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M2Tech Nash Phono Pre & Van Der Graaf MkII
Capable of producing
both subtle and very dense recordings.
Review By Tom Lyle
M2Tech's
Nash phono stage, a component that is part of their Rockstar series, seemed to
me to be the not only a perfect match for the Pro-Ject Esprit SB turntable that
I set up in my second system not long ago, but also for the moving magnet
Ortofon 2M Red phono cartridge that is mounted on the turntable's integral
tonearm. This is probably the least expensive cartridge I would ever consider
using, and conversely, at about $100 my experience leads me to believe that it
is also the most expensive cartridge a non-audiophile might consider purchasing.
Thankfully, it has a relatively neutral sound.
--->
Read our M2Tech Nash Phono Pre & Van Der Graaf MkII review.
Schiit Magnius Preamp / Balanced
HeadAmp
Schiit Audio introduced their all-new Magnius ($199), a super-high-value balanced headphone amplifier and preamplifier. Featuring high power, state-of-the-art measurements, the best volume control of any amplifier at its price, super-high-quality parts, and design and production in California, Magnius completely blows up the value equation for balanced headphone amps and preamps. Delivering 5000mW into 32 Ohms, with THD+N at -120dB referenced to 4V RMS output, Magnius delivers an abundance of power for the toughest headphone
loads.
---> More about Schiit Audio's Magnius pre / headamp.
Celebrate! National Vinyl Record Day Is Today!
National Vinyl Record Day is your chance to go old school. Spin music lovers all around the world have disagreements on a number of things, but one thing we think everyone can agree on is that vinyl
LP records are here to stay. For those who value the quality of sound, owning physical copies of your favorite albums, or simply the nostalgia factor,
it's probably safe to assume you've got your own collection of vinyl records stashed away somewhere.
---> More about National Vinyl Record Day.
audioXpress'
September Issue
Is Now Available
audioXpress'
September 2020 issue features Altec Lansing's Voice of the Theatre Speakers, Loudspeaker Measurements at Home, Fast and Reliable End-of-Line, and How Virtual Product Development
Improves the Quality of Consumer and Pro Audio Products. Also within this issue are The Magnepan LRS, The APR-17 Aperiodic Loudspeaker (Part 2), and The RSX Large / Modern DIY Speaker. Columns within this issue include Sound Control: From Acoustics to Electroacoustics and Audio Scope: How Do We Generate Measured Noise Plots for Op-Amps?
---> See the
September 2020 issue of audioXpress.
Alliance For IP Media Solutions Open Standards
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions
(AIMS) is an industry consortium led by broadcast and ProAV engineers, technologists, visionaries, vendors and business executives dedicated to an open-standards approach that moves broadcast and media companies quickly from legacy systems to a virtualized, IP-based environment.
AIMS' efforts build upon those of leading standards bodies such as the Video Services Forum (VSF), the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), the European Broadcast Union (EBU), the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and the Audio Engineering Society
(AES).
---> More about Alliance for IP Media Solutions Open
Standards.
First Watt F8 Stereo Solid-State Amplifier
The new First Watt F8 power amplifier ($4000) has been created as an updated version of the earlier J2 amplifier, as first introduced in 2009. Like all First Watt designs, it is a relatively low power output, which with the F8 is rated at 25 Watts per channel stereo into 8 Ohms. It employs a simple Class A circuit designed with an unusually low parts count. The company says "It is the 21st product from First Watt, since its founding in 1998 as Nelson Pass' 'personal
laboratory'."
---> More about First Watt's F8 solid-state amplifier.
Living Sounds Audio HP-3 Nova Headphones
Living Sounds Audio
(LSA) and Underwood HiFi have announced the new HP-3 Nova headphones ($599 including delivery worldwide) are made possible in collaboration with their friends at Kennerton Audio Equipment. The HP-3 is a thoroughly advanced design featuring a hybrid 50mm membrane made of Mylar that is powder coated with Graphene using a thermal bonding methodology. This headphone is Living Sounds Audio version of the world-renown Kennerton Magni.
---> More about LSA's HP-3 headphones.
McIntosh And Alps Alpine Teamed Up
McIntosh Group Inc. and Alps Alpine have teamed up to deliver transcendent audio systems to the automotive industry. The collaboration entails a technical alliance between Alps Alpine and McIntosh Group audio brands, McIntosh Laboratory, Inc. and Sonus faber for select vehicles. This will bring extensive knowledge and expertise from both companies to create an unparalleled listening experience for consumers. The outcome will be truly worthy of the McIntosh Laboratory and Sonus faber home listening
experience.
---> More about McIntosh and Alps Alpine.
Audio-Technica AT-ART9XI &
AT-ART9XA Phono Cartridges
Audio-Technica has just announced their AT-ART9XI and AT-ART9XA ($1290 each) dual moving coil (MC) stereo phono cartridges. These two high-performance models are designed to deliver extraordinary sound quality and performance for a moving coil phono cartridge and is
Audio-Technica's new flagship magnetic-core models. These new cartridges feature dual moving coils aligned in an inverted “V” shape, which provides 30dB channel separation, good imaging, and wide dynamic
contrasts.
---> More about Audio-Technica AT-ART9XI &
AT-ART9XA.
Psychoacoustic Engineering And Applications
A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417) features various papers concerning audio / hearing perception. Psychoacoustics is an important research field not only for understanding the fundamental mechanism of human auditory perception, but also for developing methods of capturing, processing, and measuring audio signals for practical applications. The present Special Issue aims to introduce the state-of-the-art of psychoacoustics engineering in various application areas and explore new directions of psychoacoustics research in the age of technological convergence and artificial
intelligence.
---> More about psychoacoustic engineering &
applications.
McIntosh C22 Vacuum Tube Pre Mk V And MC1502
Amp
McIntosh is proud to announce the C22 vacuum tube stereo preamplifier Mk V and MC1502 vacuum tube stereo amplifier ($6000 and $11,000 respectively). Their McIntosh C22 Mk V preamplifier uses one 12AT7 and five 12AX7A vacuum tubes, which can be seen through a glass panel located on the top of the unit. Knobs and rocker switches operate all control functions while modern LED lights indicate input selection and volume level. The C22 Mk V has two XLR balanced inputs, three unbalanced RCA inputs, one moving coil (MC) and one moving magnet (MM) phono inputs, for a total of seven
inputs.
---> More about McIntosh's C22 Mk V tube pre & MC1502
amp.
Mo-Fi Sounds Great On Your Hi-Fi
Celebrating 35 years of working with many talented engineers, designers, and visionaries.
Article By Shawn R. Britton
Senior Mastering Engineer At Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
Anniversaries
are an important thing. Ask the person who forgot their own wedding anniversary.
Chances are that they didn't forget it again the following year. Congratulations
to Enjoy the Music.com for 25 years of audio enthusiasm! My anniversary
at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab will be this August. I started 35 years ago. "You want to work for a record company?"
These two scruffy-looking cats eyed me earnestly. "We need some production guys
to make cassettes for us".
---> Read
more about Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs.
Reference Recordings
Since 1976, The Best Seat In The House
Always at the forefront of technical advances!
Article By Marcia Martin, Executive Director Of Reference Recordings
Reference Recordings was founded in 1976. Producer John
Tamblyn ("Tam") Henderson combined his love and knowledge of music with his
quest for "the sound of real musicians making music in real space," molding
Reference Recordings into one of the most innovative and respected independent
labels in the music business. His productions for RR are widely praised for
their dedication to high quality sound in the service of great music.
---> Read more
about Reference Recordings.
Tuning Systems, Overtones, And The Physics Of Music
What makes recording so special for me is the people.
Article By Cookie Marenco, Founder of Blue Coast Records
My career as a recording engineer started by accident. I had
been teaching classical piano and oboe since I was 14 years old. When I entered
college, I wanted to study film composing and jazz — neither of those were
offered in colleges back when I was in school. So, with 80 piano students,
taking tests to pass the first two years of music (which turned me into a
ceramics major), and playing in two improvisation ensembles, I dropped out of
school to pursue a career in music.
---> Read more about
Blue Coast Records.
Delivering A Glorious Musical Experience
A love of music and commitment drives everything we do at Impex.
Article By Abey Fonn, Founder Of Impex Records
In the
200 plus titles that Cisco Music and Impex Records released in the last
twenty-five years, I can confidently say all but a dozen-plus were cut using
original analog master tapes. Sometimes the recordings are not in great
condition, where baking the tapes plus lots of TLC cannot make it usable for
mastering. Some reels were not returned to the owner after a re-issue
production. Many more were lost to high-profile warehouse fires (a tragedy). The
scarcity of original sources is becoming more common in the audiophile industry.
---> Read more about Impex
Records.
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Audio Research Reference 160M
Amplifier
Another home run from Minnesota!
Review By
Rufus Smith
I was
reintroduced to Audio Research around two years ago when I had the opportunity
to review the outstanding LS28 / VT80 combination for Enjoy the Music.com. In
the past, I have found Audio Research's amplifiers to be very analytical but
somewhat sterile sounding. The ARC LS28 / VT80 still had all of the traditional ARC
sounds, but they now had developed some of the classic euphonic conrad-johnson
sounds. For me, this combination was heaven on earth. It was the best of both
worlds. I ended up buying the combination and have used it as part of my
reference system for the last three years.
--->
Read our review of the Audio Research Reference 160M amplifier.
AGD Andante Preamplifier
& Vivace Monoblocks
AGD's Andante and Vivace will transport you to the musical venue.
Review By
Rick Becker
It
is always an honor when a manufacturer asks me to review their product. It is,
after all, their 'baby'. They have poured their heart and soul into it. And
often times, the smaller the company, the more heart and soul is to be found
within. Such was the case with the AGD The Audion monoblocks to which I not only
gave a very positive review, but also bought as my new reference. The Gallium
Nitride Power MOSFETS in this Class D power amp were not only acoustically
outstanding, but the visual design of these diminutive monoblocks also spoke to
the tube-lover within me.
--->
Read our review of the AGD Andante Preamplifier And Vivace monoblocks.
PureAudioProject's Quintet 10
Open-Baffle Loudspeaker
Look ma, no boxes! I spent 100 days and nights with PureAudioProject's Quintet 10 open-baffle speakers — and found that they are sonic shape-shifters of the highest order.
Review By Rogier van Bakel
"Audiophile"
and "oenophile" don't just sound similar. The words have this in common
too: they describe a world where subjective judgments of quality must rule
without a chance of different opinions being resolved. After all, no one can
make valid generalizations about what the ideal power amplifier or the perfect
pair of speakers sound like — any more than a wine lover can claim with
universal authority that a bottle of 1979 La Mission Haut Brion is better than a
1988 Château Léoville Barton, or vice versa.
--->
Read our review of the PureAudioProject Quintet 10 speaker.
Nordost Valhalla 2 USB 2.0 Cable Review
Plus a quick test of Nordost's Heimdall 2 Ethernet
cable.
Review By Phil Gold
I've
had little use of high-end digital cables until quite recently. A long string of
CD Players from Denon, Meridian and several from EMM Labs were all one box
affairs – put a silver disc in slot A, take analog balanced output at the
other end. When I ultimately moved to an outboard DAC, the EMM Labs DV2, I used the proprietary EMM OptiLink
glass cable which provides galvanic isolation (electrical independence) from the
source, as does its USB input. But I was so impressed with the exaSound Delta Server I
reviewed recently that I bought one for myself.
--->
Read our review of the Nordost Valhalla 2 USB 2.0 cables.
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