We are honored to have the opportunity to receive the first D-Premier integrated amplifier/DAC from Devialet in the United States for review. It will be featured in our February 20 issue, but for now, we’re giving our readers the opportunity to ask some questions and share a bit of the review process as we head towards production. We will be doing this going forward with select reviews to give you more of a chance to interact with us.
And, to answer the main question that is probably on your mind, it DOES sound as good as it looks, perhaps better!
Rega has established a solid reputation over the last thirty years now for building reasonably priced components packed with value beyond their price point. Rega turntables have always been a triumph of function and simplicity, with a legion of fans that span the globe. Founder Roy Gandy is a champion of giving his customers high performance without a high price tag, and didn’t even start building CD players until about ten years ago. His sense of humor is evident in their website, where it’s mentioned that Rega was “the last major high end company to build a CD player.”
No matter what your position in the audiophile game, you need a MiniWatt. This is one of the most fun pieces of gear I’ve seen in about fifteen years. (The last time was when the Antique Sound Labs Company sold their $99 tube monoblocks…) The MiniWatt is a 2.5-watt per channel tube amplifier that weighs a couple of pounds and only takes up about a 6 x 6 inch footprint on your desk, about 15 x 15 centimeters for our friends in the rest of the world.
Digital Excellence:
Introduced in 2002, the Boulder 2008 phono preamplifier caused quite a stir and was considered the top of the analog mountain by many. With three inputs and variable EQ options for older recordings, it left no bases uncovered. It still remains king to many people, but at $33,500 out of reach for all but the most well heeled audiophiles.
A peek inside the box reveals Boulder’s meticulous construction and outside, their flawless casework. Though light by Boulder standards at 32 pounds, the 1008 is a bit more manageable than it’s larger brother, but equally potent. (And it still weighs as much as some power amplifiers I’ve reviewed.) A one-chassis design, the 1008 still features dual mono construction throughout and heavy duty shielding on the power transformer to isolate it from the rest of the circuitry. Thanks to 70db of gain, and a noise floor that redefines quiet, you should be able to use any phono cartridge available, no matter how low the output with no issue. The MM input features 44db of gain, and allows for adjusting the capacitive load as well, so the 1008 is infinitely configurable to suit your needs.
Other than placing the 1008 on my rack and plugging it in to a Running Springs Dmitri power conditioner (with Shunyata Python CX power cord, as all of my other low level components are), the only setup necessary was changing the loading on input two to low gain via a switch and unsoldering the 100 ohm resistor from the removable “personality card”, so that I could investigate the moving magnet and moving iron cartridges in my collection from Clearaudio, Grado and Soundsmith. The other cartridges used on input one were the Lyra Skala, Dynavector XV-1s and the ZYX Omega, reviewed in issue 28 of TONEAudio. I briefly auditioned the Clearaudio DaVinci, but found its slightly forward presentation not to my liking with the 1008.
Moving back into my comfort zone, I revisited the Supertramp album that I began my evaluation with and was impressed at how much bigger the sound had grown in all three dimensions, very impressive. Next stop, the recent remasters of the Kraftwerk catalog. The driving beats in Tour De France were pounding, and at extremely high level, starting to shake my building. Thanks to that 20hz low pass filter, I was able to drive my system to discothèque levels without a hint of feedback. This also came in handy with moderately warped records. With a system that extends to 20hz, recorded anomalies that were not a problem when my system bottomed out at around 30hz now are front and center. The filter worked well without diminishing the subterranean bass drive of the system.
Boulder rounds off their design with a few extra touches that make the 1008 a great choice for the real vinyl connoisseur. There is a separate EQ selector for early Columbia and EMI records as well as the early Decca ffrr recordings. While I don’t have many of these records in my collection at present, should the 1008 become part of my reference system, I would no longer shy away from them in the future.
For the vinyl enthusiast that dreams of owning a Continuum table and Boulder 2008 phono preamp, but will never be able to scratch together $200k, trust me, combine the Boulder 1008 with your favorite $25k table, arm and cartridge and go to bed with a big smile on your face.
Sometimes, one longs for the hi-fi simplicity of the 1970s. Back then, FM radio functioned as the prime source of listening for many a music lover. AOR FM was in high gear, and people just tuned into any number of stations to get a music fix. Those with audiophile leanings often invested in a separate tuner to optimize the FM sound quality. Often, a manufacturer’s top-of-the-line tuner represented the best and most highly engineered product in its whole line. Companies such as Yamaha, Pioneer, SAE, Kenwood, Sansui, Marantz, Technics, Sony, and McIntosh waged a high-stakes tech war to see who could develop the king of the airwaves: A tuner with clean, clear reception coupled with good sound.
Avid HiFi, clearly on a roll after releasing their stellar Pulsare phono stage (watch for the review here, shortly) has topped their line of turntables with the Limited Edition Anniversary model, of which only 10 will be made, in celebration of their 10th anniversary.
The Vitus Audio SS-050 is a very high performance, yet minimalist integrated amplifier. Tipping the upper end of the price scale at $26,500, this is another destination product, and with one XLR and one RCA input, must be made part of a system that has only two sources. I imagine that this should pose no problem for the average person who has an analog source and a digital source.
As with any solid-state amplifier that has been in transit for some time, the SS-050 took about 48 hours to open up, stabilize and sound it’s best, though it was more than pleasant out of the shipping carton. After spending a few weeks with the amplifier and going through regular power cycles, it takes about 30 minutes to fully stabilize in normal play.
I just happened to be listening to the complete set of the current AC/DC remasters on vinyl, so the first track I played on the Vitus based system was “Live Wire” from the High Voltage album. The guitar lead-in on this piece instantly struck me, as I could hear the speakers in whatever cabinet Angus Young was using to record with rattle, much clearer than ever before. Next up was “Night Prowler” from Highway to Hell. Again, I was impressed with not only the weight, but also the subtle texture and roundness of the opening bass riffs in this track. When I turned this up, perhaps too loud, the placement of the snare drum remained rock solid, just in front of the soundstage on the right side, and did not fall back into the mix. However, when I went back to my early stamper originals, it was plainly obvious that these records were produced from digital safety masters; another layer of detail was now available.
UPDATE: Nov. 31
Rega met the budget turntable challenge in 2006 with their entry-level P1 turntable, offering the budding vinyl enthusiast a way to join the Rega camp with a brand new table and Ortofon OM5e cartridge for only $400. While Rega has always been one of the best values going in turntables, inflation and world currency markets have taken their toll everywhere. I remember purchasing my first Planar 3 turntable (back in 1979, without cartridge) for $389. Those were the days.
The combination of an improved platter and bearing are a big hit on the RP1. Listening to samples from both tables on the MoFi edition of Genesis’ Trick of the Tail had the RP1 again trumping the P1 in bass weight on “Squonk” and HF definition and delicacy on the title track. Cymbals definitely had a smoother decay on the RP1 as well.
Thursday, October 28th, 2010, 7:30-9:30 pm: AudioVision San Francisco presents the 3rd installment of its Fiscally Sound Event. An evening event featuring 2 moderately priced systems which include Cardas Signal Cables , Nola Loudspeakers, Finite Elemente Isolation/Support Products, Spiral Groove & Hanss Turntables, Lyra Cartidges and Audio Research Tube Electronics . 
The members of Tortoise are pushing buttons, lightly skimming drums and cymbals, and creating what could be a composition designed for playback on a hi-tech calculator. Nothing about the Chicago quintet ever changes, including its disposition, a mix of stoic and serious. Counting producers and engineers amongst its fold, Tortoise approaches jazz-rock fusion with an audio geek’s focused sensibility, the completely instrumental songs alternatively ambient and direct, fading and flowing, squealing and soothing. Jeff Parker picks out the occasional staccato passage on guitar, prompting Douglas McCombs to respond with a thicker bass line. Once a tune finishes its course, Tortoise shifts positions, exchanging seats on the drum kit or manning a second percussive stool, or picking up the mallets and preparing for a turn on the vibraphones. The band’s liquid funk, outré blues, and modulated electronics give off a pastel glow that’s not dissimilar from the purple hues of the overhead lighting. However cerebral and dependable, the experience is best ingested in small doses.
6:16 p.m.: Kim Gordon lounges on a couch in the main lobby. Few fans notice her, though she does take a moment to check her cell phone. She looks as if she’s ready to stroll around the block; nothing about her presence shouts “rock star.” Indeed, one of the biggest appeals of ATP is the sense that everybody–bands, press, fans–are equals. Aside from a small interview staging area, there’s nary a sign of the separation present at other major festivals. No VIP section, no overpriced cabanas, no stages named after a video-game console. Moreover, the laid-back environment and existence of the Criterion cinema further lends to a cozy, unhurried vibe one can’t even get at the Pitchfork Music Festival. The small amount of people is also a huge plus, making access simple, quick, and easy.
8:24 p.m.: Todd Trainer holds up a portable snare drum in front of guitarist/vocalist Steve Albini’s microphone, the drummer moving around the stage as Shellac begins an epic version of “The End of Radio.” Before the cleverly on-point song concludes, Albini reverently mentions legendary broadcasters Vin Scully, Jimmy Piersall, and Studs Terkel while chastising hate-mongering hacks such as Rush Limbaugh. Albini is in the process of delivering a somewhat impromptu monologue about the history of radio to an imagined alien civilization that sprouts up 10,000 years from now. It’s one part sincere apology and nine parts sarcastic, truthful observation of what the medium has become and how society has let it, and its content, go to waste. As Trainer walks about, flinging drumsticks at ceiling tiles and giving new meaning to “little drummer boy,” the Shellac singer wittily references Jonathan Richman’s “Roadrunner,” Eddie Money’s “Two Tickets to Paradise,” and an annoying Verizon slogan in mocking radio’s commercial excesses, crass promotions, and cliched Top Ten lists. It’s an inspired piece of rock theater, and the song bristles with the combination of seething anger, push-and-shove momentum, tightrope tension, and offbeat humor that infuse pertinent Shellac songs such as “Steady As She Goes.” In just 45 minutes, the Chicago trio verges on stealing the show away from the bigger-name headliners, thanks to immaculate, dry, crisp sonics and unbridled intensity. Albini and seemingly cuddly bassist Bob Weston (each accomplished recording engineers) play through trademark silver amps distinguished by one large knob and audiophile-grade tones. The music swerves and dives, pausing and resuming at unconventional intervals, and erupting with an intentional imbalance of murderous intent and comical relief.
9:20 p.m.: Kelley Deal stands on her tippy-tippy toes to sing “I Am Decided” and assumes that posture throughout the Breeders’ disappointing performance. After taking extra time to set up an armada of effects pedals, keyboards, and other related gear, the Breeders treat their slot as a band practice where anything goes. Little about the quintet suggests they’ve given any thought to their material in a while. Neither Kelley nor her more famous twin sister, Kim, prove competent on guitar, and frivolous pop fare like “Bang On,” “Divine Hammer,” and “We’re Gonna Rise” amateurishly drift on by. Several tunes fumble with skeletal arrangements that share more in common with fragments than whole songs. Unconcerned and lackadaisical, Kelley appears oblivious to the band’s hollow state. Only the surf-dipped “Tipp City,” slinky early 90s hit “Cannnonball,” and a country-bluegrass rendition of “Driving on 9,” during which the Breeders are joined by a guest violinist, register any vitality. The rest is goofy, sloppy, unremarkable, and, particularly after Shellac, boring.
10:54 p.m.: The three guitarists in Explosions In the Sky simultaneously plunge their hands against the bodies of their instruments, swiping the strings with gusto while they all lean and jump forward at once. It looks as if the sight could be choreographed, but the display is simply an outpouring of the emotion and conviction that the wordless Austin quartet brings to its hybrid of gentle dream pop, bursting cosmic rock, and intermittent instru-metal heaviness. Seen on the stage floor in the dark, the band’s lengthy arc of flashing effects pedals looks like a miniature version of an airport runway lit up at night. Deploying sustain, delay, distortion, wah, and volume effects, the group’s ambitious compositions are true to the band’s name. Harmonically driven songs conjure images of meteor showers, lightning storms, the aurora borealis, rocket launches, and solar eclipses. Laden with texture and color, individual notes shoot and spark, the trickles of reverb coalescing and forming choruses of sound that glow like stars against a deep-black sky. The members close their eyes for a majority of the concert, losing themselves in dynamic washes of controlled feedback and moody atmospherics. Tempos thrust forward and reverse, melodies flutter, and when crescendos reach an agitated state, the eventual detonations are often cushioned by a comforting softness. Explosions In the Sky revels in the areas found between light, shade, and darkness, and the band’s widescreen sonics allow abrasive passages to seamlessly merge with quieter, wispy sequences. During climaxes, sudden depth-charge booms function as avalanches, knocking over the geometrical shapes that the band so carefully assembles. Imagine a tranquil sea progressively discharging a steady river of water that, once heated and collected, bears down on a compromised dam and leaves nothing in its wake. Extremely impressive, and wonderfully executed. 
1:07 a.m.: Sonic Youth attacks the riotous “Death Valley ’69” with a fervent menace that suggests the band is on the run from a desert madman. Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore, and Kim Gordon exuberantly shout into the microphone as the psychedelic ramalama boils to a fever pitch, drummer Steve Shelley pounding out a circular romp on the drum kit as a sign that the group needs to round up the wagons. Playing with vicious energy and rampant urgency, the iconic New York art-rock quartet appears to be in an especially blustery state of mind. What’s immediately obvious is how far the band has come as accomplished musicians. The older, wiser Sonic Youth not only possesses the enviable disposition, freak-out experimentalism, and cool factor of the ensemble’s early days, it also has the effortless capacity to spin thickets of imaginative noise and patchwork quilts of combustive rhythms into discernible songs. Gordon pounces with dont-mess-with-me feminist attitude on “The Sprawl.” “Cross the Border” turns wild in a hurry, Moore sensing the excitement and jumping with childlike glee as the tune dangerously races around the bend, its manic thrash pace inspiring an active mosh pit. “Catholic Block” leaves its mark like a graffiti tagger does on a subway car. Similarly, the rush of New York’s bustling downtown– the cabs, horns, trains, pedestrians, vendors–can be heard on the sensory-blurring “Stereo Sanctity.” The band carves out plenty of space for adventurism, with “Eric’s Trip” finding Moore assailing a modulated, hollowed-out bass and “Hey Joni” whirring to groundswells of corrosive feedback. Hot-rodded guitars cough, wheeze, burp, and gurgle. Pieces of wood double as makeshift bows that are dragged across frets and necks. Alternate tunings bring forth unexpected shifts and twists. Sonic Youth handles and shapes the seemingly discordant mix like aural putty, undaunted by the possibilities and renewed by the potential of what’s to come. What a homecoming. 
The provocative “Halloween” injects filthy sludge by way of syringe before Arm, preparing for his close-up, deftly moves out of the way of an out-of-control crowd surfer that nearly kicks him in the face. The band plays on as if it’s an everyday occurrence. “In and Out of Grace” captures Mudhoney’s knack for driving melodies, the song wrestling with itself until it gives way to a brief Dan Peters drum break that’s straight out of a classic surf song. Arm no longer yelps as loudly as he once did, but there’s nothing wrong with his attitude or wail—or their ability to convey frustration, desperation, and dissatisfaction with a knowing wink. Witty humor underlines nearly every tune, with “You Got It (Keep It Out of My Face)” emphatic albeit slackjawed and “If I Think” jeering at the leftover residue from an emotional breakup. Nothing that another drink won’t solve. Point taken.
9:20 p.m.: Iggy Pop lands onstage as if he’s just been shot out of a cannon. James Williamson batters his guitar, Mike Watt throttles the bass, and the Stooges charge into Raw Power with manic delight. At 63, the animated Pop seems more animal than human, his sinewy body riddled with grainy lines that resemble those found on a cut of flank steak. He sways his hips, punches imaginary foes, and enthusiastically dives at the feet of his mates, getting right up in the faces of the fans in the front rows that egg him on to escalate his wild antics. Pop responds by writhing and flailing, throwing microphone stands, pushing speaker monitors into the P.A. system (an action that causes nervousness amongst the stagehands attempting to re-steady the speakers), jumping into the crowd, and yelling for his band to keep up. Watt, Williamson, and company are more than up to task. From a crouched stance, Watt watches the entire spectacle with a sense of invested intensity, much like an overzealous football coach barking at his team to annihilate the opponent. Williamson is all business, manhandling his guitar and reeling off searing solos that further spike Pop’s adrenaline. Steve MacKay remains off to the side, yet his blaring saxophone fuels the music’s free-jazz irreverence. “Search and Destroy,” “Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell,” and “Penetration” are pure unadulterated kicks to the stomach and uppercuts to the head. The explosions of unfettered volume, storming violence, and pummeling riffs are as inspiring as they are threatening. “Gimme Danger” bristles with deadly sensuality, a characteristic epitomized by Pop’s physical movements and primal shrieks. He invites “freaks” and “spazzers” up onstage for a chaotic “Shake Appeal,” yet this communal showing is topped by “I Got a Right,” during which the iconic singer shouts “Do you feel it?” and demands an answer. Anyone within the premises that doesn’t feel the passionate fury that the Stooges are throwing down isn’t alive. 
A harsh, demanding “I Wanna Be Your Dog” finds Pop wrapping the microphone cord around his neck while his cohorts turn the pounding music into an all-out blitzkrieg. The sonic torrent pushes the personalized “Open Up and Bleed” to the limits until everything threatens to collapse. Lights go up but the Stooges aren’t done. “Funhouse” swaggers with big-band R&B inertia and the closing “No Fun” wallops the senses, hitting hard and aggressively before sending Pop off with a huge smile after he takes one last tumble over the hands of a sweaty crowd that’s eager to give him his much-deserved victory lap. The bar for the remainder of the weekend is set extremely high. Will ATP 2010 be like Pitchfork 2009, when the Jesus Lizard performed on the first night and rendered the rest of the festival light by comparison? Bet on it.
11:21 p.m.: How does a band follow the Stooges? If you’re Matt Pike, you slow down the pace, up the decibel level, and utilize volume as a mesmerizing narcotic. Far removed from both the style and presence of the Stooges, Sleep captivates with almost unimaginable amounts of heaviness. The reunited stoner metal trio’s foundation-shaking riffs and bowel-moving low-end thunder literally move the air in the room to the extent that anyone within the premises can feel the hairs on their arm moving from the vibrations. Dry ice fog and dense lighting shroud the band, whose psychedelic doom renders any vocals inaudible. This is all about the art of the drone and the dirge, and the committed virtuosity of the heavily tattooed guitar god Pike, who, with one swipe of his hand, unleashes a distorted chord that seems to hover for days. While playing Holy Mountain, Sleep treads as if scaling a glacier, taking its time, refusing to go fast, and steadily climbing up its way to the top. All that seems to be missing is the gong. Distinguished by titanic grooves, tectonic tension, and perception-changing feedback, the down-tuned thunder of overdriven sonic mulch such as “The Druid” and “Inside the Sun” appear to unfold in slow motion, coming into existence much like a fissure spits out lava on the ocean floor, whereby the presence of water distorts the rapidity at which the liquid is actually being released. Indeed, Sleep is playing in real time, and it’s this altered sense of reality that makes the group’s brand of sonic hypnotism and monolithic heaviness all the more impressive. Positively transfixing—and quite possibly the loudest show you’ll ever experience. 
The masters of high performance miniature HiFI, Trends Audio, just released their new Combo 10 system, consisting of their UD-10.1 USB Audio Converter, PA-10 Tube Headphone Amplifier, TA10.2 Class-T Amplifier and PW-10 Power Supply as well as the required cables to assemble the system.
I’ve been using Running Springs power line conditioners with excellent luck for just over five years now and have upgraded my current reference system to their flagship products, the Dmitri (for all of my line level components) and the Maxim (for my power amplifier, on a separate 20 amp circuit), while the Haley that I purchased quite a few years ago is still working well in system two.
Definitely, a cost effective improvement
Starting this September 9, high end audio dealer Audio High in Mountain View, California has teamed up with pianist Robert Silverman to present an eight concert series of all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas. Audio High owner, Michael Silver said that the entire series of performances will be recorded and distributed as CD’s and high resolution digital files. All proceeds from the concerts (and recordings) will be donated to the Stanford Children’s Hospital.
If you pose the question, “What turntable should I buy for $1,500?” on an internet forum, have your hazmat suit on and be prepared to be bombarded with insults and advice. You’ll get suggestions from all over the audio spectrum; new, used, and modded this or that. Of course, everyone knows what’s best for you and God forbid that you question any of the self-proclaimed experts should you choose not to take their advice.
If you buy the Concept with one of the cartridge options, it will arrive with the cartridge installed and optimized at the factory, so all you will need to do is install the counterweight and set the tracking force. Be sure to hold the tonearm with one hand while installing the threaded counterweight, as it fits very snugly and could damage the arm otherwise.
During a moment of temporary madness, the Maestro was swapped out for Clearaudio’s $5,500 DaVinci MC cartridge, a master of detail retrieval. Granted, the small but mighty Concept did not offer as big a presentation as it did when mounted to the Clearaudio Innovation we reviewed a while back, but it wasn’t bad. If you are a real vinyl fanatic, I don’t think this table would be out of it’s league with your favorite cartridge in the $1,000 – $2,000 range if you care to take it that far, so this is definitely a component you won’t easily outgrow.
If you are a lover of mega-speakers, be sure to read Ken Kessler’s article about his visit to luxury speaker manufacturer Sonus Faber in issue 31. These beauties have a $150k price tag and only 30 lucky people will be able to purchase a pair! As is typical with SF, they are an object of beauty…
For those of us that have relatively large power amplifiers, one watt probably wouldn’t make much if any difference at all, but when you’re in the low watt (i.e. under 10 watts per channel) camp, every bit counts, and quality is everything. In case you missed all the buzz about the MiniWatt S1, we were very enthusiastic about it when it was reviewed about a year ago. 
While I’d like to rave about the extra watt, the N3 is really more about quality. Comparing the two amplifiers side by side, you immediately notice the extra body and three dimensionality of the Mini Watt’s latest offering. The easiest comparison will be your favorite solo vocals; listening to some of my favorites from Johnny Cash and Anya Garbarek, the new amplifier sounds as if I moved my speakers a few more feet apart instantly. Once the amplifier had about 100 hours on the clock, it improved a bit, with acoustic instruments having slightly more body.
This is a controversial product to say the least. For many of you wanting to extend your digital music network, the $99 Apple Airport express is a great, low-cost way to add a pair of powered speakers somewhere into your environment. However, it is not an audiophile solution. At the other end of the spectrum, we have Micromega, with their $1,499 Airstream, which functionally does no more than the Apple Airport. We could have the same argument comparing the $300 Squeezebox to the $8,500 Sooloos music server. They both do the same thing, stream digital music files, but there’s more to the story.
