FALL	2007
Page Four

MUSICAL FIDELITY: Musical Fidelity’s Antony Michaelson has been a vociferous proponent of high powered amplifiers for many years. He believes the vast majority of audio systems are way, way underpowered. To produce anything close to the dynamic range of live music, he says, requires a tremendous amount of peak power - more than is available in 99% of stereo systems. Believing that big-time-power is crucial to realistic reproduction, the Musical Fidelity team set out to design a product that could be used as a booster to supercharge and existing amplifier That concept came to fruition in the Supercharger 550K, 550 watt monoblock amplifiers capable of a staggering 900 watts into 4 Ohms.
        Musical Fidelity invested a great deal of time and effort into this design, specifically with the intent of using the amp as a booster. They believe the existing amplifier will actually sound better driving the Supercharger 550K than driving a loudspeaker. They argue that in this configuration the driving amplifier now sees a constant 50 Ohm, and doesn’t have to deal with the back reactance from the speaker. In fact, only the high level inputs were used during the auditions that produced the absolutely stellar commentary in the Stereophile review. To me, it’s clear Musical Fidelity have done their homework, because the amps sound really good.
        Furthering that concept is Musical Fidelity’s claim that some of the most dramatic improvements are noted when tube amps are “supercharged.” I quote: “Most people think that the fundamental sound of valve amps is far better than solid state but unfortunately they don’t have enough power to drive loudspeakers. With the 550K Supercharger that’s all changed. Now you can create tube amplifiers with real grunt. The sound is arresting and extraordinary.”  Hmm, interesting concept; take a small tube amp and “supercharge” it.
        Most audiophiles would love to infuse tube “sound” into their system, but balk when confronted with the cost and size of a tube amp powerful enough to drive their speakers. How about a modest tube amplifier paired with the Supercharger 550K Superchargers? We’ve tried it, and the results have been outstanding. Will it sound just like the tube amp? No, but that may actually be a benefit in that it dramatically tightens the bass and expands the dynamic envelope. Ok, some purists will say that some of the “magic” is lost, but the question is which trade-off you would prefer.
        Oh yes, the 550-K amps also have line level inputs, so they can be used as standalone primary amplifiers as well as boosters. $5K, the pair.

STEREOVOX: In addition to the cost effective Studio Series products we've raved about, Stereovox offers the Reference Series, the company’s flagship line. A recent review in Positive Feedback reminded me that I haven't introduced you to the Reference Series, so I thought it was high time.
        We’ve been quite taken with the wonderful 600SEi interconnects and LSP-600c speakers cables. In place here for the last couple of months, both cables offer a remarkably clean, grain-free presentation – a quality I really find appealing. Tonal balance is neither warm nor bright, but somewhere in between.
        Along with their great sound, these are especially manageable cables - both lightweight and flexible - a welcome change from many cables today.
        I'll write a more detailed evaluation a bit later, but I’ll tease you just a bit with the following: "Let me cut to the chase. The newest Stereovox 600-SEIii and its balanced twin are some of the sweetest; most intensely musical interconnects on the planet! Assuming you have a top notch system and a strong appreciation for great music, the Stereovox interconnects let you listen, and listen, and listen for hours without so much as a touch of fatigue. With a light from within definition and a most beguiling overall presentation, they are clearly the best under $2000 per meter interconnects around and compete quite well with the most expensive and most exotic interconnects I am aware of." Robert H. Levi, Positive Feedback.

SHUNYATA: A step up from the Hydra 8, the V-Ray features all new filter arrays and revised buss arrangement (the bridge which carries current from one outlet to the next). The independent filter boards and sophisticated filter networks offer significantly improved isolation from line generated and component generated noise. Isolation from the wall and between components has been significantly increased. Sonically you can expect a deeper noise floor, blacker background and greater inter-transient silence, resulting in greater resolution of low-level detail. Sound great? It is!
         Hydra 8 owners, do not despair, we have a great trade-up program for you! Give us a call to discuss how we can help you move up to the V-Ray level of performance for a very reasonable sum. Retail $3995. Attention Hydra 8 owners! Trade in your Hydra for the new V-Ray for just $2595! Call for details.

SPECTRON: Digital design genius John Ulrick has unveiled the Signature edition of his superlative Musician III power amplifier. Already one of the world’s finest amplifiers (really), the Musician III Signature catapults this wonder into the topmost echelon.
        In case you are not familiar with the company, a bit of background is in order. Spectron's president and chief designer, John Ulrick, introduced the first commercially available class D amplifier to the audio world at CES 1974. At that time John was president and co-founder of Infinity Systems, famous for its wonderful loudspeakers and pioneering development of the servo woofer system. In the 25 years hence, John has devoted himself to this technology, intent on producing one of the world’s best amplifiers. Has he succeeded?
       The Musician III is a class D digital amplifier. Before you turn the page, let me assure you that this is an outstanding amp, regardless of the topology. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this business, it’s not to typecast a given product based on a specific design. Many would have you believe that all amplifiers operating in Class A sound a certain way, MOSFET amps have their sound and so on to include digital amplifiers, which all exhibit similar characteristics. Not! I’m not saying there can’t be common traits among similar topologies, just that these design philosophies don’t always imprint the same character on every product that implements them. It would be like saying all cars with six cylinder engines are similar.
        Many listeners feel that massively powerful amplifiers tend to obscure the subtleties of music; the bodybuilders of the audio world flex impressively, but find it difficult to track the music when the score calls for delicacy. The muscular ones easily grab hold of a speaker, but some have a hard time letting go. If you have heard this limitation, you’ll be concerned by the massive 600 watt per channel rating of the Musician III Signature. It looks even worse when I reveal this monster can launch a 3500 watt torrent for .35 second and is stable into a 0.1 Ohm load. Settle down, boys, your fears are unfounded; the Spectron Musician III Signature breaks the mold… it handles both ends of the dynamic scale with ease.
        Some amplifiers command your attention with their character. This amplifier is captivating for what it doesn’t do. Here you’ll find a virtually grain free presentation with tonal purity and silky smooth top end. Ok, I hear you, “hey, this is a “digital amp”- it simply cannot be grain free. After all, the Golden Ears at TAS pronounced all digital amplifiers flawed, branding the technology immature. Well, I’m not sure what they’re smoking over there, but I challenge their crew to sample this amp and tell me they hear digital artifacts. They aren’t there. But then, who cares what I think or what TAS has to say, it’s your ears we’re trying to please. So you be the judge - you listen, you decide. I bet you’ll agree, it’s a masterwork.

Features:

• Digital pulse width modulation switching amplifier

• Feedback loop 10 times faster than typical conventional amplifiers

• Staggering headroom of 3500 volt-amps over 330 msec.

• No crossover distortion

• Drives the most difficult speakers, stable to 0.1 Ohms

• Foldback current limit

• Automatic overload recovery

• Professional quality balanced line input

•  Rear panel selectable RCA and XLR input

•  Phase invert switch

• Rear panel selectable phase

• In-rush resistor bypass for tighter bass

• Isolated low level power supplies eliminates noise from AC line in low level   circuits

• Speaker protection turns amp off for excessive DC or high frequency

• High efficiency for minimal power consumption

• Absolute Sound Editor's Choice Award winner 2005, 2007

• $6495

For those interested in the whole story, follow the link to the Spectron Website