TONEAudio MAGAZINE The Concierge of High End Audio

It shouldn’t be possible to make something this good, this inexpensively, but Lounge Audio is a small but mighty California company that is building a great reputation with this killer phonostage for analog lovers on a tight budget.

At some point, as they grow and take on more operating expenses, these babies will ultimately get more expensive, so grab one now while they are priced at $300.  Whether you have a basic or mega system, you owe it to yourself to hear what can be accomplished when sound quality is the only goal.  And when Lounge Audio becomes a household word, remember, you saw it here first!

Lounge LCR Phonostage

www.loungeaudio.com

Hey San Francisco music and audio lovers:

On January 15th 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Audio Vision San Francisco will be having a continuation of our Grand Opening Party featuring MOON by Simaudio, Audio Physic GmbH loudspeakers, Woo Audio Headphone Amps, Abyss Headphones , MrSpeakers Headphones, Nordost Cables Power and Signal, DEQX Speaker/Room Correction Processors and PONO Music Players. It’s a free event featuring libations and prizes!!

Count on major demos and they will be featuring one Special Room dedicated to just headphone listening! BRING YOUR MUSIC!

For more info, go to http://www.audiovisionsf.com

Wave of Industry Support for Meridian’s MQA at CES Signals Change in Music Quality for All

Meridian Audio announces rising industry support for its revolutionary MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) technology, launched last month at The Shard.

After the spectacular launch the music industry, hardware providers and content distribution companies are aligning with MQA and its assurance of supreme sound for music fans.

Following 7digital’s announcement of support in December, other companies already in advanced discussions include: Imagination Technologies and its Caskeid wireless multi-room audio IP platform; Onkyo, the Japanese electronics giant; Arcam, the British hi-fi manufacturer; and TIDAL, the high fidelity music streaming service from the Aspiro Group, currently available in US, UK and Canada. TIDAL will also be integral to the MQA demonstrations at CES, streaming MQA music files through the updated Meridian Sooloos digital media system.

Commenting on this wave of support for MQA, Bob Stuart, Meridian Audio co-founder and pioneer behind the new technology said, “We are delighted to be in discussions with such highly respected brands. We are also progressing our work with the music labels, who continue to drive forward MQA content discussions, and we expect them to make announcements in early 2015.”

Callers to the MQA by Meridian suite can experience MQA-encoded music in action, as well as meet the audio design experts behind this revolutionary music format.

http://www.meridian-audio.com

Another year has zoomed by and we’ve had the privilege of listening to a lot of great gear to report on.  Choosing a Product of the Year always carries the dilemma as to whether we bestow the title on something relatively unobtainable, or something modestly priced that we feel offers such over-the-top performance that it can’t be beat by a long shot.  Over the years, we’ve done both, and this year we’re taking the latter approach with the OPPO HA-1 headphone amplifier and their PM-1 phones.

We like to keep the trophies to a minimum in the hope that they remain meaningful, and we’ve actually handed out fewer than last year, with only five items in the Publisher’s Choice column.  As we’ve said in the past, we are always on a quest to help you find the most intriguing products for your short list, so on one level, everything we’ve taken the time to review is award worthy.

Check out the Oppos and other TONEAudio Products of the Year in our Spotlight section!

Cheers,

Jeff Dorgay

After years of screwing around with iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, etc., we’re still left with the agony of choosing convenience over quality.  Now, with Tidal, we get a major song catalog that’s constantly evolving, as well as an incredible catalog of music videos delivered at 16/44.1 resolution.  For 99% of us, this is incredibly cool, and while no one at Tidal is ’fessing up, I’ll bet that they will be offering high resolution downloads at some point in the future.

For all but the most dedicated music collectors, this is the way to finally free yourself from physical media.  There will always be those who want to thumb through album covers romantically, and you can still do that.  But now the music lovers who would like access to a ton of music with audiophile quality can have their cake and eat it too.

This is the best twenty dollars a month you will ever spend.  And Tidal is only in its infancy.

Tidal Music Streaming

www.tidalhifi.com

Roger Gibboni builds great stuff, and at $8,500, his PA-1 takes on the world’s finest.  An all-vacuum tube design gives you the option to modify the gain (and overall tonality) by a bit of tube swapping, and the controls are all on the front panel to keep the hardcore analog enthusiast happy.

Proudly crafted by hand in the USA, the PA-1 is as much of a work of art underneath the chassis as it is on the outside.  With an input for MM and MC, the PA-1 could be used as a two-input phonostage, if you were so inclined.  But in the end, it’s the sound that will win you over.  Gibboni has achieved the perfect balance, incorporating the tonal saturation that tubes are famous for (without overdoing it), a dead quiet background and dynamic swing that will knock your socks off.

Its only limitations are RCA-only outputs and essentially one input, but if you only have one table, the PA-1 renders sound quality that you’d expect from a $30k phonostage.  And that’s why it’s our analog product of the year.

Rogers PA-1 Phonostage

www.rogershighfidelity.com

OPPO has been producing award-winning disc players for years now, producing components that not only sound the part, but look, feel and are packaged like components costing a lot more.  If the HA-1 headphone amplifier had a McIntosh or a Meridan badge on the front panel, you wouldn’t even blink at an $8,500 price tag.  It’s an absolute steal at $1,195, including a DAC, streamer and line level preamplifier –– with a headphone amplifier that, by itself, is worth more than the $1,195 asking price.

Coupled with the $1,095 PM-1 planar magnetic headphones that give the competitors a major run for their money, these two components not only give you a world class personal audio system for a tick over two grand, they give you the foundation for a fantastic two-channel hifi system as well – just add your favorite power amplifier and speakers.  With fully balanced XLR outputs as well as RCAs, the HA-1 is compatible with everything. And it’s so good, we’d even suggest the HA-1 as a system anchor even if you aren’t a headphone enthusiast.  There’s no better building block for a reasonably priced, high performance audio system than the OPPO HA-1.

OPPO HA-1 Headphone Amplifier and PM-1 Headphones

www.oppodigital.com

AURALiC’s award winning ARIES High-Resolution Wireless Bridge now offers streaming DSD256 [Quad-Rate DSD], putting the streamer on the bleeding edge of technology.

AURALIC North America Inc. and its parent company, AURALIC LIMITED, are pleased to be the first to offer DSD256 [Quad-Rate DSD] music streaming over Wi-Fi. This technology, though not available yet commercially, is four times the rate of DSD and doubles the resolution of DSD128 (Double-Rate DSD). It’s also the most cutting-edge high-resolution recording format.

The upgrade, available via firmware, is the latest in a series of ongoing improvements to AURALiC’s Lightning DS Control Software, introduced at last year’s CES, and its ARIES Hi-Res Steaming Bridge, which connects to a consumer’s DAC via USB and continues to be the industry’s only system able to stream DSD, Double-Rate DSD and DXD wirelessly.

The addition of DSD256 capability follows AURALiC’s recent integration of TIDAL full-resolution music streaming to ARIES, thereby eliminating the need for a computer connection to access the service. USB playback is another function recently added to AURALiC’s streaming platform.

AURALiC will continue to support its customers by adding more functionality to the ARIES Wireless Bridge in the future.

Click here to go directly to the AURALiC site….

In this issue, Sean Brady from Audio Video Choices in Phoenix, Arizona is our guest columnist.  Though Brady has been in the hifi world for quite some time, he’s always understood the value of accepting the customers’ old gear on trade.  As many an audio enthusiast will tell you, “you have to get rid of the old before you can bring in the new.”

For many of us, cherished preowned gear is a great way to enter the hobby – not only from a financial standpoint, but from an ecological standpoint as well.  It’s definitely green thinking to recycle rather than just unbox something new.

Through the years, Brady, like the rest of us, has a few pieces that have become favorites to own, sell and share with the rest of us.  Here’s what an audio vet has to say:

Radio Craftsmen C500/500A

My first choices are two amplifiers that bookend the the production of vintage tube amplifiers. The Radio Craftsmen C500/500A Williamson Triode is a subtly refined Williamson triode amplifier. Using a pair of Mullard KT66 output tubes, 15 watts are available with an ultra-wideband response of +/- 1dB from 10Hz to 50kHz. Tube rectification, octal-based 6SN7 tubes for front end/driver, and high quality transformers are utilized in this classic implementation of the Williamson amplifier circuit.

Radio Craftsmen was founded in Chicago in 1947, around the same the time as  McIntosh, Fisher, Scott, and Harman Kardon. The C500A was designed in 1953 by Sid Smith, the same Sid Smith that went to work for Marantz in 1954 to design their famous tube amps, preamps, tuners, and crossovers. Even by today’s standards, the C500 is clear and sweet with superb musical performance. And the description of its performance in the original brochure reads like something you would find for a modern amplifier.

McIntosh MC-350o Amplifier

Next, the king of amplifiers (for me anyway), is a majestic pair of ultra-rare McIntosh MC-3500 designed by Mile Nestorovic. The MC-3500 is the limited home version of the McIntosh MI-350 industrial amplifier – a true piece of industrial art. Rated at 350 watts per channel, Stereo Review magazine revealed an astonishing 500-watt output at 0.08% distortion on the test bench.

These big Macs are the only vintage tube amplifiers that I have ever heard give a great ride to the demanding Wilson MAXX loudspeakers. (We usually pair the MAXX with solid-state amplifiers possessing major current reserve.) The MC-3500s have tremendous low-frequency extension and control with seemingly unlimited headroom. The effortless dynamics and smooth extended high end are so musically involving, it’s tough to believe these are vintage amplifiers.

For a little perspective, in 1968 a pair of 70-watt Marantz Model 9 amplifiers cost $780 when the McIntosh MC-3500 pair was $2200! To this day, this is the most powerful tube amp McIntosh has built.  At one time the Grateful Dead used fourteen MC-3500 amps in their famous “wall of sound” system, and they were loaned to the Woodstock festival as well.

Marantz Model Twenty FM Stereo Tuner

The exquisite Marantz Model Twenty FM Stereo Tuner, the first solid-state Marantz tuner after the legendary tube 10B, with arguably superior reception and sonics to its predecessor, features an oscilloscope for monitoring center of channel tuning, multipath, and audio output. The scope even has an external audio input. A world class tuner (still) it is preferred by many to the 10B, as it requires less frequent adjustment. This was made by Saul Marantz and company in Woodside, New York.

Electro-Voice Patrician loudspeaker

The Electro-Voice Patrician loudspeaker is one of the largest home systems at 325 pounds! Here is how E-V described it: “Let’s start at the bottom (as much as an octave below most other woofers). Our thirty-inch diameter Model 30W woofer reproduces 15 Hz fundamental at full volume without doubling. Nothing less than a live performance can compete with the sound you hear and feel from this giant speaker.”

Over a decade of engineering refinement has made this E-V Model SP12 woofer unexcelled in mid-bass performance (and it’s also an uncommon value as a full range speaker from 30 to 15,000 Hz.

It takes this sophisticated team of compression driver and patented diffraction horn to fully satisfy the rigorous demands of the treble range. There’s no smoother combination than the E-V T25A compression driver and 8HD horn.

Ruler flat from 3,500 to 23,000 Hz! But extended range is just one of the benefits of the T350 VHF driver. Its exclusive throat and horn design spreads undistorted highs to every corner of your listening area. Delightful!

These unusual components have been combined in the Patrician 800 – often acclaimed as the world’s finest loudspeaker system. $1,095.00 in traditional cherry cabinetry. It’s waiting to be challenged by the most powerful, widest range amplifier you can buy. Listen. The difference you hear is what high fidelity is all about!

Revox A700

Many regard the Revox A700 as a thinly disguised Studer professional analog reel recorder, as this machine is well built with the performance to match. It was very advanced for its time and  remains so today. This $3000 machine has three speeds – 3.75/7.5/15ips – and records two tracks on ¼-inch tape. At 15 ips the frequency response is 30Hz to 22kHz +2/-3 dB with signal to noise at 65 dB or better. High end reel-to-reel has a very natural sound, with no stress or congestion.

McIntosh MPI-4

Yes, we need a bright, shiny object with lights and switches, Let’s not forget the McIntosh MPI-4 is a laboratory-grade instrument. It provides the facility to continuously monitor the quality of the performance of a stereo system. The MPI-4 can sample and display signals from the tuner, preamplifier, and power amplifier without reconnecting cables. Signals are displayed on an oscilloscope screen calibrated with scales for tuning, measurement, and testing.

As a tuning aid, the instrument is a guide to exact FM station selection and precise tuning. The screen displays FM signal strength, modulation percentage, and multipath interference. Audio signals may be viewed for stereo balance, strength, phase, and channel separation. Output power of the power amplifier can be seen at any instant during program performance, or stored to develop a trend over several minutes.

With the addition of test discs, the MPI-4 can show compliance and trackability of a phono cartridge, frequency response of the preamplifier and power amplifier, audio distortion, and stereo speaker balance.

In one of its operational modes, the MPI-4 becomes a dual trace oscilloscope, and when operated thusly, the left and right stereo channels appear simultaneously, yet separately, on the screen for direct comparison. Featuring a  “triggered sweep,” the MPI-4 permits the viewer to choose a single tone and lock it on the screen for careful inspection and measurements.  In the ‘60s no righteous system was without an MPI-4, but this is still a very valuable tool today.

– Sean Brady

In the ten years of TONE’s history, we’ve seen a lot of new products come and go, but a few great ones have stuck.  It’s been fun to watch these four companies grow and mature, but it’s equally fun to wind the clock backwards and take a look at their humble beginnings.

ModWright SWL 9.0

Approx. $1,200

Back when the high performance audio segment of CES was held at the Alexis Park hotel in Las Vegas, I met a nice guy from Portland that had made a name for himself modding CD players named Dan Wright.  He had just started building his own preamplifiers, and had converted the entire basement of his house into a very tidy, organized workshop.  His first product that came into my world was the SWL 9.0 linestage.  It was a tidy box with great sound.  So much so, that I got rid of the Conrad Johnson PV-12 that I had been using in favor of this newcomer.

Shortly after our encounter, Wright moved into his own facility, started hiring employees and expanded his product line considerably.  Now a force at the major hifi shows, ModWright has become a well-established company, but that original 9.0 still stands out as an incredibly good bargain.  Wright still services them, and when you can find an owner willing to part with one, the SWL 9.0 makes for an incredibly good anchor to your hifi system.

Coffman Labs G1-A

$5,495

Another Portland local, Damon Coffman hails from the medical equipment industry, yet his passion for music and design led him to build his own preamplifier after a life long quest for better sound.

The G1-A combines the best of retro and contemporary design, both inside and out.  Coffman auditions and hand picks what he feels are the best sounding NOS (new old stock) components, combined with contemporary parts, depending on application to create the G1-A.  With an onboard MM/MC phono stage and headphone amplifier, the G1-A is an incredibly versatile performer, like some of the great, full function preamplifiers of audio’s past, from McIntosh, Audio Research and C-J.

A new G2 is in the works, and Coffman has also put his stamp on the Prautes headphone amplifier from Cypher Labs, but this is where it all began.

PrimaLuna ProLogue 1

$1,095 (when new)

I began my hifi writing career at The Absolute Sound, and instead of the boring NAD integrated amplifier I was supposed to review for my first article, Robert Harley called one day (about two weeks after the ProLogue 1 appeared on the cover of Stereophile) and asked if I wouldn’t mind reviewing the ProLogue 1 instead.  Oh boy, would I, I thought.

This little tube integrated amplifier was built like nothing I’d ever seen for just over a grand, and it sounded pretty damn good too.  I got my first byline in the audio world and editor Harley left in, what would be a ubiquitous quote in PrimaLuna’s marketing campaign heard round the world.  “How does it sound? It sounds bitchin!”  11 years later, PrimaLuna amplifiers still sound bitchin, and their product line has grown tremendously.

Audeze LCD-2 Headphones

$995

www.audeze.com

About seven years ago, when the headphone renaissance was just beginning, Audeze burst on the scene with a planar magnetic headphone that took everyone by surprise.  They not only cracked the ceiling with a $1,000 headphone, they produced a pair of phones with a sound that was, up until now, limited to the likes of electrostats like Stax, which are still nearly impossible to purchase.

They’ve done an update to the basic design, making them even better than ever.  Though the product line has expanded and they’ve gone through some growing pains, Audeze has held the line on the LCD-2s price, making them a best buy and a head to head competitor with OPPOs $995 PM-1, another titan.

– Jeff Dorgay

Though Mike Liang is no longer part of our staff, now that he’s gone on to be national sales manager for Woo Audio, he’s still the biggest headphone enthusiast we’ve ever met.  Between his YouTube channel, where he’s always unboxing new phones, and his own personal headphone collection of over 120 pairs, he’s a maniac.  And he’s definitely heard enough cans to have a solid opinion on what he loves.  Here’s his list.

AKG K3003

$1,499

http://us.akg.com/akg-k3003-overview-us.html

The AKG K3003 comes in two flavors, with and without Apple iOS 3-button in-line remote.  It is a reference-class 3-way design featuring one dynamic and two balanced-armature drivers in a tiny stainless steel housing.  The interchangeable sound-tuning filters (bass boost, reference sound, high boost) make these IEMs incredibly flexible.  The build quality is top notch and the sound is absolutely stunning.  The K3003 reveals more musical detail than I’ve ever heard in a universal fit IEM.  Pairing it with the Astell&Kern AK120II, I constantly ponder why I really home Hi-Fi system.

Sony MDR-CD900st

About $200

www.sony.com

Sony is not a newcomer to the world of high-end headphones, yet often their coolest stuff never makes it here to the States.  The MDR-CD900st is a perfect example.  On the outside it looks a lot like the consumer-grade MDR-v6, but don’t be fooled.  The CD900st is a completely different animal in the sound department and more comfortable than its doppelgänger.   Its sonic signature is relatively neutral.  As the saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out” – so the better your source, the more you will be impressed.  In fact, this model is a studio monitor “officially” only offered in Japan through Sony Professional Division.  But our Japanese friends on Amazon can get you a pair for around $200 USD.  The MDR-CD900st is a gold nugget in the sand – a gem that is worth digging up.

Sennheiser HD700

$799

www.sennheiser.com

Big soundstage, crystal-clear highs, tight bass, fast response, easy to drive, and extremely comfortable are all traits of the Sennheiser HD700.  Many of the design cues and materials used in this second-to-the-top model are derived from the company’s most technologically advanced headphone – HD800 (which will set you back almost twice as much).  For better or worse, the HD700 is more forgiving than HD800, meaning the low-resolution music in your collection will be a lot more enjoyable than listening through the flagship HD800. If you are on the fence about getting into personal audio, give the HD700 a listen on a good quality DAC/amplifier and you’ll see why the hobby is so strong.

RHA T10i

$199

www.rha-audio.com

Reid Heath Acoustics is a relatively new headphone company based in Glasgow, Scotland.  My first experience with their products was the MA750i; it was love at first listen, and I felt it should cost more – a lot more.  The new T10i is even more impressive for only $199 – only a slightly higher price than the MA750i.  The T10i is made from injection-moulded stainless steel which is impressive at this price point.  Another impressive feature is the tuning filters that are similar in effect to the ones that the $1499 AKG K3003 uses.  Yes, you can change the sound by changing between reference, bass boost, and treble boost filters.  This functionality makes the RHA T10i an incredible value.

Beats Solo2

$199

http://www.beatsbydre.com

The new Beats Solo2 is a completely new design from the ground up. The stereotype that Beats headphones are kids’ overpriced neck candy – with below-average sound quality – no longer applies.  The new Solo2 sounds much more natural and is greatly improved over the model it replaced: the Solo HD.  Gone is the sonic signature that dogged early Beats designs; muffled midrange and boomy bass that overwhelms the rest of the music is a thing of the past.  The Solo2 sounds clean, clear, natural, and has tight punchy bass that sounds great with a wide variety of music genres.  Give the new Beats Solo2 a try before you dismiss it.  Honestly, you may not find a better portable headphone for $199.

Audio Technica ATH-M50x

http://audio-technica.com/

$200

The M50 has been around for a long time and shares equal popularity with the Sony MDR-7506 among audio professionals.  Audio Technica took a trusted old friend and gave it the modern features users have been demanding with the new M50x.  The ear pads are upgraded for extended comfort; the cable is now detachable and comes with coiled, straight, and a short one for mobile use.  The M50x sounds much like the M50, which is a good thing for those loving the sound of the old, now upgraded with more functionality.

Focal Spirit Professional

$349

www.focalaudio.com

Focal is known for their incredible Utopia loudspeakers for the home listening room as well as a full line of studio monitors used by sound engineers around the world.   The Spirit Professional is part of Focal’s family of headphones – Spirit One and Spirit Classic.  Don’t let the low $349 price tag fool you, as the Spirit Pro shares a lot of DNA with Focal’s multi-thousand dollar studio monitors.

B&O H6

$399

www.beoplay.com/products/beoplayh6

Bang & Olufsen practically invented the concept of audio gear featuring high style, so it’s no surprise they’ve contributed heavily to a segment of personal audio often referred to as “fashion headphones.”  The BeoPlay H6 is no stranger to this world, bringing aluminum ear cups, a genuine leather headband and lambskin-covered memory foam earcups together in a sexy and luxurious design.  But the most amazing part of the equation is that the magicians at B&O pulled it off for such a low price.

All would be lost if these were just a pretty pair of phones, but they’ve got the sound quality to make them much more than “just a pretty face. The H6 may have you rethink the fashion headphones segment.

Beyerdynamic T51

$299

http://europe.beyerdynamic.com/shop/t-51-p.html

The new T51i is a closed-back headphone featuring memory foam pads for extended comfort, blocking out environmental noise while on the go. First and foremost, it’s high quality; audiophile sound comes from the Tesla drivers

that are derived from its much-pricier sibling – T5p.  The “i” signifies Apple “made for iPod/iPhone/iPad,” while MFI certification means you can control your iDevice and take phone calls right from the 3-button in-line remote.  At $299, the Beyerdynamic T51i has Hi-

Fi sound without the Hi-Fi price.

MrSpeakers Alpha Dog

$599

https://mrspeakers.com/product/alpha-dog-headphone/

Dan Clark, AKA MrSpeakers, modifies the modest $129 Fostex T50RP to a headphone rivaling some of the best headphones on the market – at only $599.  One of Dan’s modifications is replacing the ear cups with a 3-D printed housing.  MrSpeakers Alpha Dog is the world’s first 3-D printed headphone.   Dan also swaps the stock ear pads for custom lambskin pads that are extra thick and pillow-like comfy.  In fact, the only thing left from the original Fostex are the heavily modified planar magnetic drivers and the headband that holds the headphone together.  Before you spend $1K or more on a headphone, you need to give the Alpha Dog a listen first.  Thank me later by taking me out to dinner with the money you saved.

A few of my favorites:  Jeff Dorgay

While I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a headphone guy, Mike’s enthusiasm is overwhelming, and I can’t help but admit I’ve caught some of his fever.  I don’t have anywhere near the collection he has, but I do have a few of my own favorites as well.

Oppo PM-1

$999

www.oppo.com

HiFiMan and Audeze are major players in the planar magnetic headphones, but even though Oppo is a bit late to the dance, their contribution is stunning.  Like all other Oppo products, the PM-1 offers world-class performance at a reasonable price, yet no corners are cut.  This is the Oppo magic.  While the PM-1s are obviously tailored to be a perfect match with their own headphone amplifier, the PM-1s sound fab with every amp I’ve plugged them into, and they are also incredibly efficient and easy to drive from an iPhone or iPad, making an external amp an option only for the most maniacal.  A definite plus for someone who is on a plane 40 times a year.

Koss Pro 4aaa

About $50 on the secondary market

www.koss.com

Though no longer made, the original Pro 4aaa from the late ’70s is just as cool as hooking up an old pair of Advent or JBL speakers to a vintage receiver.  If you were there the first time around, grab a pair of these on Ebay, put on Dark Side of the Moon, and head back there for half and hour.  You’ll see what I mean.

Beats Solo 2 Special Edition

$249

beatsbydre.com

I agree with Mike’s take on the Solo 2s and share his respect for this brand.  Beats always gets a bum rap by snooty audiophiles, but after listening to more than a few pairs, I’ve become a staunch supporter.  And these feature a Hello Kitty motif.  What could be better, I ask you?

Sennheiser HD650

$499

www.sennheiser.com

Sennheiser’s latest HD700 and HD800 phones are definitely more resolving than my workhorse HD650s, but especially when upgraded with a better cable from your favorite headphone aftermarket vendor (I suggest the cable from ALO Audio) about half of the darkness that surrounds this model is gone, and that makes them a hell of a lot more listenable.  They lack the ultimate resolution of the HD700 and HD800, but for long listening sessions are still one of my favorites, being entirely fatigue-free.

Features

Personal Fidelity:

Bowers & WIlkins T7:  The ultimate portable speaker

By Jeff Dorgay

995:

The iPhono mini phonostage

By Richard Mak

Old School:

The Marantz 2215B

By Jeff Dorgay

TONE Style

The Wino:  Four Modern table wines from Portugal
By Monique Meadows

Sony Short Throw 4k Projector

QNap TS569 Pro

Nintendo Pokeball

Chocolate Guitars

Microsoft Surface 3Pro

Luchador Bottle Opener

Music

Current Releases:

2014’s Best Pop and Rock Albums
By Bob Gendron

Jazz & Blues
By Aaron Cohen and Jim Macnie

2014’s Best Rock And Multi Disc sets
By Bob Gendron

Previews

VPI Classic 2 Turntable

Pass XA160.8 Monoblocks

Dynaudio XEO 4 Wireless Speakers

Reviews

Benchmark AHB2 Power Amplifier
By Rob Johnson

Simaudio MOON 820S Power Supply
By Jeff Dorgay

MartinLogan Motion 35xt Speakers
By Rob Johnson

Rega DAC-R
By Jeff Dorgay

Plinius Inspire 980 Integrated Amplifier
By Rob Johnson

TONEAudio’s 2014 Products of the Year

Two amazing but radically different speakers for about 13 grand

By Jeff Dorgay

Twelve thousand dollars will buy you a really nice used car these days or a really posh weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix.  It will also buy you a great hifi system, so if you’re dropping twelve large on the speakers alone, the expectation is high.

The two speakers observed here more than fit the criteria and go about their business in a completely different way, with different design goals, aesthetics and overall sound.  Both will be equally enticing to their prospective owner, so this is not a “shootout,” as there would be no winner.  Sales 101 says “define the customer,” and there’s no better challenge than selling high dollar hifi.  It’s rarely a case of better or worse, but almost always a case of “what flavor will it be?” If you can put your finger on your priorities, the choice will be crystal clear.

One speaker hails from England, the other from Italy.  Both come from two of the top minds in speaker design.  Recently deceased Franco Serblin was the man behind Sonus faber and Peter Thomas, former BBC loudspeaker designer and principal at PMC both take a high tech as well as a high touch approach to their speakers.  Each rely on a different set of criteria and in their own way remain true to the musical presentation.

The Franco Serblin Accordo

I spent a ton of time on this review, perhaps too much, looking for that magical combination of speakers and amplification that would lead to more of a full range performance experience with the Accordos, to no avail.  The required clarity came during a test drive with the Lotus Elise.  While I wasn’t zooming around corners as fast as I could with a Porsche Boxster S or my own BMW Z4 (both cars having over twice the horsepower than the little Lotus), the communication the Lotus provides is sublime, in a league of its own.  A similar conclusion was drawn driving a new Dodge Challenger, with the big Hemi.  More powerful, yes. More interesting, more engaging, not necessarily.  To my Challenger loving friends, don’t despair, I do love this car.  Stepping out of the Challengers driver seat, with a fresh bouquet of tire smoke at my back the epiphany struck me over the head like a lug wrench – these are a brilliant pair of loudspeakers, but not everyone will get them.

Not everyone will love the Accordo, but much like the legendary Quad 57 or the original Sonus faber Guarneri, if you love what the Accordo excels at; incredible midrange definition, exquisite rendition of texture and a HF register that is smooth, distortion free with a complete absence of grain – nothing else will do.  If you liked the original Guarnari, think of the Accordo as a continuation of this philosophy.

Forget Metallica.  If you want to rock the house, buy something else.  Slipping an early Japanese pressing of Bowie’s Aladdin Sane on the turntable and listening to his discordant piano solo glide between these tiny, almost invisible transducers gave me goose bumps.  Forget a big room too.  These speakers don’t have much deep LF output to begin with, so placing them in a large room makes them work way too hard, and adding a subwoofer takes away from the design ethos. As excellent at the REL and JL Audio subwoofers at my disposal are, they just don’t quite have the delicacy required to augment the Accordos, they always sounded better by themselves, even though I wished they had more bass at times.  (There is always the Sonus faber Stradivari, considered by many to be Serblin’s masterpiece, but that’s another story for another day.)

The Accordos will not be for everyone at $12,995 a pair, but they will be everything for the right person.  Much like a Wavac SET amplifier that only delivers 9 watts per channel and has a $60,000 price tag, it’s about quality.  It’s about an exquisite rendition of sound within a range that you won’t get anywhere else unless you spend a lot more money.  These speakers are truly precious, and the longer you listen to them; the more they unravel the nuances of your recordings in a way that you may have not thought possible.

Next up, the PMC twenty.26….

While many people argue that speakers are the anchors of an audio system, I will always contest that the power amplifier is just as critical (if not more so) to a system’s overall sound. A great amplifier can make a mediocre pair of speakers come alive, but a great pair of speakers powered by a mediocre amplifier still sound mediocre. In celebration of the power amplifier, I decided to list a few of my favorites from over the years, in no particular order. Hit us up on Facebook with your favorite power amp. We always love to hear from readers.

Audio Research D-79

From $3,250 to $6,000 (for the D-79C mk. II)

Many audiophiles have said that the D-79 is the best amplifier that ARC ever built. With a massive power supply for its modest 75 watts per channel, the D-79 drew 750 watts from the AC line at full output. All four versions of the amp utilize a matched pair of 6550 output tubes with an additional 6550 as a voltage regulator, though each iteration of the amp uses a different input, driver and phase splitter complement of tubes.  Personally (after all, this is a favorites issue), I prefer the additional warmth of the original D-79 with 12AX7 tubes.

These still run about $3,500 for a super-clean version, and unless ARC itself updated the power supply in the last 10 years, it’s going to need an overhaul—and it’s going to be expensive. This remains a wonderful amplifier, with big dynamics, a massive soundstage and tons of sheer grip. Ralph Lauren once said every man should own a 12-cylinder car. I submit that every true audiophile should experience a D-79.

www.audioresearch.com

Mark Levinson ML-2 Monoblocks

From $3,000 to $6,000 per pair

Much like the ARC D-79, the ML-2 monoblocks from Mark Levinson were big and beefy. Designed by John Curl and Tom Colangelo, these Class-A monoblocks ran hot. While they were only rated at 25 watts per channel into 8 ohms, they did double that into 4- and 2-ohm loads, making them a perfect match for the Magnepan Tympani 1Ds that graced my listening room in the early 1980s.

Since no replacement sheet metal is available, go for the cosmetically cleanest pair you can find. There are still a few people who can work on these, so get yours checked and rebuilt, stat!

www.marklevinson.com

Conrad-Johnson MV-50

About $1,000

Not CJ’s first tube power amplifier, the MV-50 was introduced right at the beginning of the ’80s and quickly became a staple of hi-fi stores carrying the brand. It offers 45 watts per channel of tube power and a magical midrange that would define the company for years to come. Using a pair of 6CA7 output tubes per channel, this understated, champagne-colored beauty made music like precious few other amplifiers could.

Those wanting a bit more modern CJ sound can have their MV-50 sent back to the factory to have the power supply rebuilt and premium CJD Teflon capacitors installed in the circuit to bridge the gap between old- and new-school sound. It’s a brilliant piece of gear either way.

www.conradjohnson.com

Pass Labs Aleph 3 and Aleph 5

About $1,000 and $2,000

Nelson Pass likes to say that he creates amplifiers with “the sound of tubes minus the hassle.” When referring to the early Aleph amplifiers with heat sinks as the entire case, local hi-fi dealer Kurt Doslu likes to say, “Don’t play catch with it.”

All kidding aside, this single-ended, full Class-A design provides 30 watts of tube power with all the midrange magic of my beloved MV-50 but with major bass control and a dead-quiet background. It’s a combination you’ll either love or hate, but it will definitely become an addiction if you are on the love side of the equation. Pass builds everything like a tank, so these babies run forever. And the company can still fix the Aleph 3, so you can send yours back to Pass for a tune up anytime.  Should you want a little more juice, the Aleph 5 produces 60 watts per channel, but slightly less sweet than the lower powered model.

passlabs.com

Pass Labs Xs 300 Monoblocks

$88,000 per pair

Moving from past to present, my current reference amplifiers are also from the mind of Nelson Pass. I make no apologies for being a Pass fan, and the last few generations of big Pass Class-A amplifiers have been wonderful; however, there was always that slight bit of delicacy that the Aleph 3 possessed, with its single output device, which was tough to find in the big amplifiers.

Those familiar with the design philosophy of Mr. Pass know that he is a fan of the less-is-more school of thought, but you just can’t achieve high power without a little bit of complication. But the Xs 300s bridge the gap, making big power with no sonic compromises. Drawing 1,000 watts of power for each channel, they will alter your carbon footprint somewhat, but for sound this glorious, isn’t it worth installing some LED lightbulbs as an offset?

passlabs.com

Burmester 911 MK3

$32,000

In issue 32, I called the 911 MK3 “the best solid-state amplifier ever made.” And though a few things have come down the road that exceed the performance of the 911 (you can bridge them together for even more power, which changes the game somewhat), it is still one of the finest solid-state amplifiers I’ve ever had the pleasure to use. While not quite as liquid as the mighty Pass Xs monos, the 911 is probably the most Class-A-sounding Class AB amplifier I’ve experienced; it is only one chassis and draws considerably less AC power.

Much like the Porsche automobile sporting the same name, the Burmester 911 offers a large dose of what the money-is-no-object amplifiers do, but for a lot less—just as the Porsche 911 has similar performance to the much more expensive options from Ferrari and Aston Martin.

www.burmester.de

Rega Brio-R

$995

Rega’s little amplifier that can is an integrated that pumps out 50 watts per channel into 8 ohms and has an outstanding MM phonostage built in. For those of you who loved the original Naim Nait, here is an amp in a similar vein, but with enough power to drive quite a few more speakers.

The Brio-R, like my favorite Pass amplifiers, features a tonality leaning towards the warm side and while not quite tubey in nature, it will never be mistaken for a harsh, etched solid-state amplifier. The midrange is yummy, but there is still enough extension and slam to get the dynamic contrasts right. If I were on a tight budget and didn’t want to sacrifice sound quality, this is the one I’d choose and would match it up with a pair of MartinLogan Aerius speakers from my favorite used hi-fi store.

www.rega.co.uk

Nagra 300p

$16,900

Okay, so I have expensive taste. But if we’re talking about favorites, I’ve never listened to a Nagra product that I didn’t like. The 300p is especially dear to me, as I had the privilege of seeing the prototypes coming right off the drawing board a few years ago when I visited the factory.

The 300p uses a pair of 300B output tubes per channel in a push-pull configuration, producing about 20 watts of power per channel—much better than the average 9 watts per channel that an SET design with a single output tube can muster. This topology is implemented to great effect, as the 300p is as mellifluous as any SET I’ve experienced and far less affected by speaker load. Topping it off, the 300p is dead quiet and produces way more low-end heft than you would expect from a 20-wpc tube amplifier. It’s kind of costly going in, but this is an amplifier that you will pass on to your grandchildren.

www.nagraaudio.com

Decware Zen Mystery Amp

$5,695

I was going to include the Decware Torii amplifier that I’ve been using for some time now as my last favorite on this list, but then a new package arrived from Steve Deckert.  Though it’s not nearly broken in yet, the Zen Mystery amp takes the basic design of the Zen monoblock amplifiers, puts them on one chassis with a slightly lower output (40 watts per channel vs. 60 for the monos) and offers a healthy drop in price to boot.

For those who need a bit more push over the cliff than the 25 watts per channel that the Torii delivers, but can’t afford the $11k pricetag of the monoblocks, the ZMA will be your pot of gold.  Much like the Torii, this is one of the most incredible amplifiers I’ve ever experienced.  With more power, the ZMA has a much wider range of speakers it can work well with.  If you want an amplifier to last the rest of your life, call Decware and get in the queue for one of these.

As the guy on the TONE staff who covers some of the more “reasonably” priced gear, I am a big fan of trickle-down technology. Amazing things are happening at the high end of the audio food chain, which means that what was once reference-grade technology is now available in much more affordable and even entry-level components. And so the pool for high-quality but inexpensive gear is growing. I’ve had the opportunity over the last few years to audition and review a lot of amazing examples. What follows are seven of my standout favorites.

Shunyata Venom 3 Power Cord

$125

So, it’s time to replace those stock power cords sticking out the back of your recently upgraded system, but the thought of saving up some serious cash for just one replacement cord at a time makes you ill. Try a different approach. The Venom series power cords from Shunyata Research are designed for budget-conscious yet discriminating listeners, and it was developed as a way for users to affordably upgrade their entire system. For just $125, each the Venom 3 power cord has been widely praised for providing great value.

The company’s president, Caelin Gabriel, has put together all the critical elements: Shunyata-specified CDA 101 12-gauge oxygen-free copper, slow and steady cryogenic treatment, 100-percent aluminum shielding and brass connectors—the same base features found in the company’s excellent Helix series power cords. Don’t believe your ears? Hook one up to you high-definition television and see the improvement in color saturation and black level. My entire system receives its juice via the plum-colored Venom 3.

shunyata.us

Magnepan MMG

$599

With so much mystique surrounding panel loudspeakers, there’s no better place to start than with Magenapan’s entry level speaker.  The MMG can only be purchased directly from Magnepan, and thanks to their eliminating the dealer markup, you get a remarkable speaker for a very reasonable price.  While the MMG lacks the treble extension of the ribbon tweeter in the higher priced models, they are much easier to drive, making them a fit with a much wider (and less expensive) range of amplifiers.

The most interesting aspect of these speakers is that they will provide pleasant, room filling sound with a mass market receiver, yet they really come alive with a big, high current solid state amplifier, so they can be the last component you replace as you move down the upgrade path.

Magnepan has recently introduced a “Super MMG,” featuring a center bass panel for $1,200, and while it reveals more music than the original (which is still offered), it takes away from the mega budget ethos of the MMG.  The original MMG is perhaps one of the best buys in all of high end audio, and still the one I suggest to all my friends.

Audioengine D2 24-Bit Wireless DAC System

$599

For those in search of a quality but budget-friendly solution for wirelessly transporting music from their computer/server in one room to their audio system in another, Audioengine offers the two-piece D2 wireless DAC system. It consists of a sender and a receiver unit, with a range of 100 feet. I found clean, quality sound at 70-plus feet and through several walls.

The 24-bit, 192-kHz asynchronous DAC of the receiver unit is controlled via the PCM1792A chip. The D2 does a very good job for a budget DAC at extracting the inner details from various recordings. The system does a particularly good job of resolving female vocals like Kathleen Edwards and mallet-played percussion instruments. And the DAC section is definitely not an afterthought. Users with multiple systems can add as many as three receivers. The D2 system continues Audioengine’s streak of impressive but affordable gear.

audioengineusa.com

Peachtree Audio nova220SE Integrated Amplifier

$1,999

Musical, powerful, solid and sexy are all words that accurately describe the Class-D nova220SE integrated amplifier. Sporting 21st-century input choices (USB, two optical and a coaxial), along with a very respectable built-in ESS Sabre 24/192 asynchronous DAC, the nova220SE is a digital-music-lover’s dream. Making the amplifier section sound even sweeter is a tube buffer in the preamp section.

At 220 wpc into 8 ohms, the nova220SE has no problems holding a solid grip on the notoriously power-hungry Magnepan 1.6s, even when the loads drop into 2-ohm territory. Skip the worries about careful speaker matching with this chip-based amplifier section; it plays nicely with at least five very different speakers types. And with a built-in DAC, the nova220SE a financial and sonic bargain.

www.peachtreeaudio.com

Rega RP1 Turntable with Ortofon OM5 Cartridge

$450

Looking for a turntable to start your vinyl journey? Head straight to the Rega RP1. Take it from someone who was in this mode a few years ago, when I wanted to reacquaint myself with analog but needed to stay on a slim budget (though the stunning Rega P9 at the TONE studio had me thinking of taking a second job). The RP1 has more than satisfied my thirst.

Ridiculously easy to setup and ground-wire free, the RP1 does all the basics right. Later on, one can move up the cartridge ladder from the solidly performing Ortofon OM5. (I’m currently running the Super OM40 with excellent results.) With the RP1, Roy Gandy of Rega has created a turntable that both the vinyl-curious youth and the reminiscing rest of us budget audiophiles can enjoy for years to come.

www.rega.co.uk

Lounge Audio Phonostage

$300

Though I’ve only heard it at the TONE studio, the Lounge Audio LCR MKIII phonostage deserves every bit of the praise that publisher Jeff Dorgay wrote in his review. It’s warm, grain-free sound belies its miniscule $300 price tag. Designer Robert Morin nailed the RIAA curve reproduction, which the phonostage does with a wide variety of cartridges. Whether part of Jeff’s budget system or six-figure reference system, the Lounge makes a fine impression with a wide soundstage, excellent pace, and a surprising low-end frequency response.

With this phono pre, you can take the extra $800-plus you would have spent on another option and put it towards a finer cartridge or speakers. This little wood box perfectly illustrates how satisfying budget audio can be.

www.loungeaudio.com

Golden Ear Technology Triton Seven Speakers

$1,400 per pair

On rare occasions, I can’t stop thinking about a product long after the review is over. The Triton Seven is one such example. No matter what room I placed them in during my review, the speakers managed to make the space their own. With surprisingly full bass response (down to 29 Hz) and terrific imaging, these speakers caught my attention and didn’t let go.
If the whole family is to share one system, the Triton Sevens could very well be the nirvana speakers. Whether hip-hop, metal, acoustic, jazz or symphonic music, these slim towers play each with enthralling gusto. Need them to be a part of a home-theater setup? No problem—they’ll give you enough dynamics, clear vocals, and bass response to have you skipping the purchase of a subwoofer. If I could turn back the clock, I would have bought the review pair and dealt with the wife’s scorn.

www.goldenear.com

– Mark Marcantonio

I’ve been meaning to update my 20-year old car, but the love of music, and buying the audio gear that reproduces it, keeps getting precedence. Fueled by a life-long passion for audio, my reference system has evolved over the course of many years starting with a Sony boom box at age 12. During all those years many pieces came and went. As with many kindred audiophiles, the very slow process of sonic improvement involves selling the weak link component and buying a better one, whenever saving, horse-trading, or sweat equity makes purchases possible.

With so much great gear out there, it’s exceedingly difficult to skinny-down my own “favorites list” to a scant seven components. However, a few have stopped me in my tracks, arrested my desire to flip them, and elevated the performance of my reference system with a synergistic contribution aligning with my personal sonic preferences. Each of my favorites have taken long-term residence in my home due to their fantastic sound, marvelous build, and exceptional reliability – all equally important. In each case, I’ve purchased those pieces of gear as my budget permitted. Putting my money where my ears are is the greatest compliment I can give to any audio component, and I want to thank the manufacturer of each piece for their dedication, passion, and hard work producing something that brings so much musical joy to my life.

Sonus faber Olympica III Speakers
$12,500
www.sonusfaber.com

The Sonus faber Olympica III floorstanding speakers are beguiling for their astonishing sound as well as their dashing good looks. While they have limited capability for producing the lowest bass frequencies, they won me over with their organic sound, incredible ability to produce a three-dimensional sonic image of any well-recorded performance, and the almost tangible way the drivers re-create instruments and vocals. Sonus faber creates their own drivers in-house, and therefore can wrap them in an ideally mated cabinet design. Listening to Johnny Cash’s American IV album through these speakers still proves revelatory.

Closing my eyes, Olympicas can provide me the momentary illusion that Cash himself is sitting in the living room. In a world of cost-no-object speaker designs, $12,500 is a very fair price for speakers of this quality. While Sonus faber produces even higher-end speakers, the Olympica IIIs demonstrate very little compromise and reveal all the nuance of components upstream – even when those components might be more expensive than the speakers themselves.

Burmester 911 Mk3 Amplifier
$29,995
www.burmester.de
Of the amps I’ve enjoyed over the years, the Burmester 911 Mk3 stands strong as a current favorite. First, the Burmester’s outward appearance demonstrates not only gorgeous aesthetics, but incredible attention to every detail. Beautifully crafted heat sinks and an equally elegant ventilated top panel hint at the musical beauty locked within. However, the 911’s voice confirms it immediately. Sound reaches ever so slightly to the warm side, but with detailed reproduction that captures every nuance of a recording. With 350 watts of solid-state power into 4 ohms there’s plenty of juice for virtually any speakers mated with it. Crystalline highs, beguiling mids, and a tight, controlled, musical bass leave no frequencies un-pampered. Along with the delicate sound reproduction comes a soundstage that extends away from the speakers in all directions. Vocalists stand out front, ambient details stretch to the sides of the speakers and though the rear wall behind them. This Burmester is a marvelous amp and certainly one that has proven itself worthy of standing the test of time, in both my system and our publisher’s.

SME Model 10 Turntable and Model 10 tonearm
$8,100
www.smeltd.uk

While SME’s 20 and 30, exceed its capability, the model 10 proves itself a workhorse with sonic reproduction, and a show pony in aesthetics.  Yes, it was love at first sight. The SME model 10 turntable looks like a modern sculpture. Though it’s an entry-level turntable in the SME family, the model 10’s build quality does not reveal any shortcuts. With a unique vibration dampening system beneath the heavy platter, records spin uninhibited. A screw-down record clamp holds vinyl to the platter with a tight grip allowing the tonearm and cartridge to pull each nuance from the record grooves. Mated with a matching SME 10 tonearm and a great cartridge, the ‘table offers a wonderfully organic analog experience. The model 10 also offers an upgrade path for those who seek it. The SME V tonearm takes it to an even higher level of musical reproduction.

Oppo BDP-103 Blu-Ray Player
$499
www.oppodigital.com

Price-performance wise, Oppo’s players are a pinnacle of achievement. At $499, the BDP-103’s produces stellar video and audio reproduction. On the video side, rendering of Blu-Ray discs and streamed video content offer a wonderfully crisp and colorful picture. On the audio side, 7.1 surround sound proves equally remarkable. As another plus, the BDP-103 is a very good Redbook CD/SACD player or transport when used solely in an audio capacity. With a wireless or Ethernet internet connection, BDP-103 enables streaming directly from Netflix, Pandora, and other sites as well as music streaming from a NAS. There are more resolving (and more expensive) players including the 103’s brother the Oppo BDP-105. However, for a one-box unit that serves so many purposes in a home audio-visual system, I find myself hard-pressed to suggest another player that does so much, so well, at its price point.

Jena Labs StreamDancer USB cable
$500/5 feet
www.jenalabs.com

As with power conditioners and vibration control, speaker and interconnect cables can have a sonic impact on system sound. The more revealing my reference system has become, the more the subtle differences between cables become evident. After experimenting with many to find the best synergy for my own system, my quest led me to a USB cable from Jena Labs. Made of braided, liquid nitrogen immersed, high-quality copper, all the Jena Labs cables are hand-made in Oregon. The cable enables wonderfully natural, rich sound, plus great extension of lows and highs without any harsh etch that can accompany higher frequencies with some cables. I keep several other high quality USB cables on hand for testing, but none get as much dedicated listening time as the Jena Labs USB.

Ultimate Ears UE18 Custom In-Ear Monitors
$1,350
www.ultimateears.com

When traveling on planes, custom in-ear monitors are a best friend. Not only can they seal out the sounds I don’t want to hear, but they allow me to pipe into my head exactly what I do want to hear. With a tight ear seal keeping unwanted sound out, they can enable great sonics at a lower volume, reducing ear strain. I purchased my pair UE18s three years ago, and still use them many times a week at the gym, on walks, riding mass transit, and during all my travels. The fit is perfect, and the sound they produce offers a very detailed, but non-fatiguing quality. With a snug-fitting IEM hugging the ear canal bass is robust and tuneful, with great mids and highs elevating the sense of musical enjoyment. I also enjoy JH Audio JH16 IEMs, but the UEs were my first custom IEM purchase and they have proven durable well beyond my expectations. I love their sound as much today as I did when they first arrived in the mail.

Ultimate Ears Custom Ear Plugs
$179
www.ultimateears.com

At the same time I sent my earmolds to Ultimate Ears to make UE18 IEMs, I also had them make for me a matching set of custom ear plugs. I love recorded music, but of course, have a passion for live music too. These provide the perfect way to protect one’s valuable hearing, but not completely muffle the sound of the performance.  UE’s ear plugs are made of a firm but flexible translucent material that seals the ear canal perfectly, just like their IEMs do. Because the ‘plugs are designed to maintain a neutral sound, it’s rather like having a volume knob for your head. No Frankenstein-esque bolts are needed though. To accomplish this feat UE offers each owner a choice of small filter inserts that slide into the earplugs and reduce external volume by 9, 15 or 25dB. Those who need varying levels of hearing protection for different environments can buy all the filters and change them easily on-the-go. I use the -15dB inserts every time I go to a show.

-Rob Johnson

Building on their momentum of successful Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns, Light Harmonic added to their Geek Out line of products: the remarkable Geek Out 1000, designed to drive larger headphones. Those seeking a similar DAC/amp device designed to support in-ear monitors should check out the Geek Out 720 or other products in the Geek Out lineup.

For such a tiny device, Geek 1000 offers substantial prowess for anyone exporting files from his or her computer using a USB 2.0 port. Light Harmonic includes with the Geek Out a 6-inch USB cable – and the computer’s USB port powers the device – so you are ready to rock as soon as you open the box. The sound continues to improve after many hours of break-in.

What makes the Geek Out special? First, the tiny one-watt Class A amplifier nestled within the beautifully anodized aluminum frame puts out plenty of juice to power larger headphones like my Sennheiser HD-650 and Audeze LCD-X. It’s important to heed Light Harmonic’s warning to turn down the volume when starting a listening session. They are not kidding here, as this little gizmo is capable of driving headphones to piercing levels. Given the tiny 2.5” x 1.25” x 0.3” dimensions of the Geek Out, there is only room for 3.5mm output jacks. For cans equipped with ¼” plugs, an adapter is required. Dual jacks offer the ability to load 47 or .47 ohms.

Second, the built-in DAC supports digital audio files across the resolution spectrum, all the way up to 32-bit/384 kHz and DSD 128. Light Harmonic’s philosophy of design does not include up-sampling capability. They feel the best sound comes from the decoding of native digital files. Tiny LED lights on the Geek Out provide an indicator of file resolution. While most of the lights are white, a satisfying blue LED indicates the throughput of a DSD file. As you might expect, the better the file quality, the better the sound – so break loose those high-resolution files and give the Geek the digital bits it deserves.

With the DAC and amplification capabilities working in tandem, sound though the Geek Out proves shockingly good. Immediately after starting the music do I find myself bathed in opulent sound. In headphone listening sessions through both my Mac Mini and Windows-based laptop using iTunes or JRiver Media Center 20, the Geek Out indeed eeks out tuneful detail in bass, mids and highs. The sound is very smooth without the stridency that can sometimes accompany high frequency information. Bass is very deep and punchy, and smooth vocals project forward in the stereo image.

Geek Out 1000’s volume is controlled by up-and-down buttons on the side of the unit. Pushing both of the buttons at the same time puts the Geek Out into what Light Harmonic dubs “3D Awesomification” mode. This setting projects the stereo image forward a bit rather than portraying it in a virtual plane directly between the ears. A second blue LED indicates the activation of this sound mode – and it is fun to experiment with the 3D option.

If you do not listen to headphones all the time, the aforementioned .47ohm output gives the Geek Out ability to connect with your full-sized stereo preamplifer or integrated amp via a 3.5mm to RCA stereo adapter cable. I had to give this a try using the Geek Out’s USB adapter to export from a Mac Mini, and a Jena Labs adapter cable to connect the Geek’s output to my reference system.

Looking at the tiny Geek Out, which is so small and light that connected audio cables leave it suspended in mid-air, its appearance versus my larger and heavier reference components is almost cartoonish. I flash back to childhood images of Popeye’s stick-figured girlfriend, Olive Oyl, suspended in a hammock. Instead of resting though, imagine tiny and delicate Olive Oyl joining a herculean professional football team and scoring a touchdown.

I preset my mental expectations on par with the sonics I’d expect from a $300 DAC and hit the play button. Well, I found my jaw hanging after the first few notes. This little marvel puts out fantastic sound, especially when using native DSD or jRiver Media Center to upsample CD-level files to DSD.

Unfairly comparing Geek to reference DACs many times its price, like Light Harmonic’s own DaVinci DAC, more money does buy a user more refined sound with additional detail, air, and nuance. For a mere $300 though, Geek does an amazing job holding its own among highly resolving components in the audio chain, and it pushes upward the conceptual apex of price-performance.

It’s easy to recommend the Geek Out 1000. Whether you use it to drive larger headphones, or just use it as a DAC, your computer-based audio system may have found a new, budget-conscious best friend.  -Rob Johnson

Light Harmonic Geek Out 1000

MSRP: $299

lhlabs.com

Motivated by my friend Kirsten Brodbeck-Kenney’s article on the same subject that you can read here, I must say I agree with her, but for some different and more wide-ranging reasons.

Having sold hifi years ago, I remember customers getting all excited about a system only to say, “My wife will never go for it.”  Granted, there are a lot more attractive speaker choices these days, but this was always a bullshit line, and my friends that sell automobiles say the same thing.  It’s usually a way to get out of wasting a salespersons time on things you can’t afford – throw your wife or girlfriend under the bus because she’s not there.  This is even more of a bullshit line because if you’ve been paying any attention at all to the person you’re married to or cohabitating with, you should have a really good idea as to what they deem acceptable or not.  And if you don’t, you’ve got way bigger problems than what speakers to try and put in the living room.

I can’t tell you how many people’s homes I’ve visited with massive televisions, and when I ask the fateful question, “how did you ever get that monster past your wife,” the answer is almost unanimous – “she’s the one that wanted it.”  Which leads me to believe that women aren’t the firewall between guys getting cool stuff and not getting cool stuff.

We’ve made fun of the dreaded WAF on more than one occasion, and our first cartoon in issue two of TONEAudio, drawn by world renowned New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly says it all.  Her feminist sensibilities have always helped to make light of our wacky audiophile world.

Ask any Meridian Sooloos dealer how many $15k Sooloos music servers they’ve sold and who the ultimate buyer was – it’s almost always been the gentleman customers’ wife or girlfriend that perked up when she saw how easy to use and engaging the Sooloos is.  It’s the same reason I have used their server since day one and continue to this day, even though there are better sounding choices out there. I really just want to listen to music, and though I’m engulfed in technology all day long, I’m tired of screwing around with it.

We’ve been seeing a similar response to the Devialet; men and women are tired of having that big rack system and loom of cables in their home.  Back when that was the only option, we had to deal with it, but after years of high performance gear that doesn’t look like something stolen from the set of a Mothra vs. Godzilla movie, there are clearly more stylish choices available.

How and why we buy

However, the further ranging issue here is how we shop for things. Having attended a number of hifi shows and events across the world, I tend to gravitate towards the women in the audience because I’m always curious what level they are participating.  They are usually kind partners in crime, hanging out with their significant other because they love gear, reluctant partners that would rather be anywhere else but here or women that own and appreciate fine audio. The first group is always affable and further discussion usually reveals that they love music and more often than not are leaned on heavily during set up because they have more acute hearing than their buddy that’s obsessed over said gear in the first place.  The second group is no fun at all, and the final group is incredibly intriguing to me because my limited experience with female audiophiles reveals an entirely different consumer.

Some broad sweeping generalizations

Granted, my experience with female audiophiles is limited, but much like my female friends that ride motorcycles and love automobiles as much as I do, I’ve noticed a similarity in approach.

The women I’ve chatted with see the hifi system as a means to an end – a way to listen to and enjoy music, and they tend to make a higher initial purchase than most men I’ve talked to.  Where guys more often than not are really caught up on the gear, and the constant upgrading of the system, women tend to actually enjoy their systems more.  One female customer I talked to at an event said, “If I need a $50k system to get the job done, show me why and if it makes sense I’ll write the check.  Don’t sell me a $10k system and then try and get me to keep upgrading it, I’m not interested.”

Talk to the average hifi guy and the first words out of his mouth tend to be bragging about his system, how it’s the best and how it kills, destroys, annihilates (etc. etc.) everything else out there, especially the substandard gear you own.  I’ve never had this conversation with a female audio or auto enthusiast.

My friend Kathleen Thomas, who works for AudioQuest recently said on Facebook, “Is the man cave the room with the shittier hifi?”  And I’d have to agree.  Most so called man caves I’ve had the unfortunate pleasure of visiting were chock full of neon beer signs and a stereo system I wouldn’t give to my neighbors kids.  Now a dedicated listening room, that’s another story, albeit a luxury relatively few people can afford.

In the end, will we see more women interested in hifi?  I certainly hope so, because our industry needs more enthusiasts if it’s going to survive, but the bigger problem (and a great subject for a whole series of articles) is really free time.  Male or female, we live in a more accelerated world from hifi’s humble beginnings back in the late 1950s.

While we are bombarded with more data streams than ever before, perhaps it’s a better reason than ever before to sit back, relax and listen to some of your favorite music without distraction – something that both sexes enjoy.

Listening to the complex timbre of Joni Mitchell’s voice, it’s hard to believe that the $50,000 hifi system I’m listening to is utilizing the OPPO HA-1 headphone amplifier as its front end. Headphone amp you say? It’s more than a headphone amplifier, but if the HA-1 were only a $1,199 headphone amplifier, it would still be a screaming good deal.

As the classic TV guy likes to say, “but wait, there’s more…” A lot more. The HA-1 also includes a fantastic DAC, capable of decoding every kind of file you might have on your computer or music server, including DSD and a full-function, fully balanced line preamplifier. Running a set of Cardas Clear balanced interconnects to the Nagra 300B power amplifier via the Alta Audio speakers that are also reviewed in this issue, I’m floored by how much music this compact, yet powerful, preamplifier lets through.

While I must confess to only being an armchair headphone enthusiast, I love the concept of the HA-1, because it’s the perfect segue to a great in-room system for the advanced headphone enthusiast. Start out with a system built around a pair of premium headphones (like OPPO’s own PM-1), a source for digital music files and add an amp and speakers when the mood strikes you.

Precious little the HA-1 can’t do

The tidy rear panel of the HA-1 contains one single-ended RCA and one balanced XLR input along with one of each for the output, but that’s only part of the story. In addition to the four hardwired digital inputs (Toslink, USB, SPDIF and AES/EBU) the HA-1 can accept signal via Bluetooth as well, taking advantage of the aptX codec, if your device supports it, making the HA-1 a handy streamer. And, for those of you living in Apple world, the front panel USB input is Apple MFi certified, so it will grab the digital bitstream from any iDevice, allowing a first-class combination between the two.

Removing the cover of the HA-1 reveals a tidy layout, densely packed with a massive power supply and a full class-A headphone amplifier built with discrete transistors, while the linestage uses high quality, balanced op amps. The front panel’s LCD readout can be configured in a number of different ways, either displaying inputs, volume level, a spectrum analyzer, or a pair of classic VU meters. Of course, the purists can turn the display off, but why would you want to? The display adds a nice touch of fun to the HA-1, and in homage to the ’70s, I left it in spectrum analyzer mode, always a conversation starter at a party.

As with OPPO’s physical disc players, the HA-1 has an app to control all major functions. While the included remote is sleek and easy to use, controlling the HA-1 via your phone is a no-brainer. Rather than implementing this via Bluetooth, as OPPO has done here, I’d love to see this work via your network, as Devialet has done. This is my only complaint with the HA-1, and it’s minimal, as I suspect most users will use it as a headphone amplifier instead of a control preamplifier, in which case the limited range of Bluetooth is more than adequate. You just can’t adjust the volume of the system when you’re soaking in the bathtub at present.

Let’s put some phones on, shall we?

As awesome as the HA-1 is as a preamplifier and DAC, it really is a headphone amplifier. Again, front panel functionality wins the day here, with an output for balanced and ¼” headphone cables, along with a USB socket, in case you’re listening to some of your favorite tunes via an iDevice.

A firm believer in class-A operation and discrete output stages, the HA-1 delivers great sound from every phone I plug in, from my reference Audeze LCD-3s to OPPO’s own PM-1, which was reviewed in Issue 64. As you might suspect, the HA-1 provides not only perfect synergy for OPPO’s headphone, but it proves equally exciting with everything else in my headphone arsenal. If you have a balanced cable for your favorite phones, there are a few more molecules of music to be revealed via that output, but it’s not a deal breaker either way; it’s more about compatibility. I applaud OPPO for incorporating both outputs neatly on the front panel.

The overall presentation is consistent, regardless of phones used, indicating a robust output stage. Even my old AKG 701s – which are notoriously tough to drive – and the HifiMan HE-1s don’t prove problematic loads to the HA-1. The HA-1 is as close to perfection as it gets for the price asked, with nary a glitch – it’s great across the spectrum, offering a smooth frequency response, excellent transient attack, and a solid, linear response at both extremes of the frequency spectrum.

The solid-state design provides another plus: virtually unmeasurable background noise, critical when listening to headphones. If there were ever a place you didn’t want noise creeping in, it’s here. Those listening to a lot of electronic and rock music might not notice, but classical lovers will really appreciate the dead silence provided by the HA-1.

Easy listening

Again, not being a headphone maniac, the highest compliment I can pay to the HA-1 (or any solid-state amplification product, for that matter) is that it is resolving, yet non-fatiguing.  The sonic signature is much closer to what I am used to with my reference Burmester and Pass Labs reference amplifiers than anything else I’ve auditioned. Where the competitors from Benchmark and Bryston have a slight bit of edge and glare in comparison, the HA-1 is smooth sailing all the way.

Tracking through some of my favorite classical pieces via digital recordings, the absence of background hiss makes this ultimately more pleasurable than switching to analog, even though the highest frequencies are smoother when rendered from an LP.

The HA-1 has more than enough resolution to easily tell the difference between analog and digital signals. Utilizing the Rega RP10 turntable in for review, via the Simaudio LP610 phonostage is particularly stunning. Keeping a bit more in line with what someone might spend on a system built around the HA-1, swapping the Rega/Sim combination for the Lounge Audio LCR phonostage and our Thorens TD-125 (lovingly restored by Vinyl Nirvana) is delectable.

Grooving on some of my favorite headphone records is a total blast with the HA-1. Going for big stereo separation, I can’t resist a ’60s and ’70s marathon of Pink Floyd, Genesis, Hawkwind and a little Cheech and Chong, to make it complete. Cheech and Chong’s classic Big Bambu is funnier than it’s ever been with all the little sound effects floating around the room. The massive three-dimensional soundstage rendered by the HA-1 is completely immersive, giving you that special presentation that you can rarely achieve with even the world’s best speakers.

Much like Porsche’s incredible Cayman S, the OPPO HA-1 offers balance as its highest virtue. Yes, there are a few headphone amplifiers providing more resolution or more bass extension and grip, yet they cost so much more – it’s tough to justify the stretch to any but the most maniacal of headphone listeners.  If you aren’t going to lay down the big bucks for something like the ALO Studio Six, or those massive 300B monoblocks from Woo Audio, I can’t see spending any more than the $1,199 price tag on the OPPO HA-1. It’s that good. OPPO could easily unbundle the HA-1, sell the DAC and pre as standalone components for about $2,000 each, and they would still be class leaders.

OPPO has always stood for solid engineering, great audio performance and smart packaging. The HA-1 headphone amplifier continues this tradition, and if anything, takes OPPO’s version of performance to an even higher standard than they have on their past award-winning components. I can’t suggest this component highly enough.  -Jeff Dorgay

Oppo HA-1

MSRP:  $1,199

www.oppodigital.com

Sixteen very large bills for a pair of very large amplifiers that make up a headphone amplification system.  Don’t think of it as crazy money for a headphone amplifier, because the WA234 can drive a pair of efficient speakers when configured with 300B output tubes.  Think of the WA234 of the way to get an SET amplifier that sounds better than a $125,000 pair of Wavac amps for the price of a slightly used VW Golf.  That’s our rationalization.

-Jeff Dorgay

Woo Audio WA234 Monoblocks

$15,900

www.wooaudio.com

Features

Personal Fidelity:

HiFiGuy 528’s Faves!

By Mike Liang

995:

Seven Cheap and Cheerful Favorites

By Mark Marcantonio

Old School:

Vintage Favorites

By Sean Brady

Feature Favorites

The SMARTractor
By Richard Mak

Four Favorite Upstarts:
Audeze, ModWright, PrimaLuna, and Coffman Labs

My Nine Favorite Amplifiers
By Jeff Dorgay

Seven From My System
By Rob Johnson

Our Favorite System – The Devialet Ensemble

Music

Current Releases:

Bob Gendron’s Favorite Live Rock Albums of the Last 25 Years

Jaan Uhelszki’s Favorite Short List

Jeff Dorgay’s Six Favorite NON Audiophile Discs

Previews

BAT VK-655SE Power Amplifier

Simaudio MOON Neo 430HA

Dali Rubicon 2 Speakers

Rega DAC-R

Reviews

SONY’s NWZ-A17
A new standard in portable players
By Jeff Dorgay

Kiseki BlueNS and Purple Heart NS phono cartridges
By Jeff Dorgay

The REL S/2 Subwoofer
By Jeff Dorgay

Our publisher has been a Rega fan since the fateful day in the mid-’80s when we happened by our local dealer (Audio Emporium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) to find them opening a shipment of Planar 3 turntables.  As they lifted a bright, fluorescent green table out, the sales guy quipped, “What idiot would buy a turntable in this color?”  Little did he know that’s been publisher Dorgay’s favorite color since age 6.  He solemnly replied, “I’m that idiot!” and we took that little British table back to his listening room and were subsequently blown away, being Technics SL-1200 guys at that moment in time, thinking there couldn’t possibly be anything better than direct drive.

Words like pace and timing weren’t even part of our vocabulary back then, but there was a ton of inner detail coming through those Magnepan MGII speakers that wasn’t there the day before, and to this day, both of us have always owned at least one Rega turntable.  For the record, my current reference is a P9 with Apheta cartridge, and it has served me well for some time now.

Evolution no. 10

Someone once said that an elephant is only a mouse built to military specifications, and on one level the same could be said for the P9 – you could think of it as a fully geeked-out P3.  The platter, drive mechanism, tonearm and power supply are all highly evolved versions of the basic Rega turntable.  For those of you that aren’t familiar, the tonearm on the earlier P3 and P9 shared the same basic casting, and now the new RP10 uses a highly refined version of the new casting for the RP3 (and is secured with the same red tape Rega has used for decades), yet the new RB2000 is completely handmade and finished to the highest of tolerances, as was the RB1000.

According to Rega, the RB2000 arm “is designed to have a minimum of mechanical joints while using the stiffest materials possible in all areas.”  Like its predecessor, the bearings are hand fitted and of highest quality, all handpicked for tolerance before insertion into the arm.

A new twist on the Rega platform, beginning with the RP3, is the mechanical brace: magnesium in the RP10, going between the tonearm mount and the turntable bearing, assuring maximum rigidity between these critical areas, while taking advantage of the new, skeletal plinth (further refined from the RP8 design) having seven times less mass than the original Planar 3.

An ex-automotive engineer, Rega principal Roy Gandy has always taken the advantage that less mass means more energy transferred from the record groove to the stylus tip, an opposite philosophy of the “more mass is better” approach embraced by some other manufacturers.  Gandy’s approach has always worked well, but in the past, the P3 and variations have always been accused of being somewhat lightweight in the lower register.  The former flagship P9 has always featured the liveliness that their tables have always been known for, with additional heft in the low frequencies.  Combined with a set-and-forget ethos, there’s no wonder the P9 has won the hearts (and ears) of so many music lovers that just want a fabulous turntable without the setup anxiety.

The race is on

So as much as we wanted this to be a standalone review, the question on the tip of everyone’s tongue – and on our Facebook inbox – has been, “How does the RP10 stack up to the P9?”  As the title of this review suggests, it is an evolutionary move.  Listening to the P9 and RP10 side by side easily shows the additional resolution present in the new table.

A speed check was the first test on our list, and utilizing the Feickert iPad app showed the RP10 to be dead-on for both 33 and 45 rpm speeds.  It’s still somewhat of an urban legend that Rega tables run “a bit fast” to provide a zippier sound.  In our experience, this just hasn’t been the case in the last 15 years or so, and the RP10 keeps them batting a thousand.  So, if you’ve had any internet-related anxiety about the speed of the RP10, forget about it.

Ease as always

Should you opt for the Apheta MC cartridge, which comes pre-installed (at least for US customers), it’s a winner on two counts.  The Sound Organisation, Rega’s US importer, sells the two as a package for $6,495, saving you almost a thousand bucks in the process – and they install the cartridge for you.  Even though this is super easy, because the Apheta features Rega’s three-bolt fastening, and as all Rega tables come from the factory optimized for correct VTA, the RP10 is possibly the only no-fuss, no-muss premium turntable.  All you need to do is set the tracking force to 1.75 grams and fiddle a little bit with the anti-skate if you feel so inclined.  If it takes you more than five minutes to play records on an RP10, you are overthinking it.

If the Apheta is not your bag, rest assured that there are a number of other great cartridges available that will provide excellent synergy with this table.  Here at TONE, we’ve used everything from the ZU Denon 103 cartridge all the way up to the $10,000 Lyra Atlas cartridge on both the P9 and RP10 with fantastic results.  You can read the Apheta review here[1] to get more of a feel for this cartridge, but for those not wanting to dig back, here’s a short synopsis:  The Apheta is a very fast, neutral cartridge with a lot of HF energy.  If you don’t have an MC phonostage capable of going down to somewhere between 25 and 50 ohms, the Apheta will make a poor showing and sound somewhat shrill.  Load it correctly and you will be rewarded with clean, detailed sound.

The P9 and the new RP10 are awesome for music lovers who want great sound without a fuss.  While I’ve listened to a lot of megabuck tables at the TONE studio, $5,000 is my sweet spot – and let’s be clear: I do not consider this the point of analog diminishing returns; however it is all the more I’m comfortable spending on a turntable.  So for me, personally, the RP10 gives me enough of a glimpse into the price-no-object tables for comfort.  Considering Rega has only raised the price $500 over the cost of the P9 speaks volumes for their manufacturing efficiencies.

More listening

As hinted at the beginning of this review, the RP10 does reveal more music throughout the range.  Transients are cleaner, the bass carries a bit more weight, and the high end is even crisper than before.  Regardless of program material chosen, the improvements made feel like going from ISO 200 to ISO 100 on your favorite digital camera (or film for those of you still embracing the medium).

Should you trade up from your trusty P9?  That’s a question only you can answer, and it will probably depend on what your dealer will give you for a trade-in and how wacky you’re feeling with the checkbook.  -Jerold O’Brien

Additional Listening

I’m probably more anxious than most people to finally get my hands on the RP10, as I saw the prototype of this turntable at Roy Gandy’s home about six years ago and it was fantastic back then.  You’ll either love or hate the skeletal design; I love it because it looks so un-Rega, but those of you wanting a more traditional-looking turntable can leave it in its full base.  Me, I’d rather see it in its naked glory and cast a few spotlights on it, letting the shadows fall where they may.

As Mr. O’Brien mentioned, this table, though more radical in design, is definitely evolutionary.  You won’t mistake the sound of the RP10 for an SME or Clearaudio table and that’s a good thing.  Most of the improvements to the tonearm and power supply are not easily seen from the outside, as is the second generation ceramic platter, but Rega tables are always more than the sum of their parts.

In my reference system through the Audio Research REF Phono 2SE, I noticed the same sonic improvements in the RP10/P9 comparison, but what I did notice on a more resolving reference system than Mr. O’Brien’s was that the RP10’s new arm and table design will accommodate an even better cartridge than the P9 could.  Where the Lyra Kleos was about the limit of what I’d mate with the P9, the RP10 could handle the Atlas.  I’m sure most RP10 customers aren’t going to drop $10k on a phono cartridge, but you could, and it can resolve more music than a Kleos will let through.  And that’s part of the magic with the RP10.  It’s a sleeper.

I’ve always enjoyed the Apheta with the P9 and now the RP10, but I found absolute bliss with my Dynavector XV-1s cartridge, offering a slightly warmer overall presentation than the Apheta.  Again, this will be decided by your ultimate sonic preferences and the RP10/Apheta combination is really tough to beat for the money.  Rega has hit a pretty interesting run with the RP10, as there are a lot of great turntables in the $10k–$15k range, as well as in the $2k–$3k range, but this price point is pretty wide open.

We could talk tech for hours, but do we want to?  Put a record on and relax.  Much like my P9, the RP10 has that extra amount of LF weight and drive (torque maybe?) that really makes this table a blast to listen to rock records with.  Going back to Deep Purple’s classic “Smoke on the Water” from their Made in Japan album was incredibly convincing when those famous chords were played.

Extended listening with a wide range of program material reveals a table that gets it right on so many levels.  Mounted on an SRA rack, there were no feedback issues, no matter how loud I played music, so the table’s design is working as it should.

Reflecting on my time with the RP10, I just wonder when Mr. Gandy and his crew will run out of ideas?  They remain fresh as ever, and I can’t believe that after more than 30 years, I’m just as smitten with Rega as I was the day I brought my first one home from the hifi store.  Now, can they just make it in lime green?  I’m happy to give the Rega RP10 one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2014.  -Jeff Dorgay

Rega RP10

MSRP:  $5,495 (without cartridge)  $6,495 with Apheta pre-installed (US Only)

www.soundorg.com (US distributor)

www.rega.co.uk (factory)

PERIPHERALS  (O’Brien)

Phonostage	Simaudio MOON 610LP
Preamplifier	Coffman Labs G-1A
Power Amplifier	Conrad Johnson Premier 350
Speakers	Vandersteen 5A
Cable	Cardas Clear Light

If you are lucky enough to have tried bespoke tailoring in Savile Row, you will know that nothing off the rack really comes close to it. The term “bespoke” originates in Savile Row, a street in Mayfair, Central London, famous for prestigious tailoring for the individual customer.  It is understood to mean that a suit is custom measured, cut and made by hand to provide a perfect fit where it literally hugs one’s body. In the world of high-end analog audio, if there is such a thing as a “bespoke tonearm,” the Primary Control tonearm from the Netherlands fits this description.

Primary Control is an Amsterdam-based company that specializes in exquisite custom-made tonearms.  Its owner, Bernd Hemmen, is an electrical engineer whose lifetime passions are music and audio. His fascination with the mechanics of turntable and tonearm design led him to create a tonearm that gives users precise management of every conceivable setup parameter, or, as he calls it, “Primary Control” over adjustability in order to allow a cartridge to retrieve signals accurately. After eight years of research and development, the Primary Control tonearm is born.

The ”bespoke” process begins with a consultation with the designer (or the dealer) about your specific turntable needs, as there really isn’t a standard model of the tonearm.  The options are plentiful:  9”, 10.5” or 12” lengths; the metal parts come in matte, shiny, or black; and the armwand in carbon graphite or an exotic wood of your choice. My first review sample took a little over four months to arrive, a 12” model with a Macassar ebony armwand. A few months later, a second 10.5” model made of carbon graphite and titanium followed. The armwand is made of a titanium tube and a carbon graphite outer layer, separated by carefully inserted damping material to optimize resonant characteristics. These two arms are the first to land on North American soil.

Immediately Engaging

The Primary Control’s exquisite elegance can be felt right away as you unwrap the shipping box. Unlike most tonearms packed in molded Styrofoam boxes, the Primary Control is housed in a wooden box with precut foam inlays. It looks and feels expensive, reminding me of the now discontinued DaVinci Grandezza. From afar, the arm itself looks almost like a Schröder Reference tonearm with a nicer finish. The head shell mounting plate and the armwand look remarkably similar, and are both situated to the left of the mounting column.

The Primary Control employs a unique proprietary two-point pivot, similar to Basis Audio’s Vector arm of the ’90s. The entire bearing structure is hidden within a round housing made of Delrin, making the bearing mechanism invisible to the naked eye. It wasn’t until I disassembled the entire bearing housing (a task not recommended by the manufacturer) that I began to understand the working mechanisms of the arm. The arm has a bearing cup mounted on the underside of armwand, which sits on a vertical sapphire bearing that points upward, based on the concept of most unipivot tonearms on which the entire armwand is balanced on a single point of contact.

Distinctly Different, Yet

Proponents of unipivot tonearms often argue that these tonearms provide a better top-end extension and a more vibrant presentation. But the free multi-directional movement of a unipivot arm is as much a nuisance as it is an advantage. Without horizontal stabilization (as in the case of the Moerch UP-4), the armwand wobbles from side to side during play resulting in measurable distortions and increased crosstalk between channels; therefore, the newer unipivot designs will have some sort of horizontal stabilization mechanism to remedy the problem. The Graham Phantom and the Durand Talea use magnetic force to stabilize the arm, whereas the Reed 3P adds on additional side bearings to restrict horizontal movements. The Primary Control incorporates a lower horizontal ball bearing into the pivot housing which makes the armwand “lean” continuously onto a right pivot, virtually eliminating side-to-side wobbling. The horizontal bearing also creates a center of gravity offset from the main pivot, which will improve stability and balance. By turning the counterweight assembly, you can adjust the “leaning force” which essentially changes the horizontal damping of the tonearm. Too much damping causes the sound to become muddy and lifeless, while too little makes the sound thin and nervous.

The instruction manual is short, concise, and filled with detailed diagrams. If one follows the 16-page manual closely to perform cartridge alignment, VTA, Azimuth, VTF, anti-skating and horizontal damping, even a novice will achieve a relatively good setup. Fortunately, some parts of the manual will tell you what sonic changes to expect with certain adjustments –– something very few owner’s manuals will do.

There are two important points which should be mentioned with regard to the mounting position of the armpost and the relative idle position of the armwand to the platter. The Primary Control is designed with the armwand situated to the left of the main column, meaning the mounting position of the main column has to be further away than normal. Both my JC Verdier La Platine and TW Raven tables require an 8” armboard to be made long rather than the normal 6” to 7”; otherwise the optimal position prescribed by the mounting template cannot be achieved on the 12” arm.   The anti-skating mechanism has been carefully designed to incorporate the use of several opposing magnets to provide for a non-linear force across the record surface. If the idle position of the arm deviates too far from the template’s optional  position, the antiskating force may be applied too early or too late, depending on whether the head shell position is too close or too far out relative to the platter. This is why the tonearm is “bespoke tailored” specifically for your specific turntable.

The Proof Is in the Listening

How does the arm sound? To put it simply, the ebony version is musical, elegant and soothing, whereas the graphite/titanium version is accurate, straightforward and lively.

Unlike other reviews I have written in the past in which a general sonic description can be pinned down, in this case it would be unfair to assign a blanket sonic description because every bespoke Primary Control tonearm will have sonic variations. Both arms display exceptional finesse, detail, and frequency extension which tonearms with less adjustability can only aspire to achieve. Depending on the type of music I’m playing, the seductiveness of one may draw me away from the other.

The ever-so-romantic display of poignant emotions was gracefully displayed with the 12” Macassar ebony Primary Control when the violin in the Andante in Act 3 of Delibes’s Sylvia was played (Decca SXL 6635/6, Bonynge – New Philharmonic Orchestra). Paired with the Dynavector XV-1T bamboo body cartridge, the ebony version gives a vivid display of organic qualities which are distinctively more prominent than with the graphite armwand. Though the sonic image appears more smudged and with less clearly defined edges, it makes up for the deficiency by presenting a picture which offers more human-like qualities, drawing you closer to the music.

Yet, when the grand finale in Act 3 of the same ballet is played, the graphite arm is decidedly more neutral, accurate and dynamic, but not so much as to veer towards the direction where it becomes analytical and hard sounding. It delivers a soundstage which is more upfront, yet extends further into the room. The sonic image has more three dimensional qualities. The bass goes deeper and carries more definition, texture and less boominess to the sound.

With vocal-dominant recordings ranging from 1950s Victoria de los Ángeles recordings to 2011 Adele albums, I find myself caught in the same dilemma. The ebony arm exceeds the graphite version on organic qualities, but loses out on dynamism and speediness of response. The same can be said with Fleet Foxes’ White River Hymnal, with which the graphite version offers a more upfront presentation than does the ebony version, which puts you in a few rows back. Halfway through the review, I like the arm so much I will add one of these to my reference system, but I am having difficulty in deciding which one.

The More Care, the More Sound

If there is ever a time in which the veteran can excel over the layman, the Primary Control would be the apt instrument for such a demonstration. With the meticulous attention to details and clarity in setup instructions, the layman can certainly achieve a pretty high level of sonic achievements by following setup procedures. But the Primary Control is also a tonearm which will allow a person with a bit more experience to take the sonic performance to a much higher level. Given the numerous bespoke customizable configurations available, combined with the precise adjustability of the Primary Control, it is a tonearm which offers limitless potential –– and you can be sure it will never be the bottleneck of any analog setup.

There is always a downside to anything elegant and exclusive. Just like the bespoke suits of Savile Row, the Primary Control comes with an elegant price tag. The price ranges from around $5,500 to approximately $8,000, depending on the configuration. Ten years ago, if I were to mention an $8,000 tonearm, it would likely have raised some eyebrows. But in 2014, where a slurry of new tonearm models have gone past the $10,000 mark, such as the Graham Elite, Triplanar Mk VII, or the Vertere Reference –– just to name a few –– they do make this bespoke work of art appear less exorbitant.    -Richard. H. Mak

Primary Control Tonearm

MSRP: Starting at $5,500

http://www.primarycontrol.nl

VPI’s Classic One set the standard for analog performance at its price a few years ago when introduced and one is still in service at TONEAudio as a reference component, recently revised by Harry Weisfeld to accommodate an Eminent Technologies tonearm.

The Classic Two builds on the success of the Classic One, with the primary difference being the ability to adjust the VTA on the fly while the record is playing, giving the analog enthusiast more control and adjustability than the One does.  Sound quality is very similar, so if you are a more monogamous audiophile who tends to stick with a single setup, the One may be all you need.  But, if you love to change and tweak your system on a constant basis, the Classic Two is the way to spin.  It will make your adjustments much easier to execute.  -Jeff Dorgay

VPI Classic Two Turntable

$4,000

www.vpiindustries.com

MartinLogan continues to expand their phenomenal Motion series of loudspeakers to the new 35XTs you see here, featuring a 6.5” woofer and their incredible folded motion (ribbon) tweeter, all in a solid wood cabinet, available in a variety of colors, including high gloss black.

As with every MartinLogan speaker, these are painstakingly crafted and reveal a level of music that is above and beyond their modest price. Voiced to match the floor standing speakers in the Motion line, these can either function as a high performance/minimal form factor pair of rear surround speakers in an all Motion system (though they do mate very well with MartinLogan electrostatic speakers as well) or a great pair of stand mounted speakers in a dedicated two channel system.

MartinLogan Motion 35XT Speakers

$1,195/pair

www.martinlogan.com

The arrival of the Alta Audio FRM-2 loudspeakers exposed a certain prejudice or bias of mine against ribbon tweeters. But it’s a valid one, as I’d never heard a ribbon tweeter that was properly integrated with the rest of the drivers in the system, nor had I ever experienced a ribbon tweeter with a natural high end.  My audio pals with a penchant for razor-sharp transients swear by them, but I’d always come away from them fatigued.  So I must admit that when I was unpacking these scrumptious speakers, my heart sank just a little bit.

And speaking of scrumptious, to someone who spent his formative years in an auto-body shop, and later as a photographer around some of the world’s finest automobiles, the finish of the FRM-2s almost defies definition.  The finish on the review samples exceeds that of anything I’ve seen on a Bentley or Aston Martin, and the new Mercedes S-Class sitting in the driveway looks pathetic in comparison.  The same goes for the audio world: let’s just say the FRM-2s have the finest finish I’ve seen applied to a set of loudspeakers.  And I know that takes a lot of hand work to get right.

While our test samples arrived in a Spinal Tap-like “how much more black can these be?” finish, Alta’s head designer Michael Levy has told us nearly any automotive color can be accommodated.

However, a pretty box is meaningless without sound to match, and I’d buy a pair of FRM-2s if they looked like Bluemenstein Thrashers.  Fortunately for $13,000 a pair you get great looks and great sound.  These little speakers have destroyed all of my preconceived notions as to what a modest sized speaker is capable of.

Keith Jarrett’s At the Blue Note has a wonderful sense of ambiance, with just enough of the audience mixed in to feel dimensional, and is accompanied by a cast of phenomenal musicians.  I’m instantly struck at how completely natural his piano sounds, as well as the cymbals – they just float in the air perfectly, without the slightest hint of sibilance or being goosed for effect.  As wonderful as the instruments come through, the telltale sign is Jarrett’s trademark groaning.  As much as I love Jarrett’s work, this is always aggravating, yet through the FRM-2s, it creeps in gently and then is quickly gone, almost like a whisper.  I’ve never experienced this effect in any speaker before.

Charlie Haden’s double bass work on the Jarrett album sends me in the opposite direction, digging out Shellac’s At Action Park to sample the machine-gun bass line in “Crow.”  Again, the speed of the FRM-2s six-inch bass driver, utilizing Alta’s XTL bass tuning system along with a highly inert cabinet offers up serious bass grunt and definition.  As the rest of the staff trickled in to audition these speakers, they all offered up the same descriptions without being prodded by yours truly.  Four staff members all remarked, “these sound like great electrostats, but with bass!”  And I would add great dynamics, too.

Plumbing the depths of these speakers’ LF capabilities lead me to the last Simian Mobile Disco album, Unpatterns. Cranking up the Devialet 120 used for most of the review had me looking around for the subwoofer and the supermodels. I felt like I was at Fashion Week with the powerful, grinding bass coming out of these relatively small speakers, REL subwoofer (review next issue) unplugged from the AC mains.  The FRM-2s move major air.

More than just bass

Another fun test track here at TONEAudio is Dead Can Dance’s “Yulunga (Spirit Dance)” from the recently remastered SACDs. The opening is ominous and creepy, with an incredibly wide soundfield.  This track features a great balance of real and electronic sounds that don’t necessarily reveal everything about tone and timbre, but a great pair of speakers will disappear completely, rendering a wealth of spatial cues.  Check and double check.

Devo’s debut, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! produced by Brian Eno, does the same thing, yet in a wackier way.  Mark Mothersbaugh’s trippy vocals float all over the room, with ethereal synth effects and overprocessed guitar everywhere.  Not a single natural sound here, yet the speed of the FRM-2s presents this classic in a truly psychedelic way.  Big, big, fun on tap.  Go straight to “Shrivel Up.”

Much like one of Todd Rundgren’s Utopia albums, the Little Village album reveals  highly layered vocals with three guys that sound very similar.  John Hiatt, Nick Lowe and Ry Cooder all have a very similar phrasing and tone that can blend together on a speaker lacking in resolution, yet through the FRM-2s, these three voices all have a distinct sound.

No matter what the program material, the FRM-2s never cross that line that every other ribbon driver based system I’ve experienced crosses.  These speakers have an intoxicating ability to render inner detail, with plenty of transient attack, yet have a relaxed quality like a pair of soft dome tweeters.  It’s very close to magic.  This is one of those rare speakers that has me agonizing between exploring new music and wanting to revisit so many favorites, just to see what treasure would be revealed through this new lens.

Easily integrated

With a rated sensitivity of 87.5 dB @ 2.83 volts @ one meter, you’d think the Altas need a ton of power to work their magic, but again, the preconceived notion is wrong.  Even the 35 watt per channel Van Alstine Ultravalve amplifier provides highly pleasing results in a smaller room, and while bone crushing volume isn’t achievable, they play loud enough on all but really heavy rock records to be engaging.

The first half of this review was conducted in my new home listening room that only measures 11 x 14 feet, with modest GIK room treatments.  Bass traps in the corner, a few diffusor panels behind the listening chair and one 242 panel at each first reflection point.  The FRM-2s proved easy to set up, and even with the speakers placed somewhat randomly in the room, threw an excellent three dimensional image.  Utilizing the supplied stands (an extra $5,000 expense) put the tweeters right at ear level, and even with a slight toe-in, proved excellent in this small room.  Because these speakers are capable of such solid low frequency response, they can be placed a bit farther out in a small room than one might do with something like a KEF LS-50.

Again, the benefit is getting the punctilious imaging of a small monitor with the bass response of a full-range speaker.  An even bigger surprise was how well this performance translated into a large room.  For those just tuning in to TONE, my main listening room is 16 x 25 feet, with a pitched roof and a nice blend of absorption and diffusion, removing the slap echo without being dead and overdamped.

Powering the FRM-2s with the prodigious Pass Labs Xs300 monoblocks was an eye opener.  Much like putting the pedal down in a base model Porsche Boxster and then climbing into a 911 Carrera S, there’s just more oomph there.  The speakers still had great LF traction, and upon spinning the Stereophile test disc, there was indeed solid output at 30hz, though it did drop off sharply after that.  No shame at all for a speaker like this.

Should you have more clean power at your disposal, these mighty little speakers will not disappoint you.  Running through some heavier rock records, I was constantly surprised at how far I could push them without breakup or collapse.  AC/DC, Van Halen and the White Stripes were all highly satisfying.

The FRM-2 is the perfect speaker for someone wanting state-of-the-art performance without having to deal with a pair of massive, floor-standing loudspeakers.  Even in the context of a six-figure system, the Alta Audio speakers are never the weak link in the chain.  It is as easy to hear the subtle differences between ARC, Burmester and Robert Koda preamplifiers as it is between phono cartridges and cables.  These speakers could be an incredible reviewing tool.  Hint, hint to Santa Claus:  I’d love a pair of these under the Christmas tree.

In a word, awesome

The Alta Audio FRM-2s shatter every preconceived notion I’ve ever had about ribbon tweeters and associated issues.  Having had the pleasure of listening to some fantastic speakers from Dynaudio, Focal and Sonus Faber – all in the $12,000 to $20,000 price range – the FRM-2 is easily at the head of the class.  And one of the most musically engaging speakers I’ve heard at any price.

Considering the performance that these speakers have turned in, I can’t even imagine what Alta Audio designer Michael Levy has in store for us with his new flagship speaker.  I can’t wait to find out.

Alta Audio FRM-2 Speakers

$13,000/pair,  Low Profile stands, $2,000/pair, $5,000/pair optional Onyx Black stands

www.alta-audio.com

PERIPHERALS

Analog Source	AVID Acutus Reference SP/Tri Planar/Lyra Atlas
Digital Source	dCS Vivaldi stack
Amplification	Pass Labs Xs 300 monoblocks and Xs Preamplifier    Devialet 120
Cable	Cardas Clear

At TONEAudio, we’ve had the pleasure of testing Sonus faber’s flagship Aida speaker ($150,000), the Guinari Evolution ($22,900), and one of their more entry-level offerings, the Venere 3.0 ($3,500). In each of these cases, the sound and build quality represents a high bar for their respective price tags.

Not wanting to neglect a middle child in the Sonus faber family, we put the new $13,500 Olympica III floorstanders to the test. The Olympica line of products makes available three models. The Olympica I is a stand-mounted, two-way design. Olympica II is a three-way floorstander with a single bass driver. The Olympica III is the biggest of the bunch with two 7-inch (180mm) bass drivers supplementing the 1.14-inch (29 mm) tweeter and a 5.9-inch (150mm) mid. A center-channel speaker rounds out the lineup should a prospective buyer seek a home theater option.

While there are several great companies producing speaker drivers, and many other speaker manufacturers build cabinets around them, Sonus faber takes a different approach. All their drivers are designed in-house, and each is mated with a cabinet shape which gets the most from it. As a holistic package the Olympica is designed from the ground up with system synergy the priority.

Grace of a figure skater

Made entirely in Italy like Sonus faber’s flagship series, the Olympicas receive the same attention to detail at each level of the build process. Cabinet woodworking is gorgeous, and the resulting products have the appearance of fine furniture. Our sample pair sport the walnut finish. Panels of grain-matched wood curve delicately from the front to the back of the cabinet. Eleven pinstripe-thin maple joints separate the 12 walnut sections on each side of the cabinet, providing an elegant and subtle contrast. For those who prefer a darker colored cabinet, Olympicas are also available with a graphite finish. Even with the greyish-black stain, the wood grain remains beautiful and clearly visible. Regardless of color, several layers of clear lacquer provide a protective and attractive semi-gloss coat.

A top-down view of the leather-topped and backed speaker cabinet reveals a uniquely engineered shape to minimize cabinet reflections. For lack of a better descriptor, it’s an angled teardrop shape with the rounder edge toward the front and the point out the back. The rear portion is asymmetrical with a bit more swoop to one side. This configuration facilitates the addition of Sonus faber’s unique perforated port design on one rear edge. Unlike most small and round bass ports, the Olympica sports a two-inch wide metal-grated port that extends the full length of the speaker. Gracing the cabinet base, a metal four-point outrigger configuration creates additional stability for the narrow towers. Tightening and loosening the spike height facilitates leveling so the speakers keep all four tiny feet firmly anchored to the floor.

Even the metal speaker cable binding posts offer a unique design. With a teardrop profile that mirrors the speaker shape, it’s easy to get a good grip on the posts and tighten them firmly by hand. Dual posts allow for bi-wiring or bi-amplification, and an included, stamped-metal jumper connects the two. The sum of all these parts assigns the Olympica III dimensions of 43.8 inches (1114 cm) in height, 10.25 inches (260mm) across the widest part of the cabinet, and a 16.25-inch (406mm) depth.

Warming up

Speakers are always a tricky piece of equipment to review because each speaker interacts a little differently with a listening space. After a few hours of scooting them around the room in small increments left, right, backward, forward and with varying degrees of toe-in, they finally landed in a location I marked immediately with painter’s tape. To facilitate the process, the Olympica manual suggests some sample speaker and listening seat placement suggestions. These ideas do offer a good starting point for your quest. While the placement process remains a little tedious, these speakers will reward you for the effort.

The aforementioned speaker port can aim to the outsides or insides of the speaker pair since there’s no specific left and right speaker configuration. Trying the ports to the outside first, then swapping the speakers to aim the ports toward the space between speakers, I find the latter configuration offers best sound in my room. Owners should try both and decide for themselves what sounds best to them. Once in place, the Olympicas reveal all they are capable of.  And they have a lot of capability.

The Decathalon

Decathletes are like the Swiss Army knives of the sporting world. They must do very well at ten different events in order to win. Of course, each individual will have his or her own weaknesses and strengths to bring to the table. Like these athletes, the Sonus faber Olympicas perform very well regardless of the musical genre or source material. In some cases, they truly excel as a reference.

For instance, once the speakers are placed optimally, the sound-staging ability defies expectations. First, the speakers draw no particular attention to their physical location. Sound floats around them without bunching up around the speakers or at the midpoint between them.  Second, musical elements of my favorite songs, panned to the extreme left and right, wrap far into the room and sometimes even startle me with their reach toward the rear of the room. Hooverphonic’s “One Way Ride” offers the illusion of movement as some synthesized tones ping-pong back and forth. With the Sonus fabers, sound transits far beyond the speakers themselves as if it somehow broke free of any barriers and traveled at will. My Piega P-10 reference speakers are no slouch in this characteristic, but the Olympicas exceed them by a significant margin.

Sonus faber’s specifications for these speakers indicate a frequency response of 20kHz down to 35Hz – not quite full range, but close to it. When listening, I long occasionally for the feeling of extremely low and heavy bass on tracks like “Substitute for Love” from Madonna’s Ray of Light album. But honestly, I have little non-electronic music in my collection that delves that deep. For most of the music I enjoy, the subterranean bass extension is not missed. The rest of the Olympica bass spectrum proves excellent. There’s no shortage of rumble in the sofa and floor, and the level of tight, tuneful tangibility projected from the Olympicas is marvelous. On the opposite end of the audio spectrum, highs, too are very well extended but not hot in the mix. Bell strikes, like those on Ben Harper’s “Alone,” have a tuneful decay that reverberates so long that – like fossil dating – a listener almost needs to define it by a half-life.

Vocals and instruments with frequencies residing in the middle of the spectrum are never neglected in favor of the extremes. Unlike my reference speakers with a ribbon tweeter and midrange, the traditional cone shape of the Olympicas offers a slightly more tangible presence.  As with the ribbons, sound remains natural, but Sonus faber drivers add a degree of palpability and up-close sense of the musical performance. The album Perennial Favorites from the Squirrel Nut Zippers represents an interesting challenge for speakers. With multiple vocals, percussion, strings, piano, harp, a horn section, and many other instruments spread across the stage and layered on top of one another, there’s potential for a sonically muddled mess. The Olympicas manage to sort out all that information, across a wide dynamic range, to present each individual element with a convincing illusion of a live performance.

Final score

There’s no such thing as a best speaker. Upstream component synergy, interaction with the room, music genre, and a listener’s personal sonic preferences all weigh into the equation. In my case, I knew a day would come when a set of visiting speakers would unseat my current reference at a price point I can manage. Apparently, that day has come.

Through the Olympicas, there’s only one real downside for me: I’m truncating the lowest bass frequencies. However, other positive characteristics outweigh my quibbles. Soundstaging prowess, palpability, and pure musical enjoyment in my listening space remain top-notch though the Olympicas. There are certainly speakers out there – including Sonus faber’s own flagship designs – which can reproduce full frequency response, a bit more close-to-the-action musical detail, and perhaps more overall sonic heft. However, they will likely cost significantly more.

The Sonus faber Olympica IIIs are marvelous speakers. At $13,500 per pair, they should be. However, there’s a lot to consider as part of that price tag. First, the build quality and finish are stellar – more like a piece of carefully rendered artwork than a speaker. Secondly, a lot of research and development went into their design, including the creation of in-house drivers. Finally, this package’s performance in my listening room exceeds that of some more expensive speakers which have visited. For those like me who value their stereo more than their car, the Olympica III speakers are worth saving for.

If you are investing in speakers to live with for a long time, and this price range is within your reach, be sure to audition the Olympica III. Perhaps like me, you’ll find they are speakers to long for. I’m purchasing the demo pair.

Additional Listening

by Jeff Dorgay

Sonus faber’s $120,000-a-pair Aida is one of the most breathtaking speakers I’ve had the pleasure to spend time with, but like my GamuT S9s or the equally enticing Focal Grande Utopia EM, all of these speakers are out of reach for most audiophiles.  Yet after listening to the Olympica IIIs for a month before handing them off to Rob Johnson, it’s very exciting to see just how much of the Aida special sauce is present in these speakers at a much more affordable price.  Yes, yes, I know we’ll get all kinds of flak for saying “affordable” and “$13.5k a pair” in the same sentence, but it’s all relative. I know plenty of people that have spent way more than this on a motorcycle, jet ski, wristwatch or a Leica M and a couple of lenses.  If you love music, these speakers aren’t out of reach for a decent number of people and the pleasure they bring is well worth the asking price.

Best of all, these speakers perform well with a wide range of amplification, so if you have a modest system and are looking at these as your ultimate speaker that you will buy now and upgrade electronics around as you go, consider this – they sound awesome with a 35 watt per channel PrimaLuna integrated or a Rega Brio-R.  Their 90dB/1 watt sensitivity allows even modest amplifiers enough headroom to fill a room with sound.

If you were listening to something like Crosby, Stills and Nash, or your favorite solo female vocalist, you might even be challenged to hear the difference between the $120k/pair Aida and the Olympica.  All the major attributes of the flagship speaker are here in spades.

For this price, you should expect great sonics, and the Olympicas deliver.  Yet they also manage to be perfect examples of industrial art as well, with no part of their design or construction less than exquisite, and that’s what makes the Olympica shine above every other speaker I’ve spent time with at this price, save Focal’s Diablo Utopia.  This is a product you’ll love to look at and have as part of your life, even when not playing music!

I am thrilled to grant the Sonus faber Olympica III speakers one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2014.  They are certainly a personal favorite.

Sonus faber Olympica III Speakers

MSRP: $13,500

www.sonusfaber.com

PERIPHERALS

Speakers	Piega P10
Amplifier	Burmester 911 Mk3
Preamplifier	Coffman Labs G1-A
Analog	SME 10    Dynavector 17D3
Digital	Light Harmonic DaVinci   Mac Mini    JRiver Media Center 19
Cables	Jena Labs
Power	Running Springs Audio Haley    Cardas/RSA Mongoose Power Cords

Along with all the wacky things that happened in the world today, TidalHiFi launched their music streaming service.  So the quote goes, “who needs another rock and roll band,” and it might be said with equal weight, “who needs another music streaming service?”

But we do.

Unlike all the other streaming services, Tidal is serving up their music at 16/44.1 resolution.  For those not so techie, this is pure CD quality resolution, not the dumbed down mp3 files that everyone else is offering.  And the difference to anyone that cares is huge. Yes, yes, I love analog and my vinyl, but I’m totally tired with the thought of moving 12,000 CDs and 6,500 albums this May when Pamela and I move into Portland’s Pearl district and an 800 square foot apartment.  Millions of tracks, served up on my iPod, through the digital output to my dCS DAC?  Sign me up.

I love music, that’s the reason I bought my first decent stereo system in the first place when I was about 17 years old.  38 years later my enthusiasm hasn’t waned, but lugging around physical media has.  If you had been sitting next to me in high school (like our web editor, Ellen Green was) and whispered in my ear, saying “dude, someday you’ll have 20,000 albums,” I would have never believed you.  But it’s 2014 and I do.

If you’re the rabid music collector that has ten or twenty pressings of everything, the idea of streaming CD quality music probably doesn’t sound like anything that impressive.  But if like me, you’re a music lover, who even after purchasing almost 20,000 albums, cringes when the person behind the counter at the music store says, “find everything you need?” This is your lucky day.  Of course I found everything I fucking needed, I just couldn’t afford to bring 1,500 albums home today.  Duh.

Even with todays music servers, you still have to rip all those darn CD’s that you no longer want and then, depending on the size of your music collection, you might just have to become a part time IT guy as well.  Who needs it?  Not me.  The Tidal service sets you free and allows you to discover and enjoy music without any of the headaches.

So, how does it work?

Unlike the logjam that is Spotify, you’ll be up and listening to music in about 90 seconds with Tidal.  Give em a user ID, password and credit card number.  Download the app – bingo!

Like most other systems, there is an artist, album and track layout, with others favorites, etc etc. You can stream on your iPhone or iPad instantly through headphones, and if your phones are up to the task, you’ll immediately notice the increased fidelity that streaming 16/44 makes.  But we’ll argue about that more later.

Using my iPhone 5 as the physical streamer proved decent, but the larger screen of the iPhone 6+ definitely makes this all more readable for those of us 50 and over.  Interestingly, the Bluetooth connection between the Apple TV and the iPhone 6 makes for a much better musical interface, with a much bigger and more fleshed out sound, the 5 sounding like mp3 by comparison.  An hour into the demo, it’s getting a lot more interesting.  Yeah, they’ve got 12 Tommy Bolin albums in the queue.  Hmmm.  Keith Richards, check.  The new Annie Lennox album, double check.  No Tim Curry yet though, or the Beatles, but they expect to flesh the catalog out sooner rather than later. Do I really want to move all that vinyl in May?  I’m thinkin EBay.

How does it sound?

With so many audiophiles peeing themselves about DSD downloads, seriously, I could care less.  I’ve got a couple of great DAC’s in the house and for the most part, this vinyl lover can live happily every after with 16/44.  And who knows, maybe Tidal will start streaming high res files one of these days.  Until I know for sure, I’m not giving the guys at HD Tracks another penny, and neither should you.

While the sound quality via Bluetooth is excellent, hardwiring the connection from the iPhone, going via USB is much, much better. A quick listen of Laurie Anderson’s Home of the Brave instantly reveals how much more musical nuance is brought to the party – particularly in the upper registers.  Now, the Bluetooth connection sounds like early CD, with a bit of graniness. However, the Iphone does not use the latest, greatest Bluetooth protocol, so there’s probably more performance to be had here.

Tidal does not mention what master is used for any of these tracks, but a side by side comparison of the Laurie Anderson stream from Tidal and the original CD reveals no discernable difference between sources, via the dCS Paganini stack.  So the rest of you should be ace.

The bad with the good

As awesome as all this is, there are still a few things to be addressed, but for a 1.0 release, Tidal is pulling all A’s.  First, they don’t have everything, so you can’t dump your whole music collection just yet.  But there is a lot to listen to, and I was truly amazed at the catalog depth they’ve pulled off out of the chute. Bluetooth playback is still slightly glitch, but it is with every other Bluetooth device I’ve used, so we’ll call this a neutral.

However, that’s about 3% neutral to bad, 97% awesome.  Sound quality when Bluetooth is on point is excellent, and hardwiring your iDevice to your DAC sounds as good as any transport or streamer.  Tidal is promising Sonos and other streamer compatibility in the near future, so you can count on this getting better too.

The ability to make and save favorites and playlists is also quite good, but being wishful, if Meridan licensed the Sooloos interface to Tidal, the combination would be untouchable.

All nitpicking aside, Tidal offers a way to ditch all or most of your physical media, and have the music you love whenever and wherever you want it, all for $20 a month.  If this isn’t worth an Exceptional Value Award for 2014, I don’t know what is.  I can’t think of a better way to enjoy music!  Now you can be the guy with the major music collection without lugging all those boxes of albums around.  And, they are streaming music videos too…

www.tidalhifi.com

TIDAL, the first high fidelity lossless music streaming service with HD music videos and curated editorial, today announced the launch and availability of its service in the UK and US.

The ideal service for those who care about quality, TIDAL welcomes music lovers to enjoy its extensive library of 25 million-plus tracks, 75,000 music videos and curated editorial articles, features and interviews written by experts.  Ad free and available now for a monthly subscription of £19.99 / $19.99, visit www.tidalhifi.com or download the app from iTunes App Store or Google Play.

TIDAL has spent considerable time building up its extensive catalogue of lossless HiFi quality music and music videos. With distribution agreements signed with all of the major labels, including Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, TIDAL has also been working with many independent labels to offer a comprehensive catalogue that includes a wide range of genres to suit all musical tastes. TIDAL has also signed agreements with licensing organisations PRS for Music for UK and ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and Harry Fox Agency for U.S.

Available across iOS, Android, network players, and PC/Macs, TIDAL offers high fidelity lossless sound quality, a prerequisite to enjoying music the way it was intended by the artists.  Streaming at more than four times the bit rate of competitive services, users are able to enjoy TIDAL on a wide range of the world’s finest home and portable audio products.  Possibly the most eagerly anticipated music streaming service by the audio industry, partnership and integration agreements have already been made with 34 of the world’s most respected audio brands, including: Anthem, Airable by Tune In Media, Astell & Kern, Audeze, Audiovector, AudioQuest, Auralic, Aurender, Bel Canto, Bluesound & NAD, Dan D’Agostino, Definitive Technology, Denon HEOS, DTS Play-Fi, Dynaudio, Electrocompaniet, Harman Omni, HiFiAkademie, ickStream, JH Audio, Linn, McIntosh, Meridian, MartinLogan, Paradigm, Polk, Pro-ject, PS Audio, Raumfeld, Simple Audio, Sonos, Steinway Lyngdorf, Wren Sound Systems with more to come.

More than just a music service, TIDAL users also have access to unique editorial created by music journalists and industry insiders.  Ideal for those wishing to find out more about their favourite artists or for those looking to find new music, TIDAL’s expertly curated editorial includes album spotlights and daily updated features, including artist interviews, daily news articles, playlists and close-ups on artists, labels, sub-genres and historical eras. Weekly playlists also present highlights from the week’s new releases and top recommended tracks.

“We are delighted that TIDAL has launched and that music lovers can now appreciate music the way it is meant to sound,” said TIDAL CEO Andy Chen.  “But the music is just one part of the service. The expert editorial educates, entertains and enriches the music experience whilst the music videos complement the music perfectly.  We are sure that TIDAL will quickly become the music streaming service of choice for all who appreciate high quality at every level.”

As an advertisement-free, lossless, CD-quality music and music video streaming service with extensive curated editorial expertise, TIDAL is available now in the UK and the U.S. for a monthly subscription of £19.99 / $19.99. To experience high fidelity streaming, visit the TIDAL website at www.tidalhifi.com. TIDAL is initially tailored for the US and UK markets.

TIDAL also has three videos that explain the service – please click the links below:
TIDAL Brand Video
TIDAL Product Video
TIDAL How Good Can Music Sound Video

Light Harmonic’s business continues to advance, and with that growth comes the need for a bigger production facility. Managing editor Rob Johnson had a chance to visit their new offices near Sacramento, California.The space may be under construction still, but that doesn’t slow their team down. Here’s an inside look at the process behind production.

Many are familiar with Light Harmonic’s flagship DaVinci DAC, which we reviewed here. It’s a true labor of love. Here’s a quick look at the upper case of a new DaVinci before assembly.

The photo below showcases one channel of the DaVinci output stage. Despite the diminutive size of the components on the board, each piece is soldered by hand.

Though very successful Indiegogo and Kickstarter campaigns, LH has nurtured quite a following for their Geek series portable DACs and headphone amps. Here, Gavin Fish the Director of Sales and Marketing, poses with many of the Geek products ready for a new home.

You might notice the IEM 100 shelf looks a little, um, bare. Here, Marty Murphy has his hands full refilling that shelf. As you might guess from the name, the IEM 100 amp and DAC is optimized for in-ear monitors.

Taking a step up in size, the Geek Pulse S combines a high-definition DAC and headphone amplifier in an enclosure designed for use in a desktop system.  Here, Gavin holds a Geek Pulse S circuit board. As you can see from the fine detail, each is created with the same level of care as the DaVinci DAC boards.

Adding to their product lineup is the Geek Pulse X with a highly user-friendly rear panel. Geek Pulse X is a balanced version of Geek Pulse.

Last, but not least, here’s a finished Geek Out portable headphone amp and DAC ready for shipment. It’s a very tiny package with a lot of capability. Geek Out offers the ability to handle digital files up to 32/384 kHz and DSD 128. An internal amplifier generating a full watt of output is made to power full-sized headphones. A test system including Audeze LCD-XC headphones, sounded full and fantastic.

While still in the prototype stage, here’s an in-process look at LH’s upcoming amplifier. Eric Carrasco is fine tuning the unit. For now, the internals are placed in a Krell amp case for testing.

While we heard a preview of the amp at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2014, we’re excited to hear the final version when it becomes available!

The VK-3000SE from Delaware’s Balanced Audio Technology (BAT) is a vacuum-tube linestage and a solid-state amplifier rolled into one. The latter offers 150 watts per channel into 8 ohms and twice that into 4 ohms. For the preamp section, BAT utilizes a pair of Russian 6H30 valves, which are concealed inside the unit. Some refer to these military-grade tubes as “super tubes” for their longevity and durability; they’re also alleged to have a whopping 10,000-hour lifespan. In the unlikely event of a bad tube, BAT stands behind them with a one-year warranty. (The VK-3000SE itself comes with five-year warranty.) The unit weighs in at 50 pounds and the chassis measures 19 by 5.75 by 15.5 inches. It’s priced at $7,995, which is pretty reasonable considering the amp’s broad capabilities.

As you might guess by the company’s name, the VK-3000SE’s internal circuit topology accommodates a fully balanced signal. The back panel offers a combination of three single-ended RCA inputs, two balanced inputs and an RCA tape out. Metal speaker binding posts accommodate many connection options. Keep in mind that the posts are quite close together, so large speaker cables with spade connections like mine require some finagling.

In addition to the standard linestage capability of the preamp section, BAT offers a pre-installed MM/MC phonostage with the associated outboard inputs as a $1,000 upgrade option. Users have an option of a 48 or 55 dB gain, the latter being the default. Load-wise, the phono card is factory set at 47,000 ohms, but it can be adapted for other cartridges as needed. Users can make these changes themselves by removing the unit’s cover and following BAT’s instructions. The standard load works quite well with my cartridge, a Dynavector 17D3, so I didn’t make further adjustments.

Clean Design

The VK-3000SE offers a clean, elegant external design. Our sample unit sports an anodized black finish, but silver is also an option. The hefty, metal remote control has a similar finish. The chassis’ subtle curves give the amp a sleek, modern appearance. To help keep the unit cool, which is especially important given the hot tubes within, BAT utilizes a top panel with small ventilation slits at the outer edges and holes down the center in an hourglass shape.

Once powered up, the amp’s front-panel vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) shows the input choice and volume level. The font is large, blue, and very visible—it’s easy to read from my listening seat 9 feet away. For those who prefer darkness, the remote’s display button will variably dim or turn off the VFD.

A minimal number of small controls on the front panel disguise the versatility within. The visible buttons include power, mute, input, phase, mono and function, the latter of which allows access to an on-screen menu. And of course, there’s a beefy volume knob that goes from 0 to 140. According to Geoff Poore, BAT’s sales manager, the numbering scale represents a 70 db range, in half db increments. He goes on to mention “There are two other volume “scales” that can be used in the 3000SE: “DBM” and  “DBU”.  The unit comes with a more understandable (for consumers) “CNTS” (counts) scale.  Broadcast and recording facilities are more likely to use “DBM” (-70 to 0) or “DBU” (-50 to +20).  One may preset any of these different scales in the set-up with the “function” button while cycling through.  We are very proud of the sophistication and accuracy of the volume control in the 3000.”

When toggling through the input options, you’ll see that the VFD has them listed as CD, tape, aux and so on, though the owner can modify the labels. Relabeling the third input as “iPod” proves very easy. Once programmed in, the amp stores these labels in its memory and remembers them even if it’s powered down and unplugged.

The function button is similarly flexible; pressing it reveals several user-selectable options for the selected input. Users can adjust balance, phase, mono/stereo and display mode, and select fixed, relative and maximum volume to equalize input sources and to avoid an inadvertent sound blast. To exit the menu, just hold the function button for two seconds. Most of this functionality is also accessible via the remote.

Up and Running

Setup for the single-box unit is very straightforward—just connect sources and speakers and you are ready to rock. Pressing the power button puts the VK-3000SE into a muted tube-warm-up mode; after a minute or so, a quiet click indicates the amp is ready. Pressing the button again puts the unit into a low-power standby mode, with the tubes remaining engaged. Holding down the power button for a couple seconds shuts down the unit completely.

Testing both the single-ended and balanced connections with my DAC, I find that they sound similar but have some subtle differences. The XLR connections do offer a bit quieter background, providing a little more sonic detail and nuance, and the presentation is a little more up-front. If you have the option of balanced connections, they are the way to go.

Across the frequency spectrum, VK-3000SE leans a bit to the warmer side of neutral in my system. Pitch Black’s album Rude Mechanicals provides a helpful test. The bass presentation is more relaxed than punchy and the amp has no trouble making very low frequencies known, but they never overwhelm the mix.

Extremely revealing components have a tendency to make the listener wince when playing some female vocal recordings; pleasantly, the VK-3000SE does not. Throughout Sia’s cover of “I Go to Sleep,” vocal crescendos project little stridency, despite their power. Also, as I notice in the cymbal shimmers on other tracks, the amp has a slight tradeoff of sonic realism for a touch of veil, but a degree of euphony in some circumstances is welcome. Balanced connections prove more revealing, so users should experiment with interconnects to find the sonic balance that works best in their system.

The amp’s ability to portray both a vertical and horizontal soundstage is fantastic, regardless of source material. Music extends beyond the speakers to the extreme left and right and from floor to ceiling, though front-to-back layering is not a strong point. The VK-3000SE does make it easy to pick out individual elements of a song, but it’s not a fully convincing reproduction of a live performance when band members are scattered across the front and back of the stage.

Putting the phonostage through its paces, I soon find that there’s a lot to enjoy. Analog and digital sources have similar sonic signatures through this amp, but the phonostage offers a greater sense of ease and naturalness. Vocals, like those on Daft Punk’s “Instant Crush,” move forward in the soundstage, enhancing the VK-3000SE’s front-to-back presentation. Some of that benefit, of course, is due to the analog source, but the quality of the analog reproduction is strong evidence of the effort and quality that BAT put into the unit’s phono card. It would be a challenge to find a single-box phonostage of this quality for the amp’s $1,500 phono add-on. The VK-3000SE demonstrates the synergistic value of an integrated audio solution.

Final Score

While $8,000 is a substantial investment for any piece of audio gear, it’s important to frame this product in the context of what you get for that price. You could spend a lot more money for individual components that deliver greater sonic nuance, layering, and air around each musical element, as well as a more realistic-sounding reproduction of a live concert. Of course, with added components, an owner also needs to consider the cost of extra interconnects and power cords.

The VK-3000SE is both a great preamp and a great power amp, and with the optional (and fantastic) phonostage, it’s a versatile, compact, and great-sounding piece of gear. If each of its elements were sold as individual components, the combined price would certainly be higher than the cost of the single unit, and it would be tricky to find separates that complement each other this well.

Having plenty of power and multiple input options, the VK-3000SE offers a turnkey solution that will mate well with many sources and speaker types. With a five-year warranty backing it, this is a component you’re likely to enjoy for a long time, even as the other gear in your audio arsenal evolves around it.

Additional Listening

By Jeff Dorgay

Having been such a big fan of BAT gear over the years, I had to hand the main review over to Rob—partly to share the excitement of the brand (with which he’s had no experience) and to deliver a more impartial review. Firing up the VK-3000SE to perform break-in duties is like putting the keys in a Porsche 911, in the sense that everything is where I remember it and, regardless of vintage, the overall ride is similar—just as the dynamic sound of BAT is like taking an old friend for a test drive.

While BAT has made a name for itself based mostly on the reputation of its fine vacuum-tube gear, the company has always made great solid-state power amplifiers, which have not always received their fair share of (well-deserved) praise. I have always loved the combination of a solid-state power amplifier and a valve preamplifier, so the VK-3000SE is right up my alley.

As much fun as modestly powered tube amplifiers are, 35 watts per channel limits your speaker choices too much, in my opinion. But 150 wpc is just right for all but the most inefficient speakers. Everything at my disposal—from the 90-dB-per-watt KEF Blades to the 84-dB-per-watt Harbeth Compact 7s—proves a good match for this amplifier, with nothing running out of steam until I crank the volume to beyond brain-damage levels.

A side-by-side comparison to another favorite, the Simaudio MOON 600i, is enlightening. Both amplifiers are similarly priced (though the MOON does not include an onboard phonostage option), yet the MOON is all solid state. Those preferring a slightly more neutral, even a touch punchier sound and who don’t care about the phono might prefer the MOON. Personally, the VK-3000SE has that combination of solid-state grunt and a touch of tubey warmth in an ever-so-slight way that is not veiled, colored or slow.

The 6H30 is a very dynamic and powerful tube, sounding nothing like, say, a 12AX7. And BAT built its reputation around this tube, and the company implements it like no other. Whether you’re blasting AC/DC, Coltrane or Coldplay, this amplifier offers a lot of inner detail and timbral purity in spades.

As good as the onboard phonostage is, choosing it will ultimately be the limiting factor for the hardcore vinyl enthusiast. But again, it’s damn good for a thousand bucks. If you are primarily digital and just dabbling with LPs, it’s fine; grab your favorite $2,500 table/arm/cartridge combo and call it a day. However, if you’re more of an analog lover or plan on serious analog upgrades in the future, order your VK-3000SE without the phonostage and go for BAT’s awesome VK-P6 instead. (We will have that review shortly). You’ll be glad you spent the extra dough. The VK-P5 was a class leader and the P6 promises even more performance for around $3,500.

High-performance integrated amps continue to be popular for the audio and music lover who wants world-class performance without buying a rack full of components. The VK-3000SE is an excellent choice, should that be your cup of tea. This is certainly one I could retire with happily ever after.

VK-3000SE Integrated Amplifier

MSRP: $7,995 (plus $1,000 for the optional phono section)

Balanced Audio Technology

www.balanced.com

PERIPHERALS

Digital Sources	HP desktop computer with Windows 7    JRiver Media Center 19    Light Harmonic DaVinci DAC    Audio Research CD3 Mk2
Analog Source	SME 10 turntable with Dynavector 17D3 cartridge
Preamplifer	Coffman Labs G1-A
Amplifier	Mark Levinson No. 335
Speakers	Piega P-10    Sonus faber Olympica III
Cables	Jena Labs
Power	Running Springs Audio Haley    RSA/Cardas Mongoose and Golden power cords   Shunyata Python Alpha power cord
Accessories	ASC Tube Traps    Cathedral Sound room-dampening panels    Mapleshade Samson racks    Coffman Labs footers

Peachtree Audio is proud to announce that for a limited time current Peachtree integrated amp owners can easily Trade Up from their old Nova or Decco series integrated amp to a new and improved novaSE model. Customers will receive a generous credit for their current Peachtree integrated when they trade it in towards a new nova125SE or nova220SE – without the hassles of selling their old amp.

This past summer Peachtree launched the novaSE series, the latest evolution in the popular line of integrated amplifiers with built-in high-performance USB DACs. The novaSE family ushers in trickle-down preamplifier design from Peachtree’s critically acclaimed $4,500 Grand Integrated X-1. This upgraded circuitry provides exceptional sound quality from digital and analog sources at more affordable prices. The two most powerful novaSE models, the 125 watt-per-channel nova125SE and the 220 watt-per-channel nova220SE are available as part of this promotion.

“We wanted to provide an easy and affordable way for our customers to move up to our latest generation of integrated amplifiers,” Peachtree Audio president Andrew Clark stated. “Over the years, we have refined and improved every aspect of our integrated amplifiers from the DAC through the power amplifier with the most recent improvements realized in the preamplifier section,” continued Clark. “The novaSE family represents a significant audible improvement from everything that came before them, especially our earliest models,” concluded Clark.

The trade up promotion runs through Friday November 14^th. Eligible trade-in models include the Decco, Decco2, iDecco, decco65, Nova, iNova and nova125. Some restrictions apply. The promotion is available at participating retailers and through www.peachtreeaudio.com/tradeup

I can’t believe what I’m hearing from my little pair of Energy satellite speakers, which I think I paid $150 for about a decade ago. Dr. Dre’s 2001 should not be thumping like this through these speakers. The cause of this magic trick? McIntosh Lab’s new MHA100, which delivers 50 potent watts into 8 ohms for speakers.

The bass on “Forgot About Dre” is surprisingly deep and crisp through the Energy speakers’ tiny drivers. I didn’t think they were capable of such low-frequency response—but, of course, I can only turn the volume knob on the amp so far, to where the iconic blue decibel meters just barely start swinging, before I have to stop for fear that the Energys will explode.

The big, clean power that this little solid-state amp delivers to speakers is truly astounding—especially considering that it was designed as a headphone amplifier. As most TONE readers know, McIntosh doesn’t really do anything small or halfway. As such, the MHA100 is no mere desktop audio accessory. With a set of sturdy speaker terminals on the back panel, along with a wealth of inputs, this is a pretty serious integrated amplifier. Inputs include USB, coax, and AES/EBU on the digital side—the onboard DAC can facilitate digital files up to 24 bit/192 kHz—and balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA for analog (plus an RCA preamp output), so this amp can take pretty much any source you throw at it.

This also isn’t exactly something you’d want on your desktop: It’s about a foot wide, a foot and a half deep, and 6 inches tall, and it weighs more than 26 pounds. The cost for this not-so-little wonder is also in line with what our readers likely expect from McIntosh: $4,500, which is probably more than most people are willing to spend for a headphone amp—but considering that this really is an integrated amp (and a very capable one at that), the price tag isn’t entirely unreasonable.

The MHA100 also does a solid job with the floorstanding ELAC FS249s—which, at $8,000 a pair and with a recommended power input of 30 to 400 watts per channel, are in another world than my little Energy speakers. Through the ELACs, the MHA100 delivers Jason Isbell’s outstanding album Southeastern will all the finesses and soul that it requires, but on hard-hitting rock and pop from the likes of Vampire Weekend, Jack White, and Led Zeppelin, the McIntosh amp has no problem throwing down.

Of course, I would be remiss not to discuss the MHA100’s greatest capability, its headphone section, which is among the best I’ve heard. Perhaps its most noteworthy feature is the ability to select from three headphone impedance ranges—8 to 40 ohms, 40 to 150 ohms, and 150 to 600 ohms—all powered by a version of McIntosh’s famous output Autoformer, adapted for headphone use. These selections cater to a variety of headphones—everything from ear buds to ear cans. (Headphone impedance, input/output, volume, and limited bass adjustments can all be controlled using the two dual-level knobs on the front panel or with the small supplied remote.)

A 24/192 version of Dark Side of the Moon sounds downright eerie through the MHA100 and a pair of 600-ohm Beyerdynamic T1 headphones. The auxiliary sounds at the beginning of “Money” are so real and detailed that they almost induce hallucinations. Similarly, Songs of Leonard Cohen on vinyl through these headphones gives one the creepy impression that Cohen’s lips are right next to your ear and he’s whispering to you. The MHA100 reveals details on that record—such as distant backup vocals and various instrumental nuances—that are not present though most systems. The Mac amp illuminates them in the mix, bringing the listener deeper into the music.

The soundstage this amp presents through headphones is big and lifelike, and its accuracy and clarity across the frequency spectrum are reference-level good. McIntosh has done a phenomenal job adapting its trademark amplifier sound for the headphone user.

I can’t stress enough how wonderful the headphone section is—but at $4,500, the MHA100 isn’t for everybody. Those who take the plunge will have a component that they can base a reasonably sized system around. Unless you’re looking to drive gigantic or overly power-hungry speakers and run multiple analog and digital sources, the MHA100 will give you everything you need with all the power, finesse, and quality for which McIntosh is known. Oh yeah, and it’s a kick-ass headphone amp.  – Bailey S. Barnard

McIntosh MHA100 Integrated Headphone Amplifier

MSRP: $4,500

www.mcintoshlabs.com

Though famous for his tube designs, Frank Van Alstine is no slouch with solid state either.  With passive EQ and no coupling capacitors, this American made phonostage offers no frills high performance.  And MC owners take note, AVA can customize the Vision to the loading requirements for your cartridge.  We are currently using this with the legendary Denon 103 and it offers mega performance.

-Jeff Dorgay

Van Alstine Vision Phono Preamplifier

$599

www.avahifi.com

Bouncing between St. Vincent’s current and last album, I can’t help but be in awe of the staying power of the vinyl record.  Thanks to the many manufacturers, like Simaudio, who have not only kept the faith, but continue to innovate and refine their designs, spinning records is better than ever in the year 2014 than it ever was.  Who knew?  Even better much of the technology in flagship designs is making its way down the food chain to more affordable designs like the MOON 610LP here.

We’ve been using the Simaudio MOON 810LP phonostage as a reference component for some time now, but at $13,000 is out of reach for a certain group of analog enthusiasts.  The $7,500 MOON 610LP, though not inexpensive, opens another door.   Comparing the 810LP and 610LP side by side reveals subtle yet profound differences and while the 810LP ultimately reveals more music than the 610LP; some may actually prefer the presentation of the 610LP.

A unified voice

First and foremost the 610LP has a similar, yet slightly softer voicing than the 810LP.   The more expensive MOON offers up more resolution on leading and trailing transients in a take no prisoners system, but some of your preference may come down to overall system tuning and associated components.  Going back and forth with the Lyra Titan i, I actually preferred the 610LP in my reference system, which is a few clicks to the warm side of neutral.  Those wanting every last molecule of resolution will prefer the 810LP, but the 610LP is no slouch.  Dare I say it, but the 610LP almost sounds a touch more “tube-like” in the same vein of my favorite solid-state preamps from Pass, Burmester, Robert Koda and Luxman.  Never slow or veiled, just a bit lusher than the 810LP, which struck us as one of the most neutral phonstages we’ve had the pleasure to audition.

Tracking through the recent Blue Note remasters and the recent Miles Davis discs from Mobile Fidelity are a perfect example of the 610LP at its finest. This phonostage creates a soundfield that is both extremely deep and wide, going well beyond the boundaries of my Dynaudio Eminence Platinum speakers, but the magic doesn’t stop here.  Where the 610LP mirrors the performance of it’s more expensive sibling is in it’s ability to render acoustic instruments naturally.

Switching from the Titan i to the more tonally neutral Atlas, it’s tough to tell these two phonostages apart through the critical midrange, especially with modest dynamic swings.  The cymbals at the beginning of Bachman Turner Overdrive’s “Blue Collar” float in the air in front of my listening chair, feeling right spatially as well as feeling as if the drum kit is of a realistic size.  The 610LP does not exaggerate perspective, which can be fun for a short period of time wears on you after long listening sessions.

Quiet, quiet, quiet

Though the 610LP has a claimed signal to noise ratio of 93db, while the spec on the 810LP  is 95db, you’d be tough to tell them apart.  This phonostage is dead quiet.  Even the most delicate pieces of classical music, the noise floor is always in the recording, with tape hiss from the master coming through, not the electronics.  Personally, this is one of the true benefits of a great solid-state phonostage – the absence of noise.  While a number of tubed units can add a touch of palpability (wanted or unwanted) that the solid state units can’t match, they always seem to impart a bit of sporadic tube noise.

Depending on your system, this can go from barely audible to somewhat annoying.  Even more annoying is trying to rustle up a matching set of tubes for your phonostage that you love, only to find the tonality changed when it’s time to re-tube.  Another awesome reason to go solid-state; turn the 610LP on, leave it on and forget about it forever, unless you change cartridges and need to adjust gain and loading.  Personally, as much fun as tube rolling is, I enjoy the consistency of transistors – your mileage may vary.

If you haven’t sampled a top solid-state amplification component in a while, you will be surprised at how lifelike and natural the 610LP renders music without needing vacuum tubes.  The gap has been closing for years and Simaudio is one of the rare few that produces solid-state electronics that have no “sound” of their own.  If you desire the tonal flavor that comes with a vintage vacuum tube sound, that’s another story.

Mega adjustable

With 64 steps for resistive loading from 12.1 ohms to 47k, 16 steps for capacitive loading from 0pf to 470pf and 16 steps of gain adjustment from 40db to 70db, I can’t imagine a cartridge that the 610LP can’t handle.  I certainly had no issues with the cartridges at my disposal and appreciated the wide range of adjustability down at the lower end of the scale – critical with some of the Koetsus and especially the Rega Apheta, which mates incredibly well with the 610LP.  Ultra OCD analog lovers will appreciate the fine adjustments available, and again, the more resolving your system, the easier it will be to hear those fine adjustments.

As with the 810LP, all of the adjustments are via DIP switches on the underside of the unit, so this is not a phonostage for casual adjustment.  After living with both of these units for some time, I suggest putting your 610LP on a shelf with plenty of height, so you can prop it up and not have to disconnect it or remove it from the rack when making loading settings.

It’s worth mentioning that the 610LP makes an incredible moving magnet phonostage.  Though I’m guessing that most analog enthusiasts at this level will have probably graduated beyond the top MM carts (all in the $800 – $1,200 range), if you start your assault on top notch analog, you can start with the 610LP as an anchor and go up the scale on cartridges as your budget allows.  The 47k setting is a wonderful match for the Grado moving iron cartridges, which have a low output of .6mv, yet still require 47k loading.   For those in the audience with the Grado Statement and Statement 1, the 610LP is a perfect match for these cartridges.

The 610LP also offers balanced inputs as well as outputs. If you have a balanced tonearm cable for your turntable, take advantage of the fully balanced, differential circuit design of the 610LP.  Using identical Cardas clear tonearm cables, my impromptu listening panel always picked the balanced option as more open and dynamic.  We’re not talking a major delta here, but noticeable enough that even untrained listeners could pick it out, and again, the more resolving your system, the bigger difference it will make, especially if you have a fully balanced system.

Rounding out the package

For those not familiar with Simaudio, all engineering, design and assembly is done at their factory in Montreal, and like Boulder, they do all their chassis metalwork in house as well. The MOON 610LP is a member of their Evolution series, robustly built-both mechanically and electronically, as you would expect from a flagship component.

Lifting the lid reveals a massive power supply that Simaudio claims has more reserve power, is faster and quieter than an equivalent battery supply.  Going topless also reveals first-rate components throughout, and having been to the Sim factory (see issue 32) the care taken in machining chassis parts and physical assembly is some of the best our industry has to offer.  This is why Simaudio offers a ten year warranty on their products – very few of them ever go back home to the mother ship.

More power

You’ll notice a socket on the rear panel of the 610LP marked “power supply,” allowing you the option to take advantage of Simaudio’s 820S external power supply.  We have a review of the 820S in the works and while this massive power supply does extend the range of the 610LP in a mega system, most of you either don’t need it or would be better off stepping up to the 810.

However, because the ($8,000) 820S has outputs marked “analog power” and “digital power,” Those having either the 740P preamplifier, the 650D or 750D DAC/Transport would be well served to split the duty of the 820S between phonostage and one of these other components.

Simaudio’s MOON Evolution 610LP phonostage is a fantastic addition to an analog system, offering an incredibly high price to performance ratio for the analog enthusiast that wants a cost no object phonostage in a single turntable system without refinancing their home.

For all but the most obsessed, this will be the last phonostage you need to buy.  Very enthusiastically recommended.  -Jeff Dorgay

Simaudio MOON Evolution 610LP phonostage

MSRP: $7,500

www.simaudio.com

PERIPHERALS

Preamplifier	Robert Koda K-10    ARC REF5SE    Burmester 011
Turntable	AVID Acutus Reference SP/Tri-Planar/Lyra Atlas    Rega RP10/Apheta
Cartridges	Lyra Titan i    Lyra Kleos    Ortofon Cadenza Bronze    Ortofon SPU    Ortofon 2M Black    Grado Statement 1    Dynavector XV-1S
Power Amplifier	Pass Xs300 monoblocks
Cable	Cardas Clear
Power	IsoTek Super Titan

PrimaLuna and I go way back; back before TONEAudio was even a twinkle in my eye back.  The first audio review I wrote for The Absolute Sound happened to be the original EL-34 based ProLogue 1, and was way more exciting than the boring NAD integrated amplifier that Robert Harley was going to have me cover for my first assignment.  I bought that review sample not only because it sounded great, but it was so much fun; reminding me of all the great EL-34 amps I’d owned over the years.  11 years later it’s still in my family, going strong, with merely one set of replacement tubes – a testament to PrimaLuna quality.

It’s been fun watching TONE and PrimaLuna grow over the years, diversifying our products, but keeping the same ethos of offering high performance at a reasonable price, never giving quality a back seat.  PrimaLuna now has a range of four vacuum tube preamplifiers; with the DiaLogue being the top of the range at $3,199.

Where a number of past PrimaLuna preamplifiers relied on the 12AX7 tube, the DiaLogue Premium takes advantage of the 12AU7, six of them – and this has two big benefits.  For those not familiar with the brand, PrimaLuna gear has always been super easy on tubes, so investing in a good set of premium NOS (New Old Stock) tubes has always been solid thinking.  Fortunately, where the best 12AX7s are now pushing $200 – $350 each, equally good 12AU7s will only set you back about $75 each.  And PrimaLuna’s US importer Kevin Deal can hook you up.

You don’t need to invest in NOS tubes if you don’t feel inclined.  The DiaLogue Premium sounds great out of the box.  Tube rolling is only for those who are part curious, part OCD, and can yield different results for those wanting to chase the rabbit.  Most of you will just unbox your DiaLogue Premium and enjoy.  There’s nothing wrong with that.

The biggest advantage of the 12AU7 though, is it’s lower gain.  With so many of todays sources having a four volt output, the 22 -28db of gain that most contemporary line stages provide is just not needed.  You end up with the volume control always being used in the 7:00 to 9:00 position and not only having precious little range of control, but noise can be an issue because the preamp is not running in it’s sweet (and lowest noise) spot.

Less gain, less pain

The DiaLogue Premium, having 10db of gain, gives you plenty of volume control range and is dead quiet throughout.  Using it with my Zu speakers (101db sensitivity) and a pair of 845 SET amplifiers, I had the silky smooth silent treatment, even with my ear right up against the ribbon tweeter.  When substituting the DiaLogue Premium, for the Nagra Jazz preamplifier in an all Nagra system, thanks to the low gain, the PrimaLuna was quieter than the mighty Nagra, costing three times more.

A dual mono design with five inputs and two variable outputs, the DiaLogue Premium should be able to handle anything you can throw at it, except balanced sources. (You can use an adapter if need be)  As a tape enthusiast, I really appreciated the additional, fixed level, buffered tape output to make mix tapes on my trusty Revox.  A home theater pass through is also incorporated, for those needing to make the DiaLogue part of a home theater system.

Running the DiaLogue Premium in our main reference system, displacing the $13,000 ARC REF 5SE preamplifier and the $32,000 Robert Koda K-10 was highly insightful.  While the big bucks preamplifiers revealed more music and more dynamic slam at the extremes, the mighty PrimaLuna was never embarrassed.  Kind of like comparing a Porsche Cayman S to a GT3.

Trying the DiaLogue Premium with about ten different power amplifiers from Simaudio to Burmester again underscored it’s versatility.  Only the Burmester 911 Mk. 3 really needed the volume control cranked all the way to get full output.  (no doubt because we were using balanced adaptors here, all of the other balanced power amplifiers tried had separate, single ended RCA inputs. That lower gain was a real blessing when using vintage power amplifiers like the Conrad Johnson MV-50, which only need about .6 volts to be driven to full output.  FYI, combining this preamplifier with my MV-50 that has had all of the caps upgraded to CJD Teflon was absolutely heavenly, mated with my Quad 57s.

I’ve always found PrimaLuna gear to be a wonderful combination of old and new school design and sonics, yet as you go up the line, the top components in the PrimaLuna line sound more like current vacuum tube electronics, i.e. more linear and neutral, where the entry level pieces sound slightly more vintage.  Much of this is due to the beefy power transformers used, combined with premium Takman resistors, SCR foil capacitors and Swiss sourced, silver plated oxygen free copper wiring throughout.

It’s also worth mentioning that the DiaLogue Premium has no problem driving long runs of interconnect cables.  Comparing the sound between a 20 foot run of AudioQuest (find cable here) and a one meter pair revealed no difference, and no rolling off of the high frequencies, so those that like having their power amplifier down on the floor close to the speakers, with the rest of their components further away on a rack will be pleased.  I had similar luck with cable from Cardas and ALO Audio.

Love that tube

Personally, there is always something special to me about the sound of a preamplifier built around the 12AX7 or 12AU7 tube, they just always seem to paint the sonic picture with a little bit more air and gradation than the 6DJ8/6922 designs do, and feature more sonic gradation between heavy and soft tones than a preamplifier utilitizing the 6H30 tube.  Neither is better or worse, just different.  A Lotus Elise gets around the curves with a little less effort than a Corvette or a Viper.

I noticed this the most when listening to acoustic music of any kind.  Spinning the XRCD of Lee Morgan’s Tom Cat, it was easy to discern the differences in rendition between my vintage ARC SP-11 (6922 design), current REF 5SE (6H30 design) and the Koda K-10. (best solid state I’ve ever encountered)  Morgan’s trumpet has more “blat” and slightly more contrast with the REF 5SE, but the cymbals are dreamier, more palpable, and smoother through the DiaLogue Premium.

Going back to some of George Winston’s solo piano records on the Windham Hill label, the pianos decay is equally enticing through the DiaLogue Premium.  This is a totally musical preamplifier, always getting out of the way of the presentation, so that you don’t focus on the gear.  Not all preamplifiers can do this regardless of price, so this is a home run for the PrimaLuna – and amazing for $3,199.

Each preamplifier brought its own palette to the reproduction, yet the DiaLogue offers an excellent balance, and cohesion to the musical presentation, almost like listening to a full range ESL, rather than a speaker made of woofer, tweeter and midrange.  The DiaLogue provides fatigue free listening at its finest, and made for many 12-hour listening sessions without wanting to ever turn the music down.

While the DiaLogue Premium turns in good performance at the frequency extremes, offering solid, defined and tuneful bass response, combined with extended highs that are never screechy, it’s this coherence and ability to nail instrumental tone and texture that makes it so compelling.

The DiaLogue Premium does what tubes do best, providing a dreamy, three dimensional sense of ambiance, giving the listener a healthy dose of “you are there” realism. Eschewing female vocals, I spent a lot of time listening to Johnny Cash, Elvis and Tom Waits through the DiaLogue Premium and I always came back impressed.  The soundstage painted is huge, in all three dimensions, making my Dynaudio Eminence Platinum speakers disappear in the room, no small feat.

Rounding the bases

The DiaLogue Premium preamplifier offers incredible sound and value for $3,199. If I were building a system in the $20 – $50k range, I can’t imagine needing to spend more than this for a linestage, provided you didn’t absolutely have to have balanced outputs.  The ability to tube roll with ease and modest cost is another big bonus with this preamplifier, allowing the ability to either fine tune the sound, or just play with a different feel.

Best of all in over a decade now, PrimaLuna has not compromised a molecule on build quality.  They are still making gear that feels bank vault solid, encased in a dark blue, high gloss metallic finish that would do an Aston Martin proud. (and a set of cotton gloves to keep fingerprints off of said finish)  Even the shipping cartons are the best in the business, with three layers of heavy cardboard to make sure your purchase arrives without blemish.

Combining all of these small touches and world class sonics, makes for gear that owners don’t want to part with.  Perusing Audiogon or EBay rarely reveals used PrimaLuna gear, and when it does go for sale, it fetches top dollar.  Another home run from PrimaLuna!

PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premium Preamplifier

MSRP:  $3,199

www.primaluna-usa.com

www.upscaleaudio.com

PERIPHERALS

Digital Source	dCS Vivaldi Stack
Analog Source	AVID Acutus Reference SP/TriPlanar/Lyra Atlas
Phonostage	ARC REF Phono 2SE
Power Amplifiers	PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premium Power Amplifiers    Burmester 911 mk. 3   Conrad Johnson MV-50C1    Nagra 300B    Pass Xs300    Pass Aleph 5
Cable	Cardas Clear
Speakers	Dynaudio Eminence Platinum,    Acoustat 2+2, KEF Blade

Everything we loved about the Devialet 110 is here in spades with the new 120, but the addition of a crucial feature makes the 120 more than a simple upgrade.  Devialet’s new SAM (Speaker Active Matching) technology, in a nutshell, provides a more synergistic coupling between amplifier and loudspeaker, thanks to their engineers harnessing more power of the on board DSPs.  Visually, the 120 looks identical to the 110, with the same compliment of inputs and outputs.

SAM is an optimized program for your individual speaker (Devialet is constantly adding new SAM profiles to their website) that claims full phase alignment over the entire frequency spectrum and extended low frequency response down to 25Hz.  While we have no way of measuring this, the results with the Penaudio Cenya speakers, the KEF LS-50s and the KEF Blades was nothing short of stunning.  We are currently working on a full review of the Devialet Ensemble system, utilizing a pair of Devialet designed Ahtom GT1 speakers.

This is not a subtle upgrade.  While the KEF Blades are no slouch in the bass department, it was easy to hear more extreme bass extension on bass heavy tracks from Pink Floyd and Daft Punk.  Not only was there more detail in the low bass as you would get with a top notch subwoofer, there was more punch, more weight.  The heartbeat in the classic Floyd track “Speak to Me: Breathe” now feels heavier, more ominous than without SAM.  For the Thomas’s doubting SAM, the Devialet remote allows you to dial up how much SAM processing you’d like in the system, making it easier to see the results first hand.

In my smaller listening room, this proved very useful with the LS-50 and the Cenyas, as there was just a bit too much bass with SAM set at 100.  Both work best with SAM set in the 60-70 range.  With SAM engaged I was able to shut the subwoofer off with both of these speakers, it was no longer needed.

The new functionality that SAM brings to the picture, along with the additional 10 watts per channel that the 120 offers is only a firmware upgrade away for existing Devialet 110 owners. Fantastic sound and drop dead gorgeous casework aside, this is the best thing about owning a Devialet product is that they are future proof.  It was awesome to view the 120 at the Munich hifi show and be told, “You only need to download the new firmware and you have a 120.”  That’s music to my ears.

Devialet 120

$6,500

www.devialet.com

The idea of an integrated amplifier has always appealed to me. Combining the amplifier and preamplifier sections in a properly isolated design makes economic sense—just sit back and enjoy the music without the bleed-through of a tuner.

Last year, I had the pleasure of reviewing Peachtree’s nova125 integrated and, while I enjoyed both its form and function, I wondered what impact nearly doubling its power would have on the notoriously power-hungry Magnepan 1.6 speakers. Well, I now know—and it’s been worth the wait. The nova220SE possesses tremendous grip, never letting the Magnepans beat it into submission.

Delving into orchestral music with Beethoven’s 9th by the North German Radio Symphony conducted by Günter Wand, I experience the symphony’s beautiful, complex inner movements and quick pace changes, which prove a great test for the nova. Where lesser-quality amplifiers struggle to keep instrument separation, the nova performs exceedingly well. Even under the intensity of the Magnepan’s 2-ohm load drops and volume levels crossing 100 dB, the amp stays in control. It revels in being driven hard; this isn’t an integrated for those who enjoy listening to music at whisper levels.

Nuts and Bolts

The nova continues Peachtree’s distinctive and curvaceous design. The various stained-wood cases have been replaced by black lacquer, and the front panel is brushed aluminum, with a similar gray color to that of Kyocera equipment from the 1980s.

The nova’s front panel is clean, though I do wish the selector buttons were identified with a slightly larger font, as the contrast on the panel is minimal. The power button is located in the lower left, with the five source buttons—USB, coax, opt 1, opt 2, and analog—encircled by blue LEDs. Following the Peachtree tradition, a blue LED-lit oval window displays the nova’s Russian-made 6N1P tube. A large, smoothly rotating volume knob completes the front panel. The back panel is nearly as clean: wired remote and source inputs, jacks for pre-out and RCA, right and left speaker binding posts, power cord receptacle, and master power switch. The amp is 14.8 inches wide, 5.2 inches tall, and 11.5 inches deep, and it weighs just over 19 pounds.

The matching anodized-aluminum front remote is also straightforward, with two groupings of buttons; the upper for controlling volume and tube buffer and selecting the USB input, and the lower for selecting the other four inputs.

As I go through my various test tracks, the toms on the drum kit really stand out. The nova makes the various hits pop with intensity. Whether reproducing the attacks of the Who’s wild man Keith Moon or the magic of Buddy Rich, the exact placement of the drumsticks on the toms is distinct and easily discernable. Chalk that up to the class-A preamp section and the 220/350 watts per channel (into 8 and 4 ohms, respectively) of the class-D power section. The clarity between the left and right hits on Dan Fogelberg’s “Higher Ground” has me replaying the track several times over.

Until recently, praising class-D power amplifiers came with a warning that proper speaker matching is crucial. Just like Peachtree’s nova125, the nova220SE needs no such disclaimer. With speakers from Harbeth, Totem, ACI, Golden Ear, and Magnepan, this integrated amplifier shows no weaknesses—though the combination with the Golden Ear Triton Sevens is a particularly good match, both sonically and financially. Just one listen to “Still… You Turn Me On” by Emerson, Lake and Palmer convinces me to keep the amp-speaker combo together for a week.

A Lot to Love

To the team at Peachtree, the word integrated means including a built-in DAC that utilizes the asynchronous ESS Sabre Hyperstream 9022 chip, USB and coax inputs that can handle resolutions ranging from 16 bits/44 kHz all the way to 24/192, and two optical inputs (which are limited to 24/92). Using my MacBook running iTunes/Pure Music and a Wadia i170 iPod dock, I’m able to test all the configurations. The DAC section is a fine performer—definitely not a gimmick. I find it bettering the Audioengine D2 DAC by pulling out greater inner detail, which is especially noticeable in the guitar and piano of William Ackerman’s “Climbing in Geometry.” On the same song through my reference Simaudio 300D DAC, the edges of the highest frequencies come out a hair shriller than through the nova, and the acoustic guitar is a bit drier—but overall the nova puts forth an impressive effort.

Since my wife works from home, I spend a great deal of time using the nova’s headphone output, which offers 1,170 mW into 32 ohms and really brings a pair of Sennheiser HD800s to life. Bonnie Raitt’s mellow masterpiece “Nick of Time” holds the same acoustic properties as when running through speakers, signaling that the headphone section wasn’t an afterthought but a well-thought-out part of the nova220SE. For those readers who wonder if the headphone output gets the tube buffer treatment, the answer is yes and it offers the same tubey goodness as the amplifier does.

When listening to the nova through speakers, I keep the tube buffer engaged for the most part, as I’m a fan of the harmonic pleasure that vacuum tubes provide. But at times it’s hard to tell when the 6N1P tube is in the auditory loop, which I attribute to the superb class-A preamplifier section. Consider the tube buffer as a tone control for the 21st century.

When nothing but heavy metal will suffice, the nova, like a Detroit muscle car, is ready to go balls to the walls at anytime. “I Can’t Quit You Baby” from Led Zeppelin’s BBC Sessions alternates between stoplight blues and accelerating guitar riffs. The sheer grunt to put the listener back in his or her seat is the nova220SE’s specialty. Get comfortable and enjoy the sonic ride.

Obvious differences between the $1,999 nova220SE and my reference $8,000 Simaudio Moon i-7 integrated are subtle but prevalent. The little things are missing from the nova’s resolution. For example, the xylophone notes at the beginning of Steely Dan’s classic “Aja” don’t take on the three-dimensionality that I’m used to hearing. Steve Martin’s exceptional banjo picking through the nova occasionally sounds a bit flat when measured against the i-7. But beyond that, the nova is a very worthy competitor.

For the digital junkie, the nova’s myriad inputs enable CD playback, mass storage, and streaming from multiple sources without swapping wires—just push a button and jump from a hard drive to AirPlay or Sonos. Vinyl lovers only need to plug their favorite phono preamp into the nova’s auxiliary input to enjoy their favorite records. For those with budgetary concerns, the low energy usage of the nova’s class-D power section and its versatile preamp section, along with Peachtree’s two-year warranty, make it a wallet-friendly investment.

Final Tally

As smitten as I was with the nova125 last year, I’m totally impressed with the nova220SE. With nearly twice the power and an improved preamp design trickled down from Peachtree’s top-of-the-line X-1 integrated, it makes terrific music with every speaker combo I have on hand. Right now, if I were forced to change integrated amplifiers, the nova220SE would be my choice. The sheer value of its capabilities as an integrated amp, DAC, and headphone amplifier makes the nova220SE a no-brainer. The only thing keeping it from being perfect is its lack of a built-in phono preamp. Perhaps Peachtree will incorporate one into the next iteration.

nova220SE Integrated Amplifier

MSRP: $1,999

www.peachtreeaudio.com

PERIPHERALS

Amplifiers	SimAudio Moon i7 integrated amplifier    Vista Audio i35 integrated tube amplifier   Virtue Audio Sensation M451 Tripath/hybrid integrated amplifier
Phonostage	Simaudio Moon LP5.3
Sources	Rega RP1 turntable with Ortofon Super OM40 cartridge    MacBook iTunes/PureMusic    Wadia i170 w/iPod 160 Classic
Digital Processor	SimAudio Moon 300D
Speakers	ACI Emerald XL    Harbeth Compact 7ES3    Golden Ear Triton Seven   Magnepan 1.6 with Skiing Ninja crossovers Totem Acoustic Rainmakers
Cables	Shunyata Venom 3 power cord    AudioArt IC-3 interconnects    AudioArt SC-5 speaker cables

British hi-fi buffs know Roksan Audio as a company that offers extraordinary value and sonics that challenge far pricier competitors. The company, located just northwest of London, takes a complete-system approach, with analog and digital sources, amplification, speakers, cables, and power supplies among its product lineup—and it is currently making a push into the North American market.

Roksan has several lines that cater to different needs: The Oxygene line strips away everything to the basics, with modern design and functionality; the Kandy line offers higher performance; and the Caspian line is the top of the hill. All Roksan products have a simple but appealing aesthetic and are known for high reliability.

The subject of this review—and the first Roksan component that has been in my system—is the Kandy K2 BT integrated amplifier, which retails for $1,900. The K2 BT is one of the more feature-rich integrated amplifiers that we have reviewed, equipped with a phonostage, five line-level inputs, a tape loop, remote control, and Bluetooth connectivity—the latter of which is what the BT designation represents. (The standard, non-Bluetooth K2 retails for $1,700.) The unit’s power output is 120 watts per channel into 8 ohms.

Roksan says it uses the highest-grade parts available and that the K2’s output stage is based on that employed in the Caspian series. The company pays special attention to circuit layout and especially power supply, with the sonics coming first. The result is a product that makes for a sound investment, which has helped build Roksan’s reputation since its founding in 1985.

The Basics

The casework on the K2 BT, while not extravagant, is solid, nicely put together, and commensurate with the price point. In terms of appearance, the unit is available with either a black case and silver faceplate or the reverse.

Installing the K2 is straightforward, with connections made and sound emanating from speakers within minutes of unpacking. The amp easily drives a pair of Gallo A’Diva Se satellite speakers with a Gallo TR-3D subwoofer, and it makes light work of the Harbeth Compact 7ES-3s sans sub. (See end of article for additional full list of peripherals.)

The review sample has decent mileage on it, so only a few days are needed to get it up to optimal performance—and it does not take long for the K2’s personality to shine. It flows music to the speakers in a velvety smooth, seductive, and effortless manner, even with the relatively inefficient Harbeths. The amplifier never breaks a sweat, delivering gorgeous, dare I say, tube-like tone and imaging that is wide, deep, and always involving.

Down to Business

Nick Cave’s 2013 recording Push the Sky Away is transportative through the K2. The open, spacious mix and Cave’s superbly recorded voice are perfect for the amp to show off its way with nuance, instrumental timbres, and timing. Cave always imparts some sort of drama and tension in his songs, and on this collection he does so with more subtlety than usual. Here, the K2 lets the tension build and ebb so as to spotlight the performance, with all things “hi-fi” taking a back seat. This is truly a music lover’s amplifier.

On a lighter note, streaming a variety of recordings by lounge-pop revivalists Pink Martini is great fun, with the K2 keeping pace with the free spirit of the band’s whimsical, intoxicating sound. Such albums as Sympathique, Hang On Little Tomato, Splendor in the Grass, and Get Happy are a gas—and the Kandy is up to the task. Whether cycling through jazzy standards, French lullabies, tangos, Chinese folk songs, or Turkish pop, this amp keeps the party going, never missing a beat.

With higher-resolution digital files, the K2 pays big dividends. The 96-kHz download of Chicago’s album II is excellent, and the Kandy brings back the summer of 1972, showcasing the quality of the legendary band’s interplay and songwriting. It makes tracks like “Poem for the People” and “In the Country” sound vibrant and fresh.

The K2 not only unravels complex music but also lays out simple pleasures, like Chuck Berry’s monumental 1950s Chess recordings, with ease. Trying to resist tracks like “Little Queenie” or “Back In The U.S.A” proves futile, as the Roksan takes these mono recordings and renders them with natural authority; and the pacing is sublime. I am continually reminded that this amplifier effortlessly gets out of the way, always drawing attention to the music and not to itself.

The K2 clearly has a wonderful way with digital sources, regardless of program material or sampling rate. I put it through its paces further with a little analog via some pre-recorded, commercially released 7.5-ips reel tapes played back on my vintage Sony deck. The results are stunning, with the Kandy providing a clean, quiet background and excellent detail retrieval. It ups the ante on the musical involvement that tape lovers find so intoxicating.

Final Score

Ergonomically, the K2 is a dream. It offers plenty of volume steps, even with the remote, which can be a sticking point on amplifiers in the $2,000 price range. The front panel is easy to navigate and the amp is dead quiet, running cool as a cucumber. All this adds up to maximum enjoyment and flexibility.

After spending an extended period of time with the K2, listening to it with a wide variety of music and gear, I become curious about a complete Roksan system. Perhaps we’ll see a full-system review in the future.

The only area where I find that the K2 comes up short is its Bluetooth capability. The sound quality is excellent, but the connection in my system proves a bit unreliable with both an iPad Air and and iPhone 5. When the Bluetooth works, it is fun as heck, but it’s annoying when the connection is marginal. (Our publisher doesn’t experience issues with the Bluetooth. See Further Listening below.)

Roksan has rightly earned a reputation across the pond as a music-lover’s manufacturer. The K2 BT is a special component. Paired with multiple sets of speakers, sources, and cables, it never disappoints sonically. Aside from the shaky Bluetooth connection I experienced, there is nothing to quibble about. You get the complete package here, including good looks. At just under $2,000, this is an easy recommendation for those who want a full-function integrated amp that works equally well with both analog and digital sources. The Roksan Kandy K2 BT is clearly a benchmark for its price point.

Further Listening

By Jeff Dorgay

Andre sums up the essence of the Kandy K2 BT perfectly—though, lacking a turntable, he wasn’t able to comment on the phono section, which I find to be excellent, especially for a $1,900 integrated. As vinyl continues to enthrall new users, and with so many people dipping their toes in the water, a high-performance phonostage is a wonderful addition to an integrated amp, allowing maximum system flexibility.

Most people purchasing an amplifier and speakers at this level will probably be using a turntable in the $100-to-$1,000 range, and they will not be disappointed. The Kandy’s phonostage is easily on par with any outboard phonostage we’ve auditioned costing $300 to $500, so for price matching most of my listening is with the $95 Shure M97 cartridge and the $295 Rega Elys 2—both MM designs. Just to push the envelope, I use the $700 Ortofon 2M Black and have good results. This is definitely an integrated amp that an analog owner can grow with.

Where most budget solid-state phonostages are flat, two-dimensional, and relatively sterile, the Kandy’s phono section performs admirably, giving up more height and depth than is usually associated with a relatively inexpensive onboard unit. Playing the MoFi remaster of Los Lobos’ Kiko, the Roksan renders this rock classic with an extra-large sonic image, especially with the Ortofon 2M Black. Brian Eno’s Small Craft on a Milk Sea proves highly involving, with the subtle environmental textures not fading too far into black.

Interestingly, I had zero issues with the Bluetooth receiver in the Kandy, so those who may be using it in an area with a lot of wireless connectivity in the vicinity should consider a test drive to see if this part of the gear is right for you. I can see where this would be a deal-breaker if it doesn’t work properly in your environment.

I can easily proclaim that the Kandy is an incredible bargain for under $2,000, but it’s even a better deal when you take the phonostage into account. Anyone looking for a great system anchor should give this baby a test drive. We are happy to award the Roksan Kandy K2 BT one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2014.

Kandy K2 BT Integrated Amplifier

MSRP: $1,900

www.roksan.co.uk (manufacturer)

www.rutherfordaudio.com (North American distributor)

PERIPHERALS

Speakers	Harbeth Compact 7ES-3    Anthony Gallo A’Diva SE satellites    Thiel CS.24 floorstanders
DAC	Bryston BDA-1    Denon DA-300USB
Sources	Simaudio MiND 180D Streamer    Sony TC-350 reel-to-reel tape deck
Cables	Transparent Wave speaker cables    Darwin    Kimber Kable    Stager    DH Labs interconnects

Features

Personal Fidelity:

The OPPO HA-1  Headphone Amplifier!

By Jeff Dorgay

995:

Lounge Audio’s Mk. III Phonostage

By Jerold O’Brien

Getting Personal:

A Conversation with Pianist Matthew Shipp

By Aaron Cohen

TONE Style

Burmester 3D Mobile Hifi System and the Mercedes S550
By Jeff Dorgay

EGO’s Awesome Leaf Blower

Apple’s iPhone 6

Janis Joplin Stamps

Four Adventurous Picks From the Wino
By Monique Meadows

Music

Current Releases:

Fresh Releases in the Pop/Rock World
By the TONE Staff

Jazz & Blues
By Jim Macnie & Aaron Cohen

Snapshot: Derek Trucks
By Jerome Brunet

Previews

Pass Xs Preamplifier

VPI Classic Two Turntable

MartinLogan Motion 35XT Speakers

Eggleston Works Emma Speakers

Woo Audio WA234 Monoblocks

Reviews

Sonus faber Olympica III
By Rob Johnson

Rega RP10 Turntable and Rega Factory Visit
By Jeff Dorgay

Primary Control Tonearm
By Richard Mak

Alta Audio FRM-2 Speakers
By Jeff Dorgay

One of the signs of a mature audiophile is whether they have a true garage system—not the wife’s old Lloyd’s faux-wood tuner/record player/cassette, but an actual receiver, disc player and speakers. Chances are the electronics are at least 20 years old, but the true pride is often in the speakers. Placement usually either involves a couple of L-brackets or, for the more adventurous, eyehooks and some length of chain. It can be problematic when the speakers are needed for an outdoor event away from the garage/workspace. I would not recommend taking your home speakers to the park gazebo.

Out of this madness comes Blumenstein Audio with what may be the most useful, multi-purpose and durable solution, the aptly named Thrashers. Blumenstein generously calls the finished look “industrial design.” In truth, the speakers look like something straight out of a Jeff Foxworthy special.

The review pair comes with an oriented-strandboard (aka chipboard) cabinet. Two cabinet upgrades are available: a fir plywood front or a complete fir plywood cabinet. Each cabinet measures 17 by 13 by 12 inches. The port and speaker jacks are mounted in the front panel below the 1-inch super tweeter, which is crossed over at about 10 kHz; an 8-inch Pioneer Bofu driver is also mounted in the front panel. With everything on just one side, there is less to worry about when inebriated friends decide to help move them about.

To make the review as real world as possible, I power the Thrashers with my 1980 Harman/Kardon 680i receiver, Magnavox DVD/CD player and 16-gauge speaker wire. I place the speakers on a shelf in my garage 6 feet apart and 5 feet off the floor. Much of the listening time transpires while I work on a home project, with plenty of contemplation and hopped adult beverages, and with the TV on mute during the World Cup. With their 92 dB rating, the Thrashers take precious little effort to play loud and clear, and they are designed to be manhandled, both physically and sonically.

The Thrashers sound like a quality budget set of nearly full-size speakers. Vocalists, whether Tom Petty, Melissa Etheridge, Roger Daltrey, or Rihanna, sound far more lifelike than if they were reproduced by the well-cared-for rack systems of yore. The crunchiness of vocals comes from the limitations of the recordings, not the Thrashers. Robert Plant’s eviscerating vocals during “Stairway to Heaven” are scary realistic. The front port helps deliver ample bass down to 45 Hz, even when placed against a wall.

One afternoon out of boredom, the teen neighbors bring over a mixed disc of hip-hop, rap and popular music. They listen to the first song and turn up the volume a couple of times. During the second track, they begin texting. Next thing I know, a car pulls up with three of their friends. The girls begin dancing to Rihanna, while the boys punch one another and act like bloodhounds. The spontaneous listening ends only when the neighbors are called to go to a ball game. The Thrashers are like the ultra nerds in high school who everybody ignores until test time and then everyone needs to sit near them in order to pass the class.

Upping the game with a Vista Audio i34 integrated tube amplifier makes the overall sound more sultry and sweet, and an SET amplifier would probably take it further, but why bother? Whatever the combination of factors, the Thrashers sound better than any $229 dollar speakers have a right to, hands down. For those few rare audio souls who have come across and rescued a tube amp awaiting the garbage truck, the Thrashers are the mates.

As luck would have it toward the end of the review period, I’m invited to a large picnic at a nearby park. Seizing the opportunity, I toss (well, not quite) the Thrashers and receiver in the back of my pickup and head for the park. Discovering the area doesn’t have any electrical outlets, I plug the Thrashers into my pickup with the speakers sitting on the tailgate, and soon the park is filled with music. Cranking up Frampton Comes Alive! brings out the air-guitar enthusiasts, and several people compliment me on the great sound system.

Sure, you could go to Goodwill and maybe find a pair of speakers that don’t suck for $50—but the odds of that happening are somewhat slim. Or you could get out the power tools, make a few trips to Home Depot and build your own pair. Hats off to you if you’ve got the fortitude for that exercise. I say send the folks at Blumenstein Audio a couple hundred bucks and break out the beer. Carry the Thrashers, slide them, dent them—it’s all about the sound and carefree portability, which these speakers offer in spades. Just a hint: Keep a pair of work gloves handy, as the Thrashers do shed splinters on occasion.

www.blumensteinaudio.com

Publisher’s note: After auditioning the Thrashers with everything from an $88,000 pair of Pass Xs300s to my Sansui 771, I decided that I need them. Per Mr. Marcantonio’s suggestion, they are my new garage speakers. Rock on. —Jeff Dorgay

Here at TONEAudio, we’ve been green from day one, eschewing chopping down trees for a consumer magazine, which has just never felt right to us—even when we lived in Scottsdale, Ariz., instead of tree-loving Portland, Ore. So, other than our massive pair of Pass Labs Xs300 amplifiers, we try to keep our carbon footprint small.

Most of the autos with premium sound systems that we review in these pages are anything but miserly on fuel (though the current Porsche 911 will hit 30 mpg at about 70 mph on the motorway, if you’re gingerly with the gas pedal.) And considering all the great luck we’ve had with battery-powered audio from Red Wine Audio, ASR and a few others, we figured why not try a battery-powered car?

Of course, the Tesla comes to mind, but with a “business lease” on the current Model S breaking the bank at around $1,000 per month and with Tesla’s long-term future remaining potentially murky, we chose a much simpler solution: the Electric Drive from Smart. For those of you who don’t know, Smart is a Mercedes-Benz product and its cars are distributed by Mercedes dealerships.

This is actually a full-blown car review, as the stereo system in the Smart either sucks (the “multimedia system” upgrade basically just adds a pair of door-mounted tweeters and a wimpy subwoofer) or really sucks (the standard system has only a pair of 5.75-inch speakers in the lower part of the door panels). However, considering that the car is battery powered, range is everything, so forgoing a high-powered audio system is actually a good thing—which is too bad, because the Electric Drive is really quiet inside. It would be the perfect place for a killer system. Maybe we can get Vinnie Rossi from Red Wine to do a signature Smart system with a couple of his really low-powered class-D amps. Stay tuned for that.

Charge Now

Having lived with the Electric Drive for a few months now, I’d like to reiterate that range really is everything. A “charge now” indicator comes up on the dashboard every time you shut off the Electric Drive, reminding you that the car can cover a very finite distance on a single charge. Smart claims that it has a range of 59 miles for strictly freeway driving, 76 miles of all city driving, or 68 combined. We seem to reach just about 70 miles in the car no matter what, with a few caveats.

Driving the car spiritedly but not maniacally still keeps the range close to 70 miles, but strong headwinds, constantly mashing the accelerator pedal to the floor (which is totally fun, due to the car’s instant torque) or using the air conditioning heavily will drop the range to about 58 miles. And this leads us to the only complaint with the Electric Drive: This little car that could would really be the little car that can if it could go 100 miles on a charge. Maybe the next generation will.
The Electric Drive comes with a 120-volt charger installed in the rear tailgate. This is great to get you started using the car, but it will take 16 hours to charge it from a 20 percent charge, which severely limits the car’s usefulness. What you want is a 240-volt charger to replace the sexy Smart charger, which will set you back $2,500. Amazon has a Bosch charger (which we featured in last month’s Style section) for $479; it will have you rocking in about four hours. Combine that with visiting your favorite stores—like IKEA, which feature EV chargers on site, some even at no cost—and you can really extend the range of your excursions.

Reality Doesn’t Bite

In the Electric Drive, day-to-day, moderate-distance hops couldn’t be more enjoyable.  The car is comfortable and way roomer than its diminutive size suggests. The passenger cabin feels very similar spatially to that of the Fiat Abarth but without the rear seat. The Electric Drive’s cargo space will hold about eight bags of groceries or a few large bags of dog food and, with the front passenger seat folded flat, it can easily accommodate a substantial pair of speakers or a large piece of furniture from IKEA.

The car’s most underrated specs are its 0-to-60 mph time and its top speed: 11.5 seconds and 74 mph, respectively, according to Smart. Our test vehicle easily sprints to 60 mph in just under 10 seconds and can hit 85 mph on level ground. And unlike your average econobox that wheezes heavily at 70 mph on the open road, the Electric Drive shoots from 70 to maximum speed with ease. Driving it like a rally car in downtown Portland is amazing; this four-wheeled midget will show its rear bumper to just about anything off the stop light to about 35 mph. It’s a ton of fun to holeshot punks in Subaru WRXs with a car that doesn’t even use gas.

Thanks to a short wheelbase and rear-wheel drive, the Electric Drive handles crisply. It is an absolute blast to drive and everyone who has had a chance to take it for a spin comes back with a huge grin on his or her face. Best of all, you can lease one from your Mercedes dealer for about $150 a month. (The car starts at $12,490 after U.S. federal tax credit.) Considering that all my cars average about 22 mpg on premium gas, driving the Electric Drive about 1,300 miles a month means I save about $250 a month on gas. It’s like having a free car!

I don’t know how long Mercedes will keep offering the Smart Electric Drive for this low of a price, but if you do a lot of short-trip driving and can get over the American point of view that you have to have a massive car to feel safe, the Smart Electric Drive just might be one of the most enjoyable automobiles you’ve ever driven.  -Jeff Dorgay

www.smart.com

On one level, Beats has become the new Bose, in that everyone loves to slag Beats. But like the legendary Bose 901 speaker, which we reviewed a few years ago, most of the Beats stuff is pretty damn good and not worthy of the aggression thrown its way. I’ve got a Beats audio system in my Fiat Abarth and it sounds better than any other $900 car-stereo upgrade I’ve heard. Plus, it plays loud enough to overpower the growl of the Abarth’s turbo motor—no small feat.

…which leads us to the little red guy you see here, the Beats Pill, complete with a matching Beats Character. My only real complaint is that it doesn’t bend like a Gumby—now that would be super awesome. But it does sound awesome. Yes, you heard right: The Beats Pill sounds awesome.

It feature aux, USB and Bluetooth inputs—and, as you might expect, it sounds best hardwired via the aux jack, but this compromises mobility and coolness. All things considered, Bluetooth playback is not all bad, especially playing Apple lossless files via my iPhone 5.

Specs Aren’t Everything

Actually, there are no specs for the Beats Pill on the company’s website, but the device does have an internal DAC and amp of some kind. The website does mention that the Pill has three volume settings: loud, turnt up, and (my favorite) call the cops. Well, it doesn’t really play that loud, but the four little speakers that seem about 2 inches in diameter do move some serious air for their size. As cute as the Beats Character is, it elevates the Pill off of the table enough to diminish the surface bass response, and for many, that’s what Beats is all about.

Listening to the latest Daft Punk release demonstrates the table-gain phenomenon quite clearly. If you want a bit more boom in your low end, take the Pill out of the Character and place it midway back on the table. This will give the maximum bass reinforcement.  However, if you’d like a bit more of a balanced response, putting the Pill back in the Character helps achieve this. The vocals on Chrissie Hynde’s “Dark Sunglasses” have a throatier quality when directly on the table sans Character; yet, Johnny Cash’s voice in “Delia” has too much. Male vocal tracks seem to be more natural with the Pill up off the table.

A Joy to Live With

Much like my Smart Electric Drive, the Beats Pill has to be one of the most fun, user-friendly pieces of gear I’ve ever played with. Everyone wants to touch it, experience it and interactive with it. Almost unanimously, the first comment is always, “Wow, it’s so cute,” followed by, “This thing sounds great.” No one bats an eyelash when I mention the $249 price tag (with character; $199 without). Most guys seem to like the black one and, of course, most women liked the pink one with the cute eyebrows. I find myself wishing Beats would make a lime green one…

In addition to no specs, there are almost no instructions either. In keeping with the Apple ethos, precious little instructions are required—just push the Bluetooth button on the back, pair it with your computer or smartphone and you’re rocking. The miniscule LED on the back blinks until you pair the Pill and then goes to solid white once the connection is made. Should you run the Pill out of power (a full charge is claimed to last 7 hours, but we routinely got 8) or shut it off, it will look for the last device it was paired to upon power-up. You can charge it with a wall adaptor or via USB from your laptop.

A Double Dose

As cool as the Pill is, it’s even better in stereo. You can link two of them via the output cable on the rear, and then stream to the duo with one as the left channel and the other as the right channel. I can’t think of a more fun way to boost your laptop or desktop sound—well, maybe if they offered a wireless Beats subwoofer.

Spreading them about a foot from each side of my MacBook Pro makes for the best stereo image without collapse. Listening to the Flaming Lips version of Dark Side of the Moon with this configuration proves incredibly trippy. The width of the Pills flanking my laptop makes it feel like I have a miniature pair of Quad 57s on my desk—these babies create an image like crazy. Somehow, this pair of Beats speakers has me thinking about electronica, so I go old school, listening to a lot of Kraftwerk, Eno and Art of Noise tracks with great results.

Fun, Fun, Fun

At the end of the day, the Beats Pill, whether you order it alone or with a character, is the most fun desk accessory you’ll ever buy. I suggest you get a pair of them.  -Jeff Dorgay

www.beatsbydre.com

Here, you can see a line of Rega RP10 turntables, nearing final assembly at their plant in Essex.  All Rega turntables are 100% built in the UK by a highly skilled workforce.

The Dynaudio factory in Denmark is equally impressive.  They too, make all of their own drivers in house to go with every one of their home, pro and auto speakers.  In addition to hearing the latest in the XEO series of wireless speakers, we were treated to the auto sound partnership between Dynaudio and Volkswagen.  Expect a review on this awesome mobile system soon!

Touring Dali’s 200,000 square foot facility in Denmark, we get a glimpse at a huge run of speaker baffles ready to move down the assembly line to be mated with drivers and cabinets. Dali too, produces everything in house and manufactures all of their own drivers as well. And watch for a review of a very cool desktop product from Dali!  We got to sample the final prototypes while there and it is stunning.  Understated Danish design and top notch sound!

Johnson has been making fine tube power amplifiers for almost 40 years now and the new LP-125sa is more evolutionary than revolutionary; borrowing from their past LP series of amplifiers and their current Art amplifiers.

However, the results are indeed stunning.  With 125 watts per channel, thanks to a quartet of KT120 output tubes, the LP125 does not sound like a vintage tube amplifier.  If the last time you sampled a CJ power amplifier was more than 10 years ago, you don’t know what you are missing.  -Jeff Dorgay

The shock of thunderous bass waves is what the GoldenEar Triton Seven speakers greet me with to start a surprising review experience. Put away your preconceived notions of what slim, budget mini-towers should sound like—these are the first such speakers that don’t prompt me to add a subwoofer, even just to see if any bass response is missing. Unless you’re trying to out-thump the teenage neighbor with the 15-inch woofers in the back of his hatchback, the Sevens provide as much bass as you could ever want from a $1,400 pair of speakers.

Thanks to their dual passive radiators, the Sevens go down to 29 Hz, which is plenty of low-frequency extension for most listeners. From the instrumental thunderclap in James Taylor’s “Gaia” and the cannons in Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture,” to Dire Straits’ “The Man’s Too Strong” and non-ear-bleeding hip-hop or techno dance music, these speakers easily provide the necessary weight to get the job done.

If imaging floats your boat, the Sevens flood the room with that characteristic—so much so that my small man cave (about 9 by 12 feet) isn’t quite large enough to let them breathe. In my 14-by-18-foot living room, the speakers thrive, with instrument placement that reminds me of much more expensive speakers. The individual percussion whacks of the Indigo Girls’ “Three Hits” rotate around the outside of each speaker, with the individual voices placed far left and right, and the magical harmony point placed well in front of the mini-towers.

Aerosmith’s classic “Dream On” is a stress-test song. Steven Tyler’s vocals can push many tweeters in the sub-$1,500 range into screechy crunchiness. Triton’s High-Velocity Folded-Ribbon (HVFR) tweeter keeps the high frequencies clear and dynamics strong. A testament to their driver design, the Sevens manage to keep even dense recordings well sorted.

Tech and Setup

Optimizing the Sevens takes very little effort. In my room, I achieve the best results using an equal triangular measurement, with the speakers toed-in directly to the listening position and placed four feet out from the wall. If you place the speakers too far apart, male vocals will hollow out and the center image will collapse. During setup, I suggest moving them apart a few inches at a time until you’ve gone too far, and then move them a touch closer.

With an 89 dB sensitivity rating at 8 ohms, the Sevens get jumping pretty easily. Though they thrive with the 150 watts per channel of my reference Simaudio Moon i-7 integrated, the 35-wpc Vista Audio i35 tube integrated still delivers plenty of punch though with a slightly softer presentation than the Sim. These speakers are truly amplifier-friendly, as they work equally well with class-D amps.

Standing just under 40 inches tall, 7.25 inches wide, and 10.5 inches deep, the Triton Sevens appear quite ordinary from a distance. Step up close and the first difference becomes apparent: A black grill sock topped with a shiny black plastic cap covers each speaker—no veneer or vinyl anywhere. Why the grill sock? It provides a sleek and uniform look and covers the dual passive 8-inch radiator bass drivers located near the base on either side panel. This old-school usage of the passive radiators comes from Golden Ear president Sandy Gross’s experience as cofounder of Polk Audio. The result is an impressively detailed bass response down to 29 Hz.

The two midrange drivers and the Heil-inspired HVFR tweeter are mounted in a D’Appolito mid-tweeter-mid array. Incorporating the passive radiators requires only a single third-order crossover set at 3 kHz. Other speakers I’ve reviewed with a Heil-type tweeter have a much lower crossover point, but 3 kHz works just fine in the Sevens. The speakers come with a simple but sturdy plastic base, and four spiked or rubber-tipped feet are provided, for those desiring such floor coupling.

Further Listening

Never one to shy away from testing a speaker’s limits, I play a multitude of symphonic recordings and discover that the Sevens will expose poorly recorded performances. Two versions of Gustav Holst’s The Planets aptly demonstrate this characteristic: One recording gives a muddy, undefined soundstage during the thunderous “Jupiter” movement, while the other recording is open and enveloping.

Through the Sevens, powerful vocals appear dead center and about a foot out in front of the speakers. Adele’s “Daydreamer” shows off her conversational singing style between the powerful moments, with the Sevens picking up her soft accent. On “Best for Last,” the second track of her debut album 19, there is a background chorus humming that I’ve never heard from similarly priced speakers—and the Sevens present it with ample clarity. When Adele lets loose with full-thrust vocals, these speakers don’t shrink; they stay faithful to the performance.

Getting timbre right in the listening sweet spot is one step, but getting it right off center is another level altogether. Even with the toe-in, I find reasonable timbrel accuracy in off-angle listening spots. Achieving faithful tonal character of unique vocalists is something I always look for, especially when it comes to James Taylor. Many speakers in the sub-$2,000 range either embellish his nasal sweetness or thin out his voice. The Sevens lay off the sugar just a bit, thus keeping his vocal character intact.

The Seven’s most stunning musical performance during my review comes from live small jazz ensembles. On Bill Frisell’s East/West [Live], all the characteristics mentioned above come together. The soundstage presented is a three-dimensional revelation—an audiophile nirvana experience, where the listener gets totally lost in the music. Every instrument has a place but at the same time comes from everywhere; it’s stereo reproduction at its best. For a $1,400 pair of speakers to so strongly recreate a live performance is a remarkable auditory feat.

Solo piano recordings are notorious for showing speaker flaws. The Sevens perform admirably here, producing a very natural-sounding piano. George Winston’s “Ike La Ladana” does show a bit of midrange congestion, but not as much as a pair of Totem Rainmakers, another pair of speakers in this price category with fine imaging. Other George Winston albums and songs don’t show the same level of congestion, though on a couple of occasions a slight hint can be detected.

For head bangers on a budget or limited in real estate, the Sevens will make you toss your hair with abandon. My ears fly the white flag of surrender numerous times at the 103 dB mark, while the speakers continue to provide a solid soundstage. The instrumental layering on “Stairway to Heaven” doesn’t muddy up the overall sound that the speakers present. Instead, the 5.25-inch midrange drivers create ample acoustical space without limiting the multiple instruments. Good speakers recreate the strength of individual instruments, and that is what the Sevens do consistently.

During my last weekend with the speakers, I hook them up to my 2.0 home theater setup and am not disappointed. Dialogue is clear, sound effects during car chase are well placed, and gunshots make me feel like I’m in the middle of the violence. Most importantly, I never need to reach for the remote to turn the volume up or down, as I neither strain nor feel sonically overwhelmed.

Final Tally

For speakers that do so many things well for just $1,400 a pair, one might ask what was sacrificed? The Triton Sevens don’t have the level of resolution of my reference Harbeth Compact 7ES3 speakers, but the extra 15 Hz on the bottom end earns some serious points, especially when the speakers are used in a home theater setup. The Sevens do the basics well and add in the treats of outstanding imaging and real, prodigious bass.

These are speakers that a family with myriad musical tastes can enjoy. Watch out competition: Sandy Gross has a winner in his lineup.

GoldenEar Technology Triton Seven Speakers

MSRP: $1,400 per pair

www.goldenear.com

The Black Keys’ new record Turn Blue reminds me of some of the finest psychedelic tunes from the 1960s. The opening track “Weight of Love” has a very Clapton/Cream vibe. There’s something about British speakers and classic rock; they just feel right. I have used Harbeth’s Compact 7ES-3 and the Monitor 40.1 speakers as references for some time now and a few of their main characteristics seem worth noting:

First, the midrange is spectacular; second, these speakers do an excellent job retrieving the timing information from whatever music you happen to be listening to; and third, even though the 40.1 doesn’t have prodigious amounts of bass (though, with a 13-inch woofer, it’s more than adequate), it does have a lot of life.

But enough about Harbeth. (More on that later.) While that brand gets much of the British-monitor love these days, there’s another player that’s not quite as popular but that is just as interesting, if not more: Sterling Broadcast began as a company repairing and refurbishing LS3/5A and other BBC-type monitors. It soon expanded to produce its own speakers, getting the license from KEF for new drivers in order to build a version of the LS3/5A, which was very well received.

Another Classic, Updated

The SB-88 accomplishes the same thing as Stirling’s version of the LS3/5A—this time as a revamped LS/AA speaker. A two-way design with an 8-inch woofer, the SB-88 is a British monitor through and through, from the thin-walled cabinets to the basic black grille that’s nearly impossible to remove. Just like the Compact 7, this speaker performs best on a pair of 19-inch-tall speaker stands, to get the right tweeter-to-listener height.

As with the Compact 7, I suggest a very dense stand, like the Sound Anchors I currently use, to best ground the speakers, resulting in a smoother and more extended low-frequency response. In my reference system, the Devialet 110 proves a perfect match for these speakers, offering grip and control that gives them a more modern sound. When paired with a low-powered tube or solid-state amplifier, the SB-88s lean more towards the warm, wooly sound often associated with British monitors. So, choose the amplifier you want to give you the mood you seek with these—they can go either way.

While the SB-88s provide a wide frequency response, they live up to their heritage, providing a lush yet natural midrange that helps most recordings sound better than they have a right to. In the day of hyper-detailed, hyper-real-sounding speakers from YG, Wilson and Magico, the Sterling Broadcast SB-88s are a wonderful experience, almost like your favorite form of comfort food. What they lack in resolving power, they more than make up for in natural presentation. Day in and day out, they remain incredibly user-friendly and non-fatiguing. Should this be what you’ve been searching for, these are the grail. If you’d like to keep the British sound but still want a modern feel, the Harbeth Compact 7 might be more your spot of tea, as staffer Mark Marcantonio reveals on the following pages…

Harbeth Compact 7ES-3 vs. Stirling SB-88

By Mark Marcantonio
Heritage: It’s a key component to how stereo equipment is designed and how it sounds. When it comes to speakers, BBC monitors arguably have the most famous lineage. Simple, thin-walled boxes designed to be placed on stands, these types of speakers add in a sonic signature of low coloration and flat measurements, which are the basics of a successful monitor. Two companies currently epitomize the BBC design: Harbeth and Stirling.

While direct comparisons are not the norm at TONEAudio, when a pair of Stirling SB-88s arrived for review, the obvious comparison to the Harbeth Compact 7ES-3 couldn’t be helped. Possessing a nearly identical cabinet size (20.5 by 10.7 by 12 inches for the Harbeths; 19.5 by 10.7 by 11.75 inches for the Stirlings), along with similar drivers and port layouts, these speakers present instant curiosity. Even grill removal on both models calls for patience and an old credit card. Besides veneers, the biggest differences are the flat front flange, sealed back panel, and dual binding posts of the SB-88, and the slightly rounded bevel, screwed-in rear panel, and single set of binding posts of the Compact 7.

True to their DNA, both models prefer slightly shorter stands for optimum performance—in this case, the 19-inch Sound Anchors. After a weekend playing with positioning, the results for the 9-by-12-foot room were identical, sans a 1/4-inch less toe-in for the SB-88. Two other rooms were used as well: an 11-by-18-foot family room and 14-by-18-foot living room. Powering the competitors is the 150-watts-per-channel Simaudio Moon i-7 integrated amp. Sources include the Rega RP1 with Ortofon Super OM 40 cartridge and Sim Moon LP 5.3 phono pre, and a MacBook running iTunes/Pure Music paired with a Sim Moon 300D DAC.

The SB-88s resolve with a sense of intimacy. Allen Stone’s bluesy vocals in a live recording of “Sleep” ache with emotional clarity. The tightness of the acoustic guitar strokes leaves little doubt as to technique. Yet, for all the purity of high frequencies, hiss and edginess are never spotted.

The midrange of the SB-88 continues the purity of signal, which is not surprising considering the design parameters of the BBC concept. Percussion is equally tight, with obvious definition between each piece of the drum kit. The strong piano-key strokes on Trixie Whitley’s “Breathe You in My Dreams” hold their own space next to her rich and complex vocals.

But the lower registers really give away the SB-88 as a monitor. The rich layering that bass brings to so many songs just never kicks in with the SB-88. The funk classic “Fire” by the Ohio Players, with its foot-tapping bass line, gives only a hint of its existence. The lack of bottom-end has always been mini-monitor territory. No matter which of the three rooms are utilized, I’m left wanting so much more.

Interestingly enough, both speakers sound their best in nearly the same position in all three listening rooms, another nod to their lineage. However, when the music begins to play on the Compact 7s, the difference is palpable. The Harbeths bring more bass grunt and detail. Listening to music with any sort of low end through the Compact 7s is a whole different experience. The bass guitar in “Fire” resolves and thumps, matching the speaker’s 46-Hz low-end rating.

The upper frequencies of the Harbeths offer a wider imaging sweet spot, while the signal coming forth just has more of everything: detail, depth, spaciousness, etc. A sense of soulfulness is present on the Compact 7s that isn’t there with the SB-88s. Through the Harbeths, the xylophone near the beginning of Steely Dan’s “Aja” rings from the deepest regions of the speaker cabinet. And Trixie Whitely’s vocals take on a sense of aged richness, much like a fine wine.

As with the SB-88s, the Compact 7s take advantage of the space in the cabinet and that in between the speakers, but the latter speakers extend all the way to the walls. Acoustic treatments do come into play, though I find no need to reset the position of the GIK panels. The music comes to the listener rather than he or she needing to step into the musical space. There’s no need to check with head/ear position to confirm the sweet spot with the Harbeths—just sit back and enjoy the experience.

The Compact 7s reproduce two of the hardest instruments for speakers—the piano and the human voice—with a naturalness and clarity that stuns. The piano notes roll over the music like waves. Jan Gunnar Hoff’s piano on a vinyl version of his album Living cascades throughout the room. Tonal structure and timbre are beautifully accurate and as non-fatiguing as one can rightfully expect at this price point.

Listening to pre-Auto-Tune vocal performances demonstrates the additional resolution that the Compact 7s have over the Stirlings. From Ella Fitzgerald to a young Melissa Etheridge and from Dean Martin to Kris Kristofferson, the Compact 7s deliver a complete vocal performance, including the imperfections that make each singer’s voice an honest and terrific treat.

The Final Tally

While the Stirling SB-88 is a nice speaker, with all the good intentions of the BBC monitor tradition, it cannot match the broad, rich sonic experience that the Harbeth Compact 7ES-3 provides. Alan Shaw (Harbeth owner and speaker designer), the BBC monitor crown belongs to you.

Stirling Broadcast SB-88

$3,450 – $3,850, depending on finish

www.stirlingbroadcast.net

Harbeth Compact C7ES-3

$3,690 – $3,990, depending on finish

www.harbeth.co.uk