In Illustrated History of High-End Audio. Volume Two - Electronics edited by Robert Harley the Vitus Audio brand is mentioned among few others in a section titled: Today’s Vanguard. In the preface to this section Jonathan Valin wrote: All selected by us firms representing Today's Vanguard are truly unique. And their products belong to the best high has ever seen. Illustrated History… Electronics, edited by Robert Harley, Austin 2015, p. 283 The firm is named after its founder, Hans Ole Vitus, just as many other great brands before such as: McIntosh, Marantz, Mark Levinson, Conrad Johnson, Pass Labs, Dan D’Agostino to name a few. These were all family businesses and so is Vitus, with Hans Ole being also the chief designer. This is of course one of two main paths to take. The other, represented by such brands as: Goldmund, Soulution, Spectral, Parasound, or Constellation Audio, involves the founder/owner of the business employing high class specialists for development of particular projects. Both way can bring equally impressive results. Hans Ole Vitus got himself involved in audio business already in 1995, but his first own products weren't released until 2003 when he presented the RP-100, a battery-powered phonostage, the RL-100 linestage and the SM-100 monaural power amplifier. Amplifiers are namely the first love and fascination of the said gentleman. He likes them working in class A without negative feedback loop, featuring extremely solid, aluminum enclosures. All products share similar appearance which on one hand is cost-effective for manufacturer and on the other it gives all his products certain characteristic, proprietary style. In 2007 the first digital source by Vitus was released. It was the SCD-010 CD Player. Back then nobody seriously even considered playing music from computer, and the only competitors for CD in 'digital domain' were SACD and DVD-Audio discs. Today the former is a niche product used by few, the latter is a history, as they say. SCD-010 featured Philips CD Pro-2LF transport modified by Vitus, and another of Vitus solutions – SMD modules. Vitus products have the latter in common with another Danish manufacturer, Alluxity. It is owned by Alexander Vitus Mogensen, Ole's son who used to work for Vitus for 5 years before establishing his own company that is focused on modern technologies and solutions, including products such as music server. As he told us during interview, his factory makes above mentioned modules for his and his father's brands. And yet, while modules look similar, their design differs significantly. SCD-025 In 2013 a successor of the said SCD-010, SCD-025 was released. It features the same transport mechanism, same upsampler module and DAC chips. All the rest was designed from scratch. Version we received for a review is another variant of this project. It's a one-box device of modular design. Transport, power supplies for digital and analogue sections, DAC chips with master clock module, digital input section, analogue output section – they all sit on separate boards that, if needed, might be independently replaced. This last option is particularly important for digital input section, the USB one in particular – the very reason why SCD-025 came to life, and a serious headache for designers, as the requirements for USB inputs change rapidly over last few years. First version accepted PCM signal up to 192 kHz and 24 bits. Latest revision, introduced in 2014 added also DSD compatibility. Manufacturer decided to warn users already in the opening section of the SCD-025 manual: „This devices I VERY HEAVY – we recommend that at least two people are involved in its unpacking and setting up”. I suggest one treats this warning seriously – it's not there by mistake, it's NOT a part of amplifier's manual used in this manual by mistake. Despite the fact that both devices share very similar enclosures each of them features a separate, dedicated, in-depth manual. This CD Player weights 26 kg and its make&finish is simply remarkable. It is a top-loader, with manually operated cover. It features 3 digital inputs ( RCA S/PDIF, AES/EBU and 2.0 USB), hence it might be used also as a D/A Converter. It is compatible with 16-24 bit, 32-192 kHz PCM signals and with DSD signal (via USB). To use USB input with a PC as a source one has to install proper USB driver (available on CD-ROM delivered together with the device). The disc includes also a digital version of manual and a few photos of each Vitus product from current range. Inside all signals are upsampled first to 384 kHz/24 bits and only then sent to two DACs. This module (upsampler) differs in this 'II' version from the one in version 'I', and so does the board with master clock and with DAC. Player sports two outputs, a balanced one and unbalanced and one chooses in the menu which one is activated. Menu is also more complex. It allows user to adjust display's brightness, to switch phase, to name digital input, to turn (digital) volume control on, and so on. The make&finish of SCD-025 is among best ones I've ever seen. HANS OLE VITUS Owner, designer Wojciech Pacuła: How this version differs from Mk I? Hans Ole Vitus: Better power supply, totally redesigned soundboard and module boards to accommodate the new USB board that supports DSD. Since we had to do changes – I wanted to have everything optimized for absolute best performance possible, as this would be the last CD-Player design we would ever do – at least that's the idea ;) Do you believe in Compact Disc format still? What is its the future? No – its dead – but there are many customers who have good collections of discs and who will continue to support it for as long as they possible can – and so we try our best to support them. Main issue is that the quality of the drives that are available is getting worse and worse, and for that reason many start to use PC cd-r drives. We have enough Philips pro drives for the time being to last production and service for the time being – and we will continue to supply SCD-025's for as long as we can still keeping a reasonable stock for repairs. What are advantages and disadvantages of CD format? Advantages – it's more convenient than Vinyl / Disadvantages – limitations in the format itself. I see there is a separate DAC and I/U PCB - what DAC chips did you use? Is I/U converter passive or active? (You have there some nice caps:) We still use the ADI1955 – we evaluated pretty much everything else, and did not feel a big step forward and hence stayed with it. U/I is active – but yes, in the filter we do use MCAP throughout for best sound. Aren't you afraid of lack Philips' transports on the market? Yes and no – we have plenty for now :) Any plans about Masterpiece series CD source? We have had the MP-T201 for several years. VITUS AUDIO IN „High Fidelity” TEST: Vitus Audio MASTERPIECE SERIES MP-D201 - Digital-to-Analogue Converter TEST: Vitus Audio SL-102+SS-101 - linestage + integrated amplifier (power amplifier) TEST: Vitus Audio SP-102 - phonostage Recordings used for the test (a selection) Art Farmer and Jim Hall, Big Blues, CTI/King Records KICJ-2186, „Timeless Collection 40”, CD (1978/2006) Billie Holiday, Body and Soul, PolyGram/Mobile Fidelity UDCD 658, gold-CD (1957/1996) Billy Cobham, Spectrum, Atlantic Records/Audio Fidelity AFZ5 234, SACD/CD (1973/2016) Clifford Brown, Memorial, Prestige/JVC VICJ-41562, Digital K2, CD (1953/2006) Jamie xx, In Colour, Young Turks/Hostess YTCD122J, CD (2015/2016); Jeff Lynne’s ELO, Alone in the Universe, Columbia/Sony Music Labels (Japan)SICP-30890, Blu-spec CD2 (2015) Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly, Top Dawg Entertainment | Intersope/Universal Music Japan UICS-1287, „Sample” CD (2015); Mills Brothers, Swing is the Thing, History 20.3039-HI, “The Great Vocalists of Jazz & Entertainment”, CD (?) Seong-Jin Cho, Winner of the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, Warsaw 2015, Deutsche Grammophon 4795332, CD (2015); Sławek Jaskułke Trio, On, Sławek Jaskułke, CD (2015) Tame Impala, Currents, Universal Music Australia/Hostess 4730676J, CD (2015); Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] Every person that visited me when SCD-025 was here was truly impressed with its appearance. These were mainly distributors and their employees, so people dealing with high-end devices every day and still, Vitus managed to impress them. It simple creates this image of a particularly solid, reliable device. One just looks at this robust aluminum device and immediately starts to believe that it holds pure music inside. One plays any album and believe turns into certainty. I can say that at the very beginning because if you try it you will hear the same thing at once. This is an amazingly warm sounding Player. It sounds a lot like a 'warm' turntable. These two qualities, not necessarily meaning the same thing, this time come hand in hand. Such a, for the lack of a better word, analogue sound will determine at once whether particular person likes it or not. This Player has its own „Personality”, it's not just another Player trying to deliver 'truly neutral' performance, what whatever that means. I think I need to elaborate on the above description. Otherwise one reading it might conclude that this device offers a 'warmed-up' and 'smoothed-out' performance, which is not true. When I said that Vitus offered a warm sound I didn't mean any sort of coloration of the sound. The sound is namely perfectly coherent, which would not be possible if the tonal balance was shifted one way or the other. This particularly dense sound signature is a result of a slightly rounded attack in upper midrange and treble area. „It's silky” – one would say, and it would be true. I listened to album after album and found no harshness in the sound. What is left after eliminating all harshness is amazingly rich, dense and warm (but not warmed-up) sound. The obvious question that comes to mind is whether such performance isn't to monotonous. Because if everything sounds in this way maybe proper differentiation of recording is lost in the process? Different recording cab be very different from each other – made using various recording, mastering and pressing techniques. An answer to this question is not so unambiguous, but there are no truly unambiguous answers in high-end audio – if you doubt that please read the coverage of the 101. Cracow Sonic Society Meeting. It is so much easier to assess budget and mid-priced devices/systems than those of high-end class. There are, in my opinion, many equivalent paths/choices in high-end audio. The device under review has its own, strong sonic character – that's obvious. To some extend it does unify presentation. As I said the performance is always smooth, silky, enjoyable. But that's just the outer shell, packaging if you will that does not affect deeper, actually most important layers of any recording. That's why the first impression when listening to most albums is similar but their true nature is different. No particular effort is required to get to those deeper layer – they are right there, within grasp. But only if one knows what to look for due to one's extensive experience with high-end devices. One who doesn't know much about high quality sound might not be able to realize the quality of this performance. Listen to two versions of Seong-Jin Cho's, winner of the 17 International Chopin Piano Competition, album – the German and Korean ones, and you'll realize at once what I mean. The German version seems quieter but more refined, the Korean one (Polish too, by the way) sound more 'artificial', more 'raw'. These are not subtle differences at all. In terms of timbre Vitus presented them even more clearly than dCS Rossini , Chord Red Reference Mk III and Ancient Audio Lektor AIR V-edition. My impressions when listening to two versions of an analogue remaster (made from master tape) of Perfect's album Unu prepared by Damian Lipiński were very similar. Damian sent me two versions (WAV 16/44,1) and asked which one, in my opinion, was better. I chose, as it turned out, the 'less-messed-with' version. I burned them on a CD-R (there are less and less laptops on the market with CD-burners – what will happen when they stop to make them at all?!) and compared them again using Danish Player. My conclusions were exactly the same as before. There is a price to pay for these sound qualities – selectivity, that is simply not as great as, for example, offered by above mentioned dCS, Lektor Grand SE Ancient Audio and some other top CD Players. But the way it presented bodies of instruments reminded me of what Soulution Players did, or Audio Research Reference CD9. What one gets is a large scale sound, large phantom images with 'bodies' but these are not particularly palpable, as they are presented from some distance. This is particularly true for vocal mixed into instrument. With a solo vocal, placed in the middle of the stage, like Billie Holiday's, it is 'large' and powerful. But even then it is not so precisely defined. Perception of lower end, so bass and lower midrange is similar. It is not particularly well controlled. There is a lot going on in this part of the range in both, electronic music recordings and in acoustic one. Bass goes deep, but it is not as punctual as some other, more open sounding Players present it. If I were to guess (without knowing the design) I would have said that it featured tubes in the output stage, rather 6SN7 than ECC88 or 6H30Π. Why? Because, as I remember that after all these years, Audio Research sounded like, and also Jadis two-box Player. Club remixes by Depeche Mode, Kendrick Lamarz To Pimp a Butterfly and others alike will amaze will colors, but they will lack drive that is a key element of this type of music. Many people will be surprised, maybe even shocked by the way Vitus Player renders so called soundstage. I used to use this term in the past but it seems that today it does not carry quite the same weight as in the past. In many English reviews I've seen a new term: 'holography”. It seems that it is supposed to indicated something even more profound than “soundstage”. I don't know if it really makes sense. Maybe we should use a “holographic soundstage” term as a description of particularly well developed soundstage? It would describe soundstage rendered by Vitus perfectly. Instruments in front of us are not 'extracted' from the mix and from background. This way the presentation resembles that of analogue master tape played by reel-to-reel rather than one of vinyl record. Images are not that precisely described and yet we know their size, location on the stage and in regard to other instruments. It is a true holography if we define it as phantom images having full body and listener having a full knowledge of what's happening on the stage without studying it, analyzing and categorizing what he can hear. It is a very natural, organic way of soundstage presentation, one the requires absolutely no effort from listener to understand it and accept it. As I said – it might come as a shock to some people, that might be even bigger after listening to some recordings with sounds coming from all around, such as Tame Impala Currents. Summary I wish more designers knew how to create such a fantastic sound sources. A design and its features and performance came together creating a Player one can spend his entire life with. It's ironic that it was released so late, when CD format is at the verge of sliding into a small market niche next to ones of vinyl record and SACD. But that's life. I hope some people will still be willing to keep CD alive for many more years. But even if the end of CD format is close it's worth spending the time we have left experiencing qualities of CD using such a brilliant Players as SCD-025. Even more so considering that it features also digital inputs, including USB that allows user to use a computer or music server as a source and expect a similar performance. Just like many Hans Ole Vitus' products also SCD-025 is an extremely sturdy beast that would probably survive even a direct hit by long-range rocket. It is very heavy and quite big too (for a CD Player, I mean). Enclosure is made of thick aluminum plates. Black and silver finishes are available. Chassis sits on four feet with rubber inserts. I assumed that manufacturer chose this solution on purpose so I decided not to use any additional anti-vibration elements and just placed it on top shelf of my Finite Elemente Pagode Edition rack. Also like other Vitus devices, this CD Player comes paired with high quality power cable. It's not just some cheap wire, but a dedicated solution (similar to the one offered by FM Acoustics) so I didn't even try to replace it with any other chord. Also, the same wire is used for internal cabling of the device. Power chord's name is Andromeda and is constructed with carefully selected top grade copper wiring and terminated with high quality Furutech connectors: FI-11 (Cu) and FI-E11 (Cu). Front, top and rear A small, one-line, amber display sits in the middle of the front panel – similar to that used by Accuphase. In my opinion it is too small – I couldn't see much from a 2 meters distance and I'm not that old. It would be good to see displayed information as these include number of tracks, time of each of them, or menu section names. Below manufacturer placed Vitus logo. There are six push buttons, three on each side of the display. Four control basic functions of the Player, 3 are used to move around menu. It looks really good and the same solution is used for all brand's Players, preamplifiers and integrated amps. The only downside is placing 'play' button on the left side of the display – not the most comfortable, or 'natural' placement if the device is used by a right-hand person. Disc is placed directly over motor's axis. One places a metal clamp over the disc and manually closes drive's cover (it works smoothly). After cover is closed TOC information is read, and opening cover stops playback. Rear panel is occupied by solid Neutrik connectors. The RCA socket sit quite deep inside the panel which makes it impossible to use Interconnects with large diameter connectors. Thus instead of using Siltech Triple Crown IC I had to use Tellurium Q Silver Diamond. There are three digital inputs: S/PDIF (RCA), AES/EBU (XLR) and USB, and two digital outputs: S/PDIF (RCA) and AES/EBU (XLR). Due to its balanced analogue stage Vitus features both, balanced (XLR) and unbalanced analogue outputs. Interior The interior is filled with electronic circuits, but the mechanical part also occupies a lot of space. After removing top cover I was surprised to see how deep the transport mechanism was placed – it looked like designer wanted to lower the center of gravity. The Philips CD Pro2LF drive misses its original base and instead it is bolted to a much larger, more rigid board of milled aluminum. This board is supported in four point and the mechanism is decoupled. There are power supplies on both sides. I spotted as much as four (!) transformers hence there must be at least four independent power supplies. I assume one for the drive, one for digital section, maybe one for master clock and one for analogue output. These are custom made EI type transformers. Boards with individual modules are placed next to the rear panel. Right behind the drive one can spot a board with DAC and master clock. Vitus builds this high quality master clock by themselves. I couldn't see the markings on DAC chips but the previous version featured Analog Devices AD1955 DAC. Same board hosts four high quality polypropylene Mundorf M-Cap capacitors - probably they are part of I/U converter. Also output modules, same as DAC, are closed inside metal shielding housings. These are SMD circuits working in class A with no negative feedback. These are the same as used for SL-102 preamplifier. Upsampling Signal, before it goes to DAC is processed by upsampling module (a digital filter). It's a large, plastic box placed next to digital input section. Previous version of the Player featured Anagram Technologies Q5 filter, that is used also in Cambridge Audio CD Players. CA bought exclusive rights for this upsampler so it's not available for other manufacturers anymore. The Q5 use only synchro-upsampling (with 8-times oversampling), converting 44.1 kHz PCM signal to 352.8 kHz PCM, and DSD signal to 384 kHz PCM. Same circuit changes 16 bit signal into 24 bit. As I mentioned in my review of Soulution 745, it's a true extrapolation system and not just adding 8 „empty” bits. The Anagram Technologies company doesn't exist anymore, now it is named EngineeRED and it is their module one finds inside new Vitus version. Now it is called Q8 and it's a stereo synchro-upsampler that accepts PCM signal from 32 up to 384 kHz, but also DSD64 and DSD128 (2,8224 MHz and 5,6448 MHz). It delivers a PCM 24/384 kHz signal that drives two mono D/A Converters. Remote Remote provided with the Player is surprisingly handy – same as the one used by Ancient Audio. Specifications (according to manufacturer) Master Clock: 24,576 MHz Sampling frequency for digital inputs: 32-192 kHz Resolution: 16/24 bits Output signal/output impedance: • XLR: 6 V RMS/75 Ω • RCA: 2 V RMS/75 Ω S/N: > 110 dB/XLR | > 110 dB/RCA THD: < 0,01%/XLR | < 0,01%/RCA Power consumption: 2 W/standby | 20 W/on Dimensions (W x H x D): 435 x 130 x 430 mm Weight: 26 kg [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/vitus/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/vitus/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/vitus/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/vitus/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/vitus/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/vitus/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/vitus/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/vitus/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/vitus/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/vitus/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/vitus/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/vitus/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/vitus/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/vitus/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/vitus/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/vitus/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/vitus/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/vitus/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/vitus/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/vitus/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/vitus/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/vitus/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/vitus/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/vitus/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

do not know if, perhaps, I have masochist inclinations, but I cannot refrain from what I do. It is naïve, but I believe that if I hear, learn or use something that makes listening to music more satisfactory to me, I want to share it with others. This is why “High Fidelity” was created twelve years ago (we celebrate our birthday on May 1st :). In this way, I expose myself to mockery and taunt, as well as direct remarks regarding my mental disability from technically educated readers (most frequently made “by the way”). What can I do, it is my job. I hope that the idea of changing fuses in audio devices is not only going to activate haters, but also people who dare to think In the audio domain, solutions previously suggested by audiophiles – manufacturers of specialist devices are incorporated in the technological mainstream as part of an ongoing process. It was so in the case of decoupling printed circuit boards, tin with an addition of silver, the choice of specific metals for sockets, power cables and then USB cables, as well as with such simple facts as the one that a mechanism used to reading digital discs must be mechanically rigid and insusceptible to vibration. There are a lot of things awaiting their turn and new ones constantly appear, but there is one clear trend: most of them are sooner or later adopted by constructors and companies that had previously rejected them. It is because the effects of these changes are within reach – they just require listening. Fuses are a problem that has always existed but has been seriously taken into account just for a few years. Thermal fuses are passive elements, designed to protect electrical circuits. Their principle of operation is very simple: the element of a fuse which the current flows through blows at too high currents. The design of a fuse is equally simple – it is a housing, usually in the form of a glass tube, with metal “caps” on both sides. Sometimes it is a ceramic tube filled with quartz sand. A cut copper, silver or silver-plated tape placed inside is soldered to the “caps”. After operation, a fuse is damaged and must be replaced with a new one. We have different types of fuses, but it is not important for the audio domain. Here we only have miniature fuses in two sizes: ø 5 mm diameter, 20 mm length and ø 6.3 mm diameter, 30 mm length. What is important is that although the electrical installation in our flat (building) consists of thick copper wires and although power cables have a large conductor cross-section, electrical current eventually flows through a 1 centimeter-long thin “wire”, welded with nickel elements. However, nickel is not used in audio devices. It is no coincidence that solder with an addition of silver improves sound quality – why should it be different in this case? VERICTUM Slow-blow thermal fuses are commonly used in audio devices in front of power supply units and power supply transformers. The function of such a fuse is mainly to protect devices against fire by preventing overheating of elements exposed to short-circuit current. It is wrong to think that the main fuse protects sensitive electronic sections, semiconductor elements, etc. from damage. A fuse is, unfortunately, a necessity. Considering our own and our household members’ safety, we must not replace it with a piece of wire. It is characteristic for the audio domain treated as a hobby that most of us want to achieve the highest sound quality possible in our home systems. At some stage, time comes for an audiophile to buy better and better power cables. However, many people forget that right behind a perfect and often expensive power cable equipped with rhodium-, silver- or gold-plated plug contacts, there is a modest element – the thermal fuse. Most manufacturers of audio devices use standard, popular and cheap nickel fuses commonly applied in electronics. Audiophile fuses have also been available on the market for quite a long time. A lot of good sound lovers are already successfully using them. So, considering there is already a considerable choice of renowned good quality fuses on the market, why were X Fuse fuses created? As our team at Verictum mainly consists of demanding “long-term” audiophiles, we had personally used higher standard, very good fuses available on the market. However, we had always felt that it was possible to do more in this field, to do it in a different way and obtain even better-quality sound. We decided to investigate this matter further and create a fuse that would be optimal for us. As it eventually appeared, our work let us achieve spectacular results. This is how the first Polish audiophile fuse called X Fuse was created. X Fuse is a ceramic fuse. The conductor inside is covered with quartz sand that damps its vibrations very well, but its main function is to extinguish the electrical arc which occurs at a short circuit. The conductor of the fuse is made of silver-plated copper. The contacts of the fuse themselves are not nickel-plated, but covered with a thick layer of silver. After many hours of cryogenic freezing adjusted appropriately to X Fuse, fuse contacts are hand-polished using jewelry equipment – each fuse is polished in this way. Next, the contacts are carefully cleaned manually, using an isopropyl alcohol-based cleaning agent. Thanks to this, the purchaser does not additionally have to degrease the surface of fuse contacts. Since the fuse wire itself is protected inside against vibration by quartz, we decided to damp vibrations of the ceramic housing, too, using properly prepared multi-layer covering, to isolate our fuse as effectively as possible from this type of phenomena and unwanted distortion. The whole manual process of preparing one X Fuse lasts almost 60 minutes. X Fuse fuses are directional. Their directionality must be set after 12 hours of heating by reversing the fuse in a socket. After the direction is set, the fuse is going to “adjust” for about 50 hours. VERICTUM in “High Fidelity” TEST: Verictum DEMIURG – AC power cable BEST SOUND OF 2015: Verictum X BLOCK – EMI/RFI passive filter TEST: Verictum X BLOCK – EMI/RFI passive filter TEST: Verictum X BULK – mass filter Recordings used during the listening session: Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, Ella and Louis, Verve/Lasting Impression Music LIM UHD 045, UltraHD CD (1956/2010) Jeff Lynne’s ELO, Alone in the Universe, Columbia/Sony Music Labels (Japan)SICP-30890, Blu-spec CD2 (2015) Johann Sebastian Bach, St. John Passion, BWV 245, Smithsoniam Chamber Players and Chorus, Kenneth Slowik, Smithsonian Collection Of Recordings ND 0381, 2 x CD (1990) John Coltrane, Coltrane’s Sound, Atlantic/Rhino R2 75588, CD (1964/1999) Sławek Jaskułke Trio, On, Sławek Jaskółke, CD (2015) Tame Impala, Currents, Universal Music Australia/Hostess 4730676J, CD (2015) The Modern Jazz Quartet, Pyramid, Atlantic Records/Warner Music Japan WPCR-25125, „Atlantic 60th”, CD (1960/2006) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” – perhaps, or even for sure, the authors of the Gospel did not think of what I have in mind now: stupid is the one who says “no” just for the sake of saying “no”, without listening. Changing the classic thermal fuse in all the devices that took part in the experiment resulted in a change of sound. And these were not micro changes that were hardly perceivable and resulted from my delusion. Try doing the same thing in your system, if it is a sensible one that allows you to hear anything, and you will look differently at what I will say about the character of these changes. This itself should give some food for thought to all ignorant people (i.e. lay warriors) who use book knowledge and refuse to think independently. Changes introduced by a high-class specialized fuse designed for audio purposes are structural. They change sound in the elements that can be pointed out, specified and described, but these are not changes as such – they are effects of something underneath. But, as I say, our attention focuses on specific modifications. With the X Fuse, sound becomes lower and darker. It is something we can hear after a few seconds, with the dense percussion in Vendome from the Pyramide album of The Modern Jazz Quartet. It is also strongly present with the stingy and sharp Louis Armstrong’s trumpet in Tenderly from the album Ella and Louis and then is repeated by Ella Fitzgerald’s vocal. What happens here is interesting, as dark sound can be looked at from two different perspectives in audio – a positive and a negative one, depending on what such sound quality results from. When we deal with warming up of the musical message, i.e. a reduction of the treble, then we talk about a negative modification. It can be, of course, part of a larger compromise and eventually prove positive, but it is always a step backward. However, sound may also be lowered in connection with better distribution. A huge amount of dirt in the treble disappears then and the weight of sounds increases, as if their 3D images weighted more and their shapes were closer to their real shapes. This is what happens with the X Fuse. A lay person will like sound achieved with a basic fuse more, as it is brighter. By the way, this is how most people who buy speakers get tricked – brighter ones that sound more explicit seem better to them. Such people take their speakers home and after some time discover that “this is not it.” Overall, Verictum fuses move the centre of gravity of sound towards the midrange (its lower part). There is much more information in the treble than before, but not everything is given at once. A classic fuse moves towards very explicit sound in which everything is clear and equally unambiguous, while it is not what happens in music. It is where differences, contrasts and slight shifts matter a lot. X Fuse allows us to detect them better and more easily. At the same time, the midrange becomes denser. The piano in jazz recordings had a more present “body”, it was not just another layer of the recording. The differentiation of the musical message was significantly better. Thanks to the fact that delicate “murmuring”, which had been added to all sounds, disappeared from the treble, Fitzgerald’s vocal was more natural. It was not really properly recorded when it comes to the treble and it may often sound harsh. If it is not so, then your system modifies this part of the sound range, towards withdrawal. However, thanks to the openness, her voice is so “present” and expansive. X Fuse gave it more freedom and, at the same time, removed dirt from the stressed sibilants – the treble was still too strong, but did not attract attention. Bass also changes in a very interesting way. These changes are not as explicit as in the case of higher frequencies, or at least we do not perceive them in such an unambiguous way. This is perhaps why the sound is so coherent. There is not more or less bass, but the way of presentation of the sounds attack changes. With X Fuse it is softer and less contour. It is closer to what I know from reality. However, this is why it is not as explicit as with an ordinary fuse. One needs to know how the double bass and piano sound to appreciate X Fuse. Without the awareness, one may be more fond of sound oriented at stressing the rhythm, achieved with an ordinary standard fuse. Summary Fuses are associated with the same problem as power cables – worse ones sound better to a lay person if, of course, such a person at all considers the possibility that something may change and will allow for an “unguarded moment” while sitting down to make such a comparison. If not – well, nothing can be enforced. However, it is worth considering that the absent ones cannot vote. The problem that I am talking about consists in a bright, contour and often shrill sound of such elements. People who are used to the “quality” of their smartphone headphones are also used to low quality sound that is “right” for them and therefore they consider such sound as “normal”, because it is the only sound quality that they know. However, neither you, nor me are natural-born audiophiles, are we? This has to be learnt. After accommodation and time spent with something better, it is impossible to return to the previously used crap. It is true for both power cables and fuses. X Fuse changes sound clearly – it is ca. 5% of the sound of even very expensive products, which is a lot, indeed. It makes sound denser, more substantial and makes less mess in the treble. It makes listening to music more comfortable, as if a small thorn – invisible, but still irritating – was removed from our finger. Tests do not cost us anything, apart from our time. However, this is what we do in the audio domain and this is what the fun is all about – spending time listening to music and finding the best solutions for this purpose. Fuses such as X Fuse are a little brick in the wall. Nothing is going to fall without it, since it is not the cornerstone, but when we use it, we will be able to build higher and higher structures. FLEETWOOD MAC Tusk Warner Bros. Records/Warner Music Japan WPCR-17017/9 Medium: 3 x SHM-CD Premiere/remaster: October 12th 1979/January 20th 2016 Tusk, Fleetwood Mac’s twelfth album released on October 12th 1979, was broadly commented in the press. It was even not because of its huge popularity – although it was really big and, in total, 4 million copies were sold. It was due to its enormous budget: over 1 million dollars (today that would be several times more). The sum was so big that the record company, Warner Bros., declared that the album was a failure for which it blamed Lindsey Buckingham – the vocalist and main instrumentalist of the band. He had suggested using an innovative working method, compared to what they had done preparing the previous band’s album – Rumours. Basically, it consisted in experimenting with song lyrics, flirting with punk rock and new wave in the production layer, as well as something that the bass guitarist of the band, John McVie, called “the work of three soloists”. Only after some time did the album gain recognition and in 1981 it was nominated for the Grammy award, Tusk was a two-disc album and it was priced higher than other albums of that time ($15.98, i.e. $2 more). Though today it may not seem so much, then it was a lot of money. In the late 1980s the album was remastered to suit the needs of the Compact Disc format. The project was led by Ken Caillat, a co-producer and one of the two sound engineers who had worked on the original album. The tracks that were included on the disc were the same as on the vinyl edition when it comes to their mixes and number. In 2004 Ken Caillat remastered the album again, this time to produce a 2-disc CD version. It included, apart from the original album, demo recordings, recording session rejects and alternative song versions. On December 4th 2015, another, even richer album version was released on five discs. Apart from the album itself, demo recordings and recording session rejects (a lot of which had not been published before), the third disc included Alternate Tusk, a version of the album with tracks in their original order, but in other versions. On the next two discs there are concert recordings from the concert tour promoting the album (1979 – 80), from London, Tucson, St. Louis and one track from Omaha. The last disc – a DVD – features a stereophonic 24/96 mix and a multi-channel 5.1 mix. The release was accompanied by a vinyl re-edition on two 180g discs. At the end of 2015, information was published on stevie-nicks.info http://stevie-nicks.info that Warner Music Japan started to re-edit the band’s albums from before 1975 on SHM-CDs. They were soon joined by a 3-disc version of Tusk, also released on a SHM-CD. The first disc included the original album, the second one – material rejected during recording, demos and alternative mixes, and the third one – an alternative version of the album with songs that almost none of which had ever been published before. Dan Hersch remastered the material in d2 studio. The album was released in a 4-part, beautiful, paper box, with a booklet, a lot of photos and discs put in antistatic plastic pockets. Bravo! SOUND The tracks on the album were recorded in different ways, depending on what instruments were used in them. They also differ when it comes to their sound quality – from the excellent opening track Over & Over or Sara to the much weaker Save Me A Place and What Makes You Think You’re The One (Lindsey Buckingham recorded some of the material at home). However, listening to it is a pleasure, even if the 1970s are not close to our hearts. There is honesty and directness, and a lot of music. I like the album even more since the remaster is flawless. although we hear a lot of compression used during recording, now it does not bother us. Perhaps it is because the guitars are incredibly tangible. They are dense when it is necessary, as well as “here and now” – like in, for example, at the beginning of The Ledge. Vocals are presented quite far away in the mix, but that is typical for recordings from that time. The whole thing is mostly very dense – I liked Not That Funny very much – it has the energy and drive. I like the album very much and the remaster is one of the best ones with this type of music from that time that I have listened to. Even the remastered versions of Eric Clapton’s albums released by the renowned Audio Fidelity company sound less distributive and more one-dimensional. Sound quality: 6-8/10 REMASTER: 10/10 www.warnerbrosrecords.com wmg.jp

ny turntable consists of few main elements: chassis, platter with main bearing, motor and tonearm with cartridge. These are just few elements but the possible combinations are many. Each of the is available in many versions, variants, finishes, made using different technologies. There are suspended designs and mass loaders, belt-drive and direct drive, there are uni-pivot tonearms and those that use cardan bearings – so many options already and it is still just a tip of an iceberg. But often each manufacturer chooses his favorite solutions and sticks to them. Something of significant importance must happen to change his mind. One of such companies is the German Transrotor based in Trangisch Gladbach. Its owner, Mr Jochen Räke, is an 'old-school' engineer, so to speak, and he had developed several patents on his own that are slowly but surely still developed and improved. He focused his efforts on non-suspended mass-loaders. He builds them of acrylic, aluminum and brass and for some products he also uses a polymer called POM. He is a bearing specialist and he uses his ideas, such as TMD (Transrotor Magnet Drive) in more expensive models. This solution transfers drive from a lower part (driven using belt by a motor) to the upper part using magnets placed between these two parts. This solution minimizes transfer of vibration between motor and platter/record, hence stylus of a cartridge. Transrotor does not make its own tonearms. Instead they modify arms made by Japanese Jelco and British SME. They actually carefully select the best among delivered arms, they disassembly them and assemble them back with a lower tolerance. Arms used by Transrotor receive new names such as: Transrotor TR-800S (Jelco SA-250), TR-5009 (SME 309) and TR-5012 (SME 312). It's possible to order decks with SME M2-9 and M2-12 tonearms. In the past Transrotor also offered its decks fitted with Rega arms, but since too many of these were rejected during selection they decided not to use them anymore. Jupiter Even those who know all that are surprised every year in Munich (during High End show) by – Johen Räke and his son, Dirk (a member of Krakow Sonic Society, read HERE), with some novelty. Using all these well known elements they still manage to put something new together. Also last year one could find some new products in their room. But the most important premiere they saved until now – Jupiter is unlike any of other models offered so far so it is safe to call it a complete novelty. Yes, it is still a non-suspended mass-loader (made of acrylic and aluminum) with a synchronous motor and a belt-drive. But it is the details that make it truly interesting. When you look at it from above you should see a different shape, and after a closer inspection you should realize that this design is an example of a different mechanical approach too. The acrylic chassis is shaped into an oval. It's center of gravity was moved towards tonearm base and when you look at it from above you can see that the opposite (to the tonearm base) edge of the chassis is hidden under the platter. Also the main bearing is decoupled in a different way. A high quality hydro-dynamic bearing is bolted to the chassis. A different solution is used in different models where bearing is decoupled using three feet. In Jupiter the main bearing is support with a solid pin that that sits on a ceramic ball. Same solution is used in anti-vibration feet by brands such as Finite Elemente and Franc Audio Accessories. An aluminum disc, with rubber washer underneath, is placed directly under the ceramic ball. The supported point lays directly in axis of a main shaft which changes completely dispersion of resonances. There are two more feet supporting the chassis with steel balls underneath and with large knobs on top that allow to easily level the chassis. One has to place two large discs under those steel balls. It might look as if the platter stands on one foot, kept in vertical position by chassis, while two other feet support tonearm. Motor is placed separately, next to the chassis. When designing this deck manufacturer came up with idea for an upgrade – I guess the idea came from their experience from building Zet 3. Together with Jupiter, or later on, one might also buy additional base. It is not just a platform one puts deck on. It reorganizes the whole mechanical design. The base features chromed, brass pits that match deck's feet. In fact these 'pits' are elements of feet integrated with this base, that add more isolation between turntable and the surface it is placed on. When one uses this additional base motor moves to a cut-out in the chassis situated close to the main bearing, hidden under the platter. One has to use a shorter belt too. TRANSROTOR in „High Fidelity” TEST: Transrotor ZET 3 INFINITY – turntable, see HERE TEST: Transrotor DARK STAR SILVER SHADOW – turntable, see HERE TEST: Transrotor ZET 3 (New Version) – turntable (with two motors), see HERE TEST: Transrotor ZET 1 MATT WHITE – turntable, see HERE INTERVIEW: JOCHEN RÄKE, Transrotor, see HERE COVERAGE: DIRK RÄKE and Transrotor ARTUS FMD (130 000 EUR) in Cracow, see HERE TEST: Transrotor ARGOS – turntable, see HERE TEST: Transrotor SUPER SEVEN LAROCCIA – turntable, see HERE TEST: Transrotor FAT BOB S – turntable, see HERE Records used for the test (a selection) Benny Carter, Jazz Giant, Contemporary Records/Analogue Productions AJAZ 7555, „45 RPM Limited Edition #0404", 2 x 180 g LP (1957/2009) Clutch, Psychic Fanfare, Weathermaker Music WM042, 180 g LP (2015) Halina Frąckowiak, Geira, Polskie Nagrania „Muza” SX 1428, LP (1977) Halina Frąckowiak, Serca gwiazd, Wifon LP 051, LP (1983) Johnny Hartman, I Just Dropped By To Say Hello, Impulse!/Original Recording Group ORG 027, 2 x 45 rpm, 180 g LP (1963/2013) Kabaret Starszych Panów, Piosenki wybrane, Polskie Nagrania L0393, „Płyta wzorcowa”, LP (1962) Mel Tormé, Mel Tormé with the Marty Paich Dek-tette, Bethlehem/London Records LTZ-N155009, LP (1957) Skalpel, Transit, PlugAudio PL02, 2 x 180 g LP (2014) Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, Autumn in Seattle, First Impression Music FIM LP 004-LE, 200 g LP (2001/2011) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] The more Transrotor products I have a chance to listen to the more sure I get that my and Mr Räke's priorities are quite similar. Taking all differences into account my first choice would still be that what I heard listening to Argos, Zet 3, and now Jupiter. All these turntable have some things in common – they all offer very liquid, rich sound and something I like to call „funk”. Music is presented as a whole – listener doesn't have to put elements of the presentation together as what he gets is just music. It comes at a cost – sound is not as selective as it could be, not as resolving either and the range is not as extended as offered by some other turntables. I can only highly recommend paying this price, because some elements of the presentation can be corrected using some other means, but if presentation is not enjoyable nothing will change that. That's what you get with Jupiter. One might call its sound: warm, but only if one means lack of any brightness and not lowering of tonal balance. Yes, it is not particularly well developed but it is the cartridge that should take most of the credit for that and not the turntable. But the truth is that while listening we don't care about treble, bass and so on, because what attracts attention first is a large scale, rich presentation. The key part of the range is definitely midrange. It is not about emphasis in this part of the range but rather about 'bigger' size sounds in the midband, as if midrange used some enhancement drugs. Vocals, mostly male ones, but female too, sounded really well, they were rich and palpable. The amazing Johnny Hartman, accompanied on I Just Dropped By To Say Hello by among others Hank Jones, Illinois Jacquet, Kenny Burrell and Jim Hall, sang with particularly deep, rich voice. Just as Mel Tormé did on original release of the album with Marty Paich. They were „crooners” and they sounded like it. Not so well developed treble plus particularly rich midrange created an impression of a very palpable, intimate musical experience. But these two elements do not dominate the presentation, which is very important, of course. I listened to some old Polish releases surely not representing any special sound quality and Transrotor proved that it was able to treat them in a neutral way, without emphasizing their problems. An example - Geira album by Halina Frąckowiak. It's her second album and it was composed and played by SBB, Polish group at their prime. Same year this band released another album Ze słowem biegnę do ciebie with a much more progressive music then anything they recorded before. Sound quality on Frąckowiak album is pretty poor, treble is rolled-off – I believe - already at 5 kHz, there is not too much bass either (to be clear - I played the first release in mint condition). But the music is very interesting and it tells a story of its own. Jupiter played it in a very nice way. Technical issues of the album were there but presentation focused on music as such. A bit dull sound was 'enriched' with a three-dimensional midrange and a nice, rich bass. This turntable is fully capable of a very good differentiation – I experienced that playing high quality records such as Benny Carter's Jazz Giant, a unique release by First Impression Music – the vinyl version of Tsuyoshi Yamamoto's Autumn in Seattle, or finally a double album Transit by Polish duo Skalpel. Being fed with high quality material Jupiter delivered a silky, but rich, 'present' treble, and powerful bass. Music was vivid, large scale and inviting listener in. Depth of the soundstage is not particularly impressive. But the whole presentation is very palpable with leading vocal or instrument placed in front of speakers' line (if it was recorded this way). Price that we pay for it is not really high, but we need to be aware that it has to be paid. Bass control is not that good as it could be. It is not softened but the attack is not particularly fast and when needed sounds are not stopped as fast as they should. And there is a soundstage, that is not particularly deep. As it turned out some of these aspects could be improved with upgrades proposed by manufacturer. Just like it is possible with Zet 3, also with Jupiter it is possible to turn it into more advanced, hence more expensive version. I'm not even considering the most obvious upgrade – replacing the cartridge. I believe that this particular setup is optimal. Despite the fact it is an inexpensive MM cart I suppose that it was carefully chosen by Mr Räke. I did not try another potential upgrade, that I had with Zet 3, meaning I did not replace the main bearing with a TMD one. Why? Because Jupiter features a truly high quality bearing so replacing it with TMD would not cause such spectacular improvement as it had for Zet 3 – standard bearing in the latter is not of such a high quality as this one. This upgrade will make sense when all others are already implemented. UPGRADE Base | Power supply I'd start with adding the optional base to the mix. It is also the simplest upgrade to implement and it offers significant performance and aesthetics enhancement. Sound becomes deeper and more open. It also becomes more present, I felt more like being THERE, even though I had not felt like I was missing this aspect before. But that's how it works with high quality audio. If you feel a need to change something in your system it means that what you have is not a “good audio” yet. Period. Using optional base makes even more sense if you plan to use also another upgrade – an external power supply/controller, a great looking Konstant Eins. I listened to Jupiter with Konstant Eins when with deck alone and with it placed on optional base. In both cases it improved the sound even more than a base alone. Without the base Eins shortens attack phase, improves bass control and cleans the sound of any noise. These are all improvements. But there are also some downsides – shorter decay, slightly less energy in the sound, while Jupiter sauté is amazingly energetic. In my opinion adding power supply before other upgrades improves all „hi-fi” aspects of the presentation without improving “musical” ones. Of course this addition makes using Jupiter easier as it allows user to easily change speed (by a push of a button instead of manual change) . The real magic of this power supply starts to work if one applies optional base first. Shorter bass decay translates then into clearer treble. In this configuration sound is both energetic and rich, palpable and dense and focused. Hi-Fi meets music. Even standard version of Jupiter sounds really well. Upgrades help but are not necessary. It is good to know though, that buying standard version creates an upgrade path that might be followed in future. Might be but doesn't have to be – choice is yours. Summary A natural point of reference for Jupiter is Zet 3. Wake me up in the middle of the night and ask me which one would I chose and most likely I won't have an answer for you. But if you push me hard enough I'd probably point to Jupiter. Mostly for aesthetic reasons – it's smaller and sleeker then upgraded version of Zet 3. They sound similar although not the same. Zet 3 delivers larger scale, more selective sound and deeper soundstage. Jupiter focuses more on music, on delivering is a nice, all-round sound no matter what kind of music it has to play. There are fewer pops&cracks with Zet 3. Jupiter's owner will have to clean his records more often that Zet 3's. OK, forget about all that – if you are to choose between these two first decide which one you like more, then have a listen to find out which one satisfies your expectations. I know this does not sound like a professional advice but it is a practical one. If you choose Jupiter, you'll get a nice looking, good sounding turntable that will allow you to enjoy music, a lot! You can upgrade it later but it's a choice. Just buy more records and enjoy listening to them. I've already described most elements of the turntable in the beginning of this text so there is no point of repeating that. Jupiter comes already with tonearm and cartridge installed and adjusted, so almost ready to play. One has to set proper VTF. Package includes a simple protractor that allows user to set overhang and azimuth if one replaces cartridge with a different one. Another template helps to place a motor in a proper distance from platter. Motor is connected with external power supply – it's a small transformer in a plastic enclosure with a mechanical, backlit switch. Motor's housing feature a small on/off switch. A belt has to be placed on a smaller diameter pulley on motor's axis (for 33,3 r.p.m. speed) or on bigger one (for 45 r.p.m.). To change speed one has to manually move belt from one pulley to the other. Platter is made of aluminum and it weight 7 kg. It features a vinyl mate on top, and the bottom of the platter is not flat, but has concentric rings, which improve its mechanical properties. Same solution is used in other Transrotor's models, such as Zet 3, for example, although Jupiter uses a smaller, lighter version of the latter. Platter is placed on a large (Ø 60mm) bearing, that acts also as a subplatter. An AC motor should be placed next to the deck, on the same surface. Its housing is made of brass and is not particularly tall. Acrylic armboard is placed on aluminum pillars above decks chassis. Turntable features a 9'', gimballed, S-shape TR-800S tonearm with detouchable headshell. Lets be smart like Japanese and buy a higher quality headshell from one of specialists such as: Phasemation, Oyaide, ZYX, or some other one. Or even better lets buy a few of them to use one with each cartridge we have. If you do so you replace one headshell with another one, adjust VTF and voila! Japanese use nice, plastic boxes for headshells with cartridges installed in them. Specifications (according to manufacturer) Chassis: acrylic, thickness (with feet) 30 mm Platter: aluminum, 55 mm thick, weight: 7 kg Standard version includes: TR 800-S tonearm, MM Goldring Elektra cartridge, aluminum platter weight Dimensions (W x D x H): 540 x 400 x 160 mm (without additional base with motor placed separately) 440 x 400 x 180 mm (with additional base) Weight: around 17 kg [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/th/13.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/13.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/transrotor/13.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

ithin 18 months after my review of integrated amplifier IPA-70B by Italian manufacturer Norma, nothing really changed for them – they still make extremely solid and good looking products that give me something more when I look at them – some sort of a comfort. I mean that after unpacking these two devices I didn't spend any time thinking about what was the designer's idea behind this products, why he made them the way he did. I just took them out of boxes, installed them in my system and focused on music. On the outside SC-2 preamplifier and PA-150 stereo power amplifier from Revo line look a lot like other Norma products. Their enclosures are made of thick aluminum plates. Top and bottom panels are not square – their back edge is not as wide as the front one and side edges are nicely rounded, which reminds me of cabinets of Sonus faber loudspeakers. The enclosure its self, apart from top and bottom panels is square with black side walls being partially occupied by large radiators. The rest of the enclosure is silver with brushed aluminum finish. Black version is also available upon order. REVO SC-2 RC-2 is a stereo linestage. Optional modules might be ordered with it (or later) and installed inside. These are D/A Converter and phonostage modules. Manufacturer when describing this device pointed out its few particular features. You might remember some other manufacturers who spent a lot of time, effort and money to develop an element, that some might consider insignificant? – AAVA used by Accuphase, special, Japanese, custom made potentiometers used by Octave for their Jubilee preamplifier, a hybrid, analogue-digital attenuator used by German company Linnenberg (test in the same issue of HF), digital volume control used by dCS and many others – all of them developed with a single goal in mind - attenuators, elements adjusting volume should be as transparent (meaning adding nothing of their own to the sound) as only possible. Norma decided to develop their own version of a solution known for years – a digitally controlled, analogue resistors ladder. It's called P.D.A.A. (Programmable Digital Analogue Attenuation). In general it's nothing new – we know it from many product, but usually it takes form of a chip that integrates digital control, resistor ladder and active output buffer. It's an inexpensive solution that works pretty well in many applications. But if you expect more than of-the-shelf solution has to offer you need to go a different way. Norma decided to create its own discrete version featuring precise resistors switchable by relays controlled by a microprocessor. This attenuation allows to adjust volume in a wide range of 127,5 dB in 0,5 dB steps. This is not the only special feature of SC-2. It offers a unique possibility of choosing between active and passive mode. There are fans of both solutions – with this preamplifier they don't have to choose – each user might decide which mode to use. To make it even easier remote sports a single button allowing switching between these modes, plus to make comparison credible one can use a proper setting that compensated gain difference. Nominal difference is of 17,5 dB (gain of active mode) but I found out that 20 dB setting was closer to a true difference. Another feature, not that common although offered by, for example, Accuphase, are optional modules that might be installed inside the device. One of them is DAC1-REVO (8690 PLN), a D/A Converter. It features 5 digital inputs including: USB 2.0, 2 x RCA (S/PDIF), AES/EBU and an optical TOSLINK. All of them accept PCM signal up to 24 bits and192 kHz. This DAC is not compatible with DSD as its designers decided to use a high quality, though older generation DAC chips that can't process DSD signal. Any signal is upsampled in DAC first and then converted to analogue. Upsampling frequency is user-selectable. It can be also completely turned off. Optional phonostage module, PH3-REVO (1690 PLN), is quite elaborate. These are two small, separate PCBs, one for each channel. It features impedance and gain adjustments. It works with low and high level MC cartridges, but also with MM ones. A particularly rare option offered by Norma is a module for a multi-channel analogue system. It allows SC-2 user to connect even 3 power amplifiers and create a high-end multi-channel system either for multi-channel (SACD) music playback or for home cinema. Last but not least – there is also an optional, metal, very nice looking REVO RC-43ALU (1690 PLN) remote. With device manufacturer delivers a standard, plastic one. All information are displayed on a large display. It features two lines for displaying information and while adjusting volume or selecting an input a relevant information is shown using both lines. In this way everyone will see the information even from across the room. Finally! Somebody thought of that! REVO PA-150 The power amplifier is, as always, much 'simpler', much easier to operate. Front panel features only the on/off switch, and the rear one offers no surprises. Norma delivers up to 150 W per channel into 8Ω loading, and 280 W at 4 Ω. It uses 3 separate power supplies – for a gain, driver and output sections. One of the parameters that Norma treats very seriously is a frequency range – in PA-150's case it is extremely wide reaching 2 MHz. This allows to improve rise time factor significantly. Such manufacturers as Soulution and Yon Audio follow similar path. The device is controlled by a microprocessor that monitors its operation and manages safety circuits. During regular operation this circuits goes into standby mode to limit its influence on sound. Both products look great, are user-friendly and offer better functionality than many competitors. NORMA AUDIO IN „High Fidelity” REVIEW: Norma Audio Electronics REVO IPA-70B - integrated amplifier (Polish) Recordings used for the test (a selection) Bill Evans Trio, Moon Beams, Riverside/Victor Entertainment VICJ-61325, K2HD CD (1962/2005) Chris Connor, Chris Connor sings the George Gershwin Almanac of Song, Atlantic/Warner Music Japan, WPCR-25164/5, „Atlantic 60th”, 2 x CD (1961/2007) Fleetwood Mac, Tusk, Warner Bros. Records/Warner Music JapanWPCR-17017/9, 3 x SHM-CD (1973/2015) Focus, At the Rainbow, Imperial/Red Bullet/Victor VICP-63666, K2HD CD (1973/2006) Frank Sinatra, Lost & Found | The Radio Years, Sony Music 8875147142, CD (2015); Frank Sinatra, Sinatra Sings Gershwin, Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music Entertainment 507878 2, CD (2003). Jeff Lynne’s ELO, Alone in the Universe, Columbia/Sony Music Labels (Japan)SICP-30890, Blu-spec CD2 (2015) Kraftwerk, Live on Radio Bremen, Philips (?) 2561971, Bootleg, CD (2006) Miles Davis, Bitches Brew, Columbia/Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDSACD 2-2149, „Special Limited Edition No. 1229”, 2 x SACD/CD (1970/2014) Talk Talk, Laughing Stock, Polydor 847 717-2, CD (1991) Tame Impala, Currents, Universal Music Australia/Hostess 4730676J, CD (2015) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] Before I start with description of Norma's performance let me tell you shortly about my impressions of their operation. Why? Because it's a PRODUCT, and not only an amplifier, how we feel about its operation is almost as important as its performance – that how I perceive audio products. These Italian products belong to the same league as those coming from dCS, Accuphase, Soulution, Devialet – just to name a few very different brands but sharing a similar, exemplary I might add, ethics about what they do. These manufacturers treat their customers seriously and they treat relations with them as a long term “investment”. Make and finish of Norma products are fantastic. They offer unique functionality – I don't know if it was planned or not, but together with other above mentioned brands, they set standard for the whole industry, a standard others should be judged by. These are also trustworthy products – you look at them and see a reliable product. It is not just about its build, although it is an important factor, but about something else that one notices while listening to the music, when connecting cables, when configuring the system. Results of such changes are reliable and the same each time. I was sure each time what changed in particular configuration. Switching from active to passive mode, using internal or external DAC, and when using internal then with upsampling on or off, with particular master clock setting – each such change introduced some concrete results worth considering. I never felt like I was faced with “the only one” outcome, I was always given a choice. OK, no lets get back to the sound. Finding out sonic signature of product with so many functional variables is not easy as it requires much more comparisons than usually, also cross-comparisons. And yet it did not take me too long to find out optimal settings. I will present them at the end of this text, as these worked best for me which doesn't mean they will work in every situation as they are not the only “right” ones. They depend on situation, system, room, personal preferences and so on. This Italian pre+power combo delivers remarkably resolving sound. It does not happen to often but in this case I dare to say that because it was as clear to me as when I reviewed dCS Rossini. Music sound fresh, open with abundance of information about instruments, space and dynamics. The first impression, especially if one moves from some warm, probably tube system, to this one might be confusing. At first Norma might seem to offer bit too “light” sound, without proper foundation, maybe even too bright. But that will be a shock coming from huge difference between this system and previous one and not the real sonic character of Italian devices. One of key features here is transparency. Norma takes the signal and without making it brighter or harsher it reduces it to very basic elements and then puts them back together in the space between speakers with “accompanying comments”. Differences between pressings, recording techniques and so on are shown in a particularly clear way. But it is a different way than the one used by other devices of equally high performance. Italian amplifier differentiates sound by presenting tiny changes in sound pitch and dynamics, and not that distinctly those those in tonality. These two elements are simply remarkable and it's hard to find any decent competition in this area. Sound is really focused, especially in lower part of the range which allows user to pump up the volume without facing any usual problems, or play at very low level – that's up to the listener. Italian system achieves that by delivering lower midrange that is a little bit more dry than bass and range above 800Hz which creates this impression of remarkable transparency. This also a reason why Sinatra's silky vocal won't be rendered within our hand's grasp. This presentation reminded me of live concert where one always sees and hears the performing band from some distance, some perspective. And while each musician/instrument have distinct contours and body, the key element of the presentation is how they all work together to create 'bigger picture'. Particular sounds are very clear, and their localization very precise not just in front of us but, if needed, also around us, like on Tame Impala album (listen to the track called Nangs). But since information about space relations is also delivered one perceives this presentation as precise and tonally neutral (meaning – with no coloration). Choices The sound of Italian setup is most of all remarkable resolving. And resolving sound means also natural. The above mentioned Sinatra is not pushed towards listener but rather clearly rendered few meters from listening position. And he sounds amazing with his peculiar voice timbre even if one listens to old recordings from 1930ties and 1940ties. On the other hand a jazz trio or quartet are rendered bit closer to listener, proving that they were recorded using microphones placed close to instruments. And yet one can hear instruments breathing, surrounded by air, placed in a large space. The ambiance is also nicely differentiated – it might me meditative like on Miles' Bitches Brew, or very intimate like in Bill Evans Trio's Moon Beams. What I'm trying to tell you is very simple: Norma presents things the way they are. Some accents in presentation must be shifted, like a not so distinctly articulated midrange, or a shorter, more focused bass, but after all – that's just an electronic device, not music itself, it is its mechanical reproduction and not direct live experience. Such a remarkable transparency, sensitivity to slightest changes of dynamics, timbre, instruments placement on stage – also in mono recordings! – allows user to be creative when building a system around these devices. But trust me – the high quality will accompanying components be the better Norma will perform. First of all, in my opinion, having a system with internal DAC one doesn't need another, external one. Think about a high quality CD transport or music server. Norma's DAC module offers already high quality and another benefit of using it is lack of interconnects between source and preamplifier. I'd suggest: Reimyo CDT-777 and something like Encore ENC-5, or if you need more decibels on of JBL's speakers from Monitor line. And there are also Harbeth speakers – they love high power and highly resolving amps like Norma's. Each of these choices will constitute a fantastic system offering amazing performance. Go to DAC settings, turn upsampling off, use transport's master clock, „slow” filter, and that should result in its best performance. Try also using Direct Down sampling, even if without upsampler it delivers higher level of aliasing distortion – just do something against common sense. And – if you do use internal DAC – choose preamplifier's active mode. Although I'm not perfectly sure about the latter. For the first time passive preamplifier offer a competitive performance to an active one. Dynamics might suffer just a bit, which is to be expected, but at the same time phantom images gain more body and the accent is now placed bit lower still in upper midrange, which is a good thing too. Using this option I enjoyed jazz most. Passive mode results in a bit denser and more liquid presentation while active one improves dynamics and make music more 'present' in the room which suits rock and electronic music most. When comparing these two modes remember that there is around 20 dB gains difference between them that needs to be adjusted. Summary The often recalled by audiophiles axiom about amplifier being just a piece of wire with some gain is not realistic, it's confusing at best. There is no such thing and there never will be; the best designers try to keep the lowest possible distortion level, but only when it doesn't hurt presentation. What is always worth pursuing is the highest possible resolution. Norma's system is a living proof that when designer succeeds in this respect result are astounding. There is no coloration of any sort in the sound which allows recordings to sound as they are intended to. It's a particularly rich, multi-layer presentation providing us insight into a complex musical structure. Impressive dynamics, transparency and clarity further improve this already astonishing picture. Don't expect nice, warm vocals, or mid-bass that you can feel in your gut, or the subsonic bass. What you get is highly focused, top level performance. I've got a feeling that some music fans will have to grow up to fully appreciate it. The main features of both devices were already discussed so I won't repeat myself. REVO SC-2 Front I haven't mentioned preamplifier's operation yet. It's operated with a combination of push buttons and a blue, two-line display. The latter delivers information on selected input and volume level, and when in 'menu' mode it presents more options. Because the display is controlled by a microprocessor featuring a well designed software, user has access to many functions of the device. User can rename inputs, set a timer that shuts display of after some time, choose a volume control mode („quiet” and „loud” – relays are switched in a different way depending on the choice one makes), set start volume level the device is switched on with, input sensitivity, AV mode and some others. Most of them are really useful, other might come handy one day so are a valuable addition. Volume control is performed using two push buttons – there is no large knob featured in Norma's integrated amplifiers. Rear Rear panel reveals an ambitious approach of Norma's designer. Inputs and outputs are grouped separately for left and right channel. A separate group includes digital inputs – that's optional DAC module. There are six analogue inputs with two of them being balanced (XLR) ones, and the rest unbalanced (RCA). Input no. 1 might be replaced with phono input. If this module is installed but not used I would recommended inserting RCA plugs into this input as it decreases noise level significantly. There are two outputs – 1 x RCA and 1 x XLR. At the side there is also a RS232 port reserved for future use. DAC module features 5 inputs with one of them – RCA – that could be configured as an output. Menu allows user to adjust many parameters such as: upsampling setting, digital filter setting, or master clock setting. Manufacturer used only high quality connectors – also RCA ones. That happens extremely rarely regardless of price level. Interior It's a dual-mono, modular design. There are separate sections for right and left channel, power supply, and the digital section sits at the side. Power supply is heavily shielded with aluminum screen. It is based on a large toroidal transformer. PCB above it hold three large rectifier bridges. Obviously left and right channel and most likely also digital section have separate power supplies. There are many smoothing capacitors here. The preamplifier section is quite elaborate, although volume control section is closed inside solid, aluminum box/shield. Two separate modules are, I presume, gain stages. I couldn't see what elements were used here. But I did see that XLR output are buffered with Burr Brown INA134PA chips. Phono modules, one for each channel, need to be plugged into proper sockets on the main board. Phonostage is based on Burr Brown OPA604 chips, but these are replaceable. The whole digital section looks like it was taken out of an advanced D/A Converter. Which reminded me some other devices I saw before, namely made by YBA (see HERE. It consists of an advanced, dual-mono power supply, DAC and output stage. From receiver signal goes to SRC 4392 upsampler, that might be turned off, or upsampling frequency can be changed by user. Then comes digital filter DIF1706, again with user selectable settings. DAC feature two pieces of high end NOS chip: Burr Brown PCM1704 or to be exact its selected version: ‘K’. Next two it there are two high quality master clocks for 44,1 and 48 kHz frequencies. Than there are two black cubes most likely hiding I/U converter and gain stage. This is incredibly well build device, period. REVO PA-150 Power amplifier's external design is, understandably, much simpler, it also features much less functions. Front panel hold only an on/off switch, rear – XLR and RCA inputs with a tiny selector between them, and two pairs of speakers binding posts. All connectors reek of high quality. The way they are arranged suggest already that this is a dual-mono amplifier. Same as in preamplifier also here driver and gain stage are encapsulated inside aluminum boxes. These are transistors and high quality passive elements. Two large toroidal transformers are also heavily shielded. These transformers were designed to work in audio device. Each of them delivers 400 W. Input, driver and current sections feature separate power supplies with the former two being highly regulated. Gain stage circuit sits on one PCB. Below there is another PCB with power supply featuring no less than 12 large capacitors per channel, with total capacity of over 70 000 μF. Output stage features four complementary pairs of MOSFET transistors per channel working in push-pull configuration. Specifications (according to manufacturer) REVO SC-2 Input: 4 RCA, 2 XLR Balanced, Optional Phono at INPUT 1 Input Impedance: 47Kohm (not selected input) / 10 Kohm (Selected Input) Input Configuration: Phono MM/MC, Line, Balanced, Multichannel & DAC option Output: 1 RCA, 1 XLR Balanced Output Impedance: 220 ohm Output Voltage: 7.5 V r.m.s. Frequency Response: 0 Hz – 2.0 MHz (-3dB, non filtered) Gain: 17.5 dB Active mode, 0 dB Passive mode Circuitation: Solid state, Dual Mono, hi speed, low noise Supply: 230 V AC / 50 Hz (100V AC or 115 VAC / 50-60Hz in some countries) Dimensions (HxWxD): 110 x 430 x 365 mm Weight: 15 Kg REVO PA-150 Connections: 1 RCA, 1 XLR Balanced Input Impedance: 47Kohm (non sel. input) / 33Kohm (sel. input) Outputs Voltage: 1 Binding Post couple, 4mm Banana and forks Frequency Response: 0 Hz – 2.0 MHz (-3dB, non filtered) Output Power: 150W RMS / 8Ohm – 280W RMS / 4 Ohm (per channel) Gain, Sensitivity: 28.5 dB, 1.30 V r.m.s. / 150 W – 8 Ohm Configuration: Dual Mono Configuration: Solid state Power devices: MosFet, 4 couple each channel Available output current: 48 A continuous, 200 A peak (each channel) Capacity of filter: 72.000 Uf, 12 capacity for each channel Electric Transformers: 2 toroidal special audio use, 400 VA each channel Supply: 230 V AC / 50 Hz (100V AC or 115 VAC / 50-60Hz in some country) Dimensions (HxWxD): 110x430x365mm (excluding footers and rear connections ) Weight: 25 Kg [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/13.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/13.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/13.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/14.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/14.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/14.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/15.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/15.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/15.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/16.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/16.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/16.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/18.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/18.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/18.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/19.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/19.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/19.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/20.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/20.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/20.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/21.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/21.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/21.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/22.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/22.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/22.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/23.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/23.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/23.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/24.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/24.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/24.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/norma/th/25.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/norma/25.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/norma/25.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

innenberg Elektronik offers thousands of products and most of them come from the Far East. China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan quickly conquered a market segment that seemed to be reserved for DIY products. DACs designed to work with computers as sources and matching headphone amplifiers seemed at first out of place on audio market. Why? Because they were cheap and no big brand imagined that they could prepare a decent product in a competitive price. Today most audio manufacturers offer such products, from Sony to Denon, from Furutech (sold under ADL brand) to OPPO. Later also audiophile companies decided to make use of this trend, and some of them were founded as a response to markets demand with Schiit Audio, or Linnenberg Elektronik being nice examples. And the latter were not particularly interested in selling their products at lowest possible price level. Or maybe they did want to offer reasonable priced products but to achieve that they tried to miniaturize their products instead of using cheep elements inside. They can't really lower the price using so called 'effect of a scale', as they don't sell quantities big enough, so they use smart saving such as clever enclosure designs and such. Inside though, one finds an advanced electronic circuits and high quality components. VIVACE 2 | UNISONO Linnenberg Elektronik was founded in 1994 and led by an engineer, Ivo Linnenberg. It is a representative of above mentioned generation of firms. Back in a day focused on classic components, such as amplifiers and CD Players, today it offers only D/A Converter Vivace 2, headphone amplifier Maestro and two power supplies – smaller called Legato and bigger one, Unisono. Both DAC and headphone amp require external power supplies. Vivace 2 is a very modern device – not just a DAC but also a preamplifier. It features four digital inputs, with USB being the prime one. This one accept PCM signal up to 384 kHz and DSD512 (Quad DSD). The others accept PCM up to 24/192. DAC features also volume control and it delivers a high output signal – up to 8 V for XLR and up to 4 V for RCA. It is powered with Legato or Unisono; for this test we received the latter. It feature an enclosure of the same dimensions as Vivace 2 and it connects to DAC with a multi-strand umbilical. All devices look solid, nice and are user-friendly. Volume level might be controlled using an Apple remote; it is not delivered with DAC – one has to buy it oneself, it costs around 30 EUR. Ivo Linnenberg Właściciel, konstruktor WOJCIECH PACUŁA: How does your DAC differ from other ones? IVO LINNENBERG: I think there are many differences to competitive products. First, we employ only the highest quality parts, usually certified for medical and demanding industrial applications. The ubiquitous voltage regulators for instance: ours (sourced from leading manufacturer Linear Technology) cost around 4 – 6 Euros compared to 30 cents parts usually employed. All resistors are 0,1% and 1% Beyschlag metal film, capacitors are sourced from WIMA to name but a few. The circuit design itself benefits from more than 20 years experience in digital audio. Every section of the DAC (power supply, USB transceiver, S/PDIF receiver, DAC stage, clocks, volume control, etc.) is designed with meticulous care. Take for instance the USB input. We use the same Amanero software, as many others (Gryphon, Yulong, Clones Audio, …) do, but we make our own hardware. This gives us the possibility to make it real special in employing a double slave structure. Take for instance the volume control. Nearly all of the competitors use the on chip volume control of the ES9018S DAC chip. We use a combination of analog attenuators for coarse control and the digital volume control for fine adjustment. The digital attenuation never joins in for more than 6dB. Such a low attenuation shows completely no losses – in real world, not just mathematical. What was your goal when designing Vivace 2? Tell you the truth? It was always my intention to build something that suited my own requirements and needs. I can’t stand having mediocre gear in my living room. Nevertheless, it is a commercial product. As such, my goal was to offer a prospective customer a product with an superior quality for a reasonable price. I always try to fit in as much technology as it is financially feasible. Sometimes I leave the region of ample margins. As I am not financially driven, I am free to do so. I am happy when a customer is happy – not when my bank account looks nice. How does Unisono improve Vivace 2's performance? Generally, the UNISONO improves bass performance and image stability. Nonetheless, the difference between the standard LEGATO and UNISONO is relatively small as long as your mains is stable and clean. The integrated mains filter in the UNISONO compensates for almost everything. Tell me a few words about you and your company. It is the old story of a young boy building his own equipment due to the fact that there is little money but high quality demands. In my case, besides amplifier and speaker it was FM Stereo Tuner that filled my leisure time. Why FM Tuner? Because sound was not bad at all (compressing was unknown) and buying the latest records was out of reach these days. We are talking about 1980 or something. After finishing university studies in electrical engineering, I founded my first company in 1994. Besides jobs for the mechanical engineering industry, I always offered audio gear. That’s what I do until today; and I am still having fun with it. What are plans for future? Continue the work. At the moment I am working on a pair of mono amps because so many of our old customers asked for something new. Recordings used for the test (a selection) Pliki Opus3 DSD Showcase no1 (2xDSD), Opus3, DSD128 Billie Holiday, Body and Soul, Verve, DSD Bauckholt, Ich muß mit Dir reden, 2L, 24/352,8 WAV Dead Can Dance, Into The Labyrinth, 4AD/Mobile Fidelity, DSD Dire Straits, Brothers In Arms, Vertigo Records, DSD Fleetwood Mac, Tango In The Night, Warner Bros., 24/192 FLAC John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note/Analogue Productions, 24/192 WAV Lars Danielsson & Leszek Możdżer, Pasodoble, ACT Music + Vicion, 24/88,2 WAV Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin, Atlantic Records, 24/96 FLAC Compact Disc America, Hearts, Warner Bros. Records/Audio Fidelity AFZ5 231, SACD/CD (1975/2016) Billie Holiday, Body and Soul, PolyGram/Mobile Fidelity UDCD 658, gold-CD (1957/1996) Ella Fitzgerald, Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie!, Verve/Victor Entertainment VICJ-011-4052, XRCD24 (1961/2008) John Coltrane, Coltrane’s Sound, Atlantic/Rhino R2 75588, CD (1964/1999) Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note/Esoteric ESSB-90124, SACD/CD (1957/2015) w: 6 Great Jazz, „MasterSound Works”, Blue Note/Esoteric ESSB-90122/7, 6 x SACD/CD Tame Impala, Currents, Universal Music Australia/Hostess 4730676J, CD (2015) The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main St., Atlantic/Universal Music Company (Japan) UICY-40001, Platinum SHM-CD (1972/2013) Wolfgang Dauner Quintet, The Oimels, MPS/Long Hair LHC59, CD (1969/2008) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] While reading reviews of many different D/A Converters and music servers (mostly those in English) I often stumble across tests conducted with, in my opinion, strange assumption in mind. Namely people behind these test assume that 16/44 files (so red book CD standard) are somehow inferior to hi-res ones and only the latter allow the device under review to spread its wings. I hope that everyone who thinks alike will forgive me, but I'd like to point out how absurd such thinking is! If particular device can't perform well with CD quality files, or it delivers a different (inferior) performance compared to that with hi-res it means that there is something wrong with it. If it starts to deliver decent performance only when playing hi-res files, forget about it. Because what does it mean that “plays” only with 24/96 files? Only that it needs much more (bits of) information to deliver decent performance. In my opinion a high quality device must deliver good performance also with a 16/44 signal. Just as Vivace 2 powered with Maestro, does. I begin each of my DAC reviews with connecting a digital output of my Ancient Audio Lektor AIR V-edition CD Player featuring Philips CD Pro2LF transport mechanism, to this DAC's input. In this particular case I also used Vitus Audio SCD-025's digital output as a source (it features the same CD transport but modified and applied in a different way). Compact Disc Mr Linnenberg's DAC receiving such signal offers a sensual, 'delicate' sound. Such a sound character is quite rare among DACs meant to work with computer as a source. Usually it tends to be very selective, with high dynamics and very rich, 'heavy'. In this way even small, active speakers fed with such signal might sound like a larger, floorstanding ones. Vivace 2 was designed, I mean I think it was, to be a part of a classic stereo setup for a real music lover or an audiophile, although rather for the former than latter (I will elaborate on that in a moment). Namely there is nothing 'catchy' about this sound, nothing falsely impressive. This performance seems rather soft, natural, one might even say - organic. There is not too much energy in the upper treble and lower bass areas. I might risk saying that the key element of this presentation is midrange, but it's not entirely true as it's not about as 'midrange focused' sound as the one of Vitus Audio, or Chartwell LS3/5 loudspeakers (you can find this review in the same „High Fidelity” issue). What makes listener focus on midrange is that instruments and vocals that are 'based' in this part of the range are delivered in a very clean, soft way. This ‘clarity’ is surely not 'clinical', nor 'cold', but it brings a cozy, fresh smelling home to mind. I hope you know what I mean – the former connotation makes most of us want to run away and the latter triggers an opposite reaction. And that's how I would describe this sound. Many audiophiles won't like it, and by audiophiles I mean music fans that consider technical aspects of presentation to be more important than musical ones. They won't be satisfied because dynamics won't be that great, they won't find the level of precision and selectivity to their liking. Plus both range extremes just support the presentation and don't have a 'decisive voice' that could impose sonic character to the whole presentation. Music files Moving to listening to music files proved that a high quality CD Transport is irreplaceable. Although I use the Jplay software player, installed and optimized by one of its creators, Marcin Ostapowicz, the German DAC was not able to offer a different impression than any other DAC I'd tested before in such setup: files carefully ripped from CD, played via high quality USB cable, are always outperformed by the sound played directly from the CD. Why is it so? I don't know – that's how I hear that. On the other hand this performance wasn't bad, wasn't bad at all. Vivace 2 delivered nice performance with large vocals in the middle, if they were recorded this way, and with lot of other things going on on both sides. Although DAC tends to present its own sonic character focusing listener's attention on what's in front of him, where most things happen on stage. And only now it makes sense to say that hi-res files, in particular 192 kHz, DXD and DSD ones, are interesting. These, in my opinion, still can achieve quite the same, high level, as provided by high quality CD Players, but in some aspects they are able to offer a lot! Sound becomes richer, instruments fuller, more three-dimensional, with a decay phase presented in a better way. Sound is more „present” more palpable even though front layer in not pushed forward towards the listener. I don't have any files in DSD format higher than DSD128 and only few DXD ones. The latter are available from 2L label and also from my friend, Rene Lafflame, who runs 2 x HD. He offered me some high quality recordings with material coming from Naxos (and other labels). And these sound best. I started this text complaining about those who didn't appreciate 16/44 files and I'm ending it praising hi-res ones – what can I do? But I do mention hi-res files NOT to prove that only with them Vivace 2 delivers good performance and with others it doesn't. Simply it is a device transparent enough to present such differences clearly and allows user to appreciate a material of better quality. It does it better when playing loud rather than when playing quietly but it's not a huge difference. When it plays quietly in the background it's not so dynamic. Pump the volume up and everything will go back to normal. Summary Vivace 2 is not just a DAC a a complete preamplifier too. All one has to do is to pair it with power amplifier, a music server with USB output or with a decent computer to play music files from, and it will be enough to constitute a decent, minimalist, involving stereo system. Don't expect friend to be particularly impressed if they visit you for a short time only, as it's that king of audio design that requires some time before it convinces listener of its true value. Give it some time and attention, support it with good quality power cable, decent digital cables, place it on some nicely anti-vibration feet, and maybe use some RF filter such as, for example, Verictum X Block, and it will prove to you that it is worth your effort. Not because without all these elements this German system is unable to deliver a good performance but because it belongs to that sort of devices that induce trust and that are worth being treated well. Both Linnenberg devices feature same size aluminum enclosures with flat front panels. Such a 'unification' allows 'cost optimization' – lowering production costs of enclosures for multiple devices (and, as you probably know, enclosure constitutes quit a large chunk of device's costs). These are solid, good looking devices even though they are not that different from thousands of products made in Far East. Maybe there is something to them that tells us that these are reliable products made by a reliable manufacturer. Both products are supported with rubber semi-spherical feet – something one finds in many products from this price range, but user should think about using some high quality anti-vibration feet. For this purpose I used Hickory wood cubes made by Acoustic Revive. To fix these cubes to the device and to the surface I placed it on I used Blu-tac. UNISONO The power supply features no manipulators, it's front panel is empty. Back panel sports just IEC socket, mechanical on/off switch, and there is a thin, flexible cable terminated with a solid, medical-grade, four-pin plug that goes to the DAC. PS is based on mid-size toroidal transformer made by German company Block, that is bolted to the bottom of PS' enclosure. It has two secondary windings that seem to work in parallel. Below there are six smoothing capacitors, and Hexfet International Rectifier transistors. From them two separate power supply runs start. As the designer said, only a discrete circuit guaranties proper sound quality. Next to the power inlet there are two large Epcos filters. VIVACE 2 Enclosure is made of ready modules – they need to be cut to required length and then front and rear panel have to be bolted to it. These are small, though important elements for product's perception. Linnenberg's design seem simplistic, but due to the precision of its making it looks really good. The designer decided to use DSD logo, that looks really good, and I wish they used also another, good looking one – the DXD. Front and rear panels Front features several small LEDs in different colors, volume control knob and small toggle switches. LEDs inform user about device's status: blue indicates that Vivace 2 is on, and orange one and two green one indicate synchronization with input signal. Orange is on each time when one of inputs receives PCM signal (Pulse-Code Modulation, this sort of signal comes from CD and files of the same quality) and LPCM (Linear Pulse-Code Modulation, this sort of signal comes from DVD-A, Blu-ray and hi-res files). Green turns additionally on when DXD - Digital eXtreme Definition – is received). It's also a PCM signal, created for DSD signal processing. It is a 24 bit and 352,8 kHz (8 x CD sampling frequency) signal. This LED is on only when such signal is received on input. When it's 384 kHz green LED stays off. Volume control knob looks like it was taken straight from 1970ties, form Mark Levinson's preamplifiers or Sansui amps made back then. There are red LEDs around the knob that indicate volume level. Although there are not that many of them, much less than in older Cyrus Audio amplifiers for example, that were made before amplifiers were equipped with displays. Yet, there are enough of them to give you an idea about how far up the scale the knob is. Toggle switches are used to turn the device on, to select an input and to activate USB input; the latter overrides other selections. The rear panel accommodates lot of connectors. There are four digital inputs: : 2 x S/PDIF (using RCA sockets, one AES/EBU (XLR) and one USB. All connectors are gold-plated and come from Neutrik. Interior There are three PCBs inside. Atmel and Xilinx chips work in USB input. They use a separate, precise oscillator and separate voltage regulators. Burr Brown DIX9211 receiver is employed for other digital inputs. There are two more oscillators, a separate one for 44,1 frequency and other one for 48 kHz. These are master clocks that synchronize all others. D/A Converter circuit sits on a separate PCB. It is built around ESS Sabre ES9018S chip. The chip feature 8 channels that might be combined into stereo mode to lower distortion and quantum errors. It's a 32 bit chip and it features two digital filters allowing a designer using it for his device to choose between them. All sections following the DAC one are based on integrated circuits: I/U conversion is performed by LT502, there are no visible markings of few other ones, and there is one marked as LT522 working in the output stage. Circuits are made using SMD method, except for capacitors working in a filter – these are polypropylene Wima ones. A separate PCB holds outputs. It features high quality Analog Devices chips and more Wima capacitors. Volume control is executed via a small rotary pot – but in fact that's just an encoder. Mr Linenberg developed his own solution combining analogue volume control with a digital one. Initial adjustment is performed by an attenuator based on resistors with only one resistor in signal path at each time. Between 'steps' a precise adjustment is performed by a digital circuit. Since these are 6 dB steps loss in resolution is very low. Near the front panel I spotted 6 filtering capacitors of the same kind as these working in power supply section. Looking at the design one has to conclude that high quality power supply was one of designer's priorities as each section is powered separately via regulators and filters. Remote The device uses a particularly sleek remote – a one that comes from Apple. It's a simple, though very good solution. Specifications (according to the manufacturer) Sampling frequency: USB: 16, 24, 32 bits; 44,1, 48, 88,2, 96, 176,4, 192, 352,8, 384 kHz/PCM | DSD64 (2,8224 MHz), DSD128 (5,6448 MHz)/DoP, DSD256 and DSD512/ASIO S/PDIF + AES/EBU: 16, 24, 32 bits; 44,1, 48, 88,2, 96, 176,4, 192 kHz Master clock jitter: 82 fs Frequency response: DC – 24 kHz, +0,1 dB/-0,5dB DC – 70 kHz, -3 dB/192 kHz Distortion and noise:

hen you kneel, it is hard to keep your head up. When you want to see what is going on around you, you have to stand up sometimes. However, this is really difficult indeed when something literally brings you down to your knees, overwhelms you and does not even let you look around. This is what happened once to all members of the Krakow Sonic Society. The giant that overwhelmed us was the dCS Vivaldi SACD player. It is no exaggeration to say that it was one of the best three signal sources that I have ever heard in my life, regardless of the format. The two remaining ones belong to different worlds – I am talking about the TechDAS Air Force One turntable and the Studer A820 analogue studio tape recorder. We once listened to the latter during a meeting of the Krakow Sonic Society; it also played music during the Audio Video Show 2015. Equating top analogue sources and a digital source may seem irresponsible for many music lovers who are also audiophiles. It is because I am talking about a function that seems secondary for the Vivaldi player – i.e. playing Compact Discs, which is, by definition, considered to be a mistake or a one-way street by many respectable and respected music lovers, audiophiles, and journalists. The fact that I got carried away while listening to the Vivaldi player does not mean that I acted impulsively and later did not thoroughly think over what I had heard. I did not let anyone put a spell on me or trick me, either. However, if I did, then all of us were dumbfounded. After over a year since that listening session, my feelings about the system have not changed. On the contrary, they have even intensified, as they have been confirmed by subsequent listening sessions and tests. However, let us be honest, we are talking about one of the most expensive signal sources currently available on the market. Four elements of the player (the SACD transport, digital-analogue converter, upsampler and clock) cost 108,000 USD, which is now equivalent to 400,000 PLN. All these elements, of course, were not suspended in vacuum. The rest of the equipment was also expensive: it included the excellent Artesania Audio table, Synergistic Research power cables and a whole bunch of digital connectors. The whole SYSTEM cost 526,360 PLN, i.e. five hundred twenty six thousand three hundred and sixty PLN (as for January 1st 2014 – today the sum is a few per cent higher). So, it is an equivalent of a nice cottage (with a garden), located close to the city. THE PRODUCT However, this is top high-end and we should not be surprised. If we want the best products, we have to pay a lot for them, although there are a few exceptions to this rule. However, these exceptions are related to sound and not to a PRODUCT. It is because you can find products manufactured by small companies which sound better than more expensive devices made by well-known manufacturers. However, when it comes to a product itself, there are no such miracles. Audio devices, as any other devices, comprise different elements, including: sound quality, design quality, functionality, efficiency, artistic design and brand. The last of these elements also includes so-called “brand perception.” Audiophiles have been continuously debating what value should be assigned to each of these components. I think this question cannot be answered, as people cannot reach any consensus in this field, as developing any ranking of these elements is a matter of personal taste and preferences. It is possible to distinguish a few extremes here. On the one hand, there are idealists – hardcore adherents of the solely reigning sound. It is the only thing that matters, whereas the rest is noise and scum that must be removed. On the other hand, there are lifestyle nomads who care about design and functionality. Finally, there are “engineers” who estimate the value of a product based on measurement results, applied technical solutions and components, and design quality. As it can be seen, the audio domain is a well-equipped buffet from which everyone can choose something for themselves. In real world, each of these elements is important and (as I assume, although I have not carried out any research in this field) most music “consumers” are somewhere between these extremes, and like one or another of the elements mentioned above more. It must be added that the balance usually changes with time and we start to value certain things higher as we grow old. Taking all of this into account, we can easily get to the following conclusion: Vivaldi is such an exceptional product because it is brilliant in each of these aspects. It has no weaknesses and only something that was significantly better could change this opinion of mine – and probably will. However, not yet. THE ISSUE OF A DRIVE The CES 2016 exhibition in Las Vegas is the largest exhibition of household articles in the world. It was there where the news was announced that the production of SACD drives had been stopped. As we have learnt, this was caused by the fact that Sony has ceased to produce chips that control the drives. The news was of crucial importance from our point of view – the perspective of the micro-domain of audio. For the rest of consumers, it was just a curiosity, while most people did not notice it at all. Anyway, it would have had no repercussions. It is because the IT and audiovisual domains have been using a new generation of optical discs (Blu-ray), whereas it is likely that, with time, mechanical solutions will be completely eliminated and replaced with solid state memory. What does this change for us, audiophiles? From our point of view, it is important only to the extent that SACD drives are in fact DVD drives programmed to read a different type of information. A SACD is constructed in exactly the same way as a DVD. These two formats differ with respect to signal recording. So, naturally, stopping the production of DVD drives means the end of SACD drives. And that is where problems begin. When the CD market started to shrink slowly, being hugely taken over by the DVD technology, many CD drive manufacturers gave up producing them. A few most persistent ones, who either bought a license from large companies or designed their own mechanisms, remained on the market. Thus, we still have the popular Sony drive manufactured by the Taiwanese company ASA Tech (its different version is known from Cambridge Audio players), the high-end CD-Pro 2 Philips drive and drives manufactured by the Austrian company StreamUnlimited Engineering GmbH which employs engineers who used to work for Philips. Some manufacturers use computer CD-ROM or Blu-ray drives. As regards SACD drives, things are more complicated. It is because only those manufacturers that either have their own products or modified other manufacturers’ drivers a long time ago (so that now they can talk about their own solutions) have remained on the market. These are: Esoteric (Teac), with the whole series of VRDS-NEO drives (a DVD version of the Vibration free Rigid Disc clamping System drive), Accuphase with its own version of a drive originating from a Sony drive and Luxman with the LxDTM drive, i.e. the Luxman original Disc Transport Mechanism. Accuphase and Luxman do not sell drives to external companies and that is why all top SACD players manufactured by other companies used Esoteric drives. ROSSINI PLAYER However, Esoteric has stopped selling its drives. dCS is the only external company that has access to them, unfortunately very limited when it comes to their number. For this reason, a few manufacturers, including Soulution and Musical Fidelity, have ceased to produce SACD players. Was it the reason why the Rossini Player is the first Compact Disc player in the dCS company history? I do not know, but it is very likely. There is another sensible reason – perhaps the new file player module that the device is equipped with is manufactured by the same company that produces the CD drive, i.e. StreamUnlimited. If yes, it would even make sense. As a result, however, we get a player dedicated to Compact Discs, whereas the Vivaldi is a SACD player that we used to play CDs. The new transport (and, therefore, the whole platform) and the new file player are not the only changes that have been made. The “heart” of the player is still the same 5-bit RingDAC digital-to-analogue converter that we can find in the Vivaldi – at least this is what the manufacturer declares. However, the Rossini is an integrated player, so the transport and the DAC are placed in one housing, thanks to which their power supply units are smaller. The upsampler has also been put in the same housing. Only the Rossini Clock is available as an external device. Thanks to this, the Rossini costs over three times less than the Vivaldi. I am not going to describe it in more detail, as we have already written about it twice: on the occasion of the 100th meeting of the Krakow Sonic Society in Warsaw and also last month, in connection with a formal review of the player. This listening session was different when it comes to the accompanying system, the use of the power adjustment function and the participation of people who had listened to the Vivaldi at the same place and with the same system. The only change that has taken place in the system since then was the replacement of 300B Takatsuki tubes in the Ancient Audio amps with Psvane tubes. The meeting took place at Janusz’s home, where we gathered after a two-year break. The session devoted to the Rossini Player and the Rossini Clock was one of the most stormy ones that we have held during a meeting of the Krakow Sonic Society for a very long time. We regularly have different opinions. It is normal, as each of us interprets and evaluates what we hear in a different way. However, even when we had discussions and disagreed with one another, we fell within certain frames that made us speak unanimously. The Rossini polarized the listeners completely and extremely. To tell you the truth, I cannot explain why. That is, I do not know why our opinions differed so much. Was it because of the expectations evoked by the Vivaldi? Perhaps yes. However, that was an issue of our expectations and not of the product itself. The assumption that a device that is three times cheaper than another one will produce comparable sound is not very realistic, the more that we are talking about the same company and devices having the same DNA. And perhaps, which is also likely, it was about that particular system, constructed strictly for Ancient Audio devices to be used in it, without a preamp? In the end, in the audio domain we always think about the system and not the product. No matter how we look at it, our discussion was close to a quarrel. So, let us allow the participants to have their say. Jarek Waszczyszyn | Ancient Audio I will say straight away that already after we had listened to the first recordings, I recalled how the Vivaldi had brought me to my knees. Nothing like this happened when it comes to the Rossini. I even think that some recordings sounded better with the Lektor Grand SE, but, let me stress that, not all of them. For example, an album with a Rubinstein’s recital, as well as Italian baroque with its vocal and the lute sounded better with the Rossini. I think that in those cases the Rossini player generally offered better articulated treble – there is simply more of it. However, it seems to me that the color of instruments (e.g. in the case of Smolik’s album or a track from True Detective) was nicer with the Lektor. The sound was better filled and differentiated. As for me, everything played with the Rossini sounded more or less the same. Marcin I have not been influenced by the Vivaldi, since I did not take part in its listening test. Perhaps this is why I like the Rossini very much. I would even say that it brought me to my knees. As for me, it has excellent dynamics, it is very selective and gives you a lot of details, but does not highlight them. I personally like such lively and energetic music, and this is how the Rossini plays it. I could hear more instruments with it and I think it is good. The Lektor produced sound that was set lower and sometimes had more bass. However, the difference was not very distinct. As for me, Rossini was unquestionably better. Tomek I am going to start with the following conclusion: the dCS device did nothing to bring me to my knees. I think that the Rossini is a very good player, similar to the Lektor when it comes to sound quality. Perhaps it is because the Vivaldi was simply outstanding and there were not ‘buts’. And here we get a high-end good player and that’s it. Wiciu I do not quite agree with Jarek or Tomek. For me, the Rossini simply played better. It is really a very high-quality device. It is true that we cannot talk about sound similar to the Vivaldi, but the price is totally different. However, listening to the Rossini was something that I really liked – it provided unrestricted expression, consistent sound within the whole frequency scale, as well as specific nobility or elegance of sound that is characteristic for top-class devices. Rysiek B. I cannot listen to this, people! The Rossini is a failure! I do not know why you liked anything about it – matt tone, a flat sound stage, weak differentiation. Frankly speaking, I did not especially like the Lektor today, either, but I did not like the dCS player at all, with any of the recordings! Never again! Rysiek S. Similarly to Marcin, I have never heard the Vivaldi. I do not know if it means anything or not, but I, just like Marcin, like the Rossini a lot. I do not understand the passion that Rysiek has spoken with. The musical message of the dCS device is very well thought-out. It is completely finished and closed. There is no coincidence or chaos here. This is rare and shows that someone had worked on it – someone with good auditory perception. When I listen to the Rossini, I know what it is all about, I perceive differences between individual instruments and albums. Sometimes the treble was not completely perfect, something was brighter, but it was not unpleasant – it is simply how some music sounds. The Lektor produces lower sound, it is darker and has lower bass. Bartek I give the Rossini a big and strong NO. For me it is a failure and I understand what Rysiek has said. There is no denying that it is coherent, smooth sound. However, it is also shallow, with subdued colors, as well as rounded in a somewhat unnatural way. Of course, we have to remember that listening to any audio system has nothing in common with live listening – the sound of any instrument is not the same when rendered by any audio system. However, some systems sound better and more pleasant, and the Rossini is not one of them. After we put it in the system, everything got enclosed between the columns. In my opinion, a lack of the Esoteric drive strongly affected sound quality. Janusz For me it is a failure and a mistake. It is grey, flat sound. I do not like the lack of differentiation – it resembles using sepia to paint music. Sound saturation is a few times better with the Lektor. I am amazed, especially after what I heard with the Vivaldi. I do not understand why the Rossini produces such flat sound. The Lektor goes lower, it is colorful and richer. I do not understand why the dCS company decided to launch the Rossini. A few words from me I did not elaborate on what the participants said, since they repeated the same arguments during the subsequent parts of the listening session and nobody changed their mind. The comparison consisted in listening to the system with the Ancient Audio Lektor Grand SE player, replacing the Lektor with the dCS player and then using the Lektor again. We listened to the same recording each time and made our comments. During the second part of the session we listened to different recordings. I noticed a bit more favorable opinions on the Lektor when we listened to Platinum SHM-CDs, but that was no breakthrough. The Lektor simply goes lower in bass (in this system) and has a lower-set midrange, which clearly does good to recordings. As I have said – I have no idea why we had such different opinions. I also do not understand the participants who spoke about the Rossini’s weaknesses with such passion – I did not hear them. I could say that the place where I was sitting was the best, exactly in the middle, but it is not the case. We had sat like that many times before and managed to reach some coherent conclusions. Changing digital filters in the player did not bring us closer to reaching a consensus, either. In my opinion, the Rossini played very well. It represented the Lektor’s level and with some recordings it was even better than the Polish player. Let me remind you that the Vivaldi device was the only signal source that produced significantly better sound in this system than the top-class Ancient Audio player – all other sources were worse. This time, sound was of the same quality, but it was also different. The Lektor produces lower sound and lower bass. It shows everything better in a listening room, in a more tangible way. It is excellent at holography and drawing elements on the sound stage, which the Rossini cannot do so well. However, from my point of view (position in space), the difference was not big and I would not have paid any attention to it, had it not been for the opinions that I wrote down. I will say more – the dCS device seems to be a player which sounds similar to the Lektor, additionally offering better focus and a bit more modern aesthetics. Tomek pointed it out in follow-up talks and I agree with that. The Lektor produces what me may call ‘old school’ sound. It is closer to turntable sound in the sense that everything seems familiar with it, as someone from the neighborhood. The Rossini sounds more modern – it offers a fresh and open musical message with very good internal focus. The Lektor provides exceptional distribution. However, it encloses albums within the same frames of well known ‘classic’ sound. The Rossini also does that, but in a different way – as if it paid more attention to the whole than to its components. This is probably why instruments and vocals had more weight with the Lektor, as if they were pulled towards the ground more. The player lets us focus on individual elements thanks to their distinctly different color, shape and expression. However, the Rossini showed something that I heard for the first time with the Vivaldi – it is also important how individual instruments and colors work with one another, how they create a bigger whole. Summary If we do not consider extreme opinions, as it is done in the case of many tests, we are left with something that a few participants articulated very clearly: Rossini is a robust, well-made player. It is a great product that provides high-quality sound. When compared to it, the Lektor can only be distinguished with regards to its sound which, in my (and not only my) opinion, is characterized by similar quality. As a product, the Rossini proves better than anything else. Although I do not agree with those who totally rejected it, it must be mentioned that there are such people. I cannot explain why our opinions were so different. So, let us not forget that there were opinions that the Rossini did not make sense at all. However, it is a sign that the Rossini has to be listened to personally, in one’s own system and with one’s own records. The conclusion is that, no matter what one thinks of the sound, it is one of the most interesting CD players available and, as such, it deserves recognition and respect – the dCS company deserves them. It is not the Vivaldi, it is simply not possible. However, let us not compare these two products. These are two different worlds when it comes to their prices and quality. Let us think of the Rossini as a player which costs 120,000 PLN and can be connected to an external clock that can be used to play files. Then we will be able to form our own opinion – and let us stick to this. THE SYSTEM Compact Disc player/preamplifier: Ancient Audio LEKTOR GRAND SE Power amplifier: Ancient Audio SILVER GRAND MONO Power conditioner: Ancient Audio Re-Generator Speakers: Sonus faber ELECTA AMATOR Interconnects: Siltech TRIPLE CROWN (read HERE) Speaker cable: Tara Labs OMEGA Power cables (all elements): Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9500 Table: Base Anti-vibration accessories: Acoustic Revive Wine: LocusVini.pl [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1602/kts101/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1602/kts101/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1602/kts101/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1602/kts101/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1602/kts101/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1602/kts101/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1602/kts101/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1602/kts101/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1602/kts101/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1602/kts101/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1602/kts101/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1602/kts101/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1602/kts101/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1602/kts101/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1602/kts101/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1602/kts101/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1602/kts101/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1602/kts101/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1602/kts101/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1602/kts101/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1602/kts101/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1602/kts101/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1602/kts101/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1602/kts101/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1602/kts101/th/13.jpg" big="foto_testy/1602/kts101/13.jpg" src="foto_testy/1602/kts101/13.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

n May the 14th 2015, together with other press representatives, we participated in the first official presentation of D/A Converter that its manufacturer, Chord, described as: „the most advanced DAC in the world: DAVE”. It was obvious that even for the representatives of Kent based manufacturer it was a very particular event. Two previously released DAC/headphone amplifiers, Hugo TT and Mojo were and still are very important for Chord, as they've been generating huge sales. But when it comes to products that build company's image and prestige, that use new technologies and solutions that later shall be used for less expensive products, the Chord's top D/A Converter is a key products for the next few years. According to Chord's CEO, John Franks, DAVE is an acronym for ‘Digital to Analogue Veritas in Extremis’, although when coming up with the name they initially wanted to use Latin version of ‘Extreme Truth’ or ‘Veritas’, to walk away from naming products using letters and digits. Just like in the case of Hugo TT also this time the product is based on top class engineering. Rob Watts, who designed a breakthrough DAC 64 for Chord, and all its successors is also a 'father' of this project. Mr. Franks adds, that the project, now known as DAVE, started already 8 years ago when they were working on Hugo TT, that – an interesting fact – utilized many solutions developed with DAVE in mind. Rob Watts spent many month working on this project, and a large chunk of that time he spent listening to the product, changing/improving elements that still required an intervention. What's more, Rob tested not only whole new prototypes of DAVE, but also its elements. He did his best to perfect operation of each of them. He spent a lot of time writing software for his proprietary FIR digital filters he named WTA (Watts Transient Aligned) featuring 164 000 taps. The latest version works with frequency of 256fs, meaning that input frequency is multiplied by 264 – that's a unique value. For this process alone Chord uses a chip capable of processing as much information as 166 separate DSP cores. Then digital signal had to be converted into analogue one. For that purpose Watts also developed his own solution: a 20-element „Pulse Array” DAC, with discrete resistors that are switched using transistors, and a unique, analogue 2-nd order „noise shaper” filter that 'moves' noise beyond audible sound range. Wide array of digital inputs allows user to deliver almost any signal to DAVE: PCM from 44,1 kHz to 768 kHz (2 x DXD) and DSD (up to Quad DSD). DSD signal might be delivered in its native form (more about this technique HERE), or using DoP protocol – depending on selected input. Separate filters were developed for PCM and another one for DSD. One chooses proper filter in the menu and can see the choice on the large, color, LCD display. It present information on selected input, sampling frequency, and volume level. DAVE is not only a D/A Converter but also a digital preamplifier. Using a knob or remote control one can adjust volume level which allows DAVE to directly drive a power amplifier. If this function is not needed it can be turned off. I forgot – there is also a headphone output. Chord developed three „Crossfeed” filters for it, which make presentation more spacial. DAC might be place in a special rack – it looks really good in it plus anti-vibration properties of this rack improve performance. One thing though – rack comes at pretty steep price of 9390 PLN. CHORD ELECTRONICS in „HF” TEST | „First Step Audio” series of articles: Chord MOJO - D/A Converter / headphone amplifier BEST SOUND 2015: Chord HUGO TT - D/A Converter / headphone amplifier TEST: Chord RED REFERENCE MKIII HDSD - Compact Disc Player TEST: Chord HUGO TT - D/A Converter / headphone amplifier TEST: Chord CPA 3000 | SPM 1200 MkII - preamplifier + power amplifier (Polish) Recordings used for the test (a selection): Pliki Jazz at the Pawnshop, Proprius/Naxos 812864019711, DXD (1976/2015) Arne Domnerus, Antiphone Blues, Proprius/Naxos 813543020202, DXD (2003/2015) Depeche Mode, Delta Machine, Blu-ray Audio 24/96 (2014) [w:] Live in Berlin, Sony Music | Columbia 5035642 (2014) Ellen Sejersted Bodtker, Sonar, 2L 2L51SABD, Pure Audio Blu-ray PCM 24/96 (2008) Franz Shubert, String Quintet C major D 956, wyk. Auryn Quartet, Tacet B110, Pure Audio Blu-ray, PCM 24/96 (2014) John Coltrane, A Love Supreme, Impulse/Universal 3735663, High Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-ray, PCM 24/96 | Remaster 2008 Materiały firmy 2xHD – DXD | DSD | DSD128 Opeth, Pale Communion, Roadrunner Records RR757375, Blu-ray Audio, PCM 24/96 (2014) Queen, A Night At The Opera, Island/Universal 3732771, High Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-ray, PCM 24/96 | Remaster 2011 Compact Disc Bottleneck John, All Around Man, Opus3 CD 23001, SACD/CD (2013) J.S. Bach, Goldberg Variations BWV 988. 1981 Digital Recording, wyk. Glen Gould, Sony Classical/SonyMusic Entertainment Hong Kong 88765440092, No. 0197, gold-CD (1982/2013) Jean-Michel Jarre, Essential Recollection, Sony Music Labels, BSCD2 (2015) Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights. Volumes 1&2, Blue Note 8571842, „Doubletime Series”, SBM CD (1958/1997) Klan, Live Finland 1972, GAD Records GAD CD 039, CD (2015) Laurie Anderson, Homeland, Nonesuch 524055-2, CD + DVD (2010); Marilyn Manson, Personal Jesus, Interscope Records 9864166, SP CD (2004) Smolik/Kev Fox, Smolik/Kev Fox, Kayax | Agora 92781141, CD (2015) The Modern Jazz Quartet, Pyramid, Atlantic Records/Warner Music Japan WPCR-25125, „Atlantic 60th”, CD (1960/2006) The Velvet Underground, Loaded, Cotillion/Warner Music Japan WPCR-17015, SHM-CD (1970/2015) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] Already Hugo TT, less expensive than DAVE and representing previous technological generation DAC proved that Chord created a very special product. When fed with signal from a CD transport it delivered performance of comparable quality to my trusted Lektor AIR V-edition CD Player. There were some obvious differences between them but they were surprisingly small. A character of those differences was to my liking, following my own sonic preferences. Time spent with Red Reference MkIII HDSD, a CD Player based on Chord's QBD76 DAC confirmed my previous assessment, adding on top one more observation – newer generations of Chord D/A Converters were getting even better. While being less analytical they become even more resolving, and at the same time they remind more and more of analogue sources. Preamplifier Before delving into sonic qualities of this device let us pause for a moment and consider another issue first: with or without preamplier? It's an important question as answering it will allow each potential user to decide about a role DAVE is to play in particular system. Chord's „DACs” feature digital volume control. They sport low impedance and high voltage analogue outputs, which could suggest using them connected directly to power amplifiers, so without a preamplifier in between them. Since CD standard defines a maximum output voltage of 2V RMS (0 dB), one could say that a device with variable output offering even higher output signal means that the device features an integrated preamplifier. If the said device delivers signal no higher than 2V then it should be called a source with variable output. DAVE, in company's paper is named a D/A Converter, but sometimes its mentioned also as Digital Pre-Amp. This second term one finds on the PCB, printed right below logo and information about person who designed the device. So what is it actually? Well, if you use definitions I gave you above you won't have a problem answering this question. You should realize that Chord DAVE is a two-in-one device – a Digital to Analogue Converted and preamplifier in a single box. Headphone output in this particular case is just an addition to the main functions of the device (I will elaborate on that later). During this review Chords worked in several configurations but with two of them being paramount – it either worked as DAC with an external preamplifer or drove directly my power amp. The preamplifier in question was Ayon Audio Spheris III, and power amplifier was Soulution 710. When used in pair with preamplifier I used the -6 dB setting for Chord's output, which equaled the value of ‘89’ of my Ancient Audio Player, so it must have meant output signal of around 2 V. Multiple comparisons using both, balanced and unbalanced (actually preferred by me) connection proved that DAVE's performance benefited from high quality external preamplifier. Without it the attach phase seemed more powerful, sound was presented closer to the listener, and there was significantly more treble. The latter were amazingly clear and if I was to use this DAC in a studio I would love them this way, as all the details were presented in a particularly transparent, pure way. This would also work very well with DAVE partnered with some tube amplifier offering a bit dark, slow sound as Chord would 'inject' it with lots of energy transforming its sonic signature into lively, vigorous one. This type of presentation will also fit not so vivid loudspeakers. But if your system does not need such a 'performance enhancement' you should pair DAVE with high quality preamplifier which will result in a richer, denser sound. Sound won't be presented that close to the listener and yet vocals will be bigger, more three-dimensional. Also spatial relations between musicians will be delivered in a more transparent, more accurate way as these won't be masked by overwhelming amount of details. As for bass – it might seem that control of this part of the range is better without preamplifier, but it is actually not true – this impression is created by, above mentioned, more powerful attack phase. With preamp DAVE offers deeper, richer, more dynamic bass. So if you ask me – in a high performance, well balanced system DAVE should be paired with an external linestage. I liked Hugo TT, that I mentioned at the beginning, very much. I used It for an extended period of time without feeling a need to return to my trusted Lektor, although I knew all the time what would happen, what would I get back when finally Chord would go to the distributor, It is different with DAVE. Considering all factors in I have to day that it offers even better sound quality than my Lektor, similar, although not quite the same, as dCS Rossini Player and totalDAC d-twelve Converter. I believe that it's no accident that all three of them feature discrete circuits for D/A Convertion. On one hand Chord is as resolving and as smooth as the British Player with external oscillator, on the other it shares many sound features of another great CD Player, Vitus Audio SCD-025 MkII. The higher resolution is a result of more information being delivered than by Lektor, and not from emphasized attack phase of the sound. I'd even say that DAC's treble is slightly rolled off compared to Player's, so that is not a reason of described difference. Vitus on the other hand delivers darker, more creamy sound, so it's also not about more three-dimensional sound and the depth of the soundstage. Chord offers a true depth and resolution. Listener does not pay attention to details and yet he perceives music in a deeper way. He receives information not only about dynamics and timbre but also about tiny changes of sound level, about changes and fluctuations of energy. It makes music sound richer, more involving, able to keep listener's interest for a longer time. DAVE delivers also a fantastic bass. It goes really deep, it is particularly tuneful, rich but also its definition reaches remarkable level that allows listener to better understand a recording. I know only a handful of other sources offering similar level of performance such as dCS Rossini and Vivaldi. Also CEC TL 3.0 CD Transport offers similar sound signature. I recognized that when listening to Hollywood from Smolik and Kev Fox album, where electric bass creates the rhythm for the whole track without actually driving it. It slowly builds and maintains a certain level of suspense using precise, short phrases. With Lektor, and consequently with most digital source I reviewed (with only few of them offering higher level of performance than AIR V-edition) this type of change is communicated via changes of sound level, of 'how much' sound there is. DAVE confirmed that it is an important element of performance but there were also other, equally important such as phrasing and sound density. The last time I experienced such a fantastic presentation of changes in dynamics was with two amplifiers: Naim Statement and FM Acoustics, and before that I'd heard it with Ancient Audio Silver Mono Grand. Comparing sources costing less than 50 000 PLN and you won't even notice that. But use this Chord for comparison and it will become clear to you. Astounding dynamics, range extension, richness – it's all there. Without some in-depth comparisons one might say that most of these feature are the same as with Lektor AIR, which confirms the genius of the guy working from a basement in Cracow, who, years ago, using simple methods, achieved a similar performance level. But it also clearly shows what could be still improved. Experience gained with products of dCS and Chord clearly shows that the path of digital signal processing and a discrete D/A Converter are the way to go. Transport also matters but that's another story. This DAC delivers particularly transparent and well defined sound that is at the same time very deep and tonally rich. Using one of my favorite comparisons, Lektor offers a performance of a great turntable while Dave reminded me of a sound of analogue master-tape. From 'digital fan' pot of view it might seem like the same thing – the highest quality analogue sound. But if you have actually heard both you realize that this comparison indicates two quite different types of sound. Tape means no „hi-fi” sound, it's music, it is a immediate dynamics and less spatial performance. Space on records, and CDs, for that matter, seems enlarged, seems to lay bigger role than on actual source material. Another comparison that might be useful here are different kinds of CDs. Lektor and other alike Players based on minimalist design, high quality craft and element could be represented by XRCD. Sound is amazingly rich (sometime even too rich, which is a good thing!), dense and very fluid. DAVE would be Platinum SHM-CD. In direct comparison its tonal balance is set bit higher, it seems not that rich, but even more musical, offering a bigger emotional load, not so uniform. And a final comparison for hi-res files fans: DAVE is like DSD128, while Lektor reminded me more of PCM DXD in the best possible version. Both remarkable and yet different. Yes, I know that this might seem like a strange comparison considering the fact that it is Chord who is a PCM specialist. Music files Today there is no matching CD, SACD or music files transport in Chords line. I'm pretty sure that the latter is most likely to complement that line in a near future. The USB input accepts PCM up to 768 kHz (2 x DXD), and DSD (up to Quad DSD) which allows user to play all music files available on the market today. My main music medium is still Compact Disc and if a reviewed DAC can't handle them well it will surely have trouble also with hi-res files. But I do realize, that today files „rule”, so I spent some time using also this medium. It was supposed to be a short session just to complete an “obligatory” part of the test. But it turned out to be the main one. The way DAVE (as did Hugo TT before) treats signal coming from USB input is unique. I have no idea how it is done without any tone equalization but it offers a richer, smoother sound. Bass is denser and midrange richer. And there is even less treble than when music is played via S/PDIF input – that's a short version. All this sound features are still only an addition to the key one – extreme resolution. There is a sort of rivalry among manufacturers of digital devices – each of them want to be a leader in terms of the highest possible sampling frequency accepted by USB input. Until recently 24/192 was all that was required of any DAC, today without DXD and DSD128 compatibility one can't claim to have a 'top' DAC. And the situation will remain unchanged until (I think) technological limit of 4 x DXD and Octa DSD will be achieved. It's but a game – manufacturers pretend that it really matters and offers benefits, and customers pretend that they can actually hear that and that they know what those 'benefits' are. What's important is that DAC is “future-proof”, capable of handling whatever comes in future. But in fact the real resolution of such DACs is no higher than 16-18 bits and every signal above 96 kHz results in a higher jitter. We might get better sound if a reasonable engineering would be applied to 16/44,1 files, but marketing rules. DAVE proved to me, maybe for the first time, that a high quality files with high quality recording has a potential that one day in the future might achieve a level of an analogue master tape. But the very basic key element of achieving such quality are the recordings themselves. It so happens that my friend, René Laflamme, gut running Fidelio Musique, founded a new firm called 2xHD, that sells recordings in DXD and 2 x DSD formats. He prepares them sourcing material from analogue tapes, and he records music himself too. And he has access to a wide range of recordings from labels such as Naxos, Prioprius and others. I received a flash-drive from him with a selection of tracks including some yet unreleased. DAVE in DXD and DSD128 mode delivered a rich, deep sound based on a solid bass foundation. It is a slight deviation from absolute neutrality but a good one adding this immersive element to the mix. The DXD files had this unbelievable richness, density and sound was amazingly fluid. It painted a large picture, something much bigger in every sense that just a presentation happening in a space between speakers. Sound was faster, with a better attack and dynamics than when played from a CD Transport. Also three-dimensional images had more mass, were richer. That was a level of performance I had not heard for some time and previously it was from one of top turntables. CD quality files did not sound that remarkably, sound was not as refined as with DXD. That's why I would rather play CD material from a high quality CD Transport, not rip it to files. But DXD – that's the right direction following in analogue tape footsteps – no doubts about it. I didn't really mention DSD, as it was OK, but it was also obvious that this DAC was optimized for PCM performance. That is true even if it features separate filters for DSD playback. One can read in article titled Chord Electronics DAC technology notes in association with Rob Watts, available on Chords Electronics' site that company highly values DSD format. But they also consider PCM DXD format as the one offering best sound quality. With dCS Rossini DSD files offered better performance and so they did with Mytek DACs. DAVE on the other hand is a remarkable DAC for PCM files, offering (via USB input) a higher quality performance than almost any other device I'd listened before. Only some top CD and SACD Players were able to provide even high quality sound. And, to be perfectly honest, I can't even be perfectly sure that it is true… Hugo TT is in fact a three-in-one type of product with three devices offering similar level of performance: DAC, preamplifier and headphone amplifier. The latter works great with Audeze LCD-3 – in fact my son uses this very system himself. Also Mojo offers similar functionality and its headphone amp is also pretty good. Knowing these products one when realizing that top of the line DAVE also features a headphone output might expect a top of the line performance too. No, it's not a bad headphone amp. But DAVE is first of all a remarkable DAC offering much better performance than Hugo TT and maybe that is why I decided to use its full potential by combining it with an external amplifier Bakoon HPA-21. Chord was not really able to drive my HiFiMAN HE-6 in such a way that would allow them to perform at their best. Chord was a much better partner for Audeze and dynamic cans – Sennheiser HD800 and AKG K701. These headphones kept their own sonic signature – Chord did not try to impose its own. Such set delivered clean, fast, particularly spacial sound. Differences between different „Crossfeed” settings were clear, but none of them offered enough benefits to convince me to use them all the time. The thing is that with all these cans DAVE offered a not so rich sound, lacking some mass. Bass was fast, clean but it lacked energy which suppressed dynamics a bit. If you don't have an external high quality headphone amp I would suggest pairing DAVE with Ultrasone PRO line can, or some others offering similar sonic signature, rich with bass. If you expect a comparable sound quality from headphones that you can get with DAVE from loudspeakers, you will have to invest in a separate, top quality headphone amplifier. Summary DAVE offers a performance comparable to the best digital sources such as: Ancient Audio Lektor AIR V-edition, dCS Rossini, totalDAC d-1 twelve. It has certainly more in common with the late two as it shares with them the latest approach to sound reproduction from digital mediums (CD and HDD). It delivers a beautiful, well balanced, rich and amazingly well controlled performance that covers all one might wish for. It is an all-rounder fully capable of delivering fantastic performance when playing Slayer, but also when delivering a refined music experiments by Eugeniusz Rudnik. And while being able to deliver such a remarkable performance it is a small device that will fit any system. It is, no doubt, the best source offered by Chord so far, outperforming by far anything they ever made. It is also one of the very best D/A Converters I know. Chassis of this remarkable device is made of two milled pieces of aluminum. It's shape takes after the designs of Qute and Ensemble series. It is rather small, elongated with a wider side being a front. It is a particularly rigid and sturdy design which is one of the features that sets this manufacturer's products apart – remember a promo clip with tank running over Mojo? Except for headphone output placed on front, other elements are placed on top cover and the connectors on the back. After cans are plugged in analogue output is muted and a separate volume level is set, the one that was set when headphones were used last time. When in this mode DAVE offers three different settings that eliminated “sound inside head” effect. This setting can be also completely turned off, which I did. Top A round window in an aluminum frame with sort of magnifying glass in it is what attracts attention first. Under it there is a large, color display – other Chord's products also use this element but it allows user to take a pick inside the device, to look at some circuits. Display delivers information on a selected input and sampling frequency, volume level, digital filters modes, phase and a selected display mode. There are four, user-select display modes. On the right side of the display manufacturer placed manipulators – a knob with a push-button plus four other buttons. These allow user to operate the menu of the device, and know might be user to adjust volume. Rear The rear panel is filled with connectors. There are as much as 8 digital inputs: 4 x BNC, 2 x optical TOSLINK, AES/EBU and type B USB. The BNC inputs may work in „dual mode”, known from previous generations of dCS and Chord products, widely user in pro-audio devices. When using this mode a left channel is sent via one cable and the right channel via second one. One can use this mode to connect DAVE with Chord Blu CD transport. DAVE also features digital outputs – 4 x BNC, meant to be used with devices 'to be developed' by Chord. The device sports a balanced analogue section and therefor it offers both, balanced and unbalanced analogue outputs. Maximum output level for them is, respectively, 3 and 6V – enough to directly drive most power amplifiers. Inside D/A Converters by Jadis, Ancient Audio, Audio Research and many other big brands are filled with tubes, transformers, capacitors and so on. That's something we know, understand and expect. For years companies such as: Linn, dCS, EMM Labs, Chord offer another, hi-tech approach, focusing their efforts on different way of signal processing - FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array). Such a chip, hidden under a large radiator, is a heart of DAVE. This particular chip processes is able to process 10 time more information at the same time as the one used in Hugo. For DAVE Chord use a powerful LX75 Spartan 6 FPGA circuit that filter signal and operates volume control. The key element of its software is the latest version of WTA (Watts Transient Aligned), a digital filter developed by Robert Watts. Only from there signal goes to DAC, a discrete circuit based on resistors and transistors. Output is based on medium-power transistors. At a side, behind thick shield, sits a SMPS. Chord has been using this solution for years – one can find it in all its products. DAVE features two of these, one for digital section and another for for analogue one. Remote Remotes have been used for many years – it all started with ARCAM devices, today many manufacturers use them for their devices to make user's life easier. It might allow him to operate many different functions. In this particular case the remote features way too many buttons for such an uncomplicated (in operation I mean) device as DAC. But when one uses more Chord devices this remote will allow him to operate them too. Rack DAVE is quite a small device and it sits small, rubber feet. To present it properly and to decouple it from vibrations manufacturer offers a special rack. When being placed in it DAVE sits in a tilted position. Rack may feature short or long (like the ones used for this test) feet and a few of such segments might be put one on top of the other if ones uses more then one Chord's device. An interesting fact – packaging of the rack is four times bigger than rack itself. Specifications (according to manufacturer) Inputs: • USB B 44 kHz – 768 kHz, DXD | Quad DSD • 2 x Optical 44 kHz – 192 kHz • 1 x AES 44 kHz – 192 kHz • 4 x BNC 44 kHz – 384 kHz Digital outputs: 2 x BNC 768 kHz „dual-data mode” Max output signal: 6 V RMS/XLR | 3 V RMS, RCA Output impedance: 0,0055 Ω THD + N (2,5 V RMS): 0,000015 % THD + N (2,5 V RMS): 127 dBA A (124 dB A/33 Ω) Dynamics (-60 dB FS, 1 kHz): -127 dB A Power consumption: 20 W Dimensions (W x H x D): 338 x 60 x 145 mm Weight: 7 kg [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/chord/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/chord/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/chord/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/chord/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/chord/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/chord/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/chord/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/chord/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/chord/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/chord/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/chord/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/chord/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/chord/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/chord/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/chord/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/chord/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/chord/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/chord/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/chord/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/chord/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/chord/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

tanding out is an advantage. Every manufacturer, businessman and salesman knows that. Audio manufacturers realize that too. Even though many audiophiles claim to be very open-minded when it comes to new ideas and solutions in fact they are hard-headed traditionalists. Why, do you think, since 1960ties most audio devices feature flat, cuboid enclosure with elegant front and connectors placed on the rear? Most devices sport chassis with a wide, low profile front, with its width being usually a bigger dimension than its depth. Sure there are some exception, but their numbers are irrelevant. Audio devices are not particularly colorful either – most are black or silver; only recently white became popular. It is easier to attract audiophiles' attention with some technology, or solution. Assuming that they even know about it :) For example, class A – many audiophiles dream about it, considering it to be a solution to all problems. Even more self-aware audiophiles like something to be added on top of that, like stabilized power supply. Yeah! That's really something. Today among biggest manufacturers probably only Naim uses those. In Poland Kunstagon used them in their products years ago. But these are rare gems. RT Audio Design, a small Bulgarian company, was founded by Tsvetan Tsencov, the chief designer, and Ivaelo Ratzov, who takes care of the aesthetic form of their products. This company adopted all above mentioned 'audiophile's dreams' and implemented them in their products. As our review of D/A Converter Ultra USB DAC Orpheus proved, their designing ideas are interesting and their products sport nice, but not showy enclosures. The Orpheus line, apart from said DAC, includes also power amplifiers. The latest addition is the „power amplifier push-pull class A MkII Orpheus”. It's so new that I had to wait a month or two before first batch was available for testing (the unit under review features serial number: 00002). Even though it is just a power amplifier, so its functionality description should take just a few sentences, this one seems quite unique in this respect. Yes, I am also surprised – that's a stereo power amplifier so just an input, an output, power inlet and that's it, right? Some more advanced units feature both, RCA and XLR inputs and some also a LED indicator on the front. Orpheus is something more. First of all it is a class A amplifier, working in push-pull configuration. It means that it produces a lot of heat and delivers a limited power. Manufacturer declares that it is able to deliver 50 W at 4 Ω, which means probably that at 8 Ω it outputs no more than 20, maybe 25 W. Which is not much – many tube amplifiers offer bigger output. But class A solid-state amplifier's distortion and noise level is lower, and so is the output impedance especially if more than one pair of transistors works in the output stage (in this particular case there are two pairs). Low output impedance means high damping factor which translates into better loudspeakers' control. Orpheus does not use a standard, non-stabilized power supply, but a stabilized one, that utilizes power transistors as active element. Such type of power supply guaranties lower level of distortion. But on the other hand it gives amplifier almost no power headroom. Power supply utilizes a separate enclosure – so what we have is a two-box design, a very rare case among stereo power amplifiers. And that's not all. Front panel reads: „Class A/AB”. One can order this amplifier in one of two versions: operating in class A or in AB. The latter delivers output of 250W into 4 Ω. A different power supply is delivered with this version. But also an owner of class A version can turn his unit into one working in class AB. One has to remove the cover, adjust bias and replace a fuse. Upon request manufacturer delivers a detailed description how to do that. Using the same power supply (as for class A amp) amp will deliver 80 W @ 8 Ω. TSVETAN TSENCOV Designer Our new power amplifier Orpheus works in class A and it is a genuine reflection of our sound philosophy. We decided for an outboard fully shunt regulated power supply. Rectifier is based on fast SIC Shottky diodes supported with a large filtering capacity. The regulator features transistors as active element. Power stage delivers more than 30 A DC. There are no capacitors in signal's path in the amplifier section which allowed us to minimized phase and frequency distortion. It improved bass control and timing too, We used professional grade drivers driving audiophile grade output transistors. The output section works in class A delivering 50W into 4 Ω loading with output impedance of 0,1 Ω. The amplifier utilizes silver internal cabling, power supply utilizes OCC copper one. All passive components are low tolerance, and we utilize no SMD. The design of the amplifier is minimalist and signal's path very short. We also used professional power connectors instead of classic IEC ones. RT AUDIO DESIGN in “High Fidelity” TEST: RT Audio Design ULTRA USB DAC ORPHEUS – D/A Converter. Recordings used for the test (a selection) Sonda 2. Muzyka z programu telewizyjnego, GAD Records GAD CD 011, CD (2013) Czesław Niemen, Czas jak rzeka, Pomaton 3376772, „Złota kolekcja”, CD (2000) Eric Clapton, Timepiece: The Best of Eric Clapton, Polydot/Audio Fidelity AFZ 190, „Limited Edition No, 0281”, SACD/CD (1982/2014) Jean-Michel Jarre, Electronica. Vol. 1: The Time Machine, Sony Music Labels SICP-30788, BSCD2 (2015) King Crimson, In The Court of the Crimson King, Atlantic/Universal Music [Japan] UICE-9051, „21st Century Complete Edition. Series 1 #1”, HDCD (1969/2004) King Crimson, Lark's Tongues in Aspic, Atlantic/WHD Entertainment, IECP-20220/221, „40th Anniversary Series", 2 x HQCD (1973/2012) Lisa Gerard & Pieter Bourke, Duality, 4AD/Sonic SON 139, CD (1998) Marc Copland & John Abercombie, Speak To Me, Pirouet Records PIT3058, CD (2011) Mike Oldfield, Crisies, Mercury/Universal Music Japan UICY-75880/1, 2 x SHM-CD (1978/2013) Roy Haynes Quartet, Out of the Afternoon, Impulse!/Esoteric ESSI-90135, SACD/CD (1962/2015) w: Impulse! 6 Great Jazz, Impulse!/Esoteric ESSI-9013/8 (2015) Smolik/Kev Fox, Smolik/Kev Fox, Kayax | Agora 92781141, CD (2015) Sonny Rollins, Sonny Rollins on Impulse!, Impulse!/Esoteric ESSI-90134, SACD/CD (1965/2015) w: Impulse! 6 Great Jazz, Impulse!/Esoteric ESSI-9013/8 (2015) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] I would compare coming across such an amplifier as this one to finding a gold mine. No, it doesn't offer anything I haven't heard before. Every now and then I come across such special, unique amplifier – like Polish SinusAudio or British Tellurium Q (Iridium 20) to name a few – but not often enough. They are a gold mine because they treat music in a particularly unique way, interpreting it in their own way, signing it with their own 'sonic signature'. If you like this approach you might spend hours and hours listening to all of your favorite albums and then go to the shop to buy even more music to find out what will be this amp's interpretation it. That's how this unique type of amplifier works on me. Orpheus presents a warm, rich sound. If you're looking for a class A, warm sounding transistor that does not sound like a typical solid-state machine at all, that turns digital sources into analogue-sounding ones, you should give this amp a try. Sure, there is a bit of exaggeration in my description – it's not THAT analogue - it's as much of a stereotype, as 'warm sounding class A'. But if one was ever to benefit from stereotype it would be in this particular case. This amplifier only confirmed what I figured out when reviewing RT Audio Design DAC some time ago, about its designer's own musical preferences. I'm pretty sure that he loves: vocals, old jazz, chamber music as these genres sounded remarkably. Within certain limits, I mean – this amplifier offers presentation that in some areas is ostentatiously far from being neutral. I also loved the way it played classic rock and many albums with electronic music too, including latest one from Jean-Michel Jarre Electronica. Vol. 1: The Time Machine. This album seems to be sort of recap of the whole carrier for the artist, as if he thought it was coming to an end and wanted to look back at what he achieved and work with artists he liked and admired. In the particular case of the track recorded with Tangerine Dream it turned out to be the very last moment to do that. Soon after Zero Gravity was recorded Edgar Froese, band's founder, passed away. This very track became the very last work all Tangerine Dream members ever did together. Anyway, Sony Music released a large box with this album, that includes a double vinyl, a CD, a pendrive with hi-res files and with some posters. Due to some errors in production, such as black and white posters for example, I've been postponing my review of this box for some time, even more so because I didn't really feel/understand this music. You see, Jarre's music is a very personal experience for me, as I've been his fan since my teenage years. So I perceive his failures as if they were my own. But with RT Audio Design amplifier's sonic character and Blu Spec CD 2 (BSCD2) version of the album, it all came together, 'clicked' and finally fulfilled my expectations. I read descriptions of each track again and I finally understood Jarre's intentions. Orpheus brought sound closer to me, warmed it up a bit, enriched it. I should tell you that already now, that there is no too much energy in the lower end nor it is particularly well controlled. It is obvious that amplifier prefers music with a nicely sustained bass notes rather than one with fast, taut ones. With Jarre's album amplifier told a an elaborated, beautiful, interesting story. It did the same with Lisa Gerrard from Duality and King Crimson from In The Court of the Crimson King. This last album surprised me particularly. I listened to the HDCD version released in 2004, that offered a significantly different sound than previously released one on gold CD, or the HQCD released later. It offers less details, sound is warmer and bass not so rich. But it has a particular depth to it, that other releases lack. So until the whole discography will be released on Platinum SHM-CD (it was supposed to happen already last year, but they postponed it), this is my version of this album. Even more so, because when played on a system that is capable of presenting this particular depth of the recording, that is also highly resolving but not highly detail-oriented, it sounds so well, that each time I listen to the full album even if I do that for a test and not my personal pleasure. The mkII version of Orpheus delivers exactly such a performance. Upper treble is rolled-off, and bass below, say, 50-60 Hz lacks power, energy. There is also a slight emphasis in the area of 300-400 Hz, that is responsible for this amazing impression of a depth of the midrange. And yet, I didn't really feel for a second that this presentation was missing something. I can't promise you will perceive this sound the same way – if you prefer open, fast, highly detailed sound you might find this amplifier's performance boring. But for a second try my perspective: listen to percussion cymbals on Impuse! recordings that were recently re-mastered by guys from Esoteric (Japan) – this is a true effusion of sounds. Sounds that are not artificially lit up. And that's what Orpheus is about: the resolution is very high, resulting in rich, deep sound. In turn, the selectivity is so-so, and it resembles what such amplifiers such as: Iridium 20 by Tellurium Q, or top models of Accuphase P-series, and others, offer. That's why sustain of the sound, fully developed decay create a convincing impression of instruments' presence. Even more so, because sound seems also particularly clear. I know that from devices with particularly wide frequency range, such as my Soulution amplifier, or my Ayon Audio Spheris III preamplifier with its frequency response reaching 1 MHz. I do not mean that there are any instruments that have such a wide bandwidth, anyone who thinks that has obviously no idea about audio (same goes for hi-res files). The wide bandwidth allows an accurate reproduction of the 'useful' range though (nominally 20 Hz - 20 kHz, I'd say: 15 Hz - 25 kHz). Perhaps that is why the amplifier presents a very natural soundstage, space, I mean for a listening at the home. It reminded me a type of sound delivered by turntables and master-tapes, with not so precisely defined shapes of instruments, no so precisely differentiated distances, with acoustics focused around instruments and with listener having a sense of 'being' part of the music. This 'focusing' ability works not only for jazz and rock, but also with the recordings with problematic spacing, such as, for example, Czesław Niemen's albums. I wrote about it in my articles about Niemen's debut album, or so called: 'red album': changes introduced to the spacial aspects of the recordings made them on one hand more interesting but on the other it changes their perception. I realized that when I purchased one of the albums of “Golden collection” that was released in 2000 by Pomaton – this was the first since many, many years re-issue, personally authorized by Mr Niemen, called „The Best of…”. I bought it when I started to work on the article about Mr Czesław's “compilations”. This particular one utilized material re-master by artist himself for the Digiton release. When played using Bulgarian amplifier it sounded really good, It was easier to understand Niemen's intentions, because sound was very rich, dense, and these slightly bright elements in the upper midrange did not annoy me the way, they usually do. I also did not have this feeling of a 'tunneled' presentation that many other amplifiers deliver with this material – it was a very interesting listening session! Summary This amplifier offers simply beautiful sound. But its bass doesn't go very deep, is not particularly well controlled and it is rather warm. But it's tonality, and spacing is wonderful – it creates an impression of a bubble, without clearly defined contour, that listener sits in. Micro-dynamics is remarkable, macro is definitely not that good. As with any other audio product, there are pros and cons. But that's what a high quality audio is about – nicely balanced proportions and not pretending that everything is perfect and there are no issues at all. Orpheus is quite a atypical device. It is surely not the right choice for every music fan. But I don't think that it was intended as an all-rounder. If such a small manufacturer as RT Audio Design is to succeed on the market, it has to distinguish itself from the competitors using its designer's sound philosophy and following it to achieve a certain type of sound. This is an amplifier for those who have clear expectations and preferences. It is a great example of a implementing man's vision of the sound into a wonderfully made device. The full name of the amplifier under review is: Stereo Power Amplifier MkII • Orpheus • Class A/AB. It's a two-box, stereo power amplifier. It features a dual-chassis design because the power supply section has been completely separated and put into second enclosure. Both boxes sport almost identical enclosures with a thick, 10mm, anodized and lacquered aluminum front and a very rigid, steel case. Top cover features a large brand's logo. There are two large radiators with rather rough edges on both side panels. Chassis sports nice, aluminum feet with rubber inserts. The power amp box sports a small, red LED on its front, acting as power indicator. The on/off switch sits on the rear of the amplifier – placing it on the front, like in case of Orpheus DAC, would be more practical. Both boxes are connected with a short umbilical. So both boxes can be placed either next to each other or one under the other (on separate shelves in the rack). Don't place them directly one on top of the other – that's not why these two elements were separated! The umbilical is a high class cable by Neotech, the NEP-3003 to be exact featuring high purity UPOCC conductors. Same wires were used for internal cabling of the amplifier. Manufacturer used one of the best power connectors available on the market, the Neutrik NAC3FX. These feature silver-plated contacts and an excellent locking mechanism. Power supply is fitted with the same type of connector so user has to make use of a generic power chord delivered with the device or a short adapter featuring Neotech OCC copper conductors if one plans to use a power cable of one's choice. The power supply section is filled up with components. There is a powerful 350W toroidal transformer made by Bulgarian company Unitraf. It works with an active voltage stabilizing circuit featuring power transistors, 8 Nichicon Hi-Sound 10 000 μF each capacitors and four smaller ones filter and stabilize voltage. Voltage is rectified using fast Shotky diodes. The same power supply might be used for a power amp working in class AB. One has to replace one jumper and adjust bias to have the amp working in class AB delivering 80W @ 8 Ω. One may also buy a dedicated power supply for AB operation and use its full output of 250 W. Each output stage is rather small but each features its own PCB. Current section utilizes two pair of Toshiba A1962 + C5242 transistors per channel. They work in class A in push-pull configuration. There are four Nichicon capacitors on each PCB. One finds also chips attached to small radiators there – these are drivers for output transistors. Signal travels to PCBs via nice, shielded wires. High quality input connectors and speaker bindings come from Cardas. Specifications (according to the manufacturer) Output: 2 x 50 W/4 Ω Input impedance: 47 kΩ Gain: 31 Output impedance: 0,1 Ω Frequency range: 0 – 1 MHz THD (1 kHz): 0,001% [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/rtaudio/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

PM (also rpm) is short for: Revolutions Per Minute. When used to describe a turntable operation it defines a speed that record should be played with: 33 1/3 rpm, 45 rpm or 78 rpm (a long time ago there were also 16 rpm records). In Pro-Ject's 'language' it is a name of one of the oldest lines of product. When in February 2007 I reviewed RPM5 SuperPack this model had already been for a few years on the market. RPM in this particular case means also “Round”. Unlike classic designs these ones features base with rounded edges. It's shape always reminded me of a drop of water. Its wider part measures 300mm across (just like the platter) and the narrower part hosts tonearm. Nine years is a long time and so the new RPM5 Carbon version shares only the shape with the older one, all the rest has been upgraded more than once over the years. RPM5 Carbon It is still a belt-driven, non-suspended mass-loader with a 9” tonearm. It features a low profile but also a sturdy appearance. Its base is made of MDF, that features additional metal weights that focus larger part of turntable's weight around main bearing. The deck features acrylic platter with a steel spindle and a hardened brass bush – a part of the main bearing. It is placed on three aluminum tip-toe feet featuring elastomer washers, the only soft element of the design. The name of this model suggests that carbon fiber material was used and not only for a tonearm but also for the deck. A thin layer of this material was glued onto the deck which definitely improves its appeal, reminding me of the Monaco turntable by Grand Prix Audio. Also carbon fiber acts as anti-vibration element due to its very good vibration damping properties. In the past a motor in RPM5 was integrated with the chassis and only (then) most expensive model, RPM9 featured a separate 16 V AC motor placed next to the chassis. Carbon also sports a motor placed outside chassis. It's been placed inside a heavy housing with additional, steel base placed on small silicone feet. Motor's axis features two pulleys of different diameter – changing speed is performed manually. Also the 15 V AC motor is a completely new design. Unfortunately manufacturer still does not offer an electronic controller for it. Motor's housing sports a mechanical on/off switch and a blue LED. What a LED that is! – when it is on one doesn't need to turn the main light on in the room. One needs to be careful when standing close to the turntable – bend over, look directly at this LED and you'll be blinded for sure! OK., I might have exaggerated a bit but you should check it out for yourself – the LED is crazy bright!. The unit we received for a review was painted with a wonderful „Ferrari Red” color so definitely a red LED, maybe a white one, would complement it much better than blue one. Although a red color often indicated some sort of error, or 'off' mode, but nobody really cares about that anymore. Blue color means nothing at all and is commonly used for audio components nowadays. The 9CC EVO Carbon is the latest version of a Pro-Ject's tonearm that's been manufactured for a long time and used also by Polish Fonika. This new version features a conical carbon fiber arm-tube made of one piece of material together with headshell. It is a gimballed arm. It is one of the lightest Pro-Ject's arms with an effective mass of barely 8 g. It should be paired with medium to high compliance cartridges; Denon's DL-103 and others alike might not be a good match. Arm comes fitted with an interconnect that can be replaced but I don't think one should be to quick about it. Same goes for the mat provided with the platter. Yes, at some point it might be a good idea to replace it with a cork mat, like, for example, one made by Pathe Wings, but this deck performs really well already with the one you'll get with it, so maybe you should first think about spending money on records before you start looking for another mat. The turntable features also a record clamp and it's a screw-down one, so replacing it is not an option. One could, though, replace anti-scratch cups used under spikes – I used Audio Replas quartz insulators. RPM-5 Carbon is not equipped with any cover but additional 330 PLN will buy the Pro-Ject LID 4 suitable also for this deck. Ortofon Quintet RED This Austrian manufacturer often offers its turntables together with cartridges and I have to admit that even with inexpensive ones deck's performance is usually rather good. Also for this particular model manufacturer chose one - the Ortofon Quintet RED. If you want your RPM with this cartridge you need to add 500 PLN to the price of 5350 PLN. But you can buy it also without cartridge. Quintet RED is a MC cartridge delivering signal of 0,5 mV with a recommended loading of more than 20 Ω. In my case 50 Ω was OK, but 200 Ω setting in my RCM Audio Sensor Prelude IC phonostage offered optimal performance. Even though it is a medium compliance cartridge, recommended tracking force is quite high, like for Denon DL-103 for example, as it ranges from: 2,1 to 2,5 g (21-25 mN), (suggested value is 2,3 g; 23 mN). For me 2,4g sounded best. SETUP RPM5 Carbon requires from its user a bit more effort than other 'plug&play' models. After all elements are unpacked one starts with screwing the three tip-toe feet onto the threaded bolts located on the underside of the plinth. One should screw them all way down, and level the deck only after placing it on a flat surface where it is supposed to operate. A small level one finds in the box, will help with that process. When facing the turntable one should see the tonearm on right-hand side. The next step will be mounting the platter – one finds it deeper in the box. First one has to take off a protective cup from main axis and then carefully lower the platter over the axis. Finally one should put a mat on the platter. Next one needs to set up motor – I suggest to place it next to the deck on the left-hand side, close to deck's front. Manufacturer provides user with a template that helps to set the proper distance between motor and the base. Finally one connects a power cable first from power supply to the motor, later from power supply to the wall socket. Turntable (if ordered with cartridge) comes with the arm and cartridge already set up, all one has to do is to put a counter-weight on the arm. Four counter-weights are delivered with the deck to fit different cartridges. Since the counter-weight should be placed as close to tonearm base as possible I used the one marked as 29. To adjust VTF one has to follow instructions in the manual, it's not that difficult at all. If one cares about setting VTF very precisely one needs a proper electronic weight. One should use 2,4 g setting – this should work better then 2,3g recommended by manufacturer. Last but not least one should connect interconnect at the back of the turntable and voila – RPM is ready to rock'n'roll. PRO-JECT in „High Fidelity” TEST: Pro-Ject PRIMARY THE ROLLING STONES EDITION | PHONO BOX E TEST: Pro-Ject PRE BOX RS – D/A Converter, see HERE TEST: Pro-Ject BOX DESIGN MaiA – integrated amplifier, see HERE YEARLY AWARD 2014: CD BOX RS + PRE BOX RS DIGITAL – transport Compact Disc + D/A/preamplifier, see HERE TEST: CD BOX RS + PRE BOX RS DIGITAL – transport Compact Disc + D/A/preamplifier, see HERE YEARLY AWARD 2014: Pro-Ject 1XPRESSION CARBON CLASSIC + Ortofon M SILVER - turntable + cartridge, see HERE TEST: Pro-Ject 1XPRESSION CARBON CLASSIC + Ortofon M SILVER – turntable + cartridge, see HERE TEST: Pro-Ject Box CD SE + DAC Box FL – CD Player + DAC, see HERE TEST: Pro-Ject ART-1 (+ Denon DL-A100) – turntable (+ cartridge), see HERE TEST: Pro-Ject RPM6 SB + PRO-JECT PHONO BOX SE – turntable + phonostage, see HERE TEST: Pro-Ject 2XPERIENCE – turntable, see HERE TEST: Pro-Ject RPM5 SUPERPACK – turntable, see HERE TEST: Pro-Ject HEAD BOX MkII – headphone amplifier, see HERE TEST: The Pro-Ject Saga, part one, see HERE TEST: The Pro-Ject Saga, part two, see HERE Records used for the test (a selection) BING CROSBY, The Best of Bing, Decca/MCA Records MCA2-4045, 2 x LP (1973) CLUTCH, Psychic Warfare, Weathermaker Music WM042, 180 g LP (2015); DEAD CAN DANCE, Into The Labyrinth, 4AD/Mobile Fidelity MOFI 2-001, Limited Edition No. 1545, 2 x 150 g LP (1993/2010) HERBIE HANCOCK, Takin’ Off, Blue Note/Cisco CLP-7050, 180 g LP (1962/2006) JULIA HOLTER, Have You In My Wilderness, Domino Records WIGLP341, 180 g LP (2015); ROEDELIUS & MURAGLIA, Ubi Bene, Passus Records 1, TEST pressing, 2 x 180 g LP (2015) ŚWINIE, Świnie, Polton LPP-020, LP (1985) TANGERINE DREAM, Thief, soundtrack, Elektra/Audio Fidelity AFZLP 221, Numbered Edition No. 0033, 180 g LP (1981/2015) THELONIOUS MONK, The Riverside Tenor Sessions, Analogue Productions APJ 037, Limited Edition No. 1543/2000, BOX 6 x 180 g LP (?) THELONIOUS MONK, Solo Monk, Columbia/Music On Vinyl MOVLP843, 180 g LP (1965/2014) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] So called 'brand's sonic signature' might be a blessing or a curse. It might be an added value as it leads to creating a group of loyal customers who know exactly what to expect when upgrading their model with a better one, thus replacing what they have with a newer/more expensive model of the same brand. Having clearly set up priorities, accepting certain compromises helps a brand to improve certain qualities of the sound over time. Within certain clearly set boundaries designers often are able to improve strengths of said design, sometimes reaching incredible results. But such boundaries, such “sonic signature” limits possibilities of development and improvement in certain areas. There is no one widely acceptable standard of the “right” sound as it is always different than live performance. A sound of acoustic instruments playing in a friendly acoustic environment is a basic reference point, but it is not the only one. So there there are many different 'sonic signatures' and many of them might be considered to be 'correct'. Anyway, a change of brand's sonic signature for one product, or even a group of products might be a bit risky. Unless it is done the way Pro-Ject does it, with small steps policy. Revolution devours its children and obviously managers of this Austrian company know that very well. From time perspective one can clearly see how big job they did over time improving both, design quality and performance. Carbon with Quintet Red, Pro-Ject's mat and interconnect delivers a performance that has some qualities known from expensive and even very expensive turntables made by other brands. Let's start with a general impression: this turntable offers a warm, deep, rich sound, but with an open top and well extended bass. There is slight emphasis placed on a soft mid-bass and on part of upper range responsible for an open presentation of vocals. Initial assessment of correctly set up Carbon says that it is a 'warm' sounding turntable. This impression might even be even deeper if this deck is used with other components of similar sonic character, say with Clones Audio 25i amplifier, Epos K2 loudspeakers and Pro-Ject, model E phonostage. This impression might be somehow influenced by the way this machine plays vocals. These are particularly prominent, present, palpable and presented close to the listener. Even with such poor quality release as the re-issue of 1973 The Best of Bing (MCA) album, with voice being masked by noise a cracks, this aura that involves listener in the whole musical event is still present. All these technical imperfections won't be gone. pops&cracks will be there, but richness and presence of the sound will be as distinct as when you play a fantastic Speakers Corner re-issue of Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Songbook on a double, 180g vinyl. Large portion of my listening session I spent at nights listening via headphones. Sound Carbon delivers is so immersive that I couldn't help but wonder how this or that album could sound like played on this deck. I even listened to few albums for the first time using this Pro-Ject and even Julia Holter from Have You In My Wilderness, that we had graded rather poorly before, sounded OK, well, even more than OK – it was enjoyable this time. This deck with this cartridge brings out something more from recordings than just melody, rhythm and details. With this sort of midrange presentation I found it surprising how fast the sound also was, how good was pace&rhythm, how real timpani's and drum-roll's timbre, how well even bright guitars sounded like. Also bass was nicely extended, which was sort of Achilles heel of all Pro-Ject's turntables in the past. The less expensive ones had problems with lower end control and definition, the more expensive ones, including those of RPM series, offered bit dry, not rich enough bass. It could be corrected with proper cartridge, phonostage, but using particular components should not be about correcting problems with other elements of the system, but about supporting, complementing them. Carbon presents rich, almost 'fat' bass – it is well defined, with proper attack and decay phase but also with proper sustain. Of course, as every other design, this one also has its issues. These are not more significant than the ones of competitors from the same price range. Unlike with many other Pro-Ject models, pops&cracks on RPM5 Carbon are quite loud. It is simply a particularly resolving device and its treble is not rolled off. Expensive turntables tend to place pops&cracks 'behind' music, in a different plane, thus removing them from the center of attention. Carbon does not emphasis them, doesn't hide them, it delivers them just the way they are. So the owner should keep his records and stylus clean. Don't expect particular depth of the soundstage. It shall be proportional, dense, full, but not particularly wide, nor deep. Focus is on the events in the front of the stage. Everything that's happening behind is there, has some weight, but there was no impression of real depth. I also never felt as if there was lot of treble. I mean it was there but it didn't have that much energy. Summary RPM5 Carbon stands out not only by its appeal but also with its performance. It offers, especially in the mid-band, a combination of highly resolving and vibrant sound. All records sound good with it, which makes it a true all-rounder. I haven't had a chance to audition new, 'carbon' versions of RPM9.1 and 10.1, but basing on my experience I'm going to risk an opinion that RPM5 Carbon is the model with best price/performance ration. And it looks great in 'Ferrari red”! If you're ready to take proper care of your records' cleanliness and you don't mind this blue LED this might be a turntable for many years. As I mentioned at the beginning RPM5 Carbon is a successor of RPM5 model that's been in production for many years. It features a water drop shaped base, with tonearm mounted on its narrow side. Deck can be leveled using adjustable feet. These are three large spikes placed around main bearing housing. Motor is placed next to the deck. Manufacturer provides a proper template that helps to establish a proper distance between motor and deck. Speed change is performed manually by moving a belt from a smaller to larger pulley or other way around. Usually motor is placed on the left side of the deck, close to its rear. But I've been using a different placement for years – I rather put it on the front left side in line with the tonearm's and main bearing's axis. One advantage of such setup is better bass definition and the other is better access to on/off switch. Although is this case the blue LED might blind you... The 15V AC motor is powered by a small, outboard power supply. Turntable features a 300mm acrylic platter. A felt mat is placed on top of the platter. The platter features a steel spindle and a hardened brass bush – a part of the inverted main bearing. The platter rests on a small ceramic ball. The 9cc EVO Carbon tonearm's effective length measures 230 mm with 18mm overhang. It's a very light arm – just 8 g, so it is suitable most of all for medium to high compliance cartridges. It features arm bearing housing of solid ring type. The massive outside ring is open to avoid resonances. Arm sports classic anti-skating solution – a small weight hanged on a thread. Tonearm features also azimuth and VTA adjustments. The Ortofon Quintet RED belongs to the Quintet family together with models Blue, Bronze, Black and Mono and it is the least expensive among them. It features neodymium magnets, copper coils and elliptical stylus r/R 8/18 μm. It sports a solid ABS (Acrylonitrile/Butadiene/Styrene) body. It is very light but also rigid. Regular shape of the body makes setup process relatively easy. Specifications (according to the manufacturer) RPM5 Carbon Wow & flutter: 33: +/- 0,12% | 45: +/- 0,10% Nominal speeds: 33: +/- 0,17% | 45: +/- 0,08% S/N: - 73 dB Outboard power supply: 15 V DC/800 mA Power consumption: 5 W (max)/< 0,3 W (standby) Dimensions: 430 x 150 x 323 mm (S x W x G) Weight: 8 kg 9cc EVO carbon Effective tonearm length: 230 mm Effective tonearm mass: 8 g Overhang: 18 mm Downforce range: 0 – 25 mN Ortofon Quintet RED Output voltage (1 kHz/5 cm/s): 0,5 mV Chanel separation: • 1 kHz: > 21 dB • 15 kHz: > 14 dB Frequency range (-3 dB): - 20 – 25 000 Hz Frequency response (20-20 000 Hz): +/-2,5 dB Compliance, dynamic, lateral: 15 μm/mN Stylus type - Elliptical Stylus tip radius - r/R 8/18 μm Tracking force range - 2.1-2.5 g (21-25 mN)  Tracking force recommended - 2.3 g (23 mN) Recommended load impedance - >20 Ohm Cartridge weight: 9 g Dystrybucja w Polsce: VOICE Spółka z o.o. Mostowa 4 | 43-400 Cieszyn Polska voice.com.pl [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/project/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/project/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/project/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/project/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/project/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/project/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/project/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/project/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/project/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/project/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/project/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/project/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/project/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/project/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/project/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/project/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/project/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/project/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/project/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/project/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/project/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/project/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/project/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/project/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

pecialized cable manufacturers usually offer their products, both analogue and digital, grouped under line names. Individual lines differ with conductors, cable geometry, finish, packaging, price and so on. It allows manufacturer to categorize his products, to assign them different price levels – that's how it works everywhere around the world. It has to because otherwise, when there are too many similar models, customers get confused and often decide to choose products from an easier to understand offer by other brand. Also Polish manufacturer, KBL Sound, whose products' reviews one can find quite often in „High Fidelity” magazine, and whose power distributor and power cables are part of our A and B reference systems, organized his offer into series/lines. The top one is called Himalaya and we already reviewed and awarded it with Yearly 2015 Award. Than there is Red Eye, the first line we reviewed in January 2014 (it was power cable and power distributor to be exact). The entry level series is called Fluid and in May 2015 it replaced the older series called Spectre. ZODIAC The latest addition to the batch is called Zodiac, placed between Fluid and Red Eye lines in manufacturer's portfolio. It is particularly interesting not only because of its design, but also because of the way the new line was introduced. Unlike usual presentation of the full range of products, this time KBL Sound introduced the series gradually. First, in September 2015 they released power cable, then in December speaker cable and finally in January 2016 also interconnects. There are few versions of the latter: it is available as analogue interconnects, both balanced (XLR) and unbalanced (RCA), as phono cables (also with DIN connectors), and as digital version: RCA→RCA and XLR→XLR (AES/EBU). Power cable When introducing this power cable manufacturer stated that while developing its design he used his knowledge and experience gained while creating Red Eye and Himalaya series. He decided to use mono-crystal copper conductor for Zodiac cables. This type of copper conductor is made using the costly OCC (Ohno Continuous Casting) process - the casting process developed to help defeat annealing issues and virtually eliminate all grain boundaries in copper. OCC copper was used by Japanese companies, such as: Oyaide, Furutech, Acrolink, Acoustic Revive, and Furukawa. The latter was an actual manufacturer of this conductor but they stopped the production last year. Zodiac power cable seems to be a solid, nice looking design, and it is delivered in a chick box – these are common qualities of all KBL Sound products. It features high quality connectors - AC Schuko and IEC with a nylon body. All contact areas are made of hardened gold-plated copper. The initial information we placed on our site in „News” section said that contacts are rhodium-plated but the version we received was gold-plated. When asked about it manufacturer said: At first we used rhodium-plated plugs as standard ones. But we quickly learned that most customers actually preferred gold-plated versions as better matching most systems so we decided to offer gold-plated plugs as standard, and rhodium-plated version is delivered upon request. All metal parts of the cable and plugs undergo cryo-treatment and are demagnetized. Cryogenic treatment induces further changes of metal's structure on molecular level that remove residual stresses by freezing material with liquid nitrogen in a temperature of -196 to -250° C. Standard lengths are: 1,5 and 2 m, other are available upon order. Retail price for a 1,5 m cable is 3699 PLN. Speaker cable The Zodiak speaker cable, released in December last year, look equally well but is much more flexible than power cable. The latter features large diameter, while speaker cables significantly smaller and on top of that it is a flat design. Just like power cables, also speakers ones are made using OCC conductors. Single crystal of such copper might reach even few hundred meters length. Available lengths include: 2 x 2, 2 x 2,5 and 2 x 3 m, which means that each run of this cable should be just a single copper crystal. Retail price for 2 x 2 m version is 5899 PLN. Zodiac speakers cables feature separate “hot” and return runs. These cables have separate hot and return wires for each channel. This solution allowed to eliminate, virtually to zero, harmful effects of magnetic fields on the signal flowing between the amplifier and speakers, as well as to minimize losses resulting from mechanical instability of the conductors. Cables are terminated with solid gold-plated spades or BFA banana plugs. For the review we used a 2 x 2,5m pair terminated with banana plugs on amplifier's end and spades on speakers'. Heat-shrinks with company's logo look surprisingly good, which is often not a case. One can also find small arrows there providing information on cable's directivity. Interconnects Interconnects were released as last product of the line, in January 2016. And these look even better than any other Zodiac cables due to wonderful connectors. Manufacturer spared no expense to get the right ones and chose WBT-0114 Cu nextgen models, that were designed to feature as little metal in them as possible. For this review we received analogue unbalanced (RCA) version, but balanced version is also available with Neutrik XLR connectors and also digital models - 75 Ω RCA and 110 Ω XLR (AES/EBU). There is also a phono version with RCA connectors at one end and either 5 DIN or RCA at the other. Standard lengths available are: 1, 1,5 and 2 m. These are directional cables – one can find small arrows on the sleeve that indicates the right direction these should be connected. All KBL Sound cables are tested after production and formed using professional conditioner. It means that customers buys products that are already fully broken in. After a very short period of time they present their full potential in any system and offer reliable performance over time. The origin of the name seems obvious - Zodiac includes all the astrological signs and so should these cables offer a complete, balanced sound. I compared these cables to my reference set. I tried out all of them individually and also as a set. I performed A/B/A comparison, with A and B known. My reference models are: Siltech Triple Crown and Tellurium Q Silver Diamond. Interconnect was used to connect Ancient Audio Lektor AIR V-edition CD Player and Ayon Audio Spheris III preamplifier and between Chord Dave DAC and Ayon. Speaker cable Zodiac was compared to Tara Labs Omega Onyx, and power cable to Crystal Cable The Absolute Dream and Harmonix X-DC350M2R Improved-Version, used to power Lektor CD Player and Dave. KBL SOUND in „High Fidelity” TEST: KBL Sound SIGNATURE SERIES HIMALAYA– power cable AC YEARLY AWARD 2015: KBL Sound SIGNATURE SERIES HIMALAYA – interconnect + speaker cable TEST: KBL Sound SIGNATURE SERIES HIMALAYA – interconnect + speaker cable YEARLY AWARD 2014: KBL Sound REFERENCE POWER DISTRIBUTOR + RED EYE - power distributor + power cables AC (system) TEST: KBL Sound REFERENCE POWER DISTRIBUTOR + RED EYE - power distributor + power cables AC (system) TEST: KBL Sound RED EYE – digital cable S/PDIF Recordings used for the test (a selection): The Stockfish DMM-CD/SACD, Vol. 2, Stockfish SFR 357.5902.2, SACD/CD (2016) America, Hearts, Warner Bros. Records/Audio Fidelity AFZ5 231, SACD/CD (1975/2016) Bottleneck John, All Around Man, Opus3 CD 23001, SACD/CD (2013) Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights. Volumes 1&2, Blue Note 8571842, „Doubletime Series”, SBM CD (1958/1997) Klan, Live Finland 1972, GAD Records GAD CD 039, CD (2015) Marilyn Manson, Personal Jesus, Interscope Records 9864166, SP CD (2004) Mills Brothers, Swing Is The Thing, History 20.3039-HI, „The Great Vocalists of Jazz & Entertainment”, CD (?) Radiohead, The King of Limbs, Ticker Tape Ltd. TICK-001CDJ, Blu-spec CD (2011) The Modern Jazz Quartet, Pyramid, Atlantic Records/Warner Music Japan WPCR-25125, „Atlantic 60th”, CD (1960/2006) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] Interconnect Already this first cable I tried introduced all the qualities of this line later confirmed also by speaker cable and power cord. Each of them has some individual qualities to offer, doesn't sound in an identical way as the rest, but the general sonic character is very similar. First of all it is particularly refined sound. This quality is sometimes achieved when designers try to offer highest possible fidelity, but it works for truly high end products that are highly detailed and yet very rich. Zodiac interconnect offer that at much lower price. It is a very interesting case – sure it was not quite the same level of performance as delivered by Siltech Triple Crown, or Tellurium Q Silver Diamond, but the way it shaped the sound reminded me of the former. Sound is rich, rather warm and very palpable. There is density, liquidity and cohesiveness of the sounds. Apart from slightly darker top treble I haven't noticed any other deviations from neutrality (of a kind that I'm used to in my own system, at least), nor any coloration. Unless one decides to recognized a bit more thumpy bass which is really good, liquid, multi-dimensional and there is a lot of it, as one. And yet it is never exaggerated, neither with lowest notes of fretless bass on Stockfisch's sampler DMM-CD/SACD, nor on in electronic version on Radiohead's album. Only comparing it to the best cables I could tell that this Zodiac's bass was slightly emphasized. But mind you! - considering its price in most systems it will probably be used in, it will be one of its strengths. It will make the system sound richer, it will build a solid bass foundation for the whole sound. It is also important because the most obviously refined part of the range is midband. OK, that's a simplification because midrange is not a preferred part of this presentation, but if you care about the best performance, about experiencing emotions embedded in the music, midrange is the key. And as far as the midrange goes this Polish cable surely followed the same direction as top Siltech interconnects, Double and Triple Crown. I could clearly hear that it is one of Zodiac's key qualities when listening to Bottleneck John's guitar, marvelously recorded by Opus3. The guitar could breathe, had proper attack, but most importantly a dense “wood” sound and wonderful decay. Also bluesman's vocal attested to incredibly good midrange presentation, too. Speaker cable Same material - OCC copper (Continuous Ohno Casting) - used for both, interconnect and speaker cable, meant that I could expect similar sonic signature from both of them. And listening sessions confirmed that. Similar, but not identical that is. They are similar because they both offer same kind of palpable, three-dimensional sound with great imaging, with lower midrange being particularly rich. One can hear that listening to, for example, vocals and hearing this little “push” in lower voice's range when 'p' is pronounced, or when listening to electronic instruments that gain some richness with these cables. Tonal balance of speaker cable is set bit lower (than IC's) and one might describe this sound as “warm” if focus on dense midband and bass is what one means by that. Bass is really well extended and there is even more of it than with IC. When these two cables are used together they tend to enrich the bass even further. Presentation of bass is focused on its timbre and liquidity. These two cables sound different because of a different perspective they present sound from. Interconnect tends to present the whole event closely to the listener, it conveys particularly palpable sound. Speaker cable on the other hand sets a larger distance between us and music, phantom images are not as large. It is also calmer. The interconnect while delivering very rich sound also conveys huge energy. A leading edge is slightly rounded and in result presentation seems truly refined. Speaker cable adds more perspective to the presentation. Both, used together, combine their qualities delivering rich, palpable performance observed from some perspective. Power cable It was power cable that was the first representative of Zodiac line introduced to the market and yet it seems to perfectly complement the whole set, as if it was created as the last of the series. While analyzing its tonal balance one might point out a slightly emphasized upper midrange, and attack phase. It also enhances dynamics. You might think now that I lacked that element when listening to IC and speaker cable, which is not true – I really liked the finesse of Zodiac cables and I think I understand what designer wanted to achieve; to be honest when I make recommendations to our Readers I usually suggest similar approach to sound presentation. There is no use in highly detailed sound, great imaging if the whole presentation has no flow. That is why all Zodiac cables, though rather warm sounding and not being dynamics masters, convey music in a more realistic, more true way than some competitors that shoot millions of details with a speed of a machine gun out way while forgetting about the essence of the music. So, as already stated, power cable beautifully complements the whole Zodiac loom. Each cable might be used separately and you will benefit from its qualities. But only once you've tried a full loom you should realize the designer's idea behind this line of products. Audio products, including cables, are creations of certain sonic qualities based on designer's goals and on what achieving them actually means for the performance of particular system. Sometimes coincident also plays some role in the whole process. But when it comes to manufacturers who know what they are doing there is no space for coincident, but rather for a final sonic result that lays in accordance to designer's goal. KBL Sound's power cable offers a rich sound but also open n the upper midrange. That's what makes it different from other representatives of this line. But it is also what adds the whole Zodiac loom this incredible energy, dynamics while preserving wonderful flow of the music. Summary Zodiac line offers certain qualities, certain sonic character. What they have to offer is highly sought by experienced audiophiles who are not impressed by very fast and detailed cables that lack richness, especially in lower midrange and bass range. Among these cables it is interconnect the offers the richest, densest, almost 'sticky' sound. It also brings presentation closer to the listener, closer than speaker cable does. The latter has similar sonic character but with even better extension of a richer bass (not that IC suffers any problems in that area). Together they deliver tuneful, spacial, intense, palpable and expressive presentation. Power cable introduces an amazingly open upper midrange and higher level of dynamics to the mix. It does not change nor limit any of other cables' qualities, it rather lets them really shine. It is a highly refined set of cables that needs not improving, no tuning – performance is simply that good and complete. That's what I've already learned to expect from product by KBL Sound. [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/kbl/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/kbl/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/kbl/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/kbl/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/kbl/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/kbl/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/kbl/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/kbl/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/kbl/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/kbl/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/kbl/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/kbl/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/kbl/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/kbl/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/kbl/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/kbl/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/kbl/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/kbl/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/kbl/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/kbl/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/kbl/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/kbl/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/kbl/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/kbl/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

unjoe, the owner of CLONES audio, left his well paid job of a graphic designer to take on his life's true passion - audio. He is not the first as there were others before him like Silvio Pereira of Audiopax to name one, and he won't be the last, but surely he is among few who made such decision at some point of their carriers. One has to have a lot of resolve and confidence in one's abilities to make such choice. Support from family and friends comes handy too. The latter factor is particularly important because changing a well paid job for an uncertainty of an own business usually means lower income, at least for some time. Funjoe, living in Hong Kong made this tough choice and five days after his son was born, on Dec. 12th 2012 he founded CLONES audio. He dreamed about making his own products but he also wanted to show his son that persistence and hard work do make dreams come true. His products originate from the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) part of audio world. Once popular all over the world, including Poland, today it seems to loose its momentum, at least in our part of the world. But as you could read in Mark Robinson's text, in Japan, and in Asia in general, DIY is still alive and well. People design and build their own devices, experiment, have fun. Most of them never even consider transforming their DIY activity into commercial one simply because it requires something more than just designing skills – one has to become a manager too and has to be able to invest a lot of time and money before succeeding. 25iR One of the key advantages of DIY products is their affordable price and thus a great price/performance ratio. But to start to sell the product one has to consider additional costs: professional chassis, safety certificates and a profit margin. The latter might be minimized with direct sales, and that's what CLONES audio does. But there is no way around the former two. Even more so in this particular case, as Funjoe's chassis is a well thought-trough and really solid; you won't find this level of precision and quality in audio products from below 10000 PLN price range and even some more expensive ones might not match the level either. But in this case it is possible because, the 25iR is a tiny device – place a mini LP type CD on top of it and it will (almost) cover it all. Chassis is quite 'tall' though, which allowed designer to fit all electronic circuits inside. Black, anodized aluminum plates bolted together create a solid, vibration-resistant structure. They also act as radiators which is another cost- and size- reducing factor. It is not the first CLONES audio product review in „High Fidelity”. In 2013 we reviewed the 25i integrated amplifier. It was actually Funjoe's first product, a direct 'translation' of his DIY experience to a commercial use of it. It's design was based on gainclone project, a clone of 47labs' Gaincart amp, he had built few years earlier for his father. This amplifier featured one LM3875 chip per channel. Signal's path was extremely short, power supply pretty decent. The new version features a different front panel and a remote control. This time the name of the device includes information about its output (for 8 Ω) – 25 W but also a letter 'R' that indicates that it is remotely controllable. It would seem that it is only slightly changed design. I asked Funjoe about and it seemed that I wasn't the only one asking this kind of question: Most of the people think it just simply add the remote to the 25i. But as your seen the layout is huge difference. I tried to put all things into the same tiny box with the individual power of each section to push all things to the best it ever can.  The difference of the 25i and IR as following: The improved version of the awards 25i.  PGA2311 as the input and volume section with no gain.  Power for the MCU and PGA2311 are individual.  The MCU is placed alone with the display section to make the noise as low as possible. The redesigned layout of the chassis is one of the most important part for the sound tuning. It cost double to the old one! You can find that there have quite difference character of the tone and the performance even the 25i and iR both are the no gain preamp. The volume section is kind like the goal keeper of the input. So that's why it is so important.  I placed amplifier on Audio Replas anti-vibration insulators and on the Acoustic Revive RT-38H platform. For this test I used a full set of Tellurium Q Silver Diamond cables – interconnect, speaker cable and power cable. I used few different sources and loudspeakers and compared it to some other amplifiers. Apart from my standard reference system I compared it also to Norma Audio set with SC-2 preamplifier and IP-150 power amp. 25IR drove not only my own Harbeth M40.1, but also high-efficiency tube speakers - Blumenhofer Fun 10 and tiny, closed-box Chartwell LS3/5. As for sources I used my Ancient Audio Lektor AIR V-edition CD Player, but also Chord Dave D/A Converter. CLONES audio participated also in my test of Verictum X Fuse. It sounded really good in each and every of those setups, it never sounded poorly, nor even just OK – always really, really good. CLONES AUDIO in „High Fidelity” TEST: Clones Audio 25i - integrated amplifier Recordings used for the test (a selection) The Stockfish DMM-CD/SACD vol. 2, SFR 357.5902.2, SACD/CD (2016) Billie Holiday, Body and Soul, PolyGram/Mobile Fidelity UDCD 658, gold-CD (1957/1996) Chet Baker, Chet Baker sings and plays, Pacific Jazz/EMI Music Japan TOCJ-90028, HQCD (1955/2006) Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, Ella and Louis, Verve/Lasting Impression Music LIM UHD 045, UltraHD CD (1956/2010) Fleetwood Mac, Tusk, Warner Bros. Records/Warner Music Japan WPCR-17017/9, 3 x SHM-CD (1973/2015) Frank Sinatra, Lost & Found | The Radio Years, Sony Music 8875147142, CD (2015); Frank Sinatra, Sinatra Sings Gershwin, Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music Entertainment 507878 2, CD (2003) Jamie xx, In Colour, Young Turks/Hostess YTCD122J, CD (2015/2016) John Coltrane, Coltrane’s Sound, Atlantic/Rhino R2 75588, „Atlantic Jazz Gallery”, CD (1964/1999) The Modern Jazz Quartet, Pyramid, Atlantic Records/Warner Music Japan WPCR-25125, „Atlantic 60th”, CD (1960/2006) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] Unfortunately I had no chance for head-to-head comparison with previous version but since my reference system remained unchanged and I remembered also very well my impressions from the first test of CLONES audio I decided to write a few words about what, as I remember it, changed compared to the older version. To be honest I'm not sure if it really makes sense. Why? Because it is the same amplifier, offering a bit better performance but sharing the same DNA with its predecessor. Yes, it offers more precise, more resolving sound. These improvements, if memory serves, are quite significant only if one searches for some progress, for a better sound. But if one just wants a great sounding, inexpensive amplifier and already has previous version, one should keep it and enjoy it for many more years. Replacing original version with new one makes sense only if you absolute need some change. The Model ‘25’ was from the very beginning a very good one and if you have it already you can keep enjoying it. Just like its predecessor, 25iR offers a certain, clear vision of sound. Surely there are many other, offering even better performance, but also more expensive amplifiers, and yet 25iR stands out among them because when you start listening to it in your system you don't feel any discomfort, any need to replace it with one of these better/more expensive competitors. Whatever speakers will be connected to it, combined performance will be rich, saturated and thus particularly interesting. This amplifier did a great job differentiating recordings, presenting a different approach to music recording used for Chet Baker's Chet Baker sings and plays and Ella Fitzgerald with Louis Armstrong's Ella and Louis album. It clearly pronounced differences between timbre, frequency range and dynamics. What's particularly interesting, it was able to show those differences not only in midrange and treble, but also in bass. It was a real volcano of energy, so to speak. Remaining in full control of the events it dealt really well with lowest, densest tones on Jamie xx's album, filling room with an almost palpably dense sounds with each of them being 'electrically charged'. Usually this type of bass is described as 'natural' as it features a slightly soft leading edge. CLONES audio offered powerful, dense, well extended bass but with a 'natural suspension' right after attack phase. To perform it this way amplifier needs a very good control over drivers coming from high current efficiency and low output impedance. I can't tell you if it is so with this amplifier, but from what I could hear it performed better then most competitors from up to 10.000 PLN price range. This type of bass presentation complements nicely midrange and treble. When I compared Funjoe's product with two high-end amplifiers – Ayon Audio Spheris III + Soulution 710 and Norma Audio SC-2 + IP-150 – I found out that tonal balance of 25iR was shifted towards lower midrange and it was surely not as resolving as reference sets. But such comparison made sense only because without such reference 25iR seemed particularly resolving and I was asking myself whether it would really make sense to spend more for a high end system? Maybe it would be better to keep it and spend the price difference for thousands of CDs/records? I'm not sure how to answer that question myself and that's why I spent a lot of time comparing head-to-head how resolving this amplifiers were. As for 25iR – it is resolving, all right, but not 'high-end resolving'. Due to very good selectivity and amazing richness of the sound performance seems complete, like nothing is missing. So if we take resolution into consideration one has to pay more, much more to be fully satisfied. But considering price/performance ration resolution is fantastic. And there is this staggering dynamics! This is an 'Achilles heel' of most 'audiophile' amplifiers, including tube ones. In the name of proper balance throughout the whole rich, dense range energy is being 'trimmed' – either to keep treble from being too aggressive, or bass from being to edgy. To be clear – I understand that such compromises are sometimes necessary and I accept them. I think that they allow listeners to enjoy music in a deeper, more refined way as compared to a situation where these compromised wouldn't have been made. The point is – the amplifier under review has no need for such trade-offs. CLONES audio offers both – dynamics and rich tonality, richness and rhythm. Summary This tiny amp from Hong Kong is available only directly from manufacturer, which limits numbers of potential buyers. 5-year warranty plus knowing that a really upstanding guy is behind that product are surely its advantages. Some might still hesitate because it can be bought only directly from manufacturer. I think that there is nothing to be afraid of. I saw Funjoe's amplifiers in systems, where every single cable was more expensive than the amp – that also happened in my own setup. And it wasn't a mismatch. I felt that 25iR simply belonged there. So what about its price? Let's treat it a a joke, as a gift from a man with a golden heart who quit his well paid job to be able to offer such gifts to the people. If that's his dream come true – I wish to every one of us that we could realize our dreams in such a wonderful way. Model 25iR is an integrated amplifier made by CLONES audio from Hong Kong. It is a tiny cube measuring 170 x 100 x 170 mm (W x H x D). It might be tiny but it looks impressive. It features three RCA inputs, two pairs of speaker outputs, and an output power of 2 x 25 W @ 8 Ω. Compared to its predecessor it sports a different volume control and thus its input impedance changed – instead of 33 kΩ now it is only 10 kΩ. It is not a particularly high value but except for tube sources with high output impedance or some exotic solutions without output buffers, it should be more then enough. Unlike previous version, 25iR features a remote control – a small, handy, aluminum one with small push-buttons. It is a typical Chinese product – it is quite solid but not particularly beautiful. Front it different than the one used for previous models. Instead of two knobs – volume control and input selector – there is only one, that allows to adjust volume control and, when pushed, choose an input. Next to it there is a red LED display. It delivers information about volume level and, for a few seconds, a selected input. An interesting fact – this display is on also when an on/off on rear panel is set to 'off' position. It might suggest that controller and input section are actually always on. Rear panel features 3 pairs of analogue RCA inputs. These sport high quality CMC-816U sockets made by American company CMC (Charming Music Conductor). There are no analogue outputs, only double speaker posts and a IEC socket integrated with a fuse and a mechanical on/off switch (green backlit). The chassis is composed of well fitted aluminum plates. It sits on three feet – two of them are placed in front and one in the back. I decided to use additional quartz insulators for the feet made by Japanese company Audio Replas. Signal's path is very short. From RCA inputs signal goes to PGA2311. Previous model used a rotary potentiometer instead. From PGA2311's output signal goes to inputs of LM3875. These are screwed to a thick aluminum plated that acts also as a shield between electronic circuits and power supply. Each channel has its own, separate PCB. Power supply section has been significantly improved, which resulted in a higher weight of the device - 6 vs 4,5 kg. It's still not an impressive value but when one considers size of the device then this mass becomes significant. A large toroidal transformer delivers current to a rectifier bridge with fast Shottky diodes – this is a power supply for output stage. Another transformer sits behind a shield powering volume control circuits and a micro-controller (MCU). Specifications (according to manufacturer) Output: 25 W+25 W (8 Ω) Input impedance: 10 kΩ (RCA, 3 line inputs) Gain: 30 dB S/N ratio:

'll elaborate on that later but let me start with information that products by Slovenian company Audio Alto are custom made – to be exact they are made to satisfy first of all needs and expectations of their designer, who says that „they reflect my [sound] philosophy”. It's not only about perfect reproduction of the sound that preserves all the purity, openness, width and depth of the original but also about product's aesthetic perfection. Once you take a look at his amplifier's - DMI 3H - design that is quite original, you'll see that he is serious about his statement. This is a particularly low profile device and it is its depth that is impressive. Chassis is made of thick aluminum plates. All electronic circuits are fixed to the top of the chassis, just like in many tube amplifiers. Make & finish is simply perfect. It's not a coincident that design follows some solutions usually applied in tube amps, as Mr Burian considers a class A SET (single ended triode) to be the ultimate choice and so his top products are ones. As he says, a huge advantage of this solution is a perfect linearity obtained without any feedback loop, that he personally blames for many issues of amplifiers in general. It is possible, he says, to create a solid-state amplifier circuit without feedback, but it requires using more elements which creates a longer path for the signal and increases a price of the device, also because all elements must be hand-picked which means that one can't manufacturer a larger quantity of such devices. But a small size manufacturer like Audio Alto is able to do it that way. DMI 3H The model under review, DMI 3H, is a hybrid, integrated amplifier, with its all sections working in class A without negative feedback. Input features ECC88 double triodes. Other (matching type) tubes might be used instead - we received amp with NOS 6DJ5 valves (JAN type). Output stage works in class A in push-pull configuration delivering 30 W @ 8 Ω and 50 W @ 4 Ω. Although one couldn't tell by looking at this amplifier inside there are in fact two mono amps, in dual-mono configuration, with separate power supplies for each channel. Both channels are isolated with thick screens thus improving separation between them. It's incredibly well made device that has a lot to offer in terms of functionality too. There are four inputs and one of them might be used for optional MM phono stage module, another serves as tape out, and the next one features lower sensitivity so that with sources like CD Players (usually delivering a 2V signal) volume control could operate within similar (optimal) range. Amplifier features also tone control called „Tilt”, that some of you might know from QUAD amplifiers, that operates around 1 kHz point – one can shift accent toward bass range decreasing at the same time treble, or do the opposite – more treble that equals less bass. Also damping factor for output is adjustable – switch sitting on the rear panel allows user to choose between two values: 15 and 50. I'm sure most of you had to face some problems with remote controls at some point – some just were not very appealing in aesthetic terms, some didn't work when not directed at the receiver, or if too far from a device. The black 'pole' offered by Audio Alto with DMI3H solves all these issues. This remote looks damn good, uses radio frequencies to send commands so can be operated from afar, and it features only few, key functions thus having only few buttons. SAŠA BURIAN Owner, designer DMI 3H is an Audio Alto entry level model and as the rest of the line is little bit unconventional as it is a hybrid and also without any global negative feedback. The amplifier includes all optional (the remote control, MM phono card etc.). The concepts of all the amplifying stages (operational amplifiers or vacuum tubes) are in a way "non conventional" as it was my goal to amplify the signal from input to output with stages working in class A, so that there will be no crossover distortion. I'm convinced that this approach can be heard through the listening (it should be pleasant end effortless). The amp is a A model with 50W/4ohm and 30W/8ohm. The stronger model (B) is offered in the same price. Recordings used for the test (a selection) Filia Praeclara, wyk. Ensemble Peregrina, Divox CDX-70603, CD (2008) Ludi Musici, dyr. Jordi Savall, wyk. Hesperion XXI, Alia Vox AV 9853, CD (2007) Anna Maria Jopek, Barefoot, Universal Music Polska 016 299-2, „Promo Copy”, CD (2001) Galahad, Sleepers, Avalon Records GHCD4, CD (1995) Galahad, Sleepers, Avalon Records/OSKAR Productions OSKAR 1065 CD, CD (1995/2015) Grateful Dead, The Best of Grateful Dead, Rhino 2795598, 2 x HDCD (2015) Jean-Michel Jarre, Electronica. Vol. 1: The Time Machine, Sony Music Labels SICP-30788, BSCD2 (2015) Johann Sebastian Bach, St. John Passion, BWV 245, dyr. Kenneth Slowik, wyk. Smithsonian Chamber Players and Chorus, Smithsonian Collection Of Recordings ND 0381, 2 x CD (1990) Megadeth, Fatal Illusion, Universal Music Japan UICY-5130, SP CD (2015) Oliver Nelson, The Blues and The Abstract Truth, Impulse!/Esoteric ESSI-90136, SACD/CD (1961/2015) w: Impulse! 6 Great Jazz, Impulse!/Esoteric ESSI-9013/8 (2015) Pink Floyd, The Endless River, Parlophone Records 4621333, CD + Blu-ray (2014) Richard Strauss, Also Sprach Zarathustra, dyr. Zubin Mehta, wyk. Los Angeles Philharmonic, Decca/Lasting Impression Music LIM K2HD 035, K2HD CD (1968/2008) The Modern Jazz Quartet, Pyramid, Atlantic Records/Warner Music Japan WPCR-25125, „Atlantic 60th”, CD (1960/2006) Thelonious Monk, Brilliant Corners, Riverside/Universal Music Japan UCCO-9220, „Jazz The Best. Legendary 100 | No. 20”, CD (1957/2008) Thom Yorke, Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes, Hostess | LANDGRAB RAB001J, CD (2015) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] „Show me your audio system and I'll tell you who you are” – I just made this up but on one hand it is supposed to make you realize how diverse the audio world is and on the other how close is a relation between each product and its designer. While listening to Slovenian integrated I had no doubt that its designer is all about high fidelity even if the reality check might not be the most pleasant thing if you’re listening to a bad produced recording. This amplifier offers almost opposite type of performance than other two class A amps also reviewed for this issue of our Magazine (Bulgarian RT Audio Design and Polish SinusAudio). Or in other words – it performs differently than a stereotype Class A amp, becoming a part of a minority with products from brands such as Accuphase and Luxman. So if you're looking for a warm, very rich, bit syrupy sound with upper treble overshadowed by midrange product of those two brands (RT Audio Design and SinusAudio) or of British Sugden Audio, might suit your needs. Audio Alto is a quite different species. If RT Audio Design was a bear, maybe a lion, then AA would be a cheetah. It delivers amazingly fast, clear sound with no coloration or whatsoever. I mentioned high fidelity also because this amplifier delivers a powerful, fast attack, even slightly emphasized, that plays more important role than sustain and decay phases. It's important to understand these differences as they define two approaches to sound reproduction – none of them is simply better or worse, they just both takes us in different directions. The reviewed amplifier directs listener's attention towards purity, towards 'tension' between sounds (instruments) that come from differences of their timbre and dynamics. This allows it to differentiate recordings in a very special way. I haven't heard any amplifier in a long time that was able to differentiate slightest variations of timbre, richness, weight, range extension and most of all dynamics in a way Audio Alto could. I played, for example, Thelonious Monk's Brilliant Corners and I could tell right away that the sound was rather “light”, with not so rich bass and with no top treble. But the at same time this is a very dynamic recording with instruments being particularly 'immediate'. Then I played Fatal Illusion single from Megadeth's Dystopia album and even though it was a Japanese release it was clear that there was almost no bass at all, but a lot of overdrive was present, and sound level of upper midrange was beyond any good taste. Warmer sounding amplifiers from same price range usually mask such issues delivering more unified type of performance no matter what recording is played, which is obviously more 'listener-friendly' approach. AA will not try to befriend you by making your favorite recordings sound better/nicer than they actually are. It will clearly show all recording's issues leaving a decision about what to do with them to the listener. One might try to create a more 'listener-friendly' presentation using some cables, sources or loudspeakers. But even then amplifier will 'shape' system's sonic signature, one will build a system around it. And it is definitely a component worth becoming a center piece of a high quality system. It is a great all-rounder so one can play any music one likes not being forced to quit on some genres because of amps inability to deliver a convincing performance. System with AA integrated will be a choice of those who love clarity, dynamics and large scale of the sound. These qualities come handy always, and thanks to them Możdżer's piano on Anna Maria Jopek's Barefoot albums amazed me with its purity and wonderful timbre. This piano's leading edge usually seems bit softened up, which creates an impression of it playing closer to the listener but at the same time it dulls its sound; large, concert Steinway dos not sound this way even if one sits far away from the stage. Just to be clear – no audio system is capable of reproducing exactly a performance of a live instrument. But it has to try treating some elements of such performance with greater importance than the others. The way a device interprets performance, choices between more and less important elements of said performance – that's what creates the final sonic signature often characteristic for a particular designer. AA integrated clearly projects Saša Burian understanding how the high-end audio music reproduction should sound. Saša Burian belongs to the 'species' that treat 'fidelity' as a key to a good performance. Listen to Pink Floyd's The Endless River, and you will hear just that. There will be a huge soundstage, large scale sound with abundance of details not only in the front of the stage but also in its back. Individual layers of the soundstage are not artificially separated, but when some instruments start to play somewhere behind speakers' line it is immediately clear how far from the front of the stage it resides. And when vocal is placed by sound engineer right in front of us it is powerful, rich, dense. That's how Laurie Anderson sounded when invited by Jean-Michel Jarre to performed in Rely On Me on Electronica. Vol. 1: The Time Machine album. Volume of her voice was impressive, it featured proper timbre, texture, it was three-dimensional, rich and amazingly palpable. It seems that it was supposed to sound like that – Jarre said that when he had heard this voice he immediately gave up an idea of distorting it, it was simply perfect the way it was. Because accentuating attack phase does not prohibit this amplifier from reacting to sound's density. It is not its priority, but the problem usually lays within recordings, rarely is caused by a device itself. One needs to realize that this is not an element that might be used to 'fix' some problems within the system. I mean, it is never recommended to 'cure' one disease with another. Small corrections, changes introduced to push the whole system one direction or the other – that's OK, that's what system's tuning is about. But 'tempering' some elements by adding a warm sounding component, or making sound more lively by adding some fast/bright sounding element – that's a mistake. Audio Alto will not solve problems of slow or too warm sounding systems but it will open it up and lit it up. Options At first it might seem that functionality of this amplifier is quite limited. There is no D/A Converter, only four inputs, few outputs. That's what I thought after unpacking it. But after studying it carefully (before describing its design) and most of all after spending some time with it I changed my initial assessment. For most systems what it has to offer will be more than sufficient, and its ergonomics and ease of operation will impress most users. At first it might seem that functionality of this amplifier is quite limited. There is no D/A Converter, only four inputs, few outputs. That's what I thought after unpacking it. But after studying it carefully (before describing its design) and most of all after spending some time with it I changed my initial assessment. For most systems what it has to offer will be more than sufficient, and its ergonomics and ease of operation will impress most users. There are inputs with different sensitivity which comes handy when one wants to optimize dynamic qualities of the system. After connecting my CD Player to a lower sensitivity input I could operate volume control within optimal range between “12” and “14” (o'clock). The headphone output delivers similar level of performance to the speakers outputs. Spacing is great, conveying fast impulses - impressive. Bass might not be particularly powerful, but that's how this amplifier sounds like – it goes really deep down, there is a lot of energy in this part of the range, but mid- and upper bass are not so energetic, they don't 'enrich' the sound. Tone control, here executed in a „Tilt” form, allowing moving accent either up or down the range, works really good. But I wouldn't recommend overusing it, especially some recordings might not like it. When this tone control is used, treble looses o bit of its clarity. After a while one forgets that and enjoys the performance, but if one cares for the utmost clarity the switch should remain in the „Off” position. And yet it comes handy in some cases – I used it more often then I thought I would, rectifying problems of Megadeth albums and some others too. I could understand someone who would use it to correct the sound of a system and not of a recording, but I think an approach of FM Acoustics http://highfidelity.pl/@main-2658&lang= is preferable. There is also a switch allowing user to change damping factor for the output. For a long time I used ‘50’ setting that offered high quality sound, very precise and transparent. Switching it to ‘15’ 'damped' some details and lowered tonal balance. And yet, after a while I realized that I enjoyed listening to the music more with the switch in “15” position. It offered still precise and dynamic sound but, especially over a longer time, more enjoyable. Summary This is an amplifier with a very clearly stated sound character that is meant for customers with particular expectations. Like for those who seek for a deep, powerful bass that is not artificially emphasized. For music fans who like to 'see' performing artists even if they stay in the back of the soundstage. Also those who care about dynamics above all, regardless whether they listen to rock or classical music. Audio Alto delivers amazingly clear, pure sound which makes noticing all differences particularly easy. Spacing, especially considering the price range and solid-state design, is impressive. Just as the design itself is. This Slovenian amplifier is one of the best made (mechanically and electrically) devices I've seen in the last few years. Only amplifiers of Accuphase, Mark Levinson and FM Acoustics impressed me equally. Audio Alto DMI 3H is an integrated hybrid design amplifier with a tube preamp stage and solid-state output stage and optional phonostage module. Its appearance differs from most competitors because the front is smaller than device's depth. Such proportions are not something new – we know them from Cyrus, Heed, and once also Crimson amps. Audio Alto is a much bigger device though, it is really big. You should remember that because it won't fit to all racks, on all shelves. Its mechanical design reminded me of tube amplifiers as all elements are screwed to a rigid module forming top, front and back panels. These are thick, black aluminum plates anodized and lacquered. Bottom and side walls are made of curved aluminum sheet, with small feet bolted to the bottom. The lower part of chassis is screwed with 26 screws which makes it particularly sturdy. Additionally this device is surprisingly heavy – looking at its low profile one does not expect such a significant weight. Standard black front might be, upon order, replaced by a chromed one, or made of exotic wood. There are two versions of this amplifier – A and B, offering different output power. The one under review is the A version offering 30 W @ 8 Ω and 50 W @ 4 Ω. The B version doubles the output. Front and rear The font used for writings on a front panel is quite original, yet legible. A volume control knob sits in the middle of the front. It's an analogue volume control based on Alps potentiometer. Actually the pot is placed in the back section of the amplifier next to the preamplifier PCB and its operated with a knob on the front via a long spindle. There is a LED placed on the knob that allows user to follow its movements. After it stops it fades to lower intensity, fortunately it's not too bright. On the left-hand side there are two push-buttons – input selector and another that activates tape loop, and blue micro-LEDs. On the right there is a „mute” button, „standby” one and 6,3mm headphone output. As I said amplifier features a low profile chassis thus there is not too much space of the front panel. A particular array of inputs suggests that this is a dual-mono design and it is actually true. In fact these are two mono amplifiers placed sharing one chassis, power inlet and potentiometer. IEC socket sits in the middle, other connectors are placed in symmetrical fashion on both sides of it. Manufacturer decided to use solid, gold-plated ones. There are four inputs that differ one from another with, for example, input impedance, which allows for them to match different sources. Way back in 1950ties, 60ties and even 70ties it was a standard feature. Later manufacturers started to used inputs with the same sensitivity. Phono input, after optional phonostage module is installed, works with MM cartridges (2 mV). If module is not installed it features input sensitivity of 200 mV. Input no. 2 features 500 mV sensitivity and it should work with CD Players, input no. 3 features 200 mV sensitivity – it can be used to connect a radio tuner or external phonostage, finally input no. 4 is a part of a tape loop and has the same sensitivity as input no. 3. The switch named: Filter on when in “Up” position enables first order high pass filter (rumble filter) for the phono Moving Magnet (MM) input to comply with IEC RIAA standard. The cut off frequency is 20Hz/-3dB. Next to it there is another switch and a knob marked „Tilt”. It's a part of a tonal adjustment but a different one than one used by most manufacturers. Using it allows user to regulate the frequency response in a balance mode. Turning the knob clockwise increases the high frequency signal and simultaneously reduces by the same amount low frequency signal. Turning the knob anti clockwise increases the low frequency signal and simultaneously reduces by the same amount high frequency signal. Signal at 1.000Hz is not modified. The maximum increase/reduction is ±5dB. It allows user to adjust tonal balance of the device to better match the whole system or, which makes more sense to me, to correct it for a particular recording. Manufacturer clearly states that the idea of this Tilt correction is taken from Quad's solution that was introduced already in 1982. There is one more switch on the rear panel that allows user to change damping setting for output (output impedance). There are two choices: 15 (0,56 Ω) and 50 (0,16 Ω). Two pairs of gold-plated speakers posts are placed symmetrically. They can accept spades but the only really easy to use option are banana connectors. In the middle one finds one more socket to connect a short cable – an antenna that works with a remote control. Interior There are two separate amplifiers, bolted at sides to the top panel, separated with thick screens. Each of them features input stage with 6922 tube. One might want to roll these using E88CC or NOS 6DJ5, like in the reviewed unit that featured tubes of military origin (JAN). Tubes are additionally equipped with damping rings. The preamplifier section features high quality passive elements including polypropylene Wima capacitors and metallized resistors – I haven't seen that many high quality elements in one device in w while. On top (or below depending on how you look at it) on that PCB the optional phono module is installed, with even more high quality elements in RIAA filter. The active element here is LM4562. Power amplifier is mounted on the same PCB as preamplifier section. It is a solid-state circuit with a very short signal's path. The output features a pair of transistors in push-pull configuration bolted to a solid radiator. Transistors are complementary pairs of IRF9530N + IRF530 made by International Rectifier, a fifth generation of HEXFET. Vertically above output section another PCB with power supply section is mounted. There are two separate rectifier bridges. The voltages are regulated and are time and amplitude delayed for smoother power up thus protecting the vacuum tube. The start up procedure takes up to 2 minutes. Right before each output stage, close to front panel, there is a large toroidal transformer rated at 150 W, that is properly shielded and damped. This is a very well designed circuit indeed, I'm impressed. Amplifier might be delivered with a power cable made with conductors made of OFC. Just like Vitus Audio, FM Acoustics and other brands, also Audio Alto offers a main lead made of the same conductors as used for internal cabling. Cable features Furutech plugs with gold-plated contacts. Remote Manufacturer decided not to use an IR remote but rather a one operating using radio frequency. So one doesn't have to worry about pointing it directly at the amplifier – it's going to work wherever you are. It is made in-house from aluminum sheets. It features small push buttons, they are divided into groups, which comes quite handy while controling the amplifier. It features a 'pole-like” shape – it is rather tall. Specifications (according to manufacturer): Sensitivity/input impedance: • RIAA: 2 mV/47 kΩ/47 pF | overload margin: 32 dB | noise: -70 dB • input 2: 500 mV/220 kΩ • inputs 1, 3, 4: 200 mV/220 kΩ Noise: - 95 dB Output: 30 W/8 Ω | 50 W/4 Ω Frequency range: 5-60 000 Hz/-1 dB Dimensions (W x D x H): 295 x 465 x 90 Weight: 12,5 kg MICRO-TEST HiFiStay GYROTENSION VEGA | GYROPOINT Text: Wojciech Pacuła Images: Wojciech Pacuła | HiFiStay There are many “positive-freaks” in the world. Fortunately, I should add. Just like people from Korean company Nasotec, whose headshell we reviewed in March (see HERE). Or HiFiStay, that sells its product together with Nasotec, that offers great looking anti-vibration accessories. Their make 7 finish is simply brilliant – most 'big fish' of audio market could only hope to achieve such level of quality. Gyrotension Vega and GyroPoint are anti-vibration feet combining two decoupling methods: a soft (flexible) and a rigid one. Gyrotension are large feet, with its upper part being screwed on a complex system of silicone rings; each foot's max rating is 20 kg. By taking some of the rings off one might adjust compliance of the feet to a particular weight of the device that is to be put on them. A central part is additionally supported with a spring. These both solutions are known because they were used, for example, in Avid and Linn turntables. All this system rests on a wide flange and it is coupled with it via three ceramic balls, which is a similar solution to those used by finite elemente and Franc Audio Accessory. GyroPoint are smaller, they feature 32 silicone rings and a spring and they are to be placed on a special base, that is coupled via a larger, single ceramic ball. Each foot's maximum rating is 6,4 kg. Both types of Nasotec feet influence sound significantly, but each in its own way. With them performance is richer with details, especially in treble area, they significantly improve treble's resolution. The bigger ones also improve bass making it more powerful sounding. I remember that Avid turntables had a similar sonic signature. It is not about offering warmer bass, but rather about having more of it. Due to that sound becomes more powerful, has more authority. Smaller GyroPoint push midrange bit forward and accentuate upper bass. Both types increase sound's energy – I used them with Alto Audio amplifier and its performance is very resolving and fast. But even though it became even more resolving with Nasotec's products, its lower end gained even more energy, also the whole acoustic ambiance of many recordings became more realistic. Both types of feet had a positive influence on amplifier's performance – I have no doubts about it. Their greatest quality is adding more energy to the sound. Sound does not become warmer, as with some soft insulators, nor more tense as with some rigid ones and I guess that was the point of the designers combining both solutions. Also these feet look simply great, very professional. There more such high quality, classy audio products, the better. They are not all-rounders – there is no anti-vibration product that works best with each and every audio product. Gyrotension slightly rolls off midrange, and GyroPoint accentuates upper part of the range. But what they do right is highly sought after by many audiophiles. Prices: Gyrotension Vega – 750 USD/4 pcs. GyroPoint – 590 USD/4 pcs. www.hifistay.com [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/th/13.jpg" big="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/13.jpg" src="foto_testy/1604/audioalto/13.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

he shadow of our previous encounter had been looming over this meeting. Before, we tested the dCS Rossini Compact Disc player. There were no fist fights, but our opinions of the tested device were so different that it was impossible to reach any consensus. After a few attempts we all entrenched where we were standing and remained there until the end. Even though it seemed to us that a lack of a common denominator is like a half-baked cake, emails from “High Fidelity” readers and phone calls from our friends proved that it was something else: a creative process. Our argument activated many of those people, prompting them to make their own comparisons and to give the problem some thought. On the one hand, I heard that those who had tried to depreciate the dCS player were “jealous”, “deaf” and “envious”, but others suggested that, perhaps, we had reached a place within the domain of the quality of the tested products, where personal preferences influence our opinions so much that it is hard to say that either of the two opposing groups is malicious. Anyway, they are probably both right, but each within its own “framework.” Perhaps it is also true that opinion differences at this quality level have the same weight as in the case of “budget” systems, but they do not refer to the absolute quality of a product, but to its relative quality and are, therefore, extremely exaggerated. If it was different, how could I interpret the results? Quite unambiguously: either those who like the dCS are deaf and lack any relevant knowledge, or those who do not like it are deaf and lack any relevant knowledge. There is no third option. As I know both camps (we have been meeting for twelve years now), I also know that neither of these are true. It is even more evident since meetings No. 101 and No. 102 comprise a duology and complement one another. Having taken part in them, I am a bit wiser and I have learnt something new. The two-piece MSB CD player that we listened to polarized the listeners just as much as the dCS, but most of the participants (except for two who were impossible to convince) had more intricate opinions. THE SYSTEM This time, the listening session was conducted at Tomek’s, in the system in which we had once listened to master tape copies using a Nagra reel-to-reel tape recorder (read HERE), where Japanese representatives of Accuphase presented the digital voicing equalizer DG-58 to us (read HERE) and where Gerhard Hirt prepared the world premiere of his Ayon Audio S-3 file player with direct transfer of DSD files (not through DoP protocol). I know and value that system. It is what each self-respecting manufacturer is trying to achieve today. So, we listened to a Compact Disc player. Companies that offer optical disc players (mainly CD, but also SACD – e.g. Vivaldi dCS, Vitus SCD-025 and other ones) seem to be following the same trend as turntables some time ago. When it seemed that their days were numbered, the best and most interesting designs were created, as if to show that writing this format off was a mistake. We compared the MSB Technology player that costs a little less that 400,000 PLN (including power cables and other accessories) with a two-piece Ayon Audio player which costs ca. 70,000 PLN and includes Compact Disc CD-T transport and the Stratos (consisting of a digital-to-analog converter and an analogue preamp). The devices were permanently connected to the Accuphase A-70 power amplifier – the Ayon player through RCA cables and the MSB player through XLR cables. A comparison of these two inputs in the Accuphase power amp shows that they are only minimally different. Apart from that, the Stratos output is actually unbalanced – both with RCA and XLR cables we get output impedance of 300 Ω. When testing this company’s devices, I always choose their RCA outputs. MSB TECHNOLOGY MSB, which was established by two engineers – Larry S. Gullman and Mark S. Brasfield, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. MSB is an abbreviation for “Most Significant Bit”, i.e. a paraphrase of “Least Significant Bit” – a phrase used with reference to digital signal. LSB, aka the youngest bit, is the least important bit, located right-most in positional notation. This is the official version, even though these three letters are also Mark S. Brasfield’s initials. Anyway, a few years later Larry S. Gullman bought Mark S. Brasfield’s shares and thus the initials did not mean anything anymore in this context. The two gentlemen remained fiends after they had parted and Larry still emphasizes the fact that both the basics of research methodology and the company philosophy had been planned and implemented by Mark who is the “father” of all the subsequently launched products. In 1986, the Compact Disc format was still at its “childhood” stage of development and most CD players were equipped with low-quality D/A converters or/and lousy digital filters. Knowing that, Mark and Larry decided to design their own DAC. Their first product was a redesigned Philips player. In this way, MSB became a specialist in the field of digital sources. The philosophy behind MSB products is very interesting. Its founders are, first of all, true-born engineers and, secondly, music lovers. However, they decided to combine “engineering” design (including measurements and computer software, etc.) with listening sessions during which they make final decisions concerning the importance of individual elements and the choice of specific components. For many years, Larry has been using a special place for this purpose – i.e. a church in Reedwoods. For the same purpose, he has employed an engineer who is also a guitarist. The church serves as a venue for listening sessions, including comparisons of the instrument played live and its recordings. “The legacy continues” – a short story of MSB 1986: the first product – the modified Philips CD player 1986: the company is established by Larry S. Gullman and Mark S. Brasfield 1989: Larry S. Gullman buys Mark S. Brasfield’s company shares 1994: a demonstration of the first AC-3 output for LaserDisc players at the Dolby company 1995: the first AC-3 demodulator in the Lexicon LDD-1 1995: the first LaserDisc player with the THX certificate – Runco LJR II 1996: the first external DTS decoder – Millennium 2.4.6 1998: the first broadly sold DAC (24 bit, 96 kHz) – LINK DAC 2000: the first discreet converter (384 kHz) – Platinum DAC 2001: the first discreet asynchronous upsampler (192 kHz) – Platinum Plus 2005: the first 80-bit digital DSP filter – 16X Filter 2006: the first iPod-based server – iLink 2009: the first digital converter input for signal of 384 kHz sampling frequency and 384 kHz upsampling– DAC III 2009: the first 32-bit interface – Xport 2010: the first 384 kHz Bit Perfect USB digital input – Signature USB in DAC IV 2010: the first CD transport capable of playing audio files up to do 32 bit and 384 kHz – Data CD IV 2011: the first clock with jitter lower than 1ps – 77 Femtosecond Galaxy Clock 2014: the first DAC that crossed the theoretical 24-bit limit, SELECT DAC; 149 dB dynamics 2015: SELECT II DA, 173 dB dynamics = 28.5 real bits) This is not the first time I have dealt with this company. At the end of 2011 I tested a (then top) company system for “Audio”. It consisted of a Compact Disc transport, a D/A converter and an amplifier: Platinum Data CD IV + Platinum Signature DAC IV + Platinum Signature Power Base. Moreover, at the end of 2013 I tested a cheaper model for “High Fidelity” – The Analog DAC. The system which we dealt with within the Krakow Sonic Society used to be the best MSB product for two years. Now this status has been taken over by the Select. The characteristic features of the system that we listened to are: a modular design, CD transport that is a modified version of a computer CD-ROM transport and a DAC made “afoot” using resistors in an R-2R resistor ladder controlled by a DSP circuit. It is a multi-bit circuit with 28.5 bit resolution and upper sampling frequency of 384 kHz. Less “impressive” D/A modules produced by the company can also be found in the Thrax Maximinus converter. As the version that we had was equipped with an analogue volume control circuit, the device could be directly connected to the power amplifier. As I have mentioned, it is a modular system. A user can buy devices in their basic versions and then further equip the system as it develops or in accordance with his/her needs. A full system specification is given below – the only “non-top” element was the clock, as it is surpassed by the top-end Femto clock. The MSB player at the time of the listening session consisted of: Diamond DAC V: DAC, S/PDIF, AES/EBU and Toslink inputs, and an analogue XLR input; price: 148,570 PLN DAC V Diamond Volume Control: analogue volume control, price: 14,830 PLN Diamond Power Base: DAC amplifier, price: 29,690 PLN Isolator Base: DAC supply separator, price: 9,880 PLN DAC V USB Quad Rate DSD: USB input, up to 4xDSD and 24/384, price: 9,390 PLN DAC V Audio Renderer/I2S Input: input from the NAS/input from the transport, price: 19,760 PLN DAC V Galaxy Clock Option: a better clock – 77 fs instead of 144 fs, price: 24,540 PLN I2S Cable: signal cable for the transport, price: 470 PLN Signature Data CD V: Compact Disc transport, price: 41,470 PLN Diamond Transport Power Base: transport supply, price: 29,690 PLN The cost of the whole set in this configuration: 328,290 PLN We compared the devices by changing inputs in the power amplifier – every four tracks from four albums first, then every three tracks and, in the end, every single track. We separately conducted a short comparison of USB inputs in the MSB and Ayon. The MSB is many times better than the Ayon in this respect – the Austrian converter had no chance of winning at all. However, it was different in the case of Compact Discs. Session I The Stockfisch DMM-CD/SACD, Vol. 2, Stockfisch SFR 357.5902.2, SACD/CD (2016) DIRE STRAITS, Brothers in Arms, Vertigo/Universal Music Japan, Platinum SHM-CD JANUSZ MUNIAK, Contemplation, Universal Music Polska 5903111259013, CD (2015); the CD released under the patronage of “High Fidelity” MEGADETH, Dystopia, Universal Music Japan UICY-15449, SHM-CD (2016) Janusz Actually, I do not know what to say. Or, I rather know what to say, but I do not know how… When we first played the Stockfisch CD, the musical message was unambiguously better with the MSB. There was no shadow of doubt and I could hear that it was genuine sound. Vocal separation was excellent, really outstanding. The vocal was one with music, but at the same time it was separated – it is a phenomenon which occurs only in the best systems. In the case of the Ayon system it was shown together, everything on one plane. It was still very pleasant and good, but it was the MSB system that demonstrated what it should all be like. However, things changed later and the Ayon system produced better sound. It was absolutely amazing when we listened to Muniak’s saxophone. We know how it sounds in a club, as we have sat two or three meters away from it a few times. I am sure you remember we were there with John Tu who played the percussion with Muniak. The Ayon rendered that club experience – it showed the saxophone in the foreground – live and present, and the rest in the background. With the MSB system, the saxophone merged with the rest and faded. Saying that the Ayon system was always better is a bit exaggerated – when it comes to Dire Straits, the MSB system showed its first-class qualities again, in my opinion, but the difference was not overwhelming. As regards things that were better with the MSB system, I would mention, for example, the depth of really nice guitars. However, in the case of Megadeth rumble, the musical message as a whole was worse with the MSB system. Blimey, I will contradict myself again, but the vocal in a track from the Megadeth album was much better with the MSB. That was, however, already apparent when we listened to the Stockfisch – vocals are outstanding with the MSB. Bartek It must be said – the Megadeth album is extremely badly recorded, as if all metal bands were gradually losing their hearing with time. Perhaps this is the reason why the MSB did not play it too well. I would use something else to play metal music. The system made the sound milder and lost the energy of the guitars somewhere. Sound with the Ayon system was perhaps harsher and less refined, but truer, with the right power and beat. It had the claws that were hidden when the same music was played by the MSB. However, the Stockfisch album sounded much better with the MSB. The vocal was beautifully shown in the foreground. I also liked Dire Straits more with the MSB. It showed what this kind of music is about: planes and colors. However, I agree with Janusz that Muniak souded much better with the Ayon. I do not know whether it is not about the fact that even though Ayon produces more vulgar sound in comparison to MSB, it is not as elaborate and multi-colored. It has the drive, energy and something that “powers” individual tracks. Marcin My opinion is similar to what Janusz thinks, which surprises me a bit, as when it came to the dCS, we could not disagree more. As regards Stockfisch, which provided us with very nice music, the MSB system was much better and it was no use negating that. Everything was clearer and more vivid here. However, then it was worse. I am talking about that Dire Straits vinyl album – I know it is recorded a bit “sharply” and sometimes brightly – and this is what it is supposed to sound like. The MSB system is more detailed and brighter, because of which it “exaggerated” the musical message a bit, while the Ayon showed everything with the right balance. When it comes to the Muniak’s album, the difference was not big, I think – nothing to argue about, while Megadeth can be played on anything and there will be no difference… Rysiek B. The first two albums provided a recommendation for the MSB system. It was beautiful. I would mention better separation of planes, better spatiality and vividness, as well as incredible fill of the sound stage with sound. Problems appeared, which has already been mentioned by other participants, with the Muniak’s album. I do not know what happened, but it simply sounded bad with the MSB. I cannot believe it! This is the first time I have heard something like this. When it comes to Megadeth, I had no doubts – Denon equipment costing 1000 PLN would have done an equally good job. Wiciu I do not agree with you at all – I have an Ayon player at home and I know how it plays music. I think that the price of the MSB system should be ten times lower. I came late to join the respectable circle of listeners when the Megadeth album was being played and, in my opinion, the Ayon system did a better job in that case. Tomek Ś. I will repeat what others have already said – the MSB system really played the Stockfisch better. Listening was much more pleasant with it – I do not want to, however, talk about audiophile details here. When it comes to Muniak and Megadeth, the Ayon was much better. As regards the Megadeth album, the MSB system made the guitars blunt and suppressed them, which is not something that this kind of music is about. Tomek (the host)) As we had set up the system at my place on Thursday, I spent two days listening to it all the time. I selected tracks at random, but subconsciously I probably wanted to demonstrate how great the MSB system is – I wanted to confirm a thesis, but I got an antithesis. In my opinion, on the one hand, the MSB system produces extremely natural, pleasant sound, which is really beautiful. However, it sounded bad with Muniak’s music. That is, not bad altogether, but worse than the Ayon. On the other hand, the MSB system intelligently fits the acoustics of my room, as if it was trying to remove all its drawbacks, with one strong bass resonance that I cannot get rid of. I remember how it wonderfully vanished with the Accuphase DG-58 correction device. The MSB system did something similar, even though it does not include any sound correction . It is as though such high quality of sound also provides other benefits than sound itself, completing the system and the room. Of course, it works only up to some degree. With acoustic music, the MSB system sounded beautiful, but in the case of electronic music and metal it appeared that it makes music much more pleasant and smoother, which is not necessary for these kinds of music. Session II WŁODZIMIERZ NAHORNY, Jej portret, Polskie Nagrania Muza/GAD Records GAD CD 006 (1965/2013); review HERE. JERZY MILIAN TRIO, Baazaar, Polskie Nagrania „Muza”/GAD Records GAD CD 017, „Polish Jazz | vol 17”, CD (1069/2014); review HERE RYSZARD SYGITOWICZ, Bez grawitacji, Wifon/GAD Records GAD CD 029, CD (1985/2015);review HERE Marcin Having listened to the second set of recordings, I know I would buy the MSB system. In the case of these albums, there was no doubt that its sound is incredibly pleasant, dense, “analogue” and, which is surprising, more lively. In the case of these specific remasters, the Ayon system put everything in a cocoon and did not let many sounds out. It was not bad sound, but the MSB system was simply much better. Tomek Ś. The MSB system was more lively, it had better energy and was much more pleasant. It played really well. There is nothing to add, it was top class. Bartek Finally, I understand why the MSB system costs so much – here it simply played much better than the Ayon. Its sound was audibly incredibly elegant, for which you have to pay. This makes it harder for me to understand what happened earlier with the Muniak’s album. If I had started listening with the second set of recordings, I would not even have looked at the Ayon system. Janusz Having listened to the first four albums, I had preferred the Ayon system. The MSB has a lot of good features, but they had not justified its high price at that point. Even though gentlemen do not talk about money, but just have it, we cannot avoid that topic in the audio domain. After listening to the next three albums, I totally changed my opinion on the sound of the MSB. It was better than the Ayon in every respect – it was no use comparing. Even if we remember about the price difference, the Ayon simply “died.” The sound stage with the MSB was better organized and saturated, everything was engaged, full and sophisticated. I must say that the longer I listen to this player, the better I understand its sound and the more I like it. What I had considered to be its drawbacks before, I then perceived as its advantages. The Ayon system simply “was” there, when compared to the MSB. Wiciu Nahorny’s Jej portret was really much better with the MSB system. When we listened to the Jerzy Milian Trio album, I was not so sure about the MSB advantage over the Ayon, while when it came to Sygitowicz, the Ayon system was much better than the MSB. The 12-string guitar which sometimes appears there, never sounds live the way it is presented by the MSB! The MSB system makes high tones higher, while the Ayon played the guitar more naturally, the way I know from live concerts. Rysiek B. After two sessions, I will say, anyway, that for me the choice is simple – the Ayon system is more musical. I do not know what you hear, perhaps you have to grow up to understand this kind of music, but the Ayon system is warm and pleasant. This time, I did not like the MSB at all. It was grey, subdued and one-dimensional. There was no depth, everything was in line. I have no doubt, I do not like the MSB system. To conclude, I will add that without listening to classical music my opinion is not objective. To make things more complicated, I will remind you that the Stockfisch album was one level better with the MSB system. Finally, I will say that I have attended 98 meetings of the Krakow Sonic Society, I think, but this session has been the most surprising of all. Tomek (the host) Sygitowicz was spectacular, I have to borrow the album from Wojtek! I totally disagree with Rysiek – I do not know what he hears, but for me the MSB system sounded fantastic, much better than my Ayon. The MSB has this special ability to build music in my room, with my system. Having listened to the first two albums in this session I was not completely sure whether these were changes for the better, but Sygitowicz convinced me they were. Now I am sure that if I were to listen to music using one source for many years, I would definitely choose the MSB. The Ayon is a bit worse and the MSB is the winner from ‘A’ to ‘Z’ in this session. I was especially impressed by all the percussion instruments from Sygitowicz’s album – it is a really great recording – that were spectacular with the MSB system. Session III GRUPA ABC ANDRZEJA NEBESKIEGO, Idę dalej, Kameleon Records KAMCD 37, CD (2015) Music For A While. Improvisations on Purcell, Christina Pluhar, L’Arpeggiata, Erato 4636203, CD + DVD (2014) INFECTED MUSHROOM, Army Of Mushrooms, HOMmega Productions HMCD79, CD DIRE STRAITS, Borthers in Arms, Vertigo/Unicersal Music Japan UICY-40055 Platinum SHM-CD After the first two sessions we organized a shorter third session and then moved on to other comparisons, a bit at random. We also listened to, a few times again, a track from the Muniak’s album. It all made us more established in our opinions and no one changed their mind. Even though you cannot see it in the transcript of conversations, opinion differences concerning the player were no smaller than in the case of the dCS, or perhaps even greater. The thing is that everyone was more relaxed and there were no such emotions as during the previous meeting. However, the words were even stronger, but since they were spoken during breaks between the sessions when we were having something to eat (ladies – thanks for all the food!), I did not write them down. An example of what was said is: - Gentlemen, you either have no idea about it or you are too young – when you are as old as me, you will see what is important. Listen to music, not to sounds – the MSB produces sounds and the Ayon is Music! - You have probably become too old and you do not know what you are talking about – what sounds? I do not know how possible it is not to hear what the MSB system is about. This is sophisticated, beautifully arranged sound – much better than what the Ayon has to offer. Another thing is that the Ayon is many times cheaper and, as such, is simply a “bargain.” However, if you want something that is the best, you do not talk about money. However, that does not allow you not to listen to things and you seem not to hear anything! - What are you both talking about, come on! The MSB does not sound at all, it is some kind of a joke! - I do not know, perhaps I am in an insane asylum – what joke? You really have to know something about sound to appreciate the MSB. Otherwise, listen to music from Denon devices, perhaps they will suit you! It is a real dialogue that I overheard. Even though the words were spoken while we were having something to eat and drink, they were still true. The most important question here is: what fd it all up? Not when it comes to the MSB, which I am going to return to in a moment, but when it comes to people from the Krakow Sonic Society. As I had a lot of time after the dCS session, I could compare my observations with reactions to the MSB system. I have a hypothesis which explains the differences. Of course, it is a provisional makeshift hypothesis, but it is ideal for a starting point: we are getting more and more attached to our own vision of sound (i.e. our own system), considering it to be THE right one and we are not open to accept other people’s views. There is a difference in defending our opinion and closing our ears to what others want to say. It is as if we no longer care about reaching a consensus. “Terminological” problems occurred here. While listening to what some of the participants were saying, I did not believe my own ears – I heard “black”, they heard “white”, I – “long”, they – “short.” Unbelievable! However, as we elaborated on what we meant, having answered some questions, it appeared we hear the same thing, but we understand some terms in a different way. While the MSB was characterized as “bright”, it did not mean it was sharp. The Ayon provided more contoured sound attack and Megadeth guitars were sharper with it. The point was that the MSB shows much more information in the treble and upper midrange, which makes it seem bright. We had similar problems with talking about spatial arrangement. When incredible Ayon space and one-dimensional MSB musical message were mentioned, the point was that the Ayon shows many fewer elements, moving background planes away from us, while stressing foreground planes. The MSB shows “unified” space, like in a top-class recording played from an analogue studio tape recorder – we do not talk about planes there, either, as it is unimportant and does not constitute an element of the equation. There was also bass, more emphasized and shown more unambiguously, but also quite simply by the Ayon. The MSB had better control of this range and was not so one-dimensional, which made it seem lighter. In this way we come to the conclusion, i.e. to what I gathered during the whole listening session. Wojtek, or “the conclusion” The MSB player is, in my opinion, a very sophisticated source. The way it showed the Stockfisch and then GAD Records albums was impressive. It was big, internally sophisticated sound in which everything “went together.” Janusz said that he understood better and better what the MSB is about with each album, which is true. At some point, Tomek noticed he is sure that 99% of people from the street asked to choose one of the sources would take the Ayon. Its sound is simpler, with a bit blunt upper midrange, there is much less “life”, thanks to which the system does not cause any adaptation problems, it simply kicks off. The MSB does not yield simple answers, it is not a zero-one system. Rysiek and Wiciu would definitely disagree, but I think it is a player which shows a complex world which we have to take in and assess. Our assessment does not have to be positive, but the system cannot be denied a position in the pantheon where it belongs. Its sound is internally incredibly soft and it is also very rich inside. Thanks to that, the sound is big, rich and dense. There is no space as such, i.e. we do not understand it as space in audiophile terms. There are sound “sources” that speak and together create something “above it all.” One thing I agree with is that the MSB may be not energetic enough for strong, electronic and rock music. Such music requires, as it seems, simpler means and not complicating the message. I think it is not a problem with the MSB, but with something in our head. However, ultimately, it is our head that “listens” and we have to face that, we need to choose. The choices of participants in the meeting seem to be unambiguous. The only problem that I cannot solve at the moment is the one with Muniak’s saxophone. With the MSB it really merged with the background and was not as tangible as with the Ayon. However, perhaps it was recorded this way, perhaps it was not meant to be in the foreground, but was to be part of the band shown from a perspective? It will have to be explained. So, is it a success or a failure? Dear Reader – you have to answer this question yourself, best by confronting our opinions with your own listening experience of the MSB player. And this is what you should expect when people write about the audio domain – ferment and some encouragement to carry out your own experiments. If you need a simple crib or directions, you will find them in cheaper product tests in which evaluation is easier to make and where we have fewer possibilities. In high-end, especially top high-end, what matters most is the context, i.e. expectations, the system, people’s views on music played at home. Although audio magazines have been making us used to a completely different vision of the world, i.e. that there is some “golden mean” on top, reality appears to be much more complex, unless we are really deaf, which is also possible. THE SYSTEM USED FOR COMPARISONS Compact Disc transport: Ayon Audio CD-T Preamplifier/DAC: Ayon Audio STRATOS Power amplifier: Accuphase A-70, test HERE, read also HERE Speakers: Dynaudio C4 Signature Speaker cables: Acrolink 7N-S8000 ANNIVERSARIO Interconnects: Acrolink 7N-DA2090 SPECIALE, test HERE Power distribution strip: Oyaide MTS-4e, test HERE Wine: LocusVini.pl MSB brand distribution in Poland: AUDIOFAST Romanowska 55e, pasaż lok.9, 91-174 Łódź | Polska audiofast.pl [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/kts102/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/kts102/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/kts102/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/kts102/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/kts102/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/kts102/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/kts102/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/kts102/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/kts102/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/kts102/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/kts102/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/kts102/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/kts102/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/kts102/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/kts102/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/kts102/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/kts102/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/kts102/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/kts102/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/kts102/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/kts102/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/kts102/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/kts102/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/kts102/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1603/kts102/th/13.jpg" big="foto_testy/1603/kts102/13.jpg" src="foto_testy/1603/kts102/13.jpg" desc="Płyta Megadeth nie wszystkim przypadła do gustu…"] [/hfgallery]

I can proudly say that my assessment of the original wireless, all-in-one Mu-so system by Naim was pretty accurate. I reviewed it for „Audio” magazine and wrote back then: I wouldn't believe it if I just read about it instead of experiencing it - Naim is a killer. It outperforms all mini-systems I know and by a huge margin. It does so with grace and ease of a true professional. It is immediately obvious that it was built by professionals. Each aspect of its performance seems well thought through and tuned until required level was achieved and there was nothing left to improve any further. I also foresaw that this was a game changer, that others would follow in its footsteps and it would change audio industry by opening it to new potential group of customers: If that's how all-in-one systems should be like, if that's how non-audiophiles are supposed to listen to the music in their offices, homes, bedrooms, kitchens and so on, I believe that there is a future for audio industry. Because when these people recognize and appreciate this level of sound quality they won't be satisfied with anything less or maybe they'll even start looking for more – at this point they will be just one step away from becoming audiophiles/true music fans. The first Mu-so, still admired today, still being a small jewel in Naim's portfolio they are very proud of, was based on solutions developed for two seemingly different worlds: for top-high-end Statement system and for car audio system that Naim designed for Bentley. The latter is a source of digital amplifiers and DSP software designed for these very drivers used in this particular array. By combining a streamer, music server, Internet radio, preamplifier, amplifiers and drivers made by Naim this British manufacturer created a product that brought audio world to its knees, literally. Mu-so Qb Using knowledge and experience gained from creating Mu-so Naim developed another, even more interesting product, Mu-so Qb. This is also a wireless all-in-one system sourcing several solutions from its bigger brother Mu-so, using similar stylistic although featuring smaller cabinet and offered at lower price. People from development team said that the biggest challenge was fitting drivers into such small cabinet and make them sing. It was easier with original Mu-so because it featured a bigger cabinet and drivers could be placed further apart. Qb features 5 drivers positioned at different angles (proper ones were established through experimentation) but within much smaller space. There are two dome tweeters (Ø 25 mm), two mid-woofers (Ø 64 mm), each driven by a separate 50W amplifier. Bass stadium-shaped custom made woofer (145 x 76mm) is driven with a 100 W amp. There are also two passive radiators of similar shape, slightly bigger though, measuring 148 x 86 mm each. Drivers together with amplifiers allow Mu-so Qb to deliver 300 W of sound. But what is Qb actually? Manufacturer calls it a: “wireless speaker”, and that's what it is also called in Naim's application for iPad. But in fact this is an integrated, all-in-one system with music server, streamer, amplifiers and speakers. Signal might be sent wirelessly directly to this 'cube' using AirPlay, streaming music from iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, or from iTunes. Music can be instantly played also from any device connected to Mu-so via Bluetooth; system is fully compatible with aptX codec, allowing high quality playback. The device connects to home network wirelessly or via cable connection, which allows it to play music from NAS, but also from Spotify and Internet radio stations. Plus one can play music directly from a flash drive – just remember to put all music files in one folder. Mu-so Qb is compatible with a wide range of music files formats, not just mp3, but also hi-res files such as: WAV, FLAC and AIFF up to 24 bits and 192 kHz, and ALAC (Apple Lossless) up to 24 bits and 96 kHz. But only if one uses a cable connection or plays music from a flash drive. Maximum resolution playable through wireless connection is that of 48 kHz. Obviously the device features also digital Toslink input and an analogue (mini jack) one. Appearance A 32bit DSP is a heart of this device, managing digital signal and preparing its playback via particular array of drivers. But it was not a decisive factor of “big” Mu-so's success, nor was it its great performance. I' m sure these elements helped but they were only secondary to this device's astonishing appearance and an ease of its operation. I think that in this regard it set the bar very high for all others to follow for many years; the only other such successful product I know is Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin – these are today's designing icons of audio world. Qb is offered as an alternative product to its bigger brother – less expensive but sharing the same DNA. Its name describes its shape – its a cube placed on an acrylic, backlit board, with three sides hidden under a nice looking grill, rear panel featuring a radiator and the top panel hosting a Touch Panel Volume Control – a backlit ring with touch panel within. The ring allows user to adjust volume, and patented touch panel allows him to switch the device to and from stand-by mode, select an input and choose Internet radio's presets. The aluminum ring rotates smoothly around backlit display when adjusting volume. I have to say that Qb's operation is really simple and particularly enjoyable. The particularly sturdy cabinet also comes handy – the main part of the cabinet is made of a glass-filled polymer. It is a particularly durable material known also for its vibration damping qualities. Grill is replaceable which allows user to customized appearance of his Muso Qb – there few colors to choose from: Deep Blue, Vibrant Red and Burnt Orange. The device might be controlled using Muso Control App for iPhone, iPad, iPod and for Android devices. MARK RAGGETT Naim | Export Sales Executive The title on Mark Raggett's business card claiming that he's responsible just for sales outside UK is somewhat misleading. Do you remember Raveen Bawa from dCS, who's responsible for sales in this British company? – It's exactly the same story. Most people working in Sales departments in different industries are sales specialists not necessarily having any knowledge of specialized products they actually sell. Manufacturer hire them for a sole purpose of selling high volumes of products and not for them to become specialists knowing products they sell by heart. But specialized trades follow their own logic. Proper knowledge of product is the very basic requirement necessary for salesman to have even slightest chance for success. Raveen, as well as Mark spent many years in their companies familiarizing themselves not only with products but also with the all stages of operation of their companies, starting with packing, through manufacturing, up to the sales. So they actually do know products they sell by heart. Mark has been working for Naim since the early 1990ties and was one of the last people to assemble the famous Aro tonearm. As he says, only five people were ever actually building this arm, including designer himself. Each man was responsible for each unit he assembled starting from gathering necessary elements from a warehouse and ending with shipping the ready product. When asked if and how such experience with purely audiophile products helps him deal with today's 'new wave' products like Mu-so, he smiled and said: You know – he said – I remember perfectly, and I confirmed that also with people who worked here back then, that when in 1983 Naim introduced NAIT (Naim Audio Integrated amplifier – ed.) integrated amplifier some hardcore audiophiles turned their backs on Naim claiming that it „sold itself” and would “fall soon”. For them Naim was a manufacturer of separates – preamplifiers and power amplifiers, and so for them NAIT was an unacceptable compromise. This small device that offered everything most audiophiles needed became brand's biggest hit and it allowed us to spread our wings. Next generations of this amplifier are still manufactured today, and this very first model is still highly sought after vintage gear. I believe that Mu-so is a 21st century equivalent of NAIT. Both systems, original Mu-so and the “cube” we are listening to now, are meant for the same type of customer as NAIT was back then. World has changed, evolved – that's an obvious conclusion of every research conducted for us, and our role is to offer people what they actually want to have, and not what we want them to have. Streaming, wide range of functionality, integration – that's what customers are after these days. Naim is a specialized manufacturer who tries to deliver products that customers want to have, but we also try to make them in the best possible way using the whole knowledge at our disposal. It's not true that lifestyle products, streamers don't have to sound good. Qb proves that such product can be quite the opposite by offering an amazing performance, possibly the best one in most homes it will be used in. Mark obviously knows what's he talking about. Mu-so succeeded, also financially. Standing on two legs, one represented by the top high-end products such as Statement system, and the other supported by products such as Mu-so – Naim has become one of the leaders of our 'micro-industry'. They've achieved that because they understood the needs of customers. Right after entering my room and seeing Harbeth speakers Mark smiled and said: “you must like your hi-fi, don't you? - I can tell. But – he added quickly – most people don't really want an advanced, sophisticated audio system, even though they require a high quality performance combined with certain attractive appearance. It's them we created Mu-so, and now Mu-so Qb for.” (I'd like to thank Piotr Linczowski and Grzegorz Surowiec of Audio Center Poland for organizing this meeting) SETUP This Naim's cube (do you remember Rubik cube?) is delivered in a nice, cubic box with a handle. It's a standard packaging for „entertainment” products. Inside there are two pieces of protective polystyrene foam, and a carton box with power chords inside. One needs to unwrap the cube itself from a protective material and place it wherever one wants it to operate. It is important to place it in such a way to have access to the rear panel during installation. After that one needs to connect power cable. First thing first – one has to connect Naim with home network using AirPlay. The first step is to download Mu-so free app for iOS or Android device. One needs to install it and then follow step-by-step instructions delivered by the application. First one has to configure Qb as „wireless speaker” – one will find it on smartphone or tablet under „Settings/WiFi” section. After device is connected to the network it is ready to play music from a selected source. To optimize its performance one might choose one of EQ settings available in the menu – there are two of them: one used when Qb is placed in an open space (it applies some boost to the bass) and the other for when it's placed close to a wall. A selected source is indicated on a touch panel plus there are symbols allowing user to operate basic functions like: play, stop, skip and so on. And I should mention of a very important feature – Multi-room/Multi-zone capability. This is really important as it’s fully synchronised multi room capable and fully scalable both in price per room and performance per room when fully integrated with any Naim streaming device (Mu-So – Uniti – Naim Network players). SOUND All one needs is just a few seconds to realize that Qb is a smaller version of Mu-so. But after a few seconds of listening session one also realizes that sound-wise it is a completely different performer. The original system was designed as a high-end replacement of elaborate systems and it offered a remarkably clean, resolving sound. Qb offers the same qualities, although to a lesser extent, and yet it sounds differently. It delivers an involving performance, a one that doesn't get boring. It's performance was tuned in such a way that lower midrange is particularly rich which creates an impression of a large scale sound, maybe even bigger than that of the older brother. This was obvious to me not only when playing hi-res files such as: WAV 24/192 Tango in the Night by Fleetwood Mac, FLAC 24/96 50 Worlds to Snow by Kate Bush or FLAC 24/96 Delta Machine by Depeche Mode. These, as always, sounded very good. But similarly impressive was sound achieved with mp3 files and from Internet radio. And I think achieving this level of performance for compressed files must have been the most difficult challenge for designers. Even these really bad sounding radio stations this time delivered surprisingly good performance – sound was open, spatial, unrestricted. And there is no exaggeration in statement claiming that Naim offered a higher quality sound with internet radio as a source than a large system with amplifier and loudspeakers ever could using same source. Proper sound processing allowed Mu-so to mask problems of Internet radio's sound and to focus on upsides of played music. It's not a classic hi-fi system – that's obvious, but I didn't expect it to sound as one. It just does its job in its own way. And it does this job damn well. Because also streaming services offering music of CD quality delivered a dynamic, rich performance. I believe that it is a combination of these two features that sets new Naim product apart from all competitors. Listen to Qb, and after that experience all other similar all-in-one systems will lack dynamics and richness for you. You'll miss this powerful performance too – Mu-so is capable of playing really loud and there will be no distortion in sound and you will be able to listen to it for hours without being tired. I ran the basic test implementing the same method and the same selected track list that I've been using for all my tests regardless of price level of the product under review. And still, under such demanding conditions Naim took me by surprise with its performance sophistication and refinement. Yes, it was obvious from the very beginning that there was an emphasis present in 200-400 Hz range, and that the upper treble was rolled-off. While realizing that I couldn't really hold it against this device, I understood why such choices had to be made. I still did understand it even after taking price range into consideration. It's not a classic hi-fi system after all. Naim offers a lot of fun, it is user-friendly, it looks good, becomes an important element of the room it is placed in. But unlike our highly valued audiophile systems that are considered by other members of the family as “weird” (at best), this Naim's cube becomes an integral part of the room and not a barely tolerated intruder. So I wouldn't risk asking my better half whether she would rather part with me or with Qb… Summary Intelligence manifests by, among other things, ability to adjust to changing conditions. Can one find a better example of an intelligent life on Earth then Mu-so systems? I don't think so. The first signal indicating an intelligent life on Earth to other inhabitants of the Milky Way was Mu-so. Its appearing did not hurt audio industry either. I mean the industry that lost its way trying to catch up with novelties that came to market in recent years, lost its qualities in the process and wasn't able to attract new customers. Qb on the other hand is a living proof that its designers are able to come up with something new, different then previous so successful product. It comes from the same family but its performance is difference and it is meant for a different customer group. And it makes it better, much better. Because audio involves making choices all the time, compromising. We could only wish that all manufacturers in this industry do choose and compromise in such a fabulous way as Naim does. Amen. Product's specifications (according to manufacturer) Inputs • analogue: 3,5 mm • digital: TosLink up to 96 kHz • USB: USB Type A Streaming: UPnP, AirPlay, Spotify (Connect), TIDAL, Bluetooth (z aptX) Network: Ethernet (10/100 Mbps), Wi-Fi (802,11 b/g) 2,4 GHz Audio formats: WAV, FLAC and AIFF – up to 24 bits/192 kHz ALAC (Apple Lossless) – up to 24 bits/96 kHz MP3 – up to 48 kHz, 320 kbit (16 bits) AAC – up to 48 kHz, 320 kbit (16 bits) OGG I WMA – up to 48 kHz (16 bis) Bluetooth - SBC, AAC and aptX Internet Radio Provider: vTuner premium 5 Internet radio formats: Windows Media, MP3, ACC, Ogg Vorbis and MMS Power output: 300 W – 4 x 50 W + 1 x 100 W Power consumption: • typical: 15 W • standby:

ideaki Nishikawa-san - once a Micro Seiki's designer today TechDAS’ - during the High End Show in Munich in 2015 (HERE) presented his latest and least expensive creation, a turntable called Air Force III, costing exactly half of what one had to pay for Air Force Two (158 000 PLN). And Air Force Two cost exactly half of what the Air Force One's price tag says (345 000 PLN), which is the flagship of Japanese company. Each one looks different, sounds different too. Even so, they share some common features, such as vacuum disc suction mechanism, an 'airbag' underneath, a synchronous motor AC controlled by a microprocessor with adjustable automatic tensioning of a rigid belt, etc. The differences, however, are equally significant and come down to different decks, platters different way of feet decoupling which all combined together generate an increase in prices. Hideaki Nishikawa-san and Air Force III at High End 2015 in Munich Knowing that the smallest version of the Air FORCE is being developed I figured that it would be a variation on the classic shape of the Micro Seiki SX-8000 turntable. I was not mistaken. What I couldn't foresee, however, was that this would be the most beautiful and sleekest of all three Mr. Nishikawa's turntables. It is relatively small and - retaining the ability to mount up to four arms on it – it occupies quite a small space. It features a square chassis with a separate motor in a round housing that is placed next to the deck. Much further away one has to place a large black box with pumps and motor control. Not because it is ugly, because it is not, but because it vibrates a little so it's better to keep it away from the record player. Speed and the suction controls are placed on a small "panel" projecting from the front wall. It is a very comfortable and nice looking solution. The buttons: 'Stop' and 'Suction' have been highlighted in green, and the rest are backlit with milky light. If for some time we do not use the turntable for some time, the pump is automatically switched off and 'stop' button turns red. On a small display we can read speed and its value while adjusting it. Turntable can be fitted with up to four arms. Just buy the appropriate bases, screwed onto a pin placed in each corner of the chassis (each for 8200 PLN). During the test, the turntable featured three arms: the primary was a beautiful, well-known to me Dynavector DV507 mk2 (34 300 PLN) fitted with Shelter Accord cartridge (13 500 PLN) , the second one was the SME M2-9-R with Miyajima Labs Zero, and the third was 14 "Kuzma 4Point I knew already from Mr. Sikora's turntable fitted with... Denon DL-103. Let me tell you – this turntable looks really great. Made of aluminum plates and castings, with the aluminum platter (platters made of different materials are being developed and should be available soon) floating on a thin layer of air, with a massive motor housing on the side makes an impression of a delicate and yet firm force. TechDAS in “High Fidelity” REVIEW: Air Force Two – turntable, read HERE REVIEW: Air Force One – turntable, read HERE Records used for the test (a selection) Benny Carter, Jazz Giant, Contemporary Records/Analogue Productions AJAZ 7555, „45 RPM Limited Edition #0404", 2 x 180 g LP (1957/2009) Bert Kaempfert, Bert Kaempfert - From The Original Mastertapes - Four Hits On 45 rpm, Image HiFi, 007, 45 rpm, 180 g LP (2004) Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else, Blue Note/Analogue Productions AP-81595, „The Blue Note Reissues, 45 RPM Special Edition #2468”, 45 rpm, 2 x 180 g LP (1958/2008) Charlie Haden, The Private Collection, Naim Label LP110, 3 x 180 g LP (2000/2008) Dead Can Dance, Anastasis, [PIAS] Recordings PIASR311DLP, 2 x 180 g Green Wax LP (2016) Depeche Mode, Leave In Silence, Mute 12 Bong 1, 12” single (1982) Elvis Presley, Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis. 40th Anniversary Edition, RCA Records/Music On Vinyl MOVLP1052, 4 x 180 g LP (2014) Extra Ball, Birthday, Polskie Nagrania „Muza” SX 1414, „Polish Jazz Vol. 48”, LP (1977) Frank Sinatra, No One Cares, Capitol Records/Mobile Fidelity MFSL-1-408, „Special Limited Edition No. 186”, 180 g LP (1959/2012) Frank Sinatra, The Voice, Columbia/Classic Records CL 743, Quiex SV-P, „50th Anniversary”, 180 g LP (1955/2005) Julie London, By Myself, Liberty Records MCR-1, „Columbia House Record Club”, LP (1965) Nat ‘King’ Cole and the Trio, After Midnight, Columbia/Analogue Productions 28180, 3 x 180 g 45 rpm LP (1957/2010) Pink Freud, Pink Freud Plays Autechre, MMA Rec MMA03, Limited Edition No 78/250, 2 x 180 g LP (2015) Romuald & Roman, The Polish Psychedelic Trip 1968-1971, Kameleon Records KAMPLP 13, 180 g Pink Wax LP (2016) Semafor Combo, Semafor Combo, OBUH V30, 180 g LP (2012) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] I think that this can not be avoided - AFThree will be compared to its two more expensive brothers. And of course from this comparison it shall come out defeated. If we think that the less money we will get us better, or even comparable, sound we are mistaken. Those who still have doubts let me remind you the casus of dCs Players, Vivaldi and Rossini, more HERE. Wishful thinking improves mood, but it does not change the reality. Also, perceiving the smallest of TechDAS turntable in terms of "replacement" for models I and II is pointless. Perhaps that is why I liked very much what in a similar situation Andrew Everald wrote: There is no need to get for NAP 500 DR to stay in a long shadow of his, having the form of a high tower, big brother. This, in any way, is not a situation of "well, if I can not afford a Statement ...", but it is the power that is a class by itself, as befits a top model in Naim's the range. Andrew Everald, Naim NAP 500 DR, „Hi-Fi News & Record Review” May 2016, Vol61, No.05, p. 37 The 'baby' TechDASa has its own "voice" with its many feature in common with larger Air Forces. But since it had learn from them not only the lesson they gave it but also inevitable compromises involved, it is significantly different and in no way it is a "instead of" type of product. To explain this as accurately as possible, I'll start with writing about what the Air Force Three is, and then of what it is not. Summary will refer to both parts. To be… Feature that all these turntable have in common is a very solid, stable presentation. I'm talking about presentation in which everything is nicely arranged, it has its place. The turntable delivers music in a disciplined manner, ensuring absolute repeatability between listening sessions of the same disc (which is not too common). Within almost whole band, except for the lowest bass, it does not soften the attack, nor smooths it out. Punctuality is excellent, the sound has this internal drive and perhaps that's why it presentation exhibits this amazing stability. The descriptions of "One" and "Two" in relation to their tonality were quite simple. The most expensive model was soft, exhibiting what is so cool about suspended turntables, ie. lack of emphasis on initial phase of each sound. It's about sound being precise but not too precise. Although it looks like a contradiction, it is not. It is one of the few elements the differentiated AFTwo from AFOne. The middle model seemed to be more precise and more resolving, but only if we have never heard something better, eg. A master reel-to-reel tape or model One. The "Three" is closer to the "Two", but it is not it. Its sound is warmer and even - a paradox - richer. In part thanks to the Dynavector tonearm that performs amazingly well in the lower end area, but credit partially goes to the turntable too. High treble's presentation was moderate, and the listener attention is focused on the midrange. Which is a different approach than the one of suspended decks, such as the Acutus Reference by Avid HiFi, that I like very much. Avid is about warming and smoothing out any unevenness in the sound that would draw our attention to the fact that this is just an imperfect imitation of reality. When it comes to III, it is about precision and resolution giving a natural warmth to the sound. I started a 'formal' listening, after several days of night sessions with headphones over my head, with the Birthday of the Extra Ball album by Jarek Śmietana. Waiting for the re-release with Jacek Gawłowski's re-master I decided to use the first release. I was truly impressed. The turntable created a credible event, with beautifully shown changes of the dynamics, tonality, with dense, but nicely separated plans. It easily outlined a large-sized images in the foreground, being less precise when it came to presenting events happening deeper on the stage. It does not pretend that this is a modern recording and showed the whole thing in a little dark, closed way, because that's how it was recorded. You could hear that this turntable creates the event on large oval-shaped soundstage in front of us. Acoustics of large rooms is shortened, and spatial effects, through which the sound surrounds us, slightly reduced. I say this in the context of the best turntables I know, but also comparing to others from the same price range. AFThree is, in my opinion, a master of the foreground, of creating an impression of an intimate contact with the music. It was not a coincident that Frank Sinatra sounded so flawlessly, whether from old recordings reissued on the album The Voice or from the more recent stereo recordings, eg. at No One Cares. His voice had a large volume, it was solid, complete and legible. On the She's Funny That Way I heard something that is worth paying attention to when configuring a system. This turntable focuses on precision and does it despite what I described above. Although you can not hear high tones highlighted, although the attack is not too contour, part of the range from the area of 2-4 kHz has a lot of energy. The voice of Sinatra in the recordings sounding in such a way as if the front of his mouth he formed a 'horn' using his his hands, was a little more "horn-like". In other recordings, in which the vocals had the correct tone, without distortion, they sounded incredibly "flat". However, if anything in the recording swerved from it, especially in the upper band, turntable emphasized it a bit. I do not know if it's why, although probably there is something to it, but it seems to be a device that does not mask pups and cracks. When listening through the loudspeakers it did not bother me at all. With the new pressings there were almost no pops and cracks at all. In turn, the magnetostatic handset, HiFiMan's model HE-6, that always reacts nervously to higher treble energy, it was quite audible. Generally, it's a similar level to what you can hear from Transrotor turntables, Acoustic Signature and SME, but more clearly than with suspended decks, as well as with more expensive TechDAS models. …or not to be This is one of the features of the best, most expensive turntables – they separate the music and artifacts related to its reproduction. They place them in separate planes, which we, our brains, do not have to separate by ourselves. With the "Three" they are nicely damped, nothing disturbs the treble, but there is no such "separation" as with the more expensive models, especially with the One that is, in this respect, insanely good. Also, the size of the instruments, the volume of their sound here is smaller. The soundstage is not very deep, although we don't perceive this as a bad thing, because our focus is on the foreground. It is very clear especially with analogue jazz remasters, for example by Speakers Corner or Analogue Productions. This is a turntable that sounds best when playing analogue recordings. Records pressed using digital masters still sound good, for example I like the Dead Can Dance's album Anastasis released on green vinyl (Record Store Day 2016) very much. It took me only a moment, though, with the cited Extra Ball albums such as Somethin 'Else by Adderley or Carter's Jazz Giant, or the beautifully recorded in OBUH studio album by Semaphore Combo group (analog from beginning to end), to know that it was it! One played all the albums in a delightful way, Two played them very well, but it slightly favored analogue ones and Three is simply created for the latter. The sound of more expensive turntables of this producer has a greater momentum, it is unrestrained and more resolving. The '3' tends to shape the presentation bit towards a common denominator. Low bass is not so well defined nor so well controlled. Not to the point it could bother a listener, because it's able to damp impulse quickly, but we know that it could go even deeper with it, that the response of the room could have even greater momentum. Summary If someone says that Three is flawless, he will either lie or be misinformed. More importantly, however, if somebody says about the Three that it is a poor performer will lie more or be even more misinformed. I'll go a step further and say that even those who ostensibly will express their opinion by saying "worse than ...", referring to the more expensive TechDAS decks should think about it, because apparently they do not understand the audio and do not know how to separate the product from its context. Air Force Three is a turntable about a specific voicing that sticks to the paradigm set by the One. It offers it all but to the lesser extend, it is much cheaper after all. This is a beautiful example of precision engineering, in which the music is the key element, the ultimate goal. This turntable differentiates really well without emphasizing flaws of the recording. It responds best to the fully analogue recordings, and they, coming from, for example, Blue Note, Columbia, etc., will land on its platter most often. The focus on lower midrange makes vocals sound fantastic and are three-dimensional. This is a turntable, which has some flaws, which does not do everything perfectly. However, it is a mature, beautiful product, an emanation of human genius at its best. Do not forget that this product can be improved in the future by adding a record weight, a anti-vibration platform, or replacing platter with another one. TechDAS Air Force III is a turntable of a mass-loader, non-suspended design with a belt drive. Its base has a square outline and is relatively short. It made of perfectly folded, aluminum castings and set on four adjustable feet. They are not decoupled with a pumped air, as in AFOne or by a rubber "cushion" as in AFTwo. Instead, we have a rigid decoupling, with a spike and a bed. The company assumes that in most cases it will be sufficient, but also understands those who might consider this solution insufficient. For them it will be important to know that a pneumatic platform is being develop, a one that in future could be used under the deck. HRS prepared a platform for AFOne and I wonder who has been chosen for this task this time. As I said, the main 'body' is made of 21 kg aluminum die-cast, also a 9 kg platter is made of aluminum. As reported by TechDAS, platters made of different materials are being prepared, and experience learned with AFOne tells us, that a different platter will result in a quite different sound on the same deck. From the top platter is finished with a material improving its engagement with the record, and at the perimeter and in the center it features an outwardly projecting silicone seals. This is a part of the system that sucks record to the platter - I do not know a better way to integrate the record and turntable. The disadvantage of this solution is that it works only for the 12' records. The platter itself floated on a film of compressed air at a height of 30 microns above the disk of a tempered glass. Air for both systems, for suction and lifting, is supplied through a fairly long hose to the back of the turntable. The pressure is generated in a separate system of pumps, housed in the black box. The box is made of aluminum plates and looks like a high-class power amplifier. The box, apart from the microprocessor-controlled pumps, holds also a power supply and a motor controller. Suitable cable terminated with a multi-pin plug runs along the hose from the pump to the rear panel of the turntable. Pumps were 'borrowed' from AFOne and I must say that they are working very quietly. Synchronous AC motor is connected separately to the turntable with a short cable. They put it in a very solid, heavy cast, that is standing on four adjustable legs, looking like miniatures turntable's feet. Typically, the motor sits in a specific distance from turntable. In this case one can move it closer or further away from the deck which does not affect its operation stability. It's part of the microprocessor system used for applying a precise belt tension. Because it is non-extensible, in which it resembles string drive. The calibration procedure is automatic and once done it won't have to be repeated for a very long time. Tonearm bases are screwed on the pin placed in chassis's corner. There are four of these pins, so one can mount up to four 9-12'' arms, but also a 14'' 4Point Kuzma. Each tonearm base is quite costly. A word about device's control - the engine and sucking are activated by illuminated buttons on a small panel projecting from the front wall. There are two speeds, 33 1/3 and 45 rpm, and one can also fine-tune them using the two 'Pitch' buttons, that offer an adjustment in ± 0.1 rpm. steps. Due to the use of ultra-precise controlling, spinning up the motor takes a little longer than usually. First, the platter is accelerated to a slightly higher speed than nominal, then it slows slowly down until it reaches the proper speed. The company offers its own phono cartridges, but does not make their own tonearms - hence the choice of three different ones for this test. This is quite understandable. But I do not quite understand why you have to pay extra for the record weight (3600 PLN). Not only in this case, but also for AFOne and AFTwo. Specifications (according to manufacturer) Deck Dimensions (S x G x W): 312 x 360 x 160 (without tonearm bases) Weight: 21 kg, platter 9 kg Motor Dimensions (S x G x W): 188 x 155 x 140 mm Weight: 4,6 kg Pomp and power supply unit Dimensions (S x G x W): 350 × 270 × 160 mm Weight: 9 kg [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/techdas/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/techdas/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/techdas/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/techdas/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/techdas/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/techdas/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/techdas/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/techdas/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/techdas/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/techdas/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/techdas/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/techdas/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/techdas/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/techdas/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/techdas/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/techdas/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/techdas/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/techdas/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/techdas/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/techdas/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/techdas/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/techdas/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/techdas/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/techdas/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/techdas/th/13.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/techdas/13.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/techdas/13.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

lmost all Japanese companies offering audio cables use the conductors produced upon their orders by the biggest Japanese "cable" manufacture, Furukawa. The company was flexible enough to produce cables for both, large industry customers, as well as for the audio industry, despite the fact that this was only its secondary activity. Reading the technical descriptions of Japanese cables from different manufacturers we learned often that they used the same conductors, among which the most noble and the most expensive was PCOCC (Pure Crystal by Ohno Continous Casting) utilized by Oyaide, Acoustic Revive, Harmonix, Zonotone, SAEC, Kripton and many, many other Japanese brands (there is a Japanese magazine called „Audio Accessory” that releases issues dedicated to audio cables!) PCOCC was a result of the research performed by professor Atsumi Ohno of Japanese Chiba Institute of Technology. He proposed casting instead of drawing, as being a better way to produce copper wire. This way a wire with ultra-long copper crystals was made each of them with 125 m length and diameter of 0,1 mm. This process was named after its inventor, thus Ohno Continuous Casting (OCC). Furukawa, that acquired right to use this process, developed a process of manufacturing audio cables using OCC wire with copper purity exceeding 99.9997%. The new version of the conductor was patented under the name Purity Copper OCC, or PCOCC. As I wrote in my review of RCA-1.5TRIPLE C-FM + SPC-2.5TRIPLE C-FM Acoustic Revive cables, on March the 4th 2013, so a year before its 130th anniversary, Furukawa Electric announced its decision regarding resignation for further production of PCOCC wire. To be clear: OCC wasn't the only method to make a high purity and conductivity copper wire. Other brands, such as: Acrolink (AcroJapan), Mogami and others, make their own wires. But it was the Furukawa product that caused many people to get used to the sound „by OCC”. Furukawa's customers had learned about the end of production of PCOCC some time before it actually happened thus having time to prepare for this change - making stocks and looking for new solutions. A new solution was offered to them by the company FCM (Fine Chemicals & Materials), interestingly, part of the conglomerate Furukawa. Copper they developed there is obtained in a process similar to the forging, which is a clear reference to the Japanese tradition of katana's forging. Copper wire is repeatedly compressed (struck) to reduce its volume by 70%. Strokes are made at the correct angle and from particular direction that were chosen by experimentation. It is not about reducing the amount of impurities as those are eliminated before, but about the closest possible arrangement of crystals within the conductor's structure thus reducing the "diode" effect or uncontrolled electron hopping between successive crystals. A Compression also pushes out the air and oxygen molecules present in the material. In the last phase conductors are subjected to the process of "aging", so that larger crystals combine with each other to form a mono-crystalline areas. The purity of copper is not particularly high, the business website FCM threads, that is 99.996% or more, which is at the level of LC-OFC (Linear Crystal Oxygen-Free Cooper). It is, however, a material with a completely different structure than conventional OFC/OCC cables. The thus obtained copper is called PC Triple C which short for Pure Copper-Continuous Crystal Construction. The set of cables under review, made of dark green cables purchased in rolls, catches Furutech, one of Japan's largest manufacturers of high-end cabling, in a transitional phase. The company is so large that it could afford keeping a large stock that would satisfy their needs for a long time. Therefore their offer still includes cables made of μ-OFC, such as μ-OFC FA-13S interconnect and FS-15S ALPHA Series speaker cable, but a 'new wave' already marks its presence in the form of Triple-C copper, represented in the test by Triple C Conductor FP-TCS21 power chord. μ-OFC FA-13S This is an analog interconnect made of cable with balanced design. In the unbalanced RCA version of an interconnect a positive signal and ground are conducted by exactly the same wires and the shielding is connected on one side only, at the signal's source end. This solution is called a telescopic screen. That's why this cable is directional, ie. it does matter how it is connected. An α (Alpha) μ-OFC 1.3 mm conductor was used its for this design. μ-OFC (Annealed Oxygen Free Copper) is a variant of OFC (Oxygen Free Copper), that is subjected to special heat treatment, aging the material, which significantly improves its crystalline structure (this is why the old copper cables sound better than new ones). α (Alpha), which in turn is a brand name used by Furutech means a cryogenic treatment. Copper is gradually cooled for eight hours to a temperature of -315º C, and then for 24 hours slowly warmed up to the room temperature. This is done in order to thicken the crystal structure of the material. The conductors are insulated with polypropylene, mechanically stabilized with cotton yarn and an outer sleeve is made of PVC. A cable outer diameter measures about 8 mm. Two runs of conductor are twisted together and wrapped with cotton filling, then wrapped in tape of a special paper. The screen is made of braided wires with 0.12 mm α (Alpha) μ-OFC. FS-15S ALPHA Series Like the μ-OFC FA-13S interconnect, also the FS-15S speaker cable is made of α (Alpha) μ-OFC copper. It is a shielded cable (just like the cables of The Chord Company). The diameter of the conductors measure 1.5 mm, and outer diameter of the cable 8.2 mm, so they are slightly thicker than the interconnect. The cables are stabilized with cotton filling. The screen is made of a plastic strip with a vapor-deposited aluminum and braided α (Alpha) μ-OFC wires. Conductors are insulated with polyethylene and Teflon, the outer jacket is made of PCV. Also, the color is similar, although the writings are black here, and silver on the interconnect. The cables are terminated with gold-plated BFA plugs with Furutech logo. You can also order higher quality plugs, but you have to reckon with higher costs. All cables in the test are terminated by the Polish distributor, which allows to reduce the final price. Triple C Conductor FP-TCS21 FP-TCS21 features the Triple C copper of > 99,996% purity. Conductors are made of braided copper wires fi 1.9 mm each. The insulation is made of a flexible PVC with a diameter of 3.5 mm. The interior is filled with another layer of PVC, and a screen of OFC copper braid is applied over it. The outer sleeve is made of PVC. Cable is terminated with Furutech FI-E11-N1 (R) / FI-11-N1 (R) plugs with rhodium-plated contacts. FURUTECH in “High Fidelity” TEST: Furutech FLUX CABLE SERIES - interconnect + speaker cable + power cable AC TEST: Furutech REFERENCE III SERIES AUDIO REFERENCE III-NI + SPEAKER REFERENCE III - interconnect + speaker cable BEST SOUND 2006: Furutech e-TP80E + FP-3TS20 - power distributor AC + power cable AC TEST: Furutech e-TP80E + FP-3TS20 - power distributor AC + power cable AC Recordings used for this test (a selection) Cosmic Machine. A voyage Across French Cosmic & Electronic Avantgarde (1970-1980), Because Music BEC5161705, „Limited Deluxe Edition” 2 x 180 g LP + CD (2013) Bottleneck John, All Around Man, Opus3 CD 23001, SACD/CD (2013) Carlo Gesualdo de Venosa, The Complete Madrigals, Delitiae Musicae, Marco Longhini, Naxos 8.507013, 7 x CD (2013) Jean-Michel Jarre, Electronica. Vol. 1: The Time Machine, Sony Music Labels SICP-30788, BSCD2 (2015) Jerzy Milian Trio, Bazaar, Polskie Nagrania „Muza”/GAD Records GAD CD 017, „Polish Jazz | vol 17”, CD (1069/2014) Mel Tormé, Mel Tormé with the Marty Paich Dek-tette, Bethlehem/London Records LTZ-N155009, LP (1957) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] Furutech's cables deliver an attractive and at the same time incredibly smooth performance. But it takes only a minute to realize that the interconnect and speaker cable have a different sonic signature than the power cable, and it is them that shall imprint their signature on the whole system. Their tonal balance is set quite low. The upper treble is rather gentle with a rounded attack. There is, however, a lot of it and it would be difficult to talk about treble roll-off. The impression of richness and slight warming, however, is strong, and the reason is that upper midrange, usually causing trouble, here is slightly rolled off. In turn, the range of several hundred Hz has a strong punch. What does it give us? - An impressive sound without any harshness. The attractiveness of this presentation lies in the tangible phantom images, presented a bit closer to the listener than usually, with full, rich body, and the lack of harshness guarantee a long listening without fatigue. Perhaps that is why the transition from my reference cables to affordable Furutech ones did not disturb the balance that I had in my system. The differences were clear, but not related to tonality. It was dense, smooth and liquid. Differentiation was good and in most cases it will be electronics (these cables will be used with) that might be a limiting factor, not Furutechs. I did not have an impression that some kind of music played with them sounded better or worse. Even such different albums as the compilation on the Cosmic Machine. A Voyage Across French Cosmic & Electronic Avantgarde (1970-1980) and Carlo Gesualdo de Venosa's The Complete Madrigals, presented the same qualities. The modifications relate mainly to the upper treble and dynamics. As I said sound sources are approximated to us. Milian's vibraphone, Bottleneck's guitar, the voice of Laurie Anderson on Jarre's album were presented close, the distance between me and them was shortened. And that's because, I think, the acoustics, the air around the performers and instruments are somewhat masked. Furutechs valuate positively the direct sound and they focus of our attention on it. So the aura of a large church in the classical recording fades away and jazz sounds a bit more direct. But at this price level many cables have problems with the presentation of recording's acoustics, often because of lack of proper treble purity. Here the treble is very clean and smooth. It's really enjoyable. Other cables for the money, not all, but a large group of them sound, in comparison, in a rather simplified manner. Furutechs are different – they present a rich palette of colors. The sound throughout the range is very focused and smooth. Despite slight deviations from linearity there is no feeling of any inconsistencies – one doesn't need to focus, to perceive the presentation as a whole. However, one should know that there is no proper focus in the lower bass, and its not presented in as orderly way as the midrange. But that's where power cable steps in. I mentioned that it sounded differently that IC and SC, right? Now I'd like to elaborate. It's not as tonally rich as the PCOCC cable. Or at least that's the initial impression, because the midrange is not that rich, sound is well balanced. Low bass goes deeper than with the other two cables, but because the accent is now placed higher up the range one might think that there is less bass after all. And now: it offers not so warm, not so sweet the sound, but much more neutral, meaning uncolored, more "direct". When we combine these two groups of cables, the general character will be imposed by PCOCC cables. But Triple C will add more taut bass, giving it a better definition. And this is a step in the right direction. This opens sound, which will improve the subjective dynamics, that is also desirable. The inexpensive Furutech cables are a perfect example of how the Japanese audio manufacturers focused on the specialized market operate. The products are nicely made and finished and have a well thought-through design. These are advanced, manufactured using many time-consuming steps cables, that repay the attention paid to their design and making with a smooth, rich sound that is not that different from general idea behind my own reference cable. Summary The low price of the tested cables manifests itself in bringing the front plane closer, while reducing acoustics, and dynamics and delivering not so properly focused bass. These problems do not seem to be significant, even if you listen Furutech in an expensive system. Their nice tonality, fluidity and sonority while extinguishing any irritant elements of the sound will ensure that most of the systems finally "click" and present their full potential. Note the paradigm shift that awaits us soon - cables with Triple C copper sound significantly different than the ones of PCOCC. I could hear during this test again, same as during previous tests, so this is not a premature conclusion. Triple C cables sound cleaner, they have a better tonal balance, better focus, but also lost a bit of midrange richness and warmth, that were quite enchanting with older cables. [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/furutech/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/furutech/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/furutech/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/furutech/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/furutech/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/furutech/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/furutech/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/furutech/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/furutech/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/furutech/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/furutech/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/furutech/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/furutech/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/furutech/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/furutech/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/furutech/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/furutech/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/furutech/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

t happened only once before that "High Fidelity" tested the same product twice. It was the Nagra's PL-P preamplifier, that was firstly reviewed in our issue No. 19 (November 2005, see HERE), and later in issue No 50 (November 2008, see HERE). If memory serves it has never happened again within the whole 12 years history of „High Fidelity”. The simple reason being that there are so many interesting devices to review that often they have to wait in line for a few month before we can actually perform a test. Why? Because there is only so many reviews we are able to perform monthly (only 24 hours a day for us too, you know) and reviewing the same product more than once would take a spot from some other, interesting product. If memory serves I re-reviewed this product out of curiosity – I wanted to find out how this great product would work in my new system and what would be my own perception of it after a few years that surely changed my experience, knowledge and expectations. There is no other reason, than curiosity, also this time that could justify my choice. The Audio Tekne TEA-2000 phonostage was already reviewed for “High Fidelity” almost a year ago by Marek Dyba (see HERE). Since then Marek had a chance to assess also more expensive products designed by Mr Kiyoaki Imai, and I was getting anxious to listen to at least one Audio Tekne product myself. Knowing that I would get the TechDAS Air Force Three turntable for a review, I asked Hari Strukejl of Natural Sound, Audio Tekne's distributor for several countries in Europe, if he could deliver a 'proper' phonostage that could accompany this deck. He offered TEA-2000. Manufacturer calls this product: Phono Equalizer Amplifier and actually it is a small amplifier. It features a vintage look, like something that could be made in 1960ties with its shape, painting, tubes and old-fashioned switches (AT's English webpage looks like it was created also back then AT :). It's a tube phonostage with semiconductor based power supply that works with MC (Moving Coil) cartridges only. This is not only a disguise, but an the expression of Imai-san's work ethic. The unit is supplied with such a thorough and detailed documentation, that I have probably not seen ever before. I remember that in the 1970s and 1980s many amplifiers, including Polish ones, were supplied to the customer with electric wiring diagram. Today, such a scheme, at least its simplified version, customer receives from Accuphase and Luxman. With the Audio Tekne however, we get a detailed diagram, along with specific voltage measurements marked manually on it. We also received a montage scheme, where one can see exactly where in the spatial arrangement of point-to-point montage each particular element is placed, we also get photos in unit's interior and exterior, and even a sheet with RIAA measurements on dozens of points! Nobody here is afraid of copying or stealing manufacturer's ideas. There is only one Mr. Imai after all. I guess, he doesn't have to worry about those who might try to steal his ideas as the secret of his devices' performance lays in special transformers. TEA-2000 features a unique design – it works in push-pull configuration, that is used almost exclusively for the output stages of power amplifiers. Its correct operation is possible with the next idea - the use of transformers, and not capacitors, coupling following stages of the device. This is historically the oldest solution, but it was dropped by the industry a long time ago, mainly because of the cost. The secret to the construction of high quality transformer falls within the field of art and there are very few who mastered it. Mr. Imai uses the transformers of his own design featuring extra large Permaloy cores. This is one of the reasons why the device is so expensive. It's not the only factor, but probably a decisive one. Because TEA-2000 is a quite small, but very solidly and competently built, and yet it's hard to recognize what one pays that much money for as the reasons behind the steep price are hidden inside metal chassis. Its functionality is also limited. There is no load or gain adjustment, unless as such we consider two inputs - for cartridges below and above 10 Ω and two outputs – with higher and lower gain. But, to 'make up for it', the company offers a number of accessories which, although not cheap, can improve buyer's mood, as well as the performance of the device. For example, special carbon spacers insulating tubes from vibrations, as well as Litz type interconnects. Because I wanted to hear Audio Tekne system, I used them in the test too. AUDIO TEKNE in „High Fidelity” TEST: Audio Tekne TFA 9501 + TM 8801 + TEA 8695 - preamplifier + power amplifier + phonostage TEST: Audio Tekne TFA 9501 + TEA 9501 + TM 9502 - preamplifier + power amplifier + phonostage TEST: Audio Tekne TFM 2000 + TEA 2000 – integrated amplifier + phonostage, see HERE Recordings used for the test (a selection) Benny Carter, Jazz Giant, Contemporary Records/Analogue Productions AJAZ 7555, „45 RPM Limited Edition #0404", 2 x 180 g LP (1957/2009) Bill Evans Trio, Waltz for Debby, Riverside Records/Analogue Productions APJ009, „Top 25 Jazz", Limited Edition #0773, 2 x 180 g, 45 rpm LP (1961/2008) Bill Evans, Bill Evans Live At Art D'Lugoff's Top Of The Gate, Resonance Records HLP-9012, „Limited Edition - Promo 104", 3 x 180 g, 45 rpm LP (2012) Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else, Blue Note/Analogue Productions AP-81595, „The Blue Note Reissues, 45 RPM Special Edition #2468”, 45 rpm, 2 x 180 g LP (1958/2008) Depeche Mode, Fragile Tension/Hole to Feed, Mute Records 12BONG42, 2 x 180 g, maxi-SP LP Extra Ball, Birthday, Polskie Nagrania „Muza” SX 1414, „Polish Jazz Vol. 48”, LP (1977) Frank Sinatra, No One Cares, Capitol Records/Mobile Fidelity MFSL-1-408, „Special Limited Edition No. 186”, 180 g LP (1959/2012) Frank Sinatra, The Voice, Columbia/Classic Records CL 743, Quiex SV-P, „50th Anniversary”, 180 g LP (1955/2005) Pink Freud, Pink Freud Plays Autechre, MMA Rec MMA03, Limited Edition No 78/250, 2 x 180 g LP (2015) Semafor Combo, Semafor Combo, OBUH V30, 180 g LP (2012) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] Mr Imai prepared some advice for the users of his product. No. 6 on the list says: A key feature of every audio system should be a proper tonal balance. If you take a component with such a proper tonal balance and connected to the whole system with a distinct 'personality', usually you will get a lot of bad sound. All of its pros and cons will be presented in a very distinct way. And we are particularly sensitive to the poor/wrong part of the performance. Therefore, I strongly urge you to think about the tonal balance of the system as the most important element of the equation. It is no coincidence that I begin my report on listening assessment with this particular quote – one doesn't need a huge experience nor knowledge on audio to quickly recognize an amazingly accurate tonal balance that TEA-2000 offers. One can't just quickly pinpoint any coloration, no obvious excess or insufficiency in any element. After an extended session in a well known environment one should be able to determine the changes that the device introduces to the sound, but even then they are not irritating and could hardly be called a 'coloration', maybe an intrinsic sonic character at most. I think this slight semantic shift actually best describes the impression that one gets after a longer listening. It can come as sort of a surprise, because the device is built using two techniques with clear sonic connotations: tubes are used for gain stages, and the coupling is performed by transformers. Each one of them is able to give sound a specific sonic character that can dominate the device's overall performance. But in this particular case I heard nothing of a sort. Accompanied by very well balanced, very expensive components, the Audio Tekne phonostage delivered a much more accurate tonal balance than many other great phono preamps by other brands, even such successful as: Manley Steelhead v2, Phasemation EA-1000, ZYX Premium Artisan or Vitus Audio SP-102. This fact itself makes the TEA is a very interesting proposition for those who do not have anything in the system to correct, or to 'tune' to their taste. And that's not all – this phonostage, not favoring any kind of music, turned out to be extremely versatile. And I mean a true all-rounder that played equally well such variety of music as Plays Austerche album by Pink Freud, through a lot of records with Polish Jazz, to the test pressing of the Noce Szatana / Ostatni Tabor by Kat and 10" record released by Nuclear War Now label. It was a refreshing listening, because I did not have to focus on some style, and was reaching for a record that just came to mind. This type of freedom of choice is especially important to me. The basis of this versatility is the already invoked, accurate tonal balance. It's a truly well-balanced performance and I mean it in the best possible way. It has no this 'clinical sterility' of the presentation, no brightness, or dullness. It this level of accuracy that my own selected component from Ancient Audio, Ayon Audio and Soulution had made me used to - each does it in a slightly different way, but the structure is the same. The records are not cruelly dissected on one hand, on the other they are still very well differentiated; differences, advantages and disadvantages are not emphasized by the phonostage and still recordings have their own "tone" and expression. Another important element of this performance is its smoothness. The presentation is wonderfully smooth. There is no harshness in the sound, all the 'dirt' included in some recordings stays hidden in the background. Throughout the whole band tone might seem a little pastel, but never faded. That is a feature of phonostages with transformers in signal's path made by someone who knows a lot about music, has a sophisticated taste. There are of course the consequences. One of them is a slight smoothing of the dynamics. In the micro scale the preamplifier nicely shows all the changes, shifts, swings, that make performance 'alive'. But on a macro scale one can realize a slight smoothing of the attack. And although the "accurate tonal balance" was the key phrase of this test, I think we all understand it contextually – as great for the price range and product's type. Because low bass is TEA-2000 somewhat withdrawn. There is no clear shift in the balance up the band, but we do not get a strong bass foundation, and scale of sound is also not the biggest possible. The individual instruments, voices, special effects, if they have been highlighted by the sound engineer, will have a beautiful body, will be large and meaty. This was the case, for example, with the voice of Frank Sinatra on the re-release of his album No One Cares , prepared by Mobile Fidelity. But with a larger number of instruments, when all elements are equally large, the scale of the sound was a bit smaller, and the sound was not so expansive. On the other hand - literally, because I speak of treble - it is in turn very interesting. The preamplifier shows there full palette of colors, with high dynamics and high energy. Although it features tubes in gain stages, it does not it translate into warm, rounded treble or any problems with resolution in the upper part of the band. Long story short – treble is much, much better than delivered by my RCM Audio Sensor Prelude IC, which, let me remind you, is already a very unique device in this respect. I think that only the most expensive Vitus phonostage is able to deliver a similar level of performance. All others are, in comparison to Audio Tekne, withdrawn and hazy. Summary Japanese preamplifier is an oasis of calm. While using it one can listen to music without having to carefully select albums that might sound well, but rather putting on the platter anything one feels like listening to. Clearly, poorly pressed records will play poorly – that's what, for example, the limited, blue edition of Clan of Xymox had to offer – it sounded like mp3 - but even in this case it was still a performance I could enjoy. With good pressings everything is the way it should be. TEA-2000 offers a very smooth, saturated sound, where there is no rounding of the attack, nor warming up. Instead, there is an excellent reproduction of high frequencies, that do not sound in a typical "tube" way, nor in w typical "transistor" one either. Low frequencies are slightly withdrawn, so that the presentation does not have its full momentum. It is obvious, however, that this is a planned 'effect'. Completely under designer's control, because it does not disturb the tonal balance. It's a fantastic phonostage offering such a unique sound that can it can be used to assess all the others. It won't perform better than all of them, but it will always be a great reference, a landmark. TEA-2000 is a phonostage designed to work with MC cartridges. It is a tube design with a semiconductor power supply section. The first stage is based on coupling transformer but it doesn't add gain but sets loading parameters for the source and performs signal symmetrization. It is one of things that make Mr Imai's designs unique: signal is amplified by a push-pull circuitry. Signal is symmetrized by an input transformer and de-symmetrized in the output one, and between these two gain is applied by double triodes. The device features an amazingly 'classical' appearance – classical for 1960ties that is. It features a wide front panel and relatively small depth. Just by looking at it one might figure out the path of the signal. On the right side there is an input transformer, than the first tube, an Electro-Harmonix 12AY7 (6072A) double triode. It is coupled with the next triode 5965 (in this particular case the Mullard 188CC was used) using another coupling transformer. Right before the second tube sits the RIAA section with polypropylene capacitors (these look like Philips ones) and precise resistors. A third coupling transformer works between second and third tube, the latter being Phillips E188CC, which is followed by a coupling/output transformer. As you can see there are no capacitors in signal's path, also in RIAA section, where the ones mentioned before work only in a parallel circuit. No negative feedback is applied in this design that features a point-to-point assembly. At the side there is a power supply section with a large, EI transformer, double LC filter and three rectifiers. It is a „fixed bias” device. On the front there is a large on/off toggle switch accompanied by a large red light. Chassis is made of steel sheets painted with a grey-ish paint. The chassis features four large feet made of cast iron. It features great anti-vibration properties. As far as I know it is used only by few companies including Accuphase, but also Polish manufacturer J. Sikora uses it in its platters. Accuphase paints the feet for its devices, Audio Tekne doesn't so one might get one's hands bit dirty while moving TEA-2000. There are two RCA inputs – one for cartridges with impedance lower than 10 Ω and the other for all the rest. There are also two outputs, with two different gains. The documentation provided with the unit suggests that the second output delivers 80,5 dB gain. Specifications (according to manufacturer): Vacuum Tube Stereo Phono amplifier Inputs: Phono: Only MC Low & High Max input level: Phono: Low 25mVrms, High 85mVrms Output level: EQ Out 1.6Vrms(std);11Vrms (max) RIAA Accuracy: + / - 1.5dB (30Hz...15KHz) Power consumption: 50 VA Dimensions: 445 x 170 x 155 mm Weight: 12 kg [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/th/13.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/13.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/audiotekne/13.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

t seems that „High Fidelity” was one of the first magazines in the world, and surely outside Japan, that received Acoustic Revive cables based on PC-Triple C copper and published such a review (No. 126, October 1st 2014). The Japanese magazine „Audio Accessory”, printed their review a month before us in their September issue, dedicated to cables. They described technical aspects and presented first PC-Triple C (Pure Copper-Continuous Crystal Construction) cables, including those of Acoustic Revive. This was a special moment for Japanese audio market that was significantly influenced by the decision of Furukawa Electric announced on March 4th 2013, right before the 130th anniversary of company's existence, that they stop manufacturing PCOCC copper. PCOCC reads as: Pure Crystal by Ohno Continous Casting. It so happens that in the same issue of „High Fidelity”, that you're reading right now we also test cables of another Japanese manufacturer, actually one of the biggest there are - Furutech. We reviewed the FA-13S interconnect, FS-15S speaker cable and FP-TCS21 power chord. This set belongs to the same, relatively inexpensive line with a dark green PVC sleeve, but there is a twist: interconnect and speaker cable still utilized and outstanding stock of μ-OFC wire while power chord is made of PC-Triple C. Acoustic Revive when compared to Furutech in terms of production and sales volume is on a quite different level. Here a large part of production process is still carried out by hand, so output capabilities are limited. AR doesn't have large warehouse as they don't keep a lot of products and materials on stock, and thus almost right after Furukawa's decision they could replace OCC copper with a new type. I elaborated on this story in my review in October 2014, and in my Furutech review I repeated part of that information and elaborated even more, so let me just shortly remind you that PCOCC was invented by professor Atsumi Ohno of Japanese Chiba Institute of Technology. He found out, after extended research, that casting was a better method of manufacturing copper wire that drawing, as this way a wire with ultra-long copper crystals was made with 125 m of length and diameter of 0,1 mm. This process was named after its inventor, thus Ohno Continuous Casting (OCC). Furukawa, that acquired right to use this process, developed a process of manufacturing audio cables using OCC wire with copper purity exceeding 99.9997%. The new version of the conductor was patented under the name Purity Copper OCC, or PCOCC. Another branch of the company, FCM (Fine Chemicals & Materials), developed another solution that potentially might be even better than PCOCC, a PC-Triple C copper. Forging Process Copper is compressed to 70% by the gradual application of pressure with a fixed angle and direction in tens of thousands of forging operations. Forging can easily be associated with traditional Japanese way of making katanas – that is why one can find katana's blade in Acoustic Revive's advertisements. PCOCC wasn't the only type of copper used by Japanese audio cables manufacturers and yet abandoning its production affected everyone. So today in Japan apart of PC-Triple C based cable one can also find those using HiFC copper (Zonotone, Ortofon) and C1011 (Shioda Cable). The HiFC - High-Performance Pure Copper Wires – is manufactured by Hitachi Metals, Ltd., part of a larger Hitachi corporation. Instead of trying to achieve highest possible purity they decided to pursue an optimal structure of the wire. HiFC is a soft copper with a characteristic almost equivalent to 6N standard (around 99,9999% purity). It is made in a similar process to OCC, meaning by continuous casting and hot rolling and its special characteristic was achieved by adding trace amounts of titanium into copper. C1011 is just a OFC, but made using a special process, that introduces a much more orderly crystal grain structure to this material. It is made by the same manufacturer as the HiFC, Hitachi Cable Co., Ltd. It's purity is rated as >99,99%. C1011 is also manufactured using casting and hot rolling. A final effect of these processes is a Type 1 special copper. RCA-1.0 Triple C-FM (1.8x1.4) We have dealt with RCA-1.0 Triple C-FM interconnect already before while performing a review I mentioned before. This time we received its another, special version, made with a thicker, oval conductor Ø 1,8 x 1,4 mm. They used the same material, PC-Triple C by FCM, but AR's cables are hand-made, using their own configuration and using custom made connectors. Interconnect features a pseudo-balanced design with a hot and return runs realized with identical, single-core wires. Shielding is provided in the form of a goosebump-type copper sleeving with Teflon coating, covered with a black mesh. Production of this element is complex and expensive and its carried out by Shinagawa Business and Industry Ltd. This element limits flexibility of this cable. Cable features high quality, rhodium-plated RUR-1 connectors, custom made by another Japanese specialist, Matsukin Ltd. The main body of the connector is made of copper and rhodium-plated, and the cap is made of duraluminum 2017. All metal elements undergo cryo-treatment. No soldering is used – wires are fixed using gold-plated screws. When we disassemble his RCA plug, we will see inside, on the "positive" conductor, a small, green "roller". This is not an ordinary ferrite ring but rather an expensive component called FINEMET (hence the 'FM' in the cable name). The owner of the patent and supplier of finished products that use this material is Hitachi Metals, Ltd. Finemet is an amorphous metal obtained by rapid cooling of a molten alloy, which comprises Fe, Si, B, and small amounts of Cu and Nb. By heating the alloy to a temperature higher than its temperature of crystallization, the metal changes its structure to nanocrystalline. POWER REFERENCE Triple-C Acoustic Revive power distributor featuring PC-Triple C cables with Schuko sockets is under development. But power cables featuring this type of copper are already available – these are top Power Reference models. We did a review of these cables sporting PCOCC conductors in November 2010, so a few years back (No. 79). After that review the only change this model underwent was a replacement of plugs with different ones. As soon as Furutech presented FI-50 NCF(R) ones, Acoustic Revive decided that it was IT. As you've probably noticed the letter ‘FM’ are no longer part of the model name, because FINEMET noise suppressors were not used this time. Cables feature large diameter solid-core copper conductors which limits their flexibility. But at the same time it is relatively easy to bent them – one just does it as with any thick copper wire. Wires feature special isolation – a silk tube made by Ebisawa Corporation. An external layer is the same as in interconnect – a copper tube. Cables are hand-made by skilled professionals. I compared Acoustic Revive cables using A/B/A comparisons with A and B known. As my reference for an interconnect I used: Siltech Triple Crown, Tellurium Q Silver Diamond and Acoustic Revive RCA-1.0 Triple C-FM. These cables connected Ancient Audio Lektor AIR V-edition CD Player and Audio Tekne TEA-2000 phonostage (with Air Force III turntable as a source) with Ayon Audio Spheris III linestage. Power cable was compared to Harmonix X-DC350M2R Improved-Version and Tara Labs The Omega Evolution AC. All were used to power Ancient Audio Lektor AIR V-edition CD Player. Acoustic Revive in „High Fidelity” TEST: Acoustic Revive RCA-1.5TRIPLE C-FM + SPC-2.5TRIPLE C-FM - interconnect + speaker cable, see HERE INTERVIEW: Ken Ishiguro – owner, designer, see HERE REVIEW: Acoustic Revive – anti-vibration system, see HERE | GOLD Fingerprint Award KRAKOW SONIC SOCIETY, meeting no. 76: Acoustic Revive – anti-vibration and isolation accessories, system, see HERE REVIEW: Acoustic Revive RTP-4eu ULTIMATE + POWER REFERENCE - power strip + AC power cord, see HERE REVIEW: Acoustic Revive USB-1.0SP/USB-5.0PL – USB cable, see HERE REVIEW: Acoustic Revive RST-38 i RAF-48 – isolation boards, see HERE REVIEW: Acoustic Revive Disc Demagnetizer RD-3, Grounding Conditioner RGC-24, see HERE REVIEW: Acoustic Revive DSIX/1.0 - 75 Ω digital cable, see HERE Recordings used for this test (a selection) Alan Silva and his Celestial Comunication Orchestra, Luna Surface, BYG Records/Sunspots SPOT 539, „Actuel 12”, CD (1969/2003) Blood, Sweat & Tears, Child is Farther To The Man, Columbia Records/Audio Fidelity AFZ5 195, Limied Edition No. 0115, SACD/CD (1968/2014) Cream, Disraeli Gears, Polydor/Universal Music LLC UICY-40023, Platinum SHM-CD (1967/2013) Francesco Landini, The Second Circle, wyk. Anonymous 4, Harmonia Mundi HMG 507269, „hm Gold”, CD (2001/2013) Frank Sinatra, No One Cares, Capitol Records/Mobile Fidelity MFSL-1-408, „Special Limited Edition No. 186”, 180 g LP (1959/2012) Mikołaj Hertel, Epizod A, GAD Records GAD CD 035, CD (2015) Semafor Combo, Semafor Combo, OBUH V30, 180 g LP (2012) Sonny Rollins, Sonny Rollins on Impulse!, Impulse!/Esoteric ESSI-90134, SACD/CD (1965/2015) w: Impulse! 6 Great Jazz, Impulse!/Esoteric ESSI-9013/8 (2015) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] Listening to Acoustic Revive cables was for me personally a particularly important element of this year's “Japanese issue” of High Fidelity magazine. I've been using cables made by this manufacturer for many years myself while reviewing many different components, and I also use an interconnect in my headphone system. Power distributor works in my main rig. It also features many anti-vibration accessories with AR logo on them such as: platforms, isolation elements, anti-vibration plugs for RCA outputs, demagnetizer, negative-ion generator, ultra-low frequency pulse generator, and for all connector areas I regularly use ECI-100 spray. I personally know and value the owner of this company, Mr Ken Ishiguro, who, by the way, visited us in Cracow and participated in Cracow Sonic Society meeting. I was a bit concerned when I heard the news about replacing a material AR cables was made of with another one, as each such radical change force by external factors bring some uncertainty. Even more so because PC Triple-C copper 'behaves' differently than PCOCC one. For the latter I would use a comparison to golden CDs. I hope that most Readers understand this reference – it's a bout warm, liquid, rich sound with remarkably smooth treble and a powerful, nice bass. This type of sound is particularly enjoyable, it allows listener to relax and rest while listening. At the same time one has to accept the fat, that record plated in such a way won't offer many surprises. A differentiation is simply limited, and the whole presentation is marked with, lets say, 'golden' signature. That is why some Japanese companies never used gold, they prefer aluminum. That's what PC Triple-C cables have to offer: a fast, energetic, resolving presentation that sometimes lacks refinement especially in the midrange area. Treble on the other hand is wonderfully 'lit up', crisp, but bass is not as rich as offered by PCOCC cables. As it turned out a particular application also matters. Yes, the previously reviewed Acoustic Revive cables fitted this description well. But they were not too bright and bass was not too 'light'. It was a fast, resolving, open sound. Power Reference chord introduces this type of changes into the sound too. I think that in this particular case replacing plugs and later also conductor translated into biggest quantitative change. Previous flagship power cables offered by Ishiguro-san were really good, offered interesting sound and fulfilled their job very well. But then I was under impression that it was the power cable that was the weakest link in the whole AR cables loom. The new products are completely different. I quickly noticed how resolving they were, how well they differentiated recordings. They deliver music in a particularly open way but with a powerful bass. Sound has proper weight and yet it is also open and fast. It is really difficult to pinpoint a part of the range that might dominate the rest, or even a particular accent on some frequency. They nicely 'disappear' from the system, apart for a slight emphasis placed on the leading edge in the upper midrange, which follows a path set previously by interconnect and speaker cable. I described Power Reference's 'gain' as the biggest quantitative one, but the biggest qualitative change was introduced with RCA-1.0 Triple C-FM (1.8x1.4) interconnect. It was this cable that provided me with the real insight into this type of copper's quality and thus into the future of audio cables. Just like many manufacturers has some issues with KT120 tubes for some time after they were introduced, now cable producers have to learn how to use a full potential of this new copper conductor. Today it seems that Furutech and Acoustic Revive already do a great job. Listening session with this interconnect featuring thicker, oval-shaped conductor revealed something more though – a much richer, denser sound than the one deliver by the 'regular' cable. Images are large and substantial and at the same time their depth is conveyed in a better way. Everything carries more energy, more power which creates an impression of louder presentation – maybe 1-1,5 dB louder. Obviously it is a subjective impression but it makes listening more interesting, more exciting. Sonic character reminded me of that of PCOCC cable, but it was quite the same. I've mentioned a sound aluminum CD like as my reference to Triple-C copper. The oval-shaped AR conductor offers something even different – something I would reference to the sound of XRCD. These are pressed on aluminum too and yet they offer richer, deeper, more, so to speak, analogue sound than other 'aluminum' based compact discs. That's how I perceived this interconnect. I could feel more presence of the musicians in the room, also because of substantial bass foundation. Depth of the soundstage seems slightly smaller – whatever happens in the front of the stage is more important than things happening in the back. Yet, it is remarkably resolving and thus recording's acoustics, reverbs are there, although one has to disengage from music itself to notice that. Summary The Power Reference cable proved that this Japanese manufacturer has made progress in this area. It is a valuable element of the whole Triple-C series, that I had reviewed before. The 1.8x1.4 interconnect is even something more, it represents even higher class performance with its tonal richness, great imaging and particularly energetic presentation. It's the case where adding a component to a system offers 'more music in music'. Well done! [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/th/13.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/13.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/13.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery] szystko wskazuje na to, że „High Fidelity” była jedną z pierwszych redakcji na świecie, a na pewno pierwszą poza Japonią, która otrzymała do testu kable Acoustic Revive, w których użyto miedzi PC-Triple C i taki test opublikowała (No. 126, 1 październik 2014). Zaledwie o miesiąc wyprzedził nas japoński magazyn „Audio Accessory”, który we wrześniowym wydaniu, poświęconym w całości kablom połączeniowym, opisał tę technikę i zaprezentował pierwsze kable PC-Triple C (Pure Copper-Continuous Crystal Construction), w tym firmy Acoustic Revive. Japonia bardzo mocno przeżyła bowiem zmianę, której symboliczny początek nastąpił 4 marca 2013 roku, kiedy na rok przed obchodami 130-lecia istnienia firma Furukawa Electric ogłosiła zakończenie produkcji przewodów z miedzi PCOCC, czyli Pure Crystal by Ohno Continous Casting. Tak się składa, że w tym samym numerze „High Fidelity”, który państwo trzymają w ręce (w postaci tabletu, smartfonu lub komputera oczywiście) testujemy kable innej firmy z Kraju Kwitnącej Wiśni, jednej z największych w tej branży – Furutecha. W teście mieliśmy interkonekt FA-13S, kabel głośnikowy FS-15S oraz kabel sieciowy FP-TCS21. To zestaw należący do tej samej, niedrogiej linii, z ciemnozielonym płaszczem ochronnym z PVC, mający jednak pewien twist: interkonekt i kabel głośnikowy czerpią jeszcze z zapasów firmy, to kable μ-OFC (starzona miedź OFC), a kabel sieciowy wykonano już z miedzi PC-Triple C. Acoustic Revive pod względem wolumenu produkcji oraz wielkości sprzedaży jest zupełnie inną firmą niż Furutech. Tutaj większość produkcji odbywa się ręcznie, możliwości są więc ograniczone. AR nie ma dużych magazynów i tzw. „stocków”, dlatego zaraz po decyzji Furukawy przestawiła się na nowy typ przewodów. Dokładnie o tej historii pisałem w teście z października 2014 roku, a w tekście o Furutechu powtórzyłem część i poszerzyłem o inne informacje, przypomnę więc tylko skrótowo, że PCOCC to wynik pracy profesora Atsumi Ohno z japońskiego Chiba Institute of Technology. Zamiast wyciągania zaproponował odlewanie, dzięki czemu otrzymał kabel o ultradługich kryształach: 125 m i średnicy fi 0,1 mm. Proces ten nazywany jest od tamtej pory od nazwiska wynalazcy Ohno Continuous Casting (OCC). Furukawa na potrzeby kabli audio opracowała proces, w którym czystość miedzi uzyskiwanej w wyniku procesu OCC przekraczała 99,9997%. Nowa wersja przewodników została opatentowana pod nazwą Purity Copper OCC, czyli PCOCC. Specjalna, wydzielona firma tego koncernu, FCM (Fine Chemicals & Materials), zaproponowała coś nowego, co – potencjalnie – mogło być nawet lepsze od PCOCC, a wciąż pozostawałoby w sercu japońskiego myślenia o produkcie – miedź PC-Triple C. Uzyskuje się ją w procesie podobnym do kucia („forging”), w którym drut jest wielokrotnie ściskany (uderzany), zmniejszając swoją objętość o 70%. Uderzenia mają odpowiedni kąt i kierunek, dobrane w wyniku eksperymentów. To jednoznaczne nawiązanie do japońskich tradycji wykuwania mieczy i właśnie dlatego w reklamach Acoustic Revive znajdziemy wizerunek ostrza katany. PCOCC nie był jedynym rodzajem miedzi stosowanej przez producentów kabli, także w Japonii. Zamknięcie linii produkcyjnej PCOCC miało jednak wpływ na wszystkich. Dlatego w tej chwili, poza PC-Triple C spotkamy w Japonii kable wykonane z miedzi HiFC (Zonotone, Ortofon) oraz C1011 (Shioda Cable). Odmiana HiFC - High-Performance Pure Copper Wires – produkowana jest przez Hitachi Metals, Ltd., część koncernu Hitachi. Zamiast ścigać się na czystość, postawiono na działania, które powodują, że miedź ma odpowiednią strukturę. HiFC to miedź miękka, której charakterystyka jest równoważna kablowi 6N (ok. 99,9999%). Produkuje się ją podobnie jak OCC, czyli przez odlewanie i walcowanie, dodając do miedzi niewielkie ilości tytanu. Na zdjęciach mikroskopowych widać, że struktura krystaliczna jest w niej niezwykle dobrze uporządkowana. C1011 to po prostu miedź OFC, ale wykonywana w specjalnym procesie, który porządkuje jej strukturę krystaliczną. Tak się składa, że jej producentem na potrzeby audio jest ta sama firma, co HiFC, czyli Hitachi Cable Co., Ltd. Ma ona czystość >99,99%, którą uzyskuje się przez próżniowe odgazowanie. Co ciekawe, także C1011 produkuje się przez odlewanie i walcowanie. W wyniku tych zabiegów otrzymywana jest miedź specjalna Typu 1. RCA-1.0 Triple C-FM (1.8x1.4) Z interkonektem RCA-1.0 Triple C-FM spotkaliśmy się poprzednio, w teście o którym pisałem. Tym razem chciałem się przyjrzeć jego specjalnej odmianie, z grubszego, owalnego przewodnika o średnicy fi 1,8 x 1,4 mm. Materiał jest ten sam, to PC-Triple C firmy FCM, ale AR kable wykonuje ręcznie, stosując własną konfigurację i produkowane dla niej wtyki. Interkonekty mają budowę pseudo-zbalansowaną, gdzie sygnał dodatni i powrotny prowadzone są w dwóch identycznych przewodach typu solid-core. Ekran to zazwyczaj plecionka. Tutaj postawiono na całkowite pokrycie kabla, używając do tego miedzianego, pokrytego Teflonem, węża typu „gęsia skórka”, na którym znajduje się czarna siateczka. To trudny do wykonania, bardzo drogi element produkowany przez firmę Shinagawa Business and Industry Ltd. Kable są więc dość sztywne. Wtyki to znakomite, rodowane, zakręcane RUR-1, produkowane na zamówienie przez kolejnego japońskiego specjalistę, firmę - Matsukin Ltd. Jej zakrętki wykonane zostały z duraluminium 2017, główne body z miedzi pokrytej rodem. Wszystkie metalowe elementy poddawane są obróbce kriogenicznej. Przewody są w nich skręcane złoconymi śrubami, a nie lutowane. Kiedy je rozkręcimy, na przewodzie „dodatnim” zobaczymy mały, zielony „wałeczek”. To drogi element o nazwie FINEMET (stąd w nazwie kabli dopisek ‘FM’ na końcu). Właścicielem patentu i sprzedawcą gotowych, wykonanych z niego produktów jest firma Hitachi Metals, Ltd. Do jego budowy wykorzystano amorficzny metal otrzymywany przez gwałtowne ochładzanie płynnego stopu, na który składają się: Fe, Si, B oraz niewielkie ilości Cu i Nb. Dzięki ogrzewaniu stopu do temperatury wyższej niż jego temperatura krystalizacji, metal zmienia swoją strukturę na nanokrystaliczną. POWER REFERENCE Triple-C Listwa sieciowa Acoustic Revive, okablowana PC-Triple C z gniazdami typu Schuko wciąż jest w fazie opracowania. Dostępne są już za to kable sieciowe z tą miedzią – topowe Power Reference. Ich wersję z PCOCC testowaliśmy w listopadzie 2010 roku, trochę czasu już więc upłynęło (No. 79). W tym czasie kable się nie zmieniły, wymieniono jednak wtyki. Kiedy tylko Furutech zaprezentował model FI-50 NCF(R), z charakterystycznym, srebrnym wykończeniem plecionki węglowej i piezoceramicznymi elementami zdecydowano, że to jest TO. Jak widać, w nazwie nie ma dopisku ‘FM’, ponieważ nie zastosowano w nim supresorów szumów firmy FINEMET. Kable wykonywane są z miedzi typu solid-core o dużej średnicy, dlatego są sztywne. Ale jednocześnie łatwo je ułożyć – zgina się je jak gruby miedziany drut i tyle, w czym pomaga proces zmiękczania miedzi. Druty izolowane są specjalną rurką z jedwabiu wykonywaną przez firmę Ebisawa Corporation. Na zewnątrz nakładana jest taka sama miedziana rurka, jak w interkonekcie. Kable produkowane są ręcznie przez specjalnie przeszkolonych pracowników. Kable Acoustic Revive porównywane były do kabli odniesienia w odsłuchu A/B/A, ze znanymi A i B. W przypadku interkonektu były to: Siltech Triple Crown, Tellurium Q Silver Diamond i Acoustic Revive RCA-1.0 Triple C-FM. Łączone nim były odtwarzacz CD Ancient Audio Lektor AIR V-edition i przedwzmacniacz gramofonowy Audio Tekne TEA-2000 (gramofon Air Force III) z przedwzmacniaczem Ayon Audio Spheris III. Kabel sieciowy porównywany był do kabli Harmonix X-DC350M2R Improved-Version oraz Tara Labs The Omega Evolution AC. Kabel odsłuchiwany był z odtwarzaczem CD Ancient Audio Lektor AIR V-edition. Acoustic Revive w „High Fidelity” TEST: Acoustic Revive RCA-1.5TRIPLE C-FM + SPC-2.5TRIPLE C-FM - interkonekt + kabel głośnikowy, czytaj TUTAJ WYWIAD: Ken Ishiguro – właściciel, konstruktor, czytaj TUTAJ TEST: Acoustic Revive – system antywibracyjny, czytaj TUTAJ | Nagroda GOLD Fingerprint KRAKOWSKIE TOWARZYSTWO SONICZNE, spotkanie #76: Acoustic Revive – elementy antywibracyjne, system, czytaj TUTAJ TEST: Acoustic Revive RTP-4eu ULTIMATE + POWER REFERENCE - listwa sieciowa + kabel sieciowy AC, czytaj TUTAJ TEST: Acoustic Revive USB-1.0SP/USB-5.0PL – kable USB, czytaj TUTAJ TEST: Acoustic Revive RST-38 i RAF-48 – platformy antywibracyjne, czytaj TUTAJ TEST: Acoustic Revive Disc Demagnetizer RD-3, Grounding Conditioner RGC-24, czytaj TUTAJ TEST: Acoustic Revive DSIX/1.0 - interkonekt cyfrowy 75 Ω, czytaj TUTAJ Nagrania wykorzystane w teście (wybór) Alan Silva and his Celestial Comunication Orchestra, Luna Surface, BYG Records/Sunspots SPOT 539, „Actuel 12”, CD (1969/2003) Blood, Sweat & Tears, Child is Farther To The Man, Columbia Records/Audio Fidelity AFZ5 195, Limied Edition No. 0115, SACD/CD (1968/2014) Cream, Disraeli Gears, Polydor/Universal Music LLC UICY-40023, Platinum SHM-CD (1967/2013) Francesco Landini, The Second Circle, wyk. Anonymous 4, Harmonia Mundi HMG 507269, „hm Gold”, CD (2001/2013) Frank Sinatra, No One Cares, Capitol Records/Mobile Fidelity MFSL-1-408, „Special Limited Edition No. 186”, 180 g LP (1959/2012) Mikołaj Hertel, Epizod A, GAD Records GAD CD 035, CD (2015) Semafor Combo, Semafor Combo, OBUH V30, 180 g LP (2012) Sonny Rollins, Sonny Rollins on Impulse!, Impulse!/Esoteric ESSI-90134, SACD/CD (1965/2015) w: Impulse! 6 Great Jazz, Impulse!/Esoteric ESSI-9013/8 (2015) Japońskie wersje płyt dostępne na [REKLAMA5] Odsłuch kabli Acoustic Revive był dla mnie ważnym elementem tegorocznego numeru specjalnego „Made in Japan”. Przez wiele lat korzystałem z nich – i wciąż korzystam – przy testach wielu urządzeń, a interkonektu używam w swoim systemie słuchawkowym. Listwa sieciowa z kolei jest podstawą mojego głównego systemu odsłuchowego. W różnych jego miejscach znaleźć można akcesoria antywibracyjne spod znaku AR: podstawki, krążki, zatyczki do wyjść, generator Schumanna, demagnetyzator, dejonizator, a wszystkie styki co jakiś czas traktuję sprayem ECI-100. Znam osobiście i niezwykle cenię właściciela, pana Kena Ishiguro, który zresztą odwiedził nas w Krakowie, gdzie uczestniczył w spotkaniu Krakowskiego Towarzystwa Sonicznego. Wiadomość o zmianie materiału, z którego wykonywane były kable tego producenta przyjąłem więc z niepokojem, bo każda radykalna zmiana wymuszona przez czynniki zewnętrzne niesie z sobą wiele niewiadomych. Tym bardziej, że miedź PC Triple-C zachowuje się zupełnie inaczej niż PCOCC. Tę ostatnią porównałbym do odsłuchu płyt CD wydanych na złotym podkładzie. Myślę, że większość czytelników wie o co chodzi – o ciepły, lejący się, gęsty dźwięk z cudownie gładką górą i masującym, przyjemnym basem. To dźwięk, który nigdy nie zepsuje nam odsłuchu, dzięki któremu zrelaksujemy się i odpoczniemy. Ale też – to chyba nie będzie niespodzianką – żadna taka płyta niczym nas nie zaskoczy. Różnicowanie jest w ich przypadku ograniczone, a na całość nakładana jest swoista – niech będzie: „złota” – sygnatura. Dlatego właśnie niektóre japońskie firmy nigdy się do złota nie przekonały. Tam króluje aluminium. I takie właśnie są kable PC Triple-C: szybkie, energetyczne, rozdzielcze, ale czasem trochę zbyt mało wyrafinowane, szczególnie w środku pasma. Górę mają znakomicie rozświetloną, ale dół nie zawsze jest wypełniony równie mocno, jak w PCOCC. Jak się okazuje, wszystko zależy jednak od aplikacji. Tak, testowane wcześniej kable Acoustic Revive pasowały do dużej części tego opisu. Ale też nie były zbyt jasne, nie miały zbyt odciążonego basu. Przekaz był szybki, rozdzielczy i otwarty, co było łykiem świeżego powietrza. Takie też zmiany do dźwięku wnosi kabel sieciowy Power Reference. Myślę, że w jego przypadku zmiana wtyków, a potem przewodnika przełożyła się na największą ilościowo zmianę. Poprzednie topowe kable sieciowe pana Ishiguro-san były bardzo fajne, ciekawe, dobrze spełniały swoje zadanie. Miałem jednak wrażenie, że są najsłabszym ogniwem najdroższego systemu okablowania tego producenta. Nowe kable są zupełnie inne. Zwraca uwagę ich rozdzielczość i różnicowanie. Prezentują muzykę w otwarty sposób, ale z mięsistym basem. Nie odchudzają niczego, a mimo to są otwarte i szybkie. Trudno wskazać w ich przypadku dominujący zakres, czy nawet punkt ciężkości. Ładnie znikają z systemu, poza lekkim uprzywilejowaniem ataku wyższej średnicy, w czym powtarzają cechę znaną mi wcześniej z interkonektu i kabla głośnikowego. O ile ilościowo Power Reference na tej zmianie zyskał najwięcej, o tyle jakościowo zwycięzcą jest interkonekt RCA-1.0 Triple C-FM (1.8x1.4). To z nim usłyszałem, do czego naprawdę ta miedź jest zdolna i co nas czeka w przyszłości. Podobnie jak przez długi czas producenci wzmacniaczy mieli problemy z lampami KT120, tak i nowa miedź wymaga czasu do opanowania. Tu i teraz Furutech i Acoustic Revive radzą sobie z nią bardzo dobrze. Odsłuch nowego interkonektu, wykonanego z grubszego, owalnego przewodnika przyniósł jednak coś ekstra. To znacznie gęstszy dźwięk niż zwykłego kabla. Bryły są duże i gęste, a jednocześnie mają lepiej ukazywany wymiar w głąb. Wszystko jest bardziej energetyczne i mocniejsze, przez co wydaje się, że dźwięk jest głośniejszy – tak, na oko, o jakieś 1-1,5 dB. To subiektywne odczucie, ale dzięki temu wszystko jest bardziej interesujące, ciekawsze. Barwa nowego kabla przypomina to, co kiedyś mieliśmy z PCOCC, ale nie jest to ten sam dźwięk. Przed chwilą mówiłem o dźwięku à la aluminiowy podkład CD, odnosząc to do miedzi Triple-C. Owalny kabel AR robi coś jeszcze innego – daje dźwięk kojarzony z płytami XRCD. To przecież krążki tłoczone na aluminium, które brzmią jednak gęściej i głębiej, bardziej – że tak powiem – analogowo niż zwykłe płyty. Tak właśnie słychać ten interkonekt. Wrażenie obecności muzyków są z nim naprawdę znakomite, także dzięki mocnej podstawie basowej. Przestrzeń jest z nim nieco skracana, ważniejszy jest pierwszy plan. Znakomita rozdzielczość powoduje jednak, że pogłosy i akustyka są w nagraniu obecne, tyle że musimy się oderwać od tego, co dzieje się przed nami, żeby je usłyszeć. Podsumowanie Kabel sieciowy Power Reference pokazał, że firma robi spore postępy w tej dziedzinie. Jest znakomitym uzupełnieniem serii Trple-C, którą wcześniej testowałem. Jest jej równoprawnym elementem. Interkonekt 1.8x1.4 jest czymś więcej, transmigruje na jeszcze wyższą półkę, przede wszystkim dzięki wypełnieniu barwy, nasyceniu brył, większej energetyczności. To przypadek, kiedy mamy więcej „muzyki w muzyce” niż wcześniej. Brawo! Dystrybucja w Polsce: NAUTILUS ul. Malborska 24 30-646 Kraków | Polska www.nautilus.net.pl WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Complete String Quintets Tacet 217 wyk. Auryn Quartet, Nobuko Imai „The Auryn Series” Nośnik: 3 x Compact Disc Premiera: 2016 Matthias Lingenfelder, Jens Oppermann, Stewart Eaton i Andreas Arndt od dawna chcieli zmierzyć się z trudną, lecz satysfakcjonującą materią tej części twórczości Mozarta, pozostającej często w cieniu jego sławniejszych dzieł. Postanowili nagrać ten album we współpracy z Nobuko Imai, która od wielu lat pozostaje w ścisłej czołówce najlepszych skrzypaczek na świecie. Jak twierdzi niemiecka wytwórnia, Imai tak świetnie zintegrowała się z pozostałą czwórką, że wydaje się, jakby grała z nimi od samego początku, od 35 lat. Płyty wydane zostały w dawno przeze mnie nie widzianym w sklepie pudełku, w którym kiedyś sprzedawano albumy dwupłytowe – o podwójnej szerokości. Teraz stosuje się pudełka o szerokości zwykłego opakowania typy „jevelcase”. W książeczce znajdziemy esej dotyczący kwintetów Mozarta, a także biogramy wykonawców; wszystko w trzech językach (ang., niem., fr.). Nagranie zostało dokonane przez Andreasa Spreera, właściciela firmy Tacet, od kwietnia do maja 2015 roku w Wuppertalu. Nie ma niestety bliższych informacji o sesji, poza znaczkiem „Inspiring Tube Sound” na okładce. Mówi on o tym, że część toru była lampowa – zakładam, że mikrofony. Rejestracja została dokonana na analogowej taśmie magnetofonowej, na magnetofonie Studer. DŹWIĘK Tę „lampowość” da się zresztą dość łatwo zidentyfikować. Porównując płytę Taceta do wydawnictw AliiVox, czy Harmonia Mundi, usłyszymy, że kwintety Mozarta brzmią ciemniej, są bardziej nastawione na „wnętrze” dźwięku, głownie środka pasma. Wysokie tony są w nich wycofane, ale nie gwałtownie. Na znaczeniu zyskują więc elementy na średnicy. To gęsty, nasycony dźwięk – kolejna cecha lampowości, tym razem jednoznacznie pozytywna. Szczególnie dobrze zaznaczony jest niski środek, przez co instrumenty mają duże, wyraźne „body”. Nie są selektywne, nie o to chyba chodziło, ale właśnie – wyraźne. Mają ładnie zaznaczane bryły, fakturę, są „głębokie” głębokością dźwięku do wewnątrz, nie są uśredniane, ani upraszczane. Complete String Quintets Mozarta jest klasyczną propozycją dla melomanów ceniących sobie naturalność brzmienia i jego głębię, przedkładając je nad selektywność i dokładne informacje o akustyce, w której instrumenty się znajdowały. „Widzimy” je blisko, są duże i pełne. Tak, to klasyczny „dźwięk” Taceta, bardzo, bardzo atrakcyjny, bo jakże inny od obowiązującego obecnie modelu. Jakość dźwięku: 9/10 www.tacet.de [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/th/13.jpg" big="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/13.jpg" src="foto_testy/1605/acousticrevive/13.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

he world of mechanically reproduced music, not including mechanically powered instruments, is divided into two domains: one is connected with recording music, the other one – with playing it. The former is called ‘pro audio’, as it is dealt with by professionals (people who have jobs in the field) and the latter – ‘hi-fi’, ‘stereo’ or ‘audio’. Its marginal section which focuses on reproducing recorded material as faithfully as possible is ‘audiophilism’ and people who deal with that are ‘audiophiles’. These two worlds – pro and perfectionist – are separated with a glass of prejudice, mistrust and aversion. People representing pro audio consider audiophiles to be idiots susceptible to suggestions of manufacturers who sell them voodoo for a lot of money, while audiophiles think that people involved in recording music are deaf and lazy. I have my own opinion on the subject, based on many years of working experience on both sides of the glass, also resulting from the fact that today I deal with both of these domains – both personally and through my friends, and acquaintances. If I were to summarize both, it would go like this: both groups are simultaneously absolutely right and wrong. Simply, both groups include idiots and geniuses, lazy and hard-working people who are trying to reach the “truth”. Unfortunately, both of these groups are mostly marked by the behavior of fools, as stupidity is louder. So, one needs to value exceptions even more – people who have it all: talent, education, experience, diligence and something that we call “God’s gift”. The man who has it all is Jacek Gawłowski, the owner of the JG Master Lab mastering studio and the iMix mixing studio, and recently also the manufacturer of Bauta speakers. I have encountered his talent many times, while reviewing Niemen’s recordings remastered by him. Recently, he has joined a big project of Polskie Nagrania, i.e. remastering the whole catalog of Polish Jazz (CD and LP). To get to know his working methods better and hear recordings the way he hears them, and to finally see and hear his pride – the Bauta speakers that he has designed and made, I visited him in his studio near Warsaw. It is a text about a man and his passions, consisting of three scenes. I suggest reading them in the given order, one part at a time – the text is quite long. SCENE 1. Mastering Any musical material (recording) that we play at home has to be tracked, mixed and mastered earlier. We know most about tracking – it is a method of recording sound – first it was done mechanically, then mechanically and electrically, now just electrically. I have written about different media many times, so let us only say that the most popular ways of tracking have been analog tracking on magnetic tape and digital tracking – first on magnetic tape and now on SSDs and HDDs. Initially, tracking consisted of one track, then two and three, and finally a few dozen. Consumer formats were first monophonic, then stereophonic, while at the beginning of the 1970s they became quadraphonic (four-channel) for a while. The development of multi-channel systems was only made possible by the expansion of so-called “home theatres” and such media as Laser Disc, DVD and Blu-ray. In order to create a monophonic, stereophonic or multi-channel mix from many channels, we need a process called ‘mixing’. In 1950s, mixing was done together with tracking – a three- or two-channel master copy was made using a few sources, that was then used to make a template to press LPs. Later, as “multi-track” became more popular, mixing gained separate status and started to be dealt with separate studios. In order to release mixed material, one more stage is necessary – mastering. In Poland people know relatively little about it. It has mostly been carried out together with mixing and not much attention has been paid to it. It is probably the reason for its low status among Polish record label representatives and musicians. This is not right, as the mastering specialist gives material its final shape, can improve poorly mixed material and get the best out of well-prepared stuff. Mastering (“audio mastering”) is a post-process, aimed at turning a collection of tracks into an album (single, playlist, podcast, etc.), putting them together in the final ‘master’ recording. As productionadvice.co.uk portal adds, another goal of mastering is to prepare material in a way that makes it sound the best way possible (more HERE). In his handbook entitled Podstawy nagłośnienia i realizacji nagrań (Eng. “Basics of sound systems and recording”), Krzysztof Sztekmiler mentions the following elements of mastering: - leveling dynamic disproportions between tracks, - correction of tonal differences, - correction of base width deviations and sound perspective, - normalization of the level of tracking of a recording, - increasing the dynamics of recordings through compression, - cutting off (limiting) sound impulses that “stick out” in order to increase volume, - tone correction of the whole musical material, depending on the parameters of the device which will be usually used to play the given recording. Krzysztof Sztekmiler, Podstawy nagłośnienia i realizacji nagrań, Warsaw 2003, p. 150 The process of editing distortions, e.g. “de-esser” needs to be added to the list – adding PQ, UPC/EAN, ISRC, and CD-Text information, and preparing a file having the required parameters (16 bits and 44.1 kHz for a CD), using dithering and transferring it onto the medium required by the record label. Recently, it is usually a CD-R or a high-resolution file (compare HERE). A specific type of mastering is re-mastering, i.e. repeated mastering. While we hear little about mastering, remastering is being constantly talked about by everyone, as it is used by record labels to sell us the same musical material again and again. However, this is what we, audiophiles, want – while pursuing the unachievable aim, i.e. the ideal recording, we buy new album editions to get either a new remaster, a new medium, or extra tracks that have not been released before (more HERE). Similarly to mastering, remastering is also made in a special studio, by people other than those who had done the tracking and mixing (more HERE). SCENE 2. Jacek Gawłowski He is described by realizator.pl in the following way: Jacek Gawłowski is a sound director, music producer and composer. He started his musical career in the early 1990s as a guitarist, which quickly resulted in recording his own album Welcome to my guitarland. Soon afterwards, inspired by sound recording technology, he started studying at the London School of Audio Engineering (SAE) where he gained his diploma in1994, having done work experience in renowned recording studios. Untypically for a specialist so well educated abroad, Jacek returned home, to Poland, after his studies. As he says, his decision at that time was mostly influenced by his wife, who insisted on returning, but apparently he did not mind. Then he worked in Warsaw studios as a sound director, as well as was the sound engineer and co-producer of albums recorded by such bands as Oddział Zamknięty or Armia. In 1998, he set up his own Q-Sound studio that I know mostly because of incredible spatial recordings of the Abraxas band (the 99! album) and where the Closterkeller band, among others, recorded its albums. With time, he was asked more and more often to deal with mixing and mastering. His skills and sensitivity were recognized – people entrusted their recordings to him, hoping he could make them sound the best. So, in 2003, Jacek established his own JG Master Lab mastering studio, connected with the iMix mixing studio – first located in Warsaw and now in Jacek’s beautiful house on the outskirts of Warsaw near Izabelin. This is untypical, as the two domains are usually separated and dealt with by different specialists. However, as Jacek told the prestigious British magazine “Resolution” (that published his photo on the cover), it is a “hybrid mixing + mastering solution” which gives him better control over sound material. In this way, he has returned to recordings’ best times, i.e. the 1950s and 60s (Zenon Schoepe, Jacek Gawłowski, “Resolution” July/August 2014, p. 46). Jacek’s attitude, unique for his domain, as well as everything that I have already mentioned (“ear”, sensitivity, education) gave him the prestigious Grammy award (won by almost no Poles) in 2014, for mixing material for Randy Brecker plays Włodek Pawlik’s Night in Calisia album in the Best Large Jazz Ensemble category. He got a special diploma for mastering it, as the award for mastering is only given for the Album of the Year. Since his return to Poland in 2008, he has recorded, mixed and mastered and incredibly large collection of over 4000 titles! His crown jewel is the Grammy award, but his clients include the most important Polish musicians and record labels. There are a few dozen gold records on the walls of his studio (the rest is kept in the garage), from such bands and singers as Kombi or Ania Dąbrowska. Jacek has also recently been working with Marek Sierocki, mastering his I Love… series, and Lady Pank and Wilki bands had been in his studio the week before I visited him. His Niemen and Maanam remasters represent the best Polish remasters. He talked about that – and more – specially for “High Fidelity” readers. JACEK GAWŁOWSKI WOJCIECH PACUŁA: We are listening to Aga Zaryan Remembering Nina & Abbey.Can you tell us more about The record? JACEK GAWŁOWSKI: The album was recorded at The legendary Conway Studios in Hollywood where Daft Punk did their Grammy winning Random Access Memories record. Beautiful studio with a tropical garden. At the time of making Aga's album Metallica and Justin Bieber where there recording their tracks in adjacent control rooms. Conway definitely has a sound. The studio was designed back in the seventies and has not been redecorated or rebuilt since. The ambience sounds great in there. Brian Blade played drums on the album and the sound of that room made the Aga's record sound so natural and ambient. Two vintage mics were placed in the middle of the studio and captured the whole performance beautifully. The recording paved my way to mixing the record that way, with a lot of studio ambience, rather than artificial reverberation. I went for the character and natural sound. I am proud that this album sounds the way it does. I like to listen to it over and over again. I would not change a single thing on it and that is quite unlikely with other records I have done. For example Abraxas record (Polish prog-rock band)? Yes. That one was done in a different studio environment, twenty years ago and the quality of gear at the time was not too good, especially digital resolution. But Aga's record was a no-compromise approach at every level of production. However we did a different master for vinyl. I cut low mids a little and added some presence, but that was not my call but from her record company. It pushed the sound towards more "standard" approach, but still retained warmth and richness. You seem like a man with a lot of character to me. Tell me more about how it all started. My first mentor was Alan Parsons. I met him at The SAE in London. He gave lectures there, but Trevor Horn and David Arnold were all do guest lecturers. David went on to become a top movie soundtrack composer with Independence Day , Stargate and Godzilla movies to his credit. He also produced a Björk single Play Dead and he took me to AIR studios in London where I assisted for a while and recorded some tracks for a band called "The Clute". Alan Parsons taught me British work ethics. He worked with The Beatles and Pink Floyd as a sound engineer on "The Dark Side of The Moon" record. He told me about tape delay they used and coin machine they miced up to get that special sound in the song Money. He really is one of us engineers. Great ear! While assisting at The AIR studios I also was introduced to Mark Knopfler who was working there at time. Why did you return to Poland then? That was in 1994 and there were a lot of opportunities for me in Poland. The truth is that I was a legal alien in London and it would had taken a lot of time to become "one of them". There are a lot of steps in a ladder and it takes time to establish a name as an emigrant. I was not into that really. In 1994 Poland was an emigrant market and there were a lot of studios waiting a good engineer so I got lucky. What was different in Poland comparing to UK? I got shocked how different things were at home. Totally different approach to work in studios and bands sounded different too. I had problems adjusting to this situation for years. I liked the British bands. I suppose they are more musical in general. I did not know how to use my skills I had. There were other requirements here, other things were more important than what I learned in London. Like what? Like being yourself artistically. Polish bands copied British or American bands at the time. They were not looking for their own expression. They wanted to sound like somebody else and I did not enjoy it. But there have been exceptions where artists came to me for their sound and it is worth to live for these moments. But you had a chance to be creative while working on your Grammy record? Yes, but there were different problems. The album was recorded in three parts in three different studios. The jazz trio, then the orchestra and Randy Brecker on trumpet later. It was not a live record. So my job was to make it as it was a live recording with all the musicians playing together at the same time. Not an easy job that require a set of skills. Quite enough to win The Grammy Award. Tell me about the remastering of Polish Jazz series. The very first thing I do is to pick a right analog tape recorder for the job. I have access to four Studer A 80 tape machines so I can choose the best sounding one for the transfer to digital. It is very important to regularly clean all the transport parts cause the old tapes are dirty and leave dust on the heads constantly. Then analog conversion is the next step and I use Apogee Symphony for that. Apogee converter is on The fat/dark side which I like a lot for the transfer. Other converters I tried were more transparent but I did not like the way they "interpreted" the sound of the old tapes. I use 88.2 kHz sample rate because the downsampling to 44.1 kHz CD standard is very easy and sounds very good and it is still high resolution sampling rate. So you have transferred and what is the next step in a process? Do no harm - it is my approach. I've heard a lot of masters with overcompressed classics that sounded awful. I don't do that. I listen and adjust things slightly. That could a little EQ, level adjustments or maybe some restoration work, but not too much. I want listeners to have an impression they are listening to first pressings of record from the sixties. My approach however was a little different with Niemen's records. His first albums were pop and required more compression and EQ than jazz records. That's why I did not hesitate to use it. The Beatles or James Brown records had that sound I was after and that was my goal to make the music stand out on Niemen albums. The other reason to apply compression to recordings is that the noise floor of vinyl is so significant that low passages of music need to by amplified in order to be heard over the actual noise. Otherwise they would get buried and drowned in the "ocean of noise". The same theory applies to radio stations noise floor. That is why they compress their signal to death - to stay above their noise floor which level is very high. Other example would be driving a car and listening to music with a lot of dynamics. Soft passages get buried under the level if the car's engine while louder ones get thru. Therefore compression is needed to make the music more even for the consumer. You mentioned once that you don't like bright sounds. Yes, I prefer natural sound and that is what I managed to achieve in my loudspeakers. When my Bauta speakers "meet" a great amp then we get audio nirvana. I used the simplest principles when I was designing them and that was physical time/phase alignment of the drivers with second order crossover that was my main goal to achieve. This took a long time to voice the loudspeakers but I must say I got this properly sorted with sample accurate time alignment in the sweet spot position. The tweeter was shifted back and the woofers were tilted accordingly. Additionally the tweeter has got a foam surrounding to diffuse and absorb some reflections around it. Most loudspeaker manufacturers put drivers on one plane and correct phase in the crossover network. The sound from the tweeters get reflected from the front panel and we get that awful sound we often hear at audio shows. I did this differently. What amps do you like with your loudspeakers? I tested many but picked The Accuphase A-200 Class A amps for my presentation at The High End Show in Munich. I found them fast and clean sounding. Very soft but with large sounding bass. Pro audio guys completely bypass all the attributes of high end like cables for example. I must say I can hear all nuances on my Bauta Loudspeakers. The differences between cables are significant. It is not voodoo, it is so obvious when you plug a proper power cables in and all of the sudden soundstage improves dramatically. One should hear before judgment. Studio engineers do not want to go into that audiophile water cause they are afraid of it. They prefer to stick to tools they have been using and they are too lazy to reach for the better tools and experiment. I am not like that. I went thru all this pain and made my own loudspeakers so I must had been blessed ;-) Please share your knowledge with us how you listen to music and what you look for in recordings? Good question! The most important aspects of audio is the room and the loudspeakers - it is the marriage. If we get that correct the rest will be a piece of cake really and that is what most audiophiles do not understand. They use very expensive audio components in their system all put in an asymmetrical room with no or little treatment on the walls and ceilings providing uneven frequency response. It will never work and that is horrible thing to do to ignore it. That's where studio environment wins 100 % SCENE 3. Bauta In all the interviews that I have read, including my own one, Jacek stressed that he belongs to the analog domain. In the professional world it does not necessarily mean the same as in the audiophile world. His approach can be described as analog, because he uses the beautiful analog SSL AWS 900+ console for mixing, as well as analog peripherals such as the EQ Manley Massive Passive, tube compressors from the same manufacturer, dbx compressors, etc. However, the material that he mixes is digital, in the form of tracks on high-resolution files. Played using a digital audio workstation (DAW) with Pro Tools, it is converted to analog, mixed and mastered, and then converted into digital again, in A/D Apogee Symphony converters. The mastering section, located at the same place as the mixing section, is totally digital. Even though there is the analog Studer A80 tape recorder, it only serves to copy material to the digital domain, as in the case of Niemen’s catalog. So, it is a pity that it is not solely processed in the analog domain to cater for vinyl users’ needs. Such things are very expensive and large Polish record labels do not even think about them. An exception to the rule are small record labels, such as OBUH Records. However, let us listen to things made in that studio and we will not find anything to complain about. Weiss Eq1 MK II digital de-essers and correction devices, DS1 MK II compressors from the same manufacturer, Bricasti M7 Reverb, etc. result in mastering that most musicians can only dream about. Both parts off the studio (the mixing and mastering section) have one element in common: amplifiers and speakers. The legendary near-field Yamaha N10 monitors are standing on the console, which you can see in the photos. They are legendary in the pro world, as they are the actual standard, and all sound engineers and musicians know their sound. In the audiophile world they are legendary as they provide sound like columns that cost, say, 1500 PLN. Fortunately, we have two kinds of monitors in studios: near-field and far-field monitors. For a long time, Jacek had been using the Lipinsky Sound L-707 speakers for the far field, with two L-150 subwoofers, powered by amplifiers from the same manufacturer. However, with time, he started to lack something. He replaced cables, including digital ones (he is one of few professionals who hear their contribution to sound) but it still was not something that he had been dreaming about. So, he designed his own speakers that are now also available to other demanding listeners, under the Bauta brand. These are colossal passive speakers that weigh 200 kg, with and additional active subwoofer. They kind of resemble (because of the notch in the middle) the designs of the Lithuanian Estelon company, as well as American Duevel loudspeakers. The latter might have been the primary cause of Jacek’s own design, as they are intended to provide mechanical phase equalization of all converters, cutting them off using the simplest switch with the best components – hence such shape. If we have a stereotypical image of a stage loudspeaker in mind, i.e. one that would survive a KAT concert after being set on fire and thrown onto the audience, let us not look at it, as we are talking about a completely different approach. Bauta loudspeakers look brilliant. Their woodwork quality is top-class, just like their mechanical design. Individual sections are separated from one another using anti-vibration elements and there is sponge with a special notch around the tweeter to make place for it. It takes a whole day to make one such element and it costs more than the converter itself. The same kind of foam has been used to dampen the loudspeaker housing. The speakers are placed in a small, highly soundproof studio. Behind the sound engineer’s back there is a Schroeder diffuser. Most of the sound that reaches our ears – assuming that we are sitting in Jacek Gawłowski’s armchair – is direct sound that is dispersed only to a small degree. Even though Jacek’s stories and anecdotes were interesting and although I could hear what he said about his work, approach to material, role models, etc., the visit could only end in one way – with a listening session. So, I sat in the abovementioned armchair and Jacek played some tracks that he had prepared for me. At the end I listened to the whole Aga Zaryan Remembering Nina & Abbey album released by Blue Note, the material for which was mixed and mastered by Jacek. The album was played from a “master” high-resolution 24/96 file. I could not get any closer to the birthplace of musical material. The sound of the system is mostly a derivative of the interaction between loudspeakers and the room, so it is just the way Jacek described in the interview. The room is very dry and there is virtually no reverberation. It is also highly soundproof, but it is not muffled – unlike in most mastering studios. The loudspeakers are placed in the corners of the almost square room with one window on the side. There is a very big piece of furniture with the mixer and accompanying equipment in front of the listener. The sound delivered by this system is different from what I have ever heard before. It is incredibly good at rendering impulses. Backgrounds in recordings, no matter if it is a large symphonic orchestra or a small jazz combo, sound as natural as during a concert, i.e. I did not hear any slowing down or compression. It results in incredible freedom and naturalness. I had known before that large loudspeakers deliver big sound and that low bass also improves the treble, but Jacek’s designs confirm that. Dynamic transitions are not noticeable, we simply hear something new all the time. It is neither contour or hard sound. I would say it is soft, if that word did not imply “softening”. There is no softening and there is an immediate attack. Nevertheless, we get the impression of softness and a natural transition from the attack to the sustain. The sound stage is completely different from what I have been used to. The foreground is very close to the listener, almost within the reach of his hand. The part of the foreground that is given precisely on the listening axis is very precise and harder than the rest of the musical message. Everything that is stereo can be heard further away and it forms the background. However, it is also precise and clear. I think that better amplifiers will remove the disproportion and soften vocals a bit. Now they are a little contour and there is no seamless connection between them and the rest of the recording, which would still be possible to achieve (I am just speculating). The combination of precision and smoothness is incredibly much better than in the case of any other loudspeakers that I have listened to at my home, regardless of the price. The bass is amazingly deep, but we do not hear it that way, i.e. it does not require our attention, as it happens with other speakers. When the counter bass enters, it is presented in the right proportions with other instruments. When the percussion foot bangs, it does not resemble the sound of rumbling rocks. I did not hear any colorings in that range. The treble is similarly clear. It is different from what we usually hear in recording and mastering studios – it is smooth and “golden”. It does not hiss or “sparkle”, as the percussion plates, saxophone and violin are very natural. When sound is natural, the treble becomes part of the midrange, its extension. Everything here was perfectly coherent. A FEW FINAL REMARKS Bauta speakers were displayed during the High End 2016 exhibition in Munich – Jacek’s studio was recreated in a special box, with the same walls and equipment. Another meeting with the author of the Polish Jazz remaster is planned for November, during the Audio Video Show 2016. A meeting will be prepared in the Audiofast room at the Polish National Stadium, under the patronage of “High Fidelity”. During the meeting, Jacek, aided by me, is going to present his work, i.e. Polish Jazz files before and after remastering, and will explain what mastering and remastering are about. Please feel invited! I am really happy that Jacek proved to be the man I had imagined him to be while listening to recordings that he has made. He has excellent hearing and is also open to experiments. These experiments lead him to a place where cables matter and made him create his own speakers that are perfectly made and very expensive. Delivered in special cases, they constitute one of the most interesting products in the extreme high-end domain. 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