WINTER |
2002 |
 |
Page Three |
AERIAL: Though not displaying at this years
CES, I did
happen to meet up with Aerial’s inimitable Michael Kelley.
Though I was hoping to hear the upcoming 20T at the
2002 CES, according to Michael, they still have a bit of
tweaking to do. An official launch is planned for later
this year.
The 20T will represent the new flagship for Aerial,
coming in at just under $20K. With Aerial’s reputation for
quality, this should be a wonderful product. We’re ready,
and very interested.
CARY AUDIO: Son
of the very popular V12 amplifier, the Rocket
88 becomes the newest member of the Cary family. The
stereo amp uses the same smooth sounding front-end circuit
design found in the V12. The Rocket
88 offers 40 watts of ultra-linear power, 20 watts of
sweet triode from a pair of KT-88 output tubes. $2500.00
.
SPECTRON: John Ulrick debuted his latest
offering, the Troubadour, a 100-watt per channel
Class D digital, remote-controlled integrated amplifier
wrapped up in a pint-sized enclosure. Only 1.75” high, the
Troubadour 
packs allot of punch into a small package. The Troubadour
will offer both analog and digital inputs, allowing convenience
and tremendous long-term flexibility.
With a circuit based heavily on the glorious Musician
II amplifier, the Troubadour shares much of the sonic
wonders of its higher priced brethren. Though their demonstration
system was unfamiliar to me, I could hear the clarity and
relaxed focus I so value in other Spectron components.
The best part is the price, just $2495.00! We hope for
spring availability.
SPECTRON FACTS
Spectron amplifiers do not operate like
conventional amplifiers. In a typical linear amplifier
the currents in the tubes or transistors are proportional
to the signal (music) level. In a Spectron Class D amp,
the input signal is converted to Pulse Width Modulation
(PWM) where pulse width is proportional to level. You
can also directly input a digital SPDIF (PCM) data stream
where it is precisely converted into PWM in the digital
domain. Like AM and FM modulation, PWM modulation has
a carrier modulated by a signal (music). In the Spectron
design, the carrier is a very high 500kHz (compared with
much lower sampling frequencies common in the audio world
of 44.1, 96 or even 192kHz). Next, this logic signal is
converted into a high voltage PWM square wave (at ±125V
in the Musician II, ±48V in the Troubadour). Finally,
this square wave signal is passed though a low pass filter
to block the carrier and pass only the audio.
The fast digital logic circuitry reduces time through
the feedback loop to 200ns, as compared to 2000ns common
in conventional linear designs. This feature increases
bandwidth, reduces distortion and noise and lowers output
impedance, all of which improve sound quality.
A further advantage of PWM amplifier designs is efficiency.
A typical linear amplifier may have an efficiency of 20
to 50%. This means, that for every 100 watts of power
drawn from the wall, a typical amplifier delivers 20 –
50 watts to the speakers, the rest is wasted as heat.
The Spectron design is over 93% efficient, which means
the amplifiers run cool to the touch.
BITS
AUDIO AERO: Great sound here, thanks to the
company’s wonderful tube-based CD players. A new version
of the sweet little Prima 24/192kHz player is on
the way, but had not arrived in time to be displayed at
CES. The new unit will feature updated cosmetics with an
aluminum faceplate. Price is $1895.00 - 2300.00 depending
on finish.
Deserving and receiving significant praise among the audiophile
community, the Capitole CD player is a marvel. The
Capitole employs the Phillips CDM12 drive mechanism,
situated on a special isolated sub chassis. Digital chores
are handled by the company’s exclusive STARSŇ (Solution
for Time Abstraction Re-Sampling) process, a combination
of high speed re-sampling, interpolation and signal enhancement
techniques developed for Audio Aero by the Swiss firm of
Anagram Technologies SA. A 32 bit floating point SHARC DSP
converts the incoming data into a high definition 24 bit
/ 192 kHz signal.  Conversion
is handled by a 24/192 DAC, coupled to a unique analog stage
employing subminiature tubes. A high quality motorized volume
control allows the user to bypass the preamplifier, diving
the amplifier directly, if desired. http://www.audioaero.com/
MUSIC HALL: Known for their wonderful line
of value oriented turntables, the Music Hall guys surprised
show goers by debuting a new CD player! While the CD-25
represents a break from their analog past, it definitely
continues their tradition of great sound at bargain basement
prices. Six Hundred Clams buys you a player that is well
made, solid (fifteen pounds) and sounds amazingly good.
I spent a few minutes enjoying the CD-25 through
a pair of Grado ‘phones, and was quite impressed with what
I heard. I’ll need to reserve a detailed description until
I can evaluate the player in familiar surroundings, but
I heard enough at the show to get the little buggers on
order. You may want to do the same! Here is a comment
I just received from an enthusiastic owner: "You
could not talk me into taking ANY other CD player I have
owned for $1K in trade for this player, and have to twist
something real hard up to $3K at least, and they still loose
at cosmetics... love the easy to read display!"Bob
L.
http://www.musichallaudio.com/
CARY AUDIO: A new CD player announced here.
Essentially a re-packaged version of last year's 303, the
new CD-308 uses a Burr-Brown 24/96 DAC (run at 44.1)
with the great-sounding Cary analog section. We know the
sound will be great, but the real news is the bargain-basement
price, only $1500.00! March/April availability
MUSICAL FIDELITY: The A324 digital
to analog converter was introduced. The 192K up sampling
DAC utilize the Company’s proprietary choke-regulated power
supply and the same DAC and filter system used in the popular
(and pricey) Nu-Vista CD player. Price is $1195.00, with
delivery in February 2002.
SIM AUDIO: New here, the Nova two-channel
CD player. Borrowing heavily from the well-respected Eclipse,
the Nova should share many of the sonic qualities that has
made that player so popular. Although designed as a companion
for their I-5 integrated, the Nova is a great sounding
CD player and would be at home in any system in need of
a digital source.
Estimated price is between $3000.00 and $3200.00, with
availability in the third or fourth quarter of this year.
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