossed the threshold of my music room. That situation changed when, soon after New Year’s, a pair of Linn’s 60lb Klimax Solo 800 monoblock amplifiers ($90,000/pair) arrived from Scotland. Right away, they delighted me with their ease of maneuverability, handsome, uncluttered look, and relative compactness. Given their impressive power output—400W into 8 ohms, 800W into 4 ohms, and a whopping 1.2kW into 2 ohms—the Klimax Solo 800s set a record for highest price per watt and per pound among class-AB monoblocks I’ve reviewed.…

It may be strange to read what I’m about to say in the pages of Stereophile, but it’s the cold hard truth so here goes: Audio reviews are inadequate. They don’t tell the whole story. They come up short and can even misdirect. It’s not their fault, or at least sometimes it isn’t. Even the good ones can’t tell you how something will sound to you—let alone make you feel, the ultimate point—in your own room. As helpful as they may be, they can’t address the elephant in the listening room: synergy. Have you ever been to an audio show where a component in a demo sounded wonderful, only for that same model to sound average or worse at the next show, or, God forbid, in your own system? The…

For music listening circa 2024, streaming is both the present and the future. Physical formats are still around, and they are still the best choice in some cases, as with deluxe reissues of beloved albums, which may add value with extra live performances, full-resolution surround sound, and other perks. The niche vinyl market continues to thrive, and that business model obviously works for releases of a few thousand copies. (It also works, apparently, for releases of hundreds of thousands of T-Swift platters to be displayed on shelves and hung on walls.) But facts is facts: Streaming is now the only mass medium for listening to recorded music—the primary carrier for music—and has been for a few years now. According to RIAA statistics, the crossover year was 2016. That’s when, in…

So, former White Stripe and Third Man label founder Jack White has now moved into jazz? It was a question that intrigued me when I first heard about the partnership between Universal Music and White’s Third Man Records, a vinyl reissue series called Verve By Request. Was Universal just a client for Third Man’s relatively new LP pressing plant in Detroit, or was this a genuine collaboration? And what the hell does Jack White know about jazz? “When you look at the breadth and the scope of the releases that Universal were gonna put out, it ran the gamut and was not strictly a jazz reissue project,” Third Man’s Roe Peterhans told me in a recent interview, when I asked about this unexpected morphing of Third Man into a jazz-reissue…

I sat mesmerized when I first encountered a recording of Benjamin Britten’s early Violin Concerto from 1939 (revised in 1958) at an audio show exhibit sponsored by High End by Oz. Ever since I heard those portions of Linus Roth’s superbly recorded SACD for Channel Classics, I’ve longed for a version that would move beyond its strange harmonies and dissonances to reveal all facets of this communicative yet enigmatic work. Isabelle Faust rarely shies away from music conducive to deep thought and feeling; recently she has recorded works by Berg, Schoenberg, Bartók, and Stravinsky. Her hair-raising, emotionally wrought rendition of the Britten concerto, with Jakub Hrůša conducting the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra for Harmonia Mundi, reveals depths and nuances that competing versions only hint at. Britten was 25 when, in…

PAUL MESSENGER, REST IN PEACE Jim Austin As this issue went to press, we learned that longtime Stereophile contributing editor Paul Messenger had died after a long illness. His career will be remembered in an online post and in Stereophile’s next issue. THE FLORIDA AUDIO EXPO GETS A BIGGER VENUE AND NEW DATES Jim Austin In early March, following the completion of another successful show at its original location, the organizers of the Florida Audio Expo announced a new, larger venue and new dates for the 2025 show. Next year’s show will take place Friday to Sunday, February 21–23, at the Sheraton Tampa Brandon Hotel. Quoted in a press release, FLAX Managing Partner Bart Andeer praised the show’s previous venue, the Embassy Suites Tampa Westshore, then added, “Our new venue…

I’ve always been a city dweller and can’t lay claim to having owned boats, riding mowers, shotguns, basement refrigerators, golf clubs, or even patio furniture. When I moved to a loft from an apartment with a tiny backyard some 13 years ago, I even had to give up my Weber grill. This geographical fact has kept my possessions streamlined. My favorites include a handful of old waxed cotton coats, a couple dozen leather boots and shoes, a few mechanical watches, my Garrard 301 turntable, a roomful of books, and rather a lot of art, much of it made by friends. But without a doubt my fondest possessions are my records. At last count they numbered around 3500. Of course they are beautiful, both as objects and as conduits for music.…

I used DRA Labs’ MLSSA system, a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone, and an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the T+A Solitaire S 530’s quasi-anechoic frequency- and time-domain behavior in the farfield. The center of the line-source tweeter is just 32" from the floor, but as the loudspeaker on its feet is slightly tilted back, I examined the farfield behavior on an axis at right angles to the front baffle with the microphone aimed at the center of the tweeter. The grille was left off for these measurements. When measuring a loudspeaker’s farfield response, the microphone should be at least as far away as the drivers’ vertical dimension.1 Otherwise, the low frequencies will be boosted due to the nearfield proximity effect. As the S 530’s midrange array is 24" tall and…

I performed a complete set of measurements on one of the Linn Klimax Solo 800s (serial number 1593390) with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system.1 I preconditioned the Solo 800 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 temperature of the top panel was just 81.6°F (27.6°C) and that of the side-mounted heatsinks only slightly higher, at 89.0°F (31.7°C). The Linn amplifier runs cool, especially considering its high rated power. The Linn amplifier’s balanced and single-ended inputs both preserved absolute polarity. (The XLR jack is wired with pin 2 positive.) Linn doesn’t specify the Solo 800’s input impedance—I measured a reasonably high 7760 ohms from 20Hz to 20kHz for the balanced input, 9930…

I used DRA Labs’ MLSSA system, a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone, and an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the TAD Grand Evolution 1’s quasi-anechoic frequency- and time-domain behavior in the farfield. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 microphone, which has a small, ¼" diameter capsule, for the nearfield responses. I examined the loudspeaker’s impedance with Dayton Audio’s DATS V2 system. My B-weighted estimate of the GE1’s voltage sensitivity was 87.5dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is within experimental error of the specified 88dB/2.83V/m. TAD specifies the GE1’s impedance as 4 ohms. The impedance magnitude (fig.1, solid trace) was close to 4 ohms in the upper bass and midrange, rising above 8 ohms for most of the treble. The minimum value is 3.84 ohms at 70Hz. However, the electrical phase angle (fig.1, dotted trace) is occasionally…

I measured a different sample of the Octave Audio V 70 Class A than that auditioned by RS. Mine had the serial number 22018130 and was not fitted with the optional phono module. As RS primarily used the balanced line input and KT120 output tubes with the Power switch set to High and the amplifier connected to the Super Black Box external supply, I performed a full set of measurements in that condition. I then repeated some of the tests with the single-ended inputs, then without the Super Black Box,1 and finally with KT88 tubes replacing the KT120s and the Power switch set to Low, as advised in the manual. The four KT120s were not marked, but I followed the guide in their box to install them correctly. (Unlike the…

Before measuring the Cambridge MXN10 with my Audio Precision SYS2722,1 I installed the Stream-Magic app on my iPad mini. After the Cambridge’s Ethernet port had been connected to my network, I used the app to perform a factory reset and check that the firmware was up to date. I measured the Cambridge using test-tone files stored on a USB stick plugged into the processor’s rear panel or via my network with Roon. (The Cambridge is a Roon Ready device.) TF told me that he auditioned the Cambridge with its output level set to Fixed, so all the testing was performed in that mode. I then used the app to enable Preamplifier mode and repeated some of the tests at various volume control settings. (The StreamMagic app’s volume setting was echoed…

In 2022, Tom Waits decided it was time to remaster the albums he made during his stint at Island Records. The Waits classics Swordfishtrombones (1983), Rain Dogs (1985), Franks Wild Years (1987), Bone Machine (1992), and the Waits (with Robert Wilson and William S. Burroughs) musical fable The Black Rider (1993) are the first new remasters to be released. Remastered from the original tapes (except one, for which a digital source was used), all five are available on LP and CD as well as streaming and download. At TomWaits.com and UDiscover Music, the LP versions are available in colored-vinyl variations: The Black Rider in opaque apple red, Bone Machine on translucent milky clear, Swordfishtrombones in canary yellow, Rain Dogs in opaque sky blue, and Franks Wild Years in opaque gold.…