WINTER |
2010 |
 |
Page Five |
STERELOAB:
Digital cable guru, Chris Sommovigo of Stereovox fame, has
done it again! The next step in digital cable design has
arrived in the form of his new XV-Ultra. It's the
beginning of a new line of cables under his brand, The
Reference. Building on the strengths of the class-dominating
Stereovox XV2, the XV-Ultra raises the bar (again) for
digital cables, establishing a new performance benchmark.
Inside the
Stereolab
XV-Ultra you’ll find Mil-Spec silver-plated copper
solid core conductor and precision low-density cold-process
air articulated Teflon™ tapes, metal foil + woven shields
along with an RF-absorbing layer of pure woven carbon fiber.
The unique external jacket expresses minimal dielectric
effect.
Stereolab has introduced a long-cycle cryogenic treatment, not
only to the raw cable itself, but also to all the connectors
and adapters. This has the effect of altering the temper of
the crystal lattice matrices in all of the metals used to
create the cable. Cryogenic treatment has become one of the
most well regarded treatments for cables and other audio parts
and devices.
The result
is a peerless and pure 75-Ohm Giant Killer that will kick your
digital side up yet another notch!
The
Stereolab
XV-Ultra is priced at an amazingly low $350, 1M - truly
a bargain for this level of performance! Stereovox XV-2 owners will
definitely want to upgrade!
**
For a limited time, trade in your Stereovox XV-2 cable
(purchased from us) and receive a $100 credit on an XV-Ultra,
yours for only $250! **
SYMPOSIUM:
The original purveyors of roller bearing isolation technology,
Symposium Acoustics have offered products employing ball
bearing isolation methods since 1997. In their design, a
concave dish has been mounted in block of special isolating
material. A ball bearing (stainless or tungsten) rests in the
dish and the component is placed on top of the bearing.
According to Symposium, Rollerblocks both couple and decouple
your equipment from the surface they’re sitting on. They do
this by floating the equipment on bearings, thus de-coupling
them in the horizontal plane, while still being mechanically
coupled in the vertical plane. Symposium feels that the
mechanical coupling to the footer improves performance by
providing a path for vibration to be transferred out of the
equipment and into the footer.
Two levels of product is offered, the classic
Rollerblock Series 2+ at $399 for a set of three, and the
economical Rollerblock Jr. at only $219
(includes Tungsten Carbide balls) for a set of three.
Symposium also makes component platforms. Using
constrained layer damping techniques, the hard surface layer
effectively transfers vibration away from the component and
dissipates it in the absorptive layers inside. The Svelte
Shelf platform starts at just $239 and the Ultra Energy
Absorption Platform begins at $399.
BENCHMARK:
Hardly needing an introduction, every audiophile recognizes
Benchmark digital products. They’ve been acclaimed worldwide
by both audiophiles and recording industry professionals and
have earned a reputation for performance and value. Their
products offer performance far beyond what you’d expect for
their modest prices. We're happy to be able to offer this
wonderful line of digital products.
Whether you're looking for a great way to
dramatically upgrade an aging CD player or a great way to get
best performance from a computer or server-based music system,
the Benchmark DACs are a great choice. All of their DACs offer
the added convenience of a built in headphone amplifier that
is far more than an afterthought and whose performance rivals
many stand alone headphone amps.
Their latest offering, the DAC1 HDR offers the
legendary performance of the DAC1 USB along with preamp
functions and remote volume control (and of course, their
great headphone amp).
Price for the DAC1 is
just $995, the DAC1 USB is $1295. Add preamp
function in the DAC1 Pre at $1595 (The Absolute Golden
Award winner 2009). The DAC1 HDR with remote control
goes for $1895. Free shipping on all Benchmark products!
CARDAS:
Just prior to the show Cardas introduced the Light
interconnects. Considered a “lite” version of the expensive
Clear cable, the Light utilizes the same conductors but
with less dielectric. We have heard really wonderful things
about these cables and have samples which have just arrived
and are breaking in. We will
report back shortly with our thoughts, but feel free to call
for more details. $628, 1M.
Also new
from Cardas, a fresh addition
to their outstanding line of headphone cables, this one
developed especially for the Sennheiser HD800. Upgrading the
headphone cable can return startling results, and that is
certainly the case with this offering which
brings out the true capabilities of the top of the line
Sennheiser HD800 headphones. $279 for a 10’ cable, $349 for
15’. Now shipping.
JEFF ROWLAND DESIGN:
On display were the new Jeff
Rowland 925 monoblock amplifiers. These gorgeous
two-chassis monsters explode with 550 watts in class-AB. Typical stunning
Rowland build and finish quality. Anticipated summer
arrival with estimated pricing at $48,000/pair.
Also new, the Corus 350 watt
stereo amplifier ($12800) and Corus preamplifier,
$10800. More details to follow.
FURUTECH:
Showcased here was the new GT40 USB 24-bit/96kHz DAC
with phono stage. The heavily-shielded GT40 features a
low-latency USB 2.0 audio driver that plays and records at 96
kHz and includes a built-in low-noise MM/MC phono stage
preamplifier to aid in the transfer of vinyl records to a
computer hard disk. The GT40 includes optical
inputs/outputs plus L/R analog outputs and switchable line or
phono inputs. This unit can also provide low-noise, smooth,
detailed sound to desktop systems when playing MP3 files all
the way to high resolution 24-bits/96kHz files. $450, February
availability.
WADIA:
Announced at CES, the 171iTransport iPod dock which offers
iPhone compatibility. In
addition, the 171i exceeds the performance of the original
with an improved power supply, higher-quality audiophile grade
outputs, and a power supply indicator and upgraded power supply.
Delivery
will begin in late spring or early summer with a price
expected to be a couple hundred Dollars above the current
i170. The new unit will exist alongside rather than replace
the current 170iTransport dock that we all know and love.
The matching integrated amp shown last year is
nearing fruition. Price should come in at $1195 with delivery
set for March. A 24/192 DAC incorporating the ESS Sabre DAC
was mentioned and is planned for a summer release. Price has
not been set.
NORDOST:
First up, the Sort Kone. The Nordost literature
describes the Sort Kone this way: “The Sort Kone is
a sophisticated, directly coupled mechanically tuned resonance
control device, using a sophisticated new approach to the
problem of supporting sensitive electronic equipment.
Whereas most equipment supports are referred to as
Isolation Devices, this actually completely misunderstands the
nature of the problem. The most harmful mechanical energy
doesn’t enter the equipment from the outside; it’s generated
internally by the audio circuits and their power supplies.
Transformers, power supply caps , even the active devices
themselves, all vibrate as they operate – and those vibrations
occur right where the fragile signal is, creating , even the
active devices themselves, all vibrate as they operate – and
those vibrations occur right where the fragile signal is,
creating timing errors that smear and distort the music. The
Kone is designed specifically to deal with this threat to
fidelity.
The three part construction employs a metal
base that supports a coupling ball (ball bearing) on which a
metal post is situated, the top of which protrude though the
nose of the plastic body and forms the contact point with the
component.
The Sort Kones proved their
effectiveness during a demonstration in the Nordost suite that
contrasted the performance differences between the four models
that comprise the line. The AS ($65ea) features
an aluminum post and base combine with a hardened steel
coupling ball. The AC ($80ea) uses the same aluminum
components, but substitutes a ceramic ball. Next step up is
the BC ($135ea) which replaces the aluminum
parts with bronze components. The top of the line TC
($350ea) employs the super light, super hard and super
expensive metal, titanium, for even better performance.
Soundstage, air and resolution improved progressively as each
next higher level unit were substituted.
Just how the Sort Kones compare to the
competition remains to be seen. I have a set of each coming
and am looking forward to researching that question for you
and will have the results shortly.
Aren’t there enough system setup and
break-in CDs already? Nordost didn’t think so and introduced
one at CES. After evaluating the disc, I found the Nordost
disc has some very interesting and useful features, especially
the LEDR tracks that aid in optimizing speaker placement.
Rather than go into detail here explaining the features, I
refer you to the Nordost website that has detailed
instructions for use:
http://www.nordost.com/Downloads/Test%20CD%20Text.pdf
KIMBER KABLE:
Kimber has thrown their hat into the USB™ cables arena. The
new cables use large copper conductors – the largest possible
under USB specifications, and the signal conductors are coated
with a thick (6.1%) silver plating to enhance conductivity and
reduce data loss. The ferrite noise reduction beads reduce
potentially data damaging Radio Frequency Interference.
* Nitrogen infused polyethylene signal conductor dielectric
* Ferrite noise reduction beads
* Type A to Type B or Type MINI B
CREEK:
Creek have introduced two new tuners, one each in the Evolution and
Destiny ranges. Creek has long been known for their excellent
tuners and I’m sure the Destiny Tuner ($1095) and
Evolution Tuner ($595) will continue that tradition of
outstanding performance.
The Classic Series has been discontinued. The beloved Classic 5350SE will soon be replaced by the
Evolution 5350, which was previewed at CES. According to the
importer, “It’s an absolute monster and is destined to
become an instant classic. This will be the integrated against
which all others will be measured”.
GOLDRING: Goldring is celebrating 100 years of
cartridge manufacturing with the introduction of
their Legacy phono cartridge.100 years people! Some say,
“they must be doing something right if they’ve been able to
survive 100 years making phono cartridges.” Others say, “well,
it’s taken them 100 years, it’s about time they figured it out
and did something right. We don’t care which camp you’re in,
this is simply the best Goldring ever and, according to the
importer, “an absolute bargain at $1295”.
Music Hall
ran the Legacy on their Hall MMF-9.1 at CES which produced
some very sweet sounds. The cartridge was singing! We’ve
never made a better sound. It’s a low output moving
coil.
BELLARI: Bellari have just released the MT502
moving coil step-up transformer. Fully passive, the MT502
allows you to play a low output moving coil cartridge through
a moving magnet phono preamp. The high quality transformers
are hand wound and their covers are 24 karat gold plated. Two
impedance settings (a/b which are 50/100 Ohms) allow correct
matching to a wide variety of MC phono cartridges. There's
also a ground lift provided to help reduce grounding issues.
It mates perfectly with the
VP130 and
VP530 phono preamps, but don’t limit your use of it to
Bellari products. Beautifully designed and built entirely in
the USA. It’s a real bargain at just $499 retail, but a steal
at our special introductory price! Click on the Purchase Now
button for a peek at the price.
EQUIPMENT
CLEANING: To keep your equipment looking new, a
regular schedule of cleaning is necessary. Just like washing
your car to protect the finish, occasional cleaning of your
audio equipment is essential if you want to keep it looking
its best.
As you might expect, we've cleaned a few
components here! Over the years, and hundreds and hundreds of
components later, we’ve truly learned what works and what
doesn't. This product is one that we can highly recommend!
Back in 1992 a small firm developed a
unique cleaning formulation for metal and painted surfaces. So
effective was it that they approached Honda Motor Company, who
promptly agreed to market it. Thus was born Honda Spray
Cleaner and Polish.
"Honda Polish" became an
instant hit and over the years attracted many fans. Much to
our dismay Honda discontinued the product in early 2007.
Fortunately, the original manufacturer decided to reintroduce
it under their own brand name.
It's great stuff,
and cheap too! Just $6.25 for a large 16oz can. Grab some, you
need it!
For a more complete understanding of
taking care of your gear, read our article on
Equipment
Cleaning.
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.
#20
Routine equipment cleaning
A good cleaning now
and then will not only keep your expensive gear looking great and improve resale
value, it may actually prolong its life. It’s been shown that a layer of dust
inhibits cooling of components such as transistors and vacuum tubes. Acting like
a blanket, the dust insulates the component part, holding in heat and reducing
contact with cooling air currents. A thick coating of dust can indeed raise the
operating temperature of the device, potentially shortening lifespan.
Every year or two I suggest removing
the top cover of each component and using a can of compressed air to blow away
dust accumulation. Do not attempt this if you feel uncomfortable with working
around sensitive electric parts. Your dealer can certainly handle the task at a
nominal fee. While you have the system apart, now would be a great time to clean
all the connections (we like
Kontak).
Regularly dust the exterior of your
components. A lamb’s wool, feather duster or clean microfiber cloth is fine. Chemicals
generally are not required, but to bring back depth and
luster to painted or anodized finishes, our favorite product is
Original
Spray Cleaner & Polish.
We’ve got a much more detailed
description of the topic in the How To section of our website. Check out the
article Equipment Cleaning
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