Innehållsförteckning för Apr-14 från Stereophile

Bully for you “You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve?”—Lauren Bacall, To Have and Have Not, 1944 Yesterday, I played a minor role in a dustup on Facebook. It began when a fellow journalist posted a controversial quote from a veteran manufacturer known for generating same. The bait proved irresistible, and a long line of audio mavens, myself included, swam around the hook for an hour or so. The manufacturer himself also waded in, and before the fight was over, he’d made a show of demanding the home address of one of his antagonists, thus raising the manly specter of bodily harm. If there were any women in the audience, I’m sure they were impressed. Perhaps because the manufacturer in question is a retiree of considerably less-than-Hemsworthian stature, the…

Musical Fidelity takesa 90° turn They can’t sound very good—they’re not big enough. As we all know, in hi-fi, big products mean big performance. Musical Fidelity’s V90 series can’t be any good. They don’t cost enough. With your golden ears, you must pay through the nose. The V90 components turn all this around. They are tiny. Inexpensive. Beautifully built. Your friends will laugh when you turn on your DAC. Or phono preamp. Or Bluetooth receiver (the V90 series now includes the V90-BLU). But, of course, audiophiles must forgo the pleasures of Bluetooth. Too easy. Too simple. Too much free music from thousands of sources around the globe. I’ve been enjoying the V models since Musical Fidelity’s founder and CEO, Antony Michaelson, introduced them four years ago. The V-DACII and V-CANII…

Today, the System Sounds... Today, the system sounds better than usual—in fact, amazing: warm, detailed, powerfully present, remarkably true. But how can this be? Isn’t it more likely that my system, a well-considered but nevertheless inanimate, unfeeling collection of boxes and wires—NAD C 316BEE CD player, Arcam FMJ A19 integrated amplifier, KEF LS50 loudspeakers, AudioQuest Big Sur interconnects and Rocket 33 speaker cables—sounds today exactly as it did yesterday? The system hasn’t changed, but something has. How else can I make sense of the fact that, today, my experience of listening to music through the hi-fiis different from what it was yesterday? Does it have something to do with the suddenly cold, gray weather? Or that I’ve been fighting the flu? Is it because I’m sitting at a desk, on…

Can calamity really be spun into triumph? Or, more accurately in the case of U K baroque pop quintet Lanterns on the Lake, can dire financial straits and the exits of two band members, all played out against the none-too-prosperous environs of northeast England in an age of governmental austerity, be turned into eloquent, inspiring music? More to the point, the kind of music that will make Until the Colours Run, the band’s second full-length album and the first to be distributed in the US, a breakthrough success? Calling from a tour stop in Oslo, Hazel Wilde, lead singer of the Northumberlandbased group, admits that making Until the Colours Run was a struggle. “It’s probably the same story that a lot of bands at the moment are telling,” she begins.…

Digital Sources Apple MacBook Pro computer (2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD) running OS 10.6.7, iTunes 11.1.3, Sonic Studios Amarra 2.5, Songbird 1.9.3, XLD; Western Digital 2TB NAS device; Oppo BDP-103 universal Blu-ray player; Meridian (formerly Sooloos) Digital Media System Control 15, TwinStore (3); Apple iPad Air, mini; Apple iPod Touch 1G; Apple iPhone 4S. Digital processors: Benchmark DAC1 USB & DAC2 HGC, AudioQuest DragonFly USB DAC. Preamplifier Marantz AV7005 in Pure Direct mode. Power Amplifier Classé CAM 350 monoblocks (2). Loudspeakers MartinLogan Prodigy & Descent subwoofers (2). Cables USB: AudioQuest Victoria (for DragonFly) & Diamond, Cardas Clear. Interconnect: Cardas Neutral Reference, XLO (S/PDIF); various Kimber Kable, XLO HT Pro (line level). Speaker: Kimber Kable BiFocal XL. AC: manufacturers’ own. Accessories Dedicated 40A line (amplifiers) & 15A…

LINE PREAMPLIFIER When Carolyn Counnas, co-founder of Zesto Audio, contacted editor John Atkinson to ask about getting the Leto, the company’s tubed line stage preamplifier ($7500), reviewed in Stereophile, JA suggested that I do the job. I’d recently reviewed competing designs from Audio Research, Nagra, and VTL (see reviews in February 2013, April 2013, and June 2013, respectively) and I was thrilled—I always look forward to hearing a tube preamp from a company I’m unfamiliar with, and besides, I’d seen pictures of the drop-deadgorgeous Leto. After nearly 30 years of reviewing all sizes and pedigrees of preamps, power amps, and integrateds, I’m weary of staring at nondescript rectangular boxes in various shades of silver and black. The Leto’s four tubes are mounted on an exposed black platform backed by an…

Channel Islands Audio Transient Mk.II & VDC•5 Mk.II Editor: First, I’d like to thank the gang at Stereophile for reviewing our unique product [in March]. As mentioned in Jon Iverson’s review, we wanted this product to be completely portable, and to provide the industrystandard 2V analog output while running from USB power. There are only a small number of DAC integrated circuits with this capability that have the digital filtering and output stage built in. Being that there isn’t much surrounding circuitry to work our “magic,” we chose the IC that we felt offered the best musicality (not specs). In the end, I feel we have created a high-value product with a unique set of features that excels in its price category. Dusty Vawter CIAudio Lyra Etna Editor: Thank you,…

As we listen, so we are Editor: I read Jason Victor Serinus’s essay in February (“As We See It,” p.3), and have to say something I very rarely say: I agree with everything he wrote. Although his main point was that how we listen to music affects our social interactions, he also made a statement that I believe describes one of the biggest problems facing society today: “The dichotomy between what is best for the collective good and the desire for personal gain threatens our very existence.” This dichotomy prevents our politicians from acting like public servants and causes them to act more like greedy, nearsighted buffoons. It permeates not only politics but also medicine, business, the law, and almost everything else. I wish I could offer a solution, but…

Why, in 20145, m does vinyl continue to grow? Vinyl sales in America rose 30% in 2013, according to Nielsen SoundScan, whch keeps tally of recorded media sales. Because Nielsen SoundScan only skims the surface of the record retailing picture, missing considerable “nook and cranny” sales, the real number is probably far greater. The SoundScan numbers also omit sales of used vinyl, which are considerable. By the time you read this, I will have posted on Analogplanet.com worldwide record-pressing totals, from information I’ve obtained direct from the pressing plants. These plants press only as many LPs as they’ve contracted for—and those orders are for the numbers the record labels estimate they can sell. Because labels tend to be conservative in these matters, I think the number of actual records pressed…

Grace Design m905 Reference Monitor Controller Were it my place to hand out awards for The Most Forthright People in Audio,” Michael Grace of Grace Design would be at the top of the list. Years ago, after I’d given stellar recommendations of Grace’s 901 and m902 headphone-amplifier-DAC-line-stage models, I asked Grace if I could audition his fullrack–size, more fully featured m904 Stereo Monitor Controller. He told me that he didn’t think that was necessary, because the m904’s sound was extremely similar to the sound of the smaller m902—it just had a different feature set, and he believed that the additional features were not things that Stereophile readers were likely to need. That is the only case I can recall of a manufacturer’s declining an offer of additional coverage in Stereophile.…

LOUDSPEAKER In February 2013, I was taking part in a “Music Matters” evening at Seattle retailer Definitive Audio, playing some of my recordings and talking about my audio philosophy. I love taking part in these events—in addition to Definitive’s, in recent years I’ve participated in evenings organized by North Carolina’s Audio Advice, Colorado’s Listen-Up, and Atlanta’s Audio Alternatives—but, as might be obvious, at each one I use a system provided by the retailer. The February 2013 system comprised Classé electronics and, to my surprise, Bowers & Wilkins Nautilus loudspeakers. I flashed back to one of the first times I’d heard the Nautiluses—in 1994, at the home, nestled against England’s South Downs, of B&W’s then-owner, Robert Trunz. Listening to the Nautiluses, quad-amped by Krell monoblocks in Trunz’s system, was an ear-and…

My focus for this review is MSB’s Analog DAC, but since it needed some software updates, MSB suggested that the easiest way to install them was with their Universal Media Transport plus ($5995). Turned out the updates were easier via the Sooloos, but since they’d sent me a sample of the UMT+, I hooked it up. The UMT+ is built around Oppo’s BDP-103 Universal Network 3D Blu-ray player—a great place to start, and a player I’d already had in my video system for a year. All of the Oppo’s playback abilities are retained (including the ability to apply Oppo update patches), which means you can hook up the UMT+ to your Network Attached 5torage and USB drives, and network streamers, and play CD, DVD-Audio, or SACD discs. To say that…

ATC SCM7 v.3 loudspeaker John Marks reviewed this elegant British, sealed-box minimonitor1 from designer Billy Woodman in the February 2014 edition of his column, “The Fifth Element.” “The ATC SMC7 v.3 is an extremely competitive entry in the British Shoebox Monitor sweepstakes,” he said, concluding: “that it’s made in the UK by a company known for making professional monitors, and has first-class fit’n’finish and addictively engaging musicality, are strong arguments in its favor.” John sent me the review pair to run though my loudspeaker test regime. I used DRA Labs’ MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the ATC’s frequency response in the farfield (I measured serial no.1002), and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield responses. All measurements were taken without the grille. As expected from its…

It was Tuesday night. There were eight people in the club, and four of them worked there. My name was on a list—ie, I got in free—so Nirvana, proud creators of their first album, Bleach, had drawn a grand total of three paying customers. After they’d run through “About a Girl,” “Negative Creep,” and their cover of Shocking Blue’s “Love Buzz,” the shy blond front dude wearing ripped jeans and striped Grrr-Animals clothing stepped up to the mike and mumbled something about a new song. He began to rhythmically strum guitar chords. The rest of the story is obvious. The roar ensued. Eight jaws dropped. And my life and embryonic music-writing career haven’t been the same since. It seems like yesterday, which makes the 20th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s suicide…

THE WEB John Atkinson This issue includes the latest update of Stereophile’s popular “Recommended Components” listing, starting on p.58 and running for 35 informationpacked pages. Even then, however, we did not have space this month for all the product categories. The full version of the 2014 “Recommended Components” can be found on the magazine’s website, www.stereophile.com; as well as everything in this issue, it includes: Subwoofers; Phono Accessories; Room Acoustics Treatments; Stands, Spikes, Feet, & Racks; FM Tuners & Antennae; Recording Equipment; Signal Processors; Miscellaneous Accessories; Books & Computer Software; Interconnects; Loudspeaker Cables; and Digital Interconnects. UK: SALISBURY Paul Messenger Naim Audio is good at keeping secrets. Though a loyal customer for nearly 40 years, I was as surprised as any by the trade-only preview, at the 2014 Consumer Electronics…

Record Doctor Redux “Perhaps we can shed some light on your problem in a new segment exploring pre-adolescent turmoil. I call it . . . ‘Choices.’”—Sideshow Bob, The Simpsons “For us, unlike other manufacturers, there are not degrees of clean. Our entry-level machine is as good as our top of our line when it comes to cleaning records; in between, it’s just a matter of choices.” Thus spoke Jonathan Monks, who inherited from his father, the late Keith Monks, an audiomanufacturing legacy built upon the world’s first commercially produced record-cleaning machine. Our conversation was prompted by last year’s introduction of the discOveryOne ($2495), the most affordable record-cleaning machine yet from Keith Monks Audio Works. The new model achieves this level of thrift in two ways: Rather than being fitted with…

Editor-tested, Audiophile-approved, A-OK Hi-fiGear Components listed here have been formally reviewed in Stereophile and have been found to be among the best available in each of four or five quality classes. Whether a component is listed in Class A or Class E, we highly recommend its purchase. £ach listing—in alphabetical order wirhin classes—is followed by a brief description of the products sonic characteristics and a code indicating the Stereophile Volume and Issue in which that product’s report appeared. Thus the September 2013 issue is indicated a "Vol.36 No.9." Some products listed have nor yet been reported on; these are marked (NR), for "Not Reviewed." We recommeud diat you read any product’s entire review before seriously contemplating a purchase (products without reviews should therefore be treated with more caution)—many salient characteristics,…

D/A CONVERTER AND POWER SUPPLY Back in high-end audio’s golden days—for the purposes of this story, the mid-to late 1980s—my audio store, Audio Ecstasy, had a service tech named Tom Hewitt. Were he still with us (and I wish he were), Tom would appreciate the radical case design of the MSB Analog DAC. Tom loved not only to fix things, but to see what happened when things were violently stressed. He tested the limits of component construction. Tiring of dropping receivers off our building’s roof or ramming TVs (tied to the back of a pickup truck) into the shop’s brick wall, Tom soon discovered that one of our customers owned a machine shop with an industrial press. Pay dirt. Somewhere there are camcorder cassettes of what transpired, but let’s just…

2.1-CHANNEL D/A PREAMPLIFIER Asked how to make a guitar, the celebrated luthier Wayne Henderson offered a straight-up answer: “Just get a pile of really nice wood and a whittling knife. Then you just carve away everything that isn’t a guitar.”1 The making of a preamplifier seems more or less the opposite. You start with a simple volume control and a couple of jacks, then add whatever you think constitutes a preamplifier. Choices might include electronic source switching, line-level gain, phono-level gain and equalization, tone controls, tone-defeat switches, a balance control, a headphone jack, an iPod input, and maybe even a digital-to-analog converter with a USB receiver. The sky is pretty much the limit. Asked what constitutes a preamplifier, the Californiabased electronics company Parasound might simply copy the preceding paragraph: The…

These live performances of Beethoven’s nine symphonies were recorded mostly in Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, October through December 2012 (except 3 and 6, recorded in Munich’s Herkulessaal); the ancillary material—the Reflections of this set’s title—are works by contemporary composers commissioned by conductor Mariss Jansons and recorded in Munich and Tokyo in 2008, 2009, and 2012. Intended as homages to Beethoven (as if he needed any), they are supposed to reflect what these composers feel Beethoven might be writing if he were alive today. When writing about the canon of recorded Beethoven, it’s usually easy to pick out the classics, since they normally have overwhelmed us: Carlos Kleiber’s Symphonies 5 and 7; the Furtwängler Ninth (from 1942, with Joseph Goebbels in attendance and a flamingly accusatory last movement); almost all of the…