Fine Products Catalogue 2017

Transcript

F I NE PR O DUC T S C ATAL O GUE 2 017 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Audio Research Artesania Constellation Audio Copland Crystal Cable D’Agostino DarTZeel dCS EAT Jadis KL Audio Koestu Krell Metronome Magico Martin Logan Primaluna Pryma ReQuest Sonus Faber Sumiko Swedish Analog Technologies TechDAS Transparent Audio Theta Digital Wadia Wilson Audio Yter absolute sounds ltd 58 Durham Road, London SW20 0TW T: +44 (0)20 89 71 39 09 F: +44 (0)20 88 79 79 62 www.absolutesounds.com [email protected] 2 2017 2017 3 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Audio Research PH 9 Valve Phono Stage Preamplifier - Foundation Series Alongside the LS28 and DAC9, the new PH9 phono stage from the company’s Foundation Series represents a new baseline for Audio Research. Replacing both the PH6 and PH8 in the company’s range, in fact the new phono stage has more in common with the latest Reference Phono 3 than its direct predecessors. Sporting a trio of 6H30 tubes, the PH9 is designed with one of the cleanest analogue signal paths possible. Part of the impediment to a short signal path in a phono stage is the mechanism required for cartridge loading, so Audio Research has moved the load adjustments to the sophisticated menu-driven logic circuit. This allows for five different impedance settings, all of which can be adjusted on the fly using the supplied remote control. The menu-driven logic circuit can also display cartridge impedance, tube life, and can control auto shutdown options. As this logic circuit remains isolated from the main analogue circuits, high performance is a given. The few differences between the PH9 and its Reference class sibling are relatively minor, from a mechanical perspective. The PH9 is a single-ended in, single-ended out RIAA-only stage, where the Ref Phono 3 has more options available. In terms of sound quality, it retains a lot of the spatial definition, dynamics and detail retrieval of the Reference model. All of which make the PH9 outstanding value for money! The phono stage is part of a complete four device Foundation range. The matching LS28 line preamplifier and DAC9 digital converter are already in production. A matching power amplifier will follow sometime in 2017. The Foundation series is a coming-together of a truly international team, drawing on the technical know-how of the Minnesota-based team with the elegance of the Italian industrial design team behind Sonus faber. Like the G-Series and the latest Reference range, these new models call upon cues dating right back to Audio Research’s beginnings, yet manage to look both modern and timeless. Audio Research doesn’t change its house style often, and this – coupled with outstanding sonic performance – has generated a hugely loyal following among ARC users. The Foundation Series looks set to create a new line of classics. 4 2017 2017 5 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Audio Research LS 28 Valve Line Stage Preamplifier - Foundation Series Audio Research new Foundation series represents a new beginning. Whether it’s your first Audio Research product, or the replacement to a classic line preamplifier from the brand, the new Foundation Series LS28 stereo preamplifier is part of the significant new direction for the brand. The LS28 features four balanced and four single-ended line inputs with two sets of balanced and two sets of single-ended outputs, making the line stage one of the most flexible devices in audio. At its heart, the Audio Research uses a quartet of 6H30 valves in its analogue circuit, and its line stages are every bit as uncompromisingly analogue as they were back in 1970 when Audio Research began. However, it also features a sophisticated, menu-driven, logic control circuit, isolated from the analogue stages. This controls everything from input naming to auto shut down and tube life. Perhaps more than any previous preamplifier in the LS-range, the Foundation LS28 owes more to the development of the Reference Series, in this case the Reference 6 preamplifier. In many respects, the LS28 could be considered a ‘baby Ref 6’, in terms of industrial design, circuit design, and – most importantly – sound quality. Audio Research has been making some of the best products it has ever made in recent years, and the Foundation LS28 shows this was no fluke. The line preamplifier is part of a complete four device Foundation range. The matching PH9 phono stage and DAC9 digital converter are already in production. A matching power amplifier will follow sometime in 2017. The Foundation series is a coming-together of a truly international team, drawing on the technical know-how of the Minnesota-based team with the elegance of the Italian industrial design team behind Sonus faber. Like the G-Series and the latest Reference range, these new models call upon cues dating right back to Audio Research’s beginnings, yet manage to look both modern and timeless. Audio Research doesn’t change its house style often, and this – coupled with outstanding sonic performance – has generated a hugely loyal following among ARC users. The Foundation Series looks set to create a new line of classics. 6 2017 2017 7 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Audio Research DAC 9 Digital to Analogue Converter - Foundation Series This is a bold statement, but the Audio Research Foundation DAC9 is the probably best all-round digital device the company has ever made. It features many of the latest digital inputs (USB, RCA and BNC S/PDIF, Toslink, and AES/EBU), allowing the user to couple existing disc-spinning transports with computer based online sources. The DAC9 is the first product from the company to support high-resolution PCM files at sampling rates beyond 192kHz, and is currently the only digital device from the brand to support DSD 64 and DSD 128 formats. Unlike the present Reference DAC from Audio Research, the DAC9 does not feature a network streaming option, and instead goes for the popular and flexible option of using the computer as digital front end for network and online streaming. Audio Research has implemented a unique Quad DAC architecture for the DAC9’s digital stage, which gives the Foundation Series DAC a fully balanced output (single-ended is also provided) and is capable of performing with an extremely wide, yet natural sounding dynamic range. The DAC also allows the user a range of digital filter and native-rate upsampling options. The allimportant analogue stage draws heavily from other models in both the Foundation and Reference line, using a pair of 6H30 tubes in the output stage. The DAC is part of a complete four device Foundation range. The matching LS28 line preamplifier and PH9 phono stage are already in production. A matching power amplifier will follow sometime in 2017. The Foundation series is a coming-together of a truly international team, drawing on the technical know-how of the Minnesota-based team with the elegance of the Italian industrial design team behind Sonus faber. Like the G-Series and the latest Reference range, these new models call upon cues dating right back to Audio Research’s beginnings, yet manage to look both modern and timeless. Audio Research doesn’t change its house style often, and this – coupled with outstanding sonic performance – has generated a hugely loyal following among ARC users. The Foundation Series looks set to create a new line of classics. 8 2017 2017 9 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Audio Research CD 6 High Definition CD Player with DAC Born from a long history of high performance digital products, the CD6 from Audio Research provides the convenience of both a CD player and digital-to-analog converter in one box. Understanding that many music listeners own a substantial CD collection, yet also have additional digital sources in their system, resulted in the development of the new CD players from Audio Research. Borrowing heavily from the more expensive, Reference CD9, the CD6 offers simply fantastic digital music playback as well as flexible connectivity. The Reference CD9 is a vacuum tube design, whereas the CD6 is solid state. Beyond this, the units are very similar. Centered around the Philips Pro2 transport mechanism, considered by many to be the best transport available, the digital bitstream is fed to an all Audio Research-designed digital-to-analog converter. While the transport is designed for redbook CDs only, the DAC can convert signals up to 192 kHz/24 bit from its digital inputs, which include coaxial, toslink and USB. The DAC is designed around both 44.1 and 48 kHz sampling frequencies, and offers independent clocking for both speeds, as well as their multiples. This eliminates quantization errors associated with single clock designs and presents a more natural and realistic musical presentation. The CD6 also offers upsampling, which can be turned on or off, of digital signals to 176.4 or 192 kHz depending on the native sample frequency. There are also two user-selectable digital filters, fast and slow, that can be chosen to fine-tune the sound to personal taste, or accommodate a particular recording. Finally, after conversion, the audio signal is fed into legendary Audio Research analog circuitry. The solid state design of the CD6 presents music with speed, dynamics and realism, all against a silent, black background. Fine detail and subtle cues add life and space to the musical soundstage. Tonalities are organic and grain-free, absent the digital edge so common from many of today’s digital products. The CD6 is a product to allow you to rediscover new music from your CD collection, and explore the full potential of digital sound. 10 2017 2017 11 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Audio Research GSi-75 Precision Valve Integrated Amplifier W Phono Stage, DAC/DSD, USB Input, Headphone Amp, 75 Watts Stereo with KT150 If 2015 has been marked by a trend in amplifiers, it is surely the compact one-box solution that will handle a variety of digital and analogue sources. This is a very attractive answer for those who don’t want their living space cluttered up with lots of heavy metal. Audio Research has a long history of delightful integrated amplifiers, but this newcomer takes things a few steps further and brings it in line not only with the digital age, but with those who value their vinyl collection. Announced last year, but now in production, it is the GSi75. With a solid retro look about it, this beauty has a high quality phono stage as well as ARC’s most advanced DAC, which can take digital sampling rates up to 384KHz as well as DSD via a USB input - and true, native DSD bitstreams are resolved with no PCM conversion. Fast and slow filters are selectable, as is upsampling to 352KHz or 384KHz, and a separate driver for a Mac is not required. For those who divide their listening between digital and vinyl, the GSi75 has a high quality phono stage with switchable 45dB or 62dB gain for MM or MC cartridges and selectable impedance loading via the front panel or the remote. There are also three single-ended analogue inputs, one of which can be configured as a home theatre throughput, so this amplifier will handle just about anything you throw at it. And you don’t even need loudspeakers, as the amp has a superb valvedriven headphone section - and headphones are becoming increasingly popular. Rated at 75 Wpc, the GSi75 has two 6H30 driver valves and the ubiquitous KT150 output tubes, which have became such a favourite in the high end with their power and reliability. ARC claim you should be able to get 3,000 hours from them, which is about double what we are used to. ARC describe this versatile device as ‘a sonic knockout with the same clarity, dynamics and engaging immediacy that you have come to expect from the GS preamplifier and GS150 power amp. The GSi75 is going to find many friends who value that unique Audio Research valve sound with its inherent musicality and presence, but who want something compact and affordable.. This is a true statement product from the masters of the valve amplifier. 12 2017 2017 13 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Audio Research GS-Pre/GS-150 Precision Valve Line Stage Preamplifier W Phono Stage, Headphone Amp, & 150 Watts Stereo Valve Amplifier with KT150 The GS150 power amplifier and GSPre preamplifier are both part of the new G Series from Audio Research. Born from a tradition and history of high definition music reproduction, the GS150 and GSPre continue the sonic heritage of Audio Research while adding a new visual aesthetic, at once familiar, somewhat retro, yet beautiful and elegant. The GS150 and GSPre have close visual ties with numerous iconic Audio Research products. The GS150 takes many cues from the D-79 amplifier, with its triple meters and massive front panel façade. The GSPre hearkens back all the way to the SP-1 preamplifier of 1970, with a centrally located tube canyon through the middle of the chassis. The ubiquitous handles always found on the front panels have been moved to the left and right sides of the chassis. Dual symmetrically placed knobs on the front panels, inspired by those of the SP-3 preamplifier, grace the front panel in two-toned machined aluminum. The brushed flat chassis are similar to amplifiers from the earliest Audio Research amplifiers, such as the Dual 50. Covers are finished in a soft black. The GS150 power amplifier centers around a relatively new vacuum tube designed specifically for the audio industry. The KT150 is a large vacuum tube compared with its peers often used in amplifier design. The gently curved glass envelope gives way to a new sound experience. In concert with the GS150 circuit design, the KT150 is capable of delivering more current and control to your loudspeakers. This amplifier is designed to transform your system and elevate it to a new plateau. Fleshed out tonalities add dimension and life to voices; out of the silence come details and subtleties to provide a clearer image; cavernous yet controlled bass builds a foundation onto which the entire musical picture can be built. The GSPre is intended to complement the GS150 in every way. A full function preamplifier providing both a line stage and phono preamplifier, six 6H30 tubes (four in the line stage and two in the phono preamplifier) are at the center of its design. The circuit is fully balanced from input to output to minimize noise. Three single-ended inputs and two balanced inputs, plus the phono input, provide ample connectivity to the GSPre. The phono preamplifier offers 58 db of gain and has adjustable impedance to accommodate most any cartridge on the market. As the companion piece to the GS150, it offers focus, detail and a sonic integrity; details pour out from black backgrounds; the soundstage extends deep into the listening area to reveal remarkable performances. For a personal listening experience, the GSPre also features a high performance headphone amplifier. Not just an afterthought, the headphone amplifier has been designed for a wide array of headphone impedances to provide sound quality commensurate with the preamplifier which houses it. 14 2017 2017 15 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Audio Research Ref CD 9 Reference CD Player with USB in DAC In an ever-changing, increasingly digital world, a conventional CD player or transport-plus-converter no longer suffices. The complete system should access everything the modern digital delivery systems can offer, with sound quality that almost defies the format itself. Audio Research’s Reference CD9 transport and digital-to-analogue converter is the response, one that is both supremely musical and thoroughly user-friendly. As digital downloads become more and more popular, the catalogue of high resolution music titles also grows. Capable of decoding sampling frequencies up to 192k and 24 bits, the Reference 9 offers native rate upsampling for 44.1k and 48k resolution sources, so downloads and streaming will deliver performance worthy of a high-end system. Starting with the Philips Pro-2 transport mechanism, arguably the best player in the world for compact discs, Audio Research constructed a unique monolithic mount on which the transport sits, to reduce vibration and resonance. To best serve it, a high resolution, high performance digital-to-analogue converter has been designed, with the added benefit of offering four digital inputs including asynchronous USB to connect to the ever-increasing list of digital sources in today’s world. All of the inputs are capable of handling sampling rates up to 192k and 24 bits, as well as a multitude of other rates. The Reference CD9 utilizes a quad DAC architecture, and also has dual master oscillators – one for sampling rates of 44.1k, 88.2 and 176.4k and the other for 48k, 96k and 192k. The quad DAC configuration increases the dynamic range while the dual oscillators eliminate quantisation errors associated with single oscillator designs. The analogue stage is pure Reference Audio Research, using a 6H30 output valve with a vacuum tube-regulated power supply. All of these features combine to create a staggering effect, making the music sing with such ease and natural presentation that you would think you’re listening to an analogue source. The soundstage is spacious yet retains a real, lifelike presence. All sources and sampling frequencies have a complete lack of digital grain and hardness. Your music playback will possess convincing, correct rhythm and timing which will set your foot a’tapping. The Reference CD9 is designed to breathe new life not only into your compact disc collection, but all your digital sources. For us at Absolute Sounds, who unashamedly regard analogue as the definitive high end source, it takes a lot to convince us that any digital source component is worthy of our love and respect. The Reference CD9 narrows the chasm between analogue and digital with a facility that will never cease to amaze you. 16 2017 2017 17 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Audio Research Ref Phono 10 Reference Valve Phono Stage Preamplifier with Separate Power Supply Born during the height of the analogue era, Audio Research has always cherished the LP. Music reproduction from vinyl records has always been at the heart of Audio Research. Even after the arrival of Compact Disc, high quality phono preamplifiers were a staple component in the product line. Today, as the world moves toward non-physical media, only the LP is undergoing a revival. For Audio Research, it has never gone away. The culmination of more than four decades of Audio Research experience and knowledge, the Reference Phono 10 represents the company’s ultimate expression of a phono preamplifier. Influenced by the legendary, limited edition Reference Anniversary preamplifier, with further refinements courtesy of the Reference 10 line stage, the Phono 10 elevates the LP to an entirely new level of realism and spatial resolution. This is the first dual-chassis, dual-mono phono preamplifier from Audio Research; such a layout was necessary to reproduce the finest details from the grooves of a record. The separate power supply is fully valve-regulated, with 20 stages of overall regulation. The audio circuits are fully discrete, Class-A with zero feedback. The power supply capacitance has more energy storage than many amplifiers on the market today. LPs live triumphantly in the 21st Century, so the Reference Phono 10 celebrates this with a front panel that owes nothing to the past. A 7-inch touchscreen on the fascia provides simple usage and customisation options to match the Reference Phono 10 to any analogue playback system. Numerous load settings allow a cartridge to be optimised to match most systems, while a factory-set custom option – specified by the customer – allows the Reference 10 to be matched to any cartridge. Matching doesn’t stop with the hardware. Serious collectors of pre-RIAA releases, including 78s, will appreciate the specialised equalization curves that allow accurate playback of early Decca and Columbia recordings. Playing with authentic tonal balance, convincing weight and total command, the Reference Phono 10 also resolves the most fragile detail with grace and delicacy. Not only is the soundstage spacious and present, but the Phono 10 also defines each instrument from another, providing scale, position, atmosphere and size to reconstruct the image with utter realism. The noise floor is virtually absent, providing an ink-black background from which the music emanates. The Phono 10 retrieves every detail without any sign of grain. Take your vinyl for a spin through the Audio Research Reference Phono 10, and hear the music in those grooves like you’ve never heard it before. 18 2017 2017 19 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Audio Research Reference 6 Reference Valve Line Stage Preamplifier For nearly a half-century, Audio Research has possessed a reputation for producing some of the finest preamplifiers ever heard. Indeed, the name of the Reference Series recognises that many designers and reviewers use Audio Research electronics as, yes, their “reference” components. The new Reference 6 line stage continues lineage of state-of-the-art valve control units. It also three important steps in the company’s evolution. First is how this magnificent device features updated styling acknowledging the clean, new look of the G Series, while maintaining the Audio Research bloodline. Second, its arrival marks the 20th Anniversary of the launch of the Reference Series. And third? It is the first Reference preamplifier to appear under the aegis of the new company president, Mike Tsecouras, who has – in a breathtakingly short time – emerged as a man of vision. Reference 6, like its predecessors, uses refined circuit designs realised with the highest quality parts and components, including transformers, capacitors and wiring exclusive to Audio Research. The chassis is not only more beautiful, it also enjoys greater structural rigidity to aid the dissipation of electrical and mechanical interferences. Six 6H30 tubes are used in the audio circuit, increased from four in the Reference 5SE, for a quieter background and increased dynamic range. New circuits, circuit boards and larger power transformer have been implemented to provide robustness and serviceability. Its new volume control features finer step gradation for more accurate level-setting. Its bold vacuum fluorescent display shows all functions and volume. Two rotary encoders and five buttons control ever command and parameter, mirrored on the full-function metal remote. As is demanded in modern systems, tailoring by the user is a key feature. Menu functions include input labelling, display brightness, processor input setup and tube hour reset. Four balanced and four single-ended inputs. RS-232, IR input and 12V trigger provide system connectivity, while outputs include both balanced and single-ended, as well as a record out. Far more important, though, is the performance. Inspired by and following the mighty two-chassis flagship Reference 10, Reference 6 also shares the model number of the progenitor of this illustrious product line: the original SP6. If ever there was an example of “back to the future”, acknowledging its roots while laying down its own, the Reference 6 spans the eras and heralds the next. ‘Quite simply, the Reference 6 improves upon its predecessor in every way for a more palpable and immediate musical performance,’ say Audio Research. 20 2017 2017 21 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Audio Research Ref 10 Reference Valve Line Stage Preamplifier With Separate Power Supply The Reference 10 is a two chassis line stage which surpasses the exceptional sonic performance of the Reference Anniversary preamplifier in virtually every regard. Internally, further refinements to circuit design have been made and new, proprietary parts have been included. Externally, a seven-inch touchscreen display and refined chassis echoes the sonic improvements in a beautiful, yet familiar industrial design. Fully discrete, zero feedback, class-A circuit design maintains the heritage of Audio Research engineering. Every Reference 10, like all Audio Research products, is built entirely by hand in Minnesota and each unit must pass a listening test before being prepared for shipping. Intuitive, straightforward controls are provided by the Reference 10’s new seven-inch touchscreen display. Nearly all functions are displayed on screen and can be altered by a simple touch to the words and icons. A settings menu allows customization of the display colors and input names. Each input can be independently offset to provide volume matching regardless of source output differences. A tube hour counter keeps track of the total time the unit has been in operation, and can be reset after tube replacement. Providing a real impression of the sonic attributes of the Reference 10 is challenging due to the overuse of superlatives and terms often used describing audio equipment. Simply put, the Reference 10 illustrates a musical event with such vivid detail and clarity that the listener passes through the listening window and enters the performance space. A violin concerto becomes Jascha Heifetz performing at Symphony Hall in Boston. Take Five transcends the late ‘50’s Columbia recording, unraveled into the delicate interplay of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Jimi Hendrix’s guitar becomes a pulsating firestorm in a wall of blissful sound. Bring your recordings to life, reanimating the inanimate. It allows you to experience your music in a way previously not available, up close and personal. 22 2017 2017 23 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Audio Research Reference 75SE & 150SE Series Stereo Valve Amplifier with KT150 Audio Research has been at the forefront of valve amplifier design and production since the dawn of the high end as we know it today - and it still holds that position by never resting on its enviable laurels. The result of this pursuit of excellence is that its Reference Series of amplifiers has been turbocharged into a yet greater level of performance with a new Reference stereo 75SE & 150SE. The company’s philosophy is driven by constantly striving to get as near as possible to the sound of the live event, and each new generation of amplifiers takes an incremental step towards that goal, and sometimes further steps are taken within the same generation by retro-fitting circuitry upgrades or by the arrival of superior valves. The new KT150 valve is a case in point and has been the principal reason that the famous Reference Series has been elevated to SE (Special Edition) status. But it is not the only reason: Audio Research engineers were not satisfied with merely substituting new valves, so they examined the circuitry and devised improvements to a number of active and passive components which have resulted in an increase in purity, resolution, the portrayal of micro and macro-dynamics, separation and focus, as well as phase and time coherence. There is also greatly improved bass weight, authority and control, and Audio Research describe all these improvements as ‘immediate and gratifying’. The Reference Series is already among the most awarded amplifiers the company has ever created, and each model has been designated Amplifier of the Year or Component of the Year by the major trade publications. Such accolades have only one consequence at Audio Research: the techs get their heads down and use their skill to see if they can go one better. Audio Research never uses esoteric valves, always sticking with trusted types such as 6550s and KT88s - and now the superb KT150. Company founder, the late William Zane Johnson, always made it clear that ARC would not get involved in that area, as the chances of unreliability and difficulties in sourcing such rarities could rebound badly on the customer as well as the company. Those fortunate enough to enjoy the wonderful sounds from the stereo Reference 75 and 150 amps can look forward to even greater performance by having them factory upgraded to SE specification. 24 2017 2017 25 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Audio Research Reference 250SE & 750SE Mono Valve Amplifier with KT150 Audio Research’s reputation is built on amplifiers. It has created some of the most important and highly respected power amplifiers in the business. And its recent Reference amplifiers ably demonstrate that reputation is set to continue for the longest time. The company has been systematically upgrading all its Reference power amplifiers over the last few years, and has now applied the same ‘SE’ design criteria to its Reference 250SE power house monoblocks and its absolute statement Reference 750SE monoblocks. Central to the SE upgrades is the use of the new KT150 power valve. The idea of a ‘new’ valve might seem strange to people who think valve design came to an abrupt halt in the 1950s, but many of the kinkless triode power tube designs used in the best audio were developed after the rest of the world switched over to transistors. In fact, the KT150 is a relative newcomer to the tube world. It would be possible in theory to simply substitute existing tubes for the KT150 with little significant changes to the circuit, but that’s not the Audio Research way. Instead, every last circuit was carefully examined and reevaluated to make the tubes sing. And sing they do. The 250SE and 750SE deliver respectively profound and titanic power, enough to drive the most demanding loudspeakers played loud in a large room, but do so with a purity, refinement, dynamic force, and soundstage size that other amplifiers simply cannot provide. Using up to eight KT150 tubes per channel (‘just’ four per channel in the Reference 250SE) and weighing in at up to 170lbs per amplifier in the case of the Reference 750SE, these are not amplifiers for the faint-hearted. Instead, these are power amplifiers for people for whom enjoying their music is a very serious business. Existing owners of Reference 250 monoblocks or Reference 750 monoblocks can have a full upgrade to the latest SE specification. The upgrade needs to be performed at the factory, rather than on site, but the rewards in sonic terms mean that is one hell of a factory visit! 26 2017 2017 27 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Artesania Audio Esoteric Components Support Rack State of the Art Isolation Devices One of the great finds of last year was the Artesania Esoteric equipment rack designed by Jose Luis Lafarga of Spain. This has startled many an ear and found itself in more and more high end systems over here. We all know that what electronic equipment is standing on has a profound influence on the sound, but all hifi racks have shelves, whether they be glass, wood, or some more exotic material. They can be extremely expensive and they all sound different. So is there an ultimate material? Possibly - but the very best answer surely has to be no shelf at all. This is Lafarga’s thinking behind the Artesania Esoteric, and he has been working for nearly 20 years on producing a rack that lets equipment perform as it should. The whole design is ingenious and consists basically of soft articulated pads on nylon bushings in an exoskeleton frame that is itself isolated by being suspended within an outer frame by four large nylon cylinders. The exoskeleton holds three or four tiers that are height-adjustable on vertical rods, and on each tier are sliding brackets that hold the pads on which the equipment is supported. The positioning of the pads is fully adjustable for positioning and levelling. It is at once both complex and simple.The results are spectacular. Listening to a system with an Artesania at its heart, one is immediately struck by just how coloured most other racks sound. Everything is better: greater separation between instruments, cleaner and deeper bass with far superior definition, enhanced clarity, crisper dynamics, sweeter treble, a feeling of completeness to the music - all the things we are looking for. Available in three or four-tier heights or a double-width three-tier, the Artesania is visually attractive by the nature of its workmanship and functionality. With two sets of pads for the base cups, it can be installed to give ultimate results on carpet or bare floor - and there are no spikes to do any damage. Those who insist on shelves can have them, but there is little point unless you are mounting a turntable, in which case a specially dedicated top shelf of glass is available. This is huge, heavy, and made of three laminates of tempered glass. It is supported on an exotic-looking four-point polished aluminium frame that sits atop the outer pillars, the glass itself isolated by large corner pads. Included in every Esoteric rack is a separate discus-like aluminium damper for each tier. These are placed on top of the equipment and go a long way in damping out airborne resonances at high volume levels, which are a well-documented source of colouration. With an Artesania as the foundation for your system, you will know that your electronics are performing at their very best - just as their makers intended. 28 2017 2017 29 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Constellation Systems Inspiration Series Integrated Amplifier 1.0 Constellation Audio’s Inspiration range does that difficult thing. It manages to deliver almost all of the performance of the company’s more exotic lines for a far lower price with no obvious sacrifice. Recently, the preamp and power amplifier were joined by the Integrated 1.0 integrated amplifier, which could be considered the entry-point to the whole Constellation Audio range. As with all Constellation Audio products, the Integrated 1.0 is designed by a ‘dream team’ of engineers and experts, bringing decades of experience in making the best audio circuits to bear. These are the same people who designed the Altair line stage and Hercules power amplifiers in the company’s Reference line, and much of that design brief is filtered down to the Integrated 1.0. The amplifier has just two balanced XLR inputs and two RCA single-ended line inputs, which both enter the unique Line Stage Gain Module. This uses servo-controlled FETs to perfectly balance the positive and negative halves of the audio signal. This relies on Constellation’s innovative Balanced Bridge circuit first seen in the Hercules power amp. This is effectively a balanced design using single-ended modules that only feature NPN transistors, instead of splitting the signal through poorly matched NPN and PNP transistors. This helps give the Integrated 1.0 a sound akin to the sweetest Class A designs, yet delivers 100W per channel into eight ohms and this doubles perfectly into four ohms. The amplifier also attends to careful power supply design, with fully isolated dual mono DC stages and a massive toroidal transformer with hefty amounts of reservoir capacitance. And, Constellation Audio trickled down the remarkable build quality of its more upscale products in the Inspiration line, which shares much of the thick aluminium slab case construction and floating line level circuit boards. And also the Integrated 1.0 has a bonus over the rest of its Constellation stablemates, in the shape of an excellent and custom designed headphone amplifier. Factor in the clever control surfaces and display system, and the Integrated 1.0 is one of the more exciting high-end integrated amplifiers we’ve seen in many years. Especially when you hear what it can do with good music! 30 2017 2017 31 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Constellation Systems Inspiration Series Preamplifier/ Power Amplifier 1.0 The Constellation dream team forges on, making their dreams more accessible as they devise new ways of lowering the ticket price for sound that has nothing added and nothing taken away. It started with the mighty Hercules mono amplifiers. Those things are a statement with attitude, but when you have assembled the greatest names in amplifier design and told them to embark on a no-holds-barred project and forget the cost - well, what do you expect? But that was only the beginning. Few audiophiles could afford those extraordinary objects of desire, and Constellation knew that, and so they looked at everything they had learned from the aptly-named Hercules and worked it into the more affordable Performance Series that sacrificed very little in terms of sound quality, the Virgo preamplifier and Centaur power amplifiers receiving astonishing acclaim. Not content with that, they have now launched an even more accessible range called Inspiration. We have listened to these and been shocked, for we can say with confidence that this level of performance from a pre- and power combination has never before been available from any manufacturer in the £20,000 zone. The range consists of the Preamp 1.0 line stage, the 200 Wpc Stereo 1.0 and the 400 Watt Mono 1.0. All have the beautifully machined and understated casework that has become a hallmark of the company, with hundreds of small circular air vents on the side panels. No Constellation product ever screams ‘look at me’, nor is it festooned with bright lights and flashy bits of chrome. It sits there discreetly and does its job - and what a job that is. Although the Inspiration Series is obviously not exactly the same as the Hercules and Centaur amplifiers, Constellation say you would have to look carefully to discover the differences. As with all their amplifiers, the heart of the Stereo 1.0 is the company’s unique Balanced Bridged circuit topology, which combines multiple single-ended amplifier modules in a fully balanced design. The core amplifier circuits in the Inspiration Stereo 1.0 are essentially the same as in the Hercules and Centaur. Most of the parts are, in fact, identical. The main difference is that the input and gain stages are on the same circuit board, instead of being separated as in the larger amplifiers, but the net result is sound faithful to the source. Constellation Audio…Light Years Ahead. 32 2017 2017 33 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Constellation Systems Argo High Performance Integrated Amplifier with Optional DAC & Phono What happens if you demand Constellation Audio quality sound, but lack the space to house an Altair II preamplifier and Hercules II power amplifiers? Simple… you choose the Argo integrated amplifier. Constellation Audio’s inherently modular approach to circuit design has the advantage of being scalable. That’s the joy of working with that ‘dream team’ of the finest minds in audio; when designing the best products they could think of, they think further than the one product. So the Line Stage Gain Module that is at the heart of the Altair II and Virgo II preamplifiers is at the heart of the Argo’s line stage. And the Balanced Bridge amplifier module that forms the motive force of the Hercules II and Centaur power amplifiers drives the power amplifier section of the Argo, and a power supply, all in one uncompromising aluminium chassis. The Argo shares common design lines and ergonomic cues with other models in the Performance and Reference Series, except there is nothing ‘common’ about the uncommon Constellation Audio. The Argo even brings a new element to the Constellation Audio table; one of the highest performance headphone amplifiers ever produced. There is also a preamplifier output if the 125 watts per channel of the Argo needs something closer to Centaur power. There is even a home cinema bypass circuit (something that exists in all Constellation Audio preamplifiers) should you ever find need for more than two channels. However, we doubt many would need more than two channels when they sound as good as the channels of the Argo. This is an amplifier that practically defines detail and refinement. While the larger Hercules II holds dominion over effortless power and control, in smaller systems or smaller rooms, the Argo shares much of the bigger amplifier’s sense of grip and prodigious bass. However, it’s easy charm and sense of musicality make the Argo a fine audio companion, not simply a musical analyst. This is music replay for the long term, an integrated amplifier that can only be bettered by the very best… which means Constellation Audio’s own preamplifiers and power amplifiers. Don’t think of Argo as Constellation Audio ‘lite’; think of it as one of the finalists battling it out to be the best integrated amplifier the world has ever seen! 34 2017 2017 35 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Constellation Systems Cygnus Performance Dac File Player Constellation Audio began in 2008 with more than just a dream. It started with a “dream team,” a collective of the audio industry’s most experienced and innovative engineers and designers, tasked with creating audio products superior to any others ever made. The work of this all-star team quickly won worldwide acclaim, with many reviewers proclaiming Constellation Audio’s Reference Series components to be the best available at any price. With the new Performance Series products, the work of Constellation Audio’s “dream team” is now available at more affordable prices. Remarkably, Performance Series components employ the same circuit schematics and design concepts that made the Reference Series products such a musical revelation. All Performance Series products are now equipped with a full dual-mono power supply in a separate, shielded enclosure. This supply actually incorporates three separate supplies: one for left-channel analog circuits, one for rightchannel analog circuits and a third for digital/control circuits. This arrangement ensures maximum channel separation, minimum noise and truly outstanding performance whether the standard is subjective musicality or objective lab measurements Not only does the Cygnus take high-resolution digital music to a level of realism most audiophiles probably never thought possible, it is available in versions configured to suit any audiophile’s listening tastes. One version of the Cygnus is a digital-to-analog converter that includes a USB input. It is optimized for a direct connection to a computer, for audiophiles who prefer to store files on a hard drive and access them through their favorite music player software. The other is a file player that accesses audio files stored on USB drives and sticks. It includes a WiFi link that allows the content of the USB devices to be displayed and accessed through any device that can run a web browser, including smartphones and tablets. All of the wireless functions are built into the power supply, where they are isolated from the audio circuits in the main DAC chassis. Both versions of the Cygnus employ four 32-bit/192-kilohertz DACs in a balanced dual- mono configuration. A full digital signal processor (DSP) provides four custom-tuned, user-selectable filter profiles. On both versions, AES/EBU, RCA coaxial and Toslink optical inputs are provided for CD players and other digital sources. The Cygnus’ analog output circuitry is the same Line Stage Gain Module found in the Virgo II preamp, implemented using the same elastomeric suspension and machined aluminum chassis components. This configuration preserves the nearly perfect signal balance and vanishingly low noise achieved through the balanced dual-mono DAC design— and it makes the Cygnus the only digital audio component that can match the Virgo II’s impeccable performance. 36 2017 2017 37 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Constellation Systems Perseus Performance Stand Alone Phono Preamp Vinyl enthusiasts will embrace the new Perseus phono preamp for two extremely good reasons. The first is that it incorporates circuits designed by John Curl, the world’s most revered phonostage engineer. One of John’s early designs, the JC-2, remains perhaps the best-known phono preamp of all time. In each new design—for companies such as SOTA, Parasound and Vendetta Research—he has outdone his past accomplishments. The Perseus is the most meticulous and costly implementation to date of Curl’s circuits—and thus, probably the best phono preamp ever built. The second reason vinyl enthusiasts will love the Perseus is that it offers unprecedented flexibility. Along with adjustable load impedance and capacitance, it offers a user-adjustable phono EQ approach that provides a “by the book” RIAA curve as well as subtly different curves that may better suit the listener’s taste or system. Audiophiles can easily experiment with different settings to find what best suits their system—a flexibility that practically guarantees an immensely satisfying listening experience. Like the rest of the Performance Series components, the Perseus employs the Line Stage Gain Module circuit, which provides an essentially perfect balance between the positive and negative halves of the audio signal. This circuitry—and the elastomeric suspension that supports it—is the key to Perseus’ uncanny ability to recover details that previously lurked unheard in the record grooves. For audiophiles who are never content with the status quo, who continually and boldly explore the limits of music reproduction, the Constellation Audio Performance Series is a must-hear. 38 2017 2017 39 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Constellation Systems Virgo III Performance Series Line Stage Preamplifer Constellation Audio are obsessed with making their best even better - and they’ve done it again with the third generation of their famous Virgo line stage preamplifier.This already superb performer from their midline Performance Series gets another shot in the arm to become the Virgo III and move one significant step nearer to the matchless quality of the Reference Series. Constellation found further improvements by implementing a digitally controlled volume adjustment that creates a purely resistive signal path. This method has no extra amplification stages and no gain, and while the circuit is digitally controlled, the signal path is purely analogue. A bonus is that partly due to the electrical design improvements in the signal path, the Virgo III now achieves ideal performance immediately upon power-up and even improves upon its predecessor’s impressively low noise. And with a new faceplate and remote sensor, the remote control now responds more quickly as well as from wider angles. Because Virgo III produces an even cleaner signal than Virgo II, the benefits of Constellation’s optional DC filter are even more apparent. The DC filter is a separate chassis that connects between the power supply and the preamp. It’s basically a large bank of filter capacitors that further smooths the DC power from the original supply. The added power supply capacitance also gives the preamp section more instantaneous power when needed, so dynamic peaks and deep bass notes are reproduced without restraint. ‘When coupled with the Centaur II power amplifier, the bass, dynamics, and musical realism are unlike that of any other combination I have ever heard – short of the Altair II and Hercules II,’ said Constellation Audio CEO Dr Murali Murugasu. If the Virgo III is hooked up to any Constellation power amplifier, even greater performance is available via the Direct Interface, which transmits a perfectly balanced signal from the preamp’s gain stage straight into the amplifier, bypassing input modules and cutting down the number of gain stages - in other words, a direct route to even greater musicality. Like the Virgo II, the Virgo III has a separate power supply for better isolation and lower noise. As part of its user-friendly design, there is a theatre bypass feature which can be configured for any of its inputs, and a DB-9 port for easy integration into whole-house automation systems. 40 2017 2017 41 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Constellation Systems Centaur II Reference 250W Stereo/500W Mono Amplifier Startling and unconstrained dynamics combined with the legendary delicacy of a single-ended valve amp: isn’t that what we all want? But it’s taken the famous ‘dream team’ from Constellation Audio to bring it to us in the form of the new Centaur II power amplifier, the latest addition to their Performance Range. Available in stereo or monaural versions, the Centaur II is a complete redesign of the already famous Centaur 1 and represents another mighty leap towards perfection. But it is not a replacement for the original Centaur, which remains in production. The Centaur II is built on a redesigned chassis. Incorporating a new capacitor board derived from the Hercules II and specifically adapted for the Centaur II, the power supply capacitance of the new amplifier is greater than the original Centaur by a whole order of magnitude. While the rated power output is the same as the original Centaur, the increased capacitance results in palpably better bass at all listening levels. Dynamics, both macro and micro, are also significantly improved, while the listener will be entranced by the airy delicacy of a totally immersive presentation of the programme. The larger chassis of the Centaur II permits greater the internal shielding, thus lowering the overall noise of the amplifier. A final benefit of the new chassis design with its larger heat sinks is more efficient cooling. Constellation are proud of the meticulous attention they pay to producing a perfectly balanced signal, which is central to the extraordinary performance their designs deliver. The aim is always to add nothing and to take nothing away from the source. The Centaur II has the same unmistakeable and beautifully crafted aluminium enclosure with its tasteful and simple design which does not draw attention to itself. However, with 250 Wpc from the stereo unit, and double that from the monos, you will certainly not be able to ignore the fabulous performance these exotic creatures will bring to your soul. These are large amplifiers at 18.75ins wide, 11.7ins high and 22.3ins deep, and weigh 130lbs. Again, not for the fainthearted, but they bring Constellation performance very close to the Reference Series of no-holds-barred amplifiers which is topped by the mighty Hercules 1,000-Watt monos weighing 220lbs each. 42 2017 2017 43 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Constellation Systems Altair II Reference Series Line Stage Preamplifer with Separate Power Supply Most high-end audio is exceptional in some way. But the Constellation Audio Altair II line preamplifier is exceptional in every way. Much has been said about Constellation Audio’s ‘dream team’; the best designers in their respective fields, coming together to produce the best products they know how to build, and the Altair II is the direct result of such blue sky thinking. Most products start with ‘what if…’, but the dreams of designers are soon constrained by practical considerations such as building down to a price. Constellation Audio doesn’t build down to a price; it builds up to a pinnacle. And that pinnacle is the Reference Series. The preamplifier features the company’s super-quiet, servo controlled Line Stage Gain Modules, made with selected, hand-tested versions of Constellation Audio’s ‘private stock’ of rare, no-longer-produced fieldeffect transistors. Each module is housed in its own machined aluminium enclosure and rests on a stainless steel and isolating polymer sandwich, and then further mounted on an elastomer suspension, to isolate the modules from their surroundings like a raft on an already still lake. The preamplifier can be controlled from either the new touch-screen front panel, or the hewn-from-solid aluminium remote handset, and even the volume control shows just how uncompromising the Altair II design can be; instead of a conventional volume potentiometer, the Altair II features a series of optically-controlled resistors to create the most sonicallybenign volume control ever capable of 0.1dB accuracy. By controlling this circuit optically, it also completely isolates the control circuit from the signal chain. The triple-transformer power supply is separatly housed in its own chassis, delivering absolutely isolated power feeds to the left and right channels and the control circuitry. Each chassis is built from the highestgrade, machined aluminium, with 8.2mm thick walls to block any form of electromagnetic interference. The result is a line preamplifier that achieves what has hitherto been impossible; a sound that is as warm as it is precise, with a purity of sound that simply doesn’t feature in other designs. The combination of these sonic elements, coupled with standard-setting performance in every other aspect of sound quality, makes Altair II a once-in-a-lifetime preamplifier. Constellation Audio’s Altair II is simply the best preamplifier it’s possible to make. 44 2017 2017 45 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Constellation Systems Hercules II Reference Series 1000w Mono , 550w Stereo Amplifiers Constellation Audio’s Hercules II stereo and mono power amplifiers share a lot in common. The same chassis, the same design in both the 500W stereo and 1,000W mono power amplifiers, and the same Reference Class lineage that makes Hercules II amps shining stars in the high-end audio heaven. Hercules II draws on a perfect ‘dream team’ of designers and engineers to create the best design it’s possible to build. The first Hercules power amp was a titan of performance, but the Hercules II and its shift from tower to horizontal footprint creates a more efficient cooling architecture, which also allows for a larger custom 3,000VA transformer to be used, and a stereo chassis to be created. Other improvements from the original design include better transformer shielding and isolation, larger storage capacitors, and power supply rails twice the size of the original. This is how an uncompromising, impossible to improve upon design like the original Hercules becomes a better amplifier! The Hercules II retains the original 125W single-ended power module, and uses multiple modules to deliver exceptionally high performance sound quality. This module is designed and tuned for maximum musicality, whether used singly or as a kilowatt octet inside a mono Hercules II chassis. As ever with Constellation Audio’s Reference Class, the devices used internally are of quality without parallel, and the FETs in the output stage are from the company’s ‘private stock’ of hand-selected, no longer available field-effect transistors that are the envy of the world. Simply stacking power amplifier modules together does not automatically mean great performance, but the Hercules II amplifiers feature Constellation Audio’s own Balanced Bridged circuit topology, which delivers extremely low noise even at very high power ratings. However, things get even better when the Hercules II amps are used with a Constellation Audio preamplifier like the Altair II, as this allows use of the Constellation Direct input, which bypasses another gain stage and provides the purest possible audio signal path. Built like no other out of high-grade aluminium, the Hercules II achieves the impossible in audio; awesome, truly endless and effortless power with a sense of three-dimensional space and majesty that even the biggest amps would struggle to achieve, coupled with grace, detail and refinement that normally is impossible to deliver with such scale and dynamism. In short, Hercules II truly lives up to its classical namesake! 46 2017 2017 47 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Continuum Audio Obsidian High Mass Nested Platter Belt Driven Turntable Continuum Audio Labs’ return to vinyl’s very top table is a marked departure from its predecessor. The new Obsidian from the company is now a plinthless, non-suspended design, featuring extremely high-quality components and materials. Not everything has changed however: the nested platter concept developed by Continuum Audio Labs a decade ago in the groundbreaking Caliburn has been refined and redrawn in the Obsidian. The Obsidian houses the arm and motor on independent, mechanically-isolated mounts, to ensure any vibration or resonance is either damped or channelled away from crucial interfaces. Continuum researched the properties of many materials, and discovered tungsten’s combination of high tensile strength and density makes it a perfect – if expensive – natural vibration control, and the material is used in the double isolated mounts for the arm and motor, the mechanical magnetic fasteners that ‘attach’ the arm to the turntable, the contact points between turntable and its surroundings, and the bearing itself. In essence, the Obsidian ‘floats’ on tungsten contact points. The bearing itself is in magnetic opposition (although Continuum rejected systems that truly ‘float’ on magnets) and all this, coupled with the bearing size, have kept resonance below 10Hz throughout. Driving the Obsidian is ‘The Quiet One’; a DC motor specifically designed for the Continuum team. This high-power 35mm motor uses a very high frequency servo amplifier running well above 50kHz, thereby providing perfect pitch stability without an audible servo motor. This unique design also sports graphite brushes (combining the low noise of brushless designs with the motive force of metal brushes) and preloaded stainless steel bearings. A turntable as good as this needs an arm of similar performance, and the new Viper tonearm is the perfect match. Using a similar level of technological development moving on from the last decade, the Viper takes the concepts found in the company’s previous Cobra tonearm and refined them further. It still retains the distinctive contoured shape, and uses a sapphire V-shaped jewel and stainless steel pivot bearing structure. Tungsten is deployed again in the adjustable central tower. Ten years ago, Continuum redrew what could be done in a turntable. It looks like the company has done it again with the Obsidian. 48 2017 2017 49 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Copland DA 215 Universal High-Resolution Dac, Pre-Amplifier, Headphone Amplifier The digital revolution has made music easily accessible. Thanks to the convenience and impressive sound quality of computer sourced digital music files, many audiophiles consider their personal computer or laptop as their primary audio source. Connected to a computer, the DA215 will process audio data of extremely high resolution and the playback quality will be defined only by the data itself. The heart of the DA215 is an excellent D/A converter with multiple S/PDIF inputs, PCM, and DSD capabilities using the ES9018 Reference 32-bit DAC in quad-mono configuration, 8 mono to 2 stereo configuration. Combining four in-phase and four opposite-phase converters per channel, the statistical properties of the signals are taken to advantage (this needs to be changed, it does not make sense, I don’t know what you mean); the signal power of the phases correlate and addup in constructive addition, whereas the noise power of the phases are de-correlated, improving the signal to noise ratio of the resulting analog waveform. The analog and filtering sections are composed of discrete components. The class-A circuit technology is borrowed from the highly acclaimed Copland CD-players producing a stunning sound quality with an unconstrained mobility and acceleration. The DA215 incorporates an asynchronous USB input, tree S/PDIF digital inputs, an analog input, two analogue outputs (fixed and variable) and a complete pre-amplifier with analog volume control and front panel class-A headphone output featuring vacuum tube gain stages. The volume control and pre-amplifier functionality can be bypassed for pure DAC mode. The DA215 USB input implementation is one of the most advanced ones available, featuring USB 2.0 PCM 24/32 bit data transfer to 384 kHz, including DSD64, and high resolution DSD128 On Windows DSD256, DSD512. Support Window XP/Vista/7/8, Linux, Mac OS. No drivers are required for Macs, iPhones, iPads and Linux. You cannot avoide gettin onme of those to partner you headphones and your portable players/ streamers or for the ones looking for a perfect headphone, link the Obravo to the DA215 and you have an absolute reference. 50 2017 2017 51 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Copland CTA 506 Stereo Valve Amplifier with KT120 Copland may seem familiar, with its Scandinavian cool, exceptional value for money and enticing sound, but the company is still able to surprise even long-serving supporters like us at Absolute Sounds. The photos grabbed us, but the description sealed the deal: the CTA506 power plant is going to be a knock-out because it has been designed specifically for the KT120 power valve, a new variant of the legendary 6550/KT88 power tubes. The KT120 is the most powerful iteration yet, able to deliver nearly 30% more power: a pair of KT120 tubes in push-pull configuration can deliver nearly 200W of audio power! In the CTA506, Copland extracts a conservative 90W/ch. The CTA506 push-pull output stages uses of a pair of matched KT120 in fixed ultra-linear configuration, giving the low distortion of triodes combined with the power of tetrode valves, with active tube regulation courtesy of two 6550s. A dedicated power supply for the input stages of the amplifier allows the massive central reservoir capacitors of more than 3000-microfarad to independently serve the output valves. The CTA506 is terrific-looking, too, its handsome chassis fitted with a grooved front panel. The KT120s are impressive beasts: Copland decided to make them clearly visible by situating the valves behind the lateral perforations on the front panel, thus creating a stunning design to match the sonic virtues of this amplifier. 52 2017 2017 53 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Crystal Cable Minissimo Diamond Edition Aluminium 2 Way Stand Mount or Bookshelf Aluminium Loudspeaker System The Arabesque Minissimo is already recognized as a modern classic – but Crystal Cable’s latest research combined with new developments in their Natural Science crossover topology convinced them that they could do even better. Working closely with SEAS they developed an exclusive diamond tweeter design that improved high-frequency performance still further – but also allowed us to maintain true in-phase output across both drivers. Crystal Cable already used the best available silver in oil capacitors for the Minissimo’s crossover so there was nothing else for it – they had to build our own, dedicated designs that use their proprietary materials and know-how. They then upgraded the internal wiring to Absolute Dream, added bi-wireable inputs and selected and pair-matched the bass-mid drivers even more rigorously, before building these stellar elements into the Minissimo’s unique, one-piece, thin-wall metal-resin cabinet. Of course, the whole speaker system still had to be optimized with subtle but all-important changes to the cabinet damping, but the end result exceeded expectations – the Arabesque Minissimo Diamond Edition. As with all Crystal products, the true character lies in the exquisite attention to detail and nothing captures that better than the Diamond Edition’s sole identifying feature: The fragile diamond diaphragm is protected by a laser-cut grille that is as beautiful as it is clever, complex mathematics and supreme accuracy in manufacturing creating a grille that’s as acoustically transparent as it is elegant. That quality extends far beyond the visible. In fact, it’s a sentence (and a sentiment) that could sum up the whole speaker. As technically advanced and innovative as it is carefully sculpted and flawlessly finished, when it comes to compact speakers the Diamond Edition speaks with a voice of unmatched musical power The Arabesque Minissimo Diamond Edition – A Future Classic – Now! 54 2017 2017 55 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Crystal Cable Minissimo Aluminium 2 Way Stand Mount Aluminium Loudspeaker System The audio world is full of small speakers – but most conform to the established norm of two drive-units in a rectangular wooden box. Not so the Crystal Cable Arabesque Minissimo: as its name suggests, this is the ultra-compact realisation of the Dutch company’s swirl-shaped Arabesque speaker range, designed for ultimate performance in a room-friendly form-factor. Available in a range of striking colours, the Arabesque Minissismo stands just 92cm tall on its dedicated stand, and is the most curvaceous of the company’s range, its cabinet having that characteristic shape in plan view, derived from the Dia Chi – the Yin and Yang symbol. Here in the West, we call it the Arabesque, echoing the shape of the movement in classical ballet. But that unique shape isn’t just a styling quirk: it’s designed to guide the sound from the rear of the driveunits to the friction port in the ‘tail’, reinforcing the output without the problems of internal reflections within the cabinet. What’s more, the nature-derived shape of the enclosures means no internal damping is required: the design does all the work, naturally. Using advanced physical modeliing and a one-piece construction, in which the entire cabinet is milled from a single block of resin/metal matrix material, Crystal Cable’s design team has developed the Arabesque shape to further reduce low-frequency distortion and improve impulse response, while making the finished speaker simpler to assemble. The curved, asymmetrical outer shape also provides perfect dispersion, giving a striking stereo image and making the speakers ‘disappear’ into the room – well, in the audio sense, anyway! The 25mm Beryllium dome tweeter and 15cm laminated paper cone woofer are linked with Crystal Cable’s Natural Science Crossover, designed for stable electrical characteristics plus excellent phase linearity and rhythmic articulation. Add in the use of huge air-cored inductors, silver-oil capacitors and graphite resistors, and you have a design capable of seamless bandwidth, and the kind of scale and dynamics usually associated with much larger speakers. The Arabesque Minissimo doesn’t just create a stunning visual statement with its organic shape and a choice of Pearl White, Solar Orange and Aquamarine Blue finishes (other colours are available as an option) – it also demonstrates just what a fine small speaker can do when it comes to delivering the detail and initimacy of fine music-making. ‘Natural Science for Human Hearing’ is the way Crystal Cable describes the Minissimo – we at Absolute Sounds simple describe it as one of the world’s very finest small speakers. 56 2017 2017 57 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Crystal Cable Arabesque Mini Aluminium 2 Way Loudspeaker System Stand Mount At 32.6cm (12¾in) tall, Crystal Cable’s Arabesque Mini lives up to its name: it’s positively teensy. But that says nothing about its deceptive grandeur. The Mini is fashioned from solid aluminium, quite a challenge in a cabinet so complex yet so compact. The Arabesque Mini features the company’s unique Illuminator bass-midrange driver, combined with a super-fast, pure beryllium-dome tweeter, which provides a surprisingly full and powerful sound from such a small cabinet. The drivers and saturation-free crossover are connected with advanced, mono-crystal wire from Crystal Cable. The Arabesque Mini builds on the results achieved by the original all-Glass Arabesque. The unique Comsol-optimised low-resonance structure allows for the absence of damping or filler material. Technical innovation, musicality, and a beautifully precise design make the Arabesque Mini truly unique and exceptional. 58 2017 2017 59 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Crystal Cable The Absolute Dream Single Core Silver Reference Cables This is audio jewellery of the most extreme and exotic kind, dripping with opulence and the promise of a very special kind of aural seduction. Those fortunate enough to be able to meet the ticket price of these cables will be those who know that the snaky links that bind our systems into a cohesive whole are as important as the equipment itself. For the rest of us, such cables will remain an aspirational dream, absolute and beyond reach, while the sceptics will shake their heads in disbelief. The Absolute Dream series represents Crystal Cable at the very top of their game, and is the result of many years of research from the husband and wife team of Gabi and Edwin Rijnveld, research that goes back to the earliest days of Siltech. For Gabi it’s all about passing on the music: ‘It’s as essential as breathing,’ she says. A professional concert pianist for much of her life, she’s well versed in spreading her innate passion for music with large audiences. Today she is in what is possibly most rewarding phase of her musical journey: getting recorded music into living rooms the world over – in the very best quality possible. Hideously expensive to produce and hideously expensive to purchase, the Absolute Dream the world’s first all-monocrystal design, with each conductor being made from a central solid core of silver with layers of Kapton and PEEK dielectric, with a braid formed from a mix of silver-plated copper and gold-plated silver, which is then wrapped in a translucent outer sleeve. These conductors are then further woven together before being terminated using very high quality Furutech connectors. The Absolute Dream series of cables are uncompromised, unfettered designs that embody everything known about preserving the delicate and easily damaged relationship that exists between the source component and the loudspeaker. Even the terminals are the closest to having no terminal at all. To complete the luxury, each cable comes in the kind of packaging more associated with the most exclusive jewellery. The Absolute Dream consists of power cords, interconnects, digital, and speaker cables. With a complete Absolute Dream loom throughout the system, performance is taken to astonishing and achingly beautiful levels of control and openness with an almost unearthly presence, leaving the listener with pure and totally focused music. 60 2017 2017 61 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Dan D’Agostino Master Power Classic Stereo 300W Stereo Amplifier D’Agostino’s Momentum products, with their gorgeous enclosures, are by their nature expensive. But to make the essence of their performance more accessible, Dan has introduced the Master Power Classic Stereo amplifier in a simple and more traditional muscle amp chassis. Delivering 300 Wpc into 8 Ohms, it can push a blockbusting 1,200 Watts into heavy 2 Ohm loads without ruffling a feather, and is the only way to experience the unique musicality of D’Agostino power in a more affordable package. No matter what speakers you have, the Classic Stereo will make them sing with unyielding dynamics combined with a subtle and delicate portrayal more often associated with smaller amplifiers. As Dan puts it: ‘No frills. Pure performance’. Tipping the scales at 108lbs, the Classic Stereo has something of the appearance of monster amps from the 1980s and 90s and will please those who like a true statement of US industrial design. 62 2017 2017 63 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Dan D’Agostino Master Power 2Plus & 3Plus 300W Per Channel Home Theatre Amplifiers The Master Power 2+ employs circuitry derived from the Momentum amplifiers with features that make it ideal for 2.1-channel music systems and advanced home theatres. The amplifier delivers 300 Wpc into 8 ohms, but this can be increased to a mighty 1,000 Watts by bridging the two channels for mono operation. Audiophiles often find it difficult to add subwoofers, because so few of the best preamplifiers have dedicated subwoofer outputs. The Master Power 2+ makes adding a sub very simple, because it includes its own switchable crossover filters. These can be used to filter the bass out of the main speakers, or the mids and treble out of the subwoofer - but either or both channels can run full-range, too. To achieve the best possible sound quality and durability, the circuit boards use expensive, time-consuming through-hole construction. The 3+ version delivers the same power and subwoofer connectivity as the 2+, but features an extra channel for cinema, and the ability to bridge channels two and three to deliver 1,000 Watts into 8 Ohms. Both versions use the same chassis as the Classic Stereo, and the 2+ is the same weight - but the 3+, with its extra channel, is 128lbs. With his decades of experience designing some of the finest solid state pre- and power amplifiers, there is no doubt that Dan is now at the peak of his power. 64 2017 2017 65 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Dan D’Agostino Progression Mono 200W/400W/800W into 8/4/2 Ohms Mono Amplifier In the Progression series, Dan D’Agostino in many ways returns to his roots. Back in the day, D’Agostino was famed for producing both powerful Class A amplifiers, and total power designs that delivered virtually unlimited voltage and current into any loudspeaker load. The Progression Mono amplifier is a perfect example of those ‘total power’ designs, brought up to date. The Progression Mono is the largest and most powerful amplifier Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems has ever made, delivering up to 500 watts into eight ohms, 1kW into four ohms and then doubling again to 2,000 watts into two ohms. It does this thanks to a mighty 4,000VA power transformer, nearly 100,000µF of power supply storage capacitance, and a vast array of output transistors, 48 in total. The Progression borrows its Momentum siblings, retaining an all-discrete, fully balanced direct-coupled circuit, and the advanced protection circuitry to protect both amplifier and all sundry devices connected to it. The core circuit topology is identical across the D’Agostino line. However, to produce the high power Progression, the amplifier includes a new Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems topology, the Super Rail. Simple in description but complex in execution, the Super Rail counter-intuitively uses additional higher voltage power supplies in the input stage than the main output stage. This higher voltage front end provides exceptional headroom for the output circuitry, and nearly ideal output stage operation is the result. Of course, while the Progression line looks markedly different to the Momentum, both the venturi heatsink design and – of course – the power meter are echoed in the Progression. Both these are suitably ‘beefed up’ for Progression, with the meter having a longer range of travel (to reflect the power on offer) and the heatsinks being milled from a solid 48.5lb billet of aluminium. Built by hand in silver or black finish, the Progression combines high power with great finesse. It’s capable of truly awesome dynamic range, yet can be subtle and refined. All the things you want from a high performance power amplifier! 66 2017 2017 67 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Dan D’Agostino Momentum MLife Integrated Amp Streamer Dan D’Agostino’s Momentum amplifiers have already become the stuff of legend, with their compact design, luscious casework and, above all, their ability to deliver an enthralling musical presentation. The latest lavish beauty from the master’s hand is the Momentum Lifestyle integrated amplifier, known as the MLife, one that Dan describes as ‘the product audiophiles have dreamed of for more than a decade’. Well, now we’ve got it - and what a formidable thing it is. Visually stunning, this delivers the convenience and versatility of wireless/internet audio products with a sound quality described as second to none. In a single chassis it combines a 32bit/192KHz PCM and DSD digital-to-analogue converter with a 200 Watt stereo amplifier. As well as the ability to access internet radio and streaming services such as Tidal, it can receive audio from smartphones and tablets, can play digital devices via coax and optical inputs, can take USB sticks and drives - and also has a pair of XLR inputs for a phono stage or other analogue source. The analogue section is taken directly from the design of the Momentum integrated amplifier, with no compromises to accommodate the digital componentry. As with the other Momentum amplifiers, MLife has a massive power supply with the necessary current to double its output into 4 ohms and double again into 2 ohms. so it will happily extract the maximum performance from whatever loudspeakers you choose. All analog circuit boards use through-hole construction for maximum audio performance and reliability. Electromagnetic interference is minimised by housing the power supply in a separate enclosure and through the use of a chassis machined from solid aluminium billet. The MLife is built under Dan’s personal supervision at the Master Audio System’s Arizona factory. When you look at what it can do and how it does it, the MLife may be all you ever need from a music system. Like other works of audio art from D’Agostino, the MLife has a unique and breathtaking appearance, featuring a faceplate meter fashioned in the style of the finest Swiss watches and lit with a green glow over Dan’s signature. Heat generated by the amplifier is dissipated through cooling venturis, so no ugly heatsinks to spoilt the beauty of its line. This latest creation from Master Audio Systems will deliver a musical performance that is utterly thrilling, dynamically engaging and natural. 68 2017 2017 69 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Dan D’Agostino Momentum Phono Stage Reference Phono Stage Preamplifier Locked inside the grooves of every vinyl record is the most realistic, most natural, most moving sound one could ever experience. The trick is getting that sound off the record and into your speakers. With the Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems Momentum Phonostage, every last bit of music hidden in even the most microscopic fluctuations in the finest vinyl records can now be extracted and played like never before. The Momentum Phonostage has enough inputs to handle multiple tonearms and turntables. It has two moving-coil inputs and two moving-magnet inputs, each with XLR and RCA jacks, plus XLR and RCA outputs. The four inputs are fully balanced, complementary, with discrete circuit paths providing the ability to operate a phono system entirely in the balanced domain. By taking advantage of the inherent balanced nature of phono cartridges, a phono system consisting of a Momentum Phonostage, Momentum Preamplifier, and Momentum Amplifiers guarantees the lowest noise floor possible and the greatest dynamic range residing in the grooves of the classic records that helped define state of the art recordings. Also, by combining the finest possible analog circuitry with the precision of digital control, performance and convenience are at your fingertips. Every adjustment is made available on the front panel of the Momentum Phonostage, each with its own LED readout. You can access these controls easily, without opening up the component, without having to go into onscreen menus, and without having to fuss with DIP switches or analog controls. Pushbuttons on the front precisely control gain, resistive loading for the two MC inputs, resistive and capacitive loading for the MM input, and record EQ curve. The standard RIAA EQ curve along with the unique curves for London, RCA orthophonic, Columbia, and Deutche Grammophone, maximizes the performance from these classic record labels. Even the best circuitry is only as good as the electricity that powers it, and the Momentum Phonostage may well have the cleanest AC power supply ever created for a phono preamplifier. The Phonostage uses not one, but two separate power supply components: a transformer that sits on the floor, and power rectification and regulation circuits built into the base on which the Phonostage sits. Thus, the sensitive phono preamp circuits are double-isolated from the transformer electrically, and also separated by a safe physical distance. The Momentum Phonostage represents the best in vinyl replay, from a format that will remain evergreen. If you want to hear just how good analogue audio can sound, you need a Momentum Phonostage! 70 2017 2017 71 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Dan D’Agostino Momentum Super Analogue Preamplifier Reference Line Stage Preamplifier We’ve attended more than a few hi-fi shows in our time, but nothing prepared us for the reaction to the D’Agostino Momentum Preamplifier. A year earlier, pandemonium ensued when the Momentum monoblock appeared at that show, but even that auspicious debut seemed calm in comparison. Seasoned audiophiles who should be jaded about new models, having owned dozens of components over the years, were rendered speechless. Even members of the press were unable to contain their delight. Like the Momentum amplifiers, the preamplifier uses the company’s proprietary “complementary balanced circuit topology” for maximum bandwidth and low noise. Its audio circuitry is fully discrete, devoid of op-amps. The zerofeedback design assures the most musical sound quality, while volume adjustment is made through a resistor ladder governed by an optical controller—the cleanest, most transparent possible method of controlling volume, for the absolute precision appreciated by sophisticated and experienced listeners. To provide the power to the Momentum preamplifier, a 300VA power supply in an outboard chassis has been developed. This separation isolates the preamp’s sensitive circuitry from electromagnetic interference and noise. Separate supplies power both the audio and control circuitry, so the control circuits are completely isolated from the audio circuits. This is one seriously quiet control unit, as was evident in Italy when heard through an ultra-wide bandwidth system terminating in Wilson Alexandria XLFs. To ensure aesthetic physical synergy to match the sonic coherence of an all-Momentum system, the styling of the preamplifier perfectly complements the mono and the stereo Momentum amplifiers, with copper accents to match the amplifiers’ unique copper heat sinks. The prominent meter on the front panel – rapidly established as the D’Agostino signature touch – indicates the volume setting. A ring around the meter controls the volume – a neat touch that exploits Dan’s homage to the great watchmaker, Breguet. The front selector buttons illuminate to show which of the six line inputs is active, while a radio-frequency (RF) remote control that works through walls is included in the package. Just like the Momentum amplifiers, the preamp uses through-hole construction and is hand-built and individually tested in D’Agostino’s Connecticut facility. Its operation is balanced, with XLR socketry and two main outputs, while the dimensions are shelf-friendly, being less deep than the amplifiers at 18x12.5x7in (WDH). So phenomenal was the response to the preamplifier that it is already back-ordered. It is a measure of the respect shown for this new manufacturer and its seasoned founder that would encourage such confidence in a product so fresh. We have no doubt that the Momentum Preamplifier will garner the same rave reviews that have been showered upon the amplifiers. This, dear friends, is the essence of high-end audio. 72 2017 2017 73 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Dan D’Agostino Momentum S250 250W Stereo Amplifier Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems is not a company to rest on its laurels. Along with the updated original Momentum M400 mono amplifiers, the company has announced an upgrade to the popular S200 stereo power amplifier. The new S250 boosts the power of the original 200 Watt design to 250 Watt per channel. This is not a simple change, requiring a 20% larger 1,800VA power transformer in the same svelte, elegant stereo power amplifier chassis. Never shy in low frequency performance, the larger transformer helps add a substantial increase in low bass impact and definition. The new transformer also elevates the soundstage presentation with a texture and layering to the depth and an elegance to the left/right spread. This is only the beginning though, as the change represents a full suite of upgrades from S200 to S250. As with the M400, the lessons learned from the range to date have been incorporated into the S250, including a completely redesigned driver stage. The S200 was always fully balanced, but the new driver stage in the Momentum S250 now features a fully complementary signal path with individual transistors employed for the positive and negative halves of the musical signal. This circuit count increase nearly doubles the current drive to the output stage. Consequently, the output stage receives similar treatment resulting in an open loop gain increase of the same factor of two. This would be a ‘snug’ fit in any design, but the Momentum’s unique casework works very much in the amplifier’s benefit, thanks to those signature copper heatsinks along the sides of the amplifier. Being 80% more thermally conductive than Aluminum, the use of copper heatsinks along with the venturi style tube feature, allows the Momentum S250 to output up to 1,000W into a 2Ω load while being housed in a very refined package. Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems isn’t going to mess with perfection and the Momentum S250 employs the same chassis as its predecessor, with only a small aesthetic design change to the copper feature on the faceplate sides on new models. Additionally, the meter now displays a scale appropriate for the greater power output. Best of all, current Momentum stereo amplifiers can be upgraded to the Momentum S250 performance level. Included in the upgrade is the new 250 Watt meter plate and all electrical component upgrades. You’d be a fool not to take advantage of the upgrade! 74 2017 2017 75 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Dan D’Agostino Momentum 400 Mono 400W Mono Amplifier Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems started life with Momentum. The original mono amplifiers in the Momentum range set a powerful trend, and those first amps were followed by hit upon hit, including the stereo power amplifier, line preamplifier, integrated amp (with and without streaming audio), and more recently one of the best phono stages in the business. So you might think in the wake of such a portfolio of amplifier excellence, it might be time for Chief Engineer and Designer Dan D’Agostino to take a bit of a rest! Instead, D’Agostino turned his attention back to that original Momentum design that set the company in motion and created the new M400. This is a major breaktrhough and a significant upgrade on the existing mono amps and, as the name suggests, power output has been increased to 400 Watts. This is up from the original 300 Watts. The backbone of the power increase is a new, ultra-quiet 1,800VA linear transformer – which represents a 20% increase in size from the original. Coupled to this larger power source is a completely new output stage design bristling with major enhancements and core Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems technologies are the foundation of the Momentum M400 signal path. These include an all-discrete, direct coupled, balanced circuit path to insure the purity of the musical signal from input to output. Also a unique regulated input stage provides immunity from the potential output stage irregularities that can plague conventional designs when under musical demand. Then, the allimportant driver section of the output stage has been elevated to a fully complementary design and there are now individual transistors employed for the positive and negative halves of the musical signal. This change nearly doubles the open loop gain, as well as the current drive necessary to maximize the enhanced output stage that follows. Naturally, the Momentum M400 retains the same strikingly elegant chassis, with only a small aesthetic design change to the copper feature on the faceplate sides. In addition, the meter now displays a scale appropriate for the greater power output. This is not simply a new product; existing Momentum owners can benefit from the changes to the design, as current Momentum monaural amplifiers can be upgraded to the Momentum M400 performance level, including the new 400 Watt meter plate. The best just got better! 76 2017 2017 77 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com darTZeel LHC-208 Preamplifer Network Streamer with DAC This integrated amplifier with its onboard network streaming DAC comes as something of a shock. It comes from a man who has made no secret of his dislike of digital music. Hervé Delétraz has produced some glorious-sounding pre-and power amplifiers over the years from his Swiss factory, which are visually unmistakable with their gold and red casework, but digital has not been part of his remit. So what’s he doing? Is he just going along with the digital tide? Has he sold his principles down the river? No, he hasn’t. What he has found is that digital music can actually sound rather good after all; it can have a strong element of analogue liquidity, and that the amusical hardness he had always associated with it doesn’t have to be there if things are done properly. By the nature of their obsessive perfection, darTZeel creations do not come cheap - yet here we have an amplifier that gives more than a flavour of their pre- and power amplifiers, yet also slots seamlessly into the modern world of digital replay. Hervé’s dislike of all things digital began to soften when he looked at ways of extracting the music and removing the digital artefacts that he found so objectionable. By paying careful attention to component layout and steering clear of switching power supplies, he found he was able to enjoy digital music, and the original concept of the 208 as an entry level purely analogue integrated started to blossom into something more. Based closely on the darTZeel CTH-8550 integrated amplifier, the LHC-208 is rated at 175 Wpc, but in practice comes pretty close to the 8550’s 250 Wpc. In addition to four pairs of analogue line inputs, the 208 also sports pairs of optical and coax S/PDIF inputs, as well as asynchronous USB and network audio ports. Software updates are planned for the near future, but at the moment the 208’s streaming ability is limited to playing files stored on a server, computer or NAS. Doing everything at once is not the darTZeel way, but owners of this very versatile amplifier aren’t going to worry too much about that, as they will be busy enjoying its performance. Reviewer John Bamford decried the sound as ‘charming and inviting - with thrilling dynamics’, adding that what it does, it does exceedingly well. 78 2017 2017 79 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com darTZeel NHB-18NS-B Preamplifer with Built In Phono Stage Hervé Déletraz is not a man who does things in a hurry. Take the darTZeel NHB-108B power amplifier, which has now become a legend in high end circles: no less than 16 years of development went into that before Hervé felt ready to release it. His philosophy is simple but hard to achieve: do no harm to the signal. Much of what was learned over those years has been incorporated into his new NHB-18NS-B preamplifier. NHB? ‘Never Heard Before’ - an example of Hervé’s quirky humour that perhaps belies the seriousness of his mission, but also tells it like is, because nothing else does sound like a darTZeel. As with the 108B, there is no application of overall negative feedback. The delicate audio signals pass through only eight silicon junctions between input and output, including the 11dB fully discrete gain stage. For the new onboard phono stage, which is now fully microprocessor controlled for hassle-free settings, darTZeel use two stages of only three junctions each, with the fully passive RIAA EQ implemented in between. No operational amplifier is used in the entire signal path. All of the components used in the 18NS are the finest that can be sourced from the world’s leading suppliers. Because no contacts, switches or relays of any kind interfere with the selection of the sources, the preamplifier delivers a new level of transparency. Instead of routing the signal through a selector box, each entry has its own dedicated input card stage, which is enabled or disabled according to the user’s choice via optically controlled analogue devices. The signal is then directly routed to the volume control / master gain module. The result: absolute purity. A new volume control module, which uses optically-controlled analogue devices, avoids the use of any stepped attenuator, potentiometer or analogue switch array in the signal path. This means that the signal is attenuated in a fully passive manner. These breakthroughs constitute a big step to doing no harm to the signal. A ‘smart’ automatic function is provided as standard, allowing full battery operation when listening, with the charging mode activated when the unit is switched off. Hum is gone forever, and there is no need to wonder if the batteries need to be charged or not. So clever. So Swiss. So different - and so Hervé. 80 2017 2017 81 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com darTZeel NHB-108b Dual Mono Amplifier It looks like no other. The colour scheme makes you smile, take notice, scratch your head. The legends – “Left Eye”, “Right Eye” – tell you that the manufacturer is a lateral thinker. But the ergonomics, internal construction and – above all – sound alert you to something that transcends circumstantial evidence. Absolute Sounds’ faith in and respect for the darTZeel NHB-108 Model One stereo amplifier have been rewarded with the sort of customer loyalty normally associated with Apple or Rolex. darTZeel spent 16 years researching and developing every aspect of audio circuitry, embodied in a completely new amplifier. Amplifier circuits have, in the past, been treated as relatively simple because the design language is long-established. But darTZeel was not investing 16 years of research and development just to create impressive measurements. Instead, they created an amplifier with dignity: sonic excellence, supreme power delivery, pride of ownership. And a sense of humour. Their products, above all, are designed and realised from a purely “humanistic” point of view. For darTZeel, music is not only a means for communicating and listening: it is a vehicle for expressing the soul of the music’s creators – benefitting the spiritual development of the listener. Music generates emotions that must be taken into account in the design process. Technology should only be applied to enhance the emotions, even transcend them, without altering them. Once that goal is reached, then and only then will darTzeel concentrate on the “electrical performance”. Their slogan is “Listen first, measure later. Never the other way around.” The darTZeel NHB-108 Model One was their first product. The rest is history. 82 2017 2017 83 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com darTZeel NHB-458 400W High Speed Mono Amplifier DarTZeel’s NHB-458 sets a new standard: after nine years of constant research and continuous development, this monoblock amplifier has embraced all of the qualities of the acclaimed NHB108 and increased or improved every parameter. It offers copious amounts of power for situations that require more than the NHB-108 can deliver: 450W RMS into 8 ohms, 800W into 4 ohms and 1000W to 2 ohms, with the peace of mind offered by proprietary security software, and dynamic reproduction of music signals enhanced to their limits. Like the NHB-108, no switches or relays interrupt signal path, save for an inert gas relay of the highest quality for the XLR input. There is no negative feedback. The signal path has been simplified to now contain only three discrete components instead of the six in the NHB-108, for the benefit of speed, transparency and dynamics, with the same vanishingly low distortion. The NHB-458 benefits from the technical achievements of the CTH-8550 integrated amplifier, its display enabling the user to set important parameters including the type of input (XLR, RCA, BNC), nominal gain of 26db or 32dB gain, activation of the rear USB port and other options. Thanks to the constant control and monitoring of every parameter, the internal software of the NHB-458 is able to prevent unwanted incidents, simply by interrupting the main power before the speaker coils grow dangerously warm. And yet, no limitations compromise the audio circuits, all control functions being managed externally, so that the maximum allowed peak current is simply enormous. Given its high level of performance, sophistication in signal processing and listening pleasure, the darTZeel NHB-458 merits a spectacular housing. The front panel is 30mm thick, while the rear section, which incorporates the heat sink, is 85mm. The large support feet, made of aluminium, weigh more than 1 kg each. The glass side walls provide the owner with the pleasure afforded by looking inside – exactly like a Swiss watch with a sapphire back. The NHB-458 is, in every detail, a product of superior engineering. The lucky owners of this remarkable device can experience, understand and, above all, savour the emotion of music, without constraint. 84 2017 2017 85 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com dCS Vivaldi Stack CD/SACD, DAC V.2, Clock & Upsampler While the dCS Vivaldi four box digital player has been available since about 2012, it never really ‘yanked our chain’ until the latest version 2.0 firmware upgrades were demonstrated. At that time, the player shifted into high gear, and demonstrated just exactly what all the fuss was about. This Cambridgeshire-based digital company is no stranger to the audio scene, and the classic dCS combination of CD/SACD transport, clock, upsampler, and DAC has long been considered one of the most elaborate and potent digital players on the high-end scene. And in the Version 2.0 guise of the Vivaldi firmware, it lives up to the reputation in sonic terms, too. Version 2.0 involves firmware changes to every section of the player, and also necessitates a new Ethernet streaming board in the upsampler. These can be retrofitted to any existing dCS Vivaldi systems, and comes as standard with new hardware. The main change is a remapping of the Ring DAC decoder and filter sections, to vastly improve the playing algorithm. Other changes include efficiency developments in the clock and transport sections, and a Roon ready streaming front end in the upsampler. It’s pointless trying to describe this in technical terms, however. Put simply, the whole system is transformed. Completely transformed. The typical dCS detailed and open presentation remains, but is joined by a more profoundly musical, dynamic, and open experience that places the Vivaldi squarely in the high-end domain. The transformation of Vivaldi - first heard in prototype form at CES 2015 in a D’Agostino/Wilson/Transparent system proved to be one of the highlights of the show, and the finished product didn’t disappoint. If you already have a dCS Vivaldi, you owe it to yourself and your music to upgrade it to Version 2.0. There is no downside to the upgrade at all. If you don’t have a dCS Vivaldi, you owe it to yourself to listen to a dCS Vivaldi. If you heard a dCS system in the past, you are in for a huge surprise! 86 2017 2017 87 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com dCS Rossini CD Transport Network Streaming DAC/ Network Streaming DAC Only , Clock & Upsampler While it’s all too easy to get caught up in the excitement of the dCS Vivaldi stack, it’s worth remembering that not everyone can afford it. Even those who can might object to a large quartet of digital boxes in their listening room. The Rossini addresses both very well. The Rossini can be specified as a network streaming DAC, a network streaming DAC with a high performance built-in CD transport mechanism, or either of these models with an off board high performance clock. The streaming section in the DAC is particularly outstanding, and forms the core of the upgrade to the Vivaldi upsampler. The two-box Rossini was launched after Vivaldi, and many of the core technologies found in the top model filtered down into the Rossini. At the same time, Rossini represented some step changes in the dCS product design time-line that ultimately wound up in Vivaldi Version 2.0, so is considered in many respects the foundation stone to dCS’ profound step forward in sound quality. In fact, the Rossini is so good, it almost immediately spelled the end of some of the intermediate dCS models in the previous line-up, because it confidently out-performed these more expensive three and four box designs. Moreover, like the Vivaldi, the Rossini player sports significant amounts of FPGA silicon on its circuit boards, and this means the player can be subject to future firmware upgrades and updates. But, in its current guise it’s still pretty excellent, giving listeners a taste of what true high-performance audio can do, whether through its CD transport mechanism, or from higher resolution PCM and DSD files streamed through a network or from USB. We strongly recommend using the Rossini with its matching clock, however, as it brings the sound of the Rossini to an even better place. This is not simply about a better sense of musical flow, but coherence, consistency, detail, and soundstaging are all immediately improved thanks to the addition of the clock. And once you hear what the Rossini can do, then hear what it can do with its clock, there is no going back. 88 2017 2017 89 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com dCS Network Bridge High Res Network Bridge wired and wireless streamer Roon™ ready, up to 24-bit, 384kS/s, D-O The latest Vivaldi 2.0 and Rossini digital replay systems from dCS afford the user the best possible replay from both spinning discs and streamed media. The latter is extremely hard to implement to the high-standards of dCS, even in previous generations of players from the company, because several of the key elements – such as the company’s latest, high performance custom Ethernet circuit board – are only available to owners of the latest models. That all changes with the launch of the new dCS Network Bridge. Designed as an interface between the new world of digital music and your existing DAC, the Network Bridge lives up to its name providing a bridge between network streamed sources (both online and local, both wired and wireless) and your existing disc player. Any system with an external DAC or digital inputs can benefit from the Network Bridge, especially as it features integer down-sampling to convert higher-resolution files to a standard your legacy converter can understand. So, DXD or DSD files can be converted to 24bit PCM at a range of sampling frequencies. It can support files sampled to 24 bit, 384kHz, plus DSD 64 or DSD 128, in native or DoP formats. The company has deliberately eschewed higher DSD resolution because in tests it found such files offer musically questionable improvements. The Network Bridge is every bit a dCS device. It features the company’s outstanding auto-clocking system that combines vanishingly low jitter with no-fuss ease of use. Also, unlike many of the more computer-based alternatives, the lessons in multi-stage power regulation learned from decades of digital development means both digital and clock circuits are extremely well isolated. The advantage to a new Network Bridge is not only that it can bring access to the latest music files, but it features the latest means to access those files. The Network Bridge is a fully programmable FPGA platform allowing the user to access services like Spotify and TIDAL, is fully Roon Ready and is fully app controllable. It also accepts data from both UPnP, asynchronous USB-on-the-go, and Apple Airplay. The use of an FPGA architecture means the Network Bridge has fully upgradable firmware to accommodate new formats and services. In other words, the Network Bridge updates and extends the life of a digital replay system. Your disc player just got access to the world of streaming without compromise! 90 2017 2017 91 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com EAT C- MAJOR Turntable Belt Driven with Unipivot Arm Silicone Damping with Optional MC Cartridge The C-Major from turntable manufacturer EAT is the company’s new entry-level product. Taking the success of the C-Sharp and trying to reduce cost without compromise was a difficult task that took the company some time to deliver. But instead of reinventing the wheel (or the turntable), EAT looked at what worked on the C-Sharp, then made a turntable that delivered almost as much for not as much! Rather than cut corners, however, the C-Major makes some small, but important changes to the C-Sharp design to make it more affordable. These do not compromise the performance in any significant manner, even if the difference between C-Sharp and C-Major is justifiable. In a most basic way, the C-Major is a C-Sharp that is a little bit smaller. For example, the platter is reduced in size slightly, and this means the platter clamp can also be made a little smaller without undermining design or performance. The smaller platter means the built-in C-Note arm can now be a 9” design instead of the 10” model on the C-Sharp. As a result of a smaller platter and a smaller tonearm, the entire main chassis is slightly smaller, too; with a footprint of 460x352mm. Finally, the C-Major removes the speed control from a separate housing to inside the deck itself, which makes the turntable both smaller and cheaper to make. EAT has also created a specially priced package with the Ortofon Quintet Blue cartridge, and the turntable comes ready to play right out of the box… complete with lid! 92 2017 2017 93 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com EAT C- SHARP Turntable Belt Driven with Unipivot Arm Silicone Damping with Optional MC Cartridge The European Audio Team - EAT for short - initially made their mark with highly specialised KT88 valves, but over the last six years have moved very successfully into the turntable market, and now have the perfect entry point for vinyl lovers with a new and affordable turntable/tonearm combination. That EAT make turntables isn’t too much of a surprise, given that company founder Jozefina Lichtenegger is married to Heinz Lichtenegger, head of Pro-Ject. However, the Czech company’s turntables are unique designs in themselves and not re-worked Pro-Ject units. It all started with the Forte, which featured a platter that was considerably wider than a vinyl album. This concentrated the mass laterally rather than vertically and made for a visually pleasing design, but with its outboard motor assembly a wider than normal shelf was needed. Things got more compact with the Forte S, where the two motors were concealed within the plinth, and then came a more affordable design with the E-Flat, in which the motors were underneath the platter. The turntable was characterised by its unusual but effective flat tonearm. Now things have got smaller still with the single-motor C-Sharp turntable and dedicated C-Note tonearm. Beautifully finished in black lacquer, the MDF plinth is supported on large adjustable aluminium feet that screw into the base, while the platter and tonearm are mounted on a carbon fibre-finished top board that forms the suspended sub-chassis. Again, the platter is wider than a 12-inch album, the extra mass being in the sloping polished rim, which not only looks attractive but gives an added flywheel effect. The tonearm is a completely new design with a carbon tube internally damped with a special silicon-based grease said to reduce tonearm and cartridge resonances by more than 50 per cent. The arm features a pin and block unipivot bearing that gives good stability and very low friction, eliminating the usual wobbling of a conventional unipivot. Cartridge set-up can be something of a nightmare on many tonearms, but on the C-Note it couldn’t be more simple: the straight sides and squared-off front of the polished aluminium headshell make alignment quick and accurate. The C-Sharp and C-Note is the perfect way to get onto the first rung of the high end vinyl ladder. 94 2017 2017 95 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com EAT E-Glo Valve Phono Stage Completing its analogue ‘front-end’, E.A.T. has created the definitive phono stage to accept signals from its range of turntables, tone-arms and Yosegi cartridges. The E-GLO looks and performs like no other, a design so clever and attractive that owners will want to give it pride-of-place in their sound systems, to complement the stunning Forté, Forté S and E-Flat turntables. First shown privately to the trade at CES in Las Vegas this past January, E-Glo is now in production, and it’s a mindblower. An all-valve design completely free of semiconductors in its signal path, its tube complement consists of the classic glassware beloved of audiophiles: four ECC83s and two ECC88s. The use of these valves will ensure that supplies of replacement tubes are always readily available, while experimentation is encouraged for those who love to fine-tune the sound of their systems by changing tubes, such as EAT’s own premium offerings. In the fully-balanced input stage, EAT fitted a Lundahl step-up transformer with an amorphous core, type LL9206. The unit’s gain is 50db, plus the voltage gain of the step-up transformer. E-Glo’s amplifier section uses split, fully passive equalisation, without any equalisation in negative feedback loop, which can harm the sound. At this level of performance, only the best components will suffice, like the aforementioned Lundahl. The choice of output capacitor is the highly-praised Mundorf 3.3uF. All other capacitors are Obbligato or WIMA. Mundorf Connectors with Teflon insulation have been chosen for their unparalleled integrity.To ensure the utmost flexibility and perfect matching to a wide range of cartridges, the E-Glo provides capacitance loading for moving-magnet types in six userswitchable steps from 47pf to 900pF. The loading resistance for moving-coil cartridges is continuously adjustable. Separate, external power supplies feed the tube phono preamplifier because the best way to shield a mains transformer from electromagnetic radiation of is to distance it from the electronics. Metal shielding alone cannot perform the task as well as a separate power supply. For the rectifying circuitry, EAT fitted special diodes with noise suppressing resistors. Also employed are high-quality electrolytic capacitors, followed by a voltage regulator with capacitor multiplier. The power component is a FET transistor. A feast for the eyes, the handsomely styled E-Glo is housed in a 450x300x160mm chassis, is valves peering through cleverly-designed heat sinks that recall the two spools of a reel-to-reel tape deck. Across the front section are rows of switches for instant access to all settings – no need to ‘get inside’ to set the E-Glo for your cartridge of choice. E.A.T.’s E-Glo is a state-of-the-art phono stage able to extract the ultimate performance from any cartridge it is asked to accommodate. It is as analogue as analogue gets, and we’re not ashamed to admit: WOW, is it pretty! 96 2017 2017 97 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com EAT E-Flat & Yosegi Turntable with Carbon Fibre Arm & Moving Coil Cartridge European Audio Team’s E-Flat is a new, forward-thinking turntable supplied with an innovative flat tonearm that provides this elegant deck with its name. Although flat arms have been seen in the past, none were able to offer the rigidity necessary to deliver the stable performance. Thanks to the continued evolution of carbon fibre, Forte has been able to create an arm with the practical and aesthetic benefits of a flat form, but without the weaknesses. Ultra-flat, ultra-light and ultra-rigid, the E-Flat tonearm measures 10in long. A unipivot bearing supports the E-Flat, its fully (and easily) adjustable counterweight decoupled by energy- and vibration-absorbing Sorbothane. The E-Flat’s unipivot system is extremely precise and accurately balanced, thanks to components endowed with especially hard metal surfaces, the high mass of unipivot housing and the added security of two metal guides. A further benefit is that the arm “tube” can be changed by the user to suit specific cartridges, with either lighter or heavier arms establishing different arm/cartridge resonant frequencies. Adjustable anti-skating and damped cueing are also fitted. A flat arm tube encourages the design of a flatter platter with easier, visible arm levelling – there is no taper to accommodate. With perfect integration to the unipivot design pillar, no hollow tube to suffer the inevitable echo effects or ringing, greater stiffness, a new and superior hanging counterweight design with very high damping properties, the E-Flat tonearm’s performance is truly quiet and incredibly “fast.” This distinctive arm is fitted to a turntable that adheres to the basic principles established by the existing Forte models. Belt-driven, it features two motors like its “bigger sisters”. The motors do not run in parallel, but act like a virtual 24pole motor. The belt encircles an inner sub-platter, which is fitted with inside bearing made out of bronze bushings. The main platter rests on an inverted bearing and a ceramic ball, with a Teflon lining on the underside of the main platter. As with the larger Fortes, the platter is oversized compared to those on most competitors’ turntables. 33cm was chosen because the moving mass is twice that of a standard 30cm platter. Forte fits a vinyl mat made of recycled LP records to create a surface with properties sympathetic to the LPs it supports. The platter is filled underneath with Sorbothane to stop resonance, while Sorbothane is also used to damp the bearing housing, tonearm base and magnetic feet. In addition to the isolation provided by the magnetic feet, the bearing assembly and platter aperture are suspended. Also in common with the dearer Forte turntables, the Forte E-Flat exhibits an ideal balance between mass-loading and thoughtful subchassis design. 98 2017 2017 99 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Jadis I-50 Integrated Valve Amplifier KT150 Valves Jadis is the definitive French specialist manufacturer of high-end tubes electronics with a massive and unchallenged following amongst music lovers all over the world. Jadis’s I50 brand new integrated Class A amplifier comes fitted with the Tung Sol KT-150 tubes. This already famous new Russian tube is driving the output stage of the I50 in a classic pushpull configuration. Tung Sol, to whom we owe the famous KT120, was looking for a tube that could deliver more power and improved vacuum capability.Tung Sol appointed Valery Krivtsov and Irusha Bitukova along with a strong team of vacuum tube designers, whose co-operation resulted in the production of the KT-150 tube, striking amongst other things for its particular egg-like shape, which enables improved heat dissipation for greater reliability. A single pair of KT150 could enable a power output approaching 300 watts, whilst the tube’s ball-like shape allows it to maintain a truly superior vacuum, and thus deliver the finest sound reproduction. In order to use the KT-150 to its best potential, Jadis had to rework the schematic of its designs, and develop very specific new output transformers. As we all know, the know-how of Jadis, in handmade transformers, is second to none, and there are no doubts over their awesome musicality and reliability over the time. The novel technique they employed of casting every single transformer into a special resin is tremendously important, as this ensures maximum sealing and thermal stability. The auto-bias of the I50 makes tube replacement totally user friendly with no need for re-biasing. The I50 also sports a digital input via USB 16/48 kHz. It is kitted with 4 standard analogue inputs and 1 output for an additional power amplifier. Jadis I50 will reward you with a generous 2 x 50 watts into 8 ohms in the purest of class A mode, and will enchant you with a powerful, voluptuous sound and an extreme rendition of detail supported by a firm and well extended bass - a true touch of class. 100 2017 2017 101 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Jadis I-88 Integrated Valve Amplifier KT150 Valves Jadis consists of a small band of valve devotees who have one over-riding philosophy: love for a job well done. And there is no denying that their passion is reflected in the many amplifiers, preamplifiers, CD players and DACs that have delighted thousands of music-lovers for more than three decades. Although their products go through various circuitry updates over the years, it is perhaps the changlessness - Jadis means ‘in olden days’ - that personifies this small French company in Carcassonne that was started in the early 1980s by André Calmettes, a self-taught expert in the technology of valves. The factory has only 12 employees, but each year announces new creations and rarely discontinues any older ones. With the addition of the recently-introduced I-88, there are now no less than seven integrated amplifiers in the Jadis catalogue. This beautiful device, which is so unmistakably Jadis, features the new KT150 valve - four per channel - and pumps out 90 Watts of pure Class A music each side, so has more than enough wallop to drive most speakers to satisfying levels. And to keep abreast of the digital age, there is a digital input as well as four analogue line inputs, including one marked ‘Tape’. Now just how retro and loveable is that? There is also a pair of single-ended outputs and enough binding posts to cater for bi-wiring. Jadis amplifiers manage to capture the splendour and vitality of music in a unique way, and this quality was recognised when Calmettes built his very first valve amplifier before the days of Jadis. He couldn’t afford to buy one, so learned the technology himself and after doing some tweaking and devising various modifications asked some friends round for a listen. There was clearly some magic afoot, for word soon spread far and wide. He had found something special and so the story of Jadis began. That special way of making music is intrinsic to every Jadis product, and you will find it in the I-88, which represents a compact answer for those who cannot easily accommodate separate pre- and power amplifiers. At 40kg it is no lightweight, and it will delight you with a performance that could only be created by people who love their work and love their music. 102 2017 2017 103 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Jadis JA-80 MKII Mono Valve Amplifier KT150 Valves The chrome casework, the black transformer with gold top plate, the blue capacitors, the glow of the valves: such a riot of vibrant colours can mean only thing - Jadis. There is a timelessness about all the many gorgeous creations from this French company. Take the JA80 monaural amplifiers: they have been with us since 1983 and today look just as they did then. In fact they were the first amplifier that Jadis ever made. And the sound? Weighty, golden, fast, authoritarian and dynamic. Over the years the JA80 has undergone several upgrades, but not until now has there been a MkII. This is justified by its compatibility with the new and amazing KT150 valves, which now power each monobloc and deliver 90 Wpc. But for those who have other tube preferences, it will also work equally happily with KT120, KT90, KT88, 6550, 6CA7 or EL34 valves. However, a small internal adjustment must be made before using anything other than the KT150. The JA80 has always been a true Class A amplifier working in ‘push’pull’ configuration with triple load and auto-biasing of the valves. Bandwidth is from 20Hz up to 27KHz and noise levels are very low. The output transformer, a massive affair purposely oversized to dissipate heat and vibration, is guaranteed for life and can handle impedances from as low as 1 Ohm to 16 Ohms. The cathode circuit is protected by an individual fuse, and each tube has a dedicated LED to indicate that replacement is necessary. A look inside a JA80 MkII will reveal traditional point-to-point wiring with silver/copper tin solder, and the massive chassis formed from non-magnetic stainless steel has no influence on the electronics and keeps external resonances at bay. The JA80 MkII is big and heavy: 260mm wide, 240mm high and 625mm deep with a weight of 35kg per block. The sound from a Jadis is like no other valve amp and is intensely fulfilling, conveying the power and majesty of a large orchestra while respecting the intimacy and delicacy of solo performances. All Jadis designs are things of beauty, and there is something very imposing about a pair of JA80s driving your loudspeakers, objects certain to draw gasps of admiration for those not familiar with such creatures. Once heard, forever loved and never forgotten. 104 2017 2017 105 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Jadis JA-120 Mono Valve Amplifier with KT120 Valves Jadis amplification, is, like a Cleverley shoe or a Goyard suitcase, the province of the true connoisseur. It demands of the listener the sophistication to revel in finesse rather than bombast. The company is to valve amplification what Vacheron Constantin is to watches: unashamedly without compromise, respectful of tradition, savoured mainly by those with an appreciation for such discreet excellence. These virtues come to life in the 100W JA120 monoblock power amps, the slightly more extreme SE845NEC powered by two sublime 845 tubes and delivering 40W and the Orphee MK2 valve CD player, with USB and the ability to bridge the chasm between the high-end and the new digital formats. All Jadis products embody the sound that has, for a quarter-century, held in thrall a coterie of music lovers who would consider nothing else. If you’re a devoted Jadis user, one who is seduced by their caress, then allow us to regale you with the latest mastering of the JA120 technology: Jadis has adopted the KT120 valve, which will increase the power, reliability, the dynamic range and every other parameter of this milestone amplifier. Like the other valve amplifier families we support, Jadis has recognised that the brand-new KT120 expands on all of the virtues of the much loved KT88/6550 workhorses that have powered so many top-flight amplifiers. With their acceptance by Jadis, the doyen of French high-end amplifier manufacturers, the KT120 has found a home that is the audio equivalent of a well-appointed chateau: stylish, timeless, immune to fashion, elegant, regal. In this context, mated to a circuit that has charmed the toughest critics in all of audio, the KT120 will sing. Still rated conservatively at 100W, this classic monoblock uses six KT120s per unit, driven by two ECC82s and an ECC83, monitored by automatic biasing, and bearing some of the finest transformers in use today. It boasts a frequency range of 15-38kHz, and weighs a substantial 45kg. Like every Jadis before it, the JA120 is a commanding presence both physically and sonically. The sound is warm, rich, utterly valve-like, yet possessing the control, coherence and bass extension some would associate with the most respected of solid-state designs. 106 2017 2017 107 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Jadis SE845-NEC Double Single Triode Valve Amplifier We always enjoy talking to valves aficionados and more spefically those who follow the application of the single ended triode designs. The SE 845 Nec is a brand new addition to the Jadis Family of products. The SE845NEC boasts phenomenal power with its 40 watts per channel in Pure class “A” with a tube complement of 2 of ECC83, 2 of ECC82, 2 of EL34 and 2 of Single ended 845NEC per channel. When we last visited France we heard those mono amps , which sounded so good that we are certain they represent without a doubt the very top of this application; Nat King Cole and many others at the top of their reality playback performance. 108 2017 2017 109 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com KL Audio KD-CLM-LP2000 / KD-CLM-LP2000S 200W Ultrasonic Record Cleaner/ Optional Model with External Water Source Do you remember back in the old days when we used to clean our vinyl records with a simple little cloth called Emitex? In fact, there’s an Internet forum were someone is lamenting the demise of this very basic anti-static aid. But those were the days before fidelity became really high, and since then there has been a growing number of devices, some very sophisticated, for removing the inevitable debris that collects in the groove and spoils the replay with a sound like eggs frying. Some people still think it is an intrinsic part of the vinyl experience. It is not. There are a number of very good record cleaners on the market, but nearly all use brushes and special cleaning fluids and have difficulty in removing absolutely everything embedded in the record. Things were taken to a new level with the introduction of ultrasonic cleaners that work by generating tiny cavitation bubbles which act vigorously on the groove and remove the tiny pieces of dirt that brushes cannot reach. Now KL Audio have reached new levels of cleaning power with their KD-CLN-LP200. It uses the ultrasonic method exclusively, there are no brushes anywhere, and all you need is distilled water. It couldn’t be more simple, and we have found that it couldn’t be more effective, either.Operation is simple, with cleaning time per record adjustable to between three and nine minutes. The disc is inserted through a top-loading slot and a pump fills the stainless steel wash chamber while the record is half-submerged in the bath below the label. Belt-driven rollers rotate the record and four 50-watt 40kHz ultrasonic transducers start the cleaning cycle. This is followed by the drying cycle, which is performed by fans blow-drying the record surface while the display panel shows drying progress. This is, without doubt, the Rolls-Royce of record cleaners and is effective even on brand new discs which inevitably have foreign matter in the groove from the production process. The makers claim it has more cleaning power than any other commercially available ultrasonic unit and can apply 200 Watts of power without without risk of surface damage. Now, the company has announced its new, lower cost KD-CLN-LP200S. This offers the same 200W cleaning capability as the original model, but lacks the reservoir tank of the first cleaner. This means record cleaning aficionados can either buy an inexpensive five gallon container with a lid as an external reservoir tank for distilled water, or purchase a separate direct plumbing connection kit (available from Klaudio soon), which filters water straight from the tap, and empties the cleaner into a nearby drain between cleaning sessions. Because the original LP200 and LP200S materially differ, the two cleaners are intended to run concurrently for the foreseeable future. If you have a treasured record collection, and you want to bring the best out of old and new pressings alike, the KL Audio is the answer. 110 2017 2017 111 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Koetsu Urushi Series Hand Made Moving Coil Cartridge Koetsu don’t promote themselves with hype and marketing - but they don’t need to, the legend speaks for itself. Named after Honami Koetsu, a 17th Century Japanese artist and calligrapher, the first of these remarkable cartridges found its way to our hearts in the 1970s when Yoshiaki Sugano, a man of many skills from sword-making to painting, turned his love of music into something for mere mortals to treasure. The Urushi range, with its fascinating variety of artistic and intricate hand-crafted finishes, has established itself as the music-lover’s favourite, with its combination of a price that is accessible and a performance that is not accessible by any other means. With names such as Tsugaru, Wajima, Sky Blue, Vermillion, Black, and Gold, the Urishi magic is woven even before you listen. These are not simple finishes, the Gold in particular being the most difficult to produce, but it is their exotic appearance that makes the Urushi range so visually enticing and evocative of the art of Japanese lacquering. The performance is, as with all Koetsus, the stuff of legends, combining clarity, detail, dynamic attack and that feeling of absolute music conviction. Listen and you will see. But is the only difference in the Urushi range the body art? No - and here it can get a little confusing, because although they all feature the same topology most of them can be ordered with a choice of styli, cantilever material, wiring or type of magnet. Whatever you choose, they all share the same family sound, but with small differences - and those differences can be important, depending on how you like your music presented; for example, copper wiring will sound different from silver-plated copper. Koetsu’s have often been known for a rich and luscious sound, and the Urushi falls into that category to some extent - but has huge power and presence, with a wide and deep soundstage, and always preserving the soul and emotion of the music. But it is a sound that is markedly different from the exotic stone-bodied range, which have a more neutral presentation and greater attack at the top end of the spectrum. The Urushi is on the softer side of things, which will suit many personal preferences. With a Koetsu, whatever model it may be, you own something very special - and something that will last for a very long time before needing refurbishment. 112 2017 2017 113 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Koetsu Coralstone Hand Made Moving Coil Cartridge Nothing in the world of high end phono cartridges is more beautiful than a Koetsu. Each piece is an individual work of art, and no two look exactly alike. When you invest in a Koetsu you are acquiring something unique, something to treasure. Take the Coralstone, for example. Look at the almost hypnotic pattern of the precious stone from the ocean’s floor, fashioned and polished to an exquisite lustre. Koetsu do a variety of stone-cased cartridges, but the Coral is different in that it is more porous, and this has an influence on the performance. Exotically exciting, richly dynamic with a panoramic soundstage, the Coral makes music a living and immersive entity in your presence. Silver-clad six-nines copper and platinum-alloy magnets only tell part of the story; the real magic is experienced in the listening, in a presentation that others can only dream about. Yes, there are lots of good cartridges out there, but Koetsus have always had a special magic and mysticism about them - and for good reason: there is a rightness about the sound that defies analysis. You just know it when you hear it. This kind of quality, this perfection in analogue replay, cannot come cheaply. The almost unearthly feeling of being in the presence of a live event is what singles out the Coralstone as something very special, for it has the ability to present music as an integrated and graceful experience without drawing attention to any particular aspect of it. In other words, it is music as opposed to hi-fi sound. The Coralstone is considered to be the height of Koetsu artistry and is the cartridge of choice for those with systems that have the quality to do justice to its extraordinary abilities, to the way it can present that elusive musical transcendence for which we search. The founder of Koetsu, Yoshiaki Sugano, died in 2002 just short of his 95th birthday, but he had trained his son, Fumihiko, in the delicate and exacting art of the phono cartridge. A listen to the Coralstone will tell you instantly just how well he taught his son. The platinum range of stone-bodied Koetsus have a Boron cantilever with diamond styles, but are also available at extra cost with a diamond cantilever and stylus formed as one unit for the absolute and stunning absolute. 114 2017 2017 115 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Koetsu Blue Onyx Hand Made Moving Coil Cartridge Koetsu, beyond doubt the most revered name in moving-coil cartridges, has always valued the innate characteristics of the materials used in the bodies and cantilevers of its designs. The designers realised that the materials can tune the sound of the cartridge with an ineffable quality that cannot simply be dialled in electronically. Whether a type of wood or mineral or metal, every material used by Koetsu must go through the most rigorous testing procedures for purity and musical quality. The company’s legendary handwound coils and meticulously carved stone and wood bodies transcend the boundaries of art and science. The latest to join the family is the Blue Lace, exhibiting blue, grey and white layers of fused quartz. Its beauty is unique due to the scarceness of blue stones in nature. But aside from its obvious aesthetic appeal, the Blue Lace batch was also specially selected because it is the hardest and most rigid among the onyx family, making it an exceptional cartridge housing thanks to its outstanding sonic qualities. Because of the limited supply of Blue Lace stock, they will only issue two Blue Laces a year. Every music lover knows of the legendary sound of Koetsu cartridges from decades past. Those who have experienced Sugano’s Koetsus retain memories of a peerless musical experience. Few were privileged to own and enjoy a Koetsu. Many devotees search out second and third Koetsus, assuring a long, cherished relationship. Now, in analogue’s renaissance and through the efforts of Sugano’s sons, Koetsu phono cartridges are again available. Limited in quantity due to their personal, hand-built nature, the range includes the Rosewoods, the Urushi, and the ultimate Koetsu, the Onyx Platinum. Sugano’s sons have revived his art and continue to create musical masterpieces. For every music lover, the journey to musical nirvana is incomplete without a Koetsu phono cartridge in your system. 116 2017 2017 117 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Krell Industries Vanguard DAC 24/bit/192kHz 32bit ESS Streaming DAC It’s been a long time since we have had a standalone DAC from Krell - more than 20 years, in fact. But in their mission to embrace the ever-growing world of streaming and other digital formats, the company has announced its advanced Vanguard Universal DAC. In the late 1980s and early 90s, Krell designed and produced some memorable CD transports, DACs and integrated players that delivered great performance. That legacy is reignited with this new and exciting device, which bristles with the latest in digital connectivity and technology and is the answer for the dedicated digital music enthusiast. The inputs include USB, coaxial and optical digital, two HDMi inputs and output, Ethernet music streaming controlled through dedicated iOS and Android apps, and aptX Bluetooth wireless for convenient streaming from phones, tablets and computers. Digital to Analog conversion is performed by the 32bit ESS9018 DAC and feeds a classic Krell balanced Class A circuit which is also used in the Krell flagship Cipher SACD/CD player, while Krell’s long-established Current Mode technology delivers extremely wide bandwidth. Coax and HDMi inputs handle PCM up to 24bit/192KHz, while the two HDMi 2.0 inputs support DSD and 4K video content. The Vanguard can be used with smart TV streaming services, while MP3, AAC, WMA, WAV(PCM), FLAC, ALAC up to 24b/192kHz are all supported, and iOS and Android apps can control and manage playlists of music files stored on any server device on the network. The list of what this extraordinary device can do includes the playback of media files stored in a PC (Windows XP/7/8), network storage, and DropBox and SkyDrive/OneDrive cloud storage. The DAC will also stream media files from a mobile device over the network to DLNA-compatible audio components and smart TVs, and it features full search capability, with playlist creation and editing. What more could anyone want? 118 2017 2017 119 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Krell Industries Vanguard Digital Pre-Amp Digital Preamplifier Ethernet Bluetooth USB Coax Well, one thing you might want is less boxes in your system, and again Krell have the answer in the Vanguard Digital preamplifier, which is basically the Vanguard Universal DAC with a volume control. They describe this as ‘the perfect centrepiece for an all-digital two-channel system’, for it uses exactly the same digital front end as the standalone DAC, features the same comprehensive connectivity suite and will perform exactly the same functions. All Vanguard products come in the same distinctive black Krell enclosure with the silver aluminium sculpture on the faceplate. Both the DAC and the preamplifier are stellar performers and signal Krell’s dedication to extracting the very best from the sometimes confusing world of digital music. 120 2017 2017 121 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Krell Industries Vanguard/Vanguard Digital Stereo Integrated Amplifier with optional DAC board Another top-notch all-in-one solution from the Connecticut high end masters. The Digital Vanguard integrated amplifier packs a huge amount of Krell power and processing into a compact package that will address virtually every need. Featuring a Class A preamplifier, the Vanguard delivers 200 Wpc into 8 Ohms and 400 into 4 Ohms with all the refinement, pace and immediacy that you would expect. At the core of its output is the customary beefy Krell power supply in the form of a 750 VA toroidal transformer. Such energy produces heat, and often means a chunky chassis with heatsinks, but Krell have taken care of heat dissipation with a pair of silent thermostatically controlled fans on the rear panel. The preamplifier section borrows its balanced and fully discrete Class A circuit concepts from Krell’s top-of-the-line Illusion preamplifiers, while Current Mode technology ensures huge bandwidth - easily enough to handle the latest high-resolution PCM and DSD audio sources. Bristling with many of Krell’s most musical-sounding technologies, the enclosure is small enough to respect your living space but powerful enough to make any loudspeaker sing with lifelike dynamics. A key feature for the Digital Vanguard is its digital module, which includes USB, HDMi inputs and output, coax and optical digital inputs, while Ethernet music streaming is controlled through dedicated iOS and Android apps. Bluetooth wireless ensures convenient streaming from phones, tablets and computers. The HDMi inputs handles DSD and 4K video, while USB and Network streaming support MP3, AAC, WMA, WAV(PCM), FLAC, ALAC up to 192kHz. Bluetooth streaming supports A2DP, AVRCP, HFP and HSP. The front-panel menu system provides configuration features such as input-naming and input trim, while Theatre Throughput mode lets the Vanguard serve as the core of a surround-sound system without sacrificing two-channel sound quality. The analogue aspect of the Vangard has been given equal attention, and the rear panel sports a pair of balanced XLR inputs as well as three pairs of single-ended RCA connectors. The Vanguard also offers features that make it perfect for custom installation, such as 3.5mm jacks for IR input and 12-volt trigger input and output, as well as optional rack-mount ears. The Digital Vanguard is the answer for those seeking the unique Krell sound in a compact and versatile space-saving chassis. 122 2017 2017 123 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Krell Industries Illusion I Preamplifier The Illusion preamplifier extends the Krell tradition of separating the power supply from the audio circuitry in our flagship preamplifiers. Sharing the new Class A iBias power amplifier aesthetic and featuring Krell CAST technology, the Illusion preamplifier is the ideal match for the new Solo 375 and Solo 575 power amplifiers. The optional crossover functionality offers the ability to use a subwoofer/satellite speaker arrangement and still maintain the highest quality sonic performance. Previous to the Illusion preamplifier, this system configuration would require signals to pass through a subwoofer’s lower quality crossover circuitry. The Illusion preamplifier is the centerpiece of a world class audio system where space is at a premium. Crossover Highlights Owing to Krell’s work in the Modulari Duo Reference loudspeaker, the unique crossover feature is a highly sophisticated option. When the optional board is present, additional crossover menu items become available. Definable parameters include independently assignable crossover frequencies and filter types for the high and low pass sections. Choices include 40Hz, 55Hz, 75Hz, and 100Hz crossover points with 12dB, 24dB, and 48dB Butterworth or 24dB LinkwitzRiley style filters. The high pass section of the crossover uses the full Illusion preamplifier circuitry for its output stage. Circuitry Highlights The Illusion preamplifier is a dual monaural circuit design with the left and right channels afforded their own power supply regulation and individual full chassis sized boards. All signal gain is realized in surface mount topology using proprietary multiple-output current mirrors with nearly 500 times the open loop linearity of other designs 1.5 MHz open loop bandwidth in a zero feedback, balanced, Krell Current Mode design terminating in Krell CAST. A complete Krell system (source, preamp, and amplifier) system, connected using CAST interconnects reduces the number of voltage gain stages to the minimum, one. The resulting noise floor approaches the theoretical limit of technology. Negative feedback is not used anywhere in the preamp, nor is it necessary. Open-loop distortion is typically less than 0.003%. The volume control is realized with a balanced resistor ladder — bandwidth and transient response of the preamp circuitry are virtually unaffected by the volume setting. Power Supply Highlights The Illusion audio circuits receive power from a Krell Current Mode analog power supply housed in its own dedicated chassis. The power supply avoids the common integrated circuit topology used in many preamplifiers and instead mimics the design topology of Krell Evolution e Series amplifiers. The circuitry is completely discrete giving it the ability to respond quickly to current demands and also be unaffected by all but the most severe AC voltage power fluctuations. Oversized for a preamplifier, the power supply features a 290 VA transformer and 41,600µF of capacitance. Locating the power supply in its own chassis presents the ideal configuration for isolating stray electrical and magnetic interference from the critical preamplifier signal path. Capable of delivering current and voltage swing for any musical event, the Illusion power supply is gentle on AC requirements when not in use. A new eco-friendly design reduces standby power draw to 2W. 124 2017 2017 125 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Krell Industries Duo 175 /Duo 300 High Bias, High Power Stereo Amplifiers Krell has been making great amplifiers for almost 35 years, and its current line-up is not just its most technologically advanced, but also its most flexible. The Duo 175 and Duo 300 are the stereo amplifiers in the range, and thanks to Krell’s iBias technology they manage to deliver a combination of solid power, effortless dynamics and total musical involvement, and all from a compact package. Well, a relatively compact package, anyway – we are talking about amplifiers capable of delivering up to 540W per channel of pure Class A sound, after all! The Duo 175 delivers 175W per channel into 8ohms, doubling that power into 4ohms, while the Duo 300’s 300W per channel 8ohm output rises to 540W per channel into 4ohms Unlike conventional Class A amplifiers, which produce prodigious amounts of heat due to the non-switching nature of the design – well, all that excess energy has got to go somewhere –, Krell’s iBias amplifiers monitor the output to the speakers and adjust their bias in real time, ensuring both energy wastage and heat is minimised. In fact, thanks to this design and thermostatically-controlled variable-speed fans, these are Class A amps you can even mount in a rack, so cool do they run. Short signal and power paths maximise sound quality, and iBias also allows the output devices to operate optimally at all times, so whether playing gentle background music or chest-thumping, room-shaking stuff, the balance, clarity and musical involvement is the same. As with all the iBias range, the Duo models are also internet-connected, allowing the user to monitor the performance via a web browser, and adjust functions such as display brightness and timeout, channel muting and power off after a set period of inactivity. And the amplifiers’ extensive protection – against problems such as excessive current, output DC, fan speeds, short circuit, and overheating – can also trigger email warnings to up to three email address. It’ll even tell your dealer there’s been a problem if you want! High-end amplification with high-end performance, yet civilised and domesticated – that’s what the Krell Duo models are all about. 126 2017 2017 127 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Krell Industries Solo 375 / Solo 575 High Bias , High Power Mono Amplifiers Mention big, powerful, desirable US-made amplifiers to most audio enthusiasts and one name will spring to mind: Krell. It’s no surprise – after all, the Connecticut-based company’s first-ever product was the KSA-100, the first high-powered, high-current true Class A amplifier available to audiophiles. That one amplifier, now acknowledged as a classic set the pattern for Krell’s future: since the company was founded almost 35 years ago, amplifier research and development has been at its heart, combining unprecedented linearity with the control and accuracy only possible using high-current capability. True, in recent years the company has diversified, making source components and even an in-car audio system for the latest Acura RLX in the USA, but its latest range of power amplifiers show the state of the art in Class A amplifier design. Central to the latest models is Krell’s iBias Class A circuit, constantly monitoring the output current of the amplifier and adjusting bias accordingly. That way the output transistors only receive exactly the amount of power they need at any given moment, making for a cooler-running, more efficient amplifier, but also exceptional midrange richness and purity. The Solo 375 and Solo 575 are the mono powerhouses of the range, not surprisingly delivering 375W and 575W respectively into an 8ohm load, rising to 600W and 900W into 4ohms. The secret of Krell’s amplifier design is the conversion of signal voltages into current at the input stage, and keeping them in the current domain throughout the amplifier before finally reaching current mirrors in the final gain stages. These use a new output power device: compared to other output devices it operates at a 73% higher voltage, delivers almost 10% more current, and offers 120 watts of additional power handling capability. But it’s not at all about brute force: the Solo 375 and 575 are also all about signal purity, and especially so when used with other Krell products supporting the company’s proprietary Current Audio Signal Transmission, or CAST, technology. By turning the entire system into a unified whole, CAST enables the full gamut of Krell qualities to be realised: speed, precision, dynamic range, soundstage depth and width, transient impact, and tonal balance. 128 2017 2017 129 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Krell Industries Trio 300 / Chorus 5 / Chorus 7 High Bias, High Power Multichannel Amplifiers We live in an increasingly multichannel world, from movies in surround sound to downloads, SACDs and Blu-ray Audio discs offering 5.1 and 7.1-channel audio – and formats are coming requiring even more speakers. Despite being a purist audiophile company at heart, Krell isn’t one of those manufacturers chanting the ‘two channels good, more channels bad’ mantra: its view is that users wanting to embrace sound from all around should be able to do so while still enjoying all the quality available from great amplification. That’s why the Krell catalogue includes not just mono and stereo amplifiers, but also models with three, five and even seven channels in one enclosure. Krell believes that more channels shouldn’t mean less quality, which is why all its current models use the company’s famous Class A working for the purest possible sound; all also have Krell’s unique iBias system to make the most of that Class A design by continuously monitoring the output of each channel and adjusting bias and power delivery accordingly, ensuring not just optimal working of the output devices but also a cooler-running amplifier. All also allow you to monitor their performance and make detailed adjustments using a webbrowser, thanks to their home network connections even able to alert you or your dealer should one of the amplifier’s protection systems be triggered. Delivering 3x300W into 8ohms, or 540Wpc into 4ohms, the Trio 300 is the perfect amplifier for adding extra channels to a system fronted by the Solo mono amplifiers or Duo 300 stereo amp, or you could use it to drive the front three channels in a 5.1-channel system with a Duo 175 for the rear. Fancy even more channels, or simply want an all-in-one multichannel solution? The two Chorus power amplifiers – the Chorus 5 and Chorus 7 – will fit the bill, delivering 200W into 8ohms, or 360W into 4ohms, for each of five or seven channels respectively. These are real surround powerhouses, perfect for use with surround processors such as Krell’s Foundation, taking you to the heart of that big movie soundtrack or seating you at the heart of the auditorium when listening to multichannel music. In other words, these amps are pure Krell – and they’ve got you surrounded. 130 2017 2017 131 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Krell Industries Foundation Preamplifier Audio/Video with optional 4k The Foundation AV Processor is the latest in a long line of state-of-the-art A/V processors from Krell. Featuring the latest digital connectivity, the Foundation also maintains Krell’s exacting standards for analog audio reproduction. From decoding the latest lossless audio formats, extensive digital switching, 3DTV pass-through, and more, the Foundation is fully compliant with the digital age. Yet the 7.1-channel processor also features balanced audio outputs, automatic setup and room EQ, and Krell’s legendary robust hardware. A slim new form factor exudes the Krell aesthetic, while allowing placement in smaller equipment racks. In addition to 10 HDMI 1.4a inputs, the Foundation has 2 HDMI outputs, both of which feature Audio Return Channel. With ARC, a display device is able to send audio back down the HDMI cable to the processor. This is beneficial for those with televisions with built-in web streaming capability like Netflix or Pandora, so the streaming audio can use the full home theater system instead of just the TV’s speakers. The Foundation passes video signals directly without any video processing, ensuring bit-for-bit accuracy of the signal, up to 1080p/60. However, to simplify cabling, setup, and use, there is full transcoding of the 2 composite and 3 component analog video inputs to the HDMI outputs. The Foundation includes a new Krell development - Intelligent HDMI switching. Intelligent HDMI switching is a combination of circuitry and innovative software that optimizes HDMI operation. Various parameters including the monitor’s electronic ID and source video resolution are stored in non-volatile memory. All 10 source inputs are always active so source, channel, video resolution, and audio format changes are instantaneous. The Intelligent HDMI design provides the fastest signal recognition possible. Krell designed the Foundation with flexibility and ease-of-use in mind, with extensive routing capability of the audio inputs to the various outputs. During setup, the specific paths will be chosen based on how the user intends to use each source, displays, and audio output channels. The Foundation will allow owners to take full advantage of the best audio soundtracks available, with decoding of Dolby Digital, Digital Plus, Dolby True-HD, DTS, DTS-ES Discrete, Matrix, and DTS-HD Master Audio. In addition, a full suite of post-processing modes are included, including Dolby Pro Logic IIx and DTS Neo 6. Krell’s proprietary surround modes, Party, General Admission, Front Row, and On Stage, offer a different way to listen to favorite tracks. The Foundation also features Krell’s Automatic Room Equalization System (ARES), to ensure the best possible performance from every theater. ARES analyzes all the speakers in the system, their location, phase, and distance from each other, to determine the best crossover frequency, delay, and more. In addition, ARES incorporates the acoustics of the room to determine unique EQ curves for each of the 7.1 output channels. Unlike other room EQs, ARES can be programmed to only adjust the troublesome low frequencies, leaving high frequencies unaltered. To allow full integration into a home automation system, the Foundation has Ethernet control, RS-232, 4 12v triggers ([email protected] and 2@60mA), and RC-5. 132 2017 2017 133 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Magico S1 MK II 2 Way Floor Standing Aluminium Loudspeaker System One of the most popular high-end loudspeakers made in recent years, the floorstanding S1 by California-based Magico combined the elegance of a slimline tower with the taut precision of a small sealed box design. But Magico’s unceasing and ongoing research and development efforts have meant even the best gets better, and the S1 has given way to the new S1 Mk 2. This is a substantial change to the design, and almost no parts are shared between the original and the new model. In fact, although the extruded aluminium core remains effectively unchanged, the base plate is entirely new, while the top plate moved from a flat to a convex panel. Both look great, but that design change is not just for aesthetics. The full base plate adds rigidity to an already very rigid structure, and lowers the centre of gravity of the whole loudspeaker. Meanwhile, the top plate also adds rigidity and mass to the enclosure, but also provides a more gentle baffle step, which improves soundstaging properties. The drive units have also undergone significant changes, utilising Magico’s unique diamond coated beryllium tweeter, coupled to a wholly new graphene-based mid-bass unit. ‘This represents the absolute state of the art in drive unit technology any this time, and is the same as found in loudspeakers right up to the Magico M-Project. The new S1 Mk 2 also benefits from Magico’s unique XXXXX crossover network design. The result is a sealed box loudspeaker that takes accuracy to a new level at the price. The S1 Mk 2’s narrow footprint and lack of a port makes it ideal for use in a wide variety of rooms and even extremely close to the rear wall without compromise. It can be driven with modest, albeit high quality electronics, and delivers a highly detailed and consistent experience. Magico loudspeakers are all about honesty and that is precisely what you get when you listen to the S1 Mk II. The S1 was one of the best loudspeakers you could buy for the money, and the S1 Mk II improves on that significantly. 134 2017 2017 135 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Magico S3 Floor Standing 2 Way Loudspeaker System Magico’s S Series represents the company’s “how do they do that for the money?” loudspeaker range. Sitting between the entry-point S1 and the range topping S5 model, the S3 floorstanding loudspeaker uses common engineering points across the range, and using Magico’s impressive in-house manufacturing capabilities to provide a cutting edge loudspeaker with exceptional performance at an unparalleled price. Within its extruded aluminium cabinet – at 40.6cm and with 1cm thick aluminium walls, the world’s largest monocoque enclosure – the S3 uses a wholly new polycarbonate sub-enclosure for the midrange unit, developed using state-of-the-art simulation software. The aluminium monocoque acts to minimise diffraction effects, internal resonance, and damping requirements, while the sub-enclosure performs as the ultimate sound pressure absorption device, ensuring that the treble and bass are not influenced by and do not influence the midrange. It also helps makes for a significantly lower distortion design across the frequency range. It’s a significant development; while amplifiers and digital sources routinely deliver vanishingly-low levels of distortion, the same cannot be said of most loudspeakers. The S3’s innovative technological roll-out places it above its peers in reaching for ever greater levels of high fidelity. The S3 sports the same advanced 25mm MB30 beryllium tweeter and 150mm MB390 mid-woofer that Magico uses in the S5, coupled with two newly-developed 200mm woofers. These new advancements contribute towards the S3’s capabilities of delivering the deepest bass combined with both the speed and accuracy the brand is known for. A loudspeaker capable of delivering a true 26Hz-50kHz in room is outstanding at any level, but in a loudspeaker of the S3’s price and dimensions, it’s exceptional. And that’s the easy way to sum up the S3; it’s exceptional. It sounds exceptional, bringing the studio or the musicians into your living room, with fire and passion and detail. It looks exceptional, like a loudspeaker from the future beamed into the now. And it is exceptional, with state-of-the-art performance and technical prowess other speaker brands don’t even dare to dream of. The elegant S3 is a gifted precision instrument that is available in over a dozen different finishes, making it able to deliver a bravura performance while fitting into any environment. With its high quality components, better than leading edge driver technology, the most mechanically solid and rigid cabinets, and the most sophisticated crossover network in its class and beyond, the Magico S3 is more loudspeaker than you could have ever imagined. 136 2017 2017 137 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Magico S5 MKII 3 Way Floor Standing Aluminium Loudspeaker System There’s no doubt about it, Magico are on a major roll. No sooner do they introduce their flagship Q series of loudspeakers, than they take us all by surprise with a real-world, super-value speaker in the shape of the S5. This is one shockingly brilliant design. Successor to the highly respected wood and aluminium V3, the S5 is totally different. Utilising a sealed and curved enclosure from half-inch thick 16-inch diameter extruded aluminium, it sports two in-house designed 10-inch woofers, a six-inch midrange and a one-inch beryllium tweeter. And if you like to play loud, you’ve come to the right speaker: with a 90dB sensitivity and 1200 Watt power handling, this will comfortably hit 118dB. Neighbours, be warned! It created a storm at the Munich High End show this year as listeners were drawn to its breathtakingly natural presentation of music - unrestrained, uncoloured, open, detailed, and with bass impact and definition that startled everyone. And it is domestically very friendly, as Magico are offering a range of six standard gloss finishes, with custom colours available at additional cost. For the first time on any Magico speaker, a removable grille is part of the package. Magico boss Alon Wolf has described the S5’s value for money as being ‘off the charts’. So how has it been done? The enclosure is vey stiffly braced, but not quite so elaborately as in the Q series, and costs have been saved by having a more conventional front baffle with drivers bolted on from the outside. The Q range all have a baffle machined to complex compound curvatures with the drivers secured from the inside so that not a single fastening is on view. The big S5 woofers are entirely new designs from Magico tech genius Yair Tammam, and combine massive power handling in the low bass with a distortion-free response at the top of the pass band. The midrange, again, can take great power while being extremely low in distortion, while the highly advanced tweeter is similar to those often found in reference speakers bearing six-figure price tags. As with all Magico designs, the latest custom computer simulations are employed to optimise electromagnetic and thermal behaviour. The result is a speaker that sounds absolutely right, as the reviewer Jeff Fritz found: ‘Robust and powerful in the bass, smooth yet detailed in the treble, with an intoxicating midrange that would seem to invite long listening sessions’. He said the highs were airy and fast and never became harsh, and the S5 seemed to be voiced just right.‘These speakers will play loud, clean - and loud’, he wrote, adding that they played louder than any other speaker he had heard anywhere near their size, and although they had an astonishing dynamic range, they always displayed finesse and a silky smooth midrange. He found the sound visceral to the extreme, yet also highly refined. This is the speaker that does everything, from pipe organ to flute, from solo vocal to rock ‘n’ roll. Easy to drive, easy to live with, fun one minute, serious the next. What more could one ask? 138 2017 2017 139 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Magico S7 3 Way Floor Standing Aluminium Loudspeaker System The Magico S5 started it, the chic little S1 followed, then came the S3 which was sized somewhere between the two. Now we have the mighty S7 - and this is something else entirely, taking S-Series performance to unprecedented levels of fidelity with new tweeter, mid and bass drivers derived from the fabulous limited edition M-Project speaker. Of course, not everyone is looking for fidelity, so if you want something that tries to enhance music by adding its own flavour and spice, then look elsewhere. But for the high end enthusiast seeking accuracy to the source material, Magico is at the very top - and the awards and accolades that have greeted their Q and S Series send out an unmistakable message. The new S7 has the S-Series characteristic of elegantly curved aluminium side panels, in this application machined from half-inch thick extrusions of 16ins diameter with internal bracing to reduce cabinet resonance to an absolute minimum. This is established Magico practice, but it is the new drivers that single the S7 out as quite exceptional. The midrange unit, which operates in its own separate enclosure for a perfect operating environment, is formed from Arkema multi-wall nanotube and XG Sciences C-750 Nanographene. Does that mean much to you? Probably not - but Wolf says that this is 20 per cent lighter and 300 per cent stiffer than previous cone designs and sets a new benchmark for technology and performance. The purpose-built one-inch tweeter has a diamond-coated beryllium diaphragm with extra-long excursion to match the high power-handling of the S7. This unit reaches an undistorted 50kHz, reproducing high frequencies with a fidelity that simply delivers the treble as an integral part of the music without drawing attention to itself. Three 10-inch bass drivers feature extremely powerful magnets and very stiff cones to reproduce deep and powerful bass as accurately as possible, and can deliver undistorted level up to 120dB at 50Hz. A towering achievement both visually and acoustically, the S7 can handle 1,000Watts of power, but will perform with as little as 50Watts. At 56ins high, 20ins deep and 25ins wide, the S7 is an imposing physical presence, available in the usual range of impeccable Magico finishes to compliment or contrast with your room decor. 140 2017 2017 141 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Magico S-Sub Powered Subwoofer Sub-woofers can add a new dimension of depth and power to music or movies, and many of them sound very impressive. Impressive, yes - but accurate? That’s another story. If you care about accuracy in the lower registers rather than just something that shakes the room, you will want to take great care when selecting a sub. Huge pressures build up in the enclosure, enough to distort its geometry, and once the enclosure is doing something it shouldn’t, then it follows that the music is doing something it shouldn’t. So the first objective is to look for a sub that has the most inert enclosure. The California-based company have virtually transformed the high end loudspeaker landscape with the Q and S Series of aluminium-bodied transducers, which have been recognised the world over for their extraordinary fidelity to the source. It was only a matter of time before they applied their science to the subwoofer, and the first foray into this market was with the blockbusting Q-Sub, a compact and almost impossibly heavy beast that redefined the meaning of deep bass authority and accuracy. That device was very expensive and out of reach of most high end enthusiasts. But with the success of Magico’s more affordable and highly acclaimed S-Series, it was inevitable that Magico supremo Alon Wolf would be announcing an S-Sub. And here it is. Unlike the Q-Sub with its sideways-firing drivers, the S-Sub stands vertically with two 12-inch woofers firing forwards. As with all S-Series speakers, the S-Sub has curved aluminium side panels that are machined in-house from half-inch thick extrusions of 16ins diameter. But to keep resonances and cabinet distortion to an absolute minimum, carefully positioned internal bracing is applied to resist the impact of the massive sound pressure build-up. The S-Sub is powered internally by a 2,500Watt digital amplifier, while the digitally-controlled active crossover enables easy and seamless integration with any S-Series loudspeaker. Wolf says the sub is ‘capable of immense air pressure change in a small or large room and provides Herculean bass energy that keeps pace with the speed and integrity of the main loudspeakers’. At 32ins high, 15ins deep and 19.2ins wide, the S-Sub is compact enough for easy placement and will deliver an accuracy that must be experienced. 142 2017 2017 143 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Magico M3 3 Way 5 Drive Floorstanding Loudspeaker One of the most important high-end loudspeakers in recent history was the Magico M-Project. This limited run of 50 pairs of floorstanders was designed deliberately for the best possible performance utilising the latest and the best possible design elements. The problem was, there were just 50 pairs made, and they sold out at break-neck speed. Fortunately, the lessons learned in the M-Project could be applied to other products in the Magico line, such as the new Magico M3 floorstanding three-way, five driver loudspeaker. In fact, the M3 not only learns from the M-Project, but adds its own distinctive performance benefits. The new M3 features unique all-graphene midrange and bass drivers, coupled with its 1.25” unique diamondcoated beryllium dome tweeter, in an enclosure as sophisticated as the driver technology. Magico is the world’s first loudspeaker manufacturer to utilise graphene in the development of a leading-edge loudspeaker cone design. Being only a molecule thick, Graphene has many extraordinary properties and is approximately 100 times stronger than the toughest steel. The newly designed Magico midrange driver (6” MAG6004RTC) and bass driver (7” MAG7012RTC) cones are both manufactured from Multi-Wall carbon XG Nanographene and a new proprietary ultra-stiff carbon weave which is 20% lighter and 300% stiffer than previous Magico cone designs. This makes for a loudspeaker that is more accurate, more dynamic, more detailed, and has better soundstage properties than designs featuring more traditional drive units. The loudspeaker drivers are controlled by Magico’s exclusive Elliptical Symmetry Crossover topology allowing all drivers to seamlessly integrate with stunning resolution and dynamics. The cabinet features a new carbon-fibre side panel design, a new form of coupling and a special sub-enclosure for the midrange made from a proprietary polymer. An internal three-axis matrix framework, encapsulated in a sandwich Carbon-fibre skin, contributes to an extremely rigid yet damped enclosure and eliminates unwanted resonances and colorations. The result is exciting, and will help shape the high end loudspeaker of the future, because the Magico M3 is the future, here and now. 144 2017 2017 145 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Magico Q1 2 Way Standmount Aluminium Loudspeaker For many speaker connoisseurs, Magico’s now legendary Mini II was perhaps the finest standmount loudspeaker ever made. So, when it came to designing a replacement, the company’s engineers knew they had to deliver something truly special. Without question, they have succeeded: ladies and gentlemen, we bring you the magnificent Magico Q1. It was clear from the outset that Magico would base its new standmount design on its unique Q platform, the result of meticulous research that had already yielded the peerless Q5 and Q3 floortsanders. Just like its larger siblings, the Q1 incorporates Magico’s brilliant MBe-1 tweeter with its Beryllium dome, plus the company’s proprietary seven-inch Nano-Tech mid/bass driver, sporting a cone made from layers of carbon fibre composite with a Rohacell foam core. This ensures exceptional system efficiency and power handling, allowing the Q1 to be driven by highquality amplifiers delivering as few as 50 watts per channel. The drivers are housed within a fully braced, fully damped, hard-anodised aluminium and copper enclosure, exhibiting Magico’s immaculate fit and finish throughout. Continued research into the Q platform’s damping mechanism has enabled Magico to address the problem of resonance that is common in standmount designs; instead of attempting to add mass to the stand and decoupling the speaker, the Q1 is directly coupled and the stand itself is a damping mechanism. Thanks to Magico’s uniquely scientific approach to loudspeaker engineering, the outcome is a standmount speaker with an explosive, full-range performance. It is a two-way monitor the like of which has never before been heard, exhibiting a true absence of compromise that brings music to life in thrilling fashion. For such a diminutive speaker, its bass extension is extraordinary, its resolution exemplary and its dynamic range simply breathtaking. Compact yet unconstrained – the Q1 is utterly unique. 146 2017 2017 147 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Magico Q7 MKII 4 Way Heavy Mass Aluminium Loudspeaker Those passionate high end mavericks Alon Wolf and Yair Tammam have never made a secret of their single-minded ambition continually to push the envelope of loudspeaker performance to levels of fidelity never before imagined as achievable. Time and again they keep doing it, as each new design from Magico astounds reviewers and owners alike with its accuracy to the source, and with the way the sound owes nothing to personal preferences: no voodoo, no eureka moments in the middle of the night - just the application of science. The dark and forbidding physical presence of the flagship Q7 belied an uncanny ability on the one hand to capture the seductive delicacy of music, and on the other to startle and frighten with its portrayal of crescendos - and all done without any added drama. Reviewers ran out of superlatives, which leaves them with a problem: how to describe the Q7 Mk II which takes things to an even higher level. Magico have incorporated major improvements to a speaker that many thought could not be improved. But with the creation of the limited edition M-Project, Wolf and Tammam had discovered new ways of doing things, things that could be incorporated into the Q7 - and retrofittable to owners of the Mk i. The Q7 Mk II features a newly-designed 28mm diamond-coated beryllium tweeter diaphragm which has the lowest distortion measurements possible. A new six-inch midrange driver incorporates a Graphene-based cone material which is 30 per cent lighter and an incredible 300 per cent stiffer than its predecessor. The Q7 Mk II has a sealed enclosure that can only be described as Herculean, being built from aircraftgrade aluminium and internally braced with a labyrinth of aluminium, copper and stainless steel all held as one unit with more than 650 fasteners tightened to specific torque figures. All the drivers are in-house designed, and in addition to the new tweeter and midrange, there is a 10inch mid-bass driver and a pair of mighty 12-inch bass units. Combined with a high sensitivity of 94dB and a power handling of 1,200 Watts, the Q7 Mk II is capable of concert hall levels of sound. The Q7 MkII represents the closest approach yet from any loudspeaker to the live event: nothing spiced up, nothing dumbed down. This is the real thing. 148 2017 2017 149 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Magico Ultimate 3 Five Way Statement Loudspeaker System It’s called ‘Ultimate ‘ for a reason! Magico’s grand statement of the loudspeaker maker’s art is the acme, the pinnacle of the technology. It is, quite simply, the best loudspeaker ever made. A loudspeaker without compromise, the Magico Ultimate III is for people who demand the absolute best of the best. Because that is precisely what it does. Everything about the Magico Ultimate III reflects that uncompromising approach to design. Each speaker weighs more than 450kg, each pair takes more than 18months to build, they are milled out of the highest grade aircraft aluminium, using three custom-built compression drivers, and custom made midrange and high-frequency drive units. All of this is controlled by a state-ofthe-art digital signal processing (DSP) based active crossover, and requires no less than five amplifiers per side to operate. These loudspeakers tower over the competition - physically, sonically and intellectually. They require a large, world-class listening space, demand the best possible electronics as source and amplification, and require a considerable amount of installation and tuning time. But the result is a loudspeaker unlike any other. Interestingly, the use of one of audio’s oldest technologies (the horn-loaded loudspeaker) usually means compromises in terms of colouration and the infamous ‘cupped hands’ effect. But thanks to Magico going back to first principles, and applying the latest in 21st Century design technologies and signal processing, the Ultimate III manages to leverage all the benefits of horn designs (such as effortless dynamic range and speed, even at very high volume levels) with none of the limitations. If you only settle for the finest, the finest is waiting for you. It’s called the Magico Ultimate III. 150 2017 2017 151 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Martin Logan Neolith Full Range Reference Electostatic Loudspeaker Remember the Martin Logan Monolith? Possibly you don’t unless you’re of a certain age, but this was the ML electrostatic that started it all more than 30 years ago, the brainchild of company founders Gayle Martin Sanders and Ron Logan Sutherland. The legacy of that first speaker, with its distinctive curved and transparent panel, can be seen in the firm’s latest flagship, the audaciously imposing and cost-no-object Neolith. The name is a shortened form of New Monolith, and is in response to feedback from dealers and customers when asked how they envisioned a new top-of-theline design. And what a design this is, a true high end statement in terms of appearance and performance. The Neolith is big, and would normally be chosen by those with a large listening space. However, so that it can be tuned to a variety of environments, large and small, there is a series of low bass output jumpers and listening distance jumpers, and Martin Logan say the speaker is ‘utterly uninhibited by room limitations’. ‘The truth in music’ is the company’s slogan, and this loudspeaker, with its huge electrostatic panel, rear-firing 15-inch dynamic woofer and front-firing 12-inch unit, tells you the truth in all its glory. The finest components are used throughout, and the advanced Vojtko crossover has hand-selected parts for optimum power handling. Standing 74ins tall, 30ins wide and 34ins deep at the base, and weighing in at 385lb a side, it is relatively compact when viewed against previous flagship designs such as the original Statement and Statement E. The audacious design of the Neolotih is a statement of individuality and intent, the frame being sculpted from non-resonant phenolic resin polymer with a super-smooth finish available in a wide variety of vibrant automotive finishes, while the woofer enclosure is wrapped in elegant soft leather. This creation is a visual as well as a musical experience. With its 90dB sensitivity, an amplifier with as little power as 20Wpc will make the Neolith sing, but with a power handling of 1,300 Watts you will want to go higher up the power stakes to experience the thrill of concert hall sound levels. As Martin Logan put it: ‘Prepare yourself for a new audio experience; a bigger, bolder, no-holds-barred experience of breathtakingly articulate performance. 152 2017 2017 153 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Martin Logan CLX Art Full Range Electostatic Loudspeaker CLX represents the culmination of everything learned about electrostatic technology since MartinLogan brought their first product to market in 1983. Purity of sound permeates your entire room and satisfies even the most critical ear. The industry benchmark for resolving detail, CLX utilizes dual electrostatic transducers to render the most complex musical passages as faithfully as a crystal prism disperses the full color spectrum. This is the limitless spectrum of the CLX - the absolute truth in musical reproduction. MartinLogan’s award winning Curvilinear Line Source (CLS) XStat electrostatic (ESL) technology allows smooth unencumbered dispersion of sound throughout the listening area. The result? Perfectly etched imaging and focus achieved through minimal room interaction; optimum natural reproduction of sound with full level response from ultra-linear transducers; reliable operation in open air; compatibility with all electronics; and seamless dispersion of precise sound throughout your listening environment. CLX’s unique DualForce double diaphragm, triple stator dipole low-frequency electrostatic transducer delivers deep, dynamic bass with twice as much force as a standard ESL. Additionally, CLX’s low-frequency dipole stabilization technology reduces low frequency rear wave cancellation inherent to dipole transducers. Featuring an advanced proprietary Vojtko filter topology, MartinLogan electronic specialists hand-build each CLX filter utilizing only the finest of components and construction techniques to assure the cleanest, most precise signal path possible. The resulting precision filter flawlessly preserves even the smallest subtleties in sound while effortlessly handling the broadest range of dynamics contained within even the most demanding sonic source, whether used in a 2-channel audio system or dedicated home theatre. Within the interface module, a regulated power supply creates stable bias voltages even under the most extreme conditions. Dual transformer design utilizes a toroidal audio transformer for detailed mid- and highfrequencies, and a high-quality, high-voltage E.I. transformer for dynamic, linear bass. All high-voltage leads are made of the purest copper and coated with silicone. Only superlative materials, including thick film on alumina substrate resistors and polypropylene capacitors, are used throughout. CLX ART comes standard with a gently curved Art Frame and is available in 4 standard hand-rubbed, realwood finishes; black ash, dark cherry, natural cherry, and maple. Of course, CLX may be customized with any exotic wood finish you desire, as well as a myriad of analine dye colors, linear frame and premium highgloss options. 154 2017 2017 155 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Martin Logan Renaissance ESL15A Electrostatic Loudspeaker with Self Powered Dynamic Bass & Room Correction The largest of the new line of hybrid electrostatics from MartinLogan, the Renaissance ESL 15A combine high performance and surprising affordability for so important a loudspeaker. Designed for the more discerning listener, the ESL 15 A sports a 15” wide, 46” high XStat CLS electrostatic transducer coupled with two 12” Powered Force Forward aluminium cone woofers, each driven by a 500 W amplifier and controlled by the unique 24-bit Vojtko DSP engine. The heart of the design is that Curvilinear Line Source electrostatic drive unit, a product design that has long been at the core of MartinLogan’s electrostatic panels. This ultra-thin sheet of transparent Mylar is carefully vacuum bonded to the curved MicroPerf stator panels, in a methodology that has been refined and perfected over the years. The MicroPerf technology itself is designed to maximise surface area without undermining the life of the panel. An electrostatic panel is an important exercise in rigidity, and the company’s new AirFrame Blade construction both helps increase overall rigidity and stylistically blend the stator panel with the bass drivers. The main stator panel integrates with the two 12” high excursion aluminium bass units firing front and back thanks to the combination of a 500W amplifier for each drive unit, the Vojtko DSP engine used to control and tailor the bass, and the option of Anthem Room Correction to perfectly align the loudspeaker with the room. Even without the optional ARC treatment, the powered subwoofer section allows adjustment of bass, mid-bass, and even allows for the light array under the loudspeaker to be dimmed or switched off altogether. It’s easy to be taken in by the attainable price of the MartinLogan Renaissance ESL 15A and forget just how good a loudspeaker this model really is. In many respects, the Renaissance ESL 15A is the replacement to – and superior of – some of the most highly-respected hybrid electrostatic designs ever made. MartinLogan is going through something of a Renaissance with its latest designs, so the name fits perfectly. 156 2017 2017 157 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Martin Logan Expression ESL13A Electrostatic Loudspeaker with Self Powered Dynamic Bass & Room Correction The middle of MartinLogan’s new line of hybrid electrostatics, the Expression ESL 13A offers virtually all the performance and sound quality of the top Renaissance ESL 15A but in a smaller design. Designed for the more discerning listener, the ESL 15 A sports a 15” wide, 46” high XStat CLS electrostatic transducer coupled with two 12” Powered Force Forward aluminium cone woofers, each driven by a 500 W amplifier and controlled by the unique 24-bit Vojtko DSP engine. The heart of the design is that Curvilinear Line Source electrostatic drive unit, a product design that has long been at the core of MartinLogan’s electrostatic panels. This ultra-thin sheet of transparent Mylar is carefully vacuum bonded to the curved MicroPerf stator panels, in a methodology that has been refined and perfected over the years. The MicroPerf technology itself is designed to maximise surface area without undermining the life of the panel. An electrostatic panel is an important exercise in rigidity, and the company’s new AirFrame Blade construction both helps increase overall rigidity and stylistically blend the stator panel with the bass drivers. The main stator panel integrates with the two 12” high excursion aluminium bass units firing front and back thanks to the combination of a 500W amplifier for each drive unit, the Vojtko DSP engine used to control and tailor the bass, and the option of Anthem Room Correction to perfectly align the loudspeaker with the room. Even without the optional ARC treatment, the powered subwoofer section allows adjustment of bass, mid-bass, and even allows for the light array under the loudspeaker to be dimmed or switched off altogether. It’s easy to be taken in by the attainable price of the MartinLogan Renaissance ESL 15A and forget just how good a loudspeaker this model really is. In many respects, the Renaissance ESL 15A is the replacement to – and superior of – some of the most highly-respected hybrid electrostatic designs ever made. MartinLogan is going through something of a Renaissance with its latest designs, so the name fits perfectly. 158 2017 2017 159 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Martin Logan Impression ESL11A Electrostatic Loudspeaker with Self Powered Dynamic Bass & Room Correction MartinLogan’s new Masterpiece series is the perfect showcase for the company’s hybrid electrostatic loudspeaker design. The range – spanning four models from the Classic ESL 9 to the top Renaissance ESL 15A – provides a consistent range of loudspeakers designed for a wide range of room sizes and budgets. The Impression ESL 11A represents the starting place of the ‘serious’ models in the Masterpiece range, in that it uses an active bass system alongside a large electrostatic panel. As the name suggests, the ESL 11 A sports a 11” wide, 44” high XStat CLS electrostatic transducer coupled with two eight inch Powered Force Forward aluminium cone woofers, each driven by a 275 W amplifier and controlled by the unique 24-bit Vojtko DSP crossover engine. As with all MartinLogan hybrid electrostatics, the heart of the design is that Curvilinear Line Source electrostatic drive unit. This ultra-thin sheet of transparent Mylar is carefully vacuum bonded to the curved MicroPerf stator panels with ClearSpar spacers, in a methodology that has been refined and perfected over the years. The MicroPerf technology itself is designed to maximise surface area without undermining the life of the panel. An electrostatic panel is an important exercise in rigidity, and the company’s new AirFrame Blade construction both helps increase overall rigidity and stylistically blend the stator panel with the bass drivers. The main stator panel integrates with the two eight inch high excursion aluminium bass units firing front and back thanks to the combination of a dual 275W Class D amplifier for each drive unit, the Vojtko DSP engine used to control and tailor the bass, and the option of Anthem Room Correction to perfectly align the loudspeaker with the room. Even without the optional ARC treatment, the powered subwoofer section allows adjustment of bass, mid-bass, and even allows for the light array under the loudspeaker to be dimmed or switched off altogether. Everything from the basic design to the choice of high-grade WBT binding posts has been taken into consideration. Available in a wide range of standard and premium finishes for metal and woodwork, the Impression ESL 11A is the high-performance MartinLogan loudspeaker you always wanted. 160 2017 2017 161 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Martin Logan Classic ESL9 Electrostatic Loudspeaker with Passive Dynamic Bass The smallest of the new line of hybrid electrostatics from MartinLogan, the Classic ESL 9 is the distillation of almost forty years of groundbreaking loudspeaker design from the brand. Designed to be ideal for even the smallest rooms, the ESL 9 sports a 9.2” wide, 44” high XStat CLS electrostatic transducer coupled with two eight-inch aluminium cone woofers. With such a slimline footprint, and the flexibility of the bass integration system, the Classic ESL 9 is easy to use in any system or room. The heart of the design is that Curvilinear Line Source electrostatic drive unit, a product design that has been at the core of MartinLogan’s electrostatic panels since the earliest models, and features today in the very largest models right up to the mighty XXXX. This ultra-thin sheet of transparent Mylar is carefully vacuum bonded to the curved MicroPerf stator panels, in a methodology that has been refined and perfected over the years. The MicroPerf technology itself is designed to maximise surface area without undermining the life of the panel. An electrostatic panel is an important exercise in rigidity, and the company’s new AirFrame Blade construction both helps increase overall rigidity and stylistically blend the stator panel with the bass drivers. Meanwhile, the two eight-inch custom long-throw aluminium cone woofers are housed in the asymmetric base section designed specifically for low resonance. Unlike many of the hybrid products in the MartinLogan range, the Classic ESL 9 features a passive instead of an active bass section, and the loudspeaker is designed to be bi-wired. Despite this, the MartinLogan Classic ESL 9 is a deceptively easy to drive loudspeaker, with a rated sensitivity of 90dB and a nominal impedance of four ohms. Nevertheless, the Classic ESL 9 deserves high performance upstream electronics to show what it is truly capable of. This new baby of MartinLogan’s top loudspeaker range is designed as a first electrostatic design, and is perfect for smaller rooms, but don’t mistake this for a lack in performance. This is the real deal, with all the breathtaking transparency and soundstage depth that only a good pair of MartinLogan speakers can deliver. 162 2017 2017 163 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Martin Logan Electromotion ESL X Electrostatic Loudspeaker with Passive Dynamic Bass The ElectroMotion ESL X is the new starting place for MartinLogan hybrid electrostatics, replacing the ElectroMotion ESL. Designed to integrate into MartinLogan’s home cinema line-up, the ESL X is also ideal as a first look into what an electrostatic loudspeaker is capable of. Unlike the more audiophile directed MartinLogan loudspeakers, the ESL X uses a slightly narrower electrostatic panel (8.6” wide) and relies on two doped paper bass drivers in place of the aluminium designs found in more up-scale designs. The use of paper in place of aluminium in the bass gives the ESL X potentially deeper bass, at the expense of some speed of delivery. The heart of the design is that Curvilinear Line Source electrostatic drive unit, a product design that has been at the core of MartinLogan’s electrostatic panels since the earliest models. This ultra-thin sheet of transparent Mylar is carefully vacuum bonded to the curved MicroPerf stator panels, in a methodology that has been refined and perfected over the years. The MicroPerf technology itself is designed to maximise surface area without undermining the life of the panel. An electrostatic panel is an important exercise in rigidity, and the company’s new AirFrame construction both helps increase overall rigidity and stylistically blend the stator panel with the bass drivers. Unlike many of the hybrid products in the MartinLogan range, the ElectroMotion ESL X features a passive instead of an active bass section, and the loudspeaker is designed to be bi-wired. Despite this, the MartinLogan ElectroMotion ESL X is a deceptively easy to drive loudspeaker, with a rated sensitivity of 90dB and a nominal impedance of four ohms. Nevertheless, the ElectroMotion ESL X deserves high performance upstream electronics to show what it is truly capable of. This new baby of MartinLogan’s top loudspeaker range is designed as a first electrostatic design, and is perfect for smaller rooms, but don’t mistake this for a lack in performance. This is the real deal, with all the breathtaking transparency and soundstage depth that only a good pair of MartinLogan speakers can deliver. 164 2017 2017 165 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Martin Logan Motion 35XT 2 Way Loudspeaker with Folded Motion Tweeter At the other extreme from the Neolith is the Motion 35XT bookshelf speaker which, unlike some other speakers calling themselves ‘bookshelf’, will actually fit very comfortably in such a space - and strut its stuff. These little speakers, weighing 18.5lbs each and standing just over a foot tall, are the answer for those with small listening rooms, or those with a bedroom system, who are not prepared to sacrifice sound quality. This is terrific high end on a budget - and there’s something so satisfying about a little speaker that offers so much; you really feel you’ve got your money’s worth. Featuring the famous folded motion tweeter which takes frequency response up to 25,000KHz, the 35XT has a wide open and sweet treble, while bass response from the 5.25in black aluminium mid-bass driver goes down to 50Hz and has a rigid structured duct cap to reduce cone break-up modes. Both drivers are sandwiched between an underlying baffle and a black anodised brushed aluminium outer baffle. The mid-bass hands over to the tweeter is at 2.2KHz through a crossover network that has a custom air-core coil, steel laminate inductors, polypropylene film capacitors and high-quality electrolytic capacitors. And to keep things safe, the tweeter has thermal and current protection. But audiophiles will be wondering just how well the two driver technologies integrate - always a thorny issue with hybrid designs - and the answer is that they work extremely well together. The tweeter is a pleated, low-mass conductor suspended in a magnetic field that has a lightning fast response, whereas the mid-bass is a conventional cone driver that does not respond in quite the same way. However, ML have a long tradition of integrating different driver technologies into a seamless whole, and they have done it agin with this little gem. Combined with a low-turbulence rear-firing port, the 35XT presents a refined, clear, precise sound with great dynamics and speed and can handle all genres of music. and is equally at home in a theatre role with other speakers in the Motion series as it is playing two-channel music. Available in piano black or black cherrywood , these speakers have a deep and lustrous finish that will grace any room. As Martin Logan put it: ‘Smooth, refined sound with stunning dynamic range and jaw-dropping clarity.’ 166 2017 2017 167 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Martin Logan Balanced Force 210-212 Active Subwoofers with Balanced Force Alignment Technology MartinLogan is known for handcrafting the finest electrostatic loudspeakers in the world, and when it came to bass, our engineers wouldn’t setting for anything less than a tailored solution that would perfectly match the incredible fidelity and control of our electrostatic panels. Every MartinLogan subwoofer has a simple goal to deliver the good stuff — deep, tight, powerful bass — and none of the bad. We wanted to build subwoofers that, when combined with ultrafast electrostatics or conventional cone speakers, would blend seamlessly to the very bottom of the frequency extreme. BalancedForce subwoofers are the full realization of years of engineering by the MartinLogan team combined with the latest innovations in advanced digital signal processing, amplification, electrical system designs, and room correction. Energy created from a subwoofer’s movement is both the enemy and an ally. While it’s critical to have massive linear excursion to move the air that creates deep bass, the surrounding enclosure has to deal with these great forces. Traditional subwoofer enclosures suffer from an equal and opposite reaction to the cone’s movement, generating acoustic vibrations within the cabinet. You feel this by touching the cabinet. Although the “physics” of this phenomenon actually cause a subwoofer cabinet to resonate or even dance, most subwoofer designers apply weight or mass to the cabinet to minimize such disturbances, but still leave one byproduct—”smeared bass”. MartinLogan eliminates this unwanted coloration with a unique woofer alignment called BalancedForce® which spaces woofers 180-degrees apart, operating in exact opposition, to nullify distortion causing cabinet vibrations and deliver pure bass energy. Dual low-distortion woofers pair a high-power magnet structure with 10- and 12-inch aluminum cone diaphragms to deliver huge excursion and sound output while preserving minute bass details, all without a hint of distortion. BalancedForce is an elegantly simple solution that removes the variable of cabinet vibration contributions from the acoustic equation. BalancedForce subs match powerful proprietary switching amps with incredible woofer drivers resulting in tightly defined bass while keeping distortion at the lowest possible levels. The BalancedForce 210 features an 850-watt class-D switching amplifier capable of a 1700-watt peak operating at over 90% efficiency. BalancedForce 212 features dual 850-watt amplifiers (one for each woofer) with a total system power of 1700-watts (3400-watts system peak). Low-noise, high-power transformers and switching power supplies feature high-quality MOSFET transistors, noisesuppression networks, and control circuitry to provide tremendous levels of current with extremely low levels of distortion. A subwoofer should blend seamlessly with the other speakers in the system, and MartinLogan engineers took additional steps to ensure proper bass blending could be accomplished quickly and easily. BalancedForce woofers can be precision-matched with nearly every speaker MartinLogan has ever built, thanks to a downloadable set of filter available on their website. These optional custom filters adjust the subwoofer’s low pass settings to seamlessly blend with the roll-off characteristics of individual loudspeaker models. Additionally, room acoustics that plague optimal bass performance can be neutralized and corrected using MartinLogan’s optional Perfect Bass Kit (PBK, sold separately). Using a computer and microphone to listen throughout the listening environment, PBK will tailor the sub’s performance to the unique acoustic properties of a room—resulting in clean, powerful bass down to the lowest frequencies. 168 2017 2017 169 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Martin Logan STAGE X /MOTIF X Centre Channel Loudspeaker When we heard that there have been complaints about the levels and clarity of dialogue in current films and television shows, we immediately assumed that those suffering were listening to either the speakers built into their LCDs and plasmas. We also thought of one of the finest ranges of centre-channel speakers on offer, models with such detail and, yes, clarity, that even compromised broadcasts – did you try to understand Parade’s End? – sound more intelligible, more natural, more realistic. MartinLogan’s superlative Stage and Motif centre-channel systems provide electrostatic/dynamic hybrid technology, as mastered only by MartinLogan, in enclosures too handsome to hide. The Stage is a wide bandwidth system (offered in black or natural maple) that will satisfy the most fastidious of cineastes, while the smaller Motif can be used on- or off-wall. And while we don’t want to torment those of you with smaller, secondary systems, such as a flat panel screen in the kitchen or bedroom, MartinLogan has hinted at a project they’re working on right now for those who love movies and TV: the company is currently refining the Motion Soundbar Concept – a sleek, compact one-piece speaker providing three channels of sound from three Folded Motion drivers! 170 2017 2017 171 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Metronome Technologie Music Center Music Server/ Ripper When French CD specialists Metronome Technologie start talking about ‘the great adventure of dematerialised music’, you know they are going to come up with something special. Until very recently, Metronome designed and produced nothing but CD players, players which rank as the very finest, both in architecture and sound quality. But computerised music has made tremendous inroads and is part of many a music-lover’s lifestyle, offering convenience for the whole family. But the number of formats with geeky names or acronyms can be somewhat daunting, so Metronome have made things easy for everyone with their first foray into this new world by announcing the Music Centre 1. Their aim with this server is to to provide audiophiles with a simple-to-use device for enjoying music files without any IT knowledge and without using a computer for basic functions. The file storage function is performed on three hard discs of one or two terabytes capacity and secured by a RAID 3 type device, and the user can choose between the one terabyte SATA or two terabyte SSD hard drives. Eight terabytes of storage are available as an option. File storage is simple and is just a matter of copying and pasting downloaded tracks directly onto the server, while CD’s can be ripped via the front slot. Able to handle WAV, FLAC, DSD and MP3 formats, the Music Centre 1 will automatically recover information about the artiste, the album and the genre, as well as images of the album and the artiste. Designed to be as easy to operate and extremely versatile, Metronome say that ‘all possibilities are conceivable’, and include creating playlists from files stored locally and reading directly from a USB key or external hard drive inserted into one of the two USB ports at the rear - or you can use it simply as a CD player and listen to your favourite music in the normal way. All hardware and software has been fully developed by the Metronome team, and Music Centre 1 runs on Linux which can be managed by Apple iOS and Android apps. Playback through your DAC is via a single-ended S/PDIF output, balanced AES-EBU, Toslink optical, or USB. This is one beautiful newcomer from a company that knows how to get the best from digital music. 172 2017 2017 173 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Metronome Technologie Le Player CD Player with USB DAC What’s this - a new CD player? But we’re always being told that fewer and fewer CD players are being made in the face of the unstoppable tide of streaming. Maybe so - but try telling that to CD maestros Metronome Technologie of France. They aren’t listening to the CD doom-mongers, for they know that CD replay done properly is still superior. Take their new entry level player, Le Player - but there’s nothing entry level about the looks or performance of this integrated heavyweight tipping the scales at 15kg. Build quality, as with all Metronome creations, is superb, with a front panel hewn from solid aluminium and given a lovely satin finish. Featuring a customised top-loading Phillips GF8 disc mechanism accessible via a sliding aluminium loading draw, the disc is held securely in place by a magnetised Delrin puck. The onboard digitalto-analogue converter with dual 24 bit/192KHz bitstream technology gives a 120dB signal-tonoise ratio at the converter. A feature common to all the company’s players is a continuous ground link from the disc surface to the electrical earth to dissipate static electricity for ensure the best working conditions for the electronic and optical components. The power supply with individual transformers and completely independent regulation lines for each critical part of the transport provides an inter-stage EMI/RFI radiation protection and guarantees a dynamic analogue-like sound quality. The solid state analogue stage was selected for what Metronome describe as its ‘amazing sound quality’, and has a bandwidth of 10Hz-25KHz. All this adds up to a player that will give a thrilling and satisfying musical performance, and it really has no right to be described as ‘entry-level’. Bass is clean, deep and tuneful, the mid and treble open and dynamic without a hint of digital hardness. Whatever genre of music you choose, from Daft Punk to Mahler, Le Player plays it as the artiste intended. For those getting into dematerialised music, there is a USB input for playback from a PC or Mac, as well as an RCA S/PDIF output for use with a separate DAC. Le Player sports balanced XLR and RCA analogue outputs, and a simple aluminium remote handset completes the picture of beautiful music from a superb piece of engineering. 174 2017 2017 175 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Metronome Technologie CD8-S CD Player with USB DSD DAC Metronome Technologie, the supreme specialists when it comes to extracting all there from the silver disc and presenting it without the intrusion of any digital artefacts, have introduced a new version of their highly regarded CD8 integrated CD player. This latest addition continues to use the sturdy and reliable Phillips CDM12Pro v6.8 mechanism, but the converter section is completely new on the CD8 S and represents a major change for this French company. Their aim is to bring you the best of the latest technologies, such as DSD, while maintaining the highest quality for CD replay. With its bitstream technology, this means that the player can also be used as a standalone DAC, for it has a single-ended S/PDIF input which will handle signals up to 24bit/192KHz and a type B asynchronous USB port for high resolution sources up to 32bit/384KHz. A key feature of the CD8 S is the special solid state analogue line stage, chosen for what Metronome describe as ‘its amazing audio quality’. Great attention has been paid to the power supply which has three high quality main power transformers and seven separate independent regulation lines for each critical part of the transport - display, servo mechanism, motor, and digital output stage. EMI rejection is ensured by Schaffner filters, and the net result of this attention to detail is a dynamic analogue-like sound. Housed in a solid chassis supported on three detachable magnetic Delrin cones, the CD8 S has a sliding top panel for loading the disc. This is simple and more reliable than front-loaders which usually require a baler mechanism. Another important feature of all Metronome players is their continuous ground link from the surface of the disc to the electrical earth, which gives the best dissipation of static electricity. The disc is secured with a new type of Delrin clamp, which, combined with a shaft designed by Metronome, ensures great stability for the disc which operates in an ideal environment. The CD8 S is the next evolutionary step for Metronome in their long history of beautifully built and superb sounding integrated players, so although they recognise that dematerialised music plays a major role in listening preferences, they remain faithful to CD replay - a format which many others gave up on before its virtues were fully exploited. 176 2017 2017 177 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Metronome Technologie Calypso Reference CD Transport Top-Loading There are people who think CD has had its day. Perhaps it has - for them. But people were saying the same thing about record players more than a quarter of a century ago, and just look how far vinyl replay has come since then. Vinyl and CD have lived happily together for many years, and both have been developed into extremes of excellence. However, in the realm of high end CD players, Metronome Technologie of France have given the word ‘extreme’ a new definition. Formed in 1987 by Dominique Giner when CD was in its infancy, Metronome have designed and produced some landmark players and converters, the most famous being the Kalista range: breathtakingly beautiful, breathtakingly expensive, and a performance that was quite literally incomparable. But Giner is not one to rest on his laurels; he and his team are always pushing the envelope to extract even more realistic music from the silver disc. Developed from the Kalista, and looking quite similar, the company recently announced the Calypso range. Top of the tree is the Calypso Reference transport, which features the Philips CDM12 PRO 2 v6.8 mechanism - considered to be the finest pure CD spinner. This has been modified by Metronome to improve performance even further and a new clamp has been designed consisting of stainless steel and PMMA, which is rather easier to say than PolyMethylMethAcrylate. What makes the Calypso special is the fanatical attention to detail, the tiny things that on their own might seems to be unimportant but, when added up, make a big difference to the listening experience. But Giner wasn’t happy until he had access to equipment that could machine to within a hundredth of a millimetre. And it shows: the jewel-like appearance of the Calypso is testament to his unerring attention to absolute precision. Although specifications can never tell the full story, they certainly say something - for example, a dynamic range of 175dB and distortion at -140dB, plus the lowest possible jitter. The Reference comes with a separate and massive power supply called the Elektra. This has individual transformers and independent regulation lines for all critical parts of the transport - display, servo mechanism, motor and digital output stage. The technology in this unit gives protection against EMI/RFI radiation and ensures an analogue-like sound quality. The soundstage and dynamic abilities of the unit are enhanced by the elegant 40mm thick acrylic ‘silent base’ support, which rests on three free-moving stainless steel bearings and cups. At a flick of a switch the Calypso can send a 24bit/96khz upsampled signal to the DAC, and at the rear are multiple outputs for S/PDIF, AES/EBU, and AT&T. For those seeking a new insight into their CD collection, there is no finer instrument. It doesn’t do SACD, it doesn’t do DVD-A, it doesn’t do Blu-Ray: this is simply CD replay taken to the limits. 178 2017 2017 179 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Metronome Technologie Kalista DAC Dual Digital to Analogue Converter Replacing the ever-popular Nausicaa, the new Kalista DAC is now at the heart of Métronome Technologie’s premium Kalista line. Launched earlier in 2016, Kalista DAC was developed for the most demanding audiophiles and music lovers. No compromises have been made in the design or performance of this new wonder-DAC. Kalista is made entirely by hand, using the finest materials, including methacrylate, aluminium and stainless steel. The groundbreaking new DAC embeds two circuits with separate DAC chips from AKM, making the Kalista uniquely adept at shaping the sound reproduction to your mood and to the type and format of music to which you’re listening. Kalista DAC provides S/PDIF, AES EBU, optical and USB inputs, the latter necessary to carry DSD files and PCM files above 24 bits/192 kHz. Its first internal DAC is reserved for the PCM format up to 24 bits/192kHz, while the second converts higher resolution PCM and DSD files up to 512kHz. Kalista is controlled by a latest-generation and extremely intuitive capacitive touchscreen, with all functions can be operated by the gentlest touch. The new DAC also employs the AOP-tube switch mode that made the reputations of previous models. Once again, you have the option to adapt the sound profile to your personal requirements. Like all the products developed by Métronome Technologie, the key qualities of the Kalista DAC are superior construction, visual presence and above all, wonderful musicality. You will be transported beyond the DAC’s remarkable retrieval of detail and lose yourself in the cavernous soundstage. More than anything, the Kalista DAC reminds you that music is emotion. 180 2017 2017 181 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Metronome Technologie Kalista Ultimate Signature Reference Standard CD Transport Top-Loading There are CD transports. There are exotic CD transports. And then there is The Ultimate: the Metronome Technologie Kalista Ultimate Signature, to be exact. This brain-warping piece of French engineering takes the art of spinning the silver disc to the absolute limits of excellence - and then maybe a little bit further. The Kalista Ultimate Signature is the latest in a series of money-no-object range of CD transport It is based on the reference standard Philips CDM12 Pro V6.8mechanism partnered with a CD clamp combining Delrin and stainless steel, further improving stability during rotation of the CD and thus extracting digital data more accurately. The recurrent problem of static electricity accumulating on the surface of a CD during its rotation is now eliminated thanks to the stainless steel spindle purposely designed to minimize static charges. The transport boasts a dynamic range of 175db with distortion running below -140db with a resolution of 24bit. Digital output comprises of AT&T, S/PDIF and AES/ EBU to deliver the digital data to the recommended Metronome C2a DAC. The Upsampler - This circuit receives the digital data at 24Bit/44.1KHz and upsamples the signal into 24bit/96kHz format. This repackaging is done in 32 bits portraying beautiful dynamics whilst increasing resolution and offsetting high frequency digital noise generated by the digital processing. This process allows the use of a low-pass filter with a soft slope ensuring an improved pulse behaviour. The listener can also enjoy the CD in its native format of 24Bit/44.1Hz. In this mode the Upsampler is disabled via a switch on the back of the Kalista Ultimate Signature. To ensure the best possible performance, these circuits have independent power supplies. The Power Supply - The Kalista UltimateUltimate Signature is delivered with the ‘almighty’ Elektra power supply. Fitted with three powerful high quality toroidal transformers with five independent stages of regulation and with a storage capacity of more than 1.2 Farads, it delivers a perfectly clean power to each of the individual functions of the CD transport with an operating margin much above the specified requirements. The technology incorporated in the Elektra power supply surpasses any battery mode power supply. The Base - The Kalista Ultimate Signature silent base has a thickness of 60mm, and is decoupled from the transport by aluminium bearings, which absorb micro vibrations. This new aluminium bearing support system significantly expands the soundstage while providing normally unheard dynamic contrast. It also enables a considerable depth between the musical notes. The Ultimate can also be ordered as an Ultimate SE which isthe same as Ultimate Signature but is delivered with the stand below. The Stand - The three 540mm high feet made of solid aluminum are firmly secured at the top by a star shaped Perspex with a 40mm thickness, which provides a very rigid support whilst ensuring effective decoupling of vibrations transmitted from the ground. The sum of these components makes these true reference CD transport to cherish and expand your CD music collection. The final result is Formula 1 CD transports! 182 2017 2017 183 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Metronome Technologie Nausicaa Reference Dual Sound 192 Khz DAC There are many CD players and DACs that claim to be the best, but there is only one name that stands head and shoulders above the rest by virtue of its matchless performance and stunning appearance: Metronome Technologie. This unique French company has never been interested in any digital format other than CD, and they are constantly exploring new boundaries to the silver disc’s musical capabilities. Their gorgeous Kalista Reference transports have become legendary, equalled only by their extraordinary digital-to-analogue converters. Their latest reference DAC is the interestingly-named Nausicaa, a no-holds-barred unit that features the same circuitry as the existing C8, but uses superior cabinet materials to minimize vibration and thus give even greater performance. The four digital to analog converters - two per channel - use the finest 24 bit/192kHz technology with internal 32bit processing to give fast, dynamic and crystal-clear sound. Sampling rate characteristics and a dynamic range capacity of 175dB, combined with distortion and noise of -140dB, are responsible for Nausicaa’s outstanding performance. As with the C8 an attractive feature of the Nausicaa is that it can operate in a switchable tube or solid state mode, thus making it extremely versatile and adaptable to individual musical preferences. All the four digital inputs (S/PDIF, AES/EBU, Toslink and USB) can accept from 44.1 up to 192 kHz , while the high resolution USB socket is of special interest to those who are exploring the increasing virtues of computer music playback. As with the C8, the Nausicaa boasts an independent power supply with individual transformers and completely independent regulation lines for each critical part of the converter, which ensures inter-stage EMI/RFI protection. The result is a dynamic and beguiling analogue-like sound quality. At the rear is a pair of analogue RCA sockets, as well as balanced outputs driven by high end Swedish Lundahl transformers. But if the Nausicaa has the same circuitry as the C8, why not to choose the C8 ? The answer is that because its architecture based on the use of high quality materials such as stainless steel and Perspex, the Nausicaa gives better performance due to superior dissipation of horizontal and vertical vibrations. Further significant performance gains are obtained with its ‘silent base’ support, which greatly enhances the soundstage and results in a most impressive dynamic contrast. A final aesthetic bonus is that the Calypso or Kalista and Nausicaa have been designed to be stacked, and there are several combinations available. 184 2017 2017 185 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Metronome Technologie C5 Plus, C6 Plus & C8 Plus Reference Level DACs/DSD Metronome’s standalone digital-to-analogue converters are legendary for their superb musical performance and dynamics. This year they have unveiled a new range which is based on the C series. Smallest of the trio is the C5+, which is a single-chassis design with the lowest faceplate. Similar to the C5 Signature, it has a new USB input and a DAC that allows reading of DSD files. Next up is the C6+, which again is comparable to the C6 Signature and has features similar to the C5+ - but has a higher faceplate, while at the top of the range is the C8+, which has the separate Elektra power supply and the larger C6+ faceplate. All have essentially the same specifications, at the heart of which is 24bit/192KHz technology, but each successive model is taken to greater levels of performance while the C8+ has a switchable option of valve or solid state operation. The two digital-to-analogue converters use the finest 24 bit/192 kHz technology with 32bit internal processing for the best resolution and clean sound, and upgrades will be simple thanks to the upsampler and DACs being on an independent PCB plugged onto the main board. Direct connection to a PC or Mac is via the USB type B output, which accepts high resolution signals such as 24bit/192kHz. Each digital input has a dedicated Digital Input Receiver to reduce jitter. The analogue stage includes four operational amplifiers chosen for their sound quality, their lightning fast transients and exceptionally transparent, open and airy sound quality. The power supply has dedicated individual transformers and completely independent regulation lines for each critical part of the converter - digital input stage, digital upsampling and processing, converter and analogue output - and provides inter-stage EMI/RFI radiation protection for dynamic analoguelike sound quality. The Elektra power supply, which elevates performance to an extraordinary level, has three specific AC filters, three main toroidal transformers and 11 separate independent regulation lines. Connectivity on all models consists of the usual balanced and single-ended outputs, with inputs for S/PDIF, AES/EBU, Toslink optical and asynchronous USB. The C8+ takes things a step further with 32bit/384KHz technology, and is capable of the very finest replay from your CD transport or other digital sources. 186 2017 2017 187 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Primaluna Dialogue Premium Integrated HP High Power Integrated Amplification KT88/EL34/KT120 Astounding performance, superb reliability, beautiful finish, lavish praise from leading reviewers, and oh so affordable. The Prima Luna Dialogue was always considered one of the finest integrated valve amplifiers regardless of cost, with American reviewer Dck Olsher picking it as his ‘current benchmark in integrated tube amplifiers’. Well, now his benchmark has just got turbocharged with the Dialogue HP - HP for higher power. And not only higher power: this statement product outperforms its predecessor in every way, and still remains affordable and reliable. This is the valve amp for those who are frightened of valves. Prima Luna engineers in the Netherlands knew they had a tough job on their hands improving on an amplifier that has been showered with accolades and delivers beautiful music from a sumptuously-finished chassis bristling with the best tube technology - but they’ve done it. There was no question of simply dialling in more bias to deliver more power - that would have spoilt the famed reliability of Prima Luna. Instead, the engineers increased the power and output transformer size, designed and built a larger Adaptive AutoBias board, and all the supporting circuitry required to run eight power tubes instead of four. The power is doubled, and the bass - so often a weak point with valves - gains some real slam and attack. Dynamics get increased kick with three 12AU7 valves per channel instead of the more customary two, while a dedicated headphone amp runs from the output valves to give the best possible quality. Customers can use almost any power tube on the market, and the DiaLogue HP can be shipped with EL-34s, Gold Lion KT88s, Tung-sol KT120s - or even KT150s, the current choice for many high end amplifiers. You can run the Dialogue in either of two switchable modes - ultra linear, while delivers 78 Wpc into 8 Ohms, or triode mode which gives 36 Wpc. Supposing you want to try various valves yourself? Not a problem: just remove the existing ones and install the tubes of your choice. The Adaptive AutoBias will do what’s necessary, constantly monitoring the valves and keeping them firmly in their best operating range. So simple - and neither do you need worry about valve life, as a small light will indicate which particular tube needs replacing. The Dialogue HP: in Prima Luna’s words ‘built to last a lifetime’ 188 2017 2017 189 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Primaluna Dialogue Premium HP Series High Power /Stereo/Mono Amplification KT88/EL34/KT120 You love that valve sound, but you also like to play loud. Or maybe you have difficult and demanding speakers, so you think valve amplifiers won’t do the job. Think again. The new Prima Luna Dialogue Premium HP power amp is your answer - and used in mono configuration with double the output, will be an even better answer. In stereo configuration you get a healthy 72 Wpc in ultra-linear mode, 36 Wpc in triode - but the monoblocs, with up to 175 Wpc using KT120 tubes, will take your listening into some new and thrilling places, with valve power always delivering a lot more grunt than the solid state equivalent. These operating modes are conveniently selectable from a remote handset. This new generation of HP (high power) amplification comes from the Netherlands company that took the world of tubes by storm more than a decade ago with beautifully built, gorgeous sounding and utterly reliable products that music lovers could afford. Now, just like the Dialogue Integrated, the Premium power amplifiers get a huge upshift in performance by doubling the number of output valves. There’s more to it than that, of course, and the virtually the whole amp has been redesigned so that all that extra power is delivered reliably through your choice of valves, which are biased automatically so that you don’t have to do anything. And they have an easy time of it, Prima Luna claiming that they run their tubes with up to 40 per cent less stress than other manufacturers, thus extending operating life before replacement is necessary. As with the integrated, the power amp has three 12AU7 tubes per channel at the front end, which give lower distortion and increased bandwidth which translates into jaw-dropping dynamics. Prima Luna have gone to great lengths to protect the circuitry without impacting on sound quality. For example, the amp is protected against sudden tube failure by a relay instead of the plate fuse of previous generations, and in the event of a tube going bad the circuit will go into protection mode. All that is necessary is replacement of that one valve - no need for matched pairs, and no need to get the soldering iron out to replace a blown resistor. This is valve enjoyment without valve pain. 190 2017 2017 191 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com ReQuest Audio The Beast State of the Art, Fully Networkable Music Server The Beast. What image does that name conjure up? A powerful and dangerous animal, perhaps, something to be wary of. Well, there is nothing remotely beast-like about this particular beast, for it has the capability of soothing and exciting with its intoxicating musical performance. This is a server that stands above all other servers, a statement that digitised music can sound beautiful, textured and enthralling, and we have embraced this beast with open arms. The American company ReQuest have been around for a long time and specialise in all things server-related. But The Beast does not come from America; it comes from Switzerland and is the brainchild of Gerhard Schneider, Swiss manufacturer of Acustik Lab loudspeakers. He had talks with ReQuest about his plans for the ultimate high end server, one that would have no equals. They liked the idea, and with some hefty input from a private investor, ReQuest Switzerland AG was formed, with one aim - The Beast. Available with or without an onboard DAC, The Beast also has the option of a volume control and a highstandard clock system.The enclosure is machined from a solid billet of aluminium and features a high resolution seven-inch touchscreen window on which different filters can be adjusted, as well as other functions.The operating system, control software and library software are all Linux-based, written by ReQuest’s engineers, and can be managed via an iPad. The circuitry and layout have been refined to give the highest possible performance, and The Beast is available with internal storage of 0.96 TB or 1.92TB SSD. CDs are placed in a vertical faceplate slot for ripping, which takes about four minutes. The DAC can handle all available formats as well as the four different DSD formats. By adding a ReQuest Film Player, The Beast can also be used for video play-back and storage, and it can rip and store DVD and Blue-ray formats. Its capabilities are almost endless, and it can synchronize music in full format with the user’s other Beasts in different places. Each location then becomes a backup of the Master Beast. When adding music or editing a playlist on the Master Beast, each other Beast belonging to the same owner will have the same data in minutes. Don’t fear The Beast: aim for it. 192 2017 2017 193 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Sonus Faber Chameleon Range Stand Mount/Book Shelf/Floor Mount Loudspeakers The term ‘entry level’ used to imply something rather third rate for those on a tight budget. Not any longer: just take a look at Sonus faber’s Chameleon range of loudspeakers. The finish is stunning, the performance is way beyond what you would expect for the price - and you can customise their appearance with interchangeable side panels, hence the name. How simple, how refreshing, and how very Sonus faber. Top of the line is the Chameleon T, which is a substantial three-way floorstander with front-firing port and terminals for optional bi-wiring. But look at the driver complement: a 29mm fabric dome tweeter, 150mm midrange with ultra-dynamic performance and linearity, and a pair of 180mm bass units which go down to 38Hz. Standing 1060mm high, 270mm wide and 355mm deep, this is a speaker with a prodigious performance for two-channel music, combining the traditional Sonus faber qualities of beguiling musicality with vigour and dynamics. A sensitivity of 90dB and a 4 Ohm impedance means that a wide range of decent amplifiers will make it sing. Then we have the Chameleon B - B for bookshelf, but it can also be used on stands for the ultimate performance in free space. With the same tweeter and mid-bass drivers as the floorstander, this little gem can reach down to 50Hz and give a truly satisfying presentation for those who prefer a small speaker or who have limited space. The Chameleon C completes the line-up. This is a dedicated centre channel for those who wish to use their Chameleons for home theatre, where the logical configuration would be the T and C models at the front and the B doing surround duties. There has never been a Sonus faber product that didn’t look beautiful, and Chameleon upholds this tradition, with the simple and clean lines of the cabinets finished in leather and the flange of the drivers embellished with brushed aluminium trims. The interchangeable side panels, available as an extra, are certain to be an added attraction to an already lovely collection of speakers. Colours available are white, black, red, orange, metal grey and metal blue - but they cannot be sold without side panels, so you must choose a colour when ordering. If you decide it’s time for a change later on, then fitting a different one is child’s play. 194 2017 2017 195 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Sonus Faber Venere 3 3 Way Loudspeaker System No company offers a more stunning embodiment of ‘luxury hi-fi’ than Sonus faber. Since its formation in 1982, the company has done more to evolve high-quality loudspeaker design away from dull, slab-sided boxes than any other manufacturer. As one would expect, such quality usually comes at considerable cost: a price befitting the arte perfetta of this most prestigious Italian maker. The Venere line is different. To reduce cost, manufacturing does not take place in Italy; instead, Sonus faber has undertaken a rigorous search to find a manufacturing partner of suitable quality in Asia, employing Italian technicians and carpenters in a permanent technical office at the plant. This has enabled the creation of a more affordable loudspeaker range, without compromising Sonus faber’s world-renowned craftsmanship and attention to detail. The Venere range has been introduced in stages, with the top-of-the-line Venere 3.0 floorstander the most recent addition. It joins two standmount speakers, the compact Venere 1.5 and Venere 2.0, and a smaller floorstander, the Venere 2.5. The range also includes two models for home cinema systems: a centre channel speaker called the Venere Center, and a wall-mountable design known as Venere Wall. As its name suggests, the Venere 3.0 is a three-way model, combining a dedicated 150mm midrange driver with two 180mm bass drivers and a 29mm tweeter. All the drive units are proprietary Sonus faber designs – the bass and midrange cones are made from Curv®, a super-lightweight polypropylene composite that is exceptionally strong and stiff, coupled to a ‘free compression’ basket to ensure ultra-dynamic performance and linearity. The midrange driver uses a special coaxial anti-compressor to remove resonances and distortions, while the treble unit is made by German company DKM and features a pre-coated silk dome without the required use of ferrofluid. A precisely inclined front baffle benefits driver timing, and curved guides around the drivers aid dispersion. Like the rest of the Venere line, the Venere 3.0 sports an elegant cabinet design that is fresh and contemporary, yet remains distinctly ‘Sonus faber’. It echoes the lyre-like shape of the astonishing Aida, the company’s flagship speaker with a price tag more than 25 times that of the Venere 3.0, its attractive tilted top embellished with tempered glass. Double-curved cabinet sides give tremendous structural strength, keeping resonances firmly in check, supported by a base fashioned from high-rigidity tempered glass with adjustable aluminium feet. These are speakers that blend seamlessly with their environment, resplendent in high-gloss black, white or walnut wood-veneer, while the use of a front-firing reflex port makes them easy to position by avoiding unwanted reflections from the wall behind. The Venere line represents the affordable way to own an Italian masterpiece, yet the sound is every bit as rich with musicality as one expects of Sonus faber. The 3.0 delivers a grand soundstage brimming with broad, dynamic brushstrokes and intricate fine detail, portraying a vivid impression of musical light and shade. A smooth yet invigorating listen, engaging yet never edgy, there is only one way to sum up this speaker: bellissimo, in body and soul. 196 2017 2017 197 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Sonus Faber Venere Signature 3 Way Loudspeaker System Once in a while a loudspeaker comes along that punches way beyond its weight and price point. Such a speaker is the new Sonus faber Venere S, which has amazed us with its outstanding performance. You may think Sonus faber is more about acoustic and classical music than rock ‘n’ roll, and to some extent in the past that has been true. But throw a bit of rock, a dollop of heavy metal at the Venere S, crank up the volume and prepare to be amazed. This is one enthusiastic design capable of a bombastic delivery - but, equally, give it an operatic aria, a solo cello or violin piece, and it will adapt in a chameleonlike manner with a gentleness, authority, texture and subtlety that reflects the artiste’s emotional intent. This is an imposing and elegant loudspeaker, hand-built at Sonus faber’s Arcugnano headquarters in Italy, and topping the Venere range that has received so many accolades. They describe it as ‘a speaker that goes beyond modernity, a stage but not an endpoint along our journey towards new and ambitious projects for the future’. Available in black, white, or wood finish, the Venere S is a three-way transducer with an impressive suite of drivers in its lute-shaped enclosure. At the top is a 29mm pre-coated fabric dome tweeter from the famous German manufacturer DKM which is visco-elastically decoupled from the baffle to maximise performance. The midrange is a 150mm polypropylene textile cone driver with an ultra-free compression basket. This gives the best dynamic performance and linearity, and what Sonus faber describe as ‘ a special coaxial ant-compressor’ eliminates resonances and distortion. Three 180mm aluminium cone woofers with a free-compression basket similar to the midrange complete the picture. Maximised for lightness and stiffness, these are able to give firm, deep and accurate bass that will satisfy those who enjoy real power in the lower registers. An elegant touch is provided by the brushed aluminium around each driver, while the glass base found in the rest of the range is replaced by a brushed black aluminium plate with a diamond edge. For cinema and surround sound enthusiasts, the Venere S will integrate seamlessly into a system of other Venere models and will deliver the finest two-channel performance. 198 2017 2017 199 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Sonus Faber Olympica Series Stand Mount/Floor Mount Loudspeakers Having delivered a fresh, new blueprint for the low-cost, high-performance Venere line, Sonus faber’s next task was to return to its original DNA. A luxurious, upmarket loudspeaker series was diligently devised, incorporating the finest materials in an exquisite design that marries form and function to perfection. The result is a range that reflects sonic endeavour on an Olympian scale: the Sonus faber Olympica. While Venere is manufactured in a new facility in Asia, Olympica is entirely a product of Sonus faber’s hometown of Vicenza in northern Italy. It is a celebration of the company’s proud history and at the same time honours its local heritage, with the sublime Renaissance architecture of Andrea Palladio providing particular inspiration. Indeed, the name ‘Olympica’ was derived from a Palladio masterpiece, the Teatro Olimpico Vicenza – a 16th Century theatre that embodies great beauty and ingenuity. Sonus faber views itself not as a mere producer of loudspeakers, but as a maker of fine musical instruments. As one expects of an Italian maestro, no corners are cut in the pursuit of excellence; the Olympica line is the result of painstaking design and thoughtful innovation, constructed using the finest materials available, culminating in speakers that are as effortlessly pleasing to the ear as they are to the eye. Olympica is launching in two phases: first to arrive – and now available to UK-based music connoisseurs – are the Olympica I (a two-way standmount model), Olympica II and Olympica III (both three-way floorstanders). All three models incorporate new drivers designed by Sonus faber, including bass and midrange units with cones formed from cellulose mixtures and new die-cast baskets that combine rigidity with an ability to remain acoustically transparent. The Olympica treble unit, meanwhile, was developed from the tweeter found in the ultra-high-end Aida, joined by a crossover network derived from meticulous computer research and careful tuning by ear. Each Olympica speaker is housed in a cabinet characterised by the use of two iconic Sonus faber materials: walnut wood and leather, with exquisite detailing throughout. The speakers’ form is a synthesis of the experience gained from the flagship Aida and Sonus faber’s classic lyre shape, an important difference being the asymmetry of the cabinet, introduced here for the first time. This asymmetry has true purpose: first, it further reduces internal resonances by removing all parallel surfaces. Second, it accommodates the new bass reflex system, an innovative design that lies at the heart of the Olympica project. A vertical port is situated to the side of each speaker, covered with a stainless steel foil with precisely positioned perforations for perfectly managed airflow. The result is fast, deep and articulate low frequencies, coupled to exceptional flexibility in terms of positioning and tuning of the sound to suit the room. For many music lovers, Sonus faber speakers are the ultimate in aspirational audio design; the Olympica line is the epitome of this belief. The company has set out to create a loudspeaker range that resonates with the harmony of the city and art that inspired them. Unquestionably, it has succeeded. 200 2017 2017 201 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Sonus Faber Guarneri Evolution Standmount 2 Way Loudspeaker It was 19 years ago that Sonus Faber revolutionised the concept of standmount loudspeakers when they launched the Guarneri Homage. With its lute-shaped design and a performance that hard-wired into the emotions, it remains a classic to this day. But neither time nor development stand still, and over the years the Guarneri has undergone some changes, firstly in the form of the Memento, in which the original walnut finish gave way to the high gloss violin red or graphite of the Stradivari - and now, in its ultimate statement, as the Guarneri Evolution. The original Guarneri was conceived as a tribute to the master violin maker Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu, but as new developments in driver design and the suppression of resonance became available, the Evolution incarnation has a considerably enhanced performance while retaining the sensual and evocative spirit of the original, as well as the beautiful lute-shaped body, which now has exquisitely machined top and bottom metal plates. Using technology employed in the Amati Futura and flagship giant The Sonus Faber, the Guarneri Evolution uses a seven-inch mid-bass unit with eddy current-free voice coil. This is a big step for a speaker that has always used a five-inch driver, and results in not only a more extended bass, but better performance all round. The tweeter, too, is different being a 29mm design from Ragnar Lian, co-founder of Scan-Speak. The performance increase is immediately evident: in his colourful assessment in Hi-Fi News, Ken Kessler described them as ‘miracle workers’ and says that while the original Homage and the later Memento were ‘hardly wimps, this one kicks sand in their faces. And it all starts with the bass’. He goes on to say that the ‘Evolution breaks free from any shackles one might assume would be imposed by its driver or cabinet size. It acts like a much bigger speaker.’ Sonus faber have not only reworked this extraordinary transducer, but they have made considerable improvements to the optional dedicated pedestal, with the company’s Low Vibration Transmission system of mechanical decoupling and their ‘anima legata’ system of two CNC machined surface bound to stainless steel bar. The combination of these innovations helps to elimiante spurious resonances. With a lustrous appearance that will grace any living room, and a performance to match, what more could one ask? 202 2017 2017 203 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Sonus Faber Amati Futura Floorstanding 3.5 Way Loudspeaker System Glorious. Exquisite. Sumptuous. The superlatives trip off the tongue long before the first note has been played. This is not a loudspeaker that is just made for playing music; the elegance and sheer beauty of the design makes it a loudspeaker you want to own. Many could love the Sonus faber Amati Futura on looks alone, admiring the contrast between the polished metal top plate and the lustrous high gloss violin, red piano finish, and the extraordinary new walnut gloss finish. But appearance is not enough; if the performance doesn’t match, the looks are worthless. Fortunately this design, which owes much of its technology to the company’s mighty flagship – The Sonus Faber – has been heralded as one of the finest speakers you can hear. Sonus faber have paid great attention to the elimination of spurious resonances, incorporating a variant on the Low Vibration Transmission system found in the flagship, which reduces the amount of energy transmitted to the floor. The Amati Futura also employs a new type of reflex port, known as the Stealth Reflex System, which is much quieter than conventional rear-firing ports. Sonus faber have always been mindful of the fact that loudspeakers are always going to be much more welcome in the home if they resemble the finest furniture. The traditional sharp-edged black box has been the cause of many a domestic dispute, but Sonus faber find a much warmer welcome. As the company put it: “An acoustic instrument that lives in the environment and becomes part of it, carrying out the functions of both musical source and a beautiful piece of furnishing.” Featuring Sonus faber’s traditional lute-shaped enclosure formed from carefully selected maple wood, the Amati Future also sports a range of high performance drivers. These comprise a 29mm tweeter designed by Ragnar Lian, a 179mm midrange with a cellulose fibre cone and a pair of 220mm woofers with aluminium/ magnesium cones - and these have a particularly long excursion. Mundorf capacitors and Jantzen inductors are used in the crossover. There is no doubt about it: the Amati Futura is the living proof that hi-fi can enhance even the most beautifully furnished room, both with its looks and with its extraordinary performance. 204 2017 2017 205 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Sonus Faber Cremonese Floorstanding 3.5 Way Loudspeaker System The Homage series of Sonus faber loudspeakers has a long and rich history going back to the early 1990s with the beautiful Guarneri, which remains an iconic and treasured example of the finest Italian loudspeaker design. This was followed by the floorstanding Amati and the sensuous cello-shaped Stradivari, which represented the peak of the late Franco Serblin’s skills. Further developments included the Amati Anniversario and the Guarneri Memento - but now we have a newcomer in the exquisite shape of Il Cremonese, which pays homage to the 300th anniversary this year of Antonio Stradivari’s Il Cremonese, which became one of the most important instruments in the history of Italian violins. Il Cremonese is a 3.5-way floorstanding loudspeaker created as a result of an evolution and optimization of the Lilium project seen in the mighty Aida, in which the classical ‘lyre’ outline merged two separate identities inside the same cabinet - one dedicated to the low and very low frequencies, the other to the middle and high frequencies. Featuring a uniquely shaped five-sided ‘rhomboidal diamond’ design, Il Cremonese is described as ‘an evolution towards technological and visual experiments, without forgetting the great classics that marked the history of violin-making, as well as the history of Sonus faber as a brand’ and it exploits a number of the company’s patents and technological breakthroughs. The Stealth Reflex System, which minimises distortion and permits a smaller internal volume, has orthogonal ports: one on the back for the midwoofer, and the other on the base of the cabinet firing downwards for woofers and infra-woofers. Sonus faber’s ZVT (Zero Vibration Transmission), used for decoupling the cabinet from the floor and the rest of the listening environment, is implemented in a revolutionary way inside the spikes. This new system uses progressively yielding elastomers which not only simplifies construction but enhances the aesthetics. Vibrations from the powerful drivers are absorbed by two massive slabs of black brushed Avional, known as ‘dampshelves’. All driver cones are in-house designs, the woofers being scaled-down versions of the Lilium units, while the infra-woofers are a new project at the Arcugnano factory. These are passive radiators that operate in a specially-tuned and separated enclosure within the cabinet. Il Cremonese will grace any listening environment with its beautiful Italian lines and deeply immersive musical qualities. 206 2017 2017 207 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Sonus Faber Lilium Anniversary Series 3 Way Floorstanding Loudspeaker System No company offers a more stunning embodiment of ‘luxury hi-fi’ than Sonus faber. Since its formation in 1982, the company has done more to evolve high-quality loudspeaker design away from dull, slab-sided boxes than any other manufacturer. The apex of Sonus faber’s design philosophy is undoubtedly Aida, the company’s uncompromising flagship loudspeaker. Few audio creations espouse such irresistible ‘want me’ desirability, a statement of sheer beauty both inside and out. As one expects, such quality comes at considerable cost: a price befitting the arte perfetta of this most prestigious Italian maker. Two years on and the extensive research undertaken for Aida – and the recent, limited edition Ex3ma standmount speaker – has led instinctively to Sonus faber’s latest creation: Lilium. On the face of it, Lilium is a ‘mini-Aida’: smaller, less costly (though still reassuringly expensive), incorporating similar form, techniques and technologies. But in truth, it is so much more. Lilium’s cabinet is a true work of art, both visually and technically. In classic Sonus faber fashion, the cabinet’s shape is inspired by that of a lute, its graceful curves dressed in fine leather and walnut wood, finished in ‘violin red’ or ‘graphite grey’ and adorned in seven layers of hand-polished lacquer, with exquisite detailing throughout. Yet beneath this elegance lies exceptional strength: the cabinet’s triple-curvature design combines with strategically placed sub-structural ribs to reject spurious vibrations and control internal standing waves. Anodised vibration dampers are positioned at the top and bottom of the cabinet to stiffen the column structures, and a special steel rod conveys the remaining micro-vibrations to a pair of Tuned Mass Dampers – custom-designed to erase micro-vibrations by oscillating in anti-phase. The drive units themselves are just as special, custom-designed specifically for Lilium and arranged in an unusual 3.5-way configuration. Three forward-firing bass drivers sport 180mm cones with a syntactic foam core sandwiched between outer layers of cellulose pulp, housed within a Stealth Reflex chamber for a perfectly tuned performance. These work in tandem with a dedicated 180mm midrange driver, decoupled from the main baffle, with a diaphragm formed of cellulose pulp, kapok, kenaf and other natural fibres. High frequencies are handled by a 28mm DAD (Damped Apex Dome) tweeter, augmented by a ‘natural wood acoustic labyrinth’ rear chamber, a mechanical anti-resonator specifically designed for this application. There is one further driver, which you may not notice at first glance: an infra-woofer, which fires upwards from the top of the speaker. This is housed in a separate enclosure within the cabinet structure and serves to ‘drive the room’, its output adjustable to suit the listening space and contributing to a sense of sonic scale that belies Lilium’s shapely, elegant visage. Liliium is the perfect embodiment of its maker’s art: hand-made in Vicenza, bellisimo in body and soul. It paints a grand sonic picture that brims with broad, dynamic brushstrokes and intricate fine detail, creating a vivid impression of musical light and shade – a sonic masterpiece, no less. 208 2017 2017 209 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Sumiko S.0, S.5 & S.9 Down Firing Active Subwoofers S.0 You’ve got a tight listening space, you’ve got small loudspeakers, you haven’t got much in the way of bass - but you want it. A subwoofer, you think - but subwoofers are big, you don’t have the real estate. You do with Sumiko’s little S.0 sub, for it takes up less than a square foot. This baby will plumb the lower 40Hz regions with a precision and gravity that many loudspeakers simply cannot do with such authority. The design brief for the S.0 was to extract the greatest performance from the smallest package possible. At the heart is a 6.5-inch extra long-throw driver controlled by an amplifier which peaks at 250 Watts, all of which is housed in a sealed cabinet with solid aluminium feet. With a width of a mere 9.65ins, height of 10.8ins and depth of 11ins, this tiny sub with a big heart is the answer for the smallest listening environments where bass can’t be sacrificed. S.5 Next step up the Sumiko subwoofer ladder is the S.5, which has evolved from its smaller sibling, yet in spite of an 8in woofer the enclosure is less than a couple of inches larger all round. This will take bass down to a genuine 40Hz with its 150-Watt Class A/B amplifier, so the S.5 will give plenty of refined grunt and get the house rocking. S.9 Now for the big boy, the one that really gives you the maximum. Sumiko put it like this: ‘The S.9 will produce genuine room-filling bass with ease, and simultaneously provide previously unheard details and textures guaranteed to thrill.’ And even this is only 14ins wide. The S.9 uses an active-passive configuration; one of the 10-inch drivers is controlled by the 350-Watt amplifier, while the passive driver reinforces the output of the active unit. This additional surface effectively doubles the air-moving capacity. The result is more dynamic, prodigious bass across the entire room while reaching over half an octave below the S.5. At the rear of all the Sumiko subs are speaker level and line level inputs, 0 or 180° phase switch, and all the controls necessary for seamless integration into your system without any hassle. The cabinets are available in piano black or white gloss lacquer. 210 2017 2017 211 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Swedish Analog Technologies SAT Pick Up Tone Arm State of the Art Carbon Composite Reference Tone Arm SAT is a Swedish brand specialised in the development and production of very high performance pick-up arms. SAT was born when Marc Gomez, owner and designer, embarked on a quest to create an arm that would bring the performance of vinyl playback to unprecedented levels. Already in the early stages, back in 2010, Marc knew the crucial role the arm plays in the overall sound quality of a record playback system; by analysing the physics of vinyl playback, he stablished a set of design parameters that a properly designed arm should follow - these would be the basis for the development of the SAT Pickup Arm. Using industry-reference development and simulation tools, Marc developed the SAT Pickup Arm in the same way he had previously developed many other products during his professional carrier for other demanding industries - automotive, aero-space, medical… All design work is based on proven engineering practices and methodical analysis of the vinyl playback problem, rather than on countless trials with prototypes. That enabled the arm to be developed with just one single physical prototype that confirmed the performance predicted from all the simulations. Marc, having extensive knowledge and experience in the composites field, developed the headshell and arm tube using carbon fiber laminates specifically designed and made for this application. The headshell and arm tube require respectively 40+ and 20+ plies of CF arranged in a specific sequence and directions to provide the rigidity required - this has no equal in other arm designs. The bearings’ structure is arranged in a gimbal configuration with a substantial stainless steel structure, providing rigidity and mass which create an extremely stable reference platform supporting the moving parts of the arm. Each of the four bearings consists of a tungsten carbide pivot resting on a sapphire cup and is individually pre-loaded to eliminate any play. The arm has a detachable headshell that can be rotated to adjust azimuth. It also provides calibrated on-the-fly adjustment of the arm height for easy and effective adjustment of SRA as well as adjustable precision anti-skating mechanism. Each SAT Pickup Arm is hand assembled and adjusted by its designer and built with the highest quality and precision Swedish craftsmanship, like a Hasselblad camera. 212 2017 2017 213 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com TechDAS Air Force III State of the Art Pitch Correct High Mass Air Suspended Belt Driven Turntable Silence is a vital part of music, the part where the tension of a performance hangs in the air, inky black, yet expectant and meaningful. It is a special kind of silence, and one of the hallmarks of a true high end system is the accurate portrayal of that background silence. One of the principal aims of designer Hideaki Nishikawa-san in designing the extraordinary TechDAS Air Force 1 turntable was achieving a silence comparable to digital playback, a noise floor low enough for the listener to perceive and feel the recorded information in background silences. A by-product of this was silence between tracks. This level of performance was not easy to reach, and neither was it inexpensive, which put the Air Force 1 out of reach of most vinyl enthusiasts. Realising this, TechDAS soon designed and launched the Air Force II, which was more affordable - but it was still expensive. In a further effort to bring the essence and core features of TechDAS principles to an even wider ownership, the company has announced the Air Force III. Significantly, this unit can accommodate up to four tonearms, and will also offer the flexibility of optional upgrades. TechDAS describe it as having ‘almost the same qualities and performance of the Air Force 1’. As with the reference model, the Three has the key TechDAS features of air-bearing platter and vacuum hold-down for the record itself. The mainframe and the platter are precision machined from high-mass solid aluminium, but other types of platter will be developed and offered as upgrades. There is also the promise of ‘ various accessories’ plus a purpose-designed table based on air insulation technology. Like the Air Force I, this new turntable has a ripple-free, low vibration and silent air pump. Absolutely stable rotation speeds of 331/3 and 45rpm are maintained with a motor where speed is controlled by a high precision oscillation circuit that is used in mobile phones. Pitch control is achieved with an accuracy of +/0.1rpm. Vinyl may be the oldest format out there, but it is also the most enduring - and for good reason. There has surely never been a better time than now to discover anew what lies in that spiral groove. The Air Force III brings the promise of that discovery to a wider audience of vinyl enthusiasts. 214 2017 2017 215 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com TechDAS Air Force II State of the Art Pitch Correct High Mass Air Suspended Belt Driven Turntable To say we were taken aback when we first encountered the TechDAS Air Force One is something of an understatement: this turntable showed us that t was still possible to make major improvements in the reproduction of the analogue LP, by combining a deep understanding of technology, electronics, materials and manufacturing. It seems we weren’t alone: many who have heard the Air Force One have been amazed by its performance and coveted it, thinking ‘if only it was a little more affordable’. TechDAS has been listening, which is why it’s managed to developed the Air Force Two: a turntable with almost all of the groundbreaking ability of the original, but with its manufacture adapted to hit a lower price. A much lower price, which must make this one of the best audiophile bargains we know, while only sacrificing a very small amount of the original’s ability. As the manufacturer says, ‘We started TechDAS to make products with price that is affordable for ourselves but can make us satisfied both in audio and music’ – and that’s something achieved in spectacular style in the Air Force Two! Still in place are the Air Force One’s signature ‘air control technologies’: the turntable floats on cushions of air, and the main bearing is also air-suspended, and a vacuum is used to clamp the record down to the platter, bonding it in place for playback so platter and disc become one unit, and enabling the Air Force Two to deliver quality very close to that of the original. However, whereas the One has a chassis made the hard way, by machining it from a solid billet of metal – both timeconsuming and expensive – , the Air Force Two uses a cast chassis/frame made from AC4C aluminium. The material was chosen for maximum solidity and workability, while a dual-layer construction dives enhanced damping and a lowered centre of gravity, giving optimum stability. But there’s still a place for TechDAS’s legendary skills: the 10kg platter is machined and balanced from solid A5056 aluminium. Also new is the design of the air-suspension in the feet, which now uses a combination of air and oil-damping, enabling the Air Force Two to achieve the same vibration damping as its ‘elder brother’ despite its lighter construction – although it still weighs 45kg, with the offboard air pump and power supply adding a further 10kg – and more compact dimensions. And the Air Force Two even has the flexibility of the original: it can be fitted with a 9in or 10in tonearm in the regular position, and can accept an optional tonearm base to the left at the rear, allowing 9in, 10in or even 12in arms to be fitted. Offering superlative performance at a highly competitive price, the TechDAS Air Force Two is set to become a firm favourite with those wanting the very best in analogue. 216 2017 2017 217 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com TechDAS Air Force One Premium State of the Art Pitch Correct High Mass Air Suspended Belt Driven Turntable From time to time, a new product emerges that surprises us, even after 35 years at the pinnacle of highend audio. Some represent astonishing leaps in progress toward audio’s future. Others – like the truly remarkable TechDAS Air Force One turntable – improve dramatically on the audio of the past, resent, and future – vinyl playback. And the TechDAS did surprise us; the Air Force One represents a new exemplar in vinyl LP playback. In the Air Force One, TechDAS has brought past know-how, the latest electronics and machining technology, and an understanding of materials science together to develop the best possible turntable for musicality and sound quality. The company’s CEO, Hideaki Nishikawa, is personally responsible for some of the bestloved turntables from that legendary brand legendary brand, Micro-Seiki – turntables still cherished by cognoscenti. The Air Force One is a direct descendent of Micro-Seiki’s finest efforts. Air Force One promises, and delivers, the elimination of all unnecessary vibration and resonance, while guaranteeing absolute rotational accuracy and concentricity and maximum quietness and immunity from external vibration. The ultra-sophisticated air bearing and air suspension, fed by silent, ripple free air pumps ensure this. The Air Force One leaves no detail untouched. It is arguably the most complete turntable design ever offered, for sonic performance, construction, ease of use, and practicality. For the sheer joy of ownership, the Air Force One offers mounting flexibility for all types of tone-arm, hosting two so the fastidious owner can operate two entirely different arms and cartridges for use as desired. A choice of platter material and type – including aluminium, acrylic or stainless steel ñ allow owners to tune the turntable with a facility offered by no others. The user-friendliness and an elegant beauty are inherent, not afterthoughts. Moreover, the motor, belt, and platter are so perfectly engineered that the Air Force One’s pitch perfect rotation brings truly a new dimension to the play back of music, great timing and immediacy reminiscent of great master tapes. In short, TechDAS restores the sometimes-dismissed belief that analogue vinyl records still sound better than any other source and that they are still the primary source preferred by many experienced audiophiles and music lovers around the world. TechDAS has delivered what we thought was impossible: a new turntable that bests all that have gone before it. 218 2017 2017 219 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Theta Digital Casablanca IVa State of the Art Preamplifier Sound Processor Multichannel audio specialist Theta Digital is at the very forefront of high-performance home cinema design. The USbased brand can lay claim to some of the finest AV components ever made, including multi-format Blu-ray players, super-powerful multichannel power amps and the renowned Casablanca home cinema preamp/processor. Yet, despite the transient nature of digital technology, it’s not Theta’s style to deliver new models every year. Instead, the company prefers to develop running upgrades for existing models, offering owners the opportunity to update their components when it suits them, for far less outlay than buying an all-new product. In this way, Theta owners can stay at the cutting edge of AV performance, without feeling they’re falling over the precipice by purchasing an expensive component that’s out of date almost as soon as it rolls off the production line. The Casablanca III Music and Cinema Controller is a fine example, remaining current for several years with carefully implemented updates maintaining its reputation as one of the very best AV processors money can buy. Until now… Theta’s latest upgrades to the Casablanca are so significant that the company has decided a new model designation is finally warranted and thus, the Casablanca IV is born. One extremely important addition is Dirac Live® 96K digital room correction, an exceptionally advanced example of the breed that ensures every multichannel system with a Casablanca IV at its heart is fully optimised to suit the room in which its situated. Also new is Theta’s proprietary Jitter Jail™ II, which cleans up all incoming digital signals by removing timing inconsistencies regardless of the original source. Key to the Casablanca IV’s new features is the development of a new, expandable, 192kHz post-processing board: the PR-3. This new card quadruples the DSP power of the Casablanca platform, increases the audio bandwidth, consolidates all digital inputs onto a single slot, frees another slot for future expansion, has space to add additional processing power and uses multiple FPGA devices to allow the addition of new instruction sets to accommodate new technology as it arises. According to Dave Reich, Theta’s chief engineer, “We had two goals with this project, to make a significant improvement in the Casablanca user experience and to ready the Casablanca platform for the next decade of audio innovation. Dirac Live® and Jitter Jail™ II fix real sonic issues caused by the listening room and source material while the innovative, expandable PR-3 card leaves the door open for new sources and new DSP solutions.” Of course, the Casablanca IV’s performance is exemplary – as impressive with music as it is with movies, brimming with energy, clarity, depth and detail. Externally, new metalwork and a new display window denote the latest model. And, in true Theta style, owners of older Casablanca models can upgrade their units to Casablanca IV status. You see, owning a Theta product is not a transient experience; it’s a long-term investment that will pay you back for many years to come. 220 2017 2017 221 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Transparent Cable MOSC - Magnum Opus The Absolute Reference in Loudspeaker Cables MAGNUM OPUS Speaker Cables and Interconnects, the flagships of Transparent Generation 5 Technology, represent a new pinnacle of performance on every level: new cable, network, and network module designs. With specifications that require measurements that are at the edge of what technicians can control in production and production time that is comparable to the manufacturing of exotic high-end audio amplifiers or speakers, only a few music lovers will ever hear Transparent MAGNUM OPUS, and even fewer will ever possess it. MAGNUM OPUS Speaker Cables and Interconnects work together to help every linking component effortlessly achieve its performance potential. The result: the system is free to take command of the music. To achieve complete synchronicity of the many different elements of a system, Transparent builds every MAGNUM OPUS Speaker Cable and Interconnect one at a time to match every electronic and physical detail of a system’s components and the listening environment. Transparent considers every variable that could possibly affect the performance and build quality of MAGNUM OPUS in the minutest detail. MAGNUM OPUS is for customers who understand and respect that everything makes a difference. The low-slung, muscular, organic network module shape of MAGNUM OPUS Speaker Cable is a form that follows important functions much like the contours of a luxury high performance car such as a Bugatti Veyron or a Pagani Huayra. The MAGNUM OPUS Speaker Cable network module provides broadly distributed mass over 4 contact points. The module’s curvaceous form randomly reflects and helps cancel out any residual internal resonance. In addition, the carbon fiber outer shell creates an exceedingly stiff boundary to resonance. Encased in more than 8 kg of 2-part epoxy, the delicately calibrated and positioned filter-network circuit housed within each module sits undisturbed to pass music signals with full integrity without the intrusion of unwanted vibrations of any kind. Similarly, the beautifully contoured network housings of MAGNUM OPUS Interconnects possess an ample mass of 2-part epoxy resonance damping material that surrounds and protects the MAGNUM OPUS noise-filtering network circuitry. The MAGNUM OPUS Speaker Cable and Interconnect cable designs are capable of passing large amounts of current quietly and effortlessly. Intricate, tightly packaged, low-noise cable construction provides the perfect platform to realize the full benefit of the MAGNUM OPUS network design model. Transparent custom designs and manufactures every part in MAGNUM OPUS Speaker Cables and Interconnects from the ground up from the best materials available for each task. Machined, polished, coated, and fitted to the highest standards, every part works together to create a whole that is much greater than the sum of the parts. The end result is that MAGNUM OPUS Speaker Cables and Interconnects transform your system into a vehicle that can capture the full power of an orchestra heard live, reveal every nuance of interpretation of your favorite jazz trio, or engulf you with the dynamic drive and electric energy of your favorite rock band just like you heard it live for the first time. 222 2017 2017 223 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Transparent Cable Opus & Generation 5 Cables A New Chapter in High End Performance Component Connections What we thought was the best, just got much better. New network technology, more tightly controlled cable construction, and superior resonance damping techniques take OPUS Speaker Cables and Interconnects to a new higher level of “you are there” musical engagement. Derived directly from the development of MAGNUM OPUS, the new Transparent Generation 5 OPUS Speaker Cables and Interconnects represent a huge leap forward. With every part designed from the ground up by Transparent, nearly every aspect of new Gen 5 OPUS is different than the previous Transparent MM2 Technology versions: new cable, networks, and network enclosures. The new GEN 5 OPUS cable designs push the envelope of what can practically be produced in cable manufacturing. To achieve Transparent Generation 5 specifications, creating a cable from wire becomes a slow and expensive manufacturing process. The pitch and uniformity of every winding at every point are critical. Tightly specified electrically neutral fillers at each cabling subassembly juncture and pressure-extruded insulating layers at critical points insure that every cable maintains its intended specifications. The resulting cable is a stable and consistent platform on which to apply new, far more precise and resolving network technology. The electrical stability and predictability of Generation 5 cable technology, led to OPUS network specifications that are 10 times more exact than MM2 Technology OPUS. With precision and attention to detail that approaches the MAGNUM OPUS level, Transparent builds OPUS Speaker Cable and Interconnect one at a time to match the electronic and physical requirements of the owner’s system components and the listening environment. The result is that Generation 5 OPUS Speaker Cables and Interconnects work seamlessly together with their linking components. A system cabled throughout with GEN 5 OPUS insures that your components mesh effortlessly together to bring you closer to the music by delivering more low-level information, more musical palpability at the frequency extremes, and a much greater measure of the dynamic range contained within the source material. Generation 5 OPUS Speaker Cables and Interconnects also have superior resonance damping control. Their curvaceous carbon fiber network housings create an exceedingly stiff boundary to resonance and randomly reflect and cancel out residual internal resonances. Electrically neutral, 2-part epoxy fills each network-housing cavity to protect the delicately calibrated and positioned network circuits housed within. Consequently, each network sits undisturbed to pass music signals with full integrity without the intrusion of unwanted vibrations of any kind. To eliminate the final vestiges of resonance In Generation 5 OPUS Speaker Cables and Interconnects, Transparent applies precisely prescribed torque pressure in the final assembly of the network enclosures and firmly locks the fastenings in place. With a complete GEN 5 OPUS system, you can now realize the full benefits of more than 30 years of Transparent research and development. A long musically fulfilling future lies ahead to enjoy your favorite source material at a level of musical realism you previously did not know could exist. 224 2017 2017 225 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Transparent Cable Digital connections Cables for All Digital Sound & Video Applications Digital transmission of all types is becoming increasingly important to transfer low-level signals in today’s music and film systems. Connectors, termination techniques, shielding, cable geometry, conductor composition and size, insulation materials, and impedance characteristics determine the ultimate performance of digital cables including Ethernet, HDMI, USB, 75-OHM Coaxial, and AES/EBU 110-OHM cables. Transparent designs digital cables for all of these formats with the same attention to detail applied in the design and development of Transparent’s legendary audio cables. With every digital cable design, Transparent scrutinizes every parameter including cable and connector construction and materials and final assembly techniques. With Transparent Digital Cables, conductor size always consists of the largest diameter conductor that is physically possible to attach to the connector required for the application. Custom-drawn, large diameter, solid core, polished, oxygen-free copper conductors reduce signal loss and provide more low-noise surface area for delicate digital signals than do multistranded conductors. The malleability of Transparent’s copper conductors insures that when the cable is bent, flexed, or pinched, the digital signal pipeline stays smooth and free of signal disrupting cracks or breaks. Transparent uses the best performing dielectric materials possible for each digital cable design including Advanced Expanded Teflon Foam Dielectric in Transparent Reference and XL Digital Cables. All Transparent Digital Cables have low-noise precision extruded dielectric to the exact thickness required to achieve the target impedance. This degree of precision requires slower run times, and is, of course, more expensive, but the performance results speak for themselves. High coverage, oxygen-free copper braided shielding rejects noise and provides a stable path for the ground signal. Additional ultra-thin overlapped foil shields further block out noise while helping Transparent Digital Cables remain as flexible as possible. Transparent selects connectors for digital cables based upon their ability to provide solid connections, maintain signal integrity, and perform the best in actual long-term listening and viewing tests. Wherever possible, Transparent designs and manufactures digital connectors from the ground up to achieve the best performance possible. Once cable and connector design are complete, hundreds of hours of listening or viewing and laboratory testing go into finding the best combination of shielding and termination techniques to eliminate noise, maintain desired impedances, and preserve rich, full, life-like music or picture fidelity. Transparent’s years of digital cable design and development provide you with a wide selection of options: Ethernet: Premium Network Audio Ethernet, High Performance Network Audio Ethernet HDMI: Premium HDMI, High Performance HDMI, Performance HDMI USB: Premium USB, High Performance USB, Performance USB 75-OHM COAXIAL: XL 75-OHM DIGITAL, REFERENCE 75-OHM DIGITAL, PREMIUM 75-OHM DIGITAL, HIGH PERFORMANCE 75-OHM DIGITAL, PERFORMANCE 75-OHM DIGITAL AES/EBU 110-OHM DIGITAL: XL AES/EBU DIGITAL, REFERENCE AES/EBU DIGITAL, PREMIUM AES/EBU DIGITAL 226 2017 2017 227 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Wadia di122 Digital Audio Decoder Sometimes the best things in life come in small packages, and the diminutive Wadia Di122 is one shining example. Bristling with every feature you could need, this affordable entry-level digital audio decoder doubles as a preamplifier and delivers a vivid and powerful musical presentation. Wadia have been at the forefront of digital music for decades, and their philosophy has always been to remove the artefacts that can make digital music so offensive to anyone with a sensitive pair of ears. The Di122 now brings the company’s dedication to the finest performance within reach of a much wider ownership. With balanced and single-ended variable analogue outputs, the Di122 os a versatile device, small enough to be used as a high quality headphone amplifier, but with a specification and performance that will find it at home in any decent two-channel system. Take a look at some of its features: first, its size - a mere 254mm wide, 80mm high and 365mm deep. It will have no trouble slotting unobtrusively into your system, and if you only have digital sources it can connect directly to your power amplifier. On the front panel is a 1/4in headphone socket, while bringing up the rear are inputs for two coax, two optical, and one USB-B, with RCA and XLR outputs. The digital inputs handle PCM data up to 24bit/192KHz, while the USB port takes signals from 44.1KHz to 384KHz and supports DSD64, DSD128, DXD352.8KHz and DXD384KHz. This makes the Di122 virtually future-proof - a term often used with the best of intentions in years gone by by some manufacturers, but rarely enforceable due to the rapidly developing and changing digital world. At the heart of the Di122 is the ESS Sabre chip, in this case the ES9016S, which enables the variable output function. Superfluous information is dumped from the upsampled incoming signal, which gives far better results than the less refined bit reduction method. Two front-panel buttons are for standby and source selection, but also double as volume controls when the unit is set in the appropriate mode. All functions are replicated on the remote handset. The performance of the Di122 is astonishing at its price point, and will give fast and accurate bass, convincing tonality and that all-important sense of decay on notes as they fade to black. Terrific value, terrific performance. 228 2017 2017 229 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Wadia di322 Digital Audio Decoder When it comes to getting the best out of digital replay, Wadia need no introduction. Since their launch in 1988 they have produced some blockbusting transports and DACs, beautifully crafted, wonderful sounding, and the subject of many a glowing review. Faithful to that legacy, Wadia have always remained at the top of their game and continued to be at the very forefront of bringing out the best of today’s many and often confusing dematerialised music formats, as well as playback from traditional CD players and other digital devices. Before we tell you about the features, capabilities and versatility of the Wadia Di322 digital decoder, we want to tell you the most important thing: how it sounds. In a word, mesmerising. It captures the voluptuous splendour of music in a way that will have you spending hours longer into the night than you intended listening to your favourite music. A little while ago this kind of performance would have been rare and hideously expensive in the digital world, but Wadia have shown so convincingly that it is a reality and at a real-world price. The Di322 comes with elegant casework of brushed aluminium with nicely rounded corners and a glass top panel. With its variable output level, it can be used purely as a preamplifier and connect straight to your power amp. And for those truly intimate listening sessions there is a high power headphone jack. So what can the Di322 handle? Just about everything, for at the rear is a comprehensive suite of connectivity with coax, Toslink, DIN and USB digital inputs to decode PCM and DSD signals. The coax and optical inputs will process signals up to 24bits/192KHz resolution. The DIN connection enables streaming of high bandwidth digital signals from SACD/CD transports, while the USB port connects to your computer and handles signals up to 192KHZ with 32bit resolution, decodes DSD128 signals and DXD 24bit with a sampling rate of 384. Pairs of single-ended RCA and XLR balanced outputs and 12V trigger in and out sockets complete the rear panel. With a dynamic range of 100dB, a vanishingly low distortion figure of 0.002 per cent and a frequency response from 4Hz to a maximum, depending on source, of 68KHz, the Di322 has an impressive set of credentials that translate into pure enjoyment for the listener. Wadia say that their designs are born of a delicate balance of technology shaped by a passion for music, and they describe the Di322 as one of the finest digital-to-analogue processors ever crated and delivers ‘the sound of the music itself.’ Listen and be amazed. 230 2017 2017 231 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Wilson Audio Alexandria XLF Reference Modular Loudspeaker System It was Wilson Audio who put the concept of very large dynamic cabinet loudspeakers on the map when they introduced the X-1 Grand SLAMM nearly 20 years ago. It started a trend which was imitated by many but never equalled, as Dave Wilson’s implementation of materials technology was in a league of its own - and never more so than in his latest creation, the Alexandria XLF. A measure of the success of his original thinking all those years ago can be seen in the XLF, which is immediately recognisable as having its genesis in the X-1. The Grand SLAMM enjoyed a long run of unparalleled success and went through several generations of upgrading, but a major rethink came in the shape of the majestic Alexandria, which took Wilson’s commitment to explore the limits of excellence to new levels. The XLF expands on this still further - but is not a replacement for the Alexandria, which remains in production alongside its more ambitious partner. And there is no denying that the XLF is considerably more ambitious: improvements include a 14 per cent greater bass volume, thicker cabinet walls and added bracing for an even more inert enclosure. It also introduces what Wilson term ‘passive bass management technology’, which is unique in the audio world. This is where the letters XLF come in - cross-load firing port technology. In simple terms, there is a port at the front and a port at the rear, and depending upon room characteristics, one is going to be more suitable than the other. For example, some rooms can sound lean in the bass, even with a full-range loudspeaker, and in this case the rear port will be the optimum. The converse is true in other rooms where bass can sound over-full, so this is where the front port is at its best. There is only one form of technology that can determine whether the sound is right or wrong, and that is the human ear - and Dave relies on his ears as the final arbiter. From the time he started building loudspeakers in his garage, he had one motivating passion: to make the reproduction of music sound as much like the real thing as possible. Although he is acutely aware of the limitations imposed on his dream by available driver technology, cabinet materials and the laws of physics, the goal remains the same. In this sense, Dave is an idealist. The history of high-end audio is littered with electronics and loudspeakers that achieve sterling performance on the test bench, and yet, to the ears of even the average listener, lack the ineffable sense of rightness that momentarily suspends disbelief. Dave is unapologetic about using his ears in the pursuit of his chosen science, because while fidelity of the live event may be difficult to measure, it is not difficult for even the casual listener to hear. But when listening becomes rigorous and disciplined—that is to say, empirical—it can bear even greater benefits. Dave makes an annual pilgrimage to the great concert halls of Europe, particularly Vienna’s Musikverein, as he puts it, ‘to recalibrate his ears’. He spent a great deal of time analysing the Musikverein’s acoustics and then set out to build a new midrange driver that was capable of resolving these subtle time-domain cues. The result was the Wilson midrange driver, first deployed in Alexandria Series 2. Since then, a modified version has been designed into every other Wilson floorstanding loudspeaker, and is included here in the XLF. The XLF is without doubt the most complex speaker that Wilson Audio has ever produced. The size, the weight, the cost, are simply by-products of Dave’s ongoing quest to bring the listener a step closer to the emotionally unequalled exhilaration of live music. 232 2017 2017 233 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Wilson Audio Alexx Reference Modular Loudspeaker System Wilson’s mighty MAXX has been the top-end loudspeaker stalwart for the last 17 years. More accessible than the Alexandria, the MAXX, MAXX 2, and MAXX 3 were for many people the pinnacle of loudspeaker technology. But, things move on, and just like the evergreen WATT/Puppy was replaced by the remarkable Sasha W/P line, so the time came for MAXX to step aside and make way for ALEXX, the fourth new loudspeaker from Wilson Audio in as many years. There are almost no common parts between ALEXX and its predecessor. The new loudspeaker instead draws from Wilson Audio’s recent successes and upcoming designs, utilising the best from modern classics like the Alexia and Sabrina, and blending those with design elements and components from the forthcoming WAMM flagship, ALEXX is the ideal distillation of the best of Wilson Audio. As befits an ultra-high performance design like the ALEXX, modular flexibility is paramount. The loudspeaker uses the MTM (midrange-tweeter-midrange) array first seen in the company’s X-1 Grand SLAMM, but refined to a level of perfection and flexibility that sets it apart from the rest. Most brands would be content to place this trio of drivers in a flat or fixed time-aligned baffle, but Wilson Audio has developed a series of ultra-precise vernier alignments controls, which allow absolute control over placement of midrange and tweeter units, relative to the main bass cabinet, the listener, and the room itself. The choice of drive unit – each housed in its own optimum chamber – is distinctive as it is brilliant. The ALEXX features a 1” doped silk soft dome tweeter, sitting in its own proprietary super inert X material isolated cabinet. This is then mated with both 5.25” and 7” doped paper pulp midrange units – the 5.25” is identical to the model used so strikingly in the popular Sabrina – and these are also made of Wilson’s own X material, but with an S material front baffle. Finally, in the bass cabinet, the ALEXX features both a 10.5” and a wholly new 12.5” bass drivers (designed for the upcoming WAMM), in a X material cabinet. Although the whole ALEXX delivers staggering detail and resolution, coupled with a breath-taking dynamic range and a soundstage so vivid you could walk in the mix, its overall size is almost identical to the MAXX it replaces. The Wilson Audio ALEXX represents a new acme for top-end loudspeakers! 234 2017 2017 235 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Wilson Audio Alexia Reference Modular Loudspeaker With the WATT/Puppy, Wilson Audio launched perhaps the most successful compact high-performance loudspeaker in audio history, as the thousands of units in use around the world attest. At the same time, Dave Wilson and his engineering team have constantly pushed the absolute boundaries of music reproduction in products like the Alexandria XLF. The musicality of the big Wilson speakers is due in no small part to their unrivaled ability to time-align the leading edge of waveforms from each driver for any specified listening position and ear height. The Wilson team knew from the beginning that it would require more than simply separating the tweeter and midrange modules, more than simply putting existing drivers into a larger cabinet. What it would, in fact, require was a cleanslate approach to the design of the speaker, along with the deployment of new technology. One of the most promising concurrent developments was nascent work on a new Wilson-designed tweeter. Indeed, the decision was made to put the Alexia project on hold while the Wilson Convergent Synergy Tweeter was readied for its unalloyed debut in the Alexandria XLF. Once the transformative qualities of this new driver were clear in the no-holds-barred context of the XLF, Dave Wilson knew a slightly modified version of it was destined for Alexia. Wilson’s laser vibrometer provided fresh insights into cabinet thickness and internal bracing during the development of XLF’s patented dual bass port. Thus emboldened, Dave and his team recommenced work on Alexia in earnest in the early spring of 2012. For months, the design and engineering teams strove to find the right form factor for Alexia to meet its design objective: not merely a diminutive MAXX nor an enlarged Sasha, but an entirely new thing—a distillation of the highest Wilson ideals of musical realism in a universally sized loudspeaker. With minor changes, this is the same silk dome tweeter developed for the Alexandria XLF. Unlike many modified offthe-shelf designs, the Wilson Convergent Synergy Tweeter was designed from the ground up to offer the extended bandwidth of many of the new exotic breed of diamond and beryllium tweeters, without the limitations inherent in those designs. Since its debut in Alexandria Series 2 in 2006, the Wilson Midrange Driver has served music’s most critical bandwidth with its uncanny speed, resolution, and harmonic expression. Modified versions of the midrange driver are found in every post 2006 Wilson loudspeaker, from Alexandria XLF to Sophia Series 3. Alexia sources its version directly from the Alexandria XLF. Like its larger brethren, Alexia uses two different sized woofers—in this case an 8 inch and a 10 inch driver. Unique to Alexia, the drivers were optimized over an 18 month period to achieve bass extension extraordinary for an enclosure of this size, without sacrificing upper midbass detail or the explosive dynamic speed and contrast that are signature traits of every Wilson loudspeaker. The final design is at once fresh and familiar—instantly recognizable as part of the Wilson family, yet capable of doing things no speaker of its size has done before. 236 2017 2017 237 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Wilson Audio Sasha II 3 Way Reference Loudspeaker System The WATT/Puppy is perhaps the most salient and iconic example of Dave Wilson’s lifelong quest for the absolute sound. The WATT, the upper module of the combination, began in the mid-eighties as a utilitarian recording tool, a portable, ultra-high resolution location monitor for the recordings he was then making. The WATT was later paired with a dedicated woofer module—the “Puppy.” The WATT/Puppy combo became Wilson Audio’s largest selling product. The reason was simple: it was a truly compact, full-range loudspeaker that could fit easily in most real-world listening rooms while still offering the bass speed and extension, the dynamics, and musicality associated with much larger systems. When Sasha W/P debuted in 2009, it heralded a name change: a reflection of the comprehensive redesign of the WATT/Puppy platform. The addition of W/P to the name was meant to signify the new loudspeaker was still part of an evolutionary chain that extended back to the original introduced in 1988. Research and development is a never-ending process at Wilson Audio. Inevitably, technology that didn’t exist at the debut of Sasha W/P Series 1 influenced the design and execution of Sasha Series-2. Two prime examples: Laser Vibrometry Analysis, long used in automotive and aerospace applications, allows us to measure mechanical vibrations in our cabinets down to the level of nanometers. This invaluable data allows Wilson to optimize the composite structure of the cabinet, as well as the position and thickness of the internal braces. The Wilson Convergent Synergy tweeter was developed for the flagship Alexandria XLF. We next adapted it for the three-module Alexia. For the Sasha Series-2, a new version was designed specifically for its two-module platform, and features a bespoke rear-wave chamber. The obsessive attention to proper correction of the time domain errors caused by multi-driver systems is in large part why Wilson loudspeakers sound like live music. The Sasha Series-2 features an exponential increase in the number of time-domain adjustment settings available, making correct alignment possible for a much greater range of listening distances and ear heights. Instead of the traditional flat-sloped front baffle, the new Sasha features an angled baffle. Far from simply being a fresh design element, the shape was determined by the dispersion characteristics of the new Convergent Synergy Tweeter. Whereas the previous titanium tweeter actually sounded best slightly off-axis, the new tweeter sounds best on direct axis to the listener. The Convergent Synergy tweeter, as modified for Sasha, delivers superb power handling with extended frequency range but without the hardness often found in exotic rare-element designs.The material to which a driver is mounted provides the “launch pad” for cone excursions. Years of empirical listening trials and materials testing, most recently with Wilson’s Laser Vibrometer, have shown that different materials provide optimum baffles for different drivers. Wilson’s proprietary X Material is the ideal “launch pad” for woofers and tweeters. The research surrounding the original Sasha led to the development of S Material, which was ideally suited to Sasha’s midrange driver. Given that model’s continuous slope baffle, however, the practical choice of baffle material became an either/or proposition. Now, with Series-2’s angled front, the tweeter gets X Material and the midrange is mounted on its optimum launch pad, S Material.Thus, one design decision—to incorporate the revolutionary tweeter that transformed the sound of Wilson’s flagship loudspeaker—has driven a host of cascading improvements and inaugurated a new era of musicality for the legendary WATT/Puppy platform. 238 2017 2017 239 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Wilson Audio Yvette Reference Modular Loudspeaker System The latest loudspeaker from the Wilson Audio stables is the new Yvette. The brand has been releasing approximately one new loudspeaker model per year for the last five years, and each one has shown a degree of sophistication and sonic improvement over previous design. Wilson Audio is going through something of a golden age. The Yvette has some tough speaker spikes to fill. The single enclosure standmount – the most sophisticated single-enclosure device made by the brand to date – is very reminiscent of its early ‘cult favourite’, the Sophia, but in fact draws more upon the technologies developed in the Sasha W/P Series 2, the Alexia, the ALEXX, and even the upcoming WAMM flagship. It also blends visual and design elements from the classic WATT/Puppy system, although in an integrated design. Yvette uses the latest Mk III version of Wilson’s Convergent Synergy silk-dome tweeter (as seen in the ALEXX), mated to a seven-inch cellulose and paper pulp composite midrange driver, and the ten-inch bass driver developed for the Alexia. This is a distillation of Wilson’s best products in one easy to drive, easy to install, loudspeaker package. Wilson’s research and development system now includes laser vibrometry, which allows the design team to map how an enclosure vibrates and resonates so precisely that the cabinet can be made of the right combination of well-damped and inert X-Material and S-Material midrange openness and texture. Couple this with a fixed, but optimally time-aligned baffle. Accurate inroom tuning is performed using a series of resistors, housed in an isolated chamber at the rear of each loudspeaker, with the hardware significantly improved over previous models. Wilson Audio has been producing hit after hit after hit with its current line. Even the most Wilsonsceptic listeners have admitted that around the time of the Alexia launch, Wilson Audio has not put a foot wrong in its product line, and that the current line-up of products from the brand might just be the best the company has ever made, but even among this string of successes, there are some loudspeakers that stand out, and the smart money says Yvette – like the recent Sabrina – does just that. This is a must hear loudspeaker! 240 2017 2017 241 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Wilson Audio Sabrina 3 Way Loudspeaker System Although Wilson Audio have always been at the very highest of the high end - remember the mighty WAMM from almost 35 years ago? - Dave Wilson has a proud history of making affordable loudspeakers without compromise, the most famous being the Sophia and Duette. These designs have been praised for their superb performance, a performance that is totally satisfying and never leaves anyone feeling they have been short-changed. Now there is a newcomer to this hotly-contested segment of the market in the form of the elegant Sabrina. The contours are unmistakably Wilson, taking cues from the Sophia, which in turn was derived from the famous WATT-Puppy. In designing Sabrina, Dave looked to the flagship Alexandria XLF with the aim of distilling the essence of its performance into something much smaller and very much more affordable, something that would perform in average-sized rooms as well as larger listening environments. In terms of size, Sabrina is almost the same as the first WATT-Puppy, but in terms of performance it borrows much from the XLF, and Wilson’s aim was to make a compact and simple speaker that would compete with much larger transducers in the key areas of dynamic contrast and harmonic expression, which have always been Wilson hallmarks. By doing away with the advanced time alignment capability of their more expensive designs, the Sabrina is the epitome of elegance and simplicity, and its rake angle is optimised for typical listening rooms. As with every Wilson, the cabinet material is of vital importance in eliminating resonances and for providing a solid platform for the three drivers. The midrange is a relatively small 5.75-inch unit characterised by its musicality and speed, and this is complemented by Wilson’s proprietary Convergent Synergy Tweeter which combines high frequency smoothness with lower frequency reach and good power handling. The bass driver is an eight-inch design that reaches down to an impressive 31Hz. Weighing in at 94lbs per channel, Sabrina stands 38ins high, 12ins wide and just over 14ins deep. Available in three standard high gloss automotive finishes of Desert Silver, Galaxy Grey and Obsidian Black, with Biarritz White and Titan Red as extra cost options, the Sabrina will make a tasteful addition to any room, with a performance that will enthral the listener. 242 2017 2017 243 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Wilson Audio Duette II 2 Way Wall Friendly Loudspeaker System Duette was conceived as a solution for the audiophile faced with one of these “hostile sonic environments”—where either space or aesthetics precludes the use of a freestanding, full-range loudspeaker. The design objective for the Series 2 Duette wasn’t merely to improve its performance as a near-boundary loudspeaker, but to offer the listener the best sonic performance of any compact loudspeaker. Period. Duette Series 2 benefits from the myriad technical innovations introduced at Wilson Audio since the introduction of the original Duette over six years ago. For instance, the new tweeter utilizes the rear wave damping technology developed for the Wilson Convergent Synergy tweet¬er first employed in Alexandria XLF and subsequently in Alexia. The slanted baffle on the new Duette represents our commitment to precise time alignment, making Duette even more musically satisfying. The front baffle uses “S” material proven for its midrange beauty and harmonic richness. Another technical innovation introduced at Wilson Audio after the original Duette is the use of laser vibrometry to study minute panel resonances in new enclosure designs. The resultant data has led to enclosure designs with vanishingly low levels of cabinet-induced colorations. With Duette Series 2, laser vibrometry measurements inspired new internal bracing schemes as well as the look of the new cabinet with its varied wall thickness. It also led to the decision to bolt Duette securely to its new dedicated stand, providing even greater resonance control as excess vibrational energy is guided into the floor. Duette has always featured an external crossover in order to minimize the size of the enclosure, while giving the 8-inch woofer plenty of room to breathe. Now, however, if you choose the stand mount version of Duette, the crossover is built into the stand, mechanically isolating it in its own compartment, just as it is in Wilson’s larger floorstanding loudspeakers. Two configurations—one great standard of performance. Based on feedback from how our customers were actually using Duette, with Series 2 we decided to forgo the original’s freestanding option and focus on a speaker designed solely for near-boundary installations. Conventional audiophile wisdom holds that placing a loudspeaker near-wall or in a bookshelf inevitably compromises performance. Our determination, however, was to demonstrate that near-boundary placement need not engender sonic compromise. Duette Series 2 is engineered to pro¬vide similar levels of soundstage depth and detail, harmonic expression, and dynamic contrast as our floorstanding speakers. Indeed, Duette will outperform so-called “super mini monitors”— even when these speakers are advantageously placed out in the room. So, if room design or size dictates near-wall placement, you now have access to the musical realism that has made Wilson loudspeakers legendary. The final design is at once fresh and familiar—instantly recognizable as part of the Wilson family, yet capable of doing things no speaker of its size has done before. 244 2017 2017 245 www.absolutesounds.com www.absolutesounds.com Wilson Audio Alida Reference Standard Wall Mounted Loudspeaker Would you consider wall-mounted loudspeakers for serious listening? Probably not - but think again, for Wilson Audio have announced a loudspeaker system that is designed to do just that by giving deep and satisfying performance for those who cannot accommodate floorstanders. The Alida is one of their Special Applications projects, and it was one that presented huge challenges, for the biggest problem with wall-mounted speakers is their interaction with the wall, the ceiling and the mounting assembly. It could be said that speakers on the wall have everything against them, and nothing - apart from saving space - for them. In other words, just the kind of challenge that Dave Wilson relishes. Although bearing more than a passing resemblance to the WATCH surround system, Alida is a totally re-engineered project. The bracket is a substantial affair machined from aircraft-grade aluminium that reduces wall-born interactions and resonances, and whereas the previous model could be rotated through only ten degrees, the Alida can swivel through a much more listener-friendly 30 degrees and is capable of being more fully optimized for time domain and driver dispersion. For those who want to upgrade from the WATCH surrounds, Wilson have thoughtfully made the bracket mounting points exactly the same, so the speakers can swapped over without the need for filling a re-drilling the wall. Using state-of-the-art materials technology first developed for the Alexandria XLF and the Sasha WATT/Puppy, Wilson say the Alida provides ‘stunning results’. This is one serious loudspeaker, with a response down to 40Hz from its 5.25-inch doped paper pulp mid-bass unit, and high power handling for a dynamic and immediate presentation. The upper registers are handled by the new Wilson Convergent Synergy tweeter, first found in the Alexandria XLF, but with a bespoke rear wave chamber designed specifically for the Alida. Special attention has paid to the thorny subject of the grille. No grille at all is the ultimate, but such speakers can look unfinished and domestically unacceptable, so Wilson have designed Alida’s grilles for minimal effect on sound quality by using their proprietary X-material. Weighing in at 58lbs per unit, including mounting assembly, Alida is 25ins high, just over 11ins wide and a little under 13ins deep. It in the elegant and practical solution for spatially-challenged listening environments. 246 2017 2017 247 Many thanks to all who contributed to this catalogue. www.absolutesounds.com 58 Durham Road, London SW20 0TW T: +44 (0)20 89 71 39 09 F: +44 (0)20 88 79 79 62 E: [email protected]