TONEAudio MAGAZINE The Concierge of High End Audio

The second I pushed the play button on PS Audio’s DirectStream Memory Player, listening to my favorite Art of Noise SACD, it was instantly clear that this is an exciting product.

Dropping in a DVD Audio disc of The Doors’ LA Woman is equally thrilling, with buckets of low level resolution, the stuff that we all got excited about years before HD Tracks came on the scene. There’s some incredibly cool stuff going on at the extreme high end of digital, but it’s gonna cost you about as much as a new Z06 Corvette. Equally exciting things are happening at the entry level of digital too, but groundbreaking as some of it is, it doesn’t pass muster in a mega system. PS Audio’s new combo gives a major helping of cost no object digital for just under $12,000, and they even send someone to your door to unbox it. Now that’s impressive.

Crazy as it might sound, the $5,000 to $15,000 range is somewhat vacant. A few boxes come to mind, but they are mostly DACs. Simaudio’s 780D is exceptional at $15k, but it doesn’t play shiny discs. And some of us still want to play shiny discs; some of us have big collections of shiny discs. Even DVD-a shiny discs. If you are strictly a streaming audiophile these days, you don’t need the DMP – skip to the DAC section of this review. But if you’ve got the urge to spin physical media, read on. The DSMP is a revelation, and if you don’t need a disc spinner, this marvel will only set you back $5,999.

Much like my reference dCS, the DirectStream DAC does not rely on off the shelf DAC chips; instead it is controlled by FPGA (field programmable gate arrays) and all the upsampling, decoding and filter functions are software controlled, which will make this DAC a lot more future proof than one reliant on implementing the latest Sabre chip. Super impressive for just under six grand.

The Disclaimer

Don’t freak out, the DMP is based on an OPPO transport. But before you cry wolf, fraud, or “oh no, not another AYRE debacle,” chill out. The PS people are very forthright about the transport and PS’ Bill Leebens says candidly, “The basic drive mechanism is a Blu-ray unit sourced from Oppo. The mechanical element is all that remains: all video circuitry, which can add noise and distortion to the audio signal, has been removed. All control and processing of both digital and analog signals is done in circuitry designed and built by PS Audio.”

So, you aren’t paying $5,999 for a hot rodded Oppo. There are only so many sources remaining for a transport that can play everything, and even dCS only offers an SACD capable transport for their six-figure Vivaldi 2. The good news is that Oppo sells a lot of boxes, so you can be sure that replacement mechanisms will be readily available because let’s face it, everything that spins will fail at some point. I see this as a very good thing. It’s also worth mentioning here that both the DAC and the transport are hand built in PS Audio’s factory right here in Boulder, Colorado.

The Catch

To achieve full-blown SACD performance, where the DMP is grabbing the DSD bitstream directly from your SACD disks, you need the matching PS Audio DirectStream DAC, also priced at $5,999. We reviewed an early version of this DAC several years ago, and found it to be an excellent performer. The current version is more of the same, utilizing PS Audio’s I2S bus through HDMI. This allows the DAC to directly read the DSD stream. Because of the way the I2S keeps data and clock signals separate, it makes for a more lifelike musical rendition.

It’s common knowledge these days that jitter and timing errors are the major culprits behind digital discs sounding harsh, crunchy and un-musical. Great as the benefits of keeping things on the bus separate in the SACD/DSD realm, the effect is just as powerful when playing standard redbook CDs. And if you’re a lover of the shiny discs, chances are you have a ton of these.

Back to The Music

Playing a notoriously lousy CD from my pile, The Eurythmics We Too Are One is nothing short of a revolution. It’s not like I haven’t heard CD’s sound this good before, I’ve had some of the world’s best digital players in my rack over the last ten years – I’ve never been married to analog. I’ve just never heard CD’s sound this good in a box this approachable. Does it blow my dCS Rossini DAC and clock out of the water? No, but the sound quality is damn close and my $40,000 dCS doesn’t play my SACDs. Am I going to put my Rossini up on Audiogon? Nope, but I’m seriously thinking of buying the PS Audio pair to sit right beside it on my rack. I like the shiny discs.

The DirectStream DAC by itself is equally exciting with digital files. This is a breakthrough product in terms of what it offers in musical truth for the price asked. The difference between good, really good, and great digital is the degree that it gets out of the way of the music. Quick test: if you find yourself thinking or saying “this sounds pretty good for digital,” said component has failed the awesomeness test. The DMP combo passes this test with flying colors – regardless of disc or file type played. Of course, just like with analog, the better quality of the file, the more enticing the result.

I suspect much of this is due to the DirectStream DAC converting whatever you feed into it to DSD and then processing it thusly. Without getting overly technical, moving everything to the DSD world either eliminates much of the digital artifacts that plague the digital process, making it easier and less offensive on the ears when filtered out. I keep harping, but even a brief demo on a few familiar tracks will convince you just how natural sounding this DAC is. A few hifi critics have even gone so far as to say “they would give up their turntable” for this DAC. I won’t go quite this far, as I like the black discs too, however, unless you’ve got a pretty spendy vinyl rig that is meticulously optimized, you’ll be shocked at how much less time you spend fiddling with vinyl; perhaps saving it for the best of the best analog recordings in your collection.

No matter what music you like the best, and what format, it’s easy to get lost in it with the DMP. If you have a spare internet connection for the transport as well as the DAC, the transport loads and displays the album art and metadata on the front panel screen. I like the extra user friendliness this provides, especially from across the room, or when a guest is over that isn’t always familiar with my musical taste.

Rather than going into minute detail about this track or that track, suffice to say that everything is as it should be. Bass is detailed, powerful and defined. Highs are rendered effortlessly, without grain, yet full of extension. And the delicate midrange is lovely. Yet what makes this player so fantastic is the integration of all of it – I never found myself wanting more, nor did I ever (on even the longest listening sessions) start picking things apart. The homogenous manner by which the PS transport and DAC recompile digital music files is effortless in every way. I’m guessing you won’t need more than about three tracks to be convinced just how good they are.

More Stuff You Don’t Need

If you are a digital only audiophile/music lover, the high quality of the Direct Stream DAC’s digital volume control and line level circuitry is so good, you can skip the preamp, making this pair an even better value. With fully balanced circuitry and transformer coupled outputs, we had great luck using the DirectStream DAC in this mode with a wide range of power amplifiers. It drove 20-foot runs of balanced XLR and single ended RCA cables without a hitch.

Thanks to six digital inputs (coax, XLR, optical, USB and two I2S) the DirectStream DAC is the perfect digital hub. An additional $899 gets you PS Audio’s network bridge card, giving you Ethernet access as well. This allows your favorite UPNP or NAS to be connected and accessed directly. We can all log in to our favorite internet forum and argue about which offers the best sound, but I found the PS pair universally good, regardless of input. For those who love it, the PS combo is ROON ready, so you can have all that at your fingertips as well. This is a formidable combination.

Can You Tell, I Really Like the DMP

Cool as the extreme user friendliness of this pair of PS Audio components is, it’s the sound that sets this one apart from its comparably priced competitors. This is one of the world’s finest players at any price, and I’ve heard or owned most of them. There is a level of sheer refinement here that I guarantee will win you over.

Much as I love analog, and think streaming TIDAL is super cool, there are times that I don’t want to be a suspension mechanic or an IT guy. That’s when putting a shiny disc in the drawer and just pressing play is a lovely thing. Unless you’re going to drop six figures on a dCS Vivaldi or an Esoteric Grandioso, I can’t think of a better digital disc player than the PS Audio DirectStream Memory Player and DAC. (Neither of these six figure players will play your DVD-a discs) If I had more than two thumbs to raise I would offer them, it’s that good. The only remaining choice is whether you want silver or black.

The PS Audio DirectStream Memory Player and DAC

MSRP: $5,999 (ea.), Network Bridge – Additional $899

www.psaudio.com (main factory site)

Gotta have em right now?

To purchase the DAC, Click here:   http://www.psaudio.com/products/directstream-dac/

To purchase the Transport, Click here:   http://www.psaudio.com/products/directstream-memory-player/

Peripherals

Preamplifier              Pass Labs XS Pre

Amplifier                    Pass Labs XS 300 monos

Speakers                    Focal Sopra no.3

Cable                          Cardas Clear and Tellurium Q Silver Diamond

OPPO’s UDP-205 Audiophile Universal Player:
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Player Gets an Audio Performance Boost

OPPO Digital announced that its UDP-205 4K Ultra HD Audiophile Blu-ray Disc player is available for purchase. A step-up version of the recently released UDP-203, the UDP-205 brings top-of-the-line audio performance to a universal player that supports 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and many other digital audio and video formats.

The OPPO UDP-205 carries many of the same features as the UDP-203: playback of 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, regular Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, SACD, Audio CD and many other formats; High Dynamic Range (HDR10) and firmware upgradable to Dolby Vision; dual HDMI outputs – HDMI 2.0 for UHD and HDMI 1.4 for audio; and an HDMI 2.0 input port for external streaming devices or set-top boxes.

The audio performance of the OPPO UDP-205 is a significant upgrade over the UDP-203 and previous generation players. The UDP-205 provides reference level sound quality through the analog outputs, improves the clock precision of the HDMI audio output, and increases the power of the built-in headphone amplifier. For the analog output stages, the UDP-205 utilizes two ES9038PRO DACs, which are the flagship of the ESS Sabre Pro series, delivering best-in-class audio performance.

Stereo listening accounts for a large part of audiophile usage of a universal player, and that is why the UDP-205 offers a dedicated stereo output in addition to its 7.1-channel analog audio output. The stereo audio output is powered by a dedicated ES9038PRO DAC chip and specially designed buffer and driver stages. It provides both XLR balanced and RCA single-ended connectors. The balanced output features a true differential signal path all the way from the DAC to the 3-pin XLR connector. By transmitting a pair of differential signals, the balanced output provides better common-mode noise rejection and improves signal quality. For a more intimate listening experience, headphones can be connected directly to the UDP-205’s built-in headphone amplifier. The headphone amplifier is connected directly to the ESS SABRE PRO DAC and offers a unique performance advantage over standalone headphone amplifiers. Compared to the built-in headphone amplifier in our previous generation BDP-105/105D players, the new design offers more power and higher performance.

In addition to its playback capabilities, the UDP-205 adds a USB DAC, a coaxial and an optical digital audio input so users can take advantage of the excellent audio performance of the UDP-205 with other sources. The asynchronous USB DAC input supports sample rates up to 768 kHz PCM and DSD 512. By bypassing the low fidelity, poor quality DAC of traditional computer soundcards, the UDP-205 turns any computer into a high performing multi-media source by utilizing the ES9038PRO DAC. For additional convenience and flexibility, the UDP-205 can convert digital signals from cable and satellite boxes, televisions, video game consoles and other digital transports with coaxial and optical digital outputs to analog.

The UDP-205 features a high-stability, high-precision HDMI clock and a special HDMI audio jitter reduction circuit. This unique design significantly reduces jitter and eliminates timing errors, allowing customers to enjoy their music with increased accuracy when they use the audio-only HDMI output port for connecting the audio signal. PCM and DSD signals rely on the HDMI clock directly, so the HDMI audio jitter reduction circuitry can improve the sound quality of PCM and DSD audio. For compressed bitstream audio, it helps to ensure error-free transmission, and may improve the audio performance depending on whether the audio decoder in the A/V processor or receiver uses a synchronous or asynchronous clock scheme.

Advanced engineering, rigorous parts selection, and rock-solid build quality are foundations to the UDP-205’s performance. The UDP-205’s audio circuitry is powered by a massive toroidal power supply, which provides a very clean and robust power source to the audio components. The brushed aluminum front panel and metal chassis continue the tradition of excellent workmanship found in previous generations of OPPO universal players. Four heavy-gauge machined feet provide a stable foundation for the UDP-205, and isolate it from outside vibration. A new double-layered chassis further enhances the rigidness and vibration-canceling capabilities. The internal layout and chassis design promote healthy air flow so critical components can be naturally cooled. Strategically placed heatsinks and ventilation grilles allow the UDP-205 run both cool and quiet without the need for internal or external fans. The high quality construction is designed to impress and to perform.

Drawing from over a decade’s worth of experience in advanced image processing technology and high fidelity audio performance, the OPPO UDP-205 is the perfect choice for discerning enthusiasts. Priced at $1299, the UDP-205 is currently available directly at oppodigital.com and soon from specialty retailers and custom installers. For more information, visit http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-udp-205/.b *Registered trademarks and trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.

Contact Information

www.oppodigital.com

Painting listening room three, and playing Tetris in my head as to where everything is going to go, etc., etc., I subconsciously pick John Klemmer’s Touch on TIDAL and wonder where has the time gone? Back in 1979, when I was painting the walls in my first apartment, this was the record I bought on the way home from the hardware store, with a few gallons of bright white paint in the trunk.

The system was different then: A pair of ESS AMT-1 towers, a Phase Linear 400 and a Nakamichi 600 series preamplifier (along with a Technics SL-1200 TT) were my pride and joy. Much has come and gone since then, yet a current spec SL-1200 still provides compelling music, and a stack of 600 components have been lovingly restored by Echo Audio and Gig Harbor Audio, so the memories are intact.

38 years later, bright white and John Klemmer still seem like pretty good choices. What are you listening to today?

Features

Old School:

Exploring Vintage HiFi With a Master Craftsman

995:

The Channel Islands PEQ 1 mk.2 Phonostage
By Jeff Dorgay

Journeyman Audiophile:

Simaudio MOON Neo Ace
A receiver for the 21st Century
By Rob Johnson

Personal Fidelity:

Bowers & Wilkins P7 Wireless Headphones

TONE Style

Dell’s XPS 27 Desktop: The World’s 1st Audiophile Computer!

Book Report: A History of Rega

Lima Ultra Personal Cloud Storage

Lume Cube Photo Light

Music

Spin the Black Circle: Reviews of New Pop/Rock and Country Albums
By Bob Gendron, Todd Martens, and Chrissie Dickinson

We Will Always Go Out Dancing!
By Todd Martens

Jazz & Blues: Craig Taborn, Roscoe Mitchell and More!

By Kevin Whitehead and Jim Macnie

Audiophile Pressings: Five From Crowded House

Gear Previews

McIntosh MP1100 Phonostage

Grand Prix Audio Monaco 2.0 Turntable

Coincident Dynamo 34 SE mk. II amplifier

Atoll IN-100SE Integrated Amplifier

Reviews

OPPO Sonica SDAC-3 DAC
By Rob Johnson

Conrad-Johnson TEA1 S2 Phonostage
By Jeff Dorgay

Pro Audio Bono SE5 Platform
By Jerome Wanono

Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Momentum Phonostage
By  Greg Petan

Esoteric F-07 Integrated Amplifier
By Jeff Dorgay

Grado Statement 2 Phono Cartridge
By Jeff Dorgay

Watch this space, we’ll have a full review of the Sonneteer Integrated amplifier. This bit of British understatement delivers the goods; the sound quality is well beyond what you would expect from an $2,399 box. WELL beyond.

Rob Johnson’s full review will be up in a day or so, please stay tuned!

For more info, send inquiries to [email protected], they have a new website that is almost finished…

It only seems fitting to play Lou Reed’s “Vanishing Act” while listening to these marvels of German Engineering. The difference in his haunting solo vocal on this track compared to listening to a more traditional cabinet speaker is astounding.

With the lights low in the listening room, it comes close to feeling like Reed is right there, standing about three feet in front of my listening chair. The overtones in his deep voice, awash in texture, feeling correct from a height standpoint as well, proves to be a moving experience. And that’s just the first track.

About five years ago I had the privilege to listen to the smaller Ultimate 2 loudspeakers and came away amazed at the enormous sound field these speakers recreated in my listening room. You can read that review here: (http://www.tonepublications.com/spotlight/review-german-physiks-unlimited-mk-ii-speakers/) The Ultimates do not use the advanced carbon fiber DDD drivers that the HRS-130s do, and they have a smaller, 8-inch woofer.

Like the HRS-130 you see there, they also featured the carbon fibre driver. The earlier HRS-120s I lived with for a while featured the earlier metal DDD driver. They were intriguing, but the metal driver still had a bit of a harshness that you don’t quite realize until you hear the carbon fiber driver – then you can’t unhear it.

As with the Ultimate 2s, or any other German Physiks speakers, one of their greatest strengths is the ability to vanish in the room. The omnidirectional DDD driver handles all frequencies from 220hz to the maximum of 24khz, leaving the delicate midrange notes untouched by the transition, distortion and phase anomalies of a crossover network. Even though the driver is characterized as “omnidirectional,” it recreates space with very precise cues.

Fortunately, the HRS-130s new cabinet, with the black gloss polyester finish (also available in white) features corners that are slightly more rounded, giving this uniquely shaped speaker a bit more sex appeal. Personally, I love the black cabinet with the black carbon fiber in the DDD driver. The 10” woofer is downward firing, and the entire enclosure barely takes up a 13” square footprint. A pair of HRS-130s will set you back about $22,000 in the standard finish. Upgraded colors, wood finish and even full carbon fiber are available at extra cost. I know I’d go for all carbon fiber, but I’ve always had no problem spending your money.

Back to the big Sound

Staying in the blues groove, next up is Keith Richards “Wicked as it Seems.” About ten seconds into the track, when Richards’ signature greasy, growling guitar enters the picture, it not only has the necessary amount of dynamic punch and tonal saturation, it comes forward in the mix, occupying its own space. It feels as if Richards walked out from behind a stack of amplifiers and walked right out in front, attacking you with his presence – incredible. Still, with not enough blues under the belt, I quickly switch to Michael Burks “I Smell Smoke.” If you haven’t had the chance to hear this late, great blues master from my hometown (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, yeah) play, he was an absolute powerhouse, dominating whatever stage he played. Again thanks to the instantaneous acceleration and fatigue-free presentation of the DDD driver, Burks’ guitar tears through the air between the speakers, and thanks to the perfect integration of woofer and DDD driver, the accompanying bass line is just as engaging. There’s no question that these speakers can rock.

It wouldn’t be an audiophile review without some female vocals, would it? Fortunately, Larry Borden, the GP importer hosting the demo enjoys Ella Fitzgerald as much as I do, and a quick romp through “Miss Otis Regrets” is lovely. The precision of this driver is immediately showcased, capturing every bit of nuance that Fitzgerald is famous for, without any hint of harshness to take away from the magic that is recreated here.

Thanks to a full complement  of Merrill Audio electronics and EMM Labs DAC, the entire system plays to the HRS 130’s lightning fast transient response. Should you like the transparency and immediacy of an electrostatic speaker, you’ll probably appreciate the similar characteristics that the German Physiks speakers offer. But that’s where it ends. While the HRS-130 has the same transparency that an ESL offers, the DDD driver has such wide dispersion, you can enjoy these speakers anywhere in the room. While walking around Borden’s room, it’s evident that the spot between the speakers is the place to be, yet there is no dead spot in the rest of the room. These are speakers that can be enjoyed by everyone when you have a musical gathering.

Listening to track after track of heavy rock proves that these speakers have the extra punch that the smaller German Physiks speakers can’t quite muster. I won’t make the Spinal Tap reference here, but…  Winding up my listening sessions with the title track from David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane, I’m drawn back into what makes these speakers so special; the way they can unravel a multifaceted recording is indeed special. This track combines a driving bass line, a highly discordant piano, and crunchy guitars with Bowie’s sultry signature voice. On a less than awesome set of speakers, it just goes flat, yet through the HRS 130s, I’m enveloped with a rich musical experience.

An Intriguing Presentation

Where most panels provide a more diffuse rendering of the sonic landscape that they render, the HRS 130, with the DDD driver is a different animal. More pronounced dynamically than a panel, they still don’t set you back in the chair like a great all-cone speaker does, yet they offer better integration between the woofer and DDD driver than most hybrid ESL designs I’ve lived with.

Bass response is solid, and the spec sheet claims response down to 29hz. While we didn’t have any test gear at our disposal, a run through a number of Pink Floyd tracks reinforces the notion that there is plenty of LF information available with the HRS 130. Even in Borden’s large (approx. 22 x 30 foot) room, I feel no need for a subwoofer when enjoying these speakers – even when playing Kruder & Dorfmeister at high volume.

With an 86db sensitivity rating, it’s probably best to have some power on tap, and the Merrill Audio Veritas amplifiers producing 400 watts per channel into 8 ohms keep these speakers well controlled.

Setup is easy. The wide dispersion of the DDD driver makes for easier placement than box or panel speakers. While Borden has his pair set up to perfection, I recall when using the Ultimates, if you can spend about 20 minutes with your German Physiks speakers, you will not only get the smoothest bass response, optimum placement will give you the most linear tonal response. I suspect the HRS 130 is similar in this respect. But there’s never been an easier speaker in memory that works well if you just throw it in the room and start playing music. This will be a boon to those who can’t or won’t put the speakers in the “perfect spot,” whatever the reason. To fine tune the speakers even further, there is a four position jumper on the back to adjust the output of the DDD driver; -2db, flat, +2 and +4db settings will easily compensate for too many stuffed chairs, or perhaps some hardwood floors. Another nice touch.

The German Physiks HRS 130 speakers are a triumph of audio engineering, offering a high level of sonic accuracy, with little distortion and the ability to generate a massive, immersive sound field that few speakers at any price can match. I highly suggest you audition a pair!

www.german-physiks.com (manufacturer)

www.distinctivestereo.com (US Importer)

2017 marks the 40^th anniversary of conrad-johnson design inc. and to celebrate, we are introducing two new anniversary tube amplifiers – the ART150 and ART300.

These amplifiers employ the recently developed KT150 output tubes. A single pair of KT150s produces 150 Watts per channel in the ART150 stereo amplifier, while two pair produce 300 Watts in the ART300 mono-block.

In addition to utilizing the KT150 output tubes, the ART150 and ART300 feature new input and inverter stages using 6922s for voltage gain, main power supply reservoirs boasting a more than ten-fold increase in total capacitance compared to our earlier ART mono-blocks and ARTSA amplifiers, and a new regulator circuit for the input stage power supply.

The ART150 and ART300 boast dramatic new styling, yet clearly show their conrad-johnson heritage. The output tubes are showcased behind a clear window spanning the full width of the protective tube cage, while the input tubes are enshrouded in a clear protective block.

ART150s are expected to be available for delivery by mid-May, with ART300s to follow a few weeks after. As with earlier anniversary products, production will be limited to 250 units of the ART150 and 125 pairs of the ART300. Projected US suggested retail prices are $18,500 for the ART150 and $18,000 each for the ART300s.

These new models will replace the now discontinued ARTSA and ART mono-blocks.

www.conradjohnson.com

Tracking through an old MoFi favorite, Yes’ Close to the Edge, via the nearly $60,000 combination of Grand Prix Monaco 2.0 turntable, TriPlanar tonearm and Lyra Etna cartridge, it’s hard to believe it’s all playing through a $995 phonostage.

The soundstage is massive, and the dynamics convincing, with a great deal of fine detail. The musical presentation here is hardly budget. After a long listening session, accompanying audiophile pals are all left stunned.

With so much excitement surrounding the mega phonostages, with five figure price tags, it’s easy for those of us in the press that have so many cool toys at our disposal that not everyone can drop twenty thousand dollars on a whim. It’s equally easy to think that you can’t enjoy vinyl without taking a second mortgage on their house, or deny your kids a college education.

Dusty Vawter, the man behind Channel Islands Audio has always built first rate gear at reasonable prices, but he’s outdone himself on the PEQ 1 mk.2. At just $995, this tiny phonostage offers performance way beyond what you might expect from the price tag, or the size of the enclosure. Talking to Vawter on the phone, it’s clear he’s pulled out all the stops on this one. “It’s super quiet,” he says in his typical understated fashion. Handpicking some very special op amps and meticulous attention to board layout is what gets the job done here.

Quality touches are everywhere, from the carefully machined chassis (quite a few steps up from what CI has done on past products) to the Cardas input and output jacks. The power supply features Nichicon Muse capacitors along with Vishay 2% polypropolyne caps in the signal path along with Takman metal film resistors. This is the kind of stuff you see under the hood of five-figure components.

All Business

What you don’t get is a huge chassis, an elaborate display, and the ability to change settings from the comfort of your listening chair. If you’re a music lover on a tight budget, you want performance, not goodies and the PEQ delivers. A bank of DIP switches on the back (CI even includes the tool to set them – nice touch) give you 100, 1000, 10k and 47k loading options, along with 100pf, 270pf and 370pf capacitance loading. Two more switches adjust gain for MM(45db) and MC(60db). Finally, a subsonic filter is also available.

Some of you might snipe about the limited loading options. You can only get so much for $995, and if you’re putting a system together, there are plenty of cartridges that will work within these parameters, so choose accordingly and you’ll be just fine. Or, for a nominal charge, CI can provide custom gain and loading. Call them for an up to the minute quote. In addition to the Gold Note cartridges on hand, the Lyra Delos, Grado Statement Platinum 2, and Ortofon Quintet Blue cartridges all turned in marvelous performances with the PEQ at it’s standard settings.

This little box is heavy – eight pounds to be exact. And that’s without a power supply. Utilizing a wall wart for now, Vawter says that the new, upgraded AC-15 MK111 dual mono power supply for just $299. Experience with past CI products has shown that their upgraded power supplies are always a great thing. Watch the TONE website for a follow up, as he’s promised to get us one as soon as they are available.

Moving to a more reasonable system, the PEQ is used with a Rega Planar 3/Elys 2 combination as well as my new personal favorite, the Technics SL-1200G with Gold Note Machiavelli cartridge. Fleshed out by a pair of Quad 2812 speakers and the PrimaLuna Dialogue HP integrated amplifier, the PEQ is still a stunner.

Nothing you Don’t Want

As with most solid-state components, the PEQ needs about two days to fully stabilize. It sounds great out of the box, but you will notice a slight relaxation to the mood after it’s been on for two days. Upper mids and highs all become much more homogenous in their presentation, and you’ll be wowed again.

The low noise floor makes the task of digging maximum information from marginal records a breeze. Of course, the PEQ does a lovely job with your favorite audiophile pressings, but on really dreadful, slightly compressed records, there is still a bevy of detail at your disposal. Todd Rundgren’s Something/Anything? is a perfect example of this. Reaching for the MoFi version of this, the PEQ deftly reveals the multitrack wizardry here, and there’s even some bass! TR fans know what I’m saying.

Of course, the PEQ does not replace my Pass XS Phono. You get what you pay for with the big box in every aspect of musical reproduction. However, the Channel Islands PEQ goes about the business of amplifying low level analog signals effortlessly, and without drawing attention to itself; visually or audibly. Regardless of your musical taste, there is nothing it can’t handle with aplomb. When the listeners from the beginning of this article were asked to describe the PEQ in one word, they almost all unanimously said “balance.” The second word was “value.”

The level of musical finesse and enjoyment that the PEQ does offer is unmatched by anything I’ve yet experienced at anything near this price. Even if you were planning on spending close to $3k on a phonostage, give the PEQ a spin. If your love affair begins here, that’s a lot of extra money for a better cartridge or some more records. Channel Islands factory direct model (with 30-day return guarantee) assures maximum value. All CI products carry a 5-year warranty, and I can speak from personal experience, CI gear doesn’t break.

I can’t wait to hear this with the upgraded power supply, but even on the merit of the box stock PEQ 1 Mk.2 phonostage, we award it one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2017. I’m keeping the review sample as our $1,000 – $3,000 reference.

The Channel Islands PEQ 1 Mk.2 Phonostage

MSRP: $995

www.ciaudio.com

Many think of France as a center of art and culture, famous for their wine, cuisine, and style. Two hours from Paris, as the high-speed train goes, is the city of St-Etienne, where Focal is headquartered. In this high-tech mecca, lurks a company with both feet firmly planted in the latest technology and hands-on craftsmanship.

There are precious few companies of any kind in 2017, where you can see someone in a clean room producing pure beryllium domes for tweeters, and yet in another see another worker hand finishing a cabinet for final production. This harmony of new and traditional tech has brought us a wide range of loudspeakers culminating in the $220,000/pair Grande Utopia EM.

I have had the opportunity to listen to the Grande Utopia EM quite a few times in different locations around the world. Though I have rarely used the word “best” in my tenure at this magazine, I must say the best hi-fi system I’ve ever experienced is in the main sound room at Boulder Amplifiers. It consists of their amazing 3050 monoblock amplifiers delivering over 1500 watts per channel of pure class-A power through the Focal Grande Utopia EM speakers. Is it the world’s best hi-fi system? I can’t make that call, but it is the most musically engaging system I’ve yet heard.

Near the end of this review, a scheduled visit to Boulder’s new factory and sound room makes for a poignant reflection on the $19,995/pair of Sopra no. 3s you see here, in all of their orange glory. No snide comments about the color, my wife loves them. What proves illuminating is playing a handful of tracks on the Sopras after spending a few months with them, getting on a plane and listening to many of them on the Grande Utopias, then sitting back in my listening room the next day to repeat that playlist for comparison.

Dynamics aren’t everything, but if you don’t have them…

Granted auditory memory isn’t perfect, and my reference Pass XS300 amplifiers are not Boulder 3050s, but they are no slouches either, and the overall characteristics of both speakers are easily revealed. One of the most impressive aspects of the Grande Utopias is the way they respond to transients, reproducing drums with the necessary impact to sound believable, in a more realistic way than I’ve ever heard a cone speaker accomplish. A similar, yet slightly diminished effect was had when the Stella Utopias were here a few years ago. Playing AC/DCs “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” at relatively high volume, the solitary pounding on a single snare drum rings true, with all of the force, tone, and decay that the Grande Utopia offers.

Turning the volume down to reasonable level reveals the same dynamic immediacy, indicating a linear speaker. Where some mega speakers only sound great cranked to the max, the Sopra no.3s go all the way down to a whisper with ease, not losing the effortless they display at high volume. Thanks to a 92db/1-watt sensitivity rating this three-way system does not need a ton of power to play at high level, and it is also very tube friendly. Even my 20-watt per channel Nagra 300p works splendidly.

While the warmer tube amplifiers in my collection provide a slightly more friendly, if somewhat colored presentation, when connected to my reference Pass Labs XS300 monoblocks, they are capable of delivering a truly epic sonic experience. They aren’t quite Grande Utopias, but with a lot of power and control behind them, I am always amazed at how much of the flagship Focal sound is present here.

Midrange is another key

After discussing the Sopras design with the Focal engineering team and reading through the white paper accompanying them, it’s obvious that a tremendous amount of refinement has gone into this design, and in some areas, the Sopra range incorporates some new technologies that are not even in the Utopia range yet. At last year’s Munich High-End show, (at the Sopra launch) their engineers made it clear that they were trying to take what they’ve learned with Utopia further and make it more compact as well, without sacrificing the prodigious bass response their Utopia speakers are famous for.  They have succeeded on all counts.

Focal makes it a point in their white paper to discuss just how important midrange clarity and linearity both are to their overall sound. Utilizing “tuned mass design,” a concept derived from Renault Formula 1 in 2005 (Then deemed unfair by the FIA and subsequently banned) Focal can optimize damping of the critical midrange driver without sacrifices in either transient response or tonal coloration. This gives the entire Sopra range clarity and coherence that rivals the best ESL speakers.

The full, in-depth analysis is available here:

http://www.focal.com/en/home-audio/high-fidelity-speakers/sopra/floorstanding-speakers/sopra-ndeg3

For those not so technically inclined, it only takes a brief listen to your favorite vocal track, or a bit of acoustic music to see that the Focal team has exceeded their goals. The delicate piano work on Keith Jarrett’s Shostakovich:24 Preludes and Fugues, Op.87 floats between these orange beauties, with a wonderfully accurate sense of tone and scale. Where some speakers capable of wide dynamic swings can overblow the image of acoustic instruments, the Sopras keep things in proper perspective. Consequently, when an overblown, studio recording with a colossal sonic landscape are played, such as K.D. Lang’s Ingenue, or Kraftwerk’s Autobahn, all of the grandeur is maintained.

Setup and placement

At 154 pounds each, you will probably need a bit of help getting the Sopra no.3s out of their cartons and out into your listening room. While not perfect sonically, I suggest if you have a carpeted floor, to slide them around a bit on their glass bases until you achieve the best placement you can. Then, screw down the integral spikes to optimally adjust speaker rake angle. Thanks to the wide dispersion of the Sopra tweeter, this is only a minor adjustment. For those who have more experience with the Utopia series, and are used to removing the protective grille on the tweeter, resist the urge to remove it on the Sopra series. The tweeter was voiced with the grille in place and sounds too forward sans grill. I was warned not to do this but gave it a whirl anyway. They were right. Leave the tweeter grilles on.

My listening room is 16 x 25 feet, and I made it a point to try the Sopra no.3s in both orientations; placing them on the long and short walls. Both offered satisfying performance, and your preference will determine what works best. Situated on the short wall about five feet from the back wall and about six feet apart, with slight toe-in made for slightly more powerful bass response, with the listening couch about 10-12 feet back.

I prefer a more immersive, nearfield experience, so moving the speakers to the long wall with the help of Audio Plus Services John Bevier was easy. Orienting the speakers now to about ten feet apart and the tweeters nine feet from the listening position with a lot more room on both sides, the presentation opens up tremendously. Zammuto’s last release, Anchor, now goes beyond the speaker boundaries, out to the side walls and on some tracks feels as if the room has been enlarged. Big fun.

The bottom and the top

Focal has been refining their beryllium tweeter for many years now, and with each iteration, it gets better; smoother and more extended without fatigue. Ten years ago, the beryllium tweeter was a bit much, but they’ve tamed it entirely. It now offers a stunning degree of resolution without any bite. Cymbals, strings, and percussion sound stunningly real, and the integration with the midrange and woofers is equally flawless. The level of coherence the Sopra no.3 offers is world class.

The lower part of the frequency response of the Sopra no.3 is listed as 33hz (-2db) with a useable frequency limit of 26hz. Listening to test tones proves this to be spot on, though the output is still strong in my room at 25hz, yet drops off quickly at 20hz. Seriously though, how much music do you have with 20hz tones, or do you have the room to render them anyway? I can’t imagine these speakers not having enough bass for anyone, and all of the bass heavy tracks I auditioned proved highly satisfying.

Oh yeah, they are beautiful

With so much talk about sonics, which the Sopra no.3s excel at, I forgot to mention the sheer physical quality of these speakers. All three of the Sopra speakers give no quarter to the flagship Grande Utopia EM; they all feature $200,000 speaker build and finish quality. The layers of orange applied to my review samples (as with every other pair of Sopras I’ve seen in dealers and shows around the world) looks like liquid glass. For those wanting something a bit more subdued than bright orange, white, black and red, along with one wood veneer finish; Dogato Walnut. All with the same high quality.

$20,000 is a lot of money to spend on a pair of loudspeakers. However, considering the level of performance offered for the price asked, it’s easy to award the Focal Sopra no. 3 one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2017. Focal’s level of in-house build and engineering expertise allows them to produce a speaker with this level of quality and resolution that is unattainable by few other manufacturers for anywhere near this price. Even if you were planning on spending $50,000 on a pair of speakers, I would not count the Sopra no.3 out. I think you’ll be as surprised as I was at just how good these speakers are.

The Focal Sopra no.3
MSRP: $19,995

www.focal.com (factory)

www.audioplusservices.com (NA Distributor)

Peripherals

Analog source                        Brinkmann Bardo w/Koetsu Jade Platinum
Digital source                         dCS Rossini DAC w/Rossini Clock
Preamplifier                          Pass Labs XS Pre
Phonostage                            Pass Labs XS Phono
Amplifiers                              Pass Labs XS 300 Monoblocks
Cable                                      Tellurium Q Silver Diamond

After the initial success I experienced with the Equi=Core 300 from Core Power Technologies, it only made sense to request review samples of their big-boy 1200 and 1800 (watt capacity) models. At $1,399 and $1,799 respectively these two not only feature fully balanced power, but feature four Hubbell duplex outlets. This should be more than enough capacity for even the biggest power amplifiers.

That’s where the torture test began, with the massive Pass Labs XS300 monoblocks, which draw over 1,000 watts each, continuously. I would not suggest the 1200 for this extreme duty, at brain damage volume levels, I could feel the transients flattening a bit, but the 1800 is more than up to the task, when used on separate 20 amp circuits for each amplifier. At $1,799, one for each channel is an easy choice to make and it works like a charm in the context of a nearly $90,000 pair of power amplifiers.

For nearly every other amplifier, you should be able to get by with one 1800. Keep in mind, I like to play music loud with big amplifiers. If you don’t have monster power amps, you might even be able to get away with the 1200. Check the total wattage drawn by your components and add a little extra for fudge factor when cranking it – that will tell you what model you need.

It’s worth noting that even at extreme volume via the XS300s, the Equi=Core 1800s do not limit dynamics whatsoever, and this is usually where a power conditioner craps out. Playing small scale music or female vocals is a cheap parlor trick, most gear shines with a light load like this, but you can play Slayer at nearly concert hall levels and the Equi=Core conditioners do not give out or give up. That’s pretty awesome. As with my Torus power conditioners that also use a variation on the large isolation transformer concept, the Equi=Core units will benefit from a higher quality power cord, so I suggest using a good one to feed them from the outlet to the power conditioner. After all, why scrimp now?

A certain percentage of audiophiles will ponder and/or argue that your power comes a zillion miles from where it’s generated to your house, so why would a bit more wire make a difference? But it does. More than one PLC manufacturer has told me that they look at the power in the line as this giant river that you tap into and the power cord and PLC is the first line to your components. Clean power helps your components deliver everything that you paid for, because any noise and grunge on the power line is modulated into your component’s power supply and amplified thusly. But we can all argue about that on your favorite internet forum.

The 1200 proves perfect for a combination of conrad-johnson GAT 2s2 preamplifier, c-j MV60SE power amplifier, Gryphon Kalliope DAC and a pair of Quad 2812 ESLs and just like the other two Equi=Core power conditioners, offers the same effect. Background noise is nearly eliminated and much like every other vacuum tube component plugged in to the Equi=Core units, they seem to respond even more dramatically than solid-state components. I’ve noticed the same effect when plugging tube components into my Running Springs, Torus, and IsoTek conditioners. Bottom line, the Equi=Core will improve the sound of anything you plug in, but it’s super sweet with tube gear!

Cuing up some high resolution digital files of Keith Jarrett’s legendary The Koln Concert brings it home immediately. Not only is there considerably less background noise than before, Jarrett’s versatile and complex style comes through better than before installing the Equi=Core 1200. As he runs up and down the keyboard, the Bosendorfer’s resonance comes through more clearly, with more of a three dimensional effect, offering a higher level of tonal contrast than before. It only takes a few minutes of listening, and then plugging straight back into the power line to hear the soundstage shrink dramatically, with a veil now added to the performance.

The sparsely arranged 1969 demo of Crosby, Stills and Nash’s “Marrakesh Express” from the CSN Demos offer the same thing to Graham Nash’s vocal track. With barely any instruments added at this stage, the realism of his voice through the Quads sounds almost larger than life; it’s sheer beauty.

Sonically, the 1200 and 1800 are identical, the larger unit just has a larger capacity, and by that I mean they both do no harm to the musical signal and add no tonal shift of their own. I could wax poetic about this track and that, but a power product either does what it is supposed to or it doesn’t. The Equi=Core 1200 and 1800 conditioners deliver the goods and offer outstanding value for the price asked. They are all made by hand in the Core Power factory in Colorado, and have a 30 day return policy, should you decide for whatever reason these are not the droids you want. I highly doubt that you’d send it back after you experience it, so there is nothing to lose. And for those seeking additional value, they’ve got an awfully good “premium” power cord that can be bundled for only $99. The Shunyata Venom used to be my budget go to power cord, but this one easily takes it’s place.

Even if you think you have “clean power,” you’ll be surprised at what one of these do for the overall sound quality of your system. It’s about a 10-minute demo. Plug it in, listen to your three favorite tracks, then take it out and repeat. This is an easy one, folks. So what are you waiting for? Give them a call, they love to chat with their customers.

The Equi=Core 1200 and 1800 power conditioners

$1,399 and $1,799

www.corepowertechnologies.com

Peripherals

Analog source                        Grand Prix Monaco 2.0 table, TriPlanar, Lyra Etna

Digital source                         Gryphon Kalliope DAC

Preamp                                  Pass XS Pre

Phono preamp                      Pass XS Phono

Amplifier                                Pass XS 300 monoblocks, Pass Aleph monoblocks, Audio Research VT80, PrimaLuna DiaLogue HP integrated, Esoteric F-07 integrated, C-J MV60SE

Speakers                                Quad 2812, Focal Sopra no.3, GamuT RS5i

Cable                                      Cardas Clear

Vinyl enthusiasts embracing analog well beyond the entry level is becoming more and more common, with many of our readers possessing or contemplating multiple turntables, or at least a turntable with two (or more) tonearms. The more diverse your record collection and shopping habits, the more having more than one cartridge at the ready makes perfect sense.

The further you go down the rabbit hole, the tougher it is to find one cartridge, no matter how expensive, to do justice to a diverse record collection. Often, having a pair of moderately priced, but different sounding cartridges will serve a broad record collection better than a single, mega cartridge. As you add mono records, vintage records and especially the more time you spend in the budget bins, a second cartridge is handy. Enter the AVP-01 from Audolici, handcrafted in Portugal.  Priced at only $4,930, it combines an excellent line level preamplifier and two separate phono inputs – one MM and one MC. The MC has adjustable loading, with settings at 100, 200, 470 and 1000 ohms, which should be enough for nearly everyone.

On the other end of the spectrum, with DAC’s becoming increasingly broad in their functionality, in many cases they have become the digital hub of a system, only requiring the linestage to have one more analog input to accommodate it. For this user, the AVP-01 is perfect. Its single (RCA) analog, line level input allows you to connect your favorite DAC along with two turntables. There’s even a headphone jack on the back panel, bonus!

At the heart of the AVP-01 is a handpicked, Russian military 6H2P tube. US importer Harold Cooper of Sound Consultant Ltd. tells me this tube is equal to a 6SL7, but suggests sticking with the stock Russian tubes supplied as “this is what they voice the preamplifier for.” There are two line-level outputs on the rear panel, one marked “high” and the other “low, referring to the output impedance, (not output level) with high offering 47k and low only 2,000 ohms, bypassing the output buffer.

The AVP-01 takes a novel approach to utilizing the tube inside. Where many hybrid designs put the tube squarely in the gain or buffer stage, Audolici uses the 6H2P as part of the MM gain section, with MC relying on a single, low noise transistor. The output buffer stage is solid state as well, so your high level source will have a slightly different sonic character than the turntable of your choice.

In concert with the Nagra 300p power amplifier, the reference in my office system only about two feet away, via a short Cardas Iridium interconnect, the low impedance output offers more transparency and immediacy, so experiment with your amplifier and setup. If the high frequencies appear rolled off, you’ve got it wrong.

An engaging phonostage

Unable to resist temptation, the tube was installed and I went straight to vinyl. The AVP-01, like any tube component takes about 30-40 minutes to fully warm up and give its best performance. Where some preamplifiers take hundreds of hours to fully burn in, the AVP-01 sounds great out of the box and only improved slightly after a few hundred hours, so this is one you’ll love right away. The new Technics SL-1200G, with removable headshells made it extremely easy to switch between the Gold Note Vasari MM ($385) reviewed in issue 82, an Ortofon 2M Black ($900), Ortofon Cadenza Bronze ($2,700) and the Transfiguration Proteus ($6,000) cartridges with ease.

Taking advantage of both inputs called for the AVID Ingenium turntable with a pair of SME 3009 tonearms. Moving between different cartridge combinations proved oodles of nerdy analog fun. Settling on a Denon DL-103r and the Ortofon 2M Black made for exciting comparisons, with the Denon slightly on the warm side (and requiring the 100 ohm loading) where the Ortofon is more natural, with no embellishment, yet offering more extension.

This pair of cartridges on the Ingenium made for a great analog setup that didn’t cost a fortune and made for a lot of enjoyment, especially tracking through current as well as vintage LPs. Neither the 70s nor todays vinyl has cornered the market on sonic consistency; once you get used to having a pair (or more) of cartridges at your disposal, I suspect you won’t go back. The AVP-01 makes the process effortless.

Dropping the stylus on a 45 r.p.m maxi single of Prince’s “I Hate U,” reveals a delicacy that is definitely not present on the CD. Gone is the typical harshness surrounding Prince digital recordings, with the highs silky smooth, and a soundstage opening up well beyond the speaker boundaries in my nearfield system.

An overall sonic treat

Comparing the AVP-01 to a few other things on hand, from vintage to contemporary, leaves the impression that it’s overall tonal balance is just so slightly tipped towards the warmer, more saturated side of the spectrum, and you’ll never get an argument from this reviewer over that. But choose your sonic preferences accordingly and remember you can always alter the overall balance by the cartridge(s) you choose.

You won’t mistake the AVP-01 for an all solid-state preamplifier, but it doesn’t sound like a vintage tube preamplifier from the 70s either. Transients are quick and zippy, the bass has weight without sounding slow, sloppy, or one-note and of course, the midrange is lush and full of body. Considering what a separate two input phono stage along with a linestage would set you back (and an additional power cord, pair of interconnects, etc. etc.) the AVP-01 is a pretty incredible value.

Running the AVP-01 through a gamut of power amplifiers after initial listening with the Nagra also proved easy. It had no problem driving anything from our vintage Conrad – Johnson MV60SE, SAE 2200 or the Nakamichi 610. Modern day amplifiers proved equally fruitful, with the new VT80 from Audio Research being particularly lovely.

While I suspect you will probably invest in the AVP-01 for its analog capability, it’s worth mentioning that it is no slouch as a straight-ahead linestage either. Bringing the dCS Rossini DAC/Clock combination into play made for equally pleasing digital listening sessions.

The AVP-01’s output buffer must be labeled a success because it did not seem terribly cable dependent. Some tube preamplifiers can be fussy when choosing output cable, but the AVP-01 sailed through. The same can be said for power cords; a bit of improvement was there to be had with a Cardas Clear power cord, but the AVP-01 isn’t lacking plugging it into the wall with the stock item.

Private sessions

Headphone listeners should be excited by the AVP-01’s headphone amplifier, and considering the ease by which it drove the Sennheiser, AKG, Audeze and Oppo phones in my collection, I doubt that you would want to invest in an additional outboard headphone amplifier. It had no trouble driving any of my phones and the sound was indeed robust.

Even the AKG-701s, which are usually tougher to drive, exhibited great bass control and a big, broad soundstage. The planar phones also did very well, and all could be driven well beyond reasonable volume, so watch yourself there!

The perfect solution

If you have two turntables at your disposal, the Audolici AVP-01 preamplifier is going to provide you with ease and enjoyment. If you don’t have a second record player, I suspect you will before you know it. In addition to excellent sonic performance, the understated elegance and modest profile of the AVP-01 will fit into any situation with ease. Our review sample arrived in the silver you see here, but it is also available in black or red. Tempting.

Bottom line, I’ve purchased the review sample to use as a reference component in my office system. The two analog inputs are just what the doctor ordered for evaluating cartridges while editing copy. The performance and flexibility offered for the price asked is way above what you’d expect. So, we are awarding it one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2017. And, you can expect a long term follow up in about a year. We’ll let you know how the AVP-01 stands up to 12 hour a day duty. Highly recommended.

The Audolici AVP-01 Preamplifier

MSRP:  $4,930

www.soundconsultant.com. (US Distributor)

www.audolici.com. (Factory)

Peripherals

Turntables                 AVID Ingenium w/SME 3009 tonearms   Rega Planar 3, AVID Volvere SP, Soulines Kubrick

Cartridges                  Ortofon 2M Black, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Denon 103r, Sumiko Blackbird, Gold Note Donatello

Power Amplifiers      Nagra 300p, Conrad Johnson MV-60SE, Audio Research VT80

Speakers                    Graham Chartwell LS3/5, Focal Sopra no.3

Cable                          Cardas Clear

The older we get, the more difficult it is to remember some of life’s firsts.

Once, while chatting with Jerry Seinfeld about his Porsche collection, a big smile came across his face recalling his first 911; a red, early 80s Carrera, and how hard he had to work to get that car. “You never forget stretching for the first one.”

So it goes for me with turntables. A full summer of chores put enough money in my wallet to walk into Pacific Stereo and plunk a shiny new Technics SL-1200 (with Stanton 681EEE cartridge) into the hatch of my Gremlin back in 1976. Ok, I’m not as famous as Mr. S, but I kinda know how he felt. Rushing home at a hurried pace, a quick set up with the enclosed alignment tool, and Frampton Comes Alive was blasting out of my JBL L-100s. I had never even heard the term VTA and my wallet was empty, but I was really, really, happy.

A little more than 40 years later, weaving through Portland’s rush hour traffic, trying to get to FedEx before they close, I feel the same sense of excitement on the way to pick up today’s SL-1200G. Last year, Technics released a limited quantity of the classic table, model SL-1200GAE. They sold out almost instantly, with a retail price of about $4,000. Yeah, that’s a lot more than I paid for mine, but all things considered, $400 back in 1976 is about $2,300 in todays money. So, is the new 1200, $1,700 better than the old one?  We’re about to find out.

Fortunately, between staff member Jerold O’Brien and I, we pretty much keep everything, or we know how to get our hands on it. Mr. O’Brien just happened to have a 1200 lying about from 1980, so that’s close enough. To make this even more interesting, I still have a 1200 mk.II that’s had some modifications courtesy of Sean Casey at Zu Audio, as well as a TimeStep power supply from Sound HiFI in the UK. (you can read that article here), so there will be none of that “well, I can’t really remember what a 1200 sounded like, but blah, blah, blah.” that you hear from the other so called experts. It’s 1200 fest at TONEAudio. We do our homework.

Attention to detail

Seinfeld is fond of mentioning what he calls “density of thought.” Comparing the 1200 mk.II to the current 1200G is much like comparing an 80s Carerra to a current 911. Most of the visual cues you know are still there, right down to that same cartridge alignment tool, but everything is finished to a much higher standard.

Those that like to geek out the older 1200s usually concentrate on a couple of areas first; dampening the platter and the chassis; the former being tougher than the latter, because of balance issues. Along with a greatly improved direct drive mechanism, Technics addresses both of these issues with the 1200G. The new platter is fully balanced, filled with a layer of deadening rubber and has a brass top layer to the platter. Popping the platter from the original 1200 mk.II on the current table quickly reveals the progress made. Images fully rendered on the 1200G shrink dramatically and a level of low level image focus and quality disappears. The delta is like going from a pair of Nordost Odin cables to a pair of Radio Shack interconnects.

The original 1200 benefited tremendously from having the tonearm rewired with premium wire, but thanks to a pair of RCA jacks underneath the table, a-la VPI, swapping the fifty cent interconnect for a pair of Cardas Clear interconnects brought the sound of the 1200G to the head of the class. Last but not least, for the perfectionists in the crowd (and I know you’re out there) replace the standard issue head shell and associated wire. In this case, a wooden Ortofon LH-8000 fills the bill nicely.

While the new G model’s tonearm looks remarkably similar to the one fitted to the original 1200, the bearings and counterweight are machined to a much tighter tolerance, and where the original arm was made from aluminum, the magnesium arm from the limited edition SL-1200 GAE is retained here. Even the dampening feet are greatly improved over the original model.

Just like any other high performance machine, the SL-1200G benefits from numerous small improvements that you can’t see. Better bearings along with refined motor and drive control circuitry all add up to more music revealed.

Anticipation

Considering all the fun I had taking the photos of this table, I kept wondering how it would sound on initial power up. In a word, dark. However, this is not the table’s fault. After the folks at Technics delivered a huge bag of cash to my doorstep via Fed Ex it sounded much better. Just kidding.

However, in all seriousness, setting up the SL-1200G with the tools in the box and a modest cartridge will not get you to audio heaven, but this would be like assembling a 911 engine with a pliers, and an adjustable wrench. That project would go equally poorly. Though the new 1200G looks a lot like it’s distant relative, all the verbiage in the manual is true; this table is a much more precise instrument.

Get your hands on some decent setup tools – now. A precise protractor like the Feickert or the Acoustical Systems SMARTractor, a good test record and a digital stylus force gauge. If you are a master of the Feickert setup software, that won’t hurt either. 30-60 minutes spent fine tuning the new 1200 will pay a world of dividends. Lastly, throw out the stock power cord and fit something a little better while you’re at it just for good measure.

I can’t fault Technics for any of this; they did their homework and built a solid deck. In their defense, the last $5,500 tonearm I purchased from SME resulted in throwing the packaged tonearm cable in the circular file, to be replaced with a $1,200 cable from Furutech. The good news is that you can at least get the 1200G up and running with the tools and cables included; but properly set up, it’s a sweetheart of a table.

Nothing but fun

The SL-1200G is so easy to use, it’s made vinyl playback a blast. Thanks to the three inputs on the Pass Labs XS Phono, and a set of three Rega Elys 2 cartridges, comparing the three variations on the SL-1200 theme is not only a breeze, but enlightening. Queuing up three copies of MoFi’s self-titled Santana (only a few pressing numbers apart, to keep it all as close to identical as possible) quickly shows the progress the Technics engineers have made.

Immediately the new table’s massive stereo image makes itself known. The mk.2 creates a somewhat small sonic landscape that is limited to the space between the speakers; it feels more like VHS. Where the gentle piano at the beginning of “Treat” feels small and uninvolving on the mk.2, moving up to the 1200G brings it alive, the piano now sounding much bigger and livelier. As the guitar is folded in, a similar effect is displayed and even the non-audiophiles in my impromptu listening sessions stood up and took notice.

All three tables exhibit great speed accuracy, but again the new model (and the TimeStep modded version) offer a much lower noise floor, resulting in a greater dynamic range. When tracking through a new, 45 r.p.m. copy of Kruder and Dorfmeister’s The K&D Sessions, the new table shines, with incredible bass weight that the other two can’t match.

Finally where I would never have mounted a premium cartridge to the original 1200, because of its general lack of resolution, this is now a welcome addition to the current model. Upgrading the standard issue Technics head shell with something from Ortofon or another specialty manufacturer, and some better head shell wires (in this case, a set of silver ones from Furutech) takes it all to the next level.

Switching from the $300 Rega MM cartridge to the $6,000 Transfiguration Proteus cartridge brought about quite the “ah-ha” moment, and convinces me that this is a world class table in the $4,000 price category. The Technics SL-1200G has the ability to resolve the difference between cartridges with ease, and thanks to the easily removable head shells, this was not a terribly difficult task. Even if you don’t invest in a $6,000 cartridge for your new 1200G, know it is up to the task.

Should you be of the “get a great table first, add the mega cartridge later” mindset, one budget cartridge that delivers astounding sonics with the 1200G is the $379 Denon DL-103r. It won’t offer the last bit of fine detail that the four figure cartridges will, but it’s level of sheer musicality and bass weight should keep your ears perked up.

I’ve never been a DJ, but…

I do have more than one turntable, and I can’t resist a good 45 r.p.m. maxi single. The well recorded ones offer up a level of dynamics that is usually a cut above a standard album. Radiohead’s “High and Dry” proved a perfect place to start. A mere push of the button is all it takes to get to 45 right now, and it goes without saying, the speed accuracy of the new 1200G is perfect – the red strobe now replaced by a rich blue.

As you might suspect, the rock-solid speed accuracy provided by direct drive makes not only for explosive transients, but sturdy bass response. Zipping through a handful of Prince 45s delivers a special quality, weight and texture to the lower register that I haven’t experienced with tables at this price before.

Yet the 1200Gs sole attribute is not solid bass response as the early mk.2 was. Where the original still provides a rock solid musical foundation, it’s not an audiophile turntable in stock form. The current G model adds the nuance that you’d expect from a great belt drive table. While the 1200G doesn’t have the level of finesse that my reference Brinkmann Bardo possesses, it grooves in that direction.

Switching the program material to solo piano underlines the 1200Gs solidity. It’s like taking the speed stability of a great digital recording and adding the tonal saturation of analog. It’s a compelling combination.

Lastly, I just couldn’t resist the urge to do a little bit of scratching, so the Ortofon CC Scratch came off the shelf and after resetting tracking and anti-skate (Ortofon suggests a 2-gram anti skate setting and 4-gram tracking force “because of the abnormal behavior of the tonearm when backcuing.” Try that on a $100,000 turntable.

Across the board great

As with a great sports car, much is to be said for balance. Those rare cars with an equal amount of stop, go, handling and feel are often much more fun on a curvy road than a high horsepower car that is a monster beyond your capabilities. The Technics SL-1200G is like the new generation Miata. It offers up such a balanced amount of analog performance, that you’ll never notice you aren’t listening to a $30,000 turntable.

If you haven’t considered a direct drive turntable for audiophile duty, I can’t suggest the Technics SL-1200G highly enough. I’m happy to award it one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2017 and not only have I purchased the review sample, I’m thinking of a second one, just because. -Jeff Dorgay

The Technics SL-1200G

MSRP: $4,000

www.technics.com

Peripherals

Phonostage                Pass XS Phono, Audio Research REF Phono 3

Cartridges                  Rega Elys2, Ortofon Scratch, Denon DL-103r, Sumiko Blackbird, Grado Reference 1, Transfiguration Proteus

Preamplifier              Pass XS Pre

Power Amplifier        Pass XS 300 monoblocks

Cable                          Tellurium Q Silver Diamond and Cardas Clear

If you’re subwoofer curious, but not sure which way to turn, you’re not alone. We asked the folks at SVS to share some of their tips with us. Here’s their advice on how to choose the best sub for your HT or 2-channel system:

WHAT IS THE BEST SUBWOOFER FOR YOUR HOME AUDIO SYSTEM?

Bass is the sonic foundation of all movies and music, and when you want palpable, room-energizing bass, there’s no substitute for a high performance home subwoofer. The low frequency energy generated by a subwoofer can be incredibly subtle, like the pluck of a bass guitar string, or an all-out, chest-thumping assault on your senses, like an explosion filled car chase in a movie.

On their own, most loudspeakers don’t come close to generating the levels of low frequency extension and bass output as a powered subwoofer, and in many instances, subwoofers are one of the most impactful sonic upgrades you can make to a home theater or audio system.

With all the different subwoofer choices out there including ported and sealed models, different amplifier power ratings, and driver sizes that range from 8-inches up to 20-inches and beyond, it can seem daunting to find the best subwoofer for your room and listening tastes. To make it easier, we’ve listed some key variables to consider.

Décor and Room Integration

Successful integration of audio equipment with home decor is a high priority for many enthusiasts. When thinking about how a subwoofer will fit within your living room, home theater or other area, this is what you need to know:

Overall Size/Footprint: A subwoofer needs to fit into the allocated location without blocking or altering normal foot traffic patterns. For planning purposes, use the ‘real world’ footprint dimensions of the subwoofer, which includes the grille and some extra space for the power cord and signal cable. In locations where floor space is tight, consider a sealed box subwoofer, which tend to be more compact than their ported counterparts.

Finish Options: Most subwoofer manufacturers, SVS included, offer several finish options to complement your loudspeakers and other AV components. Piano gloss lends a high end feel to a home audio system and is perfect for upscale decors. Consider a more durable and scratch resistant black ash/oak or other wood grain finish for high-traffic areas with kids and pets or to match a classic wood look. In dedicated home theaters where the lights are dimmed, lower reflectivity finishes will help minimize light glare.

Room Size and Playback Level

Room size and layout has a major influence on subwoofer performance. Large rooms with open floor plans and vaulted ceilings require a more powerful subwoofer to deliver a convincing bass experience. Another option when feasible is to go with dual subwoofers since two smaller subwoofers generally offer better bass performance across the entire listening area, than a single large sub. You can read about some of the other benefits of having two or more subwoofers here: Why Go Dual.

In addition to room size, your preferred system playback level also has a significant influence. If you like to push your home audio system to loud levels (like an IMAX theater) and want to generate sound pressure levels that let you ‘feel the bass’ from action movies and music, consider a larger subwoofer with a higher amplifier rating and a bigger driver to achieve extreme performance. Conversely, if you listen at more moderate levels, a smaller and less powerful powered subwoofer can deliver a no-compromise experience that enhances all your audio content, and will also be easy to integrate in your room.

Budget

Most people don’t have unlimited funds to spend on bass, so budget is an important factor. High performance subwoofers require massive magnets and motor structures as well as powerful internal amplifiers, which makes them heavy. Cheaper lightweight subwoofers simply can generate the same amount of bass and SPLs to the limits of human hearing as larger, heavier models, which almost defeats the purpose of adding a subwoofer. You should be prepared to spend at least $500 for this level of performance in a small to medium sized room and more for larger rooms.

Common Home Audio System Applications

Below are some SVS subwoofer model recommendations for common system applications. While these recommendations are a good starting point, contact SVS for an expert consultation and comprehensive system evaluation to make sure you are choosing the best model.

PC-Based Audio System: Usually situated in an office, bedroom or den, a compact sealed sub like the SB-1000 subwoofer is a natural choice for PC-based audio systems, and it can fit almost anywhere in the room, even behind the PC monitor or under a work desk.

Secondary Home Audio System: Bedroom or Media Room: This increasingly common application typically involves a wall-mounted HDTV, some type of media streaming device, and a sound bar or small satellite speakers. Consider the SB-1000 or the slightly larger and more powerful SB-2000 subwoofer for a great combination of sound quality, performance and compact size.

Primary Media System: Living/Family Room: This popular set-up accommodates the widest possible range of subwoofer models, depending on the room size, playback level and décor integration. The SB-2000, SB13-Ultra, PC-2000 and PB-2000 are all excellent choices in this category for their combination of relative compactness and excellent performance across all genres of movies, music and audio content.

Dedicated Home Theater System: In this application, demanding Blu-ray movies and other high definition content are played at maximum output levels for an IMAX caliber bass experience. Maximum performance and high output (particularly at the deepest frequencies) is a top priority. This is where the larger, reference quality subwoofers come into their own, delivering a visceral and room-shaking audio experience on movie night. Depending on the room size, the following models are all excellent choices: PC-2000 or PB-2000, PC12-Plus or PB12-Plus, SB13-Ultra, PC13-Ultra or PB13-Ultra, SB16-Ultra or PB16-Ultra. The ported cylinder models offer essentially the same performance as their ported box counterparts, but with a smaller footprint, and are a great choice where floor space is tight.

2-Channel Music System: Whereas ported subwoofers shine with extreme low frequency extension and output, sealed box subwoofers are a natural choice for critical music applications because they deliver that tight, fast, detailed and articulate bass without sacrificing slam, which music lovers crave. Depending on the room size and playback level, the SB-1000, SB-2000 and SB13-Ultra will all deliver a fantastic music experience. For the ultimate in 2-channel bass, consider dual subs for true stereo bass and a more balanced soundstage.

Still Unsure About the Best Subwoofer for Your Home Audio System?

Chances are, if you’re in the market for a subwoofer, you already have loudspeakers. To help with the initial first step, SVS developed the Merlin subwoofer and speaker matching tool, which suggests the ideal subwoofer based on your specific speaker models. Merlin takes into account frequency range, output capabilities and other factors to offer an appropriate match, and with over 4,000 loudspeaker models across every brand on the market included, and recommendations generated by acoustic experts, Merlin is an excellent first step towards finding the perfect subwoofer match.

Still have subwoofer questions? We invite you to email the SVS Sound Experts at [email protected].

Industry leader iFi has just announced that their new nano iDSD LE
is the biggest selling DAC in Japan.

Exciting news from this company that produces a wide range of products,
all combining a compact form factor with high performance and reasonable
price.

We expect to review the nano iDSD LE shortly….

www.ifiaudio.com

What do in ear monitor (IEM) phones lack? Big bass and dynamics. Am I right?

Much like the music of Dmitri Shostakovich, the Stereo Pravda SB-7 in ear monitors are bold, dynamic and almost scary – offering bass, dynamics and coherance I’ve always found lacking with other IEM’s. Listening to Stereo Pravda’s founder Misha Kucherenko’s personal portable headphone DAC/Amp at this years Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, it is clear this man has raised the bar for IEM design.

It doesn’t come cheap, a pair of SB-7s will set you back $2,500. Then again, a new Ferrari 488 will set you back about $275,000, if you can find one. And if you want the experience, you pay the money. Sure you can have a Porsche 911 for less than half the price, but it’s not a 488. And so it goes.

I’ve heard a lot of disappointing headphones near this price point, so let’s cut to the chase; the SB-7s are more than worth the asking price. They are a bespoke product, and they deliver a sonic experience you won’t find elsewhere. At any price. These mighty marvels have no less than seven Balanced Armature Drivers per channel. (And you thought phono cartridges were complex!) Kucherenko has also sourced a custom cable from cable guru Chris Sommovigo’s Stereolab atelier to round out the package.

The key to achieving sonic excellence is to thoroughly read the instructions enclosed with the SB-7s. It describes in-depth just how you go about inserting these into your ear canals so they fit perfectly. This is the key to getting the bass and imaging that these phones produce. If you don’t read the directions, think you know better, or just go about your business, I guarantee you will be disappointed in the sound, and this is your fault. However, get a pair of incredibly strong reading glasses, as the type on the tiny instruction sheet is about 2 point. For the rest of you, the instructions, complete with pictures describing the process is on their website. Again, follow this to the letter if you want to be rewarded.

Getting down to business

Ok, you’ve followed the instructions, the SB-7s are snugly in your ear and your ready to rock. With a 1-meter cable, you will want to keep your headphone amplifier close by. An initial test with an iPhone 6 Plus and the big iPad proves ok, but not amazing. If you want the SB-7s to sing, invest in a good headphone amp. No, invest in a great one – the further you take your amplification, the more music they will reveal. The SB-7 will never be the weak link in your system.

Not wanting to feel the least bit limited, most of the listening for this review took place with the Pass HPA-1 headphone amplifier, driven by a dCS Rossini DAC/Clock for digital files and the Audio Research REF 3 Phono, with Brinkmann Bardo turntable and Koestu Jade cartridge for analog. Forget any preconceived notion of what you think an in ear monitor can sound like. Due to the relatively large enclosure of the SB-7, these aren’t ear buds for bopping around the house with a Swiffer, keeping the hardwood floors clean. These are serious headphones to immerse yourself in music with. Curl up on the couch, your favorite chair, or a big pile of pillows on the bed, close your eyes and ease to the sonic experience that the SB-7s provide.

Top to bottom good

Maybe Mr. Kucherenko has some cool piece of Russian military hardware that shrinks things – it feels like he’s stuffed a pair of Grande Utopias in my ears. Hmmmm. A few things present themselves instantly with these phones, confirming what I heard in the Stereo Pravda booth at RMAF, all even better than my initial impression.

Where most IEMs, even premium ones have a slightly to somewhat screechy top end, the SB-7s are smooth, yet highly resolving. Cymbals float through my head listening to a handful of Blue Note reissues with a sparkle that I’ve only heard via some of the world’s finest loudspeakers. The bottom end of the sonic spectrum is equally enticing, having used these in part, for the review of the remastered K&D Sessions. Bass is deep, defined and quick. Don’t move too fast to look around the room, because you’ll upset that delicate ear seal. No matter what the first bass heavy track you pick to audition the SB-7s, you will stay in that groove for a while, wondering how these tiny IEM’s generate all that bottom end. Shrink machine, I’m telling you.

Most headphones do an acceptable job at assembling a cohearant musical presentation inside your head because most headphones only have a single driver inside the cup. The way these seven drivers per integrate is phenomenal. Their ability to homogenize complicated recordings without losing nuance is phenomenal. A long set of Joni Mitchell, Ella Fitzgerald and Chrissie Hynde all achieve the same effect. The three dimensional effect presented is not overblown, as it can so often be with over the ear phones, lending an overemphasized ping pong effect. This often triggers listener fatigue, but with the SB-7s you just settle into a groove and forget they are on, until you get up, that is.

Lovely in the middle

Beyond the excitements at both ends of the frequency spectrum is a most enticing midrange. Heading back to Joni Mitchell and Ella Fitzgerald, along with a 45rpm pressing of Anne Bisson’s Blue Mood, the level of texure and nuance delivered is magnetic, drawing you in to the performance like a pair of Lowthers and a great SET does. The consistency is so smooth and gentle, it’s as if you can hear all the way around the woman singing at the microphone.

Add these virtues up and the SB-7s are a natural for acoustic music as well. Hours of Keith Jarrett tracks pass by, and I remain amazed at the sheer level of tonal purity I’m hearing through headphones, much less IEM’s. No matter what the program material, the SB-7s get out of the way and let you concentrate on the music being showcased.

The only danger with these phones is that of playing them too loud for too long. If you have a high quality headphone amplifier, it will be easy to turn the volume up too loud, so that’s the TONEAudio public service announcement. Thanks to major dynamic range, I had to be careful with some of my favorite metal tracks. These are the first IEM’s I’ve auditioned that are up to the tasks of playing Slayer, loud. But remember, I’ve warned you.

Music becomes an excursion through the SB-7s, once you get used to how much they can achieve, they will either become a serious threat to productivity or one of your guiltiest of pleasures. If you spend a lot of time on an airplane (as Mr. Kucherenko does) these will make the time disappear. Reading through the Stereo Pravda website, they talk about being part of a new direction in hifi. I’d say they are at the forefront leading us. Even if you are not an advanced headphone enthusiast yet, I highly suggest giving these a listen at the next Can Jam or Head Fi event near you. I suspect you’ll be rearranging your short term priorities to get a pair.

The Stereo Pravda SB-7

MSRP: $2,500

www.stereopravda.com

Peripherals

Headphone Amplifier                         Pass Labs HPA-1, Oppo HA-1

Digital Source                                     dCS Rossini DAC/Clock

Analog Source                                     Audio Research REF Phono 3, Brinkmann Bardo, Koestu Jade Platinum

Interconnects                                      Tellurium Q Black Diamond

Power Cords                                        Cardas Clear

Power                                                  Torus Tot

Ubiquitous as the silhouette of the V-Twin engine on a Harley Davidson motorcycle, McIntosh Labs’ top products all feature a pair of blue output level meters, joined by a bright green, backlit glow of the controls adorning the thick glass-front panel.

Today that blue and green glow is modulated by LED lighting (instead of the incandescent bulbs of vintage Macs), meticulously adjusted by factory technicians so all of your Mac components glow with equal intensity and color temperature. Sitting down to listen to music in a dimly lit room of McIntosh gear always feels like sitting in a dark stadium, with only the glow of the Marshall amps and effects racks, waiting for the band to take the stage; it’s a visual celebration of audio in action.

Like their outgoing C1000 two-box preamplifier, the C1100 splits control and amplification functions across two chassis, offering higher performance and lower noise as a result of giving the power supply a bit of space from the sensitive gain stages. The C1000 took things further, offering the option of being configured with a solid-state or vacuum tube active stage, along with having the ability to control both! It had a whopping $27,000 price tag to match.

When was the last time you went to buy a new car and the new model offered more performance at a lower price? I thought so. Yet that’s exactly what McIntosh has done with the C1100. Dropping the price dramatically, now $13,000, the casework on the new model is somewhat more straightforward, but there is no mistaking it for anything but a Mac––though less visually embellished than the model it replaces. A chat with my favorite group of McIntosh enthusiasts finds them split right down the middle: half of them are put off by the simpler casework, feeling it doesn’t differentiate the flagship enough from the rest of the herd, and the other half loves the fact that the new C1100 is that much more approachable.

Quick comparisons: new vs. new

Fortunately, the C52 preamplifier, which is the next product down the line from the C1100, just happens to be here for photography with new writer Greg Petan’s review on page 88. A single box unit, the $7,000 C52 has a built-in DAC and eight tone controls along with a phonostage; it is aimed squarely at an entirely different user.

Having both side by side on the rack begs a head-to-head comparison providing an excellent opportunity to see what shakes out sonically for the extra dough. Though the C52 retains the slightly warm, tonally saturated sound that made McIntosh famous, it is all solid-state, so no glowing bottles here. While the C52 offers more functionality than the C1100, thanks to the onboard DAC, it’s no match for the massive soundstage, dynamics and “reach out and touch it”-ness that the C1100 provides.

As with any such choice, you must decide what your budget, system and rack will allow. If massive flexibility is your top priority, save a few bucks and go for the C52. Purists with a “take no prisoners” performance attitude will prefer the C1100 – along with the three-rack spaces it and a separate DAC will require. However, once you hear it, it will be tough to go back.

New vs. old

When the past C1000 arrived configured as a tube preamplifier, it utilized eight 12AX7 tubes: four for the phonostage and four for the linestage. The C1000, like the new C1100 (which uses 6 12AU7 and 6 12AX7 tubes) is a fully balanced design, to drive McIntosh, or anyone else’s balanced power amplifiers in that mode, but there is only one option – all tube. And for good reason – the current C1100 is quieter than even the solid-state version of the C1000. McIntosh’s Ron Cornelius just smiles, saying, “It’s the quietest preamplifier we’ve ever made, period. There just was no need to make two versions of this one.” Damn, this thing is quiet.

A quick call to a couple of my Mcbuds still in possession of C1000s makes for another impromptu shootout. It doesn’t take long for all to agree that the nod has to go to the newer piece in terms of overall sonics. The C1100 is a winner on every level. You’ll have to listen carefully, but on your favorite tracks that are either more sparsely arranged or more acoustic in nature, the C1100 has an ease and freedom from cloudiness that the C1000 can’t quite match. The three C1000 owners were on the fence concerning whether they would trade up, but all were intrigued and impressed with the C1100.

Extended listening

The more time spent with the C1100, the more you realize just how sonically unobtrusive this preamplifier is. Regardless of source and source configuration (RCA or XLR), it goes about its business quietly and confidently.  Where its predecessor is a few molecules warmer tonally, the C1100, much like the current Sonus faber speakers, manages to achieve a similar feat of maintaining the depth and midrange palpability of legacy models, while exhibiting more dynamic impact and extension at both ends of the frequency spectrum.

Weaving through a number of solo male and female vocal tracks, this new preamplifier works its magic, doing better with subtle spatial cues as well, and those wanting to hear every bit of breath at the microphone will be highly impressed. McIntosh has really raised the bar on their gear in the last 5–7 years, steadily refining and improving the range. Thanks to the economy of the manufacturing scale they enjoy, their gear is much more reasonably priced compared to offerings from other manufacturers 30 years ago.

Not only is the linestage easily the equal of what else is available for $8,000–$10,000, the phonostage is also on par with what you’d probably pay $3,000–$5,000 for as well. But McIntosh is not, nor have they ever been, about the minimalist approach – this is a control preamplifier in every sense of the word. If you want HT bypass, have a pair of turntables and numerous line level sources on hand –– the C1100 may be one of the only games in town. With 12 analog inputs, you will never be short an input.

Back in black (vinyl)

Should you be a maniacal vinyl lover with a turntable/tonearm/cartridge combo worth more than the C1100, you will most likely still want an outboard phonostage. However if you are a casual to journeyman analog enthusiast, with a MM or MC cartridge in the $1,000–$3,500 range, you will be more than satisfied with the performance of the C1100’s internal phonostage. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, so resist the urge to press the argumentative email button right now.

Running the C1100 through its paces with a number of cartridges from the $500 Rega Elys 2, all the way up to the Koetsu Jade Platinum, proves highly palatable. The best feature of the C1100’s phonostage (in addition to the 79dB s/n ratio) is the loading options: 25, 50, 100, 200, 400 and 1000 ohms. A number of megabuck outboard phonostages don’t offer this flexibility, and this additional adjustability is where the C1100 really shines, making it a perfect match for cartridges like the Rega Apheta/Apheta 2, which require loading in the 25–50 ohm range to give their best performance.

On that note, the Soulines HDX Kubrick/Rega RB1000/Apheta 2 combination in for review was a perfect mate for the C1100, with the Apheta 2 loaded to 25 ohms, delivering a silky smooth presentation. The additional MM input makes the C1100 perfect for those with two turntables or two tonearms sporting an additional cartridge. The only limiting factor is 60dB of gain, which will eliminate the lowest output MC cartridges. Keep your cartridge’s output above .4mv and everything will be just fine.

Those preferring MM cartridges can also adjust input capacitance from 50 to 800pf in 50pf steps. This is often overlooked, and fine-tuning this aspect of a MM cartridge will deliver stunning results. That cartridge that you thought might have been a little dull or slightly bright can now be adjusted to perfection. These small touches throughout the C1100 are what make it more than a sum of its parts.

Head trip

Those needing to escape to the world of personal audio from time to time will appreciate the care that went into the C1100’s headphone amplifier. With an impedance selector for low (16–40 ohm), medium (40–150 ohm) and high (150–600 ohm) impedance headphones, everything you can think of can be accommodated. Running through about a dozen phones, new and old, confirmed this claim. Whether I was listening to my ancient Koss Pro 4AAs or a pair of the latest planar magnetic from OPPO, the C1100 shines.

If you spend more than a few fleeting moments with headphones on, you’ll appreciate the Headphone Crossfeed Director (HXD^®), which can slightly blend the right and left channel of the amplifier’s output, minimalizing the “ping pong” effect that comes with some recordings. This one is strictly a “to taste” function, making the headphone delivery sound more like a pair of speakers in front of you, mimicking that imaging pattern.

Listening to the classic headphone favorite Dark Side of the Moon with HXD engaged keeps the soundstage more linear as promised, especially on “Time”; the alarm clocks stay more within a boundary, yet without, they appear to bounce all over the room. Tidy or trippy, that’s the question. Fortunately, experimentation is only a button push away.

Every possible combination

If all of this weren’t enough, perusing the excellent user manual reveals how truly flexible the C1100 is. Need home theater bypass? Got it. Want to trim all of your input sources so the volume level is the same? Got that too. And that’s only scratching the surface of what the C1100 is capable of.

The McIntosh C1100 handily offers sonic and build quality commensurate with the asking price, but what puts it in a category of its own is the convenience that it offers. Those wanting a volume control and power switch only will not be the least bit interested, but those with multiple sources wanting high quality playback for all with easy integration will be in hifi heaven. Don’t forget those blue meters, either.

If you are new to the McIntosh tribe, looking for a step-up from what you currently have, or even looking at $13K (or thereabouts) preamplifiers in other camps, the C1100 is outstanding. The phonostage is incredible, as is the headphone amplifier. You’d be pretty hard-pressed to find a linestage, phonostage, or headphone amplifier along with two additional power cords and interconnects that would match the performance of the C1100, as well as the rack space the rest of this stuff would require for anywhere near $13K.

Factor in reputation, dealer support and all the other things that make a Mac a Mac, and the C1100 is a fantastic preamplifier any way you look at it. Highly recommended if you are a lover of the brand, and if you aren’t, this is the perfect piece to start your journey.

The McIntosh C1100 Preamplifier

$13,000

www.mcintoshlabs.com

Peripherals

Analog source                        Brinkman Bardo/Koetsu Jade Platinum, Soulines Kubrick/Rega Apheta 2, Rega Planar 3/Elys 2

Digital source                         Gryphon Kalliope DAC

Amplification                         ARC GS150, CJ LP125sa+, Pass Xs 300 monoblocks

Speakers                                GamuT RS5i, Quad 2812, MartinLogan Neolith

Cable                                      Tellurium Q Silver Diamond

I go back with PS Audio. Way back. Back to when most of today’s digital/computer audio experts were running around in their underoos while their dads were listening to Led Zeppelin in the living room. That’s when I had one of these: the original PS Audio DAC.

I’ve still got it and it still works. So I guess that settles any thoughts of  “PS Audio reliability issues.” Back in the mid 80s, this baby set me back a cool $1,000. Six months prior, when I bought my Nakamichi CD player, I noticed a jack on the back that simply said, digital output. The salesman gave me a blank stare when I inquired what said jack was for. Now I knew.

A mad dash home to plug it in yielded pretty impressive results. Digital sounded pretty rough then and the PS Audio Digital Link went a long way towards making those shiny discs sound a lot better. First disc in the tray to give the Digital Link a spin? Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Nothin’ Fancy. It rocked, and I still remember my audiophile pals thinking I was out of my mind for dropping a G on that little box. But it was pretty awesome, and stayed a staple of my system for quite a while, replaced by another PS Audio DAC about ten years later.

Fast forwarding to 2017, there aren’t many disc players left, and precious few that play everything. This is one of the things that makes the PS Audio DirectStream Memory Player so intriguing. $5,999 gets you a high resolution transport that plays CDs, DVD audio discs and SACD’s. Multichannel too. Those of you that still like physical media, rejoice. This one’s for you.

The folks at PS Audio were kind enough to send along their companion (also priced at $5,999) DirectStream DAC. This has been on the market for a while now, and has garnered more than it’s share of awards. We reviewed an earlier version of this DAC years ago, and found it to be a top notch performer for the price asked.

What makes this combo so intriguing is it’s ability to extract the DSD layer from your SACD collection and process everything in the DSD domain. Thanks to PS Audio’s I2S bus going from transport to DAC, you aren’t getting PCM conversion when listening to your favorite SACD.

So, I guiltily pulled Skynyrd’s Nothin’ Fancy out (this time on SACD, natch) and pushed the play button. The first impression is outstanding, and we’ve got more listening to do, but so far, this combo not only proves exciting, it’s performing quite well with some other incredibly expensive digital hardware on the rack from a few of the usual players.

Stay tuned!

Features

Old School:

Conrad-Johnson MV 60SE Power Amplifier
By Jeff Dorgay

995:

Gold Note’s Vasari Gold Phono Cartridge
By Jeff Dorgay

Journeyman Audiophile:

G-Lab Block Amplifier
By Jeff Dorgay

TONE Style

WINO: Malbec

Panono 360 degree camera

Epson Home Projector

ChargeTech Classic Laptop Charger

Dyson V6 Vacuum

Art Of Jay Ward

Anker Lighting Cable

New Wave Ornaments

John Varvatos Morrison Sharpe Boots

Music

Spin the Black Circle: Reviews of New Pop/Rock and Country Albums
By Bob Gendron, Todd Martens, and Chrissie Dickinson

Jazz & Blues: John Abercrombie, Tania Chen and More!
By Kevin Whitehead and Jim Macnie

Audiophile Pressings: Kruder & Dorfmeister, Run DMC and more!

Gear Previews

Sonus faber Venere S Speakers

Esoteric F-07 Integrated Amplifier

Conrad – Johnson TEA1S2 Phonostage

Reviews

Viola Labs Sonata Preamp
By Greg Petan

Focal Sopra no.3 Speakers
By Jeff Dorgay

McIntosh MB50 Streamer
By Greg Petan

Technics SL-1200G Turntable
By Jeff Dorgay

Audio Physic Tempo plus Speakers
By Rob Johnson

MartinLogan Expression ESL13A Speakers
By Jeff Dorgay

How many movies have you seen where the sequel (or any of the subsequent sequels) were better or even equal to the original?

While the legion of LS3/5 owners, with numerous variations on the theme, might grouse at the thought of this, I prefer the new Chartwell LS3/5 to any of the originals I’ve yet experienced. And for what it’s worth, I’ve held the first LS3/5 in my hand, at the now defunct Kingwood Warren branch of the BBC, so you know I adore these little speakers.

For audiophiles not in love with full range ESLs or variations on the Lowther theme, the next option for sonic purity is the two-way monitor, the smaller and simpler the better. Fewer drivers and a simpler crossover network mean less phase and distortion issues. With some great small monitor speakers on the market, and most of them British, it’s impossible to have a conversation about this sub-segment without discussing perhaps the most famous of them all the compact BBC LS3/5 or LS3/5a speaker.

This tiny two-way speaker was originally developed by the BBC as a portable monitor for remote recording sessions, with an emphasis reproducing vocals as accurately as possible. Though they were all built by numerous British manufacturers to the BBC specification (the only way to get the license in the first place) each model has its own unique, signature sound. Consequently, the LS3/5a was the model destined for mobile recording, while the LS3/5 was a different model (though the same physical size) clearly aimed at being a true high-performance small speaker. The initial LS3/5 was never produced, with only about 20 number of prototypes built. You can read a bit more about the LS3/5’s history here, at the Graham site.

Graham Audio, makers of the exceptional LS5/9s we reviewed last year and subsequently purchased as reference speakers enlisted the help of designer extraordinaire Derek Huges, along with some help from Seas and Volt to create a masterpiece that observes the original specification. Cutting to the chase, they have succeeded brilliantly.

Over the next few weeks, we will be finishing our review, based on hundreds of hours of listening, with a wide range of program material and amplification. For those of you too impatient for me to compile the rest of the data, I suggest buying a pair. Right now.

www.grahamaudiousa.com

Years ago we reviewed Channel Islands original phono stage and it was a killer value at $295. Today, CI founder and designer Dusty Vawter has a new box up his sleeve, the PEQ•1 Mk II for $995, and he’s done it again.

The small box arrived on Wednesday, and after an incredibly enthusiastic call with Mr. Vawter, we fast tracked the photos and unboxing. For those of you that have never met him, Dusty is a pretty quiet understated guy, who goes about his business making great gear and not tooting his horn that much.

Sporting full dual-mono construction and spiffier casework, the PEQ•1 Mk II raises the bar for what you can expect from a $995. Initial listening is highly impressive, so watch for our review sooner rather than later!  These should be shipping now, for those of you that are wanting one immediately.

The PEQ•1 Mk II offers 40db and 60db gain settings, (with custom options offered) and loading options of 100, 1000, 10k, and 47k ohms with variable capacitance on the MM side.

As this product is NOT on the Channel Islands website yet, please call them at 805.984.8282 or email at [email protected] to get the ball rolling.

I’ve been using the Brinkmann Bardo as a reference table now for the better part of the year, and I’m still as smitten as the day it arrived.

However,  knowing that Brinkmann offers an upgraded power supply, the RoNt, (Approx. $4,200), I knew I had to at least investigate. My tables from AVID, Rega and VPI have all benefitted from an improved power supply, so I had. a hunch on this one.

The short word is “exceptional.” Everything is improved throughout the range. Considering that Brinkmann used to sell the Bardo in the US for almost $14,000 before they streamlined their distribution (It’s now $9,995) the RoNt is an even better bargain.

Best of all, the RoNt works with the full range of Brinkmann tables, so no matter which one you own, you’re in for a substantial performance upgrade. Full review in the works.

www.brinkmann-audio.com

A lot of power products have come through the door here over the years, and most of them have been escorted right out the door quickly. Way too many power conditioners shave transient edges off with the noise, unable to differentiate, or they get wacky with the tonal balance, or both.

Most of the few truly exceptional power conditioners I’ve had the pleasure of using are damn expensive and really heavy. As was my experience with the Running Springs and IsoTek products that I love and used for a number of years (and still do) the real benefit of their technology didn’t happen until you purchased their biggest, and baddest model with major current capacity. This is all awesome if you are plugging in a pair of big power amplifiers or a major system, but what if you have a small system, or just want to clean up a solitary component?

With more turntables and phono preamplifiers arriving for review, the need for more outlets constantly arises. Call me wacky, suspicious, or old fashioned, (just don’t call me Shirley) but I like to keep low level analog components and digital components on separate AC power circuits, so I run my linestage, and DAC on one circuit, and the two phonostages, along with all the turntables on separate 15 amp circuits. I don’t know, I sleep better at night. However, with analog, you can always do better, get more resolution, and drop the noise floor further, so the quest for better power conditioning continues.

The Equi-Core 300, from Core Power Technologies was put to an immediate trial by fire, with new phonostages from Audio Research, McIntosh and Conrad-Johnson at the ready. The 300 in the name represents the maximum number of watts that said conditioner can handle, so this means preamp, DAC or maybe a low powered SET. CPT takes an interesting approach, hardwiring their own power cords into each end of the Equi=Core 300. So much for the power cord argument, you take what they give you; fortunately, it works fantastic. $799 buys you 2.5 feet, $849 gets you 5.5 feet, and the $899 model arrives with 8.5 feet of power cord. The review sample was a 5.5 foot model, and the nly complaint is that the longer model would have provided more flexibility. Unless your component is directly in front of an outlet, consider the 8.5 foot model. For a $100 increase over the best model, the extra length will probably serve you better in the long run.

Minutiae aside, this $849 power conditioner is outstanding. It does its job perfectly and quietly, without fuss. Many internet pundits like to wax poetic about how the heavens part with so and so’s power products. Good for them. The Equi=Core 300 is like a great physician – it does no harm. This is a deceptively simple task, so don’t take it lightly.

Paragraphs could be written describing various musical passages that chances are you either haven’t heard, or don’t want to hear again, so I’ll cut to the chase. Plugging the Equi=Core 300 the  Audio Research REF 3 Phono, Conrad-Johnson TEA1 s2 and McIntosh MP1100 phonostages delivered the same result. The noise floor dropped significantly, and these are all very quiet phonostages to begin with, causing an increase in dynamics. Everything sounds much more lively with the Equi=Core 300 in place. Nothing was changed tonally, and that’s a great thing for this reviewer. Everything just got quieter and cleaner sounding. Removing the unit after a  few hours of concentrated listening made me clamor to reinstall it.

Similar results were achieved with the other preamplifiers on hand for evaluation, and if you know your combined output is pretty close to 300 watts, I’d suggest a high quality power strip from Naim, Wireworld or IsoTek to make for a multiple outlet power distribution system. WireWorld and IsoTek provide excellent, reasonably priced products for this task, and total cost for conditioner and power strip still comes in way below what you’d expect to spend on a premium power cord. Another fantastic transformation was the already fantastic Nagra 300p tube amplifier. While Nagra does not list a spec for power consumed, it only produces 20 watts per channel, so it was worth investigating.

Again, the Equi=Core 300 comes through brilliantly, so digging out an old pair of lovely sounding but notoriously noisy Bottlehead 2A3 SET’s make for an incredible experience via this little power conditioner. I would suggest the Equi=Core 300 to anyone with an SET amplifier. Get two if you need one for each channel. You won’t be sorry. The beguiling nature of the SET really comes through with a dropped noise floor and the Bottleheads sound more like Wavac amps with the addition of the Equi=Core 300.

The Equi=Core 300 does an equally good job with solid-state gear, provided you stay within the load requirements. Though it probably defeats the compact purpose, our Naim MuSo QB and B&W Zeppelin responded incredibly well to some line conditioning and their class D amplifiers sounded way less grainy, treated to clean power. A few pieces of vintage gear as well as a couple of DACs on hand also proved highly compatible with the Equi=Core 300 too. Oddly enough, and we’ve had the same results with every great line conditioner we’ve used, the effect of clean power always seems to be slightly more apparent with tube gear than solid state.

The Equi=Core 300 power conditioner is one of the most unobtrusive power conditioners I’ve had the pleasure to use – at any price. I bought the review sample, and will probably buy another. It’s that good. We have a review in the works of one of their larger models, so we’ll keep you posted. For inquiring minds that need to know, these are designed and hand built in CPT’s Colorado factory and the pride of assembly shows. The Equi=Core 300 is equally well executed visually as it is electronically.

It would be a crime not to give this little box one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2017. You need to hear (or perhaps more precisely, not hear) what it can do for your hifi system. In an age where power cords cost more than used BMW’s, this is a refreshing approach indeed.

The Equi=Core 300 Power Conditioner

$799-$899 (depending on length of power cord)

www.corepowertechnologies.com

Click here for  a quick video of the new MP1100 Phono Preamplifier from McIntosh…

Click here to view all the specs at the McIntosh website…

Audio Research always has something new under the hood of any new release, but their new Foundation series is a major step up aesthetically as well.

We’ve just received the entire series in for full review, but we’ve started with the PH9 phono stage. At $7,500 it will be an interesting comparison to the REF PHONO 3, also in for review (and destined to stay here after as a reference component) to see what the extra $5,500 buys you beyond a second input and balanced outputs.

Stay tuned!

www.audioresearch.com

The older we get, the more difficult it is to remember some of life’s firsts.

Once, while chatting with Jerry Seinfeld about his Porsche collection, a big smile came across his face recalling his first 911; a red, early 80s Carrera, and how hard he had to work to get that car. “You never forget stretching for the first one.”

So it goes for me with turntables. A full summer of chores put enough money in my wallet to walk into Pacific Stereo and plunk a shiny new Technics SL-1200 (with Stanton 681EEE cartridge) into the hatch of my Gremlin back in 1976. Ok, I’m not as famous as Mr. S, but I kinda know how he felt. Rushing home at a hurried pace, a quick set up with the enclosed alignment tool, and Frampton Comes Alive was blasting out of my JBL L-100s. I had never even heard the term VTA and my wallet was empty, but I was really, really, happy.

A little more than 40 years later, weaving through Portland’s rush hour traffic, trying to get to FedEx before they close, I feel the same sense of excitement on the way to pick up today’s SL-1200G. Last year, Technics released a limited quantity of the classic table, model SL-1200GAE. They sold out almost instantly, with a retail price of about $4,000. Yeah, that’s a lot more than I paid for mine, but all things considered, $400 back in 1976 is about $2,300 in todays money. So, is the new 1200, $1,700 better than the old one?  We’re about to find out.

Fortunately, between staff member Jerold O’Brien and I, we pretty much keep everything, or we know how to get our hands on it. Mr. O’Brien just happened to have a 1200 lying about from 1980, so that’s close enough. To make this even more interesting, I still have a 1200 mk.II that’s had some modifications courtesy of Sean Casey at Zu Audio, as well as a TimeStep power supply from Sound HiFI in the UK. (you can read that article here), so there will be none of that “well, I can’t really remember what a 1200 sounded like, but blah, blah, blah.” that you hear from the other so called experts. It’s 1200 fest at TONEAudio. We do our homework.

Attention to detail

Seinfeld is fond of mentioning what he calls “density of thought.” Comparing the 1200 mk.II to the current 1200G is much like comparing an 80s Carerra to a current 911. Most of the visual cues you know are still there, right down to that same cartridge alignment tool, but everything is finished to a much higher standard.

Those that like to geek out the older 1200s usually concentrate on a couple of areas first; dampening the platter and the chassis; the former being tougher than the latter, because of balance issues. Along with a greatly improved direct drive mechanism, Technics addresses both of these issues with the 1200G. The new platter is fully balanced, filled with a layer of deadening rubber and has a brass top layer to the platter. Popping the platter from the original 1200 mk.II on the current table quickly reveals the progress made. Images fully rendered on the 1200G shrink dramatically and a level of low level image focus and quality disappears. The delta is like going from a pair of Nordost Odin cables to a pair of Radio Shack interconnects.

The original 1200 benefited tremendously from having the tonearm rewired with premium wire, but thanks to a pair of RCA jacks underneath the table, a-la VPI, swapping the fifty cent interconnect for a pair of Cardas Clear interconnects brought the sound of the 1200G to the head of the class. Last but not least, for the perfectionists in the crowd (and I know you’re out there) replace the standard issue head shell and associated wire. In this case, a wooden Ortofon LH-8000 fills the bill nicely.

While the new G model’s tonearm looks remarkably similar to the one fitted to the original 1200, the bearings and counterweight are machined to a much tighter tolerance, and where the original arm was made from aluminum, the magnesium arm from the limited edition SL-1200 GAE is retained here. Even the dampening feet are greatly improved over the original model.

Just like any other high performance machine, the SL-1200G benefits from numerous small improvements that you can’t see. Better bearings along with refined motor and drive control circuitry all add up to more music revealed.

Anticipation

Considering all the fun I had taking the photos of this table, I kept wondering how it would sound on initial power up. In a word, dark. However, this is not the table’s fault. After the folks at Technics delivered a huge bag of cash to my doorstep via Fed Ex it sounded much better. Just kidding.

However, in all seriousness, setting up the SL-1200G with the tools in the box and a modest cartridge will not get you to audio heaven, but this would be like assembling a 911 engine with a pliers, and an adjustable wrench. That project would go equally poorly. Though the new 1200G looks a lot like it’s distant relative, all the verbiage in the manual is true; this table is a much more precise instrument.

Get your hands on some decent setup tools – now. A precise protractor like the Feickert or the Acoustical Systems SMARTractor, a good test record and a digital stylus force gauge. If you are a master of the Feickert setup software, that won’t hurt either. 30-60 minutes spent fine tuning the new 1200 will pay a world of dividends. Lastly, throw out the stock power cord and fit something a little better while you’re at it just for good measure.

I can’t fault Technics for any of this; they did their homework and built a solid deck. In their defense, the last $5,500 tonearm I purchased from SME resulted in throwing the packaged tonearm cable in the circular file, to be replaced with a $1,200 cable from Furutech. The good news is that you can at least get the 1200G up and running with the tools and cables included; but properly set up, it’s a sweetheart of a table.

Nothing but fun

The SL-1200G is so easy to use, it’s made vinyl playback a blast. Thanks to the three inputs on the Pass Labs XS Phono, and a set of three Rega Elys 2 cartridges, comparing the three variations on the SL-1200 theme is not only a breeze, but enlightening. Queuing up three copies of MoFi’s self-titled Santana (only a few pressing numbers apart, to keep it all as close to identical as possible) quickly shows the progress the Technics engineers have made.

Immediately the new table’s massive stereo image makes itself known. The mk.2 creates a somewhat small sonic landscape that is limited to the space between the speakers; it feels more like VHS. Where the gentle piano at the beginning of “Treat” feels small and uninvolving on the mk.2, moving up to the 1200G brings it alive, the piano now sounding much bigger and livelier. As the guitar is folded in, a similar effect is displayed and even the non-audiophiles in my impromptu listening sessions stood up and took notice.

All three tables exhibit great speed accuracy, but again the new model (and the TimeStep modded version) offer a much lower noise floor, resulting in a greater dynamic range. When tracking through a new, 45 r.p.m. copy of Kruder and Dorfmeister’s The K&D Sessions, the new table shines, with incredible bass weight that the other two can’t match.

Finally where I would never have mounted a premium cartridge to the original 1200, because of its general lack of resolution, this is now a welcome addition to the current model. Upgrading the standard issue Technics head shell with something from Ortofon or another specialty manufacturer, and some better head shell wires (in this case, a set of silver ones from Furutech) takes it all to the next level.

Switching from the $300 Rega MM cartridge to the $6,000 Transfiguration Proteus cartridge brought about quite the “ah-ha” moment, and convinces me that this is a world class table in the $4,000 price category. The Technics SL-1200G has the ability to resolve the difference between cartridges with ease, and thanks to the easily removable head shells, this was not a terribly difficult task. Even if you don’t invest in a $6,000 cartridge for your new 1200G, know it is up to the task.

Should you be of the “get a great table first, add the mega cartridge later” mindset, one budget cartridge that delivers astounding sonics with the 1200G is the $379 Denon DL-103r. It won’t offer the last bit of fine detail that the four figure cartridges will, but it’s level of sheer musicality and bass weight should keep your ears perked up.

I’ve never been a DJ, but…

I do have more than one turntable, and I can’t resist a good 45 r.p.m. maxi single. The well recorded ones offer up a level of dynamics that is usually a cut above a standard album. Radiohead’s “High and Dry” proved a perfect place to start. A mere push of the button is all it takes to get to 45 right now, and it goes without saying, the speed accuracy of the new 1200G is perfect – the red strobe now replaced by a rich blue.

As you might suspect, the rock-solid speed accuracy provided by direct drive makes not only for explosive transients, but sturdy bass response. Zipping through a handful of Prince 45s delivers a special quality, weight and texture to the lower register that I haven’t experienced with tables at this price before.

Yet the 1200Gs sole attribute is not solid bass response as the early mk.2 was. Where the original still provides a rock solid musical foundation, it’s not an audiophile turntable in stock form. The current G model adds the nuance that you’d expect from a great belt drive table. While the 1200G doesn’t have the level of finesse that my reference Brinkmann Bardo possesses, it grooves in that direction.

Switching the program material to solo piano underlines the 1200Gs solidity. It’s like taking the speed stability of a great digital recording and adding the tonal saturation of analog. It’s a compelling combination.

Lastly, I just couldn’t resist the urge to do a little bit of scratching, so the Ortofon CC Scratch came off the shelf and after resetting tracking and anti-skate (Ortofon suggests a 2-gram anti skate setting and 4-gram tracking force “because of the abnormal behavior of the tonearm when backcuing.” Try that on a $100,000 turntable.

Across the board great

As with a great sports car, much is to be said for balance. Those rare cars with an equal amount of stop, go, handling and feel are often much more fun on a curvy road than a high horsepower car that is a monster beyond your capabilities. The Technics SL-1200G is like the new generation Miata. It offers up such a balanced amount of analog performance, that you’ll never notice you aren’t listening to a $30,000 turntable.

If you haven’t considered a direct drive turntable for audiophile duty, I can’t suggest the Technics SL-1200G highly enough. I’m happy to award it one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2017 and not only have I purchased the review sample, I’m thinking of a second one, just because.

The Technics SL-1200G

MSRP: $4,000

www.technics.com

Peripherals

Phonostage                Pass XS Phono, Audio Research REF Phono 3

Cartridges                  Rega Elys2, Ortofon Scratch, Denon DL-103r, Sumiko Blackbird, Grado Reference 1, Transfiguration Proteus

Preamplifier              Pass XS Pre

Power Amplifier        Pass XS 300 monoblocks

Cable                          Tellurium Q Silver Diamond and Cardas Clear

We’ve just received OPPO’s latest creation, the Sonica DAC.

At $799, this looks to be another killer, offering compatibility with all digital formats, streaming and multi-room audio capabilities. Featuring the latest ESS ES9038PRO chip, and synchronous transfer mode, the high precision clock inside the Sonica DAC drives the audio signal, not relying on the clock quality of the computer. The USB DAC input supports PCM up to 768 kHz 32-bit and DSD up to 22.5792 MHz (DSD512).

The Sonica offers variable, line level outputs, so it can be used as a preamplifier, like their award winning HA-1.

For more information, click here:

http://www.oppodigital.com/sonica-dac/

For a city of barely more than a half million people, Saint-Etienne, France is a pretty cool place. In addition to it’s fantastic cuisine, it’s ranked 19^th globally for innovation, a virtual hotspot of technical activity. And it’s home to Focal, an equally innovative speaker manufacturer.

A few years ago when I visited the factory, there was something lurking in the corner of the R&D department that would later become the floorstanding Sopra no.2. Inquiring about the prototype, I was quickly escorted out and politely asked not to mention anything about what I saw. It all became clear at last year’s Munich hifi show and here we are today with three Sopra models. The no.1 is the smallest model, stand mounted, with an MSRP of just under $9,000/pair, including the massive yet stylish stands, leaving nothing to chance. Visually similar to Focal’s Diablo Utopias, costing nearly twice as much, the Sopra no.1 takes advantage of all new technology, developed by Focal to get higher performance from a smaller form factor.

A two-way system, the new woofer and tweeter, not only achieve lower distortion figures than past models, they are very efficient with an 89db sensitivity rating, assuring compatibility with modest powered amplifiers. We had excellent luck pairing the Sopras with both solid-state and vacuum tube amplifiers. For those wanting more info, click here.

Walking around the Focal plant, the level of technical expertise combined with an equally high level of old world, hands-on craftsmanship is stunning. The Sopra line of speakers are built from their innovative drivers up to the finished product completely by hand via the same craftspeople building the $225,000/pair (not a typo) Grande Utopia EM speakers. It shows the minute you slide them out of the box. These speakers are drop-dead gorgeous, and our test pair is coated in a flawless white finish. Beautiful as the walnut veneer is, the Sopra’s sophisticated shape bets for a shiny, solid color. Black, red and orange is also available – all are equally spectacular; your décor will determine which you choose.

Commandeer a bit of help to unpack the Sopras as they weigh just over 40 pounds each with the stands equally massive. Thanks to built-in, easily adjustable spikes, which are easily retractable until you find the best balance between bass punch and midrange clarity, initial setup is a snap. We suggest starting with the Sopras about six feet apart and about three feet from the wall if possible.

Proceed to move them apart until the stereo image falls apart, then move slightly back together. Then move them as a pair (might want to grab a tape measure for this) closer and further away from the wall until you get the best bass response without booming. Grab your favorite bass heavy hip hop or EDM tracks to sort this out quickly.

Once you’ve completed this task, sit back and have an adult beverage, but not too many if you want to fine tune the speakers further. Patience still intact, experiment with toe in and then if you really want a gold star, experiment with tilting the speakers back on their axis slightly. This is where those large adjustment knobs at the base of the stands are worth their weight in gold. When you get this angle just right, the stereo image rendered between your speakers really gets deep. Now you can really get the party started.

Yoko Ono’s vocals on “Yes I’m a Witch” is absolutely creepy. She sounds like she’s everywhere in the room, haunting you wherever you go, thanks to the Sopra’s great dispersion characteristics. Sit on the couch, sit on the floor, walk to the kitchen – she’s still right there. But that’s what you pay the big money for; big sound. Exercising the bass is equally entertaining spinning Mr. Scruff’s Trouser Jazz. The bass energy here keeps you nailed to your seat and tracking through the album, all of my party guests are flabbergasted by just how much air these small speakers can move.

Fun as these audio acrobatics are, the PR copy about Focal’s new driver technology is absolutely true. These speakers are fatigue and distortion free. The only downside is that if you have a lot of amplifier power on tap and live in an apartment building, you may just have a few neighbors knocking at your door, so be prepared for crisis management or party time.

The Focal Sopra no.1 speakers are a premium offering from one of the world’s finest speaker manufacturers and paired with top shelf components will provide you with a world class listening system. They get our highest recommendation.

The Focal Sopra no.1 Speakers

www.focal.com

$8,995/pair, with stands

The question is often posed, “How do we get more people to engage in the world of high end audio.”

Too often this is followed up by a bunch of grumpy old men, sitting in chairs at a hifi show, somewhere between minor arguments over minutiae and falling into sleepy time.

If you’re a 20 or 30 something person casually observing this, I’m guessing you don’t want to be part of this group. I’m 50 something and I don’t want to be part of this group.

Arriving at the beautifully appointed World of McIntosh townhouse in NYC’s SoHo district for the unveiling of Sonus faber’s latest Homage Tradition collection. The tagline is “Everyday Luxury,” and I couldn’t agree with them more. They’ve come up with a range of new speakers between about $16,000 and $30,000 that incorporates everything they’ve learned building their flagship models.

I could go on and on about the technical and mechanical details, but it’s not necessary. When you hear them, you’ll know instantly. And when you see them and touch them for yourselves, the sheer quality is evident.

But I suggest you watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de-reIo-BO4&feature=youtu.be

Sonus faber and the McIntosh group really get what it takes to not only make fine audio cool, but they give it the respect it deserves. Hence the name “Homage tradition.”

I wanna be this guy and you do to. Well, at least we can all have a pair of Sonus faber speakers and dream….

www.sonusfaber.com

I can’t tell you how many times friends and readers have asked me the same question, “I just want a nice turntable. I’ve been getting back into vinyl a bit, and I’d like something better than an entry level deck.”

The minute I point them in the direction of one of my favorite $1,200 turntables, start discussing cartridge choices and a decent phono preamplifier, the next comment is “I don’t want to get carried away with it, I’m only going to buy a couple of hundred albums.” If this sounds like you, the Shinola Runwell might just be the answer to your needs.

Opening the Shinola Runwell turntable reminds me of the first time I unpacked my Shinola watch. Well done, with high attention to detail, and confidence inspiring execution. I’ll be the first to admit; I don’t know a thing about watches. If you’re a watch aficionado, you can stick your nose in the air at my lowly Shinola watch all day long, and you won’t offend me. I love it.

The next thing I noticed was an Andrew Bird album (excellent choice) with a note saying “Thank you from Shinola.” When was the last time anyone thanked you for buying something? When was the last time a hi-fi store salesperson was even kind to you, period?

Steve Jobs once said, “If we don’t make technology as easy to use as putting a bagel in a toaster, no one will use it.” Laurie Anderson once quipped that she had “A drawer full of techy items she couldn’t figure out.” Shinola gets a 10 out of 10 for including a large, well-written, easy to read, quick start guide. I wish every other turntable company on Earth would follow this example. (To be fair, Rega comes pretty close, but that’s it.) If you can’t set it up, you’re not going to play any records, right? This stuff should not be daunting and exclusionary.

It’s an all-inclusive analog vacation

A good friend of mine that is a high-level IT professional said to me once, “we don’t realize just how immersed in all this stuff we are until we talk to someone that isn’t.”

Most of the people that go to Club Med, or any of the other all inclusive vacation spots do so because it’s a no brainer. They want to go on vacation, after all. That doesn’t mean those of you that want to sniff out more exotic locations or cuisine are bad Smurfs. But I can tell you this; the main thing that keeps the average music lover away from vinyl is the perceived hassle of setting up a turntable.

I’ve never had an easier time getting from box to spinning records than I have with Shinola’s Runwell. I’d give them an award for that alone. My nagging audiophile sensibilities got the best of me, and I just had to check the stylus force. Spot on at 1.85g. Attach the belt, plug it in and roll – there’s a power cord and a pair of interconnects in the box, so everything you need to roll is there. Or spin, should we say.

It’s probably taken you a lot longer to read this far than it will to set up a Shinola Runwell turntable. And that’s a good thing. Once spinning, the Runwell turns in an honest performance. The Ortofon 2M Blue works well with the internal MM phonostage. Mated with the exciting Atoll amplifier and preamplifier that we just reviewed last issue and the Focal Sopra no.1 speakers, this all makes for an incredibly pleasant analog experience. The Runwell is so easy to use, playing record after record is a breeze.

But is it an “audiophile” turntable?

Yes and no. From a sonic standpoint of comparably priced turntable/tonearm/cartridge/phonostage combinations – definitely. From an infinitely adjustable/tweakable analog deck, no. The only unfortunate part of the Runwell is that you can’t bypass the onboard phono preamplifier without getting your soldering iron out, but you can adjust VTA, etc., so you can swap MM cartridges if you like. But then that defeats the purpose of this turntable. Considering the modular nature of this table and the fact that this is Shinolas first table, I wouldn’t be surprised that future models may have more versatility.

For those of you that just have to tweak something, consider upgrading the Ortofon 2M Blue to a 2M Bronze or 2M Black. With a 2M Black on hand (it is the same form factor and weight as the 2M Blue) it only takes five minutes to make the swap and you won’t have to bother with VTA. The Runwell is capable of enough resolution to allow you to hear the difference, upping the price of the whole deck from the original MSRP of $2,500 to about $3,200. And if you just can’t leave well enough alone, swapping the supplied RCA cable for something else will reveal more music too. I’d suggest the Wireworld Equinoxe 7. At $200 a pair, this will also bring more musical enjoyment to your Runwell. While not infinitely geekable, you can still upgrade enough stuff on the Runwell that it’s not a dead end product, in audiophile terms. Hint to the Shinola team if you haven’t already thought of it, consider offering this table with a 2M Black for another $500.

However, even if all you do is take the Runwell out of the box, set it up and listen to records, never even thinking about changing anything, it succeeds on every level. The musical experience delivered is more than commensurate with the price asked.

Running through a set of favorite test discs, the massive platter has great speed stability, offering a weighty sound, not unlike what my VPI Classic One delivers.

For those of you that haven’t been following the Shinola story, Mat Weisfeld, and his father Harry, the guys behind VPI have been very involved with the Shinola table, and this turntable shares a lot of visual as well as sonic DNA. Yet, this isn’t just a Camaro rebadged as a Firebird. On one level, the visual styling of the Runwell is a step above the basic VPI tables, with an overall look that is more reserved, yet more sophisticated than the VPI Classic Line. (And I say this as a happy owner of a Classic One and Two.) The Runwell is also more compact than the VPI tables, and even though these tables are brothers from the same father, they each have unique identities.

The machined top plate of the turntable plinth reminds me of a vintage Thorens TD-124, both in color and feel. A massive aluminum platter, tonearm and light wood base (it’s also available in black) rounds out the package, complimented by the medium toned leather mat on top of the platter. I’ve seen plenty of ten thousand dollar turntables lacking this level of fit and finish.

Pure analog ease

Spinning record after record, this is a turntable that even a seasoned audio reviewer could easily live with. No $2,500 record player gives you everything – that costs a lot more money. But judged within its context, the Shinola Runwell is a lovely turntable. Playing more than a handful of very familiar LP’s, the analog magic is here in spades.  Sonics are superb, the soundstage presented is wide open, with more info in the left to right, and while there is some front to back information, not as much as might be expected from higher end decks – and much of this is the limitation of the 2M Blue. When upgraded to the 2M Black, more front to back information is available.

I was consistently impressed by the overall smoothness of the onboard MM phono section. Tonality is excellent, along with snappy transient response, and this baby is quiet! Perhaps the only nit to pick is a slight softening/rolling off of the extreme high end. Again, swapping to a 2M Black takes care of this for the most discerning ears.

Not a poseur

Shinola Audio has come out of the box with an impressive product in the Runwell Turntable. Build quality is exceptional, packaging equally intriguing, but best of all the sound quality is more than what you’d expect for the price. When you head down to a Shinola store and touch one, you’ll see what I mean. The staff at Shinola has built a product that they should be very proud of.

Some will bellyache over the somewhat closed loop system, but most of those types bellyache no matter what. If you want a record player that is a few steps up from entry level stuff, works perfectly and looks magnificent, I can’t recommend the Shinola Runwell highly enough.

For now, the Shinola Runwell is only available through Shinola stores and select Neiman Marcus stores. All the more reason to stop by and see the other cool stuff they have. You might just need a backpack or a watch!

The Shinola Runwell Turntable

MSRP:  $2,500

www.shinola.com

Peripherals

Preamplifier              Atoll HA120

Power Amplifier        Atoll HD100

Speaker Cable           Cardas Iridium

Speakers                    Focal Sopra no.1

The dictionary says that Syzygy is pronounced siz-i-jee, with the emphasis on the first syllable. A syzygy is defined as an alignment of three or more celestial objects.

Listening to the heavy bass groove in George Michael’s Older, I couldn’t agree more. My Quad 2815s and a pair of the SLF850 subwoofers are blending perfectly; this is not an easy task for any subwoofer. They don’t even feel as if they are on to begin with until the “mute” button on the handy iPhone app shuts them off. Then, the soundfield produced by the Quads merely collapses. This is subwoofer perfection.

Finished in a textured, matte black 12.5-inch cube, these subwoofers get the job done without drawing attention to themselves and can be used in a downward or front-firing configuration. In my room they prove to work best in the front firing configuration, but I have no pups of the two or four-legged variety to interfere with all things audio. Should you, the down-firing option will be greatly appreciated.

The main man at Syzygy, Paul Egan is by no means a stranger to the world of high-end audio, having spent 13 years at KEF and nearly as many at API, working with Mirage and a few other well-known speaker brands. So, when the time came to create his product, he not only knew what he wanted but where to procure everything. Leveraging his past relationships, he’s been able to pack a lot more into a sub-thousand dollar subwoofer than someone starting at ground zero. Keeping things lean and mean, he’s even eschewed putting grilles on his subs to keep them all business. Discussing the background of his products, Egan makes an excellent point when he says “I’m trying to democratize good sound at a reasonable price.” At $799 each, the SLF850 is a steal.

Success!

While there are two other 8-inch subs and a 12-inch in the product mix in addition to the SLF-850 reviewed here with a 10-inch carbon fiber driver, all but the smallest model are acoustic suspension with full wireless capability. While one sub is better than none, if you’re trying to extend the LF response of your speakers, a single sub can take a little more effort to place.

Which is why I enjoy wireless subwoofers so much. No worrying about running long cables to the proper placement. The DSP optimization functionality of the SLF850 takes this a step further, because the EQ makes it easy to place and integrate the woofer. Should you want to use your SLF-850 in a traditional, wired configuration, supplying signal from either your surround sound receiver’s LFE channel or the high level outputs from your preamplifier, that is no problem.

Setup couldn’t be more painless. These compact cubes unpack quickly and Syzygy includes an excellent manual to get you rocking in no time at all. If you are proceeding in wireless mode, the tiny Bluetooth receiver/interface needs to be plugged into a variable line-level output with traditional RCA cables. Once the SLF-850 is placed where you need to put it, download the app on whatever device (iPhone or Android) you possess and run a few processes.

First, the Syzygy Sub app finds and measures your woofer(s), with your smart device about a foot from its output. Then, moving to your listening position and running another sweep adjusts the woofer to your listening environment for optimum bass performance right at the sweet spot with the “Auto EQ” function.

This will get you about 90-95% of the way home and a bit more fine tuning will bring it all to perfection. Depending on the type of main speakers you are using, the Low Pass feature allows adjustment of the crossover from 40 – 150hz.

After everything is adjusted to taste, you can control the output level from your phone, and choose “normal,” “music,” “cinema,” or “night” settings, which are more like a preset bass level control. As I don’t have neighbors close by anymore, I just let the SLF850s rip in normal mode with excellent result, regardless of program material. The mute button helps you fine tune, making it easy to cut the woofer(s) out of the loop. The better you have it all dialed in, the less you notice the woofers, until a deep bass passage – as it should be.

A versatile performer

Though Egan sent me a pair of SLF850s for this review, I started with one, because not everyone will jump off the cliff for a pair right off the bat. Three sets of speakers were used, all presenting different perspectives. My Graham LS5/9 speakers go solidly down to about 40hz, with useable output to 30, making them a good speaker that can be run full range. The KEF LS-50s are strictly a satellite, being a challenge for any subwoofer because it will have to go sufficiently high without coloration to mate well with the little monitors. Lastly, the Quad 2812s are equally tough, but for different reasons; the difference in dispersion characteristics of the ESL panel and a piston woofer (not to mention the lightning speed of the ESL panel) is usually near impossible to get right, where you aren’t hearing speakers here and woofers there. But it can be done.

The short story is that the SLF850, both singly and as a pair mates flawlessly to all three of these combinations. In single woofer mode, the SLF850 was placed just slightly off center of the main speakers (all three) back against the rear wall in front firing mode. Thanks to the fine tuning allowed by the app, there were no issues at all integrating the SLF850 into the system and for the most part, if I were in a smaller space, I could probably get along just fine with one woofer.

Moving to dual woofer mode, the little KEFs worked great with the SLF850s slightly behind and off to the side of the stands. The Grahams a bit further in both directions and with the Quads, I ended up with the woofers fairly far back, almost behind the listening couch. This made for the most seamless integration. Not only did I notice even better integration, but a pair provides wider dynamic range and better low-level linearity as well. The bulk of the listening sessions were with two woofers in place.

You don’t realize you need it till you have it

If you’ve been predisposed to thinking that you don’t need low-frequency extension, prepare to be surprised. Even with the LS5/9s, which I previously thought had plenty of bass in my 11 x 18-foot listening room, came alive with a pair of SLF850s added to the mix.

They certainly made for a lot more fun with my favorite Dubstep and hip-hop tracks as well as the entire Genesis catalog, yet even when playing music that you might not think has a ton of LF content, the soundstage in the room opens up considerably with the woofers in place. Tracking through the classic Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway hit, “Where is the Love?” the pair of SLF850s gives both singers voices more depth and breath. Ditto listening to Miles Davis’ Tutu. Yes, the heartbeat at the beginning of Dark Side of the Moon was pretty rocking too. Again, just hit that mute button to see what you are missing.

The LS-50s took the longest to optimize (about 15 min as opposed to about 5 min with the other two), but again, once the sweet spot was located, things jelled tremendously, and these small but mighty monitors could now light up the room with heavy rock music and play considerably louder too.

Skeptical as I was that these speakers would not be able to keep pace with the Quads, (and Egan assured me that they would) they succeed brilliantly with these pesky panels. The current crop of Quads is much livelier than models past, but they are still Quads. You won’t get much enjoyment out of Metallica without the woofers, yet once in place, hard rock can now be appreciated. Grooving through TIDAL’s “favorite dance tracks of 2016” proved equally entertaining. With some serious bass happening, I’ve been able to enjoy the Quads like never before. Purists be damned.

56 pounds of sheer fun

That is if you take two. But regardless of whether you add one or two of the SLF850s to your system, fine tuned, low-frequency extension is easy and affordable. Thanks to the wireless, DSP configuration and the small form factor, I can’t think of anyone not being able to integrate at least one of these into your listening room. You’ll be glad you did. I’m adding the review samples to my Audiophile Apartment system, so you’ll be seeing and hearing more of them in reviews to come.

Our compliments to Paul Egan and the staff at Syzygy for delivering an outstanding product at a very approachable price; earning them one of our first Exceptional Value Awards for 2017.

The Syzygy SLF850 Subwoofer

$799

www.syzygyacoustics.com

Peripherals

Amplification        Esoteric F-07 Integrated, PrimaLuna HP Integrated

Analog Source     Soulines Kubrick Turntable/ZYX 1000 cartridge

Digital Source        Gryphon Kalliope DAC, ELAC DS-101G Server

Speakers        KEF LS-50, Graham LS5/9, Quad 2812

Cable            Cardas Iridium

Tracking through Radiohead’s newest album, A Moon Shaped Pool, the sonic landscape painted by ModWright’s entry preamplifier is impressive – even after I’ve just removed a big-bucks preamplifier from a system consisting of a CJ LP125sa+ power amplifier, the dCS Rossini DAC featured on our cover and my reference GamuT RS5i speakers, all cabled with Cardas Clear. Yep, this $2,900 preamp is getting the job done in good company.

Thanks to Tidal, running through 20 or 30 familiar favorite tracks requires much less time than when the original 9.0 arrived 13 years ago. Oddly, one of the things that impressed me most about the original ModWright preamp was Wright’s labeling the inputs both right-side up and upside down, making it easier to peek behind your equipment rack and facilitate connections. A small attention to detail, but one that convinced me that this guy had some insight.

A lot has transpired in 13 years. A quick drive up to Amboy, Washington proves fruitful, picking up one of the first SWL 9.0 Anniversary Edition preamplifiers from Dan Wright. The original SWL 9.0 (named for the 9.0 pound birth weight of his son Spencer) was Wright’s first product 13 years ago, after a four-year career of modding other people’s gear for higher performance.

That original preamplifier was well thought out revealing a lot of sound for the $1,999 asking price. At the time, tube moguls Conrad Johnson, Audio Research, BAT and McIntosh didn’t have anything in this price range, and the ModWright compared favorably with a few of their more expensive offerings. But Wright was a young manufacturer with only a few years under his belt and relatively low overhead. Yet now with a manufacturing facility, employees and considerably more inventory, he’s managed to not only grow, but also stay lean and keep prices in line.

Fast forward to now

Today, Wright has earned his stripes, proving himself in an industry that isn’t always easy to compete in, and over 400 units of the original SWL 9.0 were produced. When one occasionally pops up on the secondary market, it is usually snapped up rather quickly, proving that this initial product is still very desirable. Those still possessing the original, take note: the mother ship can still service these preamplifiers.

Like the BMW 3-series, Wright’s products are evolutionary, rather than changing direction every couple years. They just keep getting a little better, sonically and visually, with every iteration. In his office, Wright jokes about how much he’s learned about shipping as well. While the casework of the SWL 9.0 Anniversary Edition has been simplified somewhat to hit the price point, the machined aluminum top plate from the more expensive models has been tastefully replaced by a stamped piece of metal, and the faceplate is still thick, with equally robust control knobs, all machined with care. Carefully placed in an equipment rack, you’ll never know the difference and this is a great example of putting the money invested where it counts – in the sound quality. Also gone, much for the better, are the paddle switches of old, now replaced with gentle push buttons. I remember breaking one of the switches on my original 9.0, just as I did on my Audio Research and BAT preamplifiers of similar vintage, so this is a nice touch. The 9.0 SWL Anniversary feels like a far more expensive preamplifier, especially when you pick it up. This thing has to weigh about 25 or 30 pounds.

Nothing unessential

The SWL 9.0 Anniversary is a model of simplicity. Inputs on the left, volume on the right. Just like the original, it still “goes to 11,” so we can see that success hasn’t gone to Wright’s head and dissolved his sense of humor – though you’d never turn it up that far. About 12 o’clock was all any of my single-ended power amplifiers needed to achieve full output. Running a wide range of amplifiers, from a vintage, restored SAE 2200 amplifier all the way up to the Pass Xs300 monoblocks that are my current reference, compatibility is superb. It’s worth noting that this preamplifier easily drives a 20-foot pair of interconnects without sonic degradation, a plus for the audiophile in a more compact space who wants to segregate a power amplifier from the rest of the system.

Around back are four sets of RCA high level inputs and a pair of variable level outputs along with a fixed level output for those of you using a tape or digital recorder. I took the time to connect my VPI Classic 1/Lyra Kleos and Rega phonostage along with a Revox B77 to make a mix tape and can assure those who love to make their own recordings that the SWL 9.0 Anniversary Edition performs flawlessly in this capacity as well. While not ready yet, Wright has mentioned that in the future, the SWL 9.0 Anniversary will be available with a built-in, solid-state MM phono option for $300. And of course, you’ll be able to upgrade it if you purchased without initially.

The original circuit of the SWL 9.0 was a hybrid Mu stage and the current version still takes advantage of the 5687 tube, which Wright likes for its “linear and dynamic sound.” However, today’s SWL 9.0 Anniversary is a pure tube design with no solid-state devices in the signal path. Only the headphone amp relies on discrete MOSFETs in the output.

Initial listening was done as a drop-in with my main reference system, yet the smiles were equally huge in the context of a bit more reasonable system. Final listening was done with a Pass XA30.8 amplifier and the Simaudio 260D CD player/DAC, all cabled with Cardas Clear Reflection cable. Both the Rogers LS5/9s and the Quad 2812s were used as reference speakers.

Wright claims the headphone stage should be able to drive anything and mentions he used Mr. Speakers Ethers to voice this part of the circuit. It sailed through driving the Audeze LCD-2s and my Oppo PM-1s with ease. While not the last word in headphone amplification, this should more than do the job for the moderate headphone listener who doesn’t want to spend $400–$600 on an outboard headphone amp, the necessary interconnect and power cord. Personally, in the tradition of the best vintage preamplifiers, I really like having a good phonostage and headphone amp all on the same chassis. This will serve 90–95% of the users perfectly. And it makes this preamp even more of a killer value.

Keeps the pace

Extended listening keeps bringing one thing to the forefront with the SWL 9.0 Anniversary Edition; it has exceptional pace. Whether listening to something flawlessly mastered, or something dense and compressed like my favorite Monkees tracks, this preamplifier keeps the beat nailed down, never wavering. The bottom end is strong – neither overbearing nor thin – and the overall sound feels somewhere between natural and a few molecules on the warm side of the spectrum, but barely so. As it was thirteen years ago, the SWL 9.0 Anniversary Edition adds precious little sonic signature to the music presented and that’s a good thing.

It has enough depth and inner detail to convince you that this is not a solid-state preamplifier, but it is never overly warm, tubey, or euphonic. You won’t be confused that it might be a vintage tube preamp either.

Head-fi friendly

In addition to the sonic and aesthetic improvements, the biggest change to the SWL 9.0 Anniversary is the addition of a headphone amplifier. Considering that even a so-so headphone amplifier is going to set you back at least $400–$500, the cost of this preamplifier has really only gone up about $400 in over ten years. Not bad, considering how much Wright’s organization has grown.

Yes, we have a winner

Investing ten to twenty thousand dollars in anything, whether an automobile or a music system is still somewhat of a luxury in today’s world. Some of the most intriguing audio systems I’ve heard over the years have fallen in this price range, because if you want great sound at this price point, great care is required both in system setup and component choice. I can’t think of a better preamplifier to round out a system in this price point than the ModWright SWL 9.0 Anniversary Edition and am happy to award it one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2016.

The five-figure preamplifiers still reveal more music, as they should. But the ModWright SWL 9.0 Anniversary Edition preamplifier nails all of the musical fundamentals, giving you a large enough portion of what the high end is all about. Unless you’ve got buckets of cash to spend, you can spend the rest of your life with this baby and not want for more. I’m certainly going to write Mr. Wright a check for one; half for old times’ sake and half to use as a reference in this neck of the woods. Here’s to thirteen more years. These days Spencer is tipping the scale at 100 pounds. Time flies indeed.

The ModWright SWL 9.0 Anniversary Edition Preamplifier

$2,900 (phonostage $300 additional)

www.modwright.com

Peripherals

Digital Source                        dCS Rossini DAC w/Rossini Clock and Paganini Transport

Amplifier                    Pass XA 30.8

Speakers                    Graham LS5/9 and Quad 2812

Cable                          Cardas Clear

Power                         Running Springs Dmitri

After cable, one of the top audiophile arguments is about the need (or lack thereof) clean power.

The forum pundits like to quip, “I’ve got clean power, I live at the end of the street/out in the burbs/out in the country…” But the truth is you don’t have clean power.

The good news is this is easy to sort out, and I’ve found power products the easiest to demo. You plug it in and if you aren’t blown away, don’t buy it. No straining to hear if the magic fairy dust is doing it’s job or not. But once you’ve settled on a solution for your power needs, you head straight back to arguing about cables!

Fortunately, the folks at Core Power Technologies have made it easy for you, with their EQUI=CORE 300. This 300 watt power conditioner features a high quality power cord hardwired on the input and output side, which in the end makes for a bit better sound. Those needing more outlets can go with a Matrix 2 power strip from the folks at Wireworld.

Price is $799 – $899, depending on the length of cable required. Full review in process, but our initial response is “just go buy one.”  :)

www.corepowertechnologies.com

Features

Old School:

VPI HW-19 Mk 3 Turntable
By Jerold O’Brien

995:

Venture Electronics Monk Plus IEM’s
By Kyle Dusing

Journeyman Audiophile:

Rotel A14 Integrated and CD14 CD Player
By Andre Marc

TONE Style

Podium XL from HiFi Racks

The Bubble Sofa by Roche Bobois

Snap Power Light Outlet

Orvis WW1 Wooden Propeller

WireSkin Wine Bottle Carrier

42mm Timex + Red Wing Chronograph

Jackson Pollack Puzzle

Music

Spin the Black Circle: Reviews of New Pop/Rock and Country Albums
By Bob Gendron, Todd Martens, Chrissie Dickinson, Andrea Domanick and Aaron Cohen

Jazz & Blues: Eric Hofbauer Quartet, Steve Slagel, and More!
By Kevin Whitehead and Jim Macnie

Bob Gendron’s Rock Reissues You Shouldn’t Miss

Gear Previews

GamuT Zodiac Speakers

MartinLogan Expression ESL 13A Speakers

Exogal Comet DAC

Reviews

GamuT Di150 Limited Edition Integrated Amplifier
By Jerold O’Brien

SVS SB-2000 Subwoofer
By Jeff Dorgay

Esoteric E-03 Phonostage
By Greg Petan

Franco Serblin Lignea Speakers
By Jeff Dorgay

Plinius Hiato Integrated Amplifier
By Rob Johnson

VPI Prime Turntable
By Jeff Dorgay

Atoll’s HD120 and MA100 Amp and Pre
By Jeff Dorgay

New experiences and overcoming past prejudices are always one of the most fun parts of my job evaluating hifi components. While I’ve never been a fan of open baffle speakers in the past, Eden Acoustics importer Larry Borden has convinced me that the Tomei system is not only compelling but exceptional in every way.

Taking into account that he and I both share an equal enthusiasm for electrostatic speakers, along with the unique German Physiks speakers (which he also imports), I can see why he is so enthusiastic about this product. He’s quick to point out that this is “the perfect music system for the enthusiast wanting to exit the upgrade treadmill.”

Dealers often generate a fair share of margin from selling ancillary items, such as cables. While many audiophiles love agonizing over component choices as much as a good sommelier does over pairing the right wine with a meal, it’s up to you to decide if the Tomei system delivers you from the agony of endless choices, or deprives you of the same. As a music lover foremost, I’ll take the former.

Eden goes a step further in their approach, claiming their speakers are of a baffle-less design. The artfully designed shape of the Tomei is so small, thanks to the Lucite cutouts, there is no baffle to speak of. It’s almost as if the 6-inch (150mm) woofer and 1-inch (29mm) soft dome tweeter float in mid air. This intriguing design begs to have spotlights blast through them to cast interesting shadows on your listening room walls.

These lovely satellites with integral stands combine with a 13-inch, (340mm) open baffle woofer, DSP processor and five discrete channels of amplification, perfectly matched to said drivers as part of a control unit that also features a built-in, high-performance DAC. You only need to hook it all up and start listening via a USB Class 2 or SPDIF input.  Those preferring to stream wirelessly can do so via Apple’s Air Play or Google’s Chromecast.

Analog enthusiasts are not left out in the cold, with one pair of RCA and one pair of balanced XLR line-level inputs available. However, these inputs are upsampled to 32 bit/768khz signals via an on-board AK5397 ADC, so they are not actual line level analog inputs. Though this might annoy the fussiest vinyl junkies, most analog lovers will not even notice the difference. I had a similar experience with the Devialet integrated amplifiers that we’ve reviewed. With so many listeners turning to streaming audio, whether from their own NAS or a variety of on demand services, I doubt this will be a point of major contention.

Those wanting the complete technical details on the system can click here:

http://www.edenacoustics.com/page-2/

Eden Acoustics even includes all the necessary cables to connect the speakers and subwoofer to the amplifier/Control Unit, terminated with Neutrik connectors. High-performance audio doesn’t get any easier than the Tomei system. All you will need to purchase is your favorite high quality power cord and a USB cable. Easy.

Total cost is $18,000 but you’d be hard pressed to find this much hardware elsewhere for less. And, you’d spend a ton of time getting it all to integrate this splendidly, if at all. There are no compromises in the Tomei system; it looks fantastic, it sounds fantastic, it occupies a minimum amount of space in your environment, and it’s easy to set up. The components all come packed in well-lined and reinforced crates to assure safe transport. Once unboxed, you are about 15 minutes to music. What’s not to love?

The proof is in the listening

We begin listening via the onboard DAC, controlled by an iPad, with a Mac Mini as digital liaison. Working with Roon and TIDAL, it’s easy to navigate through selections of CD and high resolution, with the Tomei’s hardware providing more than enough resolution to easily discern between the two sources. I get the picture as soon as the classic Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald tune “Cheek to Cheek” starts.

The Eden website claims that the Tomei system presents “a big, open, airy sound.” I’d call it an understatement. These speakers disappear in the room better than nearly anything I’ve experienced, and while Borden’s Sanders ESLs are slightly more refined, the Tomei’s just vanish like the best panels you’ve probably experienced. They have way more sock than a panel system. He suggests an equilateral triangle arrangement, and a measuring tape confirms that we have the speakers 112 inches apart, as well as from tweeter to our nose. Borden assures me that the baffle-less design makes these speakers easy to set up in smaller rooms too.

Eliminating Mr. Armstrong from the presentation, Ms. Fitzgerald’s solo performance on “Miss Otis Regrets” is beyond description in typical audiophile clichés. Thanks to Borden’s room (measuring about 22 x 30 feet), listening to the Eden system in the nearfield presents Fitzgerald realistically, both sonically and spatially. It only feels like there is someone standing in front of a microphone in his room. An equally realistic portrait is painted, switching to the dark side, listening to Johnny Cash sing “Delia’s Gone.” Every bit of grit and agony in Cash’s voice cuts right through.

We all know that an excellent performance with a duo or solo vocalist is low hanging fruit, but the Eden system proves equally capable of every type of music directed its way. Classical music comes across as broad, spacious, and uncluttered, with the necessary amount of diffusion to give a convincing sense of an orchestra. Again, while these speakers will perform well in a compact space, a larger room (and in this case, one that is well treated) does help to create the illusion of size.

Good as the Tomei system is, taking the analogue signal from the EMM Labs DAC2x/Merrill Audio Christine linestage, driven by an Aurender music server, through the Control Unit’s A-to-D converter, and back through the amplification chain does provide a step up in sonic performance, so the hard core audiophile with a need for speed can still wring more performance from this already fantastic combination. 95% of those buying the Tomei system will be more than thrilled, but the system made it easy to discern the sound quality available by adding an outboard DAC that is nearly as expensive as the entire system to the mix. Revisiting all of the selections listened to earlier, the EMM DAC offers more refinement, a slightly smoother rendition of high frequencies, and an even larger soundfield in all three dimensions.

Adding an outboard DAC of this caliber nearly doubles the system cost, and while not terribly relevant in the context of the system, it does prove that there is still more performance to be had by these components, should you do want to get crazy with your platinum card.

Superior integration

Sub/sat systems often struggle with woofer integration. The satellites often can’t go down quite far enough, or the woofer can’t quite reach high enough, quickly enough to eliminate the music rendered as coming from three separate boxes. The Eden system offers up the most transparent combination I’ve ever experienced. The dipole woofer lacks an inappreciable amount of ultimate dynamic slam that my JL Audio Fathom possesses, but this is a worthwhile trade for the sheer quality of low-frequency energy produced. Borden points out that a dipole woofer produces fewer room nodes than other types of configurations, due to cancellation in the plane of the woofer. Again, the proof is in the listening.

With amplification tailored to each driver, the crossover points and slopes controlled by the integral DSP, and 1,250 watts of power at your disposal, the Tomei system provides plenty of dynamic range as well. At first glance, you might never glance that these small speakers can play incredibly loud with the ease that they do.

A DSP crossover can be tailored in a much more sophisticated fashion than a standard network consisting of capacitors and coils, making integrating the drivers easier from an acoustic standpoint, as well as an electrical one. With no capacitors and such in the signal path from the amplifiers, the electrical lag and associated phase issues of those components are eliminated as well. The opening bass drum whump in Shelby Lynne’s “Just a Little Lovin’” hints at the sheer jump factor of which these speakers are capable. The big bass drum in St. Vincent’s “Who” leaves no doubt. Aside from the level of bass energy that the Tomei’s woofer can produce, the quality, texture and sheer resolution of the bass produced are wonderfully lifelike.

Moving out of the audiophile realm, Tosca’s “Me and Yoko Ono” offers equally engaging reproduction of synth bass. Though there is nothing to compare this to regarding real instruments, this track proves that the Tomei system can not only move a lot of air effortlessly, it does a fantastic job at unwinding a densely mixed tune that might be confused as overly compressed on a less revealing system. Gliding through some of Eno’s Ambient series illustrates what a massive sonic field this system can generate. Again, less capable systems tend to reproduce much of this music as flat and two-dimensional, where the Tomei system easily displays all three axes’ for your enjoyment.

This ESL-like acceleration is available at all levels, working just as well at low volume as at brain damaging sound pressure levels. This freedom from electronic clutter makes for a music system that is not only easy to listen to at low to modest volume, but equally immersive. This level of clarity is a feat that some of the world’s finest speakers can’t accomplish to this extent.

Vanquishing more biases

I’ve never been a huge fan of digital amplification, DSP crossovers, or a system that converts everything into a digital signal to process. The Eden system works flawlessly, and if you weren’t aware of what you were listening to, you might not even be able to tell. For me, that’s the ultimate success – the sonic residue that used to be part of listening to digital amplification is not present here, so the Tomei system succeeds on all levels. The Tomei system is something I could live with forever if I stopped reviewing hifi gear and just had to pick a resting place. This is why it received one of my Publisher’s Choice Awards in issue 80.

If you’re a traditional audiophile who loves the chase of mixing and matching components, with a penchant for occasional, if not often change, the Eden Tomei system will probably not hold your interest. But if you truly love music, and would like to stop agonizing over your next move, I can’t suggest this system highly enough no matter what stage of the journey you are on. While I would never recommend you purchase any audio component on sheer aesthetics, those living in more of a design conscious environment will appreciate that exquisite sound and visual style can coexist so well.

The Eden Acoustics Tomei System

MSRP: $18,000

www.edenacoustics.com (mfr.)

www.distinctivestereo.com (US Distributor)

All the rage at last year’s Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, the Stereo Pravda SB-7 IEMs are here and our review is almost finished.

What makes these $2,500 in ear monitors so incredible? Quite a lot actually. The sheer level of resolution is beyond anything I’ve experienced in an IEM, but for this writer, the big diff is the BASS. What’s always missing in an IEM? Big Bass.

Not here. If you love IEM’s, the SPearphone SB-7 should be at the top of your list. Full review shortly!

For now, you can find out more information and see the rest of the Stereo Pravda line at

www.Stereopravda.com

Firing up Kings of Leon’s “Walls,” it’s tough to believe that so much sound is coming out of this diminutive cube, barely bigger than a large stack of waffles. Unlike many of the compact music systems we’ve tried, Naim’s Mu-so Qb actually throws a large, defined and deep soundstage. And it plays loud. Really loud.

We loved Naim’s original Mu-so when it was introduced, offering form, function and Naim build quality in a do-it-all enclosure. It was reasonably priced for the level of performance offered, but because of the fairly large size, couldn’t fit everywhere. Somehow, Naim’s clever staff of engineers have managed to squeeze nearly all of the performance of the big Mu-so into the diminutive 8-inch (8.3 x 8.3 x 8.6 inches to be exact) cube.  They’ve also squeezed the price down to $995 – impressive.

Before listening could begin in earnest, the photos needed to be taken and during this time the argument ensued as to where the ultimate resting place of the Qb would be. It only took a few minutes of initial listening to decide this would be a keeper, so on one level, this review is stilted a bit towards that of a giddy fan. Cool as the original Mu-so is, we couldn’t find a place for it at chez Dorgay. So back to our friends in Salisbury it went. But this little cube is too cute to ignore – and it packs a wallop.

Luxury throughout

When was the last time you had a major experience just turning a component on? You might think I’m crazy, but I highly suggest turning on your Qb in the dark the first time you power it up. Naim’s app makes it easy to control from your smart phone, but you’ll want to give that big, weighted volume control a spin. You’ll want to get up, walk across the room and interact with the Qb, it’s that cool.

Peel off the gorgeous, sculpted, three-panel grille (available in black, red, blue and the awesome orange you see here) and you see serious hardware inside and out. The front panel features a pair of soft dome tweeters and a pair of midrange drivers, both angled to achieve maximum stereo separation – each driven by its own 50-watt amplifier. The front-firing bass driver is given both a 100-watt amplifier and a pair of passive radiators on the side panels – that’s 300 watts total. This is where the low frequency grunt comes from.

The hardware is precisely screwed down to the aluminum frame with the same level of quality found in Naim’s flagship components. The 32-bit DSP engine lurking inside is derived from what the company has learned supplying Bentley with their sound system, again underlining the quality that oozes from the tiny cube.

Any way you want it

All of this makes for great nerd fodder, which you won’t care about the minute you play some music on the damn thing. And it won’t take you long. Earlier Naim server products took a while to wade through the setup procedure, but the Mu-so is quick and easy. Download the app for whatever smart device you own and a quick menu walks you through things. With the iPhone, once you enter the color of the blinking indicator and your network password, it’s rocking. The only setting you need to pay attention to carefully is the EQ setting – close to wall or out in room. Get this wrong and your Qb will either sound thin or boomy. Should your overenthusiasm get the best of you, and it sounds naff, go back and double-check your work. Bluetooth is equally easy to pair; you’re about 30 seconds away from using that mode to connect.

The Qb offers crazy connectivity. WiFi, Bluetooth/aptX, TIDAL, and Spotify Connect are just the beginning. A standard Ethernet port is also provided, and if you have a large collection of music on a NAS drive (especially if some of it is in high resolution), it’s a good idea to cable the Qb to your network, as it does offer 24bit/192kHz capabilities.

If all that wireless connectivity weren’t enough, an 1/8” analog jack is right there, begging for you to plug a turntable in. I dare you. Unable to resist the challenge, we spun some LPs via the new Rega Planar 3 we just reviewed, coupled via the Lehmann Black Cube and a WireWorld interconnect. Granted, adding a turntable and a phonostage to the mix goes somewhat against the grain of the compact vibe the Qb presents, but if this is your main music system, it works brilliantly. I can’t imagine someone who is space challenged coming up with a better choice than this to take advantage of their vinyl collection and their favorite digital tracks. Placed beneath a flat screen TV, it also makes for way better sound than those dreadful standard issue TV speakers too, making a Qb even easier to justify.

Rocking the casbah

Dialing up Lindsey Stirling’s latest, Brave Enough, and turning the Qb up to 11 rattles my bathroom walls. Yeah, that’s where it ended up so you-know-who could jam out during her morning ritual. But turnabout is fair play and just as that certain someone thought they were in for a peaceful morning bath, taking over the TIDAL app and swapping the current musical program for the alarm clocks in Dark Side of the Moon proved interesting to say the least. Should you purchase a Qb and wish to keep shenanigans to a minimum, log in with your own TIDAL account.

While the Qb nearly blew the windows out of our bathroom, it proves equally capable in a larger room. Sitting on top of a five-figure pile of mega gear, between the Sopra no.1 speakers that make up The Audiophile Apartment’s reference system, the Qb throws a huge soundstage in all directions. Jean-Michel Jarre’s Equinoxe fills the room with all the trippiness you expect from this disc. The extra LF power and definition gives it the extra oomph to make it feel like you are listening to a much bigger system.

Regardless of program material and volume level, this tiny cube floored everyone who visited. It was beyond amusing to have the Qb sitting on top of my DAC and have a guest say, “what’s that little orange box for?” only to answer “that’s what you’re listening to.” Keep in mind the Bose Wave Radio II has an MSRP of $100 more than the Naim Mu-so Qb, and it’s all plastic. It’s heresy to think that you might buy the former. If you have, unfriend me on Facebook right now, I don’t want to know you anymore.

It’s love at first and subsequent listens

With high-end audio being so daunting to so many, I can’t think of a better way to buy a great music system than the Naim Mu-so Qb. The price is right, the performance is off-the-chart good and you can connect it to just about anything. Best of all, you can move it around the house or office as you need it.

Should you be part of the audiophile world and need a second system, or if you are a current Naim owner wondering if the Qb passes muster, the answer is “without question.” Best of all, it will sync up with your existing Naim Net system if you have one, so you can hear music everywhere in perfect sync.

Compact audio is enjoying some major success these days, with incredible offerings from a number of manufacturers, but the Naim Mu-so Qb is something special. Should you wander to your Naim dealer for a demo, I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do.

The Naim Mu-so Qb

MSRP:  $995

www.naimaudio.com (factory)

www.audioplusservices.com (North American Distributor)

Closing the door on a Porsche 911, clicking the shutter on a titanium bodied Leica camera, that’s German engineering excellence, baby!

If you love that level of precision to go along with whatever high-performance product that suits your fancy, you’ll freak out just watching the 10.0 tonearm on the new Bardo lower ever so gently onto a waiting LP. This is such a precise, delicate action, the stylus cantilever on the Koetsu Onyx Platinum barely deflects at all. Those of you wanting to install a mega cartridge on your Bardo can rest assured it is up to the task.

As Adrian Belew’s trippy, reverse tracked, overdubbed vocals in “Big Electric Cat” go all the way from the edges of my speakers, out about seven more feet to the walls of my listening room, with detail galore, it’s easy to fall in love with this table. The Koetsu Onyx Platinum cartridge that costs as much as the Bardo puts forth a more engaging performance than it has here in any of my other reference turntables. Here, here for synergy. During the review period, everything from a Shure M97 to the Koetsu has been taken for a test drive, but the Japanese masterpiece wins the day. Everything on hand works exceptionally well with the Bardo. However, this table is fully up to the task of a $10k premium cartridge. It’s that good.

Living with Brinkmann’s direct drive Bardo for the last few months has been nothing but joy. This table is incredibly easy to set up, stays set up and is equally easy to use. With direct drive coming back in vogue these days, there are a few other DD tables on the market, but they are both considerably more expensive than the Bardo. Thanks to a change in their distribution scheme, and a Brinkmann USA office in place, the German manufacturer is now able to be much more price competitive, and that’s a great thing for analog lovers. The Bardo table/10.0 arm was still a fantastic deal at $13,500, but at $9,900, this is a straight out bargain for those wanting a world class, destination analog deck.

Should you want the benefits of Brinkmann’s direct drive expertise, but already have your favorite tonearm on hand, Brinkmann can supply whatever arm board you need. Ordering a Bardo sans tonearm will only set you back $7,000. Considering what a great job they do with their tonearm, which Helmut Brinkmann refers to as a hybrid unipivot design (and you can read more here http://www.brinkmann-audio.com/main.php?prod=tonarm100&lang=en) both mechanically and visually, it seems pointless to use another arm. But you can if you want to. To clarify the “hybrid” moniker, Helmut Brinkmann tells us that “his proprietary design uses Swiss-made gimbal bearings in the vertical plane and a bespoke unipivot in the horizontal.”

Multiple connectivity options make this beautiful table even easier to integrate into your system. Our review sample arrives with standard RCA connections going from table to phono preamplifier, but you can also opt for balanced XLR connections (this will take a little longer for delivery, as the RCA’s are standard issue), or a 5-pin DIN socket. Modifying an existing Brinkmann arm to a Din connector will set you back an additional $180. Handy if you already have a premium tonearm cable in your arsenal.

A further performance upgrade is available with the optional RoNt vacuum tube power supply ($4,190) for those wanting still more performance. A few Brinkmann owners have commented that this is not a subtle improvement, so look forward to a follow-up review sometime next year.

More music

The easier a turntable is to use, the more likely it is to get used. The Bardo takes up a small footprint and being a non-suspended table, you may want to install one of the better isolation bases, like the ones from SRA; it all depends on your room and taste. My floor is relatively inert and thanks to an SRA Scuttle rack, I felt no need to improve on the Bardo’s placement in my room.

Going way back to the obscure bin, an old favorite, Tim Curry’s Fearless is an album full of slick late 70s production, with some of rock’s favorite sidemen backing up Dr. Frank-n-Furter in his alternate career as a serious musician. The bass line in this record has always sounded somewhat vague, yet when portrayed by the Bardo, it’s rock solid. Actually, everything played on the Bardo has an uncanny sense of pace to it. The nearly $40k AVID Acutus REF SP and SME V has a little more weight in the lows and delicacy in the highs, but the Bardo is unbeatable at its price point.

Direct drive is not a dirty phrase

It goes without saying that a lot of the resolution the Bardo offers comes from meticulous build quality and attention to detail. Much of the major pace and timing accuracy this table delivers comes from the direct drive system. Utilizing Feickert’s iPhone app to check speed accuracy reveals most belt drive turntables to be relatively close to spinning at 33.33 r.p.m., but there is a fair amount of variation on the theme.

Watching the real-time speed graph for the Bardo, it’s near flat across the board. The phrase “rock solid” definitely applies here. Because Brinkmann implements direct drive the opposite way that the legendary Technics tables did, the result is much more to the liking of a modern audiophile.

Technics DD tables, initially designed for the broadcast world, used a high torque motor, hammered into speed accuracy by a quartz lock control mechanism, resulting a lot of motor “cogging.” This is what happens in the small spaces in the 360-degree rotation of the motor that don’t always have power applied. Unfortunately, this aggressive speed control did exactly the opposite of what was intended. Pulling out my SL-1200, with the excellent TimeStep power supply and a stock SL-1200, tracks played on the Brinkmann get progressively flatter in terms of three dimensionality, going back to the TimeStep equipped 1200 and then a stock one. It’s easy to see how the early direct drive tables got pooh-poohed, and I can see how easy it was to be seduced by the Oracle back in the early 80s.

Mr. Brinkman’s low torque approach, coupled to a heavy platter and world class bearing makes for smooth sailing. It takes about 8-10 rotations to get up to full speed, which is about the amount of time that it takes for the tonearm to set, and once you shut the power off, it rotates for a long time before coming to full stop. Brinkmann’s research led him to the current lead crystal platter insert in the aluminum platter, making for a major increase in resolution over one strictly machined from aluminum. Brinkmann spends a tremendous amount of time on materials research alone, and on his website, he claims this goes all the way down to the fasteners used to hold things together! The proof is in the listening; this is a very refined design.

Controlled ease

The presentation of the Bardo is indeed unique. Record after record has an ease and freedom from fatigue, again because of the excellent speed accuracy this table offers. Friends with canine hearing claiming perfect pitch that can hear a plethora of speed issues on every table I’ve ever reviewed were not only dead silent listening to the Bardo but they were also outright complimentary. Violins take on a magical realism with this table because of that speed accuracy.

You’ll probably key in immediately to how great your rock records sound, should you be a fan of this genre. The Bardo does a great job in the bass performance, but if you live on a strict diet of Zeppelin, you might not notice the subtleties of this table quite as much as the classical listener preferring soloists and small ensemble music. Sampling this fair gives the Bardo a near reel to reel tape like transparency.

Our choice for Analog POY

Here’s why the Brinkmann Bardo is our choice for 2016 Analog Product of the Year; it offers tremendous value, build quality, sound quality and ease of use. I’ve listened to my fair share of $100,000 plus turntables and have always walked away unimpressed. You can buy a pretty major hi-fi system for $100k, and I suggest if you take that path, you put the Bardo on top of your rack. Seriously, other than a few audio reviewers and a couple of hedge fund managers that got a screaming deal, who owns a $100,000 turntable anyway?

Wacky as it might sound, the $10,000 – $20,000 category is the hottest category for “destination” turntables. There are a handful of great tables costing 2-3 times this much (like the SME 30, the AVID Acutus REF SP and a few others), and they do reveal more music for sure. But again, the Brinkmann Bardo presents so much music, especially with your choice of awesome $5,000 – $10,000 cartridge, I’ll stick my neck out and say that most of us could live happily ever after right here.

If you’re currently using a table in the $3,000 – $5,000 category, you will be floored at just how much more musical information and nuance that the Bardo can shed light on, that if you have the purchasing power, this won’t be a difficult decision.

I’ve purchased the review sample and plan on spinning a lot more records on the Bardo. It’s simple, elegant, yet high-performance design has captured my enthusiasm. Should you be planning on buying a table in this price range, I not only recommend the Bardo, I sincerely hope you will audition one, and see if you enjoy it as much as I do.

The Brinkmann Bardo Turntable

MSRP:  $9,900 with Brinkmann 10.1 tonearm ($260 savings, purchasing the bundle)

http://brinkmann-audio.com

Peripherals

Phono Cartridge                    Koetsu Onyx Platinum, Ortofon Cadenza Black

Phonostage                            Pass XS Phono

Preamp                                  Pass XS Pre

Power Amps                          Pass XS 300 monoblocks

Speakers                                GamuT RS5i, MartinLogan Neolith, Quad 2812

Cable                                      Tellurium Q Black Diamond speaker and interconnect,

Power cords                           Cardas Clear

Vinyl lovers spend a lot of money on tonearms, cartridges, and phono stages in the effort to pull the most sound from the record grooves. However, none of these audio components can deliver their maximum performance if the record itself is a limiting factor.

Minute particles in the grooves of dirty records can diminish sonic quality, adding unwanted pops, snaps, and surface noise to the music. Even new, seemingly clean records are hampered by debris left over from the pressing process. Yes, simple record cleaning brushes can help this problem, but if the brush itself is not completely clean, it can introduce new debris – or worse – grind it back into the delicate record grooves. But nothing beats a good wet cleaning for the best possible result.

Based in The Netherlands, and imported by VANA Ltd in the USA, the team at Okki Nokki addresses this ongoing problem with their newly updated RCM-II record cleaning machine. Designed to loosen and suck out any grime present on the record surface, rather than simply re-distributing it, the Okki Nokki simplifies the cleaning process as much as possible.

The Okki Nokki package contains everything needed to start cleaning records within minutes. The main cleaning unit, which holds the platter and vacuum motor, a bottle of cleaning fluid concentrate, vacuum wand, and a cleaning brush. The team at Okki Nokki also includes an instruction booklet and links to an online video to demonstrate proper usage. The recommended clear acrylic dustcover is available separately for $50.00

The 50ml of cleaning concentrate is formulated for dilution into a liter (roughly a quart) of water. I find a pair of narrow-tipped, refillable mustard or ketchup squeeze bottles – like those you might see in a diner — serve very well for fluid dispensing and storage. If you chose to go this route; make sure to label the bottles. I don’t think this solution would be appetizing on French fries.

With fresh cleaning solution at the ready, place a record onto the Okki Nokki platter, clamping it down with the included aluminum record clamp. After flicking on the switch for clockwise rotation, about a tablespoon of cleaning solution should be dribbled onto the record. Applying the record brush against the vinyl surface evenly distributes the cleaning solution, starting the process simultaneously. After about five rotations, switch into counterclockwise motion for a few rotations, offering extra thoroughness in loosening any stray particles.

With the scrubbing process done, it’s time to remove the debris-filled solution from the vinyl surface. Merely switch the record cleaner back into clockwise motion, and turn on the vacuum motor switch. Pushing down lightly onto the vacuum wand, it rotates itself into position against the record surface for maximum effectiveness. Once the wand sucks itself into place, there’s quite a good seal against the record surface and no physical intervention is required – just let the record spin a few times. The combination of the vacuum, and the soft cleaning band on the underside of the wand, remove any loosened particles and leave the record surface completely dry. When turned off, the vacuum motor whir subsides, and the spring-loaded vacuum arm pops up off the record, swinging out of the way on its own.

For those vinyl fans who enjoy buying pre-owned records, or who have a lot of old records in their collection, it’s a good idea to purchase a second Okki Nokki vacuum arm. The wands are easy to swap, plus there’s no sense in rubbing old dirt into new vinyl. Save the “clean” arm for your new records, and keep the “dirtier” arm handy for the big jobs.

If a lot of records are shined up in one sitting, the dirty fluid reservoir inside the Okki Nokki may get full. There’s a tube on the rear of the cleaner that facilitates draining should it become necessary. With occasional record cleaner usage, most of the residual fluid will evaporate on its own.

Listening to records before and after cleaning, I find there’s a reduction in unwanted hiss, snaps, and pops, plus some improvement to the overall musical presentation. The Okki Nokki certainly lives up to its design goals.

At a price of $499, the Okki Nokki isn’t cheap, but considering its robust build quality, and features, it represents a very worthy investment for the vinyl enthusiast. The Okki Nokki can help preserve your record collection, get the best sound from it, and also save some wear and tear on your precious cartridge. After such a great experience with the Okki Nokki, I purchased the sample unit. I have a lot of records to clean!

www.vanaltd.com

I probably should listen to more classical music at comfortable volume levels.

Back in 1990, when I finally got my hands on an Audio Research D-79 after wearing down a good friend to part with it, he called to inform me that I should “let it warm up slowly with some nice string quartet music.” No way. The first track played was Alice Cooper’s “Hey Stoopid,” and after a few minutes to warm up, I pushed those big meters all the way into the caution zone. Having grown up with polite little EL-34 tube amplifiers, this was a revelation. I had never heard a tube amplifier that had the drive of a big solid-state amplifier before. It was equally revelatory to my next door neighbor, who was pounding on my front door before the first chorus.

I have not grown up one bit 25 years later. At first listen, it seems like the Audio Research GS 150 that has just arrived for review has defective power output level meters.  UFO’s “Lights Out” is playing at much higher than normal conversation levels, but the needles aren’t budging. Volume indicator on the GSPre is set to 42 and we’re all thinking that at least a few watts per channel are being delivered to the Dynaudio Evidence Platinum speakers we use as a reference, but to no avail – still no movement. Raising the level to 60 finally makes for some meter movement, and the sound level is indeed rambunctious! Yet the GS150 can play much, much louder.

Going for broke, pushing the meters to swing past the 150-watt mark towards the caution level during Michael Schenker’s blistering solo, with no trace of distortion, convinces me this is indeed a very special amplifier. Call me nostalgic, but I haven’t had this much fun with an Audio Research power amplifier since the days of my D79. Whether you listen to chamber music or metal, the level of involvement that the GS150 brings to the table is precious.

ARC’s REF amplifiers are wonderful, and I’ve even owned a few of them over the years, but this new GS series of Audio Research components is unique in the sense that it blends a tiny bit of the vintage ARC sound with everything they’ve learned in 40 plus years of amplifier design. Add the super stylish Italian casework and this is the amplifier that’s going in my coffin.

Last year we bestowed an extremely complimentary review on the Audio Research GSPre, enjoying its combination of Italian style with a return to the glorious all-in-one preamplifiers of the past, featuring a full-function phono stage (and a headphone amplifier) all on one chassis. The matching GS 150 power amplifier is equally beautiful and equally capable. Perhaps even more.

A special sound, indeed

When it comes to splitting hairs, the GSPre renders music with slightly more body and slightly less resolution than the REF 5SE and REF Phono 2SE combination, albeit at a much lower price. (The REF 5SE/Phono 2SE pair will set you back close to $30k, the GSPre has a $15k price tag) The delta between the two isn’t so much less than different. Even though a BMW M4 will get you around the racetrack a little faster than a fully equipped 435i with sport suspension, the latter is a more reasonably priced car to live with every day if you can’t take advantage of its maximum performance on a regular basis. The same holds true for the GSPre.

However, the GS150 is a different animal indeed. Possessing a similar sonic signature to the GSPre, it offers all the detail and resolution that the REF power amplifiers are known for, yet that pinch of tubeyness is there and not in an overwhelming way to ever sound slow, rounded off or overly euphonic.

At $20k the GS150 is a step above the REF 150 in ARC’s product lineup and in a side-by-side comparison provides a different sound. Though the spec sheets look almost identical, these two amplifiers are different beasts indeed. They do share a fully balanced configuration, and like the REF amplifiers, the GS150 must be used with a balanced preamplifier; it will not work with a single-ended preamplifier and balanced adaptors, so take this into account before purchase.

Vivacious violins, piano perfection

The blistering, bluesy guitar of Gary Clark Jr. on his latest album Sonny Boy Slim is sublime. The texture revealed on Clark’s guitar is staggering, awash in reverb, decay and distortion along with a true sense of scale, giving the impression of a live performance. This additional dimensionality not provided by lesser amplifiers doesn’t take the illusion as far.

Listening to a wide range of music for months now reveals no limitation to the GS150’s ability, whether driving Magnepans, the new Quad 2218 ESLs or major floorstanders from ProAc, Dali, GamuT, Dynaudio and Focal. Even the diminutive ProAc Tablette Signatures deliver an otherworldly performance driven by the GS150. Regardless of speaker or cable choices, the GS150 remains perfectly stable, unaffected less than many of the other tube amplifiers we’ve used – some highly particular by the cables used.

Good as this amplifier is, you may notice its capability even more when listening to solo vocals or acoustic instruments. The tonal richness that the GS150 reveals will keep you riveted to your chair for hours on end — always the mark of a great component. Pay particular attention to the way this amplifier accelerates and stops cleanly on a piano key strike or a guitar pluck without overhang or smear, yet retaining a high amount of saturation.

Where some components, especially those with vacuum tubes under the hood, can paint a sonic picture that is a lot larger than life in all three dimensions (And lets face it, that’s why we love tubes in the first place) the GS150 always expands and contracts with the music and the production, never just giving an overblown rendition of everything. Cool as it might be a piano shouldn’t sound like it is ten feet tall. This is another way that the GS150 conveys a realistic portrayal of music.

Chock full of tubes

Where the D-79 uses between 14 and 18 tubes depending on iteration, (there were three models; A, B, and C) to produce 75 watts per channel, the GS 150 uses 4 6H30 driver tubes and four matched pairs of KT150 output tubes to produce 155 watts per channel. As you can see from our photo shoot, at the 11^th hour we have acquired a D-79 for some comparison photos, but alas this warhorse is in desperate need of a power supply refresh, so we can’t give you a side-by-side comparison of the sound.  Once it returns from the shop, we will feature it in the Old School column next year and run the classic and the newest model side by side for your and our enjoyment. For now, it’s a wonderful memory to have these two in the same room together!

Let’s not forget the package

Audio Research has always made great sounding gear, but the wives of most of my friends have always seen those big boxes and said “not in my house.” But now with the Italian influence that Fine Sounds brings to the table, this amplifier is gorgeous, as is the matching preamplifier.

Looking at the chassis closely, you can see how much hand work has gone into every facet of this amplifier, from the finish on the front panel; to the delicately lettered power meters and the hand-welded chassis.

Again in the tradition of the D-79 and D-150, the GS150s front panel features three meters: the right and left meter for power output and tube biasing, with the center meter keeping track of incoming AC power. The bias adjustments are on the right and left hand side of the chassis.

Nice as the casework is on the GS150, the same level of attention has been paid to the package inside the familiar, dual box Audio Research packing that long-term aficionados have come to love. To say the tubes are well-protected is an understatement; now they are presented to the owner as a fine wine or cheese. It’s a nice touch, especially at this price level and it’s worth mentioning that the instruction manual is fantastic too. Straightforward, well illustrated and easy to read.

Product of the year, hell yeah

Is this the best power amplifier Audio Research has ever built? For me it is, but that’s being selfish. Discussing the technical features with ARC’s Dave Gordon, I jokingly said that the GS150 is like they built a bespoke amplifier for me, exactly as I would have it look and sound. In the way that Google always seems to know what you are thinking, maybe Audio Research has been probing my thoughts too. To be fair to everyone else, I can safely that the GS150 is my favorite vacuum tube power amplifier.

Buying a great power amplifier is a highly subjective undertaking, especially when a five-figure price tag is attached. If the GS150 weren’t our Product of the Year, it would certainly garner an Exceptional Value Award. If you don’t need 300 plus watts per channel and you enjoy the sheer sound that ARC’s engineers have achieved with the GS150, you’ll never need more amplifier than this. Just like fine cameras, watches or sports cars, there are a number of great vacuum tube power amplifiers available today, yet they all have somewhat different sonic personalities.

If you are an obsessed music lover, I’m guessing you have been on a quest for that “I’ll know it when I hear it” sound, perhaps for a long time. Perhaps longer than I have. If the GS150 touches the nerve that excites that center in your brain, this is an amplifier that you can enjoy for the rest of your life. It is meticulously built — inside and out — by a company with 40-plus years’ experience, execution and support behind them. Should your obsession take you elsewhere at some point, ARC products enjoy high resale prices on the secondary market, and that’s another big part of what makes this amplifier worth the price.  I am thrilled to award the GS150 power amplifier and the companion GSPre our Product of the Year award for 2015. I’m sure 30 years from now it will be held in as high esteem as it is today.

The Audio Research GS150 Amplifier

MSRP: $20,000

www.audioresearch.com

Peripherals

Analog Source            AVID Acutus Reference SP/SME V/Lyra Atlas

Digital Source             dCS Rossini DAC, Roon player

Phonostage                  ARC REF Phono 2SE, Simaudio LP810, Pass XP-25

Preamplifier                 ARC GSPre

Speakers                      GamuT RS5, Quad 2218

Power                          IsoTek Super Titan

Cable                           Cardas Clear

If you haven’t considered adding a subwoofer (or a pair of subwoofers) to your hi-fi system, it might be time to reconsider your logic. Reasonably priced subwoofers used to be one note boom boxes at best; barely able to keep up with your main speakers and subjected to the cannon shots in your theater system. The game has changed, considerably for the better.

Just as small displacement, four cylinder cars outperform the mighty V-8s of a decade ago, it’s the same story with subwoofers. Thanks to computer-aided driver design, careful attention to enclosures and the proliferation of high-quality class-d amplifiers, you can get a great sub for under a G these days. In the case of the SVS SB-2000, well under a G.

With so many excellent small monitor speakers available today, the only thing that’s missing is that last octave of low-frequency extension that keeps you from becoming immersed in the music. Fun as a lot of those speakers are you tend to restrict your musical palette to fit the system – we’ve all been there. The realism that low-frequency extension adds to your musical experience, even at modest volume levels is tough to ignore once you’ve experienced it.

Infected Mushroom just doesn’t infect you the way it should without the driving bass line that the SB-2000 provides. $699.99 puts a black ash SB-2000 in your listening room (gloss black is an extra hundred bucks) right now. And you can set it up in less time than it takes to drive to Walgreens and get a flu shot. Even quicker, if you take five minutes to read through the incredibly comprehensive manual that SVS provides. You can click here to read it online right now. See what I mean? These guys know their stuff.

The SB-2000 stuffs a 12” woofer and 500-watt amplifier into a compact package, weighing just under 40 pounds and measuring about 15 inches on all three sides so that it will fit just about anywhere. With that in mind, I’d suggest considering a pair of SB-2000s, to get more even bass output in your room. Those sharing my line of thinking will be rewarded at check out; SVS offers a $100 each discount if you want a pair. Why would you not?

The setup

For this review, we worked with a single SB-2000 and a handful of speakers in the $1,200 – $2,000 range, in two rooms. My living room is approximately 11 x 17 feet and the main listening room in the TONE studio, 16 x 25 feet. Over at The Audiophile Apartment, the SB-2000 was used in multichannel mode with an Anthem MRX-520 and five Dali Fazon speakers to excellent result. You can read that review here.

But we’re two-channel enthusiasts here, so the SB-2000 was mated to our Product of the Year winning Simaudio NEO Ace integrated amplifier. Speakers consisted of a pair of Magnepan MMGs, a pair of Vandersteen 1Cis, and a pair of ProAc Tablette Anniversary mini monitors; all audiophile classics in their own right and all in need of a little more grunt. We also used the Ace with SVS’ Prime Bookshelf speakers, that lightly tip the scale at a few pennies under $500 a pair, and this threesome is rapidly becoming our $1,200 choice for audiophiles on a tight budget that demand great sound.

System configuration is straightforward, running a pair of long Cardas RCA cables from the variable output of the ACE to the left and right input of the SB-2000. Multichannel users will probably opt for the LFE input, and again, follow the settings in the manual to get the proper amount of bass management from your system.

A fixed, 12db/octave crossover, with a cutoff frequency adjustable between 50-160hz, along with level and phase controls makes the SB2000 relatively easy to integrate into your main speakers. The smaller living room worked best with the SB-2000 slightly out from the corner of the room, yet in the larger room, it provides the best integration on all but the small ProAcs slightly off the corner on the opposing wall, as the Quick Start guide suggests for “best bass accuracy.” The Tablettes integrated best with the SB-2000 on the same wall, about a foot back from the speaker plane.

If you haven’t used a subwoofer before, try and resist the urge to crank up the bass too far. Or revel in the weight your system now has, crank it up and sit on your SB-2000 when you’re blasting your favorite tracks just to bask in the bass. I won’t call you an evil Smurf. However, when you come to your senses, ease back into your listening chair, and if you can summon the help of a friend, massage the controls a bit until the SB-2000 disappears from the system and you don’t notice it’s gone until you shut it off. Personally, I suggest going a little lower with the crossover frequency and a little higher with the gain than might be intuitive, but that usually proves to offer the best amount of cohesiveness with the main speakers.

Sit back and relax

While the most power hungry of the bunch, the little Magnepan MMGs wake up with some low frequency reinforcement. Surprisingly, the SB-2000 was able to go up high enough and clean enough, also mating wonderfully with the ProAcs. The Vandersteen 1Cis were the easiest of the lot and made for the most majestic combination, as they go down pretty solidly to just under 40hz, so in this system, the SB-2000 is truly acting as a sub-woofer.

When you get a sticky set of tires for your sports car, the first thing you want to do is head for the curvy roads to test the limits. And so it goes with a great subwoofer, bust out the bass heavy tracks to see what you’ve been missing. The SB-2000 does not disappoint and while it does add considerable low-frequency extension, the quality of the bass produced is also excellent.

I was particularly taken back by an old audiophile classic, The Three, featuring Joe Sample on piano, Shelly Manne on drums and Ray Brown on bass. The texture and articulation offered by the SB-2000 felt great as Brown’s fingers ran up and down the neck of the acoustic bass. Running through some tracks featuring Jaco Pastorius and Stanley Clarke were equally enticing, yet when called upon to bomb the bass, the SB2000 proves it can deliver prodigious output as well.

An afternoon of old school hip hop from Public Enemy, Run DMC and KRS-1 kept everyone entertained and breathed much more life into the small-ish speakers used. This kind of music just begs for bass, and if your musical taste leans in this direction, I suspect a pair of SB-2000s just might get you in trouble with the neighbors or at best make you some new friends.

No matter what the choice of program material, the SB-2000 does not run out of power or dynamic range. A few other budget subs we’ve tried poop out when asked to rock, but not the SVS. Both the 50 watt per channel Sim and the nearly 100 watt per channel PrimaLuna HP integrated ran out of power before the SB-2000 did and within the context of these amplifiers, we could not get the SB-2000 to clip or bottom out the woofer cone. A very impressive performance.

You can’t go wrong

Whether you choose from SVS’ wide range of retail options, or just purchase from them direct, you can’t beat the terms they offer. If you don’t love it, you have 45 days to send it back. With speakers being such a subjective component to begin with, this is an excellent way to give the SB-2000 a test drive in your environment and get it optimized for your system. Once you do, I suspect the only call you’ll be making is to order a second one. And with that, we award the SVS SB-2000 subwoofer our last Exceptional Value Award for the year of 2016.

The SVS SB-2000 Subwoofer

$699.99 – $799.99 (ash or gloss finish)

www.svsound.com

Peripherals

Amplification             Simaudio NEO Ace integrated, PrimaLuna HP integrated

Analog Source            Rega Planar 3, Elys 2 cartridge

Digital Source            Elac RB-101 Server

Speakers                    Vandersteen 1Ci, ProAc Anniversary Tablette, Magnepan MMC

Cable                          Cardas Clear Light

McIntosh has been in the audio game since 1949. You read that right-1949. It would be fair to say they have forgotten more about running an audio manufacturing business than most companies will ever know, yet over the past few decades, McIntosh had seemed to fall out of favor with hardcore audiophiles, and for a while, they were no longer considered the darlings of the audio press that they were in the 1960s. Mac was looked at by many as your father and grandfathers first choice in audio gear.

About a decade ago as Charlie Randall took over as CEO, the products quietly, all became much better regarding performance and consistency, keeping them in front of enthusiastic music lovers the world over. Today, they have returned to favor among many audiophiles, and are now a go-to brand with custom installers across the globe.

Sitting by the pool

You need to look no further than my backyard in New York’s SOHO neighborhood, where the World of McIntosh Townhouse is located. With five floors of stunning décor featuring McIntosh, Audio Research, Sumiko, Sonus faber and Wadia products, music, comfort, and style integrate perfectly at every turn. Even the indoor pool (one of only 18 private indoor pools in NYC) has an over the top, dedicated Mac system to entertain clients and guests.

When given the tour of the townhouse by long time Mac consultant Kenneth Zelin, my first impression was,”This is the way to do it! It’s the way to immerse someone into the high-end experience”. The domestic setting is disarming and relaxing, allowing the listener to relax and get lost in the music. Alternatively, the WOM townhouse is a unique event space available to rent for large corporate parties and activities. Despite its broader commercial aspirations, WOM shows a huge commitment to its brands, a grand gesture that shoulders its featured lines to the head of the pack. Based on what I hear with the MC301 Quad Balanced mono amps And C52 preamp in for review, the commitment is more than skin deep or some show of bravura. The MC301 and C52 are terrific products, not just for the money but for the music and customer they serve.

Roundabout

The C52 preamp offers four single ended and three balanced inputs, with three sets of balanced and singled ended outputs, offering outstanding flexibility. There is also a highly capable MC /MM phono preamp, more on that later. The 8-band equalizer spread across the front fascia, offering 12 dB of gain or cut from 25hz to 10khz is anti-audiophile but music friendly. With this capability, there is not a poor recording out there that can stump the C52. I settled on a couple of dB cut at 2.5 kHz and a slight boost at 100 Hz.

The MC301 mono amplifiers included for the review are housed in a lower profile chassis compared to the standard McIntosh chassis yet produce 300 watts each into 2, 4, or 8 ohms. Build quality and fit and finish are first rate, as you would expect from McIntosh and delivered flawless service throughout the review period. The amps feature a soft clipping circuit allowing maximum volume without damaging the amplifier while offering the speaker a fighting chance at survival. Another example of McIntosh human engineering. The abuse that products endure during the review process can be a bit brutal. Plugging and unplugging interconnects and power cords while left un-muted can test a components mettle, despite my ham-fisted approach to these things.

Outside looking in

Having reviewed many amplifiers and preamplifiers over the years, a macro view of tonal balance is always my starting point; is the presentation warm or cool in tone? Does it welcome you in or put you at arm’s length? This tonality is the greatest strength of the McIntosh trio; they are equal to a shot of audio narcotic. So warm and inviting, the balance is the antithesis of cold, hard or biting sounding. The C52/MC 301 combo wraps its cozy little arms around you and welcomes you into the musical experience. Smooth? You bet. Realistic timbre? Check. Instruments and voices sound staggeringly realistic with no edge or glare whatsoever? Got it. These are traits that many music lovers adore. Music can be enjoyed endlessly with no aggravating edge, grit or grain.

This trio is not lacking in transparency, and this improvement is precisely where McIntosh has made tremendous strides in the last ten years. Disparate instruments and musical lines are exceptionally well rendered populating a broad soundstage. Perhaps not the widest I have had in my room, yet its way with depth is uncanny, particularly with analog is enticing. Background vocals and spatial definition are outstanding as well, allowing the front wall of my listening room to vanish completely. Listening to Sarah Vaughn “Just Friends” from Send in the Clowns is sublime. Front to back, left to right, the musical picture is stable and unwavering. Bringing up the volume a bit helps widen the stage while fleshing out images. The M301 and C52 are so smooth and distortion free, cranking the volume always feels right!

Detail retrieval is splendid but the focus on truth in timbre, instrumental color, and separation of instrumental lines is an even stronger trait. Like great tube gear, today’s finest solid state has gotten very close to getting the tube thing down. The tube heritage of McIntosh is not at all lost on the trio as they get to the heart of the signal and they reveal music with more bloom rather than rigid outlines and flat images. You might not be overwhelmed with a ton of information in the way the Pass Labs XA200.5 monoblocks and XP-20 preamp offers, but at 1/2 the price the McIntosh trio provides a ton of musical satisfaction.

Where the Pass gear paints a somewhat larger picture with wider dynamic swings, and both the Pass and D’Agostino amplifiers produce slightly more prodigious, deep bass, the MC301s are no slouch. After listening to the great pace and drive presented tracking through Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll,” I remain breathless.

I am a bass freak. I played bass in a band for ten years, and to this day, I listen to the bass line first on any new song auditioned. Over the last couple decades, I have learned the difference between boomy distorted bass and fundamental, clean extended low frequencies. Once presented with accurate, clean bass, there is no going back. It is amazing how many varying shapes and textures different bass recordings can render. The MC301 and C52 offer texture, color, and lack of any boxiness or excessive thickening in the lower registers.

The lack of distortion leaves just straight pure tone. Stand-up bass sounds spot on “Dolphin Dance” from Brian Bromberg’s Wood. The song has it all; depth, control, beautiful tonal colors, and transient snap with a big in-the-room presence. Electric bass such as that from Joe Satriani’s’ “Summer Song” sounds clean and clear through the MC301s, making it easy to follow each note throughout the track. Despite the articulation and resolution, the slight lack of slam does detract a bit from the ultimate live experience.

Segregation

To this point, we’ve been listening to a trio. Evaluating the C52 on its own merit, the aforementioned Pass XA200.5 amplifiers were substituted for the McIntosh components to get a handle on things and to perform an apples to apples comparison in my reference system. As a solo performer, the C52 preamplifier is resplendent through the solid state Pass amplifiers. This is a preamplifier with real musical soul.

The presentation is liquid with a wide open and detailed mid band that kept my ears peeled. The sound stayed open and defined through the upper mid-range, with no added glare or edge when broader dynamic swings dominate. Listening to the title track from Spyro Gyra’s Morning Dance on vinyl, as I have with every other component I’ve owned, the sax through the C52 has never sounded so glare and blare free. This track is a torture test too many components fail miserably.

The MC phono preamp in the C52 is not just good; it is amazing. Organized, rhythmic, dynamic, super quiet and colorful, I could live with this sound forever. “Funeral For A Friend” from Elton John’s masterpiece, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road naturally blossoms with air and nuance allowing the background vocals and synth parts to open up. The value added with this phono stage makes the $7K asking price for the C52 seems like a flat out steal. Kudos on not skimping on the phono stage McIntosh.

Adding further to the value is the onboard headphone amplifier. I am by no means a headphone guru but my Pryma (a Sonus faber design) headphones in carbon fiber sound nothing short of thrilling through the C52.

I am really pleased with the level of authenticity McIntosh products bring to the musical experience. With the M301 amp and C52 preamp, the sound is never less than engaging and immersive. Isolating the preamp proves just how deep the musical heritage goes in the engineering and performance of McIntosh products. Add the eight- band equalizer, stunning MC/MM phono stage, DAC, and headphone amplifier to the mix and $7K gets you a preamplifier you may never have to upgrade. The McIntosh C52 offers a significant helping of high-end audio experience, earning one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2016.

The McIntosh C52 Preamplifier

MSRP: $7,000   (MC301 monoblocks, $5,000 ea)

www.mcintoshlabs.com

If you have cable requirements that are slightly off the beaten path, and don’t like the idea of keeping (or losing) multiple adaptors on a regular basis, call the folks at Cardas Audio and get some custom cables made, pronto!

Josh Meredith at Cardas Audio and the team just sent me a pair of Clear Light interconnects to go from XLR to RCA, so that I have a wider range of connectivity with the PrimaLuna HP Integrated that I use as a reference component on my Audiophile Apartment site, and it only took a short while. It’s always better to have a completely positive connection and this is the way to roll. Even those of you with Burmester gear, or others using a non standard pinout, it’s easy to call Team Cardas and get exactly what you need.

Cardas welcomes the opportunity to build custom cables and as Meredith told me, “We definitely want to promote that we can do custom cables. As a general rule, if the connectors exist, we can probably make a cable with them.”

I’ve been using Cardas Cables in my personal and reference systems for over 15 years now with excellent result. Here’s another great reason to purchase their products.

www.cardasaudio.com

Following the driving bass line in Robin Trower’s “Too Rolling Stoned,” it’s tough to believe this much bass is coming from such tiny cabinets. Harder still to believe that said small monitors are flanking the couch, up against the rear wall of my listening room.

ProAc has been making the Tablette since 1979, and it is one of the world’s most popular mini monitors as well as one of high-end audio’s best values. The Tablette has won countless awards from hifi magazines the world over, mine included.

However, the Tablette has always been a ported design, so extracting the maximum performance has always required getting them out in the room somewhat, so the rear firing port doesn’t load up and put a nasty hump in the lower bass response. We were amazed at how much more low-end grunt was available from the recent Anniversary Edition, and remain equally amazed at how well the new Tab 10s non – ported design works.

These speakers are as easy on your billfold as they are to move around. Black ash, cherry, and mahogany is standard at the cost of $1,900 a pair, with ebony and rosewood (particularly striking) slightly more at $2,200 per pair. As with every mini monitor, we suggest as much mass as you can pack into the stands you choose. Weighty stands dramatically enhances the quantity and quality of the bass response delivered, and you will be astonished at how much more these speakers reveal on a high mass pair of stands.

Making excellent use of a thin walled, heavy damped, infinite baffle enclosure design similar to the BBC LS3/5a, the Tab 10 utilizes the same 1-inch silk dome tweeter from the Anniversary model and a few other ProAc models. New for the Tab 10 is a 5-inch woofer using a Mica based, ceramic coating that makes the woofer cone stiffer. The woofer in the Anniversary model has a 5 7/8 – inch, impregnated Kevlar cone, so these are indeed two different animals. The crossover in the Tab 10 is also optimized for the nonported cabinet to offer correct bass response.

One of the only things making music longer than the Tablettes is the Rolling Stones, so it seems more than appropriate to spin the LP of their latest, Blue and Lonesome. This tribute to the band’s favorite blues tunes is a vital record with explosive playing from Jagger, Richards, and Watts. The Tab 10s fill the room with sound, preserving the raw sound of this recording, with each musician intact, possessing their own space; a tough task to accomplish, considering the dynamic interplay between these musicians.

Easy and versatile

Where the Anniversary Tablettes will not work against the wall due to their rear-firing port, it’s smooth sailing with the Tab 10, yet they still deliver an excellent performance out in the room too. Apartment dwellers and those forced to make the living room do double duty as the listening room will appreciate the extra options for placement.

As with past Tablette models, the Tab 10 has a somewhat low sensitivity of 86db, yet it is incredibly easy to drive, so a ton of power is not required to enjoy them, and with a nominal impedance of 10 ohms, they are extremely tube amplifier friendly. Much of my test listening was done with both of our products of the year, the 50 watt per channel, solid-state Simaudio Neo Ace integrated, and the PrimaLuna HP Premium integrated amplifier, configured with EL-34 tubes for 70 watts per channel. These amplifiers all had more than enough power to achieve high listening levels in both my 11 x 18 foot living room and 10 x 11 foot dedicated “small speaker” listening room.

The Tab 10s have more than enough resolution to unveil the subtleties of these amplifiers, and a few other combinations tried, as well as the differences between the $32,000 Gryphon Kalliope DAC and a few budget DACs on hand. Impressive as they perform with mega components, the Tab 10s still turn in an outstanding performance with a recently restored Marantz 2245 receiver, making them a system anchor that you can grow with as your audio upgrade budget increases.

It’s always about balance

The overall tonal balance in the Tab 10 is just slightly warm, with a healthy dose of tonal saturation, as I like it personally, and I must confess that while the Tab 10s deliver a command performance with whatever high-quality amplifier you connect them to, I just love em with tubes. While the PrimaLuna/EL-34 combo was the go-to choice, getting crazy and moving in the Audio Research REF 6 pre, REF Phono 3 and GS150 power amplifier was a ton of fun, reminiscent of the very first time I heard the Tablettes driven by the legendary ARC SP-10 Mk. II and a D-79 power amplifier. Now as much as then, I couldn’t believe how much music came out of these tiny speakers driven by such major electronics.

Where the Tab 10, like the Anniversary Tab surprises you, is just how loud they can play. Going straight from the delicate, flamenco style of Eddie Van Halen on “Spanish Fly” straight into “Eruption” (Thank you TIDAL) to Slayer’s “Angel of Death” and Metallica’s “Master of Puppets,” (with the ARC’s power meters bouncing healthily) you’d expect smoke and major carnage. In the best British fashion, the Tab 10s soldier on without bother.

As much fun as it is to find the limits of their performance envelope, the Tab 10s shine in everyday duty. The tonality has a relaxed ease combined with enough resolution to stay exciting, regardless of program material. These are speakers that you can get lost in, with long listening sessions a breeze. This has always been a hallmark of the Tablette, yet even better with current models.

Mini monitor magic

Some small speaker manufacturers make the mistake of trying to be everything to everyone, offering a goosed bottom end, giving the impression of more bass, throwing overall tonal balance under the bus. The Tablette does not make this mistake, and while at first blush, they might seem as if they are a little lacking, the more music you listen to, it sinks in at the amount of quality and articulation offered with the bass that they do produce.

Two drivers and a simple crossover network done right means a high degree of coherence, again creating that enticing illusion of reality and pinpoint imaging that the Tab 10s provide. Like the Anniversary model, when placed in my living room in front of the Quad 2812’s, on a lot of acoustic music, it was tough to tell them apart. Auditioning Keith Jarrett’s famous The Koln Concert proves irresistible; his piano delicately floats between the speakers with a sumptuous decay that has to be experienced. It’s still tough to believe that this level of resolution and sheer tonality is accomplished with a $1,900 pair of speakers.

Vocal recordings fascinate with an equal amount of engagement. Chrissie Hynde’s “Never Be Together,” from her latest album hovers out in front of the sparse lead guitar and drums on the track. Going way old school and spinning “Private Life” from her 1978 debut feels just as fresh as the first time I heard the album on the original Tablettes.

Still great after all these years

It has been great fun to watch and listen to the Tablette’s progress over almost 40 years. Every version is more refined and reveals more music than the last. However, the Tablette 10 is a thoughtful and exciting sidestep from the Anniversary model for those of you that have to get the speakers closer to the rear wall.

Whether you’re experiencing the sound of ProAc for the first time, or are a long standing fan, this is a pair of speakers you can easily fall in love with. Warmly recommended.

The ProAc Tablette 10

$1,900 (standard finish) $2,200 (premium finish)

www.proac-loudspeakers.com (Factory)

www.soundorg.com (North American Distributor)

Peripherals

Analog Source             AVID Volvere SP/SME V/Ortofon Cadenza Bronze

Phonostage                  Audio Research REF Phono 3

Digital Source              Gryphon Kalliope DAC,  ELAC DS-101 server

Amplifiers                   PrimaLuna HP integrated, Simaudio NEO Ace integrated

Cable                           Cardas Clear

Power                          Torus TOT

One of the most exciting things to come out of the headphone revolution is the plethora of desktop headphone amplifiers that either include a high-performance DAC, or a phonostage yet can also be used as a line level preamplifier. These are the coolest boxes in hifi right now, because they are a great bridge to both worlds.

Bruce Ball’s Questyle brand has been lighting up the internet, and the hifi shows now for some time with good reason; their creations sound fantastic, look stunning, are built to an incredibly high standard and won’t break the bank. The CMA600i featured here is a full resolution DAC that can handle anything up to 24/192 PCM files and offer True DSD conversion to DSD 256 as well. That spells future proof in our book.

Great as the high-res capabilities are, the CMA600i’s ability to provide breathtaking sound with standard 16/44.1 files is what makes this small but mighty headphone amplifier an incredible value. Listening to Al DiMeola’s Flesh on Flesh, streamed via TIDAL, all of the nuances of this guitar great come straight through. Though known for his ability to shred like no other on an electric guitar, his light touch on the acoustic guitar on this album is lovely rendered by the CMA600i, played back through my Conrad Johnson MV60SE tube amplifier and a pair of new Quad 2812’s in my living room. This review began using the CMA600i as a linestage/DAC combo first, and it kills everything I throw at it.

Super sleek style

Built in the Foxconn factory (the same people that manufacture iPhones), the CMA600i feels like a much more expensive component than its $1,295 price would suggest. Picking it up for the first time is deceptive, as it looks like it should weigh a lot less. Thanks to top quality parts inside from Wima, Dale, Alps and a big power supply transformer from Plitron, the CMA600i is beefy.

It doesn’t contribute to the sound, but the space gray finish, combined with the carefully machined corners on the casework make for an incredibly fashion forward visual design too. It looks more like something you’d expect from Nagra and that’s one of the highest compliments I can pay it. With the power supply in the casework, there is no annoying wall wart to lose or degrade the sound. Again, way more than you’d expect for $1,295.

The layout and operation are straightforward, and from a human engineering standpoint, the CMA600i is highly intuitive and easy to use, even without consulting the manual. Ball has concentrated on bringing you everything you need with nothing you don’t. Around back are USB, coax, and optical digital inputs and they all sound great, plus they give you the option of switching between three digital sources. Great stuff, but adding a solitary analog input so you can plug a turntable in, is sheer genius. Running a pair of interconnects from the $15,000 Audio Research REF 3 Phono again shows just how resolving the CMA600i is. Switching between the Soulines Kubrick DCX (reviewed in issue 80) and the Rega Planar 3, the CMA600i has more than enough capability to illustrate both of these turntables.

If you’re staying in the preamplifier groove, the CMA600i features both RCA and fully balanced XLR outputs, allowing any amplifier to be used. Driving a 20-foot pair of balanced Cardas Clear interconnects to my Pass Xs 300 monoblocks was a breeze. Comparing the 20 foot run to a 3-foot pair showed zero degradation in sound quality, a testament to how robustly this preamplifier is built.

Ok, ok, how about plugging in some cans?

It was so much fun using the CMA600i as a preamplifier, it took a while to get around to headphone listening, but again, there was no disappointment. The current mode amplification does it’s thing and moving from planar phones from Oppo, Audeze and my torture test favorites, the HiFi Man HE-6s, everything I could throw at the CMA600i proves to be effortless.

Listening to the acoustic version of Grand Funk Railroad’s “Stop Lookin Back” the high resolving capability of this headphone amplifier. The attack and decay on the acoustic guitar have plenty of texture, feel and transient attack. Staying in boomer rock mode, the marimbas in Frank Zappa’s “Central Scrutinizer” bounce around my head in a highly psychedelic manner, with Zappa growling in the background, somewhere deep in my cranial cavity. As the late, great Mr. Zappa used to say, “Isn’t this what it’s all about?” The answer is an unquestionable yes.

The sheer current drive (Thanks to the Class A Current Mode Amplifier) of the CMA600i keeps even the most difficult to drive phones in line. There is no wimping out dynamically or at the frequency extremes as can happen with headphone amplifiers that don’t have the power supply to back them up.

Tonally, the CMA600i is very neutral and again is not affected by phones connected. Where something like the Benchmark DAC 1 family tends to be slightly dry, and some of our favorite tube headphone amplifiers can embellish with a bit of extra tonal saturation, the CMA600i plays it straight. Those wanting the more lush sound of a tube amp might be turned off, but again, after extended listening with about 20 different pairs of phones, the neutrality of the CMA600i is a plus. I suspect headphonistas with a broad collection of cans will love it as much as I do.

Those liking strong bass response will not be disappointed, tracking through some EDM and hip hop favorites is convincing. Going way back, Koop’s Sons of Koop through the LCD-2s is stunning.  Even my Koss Pro 4aa’s that I’ve had since college sound phenomenal through the CMA600i – I’ve never heard them handle the lower frequencies with this kind of authority, and I’ve been listening to these babies for a long time. The ability to connect via either of the two ¼-inch, front panel jacks or the 4-pin balanced input, means everyone can join the party.

Digital versatility

A handy switch on the front panel lets you toggle through digital inputs with ease, making it easy to use whatever sources at your disposal. Giving things a go with a Mac Book Pro and the Aurender W10 server both provide excellent results. Listening to nothing but high res tracks via the Aurender quickly validate the additional resolution, switching back and forth between TIDAL and high res versions of the same tracks. The only aspect of the CMA600i I wasn’t able to fully explore was its ability to decode DSD files, as I have a very limited selection of tracks on my server. Suffice to say what I heard was excellent; however, I did spend quite a lot of time with 24/96 and 24/192 files.

Unlike a great number of DAC’s that use the Sabre chip family, Questyle walks to a different beat, taking advantage of the AKM4490 and its “velvet sound” architecture. While we can wax poetic all day long about the nerdy details, it is well implemented in the CMA600i. The Questyle website mentions that it is powered with a +/- 7-volt high voltage power regulator, to ensure high dynamic range. Listening to a wide variety of classical pieces makes it easy to see how well this works in practice. It is also worth mentioning that the CMA600i is fatigue free – long listening sessions are a breeze and digital artifacts, the enemy of hours in the listening chair, just do not exist here.

Whether listening through the phones, or speakers, I was never less than thrilled with just how much music the CMA600i reveals, especially in the company of some much more expensive hardware. Each component of the CMA600i is worth the $1,295 asking price on its own, if not more. Considering it takes up so little rack space, and you’ll save 2-3 times what the CMA600i costs on not needing power and interconnect cables for a DAC, preamp and headphone amplifier makes it one of the best values in high-end audio today. That’s why it has received one of my Publishers Choice Awards in issue 80. The CMA600i is certainly a teacher’s pet, and I’ve purchased the review sample to keep as part of the fleet.

A top performer

In the end, you can find a DAC or preamplifier that reveals more music than the CMA600i, but you’re going to have to spend a lot more money, whether you are making it the cornerstone of a high-performance headphone only system, or using it as the anchor for an incredibly good two channel system. This option makes it just as future proof as the ability to play all the high res formats in my book.

The Questyle CMA600i succeeds brilliantly on every level. It sounds great, is incredibly versatile and is visually elegant to boot. This is as good as it gets, and should you build a system around it; I suspect you will pass this one down to a family member. Well done Mr. Ball!

The Questyle CMA600i Headphone Amplifier/DAC/Preamplifier

MSRP:  $1,299

www.questyleaudio.com

facebook.com/QuestyleAudio

Features

Old School:

McIntosh MC 225: A Revered Classic
By Jerome Wanono

995:

Record Doctor V Record Cleaner

By Andre Marc

Journeyman Audiophile:

Peachtree Audio’s Nova 150:
Everything in one box!

By Rob Johnson

TONE Style

BMW’s new i3

Stache’ Labbit

LSR Apple Watch Silicon Strap

Cooking With Sammy Hagar

Tile Slim

Versa Watch Winder

Omaker W4 Pocket Speaker

Music

Spin the Black Circle: Reviews of New Pop/Rock and Country Albums
By Bob Gendron, Todd Martens, Chrissie Dickinson, Andrea Domanick and Aaron Cohen

Jazz & Blues: Keith Jarrett, Kris Davis and more!
By Jim Macnie and Kevin Whitehead

Gear Previews

Audio Research GS75i Integrated Amplifier

Graham Audio Chartwell LS3/5 Speakers

Web Reviews

Merrill Audio Jens Phono and Christine Preamplifier

Rega Planar 3 Turntable

Reviews

Sonus faber  Lilium Speakers
By Greg Petan

Coincident Statement Lifestage
By Jeff Dorgay

Conrad-Johnson GAT Series 2 Linestage
By Jeff Dorgay

Pass Xs Phono
By Jeff Dorgay

Audio Research REF 6
By Rob Johnson

Awards!

TONEAudio’s Products of the Year

Publisher’s Choice Awards

Exceptional Value Awards

Reinventing a classic usually fails miserably or succeeds brilliantly. Ford’s attempt at bringing back the Thunderbird, not so much, VW’s remake of the Beetle, fantastic.

Ask any fan of the Audio Research marque which pieces they feel are legendary and the original SP-1 preamplifier (as well as the SP-10) and the D-79 power amplifier will more than likely be at the top of their list.

ARC has always concentrated on performance, with an understated look, bringing them a legion of followers over the years. But the GSPre is different, oozing with aesthetic touches wherever you look. Designer Livio Cucuzza pays just the right amount of respect to ARC’s heritage, while expressing himself brilliantly. For those not familiar with Mr. Cucuzza, he is the talent behind Wadia’s Intuition and the current crop of Sonus faber speakers, including the brilliant Aida that was our Product of the Year in 2012.

Control functions are displayed in the same green shade that has been a staple of current ARC components, yet the control knobs, ever so slightly updated, look straight from the SP-1. When the GSPre was introduced in Munich last year, Cucuzza was certain to mention how important these design cues were, drawing upon pristine examples of classic components from ARCs own collection to listen to and observe during the design process.

A quick look behind the luxurious front panel reveals the tube tunnel of the SP-1, now covered with drilled Plexiglas, yet the simply bent corners on the first ARC preamplifier are now hand welded in the GSPre. The new preamplifier exudes quality, with evidence of hand finishing everywhere you look. ARCs Dave Gordon makes it a point to bring this all to my attention, saying, “This is where some of the additional cost in the GSPre comes from. This level of hand work isn’t inexpensive.” This is why you buy a Ducati motorcycle instead of a Yamaha, and so it goes with the GSPre. It is as lovely to look at as it is to listen to.

The front panel has a thinner, more sculpted feel and the familiar handles that are front and center on every other ARC component are now tucked tastefully off to the side of the chassis, just behind the front panel. The rear panel reveals a full complement of balanced XLR and RCA inputs and outputs with a 15A IEC socket, with the headphone input located on the right side of the chassis. If you are a headphone user, be sure to leave a proper amount of space to access the standard ¼ inch jack.

I confess, I love it

As much as I am supposed to be a conduit to the gear we review, it’s tough to contain my enthusiasm for ARC’s latest GSPre and GS150 power amplifier (You can read that review here) after living with them for some time now. Having owned the SP-1, SP-3, SP-10 and SP-11, along with a few contemporary ARC preamplifiers, I find the GSPre to be a very special component. Listening to Neil Young’s classic “Old Man” (the recent Chris Bellman LP remaster of Harvest) is mesmerizing; the detail present is amazing, the vocal and instrumental texture equally so. Switching LPs, listening to the reverb trail off at the beginning of CSN’s “Wooden Ships” seems to go wider and deeper through the Quad 2812s than I’ve ever heard. Few components I have heard at any price are this compelling.

It is wonderful, convenient and synergistic to have a high quality phonostage on the same chassis as a great linestage, which is why so many SP-10 and SP-11 owners doggedly hang on to their 30-year-old preamplifiers. I enthusiastically submit the GSPre as a more than worthy replacement.

Carrying an MSRP of $15,000, it is slightly more than the $13,000 REF 5SE, which in some ways sonically bests the GSPre. But the GSPre must be put in proper perspective; where the REF 5SE is strictly a linestage, the GSPre is a full-function preamplifier in the best ARC tradition, with an outstanding phonostage and headphone amplifier built in. Having reviewed all the past ARC phonostages over the last five years, I find that the performance of the GSPre’s onboard phono is in the neighborhood of the PH7 and PH8.

Those of you wanting it all on one chassis will not be disappointed with the GSPre, unless you are sporting a $10,000 phono cartridge on your turntable. Atlas and Goldfinger owners will still want to step up to ARC’s REF Phono 2SE to get the maximum performance, or those with extremely low output cartridges, as the GSPre only features 55dB of gain in the phonostage. Personally, I love minimizing the number of cables needed in a great hifi system – another excellent reason for choosing the GSPre. And it goes without saying that you’ll need less rack space, though the GSPre is so gorgeous, you might not want to tuck it away on the shelf of a rack. I suggest placing it on a big, Italian column front and center with dramatic lighting for accent, but I digress.

It’s more about different

Elitist audiophiles only concerned with ultimate performance may prefer the REF 5SE to the GSPre, but I submit the GSPre is more about different, than a mere better or worse comparison. The REF 5SE does have a bit finer resolution in the highest of highs and slightly more dynamic punch, but the GSPre offers a different voice, a different flavor. Though the team in Minneapolis still designs the circuitry, listening to a violin or acoustic guitar through the GSPre makes me wonder just how much time the ARC people have spent listening to Sonus faber speakers, now that they are part of the Fine Sounds group.

Think of the difference in rendition between the REF 5SE and the GSPre as the former being more like a pair of Wilson Audio Maxx 3s and the GSPre a pair of Sonus faber Aidas. Both excellent, but which will you prefer? If like me, you prefer that touch of tonal saturation and body, the GSPre will be your ultimate choice. It’s as if the GSPre is a sonic blend of 80% REF 5SE and 20% legendary SP-10, with no drawbacks whatsoever.

The GSPre is a contemporary design though, utilizing ARC’s FET/Vacuum Tube hybrid design that they pioneered with the SP-11, refining constantly. With a FET input driving two pairs of 6H30 tubes in the linestage and a single pair in the phonostage, all the tube magic is retained, yet the result is extremely quiet. The GSPre possesses incredible low level detail resolution and the spatial abilities usually associated with an all-tube preamplifier, though having none of the negative aspects. The 6H30 is an incredibly robust tube, and though ARC suggests replacement at 5000 hours, it is not uncommon for these tubes to last much longer. The power supply is all solid state, with seven stages of regulation.

Phono fun

As with the current crop of ARC phonostages, 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 47k input loading is easily switched from the comfort of your listening chair. The ability to do this via remote is particularly helpful not only from the reviewer’s chair, but when you are trying to get that last bit of performance from your system.

A wide range of cartridges was used for this review, from the $379 Denon DL-103 up to the $9,500 Lyra Atlas. Phono performance is dynamic and quiet, though as mentioned earlier, extremely low output cartridges will not have enough drive for the GSPre. The .25mv Denon and the .3mv Dynavector 17D3 were acceptable at lower levels, but at modest to high volume lacked slightly in dynamics. All the cartridges at my disposal from Ortofon, Lyra and Koetsu with .5mv output were a fantastic match and again being able to switch between 100, 200 and 500 ohms from the couch made optimization a snap.

Vinyl experiences with the GSPre and the Feickert Blackbird/Ortofon Cadenza Black MC were incredibly good, and this is an arm/cartridge/table combination I would highly suggest to a potential GSPre owner who was stepping up their vinyl game. Another lovely combination is the VPI Classic Two table and the Grado Reference 1 moving iron cartridge. ARC phonostages have always had an incredibly synergy with the Reference and Reference 1, and the GSPre continues this tradition. Its .6mv output does require 47k loading, something not all MC phonostages can accommodate.

While the GSPre can rock out with the best of them, vocals, small ensembles and solo acoustic instruments shine. This preamplifier does so well with retrieving ambient cues and gentle texture, it underscores what the vacuum tube experience should be without ever over-embellishing, as some vintage tube components can be prone to. For this reviewer, the balance is absolute perfection.

Bass extension and control are very good, but this is one area where the ultimate nod goes to the REF 5SE/ REF Phono 2SE pair, both with their larger, dual mono, vacuum tube regulated power supplies.

Getting personal

It only takes a few minutes with your favorite phones to realize to realize the on-board headphone amplifier is not a last minute afterthought. Much like the approach taken to the phonostage, the GSPre is not the last word in headphone amplification for the most obsessed headphone listeners, but so good that most will not feel the need to invest in a separate, outboard headphone amplifier. ARC claims compatibility with phones in the 30–300 ohm range and it proved a great match for the Sennheiser, Grado, OPPO and Audeze phones in my collection. I can’t think of a better way to explore personal listening for the first time than with the GSPre.

The same voice of the GSPre through your favorite speakers comes quickly through your favorite phones, no matter which ones you own. It paints a large sonic landscape, with excellent dynamics and control. Donning a pair of headphones will really convince you just how quiet the GSPre truly is, with transducers right against your head – a real plus for classical listeners!

A brilliant combination

The word that keeps coming to mind with the GSPre is balance. It does everything so well, with no weaknesses, I can’t imagine wanting another preamplifier. After extensive listening to the GSPre and companion GS150 power amplifier, it’s tough to be non-partisan, especially after having owned numerous ARC components over the years.

Mating the GSPre to the GS150 power amplifier is sonic and aesthetic perfection. However, should you have a different ARC power amplifier, or one from another manufacturer, it’s all good. Whether using the balanced or RCA outputs, the GSPre drives long cable runs with ease, and mating it with a plethora of amplifiers from Conrad-Johnson, Nagra, Pass, Simaudio and McIntosh, it delivers a stellar performance either way.

The GSPre feels as if ARC has read my mind and produced a bespoke preamplifier to perfectly suit my visual and sonic requirements. The GSPre combines the design sensibilities of ARC’s Italian partners, while leveraging 40 years of award winning vacuum tube component design. To say the result succeeds brilliantly is the understatement of the year. If this sounds like fun to you, I suggest heading straight to your nearest ARC dealer and be ready to write the check. This may or may not be your first ARC component, but I suspect after you live with the GSPre, it may be your last preamplifier. I know I could live with this one forever.

Audio Research GSPre Preamplifier

$15,000

www.audioresearch.com

There’s a lot of interesting hi-fi going on in Serbia these days, and we’ve had a number of review inquiries. However, nothing was more intriguing than the new Kubrick DCX from Soulines; currently imported by Jason Tavares at Adirondack Audio in New York.

This beautiful belt drive turntable has a retail cost of $4,000 without tonearm. The review sample was equipped with a Rega RB2000 arm and Apheta 2 cartridge affixed, bringing the cost of this combination to about $7,000. Jelco and SME boards are also available and were supplied. With examples of both, it was easy to run the DCX through its paces with these arms as well.

A quick touch up of tracking force on the Apheta 2 (1.75g) has records playing quickly. In the quest of perspective, the new Apheta was removed to compare with my original model on a pair of Rega P9 tables. You can read my thoughts on that soon, but suffice to say the new Apheta is more extended, slightly smoother and produces a larger soundfield than the model it replaces. More data points made it easier to judge the DCX on its own merit.

Basic setup of the table is quick and straightforward. Install the platter, the belt and tonearm of your choice. A small wall wart power supply is available, supplying 12 volts DC and Soulines claims an upgraded power supply may be in the works soon. The table is semi suspended and is easy to level quickly. In addition to the power switch, 33 or 45 rpm is easily toggled, with no belt fussing necessary. A model of simplicity!

The DCX does not have a massive footprint and easily fits on a 15 x 19 inch shelf. Weighing only 24 pounds, it should fit anywhere. Whether sitting on a rack, or anchored to the wall in our listening room via a Solidsteel wall bracket; the DCX is immune to foot traffic exhibiting no acoustic feedback effects.

Mix and match

With the Apheta 2 back in place on the DCX, the Soulines table delivers more weight than the Rega P9 can muster, yet offers slightly more energy in the treble range as well; it feels as if you’ve moved up about three rows closer to the stage. Should you have a system that is already slightly forward, this combination may be too much of a good thing. In my studio system, with the Focal Sopra no.3 speakers, this was, in fact, too much of a good thing. Moved to the living room system with a PrimaLuna DiaLogue HP integrated amplifier, MOON by Simaudio LP610 and the Graham LS5/9 speakers (which is a decidedly more laid back system) the Apheta 2 is perfection.  All remaining listening was done via the Conrad Johnson GAT 2 preamplifier, TEA-1a phonostage and the LP125sa+ power amplifier, via the Quad 2812 speakers.

The Rega arm may need to use the supplied spacers to fine adjust VTA with some cartridges, but this is not an issue with the Jelco or the SME as the adjustments are built in. The SME V proved an incredible match for the DCX, but at nearly $6,000, this more than doubles the cost of the arm/table combination. Rest assured though, that the DCX is up to the task. A more cost effective combination is the 309 arm. Though a little spendy at MSRP of $2,800, they can usually be found on the secondary market for just under $1,000 and this makes for an incredibly high performance combination.

As you might expect, the SME arm lends more heft to the presentation, while the Rega is a bit zippier. Again, this all depends on the ultimate voice you want your analog system to feature and the rest of the chain. This table is so much fun, you can really get lost in the chase. Even the vintage SME 3009 proves a great match for the DCX, combined with the Ortofon SPU delivers a rounder, more vintage sound that may be to the taste of some. No matter what combination was tried, this table provides a highly stable platform that gets out of the way of the ancillaries, delivering clean sound.

Though this particular ZYX is not a megabucks cartridge, it gives minute details room to breath, never letting the softest ones get lost in the mix. Taking an old favorite for a spin, Pat Metheny’s Offramp proves illuminating, with smooth, yet shimmering cymbals throughout, and Lyle Mays’ piano effortlessly clean. The last track on side one, “Au Lait” features some ethereal, Twin Peaks-y moans that appear way back beyond the speaker boundaries. Lesser tables tend to portray this track a lot more flat and two-dimensional.

Good as the Kubrick DCX performs with a modest cartridge; it can easily be the foundation for some of the world’s finest cartridges without missing a beat. Moving upscale to the Grado Signature 2 ($3,500) and the Transfiguration Phoenix ($4,500) proved the resolution of this platform, making it a breeze for both cartridges to express themselves, easily distinguishing what makes them unique.  This makes it a great table to build an analog system around, splurge on the Kubrick HDX, upgrading tonearm and cartridge as your budget allows.

The DCX shatters a few of my pre-existing biases, especially the one that has never been terribly fond of acrylic platters. In this case it works spectacularly and does not have an overly flat, two-dimensional sound that I’ve always chalked up to an acrylic platter. Acoustic instruments come alive and often played electronica tracks come forward from the Quads with a large, deep, front to back sound field. This table will easily immerse you in your favorite records.

Taking care of business

After auditioning a number of exciting combinations, I ended up with the combination of the Rega arm and the ZYX R-100 cartridge, reminding me a lot of the Miyajima Kansui that I never should have let a good friend talk me out of. Natural, with a little bit of bloom, but not sluggish or slow. Another outstanding match for this arm and table. Needless to say about halfway through the review I called Jason to purchase the DCX for permanent use as the analog reference driving my Audiophile Apartment system.

This system consists of the Quad 2812’s and PrimaLuna DiaLogue HP premium integrated that I raved about earlier this year, via Conrad Johnson’s new TEA-1 series 2 phonostage (review to follow shortly) listening to a major pile of records. Analog either draws you in or leaves you cold, and unscientific though it may seem, when it all comes together, it keeps you up until all hours of the night, playing record after record, time melting away like you have one of those aliens from the movie Dune, that fold space somewhere nearby.

Count the DCX solidly in this camp. Speed stability measured on the money, and it paints a fairly big, spacious, sonic picture, with music unfolding between the Quads in an incredibly gratifying way. Should you need to adjust the speed slightly on yours, the adjustments on the top of the subchassis make it simple as long as you possess a jeweler’s screwdriver.

The skeletal aluminum structure that makes up the subchassis is machined and finished to an elegant, semi-matte silver finish. The mechanical and sonic quality of this table becomes more evident with every day spent with it. It sounds and feels like a much more expensive table – the quality is in the details; all of the surfaces and edges are finished to a level you would expect from AVID, Clearaudio or SME.

Records spin on an acrylic platter via an inverted main bearing. Designer Igor Gligorov tells me that they every platter, main bearing and spindle are manufactured together as a unit, not in batches (and the resultant problems with batch tolerances) because he feels that this is one of the most important parts of the turntable. “I have put a lot of effort to isolate this system from the rest of the table and surrounding environment.”

The DC motor is sourced from Premotec of Holland with a simple voltage converter via a wall wart power supply. As a mechanical engineer, he stresses the importance of all parts of a mechanical system working together in synergy for the best result. Everything is strategically shaped, assembled and damped. The minute you put a record on the table, Mr. Gligorov’s hard work is evident.

A wholehearted recommendation

Plain and simple, the Soulines Kubrick DCX is a fantastic table in every way. It’s beautifully designed, mechanically and aesthetically. It’s proven easy to set up and has been playing records around the clock since we unboxed it a few months ago, providing hundreds of hours of flawless performance. We’ll report back in six months or so to give you a long-term perspective, but for now, it’s proved fantastic.

This is one you should consider for your system.

The Soulines Kubrick DCX Turntable

$4,000 (without arm)

www.adkav.com (US Distributor)

www.soulines.com (mfr)

Peripherals

Preamplifier              Conrad Johnson GAT 2, with TEA-1 phonostage

Amplifier                    Conrad Johnson LP125sa+

DAC                             Gryphon Kalliope

Speakers                    Quad 2812

Cable                          Cardas Clear

Power                         Torus TOT

For a minute, just forget about using the super cool Woo Audio WA8 Eclipse as a headphone amplifier.

Sure you could plug some headphones in, and you’d experience some of the best personal audio going. Battery power is intriguing because getting off the grid means lowering the noise floor and other gremlins occurring when converting AC power to DC. While this doesn’t always come to fruition with amplifiers, low powered components like DACs and preamplifiers do very well in this configuration. Forget that, let’s use it as the front end to a six-figure, 2-channel hi-fi system.

Pondering why the WA8 didn’t have a line output, like my Walkman Pro, which incidentally is about the same size, I went for broke and drove my $85,000 Pass Xs 300 monoblocks directly from the headphone jack. As my favorite secret agent, Archer likes to say, “Why would I not?”Considering how much gain today’s power amplifiers have, the 350mw output sounded like it just might get the job done.

Spinning the 40th-anniversary edition of Jethro Tull’s classic Aqualung, via the dCS Paganini transport, the WA8 presents a huge soundstage, with Ian Anderson’s flute locked in place as guitar, drums and percussion float everywhere, front and back. It’s not an Audio Research REF6, but it’s damn good and much better sonically than a lot of other preamplifiers with a similar price tag. None of them have an internal DAC.

These miniature tubes are available directly from Woo Audio, and as they are soldered to a moveable PC board, connecting to the mainboard of the amp, allowing the tubes to be changed by the user. Woo says they will make the tube set available on their site, price TBD as these tubes are rated for 5000+ hours.  I can’t imagine this will be a terribly expensive service. Sporadic listeners will probably go years before needing a tube replacement.

Unless a tube fails catastrophically, they usually fade out rather than fail. After about 5,000 hours you will notice a slight dulling of the sound, with the soundstage collapsing a bit, so that’s when it’s time to call the folks at Woo and schedule a maintenance call.

For less than the price of some interconnect cables, you can make the WA8 the cornerstone of a versatile 2-channel system, to use in your listening room or anywhere else in your home or office. The rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery pack has a claimed playback time of 4 hours, which was usually exceeded by about 15 minutes. This is the only disadvantage to using the WA8 as a linestage; you’re looking at 3½ hour listening sessions max. (the tubes take a few min to come on full song, but the WA8 sounds great from power up) It will take about 2 ½ hours to recharge, so theoretically, you could listen all afternoon, forage for food, and return to listen for another 4. Not bad at all.

The WA8 Is An Amazing Line Level Preamplifier

Every past Woo product we’ve reviewed has always provided great sound, with a sonic signature, ever so slightly on the warm side of neutral. Not quite a vintage, classic sound, but nothing you’d ever mistake for transistors and op amps. Sonically, it reminds me a lot of the voice of the current line of McIntosh line preamplifiers, if that’s any help.

Powering up the WA8, you notice a triplet of miniature tubes; this Class – A, single ended miracle uses a pair of 6S31 tubes in “two tube mode” adding a 6021 driver tube in “three tube mode.” Woo suggests using this to fine tune the amplifiers output to whatever headphones you might have at your disposal. Three tube mode worked best for preamplifier duty.

Using an iPhone 6+ running TIDAL makes an ideal miniature digital playback system, as the WA8 is Apple compatible with a CCK adapter, so it just grabs the digital bitstream from your iOS device. The WA8’s internal ESS SABRE DAC is what the big boys use, so again, expect the sound of a full sized DAC here; all the way up to 24bit/384khz files.

Hell yeah, I plugged a turntable in

Why not take the madness all the way and connect a turntable? Though this somewhat defeats the “compact” concept, those thinking about using their WA8 as a full function preamplifier will not be disappointed. Now if only Mr. Wu would make a companion phono stage with an identical form factor.

Rega’s new Planar 3/Elys 2 cartridge, paired with a Monk Audio phonostage (about $1,200 each) makes for a particularly lovely way to enjoy records, revealing all the analog magic you could hope for. Most people won’t need more than a turntable and a digital input, so this is pretty awesome stuff. Going back and forth between analog and high-resolution favorites drained the battery every time.

Headphone performance

The WA8 has been out since March, so you can stop by Head-Fi or your favorite headphone site and read more minutiae than you could ever dream of wanting to know. These guys have more patience (and more pairs of headphones) than I do when it comes to trying every possible headphone under the sun with the WA8.

Suffice to say, with my reference Oppo and Audeze phones; I was not only pleased with the spacious and dynamic sound of the WA8, I feel it is at the top of the price category in every way. Bass is deep and well defined, highs equally so, and this amplifier excels at low-level detail resolution. Add that little bit of extra sauce that tubes bring to the party, and the WA8 makes an incredibly non-fatiguing listening station.

Just like the current iPhone you can get the Woo Audio WA8 Eclipse headphone amplifier/DAC in a variety of colors; black, space gray and gold. (sorry no pink, I mean rose gold yet!!) Only 6.69 inches by 3.6 inches and 1.69 inches deep, it’s barely bigger than a paperback book. You remember those, don’t you?

Manufacturers that have the foresight to produce products giving headphone listeners an easy upgrade path to a 2-channel system when time and budget permit get major kudos in my book. It’s one thing to make a small portable headphone Amp and DAC, but one that you can use as a serious line level preamplifier makes the already great Woo Audio WA8 Eclipse my choice for Personal Fidelity Product of the Year in our next issue. You may never use it as a preamplifier, as I did, but you can. And you’ll love it.

The Woo Audio WA8

MSRP:  $1,799 Space Grey or Black, $1,899 Gold

www.wooaudio.com

The late Franco Serblin, the man responsible for Sonus faber is no longer with us to design great speakers, but his son in law, Massimiliano has brought the last of this Italian master’s vision to fruition.

Here at TONEAudio, we have the absolutely lovely Lignea, a diminutive floor standing speaker that retails for  $5,995 US. Watch for our full review in issue #81. Think of the Lignea more as a mini monitor with an elegantly integrated stand. There is no low, low bass response to speak of, but like your favorite Brit mini monitor, you won’t miss it.

Check out the rest of Mr. Serblin’s creations here:

http://www.francoserblin.it