A Terrific Tube Preamplifier From Korea, And A - Ultra High Fidelity ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Free Advice 270 rue Victoria Longueuil, Québec, Canada J4H 2J6 uhfmail@uhfmag.com I am about to buy a widescreen TV for my sitting room. The 16:9 ratio never made sense to me, and I noticed Philips has just brought out a 21:9. I know at the moment it’s only in the UK, but for all those people like me who hate those black bars top and bottom, this would be a great idea. Does this dimension make sense to you? Is it worth the wait till they arrive here? Graham Kelly EDMONTON, AB You may be waiting a long time, Graham, since Philips doesn’t focus its marketing on North America. It can certainly be argued that 16:9 isn’t wide enough, with the result that you still get black bars above and below the image on some movies, but actually movies come in many different aspect ratios, and one size definitely does not fit all. Imagine the huge black bars you would then get on the sides of a 16:9 television image! Our own view is that if you’ve aligned your HDTV to give you proper blacks, and if you view it in a darkened room, which those who love movies are wont to do, you won’t even know whether there are black bars above, below, or alongside the picture. I have a Cambridge Audio 550A amplifier and a pair of Monitor Audio RS1 speakers. I have my system connected such that the amplifier “Speaker A” terminals are connected to the speaker HF (tweeters) terminals, and the amplifier “Speaker B” terminals connected to the speaker LF (woofers) terminals. The terminal plates, which normally connect the HF and LF terminals of the speakers, have been removed. My amplifier is rated for 60 watts into 8 ohms. The speakers have a 6 ohm impedance. The user’s manual clearly 10 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine states that, “When using two pairs of speakers, use speakers with a nominal impedance of 8 ohms each.” I am concerned that I may be damaging my speakers with this type of configuration. I have been in contact with both Cambridge Audio and Monitor Audio, and they have provided me with contradictory information. Cambridge has told me my setup is completely safe and considers it a bi-wire configuration. Monitor Audio has stated that it is a bi-amp configuration and that each HF and LF loads (i.e. tweeter and woofer) each act as 6 ohms. I would really appreciate it if someone who has experience in this subject could shed some light on the issue. George Ilich TORONTO, ON Cambridge Audio is correct, George, and the setup you propose is completely safe. Monitor Audio replied to you, we think, without really looking over your Cambridge amplifier. The twin sets of outputs are simply paralleled, and they are provided for convenience. What you are proposing is not biamplification (you can’t biamplify with just two channels of amplification, unless you’re restricting yourself to mono). Since most amps don’t have double output posts, biwiring is usually done by joining the two cables at the amplifier end. What you propose to do is electrically equivalent. I noticed that the home theatre speakers in your Kappa system are from different companies. I have been told that they need to be from one company in order to have the same tonal/volume balance from speaker to speaker. My system so far consists of McIntosh SL-6 tower speakers, NAD A/V receiver, and Denon DV D/SACD player. Can I buy the centre, subwoofer, and rear speakers from different companies? What should I watch out for? Luther Rasmussen LOVELAND, CO This question was controversial when we first put together our Kappa system, Luther. We did the mixing and matching for a particular reason, namely the fact that we already owned (but were not using) four speakers of extraordinary quality. The Energy Reference Connoisseurs used for the left and right front channels were once our main audio reference speakers, and would be difficult to match today at anything resembling what we could then spare in our budget. For the rear we needed potent but very compact speakers, and on our shelf was a pair of Elipson 1400’s that were exactly what we wanted. Using two pairs of large and expensive speakers might have been ideal, but neither the space nor the budget made that an option. We did, however, require a new centre speaker, and our review of several potential models revealed what we already knew. A centre speaker may have the same model name as the main speakers, yet sound as though they had come from different designers. In our review we found two speakers that were of what we considered reference performance: the JMLab (Focal) Electra CC 900 and the Thiel MCS1. By using white noise (our preamp/processor supplies it on demand) we determined that the Thiel had a personality that was astonishingly close to that of our Energy speakers, and it therefore became our choice. Volume matching is not a problem, since each speaker has its own amplifier. Better receivers and preamp-processors will even match the levels automatically with the use of a microphone at the listening position. I recently bought a Bryston BDA1 DAC and have tried listening comparisons between the CD player DAC and running the player as a transport for the DAC. I do not hear much of a difference. I had been expecting CDs to sound better, given that the CD player DAC is seven years old.
I’m using a Cardas Lightning cable, 1 metre in length. I know you guys have mentioned using a 1.5 m cable, but really? Are my expectations too high, maybe? So far I like vinyl for the most part, unless I listen to a well-recorded CD…it seems as though the vinyl always sounds right. I have a Mac mini and would like to stream using the Airport Express. How do I make sure I get the best possible sound? I encode my CDs using the Apple Lossless format in iTunes — you guys recommended this some time ago. What about 24-bit audio though? I’m thinking of recording my vinyl to the Mac. I have a hard time trusting anyone else with these. I have never been led astray. Thanks for producing a top notch audio magazine that we Audionuts can put faith in. Jamie Irwin BRANTFORD, ON Jamie, there can be several reasons why the highly-rated Bryston DAC brought no improvement. You don’t mention the brand and model of your CD player, but we note that it is old enough to have needed a laser replacement. There may be limitations in the older design that determine the ultimate sound. The replacement laser may not be of identical design, and indeed models change so fast that you can pretty much count on it. Finally, there really are advantages to a well-designed single-box player, particularly in limiting jitter. Yes, we’ve determined (in a blind test!) that a 1.5 metre digital cable will give better results than the traditional 1 m cable. Whether changing that cable will give you all you had been hoping for is unknown. You are not alone in finding good analog to “sound right.” For our latest experience with streaming audio using Airport Express, see our review of the Moon 300D DAC in this issue. You’ll see how we went about getting the best possible performance from music stored on our computer hard drive. We warmly recommend the Airport Express, and we use one ourselves, but its current version won’t handle highresolution music. However your Mac mini will, if you can run an optical cable from its digital output to your Bryston DAC. The current version of Mac OS X (Snow Leopard) can output signals of 24 bits and 96 kHz, and some available software packages can add further options. First I want to mention that the latest Festival son et image held in March in Montreal has been the very best I have attended over the last 10 years or so. A very interesting selection of products in all price ranges focusing on high fidelity rather than home theatre or other flavor of the day. Good marks to the organizers. I have been slowly upgrading for years and I have a system that mostly pleases me and seems balanced except for two things: my speakers cables, and to a lesser extent my speakers. I own a Linn Ikemi CD player, a YBA Intégré and a pair of Castle Eden speakers. I have a good power cable, interconnects and power filter. The Edens are great, no doubt about that, but I feel that with the quality of the upstream gear I could benefit from more high end speakers. Am I in my right mind? I am looking for speakers in the range of the Harbeth HL5 that I really enjoyed through a short listening. Any experience with the Spendor A6, theDevor <strong>Fidelity</strong> speakers (Gibbons 9) or Sonus Faber and Vienna Acoustic that you haven’t reviewed? That brings us to the speaker cables, I still own the ones I have bought 10 years ago; a relatively basic Prisma cable that cost about $120 for a 20 feet length. I consider them very decent but limited. Any suggestion in the $500-$1000 range? It is a zoo out there for cables. One of the options I have are the Van den Hul Wind Mk2 (hybrid). Have you any idea about their quality? One interesting thing about them is that they are sold in bulk, so I could re-use the WBT nextgen connectors I have and like very much. My local dealer is proposing not to put sleeves on the wire if I use the WBT to avoid an additional contact or layer. Does it make sense, or would I be compromising the quality of the sound and the structural integrity of the cable itself, made of a copper center with a silver outside layer I think? A different dealer told me to wait after I have bought my new speakers before I change the speakers cables to fine-tune the match. Financially, I would not have to compromise the quality of one for the other so that does not make a big difference for me. However, I have never believed in compensating the deficiencies of one product with the different deficiencies or strengths of another. That simply does not work. As they say in English, two wrongs don’t make a right. <strong>And</strong>ré Pelletier MONTRÉAL, QC ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 11 Free Free Feedback Advice Advice
Page 1 and 2: No. 89 CAN $6.49 / US $7.69 RETURN
Page 3 and 4: Issue No. 89 Cover story: Two of th
Page 5 and 6: I HATE DOG EARS! (SORRY FIDO) We’
Page 7 and 8: I’m looking forward to the Simaud
Page 9: started talking to me and I was sta
Page 13 and 14: Leslie, it’s painful to realize t
Page 15 and 16: music from a computer via Ethernet
Page 17 and 18: school or community centre, perhaps
Page 19 and 20: ut the tone of the warning seems wr
Page 21 and 22: I remember when Israel Blume of Coi
Page 23 and 24: I may have mentioned that there is
Page 25 and 26: Thiel was back at CES, exhibiting a
Page 27 and 28: Touring the Salon there many turnta
Page 29 and 30: Below left: the Vivid B-1, designed
Page 31 and 32: tunately so, because computer softw
Page 33 and 34: The new ASW Genius 110 One of the i
Page 35 and 36: tisi. An hendreet nonsenim dit, ver
Page 37 and 38: scene, such as a video game page. T
Page 39 and 40: THE ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION: Issues
Page 41 and 42: Adding it to a CD player There are
Page 43 and 44: output of our Macbook Pro to the 30
Page 45 and 46: a quality switch with an array of f
Page 47 and 48: Leema Elements Phono Preamp Yes, wh
Page 49 and 50: Your System Belongs on the Wall Tar
Page 51 and 52: The t wo woofers and the midrange d
Page 53 and 54: Ut nisl erciduis at. Ectem dolobore
Page 55 and 56: INTERCONNECTS ATLAS NAVIGATOR Oxyge
Page 57 and 58: UHF14 POWER BAR Most power bars kno
Page 59 and 60: ed pepper to its music. Felix Hell
Page 61 and 62:
Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante (XRCD)
Page 63 and 64:
Gentlemen, I, Rachmaninoff, have ju
Page 65 and 66:
painful scenes at home, and after a
Page 67 and 68:
It is worth noting that although th
Page 69 and 70:
announcement of impending marriage
Page 71 and 72:
lending moment to arrive sooner tha
Page 73 and 74:
that would have called for a retake
Page 75 and 76:
any woman who is not married to som
Page 77 and 78:
All You Can Watch for $8 It was Net
Page 79 and 80:
The Magic Without 3D What’s domin
Page 81 and 82:
Industry News Dan d’Agostino is b
Page 83 and 84:
Why do UHF readers start reading th
show all

A Terrific Tube Preamplifier From Korea, And A - Ultra High Fidelity ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?