Home//Stereophile/November 2021/In This Issue
Stereophile|November 2021Glory DaysI’ve got a music problem. Specifically, I’ve got a rock music problem. It’s a true cliché—that is, a cliché that happens to be true: Rock music, in almost all its forms, is young people’s music. It’s about new, fresh experiences—new love, new sex, consciousness sought or attained, rebellion, drugs—and when you’ve reached a certain age, those experiences don’t feel so fresh anymore. That’s a fact about which it’s hard not to feel some regret. You don’t have to share their sentiment to realize that there’s a reason Pete wrote, and Roger sang, “Hope I die before I get old.”Despite Pete and Roger’s proclamation, only the drummer died young. But many other musicians have also done it: Buddy Holly. Ritchie Valens. Jim Morrison. Janis Joplin. Bob Marley. Otis Redding. Lowell George.…5 min
Stereophile|November 2021INDUSTRY UPDATEUS AND CANADA (AND WORLDWIDE)Julie MullinsThe novel coronavirus variants aren’t through with us yet. Most audio shows—and many concerts, festivals, and other in-person events—have been canceled again this year. Recent casualties include AXPONA and the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF)—the latter, perhaps, forever.AXPONA canceled its 2021 show, which had already been rescheduled from the spring to October, announcing that the next show will take place April 22–24, 2022. “Exhibitors and attendees travel to AXPONA from throughout the United States and from more than 40 other countries,” the AXPONA announcement read. “Over the last few weeks, citing concerns over personal health, the unpredictability of international travel restrictions and reinstated companywide travel bans, many community members have told us they are unwilling or unable to commit to AXPONA in October.”“Things were just…11 min
Stereophile|November 2021MEASUREMENTSAs with the Wilson Chronosonic XVX that Michael Fremer reviewed in the May 2021 issue,1 it wasn’t possible for us to maneuver one of the large, heavy Estelon Forza loudspeakers onto a dolly and wheel it into his driveway for the measurements. I therefore had to perform the measurements with the loudspeakers set up in Michael’s room. The proximity of the room’s boundaries meant that I performed my farfield frequency response measurements at 1m rather than my usual 50"; the goal is to push the reflections from those boundaries as far back in time as possible. The speakers were driven by Mikey’s darTZeel NHB 468 monoblocks, and I used DRA Labs’ MLSSA system, an Earthworks microphone preamplifier, and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Estelon Forza’s behavior in…6 min
Stereophile|November 2021D’Agostino Progression M550MONOBLOCK POWER AMPLIFIERWe audiophiles so frequently get caught up in the pursuit of perfection that some have attempted to rebrand high-end audio as “perfectionist audio.” But is it even possible for a single piece of audio gear, let alone an entire audio system, to attain perfection when there’s no common agreement as to what “perfection” means? It’s easier to cue up a Nirvana track than to find the way to audio nirvana.Nonetheless, the journey toward sonic perfection continues to grip many of us like a Siren who lures sailors to their death with the sweetness of her song. For some who listen closely and steer wisely, however, that death can be more akin to La petite mort than to a dead end.I like to set sail with people whose sonic…18 min
Stereophile|November 2021ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENTAnalog source Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv B cartridge, Channel D Seta L phono preamplifier.Digital sources Roon Nucleus+ file server with its switching supply or an HDPlex linear power supply; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; MBL N31 CD player/DAC; Ayre Acoustics QB-9 Twenty D/A processor; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 A/D converter.Power amplifiers Parasound Halo JC 1+ monoblocks.Loudspeakers Canton Reference 7K.Cables Digital: AudioQuest Vodka (Ethernet), AudioQuest Coffee (USB), DH Labs (1m, AES/EBU). Interconnect: AudioQuest Wild Blue (balanced). Speaker: AudioQuest K2 and Robin Hood. AC: AudioQuest Dragon Source & High Current, manufacturers’ own.Accessories Target TT-5 equipment racks; AudioQuest JitterBug (with Ayre QB-9 Twenty), Ayre Acoustics Myrtle Blocks; ASC Tube Traps, RPG Abffusor panels; AudioQuest Niagara 5000 Low-Z Power/Noise-Dissipation System (amplifiers) and AudioQuest Niagara 1000 Low-Z…1 min
Stereophile|November 2021MEASUREMENTSOn its face, the Ayre Acoustics EX-8 2.0 Integrated Hub appears identical to the original EX-8 that I reviewed in February 2019.1 However, changes have been made to better allow the amplifier to drive low impedances.2 I measured the EX-8 2.0 with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 “As We See It”3) and repeated some of the tests with the magazine’s APx500 system. Before performing any testing, I followed the CEA’s recommendation of operating the EX-8 2.0 at one-eighth the specified power into 8 ohms for 30 minutes. At the end of that period, its top panel was a little warmer than the EX-8’s had been, at 113.1°F (45.1°C), and the bottom panel, which acts as the heatsink for the output devices, was too hot to touch,…9 min
Stereophile|November 2021MBL 120 RadialstrahlerLOUDSPEAKERYou never know when an idea might hit you, maybe when brushing your teeth, standing in the shower, or stirring the stew.Have you ever flexed a playing card (or a few) back and forth close to your ear? They generate a little sound. According to MBL company lore, that action and sound sparked the design idea for the original Radialstrahler omnidirectional driver.Omnidirectional speakers are rare. I can think of only a few companies that make them: German Physiks. Morrison Audio. Ohm Acoustics. Duevel. MBL.1The MBL 120’s design, like the design of most other omnidirectional speakers, is visually distinctive. More than one visiting friend who saw them in their piano-black finish (with grilles on) called them “the Darth Vader speakers.” With the grilles off, or in piano white, the Darth Vader…15 min
Stereophile|November 2021SPECIFICATIONSDescription 24-bit, nonoversampling digital/analog converter with volume control. Digital inputs: AES3 on XLR, S/PDIF electrical on RCA, S/PDIF optical on TosLink, choice of either USB or I2 S (the latter over RJ45). Analog outputs: 1 XLR, 1 RCA. Maximum output level: 4V balanced, 2V single-ended. Output impedance: 100 ohms (balanced and singleended). Frequency response (44.1kHz sample rate): 1Hz–20kHz, +0/–0.25dB. Channel separation: 120dB.Dimensions 11.4" (290mm) × 2.4" (60mm) × 9.8" (250mm). Weight: 7lb (3.2kg).Finish Silver or black.Serial number of unit reviewed 21-11-09. Manufactured in the Netherlands.Price $3399. Approximate number of dealers: 3. Warranty: 2 years.ManufacturerSonnet Digital Audio Bv, Daviottenweg 9, 5222 BH ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.Tel: +31(0)36-7856259.Web: sonnet-audio.com.…1 min
Stereophile|November 2021ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENTAnalog sources Garrard 301 turntable in a Box Furniture Co. plinth; Thomas Schick 12” tonearm; Hana Umami Red cartridge; Ortofon SPU Classic G cartridge; Zu/Denon 103 cartridge.Digital sources Denafrips Terminator DAC; Denafrips Iris digital-to-digital converter; Sonore opticalRendu; Roon Nucleus+; Small Green Computer sonicTransporter i5 server running Roon Core.Preamplification Shindo Aurieges preamplifier; Parasound Halo JC 3+ phono preamplifier; Auditorium 23 SPU stepup transformer.Power amplifiers Shindo Montille; Line Magnetic LM-845IA; SET amplifier with triode-wired 307A output tubes built by Oliver Sayes.Loudspeakers Altec Valencia 846A.Cables Interconnect: Auditorium 23; Speaker: AudioQuest William Tell Silver, Auditorium 23; AC: AudioQuest Thunder and Hurricane; USB: AudioQuest Diamond; Ethernet: AudioQuest Diamond.Accessories Box Furniture Co. Heritage stand; AudioQuest Niagara 3000 power conditioner; Sonore opticalModule; Sonore Audiophile Linear Power Supplies, DJM Electronics GigaFOILv4-INLINE Ethernet filter; Vinnie Rossi MINI PURE-DC-4EVR 9-Volt…1 min
Stereophile|November 2021THE GEARBOX MONITORING SYSTEMI asked Sheinman to comment on the Gearbox Audio Note system—see the components list, below. “I believe in low-powered, low-distortion, class-A amplification feeding highly sensitive and efficient speakers,” he replied. “This way, one gets less distortion and a purer sound. We can resolve to 0.5dB with our equipment, across the frequency spectrum.”Turntables Audio Note TT-Two; EMT 948; Dual HS130; Braun PC3 SV; Rega RP1.Tonearms Audio Note Arm Two; Vintage Ortofon RMG 309 12" tonearm; Jelco TS-550L 12".Cartridges Audio Note IO1; EMT TSD15; EMT TND65 for 78rpm records; Denon DL-103; Vintage Ortofon S15-T; Vintage Ortofon SPU mono; assorted vintage Ortofon mono and stereo MC cartridges.CD Audio Note CD4.1x.Cassette Nakamichi DR-2.Amplifiers Audio Note Tomei stereo power amplifier (211 valves), M6 Phono preamplifier, and Meishu integrated amplifier (300B).Speakers Audio Note AN-E SPe/HE and…1 min
Stereophile|November 2021LETTERSTweaking the POÄNGAfter several recent mentions in your magazine of the IKEA POÄNG chair, the secret is out. My local audiophile consortium would like to share our recommendations.The chair’s minimalist architecture certainly gets out of the way of the music, and its size allows an unusually generous two or three people to share a sweet spot. Slightly rockable natural wood complements the “pace, rhythm, and timing” (PRaT) of either the recording or the listener (especially for solo headphone listening). Wide, flat armrests easily accommodate the four or five remotes required to control components in even a modest system, plus a cell phone. There was concern that the chair’s Scandinavian design would make it compatible only with European speakers, but our testing finds good response with a wide variety of speakers,…5 min
Stereophile|November 2021The electrical cureRex Hungerford, Edward DeVito, and Craig Bradley rode into town last week and, together with Audioquest’s Garth Powell, solved all the electrical problems that have plagued my audio system for years. Garth Powell, a name familiar to many Stereophile readers, is Audio-Quest’s electricity guru and designer of the Niagara series of power conditioners; he is also responsible for the company’s line of AC and signal cables. Bradley is a local electrician and audio enthusiast who has done electrical work for me in the past, including replacing dedicated lines—one for the low-power signal components and another for the amplifiers—with a single line, hoping that might solve years of annoying ground hum and other noise issues. You’d think the ground potential would be almost nothing between two sets of adjacent AC jacks…14 min
Stereophile|November 2021MEASUREMENTSFor logistical reasons, I measured a different sample of the Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems Progression M550 monoblock (serial number PM006P) with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 “As We See It1 ”). I repeated some of the measurements with the magazine’s Audio Precision APx500 analyzer. Usefully, the box included a set of tests performed with the APx500.Before I performed the testing, I preconditioned the amplifier by running it at one-eighth its specified power into 8 ohms for 30 minutes, as recommended by the Consumer Electronics Association. After the preconditioning, the M550’s top panel was surprisingly cool, at 96.8°F (36°C). The temperature of the massive heatsinks on the amplifier’s sides was 101.8°F (38.8°C) and didn’t increase significantly with the amplifier idling.The voltage gain into 8 ohms for…5 min
Stereophile|November 2021PSB Synchrony T600LOUDSPEAKERExactly five years ago as I write these words, I reviewed an elegant-looking and elegant-sounding tower loudspeaker from Canadian manufacturer PSB: the Imagine T3.1 Priced at $7498/pair before it was discontinued, the T3 combined three woofers, each housed in its own vented subenclosure, with a 5.25" midrange unit mounted above a 1" tweeter.As I write these words I am listening to a pair of PSB’s new Synchrony T600 loudspeakers, which cost $7999/pair and were designed, like the T3, by a team led by PSB founder and chief acoustic designer Paul Barton.2 Also like the T3, the T600 houses each of its three woofers in its own vented subenclosure, married to a 5.25" midrange unit and a 1" titanium-dome tweeter, again with the midrange unit mounted above the tweeter. But there,…10 min
Stereophile|November 2021SPECIFICATIONSDescription Stereo integrated amplifier with class-AB output stage, headphone output, and remote control equipped with optional DAC with streaming capability. Analog inputs: 1 balanced (XLR), 2 single-ended (RCA). Digital inputs: Coaxial (1) and TosLink S/PDIF (2), PCM to 24/192, DSD64 via DoP; AES3, PCM to 24/192, DSD64 via DoP; USB, PCM to 24/384, DSD up to DSD128 via DoP; Ethernet, PCM to 24/192, DSD64 via DoP. Outputs: 1 pair speaker binding posts; XLR and RCA preamp out; 2 3.5mm balanced headphone output, 1 6.3mm single-ended headphone outputs. Continuous power output: 100Wpc into 8 ohms (20dBW), 170Wpc at 4 ohms (19.3dBW). Frequency range: DC–250kHz. Input impedance: 2M ohms, balanced; 1M ohm, unbalanced. Power consumption: 120W operating, no signal; 60W in low-current-consumption mode. Line output: 4.5 Vrms balanced, 2.25 Vrms singleended. Headphone…1 min
Stereophile|November 2021ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENTAnalog sources Thorens TD 124 turntable, Jelco 350S tonearm, Clearaudio Concept MC cartridge.Digital sources Asus laptop running Roon and Tidal.Preamplification Sculpture A Mini Nano Step-up, Tavish Audio Design Adagio phono preamp.Integrated amplifier Parasound Hint 6 Halo, Schiit Ragnarok 2.Loudspeakers DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/96, Klipsch Forte IV, Golden Ear BRX.Cables RCA interconnects: Triode Wire Labs Spirit II, Shindo Laboratory. Digital: AudioQuest Forest. Speaker: AudioQuest Robin Hood. AC: manufacturers’ own.Accessories Kuzma Plastis 65 isolation platform, IsoTek EVO3 Aquarius line conditioner, Salamander five-tier rack (2); IKEA Aptitlig bamboo cutting boards (under preamp, turntable, power amps); mahogany blocks (2" × 2" × 0.5") under boards.Listening room 12' L × 10' W × 12' H, system set up along long wall; suspended wood floor, 6"-thick walls (plaster over 2×4), wood-beamed ceiling.…1 min
Stereophile|November 2021MEASUREMENTSI used DRA Labs’ MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the MBL 120’s frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike to measure the nearfield responses. I used Dayton Audio’s DATS V2 system to determine the MBL speaker’s impedance.Designer Jürgen Reis wrote in an email that the MBL 120’s sensitivity on an axis level with the top of the tweeter magnet—the recommended listening axis—was 79dB/2.83V/m. Though my estimate was slightly higher than this, at 81dB(B)/2.83V/m, this is still significantly lower than average. However, as the MBL 120 is an omnidirectional loudspeaker, its in-room subjective sensitivity will be somewhat higher.I had understood from Reis that the 120’s impedance is 4 ohms. However, the solid trace in fig.1 indicates that the impedance magnitude remains between 5…6 min
Stereophile|November 2021Sonnet MorpheusD/A CONVERTERPlaylists embody who we are. We use musical affinities to understand (or at least categorize) others, not only as evidence of their aesthetic discernment but also of their emotional and political affiliations, which amount to an entire worldview. In other words, the database of favorite music that we carry around in our brains is no laughing matter. So, one of the most unexpected—and rewarding—things that can happen in music fandom is a complete and sudden inversion of one’s beliefs. Which brings me to the perennially touchy subject of Steely Dan, a band that cleaves the ranks of listeners like a gold-plated katana.Here, I’m not talking about the likable, slightly anodyne early records but about late-career (but pre-reunion) Dan, particularly Aja and Gaucho, on which Donald Fagen and Walter Becker…12 min
Stereophile|November 2021Hi-Fi PRODUCTS OF THE YEAREVERY YEAR, A PANEL OF JUDGES FROM THE EXPERT IMAGING AND SOUND ASSOCIATION CONVENES AT SOME EXOTIC LOCALE TO HEAR PRESENTATIONS BY COMPANIES VYING FOR THE AWARDS IN A RANGE OF CATEGORIES—HOME THEATER (AUDIO AND VIDEO), PHOTOGRAPHY, MOBILE DEVICES, IN-CAR ELECTRONICS, AND HI-FI—TO LISTEN, AND TO VOTE. IT’S A GATHERING OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SPECIALIST PUBLICATIONS WORLDWIDE, FROM THE UNITED STATES, EUROPE, INDIA, JAPAN, AUSTRALIA, RUSSIA, CANADA, AND HONG KONG.Except that this year, just like last, COVID-19 rendered international travel unwise and often impossible. So, for the second straight year, we all stayed home, and the contending components came to us. Manufacturers delivered their product presentations over Zoom—often, due to time-zone differences, at absurd hours. We listened, deliberated, and voted. The results are presented here.Several of these products…15 min
Stereophile|November 2021Guitar bluesTwo new reissues in Blue Note’s Classic Vinyl series—Grant Green’s Idle Moments and Kenny Burrell’s Midnight Blue—capture peaks of jazz guitar’s possibilities at a juncture when modernism was primed for a shift to something else. Both albums were recorded in 1963; both sport “the Blue Note sound,” which engineer Rudy Van Gelder had refined to its high point. But the two albums lay out very different musical paths.Green’s album follows the modal outlines that Gil Evans and George Russell had traced a few years earlier, though Green’s sextet imbues the harmonies with a still-cooler blues and a jauntier swing. Green was influenced by Charlie Christian, one of the first electric guitarists to be influenced by Charlie Parker; and, like Christian, Green unfurled single-note melodies—I don’t know if I’ve ever heard…4 min
Stereophile|November 2021MANUFACTURERS’ COMMENTSTHIS ISSUE: Representatives of EMIA, Sculpture A, Estelon, Ayre Acoustics, and Sonnet Audio respond to our reviews of their products.EMIAThank you, Herb, for the kind words. Your comments on flavor and tone are a refreshing departure from the traditional audio review. Since a cartridge and SUT should be carefully developed in tandem and never randomly combined, your assessment of the beautiful music produced by the Sugano-san combo is a wonderful testament to how the master fulfilled his vision by designing a cartridge and SUT that paired perfectly. It is always a privilege to hear beautiful sound so thoughtfully produced.Dave SlagleEMIASculpture AI am a bit surprised about Herb’s experience with our A.3L as being “mistydrizzle wet” compared to the Zu DL-103, which provides “sun” and “scintillating transients.” From a purely mechanical…4 min
Stereophile|November 2021CALENDAR OF INDUSTRY EVENTSATTENTION ALL AUDIO SOCIETIES: We have a page on the Stereophile website devoted to you: stereophile.com/audiophile-societies. If you’d like to have your audio-society information posted on the site, email Chris Vogel at vgl@cfl.rr.com. (Please note the new email address.)Please note that it is inappropriate for a retailer to promote a new product line in “Calendar” unless it is associated with a seminar or similar event.Note: Due to the ongoing pandemic, Stereophile recommends confirming that events are still taking place.CALIFORNIASaturday and Sunday, October 16–17: The Burning Amp Festival is back … but now it will be held online via Zoom. The scheduled presentations will go forward as planned, according to a recent press release. It’s an event for audio hobbyists and DIYers to connect, learn, and share their projects. For details…2 min
Stereophile|November 2021Iron and lightIn the household I grew up in, telling a lie was a death-penalty offense—worse than murder or leaving crumbs on the kitchen counter. So, believe me when I tell you that way more than a year ago, Musical Surroundings’ Garth Leerer sent me DS Audio’s lowest priced optical cartridge, the DS-E1 ($2750 with energizer/equalizer). He said, “You need to know about this.” Then every few months he would write and politely inquire how I was liking it. Each time I would write back saying, “I’m sorry Garth, I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ll install it right after deadline.”That was a score of deadlines ago. When I saw Michael Fremer’s full DS-E1 review in Analog Corner #306, I was crestfallen: He beat me to it (again).1 Undeterred, I went ahead…17 min
Stereophile|November 2021Estelon ForzaLOUDSPEAKERYou’ve got your 2001: A Space Odyssey speaker, which of course is a tall, black, featureless monolith. Then there’s your wooden “Who’s buried inside?” speaker, your “R-I-C-O-L-A” speaker,1 your enema bag or double-inverted enema bag speaker, your menacing hooded-Klansman speaker, your “looks like a robot, praying mantis, or Transformer” speaker (mine), and your “Does it leave a slime trail?” speaker (looks like a snail). You’ve got your “Is that a room divider?” speaker, your “looks like you stepped on a duck’s head” speaker, and your “whipped cream dollop suspended in time” speaker.That’s just a few of the many loudspeaker “looks” on display at your typical large hi-fi show. Some are imaginative, some are farfetched, some are just weird, and some are deadly boring. Brand names available upon request.Some speaker designs—the…16 min
Stereophile|November 2021SPECIFICATIONSDescription Solid state class-AB mono power amplifier. Inputs: XLR. Outputs: Custom binding posts. Input impedance: 100k ohms. Output impedance: 0.1 ohms. Power: 550W into 8 ohms, 1100W into 4 ohm, 2200W into 2 ohms (all 27.4dBW). Frequency response: 1Hz–80kHz, –1dB; 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.01dB. S/N ratio: 105dB unweighted, 75dB A-weighted. Distortion: 0.15% @1kHz at 550W into 8 ohms. Power draw at idle: 80W.Dimensions 17.875" (454mm) W × 9.0" (230 mm) H × 23" (584mm) D. Weight: 115lb (52.2kg).Finish Silver or Black; custom finishes upon request.Serial numbers of units reviewed PM0506P, PM0507P. Manufactured in the United States.Price $44,950/pair. Approximate number of US dealers: 27. Warranty: Three years from date of retail purchase or four years from date of manufacture for original purchaser of a new product from an authorized dealer.Manufacturer Dan D’Agostino Master…1 min
Stereophile|November 2021ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENTDigital sources dCS Rossini DAC and Clock and Transport; Synology 5-bay 1019+ NAS, Roon Nucleus+ music server, Uptone Audio etherRegen, Small Green Computer Sonore opticalModules (2) and Deluxe opticalModule, Linksys routers (2), and Arris modem, all powered by HDPlex 300 four-component linear power supplies (3) and HDPlex 200 LPS; Apple 2017 iPad Pro and 2017 Macbook Pro laptop with 2.8 GHz Intel i7, SSD, 16GB RAM.Preamplifier Dan D’Agostino Momentum HD.Power amplifiers Dan D’Agostino Progression monoblocks.Loudspeakers Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia 2 with Acoustic Diode Spikes.Cables Digital: Nordost Odin 1, Odin 2, and Valhalla 2 (USB); Frey 2 (USB adapter); Wireworld Platinum Starlight Cat8 (Ethernet) and OM1 62.5/125 multimode duplex fiberoptic cables. Interconnect: Nordost Odin 2. Speaker: Nordost Odin 2. AC: Nordost Odin 2, AudioQuest Dragon, Dragon HC, and Thunderbird. Umbilical cords…1 min
Stereophile|November 2021MEASUREMENTSI used DRA Labs’ MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the PSB Synchrony T600’s frequency response in the farfield. My reference axis for the measurements was level with the center of the midrange unit, which is 38" from the floor, slightly above the height of my ears in my listening chair. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield and in-room responses and Dayton Audio’s DATS V2 system to measure the impedance.PSB specifies the Synchrony T600’s anechoic sensitivity as 89dB, presumably for 2.83V at 1m. My B-weighted estimate was slightly lower, at 87dB(B)/2.83V/m. The Synchrony T600’s nominal impedance is specified as 4 ohms—also the specified minimum impedance. The solid trace in fig.1 indicates that the impedance magnitude lies between 4 and 6 ohms over most…9 min
Stereophile|November 2021Ayre Acoustics EX-8 2.0INTEGRATED AMPLIFIERIn New York City, everything comes at a premium: Housing, groceries, transportation, walking space, living space, sanity space—consider our cubbyhole apartments and tenement buildings. Even “air rights” are for sale in NYC, including rights to the air over my beloved Katz’s Delicatessen in the Lower East Side.1 The square footage of my downtown apartment is less than a quarter of the space of my North Carolina home. (Brownstones? Only above 72nd Street.2) But, as the song says, “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.” What did Frank Sinatra know, anyway? He was from Hoboken!The Ayre EX-8 2.0 is one sweet honey of an integrated amplifier, “sweet” being the operative word.In places like this—indeed anywhere there’s a reason to keep things compact—there’s an argument to be…15 min
Stereophile|November 2021SPECIFICATIONSDescription Three-way standmount loudspeaker with “Radialstrahler” radial carbon-fiber omnidirectional tweeter and midrange drivers and two side-firing 6.5" woofers with aluminummembrane cones in a rearported enclosure. Sensitivity: 79dB/2.83V/m into 8 ohms, 80.5dB in-room. Crossover: fourth-order Linkwitz-Riley crossing over at 600Hz and 3.5kHz and with a secondorder high-pass filter below the port-tuning frequency. Frequency response: 48Hz– 15.5kHz –6 dB in-room. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Recommended amplifier power: 200W into 4 ohms.Dimensions 11.8" (300mm) W × 23.6" (600mm) H (27.4" w/grille; 47.7" on stand) × 15.3" (389mm) D. Weight: 33lb (17kg); 61.7lb (28kg) w/stand.Finishes Piano Black, Piano White, Piano Silver with chrome or gold accents on any color cabinet.Serial numbers of units reviewed 44940, 45040. Designed and built in Germany.Price $21,400/pair; matching stands $1630/pair. Approximate number of US dealers: 10. Warranty: 5 years…1 min
Stereophile|November 2021ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENTDigital source MBL N31 CD player/DAC.Analog sources Clearaudio Performance DC Wood turntable with Tracer tonearm and Talismann v2 MC cartridge; MoFi Electronics UltraDeck turntable with UltraTracker MM cartridge.Amplification VAC Sigma 170i iQ integrated amplifier; MBL Noble Line N51 integrated amplifier; Soulution 330 integrated amplifier with phono stage.Cables Ansuz Acoustics D2, AudioQuest NRG, and Morrow Audio (some interconnects).Accessories AudioQuest Niagara 1000 Low-Z Power Noise-Dissipation System with NRG 10 power cord and Vodka Ethernet cable, Critical Mass Systems Maxxum equipment racks, Record Doctor VI record cleaning machine, AudioQuest Anti-Static Record Brush, Onzow Zerodust stylus cleaner.Room treatment Zanden Audio AT-1 proprietary foam bass traps/tubes (2), AP-1 proprietary foam acoustic panels 35.5" × 23.75" × 1.5" (4).Room 18.5' × 17.5' ×12'.…1 min
Stereophile|November 2021MEASUREMENTSI measured the Sonnet Morpheus with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 “As We See It”1), repeating some tests with the magazine’s Audio Precision APx555 system. The AES3 and coaxial S/PDIF inputs accepted 16- and 24-bit data sampled at rates up to 192kHz; the optical TosLink input accepted data sampled up to 96kHz. I wasn’t able to examine the Morpheus’s performance via its USB input because this was fitted with a RJ45 jack, presumably for an I2 S connection from Sonnet’s Hermes network bridge, which I didn’t have at hand for the measurements.Although the Morpheus has a volume control, I set the processor to Fixed Volume for the measurements, which is how I understood AH had auditioned it. The Morpheus’s maximum output level at 1kHz was 4.21V…5 min
Stereophile|November 2021DANCE, DON’T SWINGThe We Out Here Festival—named for a 2018 double-album on the Brownswood label—presented musicians from the burgeoning UK jazz scene, one of the most vibrant, experimental, and popular jazz scenes to arise since early ’70s jazz fusion, or maybe since Dizzy Gillespie collaborated with Chano Pozo and created Latin jazz.What is British jazz? Most obviously, it’s current jazz from Britain. Beyond that, it’s hard to define except to say that it combines traditional jazz elements with ethnic and cultural ingredients associated with British musical culture: African, Caribbean, and sometimes Indian influences, among others. It’s equal parts improvisational and elastic groove. The artists involved in the uprising explore, for example, spiritual jazz mixed with synthesizer sounds or brass arrangements fired by an Afrobeat pulse. Acoustic and electronic sounds blend with funk,…14 min
Stereophile|November 2021RECORD REVIEWSWhy is Stereophile publishing its fourth review (at least) in three years of a recording of Bach’s Six Cello Suites? Partly it’s because the suites, which were composed ca. 1720 but remained in obscurity until a young Pablo Casals rediscovered them in a secondhand sheet music store in Barcelona in 1890, contain some of the most joyous, moving, and profound music in the Western classical music canon. It’s also because these two volumes, which present Grammy Award–winning cellist Zuill Bailey’s second recorded exploration of the suites (the first was on Telarc more than two decades ago), abound in astoundingly beautiful musicianship illumined by fresh insights and superb engineering.Bailey offers far more sensitive and nuanced playing than he did on his first effort. Note, for example, how the gentleness and grace…18 min
Stereophile|November 2021Listening deeplyGOOD AND BAD, I DEFINE THESE TERMS QUITE CLEAR…—BOB DYLANTake a walk at night. Walk so silently that the bottoms of your feet become ears.—Pauline Oliveros, Sonic MeditationsThe one activity that distinguishes audiophiles from other music lovers is our practice of sitting in solitude and listening closely to music reproduced on a finely tuned playback system.That is not to suggest that there’s anything wrong with playing music in the background. But what’s unique about us audiophiles is the seriousness of intent with which some of us sit in front of or among two or more speakers, or within a headphone soundfield, and focus intently on well-produced and wellreproduced music. What was formerly a collective ritual shared by millions of gramophone owners and folks who gathered ’round a piano for music-making…4 min
