RWL-3 review by Affordable Audio

Transcription

THE
E-ZINE
FOR
FRUGAL
AUDIO
ENTHUSIASTS
Affordable$$Audio
Issue Number 35: November 2008
Affordable$$Audio - Harmony
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Refreshing Your Playlist
By Mark Marcantonio
[email protected]
I used to be one of those music fans who kept all my albums, then cd’s in alphabetical order in order to easily access
whatever I was in the mood to listen to. But when I started Affordable$$Audio a funny thing happened, my organized
collection began to morph into a scattering of piles, rows and other strange forms. At first, I blamed it on the nature of
reviewing, and to a point there is plenty of merit to that viewpoint. But after contemplating the issue I began to realize
the effects of the shuffle play feature on my iPod as the true foundation for the amoeba-like state that made up my collection.
Nineteen out of twenty days in my classroom my iPod is set on shuffle play. The students don’t seem to mind as since
they are working on their computers the song flies by rather rapidly if they don’t care for it. For me, I’ve noticed that in
using the shuffle feature I’ve become much more aware of passages in certain songs that I want to try with certain
equipment. Therefore, I’m much more likely to go thru thirty some-odd discs for each review, whereas it used to be
closer to ten. This shuffle mentality has helped me to rediscover some terrific music, especially the non-hits on cds
that in reality, turn out to be the best songs in many cases.
For those of you who eschew digital storage realm of music, with the indoor seasons upon us, I highly recommend
changing the storage order of you music. In doing so you’ll be setting yourself up for a shuffle play of your own devising. I know you’ll be presently surprised by the tracks you’ll rediscover in the process.
RMAF
This year Affordable$$Audio finally had a writer attend arguably the best audio event, the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest
in Denver. Our own Sean Fowler was able to escape his employment with the help of a single lifestyle and experience the wonders of audio. As most attendees will tell you, the first year is all about learning how to experience as
much as possible, and what to skim over. In speaking with Sean afterwards, one of his highlights was working with a
friend on the manufacturing end some different keys to getting the most out of a room setup. As many visitors will attest, some room just weren’t set up to give off the best performance of their equipment. Proving once again that
proper positioning/placement accounts for a much greater percentage of sound quality than 99% of the tweeks sold on
the market.
While RMAF was going on I tried my best to keep up with the daily events by reading the daily Stereophile blogs. I
was thrilled to see that the Eficion monitors that I found so stunning at VSAC in Vancouver and that our writer Todd
Arthur gave such a strong review was mentioned. Peigen Jiang, the creator deserves the accolades, as the Eficion
monitors are one of the absolutely best kept secrets in audio today!
One thing I wish I could have enjoyed was some of the seminars that were held. One in particular showed a computer
image of what jitter looks like. Another had the heads of Stereophile, The Absolute Sound, and HiFi+ discussing various audio issues. Wouldn’t it be nice if a YouTube video of these seminars could be made available a couple of
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months after the Fest? The information being discussed and presented is too important not to be shared with the
audio community as a whole. Therefore, I ask that if you agree please email the fine RMAF organizers asking them to
locate the video if it exists and get the permissions necessary to put the seminars up on YouTube.
Website Contest
I had hoped to announce the winner of the new website contest. One entry out of the several I received was far and
above the best, unfortunately, the designer pulled out a few
days before the closing date. Since none of the others
reached the level of quality that was desired no winner was
chosen. I am reopening the competition and am in contact
with some web design schools as well. A new winner will be
announced with the January 2009 issue. First place prize
will be the Grant Fidelity B283 Tube Processor/Buffer, many
thanks to Ian and Rachel Grant for providing the grand
prize. If you’re interested in entering, please email me for
the details.
Laptop Adventures, The Final Chapter
After toying around with the idea using some software geek
tricks into converting a Gateway laptop into a Mac, I spotted
a used iBook that fit my needs perfectly. It’s been nice being able to work in front of my rig again, instead of from the
kitchen table. There’s no better way to work than right in
front of the sweet spot.
Until next month, sit back and fire up some tunes while you enjoy this issue.
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Acoustic Revive Acoustic Conditioner RWL-III
By Anthony Nicosia
[email protected]
Manufacturer:
SEKIGUCHI MACHINE SALES CO., LTD
3016-1Tsunatori-machi, Isesaki-shi, Gunma Pref. 372-0812
JAPAN
TEL.+81-270-24-0878
FAX. +81-270-21-1963
http://www.acoustic-revive.com/english/index.html
US Distributor:
The Lotus Group
http://www.lotusgroupusa.com/
Then click on Acoustic Revive to go to same site as above
Retail price $995 (per panel)
Dimensions: W665mm, D90mm, H1160mm, (Excludes
Feet) / Weight: 6.2kg
Self-standing feet and parts for wall mounting included
Written with special thanks to Yoshi Hontani (overseas exporter for Acoustic Revive)
MuSon Project, Inc.
No. 1-5-7 Nishi-Hommachi, Nishi-ku,
Osaka 550-0005, Japan
Once again I am happily visiting the world of Acoustic Revive audio products. This company located in Isesaki, a
small city within the Gunma prefecture on Honshu (main state or main island), is only 59 miles from Tokyo. Isesaki-shi
has long been quite popular for its production of famous silk fabrics. As many of us know silk has been a desired
product for centuries and it is suspected that the first silk fabrics were being made as early as 6000 BC. Some of the
natural properties of silk are its strength, smooth texture and shimmering appearance. I mention this reference to silk
because the product for review today is the Acoustic Revive RWL-III Acoustic Conditioner Panel, which is based on a
design philosophy using, amount other things, specially treated silk. I will talk more about this later in the review.
The theory behind the RWL-III is that it diffuses reflection and sound coming from your speakers in an ideal manor
with the aide of a special material ditch that was designed and constructed with varying depths to it. Acoustic Revive
acknowledges that others before them have also tried to make proper acoustic panels to improve upon the sound and
has the following to say about the subject:
“I`m sure that many people have listened to audio in a room which has expensive diffusing type room tuning which
said to be analyzed by computer. People which who have listened to these room tuning must have experience sound
such as pore sound position, corrupted sound stage and in a worst case, pore phase characteristics. This is because,
unnecessary reflection occurs inside the room tuning random ditch and an outbreak of huge cross-modulation distortion stays inside the ditch.”
Acoustic Revive has done numerous studies involving both listening and computer analysis to help determine the correct ditch for its RWL-III’s. These tests helped them to create what they consider an ideal curved diffusion structure to
improve phase characteristics in addition to solid sound positioning with a wider and deeper soundstage. Through the
years the RWL panels have changed and evolved. Initially Acoustic Revive created the design but outsourced and
manufactured the product elsewhere. Now the RWL is both designed and manufactured in Japan, as are all of their
products. They feel that compared to the original panels the newest RWL-III model is a greatly improved version.
Rather than trying to market an acoustic panel that absorbs they set out to build one that tunes and diffuses sound.
Their belief that sound once absorbed is lost forever, therefore robbing it of its musicality, led them to try something
different. The RWL-III was built with the goal of eliminating reflection, flatter echo and standing waves in order to make
the sound clearer while still retaining its natural energy and volume. Their website states that placing even just one
panel in the center between two speakers will cause the listener to notice an improvement in the quality of sound coming from their audio system. Today we will test that statement.
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Each panel is made with a high-tech natural silk and special foam material that contains Tourmaline. Tourmaline is designed to release negative ions that in turn help make the sound seem smoother and more enjoyable to listen to. For a
moment let us look back to the September issue of Affordable Audio were I reviewed the Acoustic Revive RTP2Ultimate power supply box. There I discussed the Ultimates use of Lithia Tourmaline powder, as well as other ingredients, to help eliminate both static and noise from the RTP-Ultimate. Tourmaline is also found in the Acoustic Revive
RIO-5 II minus ion generator used to treat CD’s in order to create a more open sounding musical experience (October
issue of Affordable Audio). As you can see Acoustic Revive seems to have a strong belief in the positive properties of
Tourmaline, as it is a recurring element in some of their products. A high quality natural silk is used on the RWL-III’s
surface panel, as they feel silk is
the only fiber that will help tame
resonance, which is harmful to
sound. Of further note is that the
silk used has been taken from
silkworms that were fed leaves
coated with, you guessed it,
Tourmaline powder. Thus the silk
used with the panels has tourmaline naturally contained in it as
well as the foam material used in
the curved ditches. All these design efforts are made in order to
have each RWL-III release a
strong negative ion. This negative ion is thought by them to improve sound wave transmission
making for a clearer, higher resolution and higher quality tone effect.
Acoustic Revive makes many
high-end audio products that are
designed to enhance your audio
experience. One other such
product is there PSA-100 (Pure
Silk Absorber). In order to remove the effects of static electricity that builds up around power supply cables and input or output terminals they recommend the use of this natural
silk. Acoustic Revivie states that a small amounts of PSA-100 is all it takes to improve dynamics and transparency. At
$55 for a box of this I intend to try some at a later date. Like I said earlier the Gunma prefecture is well known for its
silk production and apparently the people at Acoustic Revive know just what to do with it.
Getting back to the RWL-III’s, the top, bottom and side panels as well as the feet are all made from a thick natural
wood to help prevent the cabinet itself from resonating. By using natural wood Acoustic Revive found the sound quality to improve. I must say that both my wife and I found the RWL-III to be an attractive alternative to mounting acoustical panels all over the walls and ceiling. The wood trim really set off the décor of the panel, as did the nice shimmering
effect of the silk on the front. I had people over the house that thought I had bought some new attractive looking panel
type speakers and did not realize what they were until I explained it to them.
I have heard a variety of acoustical products designed to treat various aspect of your room and have even tried a few
do it yourself type projects. For those who are inclined to do so you may of course go online and find a great deal of
information from people who have taken this path before you. For me I would much prefer taking all the knowledge
gathered by the skilled people at Acoustic Revive to improve upon the sound of my audio system by alleviating problems stemming within the room. I say this after having three RWL-III’s in my listening room and experimenting with
room placement first with one, then two and finally three RWL-III panels. Looking to their website you will find numerous diagrams and multiple suggestions about where to place the panels. Setup and installation are both relatively
easy. After unpacking the boxes all I had to do was screw two feet onto the bottom of each panel and I was ready to
place it upright wherever needed. If after careful experimentation in your room you decide to go the way of placing
them on the walls or ceiling, do not despair; the necessary mounting hardware is included with the purchase of each
panel. Up on the wall and off the floor is indeed a very clean looking way to go. For myself though I had to keep them
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on the floor as I have two sets of speakers in the room for use as reviewing tools and therefore must move them depending on which set of speakers I am listening to. If I had two more I might have left those two on the wall nearest the
Klipsch Klipschorn speakers and move the other three as needed for the Legacy Focus 20/20’s. Those with a dedicated room for listening might just prefer the wall mounting approach for the purpose of ascetics.
For now though let us talk about the various ways to place them within a room as suggested by Acoustic Revive. How
you place them in your own home will of course depend on the shape of your room and placement of speakers/
furnishings within it. Those with non-conventionally shaped rooms should definitely experiment on their own a little
more. I would like to share with you the following diagrams from Acoustic Revives website that were taken from
http://www.acoustic-revive.com/english/rwl3/rwl3_02.html
To start out with I placed just one panel dead center between my two Legacy speakers, 18 inches to the rear of the
back of the speakers, which in my room seemed a good spot to place them. For this listening test I decided to hear the
Miles Davis, Kind of Blue vinyl album, as it is truly a classic piece of
work. Accompanying him on that
album were Julian “Cannonball”
Adderly, Paul Chambers, James
Cobb, John Coltrain, Bill Evans
and Wynton Kelly. On first hearing
the song “So What”, with one
RWL-III placed appropriately between the two Legacy speakers, I
noticed that Miles Davis on trumpet was more pronounced and
dead center in-between the
speakers right where the panel
was located. The sound from my
system seemed to take on a better
all around separation of individual
instruments within the soundstage
and actually felt like I had turned
up the volume a bit. Perhaps I was
now experiencing a cleaner
sound, without some of the room
interference, and that was why it
seemed louder, While I do not
know the scientific reason, it definitely felt like a positive improvement with just one panel placed in
my room. I continually experimented with the panel by removing it and then placing it back again, over and over as I played different musical passages. Each time the same effect took place and it was clear to me that the RWL-III was doing an excellent job of
helping me with my rooms acoustics. For those on a budget even the addition of one panel should have the effect of
making you smile at your wise purchase.
Now to make things more interesting I removed the center RWL-III panel and placed one behind each speaker, again
at an 18 inch distance behind the back of the Legacy Focus 20/20’s. I was now treated to more of the same effects,
the main difference being that the soundstage seemed even wider and clearer. This two-panel placement really
seemed to open everything up just a bit more for the better. The sound seemed fuller while at the same time clearer. I
was able to play my music much louder whereas before I would get an echo effect in my room that was annoying.
Remember my room has a cathedral ceiling as well as openings on two sides, which makes it a difficult room to fill
with music. It had a noticeable slap echo effect, which I was wondering how to tame, before I meet the RWL-III panels.
Lastly, I added the third RWL-III back into the mix dead center between the other two panels, forming a line of three
panels behind my Legacy’s. Now we were really getting somewhere as the three dimensional soundstage really open
up. In my room though I preferred putting two panels to the left and right of me and one in the center between the two
speakers because my room opens up to my dinning room behind the spot where I sit. Now with me partially blocking
the music from escaping and two RWL-III panels to either side more of the music stayed within the room. This was the
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best placement for my own personal situation but as all rooms are different your personal placement will change accordingly. Again listening to Miles Davis I now could hear quite clearly his marvelous trumpet emanating from the
space between the speakers and the sense that the entire musical experience felt enriched. It was as if the room was
emanating with music rather than just coming from the two speakers in front of me, an experience I definitely found to
my liking. Next up was my Willie Nelson, Stardust album (the vinyl version). Wow did Willie Nelsons voice take on a
commanding tone. I would say if the RWL-III did one thing truly exceptional it seemed to tame negative effects within
the midrange, which was particularly noticeable with voices. Not that other aspects of the musical experience were not
improved, but with my system within my room, this was one change that I truly did stand up and applaud. The effect of
having three panels within my room was felt by me to be a huge sonic improvement and worth the price of three RWLIII panels.
I was now wondering how the panels would react to a horn-designed speaker placed in the corners. Therefore I decided to try the RWL-III’s with my Klipschorn speakers. I again started out with one placed dead center between the
two, same place as it was with the Legacys. The angle of the Klipschorns did throw the sound out in front of and was
not actually blocked by the RWL-III panels. Hearing Rickie Lee Jones sing “Chuck E.’s In Love” the RWL-III laid out a
fuller, more spacious sound. I found the Klipschorns responding to just one panel in a positive way just like the Legacy’s’ did. I heard a fuller more robust sound when sitting in my listening seat. It was as if I had upgraded the source
component itself, my turntable or cartridge. To test this a little further I finished the album and then moved onto a CD
by James Taylor, New Moon Shine, since I am quite familiar with it. Same results, it did not matter whether vinyl or CD
was playing as my source component. With just this one panel I was able to bring more focus and impact into my review system.
With my next step I removed the single panel and placed two panels at point of first reflection for the Klipschorns, placing one for each speaker near the listening position to the left and right but more in front of me. In order to keep things
equal I decided to listen to the same music as I had previously with only one RWL-III panel inserted into the loop.
Again the sound changed. As I added more panels the sound within my room was becoming more alive with greater
focus on individual instruments as was the
layering of individual performers within the
music, which was more pronounced and
clear. This was a $995 upgrade from the first
panel but one I could easily live with.
For my final step I left the two panels where
they stood and added a third back to dead
center between the two, same spot as I used
for the Legacy’s. Again the soundstage took
on a more focused presentation as voices
were heard with even greater clarity then before. I felt the music sounded more dynamic
and came across with greater impact. Especially noticeable were passages where I
would listen to music with deep bass, sounding fuller giving a more life-like performance.
The RWL-III panels are simply put, amazing!
It returned the impact, transparency and details to the music that my room seemed to
rob from it. I no longer felt that my system
was limited by the room but rather that it was
working together with it to allow the music to
express itself in all its recorded glory. The question comes to mind not whether I should buy an RWL-III panel but
rather how many should I purchase. This question is as difficult to answer as asking yourself, when have I spent
enough on my audio system and where should I stop? The answer to that will ultimately depend on you. I felt these
panels from Acoustic Revive should be viewed as an integral part of the audio chain within my system. I regard it as I
would a CD player or turntable and therefore equate its importance to that of source components themselves. For me
it was three panels that took my breath away, although a forth or fifth would be a possibility I have not yet explored.
Remember also Acoustic Revive makes a set of much smaller panels for wall use as well. These are called the WS1’s and are made from the highest-grade silk material coming from the Hasegawa store, Japans largest silk wholesaler. Pricing is $185 each for a panel measuring 11.4 inch square x 1.25 inches thick. I would think this might be an
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alternative for those on a budget with rooms that are smaller and less difficult to tame. I certainly would not hesitate to
try them as all the products from Acoustic Revive, that I have tested so far, have shone themselves to be superior and
to perform as advertised.
As for the RWL-III panels, I would start with a purchase of one panel and see where that takes you.
At $995 it had an effect on the sound of my entire
system and did something adding another component could not do, it improved upon my rooms
acoustics. You can upgrade amps, preamps, turntables and the like but you still are listening to
them within the context of your particular room.
Until you improve upon that room you are not
really hearing your systems full potential. You
could be spending needless money upgrading
equipment when really the culprit just might be the
listening environment, yes your own room. I think
I’ll let the good people at Acoustic Revive sum up
the description of the RWL-III panels quite nicely
with the following quote from their website:
“Last evolution of room tuning panel with negative
ion effect added which tunes and diffuses sound
ideally!”
The Listening Environment
The listening room is 18 feet 8 inch long by 13 feet wide. Its cathedral ceiling starts at 8 feet high then slopes upward to 13 feet at
its peak in the middle. Flooring is a soft hardwood covering with an oriental rug placed dead center in between (but not under) the
listener and the audio system. There are no doors that open or shut into other rooms, also there are two large openings one facing
the speakers and the other to its side and slightly in front of the right speaker. I have a nice comfortable marble fireplace opposite
one opening and in front of the left speaker. As for my audio equipment it is tucked away nicely inside of a Cherry Synergy Twin
S30 Salamander audio rack on the wall directly in front of me.
Review equipment:
Monarchy Audio SM-70 Pro Amplifier
Placette Passive Preamplifier
Sony DVP-S7700 CD/DVD Player (used as transport only)
Monarchy Audio Dual 20-Bit D/A Converter
Acoustic Revive RD-3 Disc Demagnetizer and Rio-5 II Minus Ion Generator
Oracle Delphi Mk I turntable with custom made interconnects
Grace 707 tonearm with Denon 301 II MC cartridge
Whest PhonoStage.20 + MsU.20 power supply
Whest phono stage interconnects
Klipsch Klipschorn speakers
Legacy Focus 20/20 speakers
Acoustic Revive RTP-4Ultimate Power supply box
PS Audio Power Port Receptacle
Anti-Cable speaker wire 10 foot pair
Anti-Jumpers for Legacy speakers
PS Audio Transcendence Silver interconnects (2 pairs)
Anti-Digital Interconnect single-shielded 1.5 meters in length
Monarchy Audio AC-1 power cord one 6 foot length (2)
Blue Circle BC86 MKIII power line pillows (2)
Tek Line PC-8 Signature Power Cords 6-foot length
Mr-Cable Musician power cord 9 foot length
Cherry Synergy Twin S30 Salamander audio rack
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Elemental Designs A6-6T6 Monitors
By Dan Nielsen
[email protected]
Specifications:
Max Power- 200w
Min Power- 15w
Nominal Impedance- 6 Ohm
Sensitivity: 89.6db
Tweeter: 1.3 inch Silk Dome
Midrange Drivers: (2) 6 inch Poly
Cabinet type: Dual vented
Frequency Response: 50-22Khz =/- 3db
Measurements: 22.4 in H x 8.65 in W x 9 in D
Weight: 42lbs pair
Price: $365 pair
www.elementaldesigns.com
Growing up in a small community my parents did all their business with
friends to be honest. The local Sears catalogue store maybe had a hundred things on display; everything else took a week or so to come in
from the regional distribution center. Our TV’s and even the family console stereo came from the appliance store on Main Street. To this day I
passionately avoid big box stores at all costs. I may pay a bit more, but I
never have to make a second trip from receiving the wrong item. I mention all this for a reason; I have purposefully avoided buying equipment
from any place other than mom and pop shops. I’ve always been able to
check out pieces over the weekend; or, if I purchased a unit and didn’t
like it, I have been able to exchange for something more pleasing. That
may not seem fair to the retailers, but I never buy new, instead I’ve focused on demo pieces just to save a dollar or two.
I first became interested in music and stereo equipment as a result of my
personal struggle with stuttering. I learned how to sing and that gave me
relief from my halting communication. But, I just didn’t have the voice to
pursue it beyond junior high. I did manage to play trumpet all thru high
school, that, I believe, is the foundation for my love of music. I work from; this allows me to listen to music a
good five to seven hours a day. When I mentioned this to our publisher, Mark became quite jealous, but also
recognized that as a writer I could give a quicker turn-around on some reviews.
Originally, I was going to do my first review on a classic Nakamichi cassette deck, but Mark had just received a
pair of MTM-style speakers from a small company in Newton, Iowa, Elemental Designs. If Newton sounds familiar it was the home of Maytag, until being bought out and abandoned a few years back. Having spent a few
summers in Iowa City, I was intrigued to say the least. After all, the Hawkeye state isn’t exactly known as a
hotbed of audio design. Which may actually be a good thing, why be distracted by what a nearby competitor is
doing. Secondly, Midwesterners are notoriously loyal towards local brands, local people, and local jobs.
Elemental Designs has been around since 2002, catering to the local crowd, and slowly expanding upon their
success. They offer both home and auto amplifiers using class d digital designs. A good portion of the manufacturing does take place in Newton, though the cabinets in the case of the A6-6T6 were constructed in the
Philippines.
Speaker Design
The A6-6T6 is a driver – tweeter – driver design, affectionately known as MTM. The cabinet is constructed of
3/4in MDF and painted black with a satin sheen. This makes it a children friendly finish that hides the fingerprints. This recognition that A6-6T6 are going to be a part of a family environment is a bit of common sense
marketing. After all, why make a very affordable product and give it a finish that begs “don’t come close”. The
drivers are recessed into the raised front baffle. The grills are a sturdy, plastic with the standard black grill material. Inside the cabinet white padded matting is used to dampen vibration throughout.
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The drivers consist of a poly bend cone; the magnet is not as massive as one might believe and of a traditional
look. The tweeter is a 1.3-inch silk dome that the manufacturer selected for its laid back upper register performance. The crossover is a design fitting of designs by Cerwin Vega, etc of the 1990’s. That is not a bad
thing, just a nod to price/performance, no need to reinvent the wheel, just makes the parts and drivers match
up properly and a smooth sound will be the result. A single, set of economical, 5 way binding posts are placed
in a vertically angled receptacle in the middle of the back panel. Once again this is an a reflection in knowing
in virtually all cases standard speaker wire will be used in gauges from 16-12.
Listening
The Elemental Design A6-6T6 like other tall monitors is an attempt to straddle the monitor/tower gap. It is big
enough to satisfy most of those who want big speakers, yet be small enough to have flexibility in placement.
For this review I decided that these speakers would be paired with receivers in most cases, therefore, I hooked
it up to my Yamaha CR840 classic receiver and Marantz CC4001 multidisc player, and a pair of metal stands from Best Buy. In keeping with
the potential customers, I brought out two 10ft lengths of 12 gauge
Home Depot speaker wire.
I grew up listening to Rush because it was the first tape I ever owned
being a gift from my cousin when I turned 13. That tape, 2112, wore
out years ago, but in the 1980’s a cd replaced it. During the review of
the A6-6T6, I played all sorts of Rush’s music; the lead guitar tones
and synthesizer reverberated with a fine replication. The buzz, as I like
to call parts of Rush’s signature was evident in all of their studio releases.
Since I work from home, I spend several hours a day listening to music, that has allowed me to tryout different genres. Though I never
grew up with classical music I have developed a fondness for symphonic movie scores. Many in the area consider John Williams the
master, and for the main theme he seems to have a knack for taking
the movie and translating it into music. ET: The Extra-terrestrial with its
magical, spiraling strings is something special. The silk tweeter that
Elemental Designs engineer chose does offer the smooth response
that they promote in their literature.
The A6-6T6 are not boomers, Elemental Designs save the bottom end
for one of their subwoofers and that’s fine. At this price point, too many
manufacturers try to create a ridiculously false booming bass. All it
really does is destroy the rest of the sound spectrum and irritate the
listener. The speakers are rated down to 50hz, which is a fair number,
though some may consider it a bit weak for the cabinet size.
Mid frequencies in the form of acoustic guitars are quite pleasant, though lacking in richness of monitors hitting
the $1,000 price point. They do offer an easy, forward presentation. The tone is relaxing with the familiarity of
a pair of Cerwin Vegas that I recall from my youth.
Vocals sounded somewhat nasally, something I believe emanates from the lack of extra bracing in the cabinet.
Obviously, a trade off in order to meet a specific price point, both from the factory, and at the customer level.
This becomes more noticeable at high volume. I did find that by setting a heavy dictionary on top of each
speaker the sonics did improve. Had I spent another month with the A6-6T6, I would have been tempted to
add some mass to the bottom of the inside.
Final Thoughts
I want to get this thought out; the Elemental Designs A6-6T6 is designed for the average music fan on a slim
budget, not the audio hound. These speakers were created to give buyers the next notch up from basic big
box fair without the price jump. For $365 for the pair, with free shipping the buyer gets a worthy start on a family friendly speaker system without spending a fortune. Addition Elemental Design pieces can be added to create a full 5.1 or even 7.1 home theater setup including amplifier. For business owners looking for music in the
workplace that can actually fill a large space yet remain unobtrusive, the A6-6T6 might just be the answer.
Affordable$$Audio 11
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Audio Space Reference 3.1 Integrated Tube Amplifier
By Patrick Dillon
[email protected]
Specifications:
Input Impedance: >56K ohm (RCA/Direct In)
Output Impedance: 4, 8, 16 ohm
Output Power: 22W/ch in Triode; 40W/ch in Ultralinear (Class-A push-pull)
T.H.D.: < 1%
Input Sensitivity: >200mV, 3-5mV (mm phono in)
S/N Ratio: > 80dB (hum noise < 3mV)
Tube Compliment: 4 x KT-88, , 2 x 6SN7, 4 x 12AX7 (ECC83)
Dimension: 18.5" x 16" x 8" (DxWxH)
Weight: 65 lbs
Price: $3,390
Audio Space is an established Hong
Kong-based manufacturer of tube amplifiers whose products are gaining increasing attention in the mainstream US audio
press following generally positive but
sporadic reviews over the last five years,
and the sort of teasing one-liners one
finds in articles summarizing reviewers’
experiences at various audio shows. After reading that Albert Von Schweikert
himself felt these amps mated particularly
well with his speakers, and as an owner
of a pair of VR5s, I was delighted to have
the opportunity, courtesy of the ever- encouraging Alfie Lew of Audio Space, to
place a Ref 3.1 integrated in my system.
The Audio Space Ref 3.1 (K88) is a
beautiful-looking piece of audio equipment that represents something of a mid
point in the range of products this company offers, from a sub-$1k integrated to power amps for $20k, each
one a tube design. The Ref 3.1 (K88) is a Class A push-pull design offering 22w in triode and 40w in switchable
ultralinear, which employs 2x6SN7, 4 x 12AX7, 4 x KT-88 output tubes (a 300b version is also available) and
point to point wiring. All inputs are single ended, there is no remote control offered but there is a built in MM
phono stage, (which I was not able to test) wrapped up in an aluminum framed chassis with open top that is
exceedingly easy on the eye. One look at the product and you will not be surprised to learn that Audio Space is
a major amp manufacturer that has been around for years and keeps the old production tooling for previous
designs in case they ever need to resurrect parts. Clearly, this company is in the audio business for the long
haul and builds accordingly.
The amp comes well packed in one box, complete with a pair of white cotton gloves and a cloth for maintaining
the glistening finish. It’s not light, thanks to the beefy transformers which load up the back so you need to be
careful when lifting or moving it but I connected the Audio Space to my system easily. One power cord, two
pairs of interconnects and my speaker cables all lined up easily such that I had the amp on and warming up in
minutes. The amp sits on four sharp legs offering at least the appearance of suitable isolation and four sizeable polished footers provide protection for your floor or shelf. Bias checking is simply enabled by a front panel
switch, with modifications made for each output tube by a simple screw turn. I found I needed to check the bias
a couple of times for the first week before the amp seemed to settle, but even with the bias less than perfectly
set on the appropriate point, the sound was something special.
I’ve not had tubes in my audio system since I was a child playing with my father’s radiogram (yes, that dates
me but not that much really as I grew up in Europe). Since then I have used tube amps for guitar playing regu14
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larly but always felt them a poor fit, lifestyle-wise, with my audio gear. The thought of regularly fussing with
bias, carefully rationing my listening time so as to make the most of tube life, remembering always to switch off
and then having to wait for the tubes to warm up again when I wanted to listen just put me off. Further, the arrival of a child in my house gave me all the more reason for creating a system with minimal temptation for prying
fingers (I kept my turntable out of the way for the first couple of years too). But, and it’s a big but, I wonder now
if I might have been exercising too much caution. The Audio Space 3.1 is as close to unfussy as one can imagine in a tube amp. Did I say it looks beautiful, yes, but it works beautifully too. Switch on, wait a minute, and
music starts to flow. Within ten minutes it’s sounding good, within an hour it sounds superb.
The sounds of life pouring out into your room
There is, you always hear audiophiles say, just something about tubes. Well, take it from a dyed in the wool
solid-state guy, it’s true. When playing guitar myself I always loved tubes and put this down to the more organic
feel I get from pushing vibrating string sounds through a responsive, breathing amplification system that warms
up as I do. But with audio systems I always felt that this sonic quality should be on the recording if the musician
played tube amps, not required again in the reproduction chain at my house. After living with this amp for a
couple of months, I am not so sure. In fact, I am unsure of several of my previous assumptions and inherited
biases about tube amps after this experience. There are the obvious clichés: bloom, air, resolution, musicality,
etc. but none quite capture what this technology possesses. It’s really a case of, as others have put it so
memorably, the lighting of music from within. Timbre, baby, that’s where it’s at and the Ref 3.1 gives you timbre
you can taste!
The human voice resides in the range of sound to which we seem
most sensitive, and in this range, tubes have an ability to provide
qualities that seem to caress the ears of listeners. It’s easy to forget
about bass extension or upper air liveliness when you find yourself
listening to a woman singing in close-mic’ d proximity. Diana Krall’s
Love Scenes (Impulse Records, 1997) sounds good on every system
I’ve played it on, but with the Ref 3.1, seduction drips from her voice
and every subtle nuance of her breathing oozes through hypnotically
as she urges you to peel her a grape or (my favorite, 'send out for
Scotch'! On “I don’t know enough about you”, there’s a Christian
McBride bass solo with electric guitar gently comping behind, and
while I’ve heard that track dozens of times, on the Audio Space I experienced a greater sense of two musicians interacting than I ever
perceived before. The bass was round and full, with a sense of body
that had real presence in my room. The accompanying chords from
Russel Malone’s guitar providing emphasis with realistic attack and
tone. Jazz guitar is a telling source in this regard, the little changes in
tone from neck position, the slightly varying decay of different strings in a arpeggio or strummed chord, the little
details of skin sliding on metal and wood, seemed with this amp to be so much closer to what I experience
when playing the instrument myself through a warmed-up Fender amp.
On brass the realistic reproduction of this amplifier is perhaps most obvious. The bite of Tomas Stanko’s trumpet (Stanko Quartet, Suspended Night, ECM 2004) is vivid and present between the speakers. Saxophones
sound so real on the right recordings that you almost feel the rush of air blasting through the instrument and
out at you. David ‘Fathead’ Newman comes through on Ronnie Earl’s Grateful Heart album (Bullseye/
Rounder, 1996) in a more palpable manner than I’ve previously heard, and this is one of my most played recordings over the last decade. This is truly high fidelity. If you value a sense of real instruments being played in
your room, then you will get hours of joy with this unit.
Obviously tubes are known for weaker or softer bass reproduction than solid state and this is true of the Audio
Space amp compared to my reference, the venerable BAT VK500. There is bass, and indeed it took several
weeks to really appear, before this it was sort of mushy and ill-defined. Over time this state of affairs improves
noticeably, and becomes more than acceptable, but you are not going to get the sort of rock solid control found
with a big solid-state or the ultra delineation that I find typical of bass from Class-D designs. These amps
seem to open up the bottome end too, giving you a taller sonic picture. However, the bass you do get with the
Audio Space is ample to underpin the music, allowing the most important aspects of other instruments and vocals to pour out at you. Depending on the type of music you like, you may not miss anything, or indeed, you
might prefer this emphasis.
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If there is a loss in the lower range, (and we might debate this, depending on taste and settings) it’s easily offset by what this amp gives you in the mid and upper ranges. There is a harmonic rightness to the sound that
seduces you into listening, relaxing you into your listening chair and calling you towards the reverie of great
music. On small combo jazz, such as the Tord Gustavesen Trio (Being There, ECM Records, 2004) I found
myself giving up on dissecting the music, or caring about soundstaging, and just listening. The sound of his
piano hung in my room, alive with overtones. The reproduction of drums and cymbals on this recording is crucial to the musical effect and here, the Audio Space was little short of superb. In my review of the W4S MC4 in
the September issue I’d noted how the amp could just not get cymbals right, compared to my reference. Well
no such problem with the Audio Space 3.1. In fact, the little amp gave such life to this aspect of the recording
that I’d say it improved on the BAT VK500. Air, sweetness, the ability to distinguish easily between a brush and
a stick stroking the metal or the skin, the dynamic range of percussion used deliberately by the artist and recording engineer, the Audio Space always seemed to get this right. It might, oddly, be that the Ref 3.1 is not as
detailed as the BAT in the upper registers, since putting the BAT in caused me to imagine I was hearing more
in the very upper end, but sometimes, less is more, and the Ref 3.1 actually provided sounds that were more
like real percussion to my ears.
The Audio Space comes with a pair of
front-panel toggle switches that allow the
owner to select from two levels of negative feedback (0db and ~3db), and triode or ultralinear operation on the fly.
These do seem to have combinatorial
effects though I generally preferred
the feedback setting on zero, which
pushed the soundstage forward in my
room noticeably. Alfie Lew tells me this
switch, a first within tube designs, was
originally intended to help purchasers in
Hong Kong adjust the soundstage for
small listening spaces, creating a less inyour-face reproduction. In my larger
(25’x17’) space, I liked the zero setting,
and did not feel at any time the music was aggressive or in my face at all, but I could imagine this being really
important for near-field listeners or people using the amp in small room. Flick the switch and indeed the
soundstage moves, forward or backward with predictable regularity. While I generally also preferred the triode
setting, it became obvious to my ears that on most rock music the amp sounded a little better on the ultralinear
setting, and, in terms of the bass issue mentioned above, if you found the triode setting just a little too
soft, even on small scale acoustic music, switching to ultralinear could give most bass a little tightening up. In
this case, ultralinear and low negative feedback offered a very good alternative and I think between these settings, most listeners could find a combination that worked for them. Purists won’t like this, neurotics will
second-guess themselves every night, but these controls really did make sense in my room.
I tried the amp on both 4ohm and 8 ohm taps, (and briefly on the 16ohm taps too) generally preferring the 8
ohm by a small margin. For kicks, and because I could, I employed the 4 ohm taps for the woofers and used
another pair of cables on the 8-ohm and then the 16 ohm taps for the upper modules of my VR5s. Was any
one setting best? Tough call. It got to the point that I just cared less about playing with the set up and left the 4
and 8 ohm combo in place, this sounding fine on everything I threw at it. On rock music, I swear the Audio
Space 3.1 just did electric guitar in a manner that bewildered me. Could it really be the case that Ritchie
Blackmore’s strat had more of the tube distortion one hears live when a pick hits a string, even on a 1975 studio recording that I’ve played forever? Color me purple but it sounded like it to me. Did the wood body of
Matheny’s guitar seem to resonate just a little bit more in the space between my speakers? And it was true of
vocals too. When Lucinda Williams sang ‘Going back to Greenville’, the backing female vocals seemed a little
more layered in the soundstage, and peppering percussion revealed itself on Van Morrison’s ‘Venice’ from the
wonderful Wavelength album. These sometimes tiny details, the type you only recognize from feeling an instrument resonate on your lap as you play, or hearing unamplified human voices harmonize in a physical
space near you, seemed present where I’d not observed them before. Sometimes I’d find myself listening with
new ears and appreciation to music I’d loved for decades. Starker playing Kodaly, a favorite, was breathtaking
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(the Sonata for Unaccompanied Cello, Op 8, recorded in Japan, particularly so), with richness of tone and
presence enough to stop anyone in their tracks
I need to emphasize here that it is not simply a resolution or detail issue. For every detail I gained in the midrange and uppers, I probably could point to a slight smudging or rounding in the lower regions compared to
other amps, so it’s a trade-off in that sense. But what is important is how this particular trade made sense to
my ears, how truer the sound seemed to the real palpable presence of a musician in proximity, even on large
scale orchestral recordings, such as the wonderful du Pre version of Elgar’s Cello Concerto in Eminor which
I’ve loved always on my BAT. If you spend your audio life waiting for the split second impact of explosive percussion or the ultra-deep resolution of a bass organ note in order to ‘appreciate’ your system then you have
bigger problems. If you love music, I suspect you will love this amp. Quite simply, the Audio Space has something that other (solid state?) amps I’ve experienced don’t possess in quite the same way. It’s seductive, and
once you’ve experienced it, it is hard to give up.
Can you live with just one box?
An integrated, at this price, removes the need to another pair of cables, it requires less shelf space than a pre
and power combo, and it employs only one power cord. If you are an aftermarket tweaker you can do the
math. At a list price of $3390, this competes with many components that only do half the work, or combos that
are more compromised in quality. If you had told me before I heard this amp in my system that I’d be able to
live with 22w of tube power I’d have expressed disbelief, and in truth, there is enough difference between the
22w triode and the greater 46w ultralinear mode that suggest the need for a few more watts on some music is
genuine, but, and it’s a real but, what the triode mode gave me with the Von Schweikerts would be good
enough for most of my music, most of the time. This little beauty has caused me to re-think just what I value in
my listening room. I can only imagine how much fun there is to be had with this company’s less affordable
products if they can coax this quality of sound from a $3k integrated but I think for many people, this will be all
the amp they need.
Switching power cords had, to my ears, some effect. The Virtual Dynamics David PC wrought a little better performance from the amp than the stock cord but not in a way that makes it an inevitable upgrade. Feeding the
amp through a PS Audio PPP seemed to help too, but this caused the PPP's fan to run almost as much as I
experienced with the larger BAT, a source of irritation that has caused me ultimately to take my BAT off the
conditioner, despite the small sonic decrement that results - better this than intermittent fan noise that drowns
out quiet passages. The Audio Space was not quite so demanding on the PPP but it does draw current and
since it runs super quietly, any fan noise becomes intrusive. The only serious dislike I have is the amount of
usable control offered by the volume pot. With my speakers, I barely had to turn the pot to have the music loud
enough, and this meant I had little ability to fine tune the volume, it never going up more than a quarter of its
circumference before the volume was too much. This gain setting could be modified by the manufacturer and
Alfie told me they might are considering this.
Summing up
All told, the Audio Space Ref 3.1 is an exceptionally fine piece of equipment that will beguile and engage some
people to the point of them not wanting (or at least not needing) anything more. It offers aspects of sonic reproduction that are as good as I’ve heard and really does match well with the sensitive Von Schweikerts. It
makes music listening fun, does not require hours of turn-on to work well, and will give you pride of ownership
on looks alone. Yes, it runs hot, yes it will need periodic re-tubing, and no, it does not support balanced connections or allow you to control it remotely from your chair, but if your lifestyle can sustain the modest demands
of tube living, you could build an amazing system around this integrated amp that would challenge far more
costly set ups, it’s as simple as that. Much as people fret about tube replacement or the cost of tube rolling, at
least you get to keep the main component, which in the long run is going to be far cheaper than swapping gear
in and out of your system in search of the perfect match. In a world of big buck wires and six-figure speakers,
the Ref 3.1 defies logic. How can something this good be built and delivered at this price? What we have here
is affordable audio at its very best; highly recommended.
Associated equipment
Digital: Marantz S11-S1 SACD player
Vinyl: VPI Airies/JMW10/Benz L2 WoodBody, PS Audio GCPH phono stage
Speakers: Von Schweikert VR5SE speakers
Cables: PS Audio Transcendent interconnects, Audio Art SC5 speaker cables
Power Conditioner: PS Audio PPP
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Manley Labs Stingray Integrated Tube Amplifier
By Anthony Nicosia
[email protected]
Features And Specifications:
4 x Stereo Line RCA Inputs
TRIODE - UL Switching
RECORDING OUT
SUBWOOFER OUT
TAPE LOOP (Insert) with Bypass switch
Passive Noble Volume and Balance Controls
All-Vacuum Tube Lo-feedback Stereo Integrated Design
Output Tubes: 8 x EL84 Ships with Russian NOS EL84M
(aka 6Pi14Pi-EB)
(We are out of Ei 6BQ5)
Driver Tubes: 2 x 6414 Ships with GE or RAYTHEON
JAN NOS USA or 6414W
Input Tubes: 2 x 12AT7EH Ships with: 12AT7EH large
plate Electro-Harmonix Russian
Maximum Output Power UL mode: 40 Watts x 2 channels
1.5% THD @ 1kHz
Maximum Output Power TRIODE mode: 20 Watts x 2
channels
Frequency Response: 15 Hz - 40 kHz, -1dB
Gain: 37 dB at max Volume
Input Sensitivity: 185 mV in = 50 watts out into 5 ohms
Input Sensitivity Triode: 66mV in = 1W into 8 ohms
Input Sensitivity UL: 53mV in = 1W into 8 ohms
S/N Ratio: typically 87 dB A-WGT, 20Hz-20KHz
Input Impedance: 50 Kohm nominal
Optimum Speaker Load: 5 ohms
Actual Output Impedance at 20Hz: 2.8 ohms
at 100Hz: 2.6 ohms
at 1KHz: 2 ohms
Damping Factor: 5
Power Consumption Idle: 200W
Maximum Power Consumption at Full Power: 370W
MAINS Fuses:
100~120VAC operation: MDL 3 AMP / 250 Volt SLO-BLO
220~240VAC operation: MDL 1.5 AMP / 250 Volt SLO-BLO
B+ FUSES (2): MDA 1/4 AMP, 250 Volt SLO-BLO, Ceramic. (Located internally)
Power Supply: is factory set for 100V, 120V or 220-240VAC operation
for original destination country's mains voltage.
Operating Mains Voltage: changeable with power transformer re-wiring on PCB and fuse value change.
Mains Voltage Frequency: 50~ 60Hz
Power Cord: Detachable IEC standard.
Appropriate power cord supplied for destination country
Dimensions: W= 19", D=14", H=5 ½”
Shipping Weight: 30lbs.
Price: $2250
Website: http://manleylabs.com/
Here I go again putting on my diving gear so I can take a playful romp with my friends in the ocean. In the
October 2008 issue of Affordable Audio I wrote about the Manley Labs Shrimp tube preamplifier ($1880) and
what an amazing journey it is to browse through their online website. I was so taken by the Shrimp that
EveAnna Manley, the President of Manley Labs, offered me up another one of her friendly sea creature products for review. This time instead of the Shrimp it was the Stingray. The Stingray is a tube integrated line level
tube amplifier (phono stage not included), priced at only $2250. As of late I have been reviewing quite a lot of
integrated amplifiers. I find that they are a great alternative for those who do not want to pay the bigger money
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for separates. Couple this with taking up less space in our audio cabinets, the need to buy less interconnects,
power cords and the ability to use smaller power conditioners and you wind up saving a good deal of your hard
earned money.
On your amazing journey through their vast website it is in the Manley audiophile hifi gear page that you will
find the Stingray and other home audio equipment. Once there you will notice that Manley Labs just loves
tubes, which is quite evident by the amount of tube gear they are offering to the public. The great thing about a
manufacturer that has so many tube pieces is that they understand how to design and to build them. Tube
equipment is their bread and butter, not just an afterthought to fill in the product line so they can say that they
have a little bit of something for everyone. Their confidence in the finished product is evident when Manley
Labs stands behind the Shrimp with a 90-day limited warranty that is extended to a full five years (The warranty is to the original purchaser and must be accompanied with proof of the
date of purchase.) and all
you need to do is to fill out
the warranty card and send
it in before 30 days expire.
Five years, you’ve got to
love it in an era where one
to three years is quite
common.
Unlike its counterpart dwelling on the ocean floor,
EveAnna’s Stingray is comfortable in your homes and
on dry land (In fact please
do not get them wet). When
I reviewed the Manley Labs
Shrimp Preamplifier it came
in an attractive box style
setting yet the Stingray is a
different matter altogether
with its distinctive shape.
Just to remind us what an
actual Stingray looks like
there is a sketch of one on
the very front top of the
amplifier. EveAnna’s Stingray sports eight EL84’s, two 6414’s and also two 12AT7EH tubes. Twelve tubes in all
for more of that magical “glow” that us tube lovers find so exciting.
Located in the shipping box sent with each Stingray is of course an owners manual and a six foot IEC-3 conductor power cord that the manual says you will probably replace with an expensive audiophile cord anyway
(which is a good idea if your budget will allow). The good folks at Manley Labs will also include a meter to help
you with the biasing of your tubes on your new amplifier. You will notice that the Stingray’s on/off power switch
is located in the rear of the unit next to the power cord inlet. It is a rocker switch that turns on by flipping it away
from the power cord and off by flipping it toward the power cord. On the front panel are balance and volume
knobs made of high quality ALPS products. EveAnna told me that they scrutinize the pots so hard and match
them up for best tracking “to the point of taking them apart and matching the individual channel elements for
best best best channel to channel tracking”. While these knobs are not as large as the one found on the
Shrimp preamplifier they still had the same shape and feel that felt so comfortable in my hands. In between
both knobs is a backlit panel that lights up the words, “Manley Stingray”. This panel uses super bright LEDs,
not incandescent lamps, for longer life. I would also like to mention that on the bottom of the Stingray are four
built in cones with the points all facing downward. It is nice to see a manufacturer who understands that people
have an interest in devices that help alleviate vibration from our systems and provide that nice finished touch
included in the price.
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With the Stingray in a dark room with its tubes glowing you will notice that the eight EL84’s form a V shape
starting with the outward tubes nearest you and moving into the center where they are farther away. Four tubes
on each side nothing dead center. This I found to be visually appealing and quite different. Then there were the
two 6414 tubes one on each side near the center of the EL84’s behind and partially hidden by two 12at7 tubes
located in the very front. All the tubes gave off a nice glow that tube lovers are sure to appreciate, all except the
12at7’s, which seemed barely lit yet worked perfectly.
Looking once again towards the rear of the unit you will notice a “sub out” output. Those of you who wish to
use a subwoofer to coax more “bottom end” out of your system will find this a joy to have. Hook this up to the
subwoofer and the Stingray’s volume control will now also control your external powered subwoofer. One note
from the owner’s manual about this, “Remember this is a LINE LEVEL output, not a speaker output. If your
subwoofer only has speaker level inputs on it, then you need to drive it with the speaker outputs on the Stingray.”
Two more switches on the rear of the unit, which should be discussed before we move on, are the Loop Return
and Triode/Ultralinear Switches. The loop return switch can be used if you want the Stingray to be used as a
stereo power amplifier. To do this just set the switch to Loop Active. Set this way both the Volume and Balance
knobs on your Stingray still function but now you can connect it to an external preamplifier or a Home Theater
surround sound processor. The triode/ultralinear switch can be used to suit your speakers/audio system but
Manley Labs warns never to switch it up and down rapidly as the high voltages on this switch might blow
something up rather quickly. Basically speaking you can get around 20 watts of triode power, which tends to be
delicate and refined as apposed to about 40 watts of ultralinear sound, which is more dynamic or aggressive.
The strong point of running the amp in triode mode is to get a mid-range magic sound, provided your speakers
are fine with 20 watts of power. For the purposes of this review my results were attained in triode mode, as my
Legacy speakers are efficient enough with a sensitivity rating of 96dB/2.83 V/m.
As I have said before, always
read the owner’s manual first, for
safety reasons, and in the case
of the Stingray also because
there are a lot of great ideas inside. This manual is very detailed
and my guess is if you are not
certain or have questions about
anything you can just call Manley
Labs, as they will gladly try to
help. This manual consists of 22
pages with even a chapter on
“Optimizing Your Sound System”
which talks about speaker
placement, room acoustic treatments and room decorations to
help tame your rooms acoustic
properites and make your
equipment sound better. I have
got to tell you I like this manual,
as it is both fun and informative.
Moving on to an older Tracy
Chapman CD (Tracy Chapman) I
started with the song, “Mountains
of Things” I found the Stingray to
be quite musical. It had a nice
naturalness and depth to the music that made it very unique for integrated amplifiers in this price range. Not having heard Tracy Chapman in
years revisiting her with the Stingray made me realize what was so special about her voice and why I initially
liked her. There is something magical about her singing voice that people like immediately upon hearing it.
With the song, “Mountains of Things”, the soundstage is wide and imaging within it is excellent. Percussions
sound particularly good with the Stingray and once again her voice retained its unique ability to draw you into
the music. With the hit song, “Fast Car”, her acoustic guitar is detailed but not too analytical, rather it is more
euphoric in a good way.
I like James Taylor and his New Moon Shine CD is packed with Taylor’s unique talent. One of my favorites from
this CD is “Shed A Little Light”, a song about the great humanitarian, Martin Luther King. With the chorus, both
male and female, the layering of voices is a joy to listen to. Clarity and midrange magic galore abound in this
song and the Stingray does a nice job of capturing it all.
Herbie Hancock does a song with John Mayer called “All Stitched Up”. This song is musically satisfying with
great pace and timing. When listening through the Stingray, the word magical comes to mind. Threedimensional depth within a nice soundstage, a great upper bass drum performance and the ability of the Stingray to layer the sound makes this song one you will want to hear over and over. With both male vocals singing
simultaneously it is very clear where they are on stage as the singers voices take on a holographic tone.
Weather Report’s Heavy Weather CD showed how the Stingray excelled at imaging, soundstaging and depth.
When listening to the song “Paladium” the part when the live audience was applauding, in the very beginning, it
was extremely three-dimensional and spacious. The Congo solo also had a depth to it that many solid-state
amps costing much more could not get right. This really is one good sounding integrated amplifier.
Taking a small break from my CD collection I decided to spin a little vinyl. How your Stingray will sound with
records will of course be very dependant on your phono preamp as it is a line-level only integrated amp. Still I
felt obligated to test it out, as I am quite confident that the purchaser of a Stingray will naturally have a record
player, what tube aficionado would not? If not initially hopefully you will buy a turntable sometime down the
musical road. Rickie Lee
Jones’s Pirates album is
not as famous as her
first but one that I like
nevertheless. Here her
voice goes from soft to
loud without any apparent strain. While the line
from “Pirates” talking
about,” a 57 Lincoln” reminds me of the days
when tubes and vinyl
went hand in hand, those
pre CD days of yesteryear. With the Stingray
playing vinyl the horn
section was more subdued, smoother and more
enjoyable then with CD’s.
This, of course, was a
good thing. Not to dwell
too long with my record
player, but I had to play a
Bob Dylan classic, “A Hard
Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”.
The sweetness of the
EL84’s softened Dylan’s
voice just enough to take some of the hardness out of it. Instead of giving the song a biting edge the tubes helped
him sound more compassionate, a change I liked. With the Stingray you got the feeling he was emphasizing the
compassion he felt for those that life has given the hard road to rather than the distain he felt for those who did
not care for the misfortune of others.
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Now getting back to CD’S, those of you who read my reviews know I just love Buddy Guy and when he sings,
“Now You’re Gone” his voice is alive. Guitar is detailed yet slightly euphoric and the background vocals layered
nicely to give you that you are there magic. The Stingray really is excellent for Blues and Jazz as it makes you
connect with the performers, to cry or be sad right along with the best of them, which is what that musical
genre is all about.
Judd and Maggie singing the song “Perfectly” is a pleasure to hear. With this the Stingray shows how to handle
the decay of guitar notes or voices as they are left floating in the air for just the right amount of “hang time”.
When singing “Can’t you see me I am right in front of you?” it reminded me of the Stingray. This amp/preamp
package, while not large in stature or weight, certainly shouts out to let you know all its sonic virtues and I for
one am glad it does.
All the good people at Manley Labs have really got to stand up and take a bow for what they have put together
for only $2250. Here you have an integrated twelve-tube amplifier that really should be selling for way more of
our hard earned dollars. The magical way it layers individual voices and instruments on a wide, deep soundstage coupled with a strong mid-bass presence is more than you should expect for this type of money. You
could easily spend more for a separate tube amplifier plus tube preamp while then being required to invest in
extra interconnects and having to find more space within your audio rack (which might necessitate you buying
a rack with more shelves thusly spending even more money). The Stingray gives you a great performance at a
reasonable price, while coming with a five-year warranty from a reliable and very knowledgeable manufacturer
of excellent tube equipment. Couple this with the fact that you just might be saving Stingray’s from becoming
an endangered species, by not buying them, and you have another reason to purchase yours today. Once
again I have discovered a product form EveAnna Manley that I am going to find difficult to return to sender.
The Listening Environment:
Ok I know, Anthony when are you going to add some acoustic treatments to your listening environment? I am seriously
considering this and hope to get a manufacturer to allow me to treat my room for a review. The theory being that once my
wife hears how well the sound has changed she will run to the bank to pay for all this. Well maybe she won’t run but I
might once I get her ok. Until then the listening room is still 18 foot 8 inch long by 13 feet wide. The room’s cathedral ceiling starts at 8 feet high then slopes upward to 13 feet at its peak in the middle. Flooring is a soft hardwood covering with
an oriental rug placed dead center in between (but not under) the listener and the audio system. There are no doors that
open or shut into other rooms also there are two large openings one facing the speakers and the other to its side and
slightly in front of the right speaker. I have a nice snug fireplace opposite this opening and in front of the left speaker. As
for my audio equipment it is tucked nicely inside of a Cherry Synergy Twin S30 Salamander audio rack.
Review equipment:
Whest phono stage interconnects
Xindek Gold Series Interconnects
Klipsch Klipschorn speakers
Acoustic Revive RTP-4ultimate Power supply box
Anti-Interconnects (2 pairs)
Tek Line PC-8 Signature Power Cords 6-foot length
Black Diamond Racing Cones (#3 & #4)
Audio Prism IsoBearing (Isolation Globes)
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Stager Silver Solids Interconnects
By Jeff Brown
[email protected]
Specifications:
Design:
Unshielded symmetrical pair - Ultra low 11 pF/ft. Capacitance.
Wire:
.999 pure silver 24 ga. (.020" diameter) solid core wire.
Insulator:
Translucent Teflon.
Connectors: Canare F-10 RCA connectors. Machined solid brass center,
Teflon insulator, 24K gold plated contacts, spring strain relief.
Construction: Lead free silver solder at all contacts.
Color coded Polyolefin heat shrink at ends.
Caig ProGold coating applied to silver for lasting anti-tarnish protection,
and to connectors for perfect electrical contact.
Price: $129.00 - 1 Meter Pair ($80.00 per additional meter)
Website: marc.stager.com/silver
When a product is designed correctly and
does everything right, you really don't need
to mess with it much. It seems to me that
should be the way things are supposed to
work, and I love those types of products.
The Stager Silver solids have been built the
same way using the same products by the
same guy for over a decade and they sound
awesome. A question that will go unanswered not only in this review but also likely
for the rest of my life I believe is “Why do
companies constantly create new product
lines?” I think the answer is that people
want the latest greatest product, but is it
truly better and at what cost in the long run?
In this article I spend a lot of time talking about an honest sound. I want to preface it with what that means to me. We
all have different expectations and we all have different opinions about what an ideal sound is. I think that a stereo
system’s purpose is to recreate music. Music is something originally created by instruments where they are normally
heard in harmony with other instruments. While a solo performance is still music, a performance of several instruments should not sound like a performance of several individual instruments. It should sound like the skilled artistic
blending of those instruments. So, stating that, honesty is accuracy but not “I can hear the rosin on the bow of the 3rd
violin.” (If that were present in the original performance it would have been the 3rd violinist's last performance with that
group.) I am also aware that perfect “life like” recreation in the living room, or listening room, is pretty much impossible
(especially on my budget!) So honesty, in this sense, is an expression of making me feel closer to the real deal. There
are lots of products that color the sound from a system. I have even argued that every single item in the signal path,
from the motor spinning the CD to the solder used to connect the speakers to their crossovers and every single piece
in between, adds some color to the sound. So complete color-free sound, I know, is unattainable, but honest sound is
something that all equipment builders should strive for. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what I feel is honesty in sound,
and that is what I am referring to when I use that word in this review.
The honesty of these cables extends to the products used to create them. Marc shamelessly posts each part used to
create them on his website, there is no secret “Patent Pending” catch phrase products in these cables, just 24 gauge
silver cable and Teflon isolation combined with silver solder and good quality connectors. Marc even gives you the
brand of connectors he uses. The fact that nothing his hidden behind double speak or special phrasing is a welcome
change to the cable industry that is for sure.
Silver is a magical conductor (compared to copper) in that, not only does it conduct better, but as it tarnishes its conductivity remains virtually unchanged while that of copper falls off precipitously. So not only do you get more signal
with a smaller diameter wire, resulting in a lower capacitance, but you get to keep that quality over time. Teflon is
known to be the best insulator. That is why some very expensive cables are made using pure silver and Teflon, and
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one of the few places to get this mix in interconnects for $100 per pair is from Marc Stager - or build them yourself.
Even the DIY route will end up costing you dearly. My research tells me that for a meter pair (4 meters of silver wire,
silver solder, and 4 Canare ends from an on-line vendor,) would cost almost $100 plus shipping. While I am pretty
good with a soldering iron, I think the extra few bucks to have a tested finished product is still a value.
When the package from Stager arrived; what really struck me was that the two pairs of cables each came with a letter
from Marc Stager thanking me for purchasing his cables. At the bottom of the form letter the exact capacitance of the
red and black marked cables was accurately recorded. This last portion is a handwritten by Marc before the cables
are shipped out. This kind of from the top service is what high end audio used to be all about and that was what originally
intrigued me about Quicksilver. Like Stager, Mike Sanders touches every piece that leaves Quicksilver. It used to
be that if you owned something really nice you knew the name of the designer and probably even talked to him at
least once. This transparency and intimacy with the designer isn't as commonplace as it used to be. This availability
is just one more reason that I consider this product “champagne cables on a beer budget.”
I put these cables up against some pretty steep competition in some A/B shootouts, and while some were more sweet,
some were more smooth and several were more harsh sounding, none were more honest to the music and the complete system. I have written about 3 sets in the competition that were in a similar price range and some even with
similar components. I put all of these
cables in three different unique systems. I used them in my Quicksilver/
nOrh setup and was floored at how
much more energy and detail I got from
complete experience. I put them in my
Antique Sound Labs/STR-3ES system
and the subtle nuances that I love so
much from the 6L6 tube came out so
much more alive. I also used these
with the Ideal Innovations amp paired
with a borrowed Anthem Pre 1L. (Dynamite combo for less then a grand by
the way!) Over a period of about a
month I started going through my existing interconnects and trying to find the
combination the was felt more honest
and the results were surprising.
The long comparison of the Stager Silver Solids began with my Audioquest
Diamondback cables. These cables
have a retail price of $150. The Diamondbacks are a pretty neutral cable
with some bite on the top end. This
bite is nice for harder rock and jazz but
that “bite” isn't what I would call honest.
The Stager Silver Solids were true to
the same music through the whole frequency spectrum and did not emphasize the higher frequency spectrum or as
audiophiles like to say “brighten the sound” like these Audioquest cables did in my system. Next were the DH Labs
Silver Sonic BL-1 cables. These cables are made from oxygen free copper, coated with pure silver, and cost $99 per
one meter pair. The BL-1 offering has all the brightness that silver cables are famous for but which isn’t in evidence in
the Stager Silver Solids. The BL-1, I feel, is typical of the $100 offerings available; a good cable but not in the Stager
Silver Solids league. I think sound differences comes from the gauge of wire and the type of insulator, but at DH Labs
those things are hidden behind that “patent pending” trademarked cable-speak I mentioned earlier. There are one or
two other $100 silver interconnects, but unfortunately I don't have them.
The final contender was a bit out of the price league but when you are dealing with this level of quality you have to
reach a bit high. Lastly, I introduced the upgraded DH Labs silver plated cables, the Air Matrix. At a cost of $195 per
meter this may well have been the closest contender but there was something that just didn't work right. I couldn't find
the right synergy in any of the three systems. In the right system the Air Matrix could be a tie but I just don't seem to
have access to that ideal system. The reasons I added the two DH Labs cables to the mix were that firstly, I had them
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to compare, and secondly I didn't want to just compare these cables to other 100 dollar cables. I wanted to compare
these cable to other giant killers. The two DH Labs offerings are among my favorite interconnects. I have more expensive cables available but they have always out-shined most of them. Every interconnect in this review is worth every
penny of its price. They all shine in their own purpose, but I just don't feel all of the music like I do with the Stager Silver Solids.
Lastly is the bad news. Firstly these cables are only available directly from Marc Stager at www.Marc.Stager.com/silver.
He does offer a complete satisfaction guarantee for 30 days. It is a risk free purchase, but you can’t demo them at your
local Hi-Fi store. Secondly, the Stager Silver Solids are the only unshielded interconnects I’ve had experience with.
I say that as a something of a warning. When positioned too close to unshielded power cords there is a slight audible
hum. Another concern some might have is with longer interconnect runs; some people would rather have longer interconnects as opposed to longer speaker cables because, as least, interconnects are shielded. Personally I prefer my
interconnects either one or two meters, and my speaker cables 6-8 feet. At first I used unshielded power cables
because of WAF concerns but my system isn't as conducive to a complete separation of power and signal cables as I
would like. I ended up using Van Den Hul Mainserver power cords which are not only Halogen free, but highly shielded.
In this configuration I could (and did) lay the Silver Solids against the power cable without any audible hum or other
difference. I also found that if I kept the Silver Solids over a foot from any power cables, or crossed them at right
angles I didn't have any of the bleed over issues from even the cheapest power cables that come with PCs or lower
end components and whatnot. Shielding could be an issue for some, but it can be overcome for most. The rest might
find spending much more money for a similar sounding shielded cables a wiser investment, that just isn't the case for me.
So if you haven't figured it out, I have a new favorite set of interconnects. I also have the very first product in my almost one year of reviewing that I wont be sending back! I didn't get in to the reviewing hobby to collect equipment. I
have plenty already and my wife says too much, but I just cant seem to put these back in the box. I would give Marc
and his Stager Silver Solids 2 thumbs up, but one of them is currently getting my wallet out! Thanks again Marc for
enlightening me.
Equipment used for review:
Roku Soundbridge M1000 Network Music Player
Quicksilver Audio Silver Mono amplifiers
Antique Sound Labs AV-20 Mono amplifiers
Ideal Innovations Elite 80+ amplifier
Sony STR-DA3ES Receiver
Anthem Pre 1a preamplifier
nOrh ACA2b preamplifier
Fritz Frequencies loudspeakers
LJM Originals Super Monitors
Audioquest Diamondback interconnects (1 Meter)
DH Labs Silver Sonic BL-1 (1 Meter and 2 Meter)
DH Labs Silver Sonic Air Matrix (.5 Meter and 1 Meter)
Audioquest CV-4 speaker cables (10 foot)
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Blue Circle Power Line Product
By Anthony Nicosia
[email protected]
Blue Circle Audio BC86MKIII Power Line Pillow
$180
Technical Information:
4 distinct wide 'Q' filters covering a wide range of frequencies.
Fully enclosed in a steel chassis for RF rejection.
Filtering is cumulative with the addition of one or more additional BC86s
MKII - broader range of filtration than the original BC86
MKIII - eliminated PC board - hard wired - double the filtration of the MKII.
Blue Circle Audio BC86PUG filtered outlet cord
$180 USD
The Pug is a BC86MKIII with a receptacle that allows it to
be used with a component with a hardwired power cord
Blue Circle Audio BC86PC filtered power cord
$180 USD
The BC86PC is simply a BC86MKIII inserted in a hospital grade power cord with an IEC connector on one end
Blue Circle Audio BC62 power cord 6 feet (1.83 m) long
$280 USD plus $30 per foot for additional feet
10-gauge basic power cord with a hospital grade male plug on one end and in IEC plug on the other
Blue Circle Audio
RR2
Innerkip, Ontario, Canada
NOJ 1MO
Telephone +1 (519) 469-3215
Fax +(519) 469-3782
Web address: http://www.bluecircle.com/
Email address: [email protected]
There are a total of 14 dealers in the USA and Canada
“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away . . .”(quote from the original Star Wars movie) To the north of a
country called America lived a young man who for 20 years toiled to design and manufacture quality handcrafted audio products for the forces of good (audiophiles) against the forces of evil (companies of mass produced products seeking profit over quality). This young man, Gilbert Yeung, with the power of his force through
his philosophy of “Simplicity, Artistry, and Music” raged war against the evil empire.
Blue Circle Audio is a company located in a little town in Canada called Innerkip. Looking at a map it is near
Lake Erie about equal distance between Toronto, Canada and Buffalo, New York. I asked him how he managed to set-up his factory in Innerkip when he told me the following story.
Gilbert Yeung and his family arrived in Waterloo Canada to meet up with his brother who was there studying as
a foreign student. While in Canada he enrolled in a tech school as he felt a college or university just didn’t suit
him. After about three years they all decided that it was a little too populated for them as Waterloo was surrounded by two larger cities, Kitchener and Cambridge, which are actually joined together. Searching for a
more secluded spot they drove around and found the little town of Innerkip where they decided to settle down.
He also told me the interesting story of the name Blue Circle Audio. He operated his company from his parent’s
basement starting in 1988 until 1999 at which time he moved to his current location. When you look at his
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website under factory tour you will see it is probably quite a difference from his family basement. He always
liked circles and also the color pink but since there was a company named Pink Triangle he decided to go with
his second favorite color blue. Gathering feedback on the name Blue Circle told him that people thought it was
catchy and non descriptive. Being a philosophical sort of guy he liked the idea that it meant nothing and yet at
the same time meant everything. Thus the name Blue Circle Audio was born.
I remember surfing the web for new audio ideas, about two or three years ago, when I discovered a short video
demonstration of a product called the BC86 Power Line Pillow by Blue Circle Audio. Amazed at how it apparently reduced power line noise I had to try it out. Hearing that two was better than one, I bought two BC86 MK
III Power Line Pillows sight unseen. This was one of those things that I tried to sneak by my ever-vigilant wife
but with no success. Yes I did the old here let me pay you with cash trick with my friend who put it on his credit
card and had it shipped to his house routine. Of course this never works as she immediately
noticed the new gear in my system. A few days later, after falsely promising not to buy any more audio equipment for a short while, we were talking again.
Blue Circle Audio is quite a fascinating company in that it makes not only cables; speaker wires and interconnects, but also a slew of other amazing audio gear. Looking at the product list I see they make, amplifiers, preamps, dacs, integrated amps, phono stages, power line conditioners, power bars, cones, medium density foam
pucks (to place under components to hamper vibration), a "USB Thingee" to allow you to plug into your computer to access music files, a headphone amp and even speakers. All this and I have not even mentioned the
highly unusual Music Pumps & Music Purse. Gilbert Yeung indeed has a creative and brilliant mind.
You can find relatively inexpensive gear in his lineup to others costing over $20000. No matter what you buy from Gilbert Yeung, before he puts his name behind it, he makes
sure it’s a quality component. In fact he still literarily has a
hand in making some of the equipment people buy from him.
The products that we are going to talk about today are really
quite affordable and I think that if you look carefully at some
of the other products in his line such as the SBP preamp and
The SBS Class AB Solid State Power amp you might just find
something that will spark your interest while still being reasonably affordable. Be forewarned though once bitten by the
Blue Circle bug you might just become addicted.
My two BC86MKIII power line pillows are touted as being an
effective solution for the reduction or elimination of power line
noise. You may say, “But I don’t have a noise problem, why my
system is so quiet what could you possible do to make it more so?” Fair enough question. Stay tuned for the
interesting answer.
When I first bought the pillows I lived in a house located in a small town in California with a population of
around only 38,000 people. My equipment was plugged into two Monster HTS-2000 Power Conditioners, operating in parallel. These power conditioners were then run into a PS Audio Power Port receptacle to further
reduce noise. I felt quite safe within the knowledge that I had adequately safeguarded my system from the
electronic pollution coming from the power company and other electronic devices within my household.
Initially, when I put them in my system I really did not notice any change at all. Please note that I foolishly left
them in for only about ½ hour. I guess I was looking for something dramatic to happen and therefore did not
listen to the details, which is where the magic really happens. Puzzled and saddened that I had spent my
money without any apparent result I banished them into my home theatre system to toil for all eternity. About a
month had gone by and feeling guilty about not having given my Blue Circle products a fair chance I decided to
try them again in the main system. I thought that perhaps if I let them sit there for a few days that would be
enough time for them to work their magic. So back they went but this time I refused to listen for three days (an
arbitrary number I decided upon for no good reason but to pick some time frame). Since I decided not to listen
to my main system I began to watch movies instead. I don’t remember the movie but I do remember how horrible my system now sounded without my two little power line pillows. Running as fast as I could I stole them
from the main system and reinstalled them in my home theatre setup. Voila, my good sound was back again.
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My brain had actually become adjusted to the subtleness of the pillows and it was irritating to listen without
them.
Now when I re-inserted them in my main system I let them settle in for a month during which time all sorts of
small but wonderful things happened. I was hearing my system with greater clarity and improved dynamics as
well as noticing a decrease in CD grunge. The pillows have never left my main system since and I am still trying to find a way to sneak some more past my wife for use in my home theatre environment. Right now I simply
unplug them from one system to install them in the next as needed.
One thing always bothered me though. I had a Sony DVP-7700 for Redbook CD playback and a Samsung
DVD- HD-841 universal player that both had hardwired power cords Because of this I was unable to see if I
could coax more out of the system with a power cord upgrade. Now the BCPUG does not quite give me the full
versatility of an IEC connector but it does allow me to attach the BC86MKIII with its own power cord directly
into each component. To me that is at least a half step upwards toward the ultimate solution of a separate IEC
connector and is very simple to do or undo as desired.
Then of course there is the curiosity I have had about running two more BC86MKIII power line pillows into my
system and to do the extra two directly through my mono block power amps. The solution naturally would be to
have a BC86MKIII with its own IEC connector to plug directly into each amp. The BC86PC is exactly the device I needed. Wow you make everything so simple for me. I have a problem and you come up with an easy to
do and inexpensive solution.
The next thing I would like to try would be a
power cord from the same company so I
would have a way to tie everything together
with cords that would be compatible. I do believe in synergy and feel that the more you
can get from the same manufacturer the better the chance of this synergy having a positive effect. So here comes Gilbert Yeung to
the rescue sending me a BC62 power cord to
use on my Acoustic Revive RTP-2ultimate
power supply box. So I can now plug both
BC86PC’s from the amps then through the
RTP-2’s connecting them all to a PS Audio
power outlet via a BC62 power cord. This
presents itself as a simple, clean and cohesive solution.
As for the two BC86MKIII power line pillows,
I shall keep them plugged into a
receptacle on the same circuit less than 20
feet away to act as a further noise-reducing
safeguard during all my experiments with the
following Blue Circle products. Like I said, I
own these two little beauties and do not see them going anywhere anytime soon. Ok let’s start adding more
Blue Circle products to my system one at a time and later all at once to see what happens.
Having already discussed the positive benefits of two BC86MKIII’s let us now move onto adding a BC86PUG
into the link via my Sony DVP-S7700 CD/DVD Player (used as transport only, in conjunction with my Monarchy
Audio Dual 20-Bit D/A Converter). The DAC already is using a separate power cord, also by Monarchy, but my
poor Sony only has a hard-wired cord. First up was Eric Clayton’s Unplugged CD and the song “Signe”. This
time the difference of adding my BC86MKIII via the PUG option was not subtle at all. I could immediately tell
that things were different in a positive way. The PUG brought with it more weight to the sound, even when
played at lower volumes. I had happily lost some CD glare and the midrange also tended to take on some welcomed added weight to them. Vocals just seemed to come across with a rounded fuller sound to them. Playing
through the CD and resting at one of my favorites, “Malted Milk”, I again noticed the same effects. There was a
definite cleansing of the overall sound that allowed for cleaner lower and mid range notes to be heard. The
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higher end of the musical spectrum did not seem as affected as these other regions but overall the sound was
an astonishing turnaround from what I had heard previously before the PUG was inserted.
Perhaps now it was time to disconnect the PUG from the Sony to attach it to the Samsung DVD- HD-841 universal player. I then ran the Samsung directly into the Manley Labs Shrimp tube linestage preamp bypassing
the DAC. I must tell you that little PUG certainly did improve the sound of the Samsung. I played the DVDAudio disc by The Who, called Tommy. Naturally I played the two great songs, “The Acid Queen” and “Pinball
Wizard”. Bass and detail was improved with “The Acid Queen”. The Who’s performance of “Pinball Wizard”
brought with it a greater presence of the overall performance. The Pub improved DVD-Audio the same as it did
Redbook CD. Later I listened to a SACD performance by The Rolling Stones of “Honky Tonk Women” from the
CD Through The Past Darkly. Same results as with the DVD-Audio, little more bass presence, soundstage
width and overall a greater amount of details could be heard in each performance.
Well if having two BC86MKIII’s and one BC86PUG in my system worked so well that I wondered what would
happen when I insert two BC86PC’s connected to my mono amps. At first I unplugged the PUG from the Sony
so that now I was running just the ever-constant two BC86MKIII’s with my system with the newly installed
BC86PC’s. One again I could hear a more pronounced midrange and cleansing of the male or female voices
as well as extra heft in the lower regions. CD glare however returned without the addition of the PUG helping
my Sony transport. I also felt that I had lost just a tad bit of bass without the PUG. Still I liked the improvement
that the BC86PC’s had on my mono amps and thought they were all the better for it. I next reinserted the PUG
back into the link, via the Sony transport, and with the BC86MKIII’s and the BC86PC’s all back together in my
system the sound was simply heavenly.
Now it was time to see what affect the BC62 power cord had on my system. It is designed for use with high
current-draw applications, like power amps. Again I took out all the Blue Circle products (except the everconstant two BC86 MKIII power line pillows). I was now connecting my amps to an Acoustic Revive power strip
using my two Tek Line PC-8 Signature 6’ Power Cords. I then used the BC62 power cord to connect the power
strip to the PS Audio Power Port Receptacle. One of the nice things about this power cord is that it bends so
easily that I found it a joy to use. Again, like with all these Blue Circle products, everything just seemed more at
ease whenever I installed them into my audio system. Here the highs opened up just slightly and things
seemed a tad louder. I really liked what the BC62 did for my two amps plugged in via the power strip as that
extra high-end sparkle gave recordings a nice live feeling to them. I could sense more detail when listening to
Eric Clapton’s “Unplugged” CD, when passages with the live audience was playing. Overall this was a positive
addition to my music system and not one to be overlooked.
Finally, I decided I could wait no longer and attached all the Blue Circle products together at one time. This
produced the best of all results. Maybe it was also that synergy of having products made from one company
together. I can tell you that I now felt more dynamics, midrange clarity, extra weight to the bass/midrange and a
wider soundstage. If you think about it that is a lot to get from such a modest investment. For those with a single amp you would only need to spend $180 on one BC86PC, $260 for 2 power line pillows, $280 for a BC62 6
foot power cord and $180 for a Blue Circle Audio BC86PUG. This totals only $900 to outfit an entire audio system with high quality hand built products from
Gilbert at Blue Circle Audio. Now that’s a deal.
The best result I obtained was with the insertion
of the BC86PUG attached to my Sony or
Samsung CD player. If I had to start somewhere,
and price was a concern, this is where I would
start. For only $180 the PUG transformed my CD
players into ones that I could happily live with. I
would recommend trying one of these PUG’s before upgrading your CD player. It is cost affective
and if you don’t like what it does (although I can
not imagine that happening), all you have to do
is unplug it to try with a different component.
Next up would be to try a BC86PC at again only
$180. Having these power line pillows inserted
directly into a component was a much more
dramatic affect than having pillows plugged into
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a receptacle on the same circuit less than 20 feet away. Thirdly I would add the BC62 6 foot power cord at
$280 to my power strip. If you do not have a strip where you could change cords I would add it directly to my
power amp. Fortunately for me I had such a power strip. Finally to put the cherry on top of my audio sundae I
would add one, maybe two, power line pillows at $130 each to finish off my system. Having them in my main
review system has spoiled me and I now need to find a new way to convince my wife they simply must stay
with me. So be careful because the added affect of all these products makes them an affordable and affective
system upgrade that you too might be reluctant to remove.
The Listening Environment:
The listening room is 18 feet 8 inches long by 13 feet wide. The room’s cathedral ceiling starts at 8 feet high then slopes
upward to 13 feet at its peak in the middle. Flooring is a soft hardwood covering with an oriental rug placed dead center in
between (but not under) the listener and the audio system. There are no doors that open or shut into other rooms also
there are two large openings one facing the speakers and the other to its side and slightly in front of the right speaker. As
for my audio equipment it is tucked nicely inside of a Synergy Twin S30 Salamander audio rack.
Review equipment:
Dignity Audio DA08SE integrated mono amps (imported by Monarchy Audio)
Monarchy Audio SM-70 Pro Amps (2 run in mono single-ended configuration)
Samsung DVD- HD-841 Up-Converting DVD Player
Klipsch Klipschorn speakers (1989 version unmodified)
RTP-2ultimate Power supply box
RTP-4 ultimate Power supply box
Anti-Interconnects (2 pairs)
Tek Line PC-8 Signature Power Cords (2) 6 foot lengths
Black Diamond Racing Cones (#3 & #4)
Audio Prism IsoBearing (Isolation Globes
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Go Forth and Modify
By Brad Mitchell
[email protected]
To “tweak” or to “mod?” That is the question Shakespeare would be asking today if he were an audiophile.
Over the years, many of us have purchased hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars on tweaks such as exotic interconnects and speaker cables, isolation devices, power cords, or NOS tubes. However, the use of high quality components such as coupling capacitors, rectifying diodes, and signal path resistors will probably have much more impact on
the performance of your system than most tweaks.
Generally speaking, better parts equal better sound. Modified products are often the best value in audio, especially if
you can do it yourself or find a knowledgeable friend who’s handy with a soldering iron. There are many high priced
products out there that use mediocre internal parts, and these products can be improved, often significantly, with
higher quality parts. To explain more clearly the rationale for modifying components, I have borrowed heavily with
permission from Michael Elliott the following excellent synopsis from Alta Vista Audio’s web page
(www.altavistaaudio.com):
How does an upgraded product compare to something bought retail?
Quality parts result in very high prices. Here's something to consider: when one manufactures high-end stereo gear,
every dollar spent on parts adds $5.50 to $6.00 to the retail price. This is the industry standard "multiplier." Charge
less and you go out of business, charge more and you are not competitive. There are a lot of reasons why the retail
price is so high.
First, there are a lot of overhead costs associated with being a manufacturer. Industrial space, utilities, advertising,
cost of doing high-end audio and consumer electronics shows, travel both domestic and overseas travel to promote
products, health insurance and other employee benefits all add to the amount that you must charge the retailer for the
product.
Second, the retailer is obviously another
big reason why the retail price is so high.
[Retailers] mark up the cost by about
45% to 55% over what they pay for the
gear. Additionally, they aren't willing to
pay for the stuff when they buy it, expecting the manufacturer to carry them for 30
to 90 days. This costs the manufacturer,
adding to his overhead. However, if
you're trying to get the maximum sound
for the minimum amount of money, you
need to consider that less than 10% of
your retail dollar actually goes toward the
electronic parts inside the pretty new
chassis, and the rest goes toward the
pretty new chassis and other places that
don't have anything to do with how the component sounds.
Do the math. Let's say you pop over to your local high-end audio dealer's salon and after careful consideration, drop
$4,000 on a new preamp. First, half of your $4,000 went to the dealer. The manufacturer gets the other half, or $2,000.
Of that, roughly 2/3rds goes to costs not associated with the actual product's materials (the rule of thumb is to wholesale the product for three times the parts cost). That means that your $4,000 preamp has $660 worth of parts in it. Of
those parts, more than half the money is spent on non-electronic parts, like the pretty new chassis, the product's ship-
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ping carton, the owner's manual, the knobs, the feet, the front panel, transformers, good-quality connectors, an AC
cord and the circuit board. What's left is less than $340 for the parts that actually handle the signal -- the parts that
make the music.
To make this example more pertinent to those of us who cannot afford to pay $4,000 for a preamp -- if your preamp
retails for $1,000, then there are about $85 of actual parts that make the music. This is significant because a single
high quality audiophile capacitor can cost $10 or $20 bucks or a heckuva lot more, and your preamp probably has
several capacitors in it. The bottom line is that your $1,000 preamp probably has mediocre parts.
I know what you’re thinking – “A thousand bucks is a lot of money for mediocrity.”Don’t feel bad – some of the biggest
brand names in high end audio skimp on parts. How do you think many of them became popular? Through big marketing budgets, not parts quality. You’ll find mediocre parts on many ultra high end components, even those retailing for
as much as $50,000. I won’t name the high end brands that use low end parts, but if you do a little research, you’ll find
plenty of them.
For this reason, all of my gear comes from small manufacturers who sell directly to consumers on-line because they
are more likely to use higher quality parts due to lower overhead and no middlemen, i.e., retailers. In addition, most of
my gear has been modified, often with the blessing and input from the product’s designer. That’s less likely to happen
with the big brands.
It’s important to know what you’re buying by becoming familiar with the various types and quality aspects of components. You don’t have to be an electrical engineer to figure it out. A little homework goes a long way. And if a manufacturer is not willing to tell you the brands or quality of the parts used in his products, look elsewhere.
Simply put, mods give you more for your money. Imagine surpassing the sonic performances of some of the most expensive gear on the market by changing out a handful of key parts in your existing audio equipment. You will be
amazed at the improvements that can be made with a hundred bucks or so worth of better parts.
So how does one go about modifying their gear? The first step is to do your homework. Search the Internet, especially
the audio forums, and find out if someone has already modified your component. If so, you can usually find good information and instructions on what to do and how to do it. Obtain a copy of the schematic, if possible. Start with your
preamp, DAC or speakers. Don’t be afraid to “look under the hood” and find out the parts you already have. It’s also a
good idea to snap lots of pics of the guts. Make sure you jot down the values of the caps and resistors. Purchase the
parts from reputable on-line dealers such as Soniccraft, GR Research, Madisound, Parts Express, Percy Audio, and
many others.
O.K. – it’s time to pause and deliver the obligatory warning message – if you’re unfamiliar with electronics, proceed
with extreme caution if you plan to do your own mods or decide to pop the hood on your gear. This stuff can kill ya.
There’s also risk involved in potentially screwing things up or voiding your warranty, so if you’re hesitant, get someone
else who is technically competent to do it for you.
Be careful about going overboard with mods such as buying $50 caps for a $500 component. Examine the cost/
benefit carefully. Sometimes it may be more cost effective to upgrade your component rather than modify your existing
one. Besides, don’t expect to get a higher resell price on your gear due to your mods, so keep the costs reasonable.
In addition, some components are better candidates for mods than others. And unless you’re an audio designer or
very experienced tinkerer, resist the urge to change the design of the component or the values of the parts. Focus on
the most important aspects that will potentially contribute the most to producing sonic improvements. For instance,
upgrading the capacitors in the signal path will probably make a bigger sonic difference than switching out the binding
posts.
Of course, the best (and safest) way to modify your components is to send it to the manufacturer or to professionals
who are familiar with your gear. Be prepared to pay a premium price, though. However, you’ll be assured that the job
is done right and your newly modified component will probably compete sonically with other similar components costing several times more. Remember, cost is not necessarily an indicator of quality, especially in the audio world. That’s
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why it’s so important to become an informed consumer and know what you’re buying. Once you do, you’ll spend more
time listening to music and less time wondering if your system is good enough.
Now go forth and modify!
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Yamamoto Sound Craft Audio Bases
By Anthony Nicosia
[email protected]
PB-9 $40 set of four
Ebony cones
Diameter (34mm) height (19mm) height of pin (5mm)
Ebony cups (can used with PB-9)
Diameter (34mm) height (12mm) depth of the form department (3.5mm)
Ebony cones
Diameter (41mm) height (21mm) height of pin (5mm)
Ebony cups (can be used with PB-20)
Diameter (41mm) height (14mm) depth of the form department (3.5mm)
African Ebony cups
Height (18mm) 42mm square
PB-22 $12.50 set of four
Southeast Asian ebony triangular audio bases
Size (38mmX25mm) height of the base (18mm)
MGB-2 (Isolation Devices) $310 per set of four/ $240 per set of three
African Ebony audio bases
Outside dimensions: diameter (49mm) height (45mm-37mm)
MGB-1 (Isolation Devices) $410 per set of four/ $320 per set of three
African Ebony audio bases
Outside dimensions: diameter (59mm) height 58.8mm-47mm)
Yamamoto Sound Craft Corporation
726 Sakaki-tyo, Ono-city, Hyogo 675-1323 Japan
Telephone 81-794-62-5655
Fax 81-794-63-6405
Web address: http://www2.117.ne.jp/~y-s/index-e.html
North American Importer for Yamamoto Sound Craft:
Venus Hi-Fi
East Lansing, Michigan
Phone: 517-881-7753
Web address: http://www.venushifi.com/
Shigeki Yamamoto is the founder of Yamamoto Sound Craft Corporation and credited with the creation of all
their products. His company is well known in Japan for the manufacturing of high-end audio accessories and
valve amplification. Aside from their sonic virtues I found Shigeki Yamamotos products beautiful to look at as
well as nice to touch being that they are made of exotic natural wood. To give you an idea of the scope of this
company’s interest, they make of course Audio Bases but also equipment racks, speaker stands, tube amps,
preamps, phono stages, headphone amps, a new DA Converter and yes even speakers.
I have had some sort of audio bases under my equipment for over 10 years now. Some were home made,
some improvised, while still others were store bought. While I do feel that having some form of isolation device
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under equipment will have a positive impact on the sound, I have never been bowled over by the changes
brought upon by any of them. For my turntable I placed Black Diamond Racing Cones directly under each of
the three factory supports, which then rested on some solid brass cylinders, which I had custom made. Those
brass cylinders again rested on a large square piece of 1½-inch thick solid maple butcher block, which sat atop
even more brass cylinders that finally rested on top of my Salamander Audio Rack. This multi layering of bases
was to a degree successful in that it did stop the cartridge from skipping when I approached the turntable. The
sound also seemed to smooth out and improve but not in a dramatic fashion. Other Black Diamond Racing
Cones were used directly under other components in my system as well as one set of Audio Prism IsoBearing
(Isolation Globes). Before this there was a time when I used bicycle inner tubes throughout my entire system,
which were partially inflated and used as a resting place for all my different audio components. Oh yes let us
not forget the numerous hockey pucks that I once purchased as well as arrowheads screwed into the bottom of
various equipment with the tip pointing down. Throughout all these experiments I felt that the Black Diamond
Racing Cones and the Audio Prism IsoBearing products worked best with my particular system. I never regretted buying either of them in fact those are the devices that I finally settled on for use in my review system before coming into contact with the Yamamoto Audio Bases.
Yamamoto audio bases are beautiful to look at, feel nice to the touch and have a pleasant natural all wood
scent. What a great product, having something for each of three different senses to enjoy. Of course I am going to walk us through a review of all the eight Yamamoto products listed above. Among those products reviewed today it is my honor to be one of the first to discuss Shigeki Yamamoto’s new MGB-2, a somewhat
smaller and less expensive version of their top of the line MGB-1 audio base.
While I do believe that isolation devices can be beneficial towards an improvement in the sound of an audio
system I feel that it is necessary to place them in numerous places throughout rather then just under one part
of the audio chain. It seems to me that the cumulative effect these products have is much greater then the results I heard from any one particular product or any one place I used them under. The only exception there was
with my turntable but we shall discuss that later in the review. Yamamoto Sound Craft Audio Bases sounded
wonderful in my audio system and I am very glad to have them there. Although once I placed them underneath
components I missed their feel, smell (you have got to put them close to your nose to smell the wonderful natural wood scent) and looks. Shigeki Yamamoto communicated to me via email that only about 1/1000th of his
companies business comes from America. That hopefully will change as more of us become aware of the
many wonderful products that he has to offer. It certainly is a shame that large numbers of us in America have
yet to discover all that he has to offer as the Japanese have so wisely done.
To start out with let us discuss the use of African ebony, or more appropriately named African Black Wood,
used in the production of the PB-9 and PB-10’s. The most famous use for this wood is in the production of
woodwind instruments. It is primarily used in top quality clarinets and praised for its ability to produce beautiful
tones. You may of course use these two separately, the PB-9 with its points to support equipment and the PB10 under components with spiked feet (as it has holes to contain them). It is recommended by Yamamoto
Sound Craft that for best results they be used together which is of course the way I tested them. Please note
that the PB-20 AND PB-21 are the same, as the PB-9 and PB-10, only slightly larger to accommodate heavier
components. They again were tested the same
way, together as one unit. The PB-20, like the PB9, had spikes and the PB-21 as did the PB-10 had
a concave indentation. There use is primarily recommended for source components, preamps and
power amplifiers. All of the above products are
round and circular in design.
I played excerpts from, The Ultimate Luther Vandross CD to first familiarize myself with the untreated sound of his music. After about two hours
playing time I felt the system had been fully
warmed up so I inserted the Yamamoto Audio
Bases into the equation. I started by placing four
PB-9 and PB-10’s in combination, with the PB-9’s
on top, under my Samsung HD-841 universal CD/
DVD player. The Samsung is very light in weight
and therefore a good companion for the PB-9 and
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10’s. The nice thing about the Yamamoto Bases is that I knew right away that a change had taken place. I did
not have to readjusts my speaker position, (a lengthy process as they weight 180 lbs each) move my listening
chair, try various CD’s and records or change my amplifiers and preamps while straining to hear changes that I
hoped would take place. Rather I could immediately feel that the pace and timing had improved as well as the
overall impact of the music. I attributed this to the ability of the audio bases to remove unwanted noise from the
playback thus allowing more of only the music to be heard. When I changed over to the PB-20 and PB-21’s,
doing the same testing I did not notice any further improvement but rather the same high level of involvement
as with the PB-9 and PB-10’s. That was of course to be expected as they are supposed to have the same effect, the difference being they are designed to work on heavier components where the 9 and 10’s could not be
placed.
Now we are going to move onto a uniquely shaped device in the PB-22, which unlike its predecessors, is made
with Southeast Asian ebony and is triangular in shape. This triangular shape allows for its use with a variety of
different angles beneath components in order to fine-tune the particular audio equipment on hand. Not only is it
fun to play with, but also at $12.50 for a set of four, it is appropriately priced for budget minded audiophiles.
The PB-22 is recommended for use under amplifiers CD
players and speakers. It was pointed out to me by their website that this wood is also used in the necks of guitars and
violins being selected for the quality of the sound it produced. For the purpose of this review I tested a set of four
under a floor standing speaker. Moving into my home theater
set-up I replaced the cones under my center channel
speaker with a set of four PB-22’s. Immediately I noticed an
improvement in the clarity of the Charlotte Church CD as I
listened to her sing, “Just Wave Hello”. Both the bass and
midrange gave me the impression of added strength and
clarity. The PB-22’s did this not in a superficial way but
rather quite naturally, as if that was the way it should have
sounded from the beginning. The bass sounded clearer and
tended to emanate out further from the speaker. This definitely felt to me to be an improvement over listening with just
the speaker on a bare floor or even when used with different
manufacturers cones underneath.
Looking now to the PB-18, made from African ebony; it was different in that it is a square receptacle with a triad
of ceramic contact pads underneath. Each PB-18 has indentations for use with metal spikes and are suggested for use with speaker stands and equipment racks. The ceramic contact pads are used to provide additional stability when used in contact with the floor. Again I placed these in my home theater set-up leaving them
under the cones a normally use with my center channel speaker. Here I again listened to Charlotte Church
sing, “Just Wave Hello”. I felt the same positive result as with the PB-22’s but even more so. Her voice was
powerful and full while the chorus in the background had a smoother more detailed layering effect than when
played without the PB-18’s. Music in general was more pronounced with rather then without the bases. Instead of the music emanating from a localized point at
the speaker it seemed to come from well outside of its
immediate center. Like I said similar results where obtained with the PB-22 but the PB-18’s did it just a little
better for me. Both though smoothed out the music
and made everything more enjoyable to listen
through.
Lastly, we have two very similar isolation devices, the
MGB-1 and the new MGB-2. The MGB-2 is for use
with smaller components, as it is a miniaturized MGB1, in both size and price. They are both designed on
the principle of a floating apparatus with magnets of
opposite polarities facing each other in the top and
bottom of the bases. There is a Teflon tube connecting the bases and there are triads of ceramic contacts
on both bases of the MGB-1, like those found on the
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PB-18. The MGB-2 however has no such ceramic contacts.
The MGB-1’s bases are made of African Blackwood for the highest level of vibration control. This wood is also
found in the construction of oboes, clarinets, bagpipes and wooden flutes. There is a PBS video called,” The
Tree of Music” which talks about the African Blackwood’s place in making woodwind instruments. Those of us
who have heard the beautiful mellow tones coming from a clarinet solo on jazz pieces can attest to its role in
making fine music. Each base is recommended for use to support 2 to 10kg of weight. Therefore if you buy the
three-piece set use it for 6-30kg products and the four-piece set for those weighing 8-40kgs. If your component
is even heavier then the use of five or more MGB-1’s will be needed. When using them on an unstable area,
such as a thick carpet, Yamamoto Sound Craft also makes cherry tree laminate bases. These bases are labeled the B-45, B-60 and B-90 and vary in size to help accommodate your audio needs. Unfortunately I did not
have any of these around for evaluation purposes. What I did though was to place four of them under my Oracle Delphi MK1 turntable and I am happy that I did. The most startling effect took place when I placed them
there as I listened to record after record just to be sure I was correct. Finally settling on James Taylor’s Walking
Tall album I fondly played the song, “Let It All Fall Down” with James Taylor singing lead and getting a little help
from his friends with the background vocals. His friends being the incredibly talented group of Carly Simon accompanied by both Paul and Linda McCartney. Here the MGB-1’s seemed to erase all smear from my vinyl
playback system as the music sounded clearer and more distinct with incredible silence between instruments
during passages of no music. I could not ask for
more from my turntable, as I believe the MGB-1’s
coaxed all they could out of it. For me this is where
they would stay, if I had only one set with which to
use, as it had such a great impact there.
The MGB-2 isolation devices differ from the MGB-1’s
in that they are composed of African ebony not African Blackwood. As mentioned earlier this wood is
also used in the construction of woodwind instruments. They are designed to support a weight of between .9 and 3kg’s each. According to Yamamoto
Sound Craft, while the MGB-1 will not sound at its
best with lighter weight components the MGB-2 feels
right at home there. Again if four bases are used the
product weight can be from 3.6 to 12 kg’s in weight
and with three-pieces 2.7 to 9kg’s. As with the MBG1 use of the B-45, B-60 or B-90 cherry tree laminate
bases may be necessary when used on certain surfaces to increase stability. I placed them under my
turntable just to see the differences that the MGB-2’s
would produce using the Oracle as my source reference. No question the turntable seemed to work well
in combination with the MGB-2’s but not to the same degree as I thought the MGB-1’s did. Still if I were on a
budge and this was in my price range I would not hesitate to place them there, as they are excellent. Feeling
that the MGB-1’s were to remain, at least for me in my review system, under my turntable I proceeded to place
the MGB-2’s under my Monarchy Audio SM-70 Pro power amplifier. The amp weights only 24 pounds and as
such was an easy load for the MGB-2’s to handle. The combination of putting the MGB-1’s under the turntable
and MGB-2’s with my power amplifier was just right for me. Perhaps it was the synergy between the audio
bases I do not know. I tried the MGB-2’s under my CD transport as well and they did a great job there too. I
must tell you that whether I placed them under my amp, turntable or CD transport the MGB-2’s were a joy to
have. However since the other audio bases were already in place throughout my system, and doing such a
good job, I decided to leave the MGB-2’s under the Monarchy amp. So little gear so many audio bases, what a
wonderful problem to have. Actually that was not a problem just one of those joys of deciding where to put
what and with which equipment. The nice thing was that as my mood or the music changed I could always
tweak things just a little by changing bases or angels of the base (with the PB-22), even going from using three
to four or four to three audio bases. All of these Yamamoto Sound Craft products had a common theme in that
they seemed to create a sense that the sound was less smeared thereby making the music so easy to listen to.
Bass was always clearer, feeling more pronounced, as well as mid-range vocals that took on a more commanding sound to them.
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Shigeki Yamamoto has done a superb job with his audio bases and I believe they have improved the sound of
my review system to the point where I would not ask any audio base to do much more. These are very fine
products that I felt had quite an impact on improving many aspects of the sound quality of my audio system as
a whole. Rather than using one or two individual bases, from the fine collection of Yamamoto Sound Craft
products, I would not hesitate to buy an entire setup for use under all my components. Viewed as a set, and
considered by me as one component, I felt together they achieved excellent results as they fine-tuned my
audio system taking it to even greater heights. It was as if I had assembled a large group of some of the
world’s finest musicians to play together in an orchestra rather than one or two musicians trying to perform an
entire symphony alone.
For those on a budget the PB-22’s wins my award for Yamamoto audio bases, as they are only $12.50 for a set
of four, which is about $3.13 each. If weight did not become an issue then I could see outfitting an entire system based on this product alone being a quite satisfying experience. If I could spend a little more though I
would not hesitate to purchase some PB-18’s at $65 for a set of four. They are more costly but the slight improvement was worth it for me. Either way I would feel I came out a winner, owning either the PB-18’s or the
PB-22’s as both are fine products. With the PB-9 and PB-10 versus the PB-20 and PB-21 the only choice here
would be the weight of the equipment used as the determining factor in which one to purchase. Again I would
use both coupled together as recommended by Yamamoto Sound Craft rather than separate them. Finally
moving onto the newest edition to the group, the MGB-2, this is a superb device and a big step up from the
previously mentioned items. It has found a home under my amplifier, as the amp is just small enough to be
used with the MGB-2. This was a tough choice though as it also sounded superb under my transport and turntable. I felt that the MGB-2s only competitor was the MGB-1, which I consider Yamamoto Sound Crafts ultimate
audio base. Never has my turntable sounded so relaxed, yet detailed, as when used with four MGB-1’s. The
difference it made within my system was anything but subtle and I was extremely pleased to have it there.
In summation these truly are inexpensive devices that deliver the real goods while allowing you the option to
experiment with them in so many different ways. The review ended with me still trying countless different combinations and enjoying every moment of the process. The interesting and most wonderful part of all this is that
there are more Yamamoto products out there for testing. Brian Bowdle of Venus HiFi, the North American Importer for Yamamoto Sound Craft, was a great help in advising me how to set-up the various Yamamoto products. You may view these audio bases/isolation devices when visiting his website at
http://www.venushifi.com/companies/yamamotosoundcraft.shtml. Talking to him on the phone was a pleasure
as he was both enthusiastic and knowledgeable as he explained that the dense woods help make these products less prone to resonance. One thing that particularly caught my eye was the beautiful wood audio racks
and speaker stands. During your visit to the website please also take note of the Yamamoto amps and preamps as they are visually stunning with their use of real wood trim which houses what I understand are world
class audio products. It is a shame that almost all of Yamamoto-Son’s sales are to people living in Japan and I
hope this will change very soon. I would like to take a moment to thank Shigeki Yamamoto for making such fine
audio bases, and at reasonable prices, available to those of us throughout the world. This certainly is a job well
done.
Review equipment:
Monarchy Audio SM-70 Pro Amp
Oracle Delphi Mk I turntable with custom made interconnects, Grace 707 tonearm with Denon 301 II MC cartridge
Sony DVP-S7700 CD/DVD Player (used as transport only), Monarchy Audio Dual 20-Bit D/A Converter
Samsung DVD- HD-841 Up-Converting Universal Player
Legacy Focus 20/20 speakers, Klipsch Klipschorn speakers
PS Audio UPC-200 Power Center, PS Audio Power Port Receptacle
Blue Circle BC86 MKIII power line pillows (2), PS Audio Transcendence Silver interconnects
Anti-Cable speaker wire 10 foot pair, Anti-Jumpers for Legacy speakers
Monarchy Audio AC-1 power cord one 6 foot length (2), Tek Line PC-8 Signature Power Cords (2) 6 foot lengths
PS Audio Lab Cable II power cord 3-foot length
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Peter Frampton, Frampton Comes Alive!
A&M 750 216 505-1
Vinyl Double 33 rpm Album Reissue
By Peter D’Amario
[email protected]
The tide of vinyl reissues continues, not only unabated but apparently gathering speed. This month, the recording at hand is one of
Universal’s “Back to Black” series of classic rock reissues “celebrating” the 60th anniversary of the vinyl record. The sticker on the outside of this attractively packaged release promises “Premium audiophile pressing on heavyweight 180 gram vinyl in all original packaging!”. I’m not by nature a cynic, but my experiences with other labels’
promises of audiophile quality sound and weighty slabs of vinyl have
been, well, inconsistent, ranging from the superlative to the frankly
disappointing.
Everyone knows this 1976 album right? Well, if you were a teen in
the seventies, it would have been difficult to miss. Like most, I remember a number of hits from the album (Show Me the Way, Baby I Love Your Way, Do You Feel Like We
Do), a result of the incessant radio play that they received at the time. But to be honest, this is an album I
never owned. It may be unfair, but I always viewed Peter Frampton as, well, kind of a chick-friendly rock
star…that is, girls really liked him mainly because he was cute. Was there a 16 year old red-blooded male
who would have put up his hand and said that he loved Baby, I Love Your Way? It’s a song that competes for
twee-ness with similar soppy efforts like Paul McCartney’s Silly Love Songs. Didn’t like ‘em then, don’t like
‘em now.
Nonetheless, I relished the opportunity to hear what Universal has done with this seminal Frampton work,
and broadly speaking I have not been disappointed. First the performance: A good live performance, featuring versions of a number of songs that work better in concert than in the studio. He’s a very talented guitarist,
Frampton is, and on this album he does not overdo the talkbox, which can become annoying really quickly.
There are a number of real highlights, including, of course Show Me the Way and Do You Feel Like We Do,
but also Penny For Your Thoughts, a short acoustic track that leads off side three. I’m also fond of Doobie
Wah, which wins the award for the most dated spoken intro…a real taste of the mid-seventies. A cover of the
Rolling Stones Jumping Jack Flash is interesting, but not exceptional. My favorite version of this song (aside
from the Stones’ original) is Leon Russell’s cover from the Concert for Bangladesh album. There isn’t much
patter between Frampton and the crowd on this album, thank goodness. And the audience does not intrude
on most songs as they do on some live albums…there’s a bit of yelling and whistling on a couple of the softer
numbers (and do I hear balloon popping at the beginning of Wind of Change?), but it isn’t overly off-putting.
Sound quality is very good for a live concert. The mastering of this issue is pretty sizzly, with the cymbals in
the first track, Something’s Happening, certainly getting your intention. I am at a loss to tell you the source
for this recording, whether original master tape, digital copy or what have you. Let it be said that it’s a decent
sound throughout, neither as impressive as some reissues I’ve heard (Warner Brothers/Rhino series, for example) nor as unimpressive as some (“From the Capitol Vaults” series).
The vinyl, upon opening the LP, was shiny and unscratched. I can’t say that the two LPs were perfectly flat:
They weren’t, but the warp was gentle and had no impact on the sound. There’s not much noise (beyond
tape hiss) in the grooves, though there’s all sorts of (unwelcome) sonic excitement in the lead-out grooves at
the end of each side.
This album is beautifully packaged, with a heavy, Japanese style (i.e. adhesive flap) outer jacket and the innersleeves of paper with plastic lining. The jacket’s art is pristine, and nicely printed on a matte-finish cardboard stock. Other reissue shops should take careful note.
And here’s the kicker: The price of entry for this reissue is just $23.00 if you look online. Given the prices
being charged by labels for both newly and re-issued albums, this is a bargain, particularly considering this is
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a double album with well above average packaging. What’s more, the Universal website indicates that an
enclosed certificate provides a code that enables you to download the digital tracks, in MP3 format, I imagine.
(My copy sadly was missing this certificate, so I cannot comment in further detail.) According to the online
inflation calculator, $23.00 today is the same as $6.20 in 1976. That tells me that the price has not increased,
and may well have decreased, since original issue.
If you have even a passing appreciation for Peter Frampton, or if you remember liking a number of the songs
from this album from back in the day, this LP is a hard one to justify passing up. It’s a feel-good album from a
classic era. In his original review of Frampton Comes Alive in 1975, Rolling Stone critic Cameron Crowe
noted that the album “…is much more than a souvenir. It is a testimony to Peter Frampton in his natural habitat.” That’s a fair comment.
System Used for Review
Speakers:
Anthony Gallo Acoustics Reference 3.1
Turntables:
Linn Sondek LP-12 with Ittok LVIII Tonearm, Hercules Power Supply and Grado Reference Sonata cartridge
Transcriptors Hydraulic Reference with Fluid Tonearm and Shure V-15 VxMR cartridge
Phono Preamp:
Bellari VP129
Digital Sources:
Toshiba SD-3950 DVD player with Vinnie Rossi mods
Apple iPod Classic, 160 gb
Digital Line Stage:
Musical Fidelity X-10V3 tube buffer
Amplification:
Marantz 2600 Receiver
Cables:
Mapleshade Speaker Wire, Blue Jeans Cable and AR
interconnects
LPs reviewed were sealed, and prior to playing were cleaned with LAST Power Cleaner.
©
Peter D’Amario, 2008
Music Omnivore
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DIY Hell: The “Spirit of Orion”
A Full Frequency, OB/Subwoofer Inspired By Siegfried Linkwitz's Orion Loudspeakers. Part I
By Stew Nelless
[email protected]
Well as promised (finally), I'm nearing completion of
the the “Spirit of Orion” loudspeaker project . For those
that don't know, the Orions are Siegfried Linkwitz's DIY
“challenge” to the world of loudspeakers. Dr Linkwitz (of
Linkwitz-Riley crossover fame and the designer of some
seriously expensive , but reportedly excellent Audio Artistry “Beethoven” loudspeakers). When not having audio
“fun”, he spent his career at HP. See his biography at
Linkwitz Labs.
The Orions have what I think is a very attractive look to
them. They also are reportedly excellent, but a little on
the pricey side (turnkey starting from $8200 including all
electronics, and amplification). I don't think pricey for
what you get: A world class speaker that is relatively affordable, designed and built by one of the audio greats
alive today. But building a pair is well beyond my means
at this time, and beyond the means of many who read
us here at Affordable$$Audio. So what is a poor man to
do? Well, how about building a pair of loudspeakers that
look similar, and use some similar concepts....but do it
on a budget of just 12.5% of the originals? That was the
task. These are not clones at all, and represent a
completely different methodology, topology
(mostly), and outcome. Remember Linkwitz's contribution to audio is quite profound, and I do not propose that
I am in any way, shape or form the equal of Dr. Linkwitz.
Please note that this is not a treatise on Linkwitz's work
(I am simply not qualified to do such) but rather a different interpretation of some of his ideas.
The basic design thought process was to build a much
less expensive speaker that may give one a significant
taste of the high end, without committing several thousands of dollars. If you choose to take up this build, know
that if you make any changes to the design, I cannot (nor will not ) entertain critiques of other implementations,
though. This is just “put out there” as an idea and an experiment. But boy, what an experiment.
I like full range drivers and open baffles. I dislike complicated crossovers and electronics. At some point , some
may call me a purist. But really I appreciate the time and effort that qualified audio folks put into designing
crossovers and I simply don't have the patience. And the art of crossover design truly is an art, and can take
several iterations to “perfect”. So I'm really a hack, and can't really build anything. But my daughter's boyfriend,
Mike (my new audio “partner”), can. It was decided to try our hand at a truly full range sub/OB type loudspeaker.
Quite a few years ago, a fellow named Moray Campbell demonstrated the spatial cues that are provided by
stereo sub-woofers to me. The effect was not subtle. This idea had always stuck with me. Anyone that knows
Moray know that he can sometimes be as subtle as a brick through a plate glass window. But, and here's the
BUT, he really knows his schtick, and he's a great guy to boot. Despite the description above, he really is very
subtle and non-offending to pretty much everyone I know who has met him. Moray is one of the few folks that I
know who had made a living designing audio and has a great set of ears.
So the basics for this project are an open baffle for the “audio” range, and the bass to be handled by a subwoofer per channel, all to be housed in an “Orion-esque” enclosure, because I think Mrs. Linkwitz has a great
eye aesthetically speaking. Now the search began for some suitable electronics and subs to make this work.
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Searching on the Internet for sub-woofers and amplifiers can be very time consuming. There are a great
many folks hawking their wares out there, and some of these wares are very good at very reasonable prices. I
recalled that some time in the past I had
visited www.apexjr.com.
A surprising amount of “stuff “was there,
and much of the speaker “stuff” was actually quite good. On the page I found M&K
plate amps putting out 250 watts RMS into
8 Ohms, and the matching 12” driver for
$200 the pair. Times that by two and what
do you get? 2 X 250 watt amps with low
level crossovers and phase compensation
and 2 robustly built sub-woofers from
M&K's 1250 THX powered sub. That is the
basis of the electronics and the woofer
package.
Have I ever mentioned I like aperiodic
speakers? Basically they are a “leaky”
closed box, but with a really great side effect. If you design a sealed box and add a
resistive port, as Bill Perkins in Calgary
had done in the past, the impedance at
resonance is reduced usually by 50% or
so, allowing the amp to put more power to the driver and controlling it better. Aperiodic it is. Oh, ya, and if it
was good enough for Dynaco to do with their famous line of speakers, it'll be good enough for me. I asked a
few Internet audio “buddies” to double check my math, and the result were returned in favour of my approach.
On his website, Linkwitz eschews the virtues of “omni-directional bass”, particularly regarding the Pluto subwoofer, and his stated claims on how good it can be, and the benefits of down-firing drivers to this end. So it
was decided a down firing , aperiodic, powered sub-woofer would handle the bass requirements. Based on the
literature still available on the Internet, The 1250 THX sub should be suitable for low 20 Hz ranges in the bass
and up to 300Hz, depending on the associated “satellite” loudspeakers. Also realize that the need for brute
force amplification has been removed from the main amplifier requirements. The “sub” enclosures are 3.24 ft
with 2 4” “vents” that can be tuned with stuffing. (more about that later).
The boxes were built using Baltic Birch plywood, and
internally braced (although not “over braced”). Interior
panels are dampened with wool felt carpet underlay
and finished in a natural stain with a few coats of
clear polyurethane. The remainder is painted utilitarian black. The side panels are very similar in shape
to the Orions, and are naturally finished and cleared
Baltic Birch as well. They support an open baffle between them. The sides are secured to the sub box
(unlike the Orions). The open baffles will be treated
to a nice rare and exceptional find...a nice piece of
Purpleheart for the OB baffles once the driver is settled on.
For the open baffle drivers, several have been considered. As of this writing none have been decided
on, but a contender is the Vifa coax that is also currently available from Apex Jr, for $30 the pair. The
recommended crossover is similarly priced at about
$30 a pair (using good Solen air core inductors, Fastcaps and resistors). Once determined, the driver will
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be “announced as the proven performer. I also have a few full range drivers that may make a trial appearance.
As of this writing (some 2 months later than the above paragraphs and outline), there have been some
changes. There was no apparent benefit to aperiodic enclosures in this case, and in some ways upon listening,
there were some negatives. The sub-woofers are now sealed. The tope end “open baffle” drivers have been
settled upon. The choice? Not a likely one, but power is not a huge issue as we are currently driving them with
a 52 watt per channel tube amplifier--- the Jordan JX92S. Reasonably efficient (88 dB), and very wide bandwidth (50 Hz-20 kHz) with a fairly benign impedance (5.4Ω if I remember correctly as measured by none other
than planet10 himself). Once completed, we also looked at the use of the purpleheart, and decided that it
looked wrong. So no purpleheart (a trim ring was tried as well and it looked really quite odd). We are still trying
to dial in a high pass crossover to limit the excursion of the little Jordans (a rather health 9 mm peak to peak),
but limiting the excursion can help out the midrange. So far nothing we have tried is transparent enough to go
unnoticed. So for now the subs are crossed over at 250 Hz , and the Jordans are run fullrange. There is some
magic in them thar drivers. We still need to listen to the Jordans with some good solid state power feeding
them too---something that is well documented on the Internet.
Next time, in Part II: some construction photos, drawings, setup and listening notes. Also a comparison to
some well reviewed, current model loudspeakers.
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About Affordable$$Audio:
Is a privately held venture, published via the Internet, the content is delivered free of charge to readers.
Created using Apple Computer’s Pages software program and translated into .pdf document format.
Writing Opportunities:
If you have an interest in audio equipment, especially quality affordable or vintage gear, please contact the publisher
for guidelines. Specific areas of interest being looked for are vintage wood-sided equipment and tube fanatics.
Advertising:
Retail shops dealing in both new and used audio equipment are highly encouraged to advertise as this e-zine was
created specifically to support your business. For rates please contact the publisher at:
[email protected]
Affordable$$Audio: is now accepting manufacturers advertising. You’ll find our monthly rates very appealing. Please
contact the publisher for an advertising packet.
[email protected]
Copyright Notice
All articles are the property of Affordable$$Audio. Manufacturers need only to ask permission to reprint or post a link to
the web page.
Staff Biographies:
Mark Marcantonio- Editor, Owner, Publisher
Is a school teacher in the Portland, Oregon metro area. Audio has been a fascination/budget drain since his early
teenage years.
John Hoffman, Assoc. Editor. Resides in the sunny Tri Cities of Washington state. Enjoys spending his time with his
lovely wife, Michelle, three kids, two dogs, and one cat. Anybody need an extra cat?
Todd Arthur, is a Project Manager by day and Audiophile by night, who resides in the Seattle Washington area
with his wife Roberta and their two sons. He enjoys playing guitar, bicycling and listening to music of all types;
especially Jazz and Blues guitar.
Stew Nelless, Currently reside in southern Alberta (Canada) about 150 miles south east of Calgary. I'm in my early
40's , 2 grown kids, been with the same girl for 25 years. One thing I have impressed upon my kids is that music is important in life and we often mark our lives by the music we hear along the way.
Patrick Dillon lives in Austin TX with his wife and son. He works in academia, plays guitars, and considers music a
central part of a well-lived existence.
Clarke Robinson is a 37 year old Web Designer from the San Francisco Bay Area. He wastes countless hours of his
life listening to jazz on headphones, at times long after his wife and two daughters have gone to bed.
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Review Calendar Index:
Issue 1, January 2006
Adcom GFA 535 Amplifier
Linn Keilidhs Speakers
Outlaw RR2150 Receiver
Polk Audio LSi9 Speakers
Totem Dreamcatcher Speakers
Issue 2, February 2006
Advent Baby II Speakers
Audiolab 8000A Integrated Amplifier
ElectriPrint 300DRD Amplifier
Energy Connoisseur C-9 Speakers
Infinity Kappa 200 Speakers
Nakamichi SR4A Receiver
Paradigm Titan V Speakers
Issue 3, March 2006
GR Research AV-1 Speakers
HSU STF-2 Subwoofer
Marantz CD-5000
Sansui TU-7900
Issue 4, April 2006
Alegria Audio Rosa Speakers
QSC PLX-2402 Amplifier
Totem Acoustic MITES Speakers
Issue 5, May 2006
AV123 Onix x-ls Speakers & x-subwoofer
Bozak B-302A Speakers
iPod iPhoto 60 Gig (music server)
Zebra ZC-SP12SD Speaker cables
Issue 6, June 2006
Aperion Intimus 533 PT Speakers
Sony TA-F444ES
Audio Magic Interconnect Cables
Adcom GTP 450 Preamplifier/Tuner
Issue 7, July 2006
Audioengine5 Powered iPod/mp3 Speakers
Athena AS-B1 Speakers
Insignia 6-1/2" Bass-Reflex Bookshelf Speakers
Ramsey SHA1 DIY Headphone Amp
Issue 9, September 2006
Behringer DEQ 2496
NeoSpeak NeoTetra Speakers
True RTA Sound Analyzing Software
Issue 10, October 2006
Tyler Acoustics Taylo Ref. Monitors
Transcendent Grounded Grid Preamp
Headroom Total Bithead
Totem Beaks
Aperion Audio S8-APR Subwoofer
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Issue 11, November 2006
Tube Research Labs Modified CD Player
Onix SP3 MkII Integrated Tube Amplifier
BADA HD-22 CD Player
Alegria Audio Arias Speakers
Era Design 4 Mini-Monitors
Issue 12, December 2006
Atelier Audio First Horn
Jolida SJ502A Integrated Tube Amp
Polk Audio LSi7 Monitors
41Hz Amp 6 Basic
RudiStor NX-01 & Ultrasone Proline 2500 Sistema
VMPS Tower II SE
Technics RS-1506
Aperion Audio Intimus 632 LR
Monarchy M24 Tube DAC
Audio Nirvana Super DIY Speaker
Music Hall a25.2 Integrated Amplifier
Music Hall cd25.2 CD Player
Era Design 5 Mini-Monitors
Lite Audio DAC 62
Hsu HB-1 Mini-Monitors
Real Traps Acoustic Panels
Sapphire XL vs. Rothschilde A2 Monitors
Hemp Acoustic FR8.0 DIYHQ Driver
Issue 15, March 2007
Monarchy AC Regenerator
Era Sub 8 Powered Subwoofer
Promitheus Transformer Volume Control
Bellari VP129 Vacuum Tube Phono Stage
Onix CD-5 Compact Disc Player
PS Audio Noise Harvester
Audio Art Interconnects IC-1 & IC-3
Issue 16, April 2007
Ascend Acoustics CMT-340 SE
ASL MG 15 SI DT Tube Amp
Interview David Fabrikant
NAD 3020 Integrated Amp
Oppo DV970-HD
Signal Cable MagicCable
Sonic Impact 5066 T-Amp
Totem Acoustic Rainmaker monitors
Underwood XCD-5 (modded Onix CD-5)
Issue 17, May 2007
Audio Magic Mini-Reference Power Conditioner
LiTe DAC Ah
Pioneer SX-780
RAW Acoustic HT2 Monitors
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Tyler Acoustic Linbrook Super Mini Monitors
Issue 18, June 2007
ACI Force Subwoofer
AV123 x-cs Center Channel
Benchmark DAC1 USB
Ferguson Hill Mini System Speakers
Fostex FE206/208 Sigma Cabinet
Jolida JD1501A Integrated Hybrid Amp
Planet_10 HiFi Fonken Speaker
Vista Audio i84 Integrated Amplifier
Issue 19, July 2007
AudioArt Interconnect Matching System
Basic Guide to PC Audio
Bonnaroo Music Festival
Harman/Kardon PM665VXi Integrated Amp
MapleTree Audio 2SE Preamplifier
Zebra Cable Speaker Wire ZC-SP14DBI
Issue 20, August 2007
Monarchy NM 24 DAC/Linestage
Pro-Ject 1.2 Turntable
Role Audio Sampan FTL
Totem Acoustic Storm Sub-Woofer
Issue 21, September 2007
Ascend Acoustics Sierra 1
AudioArt Power 1 Cords
KEF iQ7 Speakers
Slim Devices Squeezebox
Vandersteen 2CI
Issue 22, October 2007
Eminent Technolgy LFT-16 Planar Monitors
Mark & Daniel Topaz Monitors
PS Audio Quintet Surge Suppressor
Setton RS-440 Vintage Receiver
Trends TA 10.1 Amplifier
Issue 23, November 2007A F F O R D A B L E $ $ A U D I
Arena X-3 SET Integrated Tube Amplifier
Emotiva RPA-1 Amplifier
Etymotic ETY Ear Plugs
NAD C555 Turntable
Odyssey Audio Epiphany II Monitors
Shanling PCD-3000A CD Player
Shugaung S-8 Tube Amplifier
Issue 24, December 2007
Aperion Audio 422 Harmony 5.1 system
Budget Power Cord Comparison
Onix Rocket RS 450 mini-towers
Usher S520 Monitors
Audiosmile Modified Behringer SRC2496
Grant Fidelity CD 327A, PIII, & P307
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H20 Signature 100
Monarchy SE 250
Selah MF7
Swan HiVi 2.1SE
Underwood Modified PS Audio Trio C-100
Virtual Dynamics Cables
Zingo Cables
Aperion Audio Intimus 533-T mini-towers
Blue Circle DAR integrated amp
Dignity Audio DA08SE SET tube amp
Mark & Daniel Maximus Mini speakers
tec-on Audio SE34i integrated tube amp
Totem Acoustic Forest Tower Speakers
Issue 27, March 2008
Audio Magic Illusion 4D
Carver C-9 Sonic Hologram
Emotiva XPA-5
Promitheus DAC
Recording Techniques: Dynamic Compression
Issue 28, April 2008
Acculine A3 Speakers
Audio Nirvana Super 12 Driver
Grant Fidelity A534B Integrated Tube Amp
Harman Kardon 3470 Receiver
nOrh ACA2b Preamplifier
Skiing Ninja Crossovers
Threshold 800A Amplifier
Issue 29, May 2008
Audio Nirvana Super Eight Loudspeaker System
Bolder Squeezebox Modifications
Dali Mentor 5 Towers
Harman Kardon Citation II Amplifier
KCI Cables/Interconnects
Monica III DIY DAC
Musiland MD10 DAC
PS Audio GCP-200
Vandersteen 1C Speakers
Issue 30, June 2008
Audioengine AW-1 Wireless USB Adaptor
AudioMagic Pulse Gen ZX
McIntosh MC275
Oehlbach XXL Phono Preamplifier
Polk Audio RTiA3
Spendor SP2/3E
VMPS 626JR
Issue 31: July 2008
Anti-Cable Wire & Interconnects
Aura Note CD/Amp Completer
AV123 ELT 525 Monitors
Eficion Ficion F200 Monitors
Ideal Innovations 80+ Tube Amp
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Monarchy M150 Power Supply
Issue 32: August 2008
Emotiva XPA-2 Amplifier
Juicy Music Tercel Phono Preamp
JVC XL-Z1050TN CD Player
Totem Acoustic 5.1 HTSystem
Issue 33: September 2008
Acoustic Revive RTP2 & 4 Power Boxes
Anti-Cable Digital Interconnects
BESL Series 5 TMW Speakers
GINI LS3/5A Speakers w/B+ Bass Stands
McIntosh MA6300 Integrated Amp
Tecon Model 55 Integrated Tube USB Amp
Wyred4Sound MC4 Amplifier
Issue 34: October 2008
Acoustic Revive RD3 & Rio 5
Emerald Physics CS2 Speakers
GR-Research NEO-1X Monitors
Manley Shrimp Preamplifier
Placette RVC Passive Preamplifier
Xindat MT-3 Int. Amp
ZVOX Single Speaker Surround Sound
Issue 35: November 2008
Acoustic Revive Conditioner RWL III
Audio Space Reference 3.1 Integrated Tube Amp
Blue Circle Power Line Products
DIY Hell: Spirit of Orion
Elemental Designs A6-6T6 Monitors
Manley Labs Stingray Integrated Tube Amplifier
Stager Silver Solids Interconnects
Yamamoto Sound Craft Audio Bases

RWL-3 review by Affordable Audio

Transcription

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