High-End Audio Industry News

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02 / 28 / 11

  Jaton's new Operetta CD1000 CD player, RC2000 pre-amplifier, AP2300AX amplifier and REAL A3 a floorstanding three-way loudspeakers are all now available as a system. The new CD1000 CD player is not just another new product from Jaton and it presents the first time that Jaton is showing an entire system from source to speaker since we debuted the Operetta AP2140A amplifier at the year 2007. It took four years to complete the designing and manufacturing of the whole stereo system which included Operetta CD player, stereo preamplifier, stereo amplifier, and REAL Loudspeaker. The CD1000 series has three different models and will be retailed from $1900 to $3900 depending on configuration. The Operetta AP2300AX stereo amplifier is designed into a 300 Watts x 2 channels and it will be retailed at $5500. The Operetta RC2000 stereo pre-amplifier comes in two models. The RC2000P is a pure analog design and will be retailed at $1300. The RC2000S with the digital input and a controllable LFE sub-woofer signal output retails at $1500. Jaton's REAL A3 speaker is their three-way floor standing flagship speaker and retails at $12,000.

 

02 / 25 / 11

  HDtracks offers the legendary album Jazz At The Pawnshop in audiophile quality 88kHz/24-bit! To celebrate the 30th anniversary of one of the finest jazz audiophile albums ever made, Jazz At The Pawnshop has been transferred to high resolution digital music download. Originally recorded in Stockholm in December 1976 by famed recording engineer Gert Palmcrantz, Jazz At The Pawnshop featured revolutionary audio recording techniques and jazz improvisation at its very best. The group, performing in the Pawnshop jazz club, was led by alto saxophone player Arne Domnérus, who was once described by Charlie Parker as "a very good player, almost as good as me." Pianist Bengt Hallberg had impressed Stan Getz when moving through the strangest of keys without any effort, and the rhythm section of bass player Georg Riedel and drummer Egil Johansen was the greatest in Sweden at the time. Also available on HDtracks is the legendary album Ella And Louis that features Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Two of the most influential and popular voices in modern music, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong form a jazz dream team on Ella and Louis. A once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece, their distinctive vocals meld seamlessly together along with Armstrong's exceptional trumpet playing. This recording has become the touchstone and template for jazz vocal duets. Features the excellent quartet of Oscar Peterson (piano), Buddy Rich (drums), Herb Ellis (guitar) and Ray Brown (bass).

 

02 / 24 / 11

  CA Electronics, a Netherlands based company that produces high-end yet affordable audio/video products, is offering a new Ceramic LP Puck Heavy Weight. The CA Ceramic LP Puck will prevent resonances from the turntable traveling to your cartridge. The Heavy weight LP Puck will also push the record towards the turntable platter, so the record is stabilized and flattened. All CA Isolators are hand crafted and hand polished in The Netherlands. They are made of specially chosen and improved ceramic material which is smooth on the outside but very irregular structured on the inside. Vibrations in the whole frequency range are transferred in heat. Each unit weighs 510 grams, stands 59 mm high and has a cross-section bottom of 72 mm and cross-section top of 80 mm. A bushing at the bottom ensures a good fit and keeps the ceramic protected. CA Electronics also offers CA Isolators, made out of irregular shaped ceramic material, that are designed for optimal damping of your equipment. In addition, the CA Damping Plate is a large flat surface that is very effective in resonance control and shields your equipment against RFI.

 

Kimber Kable, a longstanding authority and leading-edge company in the design and manufacturer of cables, is now shipping their Select KS-6000 range of high performance loudspeaker cables. The three all-new cables, KS-6063, KS-6065 and KS-6068 build on the success of the existing KS-3000 series, and combining Kimber's tried and tested VariStrand conductors in a woven multi-layer matrix geometry, with solid core conductors, bring together the performance benefits of multi-strand and solid cored cables. The KS-6063 features VariStrand copper and solid core copper with a X38R central core and pigment free dielectric. KS-6065 adds silver cable to both the VariStrand and solid cores in a 2:1 copper to silver ratio. The range topping KS-6068 utilizes silver cable throughout. All are fitted with WBT nextgen connectors, the KS-6068 featuring the silver versions.

 

02 / 23 / 11

  Opera Audio, an award winning China based company that was toured (seen here) by Enjoy the Music.com's editor Steven R. Rochlin, has finally released the production version of their Linear1 preamplifier. Featuring silver wiring, true balance inputs and outputs utilizing two 101D triodes, there is no global negative feedback. This unit is constructed using high quality Swedish manufactured Lundahl input and output transformers, 6SL7 tube for rectification and a pair of 2A3 tubes. Other internal parts include special silicon steel EI type power transformers and choke with large Solen MKP metalized polypropylene filtering capacitor to obtain the widest possible frequency response. The Opera Audio Linear1 includes a full function remote control, while on the rear appear four RCA unbalanced inputs, two RCA unbalanced output, plus balanced XLR input an output. Frequency response is from 5 Hz to 60 kHz (-1dB), SNR is 90dB and the unit weighs 55 lbs.

 

JBL, a Harmon International Industries owned company, is shipping their Studio series of home speakers. The Studio 190 floorstanding speaker employs performance-proven technologies and advanced materials to "deliver the dynamic range, tonal accuracy and spatial transparency that have long been hallmarks of JBL products." The JBL Studio 190 ($449 each) is a 3.5-way dual floorstanding loudspeaker featuring dual woofers and midrange drivers with two 6.5-inch- PolyPlas cones, 4" midrange driver and CMMD Lite 1-inch tweeter domes with proprietary Bi-Radial waveguides. The tower configuration places midrange and HF transducers at ear level. Dual gold-plated binding posts with bi-amp/bi-wire capability increase connection options. Available finishes is silver-tinted black vinyl. The smaller Studio 180 floorstander ($349 each) is a three-way with one 6.5-inch PolyPlas cone and the same midrange and tweeter as the Studio 190. Pictured here is the new JBL Studio 130 bookshelf ($299 each) two-way with 4-inch midrange/bass unit and 1-inch tweeter. A rear-facing port increases output and extends bass response. Gold-plated binding posts appear on the rear of the unit as well. If you need a powered subwoofer, the JBL Studio 150P ($399 each) includes a 300-watt amplifier that drives the 10-inch speaker.

 

02 / 22 / 11

  Enjoy the Music.com has just posted a world premiere of Hi-Fi World's Volume 21 Number 2 (April 2011) edition including the complete editorial and table of contents. This issue includes reviews of the Luxman D-05 SACD player, the iXTremer iPad gadget, Cowan X7 portable digital music player, Electrocompaniet PD 1/EMS-1 DAC/RF music streamer, Audio research DSi200 Class D integrated amplifier, Quadral Platinum M4 50 floorstanding speakers, KEF Q100 standmounters... The editorial titled Brave New World Of Digital by David Price says, "Is it me, or are events unfolding twice as fast in the brave new world of digital, all of a sudden? Vinyl fans see a steady progression of new decks, the occasional nice new tonearm or the odd interesting cartridge turning up. But if you're a digital man or woman, all of a sudden you're being assaulted with a vast range of new kit, some of which is quite intriguing...". See the complete April table of contents and editorial of Hi-Fi World by clicking here.

 

Cavalli Audio, a United States based company that manufacturers high-end audiophile amplification, will be shipping their new Liquid Fire headphone amplifier ($2750) in May. The unit is a fully DC coupled hybrid design with no capacitors in the signal path. Vacuum tubes provide the voltage gain while transistors and MOSFETs are for the power output. There are separate HV and LV regulated rails for the tubes and transistors and tube compliment is a JJ Tesla 6922 for the differential amplifier input stage and another 6922 for the voltage gain stage with yet another 6922 as current source. The MOSFET output stage is based at 100mA so that it operates in Class A most of the time. Power output for the Cavalli Audio Liquid Fire headphone amplifier is 3 watts into 32 Ohms and 650mW into 300 Ohms. Frequency response is said to be from 1Hz to over 1MHz (-1dB). The front panel had two 1/4-inch headphone jacks.

 

02 / 21 / 11

  Combak, a longstanding specialist in high-end audio electronics, cables and accessories, is now selling the Reimyo CAT-777MK-II preamplifier (€18,400). Combak Corporation's CAT-777MKII is the second generation and upgraded model over previous CAT-777 and is now become available worldwide. Designed in combination with the company's unique technology in addition to traditional Harmonix resonance control technology by using selected materials, inside the unit are custom made parts such as condenser, transformers and internal wires. With zero overall negative feedback, this unit uses a pair of 12AU7 for buffer, two 12AU7 for rectification and two 6X4WA within the power supply. The power supply circuit is separate for the right and left channels; including the heater power supply that is regulated. Custom made ultra low-impedance wires ensure superior signal transmission and resistors are carefully selected high quality and are of the non-magnetic carbon variety. Custom made high quality RCA terminals, a thick and highly rigid aluminum chassis with 10mm thick front panel are just some of this model's features. There are four inputs (phono with no RIAA stage, CD, tuner and line). Outputs are via three stereo pairs of RCA terminals. Overall preamplification gain is 17dB, frequency response is from 5 Hz to 200 kHz with a SNR level of 86dB and cross talk better than 100dB.

 

Electrocompaniet, a company with 37 years of quality Hi-Fi products from Norway, new PD-1 DAC ( £1250) includes USB input plus both coax and TosLink S/PDIF inputs. User's PC/Mac can be connected to the USB port and with the remote control you can start/stop media and jump to the next/previous song. Those seeking to avoid cables or want to hide the unit, an optional Music Streamer connects to the USB port of a computer allows for wireless music steams music to the PD 1 via its own built-in wireless network. The PD-1 stereo unit can handle 192kHz/24-bit data, has an low noise floor of <140 dB and overall frequency response from 1 Hz to 48 kHz. Outputs include balanced via XLR and unbalanced via RCA.

 

Audio Exklusiv P 112 (€4999) stereo hybrid integrated amplifier was built with the idea that more parts or devices will not automatically mean a better sound. Less is often more and they choose to construct the power supply with more extensive and oversized parts. All parts and internal wiring have been determined after extensive listening sessions. The chassis has also been optimized mechanically with resonance absorbing measures. The P 112 is a stereo hybrid integrated amplifier and uses one E88CC / 6N6 per channel. These tubes are absolutely selected in order to reach the best possible channel balancing and noise and distortion values. The P 112 is completely dual mono that even includes two 500 W transformers. Each channel works absolutely self-governed and is consequently not influenced by the other. The circuit is a three-step hybrid concept as the company feels that tubes are excellent for voltage supply and transistors for the current supply. The power supply is built with a RC filter. Input switching is via a gas-filled unit that uses reed relays. The only remaining mechanical contact is the volume potentiometer. Output power is 120 WPC stereo, there are four stereo inputs, frequency response is from 10 Hz to 110 kHz (-3dB) and SNR is -90 dB.

 

Artisan Silver Cables, a company based in England that believes pure solid slow-drawn silver is the best way for signal transfer, has announced their new Silver Dream USB cable (£99 for 0.5-meter and £139 for 1-meter length). With the new breed of computer audiophile seeking to extract the best possible sound from digital audio files on their computers, the external USB DACs nee a cable for connection. Due to this fact, a high quality pure silver USB cable may be desirable and the Silver Dream USB cable fills this need as the company feels "it can make a big difference (there are those who claim that it can't possibly make much difference, but those folks have obviously not tried it!)". Each USB cable uses four individual pure silver conductors, arranged in a four-way braid, each individually insulated in oversized Teflon tubing. Each USB cable includes a 30-day 100% money back guarantee.

 

02 / 18 / 11

  HDtracks is now offering Diana Krall's 2009 recording Quiet Nights in 96kHz/24-bit uses Brazil as a musical point of reference. From Krall’s refreshing version of "Where or When," to an utterly soul-stilling rendition of "You're My Thrill," the ten songs on Quiet Nights are disarming in their intimacy. Even those already familiar with the breathy vocals and rhythmic lilt in Krall's music -- and now there are millions -- will be taken aback by just how far the music pushes, unabashedly, into the realm of sweet surrender. It is a sensual, downright erotic record and it's intended to be that way. Also now available on HDtracks is TrondheimSolistene in 192kHz/24-bit that is so amazing it was nominated for two 2010 Grammy Awards. This brilliant chamber orchestra recording explores the folk-informed music of Edvard Grieg. With stellar, impassioned playing and recording quality, this album is highly recommended. You can check out other HDtracks offerings by clicking here.

 

Aperion Audio, a multi-award winning loudspeaker company that sells direct to customers, has just unwrapped their new Aperion Verus Forte line of home speakers. The new Verus Forte delivers the immersive, true-to-life experience and sleek looks of the acclaimed Verus Grand series -- but its petite stature and slender curves remind you this is the powerful younger sibling. The ASR tweeter plays a key innovation for the Verus Forte line. By combining the ASR and a woofer in a single space-saving package, the Verus Forte optimizes on- and off-axis performance in the smallest size possible. Features of the Aperion Verus Forte Tower include it being a 3-way, ported, curved cabinet design. Driver compliment consist of a 1-inch Aperion Axially Stabilized Radiator silk dome tweeter, a 4.25-inch woven Kevlar midrange driver with aluminum phase plugs plus a pair of 4.25-inch woven Kevlar woofers with butyl rubber surrounds. These speakers are bi-amp/wirable via 5-way gold-plated binding posts. Furniture-grade gloss real cherry-wood veneer or gloss piano black finish are available. The anti-resonant MDF cabinet has internal bracing to reduce unwanted vibrations. Frequency response is from 53 Hz to 20 kHz (-3dB), nominal impedance is 6 Ohms and sensitivity is 90dB/W/m. Pricing is $990 per pair for the Verus Forte Tower; $350 for the Verus Forte Center; and $350 per pair for the Verus Forte Bookshelf. All Verus Forte models come with a 10-year limited warranty that covers all defects in material and workmanship.

 

Music Industry News 10 Years Ago
While recent products have focused on home theater, Krell is now shipping their KAV-300iL integrated amplifier and soon shipping their new KAV-280cd CD player. The KAV-300iL (top) is said to offer audiophiles a high level of sound quality combined with ease of operation. With a power output of 200 wpc into 8 ohms and doubling to 400 wpc into 4 ohms, the high quality amplifier section includes Krell's proprietary Krell output and driver transistors to achieve high current capabilities. The pre-amplification section is operated in "Class A" for utmost fidelity. The KAV-280cd CD player (bottom) also uses "Class A" operation in the analog section while the digital bits are decoded with an 8x DSP-based processor. A total of four individual 24-bit DAC sections are employed to provide wide dynamic range, fast conversion and low noise. The unit can also read CD-Rom and CD-RW discs, plays normal CD and HDCD discs and includes a wireless remote control.

 

02 / 17 / 11

  At the 2010 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest editor of Enjoy the Music.com, Steven R. Rochlin, moderated a seminar titled Snake Pit - Wires And Cables Explained. Longstanding experts in the field of cables, including analog audio, digital audio, loudspeaker and power, were panel members. These members included Joe Skubinski of JPS Labs, Bruce Brisson of MIT Cables, Chris Owen of Clarity Cables, and Ray Kimber of Kimber Kables. The video of this seminar is now available online at this link. In 2009 Steven R. Rochlin held a seminar called Audio 101 & Tweaks (seen here) and in 2008 a seminar called Music Everywhere (seen here).

As a side note: To help avoid the many e-mails concerning Steven R. Rochlin's illuminating EQ t-shirt, it is called the Tqualizer and is available at this link. Steven has zero affiliation with the company other than during the show the enquiries about his t-shirt were tremendous in quantity.

 

Channel D, a multi-award winning company that specializes in computer digital audio software for Apple Macintosh computers, now offers their Mac the Scope version 4.28. Mac the Scope is a multifunction signal analyzer of professional quality that carefully analyzes signals, includes a vector trace oscilloscope and 1/3 octave RTA. Also included is a spectrogram / sonogram display and a versatile, easy to use, precision waveform and signal generator. The software uses the native Macintosh sound input capabilities or third party I/O device support (via Apple CoreAudio). The sound output port may simultaneously be used for test signal generation ("full duplex") with Waavebox. Offline file analysis consists of arbitrary sample rates (up to 2 GHz), 8 / 16 / 20 / 24 / 32 bits per sample, arbitrary number of channels, AIFF and Sound Designer II file support. Mac the Scope is compatible with Mac OS X 10.2.6 and later (including Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard), G3, G4, G5, Intel processor and uses Macintosh native (16 / 24-bit) input and output for audio frequency analysis. As this is customizable software, users only need to license what they need.

 

02 / 16 / 11

  According to CE Pro, a leading trade publication for professionals involved in the custom consumer electronics business, their annual CE Pro 2011 State of the Industry report shows sales increase for 2010. Based upon the CE Pro 2010 Reader Survey and the CE Pro 2010 Profitability Survey, the average custom electronic installer rebounded with a 6.5% increase in gross earnings in 2010, after two years of declines (-9.1% in 2008 and a devastating -51% in 2009). In addition, integrators are optimistic about 2011, foreseeing revenue gains of 9.5% and profit increases of 8.9%.

 

IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), an organization that represents the recording industry worldwide with some 1400 members in 66 countries and affiliated industry associations in 45 countries, has publishes their Digital Music Report 2011. Digital music revenues are up 6% to $4.6 billion in 2010, with 400+ licensed music services. There are 13 million tracks licensed by record companies to digital music services, with the proportion of record companies' global revenues from digital channels being 29%. A staggering 1000%+ increase in the value of the digital music market from 2004 to 2010. A healthy 16.5% of internet users have purchased digital music in the United States. Of note is that action to stop digital music piracy is gaining momentum worldwide, with implementation by ISPs of warnings and deterrent sanctions taking effect in three countries in 2010 and governments in other countries expected to implement measures in 2011. Digital channels now account for 29 per cent of global music industry revenues, up from 25 per cent in 2009. Growth in 2010 was particularly strong in Europe (up nearly 20%), while sales of digital albums rose strongly in major markets (up 29% in the UK, 43% in France and 13% in the US). Subscription services enjoyed success in 2010, with Spotify reporting more than 750,000 paying subscribers and Vodafone Music more than 600,000 customers across 8 markets in Europe. Deezer has achieved significant reach in France where it is used by 13% of active internet users. In Europe, record companies have struck a range of subscription deals with ISPs and mobile operators including Eircom (Ireland), Far EasTone Communications (Taiwan), FASTWEB (Italy), SK Telecom (South Korea), TDC (Denmark), Telenor (Norway), Telia (Sweden) and Vodafone (Europe). Consumers today can access more than 13 million tracks from more than 400 legal music services worldwide. New partnerships with ISPs and mobile operators are vital to the music industry's digital strategy. A report by Ovum in 2010 estimated that ISPs could achieve more than £100 million in additional annual revenue by 2013 by running music services. Informa Telecoms and Media estimated that large mobile operators in Europe could realize up to €80 million each in the first year of a partnership with established music streaming services. You can read a copy of this report at this link.

 

02 / 15 / 11

  Enjoy the Music.com just published our February midmonth audiophile Review Magazine update.

Midmonth Update Includes:
VALVE Magazine
Dinkin' Around
Tech tips and other unsolicited advice.
From VALVE Volume 2 Number 6 June 1995

Sound Practices Magazine
The Single 300B Amplifier A model 91 for 1992
Article By Joe Roberts

Industry Articles
HIGH END 2011
Quality Has Its Price
"Cheap" is not the same as "value for money".

Factory Tour
Orange Country California Speaker Repair
Article By Jeff Poth

Show Report
CES 2011 / T.H.E. Show
Report of the International Consumer Electronic event
and The Home Entertainment Show.
Coverage By Phil Gold

See the February midmonth update of the Review Magazine by clicking here.

 

02 / 14 / 11

  CasaTunes, a specialist in multi-room audio software and hardware solutions for Microsoft Windows Media Center and networked PC environments, high capacity XLe Music Server ($3229) is now shipping. The CasaTunes XLe allows users to switch 9 sources of music and play it in 12 to 48 rooms. The CasaTunes XLe is an advanced multi-room audio solution that is reliable, expandable, cost effective and developed to be plug and play compatible with PC's, including Media Center PC's and Extenders. The CasaTunes XLe supports 5 internal sources of music where you are able to play both Microsoft Windows and iTunes Plus music, playing music from a docked iPod, iPod Touch or iPhone, and through our partnership with SHOUTcast Internet Radio, thousands of free Internet radio stations from DJs and broadcasters around the world. There is also the capability to add 4 more sources of external music ranging from XM/Sirius radio to CD players. CasaTunes' cross-browser graphical interface provides home owners a simple interface for selecting and controlling their music, using multiple wired or wireless browser-based devices, using Media Center displays and extenders and using our soon-to-be introduced CasaTunes keypads, throughout the home. The CasaTunes system can grow with your needs albiet additional rooms, control devices, amplification, or keypads. The unit can come with a large hard drive for internal storage plus can use external drives including NAS, plus the units can include a 52-in1 Memory Card reader. External sources can come from an AM/FM Tuner, XM or Sirius satellite radio or multiple other external sources. The internal processor is an AMD Athlon II X2 (2.9GHz) and has 2GB RAM. The optical d is a slim 8X DVD+/-RW, memory card reader is for CF, SD, MMC, SM, and Memory Stick while networking is via 10/100/1000 Mb/s. On-board audio connectors include 7.1-channel analog audio, Line In, MIC In, and S/PDIF digital audio output on the rear plus Headphone Out and MIC In on front. Video output is via VGA, PCI, and HDMI. Other connectors include eSata, PS-2 connectors for keyboard and mouse, 4 USB ports and FireWire on back, 2 USB ports and FireWire on front.

 

Genesis Advanced Technologies, a longstanding manufacturer of high-end luxury loudspeaker and amplifier systems, announced the Genesis 2.2 Junior line-source floor-standing tower loudspeaker system ($49,000). The Genesis 2jr incorporates a single 48-inch ribbon midrange and twelve 1-inch ring-ribbon tweeters mounted on a solid 1.5-inch thick cast acrylic baffle. It also includes two 12-inch independently servo-controlled woofers per channel. The two woofers each incorporate its own accelerometer and 600W amplifier. Three additional 1-inch rear-firing ring-ribbon tweeters complete the dipole. All transducers must have low distortion and must move as fast as the input signal demands. Genesis designs all its own transducers, so that all drivers speak with the same voice. This results in a harmonic balance between all frequencies that is difficult if not impossible to achieve otherwise. The cabinet is finished in high gloss acrylic black. "This is a gap-filler model that has been highly anticipated by our customers and dealers alike," said Mr. Gary Leonard Koh, President and CEO of Genesis. "Many of our customers and dealers do not have a large enough room for the Genesis 2.2 four-tower line source system, but want the advantages of a line source. Hence, we integrated a pair of side-firing 12" woofers with the midrange-tweeter wings of the G2.2 and created Junior."

 

Music Industry News 10 Years Ago
Manley Laboratories and George Massenburg's GML have announced an alliance where GML will close its current manufacturing facility in Van Nuys California in favor of their new location within the Manly Laboratories facility in Chino California. GML units will be built alongside the award winning Manley and Langevin products currently manufactured at Manley Labs. GML Production Manager Manny Sanchez will supervise the operations. George Massenburg said "I have admired EveAnna Manley's production capability for a long time, but even then I was impressed when I saw her factory for the first time last year. Like the best manufacturers I know, they do just about everything in-house. Metalwork, silk-screening, engraving, printed circuit board manufacture, hand and wave soldering, transformer winding, assembly, all with meticulous quality control. Her team of 40 is highly experienced and efficient. I thought, Why should I be tearing my hair out trying to duplicate this? We should just team up." "Building the GML outboard gear will be a piece of cake for us as George's manufacturing methods and philosophies are already so much like ours." said CEO of Manley Labs Eveanna Manley. "We already share numerous high-quality component vendors, and even specific parts. GML is the high-end solid-state equivalent to our Manley high-end vacuum tube gear. It fits perfectly. But it's the opportunity to work with George that is really exciting for us."

 

02 / 11 / 11

  HDtracks, founded by David and Norman Chesky of the audiophile-record label Chesky Records as a service offering a diverse catalog of independent music from around the world in high resolution digital downloads, now has Chick Corea and Gary Burton's album Like Minds. As the winner of the 1998 Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, this spectacular album features vibraphonist Gary Burton. As the first recording that also encounters pianist Chick Corea and guitarist Pat Metheny, they are joined by an impeccable rhythm section staffed by bassist Dave Holland and drum legend Roy Haynes. Like Minds, the resulting album, ranks among these musicians best work, with the kind of soul-deep communication that is often expected but so rarely occurs on all-star sessions.

 

Also Available from HDtracks is the legendary album Gaucho by Steely Dan in high resolution digital music download. A true audiophile masterpiece, the seventh release by Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Steely Dan found the band accompanied by some of the best musicians on the planet, including the Brecker brothers, Mark Knopfler, David Sanborn, Larry Carlton, Steve Gadd, and countless others. A massive commercial success, the album was certified platinum with the single “Hey Nineteen” shooting to #10 on the U.S. Pop Singles charts. Steely Dan was famous for its meticulous recording process and pioneering production — Gaucho won the 1981 Grammy for “Best Engineered Recording, Non Classical” — and hearing this album in 96kHz/24bit brings out every intended nuance.

 

02 / 10 / 11

  Enjoy the Music.com has just posted Hi-Fi World's Volume 21 Number 1 (March 2011) edition including the complete editorial and table of contents. This issue includes a preamplifier supertest of two passive, two valve and two transistor preamplifiers. other reviews include the Creek OBH-22, Prima Luna prologue 3, Spendor A9 speaker, Canton reference 9.2DC, Tannoy Revolution DC4, Cayin CD-50T CD player and much more.. The editorial titled Keeping It Simply by David Price says, "Any hobbyist who's experimented with making their own loudspeakers will tell you that getting the basics right is vital for superior sound. Keeping it simple with a couple of high quality drive units, rather than making a big box full of transducers with complex crossovers often yields the best results. In this sense, it's fair to say that 'less is more'...". See the complete March table of contents and editorial of Hi-Fi World by clicking here.

 

Red Wine Audio, a leading manufacturer of battery-powered stereo hi-fi components for discriminating audiophiles since 2005, is offering their Ginevra LFP-V edition phonostage ($3000). The company feels that, "No media holds more potential to convey emotion than vinyl. And when it comes to building an emotional connection between you and the original performance, Red Wine Audio’s Ginevra LFP-V Edition Phonostage sets a new standard." Features of the Ginevra LFP-V edition phonostage include battery technology (LFP) that boasts numerous sonic and technical advantages over all other power supplies. The vacuum tube output stage, fully discrete Class-A FET gain stages, switchable MM / MC inputs and adjustable MC load settings including resistor sockets for custom load installation round out this design. Inside the chassis are premium components and short signal paths to ensure high signal integrity. Standard tube is the 6922/E88CC dual triode yet other accepted tubes include the 6DJ8/ECC88, 7308/E188CC, 7DJ8/PCC88, 6N23, 6H23, 6N11 and 6GM8. MM gain is 40dB and load is 47k. The adjustable MC gain includes 60dB (75, 82, 90, 100, 350, 500, 1k, 10k and custom load sockets to meet any loading requirement). Output impedance is less than 100 Ohms an the passive RIAA filter is between two discrete Class-A FET gain stages. Red Wine Audio includes their 25.6V LiFePO4 battery pack and 30V @ 2A LiFePO4 battery charger that may be used with power sockets from 100V to 240V AC @ 50/60Hz. Typical continuous play time in battery mode between full charges is approximately 8 hours. Dimensions are 12 x 9 x 3.5 (WxDxH in inches) and the unit weighs 14 lbs including charger.

 

02 / 09 / 11

  TuneAudio, a company based in Greece that has many years of experience within the high-end audio industry, has presented their new Marvel high sensitivity floorstanding speakers that are a two-way horn-loaded design. The Marvel is compact enough to house a back loaded bass horn driven by a wide range 8" driver. The bass horn fires to the floor and the cabinet itself is build of top quality Baltic birch plywood. Midrange frequencies are radiated directly by the cone while high frequencies are handled by TuneAudio's proprietary epoxy compound Tractrix horn. Marvel's 2500 Hz crossover is 1st order and located on the bottom of the bass horn and located well away from driver's magnetic fields. The centrally-located midrange driver and offset tweeter horn is mirror-imaged for each channel for uniform and precise imaging. The carefully crafted dark wood of the multi-angled cabinet is highlighted by the white custom horn for the tweeter unit. All components are hardwired for best contact. Internal wire is custom made of high purity OFC copper with waxed cotton insulation. Brass bracing parts with felt acoustic isolation are used to minimize vibrations transfer on contacts of the different horns. System sensitivity is a high 97dB/W/m, they present an 8 Ohm load Recommended placement is near wall or room corner to aid in bass response. Dimensions are 149 x 32 x 56 (HxWxD in cm) and each unit weighs 42 kg. Recommended power is a minimum of 5 watts and users can choose to use solid-state or vacuum tube amplification.

 

Bergmann Audio, a Danish manufacturer specializing in airbearing turntables and linear tracking airbearing tonearms, has their new Magne high-end entry-level audiophile turntable powered by airbearing technology. The airbearing process, of which Bergmann is an innovator, is frictionless, minimizing bearing noise and yielding exceptional stability. It is claimed to "yields emotionally engaging musical reproduction that transmits a vivid and transparent acoustic image." The Magne also includes a linear tracking airbearing tonearm; a silent, dry and smooth air supply; an external power supply, and a heavy clamp to stabilize records. In Danish, Magne means strength, and is also the name of the super-strong infant son of Thor, the god of thunder in Norse mythology. The Magne's plinth/base is a solid block of fiberboard topped by an 18.5-pound aluminum platter, a 3.7-pound aluminum subplatter, and a polycarbonate mat that all rest on three sturdy adjustable feet. Bergmann Audio also has their Sleipner airbearing turntable with airbearing tonearm. The Sleipner is a reference-level turntable powered by airbearing technology. It includes a linear tracking airbearing tonearm, a digital-controlled brushless DC motor, airsupply and a vacuum hold down to stabilize records. In Danish, Sleipner means smooth or gliding, and refers to what is sometimes called the best of all horses, the eight-legged flying stallion ridden by Odin, chief among the mythological Nordic gods. The Sleipner's plinth/base is a six-layer sandwich of different materials for optimal resonance control. The sandwich consists of three boards of powdered granite/epoxy binding material, two layers of aluminum, and one layer of bitumen, all covered in a 12-mm thick coat of hand-painted and polished polyvinyl. The plinth stabilizes the tonearm, and rests on a set of sturdy, adjustable Ceraball feet, which house vibration-controlling ceramic ball bearings inside aluminum housings. A 20.2-pound aluminum platter rests atop the plinth, and atop a 21-mm record mat made of two layers of polycarbonate and one layer of acrylic.

 

02 / 08 / 11

  Enjoy the Music.com is making some changes! After business meetings and seeking ways to make it easier for you, our loyal readers, to find content, the Superior Audio and DIY Audio sections will now be part of the Review Magazine is making some changes! After some business meetings and seeking ways to make it easier for you, our loyal readers, to find content, the Superior Audio and DIY Audio sections will now be part of the Review Magazine. Each month the Review Magazine may be augmented with reviews and articles that would have appeared within the other sections. This way you need not have to look at three places to read all our new reviews, as they will all be located inside our longstanding and critically acclaimed Review Magazine. These changes have now been implemented so you can see the most recent reviews of all three magazines within the Review Magazine's homepage right now. We hope you enjoy the newfound ease of finding all our reviews. Also note that the Review Magazine's archives now contain links to the archived reviews of the DIY Audio and Superior Audio magazine too. This way you can easily find the many hundreds of products that have been covered all at one article archive link. As always, in the end what really matters is that you enjoy the music!

 

 

Enjoy the Music.com's CES 2011 coverage and T.H.E. Show event report by longstanding audiophile authority Phil Gold is now online! Join Phil as he traveled to Las Vegas and shores his thoughts on the many products at these events. His experience unveils some very interesting audiophile products and how they can bring you closer to the music! Phil also takes in some fun that can be found in Sin City. Phil's report spans three web pages and feature a wide variety of photos that are not to be missed! To see Phil Gold's CES / T.H.E. Show report click here.

 

AXPONA (Audio Expo North America), as proudly supported by Enjoy the Music.com, is an audiophile show open to the public and scheduled to be held at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel from April 14th through 17th. AXPONA brings together listeners and consumers, dealers and manufacturers, and marketers and distributors dedicated to the faithful reproduction of music. Goldmine joins Stereophile magazine as an AXPONA sponsor, whilst Enjoy the Music.com proudly supports this event. This event's mission is to further the faithful reproduction of music. Its outreach, by education and demonstration, is dedicated to the proposition that living with music is different and better than living without music. The organizers hope this exciting exhibition will demonstrate state-of-the-art audio equipment to many people from around the world. A series of seminars with subjects that include traditional reproduction technology and techniques plus emerging digital recording and playback methods will be held. Enjoy the Music.com's editor will be at this event reporting live plus holding a seminar to educate attendees on the many facets of music and high-end audio equipment. Our AXPONA 2011 show coverage will be appearing live during the event.

 

Enjoy the Music.com has just posted the February edition of Hi-Fi+ (Issue 77)! This issue includes reviews of the Triangle Color loudspeaker, Stormaudio V35 Vertigo integrated amplifier, Marten Heritage Getz floorstander, Dartzeel NHB-458 monoblocks, Naim Audio Unitiqute integrated media unit, Consonance CD2.2 Linear MK2 CD player and much more. Within Alan Sircom's editorial he writes, "As the last issue was being printed, we learned of the sad passing of Tom Fletcher, after a long illness. Best known for the Nottingham Analogue range of turntables and tonearms, Tom's friendly, modest, no-nonsense demeanour and his idiosyncratic - yet utterly successful - approach to turntable design came to epitomise all that can be considered best about the last 30 years of UK audio; well-made products at comparatively reasonable prices, that don't fall prey to six-monthly redesigns and that keep on going for years and years." You can see the complete table of contents and editorial of Hi-Fi+ by clicking here.

 

01 / 18 / 11

   After well over 15 years online, with nearly 12 years of industry news that far and away eclipses any other audiophile website, Enjoy the Music.com will be on a much needed holiday until February 7th. This time off will be used to refresh, rethink and come back with new ideas plus many more reviews and show reports during 2011. This coming year we have many items already planned plus are the only website to have partnered with all the major American high-end shows including AXPONA and T.H.E. Show Newport Beach. My deepest thanks for your understanding as this is the first time after 15 years that this site will be on holiday. Please note we are seeking talented reviewers during our upcoming planned changes (e-mail us for details). For those who have enjoyed our free content over these many years and want to show their appreciation, we do accept donations via PayPal.

 

01 / 17 / 11

  Enjoy the Music.com just published our January midmonth audiophile Review Magazine update.

Midmonth Update Includes:
VALVE Magazine
Rare Birds
Listening impressions of some collectible equipment.

Sound Practices
What About Horns
Article By Greg Boynton

CES 2011 Product Reports Including T.H.E. Show
Report of the International Consumer Electronic event and The Home Entertainment Show.

See the January midmonth update of the Review Magazine by clicking here.

 

McIntosh Laboratory, a longstanding home audio manufacturer for over 60 years, just debuted their new MC601 monoblock amplifier. The new MC601 replaces McIntosh's popular MC501 amplifier and joins the company's new MC302 and MC452. Distinguished by its rock-solid, new larger sized chassis of mirror polished stainless steel, the MC601 features the premium cosmetic design that has always distinguished McIntosh components, including a backlit glass faceplate. The newly designed 8-inch wide True Wattmeter, featuring elegant "McIntosh Blue" LED lighting, is a special larger size last used by McIntosh on its acclaimed MC1000 amplifier. The MC601's custom machined and anodized aluminum trim handles complete the iconic McIntosh look and styling. Among its many leading edge feature capabilities is Power Guard, a McIntosh circuit innovation that maximizes sound quality at high power levels. Additionally, the unit's advanced "Sentry Monitor" feature provides continuous short circuit protection of the amplifier and connected loudspeakers. In addition to its higher power rating of 600 watts, the MC601 features Thermal Track output transistors that allow for cooler, more efficient operation. Other new features are specially designed speaker binding posts, Quad Balanced circuit design for highest audio performance, and input and output jacks that allow bi or tri-amping with multiple MC601s. The MC601 delivers power into speaker loads of 2, 4, or 8 Ohms.

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