WINTER	2008
Page Five

AUDIENCE:  Just prior to CES Audience began shipping their new “E” (enhanced) Series cables.
      Design aspects of the “E” Series cables are proprietary and about all I could get out of the folks at Audience were that the cables were “Designed for very low eddy current resulting in better linearity.” Hmm, not very enlightening. Anyway, I have a complete set of the new “E” Series cables here now for an evaluation. Check back in a few weeks for a more detailed appraisal of their nature.
      The popular AU24 has established quite a reputation for their harmonically balanced and tonally pure character. The “E” series product is said to build on that heritage, offering even more accurate harmonic structure and improved micro-dynamics.
      Prices for “E” Series cables are a bit higher than the standard Au24, with a 1M interconnect going for $795 and an 8’ pair of speaker cables priced at $1575.
      The “E” Series technology has found its way into the Audience line conditioners as well. As with the cables, few details were given regarding the changes. It was mentioned that the Adept Response aR12 and aR6 line conditioners get new buss bars and an ”E” series power cord replaces the standard issue. 

CAYIN: There have been a good number of USB DACs introduced in the recent past. Cayin has decided to throw their hat into the ring with the launch of the iDAC-1. This tube-based (two 6N1) design touts the same high quality point-to-point wiring scheme seen in other Cayin products. True to form, the iDAC-1 is a looker, encased in the same gorgeous metalwork at the HA-1 headphone amplifier (our favorite headphone amp under $2k).
      The iDAC-1 features a front panel USB input, two pairs of rear-mounted RCA outputs and both coax and TOSLINK digital outputs. $795 - CES Special just $695!

ORTOFON: Just before CES I received information from Ortofon announcing the Verto step-up transformer. There are painfully few choices out there for folks wanting to add MC capability to an MM phono stage. Lyra and a few others make very expensive step-up transformers, but I’ve not seen anything of merit in the more reasonable realms. At $850 the Verto gives an attractively priced alternative.
      The Verto unit is fully dual mono and has internal jumpers to adjust both gain (24dB or 34dB) and load (one position for cartridges with internal impedances of 5 – 50 Ohms, and another for cartridges 10 Ohms or less). The high quality, Mu-Metal-shielded transformers are custom made for Ortofon by Lundahl. $850

LEHMANN AUDIO: This well respected line of phono preamp from Germany is now being distributed in the USA by Immedia, the folks that bring us Lyra cartridges and the Finite Elemente furniture.
      Heralded worldwide as one the best moderately priced phono preamp, the Black Cube has attained legendary status. The latest version features a totally new main board with significant component upgrades. In addition to standard internal switch settings for gain and loading, an onboard slot allows custom impedance loading for any cartridge. $699.
      Joining the Black Cube is the Black Cube Statement. At the surprisingly low price of just $499, the Black Cube Statement looks to be a remarkable value. Selectable gain of 31dB, 41dB, 51dB and 61dB allow the use of most any cartridge. Three resistive load settings provide matching with most cartridges. 

PS AUDIO:  Introduced here was the PS Audio Perfect Wave Transport. This unique product is a different take on a CD drive. The unit uses a mechanical CD drive to read the disc, but then sends the digits to a large (64MB) memory cache. The signal fed to the DAC is taken from the memory buffer, rather than straight off the disc. PS Audio believes this reduces jitter thus improving performance. The data then passes through a built in Digital Lens (de-jitter filter) to remove any last traces of digital distortion, then regenerates new data with an accurate clock.
      The Perfect Wave Transport can be used as a CD transport, providing output via both coax and optical outputs, or as a way to rip discs to a music server via a USB port. When connected to the internet the unit will be able to access META data, providing album art and track information via a small LCD display on the front panel. Price is estimated at $1695 with anticipated summer delivery. Oh yes, a similarly price companion DAC will likely follow.

QUAD: Many a show-goer parked their rump on the sofa in the Quad suite to soak up the sonorous sounds of the 2905’s and Quad tube electronics. I’ll admit to more than a few minutes of “seat time” myself. It was hard to resist this respite from the cacophony found in many other rooms.
      For 2008 Quad is offering a new finish on their electrostats. The Classic look harkens back to the early days of Quad with cane colored grille and matching painted frame. The warm brown and bronze tones of the Classic finish offers a nice alternative to the more modern black option. Speaking of black, the 99 Series of electronics (great stuff!) is now being offered in black.

NUFORCE: A reminder for you thinking of a new amplifier (or preamplifier) to give the NuForce product a listen. The factory sponsored audition program affords you the opportunity to try any of their products risk free. It's really great stuff for the money and something you should keep in mind.
        NuForce has won TWO Power Amp of The year awards and many other top awards (Bluemoon, Editor Choice etc). 90% of the reviewers (there are more than 10 and counting) who reviewed NuForce amps ended up buying it and make it their reference amp. Two new Reference 9SEV2 reviews have just been published:

AV Review
Stereo Times

        A total of 7 reviews have been published on the V2 amps alone and more are coming.
        The Reference 9v2 amplifiers are priced at $3500pr and the Reference 9v2SE are $5000pr

Tuning Tip

Getting the most from your system

Over the years I’ve found a number of ways to optimize system performance. I’ve distilled these tweaks into brief descriptions that I call “Tuning Tips.” I think you’ll find them helpful and insightful. Use them and I guarantee you will improve the sound of your system.

Should you leave your equipment on when you're not

listening?

                High end audio equipment will achieve optimum performance only after it is up to operating temperature and the circuits have stabilized. If you want all the performance you’ve paid for, the equipment must be fully warmed. Clearly we want the system be at its best when we listen seriously, but does that mean we should leave our gear powered on 24/7, or do we turn things off in between listening sessions? The answer isn't cut and dried, and depends on a number of factors. Both your listening habits and the type of equipment you own are the primary considerations. We'll look at both; first, the equipment.

                Tube and solid state components are very different with regards to both warm-up time and on/off cycling. In general, tube circuits reach operational temperature much faster (usually thirty minutes to an hour) than solid state, so lengthy warm-up usually isn't required. Solid state gear, on the other hand, may take several days to reach the optimal range, and if turned off for any length of time, may require a surprisingly long time to return to full song. Though the specific brand and model will determine the amount of time necessary for best performance, I suggest at least 24 hours for solid state circuits to stabilize.

                Extended warm up times for solid state components are quite common. One line of electronics we used to carry was particularly sensitive in that regard, which we discovered the hard way. Impressed with our demo, customers would take a unit home for a listen only to be disappointed with the sound. It took several of these experiences to realize it was a warm up issue. Even though the component had only been off a very short time, in some cases little more than an hour, performance was dramatically affected.

                Listening habits, maybe more than any other factor, are important when making a decision to leave things running or turn them off. If you are an infrequent listener, say only on weekends, you might want to turn the system on Friday night and off after your last listening session on Sunday. If you listen almost every day, or never know when you’ll have the chance, consider continuous operation. For solid state components, continuous operation usually isn't a problem, unless you have power hungry amplifier, or one that runs very hot, in which case turn them off. Tubes though are another story. Almost never is 24/7 operation recommended for full tube amplifiers, however it may be feasible to keep a tube preamp up and running. You’ll have to balance the cost of tubes and how often you listen to determine the best strategy.

                What about safety? Is leaving a component powered up dangerous? Can it be damaged by spikes and surges? Of course there’s no way to be one hundred percent certain, but I think the possibility is relatively small. I leave most of my own gear running 24/7 (and have for many years) and I've never experienced a problem. Of course, whether you leave your system on continuously or not, a good line conditioner should always be used (skip the hardware store variety - protection is minimal and you're likely degrading the sound). By far the most common cause of catastrophic damage is lightning. In that scenario it really doesn't matter whether your gear is on or off - simply being plugged in is enough to cause damage. The best bet is to physically unplug all your components (and disconnect them from antennas or cable TV feeds) in the event of a thunderstorm. As an additional measure, I suggest unplugging everything if you will be away for an extended period.