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BERGMANN ODIN
TANGENTIAL-TRACKING
TONEARM
IN REVIEW k P.19
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WILSON’S
AWESOME
ALEXIA 2
LOUDSPEAKER k JULY
2018
THERE ARE AS MANY OPINIONS
AS THERE ARE EXPERTS
AS WE BY JIM AUSTIN
p.79
p.69
p.99
p.91
p.101
p.105
p.59
p.39
p.122 p.19
p.115
The world is changing of us who want to buy our digital music surrounding MQA, this technology
Editor: encoded in open formats, so that we can sounds like something that rights holders
I saw Jason Victor Serinus’s review of the play it with the hardware and software of love, but where there is no meaning-
LG V30 smartphone in May (p.105). I our choice, risk losing that option if we ful innovation to motivate the average
think the phone is a remarkable achieve- do not speak up. —Chris Hermansen consumer to create demand. I gather that
ment. Some credit must go to the China E-mail address withheld it’s basically just another form of DRM in
market’s current interest in high-per- the guise of a compressed music format
formance audio in phones. I have been MQA & record labels that’s not even needed.
told that the China market’s appetite Editor: Around the turn of the century, MP3
for premium audio has driven a lot of I just read Jon Iverson’s editorial on was a format that took the audio world
unexpected decisions around premium MQA (“MQA: Benefits & Costs,” April by storm because it solved what was a
2018, p.3), and I’ll admit that I’m a hard basic problem at the time: digital music
and harsh critic of the major rags who distribution over slow networks and stor-
You can use the LG shill for hi-fi companies who make age on small media. Back then, band-
phone to drive USB changes just to reinvent the wheel. Jon width was still in the dial-up realm for
nailed it with MQA, as have many on the many, and a 10MB iPod was a big deal.
audio devices. Internet, but coming from someone like Today, bandwidth and storage aren’t an
him, it’s a big deal. issue, even for hi-rez music files. So what,
audio. Even Qualcomm has developed All I see are more reasons for the exactly, is the problem MQA is solv-
a high-end DAC for their Snapdragon recording industry to ruin itself again. I’ve ing? The younger generation is perfectly
platform. Synaptics, a company that has always viewed the major A-class labels, content with their compressed stream-
focused on touchpads for laptops, has owned by conglomerates, as arrogant ing audio over their Bluetooth speakers.
introduced new chips for USB audio and and worried less about quality than Is MQA Ltd. hoping there’s a market
headphones. It seems that market condi- about numbers. Yes, artists can no longer for MQA among audiophiles, who will
tions will bring the public into higher- straddle the line with the majors, like begrudgingly buy the format if they can’t
performance audio whether they want it Cobain or Lydon or Waters, and now are get the same music in hi-rez DSD or
or not (except Apple . . . ). forced to sell out—which isn’t a bad thing PCM?
You can also use the LG phone to if you’re over 30. But if MQA gives the I predict that MQA will go the way of
drive USB audio devices. I have found an labels everything, it’s a loss to buyers. the DivX video-disc players that Circuit
app that works well on the LG platform.1 —Mike Chaney City tried to push on the public—rights
I have used it with several premium zedzdedr@gmail.com holders loved the idea, but the public
DACs. This all changes a lot of the base- wasn’t interested in disposable video discs.
line for high-quality audio. The more I look at the pluses and minuses of I could be wrong, but I suspect that, in
—Demian Martin MQA, the more I believe that more benefits ac- the long run, like DivX discs or HDCD
San Leandro, CA crue to the record labels (and to MQA) than to before it, MQA will be a technological
demianm_1@yahoo.com audiophiles, listeners, and music lovers. Bottom footnote that consumers didn’t care about
line: Bob Stuart has finally succeeded in coming and audiophiles loved to hate.
MQA shame? up with a plausible Dolby-type licensing model —Andrew Edmonds
Editor: for music, which I believe has been his real goal Seattle, WA
In August 2016, I sent you a letter about all along. MQA’s “deblurring” sweetening was hifiandrew@yahoo.com
MQA, the salient points in which are tacked on for listeners to help the compression
only now (18 months later) finally being license go down more easily. —Jon Iverson Dear MQA . . .
mentioned in Stereophile. Really?! You Editor:
should be ashamed. —Rob Bertrando MQAnomaly I want you . . .
robbertrando@gmail.com Editor: I need you . . .
With all the discussion and controversy But there ain’t no way I’m ever gonna
MQA & DRM love you.
Editor: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR should be sent as Now don’t be sad . . .
I’d like to thank Jim Austin for his faxes or e-mails only. Fax: (212) 915-4167. ’Cause two out of three ain’t bad.
E-mail: STletters@stereophile.com.
clear and fair synopsis of my point of Please note: We are unable to answer —Greg Roberts
view about proprietary music-encoding requests for information about specific Volti Audio
systems, be they MQA or any other products or systems. If you have
(“MQA, DRM, and Other Four-Letter problems with your subscription, call Audio without numbers
Words,” May 2018, p.49). For the record, (800) 666-3746, or e-mail Stereophile@ Editor:
emailcustomerservice.com, or write to
what worries me is not that Jim and oth- I was very impressed by Herb Reichert’s
Stereophile, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast,
ers are okay with buying MQA-encoded FL 32142-0235. article “Audio Without Numbers,” on
music. Rather, I’m concerned that those your sister site AudioStream,2 and was
has now become the prime US show Atkinson’s keynote speech at www.ste- that “the more dealers, the better.”
where US-based manufacturers, deal- reophile.com/category/axpona-2018. Before each annual show, Acoustica
ers, and distributors can wheel and publishes the Acoustica Newsletter, an
deal. Because the Renaissance Schaum- UK: CHESTER A5-size (digest-sized) newsletter/
burg has plenty of room for expansion, Paul Messenger guide, and mails it or inserts several
and 70% of this year’s demo rooms are Geoff Coleman owns and runs Acous- thousand copies around the local
already rebooked, expect an even big- tica, a hi-fi shop in the lovely, relatively area—something Coleman regards as a
ger AXPONA in 2019. affluent medieval city of Chester, a crucial marketing tool. While the 2018
Yes, Munich High End is consider- little to the south of Liverpool and edition stresses the importance of
ably larger, with attendance commen- Manchester, in the Northwest of streaming as the future of hi-fi, demon-
surate with its size, and also attracts England. I first met him at the 2018 strating streaming under hotel
more industry people from Europe Sound & Vision: The Bristol Show conditions is difficult, especially if
and Asia. (Other overseas shows, (see my report in June, pp.13–16), and several people are trying to access the
including those in Hong Kong and Po- he persuaded me to travel all the way hotel’s WiFi at the same time. I gather
land, are also larger than AXPONA.) up to the opposite corner of England a couple of brave brands managed to
Munch High End also attracts a more from my Kent base to attend the 2018 do this successfully at Acoustica HiFi
diverse crowd, with far more women. Acoustica HiFi Show (April 14–15), 2018, but most avoided streaming by
But not only is the Munich show un- which Coleman has held each April using closed-loop servers via NAS
able to expand further in its current since 2013. drives, etc.
venue, but it is also forced to relegate Emphasizing the classic virtues of Mention of streaming inevitably
a large number of exhibits to booths demonstration, service, and installation, leads to Naim Audio’s new ND555,
in sprawling open-air halls, where and located in one of the better-off which will probably represent the state
noise makes honest sonic evaluation areas of England, Acoustica opened for of the streaming art when at last it
near impossible. Munich exhibitors business in 1995. Coleman already had goes into production. But in Chester
fortunate enough to snare rooms often a relationship with Naim Audio as a as in Bristol, it was seen but not heard;
face acoustic nightmares, with sloped customer, and built his business largely Naim seems to be saving its launch for
ceilings and glass rear walls presenting by demonstrating the “ladder of im- May and High End, in Munich.
major sonic challenges. provements” that Naim makes available The list of exhibitors might have
You can read our full coverage of the via power-supply upgrades. Coleman been tiny compared to Sound &
2018 AXPONA, including videos with is unhappy that specialist hi-fi shops Vision’s, but included several inter-
binaural sound and a video of John continue to close, and feels strongly esting and relatively new electronics
INDUSTRY UPDATE
brands, such as Auralic, Hegel, and and the first stand-mount version of developed for the US military, is still
Innuos. Nonetheless, the room I their isobaric-bass model, the Titan— more stable than regular PTFE, and
thought sounded best featured one of Kudos Audio is is selling so many as a result its sound quality tends to be
the oldest brands around. ATC had units that founder Derek Gilligan is consistently superior.
brought along a pair of their SCM-100 looking for more factory space to cope Despite free admission, Acoustica
powered loudspeakers, which sounded with the 100% increase in demand for HiFi 2018 wasn’t particularly busy—a
quite delicious, even when reproduc- their speakers. dramatic contrast with Sound & Vision
ing solo-piano music. The cable manufacturer The Chord and High End. This gave enthusiasts
However, many of the other rooms Company (not to be confused with plenty of opportunity to chat at length
were also making very good sounds, Chord Electronics) was promoting its with members of the trade. Although
often with small, stand-mounted latest wares. PTFE might be a good few company directors bothered to
speakers. Dynaudio was using their insulator, but its properties tend to attend, the pleasant, unhurried atmo-
surprisingly muscular Special Forty vary, especially at room temperature, sphere of this small regional show in
model to celebrate the fact that they’ve so Chord is using their own propri- its exceedingly attractive venue—the
been in business 40 years. While it’s etary variant of PTFE, Taylon, in their Doubletree by Hilton, a spa hotel with
something of a relief that new owners latest cables, the ChordMusic. One a very helpful staff—meant that all
Samsung are leaving Harman Inter- step above their Sarum T models, those required to attend the event had
national alone, Harman seems to the ChordMusics are undoubtedly been looking forward to it, and were
be using its its takeover of Arcam to rather costly. The Taylon insulation, rebooking for 2019.
persuade retailers to carry some of the
other brands, Revel and Mark Levin- [Continued from page 13] Details at www.chestergroup.org/
son, in its large portfolio. That said, I 4900 S. Syracuse Street, Denver 80237. newyorkaudioshow/2017.
heard some lovely sounds from a pair More info at www.audiofest.net/faqs.
of Revel’s very small Performa M216 washington, dc/maryland
speakers driven by some serious Mark new york ] Friday–Sunday, November 2–4: The
Levinson electronics—so lovely that ] Friday–Sunday, November 9–11: The Capital Audiofest will be back at the
when the amplification was switched New York Audio Show will be held at Hilton Hotel at Twinbrook Metro (1750
to much-less-costly Arcam electronics, the Park Lane Hotel (W. 59th Street, Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852).
at one-twelfth the price, the difference between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, For more information, visit www.
in sound was very obvious. And with opposite Central Park, Manhattan). capitalaudiofest.com.
the new Titan 505—the fourth model
INDUSTRY UPDATE
CORNER
Bergmann Audio’s
THIS ISSUE :
Galder turntable & Odin
tangential-tracking tonearm.
Deliberately Danish
ergmann Audio launched its first turntable—the Sindre, which featured the Galder costs $26,800; another
and the rightward, smaller half the box measuring 8.9" wide by 9.3" high servo-motors, which surely must have
motor and electronic speed controller. by 18.3" deep and weighing 34.4 lb. It slightly overshot the intended displace-
The two halves look entirely separate electrically connects to the back of the ment. Sometimes, the Goldmund arm
but are actually joined by a single, thin turntable via a multi-pin umbilical, and would lift mid-record. Yet, at the time,
internal base, also of die-cast alumi- pneumatically via two hoses, one for this was considered the state of the
num. The larger half is bolted to this the vacuum holddown, the other for art—and there’s no denying the good
base, while the smaller half rests on it, the platter and tonearm air bearings. sound it produced. And let’s not forget
its underside secured with a circular the more recent pivoted tangential
cutout that fits into a hole machined Bergmann Odin tangential-tracking trackers from, among others, Klaudio,
in the base, and by its overhanging tonearm Reed, Schröder, and Thales.
outer and front edges, both of which Tracking a record tangentially, the way When the bearing is stationary
firmly secure it while hiding the main its original lacquer was cut, seems a no- and the long rail moves (Eminent
plinth. The internal base itself rests on brainer—until you try making it work. Technology, Maplenoll, Walker), you
three big, height-adjustable, circular The lacquer-cutting system is a sledge- have a large horizontal mass sliding
aluminum feet. The overall result is a hammer; in comparison, the playback tangentially, and a far smaller mass
turntable with clean, attractive lines. system is more like a delicate feather. moving vertically. This produces dif-
The air-bearing platter, topped by Over the decades, many approaches ferent horizontal and vertical resonant
a 3mm-thick acrylic mat, rotates on a to tangential tracking have been tried, frequencies, not to mention a displace-
steel spindle with a bearing of low-fric- including a variety of air-bearing ment of mass that plays havoc with
tion polymer. It’s driven by a tachom- systems (from Dennesen, Airtan- spring-suspended turntables.
eter-controlled motor with a precision gent, Eminent Technology, Kuzma, I remember reading about the origi-
feedback-control system topped with a Maplenoll, Rockport, Versa Dynamics, nal Eminent Technology ET-1 arm in
crowned pulley of polyoxymethylene Walker), a tiny-wheeled trolley riding the mid-’80s.2 To my mind, it promised
(POM) or similar plastic. The motor is on quartz rods (Souther, Clearaudio), friction-free simplicity of tangential
a DC type. Recessed buttons atop the and a pantograph-like linkage (Gar- tracking—the perfect solution!—and I
deck’s smaller, motor half select 331⁄3 rard). In the 1970s and ’80s, Goldmund immediately bought one. I mounted it
or 45rpm; two smaller buttons can be made one that relied on an LED to on a spring-suspended Oracle Delphi
used to increase or decrease the pitch. detect and correct deviations from II turntable and quickly learned how
The Galder’s specified accuracy of tangency. In other words, the tone- the ET-1’s large horizontal mass could
speed is ±0.003%. arm would have to first lose tangency, de-level the ’table and thus the arm—
The outboard air supply is a black then be corrected via the LED and the worst condition for a frictionless
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Among the other records I used was arranged in clusters. My reference rig and harmonic richness. There’s plenty
pianist Robert Silverman’s positively delivered greater delineation of those here to like, and nothing to dislike.
mesmerizing Chopin’s Last Waltz, re- clusters, but the Bergmanns’ reproduc-
corded in DSD256 by Ray Kimber (LP, tion of them was equally entertaining Conclusion
IsoMike 5606). Performance and sound and engagingly slammin’. In terms of quality of sound and,
are exquisite. Via the far more expensive Abruptly switching gears, I played especially, engineering and build,
rig, Silverman’s attacks were somewhat the Electric Recording Company’s reis- Bergmann Audio’s Odin tonearm
more precise, the piano’s sustain better sue of Bruckner’s Symphony 8 on two and Galder turntable perform way
connected to the instrument and more separate LPs, with Carl Schuricht con- above their total price of $35,700.
easily delineated from the generous ducting the Vienna Philharmonic (2 They sound and perform as well as
room sound. This put the image of the LPs, EMI ASD 602 and 603/ERC 033 their appearance suggests. Q
piano in greater relief and focus. and 034), originally issued in 1964. I Michael Fremer (fremer@analogplan-
Through the Bergmann rig, the don’t know what ERC charged for this et.com) is the editor of AnalogPlanet.com,
piano sounded slightly softer and edition, which was limited to 99 copies a Stereophile website devoted to all things
somewhat less focused, its soundboard and immediately sold out. It probably analogical.
blending in somewhat with the room was costly, but it must have been a
reverb. Don’t get me wrong—without bargain compared to what originals are
something far more expensive to com- still selling for. (Last February, a copy CONTACTS
pare it to, the Bergmann’s overall per- went for more than $5000.) Probably
formance provided me with months of some of these records’ high value can Bergmann Audio
pleasure with every musical genre. be accounted for by this recording’s Sjaellandsvej 27A
It had been years since I’d played sensationally natural instrumental 9500 Hobro
the UK version of The Clash (LP, CBS textures and harmonics, and its overall Denmark
82000), and my memories of its sound transparency and spaciousness. Web: www.bergmannaudio.com
were pretty meek compared to what The music itself is curious; to me, it North American distributor:
I heard through the Bergmann and sounds like musical tapas—a collection Alma Music and Audio
Continuum. Yes, the drums, particular- of short, sonically tasty appetizers com- 7847 Convoy Ct. Suite 101
ly the cymbals, were nicely recorded, pletely unconnected to each other. But San Diego, CA 92111
but I hadn’t realized how deep the it makes for a great demo record, and Tel: (858) 281-0332
stage was, or how well focused in three it showed off all of the Odin-Galder’s Web: www.almaaudio.com
dimensions were the voices, often qualities of ear-pleasing texture, tonality,
“[The SC-1] will be an extremely useful “The device removes clicks and pops, with no
product for many of us.” degradation or artifacts that I could hear…”
—Michael Fremer, Stereophile/Analog Planet —Robert Harley, The Absolute Sound
Cleaning AC power
THIS ISSUE :
and a new idler wheel for the
Garrard 301 turntable.
Clean Power
n the rural home in Cherry Valley, NY that my family and I inhabited from of one or more AC-powered devices
I 2003 to 2017, we had dirty water but clean electricity. Evidence of the latter
was seen in the results of tests performed by a technician from the local util-
ity, National Grid—I told him I intended to do commercial sound recording
on site, which was close enough to the truth that I considered my sin venal rather
than mortal—and heard in the sound of my playback system, which rejected as su-
from a generator or public utility, typi-
cally in an effort to protect the former
from possible ground faults in the lat-
ter—or, where such dangers exist, from
DC. And though it’s a matter of debate
perfluous or worse all of the AC-conditioning products I tried there. As for that, among engineers, it’s reasonable to
keep in mind that the purification of power, unlike the education of human be- expect an isolation transformer to offer
ings, can be taken only so far before additional benefits cease to accrue—not that a degree of protection from some types
that has stifled the commercial efforts of those power conditioner manufacturers of power surges caused by lightning,
who promised perfect products yesterday and even perfecter ones today. which is predominantly DC.
But with the addi-
Now I live in New York’s capital, tion of electrostatic
Albany, a city of 100,000 surrounded screening, and by can-
by suburbs and comparably sized cities nily optimizing the
that, taken together, bring the region’s density and mass of the
population to 1.17 million. Here the transformer’s magnetic
water comes from a reservoir, and is core to favor certain
pre-oxidized, disinfected, and filtered frequency ranges—all
before it gets to my house. For the other things being
first time in 15 years, shirts and socks equal, high frequencies
and towels that were white when will exert on a large
purchased remain so after multiple core less magnetizing
washings. I don’t ever want to go back current than lower
to well water. frequencies—an isola-
But my power here is not so clean— tion transformer can be
something that became apparent when configured more or less
I noticed that my system sounds better exclusively as a blocker
at some times of day than at others. of AC noise. Fans of
(Obviously, if my system merely David Cronenberg’s re-
sounded better at some times of year make of The Fly will see
than at others, the distinctions would a parallel to protagonist
be astrological in origin.) So I set about Seth Brundle’s efforts,
pre-oxidizing, disinfecting, and filtering Shindo’s sole early in the film, to filter out impurities
my household AC. by means of teleportation.
power-conditioning Shindo Laboratory’s Mr. T is an
Isolationism product is an isolation isolation transformer of the noise-
I began with the Shindo Laboratory reducing sort, as opposed to the sort
Mr. T ($2200)—a logical enough
transformer. designed solely for safety; indeed,
choice, given that my preamplifier and unlike transformers built primarily
amplifier are also from Shindo. Like volts in will result in the same number for galvanic isolation, the ground tab
Naim Audio’s Armageddon turntable out. Of course that never quite on the Mr. T’s AC inlet is wired to
power supply before it, Shindo’s sole happens, owing to various insertion the ground tabs of its six AC outlets.
power-conditioning product is an losses; in particular, transformer (Then again, that’s irrelevant in light of
isolation transformer, a category of windings can always be counted on to the fact that the power cords supplied
product common in industrial settings try to vibrate, thus turning at least a with all Shindo products, including the
and product-testing facilities. The small portion of the electrical input Mr. T, have plugs with just two prongs:
simplest and arguably most common into heat and/or mechanical noise. one for live, one for neutral, nothing
sort of isolation transformer is one in AC is sent from the primary to the for ground.)
which incoming AC current is applied secondary coil by means of electro- Inside the Mr. T is a massive
to a primary coil, with a secondary coil magnetic induction—the operating Haruna Denki transformer. Its width
attached to one or more AC outlets; principle of any sort of transformer. and height barely fit inside Shindo’s
the turns ratio between the two coils is The object for such a transformer steel enclosure, which measures 6.25"
1 to 1, thus ensuring that x number of would be complete electrical isolation wide by 6" high. The box’s 9" depth
leaves just enough room for the front system plugged into my AVOptions LP, Decca LK 4605)—and, because
panel’s power switch and LED power power strip. it was easy to do, I began once again
indicator; the rear panel’s chunky The audible results of doing so were by plugging the Garrard directly into
Meikosha AC outlets, plus nondescript pronounced, and all in the Mr. T’s my power strip. Again, the music
IEC socket and fuse holder; and the favor. The first record I tried was the sounded great—especially the young
necessary hookup wiring. The case is Jacques Loussier Trio’s Play Bach Vol.4 group’s take on Slim Harpo’s “I’m a
beautifully finished, inside and out, (mono LP, London LL 3365): I gave it King Bee,” propelled by Brian Jones’s
in Shindo’s trademark shade of green, a quick listen without the Shindo sup- steady acoustic rhythm guitar and Bill
and it’s solidly built—its removable top, ply, and noted that Pierre Michelot’s Wyman’s deft bass line. The sound
damped with a rubber-like pad, is held double-bass lines were richly colored was clear and a little crisp, and the
in place with 10 machine screws, the but appropriately taut, and the music music was lots of fun.
holes for which line up perfectly with had a fine sense of swing. Already, I Yet with the Mr. T back in play, it
those on the main enclosure. was impressed. was Jones’s and Wyman’s instruments
But when I put the Mr. T between that benefited most: the guitar was
T for Tidy my household AC and my Garrard even steadier and more propulsive, and
The Mr. T arrived from Shindo’s 301, tempos seemed quicker—although the electric bass was fuller and, as my
Tokyo workshop just days before I pitches were unchanged—and lines of listening notes say, pound-ier. And in
left for this year’s Montreal Audio notes had more momentum; for lack the Stones’ no-less-fine performance
Fest—it would be days before I could of a better word, the music became of Rufus Thomas’s wonderfully smutty
try it in my system. That was just as more sprightly. Drummer Christian “Walking the Dog”—something I
well: At the show, I spoke with Luna Garros’s brushed snare now had more didn’t quite appreciate at age 10, when
Cables’ Danny Labrecque, who also snap, and Michelot’s bass sounded I first bought the US version of this
sells Shindo products through his retail deeper, and even more taut. More to album—the whistling near the end of
operation, Phonographe. Labrecque the point: With my Garrard plugged each chorus was, I swear, clearer and
described being especially impressed into the Mr. T, the music was dis- stronger.
by the Mr. T’s positive effects on the tinctly more engaging. I was now very Anxious to prolong my mono-
sounds of turntables, so I decided to impressed. maniacal buzz, I reached for an early
start my listening tests by using the As long as my EMT OFD 15 mono LP version of soprano Bidú Sayão’s
Shindo supply on just my Garrard 301 pickup head was in the system, I tried 1945 recording of Villa-Lobos’s Ba-
turntable (it has an AC motor) and, for my very clean copy of the Rolling chianas Brasileiras 5, with the composer
the time being, leaving the rest of my Stones’ eponymous UK debut (mono conducting an ensemble of eight cellos
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and one double bass (LP, Co- stronger and less “mushy”
lumbia Masterworks ML 5231). sounding.
With the Mr. T, her voice was With the mono pickup still
more human and compelling in place, I played the Electric
than without. Again, tem- Recording Company’s reissue
pos seemed steadier, and the of the Tommy Flanagan Trio’s
plucked notes of the cellos had Overseas (LP, Prestige/ERC
greater apparent force. It was 7134). Every instrument—
here that the word Wow made drums, bass, and, of course, Fla-
the first of many appearances in nagan’s piano—sounded clearer
my notes. and, again, less mushy, and
My Shindo Monbrison seemed more musically strong
preamplifier and Shindo and purposeful. For example,
Haut-Brion power amp were right after the second middle
beginning to feel left out, so I eight in “Chelsea Bridge,” bass-
powered down the system and ist Wilbur Little plays a little
plugged them into two of the descending figure that leads
Mr. T’s five remaining AC back to the verse. It’s a nothing-
outlets. I gave the amp the fancy turnaround—except that,
outlet closest to the Mr. T’s AC with the Mr. T supplying the
input socket, with the preamp in the When I reinserted the whole system, I could bet-
next socket down and the turntable in ter hear the determination, the
the one after that. I don’t know if that Mr. T and listened again, temporal leaning forward, in
served any practical purpose, but it cost the grain was gone. his playing. And in a galliard
nothing to do so, and required only a composed for lute by John
few seconds more than to do it just with the turntable, there was no Dowland, from guitarist Julian Bream’s
haphazardly. With the system switched question that my system’s musicality The Golden Age of English Lute Music
back on and fully warmed up, I had taken another step forward: (mono LP, RCA Victor Soria Series
returned to that Stones LP. Although it Wyman’s bass lines were even LD-2560), the Shindo Mr. T allowed
wasn’t as big a gain as when I went stronger, and in “Route 66,” the words the melodies to unfold with a greater
from having no Mr. T at all to using it were more intelligible, the handclaps sense of ease, yet with no less rhythmic
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precision or momentum. Orchestra (LP, Decca SXL-6081)1 — players’ bowing arms—but there was
No less important: In those first which is, incidentally, the rare Decca some grain in the sound of Crespin’s
days with the Mr. T, the sound of my LP whose US edition (LP, London voice, especially in the louder bits.
system was consistently fine—until the OS 25821) sounds slightly better— When I reinserted the Mr. T and
day I removed it to have it photo- prompting me to plug everything in listened again, the grain was gone,
graphed. While the Mr. T was missing my system back into my power strip, and so was my resistance to change:
from my system, Jason Victor Serinus so I could hear that record right away. I decided to buy my review sample.
reviewed Régine Crespin’s 1963 It sounded amazing—huge and color- No more muddy water for me or my
recording of Ravel’s orchestral song ful, with enough clear, open space playback system.
cycle Shéhérazade, with Ernest Anser- around the instruments that I could all 1 See www.stereophile.com/content/
met conducting the Swiss Romande but hear the movements of the string régine-crespin-sings-berlioz-and-ravel-live.
IDLE HANDS
It was just 19 months ago,
in the December 2016
Stereophile, that I wrote in For some crazy
this space about refurbishing reason, the
the motor of my Garrard recording’s
301 turntable, which was
manufactured in 1957.2 excessive
Among the individual chores artificial
I performed were the servic-
ing of the upper and lower reverb was less
motor-axle bearings, which distracting.
I replaced with brand-new
bronze bearings from an Italian firm lente idler is 4.6mm thick—precisely wobble or play. I measured the axles of
called AudioSilente. I also replaced the the same as in the original idler. But my original idler and the AudioSilente
felt washers that surround those bear- the diameters of the AudioSilente and replacement and found them almost
ings: these are soaked in oil just prior Garrard axles may also differ slightly; identical: 2.43mm for the old, 2.44mm
to assembling the motor, to keep the according to Lucchetti, at some point for the new. With the platter removed,
bearings supplied with lubricant. during the period of the 301’s produc- the motor switched on, and the origi-
Not long after, AudioSilente’s tion Garrard increased the axle diam- nal idler engaged against the motor
Simone Lucchetti told me that his eter by 0.09mm. To accommodate pulley, I could hear a gentle whirring
firm was developing other aftermarket that change, as well as the reasonable sound, probably originating from the
parts for classic vintage turntables, and assumption that the bores of the origi- axle bushings; with the AudioSilente, I
promised to stay in touch—a promise nal bushings would have widened with heard a sound that was similar in char-
he kept a couple of weeks ago, when wear over time, AudioSilente splits acter but somewhat less audible.
he e-mailed to announce AudioSi- the difference and makes their axles More telling than my wheel-listen-
lente’s replacement idler wheel for 0.045mm larger than the originals— ing comparisons were my music-lis-
the Garrard 301 ($100 plus shipping). and includes with every new idler a tening comparisons. I used both idlers
Reportedly the result of a yearlong new pair of bushings, sized to fit their to play Jascha Horenstein and the
development effort that included a wheel. Their advice to buyers: Fit the 2 See www.stereophile.com/content/
long study of the correct density of new idler first to the original lower istening-168-ortofon-spu-1s-phono-cartridge.
rubber required for the application, the bushing, noting whether the idler spins
AudioSilente idler is a wheel, 60mm in freely but without wobble; if all is well,
diameter and precision-machined from then fit the original bushing over the CONTACTS
aluminum alloy, to which is bonded upper axle—and if that bushing is too
Shindo Laboratory
a rubber ring of square cross section— tight or shows excessive slop, replace
20-9, Hongo 2 Chome
this in contrast to the original Garrard only that one with the new AudioSi-
Bunkyo-ku
idler, whose smaller metal hub is more lente bushing (a tool is included to ease
Tokyo 113-0033
or less encased within a larger rubber that procedure). Only in extreme cir-
Japan
wheel. A slender steel rod is press- cumstances should the original lower
Web: www.shindo-laboratory.co.jp
fitted through the center of the idler to bushing be replaced.
form the upper and lower axles, with That said, when I set about replacing US distributor: Tone Imports
rounded tips and polished surfaces. my original Garrard idler with the Web: www.toneimports.com
Those axles are intended to fit upper review sample of the AudioSilente AudioSilente
and lower bronze bushings in the 301’s idler, the wheel’s lower axle seemed via Felice Grossi Gondi 29
two-part idler carrier; the bushings are to perfectly fit my turntable’s lower 00162 Rome
replaceable, the upper more easily than bushing—and when I lowered in place Italy
the lower—although realigning them, the 301’s upper bushing, I was relieved Tel: (39) 3289610968, 0686323102
if and when such a thing is necessary, is to see that it, too, fit well. The new Fax: (39) 0686323102
nearly impossible in the field. idler spun with ease—the original had Web: www.audiosilente.com
The contact area of the AudioSi- spun just a shade more freely—with no
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THE ROUND
THIS ISSUE :
Aria Piccolo + music server and
multichannel classical recordings.
Aria’s operating system. For instance, I But the Piccolo turned out to be much no big deal. As my mother said, “First,
could send files from the Piccolo + via better than that. First, I canceled the finish your homework; then you can go
the stereo analog outputs of the built- comprehensive library process and out and play.”
in DAC to all the audio players on my instead downloaded only about 2TB What about HDMI? I toted the
network, or via USB 2.0 if no special of music to the Aria’s HDD. Listening Aria Piccolo + up to our place in
driver was required. (The Piccolo + to those, I found that the Piccolo + Connecticut, intending to plug it
is compatible with Apple AirPlay and played everything, including DXD and into one of the HDMI inputs on
DLNA.) But to use my exaSound e38 DSD256 in multichannel, without a my Marantz AV8802a preamplifier-
DAC, I had to e-mail DigiBit, who burble or hesitation or interruption. processor, but there was another
then magically downloaded and in- The sound from the e38 and the rest wrinkle: HDMI output is not enabled
stalled the driver in the Aria overnight. of my Manhattan system was as clean, on the Piccolo + by default, but
Now, I prefer a more hands-on ap- smooth, and satisfying as ever. From requires an e-mail request to DigiBit
proach, but I have to admit that, with this, I concluded that the frequent to activate it via the Internet.
DigiBit’s way of doing things, there’s interruptions I’d heard earlier were the Playing files on the Piccolo + and
no way the user can screw things up. result of playing hi-rez multichannel sending them via HDMI to the Ma-
After testing the Aria’s communica- files while the Piccolo + was busy rantz was completely successful, with
tion and playback via the exaSound transferring my entire library over the two small limitations and one conve-
e38 with the provided sample files, I network. nient advantage. The first limitation is
directed the Piccolo + to access my I then asked the Piccolo + to add a common one: HDMI output from
NAS, then told it to add to its library another 2TB of files to its library, but the Aria’s Intel motherboard doesn’t
all of the more than 20TB worth of without downloading them to the support DSD, but converts DSD to
music files stored there. This was not Piccolo’s internal HD. Only after that hi-rez PCM on the fly. The second
accomplished instantaneously. While process was completed did I try to play limitation is the Marantz’s inability
the Piccolo + was busy doing all that, I any of them over my LAN, and again, to accept any input resolution higher
played some of the files. All two-chan- it was everything I’d hoped for. The than 24/192. If your pre-pro can
nel formats played well, as did logical conclusion: The Piccolo + could handle more, the Piccolo + will do it,
multichannel 24-bit/96kHz PCM and play every music format I had on hand, as I proved by using it in my Manhat-
DSD64 files, but to my great disap- either from internal or network stor- tan system. The advantage: You can
pointment, all higher resolutions age. That it couldn’t play the highest- apply to the feed from the Piccolo +
played only with frequent interrup- density files while simultaneously adding all of your AVR’s audio-processing
tions. “Here we go again,” I muttered. files to its library over a network was facilities, including room EQ, bass
MUSIC IN THE ROUND
SCHUBERT
PIANO TRIO 2, NOTTURNO FOR
PIANO & STRINGS
Trio Alba
Audiomax 9032013 (SACD/CD).
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41 I see from my narrow perspective. it mulls a final production run of the
I plugged the miniDSP U-DAC8 Oppo Digital came on the audio UDP-205 4K Ultra HD Audiophile
into one of the 5V outputs of the scene in 2004 with low-priced disc Universal Disc Player.
HDPLEX 400W ATX Linear Power players that supported features of great Most recently, Oppo expanded into
Supply ($795)5 that powers my Baetis appeal to audiophiles. These have making headphones, DAC–headphone
Prodigy-X server. The miniDSP got its included the disc formats CD, HDCD, amplifiers, a music streamer, and a
input via an AudioQuest Coffee USB DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, SACD, wireless speaker, while strangely delet-
link ($350/2m) inserted in one of the AVCHD, and, most recently, BD, BD ing all the web apps from their last
USB ports of an SoTM tX-USBhubIN 3D, and BD UltraHD. While other great players, the UDP-203 and UDP-
USB repeater board ($350), which has manufacturers gradually omitted from 205. All of this suggests that Oppo had
its own clock ($700) and is powered by their players analog outputs for multi- already been looking ahead to a future
the regulated 9V output of the channel and even two-channel audio, in which fewer and fewer buyers
HDPLEX supply. As each of these Oppo’s players always offered them, in would be playing physical discs.
components costs more than the price addition to digital coax, digital optical, I have owned many Oppo players
of the U-DAC8, it would seem silly to and HDMI outputs. They were among over the years, and each one was more
consider were there not such a huge the first to add file playback via USB capable than and at least as good as
price gap between the U-DAC8 and and network inputs, and were the first its predecessor. But these days I rarely
the other DACs. to add HDMI inputs to their players. play audio discs. I use my UDP-205 as
The result was a kind of success. Oppo played the audiophile horsepow- a multichannel DAC, or to watch films
Indeed, the clarity and balance of the er races by boldly advertising which on DVD or BD. I use the streaming
U-DAC8’s sound was improved. The apps in the BDP-103 or BDP-105, but
bass, in particular, had more weight Several companies more often I use those players to rip
and impact. This $299 DAC became SACDs for my file server.
a much better $2100 DAC weighing modified Oppo players Oppo’s players increased in price over
over 30 lb! I’d set out to gild the lily to serve as the basis for the years, suggesting that the company’s
and I had, but I learned other lessons. profit margins were being squeezed as
First, the U-DAC8 on steroids was
their own models. they tried to maintain their distinctive
still no competition for the exaSound position in the market. Perhaps they’ve
e38. Second, current and prospective DACs they used, and by offering concluded that it was time to graciously
owners of the U-DAC8 would likely regular and audiophile versions of their bow a farewell, and accept our gratitude
benefit from experimenting with simi- players, beginning with the BDP-83SE, for all they’ve accomplished.
lar but more modest tweaking. Third, and continuing with the parallel xx3 Thank you, Oppo. Q
there must be a better option. and xx5 models until the end. Kalman Rubinson (Stletters@stereo-
In past columns, I’ve reported on I never saw any evidence of a loss of phile.com) enjoys being immersed in his
stacking three two-channel DACs for demand for Oppo’s players. Some say music in his Manhattan and Connecticut
surround sound, but this depended on that they were too expensive com- homes.
specific hardware and/or software re- pared to the ever-cheaper offerings
lated to certain DACs made by Mytek in the BD/DVD-player mass market, 5 See www.hdplex.com/hdplex-fanless-400w-atx-
linear-power-supply-with-modular-atx-output.html.
HiFi. What if there were a more ge- but that ignores the fact that their
neric approach that would work with distinctive audio features made them
almost any DAC that suits your ears more desirable to many of us. Others CONTACTS
and budget? I have discovered such a believed that they were too cheap to
product, and I’m working on that now. be as good as the players marketed DigiBit
by specialist-audio companies, even Madrid, Spain
OPPO RETIRES though those must sell for more Tel: (34) 915334250
As I was finishing up this column, because of their limited production Web: www.ariamusicserver.com
Oppo Digital announced that it was quantities—and several such com- North American distributor:
ceasing production of its disc play- panies modified Oppo players, or Goerner Audio
ers (although they will continue to purchased Oppo OEM components, 91, 18th Avenue
offer repairs, service, and support). So to serve as the basis for their own Deux-Montagnes, Quebec J7R 4A6
startling was the announcement that models. In a few notorious cases, they Canada
Oppo delayed its press release until simply wrapped an Oppo player in a Tel: (514) 833-1977
April 2, lest anyone think it a prank. fancy outer case and passed it off as Web: www.goerneraudio.com
Their products have always been in- their own. Others argued that the bur-
novative, well made, well priced, and geoning of aftermarket modifications HDPLEX Ltd.
highly regarded, and their service has for Oppo players was proof of their 3972 Barranca Parkway, Suite J337
always been above reproach. mediocrity, rather than as proof of Irvine, CA 92606
Why has this happened? I’m not the basic quality of their fundamental Web: www.hdplex.com
privy to the deliberations of Oppo design and the players’ great popular- Oppo Digital, Inc.
Digital’s corporate parents, the Chinese ity among demanding audiophiles. 162 Constitution Drive
company BBK Electronics, which Even as I write this, retail stores across Menlo Park, CA 94025
continues to play a major role in the the country are selling out of Oppo’s Tel: (650) 961-1118
international cell-phone and compo- UDP-203 and UDP-205 universal BD Web: www.oppodigital.com
nent markets; I can tell you only what players, and Oppo is taking names as
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SPECIFICATIONS
Description Three-way, er. Crossover frequencies: Dimensions 53" (1347mm) 1458 (right).
four-driver, reflex-loaded, not given. Frequency re- H by 15.25" (387.4mm) W Price $57,900/pair. Approxi-
floorstanding loudspeaker. sponse: 19Hz–32kHz, ±3dB, by 22.875" (580mm) D. mate number of dealers: 39.
Drive-units: 1" (25mm) silk- room-averaged response. Weight: 260 lb (117.9kg). Manufacturer Wilson Audio
dome tweeter, 7" (178mm) Sensitivity: 89dB/W/m. Finish Multiple automo- Specialties, 2233 Moun-
cellulose-fiber/paper pulp- Impedance: 4 ohms nomi- tive paint colors; custom tain Vista Lane, Provo, UT
cone midrange, 8" (203mm) nal, 2.54 ohms minimum at options. 84606. Tel: (801) 377-2233.
paper-cone woofer, 10" 85Hz. Minimum amplifier Serial numbers of units Fax: (801) 377-2282.
(254mm) paper-cone woof- power: 20Wpc. reviewed 1457 (left), Web: www.wilsonaudio.com.
explained. “Although the bass enclosure’s footprint is only “The spikes and diodes are more substantial than they had
about 1" different, the increase in the internal volume is been on the first Alexia. And then, on the top plate of the
significant, at around 11%. Also, while the front baffle of the woofer enclosure, the block where all the resonant compo-
‘Series 1’ was vertical, it’s now angled back about 3–4°, and nents of the upper modules couple via the spikes is made
that gives better time alignment between the upper woofer out of a material called ‘W Material.’ This is a [mineral-
and the midrange driver. The internal bracing of the low- impregnated resin] that we developed for the WAMM. . . .
frequency enclosure is also improved. [I]t is far more absorptive of resonant behavior. However, we
“The midrange driver is the same in both speakers, but can’t paint it, which is why it is not colored the way the rest
the midrange enclosure has a full 26% increase in inter- of the speaker is.”
nal volume, because of the way we reworked the venting
system. The tweeter is now the same Convergent Synergy Setup
Mk.5 tweeter we used for the backload of the WAMM Peter McGrath followed much the same setup procedure
Master Chronosonic. The crossover points are very similar, described in my review of the original Alexia.4 Having
but there have been some modifications, the result of which adjusted the position and tilt of the tweeter and midrange
is that the low impedance dip is nowhere near as severe in modules for the height of my ears in my listening chair
the Series 2 as it was in the ‘Series 1.’ The efficiency of the and their distance from the speakers—the exact settings are
two remains within a dB. detailed in the manual’s “Propagation Delay Correction”
“There are a number of other things. Access to the resis- table—he rolled each speaker back and forth and from side
tors is totally different: you can just pull a plate off and make to side on its wheels until he was confident they were close
changes without having to get out the tools. The Aspheri- to their optimal positions. Then, using “So Do I,” from
cal Group Delay time-domain adjustment of the tweeter singer-songwriter Christy Moore’s This Is the Day (CD, Sony
now has a far greater level of resolution—you can move the 5032552), and listening to each speaker in turn, he moved
tweeter in 1⁄32" increments, twice the number of adjustments 4 The Web reprint of this review of the Alexia Series 2 will include an audio file
as before. embedded with Peter McGrath describing his setup procedure.
MEASUREMENTS
used DRA Labs’ MLSSA system mum impedance of 1.96 ohms at 86Hz little livelier, with two high-Q modes
EDGE A
INTEGR ATED AMPLIFIER
the enclosures in 1⁄2" steps in both planes, and adjusted theirsounded smooth and evenly balanced, though with some
toe-in until the sound of each Alexia 2 was to his satisfac- exaggeration of the very lowest frequencies. With the earlier
tion. It was time for some critical listening. Alexias I’d found that if I moved my head slightly above or
below the axis where the sound was best, I became aware
Listening of a narrow band of brightness. This didn’t happen with the
With the Alexia 2s driven by Lamm Industries M1.2 Refer- Series 2s, and it wasn’t until I stood up that the pink noise
ence monoblocks, the 1⁄3 -octave bass-war- began to sound colored, acquir-
ble tones on Editor’s Choice (CD, Stereophile ing a hollow quality. The central
STPH016-2) sounded powerful down
The midrange driver image of the noise signal wasn’t
to the 25Hz band, with the 63, 50, and is the same in both quite as narrow as I hear with
40Hz warbles a little higher in level than speakers, but the top-ranked minimonitors like the
the bands above them, the 32 and 25Hz BBC LS3/5a or KEF LS50, but
warbles exaggerated by the lowest mode in midrange enclosure it was stable, neither wobbling
my room, and the 20Hz warble only faintly has a full 26% increase nor splashing to the sides at any
audible. The half-step–spaced tonebursts frequency.
on Editor’s Choice spoke cleanly and evenly
in internal volume. I’d begun my auditioning of
throughout the bass and midrange regions. the original Alexias with David
When I listened to the woofer enclosure of an Alexia 2 with Wilson’s own recording of Beethoven’s Violin Sonata 10 in
a stethoscope, all surfaces were relatively inert. The mid- G, Op.96, performed by violinist David Abel and pianist
range enclosure, too, was well damped, though on the side- Julie Steinberg (24-bit/192kHz needle drop from LP, Wil-
walls and rear panel I found some low-level modes between son Audio W-8315). I wrote that, through the Alexias, “the
600 and 900Hz, these an octave higher than the modes I’d balance of the instruments was intimate yet unforced. They
found on the Alexia “1”—which suggests improved bracing. were reproduced with faithful tone colors—I heard no color-
The dual-mono pink-noise track from Editor’s Choice ations—and the imaging was such that the musicians seemed
measurements, continued
nearfield response suggests that this while the new speaker, like the old, has original speaker, the Alexia 2’s off-axis
is the tuning frequency of the large a small suckout between 4 and 5kHz— behavior is well controlled and even.
rear-facing port. The port’s output (red which, I conjectured in my December In the vertical plane (fig.4), a suck-
trace) peaks broadly between 10 and 2013 review, was due to destructive out develops at the upper crossover
60Hz, and its upper-frequency rolloff is interference between the tweeter’s frequency more than 10° above the
free from any resonance spikes. direct output and the reflections from listening axis, but the speaker’s balance
Higher in frequency in fig.2, the the midrange enclosure—the Alexia doesn’t change by much over a ±5°
black trace below 300Hz shows the 2 has about 2dB more energy above window centered on the listening axis.
complex sum of the nearfield drive- 6kHz than the older speaker. The two Fig.5 compares the spatially aver-
unit outputs, taking into account both speakers’ farfield responses matched aged response in my room of the new
amplitude and phase. The broad peak very closely, any difference being 0.5dB Alexias (red trace) with that of the
in the midbass will be mostly due to or less throughout the treble. originals fitted with the revised tweeter
the nearfield measurement technique, The plot of the Alexia 2’s lateral dis- resistors (blue). (The traces were
which assumes that the drive-units persion (fig.3) reveals that the tweeter generated by averaging 20 1⁄6 -octave–
are mounted in a baffle that extends to becomes very directional above 12kHz, smoothed spectra, taken for the left
infinity in both planes. Above 300Hz, which might well make the speaker and right speakers individually using
the response, averaged across a 30° sound a bit lacking in top-octave air SMUGSoftware’s FuzzMeasure 3.0
horizontal window centered on the in large or overdamped rooms. The program and a 96kHz sample rate, in
listening axis, is very similar to that of apparent off-axis peak between 4 and
1 See fig.4 at www.stereophile.com/content/
the original Alexia,1 with small peaks 5kHz in this graph is due to the on-axis wilson-audio-specialties-alexia-loudspeaker-
throughout the upper midrange and suckout visible in fig.2 filling in to the measurements.
treble balanced by small dips. However, speaker’s sides. Overall, as with the
Amplitude in dB
Fig.3 Wilson Alexia 2, lateral response family at Fig.4 Wilson Alexia 2, vertical response family at Frequency in Hz
50”, normalized to response on listening axis, from 50”, normalized to response on listening axis, from
back to front: differences in response 90–5° off back to front: differences in response 15–5° above Fig.5 Wilson Alexia 2, spatially averaged, 1⁄6-oc-
axis, reference response, differences in response axis, reference response, differences in response tave response in JA’s listening room
5–90° off axis. 5–10° below axis. (red); and of Wilson Alexia (blue).
to be in my room.” My reaction to this recording through ter; the rich-toned Steinway on my own recording, with
the Alexia 2s was the same. less-well-defined stereo imaging than the Wilson; Delmoni’s
As the sonata drew to a close, Roon suggested another dry-sounding, rather careful performance, but with better-
David Wilson recording of David Abel and Julie Steinberg, defined stereo than the Kavafian; the superbly stable stereo
this time playing Brahms’s Sonata 1 in G, Op.78 (24/176.4 imaging of the Tetzlaff, though with a more distant perspec-
AIFF file, Wilson W-8722). This passionately lyrical sonata tive than the Delmoni. Images weren’t bloated. Everything
has been a favorite of mine for decades, and the versions that had been captured on each recording was reproduced at
in my library range from Anne-Sophie Mutter’s 1982 the appropriate scale.
recording with Alexis Weissenberg (CD, EMI The weight given the piano in
CDC 7 49299 2) to my most recent purchase, I very much enjoyed the Tetzlaff and Kavafian record-
Christian Tetzlaff and Lars Vogt’s superbly ings led me to play our February
idiomatic performance (DSD128 files, Ondine the three months 2018 “Recording of the Month,”
ODE1284-2D/HDtracks), with stops along the Alexia 2s spent Chopin’s Last Waltz, performed by
the way at Arturo Delmoni’s recording, with pianist Robert Silverman (IsoMike
pianist Yuri Funahashi (ALAC ripped from
in my home. 5606). Robert Baird’s review had
CD, John Marks JMR 2), and my own unre- been of the LP; I purchased the
leased recording from the 1996 Santa Fe Chamber Music DSD128 files from NativeDSD.com. Solo piano is always
Festival, with Ani Kavafian accompanied by Max Levinson difficult for speakers to reproduce correctly, because piano
(16/44.1, 192kbps MP3). notes have high levels of energy in the region where speak-
Not only did the Wilson speakers not editorialize on ers tend to have resonances of various kinds, and because
the tonal colors on these very different recordings, they the nature of the music often doesn’t mask those resonances
clearly revealed the different recorded perspectives: the once they’ve been excited. Nevertheless, Chopin’s Bal-
mellow-toned Wilson; the rather scratchy-sounding Mut- lade 4 in f, performed by Silverman on what sounds like
measurements, continued
a vertical rectangular grid 36" wide by energy, both in the high treble between ever, this would disturb the excellent
18" high and centered on the positions 8 and 16kHz, and in the midrange. Both integration of the midrange unit’s and
of my ears.) The two speakers again speakers excite the lowest-frequency tweeter’s outputs.
look to be very similar, but you can room mode to the same degree, but the The cumulative spectral-decay plot
see that the older Alexias had more GoldenEar also has a peak at the tun- on this axis (fig.8) was very similar
presence-region energy and a reduced ing frequency of its passive radiators. to that of the original Alexia. While
top-octave output. The new speakers The Wilson has a greater output in the looking not as clean as I expected
had a little less midbass energy, but upper bass. from what I heard, it doesn’t have the
excited the lowest-frequency mode in Turning to the time domain, the significant resonances at 3 and 6.4kHz
my room a bit more. Alexia 2’s step response on its listening that Keith Howard found in his mea-
The full-range, floorstanding speaker axis is shown in fig.7; it reveals that surements of the Alexia 2 published
I most recently reviewed was Golden- the tweeter is connected in positive in the March 2018 issue of our sister
Ear Technology’s Triton Reference, in acoustic polarity, the midrange driver magazine Hi-Fi News.
January 2018.2 The Triton’s in-room in negative polarity, and both woofers Like its predecessor’s, the Alexia 2’s
response, measured in the identical in positive polarity (confirmed by their measured performance reveals some
manner, is shown in fig.6 (blue trace). nearfield step responses, not shown). idiosyncrasies; but overall, there is
Above 300Hz, where the spatial The slight discontinuity at 4ms sug- nothing to contradict the very positive
averaging has minimized the influence gests that the woofers’ output would results of my auditioning. —John Atkinson
of low-frequency room resonances, be better integrated with that of the
it is very close to that of the Alexia 2 midrange slightly below the axis on 2 See www.stereophile.com/content/goldenear-
(red trace), though with slightly more which I took the measurement. How- technology-triton-reference-loudspeaker.
Amplitude in dB
Data in Volts
HAILEY
HERB REICHERT
AkitikA GT-102
POWER AMPLIFIER
SPECIFICATIONS
Description Class-AB stereo power impedance: 51k ohms. Sensitivity: 1V Finish Black.
amplifier with LM3886 power-amplifi- RMS produces 20.59V RMS output. Serial number of unit reviewed None.
er integrated circuit, regulated power Slew rate (typical): 14V/µs. Damping Prices $314 kit, $488 fully assembled,
supply with 10,000µF capacitance. factor at 1kHz ref. 8 ohms: >80. Signal/ both plus $26 for shipping within the
Inputs: 1 pair single-ended (RCA). Out- noise: typically 136dB below 50W into lower 48. Approximate number of
puts: 2 five-way speaker binding posts. 8 ohms, A-weighted. dealers: factory direct only. Warranty:
Power output: 50Wpc into 8 ohms, Dimensions 15" (380mm) W by 4.5" Warranty: 1 year, parts.
nearly 100Wpc into 4 ohms. Frequency (115mm) H by 10" (255mm) D. Weight: Manufacturer AkitikA, LLC. Web:
response: 5Hz–100kHz, –3dB. Input 15.5 lb (7kg). www.akitika.com.
MEASUREMENTS
measured the AkitikA GT-102 us- this worst-case power level. simulated loudspeaker2 was ±0.1dB in
d d
B B
r r
A A
Hz Hz
Fig.1 AkitikA GT-102, frequency response at 2.83V Fig.2 AkitikA GT-102, small-signal 10kHz square- Fig.3 AkitikA GT-102, spectrum of 1kHz sinewave,
into: simulated loudspeaker load (gray), 8 ohms wave into 8 ohms. DC–1kHz, at 1W into 8 ohms (left channel blue,
(left channel blue, right red), 4 ohms (left cyan, right red; linear frequency scale).
right magenta), 2 ohms (green) (1dB/vertical div.).
YPSILON ELECTRONICS
!!!"#$%&'()*'*+,-()&+%"+(.
AKITIKA GT-102
SIT, or bipolar device—you must understand that the a GT-102, each tiny bit will need to be found, positively
AkitikA’s LM3886 op-amp is notorious and fashionable. identified, properly positioned, and soldered to its board.
The roots of the storied LM3886 can be traced back to 47 (I recommend soldering no parts until each PCB board is
Laboratory’s 4706 Gaincard integrated amplifier, designed stuffed full, in mechanically sound fashion.) That done, the
by Junji Kimura, which I reviewed for Listener magazine; rest of the assembly consists of bolting and screwing the
Robert Deutsch reviewed it for Stereophile in December boards, binding posts, power switch, ground lug, and power
2001.2 The Gaincard, introduced in 1999, had only nine transformer to the GT-102’s chassis. I suggest working
parts per channel, short signal paths, minimal power-supply slowly and patiently while
capacitance, and, with only one of 47 Lab’s Power Humpty breathing fresh air (it’s best
power supplies, cost $3300 (a second Power Humpty cost KEF’s LS50 got to solder in a place with
an additional $1800). on well with the good ventilation), and
The 4706 Gaincard’s high price, radical simplicity, and un- triple-checking each step.
orthodox power supply spawned concern among measure-
AkitikA GT-102. The minimum tools
ments-oriented audiophiles, but word quickly spread about required for assembly are:
how musically satisfying it could sound. After reviewing a 30W, pencil-type soldering iron; a small sponge; fine
it, I bought the Gaincard and used it every day for 10 years (0.032"), 60/40 rosin-core solder; wire cutters and strippers;
with a pair of Rogers LS3/5a speakers. I’ve subsequently #1 and #2 Phillips screwdrivers; needle-nose pliers; a set
compared my Gaincard to one of its clones and one DIY of basic nut drivers; an inexpensive digital multimeter, to
version, and learned that all LM3886 op-amps are not cre- cross-check resistor values against your reading of their color
ated equal. codes; good lighting; and a magnifying glass.
In using power op-amps, implementation is key. PCB lay- AkitikA’s website says that assembly should take about
out, wiring routes, grounding strategies, heatsinking, power eight hours, and that 97% of all first-time kit builders com-
transformers, and especially power-supply design, will affect plete the GT-102 without a hitch. The remaining 3% get it
stability, transparency of sound, and the ability to drive speak- right in the end, with a little easy guidance from AkitikA.
ers. My listening for this article, and what I see inside this I studied the assembly manual and found it exceptionally
amp, suggest that AkitikA’s owner and designer, Dan Joffe, clear and idiot-proof.3 It looks just like a Dynaco or Hafler
has done a smart job with this LM3886 implementation. manual.
Kit builders should know that each of the GT-102’s three
circuit boards is fitted with a lot of little parts, most of them 2 See www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/120147/index.html.
resistors whose coded stripes identify their values. To build 3 See www.akitika.com/documents/AssemblyManualGT102rev1p14.pdf.
measurements, continued
wideband signal/noise ratio, taken power transformer. They lay at or the GT-102 turned off its outputs at
with the inputs shorted to ground, was below –110dB (0.0003%). 61W (14.8dBW). With one channel
a very high 84.7dB (average of both AkitikA specifies the GT-102 as driven, the AkitikA clipped at close to
channels) ref. 1W into 8 ohms. The S/N clipping at “a bit more than 60W 120W into 4 ohms (17.8dBW, fig.5).
ratio improved to an excellent 95.9dB into 8 ohms at 1kHz.” (Texas Instru- This lack of power with both channels
when the measurement bandwidth ments’ datasheet for the LM3886 chip driven might explain why HR preferred
was restricted to 22Hz–22kHz, and claims “68W of continuous average the low-frequency reproduction of the
to 99.4dB with an A-weighting filter power [into] a 4 ohm load.”) Defin- GT-102 when it was paired with the
in circuit. This is a quiet amplifier. ing clipping as when the THD+noise high-impedance Falcon speakers.
Spectral analysis of the low-frequency in the output reaches 1%, I measured I examined how the GT-102’s
noise floor (fig.3) indicated that the a clipping power of 64W into 8 ohms percentage of THD+N varied with
AC-supply–related harmonics were (18.1dBW, fig.4), with one channel or frequency at 8.95V (equivalent to
at the odd-order harmonics of 60Hz, both channels driven. However, when 10W into 8 ohms and 20W into 4
which suggests that these are due to I tried to measure the clipping power ohms). The THD+N was extremely
magnetic interference from the toroidal into 4 ohms with both channels driven, low in the bass and midrange into 8
% % %
W W Hz
Fig.4 AkitikA GT-102, distortion (%) vs 1kHz Fig.5 AkitikA GT-102, distortion (%) vs 1kHz Fig.6 AkitikA GT-102, THD+N (%) vs frequency at
continuous output power into 8 ohms. continuous output power into 4 ohms. 8.95V into: 8 ohms (left channel blue, right red), 4
ohms (left cyan, right magenta).
measurements, continued
ohms (fig.6, blue and red traces), with The THD+N waveform at 50Wpc present at lower levels (fig.8). Tested
the usual rise in the treble due to the into 8 ohms (fig.7) indicates that, while with an equal mix of 19 and 20kHz
decrease in open-loop voltage gain low in level, the distortion occurs at tones, the AkitikA produced relatively
as the frequency increases. However, the signal’s zero-crossing points. Even low levels of intermodulation distortion
into 4 ohms (fig.6, cyan and magenta though AkitikA’s website describes (fig.9), with the difference product at
traces), while the THD+N percentage the class-AB GT-102 as having “an 1kHz lying at –94dB (0.002%), and
in the treble was only slightly higher electronically regulated power supply” the higher-order products at or below
than it had been into 8 ohms, it rose that, “in some ways . . . offers an ad- –90dB (0.003%).
catastrophically in the bass. This was vantage similar to class A operation,” As HR found, its measured perfor-
due to the waveform being interrupted fig.7 implies a lack of output-stage mance indicates that the AkitikA GT-
two times per cycle at the positive and bias current. Even so, the highest- 102 amplifier is happier driving higher
negative peaks; I suspect that this be- level harmonic present in the GT-102’s impedances, though this drawback
havior is due to the LM3886 amplifier output is the relatively benign second, must be considered in the context of its
chip’s protection circuit. though higher-order products are also very affordable price.—John Atkinson
d d
B B
V r r
A A
sec Hz Hz
Fig.7 AkitikA GT-102, 1kHz waveform at 50W into Fig.8 AkitikA GT-102, spectrum of 50Hz sinewave, Fig.9 AkitikA GT-102, HF intermodulation spec-
8 ohms, 0.0033% THD+N (blue); distortion and DC–1kHz, at 50W into 8 ohms (left channel blue, trum, DC–30kHz, 19+20kHz at 50W peak into 8
noise waveform with fundamental notched out right red; linear frequency scale). ohms (left channel blue, right red; linear frequency
(red, not to scale). scale).
With the Falcon Acoustics LS3/5a attractively it rendered the complex harmonic structures
Just when I thought I’d found the perfect amp-speaker of such instruments as saxophone, harmonica, violin,
partnership, I discovered an even better one: the AkitikA and marimba. Nevertheless, the PrimaLuna’s EL34 tubes
GT-102 driving Falcon Acoustics’ revealing LS3/5a ($2995/ took men’s and women’s voices several steps further in
pair). I judge all audio components by how they play solo clarity, luminosity, and presence, and the Falcons made
piano. For piano, I need solid but not hard. I need deli- those differences very easy to hear. With the AkitikA, my
cately insightful reproduction that allows acoustic forces reference Falcons sounded superbly detailed and harmoni-
and rhythmic shifts to be marvelous to behold. I need to cally enhanced. And the bass was better than ever.
hear the keystrokes, pedaling, wooden soundboards, and
microphones on stands. I want to be in the presence of a Conclusions
big, expressive music machine. I want to sense the spirits The AkitikA GT-102 answers several age-old audiophile
of pianist and composer. With the AkitikA driving the questions. First and foremost, can a peasant-priced power
Falcons and Samson François playing three CDs’ worth of amp dance with a princess or dine with a king? The GT-102
Debussy’s music for solo piano (Erato 638754 2), I got all proved that it can. But when the AkitikA hobnobs with such
of that—especially the rhythm shifts and a feeling for the audio royalty as the Joseph Audio Pulsar, does its fantastic
composer’s intentions. ratio of price to performance suggest that expensive audio-
Playing a variety of solo-piano discs, I compared the phile amplifiers are overpriced?
GT-102 with the less powerful but sevenfold-more-costly I think not. Oversize, low-impedance power transformers,
PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium. The AkitikA seemed to current-wrangling power supplies, nonresonant enclosures,
emphasize the extreme ends of the keyboard; the PrimaLuna high-quality jacks and binding posts, and isolating footers all
emphasized the presence region. cost extra to build and ship. Nor are dealers, marketing, and
The AkitikA and PrimaLuna sounded a lot alike driving advertising free. For $488, the AkitikA GT-102 delivers 60
the KEF LS50s; they sounded a lot different driving the 15- extremely satisfying musical watts direct from the factory,
ohm Falcon LS3/5a’s. The GT-102 made the Falcons sound without those expensive extras—and it’s available as a kit for
fatter, deeper, fuller; the PrimaLuna made them sound leaner, even less.
brighter, more transparent—but also more taut and solid. Building kits is fun—it makes you a wiser, smarter, more
I suspect the main reason the ProLogue Premium and spiritual person—and DIY forums are the best of all audio
GT-102 sounded so different was not an issue of tubes vs forums. When you plug in your finished project for the first
op-amps, but the way their power supplies interacted with time and music starts playing, Voilà! Your hands will shake
the Falcons’ impedance, which is far higher than the norm. and your chest will swell. Are you ready for that? Super-
The AkitikA’s No.1 strength with the Falcons was how highly recommended. Q
O of a recent audio
show, I walked into
the exhibit room of
Bricasti Design.
“How about some Mahler?”
asked cofounder and designer
Brian Zolner.
“Oh God. Not at 10am!”
Listening to Mahler had
become de rigueur for my visits
to the exhibits of this Massachu-
setts-based company. From the
very first time that Zolner had
played part of Iván Fischer and
the Budapest Festival Orchestra’s
recording of Mahler’s Symphony
2 (SACD/CD, Channel Clas-
sics 23506) through a system
that combined Bricasti’s M28
monoblock power amplifiers, The undertones soon change from Wilson Audio’s Alexias to Alexia 2s,
M1 DAC, and M12 Source we felt that the M15 would be a good match for my
Controller with Tidal Audio’s of voice and system. John Atkinson signaled the okay, and a review
Piano Diacera speakers, I’d been accompaniment sample was on its way to me.
impressed by the layered dark- were well
ness of the bass and midrange, History Lesson
and the system’s ability to flesh fleshed out. Bricasti Design was founded in 2004 by two former
out Mahler’s despair. But begin- employees of Lexicon, a division of the Harman
ning the day with Mahlerian doom? No one should have to Specialty Group: sales executive Brian Zolner and DSP
suffer and be resurrected before noon. software engineer Casey Dowdell. After Bricasti released
After listening to a modest dose of alternate fare—it the Model 7 reverberation unit in 2007, and it became
wasn’t as mindless as “the flowers that bloom in spring, what Zolner described to me as “a staple of the professional
tra-la, nor as hackneyed as “Hotel California”—I learned recording industry,” the partners decided to enter the
that Bricasti’s M15 fully balanced stereo power amplifier consumer market, in 2011, with the M1 DAC. In 2014
($18,000), introduced in 2016 and offering 125Wpc into came the M28 monoblock power amplifier,1 and in 2016 the
8 ohms and 250Wpc into 4 ohms, had not been reviewed M12 Source Controller and matching M15 stereo power
by Stereophile. After running through the components in
1 Michael Fremer reviewed the M28 monoblock in May 2015, with a followup
my reference system with Zolner and Damon Gramont, from John Atkinson in August 2015; see www.stereophile.com/content/bricasti-
Bricasti’s head of sales, and noting that my speakers would design-m28-monoblock-power-amplifier.
SPECIFICATIONS
Description Solid-state dBW). Frequency response: 60W standby, 2W idle. Price $18,000. Approximate
stereo power amplifier. 10Hz–150kHz, ±0.5dB. Gain: Dimensions 17" (430mm) number of dealers: 14.
Inputs: 1 unbalanced (RCA), 27dB. Signal/noise: >85dB W by 10.5" (265mm) H by Warranty: 5 years, limited.
1 balanced (XLR). Outputs: at full rated power. Input 18" (455mm) D. Weight: Manufacturer Bricasti
1 pair speaker binding posts. impedance: 100k ohms 90 lb (40.8kg) net, 110 lb Design, Ltd., 2 Shaker Road,
Power output: 125Wpc into 8 unbalanced, 200k ohms bal- (49.9kg) shipping. Building J100, Shirley, MA
ohms, 250Wpc into 4 ohms, anced. Output impedance: Serial number of unit 01464. Tel: (978) 425-5199.
500Wpc into 2 ohms (all N/S. Power consumption: reviewed 1017. Web: www.bricasti.com.
amplifier. These later products were engineered at AeVee The M15’s rear panel is in three horizontal sections. In
Laboratories, in New Haven, Connecticut, by a small group the top section are widely spaced single-ended (RCA) and
of former employees of Madrigal Labs and manufactured at balanced (XLR) inputs. While shorting plugs (not provided)
Bricasti’s facilities in Shirley, Massachusetts. are urged for the balanced inputs if single-ended intercon-
“We like to make things that are very musical and natu- nects are used, I used only balanced cables between DAC
ral,” Zolner said. “I don’t like things that are hyped-up in the and amp. In the middle section, below the inputs, are those
top end. Everyone is mixing things with so much hype these two pairs of widely spaced speaker-cable binding posts.
days. I can’t listen to that pop stuff that they’re compressing A healthy distance below, in the bottom section, are, from
and then pumping up, so we’re careful to not go over the left to right, trigger in/out, an RS-422 port currently used
top end as well. We want to bring out what’s in the record- only for diagnostics, a detented trim control that can lower
ing while aiming for a relaxed sound that you can listen to input sensitivity in four steps of 6dB each, to better match
for hours.” the output of a preamp or DAC, and a three-prong IEC
connector. I never felt the need to change the amp’s input
Description and Setup sensitivity. Nor, thanks to the rear panel’s intelligent design,
Zolner, who calls himself “the mechanical guy,” designed the did I ever need to worry about interconnects or speaker
M15’s case, which comprises sections of milled and CNC- cables transmitting unwanted noise by coming in contact
machined aluminum, assembled and given an anodized with the power cord.
finish by Bricasti. Inside are a lot of custom mechanical com- On the M15’s front panel are two vertically aligned but-
ponents, and on the rear panel are proprietary, gold-plated tons, Power and Standby, separated by a red LED power
speaker-cable binding posts, also designed by Zolner, that of- on/status indicator. Pressing both buttons generates a click,
fer what he calls “exceptionally wide contact area,” and open and triggers the LED to flash slowly as the amp enters Idle
wide enough to accept two pairs of thick spade lugs. Inside, stage, in which it consumes only 2W. Only after the M15
rather than using solder, Bricasti creates a superior molecular has sensed that the voltage is within an acceptable range can
bond by high-pressure crimping the binding posts to double it be fully powered up.
runs of fine-stranded (8 gauge) copper wire. A quick press of Standby produces another click and faster
“There’s nothing really esoteric or too crazy inside,” flashing of the LED, to indicate that you’ve entered the
Zolner continued. “There are 24 bipolar output devices per pre-heating stage, in which 60W are consumed. A second
channel, bolted directly to the heatsink on the side of unit. quick press of Standby triggers a third click, the LED turns
The power supply has a very large capacitor bank—there are solid red, and the M15 unmutes its inputs to enable music
large, US-made electrolytics in the main cap bank—as well playback.
as lots of smaller, German-made, high-frequency WIMA Eager to hear how the solid-state M15 would sound with
film caps throughout the unit.” and without a tube preamp, I installed Lamm Industries’
After consulting Bricasti’s website and the M15’s manual, two-box L2.1 preamplifier ($22,790). With the bottom shelf
and chatting further with Zolner, I learned that the M15 is, of my five-shelf Grand Prix Monaco rack already filled with
in his words, a “big, all-analog, high-current, fully balanced power products from Nordost and Isotek, I placed the dCS
class-A/B power amplifier. Its bandwidth is to the megahertz. Paganini CD transport on the top shelf and the preamp’s
There’s no filtering on the output, which is the case with control module atop it. The remaining shelves held the
analog amplifiers, so that the transients are not differently ren- Lamm preamp’s power supply, the dCS Rossini DAC, and,
dered, and it has very, very, extremely low output impedance sitting on a Grand Prix Formula platform, the Scarlatti clock.
and very low distortion. The thing is flat to 800kHz.” I’d planned to place the Bricasti on one of my two Grand
MEASUREMENTS
measured the Bricasti Design 20Hz and 1kHz, decreasing at 20kHz
ficient heatsinking for its power rating. frequencies, rising to 0.1 ohm at the Fig.1 Bricasti M15, frequency response at 2.83V into:
The voltage gain at 1kHz from the top of the audioband. As a result, the simulated loudspeaker load (gray), 8 ohms (left
speaker terminals into 8 ohms mea- modulation of the M15’s frequency channel blue, right red), 4 ohms (left cyan, right
magenta), 2 ohms (green) (0.5dB/vertical div.).
sured 26.9dB for both balanced and response with our standard simulated
unbalanced signals, and both sets of loudspeaker2 was less than ±0.1dB
1 See www.stereophile.com/content/
inputs preserved absolute polarity (ie, (fig.1, gray trace). The Bricasti’s measurements-maps-precision.
were non-inverting). The unbalanced frequency response is down by 3dB at 2 See www.stereophile.com/content/
input impedance was 88k ohms at 180kHz; as a result, a 10kHz square- real-life-measurements-page-2.
Prix Monaco amp stands, but when I looked at the M15’s as I appreciated the tanginess of theorbo and violins and the
feet, I sensed in them a purposefulness meant to discourage subdued tinkle of harpsichord, and could hear slight changes
the use of ancillary isolation products. Finding no informa- in the weight and color of countertenor Jaroussky’s voice
tion about them online or in the manual, I called Bricasti. during one long-breathed phrase, nothing shone. Jaroussky
It turns out that Zolner designed these feet, which house is an exquisite artist, but a key element of his brilliance was
OEM Stillpoints decoupling modules and are intended to dimmed due to the Bricasti’s darker range of colors.
be placed directly on a hard surface. “I didn’t want people to The M15 accurately delivered the extraordinarily wide
try balancing them on Stillpoints and having them fall over,” soundstage and warm midrange captured by engineer John
Zolner said. Atkinson in his recording of the Portland State Chamber
Goodbye amp stand, hello floor. Choir in performances of Ɯriks Ešenvalds’s Northern Lights,
from Into Unknown Worlds (24/88.2 FLAC and 24/44.1
Listening MQA.FLAC, CD Baby). However, the M15 curiously
Having wasted too many hours critically listening to alleg- favored the voices of the men over the higher voices of the
edly fully-broken-in gear that was clearly still unready for women, to the detriment of director Ethan Sperry’s carefully
prime time, I no longer take manufacturer assurances of balanced choral sound, and the radiant shimmer of glocken-
factory break-in at face value. I cued up a Nordost break- spiel and glass harmonica that make the conclusion of this
in CD and ran both its break-in and demagnetizing tones work so mesmerizing lost some of its glisten. Through the
through the system continuously at a decent volume for a dCS Rossini, the MQA version of this track sounded more
good three–four days, and began each listening session with transparent, as if a veil had been lifted, but the tonality was
an additional 30-minute round of break-in and demagne- still a bit gray, and the “sparkle” that the choir sings of, and
tization. The M15’s sound remained consistent throughout that Ešenvalds depicts in sound, had lost its, well, spark.
the listening period; it’s fair to conclude that it was suffi- There were some positives to this sort of sound. “Electri-
ciently broken in. fied II,” from Yello’s Toy (24/48 WAV, Polydor 4782160/
Even that, however, did not result in a totally firm bass HDtracks), is a hot recording with electronic sizzle
foundation from Teodor Currentzis and MusicAeterna’s deliberately added to voices. Not only was that annoying
gut-wrenching recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony 6, component of this otherwise stellar recording toned down
Pathétique (24/96 WAV, Sony Classical 88985 40435-2).2 to the point that I could raise the volume without pain, the
And while the strings sounded quite liquid, even translucent, undertones of voice and accompaniment were also well
they lacked shine. The sound was darker, more tempered, fleshed out. The music may not have been as electrifying as
less alive and involving than I’d expected. usual, but the ability to play it louder than before made for
This pattern of less-than-ideal bass and a toned-down an exciting few minutes.
top end continued through a wide range of recordings. In This classical guy made a determined effort to listen to a
the sublime aria “Se potessero i sospir’ miei,” from Handel’s diverse assortment of recordings. To these ears and heart, the
opera Imeneo, from Philippe Jaroussky and Artaserse’s The 2 See my review at www.stereophile.com/content/devastating-tchaikovsky-sixth.
Händel Album (24/96 WAV, Erato 33572994),3 timbres 3 See my review at www.stereophile.com/content/philippe-jarousskys-exquisite-
were true, but the high extension was darkened. As much handel.
measurements, continued
wave was reproduced with very short are ref. 1W into 8 ohms.) These ratios harmonics, suggesting that these are
risetimes (fig.2), and there was no improved to a respective 84 and 78dB due to magnetic interference from the
overshoot or ringing with a resistive when the measurement bandwidth was massive power transformer. They lay at
load. restricted to 22Hz–22kHz, and to 86 or below –98dB (0.0011%), however.
The unweighted, wideband signal/ and 83.4dB with an A-weighting filter Bricasti specifies the M15 as output-
noise ratio, taken with the inputs in circuit. Spectral analysis of the ting 125Wpc into 8 ohms (21dBW),
shorted to ground, was a very high low-frequency noise floor (fig.3) indicated 250Wpc into 4 ohms (21dBW), and
81.2dB in the left channel but slightly that the AC supply–related harmonics 500Wpc into 2 ohms (21dBW). The
lower in the right, at 77dB. (Both ratios were at 60Hz and its odd-order amplifier comfortably exceeded its
d
B
r %
A
Hz W
Fig.2 Bricasti M15, small-signal 10kHz squarewave Fig.3 Bricasti M15, spectrum of 1kHz sinewave, DC– Fig.4 Bricasti M15, distortion (%) vs 1kHz continu-
into 8 ohms. 1kHz, at 1W into 8 ohms (left channel blue, right ous output power into 8 ohms.
red; linear frequency scale).
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BRICASTI DESIGN M15
measurements, continued
specified power even with both chan- output power, as the M15 went into this behavior.
nels driven. With clipping defined as protection several times, the red LED To be certain that I was measuring
when the THD+noise in the output on its front panel flashing. And when actual distortion, I examined how the
reaches 1%, I measured clipping pow- I tried to measure the clipping power M15’s percentage of THD+N varied
ers of 290Wpc into 8 ohms (24.6dBW, into 2 ohms, the amplifier turned off with frequency at a fairly high level,
fig.4) and 550Wpc into 4 ohms at 362W (19.6dBW). I doubt that this 20V (equivalent to 50W into 8 ohms,
(24.4dBW, fig.5). However, I had some sensitivity will be a problem in real- 100W into 4 ohms, and 200W into 2
difficulty measuring the maximum world systems, but I was surprised by ohms). Even so, the THD+N was ex-
% % V
W Hz sec
Fig.5 Bricasti M15, distortion (%) vs 1kHz continu- Fig.6 Bricasti M15, THD+N (%) vs frequency at Fig.7 Bricasti M15, 1kHz waveform at 50W into
ous output power into 4 ohms. 20V into: 8 ohms (left channel blue, right red), 4 8 ohms, 0.0012% THD+N (blue); distortion and
ohms (left cyan, right magenta), 2 ohms (gray). noise waveform with fundamental notched out
(red, not to scale).
measurements, continued
tremely low in the bass and midrange, third-harmonic in nature, though at 1kHz lying at –100dB (0.001%), and
and while there was the usual rise in high powers into 4 ohms the second the higher-order products at or below
the treble due to the decrease in open- harmonic became the highest in level –84dB (0.01%).
loop voltage gain as the frequency in both channels (fig.9). Tested with an Its measured performance indicates
increases, this was still not to a signifi- equal mix of 19 and 20kHz tones, the that Bricasti Design’s M15 amplifier is
cant amount (fig.6). Bricasti produced relatively low levels conservatively engineered, with low
The THD+N waveform at this of intermodulation distortion, even noise and distortion, though it is clearly
level (figs. 7 and 8) indicates that at high powers into low impedances less happy driving 2 ohms than it is
the distortion is predominantly (fig.10), with the difference product at higher impedances. —John Atkinson
d d d
B B B
r r r
A A A
Hz Hz Hz
Fig.8 Bricasti M15, spectrum of 50Hz sinewave, Fig.9 Bricasti M15, spectrum of 50Hz sinewave, Fig.10 Bricasti M15, HF intermodulation spectrum,
DC–1kHz, at 50W into 8 ohms (left channel blue, DC–1kHz, at 100W into 4 ohms (left channel blue, DC–30kHz, 19+20kHz at 100W peak into 4 ohms
right red; linear frequency scale). right red; linear frequency scale). (left channel blue, right red; linear frequency
scale).
“To say that my system was taken to the next level is truly an
understatement! As with my other Morrow upgrades, the soundstage
is clearly deeper and wider. I am hearing new sounds from music
which I have listened to over several decades. Bottom-line - my
speakers have totally disappeared, and the musicality of the source
music seems to just emanate out of the air.”
– Don B.
THOMAS J. NORTON
SPECIFICATIONS
Description Solid-state, & control): USB, mini USB, into 2 ohms (21.5dBW). lb (18kg).
class-AB integrated amplifier Ethernet RJ-45, RS-232, IR in, Signal/noise (1kHz, IEC-A, 2V Finishes Silver, Black.
with Anthem Room Correc- 12V trigger out. Digital input RMS out): digital in, 44.1kHz, Serial number of unit
tion (ARC). Analog audio sample rates: USB: PCM 112dB; analog in, DSP mode, reviewed AGL1215587.
inputs: 4 unbalanced (RCA), 32/384, DSD at 2.8MHz 110dB; analog in, direct mode, Price $4499. Approximate
1 balanced (XLR), 2 phono & 5.6MHz. HDMI & S/ 120dB. Phono input imped- number of dealers: 1100.
(MC, MM). Digital audio PDIF: PCM 24/192. Internal ance: 47k ohms MM, 100 Warranty: 5 years.
inputs: 2 S/PDIF (RCA), 2 digital processing: 32/192. ohms MC. Power consump- Manufacturer Anthem
S/PDIF (TosLink), 1 USB, Power output (continuous, tion: typical use, 250W; high Electronics, 205 Annagem
1 AES/EBU (XLR). Pream- 20Hz–20kHz, <1% THD): output, 500W; idle, 40W. Boulevard, Mississauga,
plifier outputs: variable, 200Wpc into 8 ohms Dimensions 17" (432mm) Ontario L5T 2V1, Canada.
fixed, subwoofer (all RCA). (23dBW), 400Wpc into 4 W by 6.75" (172mm) H by Tel: (905) 696-2868.
Communication (updates ohms (23dBW), 550Wpc 17.5" (445mm). Weight: 40 Web: www.anthemav.com.
´%HWWHUWKDQVRPHVSHDNHUV,·YHKHDUGWKDWFRVWWLPHVDVPXFKµ
²-HII'RUJD\721($XGLR
´«RQHRIWKHELJJHVWKLJKHQGVSHDNHUEDUJDLQVRXWWKHUH«µ
²5R\*UHJRU\7KH$XGLR%HDW
´0\QHZUHIHUHQFHVSHDNHUVµ²$QWKRQ\&RUGHVPDQ7KH$EVROXWH6RXQG
The Model 5A Carbon at $29,900/pr. features an advanced carbon tweeter and the patented
Perfect-Piston™ carbon midrange from the Model Seven Mk II, plus %,*SRZHUHGEDVV
ZLWKDZDWWSRZHUHGVXEZRRIHUZLWKEDQGURRP(4
´8QEHDWDEOHSRZHUHGEDVVµ²0LFKDHO)UHPHU6WHUHRSKLOH
Buy Vandersteen, Leave “Upgrade-Itis” Behind. When all of the information from
the amplifier is faithfully retrieved, especially in the crucial time domain, you hear
that something is missing. That something is the distortion of the original signal
that leads to the inevitable feeling audiophiles
Dual 8,” 300-Watt Powered Subwoofers
experience called “upgrade-itis.” Yes, moving up
w/11-Band Room EQ In Each Speaker
For Perfect Bass in Virtually Any Room the Vandersteen line always offers more perfor-
mance and ever greater musical pleasure, as will
any other true upgrade to your system. But owning Vandersteens and upgrading
EHFDXVH\RXORYHWKHZD\\RXUPXVLFVRXQGV is so much better than swapping
out your gear because you FDQ·WVWDQG the way your music sounds.
degradation outweighs the benefits. The fact that such EQ The STR’s power-amp stage is built around a single large,
will require that any pure analog input signal be converted toroidal transformer, with oversize filter capacitors and load-
to digital for processing is just another campaign in the war monitoring circuitry for optimal performance. Its 2-ohm rat-
of digital vs analog, which audiophiles began fighting in the ing should allow the STR to work without breaking a sweat
late 1970s and which shows no sign of tapering off. with virtually any modern speaker, some of which have
The objections to the sonic degradations caused by added impedances that can dip that low—or even lower—in at least
circuitry and complexity are somewhat mitigated when a narrow part of their frequency range.
the EQ software is built into an integrated amp or preamp Apart from ARC, the Anthem STR offers more than the
whose designer has control, rather than being done by an usual complement of features for an integrated. There are
outboard device that might require external connections and five analog inputs (four sets unbalanced, one set balanced);
additional A/D and/or D/A conversions. Classé’s Sigma digital conversion and processing can be bypassed with each
2200i integrated amplifier, which I reviewed in April 2017,1 of them. The six digital inputs include two TosLink optical,
included a flexible range of parametric equalization, but its two coaxial, and one AES/EBU, all of which support inputs
proper use required a user or dealer/installer with measur- of up to 24-bit/192kHz. An asynchronous USB Type B
ing tools and skills. The Anthem Room Correction (ARC) digital input accepts PCM up to 32/384, and DSD at 2.8
included in the Anthem STR integrated amplifier reviewed or 5.6MHz. All internal digital processing is performed in
here is far easier to use, though getting it up and running PCM at 32/192, so all digital inputs are converted to that
does require some basic computer skills. resolution, including DSD and, if desired, the analog inputs.
There’s also a pair of unbalanced, fixed-level RCA
Features preamp outputs for connection to a headphone amp (the
The Anthem STR ($4499) is available in all black or all silver. STR has no headphone output, a curious omission in today’s
At 40 lb, it’s moderately light and cool-running for a class-AB market), plus separate, variable-level, unbalanced preamp
amplifier specified to output 200Wpc into 8 ohms, 400Wpc outputs, in the unlikely event that you choose to later add
into 4 ohms, or 550Wpc (!) into 2 ohms across the entire 1 See www.stereophile.com/content/class%C3%A9-sigma-2200i-integrated-
audioband at less than 1% total harmonic distortion (THD). amplifier.
MEASUREMENTS
measured the Anthem STR using filtering, and Anthem Room Correction The output impedance was a low
d d
B B
r r
A A
Hz Hz
Fig.1 Anthem STR, balanced analog input, frequen- Fig.2 Anthem STR, balanced analog input, small- Fig.3 Anthem STR, digitized unbalanced analog
cy response at 2.83V into: simulated loudspeaker signal, 10kHz squarewave into 8 ohms. input, frequency response at 2.83V into 8 ohms
load (gray), 8 ohms (left channel blue, right red), with ARC as used by TJN (left channel blue, right
4 ohms (left cyan, right magenta), 2 ohms (green) red; 2dB/vertical div.).
(0.5dB/vertical div.).
an outboard amp. There are also dual subwoofer outputs (I or mono. The illumination level of these readings can be
didn’t test them), configurable for mono or stereo. Should dimmed or turned off; in the latter case they still appear
you go the EQ route, ARC will also correct the response of briefly, when an adjustment is made, then disappear. I left
any subwoofer hooked up to your system, including separate the window on all the time—I like to keep track of where I
EQ for stereo subs. am during a review—but Anthem has you covered if you’re
The STR has two phono inputs, one each for moving- concerned about any effect a lit display might have on the
magnet and moving-coil cartridges. My experience with the sound (I’m not, and heard none.)
current state of vinyl playback is limited, so any test by me A single large knob to the right of the display can be used
of these inputs’ sound would be more a comment on the to adjust the volume in steps of 0.5dB, or to navigate the
sounds of some ancient cartridges than on the STR itself. So setup menus. There are also buttons for Power, Mute, and
I didn’t listen to the phono inputs; John Atkinson assesses additional setup actions: Menu/Select, Previous, and Next.
their performance in his “Measurements” sidebar. I rarely used any of the front-panel controls, preferring
There’s an Ethernet port for configuring ARC (the STR Anthem’s small, wireless, IR remote-control handset, which
itself is not WiFi-capable); alternatively, a mini USB B port can be used to perform the identical functions. But some
can be used to set up ARC via a PC configured with the things, such as giving the inputs custom names, might be
downloadable ARC software. A USB Type A port is for easier to do via the front panel.
factory use only. An RS-232 input, a remote IR input, a 12V
trigger, a single pair of high-quality L/R speaker terminals, Setup: Basic
and the ubiquitous IEC port for the detachable power cord The STR can be adjusted in a number of ways, with or
fill out the spacious rear panel, which isn’t nearly as crowded without EQ. You can apply high- and low-pass filters for
as this description makes it sound. the main speaker and subwoofer(s) outputs at any frequency
The large display on the STR’s front panel shows the from 20 to 160Hz, and adjust the sub’s polarity and level,
volume setting in numerals large enough to be read from and the listening position. The high- and low-pass filters can
across the room. When Info is selected, additional infor- be defeated if you want to drive the main speakers full-
mation appears: the operating input, ARC status (on or range with a sub, then set the sub’s low-pass frequency with
off), source resolution, and whether the output is in stereo its own, onboard low-pass filter (which most subs have).
measurements, continued
tical with the unbalanced inputs, and at and still 90dB in both directions at a maximum continuous output power
all settings of the volume control. 20kHz. With the analog inputs shorted of 200Wpc into 8 ohms (23dBW),
I reset the unbalanced input to to ground and the volume control set 400Wpc into 4 ohms (23dBW), or
digitize the signal and looked at the to “0.0dB,” the wideband, unweighted 550Wpc into 2 ohms (21.4dBW). At
frequency response. I was at first signal/noise ratio (ref. 2.83V into 8 our usual definition of clipping (ie,
puzzled by the result (fig.3), but then ohms) measured 76.8dB. Restricting when the percentage of THD+noise
realized that Tom Norton had been the measurement bandwidth to 22kHz in the amplifier’s output reaches
using ARC and that its correction was increased the ratio to 83.7dB, and an 1%), with continuous drive the STR
active for this input, which was produc- A-weighting filter increased it further, delivered 225Wpc into 8 ohms (fig.4,
ing the boosts and cuts below 500Hz to 86.4dB. (All ratios are the average of 23.5dBW) and 375Wpc into 4 ohms
in this graph. I disabled ARC, then the two channels.) The primary source (fig.5, 22.7dBW). The slight shortfall
measured the effect of the STR’s Bass of noise was spectral components at into 4 ohms is likely due to the fact that
and Treble controls set to their +10dB the 60Hz AC power-line frequency and I don’t hold the wall voltage constant
and –10dB positions. The Bass control its odd-order harmonics (not shown), during my testing; it had dropped from
offers a range of ±10dB below 20Hz, these most likely due to magnetic 120.6VAC with the amplifier at idle to
the Treble control ±10dB above 20kHz. interference from the large, centrally 118.6V with the amplifier clipping into
Channel separation was excellent, at placed toroidal transformer. 4 ohms.
120dB R–L and 100dB R–L below 2kHz, The STR is specified as delivering The shapes of the traces in these
% % %
W W Hz
Fig.4 Anthem STR, analog input, distortion (%) vs Fig.5 Anthem STR, analog input, distortion (%) vs Fig.6 Anthem STR, analog input, THD+N (%) vs
1kHz continuous output power into 8 ohms. 1kHz continuous output power into 4 ohms. frequency at 20V into: 8 ohms (left channel blue,
right red), 4 ohms (left cyan, right magenta), 2
ohms (gray).
dynaudio.com
ANTHEM ELECTRONICS STR
Other selectable features include balance, bass, and treble subwoofer, and only with a digital input, my setup was far
controls, and a rumble filter. simpler than the above discussion might imply. But with its
You can choose to convert the analog inputs to digital at ability to set up different inputs separately, use more than
32/192, or turn the conversion off and pass the analog signal one setup for any input, pass along an analog input unaltered
along to the amp section with no digital conversion. But this or convert it to digital for processing, and more, the STR is
will bypass ARC for the analog input selected, as well as all exceptionally flexible. I left most of the controls at their fac-
features described above that are also dependent on digital tory default settings, which meant that it took me about five
processing: bass and treble controls, rumble filter, and all minutes to get the STR up and running. Setting up ARC
subwoofer filters and adjustments. The subwoofer outputs will take a little longer.
will remain active, both of them carrying full-range mono; All listening was done with my Monitor Audio Silver 10
you’ll then have to use the subwoofer’s own low-pass filter. speakers, and without subwoofer(s). The Silver 10s were
There are four different Profiles, into which you can load positioned about 6' out from one of the short, bay-shaped
different speaker setups; eg, with and without a subwoofer. walls of my room, spaced about 9' apart and just slightly
Since I didn’t use a sub, I used only a single Profile. But more than that from the main listening seat, and toed in so
the manual uses the words profile and configuration (or config) that their axes crossed just in front of the listener.
synonymously, which can be confusing. And while it also
isn’t made entirely clear, the same input can be configured Setup: ARC
in different ways with different names. For example, I set up Anthem Room Correction comes with a calibrated USB
two separately named configurations for Coax 1, the input measurement microphone, a mike stand, and various cables.
I used 99% of the time: one with ARC on, the other with There are two versions of the program, one for use with a
ARC off. This made switching between them, for compari- PC and not compatible with a Mac OS, the other for use on
sons, far easier than drilling down into the menu to turn a mobile device (iOS only). I used only the computer ver-
ARC on and off. sion, with the mike and STR both connected directly to the
There are also housekeeping controls: Display Bright- computer’s USB inputs.
ness, Mute Level, Maximum Volume, and volume level at After you’ve downloaded the ARC software from An-
power-on. them’s website and opened it, you enter the serial number
Because I evaluated the STR full range, without a of the calibrated mike. While downloading and installing
measurements, continued
two graphs suggest that actual distor- distortion at high powers was relatively still very good considering the higher
tion is very low and lies below the noise low, even at high powers into 4 ohms gain. Both phono inputs’ overload
floor at powers up to at least 100W. I (fig.8). margins were also excellent, at 26dB
therefore measured how the THD+N Both the MC and MM phono inputs across the audioband (MM) and 19dB
percentage changed with frequency preserve absolute polarity, and offer (MC), and both harmonic distortion
at 20V output, equivalent to 50W maximum gains of 72.2 and 91dB at and intermodulation distortion were
into 8 ohms, 100W into 4 ohms, and the speaker outputs. The MC input extremely low.
200W into 2 ohms (fig.6). Though the impedance was the specified 100 Turning to the digital inputs, the
left channel (blue and cyan traces) is ohms from 20Hz to 20kHz; the MM AES/EBU, coaxial, and optical TosLink
slightly more linear than the right (red, impedance was 44k ohms at 20Hz and inputs all locked to datastreams with
magenta) and there is the usual rise 1kHz, dropping to 37k ohms at 20kHz. all sample rates up to 192kHz. Apple’s
in the top octaves, the Anthem STR The RIAA equalization was superb AudioMIDI app indicated that the
offers very low distortion. The distor- and well matched between channels USB input accepted 24-bit integer
tion signature appears to be primarily (fig.9). The MM input’s audioband S/N data with sample rates up to 384kHz.
second-harmonic in nature, though the ratio, ref. 1kHz at 5mV, was very good, Apple’s USB Prober utility identified
third harmonic was dominant in the at 67.5dB, this improving to 78.4dB the Anthem amplifier as the “STR USB
left channel at high power into 4 ohms when A-weighted. The MC input’s S/N Hi-Res Audio” from “XMOS,” and in-
(fig7, blue trace). Intermodulation ratio was around 6dB lower, which is dicated that its USB input operated in
d d d
B B B
r r r
A A A
Hz Hz Hz
Fig.7 Anthem STR, analog input, spectrum of 50Hz Fig.8 Anthem STR, analog input, HF intermodula- Fig.9 Anthem STR, phono input, response with
sinewave, DC–1kHz, at 100Wpc into 4 ohms (left tion spectrum, DC–30kHz, 19+20kHz at 100Wpc RIAA correction (0.5dB/vertical div.).
channel blue, right red; linear frequency scale). peak into 4 ohms (left channel blue, right red;
linear frequency scale).
measurements, continued
the optimal isochronous asynchronous of a full-scale tone at 19.1kHz (blue and (not shown).
mode. A 1kHz digital signal at 0dBFS cyan traces) can’t therefore be seen. The STR’s rejection of word-clock
resulted in an output level of 15.47V The distortion harmonics of the 19.1kHz jitter with 16-bit AES/EBU data (fig.12)
into 8 ohms with the volume control tone all lie below –84dB (0.006%). was superb, with all of the odd-order
set to “–20.0,” which suggests that the With data sampled at 44.1, 96, and harmonics of the LSB-level, low-fre-
STR’s gain with digital signals is a little 192kHz, the response followed the quency squarewave at the correct levels
too high. same shape as the blue and red traces (sloping green line). With 24-bit J-Test
The Anthem’s impulse response in fig.4, with sharp rolloffs below each data (not shown), no jitter-related
with 44.1kHz data indicates that the Nyquist frequency. sidebands were present above –130dB
reconstruction filter is a conventional When I increased the bit depth from (0.00003%) via the AES/EBU, coaxial
linear-phase type, with time-symmet- 16 to 24 with a dithered 1kHz tone at S/PDIF, and USB inputs. Only via the
rical ringing to either side of the single –90dBFS, the noise floor dropped by TosLink input did the Anthem STR
sample at 0dBFS. With 44.1kHz- 13dB or so (fig.11), meaning that the depart from perfection: a large number
sampled white noise (fig.10, red and STR offers at least 18 bits’ worth of of sidebands were present, spaced at
magenta traces) the STR’s response resolution. With undithered data rep- 120Hz intervals (not shown).
rolled off sharply above 20kHz, reach- resenting a tone at exactly –90.31dBFS, Anthem’s STR is a well-engineered
ing full stop-band suppression at just the three DC voltage levels described amplifier offering high power and
over half the sample rate (vertical by the data were well resolved and the respectable measured performance.
green line). An aliased image at 25kHz waveform was perfectly symmetrical —John Atkinson
d d d
B B B
r r r
A A A
Hz Hz Hz
Fig.10 Anthem STR, digital input, wideband Fig.11 Anthem STR, digital input, spectrum with Fig.12 Anthem STR, digital input, high-resolution
spectrum of white noise at –4dBFS (left channel noise and spuriae of dithered 1kHz tone at –90dBFS jitter spectrum of analog output signal, 11.025kHz
red, right magenta) and 19.1kHz tone at 0dBFS (left with: 16-bit data (left channel cyan, right magenta), at –6dBFS, sampled at 44.1kHz with LSB toggled
blue, right cyan), with data sampled at 44.1kHz 24-bit data (left blue, right red) (20dB/vertical at 229Hz: 16-bit AES/EBU data (left channel blue,
(20dB/vertical div.). div.). right red). Center frequency of trace, 11.025kHz;
frequency range, ±3.5kHz.
a simple integrated amp. As mentioned liantly recorded—and so dynamic that, Singers’ collection of Gilbert & Sul-
earlier, all of my listening, pre- and in places, the very top-end information livan songs, Here’s a Howdy Do! (CD,
post-EQ, was done with digital source sounds as if it was subtly overload- RCA Victor 61885-2), had rewarding
material, using a direct, digital coaxial ing the mixing desk. Nevertheless, spatial depth as one or another of the
connection from my Marantz UD7007 audiophiles accustomed to six-figure singers was given prominence in the
universal Blu-ray player and, briefly, amps and speakers might find it hard arrangements. The sound was also a
via a USB link from my computer. I to credit the explosive sound I heard to bit warm, but this wasn’t particularly
didn’t test the analog inputs—I had on a system in which the combined price obvious, as this recording offers little in
hand no relatively new, reliable, pure of speakers and amps was $7000. The the way of extended bass.
analog sources with which I’m inti- result was punchy and likely true to That was definitely not the case with
mately familiar, and using my Blu-ray the source, with excellent detail and Eeg Fonnesbæk (CD, Stunt STUCD
player’s analog output would involve, an open midrange. At one point I laid 15082), one of my 2018 picks for
at minimum, one extra unnecessary aside my notepad and just listened— “Records to Die For.” This stunning
D/A conversion at the player’s output, which is, after all, what it’s all about. studio recording, featuring the voice of
and add its effects, if any, to the test. On Leo Kottke’s My Father’s Face Danish jazz singer Sinne Eeg and the
(CD, Private Music 2050-2-P), the double bass (and occasional electric
Listening: Without ARC Anthem portrayed well his gravelly, bass) of Thomas Fonnesbæk, sounded
One of my favorite things about audio textured voice, providing solid bass almost as good here as it did through a
shows is discovering recordings that depth, and top-end detail supported pair of Revel Ultima2 Salon2 speakers
I might want to own for enjoyment, by believable warmth. And the King’s CONTINUED ON PAGE 119
testing, or both. And despite the car-
cass that was the high-end audio por-
tion of the 2018 Consumer Electronics
ARC MEASUREMENTS
Show, I did hear at least one such
While ARC’s own computer-screen tests: precise mike positions can be
recording, in the Harman-Levinson-
results show the performance of the difficult to reproduce, possibly
Revel room: Marcus Miller’s M 2 (CD,
system before and after running the skewing the results.
3 Deuces/Telarc CD-83534). It’s not
room EQ, I also measured the results To save space, fig.1 shows only the
the style of music I’d normally choose
with an independent system: the Parts right channel, the worse of the two
(jazz fusion, featuring Miller’s work
Express OmniMic. While this system pre-EQ measurements. (The left
on bass guitar and other instruments)
isn’t as sophisticated as the gear John channel, post-EQ, did eliminate a
but I ordered it when I got home. My
Atkinson uses to measure loudspeak- similar dip at around 43Hz, meaning
enjoyment of it through the STR and
ers for Stereophile, it does use a that that dip was indeed correctible,
my system was enormously helped by
calibrated microphone, and can reveal and not one of the black-hole
its superbly clean recording quality,
what ARC is doing to the response. frequency dips.) Note the significant
with a smooth, silky, unexaggerated
While the actual equalized peaks and dips below 300Hz, which
top end and solid imaging.
responses were performed by ARC are not rare in room responses.
M 2 doesn’t feature a ton of depth,
using an average of eight or nine Surprisingly, they don’t sound as bad
but is solidly up front and highly dy-
microphone positions, the OmniMic as these response curves might
namic. The Anthem had no problem
plots shown here (all were 1⁄6-octave suggest—we do adapt to the quirks of
keeping up with it. I did hear a little
averaged) represent a single listening our own rooms. But ARC’s smoothing
excessive warmth and body in the
position. In my room, the differences of the response between 80 and
bass guitar and kick drum, particularly
between a single and multiple points 200Hz is clearly visible, as is the
when I cranked the volume to the lev-
were trivial, though multiple positions improvement in that 43Hz dip. The
els the music demands. But experience
did smooth out the dip in the overall response is still elevated from
tells me that this was a room effect,
equalized response at 43Hz. The use the bass to the upper bass compared
possibly aided by the Monitor Audio
of multiple mike positions also adds to the midrange and treble, but that’s
speakers, although, as usual, they were
uncertainty where the goal is to desirable in a room response taken at
positioned well forward of the wall be-
document multiple before-and-after the seating position. —Thomas J. Norton
hind them. But it wasn’t pervasive; on
some tracks the kick drum was tighter
and positioned farther back, suggest-
ing that at least some of the warmth I
heard might be in the mix as it varied
from cut to cut. Overall, however, the
Anthem STR never gave me reason to
complain.
Nils Lofgren’s Acoustic Live (CD, Vi-
sion Music VMCD1005) is something
of an audiophile chestnut, particularly
“Keith Don’t Go,” a track whose 6.5 Fig.1 Top curve: right
minutes have thrilled or tortured channel, before ARC
EQ. Bottom curve:
audiophile showgoers for years. This right channel, after
track, now 20 years old, has somewhat ARC EQ.
faded as a demo piece, but it’s still bril-
KEN MICALLEF
SPECIFICATIONS
Description Two-channel, (13dBW). Input sensitivity: (340mm) D. Weight: 37.5 (P21 EXD, $13,150; four
tubed, power amplifier with 1.2V RMS to full output. In- lb (17kg). Power sup- 300B tubes, $650/pair).
external power supply. Tube put impedance: 100k ohms. ply: 8.7" (220mm) W Approximate number of
complement: amplifier, Channel balance: 0.5dB. by 6" (145mm) H by 14" dealers: 24. Warranty: 18
two Sovtek 6C45PE, four Frequency response: 10Hz– (345mm) D. Weight: 35.2 lb months, 3 months on tubes.
300B; power supply, two 36kHz, –3dB. Minimum load (15.9kg). Manufacturer
6AU4-GTA, two EZ80. impedance: 3 ohms. Gain: Finishes Ash, Cherry, Ma- BorderPatrol Audio
Line-level inputs: 2 (RCA). 10dB. Power consumption: hogany, Maple with metal Electronics,
Outputs: 2 pairs each of 3 300W. top and bottom panels. 11864 Sidd Finch Street,
binding posts—ground, 8 Dimensions Amplifier: Serial number of unit Waldorf, MD 20602.
ohm tap, 4 ohm tap. Output 17" (430mm) W by 13.5" reviewed Demo P21. Tel/Fax: (301) 705-7460.
power: 20Wpc into 8 ohms (340mm) H by 13.5" Price as reviewed $14,450 Web: www.borderpatrol.net.
amplifier in-house—said, over Chinese chops in Chelsea, The P21 EXD is 17" wide by 13.5" high by 13.5" deep,
“That’s an amplifier I should be reviewing!” If Herb’s all in, weighs
A S S35.2
O Clb,I AT
and E
is D
hardwired
E Q U Ipoint-to-point
P M E N T throughout.
well . . . Its internal shell comprises a copper chassis and base plate
With Roberts acting as middleman, BorderPatrol owner surrounded by an outer wooden plinth. My review sample’s
and British ex-pat Gary Dews hand-delivered one of his P21 plinth was finished in rustic mahogany (ash, cherry, and
EXD stereo power amplifiers to my building’s pink-and- maple are available). The P21 EXD’s features are plentiful
blue-tiled lobby. As his amp, its external power-supply unit and good: fixed-bias output stage; multi-section, split-
(PSU), and a box of tubes were easily toted, the usual slog bobbin output transformers; carbon-film resistors; and DC
up six flights of stairs was painless. After a few hours of lis- filament supplies for the 300B tubes, rectified by Schottky
tening to LPs and CDs, I invited Dews to accompany me to diodes. Among its other novel design distinctions, the P21
my habitual red-sauce joint. We ordered, and I quizzed him EXD uses interstage transformers to couple the driver tube
about the design of the P21 EXD, a most unusual amplifier to the 300Bs, and does not employ global negative feedback.
whose 300B output tubes are configured in push-pull mode BorderPatrol’s website describes the P20 and P21 as
offering 20Wpc. “Single-ended all the way up to the inter-stage transformer”;
both amps “[take] advantage of this supposedly antiquated
Beyond Borders? technology to split the phase in a more accurate and time
Gary Dews builds three levels of the P21, which is the two- consistent way than the much more common active phase
channel version of his P20 monoblock power amplifier: the splitters. . . .”
P21, with aluminum chassis and stock power supply ($9325, “The P21 doesn’t use coupling capacitors between the
300B tubes extra); the P21 EXD, with better internal com- small 6C45pi input/driver tube and the 300B output
ponents, cryogenically treated copper chassis, and cryogeni- tubes,” Dews told me. “It’s transformer-coupled using an
cally treated interstage and output transformers, with stock interstage phase splitter/driver transformer to couple the
external PSU ($13,150, 300B tubes extra); and the P21 EXS, driver tube to the 300Bs. This is rare but has several advan-
which has the same specs as the EXD but comes with a tages. A transformer provides a very high-impedance load
special twin-power-transformer EXS PSU, in heavy gauge to the driver tube, linearizing its operation and maximizing
copper casework and full cryogenic treatment ($18,775, its voltage output. It provides perfectly matched phase-split
300B tubes extra). My review sample of the P21 EXD had output voltages to the 300B pairs.”
two pairs of EML 300B tubes ($650/pair), bringing its total Why design a 300B amplifier in push-pull rather than
cost to $14,450. single-ended-triode (SET) mode?
MEASUREMENTS
measured the BorderPatrol P21 ohms, 15.9dB from the 4 ohm tap into measuring 87k ohms at 20Hz, 75k at
d
B
r
A
Hz
Fig.1 BorderPatrol P21 EXD, 8 ohm tap, frequency Fig.2 BorderPatrol P21 EXD, 8 ohm tap, small-signal Fig.3 BorderPatrol P21 EXD, 8 ohm tap, small-signal
response at 2.83V into: simulated loudspeaker 1kHz squarewave into 8 ohms. 10kHz squarewave into 8 ohms.
load (gray), 8 ohms (left channel blue, right red),
4 ohms (left cyan, right magenta), 2 ohms (green)
(1dB/vertical div.).
audible ±1.9dB (fig.1, gray trace). From and taken from the 8 ohm outputs full-wave–rectified supply frequency,
the 4 ohm tap, the response variations and with the inputs shorted to ground, suggest that they are due to subopti-
were still ±1.4dB (not shown). The was disappointing, at 60.6dB left mal internal grounding. I experimented
BorderPatrol’s frequency response and 56.8dB right. These S/N ratios with the grounding between the Audio
rolled off rapidly above the audioband. improved to 76.7 and 73.1dB, respec- Precision and the P21, and repeated
The reproduction of a 1kHz waveform tively, when an A-weighting filter some of the measurements with the
from both taps was still suitably square was switched into circuit. The ratios EXD power supply’s ground lifted with
(fig.2), though with a small amount of from the 4 ohm tap were consistently the rear-panel switch. The published
overshoot on the leading edges. 2dB greater, and spectral analysis of results were taken with the lowest
Looking at a 10kHz squarewave (fig.3), the low-frequency noise floor (fig.4) noise I could achieve.
that overshoot is critically damped, indicated that the primary source of BorderPatrol specifies the P21 EXD
with no ringing evident. noise was AC-supply–related spikes as delivering up to 20Wpc (13dBW),
Channel separation was good, at 120 and 240Hz, though the 60Hz presumably with the load matched
at 90dB in both directions at 1kHz. and odd-order harmonics are much to the nominal output transformer
However, the unweighted, wideband lower in level. The frequencies of 2 See www.stereophile.com/content/
signal/noise ratio, ref. 1W into 8 ohms these spikes, which are related to the real-life-measurements-page-2.
d
B
r % %
Hz W W
Fig.4 BorderPatrol P21 EXD, 8 ohm tap, spectrum Fig.5 BorderPatrol P21 EXD, 8 ohm tap, distortion Fig.6 BorderPatrol P21 EXD, 4 ohm tap, distortion
of 1kHz sinewave, DC–1kHz, at 1W into 8 ohms (left (%) vs 1kHz continuous output power into 8 ohms. (%) vs 1kHz continuous output power into 8 ohms.
channel blue, right red; linear frequency scale).
³7KH/;LVRQHRIWKHPRVWLQWLPDWHVRXQGLQJG\QDPLF
WH[WXUDOO\QXDQFHGWUXWKIXOSXUYH\RUVRIPXVLFRIP\
H[SHULHQFH´.HQ0LFDOOHI
/X[PDQ/[±6WHUHRSKLOH0D\
³$EDQJXSWRGDWHGHVLJQLQERWKHQJLQHHULQJDQG
VRXQG«VLPSO\VSHFLDO´
/X[PDQ/[±+L)L1HZV-DQXDU\
ZZZOX[PDQJOREDOFRP
my Shindo Allegro dual-mono preamplifier. An LG Blu-ray in the black, not the red. But for all my juggling of sources
player and PS Audio NuWave DAC fed the Shindo digital and speakers, spinning numerous LPs, and quizzing Gary
signals via Triode Wire Labs American interconnects. With Dews until he was ready to bust, any characteristic sound
my Follow-Up on Klipsch’s Heresy III loudspeaker2 still that the BorderPatrol P21 EXD may have had evaded my
dripping digital ink, those horn-loaded squat-boys remained ears, at least at first. Its standout trait seemed to be its unerring
in the system for the first part of my listening, followed by transparency. But is any audio component truly transparent,
DeVore Fidelity’s Orangutan O/93 floorstanders. Audito- imposing on the music no personality of its own and thus
rium 23 and Triode Wire Labs American speaker cables influencing the listener’s perception of that music not at
were used for both. all? Balderdash, I say. Nonetheless, I heard what I heard—or
The P21 EXD has speaker-cable taps for 4 and 8 ohms; didn’t hear.
I found the latter slightly more dynamic, and so did all of I played LPs familiar and, mostly, foreign, as well as files
my listening in 8 ohm mode. streamed and ripped. Although I sometimes enjoy using
The P21 EXD isn’t all that heavy at 37.54 lb, and slid recordings new to me to evaluate gear, only by playing very
easily into the bottom shelf of my Salamander rack. The familiar recordings—ones practically ingrained in my DNA—
umbilical that links the P21 and its PSU is rather short, could I arrive at any definitive conclusions regarding the
however. I ended up placing the PSU parallel to the P21, BorderPatrol amplifier. But once I did, its character spoke
under the stubby bench my CD player sits on, perched on loud and clear.
four Mapleshade Isoblocks. The PSU I plugged straight into Some amplifiers speak volumes about tonal saturation,
the wall, no filter. I pressed the on/off switch on its faceplate about the macro- and microsubtleties of an instrument’s
and the games began. timbre and texture. Others image superbly, while still others
rejoice in dynamics, in rapid ascents and dizzying plummets.
Listening Some sound like tube bluebloods, others speak a clean solid-
As a for-hire Stereophile scribe, my job is to communicate state language. Though it took a while, the BorderPatrol
my impressions of the sound of the audio component I’m P21 EXD eventually revealed an undeniable sonic signature.
assigned to review, warts and all. If I can’t describe an ampli- My slowness in grasping its unique sound is testament to
fier’s sound in a clear, concise, convincing, and hopefully Gary Dews’s genius in creating an exceptionally musical and
somewhat entertaining manner, I’m not worth what Stereo- understated amplifier.
phile pays me. I like to think that, most of the time, I get it
right—my 22 years of hi-fi reviewing put me in good stead: 2 See my Follow-Up in June 2018.
measurements, continued
tap. With clipping defined as when at a relatively low level (2.83V, decreases. This is poor performance.
the THD+noise in the output reaches equivalent to 1W into 8 ohms and Note how the right channel (red and
1%, I measured a clipping power of 2W into 4 ohms). Even so, and from magenta traces) has lower midrange
19.5Wpc into 8 ohms from the 8 ohm the lower-midband-distortion 4 ohm distortion than the left (blue, cyan).
tap (12.9dBW, fig.5) and into 4 ohms tap, while the THD+N was respect- This will be due to the bias for the left
from the 4 ohm tap (9.9dBW, fig.6), ably low in the midrange into 8 ohms channel being not quite optimal. (I
with both channels driven. With the 8 (fig.8, blue and red traces) and 4 ohms assume it must have drifted during the
ohm tap driving 4 ohms (not shown), (cyan, magenta), there were large auditioning.)
the BorderPatrol clipped at 7.1Wpc rises in both the treble and bass. The The THD+N waveform with a 1kHz
(5.5dBW). It did better when the load higher treble distortion is due to the signal at 1Wpc from the 8 ohm tap into
impedance was higher than the tap decrease in open-loop voltage gain as 8 ohms (fig.9) indicates that the dis-
value, the 4 ohm tap clipping at 15Wpc the frequency increases; the higher tortion mostly comprises the relatively
into 8 ohms (11.8dBW, fig.7). bass distortion is most likely due to benign second and third harmonics,
I examined how the P21’s percent- the increase in saturation of the output though every harmonic is surrounded
age of THD+N varied with frequency transformer’s core as the frequency by power-supply–related spuriae
% % V
W Hz sec
Fig.7 BorderPatrol P21 EXD, 4 ohm tap, distortion Fig.8 BorderPatrol P21 EXD, 4 ohm tap, THD+N Fig.9 BorderPatrol P21 EXD, 8 ohm tap, 1kHz
(%) vs 1kHz continuous output power into 4 ohms. (%) vs frequency at 2.83V into: 8 ohms (left waveform at 1W into 8 ohms, 0.11% THD+N (blue);
channel blue, right red), 4 ohms (left cyan, right distortion and noise waveform with fundamental
magenta). notched out (red, not to scale).
measurements, continued
(fig.10). The second harmonic is high- measurement. the same for a lower price.4 The
est in level even at low frequencies, While its low distortion at powers question is: Did KM like the sound of
though higher-order products are also of a few hundred milliwatts will mean the P21 EXD because of its measured
present at lower levels (fig.11). Tested it will work best with very sensitive performance or despite it? I don’t
with an equal mix of 19 and 20kHz speakers, overall, I was disappointed know the answer to that question.
tones, the BorderPatrol produced high by the BorderPatrol P21 EXD’s —John Atkinson
levels of intermodulation distortion measured performance, especially
3 See www.stereophile.com/content/audio-research-
(fig.12), the difference product at 1kHz considering that, as reviewed, it costs reference-75-power-amplifier-measurements.
lying at –32dB (2.5%), despite the $14,450. Modern tube amplifiers can 4 See www.stereophile.com/content/primaluna-
low power level at which I took this do better than this,3 or perform about dialogue-premium-power-amplifier-measurements.
d d d
B B B
r r r
A A A
Hz Hz Hz
Fig.10 BorderPatrol P21 EXD, 8 ohm tap, spectrum Fig.11 BorderPatrol P21 EXD, 8 ohm tap, spectrum Fig.12 BorderPatrol P21 EXD, 4 ohm tap, HF inter-
of 1kHz sinewave, DC–1kHz, at 1W into 8 ohms (left of 50Hz sinewave, DC–1kHz, at 1W into 8 ohms modulation spectrum, DC–30kHz, 19+20kHz at
channel blue, right red; linear frequency scale). (left channel blue, right red; linear frequency 1W peak into 8 ohms (left channel blue, right red;
scale). linear frequency scale).
it, revealing the subtle melodic and the full-on heady release of that divine
rhythmic gradations of every recording nonchalance expressed so perfectly
I played. Though it could sound a bit by Mobley, Blakey, pianist Wynton
dry at times—unlike my Shindo Haut- Kelly, and bassist Paul Chambers. This
Brion, whose sound is perpetually rich is Saturday-night swing, all bonhomie
in saturated tonal colors—the P21 EXD and carefree exultation. The P21 EXD
was more down-to-Earth, if not neces- brought light and playfulness where
sarily more buttoned-down. Its sound before it was all shade and pure, sweet,
was less romantic, but perhaps more insular soul.
neutral than my dear Shindo. In that,
the two amps represent performance The Story of O/93
ideals that I find equally exciting. Changing out the Klipsch Heresy IIIs
The P21 EXD’s talent at reproduc- for the DeVore Fidelity Orangutan
ing discrete orchestral notes with O/93s3 created more fireworks and
inner refinement and attention to revealed more of the P21 EXD’s
microdynamics was very evident with personality. I immediately missed the
two black discs: Mozart’s Sinfonia midrange and treble spread of the
Concertante for Violin and Viola, with Heresys’ horns and the low-end
Jean-François Paillard conducting his delivery of their 12" woofers. But the
own orchestra (LP, Denon OX-7022- more focused, detailed sound of the
ND); and Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy O/93s only confirmed my previous
and Hindemith’s Violin Concerto, observations. As I played Soul Station, or
performed by violinist David Ois- Dave Holland’s Triplicate (LP, ECM
trakh, with the London Symphony 1373), or Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis’s
Orchestra conducted respectively by Cookbook (LP, Prestige 7141), the P21’s
Jascha Horenstein and Paul Hindemith delicate resolution of microdynamics
(LP, Decca/Ace of Diamonds SDD and shading was more evident. I missed
465). From both discs I could hear the the warmth and tone of my Shindo
sensual burr of the strings, even what Haut-Brion’s lower-end fundamentals,
sounded like the orchestral players but was gobsmacked by the speed,
inhaling and exhaling, and the unusual clarity, and slam of the P21 and O/93s.
“crying” tone of Oistrakh’s violin—an Triplicate was as palatable and present as
emotional presence that the P21 EXD I’ve heard it, from the bassist’s knotty
captured perfectly. Again, instrumental rounds to drummer Jack DeJohnette’s
nuances and the intricacies of textures multi-limbed crash and roll, surging
were striking as revealed through the from left to right in swinging, skull-
P21 EXD. The BorderPatrol’s sound wringing stereo. The O/93s needed a
was balanced and coherent from top to lot more power to sing at full voice, but
bottom, and neutral in the best sense paid dividends in exposing the nooks
of the word. and crannies of the P21’s well-defined
I always return to the terrific Blue soul and frequently huge soundstages.
Note LPs of tenor saxophonist Hank
Mobley, the “middleweight champ” This I Dig of You
who left a hard-won legacy of driving, If we engaged in a bit of that forum
deeply felt, brilliantly swinging hard fanaticism called A/B/X testing, I
bop gracefully informed by his clear- surely could not tell whether the
headed, melodically wondrous solos BorderPatrol P21 EXD stereo ampli-
and breezy blowing. When people ask fier was tubed or solid-state, SET or
for a jazz starter package, Mobley’s push-pull, a flea-watt flea-market steal
Workout, No Room for Squares, A Caddy or a high-tech class-D switching amp.
for Daddy, and The Turnaround! always It’s simply a great amplifier, a tremen-
top my list. dous all-round performer, a machine
One of my favorite Mobley albums made of tubes and trannies and nuts
is from 1960: Soul Station (LP, Blue and bolts and wires that got me closer
Note BLP 4031), a perfect LP for judg- to the music without adding much in
ing dynamics, midrange fullness, spatial the way of editorializing. Gary Dews’s
realism, and toe-tapping rhythmic mahogany-wrapped 300B engine is
drive. Through the P21 EXD, Mob- transparent, dynamic, and a serious
ley’s blissful tenor sounded intact, with truth-teller. It defies expectations while
a bigger sense of air but less of that opening a door to new discoveries
lush, romantic tone I always associate and memorable journeys. Your music
with this album. I also sensed more library deserves no less. Q
propulsion, more microdynamic intri- 3 See www.stereophile.com/content/devore-fidelity-
cacies from Art Blakey’s drums, and orangutan-o93-loudspeaker.
JOSEPH AUDIO PULSAR LOUDSPEAKER and response, flute and sax riding high
Ever since loudspeaker designer Jeff Joseph, owner of Joseph Audio, delivered over rhythms of marimba and congas.
and carefully positioned in my Bed-Stuy bunker a pair of his stand-mounted Soumah’s sound has an enjoyable
Pulsar loudspeakers ($7700/pair without stands, serial nos. P-0187L/R), I’ve been force and texture. The outlines of this
experiencing a new variety of audio pleasure. I’d experienced short, scattered album’s precisely rendered images
moments of a similar pleasure in Joseph’s rooms at various audio shows, but I’d are beyond any I have experienced
never been able to understand its cause or perceive its full nature until I heard at home. The only aural images I’ve
the Pulsars in my home system. As I told Joseph as he walked out the door, “You “seen” as clearly rendered as these
know, I don’t own any $7700 adjectives.”1 came from Alta Audio’s Hestia Tita-
nium floorstanders ($32,000/pair).3
I needed to spend time with the Pul- To check that I wasn’t dreaming,
sar so I could understand what made I played my trusty DSD download
it a Class A (Restricted Extreme LF) of Puente Celeste’s Nama (DSDx2,
product in Stereophile’s list of Recom- M•A Recordings M084A) and almost
mended Components: Joseph Audio’s instantly had to admit that I’d never
smallest speaker (15" high by 9” wide experienced that quantity or purity of
by 13" deep), the Pulsar hadn’t been resolution in my own home either.
in our pages since Michael Fremer Piano and voice were focused, but it
reviewed it in the June 2012 issue2 —its was the textural pleasure of Santiago
design hasn’t changed since then—and Vazquez’s low singing and whistling
had fallen from our listing. And as over Luciano Dyzenchauz’s bowed
John Atkinson reminded us in last double bass that hooked me and held
April’s “Recommended Components” my attention.
feature, “In general, components I have experienced countless highly
do not remain listed for more than resolving loudspeakers, but almost
three years unless at least one of the none was also highly involving. The
magazine’s writers and editors has had Joseph Audio Pulsar was both.
continued experience with them.” With the Pulsar, all types of record-
In show reports, I’ve described ings became newly enjoyable because
Joseph Audio speakers as “quiet”— of what was newly revealed. As I fin-
mainly because, through them, no the tweeter’s output while reducing ished each album I smiled quietly for
fuzzy, blurry, grainy stuff happens the potential for metallic ringing from a moment, wondering what I should
between 1 and 4kHz. Unlike most the bass-mid cone. cue up next. Another old favorite?
two-way box speakers, the Pulsar’s It’s after midnight. Jeff Joseph is long The Pulsars made me like a lot of
sound in that region fades to silent gone. I sit peacefully, beginning to my records better—not because they
“black,” not a gray haze. Usually, I wonder what I really think of these made bad recordings sound better, but
expect metal cones to sound metallic, uptown-bourgeoisie Pulsars. I’m because all recordings sound best when
but the Pulsar’s 5.5" cast-magnesium listening to the gruff, gravelly voice of they’re fleshed out, well sorted, and
bass-midrange cone never sounded Guinean singer and tenor saxophonist vigorously alive. The Pulsars special-
metallic. I occasionally think soft-dome Momo Wandel Soumah forcefully ized in that.
tweeters sound too soft, but the Pulsar’s growling “Toko” and “Yérélélé,” from When Jeff Joseph arrived, my stereo
fabric dome sounds only . . . invisible. I his Afro Swing (Buda Musique 16/44.1 had been sounding balanced and
always expect thick, heavily lacquered Qobuz stream). “Yérélélé” rolls enjoyably musical. I had Mytek HiFi’s
boxes to sound almost imperceptibly forward in a quivering Afro-samba. Manhattan II DAC driving the Pass
restrained and less fully animated than Flute, marimba, and a chanted rap Laboratories HPA-1 line stage and
the Pulsars. I also expect to hear the vocal propel a groove that seems headphone amplifier, connected to
ports of ported speakers adding some- completely unrestrained by the Pulsars. Pass’s XA25 stereo amplifier driving
thing to the sound—but the Pulsars’ Wandel’s timeless backbeats reach the Harbeth P3ESR minimonitors.
ports don’t. repeatedly for control of my mind. The imaging was locked in, with no
I suspect that these attractive speak- Wandel’s wooden instruments and
ers are countering my expectations Joseph’s Pulsars let me delight in sound 1 Joseph Audio, Inc., PO Box 1529, Melville, NY
11747. Tel: (800) 474-4434. Web:
because of their asymmetrical, infinite- purely for the sake of sound. The www.josephaudio.com.
slope crossovers. These turn off the au- music of Afro Swing seems bigger and 2 See Michael Fremer’s review in the June 2012
dio signal to both drivers very sharply, clearer than it did through my Falcon issue: www.stereophile.com/content/
joseph-audio-pulsar-loudspeaker.
thereby minimizing cone breakup and Acoustics LS3/5a’s or Harbeth
3 See Jim Austin’s review in the January 2018 issue:
nonlinear behavior. Likewise, I imagine P3ESRs. www.stereophile.com/content/
that these steep crossover slopes purify “Léfa Lu” is a wildly arranged call alta-audio-hestia-titanium-loudspeaker.
HOLOAUDIO SPRING “KITSUNE thing a little . . . dark? nothing—and I mean nothing—in the
TUNED EDITION” LEVEL 3 DAC It turned out to be the former. music was hidden from me. The notes
Praise it all you want, but digital audio The darkness was all in my head, were no less apparent, the pitches no
is still my second choice: In a life in a semisubconscious product of my less distinct, the ensemble playing no
which the enjoyment of art is infinite expectations. I remember using my less rhythmically accomplished than
but the hours in which to do so are Sony SCD-777 SACD/CD player to when listening to the CD. Subtleties
limited, and given the choice between listen to “Two Turns Home,” from of bassist Victor Wooten’s technique
listening to LPs and 78s on the one guitarist David Grier’s Evocative (CD, and details of his fretless instrument’s
hand or files and CDs on the other, Dreadnought 0901), then to an AIFF sound were front and center, and
digital is a waste of my time: It doesn’t file made from that same disc, played Grier’s melodic variations rolled, color-
connect me with the music as well as through the HoloAudio DAC—and fully and altogether beautifully, into
analog does, period. In my experience, the latter sounded, undeniably, a lot aural view, one after the other. I was
digital audio isn’t evil, merely banal. richer. The electric bass was more more than enchanted—I was involved.
But digital is getting better all the rounded, the fiddle more substantive, I couldn’t help but wonder: Was this
time, and part of my job description is the guitar more burnished in tone, and uncommon musicality a consequence
to endure in meeting digital halfway, the recording as a whole was more
6 Manufacturer HoloAudio, China. US distributor:
to give it a fresh chance every time out. listenable. I made a conscious effort KitsunéHiFi, 19410 Highway 99, Suite A #366, Lyn-
But first I have to catalog and discard to let down my guard, and found that nwood, WA 98036. Web: https://kitsunehifi.com.
all of the defense mechanisms I’ve
adopted without thinking—the wince
before the blow, if you will—to make
digital more palatable. In particular,
because early digital sound was so
damned bright, even when the glare
isn’t there, my ears still squint.
So it was that, during my first hour
with the HoloAudio Spring “Kitsune
Tuned Edition” Level 3 DAC,6 I
thought: Is it my imagination, or is this
It doesn’t matter who did it, what tempo. The harmony and Reference Take Action
The Get Better Sound
“rules” they followed, or how great blend between the treble
the components were supposed to and bass is improved and website has links to the
be. The sad fact is that if the system it sounds more like live music. Music full comments and much more detail
doesn’t “play the room” properly, it is more emotionally engaging. about RoomPlay, including the new,
is significantly underperforming its It is as if I can see into the record- lower-priced, and highly acclaimed
potential. ing. The resolution of detail is remark- service I call RoomPlay Reference.
able on every song. The soundstage If you are ready for a real improve-
Fantasy is more three-dimensional and the ment in your system, visit www.get
The fantasy is the belief that a height, depth and width seem more bettersound.com. For more info, con-
new amp, preamp, or cable is some- right. Hearing the location of the tact me at jim@getbettersound.com
how going to make it all happen. It performers on the soundstage has or call 770-777-2095.
might help, but not nearly added an extra dimen-
Best regards,
as much as it could if your sion of excitement to the
system was voiced proper-
ly to your room. This voic- Room
listening experience.
I find myself just lis- Jim Smith
ing is called RoomPlay.
the above came while listening to Tony especially the third, which oversamples the controls required to activate those
Rice Plays and Sings Bluegrass (AIFF from all incoming digital signals, regardless filters? Maybe such a thing could sell
CD, Rounder Select ROUCD 253). of provenance, to DSD—the tension for even less than $2499.
Near the end of “I’ve Waited as Long was nowhere to be heard. Never mind that. I’m just happy
as I Can,” Rice begins his solo with a The above points to the only com- that so relatively affordable a product
D produced by bending his guitar’s B- plaint I have about the HoloAudio has proven me wrong in the most
string to that pitch before his pick attack: DAC, though it’s less a complaint than agreeable way: The HoloAudio Spring
in non-oversampling mode, the ten- a suggestion: Why not make a version “Kitsune Tuned Edition” Level 3 DAC
sion involved in doing so was apparent; of the Spring that dispenses altogether is a revelation in every sense. As Herb
with each of the oversampling filters— with the oversampling chip, and with said: Highly recommended. —Art Dudley
LG V30 HI-RES SMARTPHONE my Audio Precision SYS2722 system Sharp filter’s impulse response with
When Jason Victor Serinus reviewed (see the January 2008 “As We See It,” 44.1kHz data (fig.1) indicates that it is
LG’s MQA-capable V30 smartphone8 http://tinyurl.com/4ffpve4), using a conventional, linear-phase, FIR type,
in our May issue, he was mightily test-signal files I copied to its inter- with time-symmetrical ringing to ei-
impressed. “LG’s implementation of nal memory using the Mac Android ther side of the single full-scale sample.
its Hi-Fi Quad DAC is a work of Helper app. (Our V30 sample was The Short filter (fig.2) is a minimum-
genius,” he wrote, concluding that “If running Android OS v7.1.2.) The V30 phase type, while the Slow filter
ever there were a device that could played every AIFF, ALAC, FLAC, (not shown) is again a linear-phase
bring the experience of high-end WAV, DSD64, and DSD128 file I type. I couldn’t examine the time- or
sound to millions of music lovers, the tried, displaying on its screen the PCM frequency-domain behavior of the
hi-rez V30 with MQA is it. It’s more sample rate (up to 192kHz) and bit V30’s MQA filter, as filter switching
than a game-changer.” JVS added that depth (16 or 24), and whether the file is automatic. And as I have no MQA-
the V30’s combination of audiophile was MQA or DSD-encoded. The encoded test-signal files, I couldn’t
sound quality and smartphone maximum output level at 1kHz from switch that filter on.
portability “may prove unbeatable.” the headphone output was 1.04V with Tested with white noise sampled
However, our publishing schedule both PCM and DSD data, and the at 44.1kHz (fig.3, red and magenta
didn’t include enough time for Jason’s output preserved absolute polarity. The traces), the Sharp filter’s output rolled
review to be accompanied by our output impedance was very low, at 1.5 off rapidly above 20kHz, reaching full
usual evaluation of its measured ohms across the audioband. stopband attenuation just above half
performance. This Follow-Up corrects The V30 offers a choice of three the sample rate (indicated by the verti-
that omission. reconstruction filters for playback of cal green line). This filter completely
I measured the LG V30 DAC with PCM files: Sharp, Short, and Slow. The suppressed the image of a full-scale
tone at 19.1kHz (blue and cyan traces),
and the harmonics of this tone are
all low in level. Although a spurious
tone at 28.9kHz can be seen, this lies
at almost –100dBFS. While the Short
V V filter behaves very similarly in the fre-
quency domain (not shown), the Slow
filter has a peculiar scalloped ultrasonic
rolloff (fig.4). Some low-level audio-
sec sec 8 The V30 costs $799 with 64GB internal memory,
$929.99 with 128GB. US distributor: LG Electronics
Fig.1 LG V30, Sharp filter, impulse response (one Fig.2 LG V30, Short filter, impulse response (one MobileComm USA, Inc., 1000 Sylvan Avenue,
sample at 0dBFS, 44.1kHz sampling, 4ms time sample at 0dBFS, 44.1kHz sampling, 4ms time Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632. Tel: (201) 816-2000.
window). window). Web: www.lg.com/us/v30.
d d d
B B B
r r r
A A A
Hz Hz Hz
Fig.3 LG V30, Sharp filter, wideband spectrum Fig.4 LG V30, Slow filter, wideband spectrum Fig.5 LG V30, Sharp filter, frequency response
of white noise at –4dBFS (left channel red, right of white noise at –4dBFS (left channel red, at –12dBFS into 100k ohms with data sampled
magenta) and 19.1kHz tone at 0dBFS (left blue, right magenta) and 19.1kHz tone at 0dBFS (left at: 44.1kHz (left channel green, right gray),
right cyan), with data sampled at 44.1kHz (20dB/ blue, right cyan), with data sampled at 44.1kHz 96kHz (left cyan, right magenta), 192kHz (left
vertical div.). (20dB/vertical div.). blue, right red) (1dB/vertical div.).
More Power
d
B
Less Noise
r V
Hz sec
Fig.6 LG V30, spectrum with noise and spuriae of Fig.7 LG V30, waveform of undithered 1kHz
dithered 1kHz tone at –90dBFS with: 16-bit data sinewave at –90.31dBFS, 16-bit data (left channel
(left channel cyan, right magenta), 24-bit data (left blue, right red).
blue, right red) (20dB/vertical div.).
d d
B B
r r
A A
Hz Hz
Fig.8 LG V30, spectrum of 50Hz sinewave, DC–1kHz, Fig.9 LG V30, Sharp filter, HF intermodulation
at 0dBFS into 300 ohms (left channel blue, right red; spectrum, DC–30kHz, 19+20kHz at 0dBFS into 600
linear frequency scale). ohms, 44.1kHz data (left channel blue, right red;
linear frequency scale).
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FOLLOW-UP
without noticeably affecting the bass. struments. With the L2.1 in the system, have otherwise. True, contrasts be-
To further test the L2.1’s reproduc- I felt more transported than assaulted. tween black and white were softened,
tion of bass, I turned to “Laptevin- Lastly, with Masaaki Suzuki and and the shades of gray were grayer, but
meri” (Laptev Sea), from Pan Sonic’s Bach Collegium Japan’s recording of it all enhanced the movie’s fairytale
Katodivaihe (Cathodephase) (16/44.1 Mozart’s Great Mass in c (SACD/CD, charm. Some people love their music,
WAV files, Blast First Petite 006)—and BIS-2171),14 the L2.1 lent a modicum too, with such a romantic touch.
“Limit to Your Love,” from James of delicious, extra warmth to soprano Ultimately, the Lamm Industries
Blake’s eponymous album (16/44.1 Carolyn Sampson’s heavenly rendi- L2.1 Reference preamplifier is so well
WAV, A&M 949999). While I heard tion of “Et incarnatus est.” At the same engineered that perception of its effects
no difference in the size and depth of time, the natural edge on her voice, will depend as much on the interac-
these recordings’ room-shaking bass— which I’ve heard in concert, was toned tions of the other components in the
the L2.1 excelled at bass reproduc- down and softened a smidge, and system and the music played as it will
tion—their vibrant highs and overall instrumental lines were a touch less on listener preferences. While some
transparency were greatest without the distinct. Given that the midrange was might ascribe its sound to its tubed
Lamm. concomitantly warmed and fattened a power supply, I prefer not to invoke
While reviewing Alexander Mel- bit, Sampson’s voice shone less brightly, hoary clichés of tubed vs solid-state
nikov’s Four Pieces • Four Pianos (24/96 and the sound was less transparent. sound, especially to describe the sound
WAV, Harmonia Mundi 902299),13 It felt like I was listening through a of a component whose preamplifier
in which the differences between the scrim, with edges softened just enough section contains no tubes at all.
sounds and dynamics of the four dif- to afford a romantic take on music that, Ultimately, the Lamm L2.1 is what it
ferent pianos used to record master- in this case, was performed on period is: to quote Art Dudley, “a damn good
works by Chopin, Liszt, Schubert, and instruments without romantic bias. preamp.” —Jason Victor Serinus
Stravinsky could not have been greater, This is not necessarily a bad thing.
naturally ringing highs were brightest While I expect this reference will date 11 See my review in the October 2017 Stereophile:
and most impactful without the L2.1. me a bit—hey, so does life—consider www.stereophile.com/content/dan-dagostino-pro-
gression-mono-monoblock-power-amplifier.
By that, I don’t mean that the L2.1’s director George Cukor’s treatment of 12 See my review of this recording: www.stereophile.
presence was detrimental—given how Greta Garbo in the film Camille (1936). com/content/berg-composes-world-chaos.
forcefully Melnikov often plays, the In close-up, filmed through a scrim, 13 See my review of this recording: www.stereophile.
com/content/audiophile-bonanza-melnikovs-four-
Lamm made listening to this album a Garbo’s titular, tubercular courtesan pieces-%C2%95-four-pianos.
bit less overbearing and fatiguing by appeared even more sympathetic and 14 See my review of this recording: www.stereophile.
softening the ring of these period in- breathtakingly beautiful than she might com/content/suzukis-sacred-and-sunny-mozart-sacd.
they didn’t know the alphabet, but that is ultimate point. It is not what it is, but
LETTERS exactly what I am required to do, and it what it does!
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11
is hardly fair to them to ask them to do So, as I head off to retirement on June
Individual Educational Plan calls for it. seventh-grade math work well beyond 1 and look to do something else—sitting
What is telling is that on each of these their second-to-fourth-grade capabilities. at home is not an option for me—I leave
six unit tests, about six of the AP stu- I would not ask any of them to read and/ a profession that may be beyond repair,
dents fail the test, which is pretty telling or understand War and Peace. You cannot with students in way over their heads,
of what the rest of the math students succeed at math if you can’t add, subtract, due to being promoted because of their
might and often do: fail the test. The or multiply. age, not because of what they know. I
pressure and disappointment wears on I had a recent high-school graduate, don’t know that, as a society, we have the
these students. days before school started this year, who will to fix it, as this is a creation, a plan,
The most troublesome part of all this could not give me 18¢ change from a $5 put in place by those supposedly “in the
is that my students, the lowest learners, bill, and had to use her “Smart iPhone” know”—but I am not believing that now.
all benchmark-test in math and reading calculator to do this most basic of math The US ranks low among developed na-
at the second- to fourth-grade levels, but skills. How far have we fallen, that we tions in math ability. I now know why.
due to “social promotion” are sitting in have allowed this student to think she is —Jim Tavegia
seventh grade, dealing with a curriculum educated and ready to compete in the jamestavegia@gmail.com
that’s nearly impossible for them to job market? Are we not better than this?
master. Over 90% do not master it. They Therefore, most need Siri or Alexa. Record reviews are worth the
are going on to the eighth grade I started a Digital Audio club at the subscription
regardless. It is not my call. beginning of school, but as soon as Editor:
In addition, I give them basic skills students heard that it had “some math Stereophile’s record reviews are worth the
tests: single-digit numbers, 100 ques- involved,” many would not come. It’s subscription. I love the latitude of the
tions each in the disciplines of addition, more about audio recording, but I also music that’s covered, and the reviewers’
subtraction, and multiplication, and show them a digital audio workstation commentary. Being a vinyl enthusiast, I
they must do each test in five minutes, and what waveforms look like, as well find the reviews very helpful, in particu-
without a calculator. All of them average as microphones, mixing boards, etc., and larly for classical and jazz.
between 20 and 50 answers correct on what they accomplish—it was fun for Cheers, too, for your reviews of budget
each test—hardly proficient—and yet those who showed up. They also had systems. —Bob Graham
these are my ABCs for mathematics. I great fun doing some hands-on record- Minneapolis, MN
would not ask someone to read a book if ing and playing/singing, which is the moscuba@comcast.net
RECORD REVIEWS
he sound of Steve Tibbetts’s tions, or a deep fog moving over a
C L AS S IC AL
rhythmic structures of Sappho’s verse.
Feldman, who claims to have
written the nine-minute The King of
Denmark on a Long Island beach while
under the influence of, in part, “the
muffled sound of kids in the distance
and transistor radios and drifts of
conversation from other pockets of
inhabitants on blankets,” constructs
a timeline of columns of boxes three
high. Each box represents a beat, the
choice of tempo left to the percus-
BEETHOVEN KJELL TORE INNERVIK sionist but with indications for type of
Piano Sonatas 14 & 29 Utopias: Radical Interpretations of instrument, number of notes, and rela-
Murray Perahia, piano
Iconic Musical Works for Percussion tive pitches. Not only that, the piece
Deutsche Grammophon 479 8353 (CD, 24/96 Xenakis: Psappha. must be performed only with fingers
download). 2018. Angelika Meissner, Maider
Múgica, exec. prods.; Andreas Neubronner, prod.;
Morton Feldman: The King of Denmark. and arms, rather than sticks and other
Kjell Tore Innervik, percussion
Markus Heiland, Martin Nagorni, engs. DDD. TT: 2L 2L-141-SABD (SACD/CD, BD, downloads: implements. Feldman goes for the
55:39 DXD, DSD256, MQA). 2018. Morten Lindberg, flesh that Xenakis ignores.
PERFORMANCE prod., editing, mix, mastering, balance; Beatrice Ironically, if Xenakis’s work is about
Johannessen, rec. technician. DDD. TT: 46:04
SONICS mathematical precision, structure, and
Ever since he returned to the studio PERFORMANCE dynamic impact rather than sensual-
following a debilitating hand infec- SONICS ity, Feldman’s intentionally softer and
tion that first appeared in 1990, pianist With 32 Grammy nominations, 24 dynamically limited work is about
Murray Perahia, now 71, has released for Recording Engineer and Music space, silence, and sounds that, in Kjell
a string of superb recordings. After Producer, Morten Lindberg and his 2L Tore Innervik’s performance, strike me
recording the Bach works that he label continue to issue one astound- as sensual in the extreme. If Psappha is
studied during his forced withdrawal ing recording after another. Their forthright, masculine, “just the facts,
from performance—cornerstones of recordings are not simply unique for ma’am,” The King of Denmark creates
his 21st-century discography—he’s re- their sound, available in multiple two- an expansive space for wondrous jour-
turned to Beethoven, whose concertos channel, surround, and hi-rez formats, neys of mind and spirit. Two different
and sonatas he began recording in the physical and virtual; they also stand out faces of wow, as it were.
analog era. for 2L’s repertoire, which ranges from Innervik seems to have spent an
Remarkably, this is Perahia’s first core classical, folk, and jazz to cutting- inordinate amount of time research-
recording of two of Beethoven’s best- edge contemporary explorations sure ing each composer’s background, and
known sonatas, No.29, Op.106 (“Ham- to scare away fainthearted record the effects of war and persecution on
merklavier”), and No.14, Op.27 No.2 producers and listeners. the evolution of his music. (One side
(“Moonlight”). Recorded in the wood- If the two works on this recording, of Xenakis’s face was permanently
lined Hall 1 of Berlin’s Funkhaus Xenakis’s Psappha (1975) and Feld- disfigured by British shrapnel in 1944.)
Nalepastrasse studio, they benefit from man’s The King of Denmark (1964), He and Lindberg positioned instru-
engineering that captures the fullness aren’t exactly new, their construction ments to maximally underscore the
of Perahia’s instrument, including a and sound are radical in the extreme. importance of patterns and space in
goodly amount of resonance, without Xenakis doesn’t specify instruments, both men’s compositions—there’s a lot
ever sounding harsh or lapsing into but does call for three groups of wood of movement on these DXD-native
grandiloquence with unnatural weight and/or skins and three groups of metal recordings—and selected instruments
added to the lower octaves. The results, percussion instruments. His score for with radically different colors and
heard in 24-bit/96kHz courtesy the 18-minute Psappha is written in sounds. Lindberg also recorded Psappha
HDtracks, serve an artist whose selfless extremely challenging graph notation from two different perspectives—it
commitment to honoring Beethoven’s consisting of 2396 segments. As with appears twice on Utopias—with “first
intent enables him to shift with ease the chance compositions of John Cage, persona” designed to present the inten-
among majesty, anguish, and pathos the possibility that two performances sity of color and impact heard by the
without ever resorting to egoistic will sound alike is nil. performer. The result is an extraordi-
grandstanding. Even more astounding is that Psap- nary auditory feast: a major showpiece
By ending the disc with the much pha, which in Innervik’s performance for how much color, texture, and
earlier “Moonlight” (1801), Perahia seems all about color, texture, rhythmic dynamic contrast an audio system can
illustrates how Beethoven pushed the patterns, and maximally percussive deliver, and one that will sate both gut
expressive limits of his instrument disruptions rather than the emotions of and imagination.
at a time when fortepianos sounded the heart, derives its name from Sappho —Jason Victor Serinus
more like harpsichords. Moving fast (ca 610–ca 580 BCE), the Greek poet
without ever becoming breathless, from the Isle of Lesbos whose first-
FOR MORE RECORD
his interpretation weeps and exults as person lyrics rhapsodize love between REVIEWS, VISIT
he explores the mysteries of earthly women. Xenakis may or may not have WWW.STEREOPHILE.COM/
CATEGORY/JASON-VICTOR-
existence. given a hoot about lesbianism, but he SERINUS
—Jason Victor Serinus does seem to have been taken by the
R O CK/PO P
JAZ Z
trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, who tracks: the knotty “Thunderhead,” the
homes right in on Halvorson’s quirky chugging “Off the Record,” and the
wavelength. The other two musicians, minute-long guitar-trumpet duo “Ar-
bassist Michael Formanek and drum- mory Beams,” in which Akinmusire
mer Tomas Fujiwara, are Halvorson’s mimics the human voice. Challenging
bandmates in the trio Thumbscrew. in concept and execution, Code Girl
“My Mind I Find in Time” begins makes for uneasy but rewarding listen-
with the spiky echo of Halvorson’s ing. —Larry Birnbaum
unaccompanied guitar loops, followed
by vamping guitar and buttery abstract DUDLEY’S LISTENING ROOM
trumpet as Kidambi sings, “It is not
predictable my mind.” Guitar and IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER, THESE
MARY HALVORSON STUDIO RELEASES HAVE BEEN
trumpet play the melody in unison GETTING THE MOST TIME ON MY
Code Girl over cryptic words in “Possibility of TURNTABLE:
Mary Halvorson, guitar; Amirtha Kidambi, voice; Lightning,” Halvorson’s palpitating
Ray LaMontagne
Ambrose Akinmusire, trumpet; Michael Formanek, solo providing a hint of alternative rock Trouble
bass; Tomas Fujiwara, drums
Firehouse 12 FH12-04-01-27 (2 CDs). 2018. before she and Akinmusire break into RCA/LEGACY
Mary Halvorson, David Breskin, prods.; Nick Lloyd, cacophony.
prod., eng. DDD? TT: 90:11 “Storm Cloud” includes folkish- Alice Coltrane
Journey in Satchidanada
PERFORMANCE sounding guitar arpeggios and wistful
IMPULSE
SONICS trumpet musings, while “Pretty
A singularly original electric guitarist, Mountain” features a dissonant staccato Neil Young
Mary Halvorson is perhaps the most dialog between trumpet and guitar and After the Gold Rush
REPRISE
innovative representative of jazz’s new some wordless vocal improvisation. “In
avant-garde. For her latest release she’s the Second Before” offers enigmatic Yura Guller
added lyrics to her music, or rather music to match such lines as “his voice Nocturnes Favoris/Chopin
set her poetic lyrics to music, sung comes out of the sound of the million PARLOPHONE/ERC
sweetly by Amirtha Kidambi, who people we are known to discard,” end- The Tony Rice Unit
numbers modern classical, free jazz, ing with crunching guitar chords and Manzanita
and Carnatic music among her influ- squealing trumpet. ROUNDER
ences. Also featured is the chameleonic There are three strictly instrumental
STEREOPHILE
Excel Audio McIntosh Labs 57 Tenacious Sound 97
ADVERTISER INDEX (Record players and Vinyl) 74
Morrow Audio 77 Totem Acoustic 6
Acoustic Sounds 26, 27 Fidelis 106 Music Direct 25, 30, 31, 114 Triangle Art 35
Aqua Acoustic Quality 12 GoldenEar 36, 37 Needle Doctor 45, 46, 47, 48 Upscale Audio 28
Audio Plus Services C4 GTT 58 Ortofon 116, 119 VAC 88
AudioQuest 107, 109, 110 Hammertone Audio 40, 41 Paradigm 8, 9 Vandersteen Audio 80
Bel Canto 90 Harman Luxury AV 60 PrimaLuna 18 Wilson Audio 4
Bowers&Wilkins 38 International Audio Holding 123 QuarterNote Press 102 YG Acoustics 78
Bryston 43 Joseph Audio 11 Rogue Audio 16 Ypsilon Electronics 62
Cable Company 14, 15, 121 KEF 72 Rotel 86
AkitikA GT-102 the M15 with an unbalanced source, as Thanks for a great review, Ken. Despite
Editor: the design is a true differential circuit; finding the P21 EXD’s character initially
Thanks to Herb Reichert and John otherwise, performance will be compro- elusive, when you got it, you really got it!
Atkinson for their positive, thorough, and mised. At Bricasti, we do not believe that Regarding John’s measurements: The
insightful review of AkitikA’s GT-102 our products need sonic Band-Aids such ear/brain interface is much more sensitive
power amplifier. Perhaps they’d next like as unnecessary vacuum-tube circuits. than a spectrum analyzer. Until someone
to review the PR-101 preamplifier? So, Damon set up the M15 to sound devises a measurement system that can
Dan Joffe the way we intend it to, but JVS seems measure what we can hear, there will con-
AkitikA to have decided that he did not want to tinue to be a disconnect between what the
review that sound; he wanted to review reviewers hear and what John measures.
Bricasti Design M15 some other sound. In the process, he I suspect that Ken likes the amp not
Editor: added in excess of $22,790 to the cost of because he likes harmonic distortion or
A review in Stereophile is very important to the system. high output impedance or any of the
Bricasti Design and to our dealers and ex- As if that were not enough, JVS then other measurement issues John mentions,
port partners, so we took our responsibili- compared our $18,000 stereo amplifier but because he likes the hear-through
ties in this matter very seriously. We did to massive monoblock amplifiers, which and microdynamic capabilities that are
our best, in hopes that the process would cost $55,000/pair—and with 500W into the exclusive preserve of triode ampli-
be transparent and fair, and that Stereo- 8 ohms vs the M15’s modest 125W into fiers that operate without global negative
phile’s reviewer would report on the best 8 ohms. feedback. Gary Dews
that our product the M15 stereo amplifier We respect Stereophile’s policies regard- BorderPatrol
can sound. We don’t think that is what ing not pestering the critics during the
happened, and are very disappointed. review process. Therefore, receiving the Joseph Audio Pulsar
When Jason Victor Serinus approached preprint of this review was a shocking Editor:
us at the 2017 Rocky Mountain Audio disappointment. We have never heard We’d like to thank Herb Reichert for a
Fest while we were demonstrating anyone say that the M15, when set up superb Follow-Up review of the Pulsar!
the M15, we told him that in view of properly, sounded “dull.” As avid music lovers, we live for the
previous experiences we have had, for Bricasti’s M28 and M15 amplifiers joy of listening deeper into our treasured
the review to go forward, our West were used for stereo and multichannel recordings, so we were thrilled to see
Coast–based setup expert would have to monitoring during the mastering of the that Herb found “all types of record-
deliver and set up our amplifier. Bricasti’s 2018 Grammy® winners in the catego- ings became newly enjoyable because of
amplifiers are designed to work directly ries Best Orchestral Performance and what was newly revealed,” and that “As I
with high-quality sources with true dual- Best Engineered Album, Classical. That finished each album I smiled quietly for
differential balanced analog outputs. The recording does not sound dull, and those a moment, wondering what I should cue
M15 was also designed to sell at a price engineers would not have purchased up next.”
point half that of our M28 monoblocks. Bricasti M15 amplifiers for their studios if It was also gratifying to read that
Bricasti’s US Sales Manager, Damon they thought the M15s sounded dull. “Joseph’s Pulsars let me delight in sound,”
Gramont, delivered an M15 stereo ampli- Bricasti’s M15 amplifier is a great- and that the “precisely rendered images are
fier to JVS and set it up. Damon con- sounding amplifier that has a very strong beyond any I have experienced at home.”
nected the M15 directly to the balanced “family resemblance” to our $30,000/pair Thanks to its benign 8 ohm imped-
outputs of JVS’s dCS DAC. Damon M28 monoblock amplifiers. We wish ance, the Pulsar presents a very easy
reported to me that, after careful setup, that John Atkinson would give the M15 a load to the partnering amplifier. Other
the sound was excellent. careful listening under the conditions we listeners have found that the transparency
At that time, JVS had no complaints recommend and write a brief Follow-Up. and spatial qualities of the Pulsar, married
about the way his system sounded with If JA is willing to make Follow-Up to the added warmth and fuller tone of a
the M15 operating as we intended it to. comments that include comparisons, we tube amp, make an irresistible combi-
For whatever reason, JVS then ignored would hope that he compare our $18,000 nation. It’s simply a matter of personal
our very strong recommendations that stereo amplifier only to similar products preference. While it was probably outside
our amplifier be driven directly by a high- in that general price and power tier. the scope of Herb’s brief Follow-Up,
quality source with balanced outputs. For For the reasons we state above, we it would’ve been fun to hear about the
his review, he used a single-ended vacu- conclude that the review the M15 re- Pulsars in that context as well.
um-tube preamplifier with our balanced ceived did not meet Stereophile’s standards, We will let Herb have the final word:
solid-state amplifier. (Per the Lamm as we have understood them to be. “I have experienced countless highly
Signature’s rear panel: XLR jacks have Brian Zolner resolving loudspeakers, but almost none
pin 3 dead. The jack legends say “Pseudo Bricasti Design was also highly involving. The Joseph Au-
Balanced.” True balanced tube preamps dio Pulsar was both.” Thank you, Herb!
are very rare.) As noted in the M15 User BorderPatrol P21 EXD We wholeheartedly agree! Jeff Joseph
Manual, care must be taken when driving Editor: Joseph Audio
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THERE’S ONLY TWO KINDS OF MUSIC: THE BLUES AND ZIPPETY DOO-DAH.
—TOWNES VAN ZANDT
Highway 61 Revisited
’m sitting in a rented Nissan just off Highway 61—yes, that Highway 61—
I looking out at a Shell station through the bug-stained windshield and across
a litter-strewn, not-yet-planted cotton field. It’s late March, and I’ve just left
Clarksdale, Mississippi, on my way to Memphis. Leaving Clarksdale made
me thoughtful, so I’ve pulled over to jot down a few notes.
Clarksdale—specifically, the intersection of highways 61 and 49, at the town’s
southern edge—is the crossroads where, according to legend, Robert Johnson
encountered the Devil and exchanged his soul for his legendary guitar chops. The
list of musicians born in this small city (pop. 18,000) includes Sam Cooke, John
Lee Hooker, Son House, and Ike Turner. Johnson lived here; so did W.C. Handy.
Muddy Waters moved here as a child.
As you drive west through Clarks-
dale’s outskirts on Highway 49, and
then onto Desoto Street, aiming to-
ward the center of town, you pass acres
of broken-down shacks and mobile blues posters and marked with graffiti.
homes. Downtown is unprepossessing, Where Red’s seemed unimproved,
full of empty storefronts and red-brick GZBC is self-conscious, cultivated:
skeletons. There is no Starbucks. Kai juke-joint authentic, real but not infec-
Ryssdal, host and senior editor of tious. Its owners include actor Morgan
NPR’s Marketplace, said in a report on Freeman, born in nearby Memphis,
the Mississippi Delta that, “in terms of and Bill Luckett, a local property
economic mobility and poverty, this lawyer and developer who himself
stretch of land is far behind anywhere has acted in half a dozen Hollywood
else in the developed world.” films. Until he was voted out last May,
Music, though, is ubiquitous here. Luckett was Clarksdale’s mayor.
At Deak’s Mississippi Saxophones & This ain’t Disneyland, but Clarksdale
Blues Emporium, bluesman Deak is stage-managed. It’s subtle but not
Harp sells harmonicas, folk art, and Years after I’d escorted her for a hard to see. And while there may not
cold beer, and performs “open harp local Teen Miss America pageant, Beth be a Starbucks, there is Yazoo Pass, an
surgery” on diseased instruments. The married blues-harp virtuoso Ed John- espresso bar with copies of The New
barbershop was founded by the late son, aka Porkchop Slim. When Pork- Yorker sitting on the wicker coffee
Wade Walton, who, after a promising chop played Red’s Lounge a few years table. That is not the rural Deep South
start playing blues, chose a steadier ago, Beth accompanied him. She was I know.
income. There’s Bluestown Music, online and wrote right back, offering You can’t force things back the way
Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art, and sage advice: Go to Red’s for the music, they were, and you wouldn’t want to
Delta Digs, which was closed when I she wrote, but “wrap yourself in Saran if you could. The blues gestated on the
was there but I think it’s a record store. Wrap and suffer through, or stand porches of African-American shacks—
The Delta Blues Museum occupies the outside and try not to get knifed.” But gritty, impoverished places—in the
renovated train depot. And then there Thursday’s space on the whiteboard minds, throats, and fingers of former
are the juke joints. was blank, and that locked doorknob slaves. The roots of the blues—hence of
The first juke I came to yesterday— was putting out scary vibes. all America’s music, including jazz and
minutes after parking off Yazoo At the Ground Zero Blues Club, rock’n’roll—are in that suffering and
Avenue—was Red’s Lounge. It’s not a Thursday’s attraction was Arkansas the effort to redeem it through art, or
pretty place. What once was a window transplant Lucious Spiller, whom one at least to find peace.
is now a sheet of unpainted plywood. critic has called a “soon-to-be legend.” Sometimes I think the time has
The music calendar is scrawled in black Spiller wears a bandana headband come to put this music in a glass case
Sharpie on an office-style whiteboard and has some Hendrix in him. He’s in a museum. Clarksdale is a museum
under a failing gray-white awning. no blues purist—he’s opened for Bo of sorts, but its residual grit makes it a
After trying Red’s doorknob and Diddley and been known to play fitting tribute to the music. As long as
finding it locked, I had one of the “what Prince—but Spiller can flat-out play the there are suffering, talented musicians,
PHOTOS: JIM AUSTIN
the heck am I doing here?” moments I old-time Delta blues. and a respect for what’s real and true,
often have while traveling. I texted an The Ground Zero was sticky but not there is hope for the music’s continued
old friend for some Clarksdale advice. gross. Every surface is covered in old vitality. Q
EST. 1983