Issue No.

25
Display until arrival of
Issue No. 26.

Look, Ma, no
amplifiers! (Well,
no amplifiers to
buy, anyway. See
the loudspeaker
reviews.)

Retail price: U.S. $7.50, Can. $8.50

In this issue:
We review a wide assortment of loudspeaker systems,
including minimonitors, various full-range speakers,
and powered subwoofers from extra small to large.
We continue our notorious survey of the White Hats
(good guys) and Black Hats (bad guys) of audio.
Power amps, integrated amps, multichannel receivers,
digital processors, CD and DVD players, FM gear,
and a minimalist preamp are reviewed in depth.
The end of innocence in audiophilic matters is the
aim of a down and dirty orientational think piece.
Plus our usual features, columns (we
have added a new one), letters to the
Editor, and more CD capsule reviews.

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 Contents
12 The Good Guys in the White Hats and the
Bad Guys in the Black Hats: Continued
Bv Peter Aczel, Editor and Publisher
15 How to Be a Sophisticated Audiophile and Resist Trendy Stupidities
By Peter Aczel, Editor and Publisher
19 About Minimonitors, Subwoofers, and Full-Range Systems In Between
By Peter Aczel, Editor and Publisher
19 Bag End Infrasub-18 26 Pinnacle Classic Gold Aerogel
20 Bag End MM-8B Time-Align 26 Sunfire "True Sub Signature"
21 Hsu Research HRSW 12Va 29 Thiel SCS2
21 JosephAudio RM7si "Signature" 30 Velodyne Servo FSR-18
22 Legacy Audio "Studio" 31 Velodyne Servo HGS-10
23 Monitor Audio 700PMC 32 Waveform Mach 17 (followup)
23 NHT Model 2.5i
24 Paradigm Reference Active/20 .. .and another kind of transducer:
25 Paradigm Reference Servo-15a 33 Sennheiser HD 600
34 There's Life Yet in the Two-Channel Integrated Amplifier
By David A. Rich, Ph.D., Contributing Technical Editor
35 Denon PMA-2000R 38 Onkyo Integra A-9911
36 Marantz PM-68 39 Yamaha AX-592
41 An Alphabet Soup of Electronics:
AV, DVD, CD, FM, THX, AC-3, DTS (all A-OK)
By Peter Aczel, Editor and Publisher, and David A. Rich, Ph.D., Contributing Technical Editor
41 AV Surround Receiver: Denon AVR-5600
43 DVD Video Player: Denon DVD-3000
43 Digital Surround Processor/Controller: Lexicon DC-1
44 FM Tuner: Magnum Dynalab FT-101A
47 Dolby Digital AV Preamp/Tuner: Marantz AV550
47 Mono Power Amplifier: Marantz MA700
48 Dolby Digital Processor: Marantz DP870
49 Line-Level Preamplifier: Morrison ELAD
50 Outboard D/A Converter: Parasound D/AC-2000
51 5-Channel Power Amplifier: Rotel RB-985 THX
51 Compact Disc Player: Sony CDP-XA20ES
52 CD/DVD Player: Sony DVP-S7000
53 Hi-Fi VHS VCR: Sony SLV-M20HF
54 AV Surround Receiver: Sony STR-DA80ES
55 Indoor/Outdoor FM Antenna: Terk FM Pro FM-50
...and something you always looked for:
56 Service Manuals: A. G. Tannenbaum
57 New World Cyborgs
By Tom Nousaine
59 Hip Boots Wading through the Mire of Misinformation in the Audio Press
59 Synergistic Research: through a Forest, Darkly
59 Robert Harley in Fi Magazine
62 Peter van Willenswaard in Stereophile
61 The Audio Cynic
By Glenn O. Strauss
63 Capsule CD Reviews 65 Sidebar: An Object Lesson in Creeping Subjectivity
By Peter Aczel, Editor and Publisher
68 Book & Software Reviews By the Staff of The Audio Critic
Ben Duncan • Douglas Self • Howard Ferstler • Robert Harley • ETF4.0 • RPG Room Optimizer
3 Box 978: Letters to the Editor

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 Issue No. 25 Winter 1998-99
Editor and Publisher Peter Aczel
Contributing Technical Editor David Rich
Contributing Editor at Large David Ranada
Technical Consultant (RF) Richard Modafferi
Columnist Tom Nousaine
Columnist Glenn Strauss
Cartoonist and Illustrator Tom Aczel
Business Manager Bodil Aczel
The Audio Critic® (ISSN 0146-4701) is published quarterly for $24
per year by Critic Publications, Inc., 1380 Masi Road, Quakertown, PA
18951-5221. Second-class postage paid at Quakertown, PA. Postmaster:
Send address changes to The Audio Critic, P.O. Box 978, Quakertown,
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The Audio Critic is an advisory service and technical review for
consumers of sophisticated audio equipment. Any conclusion, rating,
recommendation, criticism, or caveat published by The Audio Critic
represents the personal findings and judgments of the Editor and the
Staff, based only on the equipment available to their scrutiny and on
their knowledge of the subject, and is therefore not offered to the reader
as an infallible truth nor as an irreversible opinion applying to all extant
and forthcoming samples of a particular product. Address all editorial
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Quakertown, PA 18951-0978.
Contents of this issue copyright © 1998 by Critic Publications, Inc. All rights
reserved under international and Pan-American copyright conventions. Repro-
duction in whole or in part is prohibited without the prior written permission of
the Publisher. Paraphrasing of product reviews for advertising or commercial
purposes is also prohibited without prior written permission. The Audio Critic
will use all available means to prevent or prosecute any such unauthorized use
of its material or its name.

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2 THE AUDIO CRITIC

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Box 978
Letters to the Editor
Your letter has a good chance to get published here if it is a relevant commentary on audio issues or
the contents of our journal. Please send only typewritten or word-processed text; our scanner
software does not recognize hen scratches. Letters may or may not be excerpted at the discretion of
the Editor; ellipsis (...) indicates omission. Address all editorial correspondence to the Editor, The
Audio Critic, P.O. Box 978, Quakertown, PA 18951-0978.
We lead off with an object lesson orem and the principles of quantization sors of electrical engineering, acoustics,
about the perception of consumer audio provide unequivocal assurance that with physics, and applied mathematics at lead-
by the general (i.e., nontechnical) press. 44.1 kHz sampling and 65,536-step ing universities, with the top engineering
The following exchange of letters between quantization as used in CDs no "detail" in executives of major manufacturers in the
your Editor and Forbes magazine took place the audio spectrum and the audio dynam- field, and so forth. Not with retail stores
a few months after the publication of Issue ic range is lost—not an iota, not a scintil- trying to sell you the stuff, for heaven's
No. 24. The letters are self-explanatory. la. By any criterion of audio fidelity— sake, or with untutored hobbyists ratio-
frequency response, dynamic range, dis- nalizing their purchases. You cannot
Mr. James W. Michaels, Editor tortion, signal-to-noise ratio, channel imagine the utter contempt and jeering
Forbes separation, etc.—the CD medium is dev- ridicule elicited by Mr. Pinkerton's kind
New York, NY astatingly superior to vinyl. Today's LP of unscientific journalism from the top
Re: "Going vinyl" by Stewart Pin- microindustry is based on nostalgia and professionals and academics I am talking
kerton, under Living, Forbes, July 7, the utilization of leftover production about.
1997. facilities, not technical advantages. Mr. If you are serious about upgrading
Dear Mr. Michaels: Pinkerton's so-called comparative test Forbes's capabilities in this area, I shall
As a well-wisher of Forbes, I feel was a typical salesman-coached exercise be glad to help you assemble a better
compelled to point out to you the utter in undisciplined subjective expertizing, Rolodex. I have all the best names and
lack of science, professionalism, and without any scientific controls (such as numbers, and want no compensation
accountability in the above article. It level matching, double-blind conditions, other than improved hi-fi reporting in
seems you have been snookered by Mr. etc.). Forbes. Meanwhile I am enclosing a cou-
Pinkerton and the agenda-driven tweako/ What I see as the root cause of your ple of clippings from my publication that
weirdo audio cultists he hangs out with. editorial problem here is your Rolodex. have some relevance to this matter.
He obviously does not know how to net- You and your writers do not appear to Sincerely,
work with authorities possessing serious have the names and telephone numbers of Peter Aczel
technical credentials. genuine audio experts. To use a simple Editor and Publisher
"...Records sound better than CDs analogy, instead of asking the Mayo Life Member of the AES
because they're direct analog copies of a Clinic about medical questions you have
musical event, rather than digitized been asking your local health food store. Dear Mr. Aczel:
reconstructions." "...A high-quality pho- For solid information about audio, you The typical Forbes reader doesn't
tograph looks much better than a digital need to be in touch with the Audio have a doctorate in acoustics or electrical
image. The detail is sharper, the color Engineering Society (AES), with the engineering. But, many of them do spend
richer." This is a scientific illiterate talk- Institute of Electrical and Electronics a good deal of money on hobbies such as
ing. The Nyquist-Shannon sampling the- Engineers (IEEE), with tenured profes- audio. Thus we're interested in giving
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 3

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them an insight into the available choices Dick Greiner is one of the towering lying on the floor at this same distance,
in the market. There's just as much hype authorities whose name should be on the audible response from the same prod-
coming from the CD enthusiasts as there Forbes's Rolodex (see above). They uct may not be quite as memorable.
is from the vinyl advocates. I'll pass your would find him kind, highly approach- Waveform does include this measure-
comments along to Mr. Pinkerton. able, and prompt to respond, but of ment, along with 17 separate others, in
Thanks for taking the time to write. course they are unlikely to consult him. our owner's manual. What is noteworthy
Sincerely, That the editorial stance of this journal here is that the shape and level of the
Jim Michaels has his complete approval is one of the window matches very closely the on-axis
Editor things that make me sleep better at night curve, something we have never wit-
Forbes than Larry Archibald and John Atkinson nessed before.
(if indeed there is any "truth, right and With respect to multichannel sound,
I couldn't believe my eyes when I justice" in this world). Thank you, Dick, what needs emphasizing is that nowhere
first read the above reply. Apparently, for having been a beacon all these years in either article, by either author, is there
correct information is strictly for Ph.D.s, in the murky sea of audio. a persuasive defense enunciated for
not for "the typical Forbes reader." But —Ed. speakers having differing directivity
wait! It turns out that they did listen to characteristics for film sound and for the
me, even if they won't admit it directly. In The Audio Critic: sound of music. Sound is sound. To quote
their December 28, 1998 issue there is a Please permit me a little 3-way link- Toole: "In principle, there should be no
short article by Robert La Franco, titled age. I would like to respond to Dan reason to differentiate between them.
"Selling sizzle with sizzle." It is about Sweeney's excellent article on multi- Good design is good design." (Audio,
Noel Lee and the Monster Cable success channel sound, focusing on speaker May 1997, p. 137.) It is not my intention
story. The focus is on the business aspects directivity and "Can One System Do to enter into an audio vs. video debate;
of the audio cable industry, but La Both?" etc., in Issue No. 24, and combine the marketplace is already doing that, and
Franco also points out that high-priced those thoughts with some generated from to audio's detriment. I also have no theo-
stereo cable "is a product where most of Floyd E. Toole's also excellent article in retical quarrel with a speaker that has
the value is in the mind of the buyer" and Audio magazine (May & June 1997), constant directivity. It is a desirable
that heavy-gauge lamp cord "affords especially since Floyd Toole was men- attribute, but only after the main horizon-
nearly as much fidelity." Isn't that amaz- tioned in Sweeney's article. It is nigh tal curves have been made flat. The sacri-
ing? It's definitely a first in a business impossible to treat this subject matter in fices made are too great in attaining it,
magazine. Am I being presumptuous to one letter. At the same time, I hope to although it now may be possible to have
take a little credit for Forbes's turnabout? shed some light on your query in the both within the same product. Where is
—Ed. review of the Waveform Mach 17, about the diffraction model in a square-edged
the missing connection to "the variability cabinet with a horn driver? Where is the
The Audio Critic: of response in the vertical plane" (Issue diffraction model in a dual-element, dual-
I was most pleased to see that you No. 24, p. 34). use speaker? Where is the acoustical
put me on the side of the White Hats. I For the most part, speaker designers interference model for dispersion in
always tried to be so. I also appreciate assume that the listener is seated. This designs with multiple tweeters or mid-
your kind words about me in Issue No. 24. means that the listener will obtain the ranges, for that matter? And where are
Your list of important things in majority of the combined acoustic output the comparative listening tests that show
audio on page 9 [of No. 24] is right on the in the horizontal hemisphere from a neu- that a listener would prefer this compro-
mark. I have supported these priorities tral room. Even when the dispersion mise to any other? Constant directivity is
for many years. You state them boldly model chosen is the point source, stack- achieved, in my view, at the expense of
and succinctly. ing bass, midrange and treble drivers ver- flat extended frequency response in the
tically on a baffle will result in fairly three-dimensional sound field, whether
After many years I have retired from
severe broadband nonlinearity generated one employs horns or multiple drive ele-
professorship and from writing or even
in the vertical plane at ever increasing ments.
commenting on audio matters. I still do
some consulting in acoustics and digital wide angles. These are taken fully into Speakers that are designed with a
signal processing. But, my main pastimes account when the total radiated sound smooth and extended dispersion plot are
are now gardening and astronomy. They power is compiled. One will then also be not done so with the intention to provide
are both slow, gracious and relaxing able to deduce the directivity index, ambience by bouncing off the room
activities most suited to retirement. which now appears to be the current dar- boundaries, as Daniel Sweeney suggests
While I no longer consider the ling measurement for the video crowd. (Issue No. 24, p.71). That this does occur
"tweakos" worth arguing with or worth The listening window, which is a is usually a direct result of a too-live lis-
trying to educate, I wish you well in your computer-generated curve at the NRC, tening room. Controlled dispersion is
continuing battle on the side of truth, contains the 15° up and down measure- executed to emulate the point source con-
right and justice. ments, along with the 0°, 15° L & R. cept as defined by frequency, not phase. It
Sincerely, Measuring up and down this amount will is up to the user to provide a suitable
(signed) Dick help account for what a standing person room acoustic with a predominantly
R. A. Greiner will experience at a reasonable distance direct sound characteristic, which will
Emeritus Professor of Electrical of about 10 feet from a stereo pair. If a happen as a result of low reverberant
and Computer Engineering listener insists on standing on a ladder or decay (0.3 s to 0.4 s) as specified (or

4 THE AUDIO CRITIC

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buried?) in the literature, but not empha- timbral balance of those side channels for The Audio Critic:
sized nearly enough by those who pre- where they are positioned on the wall, by ...I want to reassert forcefully:
sented and argued for it in the first place. height and by distance, either fore or aft thank you for The Audio Critic. It has
Since home theater systems are only of a centrally located listener with head brought the clear light of day into an area
in about 10% of North American homes, forward. of consumer life that I had been bumping
interesting things begin to appear when The really big picture is the one that around in clumsily for all too long. I do
the demographics of these owners are contains all of the product measurements, not think integrity and clearly developed
examined more closely. The early all of the room measurements, and all of reasoning and crisp, straightforward
adopters have more discretionary funds the psychoacoustic optimizations. There prose are anywhere in our culture ready
to dispose of. Their homes are typically is a level of sophistication needed here to hand; it is precisely these virtues I find
larger and therefore the rooms are larger that has never been attempted before. on every page of your Issue No. 24,
too. Not so good, as large rooms inher- Those who do it first and do it correctly which is the first issue of your journal
ently have longer reverberant times, will reap the rewards. Then the only dif- I've met; and I cannot be quick enough in
which lead to louder echoes. The room ference that remains will be the recording subscribing and including amounts for
may be a showpiece and may have only as art form. Is there the will? ...back issues...Nos. 16-23.
an area rug on a tiled surface or hard- Sincerely, ...Believe me, I will not complain
wood floor, as opposed to full broadloom. John Ötvös about irregular publication schedules. I
Not so good either, as the potential for President tell my students the same warning about
flutter echo between the exposed floor Waveform when to expect back papers they hand in:
and the ceiling is awaiting a trigger if I am to do a good job commenting, they
mechanism to explode. The owner may The trouble with all theoretical must wait until I am ready. Besides, the
have a ravine lot with no neighbours to speaker-design priorities, even if intelli- rich substance of what I read in this sin-
the rear, so the need to have privacy gently and knowledgeably argued as in gle issue provides me with plenty to
drapes on expansive glassed walls is your letter, is that "the proof of the pud- reflect on.
reduced or eliminated. More reflective ding is in the eating," i.e., you have to As our literature studies try to
surfaces (and big ones too), not so good point to an already existing design that include more cultural contexts, I find
again, almost redundantly so. The main incorporates those priorities before we myself always making students alert to
reason for controlling the vertical disper- can all be thoroughly convinced. Loud- the hype of consumerism; and your jour-
sion in THX speakers, as well as with speakers are not like amplifiers. In speak- nal performs that great service in an area
some of the new constant-directivity ers there is no such thing as a 100% where I hear almost no one else speaking.
models, is that owners of home theatre hardware implementation of a paper Thank you again very much.
systems and installers have not come to design. "Between the potency/And the Sincerely,
grips with the needed room acoustic, existence/...Falls the Shadow" (T. S. Roger Kaye
which would require lowering the room Eliot). Sometimes a conceptually flawed Department of English
sound and raising the speaker sound. Not design sounds better than a brilliant one California State University
easy! as a result of better execution. Chico, CA
There is also an absolute dearth of Since the Waveform Mach 17 is,
discussion regarding the correct use of overall, the most successful loudspeaker Isn't it remarkable that university
the centre channel. Virtually all on-screen design known to me, I take your priorities people endorse and support us so much
dialogue in films is summed to this very seriously and await eagerly the more consistently than the untutored
speaker, so that actors sound as if they grand synthesis they wishfully and wist- audio-salon dweebs and magazine-rack
were piggybacked on top of each other in fully point to. moochers? Is there a sociocultural con-
the same wretched fashion that multitrack —Ed. clusion to be drawn here?
music recordings stack vocalists and per- —Ed.
formers vertically in the centre between The Audio Critic:
the L and R channels. The centre channel I think that it would show that you The Audio Critic:
is not a universal cure-all for listeners sit- had manners befitting a serious journal if You sure have put some of the fun
ting off the central axis. Most important- you didn't use such strong language to and sanity back into audio. Your "Good
ly in music, but no less so in good dra- describe those lyin', cheatin', dirty, rotten Guys/Bad Guys" article in Issue No. 24
matic film dialogue, there will have to be sons o' bitches/bastards! was great, and long overdue. However,
more care used in creating phantom David Franklin one question begs to be asked: Why is it
images between the L & C and the R & Edgartown, MA so easy for you to forgive Bob Carver's
C. Here again, level is more important advertisements? When Bob's ad declares
than phase. Who uses strong language ? Not this that his Sunfire amp has the soul of a 9-
One last point about having five freakin 'journal! (But then all criticism is watt triode, he may simply be trying to
identical channels. If, as Floyd Toole sug- perceived as strong language by the crit- double his revenue, but he simultaneous-
gests, the side channels shouldn't be icized. "Don't speak of rope in a hanged ly glorifies and legitimizes the whole
exactly like the front channels in timbre man's house," says an old Hungarian high-end mystical megabucks rip-off rou-
because of the outer shape of the ear, then proverb, but that doesn't mean rope is a tine that your publication has so often
it should be up to the encoding within the dirty word.) denounced. Since most of us longtime
system software setup to re-equalize the —Ed. audio enthusiasts respect Carver's techni-

ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 5

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cal achievements, his ads serve only to Howard W. Ferstler, author of consumer- the whole concept of tall line sources,
confuse us. If Bob is intentionally mis- oriented books on audio and contributor mainly because when sitting close to
leading the audio public in order to to The Sensible Sound. Howard often them the top and bottom parts of the line
increase his income, doesn't that qualify reminds me of Gertrude Stein's famous will be radically out of phase with the
him for "bad guy" status right up there quip about Ezra Pound: "a village center at a multitude of frequencies. Roy
with Dennis Had or Conrad and Johnson? explainer, excellent if you are a village, Allison also dealt with the subject in the
Terence R. Simmons but if you are not, not." That was of BAS Speaker (August/September 1984),
New Hope, PA course patently unfair to Ezra Pound, and Roy and Stan did a give and take on
who was a great poet albeit a nut case, the subject in the December 1984/Jan-
Bob Carver is a "Good Guy in a and is also somewhat unfair to Howard, uary 1985 and February/March 1985
White Hat" because he gives you a well- who always fights on the side of scientific issues. Short, controlled-length lines (as
engineered—sometimes brilliantly engi- rationality in this delirious world of high- with some THX speakers) can work OK,
neered—product at a fair price. Dennis end audio. Still, he does tend to be a bit but really long lines can cause problems
Had and Conrad-Johnson are "Bad Guys self-important and condescending (which unless they are placed very carefully and
in Black Hats" because they give you may be just a professional mannerism, as the listener sits just so.
dumb-ass tweako engineering at an he comes from the university world), Another quibble. In your review of
unconscionably inflated price. whereas I would much rather not be the Sunfire subwoofer (see page 33), you
That does not mean Bob Carver's treated like a village (pace Hillary). I note that "the Sunfire has the inherent
advertising is as good and credible as his have therefore inserted a few brief inter- ability to take advantage of the quasi-
Sunfire product. As a former advertising ruptions into his text, in addition to the horn effect of the corner; the bigger sub-
professional I have told him more than longer reply at the end. woofers much less so." Well, it may seem
once that he should not write his own —Ed. that way, but at the distances involved (a
ads, but he just can't live with anyone typical 18-inch sub might have its driver
else's words—or taste. I happen to know The Audio Critic: centered a foot from two boundaries and
that he secretly congratulates himself for .. .You probably get compliments all two feet from the third) and the frequen-
being a hard-nosed marketeer who un- the time, but I still thought I'd tell you cies involved (usually below 100 Hz) the
derstands that consumers and dealers what a great item Issue No. 24 was. drivers of the Sunfire and the bigger unit
must be told what they want to hear, not Everything was terrific: Nousaine's con- are both acoustically close to those
necessarily the facts. In other words, he tribution, Sweeney's contribution, Rich's reflecting surfaces. Indeed, at very low
is willing to let you buy the right product contributions—even your [viz., the frequencies corner reinforcement is prob-
(his) for the wrong reasons. Not because Editor's] contributions. You do a hell of a ably no better than midwall reinforce-
he is money-hungry—his entire biogra- job with a three- or four-man writing ment in normal-sized rooms, as long as
phy would be totally different if he were— staff. [It's really a one-man writing staff you do not take the inherent structural
but because he thinks that's the way with occasional outside contributors who stiffness advantage of the corner into
smart marketeers operate. Sometimes he need to be edited.—Ed.] Also glad to see account.
even lapses into borderline tweakspeak you tested some cheaper gear and pretty Finally, no doubt like a lot of your
just to gain the confidence of the tweako much substantiated what I have said readers, I am still not sure of what a
element, although I know for a fact he about it—some of it, at least—in two dif- "wave launch" is and how it impacts the
shares none of their beliefs. ferent books on audio hardware: the stuff subjective performance of decent, wide-
A famous dictum of Bill Bernbach, can work pretty darn good, and impover- dispersion speaker systems operating in
one of the smartest admen of all time, is ished audiophiles can at least have decent normally reverberant listening rooms—
that good advertising makes a bad prod- sound without feeling ashamed of their with those speakers placed anywhere
uct fail faster. The logic of that is unas- electronic hardware or having to hock the other than close to and aimed directly at
sailable, but I certainly do not believe the silver. the listener.
reverse is true—that Bob's bad advertis- One quibble. On page 25, you state • • •
ing is making his good product succeed that "a tall planar or line-source speaker ...On page 71 [of Issue No. 24], in
faster—although it probably makes little puts the listener in the farfield even when his fine essay on multichannel music for-
difference one way or the other. At this he sits fairly close." Well, Peter, that is mats, Dan Sweeney notes that the para-
point he is a legend, and legends are self- just not the case. With tall line sources, it meters for THX speaker performance
perpetuating. He could quite possibly is nearly impossible to get into the mandate that "wide-dispersion designs
stop advertising altogether and hardly farfield at nearly any frequency when sit- for the front speakers are to be positively
feel the effect. The bottom line from the uated in nearly any home listening avoided in a multichannel playback sys-
Good Guy/Bad Guy perspective is that it room—not at bass frequencies, anyway. tem." He goes on to note that "THX
would be good for audio if Dennis Had The behavior of line sources has been speakers sound identifiably different than
and Conrad-Johnson went away but bad studied to death, but I suggest you read the quasi-point-source radiators that
for audio, very bad, if Bob Carver went Stanley Lipshitz's paper, "The Acoustic comprise the bulk of the well-regarded
away. We need him, warts and all. Radiation of Line Sources of Finite audiophile music speakers." Finally, on
—Ed. Length," presented at the 81st Conven- page 72, he pretty much comes out and
tion of the AES, November 1986, and says that video-oriented speakers cannot
What follows is a conflation of three hopefully still available as Preprint 2417 match the integrity of speakers designed
letters over an eight-month period from (D-4). Stan pretty much came down on for two-channel audio use, and that the

6 THE AUDIO CRITIC

pdf 7
build quality of video speakers often does entific analysis or even in music. Those kind of breakdown, and I think that you
not match that of audiophile systems. commentaries have pretty much been on and a number of other rationalist critics
Well, I should point out that in terms the mark, in terms of what is going on, (including many individuals who have
of dispersion the only major difference but not always exactly at dead center, in written letters to your magazine about the
between THX-certified speakers and terms of the motivations involved or the problem) may be missing an important
many audiophile models involves the consequences of those motivations. [Your point concerning what a lot of subjec-
vertical angle. As far as horizontal dis- commentaries, on the other hand, are "at tivist writers, and their editors and pub-
persion is concerned, typical THX mod- dead center," right?—Ed.] lishers, are doing (and are aware that they
els are a match for many so-called audio- It is interesting that audio, which are doing) when they do seat-of-the-pants
phile models, particularly those that deals with something so esoteric as the equipment evaluations and propose
employ rather large drivers for the subjective perception of music, has divid- arcane theories of high-end hardware
midrange. Dan should have noted that ed into two, for the most part polarized, performance.
limited vertical dispersion will attenuate camps. On the one hand, we have Indeed, I think we can actually go so
ceiling and floor reflections that will pos- "technophiles," who thrive on brass-tacks far as to postulate a third subjective-jour-
sibly muddy the clarity of both video and analyses and see the discipline as simply nalist category, and it is just likely that it
audio-only playback material. There is an offshoot of science and technology in is a grouping that encompasses a sizable
nothing inherently wrong with limiting general. Many audio technophiles are as number of those who write about the sub-
vertical dispersion a bit, although, admit- much at home with physics, computer ject of high fidelity, including both The
tedly, the short line-source configuration science, or rocket science as audio, and Con Men and The Dupes, whether they
can cause lobing anomalies that might be their audio magazines of choice are prob- write for mainstream or fringe journals:
a problem if the listener is off the vertical ably the JAES and JASA, and, well, TAC. The Entertainers.
axis somewhat. However, those lobing [Isn't that "well" a little condescending? You see, a great many audio-jour-
anomalies are slight, compared to the See what I mean?—Ed.] Indeed, comput- nalistic entertainers are not being paid to
ones found in typical, high-end, panel- er science has probably drained off a impart "knowledge" at all (be it the brass-
type speakers. number of talented individuals who tacks oriented stuff the technophiles
Being "identifiably different" (page would otherwise be heavily immersed in crave, or even subjectivist-oriented fluff),
71, again) does not by necessity make audio technology, and because of this because a surprising number of readers
THX speakers sound less accurate than defection of talent our hobby is the worse are simply not interested in technical
so-called point-source audiophile speak- for wear. At the other extreme, we have a information—even subjectivist, pseudo-
ers. Indeed, the differences noted may be coterie of mystics who often appear to scientific, seat-of-the-pants technical
the result of improved fidelity. In addi- encompass a much wider audience, one information. The fact that so many differ-
tion, build quality is something that a that thrives on fantasy and demands a ent high-end products have received dif-
manufacturer can adjust with any kind of certain amount of obscurity in their audio fering reviews (with some conclusions
speaker—THX-certified or audiophile. lives, and I imagine their day-to-day lives being strongly at variance with others),
Lots of so-called high-end speakers with as well. That the latter group is willing to without the subjectivist readership pro-
very expensive drivers, massively built spend a lot more money on hardware than testing on a large scale, is an indication
cabinets, and exotic crossovers, as you the former has certainly not gone unno- that a lot of those individuals really are
most certainly realize, do not sound all ticed in journalistic circles. Both groups not assimilating much of anything at all.
that hot. profess an interest in music, although
Let's face it, most subjectivist audio
members of both camps are often more
Perhaps the best compromise in a writers are to a great extent employed to
interested in hardware than qualities of
speaker for both audio-only and home- intensify the prejudices and insecurities,
performance.
theater use would be a design like the dis- or massage the egos, of individuals who,
continued Allison IC-20. That system had I know of no other "high-tech" really deep down, couldn't care less
two vertical midrange-tweeter-tweeter- hobby that has participants of such wide- about the realistic performance of audio
midrange panels angled 45° on either ly varying temperaments and attitudes. It hardware. Those readers are interested in
side of the forward axis, and the result is truly a peculiar situation. poetry, not specifications. They want to
combined a THX-style vertical radiation In any case, you previously seem to know that a given piece of hardware
pattern with an extremely wide horizontal have divided the subjectivist writers who imparts depth, spirit, sweetness, mean-
radiation pattern. Of course, mating a appeal to this surprisingly large, mystic- ing, profundity, truth, and soul to a
center speaker to that stereo pair would oriented group into two sections: The recording—not that it merely reproduces
require building some kind of customized Con Men (those who know the truth but an electrical input signal or even accu-
model—with Allison components— keep it hidden for monetary or power-trip rately reproduces a recorded event. For
which I am happy to say I have done. [So reasons) and The Dupes (those who those people, intellectualizing about
yours is the biggest, right?—Ed.] really believe what they say). It is clear audio is spiritually corrosive.
• • • that you consider the former category to Indeed, if such readers cared about
...In assorted editorial commen- be the larger one, with only a handful real the reproduction of sound, they would
taries over the years, The Audio Critic has crazies occupying the duped-journalist not be captivated by single-ended tube
noted with varying degrees of dismay and category. amplifiers and the LP record, nor would
passion how so many of those involved However, it is possible that there is they agonize about wire and cable, coat
with audio journalism appear more inter- more to the world of subjective-audio their CDs with oil, or clamp their compo-
ested in tweakish speculation than in sci- journalism than what is indicated by this nents in heavy equipment racks. As a

ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 7

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 consequence, most fringe-type audio matter how close you were to that wall Entertainers know that it's all just B.S.,
writers are paid to expertly mesmerize because an unvarying planar wave front then they are a subcategory of The Con
their readers, not give them any kind of would be traveling down the entire length Men, aren't they?
information—even wrong information. of the room. The same would be true, but I love your "depth, spirit, sweetness,
This is why certain magazines can print in one dimension only (mea culpa), of a meaning, profundity, truth, and soul"
pages of test data and then make judg- floor-to-ceiling line source from which a progression, but it also makes me sad.
ments about the equipment that are total- cylindrical wave front is traveling down Any audiophile who looks for that in an
ly unrelated to what the graphs indicate, the length of the room. Yes, Howard, I amplifier rather than in the music itself
why certain columnists can talk about know that typical free-standing planar is, culturally, a pathetic loser, but you are
putting air bladders under amplifiers or speakers and free-standing line-source right—that's exactly the way so many of
rocks on top of them to make them sound speakers suffer from various interference them think. Audio tweakspeak as pornog-
better, and why those who review CD effects. I was just trying to emphasize that raphy is, you will recall, a concept that
players and amplifiers for any number of they represent quite different theoretical was explored on the cartoon page (1-
wildly weird audio magazines can wax models than point-source speakers. 900-HOT-HIF1) in Issue No. 21, so you
enthusiastic about pace, rhythm, and As far as the corner placement of know I'm with you there. On the other
musical truth in their written commen- subwoofers is concerned, the wall dis- hand, I'm not with you when it comes to
taries. Subjectivist writers are paid to do tances for the 11-inch Sunfire are about giving up—learning "to roll our eyes and
the same thing music does: tickle the half of those for the big subs; in other live with the way things are." No way,
emotions. words, the Sunfire is twice as deep into Howard. Spinoza, schminoza, the simple
I believe that without the phenome- the corner linearly and eight times as truth cannot be subverted permanently; it
non of audio-journalistic entertainment, a deep volumetrically. I am not enough of a will out in the end. We just have to keep
sizable percentage of the readership of physicist/acoustician to tell you exactly repeating it.
many audio publications would defect how that affects the impedance matching —Ed.
(some fringe journals would no doubt be to the air load seen by the driver(s), but I
completely wiped out), and both the soft- don't have to. The drastically reduced The Audio Critic:
ware and hardware industries (particular- distortion (as compared with placements ...As you know, I'm a firm believer
ly the high-end community) would suffer. seeing larger solid angles) tells the story. in the use of double-blind testing, only I
In addition, without speculative journal- It's hard to argue with the THD curves. use this method with wine, often with
istic entertainment some audio buffs What is wave launch? I use the term interesting results. I'm also personally
would probably quit the pastime com- to mean the three-dimensional geometry acquainted with your [Peter Aczel's] hon-
pletely. Without the mythology, the of wave fronts emerging from a loud- esty, which is impeccable. So when I read
hobby itself might shrink to an even speaker prior to reflections. In my fairly that you and your colleagues did not hear
smaller size than it is today, although well-deadened room wave launch defines differences between CD players, pre-
those left behind might gain the hobby a a considerable part of a speaker's sonic amps, and amplifiers, I'm certain this is
little intellectual respect. signature; those who live in glass houses what transpired. I am confused, however.
It is unfortunate that this little diver- will probably agree with you because the I also believe in the validity of Bob
sion called audio, which in the beginning, specifics of the signature will be lost in Carver's transfer-function test (really a
several decades ago, was dominated by the reverberant acoustic soup. way of comparing dynamic performance
the brass-tacks crowd, has allowed this The controversy regarding audio- between dissimilar units) first reported in
Frankenstein monster to be created. only vs. home-theaters speakers is, I your journal. If the amplifiers null, then
However, we are stuck with it and ratio- think, adequately addressed in John the current and voltage outputs are iden-
nalist enthusiasts like you and a handful Ötvös's letter above, to which I have tical and thus the sound must be as well.
of other engineering-oriented types (and nothing to add at this point because I There seems to be a basic conflict here:
me, too, I suppose) will just have to learn basically agree with it. amplifiers that null must sound the same;
to roll our eyes and live with the way Your entertaining analysis of the amplifiers that don't null must sound dif-
things are. phenomenon you call The Entertainers ferent, yet I believe you are hearing
"Men judge of things according to elicits no strong disagreement from me, exactly what you report in your double-
their mental disposition and rather imag- but I don't believe it is "exactly at dead blind tests.
ine than understand."—Spinoza, Ethics. center. " You say I consider The Con Men In a similar vein, my experience fif-
Sincerely, to be a larger category than The Dupes, teen years ago was that there were sub-
Howard W. Ferstler but that's not so. I believe that the major- stantial differences between amplifiers in
Tallahassee, FL ity of the tweako pundits are True their ability to drive real-world loads
Believers, i.e., Dupes. They may wish to (leave aside subjective issues of "bet-
I should have been much more spe- entertain while expressing their true ter"). Two loudspeakers (Gayle and the
cific and precise about planar and line- beliefs, but their principal motivation is original Sound Labs) that were both diffi-
source speakers. Imagine a rectangular to defend the Truth, smite the Infidel (you cult for about six prestigious brands of
listening room one of whose shorter walls and me), and give proof of their exquisite solid-state amplifiers were handled with
is an electrostatic sandwich, from to floor taste and hearing acuity. Most of them aplomb by a Nairn 250, a smaller, much
to ceiling and wall to wall, driven in are poorly paid; their chief reward is the lighter design whose stated purpose was
phase over its entire surface. You would opportunity to play with expensive toys. to drive real-world loads and provide
be in the farfield—mono of course—no But if you happen to be right and The plenty of dynamic headroom. I'm not

8 THE AUDIO CRITIC

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talking about "liquid midrange," but the don't have quite that much mileage on did run controlled listening tests, howev-
result was that the Nairn sounded differ- this vehicle; there was an almost seven- er, and pretty much pulled the rug out
ent. I know this is anecdotal, and perhaps year hiatus in between.—Ed.] During from under us. The kind of coherence we
amplifiers are much better generally that time I've noticed many changes in used to test for—between the midrange
today, but it seems that the ability to drive your reviewing perspective, most notably driver and the tweeter—is definitely not
complex loads will make a difference in those involving electronic equipment. audible. That's no longer open to argu-
the sound, at least under certain circum- But while reasons such as double-blind ment. At lower frequencies the ear is
stances. I am not suggesting anything testing have explained some of your more sensitive to phase.
magical, simply good engineering, and it changes, there's been one change that I The coup de grace to the coherence
is a safe bet to say that the Nairn had a don't believe has been adequately criterion was actually administered in
different transfer function than the other explained. Why do you no longer believe 1983 by David L. Clark in a not very
amplifiers it was compared with. pulse coherence in speakers is audible widely circulated white paper, "Some
The transfer functions don't null— when you once believed this test revealed Experiments with Time" (Syn-Aud-Con
different currents and voltages are being the best speakers? Tech Topics, Vol. 10, No. 5, Winter 1983).
delivered to the loudspeaker, therefore ...I may be mixing apples and He reported that at higher frequencies a
they sound different; in double-blind tests oranges here, but the only reference I can phase shift of as much as -2700° was
no difference is heard—any ideas on how find that may have led to this apparent inaudible to any of his listeners—i.e.,
to resolve this dilemma?... shift is cited in Issue No. 16 in speaker indistinguishable from a wire bypass of
...Best wishes, reviews by David Rich, where he writes the delay network— as long as there was
Terry McCarthy that the "sensitivity of the ear to phase no accompanying frequency response
New York, NY variation remains a point of controversy error. (That's the big booby trap, since
{Lipshitz 1982], [Fincham 1985], [Deer phase shift will change the frequency
No dilemma, Terry. Your puzzlement 1985], [Greenfield 1990]." In a review of response unless the latter is deliberately
is based on a false assumption. You write, the ACI Sapphire II in the same issue, compensated for.) In 1997 David Clark
"amplifiers that null must sound the Rich states that the speaker "reproduces told me that he has meanwhile carefully
same; amplifiers that don't null must pulses with outstanding fidelity" and that trained himself to hear -1000° of phase
sound different." Correction: amplifiers the speaker "achieves good pulse shift but still gives up on anything
that don't null will sound different only if response by using first-order crossover between that and 0°!
the transfer functions differ greatly. The sections." Yet, in a more recent review So, we're back to good old frequen-
null test is much more sensitive than the (Issue No. 24) of the updated ACI Sap- cy response as the acid test and no longer
human ear; well-designed amplifiers may phire III, Rich writes about the speaker as seek the theoretical comfort of coherence,
be slightly different in transfer function being "phase-coherent (so the tweaks will although we 're certainly not against the
but not enough to be audibly different. respect you)." accurate reproduction of square pulses
Our hearing is relatively crude, so we Could you please explain this appar- by a speaker as a techie bonus.
need to listen to, say, a tube amplifier ent shift in speaker testing and review- —Ed.
with high output impedance, lots of sec- ing? Weren't you originally using pulse
ond harmonic distortion, and a rolled-off testing to measure time/phase differ- The Audio Critic:
top end before we can distinguish it from ences? What were you hearing or mea- Recently, I was elevated from the
a more standard (i.e., neutral) amplifier. suring in 1977 that you no longer believe post of underpaid prosecutor to that of
I now have a sneaking suspicion, you can hear? Do pulse coherence tests better-paid judge. Figuring it was time for
unprovable after all these years, that the no longer show the time-domain differ- a few upgrades, I decided to redo my
dirty little secret of the original Bob ences among speakers that can reveal sound system. Plunging into the endeav-
Carver "t-mods" was that the amplifiers which are able to make [music sound]... or with all the enthusiasm of the newly
sounded indistinguishable from each live instead of canned? converted, I began reading Stereophile.
other even before the transfer-function Robert Burko Now one might think that, because I
modifications, at least in the case of Milwaukee, WI was a prosecutor for eleven years, I
solid-state amps. We just didn't have our would cast a skeptical eye on the wild
level-matching procedures down pat. Ah, a very good question—good claims made by the promoters of High
(Sh! Don't tell Bob!) because it is easy to answer. Pulse coher- End and tweakdom. Right. I was about as
I am perfectly willing to believe that ence is intellectually very satisfying, as it smart a shopper as an eight-year-old set
some of those amplifiers fifteeen years indicates waveform accuracy. We all loose in Toys 'R' Us. I bought green paint
ago had trouble driving crazy imped- want to believe that the output resembles for my CDs, a "blacklight" to go along
ances—but on easier loads they sounded the input in every respect. Obviously, with the green paint, and a ludicrous
the same as the Nairn (rhyme uninten- that's always a good thing, never a fault, amount of cones, sorbothane thingies,
tional). as natural to trust as Mom, the flag, and and other useless artifacts. I did every-
—Ed. apple pie, so in the early years of The thing but bow ritualistically toward Santa
Audio Critic it didn't occur to me to ques- Fe and chant, "Harley is God, Harley is
The Audio Critic: tion it. The trouble is that we never ran God." (Oh yeah, I bought his book. Im-
I'm an original subscriber to The double-blind listening tests to verify our penetrable. Now I know why. It doesn't
Audio Critic and have enjoyed every belief. make sense.) Still, there was a wee voice
issue for the past twenty years or so. [We The researchers cited by David Rich in the back of my mind saying, "Are you

ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 9

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 out of your mind? A demagnetizer for Thanks for your time, and your ment.
CDs? No use. A junkie is a junkie. magazine. I once sold one of my earlier phono
Then I found your magazine at a Very truly yours, preamps to an outfit called The Tweek
Denver area newsstand. (Unfortunately, Jeffrey S. Ryan Shop somewhere in California. The unit
this was on my way back from shelling Summit County Court was returned after some time for repair.
out $400.00 for new cables.) What a rev- 5th Judicial District of Colorado After lifting the cover I discovered that
elation! While it hurt to realize that, yes, Breckenridge, CO the unit had been "modified"—parts
I had been suckered by the shills of Santa changed all over the place, complete with
Fe, I nonetheless felt a certain calm come "Joy shall be in heaven over one melted capacitor casings and several
over me as I read the articles. Sort of like sinner that repenteth, more than over cold-soldered joints. They had the nerve
waking from a nightmare—it was very ninety and nine just persons, which need to return the unit, bitching about its per-
bad, but it's over. no repentance. " Too bad you didn't dis- formance.
Now, in fairness to Harley et al., I cover us sooner. But does it take a law- News flash! The audiophile I call
did wind up with a pretty decent system. school education not to treat incontro- Crazy Howard bought $3600 worth of
But I also wound up with various costly vertible evidence against tweako cultism Shakti antivibration-antimagnetic-field-
pieces of tweaky junk. Were manufactur- with denial? In this delirious hobby it radiation blocks. He wouldn't buy my
ers in the field of photography (my part- apparently does—and even a law degree $800 (Canadian) line stage even though
time business) to make the sort of wild isn't always a guarantee, as the number he thought it sounded better than his Jadis
claims made by many high-end manufac- of true-blue audiophool lawyers proves but wasn't quite as musical. Uh-huh.
turers, they would be laughed out of the it. As for the E.E. stuff, we are only mar- A few years ago a seminar was held
business. In the real world, companies ginally more technical than Stereophile, on interconnect cables at a Toronto stereo
must make products that achieve identifi- if at all. Some statements about audio are shop. The object of the exercise was to
able, clearly beneficial results, or they go meaningless unless supported with scien- discover if the consumer could pick out
out of business. They cannot rely on con- tific references, but most of our articles the difference between interconnect cable
sumers "imagining" they see an improve- are entirely accessible to the interested A and interconnect cable B. A room full
ment, with an assist from hacks with a layman. A few people would like us to be of keen-eared audio buffs, including a
vested interest in advertising dollars. The "My First Book of Electricity, " explain- contributing equipment reviewer of
thought of anyone trying to market seri- ing what an ohm is (or a µF or a dB) Stereophile, took part. Unbeknownst to
ously the equivalent of "Shakti stones" or while reviewing CD players and loud- anyone, cables A and B were identical.
"power line conditioners," in a field speakers, but that isn't realistic. There Those who were objective simply
where they would have to prove the prod- are plenty of elementary textbooks in the shrugged at the end and confessed that
uct's worth, is beyond imagining. Yet libraries and bookstores. they heard no difference. The neurotics,
folks are getting rich, very rich, by con- —Ed. however—blessed with golden ears and
vincing people with too much money that some sort of mystic powers—were able
their systems are fatally deficient if they The Audio Critic: to distinguish subtle differences even
don't purchase some bizarre tweak that in Greetings from the frozen north! when the switch was thrown from cable
fact does nothing. Thought I would [share with you some A to cable A. In other words, when there
Your preference for blind testing experiences] after years of watching was no switching between cables at all!
and ABX comparisons is so obviously tweakers "modify" circuits. I foil the Yes, sir! The half dozen or so huddled in
valid that there can only be two possible buggers by potting the circuits of the a scrum—in the "sweet spot" of course.
explanations for Atkinson's resistance to Morrison preamp. Once saw one of Stew Furrowed brows, and frantically scrib-
the concept. Either he is afraid of discov- Hegeman's Hapi One phono stages bling notes, and listening soooo hard!
ering that his precious ears are fooling butchered by a wacko. He had replaced This display was a very valuable one. It
him (and he doesn't seem that stupid but, all of the parts in the EQ with the usual quickly sorted out the objective listeners
then, neither do I) or he knows where the magic and mysterious components made from the wackos. And yes, the equipment
money is and wants it (and the consumer from yak phlegm. The tolerances were all reviewer was among those who heard
be damned). In the old West, they called over the map, but apparently this sort of things that weren't there. These same
it a medicine show. Step up and buy the mundane stuff doesn't matter. people vote in elections.
elixir! It'll cure anything! A dealer who was an accountant by Following the great interconnect
There is so much I want to ask you, trade regularly burned his fingers when survey, I wanted to investigate further
but rather than take your time (which you "doing the mod" on very expensive the ability of audiophiles to determine the
don't have anyway), please find enclosed amps. One day I watched him solder a "sound" of a particular set of intercon-
my check for...a new subscription and film cap with extremely long leads from nects when used in their own system.
[all] the available back issues...This is the negative lug of the large electrolytic Two sets of one-meter pairs were fitted
money I don't mind spending. on the B+ side to ground. He did the with decent locking RCA plugs. One set
Also, though I'm not complaining, same on the B- side except, of course, was covered with blue heat-shrinkable
please keep in mind that not all of us are from the plus lug to ground. For tubing and the second pair with green.
E.E.s. Some of the technical stuff in Issue installing two film caps from ground to Other than colour, both cables were iden-
No. 24 was way over my head. After all, ground he charged $400. As later heard tical.
if I was any good at math and physics, I via the grapevine, the customer was in Once again the objective folks
wouldn't have had to go to law school. seventh heaven over the sonic improve- reported that "the goddamn things sound

10 THE AUDIO CRITIC

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the same to me!" But the rabid audio neu- night revolved around the careful listen- an important difference between it and
rotics, by golly, were not fooled. The dif- ing by the members to the different other audio magazines.
ferences they heard, though subtle, were wooden devices tucked underneath the
unmistakably there and were ranked in CD player. The various timber types were Dear Peter:
terms of "dynamic shadings," "musicali- actually ranked in terms of being able to ...I must apologize but we have,
ty," "coherence," and Christ knows what "bring out the, best microdynamics" or with great consideration, decided to
else. One character wrote a full-page which one has the "best soundstaging." I refrain from having you review the pieces
report on the differences between the suggested that the maple cones, since [Polyfusion Audio CD player and D/A
cables, describing sonic traits never there was probably a trace of maple processor] at this time.
before or since heard of. Remember, the syrup, made for a slightly sweeter sound. Also, again with careful considera-
only difference between the two sets was One of the club members nodded in tion!, we have decided to NOT advertise
that one was blue and one was green. agreement. I graciously thanked Mr. Ng in your upcoming edition of The Audio
Years ago, a friend of mine had the and beat a hasty retreat. (The calming Critic...
misfortune of assisting a distributor at a effect of a Guinness cannot be overrated.) I am sure you are puzzled over this
hi-fi show. After a boring day of handing How come the wackos can hear the change of heart. This is largely due to our
out brochures and answering silly "How differences between blue and green and review of some of your statements in the
many watts is that speaker?" sort of ques- yet cannot hear a -3 dB rolloff at 10 kHz? last issue about the amplifier's "vastly
tions, my friend decided to stir things up How can they hear the difference exaggerated" importance and CD players
by starting a rumour. It went as follows: between oak and ebony cones but cannot and preamps mostly sounding the "same,
whenever a piece of equipment was de- grasp the concept of accuracy? regardless of price."
scribed, the pronouncement was added, When confronted with virtually dis- We, as a manufacturer of High-End
"the umbrella effect is reduced or elimi- tortionless electronics, they always play audio gear, obviously disagree with your
nated." The degree to which it was their trump card. It's not as "musical" as observations. We certainly respect your
altered was determined, of course, by their wretched 10% THD favourites. right to voice your opinion—but any par-
careful engineering. Accompanying this Am I pissing in the wind? Should ticipation by us with The Audio Critic
claim, the hands were always moved in the output of a preamp/power amp not be would be non-sensible and non-produc-
an arc-like fashion, much like the shape a replica of the input? Is the "musicality" tive.
of an umbrella. The person listening to not the task of Mozart, Bach, and Thank you for your understand-
this load of horsefeathers would eagerly Beethoven? ing.... Perhaps in the future, under differ-
nod his head, understanding full well the I could go on for pages but it's just ent theologies, our paths may cross again.
advantages of taming the dreaded too depressing. Sincerely,
"umbrella effect," and thank heavens The reason for sending The Audio Rick Ellis
here was an outfit at last facing this Critic the line stage is to get the idea Sales/Marketing Manager
dilemma head on! across that the problem of getting a signal Polyfusion Audio
The following morning, in the hotel from CD player to power amp is relative- Lancaster, NY
dining room, there was a sea of assholes ly simple, and bog standard parts can be
arcing their hands in the fashion of das utilized. If just one young audiophile is What a nice, concise statement of
bumbershoot, discussing the advantages kept from the clutches of the wackos, it'll the high-end audio industry's unshakable
of the elimination of the newly discov- make my day! belief that the truth is bad for business!
ered source of distortion. Regards, A number of important corrections
Years ago, I took a stereo nut to his Don Morrison are in order. To wit:
first live symphony. The program was a Morrison Audio Our statements regarding the sound
lively one and included a Borodin piece Toronto, Canada of purely electronic signal paths are not
in which all the players dug in several mere "observations" or "opinions" or
times in a walloping fortissimo. Despite You've made your point, Don. To me "theology. " They are reiterations of in-
the fact that we were seated in row five, the "umbrella effect" alone was worth controvertible facts of electrical engi-
my colleague announced afterward over a the price of admission. That I'm also in neering and psychoacoustics as attested
couple of pints that he thought that the agreement with your engineering philos- by authorities with the highest scientific
live performance would be much louder. ophy should be evident from the review of credentials.
This same individual spent his spare time your preamp in this issue. Secondly, sound is not the only rea-
advising other people on how to chose But tell me, doesn't "bog " mean the son to buy high-end audio electronics. To
stereo gear... toilet in British army and schoolboy use an automotive analogy, a Chevrolet
The Chinese Audiophile Club meets slang? I hope "bog standard" isn't some- will get you to the mall as quickly and
on the first Monday night of the month in thing off-colour (to use your bloody reliably as a Bentley, but that perception
Toronto. I was invited as a guest a few spelling, mate). hasn't killed too many Bentley sales.
years ago by a Mr. Ng to observe the —Ed. Lastly, an advertiser wishing to be
shenanigans that went on. An outfit called • • • "productive " needs a publication with a
Shun Mook (I think) makes discs, pucks, To conclude this column, here is a demographically optimal readership, not
cones, or whatever, out of weird and business letter (as distinct from a letter to with a groupie philosophy. Take it from
exotic wood—ebony, rosewood, padauk, the Editor) illustrating a fundamental re- an old Madison Avenue professional.
purpleheart, etc. The entire meeting that ality of The Audio Critic's existence and —Ed.

ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 11

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 The Good Guys in the White
Hats and the Bad Guys in the Black
Hats: Continued
By Peter Aczel
Editor and Publisher

You will need Issue No. 24 to begin this expanding list of good and
bad audio people at the beginning and understand it as completely
as intended.
The article about the White Hats and Black Hats of entific, nontweako, truth-telling engineer, devoted to
audio drew by far the strongest reaction, from both our integrity in speaker design. That gets him a White Hat.
friends and enemies, among all the items in our last issue.
It appears that the prurient interest exceeds the technical James Bongiorno (Spread Spectrum Technologies, Inc.)
and musical interest even within our very special circle of The badass boy wonder, now aging, of the electronic
readers. (I knew it all along.) Nominations for additional engineering community. Those of our readers who go
white and black Stetsons kept pouring in, but most of back to the '70s probably remember my various run-ins
them were not white enough or black enough to qualify, with Jim, but that doesn't change the fact that he is a high-
being various shades of gray. (See also page 14, bottom ly original and ceaselessly creative circuit designer, not
right.) As an example, take someone like Bob Stuart of only in audio but also in RF. Those long-ago SAE, GAS,
Meridian Audio. He is without doubt a gifted, scholarly, and Sumo topologies Jim had cooked up turned out to be
and highly credible technologist, one of the pillars of the classics, very different from the expected and clearly
audio engineering community. Yet he has also been the superior. His patented but never used FM detector circuit
high priest of a contingent of English tweaks who hear is truly innovative. ("If someone actually manufactured
things that don't exist. He is certainly not a Black Hat in this tuner, it would rule the world," says David Rich.) Jim
the Bruce Brisson sense, but I have qualms about placing is currently unaffiliated (the company name above is that
him in the White Hat category. And so it goes. of his consulting firm) but he has some big plans. He
Be that as it may, there were clearly some omissions recently sent me a long, rambling, and barely legible
in the original list. Here are a few names that should have manuscript (totally illegible to my scanner software) that
been included—and, of course, sequels are to be expected. I hesitate to publish because it withholds the main piece
of information that would make it truly interesting and
More White Hats important. Jim claims that the diff-amp (differential am-
It should be pointed out that the White Hats are gen- plifier) input in solid-state ampifier design is antiquated,
erally not as visible as the Black Hats. You have to look passe, obsolete, and that he has a more advanced solution.
for good things that are happening in audio and find out What precisely? He won't say; he just teases us with some
who is behind them. Unlike most of the Black Hats, these hints. (He probably thinks the plagiarists are lying in wait,
good guys are often modest and don't promote themselves. salivating.) The thing is—I believe him because I believe
in him. He is one of the few audio people capable of
Paul Barton (PSB Speakers) advancing the art and not just shooting the bull (at which
Another Canadian. (They have disproportionate he is also very good).
representation on the White Hat roster, possibly because • • •
the snake-oil tradition is not as deep-rooted in their mer- Editor's Note: Some time after the above was written,
cantile culture as in ours.) Paul Barton's compatriot John there came the news that Jim Bongiorno was very sick. He
Ötvös, maker of my reference speaker (Waveform Mach has constantly recurring and now life-threatening liver
17), once told me that the PSB Stratus Gold would be his problems that go back many years, and he needs some
choice for his own use among other manufacturers' very sophisticated and costly medical treatment for which
speakers. That's good enough for me, although I hope to he has no insurance. Eventually he may have to undergo
test one soon in our laboratory. In any event, Paul has a liver transplant, which is contingent on organ avail-
been known to me for years as an absolutely straight, sci- ability as well as funds. We are talking about six-figure
12 THE AUDIO CRITIC

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sums here, totally beyond Jim's means. Contributions are Dr. Roger West (Sound Lab, Inc.)
being solicited to The James Bongiorno Medical Trust Definitely the most credible of the electrostatic
Fund, Bank of Montecito, Santa Barbara, CA 93140. The loudspeaker gurus. He has never denied the disadvantages
contact for the fund is Ms. Krissi Wray at (805) 564-0220. of the electrostatic design approach; he just believes that
the advantages are decisive. His top-of-the-line Sound
Fred E. Davis (independent consultant) Lab Ultimate 1 overcomes the disadvantages through
There have really been only two sane, scientifically brute force but still doesn't carry a cynically inflated price
modulated voices amidst the strident voodoo chants on tag; his smaller models are honestly engineered and hon-
the subject of wires/cables: that of Dick Greiner, already estly priced tradeoffs. David Rich is a big fan of the entry-
designated a White Hat in the last issue, and that of Fred level Quantum; I myself have tested the next step up, the
Davis (in the AES Journal, in Audio, and elsewhere). Dynastat, but want to look at a more current production
Modesty prevents me from naming a third voice—never version before publishing a review. In my book, Roger
mind. Fred Davis tunes the RLC differences and their West is "Mr. Electrostatic USA" on account of his scien-
audibility/inaudibility even finer than the rest of us ratio- tific integrity.
nalists but leaves just as much egg on the voodooists'
faces. Good man, good exegete. More Black Hats
If this is the part you started to read first, you have
Bill Dudleston (Legacy Audio) a dirty mind and are directed to go back to the White Hats
The lantern of Diogenes would have revealed him and start there. It is with considerable sadness that I list
to be an honest audio designer. His top-of-the-line loud- the names below—or do you think I just want to give you
speaker systems (not yet tested here) are very highly a cheap little frisson of Schadenfreude?
regarded by all the experts I respect and, best of all, cost
about half of what they would if distributed through deal- George Cardas (Cardas Audio)
ers, thanks to Legacy's factory-to-consumer marketing. Worse than Bruce Brisson? That's how some snake-
What's more, he is a straight talker on all technical mat- oil monitors rate him. He is certainly a major example of
ters. Good engineering, good value, and no B.S. add up to the breed—the cable peddlers who use pseudoscience to
a White Hat in my book. (I have charitably decided that justify their insanely inflated prices. Cardas cable is
the very few and far-between "eyebrow raisers" in the designed with "Golden Section Stranding"—strands dif-
Legacy literature must originate from someone else in the fering in mass in accordance with a Fibonacci sequence
company.) or "Golden Ratio"—in order to eliminate "resonant mul-
tiples in the conductor." This is such garbage in terms of
David Griesinger (Lexicon) real-world audio engineering that Pyramid Power is the
The man who knows more about digital signal pro- pinnacle of applied science by comparison. Look up
cessing for multichannel sound than just about anyone www.cardas.com on the Web and laugh your head off. Or cry.
else. You could say he wrote the book. He is the engi-
neering community's spokesman on the subject; they look Martin Colloms (Stereophile, HFN/RR)
up to him, and so do I. Ask him about psychoacoustics, A particularly opprobrious Black Hat because he
too; he'll tell it like it is. Also read the Lexicon DC-1 possesses sufficient technical knowledge and scientific
review in this issue. logic to be totally aware of what he is doing to his gullible
readers—filling their heads with tweako garbage. He has
Tomlinson Holman (TMH Corp., formerly Lucasfilm) the ability to perform all the laboratory tests this publica-
A very serious audio technologist by anyone's reck- tion does, and then some, after which he will report that
oning. Remember the Apt/Holman power amp of the early cable A has much better rhythm and pace than cable B and
'80s? It was the smartest, most completely thought- that some loony single-ended triode amplifier with oodles
through design of the era (and I didn't even fully appreci- of distortion is the cat's meow. His hypocrisy quotient is
ate it at the time). Fast-forward to THX, into the later '80s right up there with fellow Brit John Atkinson's, and so is
and right up to the present time. That was entirely Tom the technocultural damage he does.
Holman's doing, and even if the THX system has certain
promotional/commercial undertones it has undeniably Martin DeWulf (Bound for Sound)
helped to stabilize the surround-sound scene and set a Another audio writer/editor opposed to the findings
minimum performance standard. Do you like the sound of of practitioners who, unlike him, are trained in science.
the Indiana Jones movies? Tom Holman was in charge of Of course, one can never be sure whether such marginal
the entire technical infrastructure there. Anyone who has pundits are sincere or not. Unless he keeps claiming to
attended a few Audio Engineering Society conventions hear differences that in reality do not exist, the expensive
can testify to Tom Holman's intellectual leadership. The toys he likes to play with and write about might stop com-
world of audio would be quite different without him. ing. He has nothing to offer a high-end manufacturer
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except his exquisite auditory aperçus and facile audio- gence and foppish silliness. I think even John Atkinson
salon prattle, since he lacks the technical wherewithal to must feel slightly nauseated as he edits JS's fulsome copy.
come up with constructive criticism in engineering mat- It is significant that the most outrageously tweaky prod-
ters. His limitations lock him into a groupie position. A ucts that come in for review are usually assigned to JS. If
guest article by DeWulf in a recent issue of the The they ever reviewed a liquid-nitrogen-cooled platinum
Absolute Sound, listed as a "think piece" in the table of power cord, JS would be the reviewer, and the name of
contents, rehashes without any evidence of thinking all his wife Kathleen would be invoked to corroborate his
the tired old sounds-the-same/no-it-doesn't issues that exquisite sonic perceptions. To me he represents the ulti-
have been laid to rest, over and over again, by some of the mate in hokum, self-congratulation, and unaccountability.
most highly qualified experts in audio and psycho-
acoustics. My name appears in the article, as well as in a Dr. Yu Wah Tan (Shun Mook Audio, Inc.)
followup exchange of letters in a later issue, as a center- Assisted by Bill Ying and Andy Chow—and I don't
piece of DeWulf's demonology. He cannot forgive my know (and don't care) which member of the trio is the
long-ago defection from the subjective reviewing of purely originator of the steer droppings they hype. Maybe it all
electronic signal paths. What he doesn't seem to understand comes from a secretly located stockyard in Chinatown.
is that some of us are capable of gaining new knowledge All I know is that "Mpingo" (ebony) wood pucks placed
and new insights over the years, not just weight. in strategic spots on and under your audio equipment
don't accomplish anything other than fattening the early-
Michael Green (RoomTune by Michael Green Designs) retirement fund of the Shun Mook phonies. Actually, any-
The room-treatment charlatan extraordinaire. His one so stupid as to spend money for these worthless New
only saving grace is that, if you fall for his cockamamie Age fetishes deserves what he is getting. Thus, in the final
theories and buy his gizmos, you are out less than $1K, in analysis I'm all for Shun Mook because their efforts help
most cases. Does that make him less of a Black Hat? I to identify and isolate the irredeemable idiots in our
don't think so; antiscience is antiscience, regardless of the midst. (See also Don Morrison's letter in the "Box 978"
price tag. Some of his little Velcro-fastened dinguses column in this issue.)
aren't big enough to affect the acoustics of an airplane toilet,
let alone the sound of a big listening room. Sure, when he The Academy Advancing High End Audio and Video
hands them out free of charge to exhibitors at a show, you Not an individual but an alliance of manufacturers,
see them used in the rooms and you think they are there most of whom make their living with overpriced tweako
for a purpose, but think again—who says no to a freebie? products. I say most, not all, because paradoxically there
Especially when it takes up little room, is basically harm- is a small sprinkling of White Hats among them, strictly
less, and comes from an affable chap with Jesus hair? (All for self-serving political reasons, in the face of funda-
that hair will fit only into a size XL black hat.) mental differences in engineering doctrine. As an organi-
zation, however, they stand for all the antiscientific
Benjamin Piazza (Shakti Audio Innovations) voodoo and subjectivistic rubbish that this publication
Designer and promoter of the Shakti Stone, a.k.a. fights against. Their members banded together to lobby
Shakti Electromagnetic Stabilizer, a mind-boggling for the audibility of the inaudible. They definitely don't
example of the tweako artifact that does nothing and of want you to know that bits are just bits, that wire is just
the gullibility of the high-end audio freak. A Shakti Stone wire, that vacuum tubes are horse-and-buggy devices,
is a magic brick, $199.99 each (but you must buy sever- that magic objects placed on top of an amplifier can't
al), which you simply place on top of an audio component make it sound better. They want you to be a True Believer.
to defeat electromagnetic interference (EMI) and thereby The Stetson factory never made enough black hats for all
improve the sound. Whatever is inside the inextricably the heads that are screwed on wrong in this self-styled
potted brick—who knows, maybe it's all kinds of passive "academy."
circuitry as Piazza claims in his technobabbling "white
paper" or maybe it's bat guano—that's not how it's done A New Category: Gray Hats
by scientifically accountable engineers even where EMI This is a kind of purgatory for seemingly contrite
is a problem (as it rarely is in audio). You've seen this Black Hats on their way to possible redemption.
before—the bold leap from an esoteric but technically
defensible buzzword to a fatuous marketing non sequitur. Corey Greenberg (Audio, Stereo Review)
Question: What's the difference between a Shakti Stone When I classified Corey as a Black Hat in the last
and a Shun Mook Mpingo Disc? Answer: Who cares? issue, I pointed out his potential for rehabilitation in an
improved intellectual environment. I swear he must have
Jonathan Scull (Stereophile) listened to me because at Hachette he is definitely cooling
The audio journalist who brought tweako subjec- it with the coolo lingo and unbridled subjectivism. He is
tive reviewing to a new height of unbridled self-indul- doing good work. That pearl gray Stetson is you, Corey.
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 How to Be a
Sophisticated Audiophile and
Resist Trendy Stupidities
By Peter Aczel
Editor and Publisher

Are you a new reader of our publication? Or a regular reader looking

for more let's-get-down-to-basics information? This is addressed to
you (but it won't hurt the more advanced aficionado, either).
Serious thinking about any subject begins with the fetishes, and manias, but I know you are unlikely to listen
irreducible fundamentals. Why would any sane individual to me if you have already been co-opted.) The highest
want to get involved in the finer points of audio technol- form of audiophilia is knowing how to obtain optimum
ogy, i.e., be an audiophile? What is the purpose of it all? results in the listening room without any concern for the
The obvious purpose is music on demand in the audio-salon ideologies of the moment.
home, with a sound quality as close to the real thing as There. I said "room." That's where the serious
possible. The trouble is that the obvious purpose of any- thinking must begin. If your room is small, you must
thing is not necessarily what is served by its actual imple- lower your sights. Reproduced sound of great textural and
mentations. For example, the obvious purpose of a very timbral refinement is achievable in a small room, but a
expensive restaurant is great food, but there are some that truly life-sized, spacious, authoritative sound with
serve so-so food and are frequented mainly for lifestyle untrammeled dynamics is not—not even if you throw
affirmation and celebrity watching. By the same token, money at it. (Years ago, Harry Pearson of The Absolute
there are people who don't really like music but own Sound—and now also Fi—became the laughingstock of
$200,000 sound systems. I wouldn't know how to advise knowledgeable observers when he flaunted the original,
such people, although they sometimes ask me. monstrously large and expensive Infinity IRS loudspeak-
Anyone about to spend a significant amount of er system in a phone-booth-sized room in his Long Island
money on audio equipment should, as a first step, just house.) Not that a large room guarantees good results. If
stop and think for a few days. Where are you headed? your room is one of those architectural prize winners with
What do you hope to accomplish with your purchase? If huge undraped picture windows, a bare terrazzo floor, and
you are planning to listen to a lot of music and want it to sparse furniture, you can expect dreadful sound in it even
sound as good as possible, that's one thing. If you want to if it is large and has a cathedral ceiling. For the best pos-
turn a large room in your house into a movie theater, sible sound, you need a room that is both large and well-
that's another thing (although a dual-purpose solution is damped. How to treat a room for optimum damping is a
not out of the question). If the orthopedic surgeon down basic question beyond the scope of this article, but there
the road owns a Ferrari and you want to one-up him with is no dearth of information on the subject in books and
your new audio equipment, that again is a different ball- magazines. Here I merely want to emphasize that "think
game (which I won't help you play). Whatever your goal, room" should be the watchword of the enlightened audio-
you must be able to define it, otherwise you will be all phile, whether starting from scratch or just planning
over the place in your buying decisions and probably end improvements.
up frustrated. That goes for techie types as well as
novices. About Loudspeaker Systems
Here I am going to assume that you love music, If you believe your listening room is all it can be,
own or plan to own a lot of recordings, know what live the loudspeaker system is what you must think about
music sounds like, and have no special audiophile agen- next—and most carefully. Don't let any tweako/weirdo
da. (I shall deal with the more common agendas, dogmas, audio cultist tell you otherwise (even if he has a byline in
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 15

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a magazine or owns an audio store): the loudspeaker, in bly believe in the biwiring ritual. Note that I am talking
combination with the room, will determine the overall about biwiring, not biamping. (The latter is not without
sound quality of your system, not the electronics. If you justification in some instances, although its full benefits
are vague or cavalier about your choice of speaker and are obtainable only with a system driven from a line-level
terribly intense about the amplifier and other electronic electronic crossover—meaning no passive network con-
components, you will be joining the great brainwashed nected to the drivers.) Note further that biwiring is quite
who pour their money down the sinkhole of a fantasy harmless even though nonsensical. That otherwise rea-
market. If the only thing you remember after reading this sonable loudspeaker manufacturers recommend it shows
article is that the loudspeaker rules, my effort will not how intimidated they are by the prevailing tweako market
have been wasted. forces.
Unfortunately, there are very few genuinely accu- What kind of crossover design is best is another
rate speaker systems at any price, let alone under $1000 subject replete with tweako booby traps. The first-order
or even $2000 the pair. By accurate I mean that the out- cultists will tell you that only 6-dB-per-octave (first-
put of the speaker resembles its input to a high degree, order) crossover slopes are any good because they sum to
over a reasonable solid angle in front of the speaker. If a coherent waveform and can pass square waves. The
that seems like an oversimplification, you will find more trouble with that theoretical advantage is that (1) it is only
detailed and more finely differentiated explanations in the true at the "sweet spot" and (2) you can't hear it, as David
loudspeaker section of nearly every issue of The Audio Clark and others have demonstrated over and over again.
Critic. One way to plan the purchase of an accurate High-order slopes, on the other hand, reduce distortion in
speaker system at a less than scary price is to give up the the stopband, permit better power handling, and in most
deepest bass temporarily, settle for a superior small or cases yield a less "lobey" response off axis. My experi-
medium-sized loudspeaker model initially, then acquire a ence has been that 24-dB-per-octave Linkwitz-Riley
high-quality subwoofer (or two) at a later date. This is the crossovers are the best (with the possible exception of
crucial crossroads in system planning or upgrading; it is Rich Modafferi's Infinite Slope configuration, still in very
very easy to mess up here and set out in the wrong direc- limited use) and that electronic crossover units are prefer-
tion. On the other hand, once you have the right speakers, able to passive networks. In any event, do not opt for a
it is very difficult to screw up the rest of the system speaker just because it has a first-order crossover and no
because honest values in electronics are readily obtain- other compelling reason.
able today; your choices are far from limited. There is also the matter of speaker stands. Small
speakers need to be raised off the floor to listening height,
Pitfalls to Avoid no doubt about that, but the stands need to be merely solid
This is a basic orientation article, not an equipment and stable, not necessarily gyrostabilizer platforms. (I
survey, so I am not going to make specific speaker rec- exaggerate only slightly considering the techie-phony
ommendations here, but I do want to point out certain designs out there that sell for big bucks.) The big spikes
common pitfalls and obfuscations you are likely to that are de rigueur on high-end stands will prevent rock-
encounter in your search for the right speaker system. ing on a thick carpet but on a bare floor they are as useful
First of all, beware of ultrahigh-priced speaker cables. as teats on a bull (not to mention lethal to polished wood
That whole industry is a fraud. There is no reason to pay flooring). Be sensible in your selection of speaker stands;
more than a dollar a foot, and even that is probably there is nothing more there than meets the eye.
overkill. (For example, good commercial-grade RG-8 One more word of warning about loudspeakers. Be
coax cable, which is reasonably low in both inductance aware of the shortcomings of unconventional transducer
and capacitance and can be used with the center wire and technologies, i.e., other than electrodynamic direct radia-
the shield as the two loudspeaker conductors, costs 69 tors. Some electrostatic loudspeakers offer very beautiful
cents per foot at Radio Shack.) I recommend that you read sound, but only the largest (such as Dr. Roger West's two
the wire/cable article in Issue No. 16; it will keep you out or three biggest Sound Lab models) have adequate power
of the clutches of the cultists and charlatans. handling at realistic playback levels with dynamic pro-
You will also avoid paying a double price, for what- gram material. Horns handle power with aplomb but with
ever speaker cable you might choose, if you eschew the rare exceptions have highly colored response. As for sci-
biwiring fallacy. Even enlightened audiophiles fall for fi solutions, such as ionized air, acoustical heterodyning,
that one, despite the fact that it defies one of the basic rigid sheets, etc., you are on your own and should expect
laws of physics, the superposition principle. As it relates no encouragement from me, although it is conceivable
to electronics, the superposition theorem states that any that one of today's insufficiently debugged exotic designs
number of voltages applied simultaneously to a linear net- is the wave of the future.
work will result in a current which is the exact sum of the As for multichannel setups, the ground rules still
currents that would result if the voltages were applied apply. A good loudspeaker is a good loudspeaker, whether
individually. If you believe in science, you cannot possi- it handles your front left, rear right, or center channel.
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With a good subwoofer in a 5.1 system, the bass capabil- ment by the company in case help is needed—should I go
ities of the surround speakers are not all that critical, even on?
though in the Dolby Digital (AC-3) mode all five speak- I am convinced that the myths of one amplifier
ers receive a full-range feed. Some compromise in size "blowing away" another in a side-by-side listening test
and bass extension is practical and reasonable for the cen- are mostly due to the difficulty of matching levels within
ter and rear channels in most cases, but the up-to-date ±0.1 dB. It is a fussy and boring process that tries your
approach is to avoid dinky little satellite-type speakers patience, even if you have the proper equipment to do it
altogether. Should a speaker design be optimized differ- with. When the levels differ by as little as 0.25 dB, there
ently for home theater than for music? I hold with those is an audible difference, which will be immediately inter-
who feel that the question is more political (or ecclesias- preted by some audiophiles as a blow-away. Of course,
tical?) than practical, but I am not about to question the there are those who can clearly hear a difference in an
Tom Holman doctrine when it comes to a THX-calibrat- A/A test as long as they think it is an A/B test. (I have
ed home theater for movies only. Ask me again when tried that dirty trick on a number of 'philes.) Trust me, no
every home has a dedicated media room. For now, my cri- one has ever, ever distinguished two properly designed
terion remains the sound of music, not the localization of amplifiers or preamps by their sound alone in a valid
dialogue or suchlike. blind test. So—the question to ask is not how the equip-
ment sounds but how it meets your goals and satifies your
Fact and Fiction in Audio Electronics needs. You need a more elaborate array of controls on
Willy-nilly, we come to the electronics from which your preamp if you have a complex sound system than if
the speakers are fed. I put it that way because I dread the you have an extremely simple one. You need more watts
unavoidable debate about vacuum tubes versus solid out of your power amp in a large listening room than in a
state. It is not an intellectually respectable debate in the small one. You need better build quality if you change
late 1990s, any more than (let us say) typewriting versus your system every ten years than if you change it twice a
word processing. To have to sermonize on the subject is a year. And so forth. It is basically common sense.
professional embarrassment. As I have said many times Are there any fictions, cults, manias, and fads to
before, there is nothing wrong with correctly designed guard against when choosing solid-state audio compo-
vacuum-tube equipment if you already own it; it will in nents? Nothing as grotesque as the single-ended triode
all likelihood sound just fine (unless it was deliberately craze, but certain fahionable buzzwords should automati-
designed to tweak the signal rather than to reproduce it cally activate your B.S. warning light. (Just the warning
accurately). But—to go out today, in the golden age of sil- light, not necessarily the B.S. shutoff.) For example, dis-
icon, and spend big bucks on new vacuum-tube equip- crete circuitry isn't necessarily better than high-quality
ment is the height of folly. If the tube equipment happens op-amps. FETs aren't necessarily better than, or even as
to be a single-ended triode amplifier, then folly is too good as, bipolar tansistors for a given application. Class
weak a word; idiocy would be more appropriate. A isn't necessarily an indication of superior quality. Low
Anything that vacuum tubes can do, solid-state devices feedback, or zero feedback, is often a less desirable design
can do better, more reliably, and at lower cost. Even the approach than high feedback, correctly applied.
deficiencies of vacuum tubes, such as relatively high sec- Polypropylene capacitors do not "sound better" than less
ond harmonic distortion, can be mimicked by solid-state costly capacitors, correctly used. (See also the article on
circuitry if the designer happens to like the euphonious high-end prejudices in Issue No. 24, pp. 16-23.) My pet
coloration that results. peeve is the word speed when applied to audio electron-
When it comes to choosing solid-state electronics, ics. Those who use it think they are being very cool, very
another debate rears its muddled head. Does a high-end professional-sounding, but actually they betray their
(i.e., Krell, Mark Levinson, Spectral, etc.) power ignorance. All electronic signal paths that are dead flat to,
amplifier or preamplifier sound better than a typical mid- say, 22 kHz have unlimited "speed" (which in my book is
priced (i.e., Pioneer, Sony, Yamaha, etc.) unit? The edu- just another way of saying "bandwidth") for audio pur-
cated answer is—why should it? The midpriced equip- poses. I defy you to distinguish supposedly "fast" and
ment also has high input impedance, low output imped- "slow" amplifiers from one another in a blind test.
ance, flat frequency response, low distortion, and low When it comes to multichannel AV electronics,
noise—and that is what we can hear. There is no such there are genuine differences, and not only in watts per
thing as an effect without a cause, and there is nothing to channel—that's the easy part. The control circuits range
cause the high-end equipment to sound better. Needless to from ultrasophisticated digital, with highly advanced
say, I would rather have a Krell than a Pioneer as a birth- processor chips, down to yesterday's leftover analog with
day present, for reasons that have nothing to do with the minimal digital implementation. Here you need expert
sound. What reasons? Better build quality, greater relia- help, which is generally not available from the dealers
bility, more beautiful appearance, better retention of and certainly not from the tweako magazines. We have
value, greater pride of ownership, more attentive treat- (continued on page 40)
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 In Your Ear

I'm one of the Back in the vacuum-tube One of my tube amps Then came solid
old-time days, I used to pull my tubes had front-panel bias state and spoiled
audiophiles. and have them checked on a adjustment—/ used to all that.
tube tester every three or fuss with it for hours.
four weeks.

But we still had those great Then came I was happy when My life was
tone arms that let you CD and surround sound came empty. I had
change the vertical spoiled all because I could fuss for nothing to do
tracking angle. I used to that. weeks with speaker place- but listen to the
fuss with that for hours. ment. But then my wife put damn music.
And I kept the stylus clean her foot down and said the
with a tiny sable brush. room will absolutely not
be rearranged again.

Then I bought one of those Now I pull my tubes and The tube revival saved my
single-ended triode amplifiers have them tested every three life. I'm a born-again
the audiophile magazines are or four weeks. I put them audiophile.
raving about. back and have the service
guy check the bias.
18 THE AUDIO CRITIC

pdf 19
 About Minimonitors,
Subwoofers, and Full-Range
Systems In Between
By Peter Aczel
Editor and Publisher

Size is what mainly determines how a speaker system is designed,

and there are always many possible engineering solutions in every
size category. Here is a sampling of current design practice.
Our readers must be reminded, and should under­ Infrasub-18 powered ELF-system subwoofer, $1495.00. Tested
stand, that we cannot go back to square one in every issue sample on loan from manufacturer.
and explain our philosophy of loudspeaker evaluation
over and over again. Ideally, you should have a complete In Issues No. 21 and No. 22, David Rich and I cov­
set of our publication beginning with Issue No. 16. If that ered in considerable detail the ins and outs of the Bag End
is not practical, go back at least four or five issues if you ELF system and the design of Bag End subwoofers. At
are a new reader. Not that there is anything in our proce­ that time Bag End was a brand widely recognized in the
dures that radically departs from established scientific field of professional sound but not in the audiophile world.
practice, but we are constantly bombarded with questions Since then the company has been exploring new direc­
that have already been answered in our pages. (Back tions and has developed a product called Infrasub-18 for
issues are available at the same rates as new subscriptions.) the high-end consumer market.
Here I want to add that the various sophisticated The Infrasub-18 rolls the Bag End concepts into a
computer programs currently available for loudspeaker single integrated package. The unit incoporates an 18-
design—crossovers, woofer enclosures, simulated system inch driver in a 3-cubic-foot sealed box, a 400-watt power
response, etc.—have virtually eliminated truly god-awful amplifier, and a somewhat simplified version of the ELF
speakers. There appears to be a slow convergence toward electronics. The power amplifier is something new; the
relative accuracy, although one still runs into some will­ pro-sound users had to supply their own. Its 400-watt
ful and often self-contradictory design tradeoffs. continuous power rating is presumably into 4Ω., which is
There has also been a significant improvement in the nominal impedance of the EL-18P driver. The built-in
the raw (OEM) drivers available to loudspeaker manufac­ ELF module does not have to be as flexible as the sepa­
turers from the various American, European, and Asian rate pro-sound version, as it is dedicated to a single sub-
raw-driver houses. Nasty ringing in response to tone bursts woofer. At the early 1997 introductory price of $1295.00,
has become so rare that I no longer do tone-burst tests this package represented outstanding value. With the
routinely, only when I suspect energy storage problems. $200.00 price increase, the Infrasub-18 is now positioned
Advances in materials technology and CAD must be at the same price point as the top-of-the-line Paradigm
credited for this. Frequency response and distortion specs product, and the criteria inevitably change.
are also better across the board, even in mass-produced I do not intend to explain the ELF system all over
drivers. One more reason for the aforesaid convergence. again in this review. For that you will have to go back to
Issues No. 21 and No. 22. Here I only need to note that
the ELF "concealment" system causes the f3 (the -3 dB
Bag End Infrasub-18 bass cutoff corner) to slide up and down the frequency
scale as the power into the driver goes up and down. The
Bag End Loudspeakers, Modular Sound Systems, Inc., P.O. Box frequency response of the Infrasub-18 was dead flat (±0.5
488, Barrington, IL 60011. Voice: (847) 382-4550. Fax: (847) dB) down to 10 Hz, the limit of my measurement capability,
382-4551. E-mail: info@bagend.com. Web: www.bagend.com. as long as I didn't push the 1-meter SPL into the high 90s
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 19

pdf 20
 (as normalized to 40 Hz). That's flatter and deeper than It so happens, however, that several other high-
anything else in the business; the Infrasub-18 is unique in performance powered subwoofers are significantly lower
that respect. (The printed claim is actually an f3 of 8 Hz.) in distortion and have greater SPL capability per dollar.
Theoretically, the resulting improvement in group delay At its original introductory price, the Infrasub-18 would
across a significant portion of the low-frequency band still be a "best buy." At its current price, I would like to
should have some audible effect, but I can't confirm that. see better distortion figures. This journal still regards the
The total subjective impact of a subwoofer depends not ELF system as just another interesting and plausible engi­
only on low-frequency extension but also on distortion, neering approach, not a breakthrough. Our Dr. David
damping, maximum SPL, etc., so I would need to set up Rich had an extended dialogue with designer Ron
an ABX test between two Infrasub-18's, a standard one Wickersham and ended up respectfully disagreeing with
and a modified one with a much higher small-signal f3 but the latter that the ELF bass-boost circuit is an "integra­
otherwise indentical, in order to zero in on that single tor." No matter how you slice it, it's still an equalizer. (A
sonic characteristic. classic case of a rose by another name that smells as sweet.)
Speaking of distortion, that's not where the Infra­
sub-18 shines. The FFT spectrum of a 20 Hz tone at a 1-
meter SPL of 90 dB (into 2π steradians, i.e., out on the
open floor) shows the 2nd harmonic to be at -20 dB
Bag End MM-8B Time-Align
(10.0%), the 3rd harmonic at -22 dB (7.9%), the 4th har­ Bag End Loudspeakers, Modular Sound Systems, Inc., P.O. Box
monic at -33.5 dB (2.1%), the rest negligible. Not very 488, Barrington, 1L 60011. Voice: (847) 382-4550. Fax: (847)
impressive, since 90 dB is a fairly modest SPL where the 382-4551. E-mail: info@bagend.com. Web: www.bagend.com.
ELF concealment circuit does not even come into play at MM-8B Time-Align nearfield monitor, $2264.00 the pair. Tested
20 Hz. The 30 Hz distortion at the same SPL is -23.5 dB samples on loan from manufacturer.
(6.7%) 2nd harmonic, -38 dB (1.3%) 3rd harmonic, the
rest negligible. Going up to 40 Hz at the same SPL, which I have always found that the downside of coaxial
should really be a breeze, the 2nd harmonic is still -26 dB driver design is much greater than the claimed advan­
(5.0%) and the 3rd harmonic -49 dB (0.35%). Raising the tages, undeniable as they are. The heart of this small mon­
40 Hz SPL to 97 dB, which is far from unreasonable, the itor for the professional market is an 8-inch woofer with
2nd harmonic rises to -22.5 dB (7.5%) and the 3rd har­ a horn tweeter firing through the apex of the cone. The
monic to -42 dB (0.8%). I also took a THD sweep from 1.75-inch mouth of the horn is extended by the flare of the
100 Hz down to 20 Hz, at a 1-meter SPL of 91 dB as nor­ woofer cone. The transition between the two drivers is not
malized to 50 Hz. That was still below the concealment smooth, as it hardly ever is in a coaxial configuration, and
threshold as far as I could tell. The THD curve breaks there are serious disturbances in frequency response as a
sharply at 70 Hz, where the distortion is only 0.21%, and result. This inherent design problem can be solved by
rises in an almost straight line against the logarithmic ver­ making the woofer and tweeter both coaxial and coplanar,
tical scale to 13% at 20 Hz, more or less confirming the as in the now defunct Win SM-10, which had a propri­
in-between frequencies as measured in the FFT tests. etary Japanese frame that could accommodate flat
Thus, the Infrasub-18 appears to be the powered diaphragms in the same plane. No other solution really
subwoofer with the most extended low-frequency re­ works in my experience.
sponse but also the highest distortion, at least among the The Bag End MM-8B monitor incorporates Ed
designs known to me. Is there an audible downside to that? Long's familiar Time-Align technique, which goes back
None that I could discern at the SPLs I am able to toler­ to 1976 and is claimed to yield superior performance in
ate in my listening room. The sound of the Infrasub-18 is the time domain. Indeed, the acoustical output of the
basically as impressive as I described in my original speaker shows an unusual degree of time coherence, with
review of the Bag End S18E-C with ELF-1 outboard elec­ the leading and trailing edges of square waves still quite
tronics. With the simplified built-in electronics you con­ well preserved after passing through the electroacoustic
nect your signal source to the line-level input and your transducer. I attach relatively little importance to that
main amplifier to the highpass outputs, set the level, and these days, although I used to; I am convinced now that
you're in business. There's a polarity switch if you need you can't hear it. "Look, Ma, no phase shift" is intellec­
it for the most seamless crossover (I did). The crossover tually appealing but perceptually insignificant; David L.
slopes are inherently 12 dB per octave with the ELF sys­ Clark proved conclusively in 1983 that the phase shift has
tem, and the crossover frequency is factory-set at 95 Hz to be gigantic before it becomes audible. (Except at low
on the Infrasub-18. It all works very smoothly. The ease frequencies, but that's a horse of another écurie.) I didn't
of matching the sub to the main speakers is arguably have my head set straight on this subject until much later,
greater than with other systems. If this were the only and there are readers who still keep reminding me of my
supersub on the market, I could live with it happily for­ former allegiance to time-coherent design. Hey, I'm still
ever after. not against it; like chicken soup, it can't hurt; but the
20 THE AUDIO CRITIC

pdf 21
coherence mustn't be obtained at the expense of frequen­ have not changed the previously reported distortion
cy response, as it is here. curves more than I would expect my somewhat crude
The MM-8B varies by ±7 dB in MLS-derived axial measurements to vary in two different sessions on two
response. If one ignores a huge 11 kHz suckout (14 dB different occasions. This remains one of the lowest-dis­
from peak to trough), the response is still no better than tortion subwoofer designs without motional feedback. At
±5 dB. There are three EQ switch positions for brightness, the lowest frequencies (20 Hz to 30 Hz) the distortion is
affecting the response only above 6 kHz; they change the quite comparable to that of the Paradigm Servo-15a, for
level but do not correct the roughness. The speaker is example, though not in the more sensitive 50 Hz to 100
intended to be used as a nearfield studio monitor and (not Hz octave. Even so, a nonservo sub that never rises above
surprisingly) sounds quite aggressive, near and far, in all 5% to 6% THD at any frequency as you push it to the
switch positions. Efficiency is very high, of the order of limit is quite exceptional.
93 dB SPL, 1 W, 1 m. The compression-type tweeter, The HRSW12Va box (or rather cylinder) is tuned to
crossed over at 2.9 kHz, and the slot-loaded bass system, about 17 Hz, yielding a measured f3 (-3 dB point in the
with an f3 I measured at 90 Hz (!), are both design features small-signal response) of the same frequency. The overall
with efficiency as the top priority. frequency response is within ±1 dB from 80 Hz down.
What about distortion? Very low at typical listening The outboard amplifier is a bit more powerful and a lot
levels, thanks to the high efficiency. At a 1-meter SPL of more conventional-looking than its predecessor; the new
approximately 90 dB, I found the nearfield distortion of driver can easily handle the extra power; and the flared
the system fluctuating between 0.14% and 0.5% from 210 ducts have pretty much eliminated the low-frequency
Hz up and no worse than about 1% from that frequency chuffing at high SPLs—but overall this is still the same
down to the f3.I did not take measurements at higher lev­ excellent subwoofer as before. At $1K it's no longer a
els because I was satisfied that I had seen the general huge bargain like Dr. Poh Ser Hsu's original cardboard
trend. There is a whole litany of specifications printed on barrels of years ago, but show me a powered sub that's
a sticker affixed to the back panel of the speaker, and one better or even as good at that price. There aren't any.
of them is "less than 1% THD 100 Hz to 20 kHz 94 dB
spl @ 1 meter." I think that's pretty much on the money.
The impedance of the MM-8B does not dip below
8Ω at any frequency but rises to 45Ω. in the vicinity of the
JosephAudio RM7si "Signature"
crossover. The phase angle fluctuates a great deal but JosephAudio, 2 Pineridge Road, White Plains, NY 10603. Voice:
stays within ±45°. No special amplifier requirements are (800) 474-4434. Fax: (212) 724-2509. E-mail: josephaud
indicated. @aol.com. Web: www.josephaudio.com. Model RM7si "Signa­
What all this adds up to is punchy and clean but ture" 2-way minimonitor loudspeaker system, $1699.00 the
rather highly colored sound and very little bass. For some pair. Tested samples on loan from manufacturer.
specific in-your-face monitor applications in the studio,
maybe on top of the console, that may be just the ticket, This model is the improved or deluxe version of the
but for the audiophile the MM-8B has little to offer at an RM7si that was so enthusiastically reviewed in Issue No.
uncomfortably high price. Well, maybe it offers a simple 24. As Voltaire said, the best is the enemy of the good.
moral: when everything is right except the frequency The plain-vanilla RM7si, good as it is, has been eclipsed
response, the sound will still not be right. by the Signature version, which now rises to the rank of
the best minimonitor-sized speaker system known to this
publication.
How much better is the Signature than the basic
Hsu Research HRSW12Va RM7si? Well, it sounds more open, more detailed, better
balanced, more neutral overall. The difference is not huge
Hsu Research, Inc., 3160 East La Palma Avenue, Unit D, Ana­
heim, CA 92806. Voice: (714) 666-9260. Fax: (714) 666-9261. but any experienced audiophile can easily hear it, and at
E-mail: hsures@earthlink.net. Web: www.hsuresearch.com. $400 extra anything less than that would be cause for
HRSW12Va powered subwoofer with 250-watt amplifier option, rejection.
$1000.00 each (factory-direct, including shipping/handling). What is new in the Signature? Mainly the drivers,
Tested sample on loan from manufacturer. which are still the same size (1-inch dome, 6½-inch cone)
but not the same design. The new woofer has an alu­
There was a last-minute "Flash!" at the end of the minum, rather than fiberglass, diaphragm. The vented box
HRSW12V review in Issue No. 24 commenting on the has not changed. Whether the proprietary "Infinite Slope"
(then) new "a" mod. Here is the promised detailed update, crossover had to be modified to match the new drivers I
belated and quite possibly outdated, as the model nears do not know. The fact is that you have to examine the
retirement while still being highly typical of the Hsu line. speaker quite thoroughly before you can see it is the
The improvements in the driver and port design Signature version.
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 21

pdf 22
 The frequency response of this version is very flat. ly to you, Legacy is in effect offering you a speaker that
The small "step" in the response of the basic RM7si (see competes in the $1000-per-side retail class, or thereabouts,
Issue No. 24) is gone. Except for two small dips at 2.7 for $474 per side. The appearance of the Studio certainly
kHz and 5.3 kHz, each 3 dB or so, the 1-meter MLS mea­ confirms such a classification; build quality and finish are
surement on the Signature's tweeter axis yields an almost truly superior. When an enclosure takes up only 0.8 cu. ft.
ruler-flat curve. On the woofer axis the curve remains of space but weighs 30 lb., you know it's built like a brick
almost identical, with just the slightest broadening of the outhouse.
first dip. That "Infinite Slope" crossover is certainly doing The speaker is designed around a 7½-inch
its job. It has made the measurement axis quite uncritical bass/midrange driver (Kevlar cone, dual voice coil) and a
compared with other designs, even 4th order. The low- 1-inch titanium-dome tweeter (a departure from Legacy's
frequency response of the Signature version indicates a ubiquitous ribbon for the topmost frequencies). The
very slight upward creep of the f3, which may or may not crossover frequency is 2.8 kHz (lst-order lowpass, 2nd-
be merely the difference between two quite similarly order highpass, each with some frills). The 13-by-ll-by-
tuned boxes measured on two different occasions. The 10-inch box is vented to the rear. A toggle switch shelves
vented box of the Signature appears to be tuned to 42 Hz, the low bass for use with a subwoofer; another toggle
which is also the tuning frequency of the basic RM7si switch allows two different tweeter levels.
(give or take a hertz), but the summed response of woofer My MLS (quasi-anechoic) measurements yielded
and vent is -3 dB at 45 Hz rather than 43 Hz as in the mixed results. The 1-meter response of the system on the
basic model, and there is also a slight bump of a little over axis of the tweeter is almost amplifier-flat up to 3.5 kHz
1 dB at 73 Hz, whereas the basic model is Butterworth- but very rough further up. Of course, the flat part of the
flat. If I had a dirty mind I'd suspect the new-and-differ- curve is in the 7½-inch driver's range, even if measured
ent-driver-in-the-same-old-box syndrome, but then the on the tweeter axis; the roughness is all tweeter. Hunting
impedance curve has hardly changed, and besides Rich for the "sweet spot" improves the tweeter response to ±3
Modafferi knows what he is doing, so I'll stay in the dB (but no flatter) all the way to 20 kHz. There is a huge
clean-thinking modality. This is still outstanding bass suckout at around 15 kHz, no matter where the measure­
response considering the size of the driver and of the box. ment is taken, and a roller coaster profile in the 3.5 kHz
As for distortion, my comments in Issue No. 24 still to 7 kHz octave. At 30° off axis that same octave sags,
apply. Below 100 Hz the Signature is slightly better, above whereas the 7 kHz to 12 kHz response remains strong.
100 Hz ever-so-slightly worse, but it's basically the same Strange. The front baffle is not very tightly wrapped
profile. The significant improvement is not in distortion but around the two drivers; there's quite a bit of "land," and
in frequency response above 1 kHz. That's what we hear. that plus the sharp edges may well be the culprit. The tweeter
One thing that should have been emphasized a little level switch has only a 1-dB range, so its effect is minimal.
more in the original review is that the ingenuity of the Infi­ The nearfield responses of the woofer and vent add
nite Slope concept lies in the way it solves a passive cross­ up to a 40 Hz box, give or take a hertz, all nice and flat.
over design problem; active (electronic) crossovers can be That's as good as it gets, considering the size of the driver
designed with very steep slopes quite conventionally. I be­ and the enclosed volume. The impedance of the system fluc­
lieve, with many others, that powered loudspeaker systems tuates between 4.3Ω and 20Ω in magnitude (4Ω nominal)
are the wave of the future, so the significance of Rich and ±45° in phase—not the easiest load for an amplifier
Modafferi's superb engineering solution may diminish in but far from strenuous.
the years to come. For the moment, it rules—not even the This being a small system, I took distortion mea­
truly excellent Paradigm Active/20 powered speaker surements only at a 1-meter SPL of approximately 91 dB,
equals the RM7si Signature in a side by side comparison. normalized to 5 kHz for the tweeter and 500 Hz for the
You do have to hitch it to an amplifier, though. bass/midrange driver. That's loud but not brutal. The
tweeter has absolutely negligible distortion in its range,
typically 0.1%; the bass/midrange fluctuates between

Legacy Audio "Studio" 0.1% and 0.9% down to 92 Hz; at 50 Hz it's still only 2%.
That's an excellent result.
Legacy Audio, 3023 East Sangamon Avenue, Springfield, IL How does the sound of the Studio relate to its mea­
62702. Voice: (800) 283-4644 or (217) 544-3178. Fax: (217) sured performance? Quite neatly. The flat, low-distortion
544-1483. E-mail: legacy@fgi.net. Web: www.legacy-audio.com. bass sounds very solid and musical. You will not feel
Studio compact monitor loudspeaker, $948.00 the pair (direct deprived even if you don't have a subwoofer. Further up
from Legacy). Tested samples on loan from manufacturer. the sonic texture is a little coarser than with, say, the
JosephAudio RM7si Signature; that last bit of refinement
When you buy a loudspeaker from a dealer, you and airy transparency is lacking; however, there is no sig­
know he gets at least 50 points from the manufacturer, nificant coloration, as the small roughnesses are random,
maybe more. By cutting out the dealer and selling direct­ not tending toward a specific frequency band. Those who
22 THE AUDIO CRITIC

pdf 23
hate a "hot" top end will like this speaker because it never required to rattle the windows. The tweeter at that level
sizzles, not even when the program material is sizzly. The fluctuated between 0.06% and 0.4% THD from 2 kHz to
overall personality of the speaker suggests comfortable 20 kHz, remaining below 0.1% between 3.3 kHz and 12
musicality rather than the highest accuracy. I could live kHz. That's nothing short of superb. The woofer remained
with the Studio and be reasonably happy, but I rate a num- below 0.5% THD down to about 150 Hz, but at the low-
ber of small speakers in this survey higher. est frequencies the distortion rose to quite high levels, as
expected. Good design is clearly evidenced by all of these
figures.
Monitor Audio 700PMC The impedance of the 700PMC represents an easy
load for the amplifier, never dropping below 7 ohms in
Monitor Audio USA, P.O. Box 1355, Buffalo, NY 14205-1355. magnitude and staying within approximately ±30° in
Voice: (905) 428-2800. Fax: (905) 428-0004. E-mail: gold- phase. The tuned box kicks up to 20 ohms on the imped-
info© monitoraudio.com. Web: www.monitoraudio.com. Model ance peaks.
700PMC 2-way minimonitor loudspeaker system, $999.00 the Bottom line: it's small, cute, well designed, far
pair. Tested samples on loan from manufacturer. from cheap, and sounds very good indeed.

The new Monitor Audio PMC series, of which this

is the lowest-priced model, features woofer cones made
of a special material called ceralloy, colored in gold, and
NHT Model 2.5i
gold-anodized tweeter domes. I don't think I'm being Now Hear This, Inc., 535 Getty Court, Building A, Benicia, CA
influenced by the gilded look when I say that this is a very 94510. Voice: (707) 747-3300. Fax: (707) 747-1252. Customer
fine loudspeaker, especially in view of its diminutive size. service: (800) NHT-9993. Web: www.nhthifi.com. Model 2.5i
Among the bookshelf-type speakers reviewed here, only floor-standing 3-way loudspeaker system, $1300.00 the pair.
the JosephAudio RM7si Signature and the Paradigm Tested samples on loan from manufacturer.
Reference Active/20 can be said to exceed it in trans-
parency, lack of coloration, and overall sonic credibili- The NHT Model 3.3, Ken Kantor's "statement"
ty—and both of those are bigger and costlier. The question loudspeaker, was featured on the cover of Issue No. 21
is whether or not $1K is still too much for an unpowered and enthusiastically reviewed, at considerable length, in
minimonitor that absolutely needs a subwoofer for music that issue. Model 2.5i is essentially a scaled-down
with more than minimal bass and dynamic range. embodiment of the same design principles, so I see no
The 700PMC is designed around a 6¼-inch woofer need to go over the same ground again in this review. At
with the ceralloy cone and a 1 -inch tweeter with the gold- less than one third the price of the illustrious flagship, the
anodized metal dome. There is barely room for the two 2.5i cannot be expected to deliver comparable perfor-
drivers on the front baffle, necessitating a rearward-firing mance—and it doesn't. It is merely an excellent speaker.
port for the vented box. The crossover, not specified in the Unlike the 4-way Model 3.3, the 2.5i is a 3-way
literature that I have, appears to be at 3.3 kHz with first- system, with a sideways-firing inboard 8-inch woofer, a
order slopes. 6V2-inch polypropylene midrange, and a 1-inch aluminum
The frequency response is very smooth and varies dome tweeter. The two smaller drivers are on the narrow
relatively little between the two driver axes. I obtained the inboard-angled (21°) front baffle, for "Focused Image
flattest 1-meter MLS response on the tweeter axis, where Geometry" (see the review referred to above). The woofer
it remained within ±2 dB from 300 Hz up to 20 kHz. enclosure is vented in the back, so the speaker cannot be
There is a shallow two-octave trough centering on the placed against the wall like the sealed-box Model 3.3. The
crossover frequency and a slight decline above 13 kHz, crossover frequencies are 100 Hz (2nd order lowpass, 1st
both of which may have contributed to the strictly nit- order highpass) and 3.3 kHz (2nd order highpass and low-
picky attack/transparency/delicacy margin between the pass). The basic look is that of a mini-3.3, down to the sta-
700PMC and my top choices. At 45° off the tweeter axis bilizer bars for the bottom of the narrow cabinet.
there is still strong response up 11 kHz and a falloff above You will recall, if you have read Issue No. 21, that
that frequency. The phase response barely varies in slope the 3.3 was incredibly flat in frequency response and low
on either driver axis. Very nice results, overall. in distortion. The 2.5i is no slouch in those respects but
The bass response is of course less impressive. The not quite up there. Its relatively flattest 1-meter response
vented box is tuned to 64 Hz, and that's the "corner" of is on the tweeter axis perpendicular to the plane of the
the LF profile. Nothing wrong with that in a minimonitor, front baffle, where I measured ±2.5 dB from 300 Hz to 20
but for a bass addict like me it leaves something to be kHz. On the midrange axis the response is only slightly
desired. As for distortion, I measured it only at a 1-meter worse, ±3.5 dB between the same limits. It should be
SPL of 90 dB (normalized to 5 kHz for the tweeter and noted that the most abrupt ripples are in the 2 to 9 kHz
500 Hz for the woofer), since minimonitors are not range, where the ear is sensitive. The top octave of the
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 23

pdf 24
tweeter is almost ruler-flat. The straight-ahead response regarding the "speed" or "graininess" or "layering" of
(i.e., on the cabinet axis, 21° outboard from the drivers) is bipolar versus MOSFET output stages, not to mention
still pretty flat except for an 8 dB suckout at the crossover single-ended triodes, would remain unexercised.) Today,
frequency. The bass response, as measured at the best the penetration of the home-theater market by powered
summing junction of woofer and vent, is also nearly ruler- subwoofers is making it easier for powered main speakers
flat down to 28 Hz (the vented box is tuned to 30 Hz). Of like the Paradigm Reference Active/20 to gain accep­
course, with an 8-inch woofer, the penalty for such deep tance. It is plain common sense that a lean-and-mean ded­
bass is low efficiency. I made no precise determination of icated amplifier is a more efficient engineering solution
the latter but estimate it to be no better than 83 dB/1 W/lm than a fat all-purpose amplifier, but common sense is not
in the woofer's range. Impedance fluctuates between what usually prevails in the delirious world of high-end
3.6Ω. and 10Ω in magnitude (6Ω. nominal) and between audio.
±30° in phase—an extremely easy load for any amplifier. All of the above would be little more than enlight­
I measured THD only at a 1-meter SPL of 90 dB. At ened theorizing were it not for the outstanding perfor­
that fairly high but still not stressful level the nearfield mance of the Active/20. This product represents contem­
distortion of the summed woofer and vent hovered around porary audio engineering at its best. Exactly how good is
the 1% mark at all frequencies down to 25 Hz, where it it? So good that, if it were only a tiny bit better, the ultra-
began a rapid climb to 10% at 20 Hz. The midrange dis­ high-end loudspeaker business would be in big, big trou­
tortion remained between 0.2% and 0.7% at all frequen­ ble. Luckily for the megabuck speaker makers, the
cies except for a somewhat strange excursion to 2.5% at Paradigm stops just a hairsbreadth short of "ultimate"
1.2 kHz, where there is no apparent resonance or other performance. But it's close, uncomfortaby close.
explanation. The tweeter never exceeded 0.1% THD in its Not that the Active/20 isn't high-end. This publica­
range. Overall, these are very good distortion figures, al­ tion, unlike certain others, doesn't consider $1.6K to be
most in a class with the 3.3, except of course in the bass. mid-fi. But look what you get for $800 per side. A very
When it came to the subjective evaluation of the solidly built, bookshelf-size, thoroughly dead enclosure,
Model 2.5i's sound, I was somewhat disappointed. Not available in a choice of attractive finishes; a 6½-inch
because the 2.5i doesn't sound like a first-rate speaker; it bass/midrange driver with a high-tech mica-loaded poly­
does. I just expected more, on the basis of the above mea­ mer cone and die-cast basket; a 1-inch aluminum-dome
surements and the speaker's heritage. I expected not only tweeter, also with die-cast chassis; two built-in power
neutrality (i.e., low coloration), which the speaker pos­ amplifiers (110 watts for the bass/midrange, 50 watts for
sesses in spades, but also a bit more refinement of detail, the tweeter); an electronic crossover (3rd order, 1.5 kHz);
transparency, authority, "this-is-it-ness." Maybe I should a full complement of calibrated controls; choice of RCA
have lived with the speaker a little longer. I wish I could or XLR (balanced) input; and an extra long AudioStream
be less vague (not my style, as you know), but there it is. shielded interconnect with RCA plugs (tweako style, B.S.
Even so, a sophisticated low-coloration speaker with deep arrows printed on the insulation to show signal direc­
bass in a handsome enclosure at $650 per side is nothing tion—but, hey, it's harmless, it's sturdy, and it's free).
to be sneezed at. That's pretty good value, and all of it is quite nicely built.
(One exception: the heavy toroidal power transformer of
the internal electronics could be more securely mounted;
it came loose in one sample I looked at.)
Paradigm Reference Active/20 Obviously, I couldn't have such a high opinion of
the Active/20 if the measurements weren't good. But they
In Canada: Paradigm Electronics Inc., 101 Hanlan Road,
are. The 1-meter frequency response on axis is very flat,
Woodbridge, ON L4L 3P5. Voice: (905) 850-2889. Fax: (905)
850-2960. In the U.S.: AudioStream, Division of Bavan ±2 dB, up to about 14 kHz; above that it rises to an 18
Corporation, MPO Box 2410, Niagara Falls, NY 14302. Voice: kHz peak which flattens out off axis. Whether the axis is
(905) 632-0180. Fax: (905) 632-0183. Web: www.paradigm.ca. considered to be that of the woofer or of the tweeter is
Reference Active/20 powered 2-way bookshelf loudspeaker sys­ quite uncritical; the curves are almost the same. At 45° off
tem, $1600.00 the pair. Tested samples on loan from distributor. axis the response is still excellent, ±3 dB all the way up to
18 kHz. The low-frequency response is necessarily limit­
I have believed, and proclaimed, for years that the ed but very respectable; the vented box with its rearward-
power amplifier and the loudspeaker are in effect a single firing ducted port is tuned to 42 Hz, which is the -3 dB
system, the back end of the audio chain, and should ide­ point of the 4th-order Butterworth response profile. A
ally be designed as an integrated unit. The market, on the highpass filter (3rd order, 100 Hz) is activated by a toggle
other hand, has steadily resisted such an approach, at least switch to roll off the bass for use with a subwoofer.
until recently. (Audiophile orthodoxy requires an a la carte At a 1-meter SPL of 90 dB, normalized to 400 Hz,
choice of each separate component, and especially of the the nearfield THD sweep of the woofer started at 0.15%
power amplifier, otherwise those exquisite judgments at the top of its range, remained at that level down to 300

24 THE AUDIO CRITIC

pdf 25
Hz, then rose steadily to a maximum of 3.6% at 32 Hz. Other powered subwoofers usually have these functions
The tweeter at the same 1-meter SPL, normalized to 6 consolidated on the back panel.
kHz, fluctuated between 0.05% and 0.15% THD over its Are the sealed-box loading, the power amp, and the
operating range, pretty much like other 1-inch dome accelerometer-controlled servo loop of the Paradigm fun-
tweeters. This admittedly limited exploration of the damentally different from the design used by Velodyne?
Active/20's distortion performance indicates perfectly Without blueprints and circuit schematics I can't have an
well-behaved drivers, unlikely to be pushed beyond their answer to that question, but I discern somewhat different
capability by their dedicated amplifiers. design priorities on the part of the Paradigm engineers.
The sound quality resulting from these performance The external evidence of that is the relatively higher THD
characteristics is very high, as I have already stated. The of the Paradigm—but still much lower than the distortion
speaker is not quite as neutral, transparent, and subtly in open-loop systems—accompanied by low-frequency
refined in sonic detail as the JosephAudio RM7si "Sig- performance quite comparable, and even superior, to that
nature" (see above) or, especially, our reference Waveform of 18-inch subs. What could be the reason for such a dif-
Mach 17 (see below) but it definitely nudges the borders ference? The design of the driver, for one thing. The
of that category. Only by quickly switching to those supe- design of the accelerometer, for another, not to mention
rior speakers (as driven by external electronics) is the dif- the placement of the accelerometer. Maybe all three.
ference clearly perceived. Considering the advantages, in The measured performance of our Servo-15a sam-
cost and convenience, of the Active/20's internal elec- ple was outstandingly good. The small-signal frequency
tronics, the difference may not be important to the response was ±0.75 dB down to 21 Hz and -3 dB at 18
prospective purchaser. This is a highly persuasive piece of Hz. That is very similar, almost identical, to the response
audio equipment, capable of giving satisfaction to of the Velodyne Servo FSR-18 (see below). A nearfield
demanding audiophiles, and it can expand into a self- THD sweep of the sub at a 1-meter SPL of 100 dB (nor-
powered super system by the addition of the Paradigm malized to 50 Hz) resulted in a curve that starts with
Servo-15a subwoofer, whose review follows. 0.15% at 110 Hz, crosses 0.2% at 52 Hz, begins to break
sharply at 44 Hz, crosses 1.0% at 30 Hz, and rises to 4.1 %
at 20 Hz. The nearfield FFT spectrum of a 20 Hz tone,
Paradigm Reference Servo-15a with the 1 -meter SPL set to 95 dB at that frequency,
showed the 2nd harmonic to be at -26 dB (5.0%), the 3rd
In Canada: Paradigm Electronics Inc., 101 Hanlan Road, harmonic at -32 dB (2.5%), the rest negligible. Thus the
Woodbridge, ON L4L 3P5. Voice: (905) 850-2889. Fax: (905)
Paradigm distorts a lot less than ordinary woofers but
850-2960. In the U.S.: AudioStream, Division of Bavan
Corporation, MPO Box 2410, Niagara Falls, NY 14302. Voice: quite a bit more than the Velodyne.
(905) 632-0180. Fax: (905) 632-0183. Web: www.paradigm.ca. Then there is the question of maximum SPL capa-
Reference Servo-15a powered subwoofer, $1500.00 (including bility. At 20 Hz, the rapidly rising distortion in the vicin-
X-30 crossover/control unit). Tested sample on loan from dis- ity of 100 dB suggests that there is little margin left before
tributor. the limiter clamps down. (All powered subs have some
kind of built-in limiting.) Above 40 Hz there appears to be
I find it a little difficult to pinpoint the place of this considerably more headroom; I estimate that limiting
unit in the high-end subwoofer pecking order. I would would take place only past 110 dB—but I am not willing
rank it higher than the Bag End Infrasub-18 but lower to expose my ears, my shelves, and my windows to test-
than the Velodyne Servo FSR-18—if it were that simple, ing at such levels, as I am not really interested in sound
which it isn't. For example, the Bag End is easier to match tracks with car crashes and rocket launches. In any event,
to the main speakers, the Paradigm sub is the obvious the Servo-15a is at least as capable SPL-wise as any 15-
bass extender for their Active/20's, and the Velodyne is inch sub known to me.
relatively overpriced without offering greater low-fre- As far as subjective listening quality is concerned,
quency extension. And so on. The truth is in the details. the Paradigm is right up there with the very best. Organ,
The Servo-15a is a motional-feedback subwoofer bass drum, double basses, etc., are reproduced with stun-
designed around a 15-inch driver, a 400-watt internal ning realism, and the relatively higher distortion vis-a-vis
power amplifier, and an outboard crossover/control unit the Velodyne Servo FSR-18 is not audible when playing
(X-30). Its external dimensions are 20 in. (height) by 18 music (as distinct from test signals), unless more prolonged
in. (width) by 22½ in. (depth). The X-30 controls the listening than I have done proves otherwise. This is one
phase, lowpass cutoff frequency, and level of the sub, of the best powered subwoofers money can buy, and
while providing highpass outputs for the main speakers that's $899 less money than the price of the Velodyne.
with a choice of three crossover frequencies. Thus an • • •
elaborate AV front end (such as the Lexicon DC-1) would The combination of the Paradigm Reference
eliminate the need for the X-30, but in most installations Servo-15a with a Paradigm Reference Active/20 pair
some, or all, of the functions of the latter will be used. (see the front cover of this issue) is a $3100 stereo ampli-
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 25

pdf 26
her/speaker system whose performance would be hard to the stereo position, 30° inboard. In the 0° position the
beat with conventional equipment costing three times as tweeter level is set too high, an average of 3 dB above the
much or more. If your budget for the "back end" of a midrange level. The midrange response itself is very flat
stereo system is in that ballpark (and, remember, the 2.1 up to about 3 kHz, and the tweeter response is also rea-
combination is readily expandable to a cost-effective 5.1 sonably flat up to 14 kHz, but there is this distinct upward
surround-sound array), I cannot recommend anything else step in the 3 to 4 kHz band, which looks much better 30°
more highly. The only thing you risk is losing the love of off axis. In the latter position I would characterize the
power-amp manufacturers. response as ±2 dB right up to 16 kHz, except for a 5 dB
A word of caution if you take this route. Correctly dip at 3 kHz. The low-frequency response, as aided by the
level-matching the Active/20's and the Servo-15a to one Diaduct ports, appears to be quite flat down to 26 Hz but
another is a fussy, time-consuming affair, even if you fol- is hard to measure accurately because of the opposite-firing
low the instructions faithfully. I strongly recommend one woofers and ports. The vented box is tuned to approxi-
of the inexpensive Radio Shack sound level meters and mately 35 Hz, maybe a little lower.
some CDs with frequency sweeps, pink noise, and warble I measured the distortion of the system only at the
tones to do the job. You'll be frustrated if you try to do it 1-meter SPL of 90 dB. At that rather loud level the tweet-
by ear. I fine-tuned the combination very successfully and er is virtually distortionless, fluctuating between 0.06%
ended up with splendid sound, but it took a while. and 0.13% THD. The midrange is also clean, 0.07% to
Considering the sound quality per dollar, the effort is well 0.5%. The woofers, naturally, distort a little more, 0.2% to
rewarded. 1%. I think these THD figures are outstandingly low.
Needless to say, the speaker can play a lot louder than 90
dB; it is also more efficient than most.
The impedance curve of the system fluctuates
Pinnacle Classic Gold Aerogel between 3.4Ω. and 15Ω. in magnitude (8Ω nominal) and
Pinnacle Loudspeakers, 101 Commercial Street, Plainview, NY ±40° in phase, with smaller swings than that over most of
11803. Voice: (516) 576-9052. Fax: (516) 576-0826. E-mail: the audio range. Just about any decent amplifier can drive
pinnacle@pinnacle-speakers.com. Web: www.pinnacle-speak- such a load.
ers.com. Classic Gold Aerogel Tower 3-way loudspeaker system, The sound resulting from the sum total of the above
$1695.00 the pair. Tested samples on loan from manufacturer. characteristics is essentially neutral, highly defined, trans­
parent, and dynamic. The bass is particularly excellent;
This is the new top-of-the-line full-range model in no subwoofer is needed, certainly not for music. If I want­
the Pinnacle line, which starts in the two hundreds and ed to nitpick, I would perhaps point out a very slight
includes all kinds of speakers—stereo, home theater, in- heaviness in the lower midrange—or is it the upper bass?
wall, subwoofers, etc. It is a vented system, with three fat It may be due to floor reflections but is in any case quite
diagonally slanting tubes called Diaduct acting as ports in minor, not enough to trigger an investigation. Bottom line:
the back, and four drivers: two 8-inch woofers with paper if a tall, floor-space-saving, full-range speaker is what
cones and rubber surrounds, a 5¼inch midrange with the you need in your room and the price is in the ballpark for
so-called Aerogel treatment, and a 1-inch ferrofluid-cooled you, I can unreservedly recommend the (what a mouth­
metal-dome tweeter. The crossover frequencies are 500 ful!) Pinnacle Classic Gold Aerogel Tower.
Hz and 5 kHz; the network is quite complex, with filter
slopes and shelving circuits tailored to the drivers, and
built with high-end components such as air-core coils and
polypropylene capacitors. The speaker is rather tall (44 Sunfire "True Sub Signature"
in.), quite narrow (9½ in.), and of moderate depth (15 in.).
Sunfire Corporation, 5210 Bickford Avenue, Snohomish, WA
One of the most difficult tasks a speaker designer 98290 or P.O. Box 1589, Snohomish, WA 98291-1589. Voice:
can set for himself is to engineer a monolithic system (425) 335-4748. Fax: (425) 335-4746. Web: www. sunfire labs.
with a small footprint that does it all, covering the full com. "True Subwoofer Signature" 2700-watt powered sub-
audio spectrum with high efficiency and low distortion, woofer, $1895.00 each. Tested sample on loan from manufacturer.
while keeping the cost within reason. It's a delicate bal-
ancing act, which the Pinnacle engineering team (headed Bob Carver was never afraid of banalities in adver­
by Richard Rothenberg and Peter Moore) has executed tising and sales promotion, so he labels his top-of-the-line
about as neatly as I've ever seen. This is a genuinely excel- products with the hackneyed and ubiquitous "Signature"
lent all-round loudspeaker system a discriminating audio- designation and silk-screens his John Hancock on the
phile can live with and not go into debt. I was impressed. control panel. That tells you the Signature sub is a step up
The frequency response of the unit is best measured from the original "True Subwoofer," and with a 46% high­
on the tweeter axis, as it is less good on the midrange axis. er price tag it had better be. My immediate reaction to it
Interestingly enough, the 1-meter response improves in was that I wished Bob had launched his breakthrough
26 THE AUDIO CRITIC

pdf 27
idea in this version, as the THD is so much lower, the SPL As for maximum SPL capability, I have explained
capability even greater, and the size only slightly larger— elsewhere why I don't run extensive tests at triple-digit
a 13-inch cube instead of the original 11-incher, i.e., still dB levels. Extrapolating from the relatively low 100 dB
extremely compact. It is fairly obvious that the 13-inch distortion, I would expect levels in excess of 110 dB to be
version costs very little more to manufacture, the parts achievable without limiting at all but the lowest frequencies.
being either the same or very similar, so the original One little boo-boo of the Signature should be point-
launch price could have been the same or close to the ed out. I was unable to eliminate a slight but audible
same. Marketing, marketing... ground-loop hum no matter what I tried—floating the
We ran almost four pages on the original True line-cord plug with a ground-breaking adapter, reversing
Subwoofer in Issue No. 24, so I am restricting this review the polarity of the plug with the aid of a nonpolarized
to the differences found in the Signature. There are very adapter, grounding the back plate to the ground of the
few. Size is the most obvious one, the 13-inch cube hous- input device, and all permutations and combinations of
ing a 12-inch (o.d.) driver and a 12-inch (o.d.) passive the above. I measured the best-case 60 Hz hum to be at a
radiator. They are scaled-up copies of the original 10-inch 1-meter SPL of 57 dB, so the music will always cover it
versions. The electronics I found essentially indistiguish- up; even so, there appears to be a downside to the trans-
able from the original; there are probably some subtle formerless power supply.
internal differences beyond my ken. Bottom line: the Signature is clearly superior to the
One major change: the family of lowpass filter original True Subwoofer, which was an astonishing piece
curves controlled by the "Crossover Freq." knob has been of engineering to begin with, and which both David Rich
radically shifted toward the lower frequencies. The silk- and I regarded with considerable awe at its debut. The
screen calibrations of 30 Hz to 100 Hz are entirely incor- upgraded design's substantial virtues and minor limita-
rect; the "100 Hz" curve is in fact -18 dB at 100 Hz (relative tions as discussed above should pretty much define its
to 45 Hz, where the flat response is centered) and -10 dB market; for certain audiophiles it will undoubtedly be the
at 80 Hz (the surround-sound subwoofer reference fre- powered subwoofer of choice.
quency). That makes the Signature unmatchable to small • • •
satellite speakers, but according to Bob Carver nobody Reviewer's Note: The Sunfire "True Subwoofer Signa-
wants to use it that way. He claims the feedback from ture " is quite new and arrived here late in the game, long
dealers and customers indicates bottom-end extension of after the Velodyne Servo HGS-10 review below was writ-
full-range speakers to be the desired use. The instructions ten. There was no time to rewrite the latter and reexamine
enclosed with the unit do not reflect that—not in the case the Sunfire/Velodyne comparison, especially since Velo-
of our early sample, anyway. dyne also makes the HGS-12, a cube comparable in size
Frequency response is sufficiently similar to that of to the Signature and not yet tested by us.
the 11-inch Sunfire to require no new discussion. I mea-
sured a slightly higher tuning frequency (22 Hz) for the
passive-radiator-vented box, but that could easily drift
downward with additional break-in of the surrounds.
Thiel SCS2
What has clearly been improved is the distortion. Even Thiel Audio, 1026 Nandino Boulevard, Lexington, KY 40511.
when radiating into a half sphere, by far the most strin- Voice: (606) 254-9427. Fax: (606) 254-0075. E-mail: mail
gent measurement condition, the Signature can produce a @thielaudio.com. Web: www.thielaudio.com. Model SCS2
relatively low-distortion 20 Hz tone at a 1-meter SPL of coaxial 2-way bookshelf loudspeaker system, $1990.00 the pair.
93 dB. A THD reading taken right off the passive radiator Tested samples on loan from manufacturer.
(the active driver is virtually silent at that frequency) was
a very respectable 4%, in a league with high-end sub- Reviewer's Note: The following was written long before
woofers of much larger dimensions. Raising the frequen- the SCS2 was replaced by the SCS3 ($2600.00 the pair!),
cy to 50 Hz and the SPL to 100 dB resulted in a THD which is so new that you are unlikely to have seen a
reading a little under 1% (this time off the active driver, review of it anywhere. The SCS2 review is retained here
the passive radiator's contribution being negligible at that because (1) I think it is still highly instructive and (2) it
frequency). The 40 Hz distortion at 100 dB was a little provides a probable reason for the short shelf life of the
harder to measure because of a small residual contribu- speaker. The basic architecture of the SCS3 appears to be
tion by the passive radiator; my estimate was 2%. It would the same.
appear that increasing the size of the True Subwoofer by • • •
the ratio of 133/113 was all that was needed to bring the This one I still can't believe. As our regular readers
THD into the range represented by some of the better "big know, I don't entirely agree with Jim Thiel's design phi-
mother" units. (One peculiarity: line-in L produces 8 dB losophy and priorities, but I have never had my hands on
more acoustical output than line-in R—with the same a Thiel speaker that didn't have ruler-flat frequency
input! Maybe Bob thinks L-R = 0 is bad for car crashes.) response. Until now. Initially I thought I was testing a
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 29

pdf 28
 defective sample but then I found both speakers in the
pair to be almost identical, so that excuse was eliminated. Velodyne Servo FSR-18
I refer you to the Bag End MM-8B review above.
Velodyne Acoustics, Inc., 1070 Commercial Street, Suite 101,
Same situation here—coaxial design creates more prob-
San Jose, CA 95112. Voice: (408) 436-7270. Fax: (408) 436-
lems than it solves (unless the drivers are also coplanar). 7276. E-mail: velodyne@earthlink.net. Web: www.velodyne.
The 1-inch aluminum-dome tweeter of the SCS2 fires com. Servo FSR-18 servo-controlled powered subwoofer system
through the apex of the 6½-inch woofer's aluminum cone with remote control, $2399.00 each. Tested sample on loan from
and runs into serious interference by the latter. Curiously, manufacturer.
the Thiel literature explains that other ("typical") coaxial
speakers behave like that but no, not theirs, as the woofer Our readers will recall that I reviewed the 15-inch
diaphragm is shaped to prevent interference. Velodyne Servo F-1500R (very enthusiastically) in Issue
Well, my quasi-anechoic (MLS) measurements, No. 22. What we have here is not—repeat, not—the 18-
taken at 1 meter on the speaker's perpendicular axis, inch version of the same design. That would have been
show incredible roughness, swinging within an 18 dB the F-1800R, followed by the improved F-1800RII, both
range from 1 kHz to 20 kHz in the better sample and a 25 of which are superseded models at this point. I skipped
dB range in the worse sample. The biggest dips are at 3.3 both generations and ended up with the FSR-18, which is
kHz and 8 kHz, the biggest peaks at 4.6 kHz and 12.5 kHz. the latest and greatest Velodyne, David Hall's "statement"
Moving 30° off axis (the stereo position) helps a little subwoofer, the flagship of a new line with redesigned
above 4 kHz, but the roughness is still dramatic. The liter- drivers and class D amplification. (Even newer is the
ature shows a ±2 dB axial response, so who's crazy here? HGS-18, the same unit in black Formica, coming soon.)
John Atkinson's measurements as published in Stereophile I might as well say it right up front. This is far and
Guide to Home Theater some time ago appear to bear me away the most impressive low-frequency transducer in
out. The dips and peaks in his curve are a little bit less my experience as a reviewer. I can't imagine anything
severe than in mine, but the overall profile is virtually significantly better in a package of this size (footprint 21
identical. Of course, Wes Phillips's subjective evaluation by 18 inches, height 2 feet). What are the defining dimen-
of the SCS2 in the same review is nonetheless extremely sions of subwoofer performance? Low-frequency exten-
positive—Thiel is one of the sacred cows of the high-end sion, SPL capability, distortion. On the first two counts the
community and mustn't be blasphemed. I, on the other FSR-18 is a top contender, on the last the undisputed cham-
hand, thought the speaker sounded quite colored, maybe pion. That makes it, all in all, the best there is. (At least in
not as hopelessly colored as the measurements suggested my book, until a manufacturer sends me something better.)
but basically noncompetitive in its price range. Outwardly, the FSR-18 is not very different from
The root cause of the problem is—you guessed it— the 15-inch Velodynes, just slightly larger, with the same
Jim Thiel's coherence-über-alles doctrine. Coaxial speak- fairly austere styling. What is new is the 1250-watt (into
ers are relatively easy to make coherent, and the SCS2 4Ω.) class D amplifier inside, but even that is being grad­
passes square pulses quite nicely, even with its un-Thiel- ually phased into the rest of the line because it is compact
ish 2nd-order crossover. (Could it perhaps be the Ashley- and fits all models. (See the HGS-10 review below.) The
Kaminsky "quasi-2nd-order" network of the early '70s? class D approach is perfect for powered subwoofers
That would fit the picture, but the SCS2 literature doesn't because it is space-efficient, cost-effective, and without
say.) Coherence at the expense of frequency response, design tradeoffs when used only for low-frequency mus­
however, is a terrible tradeoff—optimizing the inaudible cle. The controls and jacks on the back panel include the
while degrading the audible. I refer you once again to the following: main power switch, subwoofer volume, low-
Bag End MM-8B review above for a more complete pass crossover (120 Hz to 40 Hz), phase (0° or 180°), sub­
explanation. (I hate to repeat myself.) sonic filter (15 Hz or 35 Hz), crossover in/out, auto turn-
The good features of the SCS2? Beautiful build on switch (signal sensing on/off), external remote, line-
quality. Quick convertibility from quasi-sealed-box to level and balanced inputs, line-level output, speaker-level
vented-box design. (You pull the foam plugs from the inputs and outputs, and highpass crossover (80 Hz or 100
unit's two ducted ports; the f3 moves from 80 Hz down to Hz, 6 dB per octave) for both line-level and speaker-
42 Hz; the bass response remains flat, but the efficiency level outputs. Thus almost any system configuration is
drops—very neat trick considering Jim had to work with easily accommodated.
one and the same driver Q.) Low woofer distortion down The main feature is of course the accelerometer-
to well below 100 Hz. (It's difficult to measure distortion based servo system that controls the 18-inch driver
above 1 kHz, since the level varies all over the place.) (which, by the way, has tandem 3-inch voice coils in
Provision for wall mounting. Hey, a design with the push-pull and a 14-pound magnet). The servo reduces the
wrong priorities can still have quality touches. distortion to unprecedently low levels. I took an FFT
I don't like to write reviews like this but I like flawed spectrum of a 20 Hz tone right off the cone, with the 1-
"ideological" design even less. meter SPL set to 100 dB (out on the open floor—worst
30 THE AUDIO CRITIC

pdf 29
case). The 2nd harmonic was at -43 dB (0.71%), the 3rd there's any point in doing it.
harmonic at -46.5 dB (0.47%), the 4th harmonic at -52 Fast-forward to fall 1996. The Sunfire subwoofer
dB (0.25%), the rest negligible. That's almost amplifier- has been finalized and is in production; the dealers are
like. I also took a THD sweep from 100 Hz down to 20 selling it; the reviewers have their samples and are raving;
Hz, at a 1-meter SPL of 106 dB as normalized to 40 Hz. the product is already a marketing success and getting
The THD fluctuated between 0.17% and 0.6%. Is that low hotter every month. I get my samples too and run my
enough for you? As for frequency response, my nearfield tests. In the spring of 1997 I publish a review in Issue No.
small-signal sweep located the f3 (-3 dB frequency) at 24, calling the design a tour de force and venturing the
approximately 18 Hz, with the subsonic filter set to 15 Hz. opinion that nobody but Bob Carver could have come up
(The filter cannot be switched out, only toggled between with it but at the same time quibbling about a few (non-
15 Hz and 35 Hz.) Above the f3, the deviation from dead major) flaws. Dr. Rich exceeds my own praise in his side-
flat is ±0.6 dB. With the crossover switched out, the upper bar analysis of Bob's technology. And somewhere in the
"corner" of the frequency response is around 150 Hz. same time frame I recall David Hall muttering under his
When pulsed, the FSR-18 shows a time-domain response breath that maybe he will come out with an undersized
corresponding to Q 0.7, which is correct damping for a subwoofer even though he doesn't have his heart in it, but
sealed-box woofer. this time it will be done right. (I wasn't surprised. How
How does the FSR-18 sound? Exactly as the above could the man who is Mr. Subwoofer USA ignore the
numbers would indicate. A subwoofer is totally determin- rumored Sunfire sales figures?)
istic. There are no mysteries, no surprises at the lowest Well, I have an early sample of the mini-Velodyne
audio frequencies. So, obviously: the amount of air and I have to eat my words. Bob Carver is not the only
moved is tremendous. The impact is tremendous. The res- audio engineer who could have designed such a sub-
olution is tremendous. Bass drum thwacks are gut- woofer. David Hall is another. Note that I say "could
wrenching. Organ pedal notes are seismic. Plucked string have" because David didn't—not until Bob demonstrated
basses are ultradefined. More so than with less good num- (1) that it was possible and (2) that it would sell. Bob had
bers? That becomes an argument about the thresholds of the original insight; David had the instant grasp of the
human hearing, not about subwoofers. For $2.4K I'll go principle. That principle—humongous magnet and
with the best numbers and leave the good-numbers-mean- humongous voltage swings to overcome the resulting
bad-sound cultists to their own devices. back EMF—seems like elementary physics now that both
Bob and David have demonstrated the viability of the
design, but the approach was counterintuitive before its
actual implementation and definitely beyond the ken of
Velodyne Servo HGS-10 hack engineers.
Not that the Sunfire and Velodyne minisubwoofers
Velodyne Acoustics, Inc., 1070 Commercial Street, Suite 101,
San Jose, CA 95112. Voice: (408) 436-7270. Fax: (408) 436- are exactly alike. Actually, they are quite different and
7276. E-mail: velodyne@earthlink.net. Web: www.velodyne. represent different priorities. (Bob Carver believes that
com. Servo HGS-10 high-gain servo-controlled powered sub- the Velodyne is a total knockoff of his design, but I am not
woofer system, $1599.00 each. Tested sample on loan from man- going to get caught in the middle of that controversy.) Let
ufacturer. us compare.
Both units are 11-inch cubes. The Velodyne Servo
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor HGS-10 is a sealed system with a single forward-firing
Breed, nor Birth,/When two strong men stand face to face, 10-inch driver. It looks pretty much like a conventional
tho' they come from the ends of earth!—KIPLING subwoofer, only much smaller, with a grille cloth and a
The San Francisco and Seattle exurbs aren't exact- rather handsome black Formica finish. The Sunfire has a
ly "the ends of earth," but in this case David Hall from 10-inch passive radiator in addition to the 10-inch active
San Jose and Bob Carver from Snohomish are definitely driver and cultivates a no-grille, matte-finish, industrial-
two strong men of audio, standing face to face in an engi- strength look. Both the Velodyne and the Sunfire drivers
neering confrontation. What's it all about? Getting full- are extraordinarily heavy-duty, long-excursion units; they
size subwoofer performance out of an 11-inch cube. Each do not look exactly alike but are probably very similar in
of the two strong men believes his way is better. design. The Velodyne subwoofer uses an accelerometer
Let's go back to January 1996. The Sunfire "True for servo control through motional feedback; the Sunfire
Subwoofer" has just been announced and a very early was also planned to operate that way, but after various
version of it is being shown at the CES in Las Vegas. I problems with prototypes Bob abandoned the idea, and in
happen to run into David Hall and mention this new the eventual production version only the circuit-board
development to him. He already knows about it and is not traces remained of the motional feedback system. The
impressed. He says something to the effect that he could amplifier that powers the subwoofer is also of a different
easily do the same thing, only better, but he is not sure design in the Sunfire and the Velodyne; the former uses
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 31

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 Bob Carver's ingenious proprietary amplifier circuit with Down to 30 Hz, at 1-meter SPLs up to 97 dB as normal­
the tracking/switching power supply, the latter success­ ized to 40 Hz, I found the THD + N to be indeed under
fully employs a somewhat more conventional class D 1%. Sweeping down to 20 Hz and raising the SPL to 102
switching amplifier. (Bob's circuit has no particular dB I was able to push the Velodyne into the l-to-2.5%
advantage in a bandlimited low-frequency application; its distortion band at the bottom of my sweeps. I also took an
virtues become important in a full-range power amp.) FFT of a 25 Hz tone at a 1-meter SPL of 98 dB and read
The priorities reflected by these engineering differ­ 2nd/3rd/4th/5th harmonics of 1.4/1.1/0.16/0.45%, under
ences are fairly obvious: the Velodyne goes in for very the same brutal conditions. That's still well under 2% rms.
low distortion at all output levels, whereas theSunfire tries I could have taken more distortion readings but I stopped
to squeeze the last bottom Hz and last dB of SPL out of once I was satisfied that the HGS-10 fits perfectly into the
that little box. At the risk of being a little too pat, one Velodyne Servo family, being almost as low in distortion
could say that the Velodyne is targeted at music, the as its big brothers. Quite a feat, knockoff or no.
Sunfire at home theater. In the end there is the inevitable There remains the question of maximum acoustic
convergence toward the performance limits set by the output, probably more important for car crashes, train
laws of physics—neither unit can move as much air as a derailments, and aircraft explosions than music. Louis D.
big subwoofer with an 18-inch driver. What is remarkable Fielder of Dolby Laboratories, a highly respected psycho-
is how much air they can move. acoustics researcher with no speaker-marketing agenda
The features and controls of the Servo HGS-10 are (also a former president of the AES), has suggested 3%
pretty much the same as those of all current models in the second harmonic, 1% third harmonic, and 0.3-0.1% high­
Velodyne line. You can set the lowpass filter from 120 Hz er harmonic distortion as the acceptable limits for accu­
down to 40 Hz; you can reverse the phase; you can bypass rate subwoofer performance. Under those limits the
the crossover altogether (in favor of a separate crossover); Velodyne is clearly capable of higher output in the 20 to
you can choose between 15 Hz and 35 Hz "subsonic" fil­ 40 Hz octave than the Sunfire; at around 50 Hz the Sunfire
tering; you can use the built-in, nominally 80 Hz first- catches up; without distortion limits the Sunfire with its
order highpass filter for your satellite speakers (strictly a passive radiator clearly wins over its full range by a few
minimal solution); and you can set the subwoofer for dB. To me the Arnold Schwarzenegger cinematic mega-
automatic turn-on in the presence of a signal. The variable noise effects are a relatively minor issue. The fact is that
lowpass filter is similar to that of the Sunfire in that it is within the typical dynamic range of modern recorded
rather low-Q in the transition band and steep only when material both little subwoofers do an amazing job, and
the response is well into the stopband. The cleverly neither of them—let's face it—is quite as authoritative as
shrunk class D amplifier is the same as in the flagship a good 18-incher. (David Hall, who also sells 18-inchers,
FSR-18; it is said to be capable of 1250 watts continuous is more likely to share that perception than Bob Carver,
output into a 4Ω resistive load. (I did not surgically who doesn't.)
remove the amplifier from the enclosure to measure it "Comparisons are odorous," says Dogberry in
separately because the only thing that matters here is the Much Ado, and I'll end the comparison right here. For
total system performance.) audiophiles with little room for equipment and big bass
My measurements revealed substantial differences appetites, this is a win-win situation.
between the Velodyne and the Sunfire. The latter definite­
ly goes lower; the small-signal response of the Velodyne
is -5.5 dB at 18 Hz, that of the Sunfire -1 dB at the same
frequency. The -1 dB point on the Velodyne's response Waveform Mach 17 (followup)
curve is at 30 Hz. On the other hand, because of the Sun-
Waveform, RR #4, Brighton, Ont., Canada K0K 1H0. Voice:
fire's steeply plummeting low-frequency rolloff, the more (800) 219-8808. Fax: (800) 219-8810. E-mail: jotvos@wave-
conventionally profiled Velodyne actually has better form.ca. Web: www.waveform.ca. Waveform Mach 17 floor-standing
small-signal response at 15 Hz (about -9 dB). 3-way loudspeaker system with electronic crossover, $6995.00
When it comes to distortion, the Velodyne is in an the pair (direct from Waveform). Tested samples on loan from
entirely different league, thanks to the motional feedback. manufacturer.
The manufacturer's literature makes this claim: "At typi­
cal listening levels, the HGS produces less than 1% har­ There have been some minor changes in this superb
monic distortion with input signals extending to 20 Hz. At design, none of them important enough to necessitate a
higher levels the distortion barely exceeds 1%..." I mea­ new model number or make a clearly audible difference.
sured the HGS-10 under the most unforgiving conditions, The changes all have to do with ease of production
radiating into a half sphere (corner placement would have and consistency from unit to unit. The "egg" is no longer
made that an eighth sphere), with the crossover switched made of fiberboard laminations shaped by lathe turning
out and the measurement filter set at 22 kHz. I am sure the but is a massive one-piece aluminum casting, which is
manufacturer's testing setup is kinder to the product. even deader acoustically and closer to optimal geometry.
32 THE AUDIO CRITIC

pdf 31
The midrange driver is the same Audax unit with a special jump to simplistic conclusions. On the other hand, this
paper cone replacing the former plastic TPX diaphragm, publication prides itself on taking unequivocal and
which has been discontinued on account of manufactur­ unhedged positions on the subject of audio, so here goes...
ing difficulties. The midrange contour control has been Best full-range loudspeaker system we have tested:
modified to complement the very slightly different Waveform Mach 17.
response of the new driver. There is a barely measurable Best minimonitor we have tested: Joseph Audio
smoothing of the midrange as a result. A few other evolu­ RM7si Signature.
tionary changes, too small to dwell on, have also been Best powered subwoofer we have tested: Velodyne
made. Retrofitting is impractical and therefore not avail­ Servo FSR-18.
able, but replacement parts for the original production Best performance/price tradeoff in a fully powered
version remain in stock. full-range loudspeaker system we have tested: the combi­
I have to reiterate that this is the speaker system nation of the Paradigm Reference Servo-15a with a pair
with the lowest coloration and generally most livable- of Paradigm Reference Active/20s as satellites.
with sound known to me. Indeed, it has affected my crit­ Please note, however, that in the reviews above
ical perspective to the point where I must constantly there are additional recommendations with more specific
remind myself to judge other speakers on a per-dollar reference to available room, price, and individual require­
basis because they all sound deficient, slightly or consid­ ments.
erably, next to the Mach 17. And when it comes to the • • •
per-dollar criterion as applied to more expensive loud­
speakers, my reaction turns to total puzzlement. Why
would anyone spend more money for less accurate sound?
...and another
Is today's high-end consumer still so naive as to believe
that quality is directly proportional to price? Wake up,
kind of transducer:
doctor, and smell the hype. (You too, counselor.)
In my original review I brought up the wild idea of Sennheiser HD 600
adding a subwoofer (or a pair of subwoofers) to the Mach
17. I take it back. Don't do it. Further experimentation Sennheiser Electronic Corporation, One Enterprise Drive, P. O.
and in-room warble-tone measurements have convinced Box 987, Old Lyme, CT 06371. Voice: (860) 434-9190. Fax:
me that I was merely tipping up the bottommost frequen­ (860) 434-1759. E-mail: lit@sennheiserusa.com. Web: www.
cies for an impressive but unnatural effect. I was not sennheiserusa.com. HD 600 open-air dynamic stereo head­
extracting additional information, nor did I improve the phones, $449.95. Tested sample on loan from manufacturer.
upper bass and lower midrange as produced by the two
12-inch drivers. In my main listening room, which mea­ I do very little headphone listening and am not
sures 22 by 20 by 9 feet, it is possible to position the familiar with a wide range of models. I have used various
speakers for flat response down to 20 Hz. That's as good Stax electrostatics from time to time, as well as a few
as it gets. It sounds natural. The Mach 17 is a complete other high-end phones. On the basis of that admittedly
loudspeaker. limited experience I currently rate the Sennheiser HD 600
Our new contributor Glenn Strauss, who owns a as the state of the art. Its sound is incredibly transparent,
pair of Mach 17's, disagrees with me regarding the sub- lifelike, dynamic, and uncolored. I hear nothing I would
woofer issue. His observation is that the two 12-inch driv­ want to change. The elliptical earpads are very comfortable.
ers sound slightly cleaner when used only above 80 Hz in To measure headphones accurately one needs a
conjunction with an electronically crossed-over sub- dummy head with microphone ears; there is no other way.
woofer and that the bass is deeper and flatter that way. I To purchase such a costly single-purpose device is not an
now think that's techno-overkill but of course I can only option for this journal, so I'll just have to plod along with
report the results in my room, with my test material. Other the crude technique I have always used. I simply hold the
than that, Glenn fully agrees with my assessment of the calibrated microphone close to the diaphragm in various
Mach 17. It is a benchmark loudspeaker in terms of both open and blocked positions. Surprisingly, even this ques­
sound and value. tionable method yields amazingly flat response curves
with the HD 600. Up to 2 kHz the midrange and lower
treble are literally ruler flat; the 2 kHz to 20 kHz decade
Recommendations is a little rough but shows no tendency to roll off on top.
I suspect the little peaks and dips are an artifact of my
I have serious misgivings about this kind of quickie measurement technique. The low-frequency response is
wrap-up because it tempts you to peek ahead—didn't ruler flat down to 80 Hz with a smooth decline to -8 dB
you?—before reading the full reviews with their all- at 20 Hz,which is probably due to the open-air design.
important qualifications and reservations, thus inviting a The impedance of this marvel is the standard 300Ω
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 33

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 There's Life Yet in the Two-
Channel Integrated Amplifier
By David A. Rich, Ph.D.
Contributing Technical Editor

An analytical look at an often neglected but in the long run highly

viable product category.
Integrated amplifiers are hot, particularly in the year's really major breakthrough.
high-end market. The de-emphasis on phono (and these It all settled down in the mid-'80s with a return to
integrateds really de-emphasize phono) is part of the the simpler, rational circuits of the late '70s. Only
explanation. The move to higher-efficiency loudspeakers Technics has held out with its class AA bridge-based
that require less amplifier power is another reason. We amplifiers that attempt to separate the job of imposing a
have not had access to any of the high-end integrateds given voltage on the speaker terminals from the job of
made in this country and we are a little late testing supplying the current required by the load to stay at the
Japanese integrated amps, since good ones have been imposed voltage. In addition to the complex bridge at the
available from the majors since the mid-'80s. They have speaker terminals, the design requires two power amps
been harder to come by in the '90s in the U.S. since the per channel. (We intend to look at this in greater detail if
Japanese product in this particular category does not do we can get a review sample.)
well here. You will find no stereo integrateds in this coun- Unfortunately, the urge to tinker with perfection has
try from Kenwood, Pioneer, Sansui, and Technics. Nor do again bit the Japanese designers in their latest integrateds.
top-of-the-line units from Denon and Yamaha make it All the amplifiers below have something tweaky about
across the Pacific. them, and each shows reduced performance compared to
its predecessors. You have to look no further than the
Design Trends manufacturers' data sheets to see this. My hope is that this
Transistor integrated amplifiers have been in devel- new wave of "my amp sounds better than your amp
opment since the '60s. As in their more expensive preamp because my amp uses a new topology based on Pyramid
and power-amp counterparts, significant improvements in Power" will be over quickly. That said, none of the inte-
measured (and maybe sonic) performance occurred as grateds below have been so butchered as to have become
transistors improved in speed and power handling. In audibly colored, and nothing has been done that should
addition, circuit innovations took place that improved dis- negatively affect reliability. I could live with any of them
tortion performance. Improvements in protection circuits very happily and, indeed, I now own the Yamaha AX-592.
allowed complex loads to be driven without distortion. I wanted a remote-based integrated for a bedroom system.
Improvements in output-stage topologies eliminated The Yamaha was the cheapest and the AX-592's master
crossover notch problems. Unfortunately, just as cost- remote ran the wonderful TX-950 tuner that is also sitting
effective and transparent designs were about to hatch, the in the system. Now that you know how I make my pur-
designers appear to have lost their way. Under the belief chase decisions... well, you may find that the long tech-
that their circuits did not sound good enough (controlled nical reviews are of limited interest, but I certainly hope
listening tests were just beginning to gain recognition at you still find them useful for other reasons.
this time), they developed novel but not necessarily better
topologies. This was the era of feed-forward, bridge- A Word about Phono Stages
based distortion correction circuits, current-dumping If you are into phono, forget what comes with
topologies, class H output stages, adaptive output-stage almost any current receiver or integrated amp. None of
biasing, and removal of global feedback loops. Even con- them are very good. To get very low distortion, very low
servative design houses like Pioneer jumped in with both noise, and very flat frequency response, a two-stage
feet. Others like Yamaha, always driven by an itch to topology is needed. The best example is the one used by
innovate, appeared to have a new topology every year. Bryston, but you have to purchase one of their premium
Last year's major breakthrough was replaced with this preamps or integrated amps to get it. Great stuff if you
34 THE AUDIO CRITIC

pdf 33
can afford it, but if you cannot, Rotel has the answer. It is nal. Clever stuff!
the Rotel RQ-970BX phono equalizer. The topology and Now on the POA-S10 power amp, which is about a
components are lifted from the Rotel RC-980BX preamp 30th of the price of the S1 equipment, the op-amp is elim­
that we reviewed in Issue No. 19. It is a huge bargain at inated for some unknown reason. This saves the cost of a
$199.90. Even audiophiles should fall in love with its cheap op-amp (they used a TL071) and a handful of resis­
overdesigned power supplies, separate voltage regulators tors and capacitors. The good news is they did keep the
for each channel, and the premium metal-film resistors. bipolar-based dynamic cascode. Now we step down to the
We techie types fawn over the discrete bipolar diff pair PMA-2000R integrated under review here. Guess what
with current-mirror tail coupled to an AD744 op-amp that got removed? You got it—the dynamic cascode. So it's
provides the first section of gain. After a passive filter that back to the standard high-voltage MOSFETs. Indeed, it is
sets the upper rolloff of the RIAA equalization properly back to the future because they use only NMOS devices
(unlike the cheap single-stage topologies), the second in a quasi-complementary configuration with bipolar
gain stage provides the lower pole and the zero with an predrive transistors.
NE5534. What more could you want? A review sample The quasi-complementary configuration disap­
has been promised to us, but in view of our laggard pub­ peared in the early '70s. Those who go back that long will
lishing schedule I see no reason for you to wait. recall problems with stability and significant differences
in the upper and lower transfer function of the output
Denon PMA-2000R stage. Of course, with MOSFETs we have big transfer-
function differences even in a complementary output stage,
Denon Electronics, a division of Denon Corporation (USA), 222 since the gm of PMOS devices is higher than of NMOS
New Road, Parsippany, NJ 07054. Voice: (201) 575-7810. Fax: devices for a given device size. The Baxandall modifica­
(201) 808-1608. Web: www.denon.com. PMA-2000R stereo tion to the bipolar quasi-complementary stage that did
integrated amplifier with remote control, $1000.00. Tested sam­ much to improve its performance is not used in the PMA-
ple on loan from manufacturer. 2000R, nor is it clear that it could be applied because of
the use of MOSFET output devices. As we will see from
Designers of Japanese hi-fi must all hang out at the the performance data, the Denon circuit works reasonably
same bar after work because new design ideas often well, but one is left to ask why bother.
appear in many companies' lines at the same time. For the The rest of the power amp is standard Denon. Three
last couple of years, MOSFETs have been "in." Besides sets of differential pairs form the voltage gain. The input
Denon, we have Sony and Pioneer (in models available pair is JFET-based; the rest is bipolar. The first two stages
only in Europe). This is the second time MOSFETs are in. have resistive loads; the last is a current mirror. All three
In the mid-'70s Yamaha, Sony, and Hitachi (the latter stages have resistor tails. The middle stage has emitter
used to sell audio in this country) made a big splash with degeneration to reduce its gain to 10. Three gain-stage
them. This was about the time when tubes were enjoying amplifiers can improve linearity because feedback factors
an increase in popularity, and one assumes the logic for are increased, but stability can be a problem if the engi­
MOSFETs was that they are more like tubes. Since tubes neers do not design this complex circuit correctly. Denon
are again very popular, it is time for MOSFETs again. I engineers appear to understand it very well. You will note
predict that in a couple of years Japan will be back to that no mention of high feedback factors is found in the
bipolar and the tube mania in general will be over. Denon literature. The company used to proclaim loudly
Denon first approached MOSFET design in their that it built amplifiers with no global feedback. That idea
S1-series products, which are all priced close to or well appears to have been disposed of (instead, Onkyo has
into five figures. These designs are actually very good. been bitten by the bug—see below), but Denon does not
First Denon observed that the really fast MOSFETs have want to make a big deal about their use of feedback.
low breakdown voltages, so they used these fast devices Performance of the amplifier was very good at the
in conjunction with a dynamic cascode device that keeps lower frequencies. It was noise-dominated into both 4Ω
the VDS of the output stage to about 5 V. The cascode tran­ and 8Ω. loads. Clipping occurs at 180 watts and 120 watts,
sistors are bipolar. OK, we now have fast MOSFETs but respectively. Distortion at that point is at -90 dB. At 20
they still have low gm . Denon has a solution here, too. kHz into 4Ω there are signs of dynamic distortion starting
The gates of the MOSFET are driven by an op-amp. The at 250 mW. Minimum distortion is -71 dB. Into 8Ω,
negative input terminal is connected to the speaker termi­ dynamic distortion starts at 600 mW and the minimum
nal, and the positive input terminal is driven by the power distortion is -75 dB. Guess what I think causes the dis­
amp's voltage-gain stage. The op-amp power supply tortion. It is interesting to note that the Denon POA-S10
comes off the same line that drives the dynamic cascode power amp (discussed above) is specified at 2/7 the dis­
output devices (±5 V). The gain of the op-amp brings the tortion level of this integrated. This is also the case, with
gm down, and since the op-amp is flying up and down on only a very slight difference, for the bipolar-based PMA-
the dynamic cascode rails, it sees no common-mode sig­ 1315R integrated that the PMA-2000R replaces. By the

ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 35

pdf 34
 way, the optical bias circuit used in the 1315R, which significant displacement currents. The only downside of
Denon proclaimed for many years as a major break­ removing the active line stage appears to be increased
through, is not used in the 2000R and the S-series line. noise levels. We have seen this in other integrated amps
Such is the fate of many circuit innovations that come that are similar in this respect. Channel separation is 78
from the land of the rising sun. I should also note that a dB up to 1 kHz and decreases to 63 dB at 20 kHz. When
similar situation exists in the case of the Sony TA- the cheap balance and tone controls are put in the circuit,
F707ES integrated (which we may review in the future). a unity-gain noninverting buffer using an NJM2068 also
It has almost an identical topology to their older F700ES goes into the signal path. Switching in these controls
(a great integrated), except that MOSFETs (complemen­ takes the close-to-ruler-flat frequency response (-0.2 dB
tary in this case) replace the bipolars in the output stage. at 20 kHz) and puts it on a roller coaster that fits only in
Sony specs report the distortion in the 707 to be 3.7 times a strip 0.6 dB wide. Channel separation becomes about 8
higher, even though the power output has been reduced dB worse with the controls in the signal path.
by 35% (the supply rails are the same but MOSFETs drop Overall build quality is good but not excellent.
a lot more of the supply rails than bipolars do). The clear RCA jacks are all gold. The faceplate is quite thick, and
conclusion is that making MOSFETs work well requires the rest of the sheet metal is also of a heavy gauge. All
novel topologies, like that of the Denon S1 series or the that metal (heat sinks and power transformer included)
Cordell prototype (see Issue No. 20, p. 22). adds up to the unit's net weight of 44 pounds. The selec­
The PowerCube of the 2000R is nice, with no signs tor and tape-monitor functions are implemented with
of the 4-transistor protection circuit causing problems. It sealed relays. The motorized volume control is of good
also shows that Denon has produced a very good quasi- quality. On the other hand, the PC board is single-sided;
symmetrical output stage with no signs of stability prob­ carbon-film resistors are extensively used instead of
lems. Reactive loads always draw more voltage than metal-film ones; and a cheap ribbon cable drives the low-
resistive loads. With resistive loads, dynamic power goes cost tape-selector switch. The control knobs have a metal
from 139 W (33.3 V) into 8Ω, to 230 W (30.3 V) into 4Ω., faceplate and a plastic body, but the overall look-and-feel
to 334 W (25.8 V) into 2Ω, to 399 W (20 V) into 1Ω The is that of high-end equipment.
large power transformer, large bridge rectifier, and low on I picked a lot of nits in the above review, but over­
resistance of the power MOSFETS used are responsible all this is a lot of amp for the price Denon charges and can
for this good performance. Generous heat sinks keep the be safely recommended; however, if you have a Denon
unit cool during continuous power tests. As an aside, this PMA-1315R you have no reason to upgrade. Now,
unit does not have a speaker selector. Denon, could we please have the S1 topology at the price
The phono preamp is built around the NJN4558 of the 2000R.
and a discrete JFET differential pair with just a resistor
tail. You remember the 4558; it is the same op-amp that
caused the measured performance of the Denon DCD-
Marantz PM-68
2700 CD player to be so poor (see Issue No. 22). Marantz America, Inc., 440 Medinah Road, Roselle, 1L 60172-
Somebody at Denon must think it "sounds good" because 2330. Voice: (630) 307-3100. Fax: (630) 307-2687. Web:
they use the much better NJM2068 like tap water in their www.marantzamerica.com. PM-68 integrated stereo amplifier
cheaper receivers. Because of its limited output current, with remote control, $500.00. Tested sample on loan from man­
the BA4558 cannot drive the RIAA network past 4 V rms ufacturer.
at 20 kHz. At that output 20 kHz distortion is -74 dB. At
lower frequencies the distortion is noise-dominated until So you thought this must be a good review, since
the 8 V rms clipping level. The RIAA equalization error the Marantz MA700 power amp got such a good review
is only ±0.17 dB in one channel and ±0.1 dB in the other, in this issue. Think again. Different designer, different
but there is a channel imbalance of 0.3 dB in the upper outcome. The PM-68 designer appears to be something of
bass and lower midrange. If phono is important to you, an a tweak. How else can you describe a designer who kills
external phono amp such as the Rotel discussed above the tape monitor in the direct mode (one assumes to
should be used. By the way, in the $5200 PMA-S1 inte­ reduce the number of switch contacts in the signal path,
grated, Denon decided to be the last of the big-time but when you count them up they are the same). Any
spenders and use the still very cheap NJM082 op-amp. competent repair person can clip one resistor and put the
There is not much to say about the preamp because tape monitor back in the circuit for the direct path, but
with the Source Direct switch activated there is no active what on earth was the designer thinking in the first place?
preamp, just the selector switch and the volume control. Note that tweaky does not mean cheap. Input
This follows the approach of the PMA-1315R. In the switching is by relay, which is a big surprise at this price
direct mode no capacitors are in the main signal path. The point. That includes tape monitor and tape copy. Also of
nonpolar capacitor in the feedback loop of the power amp interest is the active preamp designed with a JFET differ­
is wired in a novel configuration, so that it does not see ential stage and a resistive load, as well as an NJM2114
36 THE AUDIO CRITIC

pdf 35
op-amp (a version of the 5532 with improved perfor­ rent mirror, which has a diode-and-resistor load connect­
mance specifications, including lower noise). The volume ed to the positive supply rail. This phase-inverting stage
control is placed close to this circuit to reduce crosstalk at is then connected to the base of the pnp device in the sec­
the control's high-impedance output. Frequency response ond gain stage. The pnp is also resistively degenerated
was down 0.3 dB at 20 kHz and for some strange reason and like the npn side forms a current mirror with the pre­
had a small rise starting at 30 Hz that resulted in 10 Hz vious (in this case the phase-inverting) stage. The current
being up 0.3 dB. mirror gain is again 8. I suspect our tweaky designer
Switching out Source Direct gets you tone controls views this whole circuit not as two gain stages and a phase
and balance. The tone controls are complex second-order inverter but instead as one gain block with current ampli­
active types, each using one NJM2068 dual op-amp. fication stages. He must think that the one voltage-gain
Another NJM2068 buffers the tone controls' output. stage idea must sound better than two or three. The output
Channel separation in direct mode was 85 dB at low fre­ stages are normal. Two stages of emitter follower buffers
quencies and 65 dB at 20 kHz. Switching in the all the drive the dual-output devices. It is nice to see two buffer
controls changed nothing, indicating the crosstalk is stages, since some amplifiers in this price class use only
occurring outside the signal paths of the control circuits. one. The protection circuit is the same as in the MA700.
The separation numbers are excellent and should make It is based on the Philips TA7317 custom IC.
some manufacturers of four- and five-figure audio elec­ The output bias setting circuit that is in series with
tronics blush. the second-stage amplifiers is of interest because it allows
Let's look next at the phono section. It is the com­ two different bias settings in the PM-78 version of this
mon JFET differential pair with resistive load. The op- amplifier available only in Europe. The alternate bias set­
amp that follows is the NJM2068. Distortion performance ting biases the amplifier into class A. When this switch is
is typical of the breed. It is noise-dominated to the clip­ activated, the power-supply voltage to the power amp is
ping point, which is at 7 to 9 V rms output (depending on significantly reduced.
frequency), where the distortion reaches a minimum of Distortion curves are strange, although they are not
-82 dB. The earliest clipping is at 20 kHz as the op-amp that bad—but the MA700 is better. Into 8Ω the distortion
runs out of steam driving the RIAA equalization network. curves show no dynamic distortion, but distortion becomes
The frequency response of the stage is down 0.9 dB at 30 larger than noise at all frequencies starting at 20 watts,
Hz and 2.1 dB at 20 Hz. This is because only a 47µF de­ where it is down to -82 dB. It climbs slowly to -77 dB at
blocking capacitor is in the feedback path. I think this is 110 watts, where the amplifier begins to clip. Into 4Ω. the
some kind of tweak, not a cost saving, since we have not 20 Hz and 1 kHz distortion curves are similar, with a min­
seen cost saving elsewhere. If you ignore the problem at imum of -80 dB at 40 watts and a -70 dB level at the
the low end, the right-channel equalization error fits in a clipping point of 160 watts. The 20 kHz distortion curve,
strip 0.4 dB wide, but the left channel needs a full dB. on the other hand, does not show any flattening and looks
Channel matching, worst case, is 0.7 dB. No moving-coil noise-dominated. It reaches a minimum of-83 dB at 100
option is available. That eliminates a usually cheap switch watts and then softly clips. At -70 dB distortion the amp
in a very sensitive low-level signal path, so I do not miss puts out 180 watts at 20 kHz.
this feature. The PM-68 PowerCube shows that the protection
The power amp shows a bit of tweaking around, circuit is overly sensitive. It is also responsive to the pres­
and one wishes they had just scaled down the MA700 ence of reactive loads at 2Ω and below. I do not under­
topology. The differential pair is a folded cascode instead stand this since both the PM-68 and MA700 circuits use
of the telescoped cascode used in the MA700. The folded the Philips TA7317. Into 8Ω. the dynamic output is 149
cascode adds a high-frequency pole. It is often used in cir­ watts when the load is purely resistive, with the voltage
cuits that work on very small (below 3 V) power supplies, swing increasing slightly for reactive loads. The same is
but with 115 V to play with here one can only assume that true into 4Ω, with the amp delivering 240 watts dynamic
somebody thinks it sounds good even if it measures output into the resistive load. Into 2Ω the amp produces
worse. The second stage of the amplifier is also strange. 300 watts with a resistive load and has slightly higher
Instead of the differential pair of the MA700, we get cur­ swings into a ±30° reactive load, but it will not drive reac­
rent-mirror interstage coupling. The loads of the first tive loads of ±60°, nor will it drive any load of 1Ω, resis­
stage are a diode and a resistor that go to the negative sup­ tive or reactive.
ply rails. One side of the load is coupled to an npn tran­ Construction quality is consistent with an integrat­
sistor that forms half of the push-pull second gain stage. ed amplifier at this price point, as is the unit's overall look
This transistor has an emitter degeneration resistor con­ and feel. Everything considered, the Yamaha AX-592
nected to the negative supply rail. This forms a current wins by a nose. Its power amp puts out a little more power
mirror. The current gain is set to 8 by the ratio of the with a little less noise and distortion. Its phono section is
degeneration resistor to the first-stage load resistor. The more accurate, it has a separate tape-selector input switch,
other half of the first-stage load drives a unity-gain cur­ and it does not cut out the tape monitor in bypass mode.
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 37

pdf 36
On the other hand, the relay function selector of the PM- speaker. Feedback is taken from the speaker terminal
68 is significantly more reliable than the motorized unit in back to the first common-emitter amplifier at the amplifi­
the AX-592. You really cannot go too far wrong with er's emitter. (We saw this in the Harman Kardon PA2400
either unit. power amp in Issue No. 21, but that one had the global
feedback loop.) Two paralleled output devices are used.
The series inductor usually placed between the speaker
Onkyo Integra A-9911 terminals and the output stage is missing. It is claimed the
stage is so stable (because there is no feedback loop back
Onkyo USA Corporation, 200 Williams Drive, Ramsey, NJ to the input of the voltage stage) that the inductor is not
07446. Voice: (201) 825-7950. Fax: (201) 825-8150. E-mail: needed. The use of inductor compensation between the
onkyo@onkyousa.com. Web: www.onkyo.co.jp. Integra A-9911 first and second stage (also seen in earlier Onkyos) and
integrated stereo amplifier, $1119.95. Tested sample on loan the placement of the VBE multiplier on the second-stage,
from manufacturer. and not the output-stage, heat sink (for improved thermal
stability) are cited by Onkyo as important innovations
Onkyo has always had a good conservative design over previous implementations of this topology.
team. Except for optical bias (used in the last generation While the concept looks very good on paper, the
of Onkyo integrated amps), Onkyo has not proclaimed a real-world distortion measurements were merely OK.
major breakthrough in design only to remove it two years Into 8Ω at the lower frequencies, distortion is -84 dB
later with a really major breakthrough that is gone in its before clipping at 120 watts. The distortion is noise-dom­
turn. The A-9911 shows signs that this conservative inated. Dynamic distortion with a 20 kHz signal starts at
approach is no longer being followed. The claim is that 3 watts. It reaches a minimum of -74 dB at 20 watts and
the power amplifier has no global feedback. What they then slowly climbs to -68 dB before clipping. It is a sim­
really did was to split the power amplifier into a voltage- ilar story into 4Ω.. Low-frequency distortion is -79 dB
gain stage with a feedback loop and a current-gain stage just before the clipping point (170 W). It is again noise-
with its own feedback loop. As will be seen from the dominated. With 20 kHz the minimum distortion is -72
amplifier's performance below, we can predict something dB and at clipping it is -67 dB. This amplifier has no
new two years from now (as discussed above, the same active preamp in the direct mode, and the power amp is
thing was tried by Denon in the '80s and was forgotten in set for a gain of 62. This may account for the relatively
the '90s). The A-9911 does not have a remote control. The large noise that dominated our distortion measurements.
cheaper A-9711 does. One assumes the remote was elim­ The Denon PMA-2000R has a similar arrangement and
inated from the A-9911 to allow a higher-quality volume also showed more noise than we are used to seeing, but it
control to be employed. Maybe they think an onboard was better than the Onkyo. It is interesting to note that the
microprocessor causes sonic problems. The other signifi­ Onkyo Integra A-809, which has a standard power ampli­
cant differences between the two units are that a smaller fier topology (save the optical bias), is specified by Onkyo
transformer, simpler protection circuit, and passive tone to have 7.5 times lower distortion than the A-9911.
control stage are used in the A-9711. A dc servo (a longtime Onkyo trademark) keeps dc
The voltage gain section of the power amp in the A- out of the speaker. In direct mode the signal never sees a
9911 consists of a degenerated JFET differential pair with capacitor in the active signal path. A pair of bipolar tran­
a three-transistor current source as the tail. A bipolar sistors and an IC form the protection circuit, which opens
dynamic cascode is part of this differential pair. One load a relay that disconnects the load if a fault occurs. There
of the diff pair is a resistor, but the other is a Wilson cur­ are actually two relays between the power amp and the
rent mirror that is terminated to the negative supply rail speaker terminals. Thus, in addition to output protection,
through a resistor. This circuit allows the complementary the relay pairs are used for speaker selection. A large
push-pull common-emitter second gain stage to be inter­ power transformer and heat sinks (smaller than those of
faced to the differential pair. A complementary pair of the Denon but still big) bring the amplifier's weight up to
emitter followers with resistive loads buffers the output of 44 pounds and help produce a good PowerCube, as we
the first voltage-gain stage from the input load of the sec­ shall see below. The primary filter caps are 15,000 µF.
ond gain stage. The traditional VBE multiplier is in series The PowerCube is nice down to 2Ω. The protection
with the output of the second gain stage. What is not tra­ activated at 1Ω. and would allow no readings. Reactive
ditional is that feedback is taken off this second gain- loads always produced more voltage than resistive loads.
stage output. We have now described the voltage amplifier. With a resistive load, dynamic power goes from 130 W
The current amplifier is a fully complementary (32.25 V) into 8Ω, to 226 W (30 V) into 4Ω, and to 338
push-pull circuit. We shall describe a half circuit which W (26 V) into 2Ω.
consists of a common-emitter amplifier with resistive The preamp of the A-9911 has three modes. 'Power
load followed by a source follower with a resistive load Amp' bypasses all but the volume control, 'Direct'
and finally a common-emitter amplifier that drives the includes the input selector switch, and 'Tone' switches in
38 THE AUDIO CRITIC

pdf 37
a discrete 10-transistor amplifier as well as the tone con­ double banana plugs. At the front we have a new sliding
trols, balance control, and filter switches. The quality of door that hides secondary controls and gives the unit an
the switches and controls in this signal path is not as good upmarket look. The remote is also revised. The rows of
as that of the direct path. One really strange thing is that identically sized/colored/spaced buttons of the old control
the volume control has four gangs (you do not get the are replaced by a new control that is ergonomically
extra pots in the cheaper A-9711). Two are used for the friendly. This time we have three colors and five distinct
direct path and two are used for the tone path. Please do button shapes, plus a novel pistol-grip housing. A gold
not ask why because I have no idea. Channel separation star to Yamaha for the remote redesign.
in the Power Amp mode is 86 dB at 200 Hz (maximum) I wish they had stopped with the cosmetics, but
and 54 dB at 20 kHz (minimum). In Tone mode things get unfortunately they mucked with the internals of this unit
only about 3 dB worse—a very impressive result. and the result is a significant reduction in performance.
The phono section is nothing to write home about. First they removed the direct ground-sensing circuit from
It is the standard discrete JFET front end with a resistive the power amp. This is a typical move for Yamaha, where
tail and an op-amp (a much better than average last year's breakthrough is gone with the next model.
NJM5532). We see a cost reduction from the A-809, Remember the ALA circuit, the Hyperbolic Conversion
which had a dc servo and a current source tail. It takes a Amplification circuit, the X amplifier, the Linear Transfer
strip 0.7 dB wide to contain the RIAA equalization error. Bias circuit, the Extended Rolloff Equalizer, the all-
Things are flat from 30 Hz to 1 kHz, but then a 0.5 dB rise MOSFET power amplifier, Auto Class A, and the ever
occurs, topping out at 12 kHz. Channel matching was popular Zero Distortion Rule circuit?
very good at better than 0.1 dB. The NJM op-amp shows The gain of the power amp has been changed from
its stuff in the distortion test. The phono distortion is 28 dB to 36 dB because the preamp gain has been low­
noise-dominated at all frequencies, with a minimum read­ ered, as we shall see below. The power amp is otherwise
ing of-78 dB at clipping. The clipping occurs at 8 V rms identical to that of the AX-570, except for a major cost-
output (measured at tape out). cutting move. The bias trim pot has been replaced with a
The input selector is shaft-driven, but the switch two-position jumper. In the AX-570 the trim pot was
does not look to be of very high quality. The recording adjusted to keep the bias current within 40% of the nom­
selector is connected by a ribbon cable and it looks worse. inal value. The jumper allows for a 20 to 1 variation. The
The RCA jacks have gold grounds but their hot side does result was a significant worsening of distortion perfor­
not. PC boards are single-sided. The volume control is mance. It still meets the specs but performance was now
very nice and metal oxide resistors are used in the power average at best. The high dynamic distortion was a telltale
amp (smiley face goes here). sign that a bias trim was in order, but with this amp it was
Overall, the A-9911 is a little pricey, especially con­ impossible to do. Distortion into 8Ω reaches a minimum
sidering it does not have a remote, but it can still be rec­ of -95 dB with a 20 Hz input but is already 1 dB higher
ommended. One is again forced to note, however, that the with 1 kHz. With signs of dynamic distortion at such a
model's predecessor (A-809) looks to be the better unit. relatively low frequency, we expect and get much worse
The cheaper A-9711 discussed above appears to give up results at 20 kHz. There the distortion starts to exceed
little to the A-9911 and adds a remote control. It may noise at an output of 50 mW! It gets as low as -84 dB at
actually be the better deal in the current Onkyo integrated 30 watts, then slowly goes back up to -80 dB at the onset
lineup, but we have not tested it. of clipping. The amp puts out 140 watts before it clips.
Into a 4Ω. load clipping occurs at 210 watts, with distor­

Yamaha AX-592 tion running 2 to 3 dB worse across the board. What is

amazing is that despite the misbiasing, this power ampli­
fier topology is still producing less distortion than any
Yamaha Electronics Corporation, USA, 6660 Orangethorpe
Avenue, Buena Park, CA 90620. Voice: (714) 522-9105. Fax: other amp in this issue save the Marantz MA700.
(714) 670-0108. Web: www.yamaha.com. AX-592 integrated PowerCube results were more encouraging.
stereo amplifier with remote control, $499.00. Tested sample on Dynamic power into 8Ω was 36 V rms (163 W) with a
loan from manufacturer. resistive load and 37 V rms (171 W) with a highly reac­
tive load. The good protection circuit of the AX-570 was
Shortly after the review of the AX-570 appeared in retained and works well. Into 4Ω the voltage drops slight­
the last issue, this revised version of that design was ly to 32.6 V (266 W) with a resistive load and is again a
released by Yamaha. From an external view it looks like little higher with reactive loads. Into a resistive 2Ω. load
a cosmetic update. Speaker connectors that have EEC the voltage has dropped to 26.8 V rms (360 Watts) and
approval are at the rear. There are two types of connec­ again rises slightly higher into ±30° reactive loads. The
tors. For Speakers A we get plastic push-in connectors on 2Ω./600 results do show a drop in voltage as the protection
steroids that are not fun to use. Speakers B get banana circuit starts to activate. Into a 2Ω/600 inductive load,
jacks with spacing such that you can no longer connect 20.5 V rms (210 W) is all the protection circuit would
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 39

pdf 38
 allow. Into 1Ω/0° the voltage has dropped to 19.6 V rms. board as the volume control, with virtually no intercon­
The protection circuitry would allow only 11.5 V rms into nect wiring. The result was exceptional channel separa­
a lΩ/±30° load, and 8.2 V rms is all it would allow into a tion. Now the volume control and the amplifier are on dif­
0
1Ω./60 inductive load. Overall a very impressive ferent boards, with lots of wiring, including a trip up to
PowerCube for a $499 integrated amplifier—it could that CD Direct switch. Guess what happened to the chan­
make some four-figure high-end power amps blush. All of nel separation. It is no better than 85 dB and it decreases
the foregoing power-amp measurement results apply only at 20 kHz to 40 dB. Switching to CD Direct does nothing
to the unit's high-voltage supply-rail setting. A new to help things—as expected, since the high-impedance
switch on the back of AX-592 allows you to lower the rail signal at the output of the volume control still goes
settings for use with low-impedance loads. I suspect this through lots of wiring and switches. We did see the 0.4 dB
is another EEC safety move. Power drops to 70% of the level difference between normal and CD Direct modes, a
values reported above, but the protection circuit allows direct result of the different gains of the two amplifiers.
this full power into 2Ω/±60° loads and lΩ/±30° loads. That is just the right number to make people think they
Bring on those high-end loudspeakers with their killer are hearing a quality difference in CD Direct, even though
impedances! And if you live in Europe and need more it is just a gain change. Frequency response with the tone
power, try the AX-892. It has different output devices, controls bypassed is flat to 1 kHz and then rolls off to -0.3
bigger heat sinks, a different transformer, and different dB at 20 kHz. That rolloff may be a result of the higher
main power-supply filter caps but is otherwise identical to gain setting in the power amp. Put the tone controls in and
the AX-592.We will not be testing it because it is not things get lumpier, with the response moving from -0.2
available in the U.S. dB at 20 Hz up to 0 dB at 50 Hz, then down to almost -0.2
The preamp has undergone significantly more dB at 300Hz before going back to -0.1 dB at 1kHz.
change than the power amp. A 6-transistor complemen­ The RIAA phono section is unchanged from the
tary discrete amplifier is connected directly to the CD AX-570. The less good channel had an equalization error
inputs and provides a gain of 11 dB. Why anybody would running from —0.2 dB at 200 Hz up to +0.3 dB at 20 kHz.
want to do this is unclear, since this very simple little Worst-case interchannel matching was 0.25 dB. No dis­
amplifier will swing 10 V peak if a CD player's maximum tortion above the noise level could be identified below
output is 2 V rms. If you have a CD player with a higher clipping in this phono stage. Noise was about 10 dB lower
output, you could easily clip this amplifier, which lives on in this stage, which uses a discrete bipolar front end, than
14 V supply rails. A new switch called 'CD Direct' routes in the FET-based stages used by the other integrated amps
the signal from the output of this amp directly to the vol­ reviewed here. Of course, the FET-based stages do not
ume control and then from the volume control directly to need an input dc-blocking capacitor, but given the small
the power amp. If you do not activate CD Direct, then you signal size coming into the circuit this would not appear
can select CD on the function selector. In this mode the to be significant.
signals are routed directly from the function selector to Nothing we found in our measurements should
the volume control, and then comes the gain of the 10.4 affect the audible performance of the Yamaha AX-592,
dB line amplifier. (This time a simple NJM2068 op-amp but it is clearly no longer the remarkable performance
with three electrolytic dc-blocking capacitors—in the bargain the AX-570 was. I called the AX-570 the Toyota
input, output, and feedback loop. The discrete CD ampli­ Camry of amplifiers. The AX-592 is more like a Ford
fier dispenses with the feedback cap.) Taurus. It has a prettier face but worse performance when
In the AX-570 the active amplifier was on the same you road-test it. ·

How to Be a Sophisticated Audiophile (continued from page 17)

some useful information on the subject in this issue, but ularly amusing is that none of the passion that goes into
with our sparse publishing schedule we are unlikely to audiophile debates about nonissues like, say, CDs versus
have all the answers when you need them. Tread careful­ vinyl is evident on the subject of FM reception, which is
ly on this ground. a genuine issue affecting most home music systems.
Speaking of CDs, I haven't run into a truly bad CD
FM, DACs, and Whatnot player for years. Of course, I haven't tested anything
One area of audio electronics where the differences under $400. There are huge differences in the DAC chips
are not only major but unrelated to price is FM. The engi­ as well as in the various op-amps in the signal path, but
neering of tuners, and of the tuner sections of receivers, the players that measure only so-so also do an audibly
covers the gamut from el cheapo to very impressive—and impeccable job. Sorry, vinyl diehards, but in today's
not at all in the ascending order of price tags. The FM arti­ audio world the CD rules. (I haven't tested a sufficient
cles and 10 tuner reviews in Issues No. 23 and No. 24 number of DVD/CD players to make such a sweeping
should steer you in the right direction. What I find partic- (continued on page 72)
40 THE AUDIO CRITIC

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 An Alphabet Soup of
Electronics: AV, DVD, CD, FM,
THX, AC-3, DTS (all A-OK)
By Peter Aczel, Editor and Publisher
and
David A. Rich, Ph.D., Contributing Technical Editor

More channels, more complexity, more stuff to buy, more money.

The surprising thing is how good most of it is, despite the hype.
Editor's Note: The electronic circuitry we are dealing as you would obtain with a separate AV controller/processor
with here falls into three basic categories: analog signal and five outboard power-amplifier channels. The state­
paths, A/D and D/A conversion, and digital signal pro­ ment, if actually voiced and then interpreted literally, is
cessing (DSP). We are accustomed to testing the first two; disputable (how about, say, a Lexicon DC-1 with a
the third cannot be tested under our usual protocols. DSP Bryston 9B ST?), but the fact remains that the needs of
involves computer chips (CPU's) and algorithms; the lat­ even a rather demanding home-theater enthusiast are
ter vary from brand to brand and designer to designer quite nicely served by this well-thought-out and THX-
even when the audio format (say, Dolby Digital) is the certified piece of equipment. The only thing missing is
same; and the discipline of evaluating the end result is far DTS, not exactly a disaster. Interestingly, a lot of flagship-
from routine, not to mention time-consuming. Most review­ type high-powered AV receivers appear to be priced at
ers do it unscientifically, by the seat of their pants. One $2800 (B&K, Onkyo, etc.). So far, this is the only one to
exception is David Ranada, whose infrequent test reports come our way. I understand that an improved/updated
in Stereo Review on DSP-intensive equipment are quite AVR-5700, this time with DTS and other goodies, is in
exhaustive and authoritative. We are refraining herefrom the pipeline.
making any statements about the DSP sections of AV The AVR-5600 accommodates 11 program sources
equipment that we cannot back up with laboratory test and every extant surround format except, as I said, DTS.
data. Our educated guess is that so far none of the equip­ The source and format are clearly displayed on the TV
ment is capable of totally transparent DSP, in the sense screen, not only on the front-panel readout. The volume
that a stereo line stage, for example, can be totally trans­ level is indicated in glowing red numbers on the front
parent to analog signals. As the technology matures, we panel. A very explicit AC-3 channel indicator on the front
can expect a convergence toward transparent solutions. panel is a particularly nice feature. The remote control is
(David Rich's comments on the special problems of highly versatile and easy to use. Hooking up an AV sys­
AV/DSP testing appear within the individual reviews.) tem is a cinch because of the well-integrated design.
The power amplifiers, as measured in the direct
mode at 23-times gain (00 display), are low in distortion
AV Surround Receiver but could be lower. The THD + N curves are not entirely
Denon AVR-5600 noise-dominated. Into 80 the 1 kHz curve bottoms out at
-87 dB and 45 watts, the 20 Hz curve at -85 dB and 38
(Reviewed by Peter Aczel and David Rich) watts, the 20 kHz curve at -78 dB and 7 watts (dynamic
Denon Electronics, a division of Denon Corporation (USA), 222 distortion). The THD gently rises after these minima;
New Road, Parsippany, NJ 07054. Voice: (973) 575-7810. Fax: maximum output just before clipping is approximately
(973) 808-1608. Web: www.denon.com. AVR-5600 AV surround 160 watts at all frequencies. Into 4Ω the curves have
receiver, $2800.00. Tested sample on loan from manufacturer. almost the identical profile at proportionately higher out­
put; clipping occurs in the vicinity of 280 watts. The
The tacit statement made by Denon's flagship AV small-signal frequency response of the power amps in the
surround receiver is that you can have it all on one chas­ direct mode is -0.3 dB at 20 Hz and 30 kHz, a bit more
sis and still enjoy the highest level of performance, such rolled off than the best; with the controls in the signal path
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 41

pdf 40
a saddle appears: +0.3 dB at 170 Hz, +0.1 dB at 5 kHz. in the CMOS selector switch. This expensive approach
Channel separation between the front left and right power reduces distortion in comparison with using a resistor to
amps at lW/8Ω is 53 dB at 20 kHz, increases at 6 dB per drive the CMOS switch directly. Good-quality NJM2068
octave to 88 dB at 90 Hz, and drops back to 81 dB at 20 op-amps are used in most of the signal paths, but even
Hz. That's very good for a crowded chassis. Switching the better-quality NJM5532's pop up in some of the L and R
controls into the signal path has only a tiniest effect on signal paths. The ADC is an oversampling Nyquist A/D
these figures; that's even better. converter (PCM 1760) from Burr-Brown. A separate
The PowerCube of the power amps paints a fairly DF1760 does the decimation. Denon is apparently aller­
decent picture. All reactive loads draw a slightly higher gic to delta-sigma ADCs and DACs. DSPs are the Zoran
voltage than the corresponding resistive loads, as they ZR38500 and Motorola DSP56004. That sounds impres­
should. Dynamic power into 8Ω/4Ω/2Ω/1Ω. resistive loads sive, but since I have no knowledge of how they are pro­
is 212W/338W/398W/283W (41.2V/36.8V/28.2V/16.8V). grammed, I have no way of telling if they do anything
Not the ultimate in current capability but far from bad. nasty to the signal. Remember, with a different software
The analog circuitry of the preamp section also program the same DSPs might be in a smart telephone or
yields decent measurements. At maximum gain (16.4 dB, a guided missile. To control things, the receiver has three
6.6 times) in direct mode, the CD-in/pre-out distortion microcontrollers (if you include the one in the remote).
curves bottom out at -81 dB, and the clipping point is 9 The AC-3/RF demodulator looks about as complex as the
volts. At unity gain, the lowest distortion at all frequen­ FM tuner. DACs are Burr-Brown PCM69's (lowest
cies occurs at 1.2 volts and measures -84 dB. The MM grade). This is the same DAC you get in the $999 AVR-
phono-in/tape-out distortion also bottoms out at around 3200 and it performs like a DAC from a $200 CD player.
-80 dB, regardless of frequency, with 6 volts maximum This cost-cutting move is a performance killer.
output before clipping. RIAA equalization error is ±0.2 dB. NPC5841's drive the DACs. I/V conversion and recon­
On the other hand, the D/A converter measurements struction filtering is done by two op-amps.
are a bit on the shabby side. Coax-in/pre-out frequency Rear, center, and the . 1 channel go to a digital vol­
response is -0.6 dB at 20 Hz (otherwise flat). Full-scale ume control formed with two op-amp stages and a Sanyo
distortion of the DAC is -85 dB in the midrange and wild­ digital potentiometer (two pots per channel). The left and
ly fluctuating above 3 kHz (don't even ask the numbers). right get better treatment. The output of the DAC recon­
With the digital input reduced to a less brutal -20 dB, the struction filter or the analog signal from the analog input
DAC still looks like a 15-bit job. Low-level linearity error selector (if you are in direct analog mode, in which case
is -3.2 dB (!) at the -90 dB level in one channel, -1.0 dB you had better have full-range speakers because the .1 out­
in the "better" channel. The "Rob Watts test" (FFT spec­ put gets killed) enters a single-ended-to-differential con­
trum of a dithered 1 kHz tone at -60 dB) reveals more verter. The digital volume control is implemented differ­
than trivial odd-order harmonics all the way up to 9 kHz. entially. Essentially, this is two of the stages used for the
—Peter Aczel center and rear channels working for one channel. After
• • • the digital volume control, differential-to-single-ended
This unit is essentially similar to the much cheaper conversion is performed. The use of balanced volume
AVR-3600. That one has no fan, a cheaper ADC, one less controls reduces distortion from the monolithic digital
DSP (bass management becomes an analog thing), no potentiometers. Balanced signal paths will also allow you
tone controls for the center and the .1 channel. Going to become a card-carrying member of the high-end audio
down to another level to the AVR-3200 brings us to a very club. Relay switching of the cheap analog tone controls
different design that is clearly targeted at a different mar­ also lets you keep the card. The rear channels solve the
ket segment. tone-control defeat problem in a different way. No tone
The tuner front end of the AVR-5600 is mystery controls are in the signal path. I have no idea why. Note
meat. The IF strip consists of one transistor and two fil­ that with the tone controls defeated, there is not a single
ters. The limiter/demodulator and multiplex decoders are mechanical switch or pot in the signal path.
separate Sanyo chips—things could be a little worse but What's not from the high-end club is the power
not much. If you want good FM from anything but the amp. A differential pair with resistive biasing and load
local rock station, expect to add on a separate tuner. As drives a second diff pair with resistive biasing and an
Denon's David Birch-Jones points out, that is actually the active load. This drives the one set of predrivers, and then
only way to go, since all the digital noise inside an AV it is on to the single output devices, which one assumes
receiver makes putting a high-performance tuner inside are some form of composite device in a single package,
impossible. On the other hand, the high-end AV receiver given the power this unit can sink. While this sounds
from Onkyo we looked at in Issue No. 23 had a more about as simple as you can get, Denon knows how to
complex, better performing tuner than this Denon. make things even simpler in the AVR-3200. The AVR-
Analog input selection gets the deluxe treatment. 5600 amplifier swings a lot of voltage but not much cur­
Every input is buffered by an op-amp to prevent latchup rent into low-impedance loads. The current limiter is
42 THE AUDIO CRITIC

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slightly touchy and may be responsible for the lower out­ but the error correction of the player is just as good as that
put numbers into the 1Ω. load. Distortion performance is of the Sony DVP-S7000 according to the new Digital
consistent with the power amp design. The power amps Recordings test disc. (Both are good; neither is perfect.)
live in a very crowded part of the neighborhood inside the Gain linearity is error-free (±0.0 dB) down to the lowest
receiver, and that may be responsible for some of the levels, well below -100 dB, a Japanese near certainty
dynamic distortion. Denon knows how to do better, but these days. Quantization noise is -94.7 dB (good but not
you have to pay more. Their POA-8200/8300 power amp the best); dynamic range is 97 dB (close to the best). The
gives you five nice, if pricey, 120-watt channels that are FFT spectrum of a dithered 1 kHz at -70 dB (modified
better engineered than those of the AVR-5600 and have "Rob Watts test") shows a definite 7.5 kHz glitch, 15 dB
none of the tweaky aspects of Denon's two-channel stuff high, rising out of a bin-by-bin noise floor of -127 dB.
(no MOSFETs here). That's a tad short of squeaky-clean. The monotonicity
—David Rich pattern is slightly more irregular than the best I've seen
but still OK.
Bottom line: if I had no other DVD player than the
DVD Video Player Denon DVD-3000 I would live with it quite happily,

Denon DVD-3000 without significant complaints, but at this point in its

model life I wouldn't go out and buy it. I would wait for
(Reviewed by Peter Aczel) the next generation.
Denon Electronics, a division of Denon Corporation (USA), 222
New Road, Parsippany, NJ 07054. Voice: (973) 575-7810. Fax:
(973) 808-1608. Web: www.denon.com. DVD-3000 DVD video Digital Surround Processor/Controller
player, $899.00. Tested sample on loan from manufacturer.
Lexicon DC-1
This is only the second DVD player to come into (Reviewed by Peter Aczel)
my life; the first was the Sony DVP-S7000 reviewed
Lexicon, Inc., a Harman International Company, 3 Oak Park,
below. The Denon is "second generation" and very nice, Bedford, MA 01730-1441. Voice: (781) 280-0300. Fax: (781)
but I see nothing on the screen when I play DVDs that 280-0490. E-mail: info@lexicon.com. Web: www.lexicon.com.
would make me rank it above the first-generation Sony. DC-1 digital controller (THX/Dolby Digital/DTS version),
The menus are perhaps a little less confusing but barely; $4995.00. LDD-1 RF demodulator for laser disc AC-3 output,
the construction is definitely more flimsy for only $101 $699.00. Tested samples on loan from manufacturer.
less; there is onboard 5.1 decoding/outputting which no
one with an even moderately sophisticated home-theater There are DC-l's and there are DC-l's. It's like a
front end is likely to use; there is component-video output Detroit car; you load it up with options on the salesman's
but that's expected at this price. My quick take on this order sheet. The stripped-down "base" version costs only
product is that that Denon just had to have such a unit in $1995.00 and lacks THX, Dolby Digital (AC-3), and DTS
the line, so they OEM'd this one from Matsushita (a very facilities. The over-the-top version, which is the subject
respectable source) while getting ready to launch their of this far from exhaustive review, costs almost three
"reference" DVD-5000 ($2500). The latter should be the times as much (if you include the outboard RF demodu­
moment of truth for Nippon Columbia's DVD playback lator) and looks exactly the same. Indeed, there is even a
technology; meanwhile I'll just report my measurements vague outward resemblance to the old CP-3 PLUS , re­
of the DVD-3000's CD performance. (Please see the viewed in Issue No. 23. That one already taxed my repor-
Sony DVP-S7000 review below for a brief discussion of torial resources with its profusion of multichannel audio
the limitations of our approach to AV testing.) processing features, but a loaded DC-1 beats it handily.
Frequency response is -0.2 dB at 9 Hz and 20 kHz. A complete technical analysis of the DC-1 a la
Below 150 Hz, THD + N at full scale is about 18 dB (!) David Rich would require detailed circuit schematics and
in excess of the 16-bit theoretical ideal of -98.08 dB, DSP programming information, neither of which we
strangely improving to 5 to 7 dB in the midband. It must have, and take up too many pages of this issue, so I was
be gain-related analog distortion, but I've never before rather relieved that he did not undertake such a project.
seen a worst-case situation at the lowest frequencies rather (It's easier not to unleash David than to rein him in—if I
than higher up. Reducing the digital input level drastically may mix my canine and equine metaphors. Besides, he
results in only 1 dB excess distortion at 1 kHz; however, keeps talking about a floating-point to fixed-point conver­
I couldn't run the test at other frequencies because the sion screwup in the design, which is the scuttlebutt of
Denon player refuses to recognize and play the 99-track DSP engineers he knows and which I don't want to touch
test CD I use for that purpose. It says "no disc" when that with a ten-foot pole until I have a better handle on it and
particular CD is in the drawer—another first in my expe­ can ascertain its existence.)
rience. One would suspect the laser tracking assembly, Suffice it to say that there is no multichannel con-
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 43

pdf 42
 trol unit known to me that will implement more surround- With the digital input only slightly reduced, the excess
sound formats than this version of the Lexicon DC-1. I distortion shrinks to 2.8 dB. The "Rob Watts test" (FFT
counted 24 (but that includes various stereo and mono spectrum of a dithered 1 kHz tone at -60 dB) shows
formats as well). My criticism of the CP-3PLUS must be absolutely no harmonic blips from a bin-by-bin noise
revised for its successor; the DC-1 will do very nicely as floor of-125 dB. Gain linearity is outstanding all the way
the sole control center of just about any home entertain- down to the -100 dB level, with less than 0.2 dB error
ment system, whether the emphasis is on music or video. even below -90 dB.
There are eight analog inputs, five of them with video The most relevant question one can ask about the
(including three S-video), and four digital inputs (two Lexicon DC-1 in this all-out version ($5694.00 with the
coax, two optical). There are outputs for eight audio chan- outboard RF demodulator) is undoubtedly this: Is it just
nels: front left, front right, center, subwoofer, side left, another high-end fantasy product for the moneyed
side right, rear left, rear right (Lexicon believes in, and audio/videophile, or is it a tool capable of functions that
promotes, 7.1 surround sound). It's much more conve- are not performable at lower cost? I tend to side with the
nient to have the TV on at all times in order to keep track latter point of view. The 7.1 surround capability is just
of all this via the on-screen displays; the front-panel dis- one reason (yes, it sounds better than 5.1). There is the
play is very nice but limited to two lines, wheras the TV Logic 7 encoding/decoding capability, which makes all
screen shows the huge menus in their entirety. (Hey, the formats—mono, 2-channel stereo, Dolby Pro Logic, 5.1
life of an advanced AV enthusiast is not an easy one.) Dolby Digital, etc.—forward and backward compatible
Unfortunately, the ergonomically well-designed remote without loss of balance, bandwidth, dynamics, and direc-
control doesn't seem to communicate reliably with the tional cues. There is the uniquely comprehensive bass
menus in a room with fluorescent lighting—be forewarned. management capability (a weakness in nearly all other AV
As you can imagine, the electronics that make all equipment). I could go on but I promised from the start
this versatility possible are extremely complex; maybe that I wouldn't.
only David Griesinger understands every little detail of it; Bottom line: the Lexicon DC-1 is clearly in the
I certainly don't. All I know is that entirely new chips audio/video vanguard of the digital era; I only wish the
may appear in the DC-1 at any time during its production price would come down as it has in equally complex PCs.
life without a change in the basic model designation or
even the addition of a model suffix—Lexicon believes in FM Tuner
making continuous small improvements undisturbed by
every geeky must-have-the-latest customer. Thus the per- Magnum Dynalab FT-101A
formance of the DC-1 will have to speak for itself. (I also (Reviewed by David Rich)
refer you to David Rich's explanation of why the digital
Magnum Dynalab Ltd., 8 Strathearn Avenue, Unit 9, Brampton,
surround algorithms cannot be critiqued by us; see his
Ont., Canada L6T4L9. Voice: (905) 791-5888 or (800) 551-4130.
review of the Sony STR-DA80ES receiver below.) Fax: (905) 791-5583. E-mail: magdyn@myna.com. Web: www.
That brings me, willy-nilly, to the measurements. In magnumdynalab.com. FT-101A analog FM tuner, $875.00. Tested
my CP-3PLUS review I observed that there appears to be a sample on loan from manufacturer.
-80 dB "stone wall" in the line-level THD + N perfor-
mance of all AV surround electronics. The DC-1 does not After our very satisfying experience with the
break down that wall; with the volume set at 0 dB, the Magnum Dynalab 205 "Signal Sleuth" antenna amplifier,
front left channel reads -80 dB at an output of just over 2 Richard Modafferi and I were expecting good things from
volts (except with a 20 kHz input, which reveals a few dB their complete tuner. Alas, it turns out not to be so. This is
of dynamic distortion, not enough to worry about). a straightforward minimal design using LSI integrated
Frequency response is flat within ±0.1 dB from 20 Hz to circuits from National and Philips and a single-transistor
20 kHz (even with who knows what complexities in the RF stage. The front end has only 4 tuned elements. The
signal path); front left/right channel separation is excel- input network being singly tuned, it came as no surprise
lent: 85 dB at 20 kHz, increasing to 104 dB at 20 Hz, in that the RF overloaded with the 1 V signal on 92.1 MHz
the less good channel. The noise floor of the front left and even with the 0.25-volt signal on 105.7 MHz. These
channel with shorted input is in the 100 nV to 1 µV range stations ruined reception through the bottom third and top
from 20 Hz to 60 kHz, except for a 60 Hz power-supply third of the frequency range, respectively. Adding in the
leak of 4.5 µV. Signal Sleuth does not make things better, since it too
The D/A measurements at 44.1/16 indicate DAC overloads on these big signals.
quality almost on the level of the best CD players and out- Only three ceramic filters are visible in the IF sec-
board D/A processors. At full-scale output the THD + N tion, all three in sockets—perhaps to allow easy "kitting"
reads -91.8 dB across most of the audio spectrum, the of individual filters for best performance. In the narrow
6.28 dB excess distortion above the theoretical ideal of mode selectivity was not good enough for serious DX
-98.08 dB being mostly gain-related analog distortion. reception. Given the poor RF performance, we could not
44 THE AUDIO CRITIC

pdf 43
do any selectivity use tests on the outdoor antenna. indoor antenna can be highly recommend." OK, Magnum
Moving to an indoor ¾-wave antenna revealed that DX Dynalab, we know you can perform RF magic as shown
reception of difficult adjacent-channel signals was still by the 205, and we know that substitution of better IF fil-
not possible because of the insufficient selectivity. Adding ters significantly improves the performance of the FT-
in the Signal Sleuth did not help things much. The killer 101 A. It is time for you to get to work and produce a tuner
test signal on 91.3 MHz was quieter but still had crosstalk of high quality.
from the local on 91.5 MHz. We did get the distant station
in Canada on 105.7 MHz using the combo. (See Issue No. Dolby Digital AV Preamp/Tuner
23, page 58 for more information on the use of these sta-
tions for testing.) In a crazy experiment, having no Marantz AV550
schematics and only guessing what circuitry surrounds (Reviewed by Peter Aczel)
the FT-l0lA's IF filters, Richard tried plugging a Marantz America, Inc., 440 Medinah Road, Roselle, IL 60172-
Mcintosh MR-78 supernarrow filter into each of the three 2330. Voice: (630) 307-3100. Fax: (630) 307-2687. Web:
sockets holding the original ceramic filters of the FT- www.marantzamerica.com. Model AV550 AV preamplifier/tuner,
101 A. It worked on one! Who says you need good imped- $1000.00. Tested sample on loan from manufacturer.
ance matching in RF circuits? The killer signal on 91.3
MHz was received clearly. This is just a capsule review rather than a test report
Not surprisingly, measured performance was noth- with measurements, as my exposure to the AV550 was
ing to write home about, given the unit's parts. THD in somewhat limited. I inserted it into my home theater sys-
the wide mode was poor at -51 dB, and 10 kHz IM dis- tem right after having used the Marantz DP870/AV600
tortion was -64 dB. In the narrow mode things did not get combination and found only improvements from a user
much worse (things are of course not so good to begin standpoint, no disadvantages, despite the lower price.
with, and the narrow mode is by no means narrow). THD One reason was that the convenient on-screen displays
was -49 dB and 10 kHz IM was -60 dB. It will come as are not disabled when the S-video connections are used
no surprise to those of you who followed my tuner for superior color performance. Another was the remote
reviews that the FT-101A uses a quadrature detector. In control that comes with the unit, the supremely versatile
the wide mode, channel separation is 45 dB at 1 kHz, Marantz RC2000 Mark II learning remote (also avail-
dropping to 35 dB at 10 kHz. In narrow mode, the 1kHz able separately). I change audio and video components in
and 10 kHz channel separation is 35 dB. The folks at my system too often to make the programming of an all-
Magnum Dynalab have asked us to make you aware that in-one remote worthwhile, but this one does it better than
we adjust the signal generator carrier frequency for mini- any other in my experience. Bass management is also
mum distortion. They point out that in frequency-synthe- quite sophisticated with the AV550.
sized tuners this is not fair, since there is no way to make The negatives, in case they matter to you, are a very
small changes in center frequency at the tuner. No way rudimentary AM/FM tuner, no THX (just the Lucasfilm
except with their tuner, since it is not frequency-synthe- Cinema Re-EQ feature), no DTS, no tone-control bypass.
sized. The tuning knob is in reality a variable power sup- For $1K this is not a bad deal.
ply that drives the varactor directly. The frequency dis-
play comes from a frequency counter. Of course, this sys-
tem is subject to drift, and modern frequency-synthesized Mono Power Amplifier
tuners have spacing as small as 5 kHz, making the prob-
lem almost moot. Then again Yamaha solves the problem Marantz MA700
nicely by using a combination of PLL synthesis and an (Reviewed by Peter Aczel)
advanced form of AFC. Marantz America, Inc., 440 Medinah Road, Roselle, IL 60172-
To end on a happier note, I should report some new 2330. Voice: (630) 307-3100. Fax: (630) 307-2687. Web:
use-test data Richard Modafferi obtained on the Magnum www.marantzamerica.com. Model MA700 mono power amplifi-
Dynalab 205 Signal Sleuth. Richard was not involved in er, $500.00 each. Tested samples on loan from manufacturer.
the original test of the 205, but we sent it to him with the
FT-101A on the assumption that the best results might In Issue No. 22,1 canonized the Marantz MA500 as
occur when the two units were paired. After the FT-101A the best moderately priced power amplifier known to me.
turned out to be no bargain, Richard tried the 205 with his The MA700 is similar in format—a self-contained single-
Mcintosh MR-78 reference tuner and an indoor vertical channel amplifier on a deep and narrow chassis with a
antenna. He reports he was able to receive the killer test small frontal area—but bigger, more powerful, and not
signal on 91.3MHz. He reports "the performance of the quite as conveniently slim. It costs 67% more; the ques-
205/indoor-vertical combination was pretty amazing, as it tion is, does it give you 67% more value? I think so, and
was used in a ground-level room inside an aluminum- David Rich seems to agree with me; he loves the circuit.
sided house. Use of the 205 to enhance reception on an He calls it "an excellent design with no tweako cultist
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 47

pdf 44
 practices." The circuit analysis that follows is David's; It needs to be added that the amplifier is THX cer­
the measurements are mine. tified, has an input level control with a calibration mark
An NPC2068 wired as a unity-gain buffer is at the for the THX reference level of 1 V, and is compatible with
input of the MA700. The first stage of the main power the Marantz remote control system (which requires a
amplifier is a JFET-based differential pair with resistive Marantz preamplifier or integrated amp).
loads. The JFETs are cascoded with bipolar devices. The David Rich points out that the topology of the
second stage is another differential pair, this time all- MA700 is rather similar to that of the Marantz Model 15
bipolar with current-mirror loads. The differential devices of the 1960s (who else would have noticed?). Of course,
are cascoded, but the current-mirror devices are not. there are significant differences—the Model 15 did not
Compensation is by dual Miller capacitors. The VBE mul­ have the cascodes; its output transistor protection consist­
tiplier used to bias the output stage is part of this second ed of a lightbulb in series with the transistor's collector
gain stage. Two complementary pairs of bipolar emitter-fol­ (hey, it worked!); and its output stage was a common-
lower predrivers drive the final bipolar output stage, emitter-common-collector composite. It also employed
which is composed of triply paralleled devices. what was an early but apparently effective approach to
The amplifier is protected by a TA7317 device that reducing crossover notch distortion. A seminal design of
monitors output voltage and current flow. This IC is part the legendary Sid Smith, the Model 15 became possible
of an unusually comprehensive protection system. It is when Motorola introduced high-quality complementary
tied into a microcontroller that also monitors amplifier bipolar output devices in 1966. Sid Smith, who had
temperature, the presence of dc in the signal path, and designed great tube amps, further proved his greatness as
output level. The micro can choose to reduce the power- a designer by moving on to superior output devices as
supply voltage level to the output by activating a relay soon as they became available. He did not suffer from
that switches transformer taps—or, if it gets really unhappy, tube nostalgia. David Rich also reminds us that "the very
it can pull the plug (literally open the relay in series with forgettable Marantz Model 16 was designed after Smith
the power line). The protection system can also choose to had left the company." I must add that today's Marantz
mute the input signal or disconnect the speaker load from bears no relationship, in ownership or engineering staff,
the amplifier. to the Marantz of the Sid Smith era and that the MA700
One interesting feature of the MA700 is that the represents today's medium-priced state of the art as a
power supply for the voltage amplification section is result of a new and unrelated amplifier culture there.
taken from a voltage doubler circuit that uses the power
supply of the output devices as the base voltage. This
gives the voltage amplification section lots of headroom Dolby Digital Processor
to work with, resulting in more linear operation.
The measurements confirmed the good impressions
Marantz DP870
made by the circuit design. Frequency response devia­
(Reviewed by Peter Aczel)
tions from dead flat at 1W/8Ω are -0.1 dB at 10 Hz, -0.07 Marantz America, Inc., 440 Medinah Road, Roselle, IL 60172-
dB at 20 kHz, and -0.5 dB at 85 kHz. Channel separation 2330. Voice: (630) 307-3100. Fax: (630) 307-2687. Web:
is, of course, virtually infinite with the monoblock con- www.marantzatnerica.com. Model DP870 Dolby Digital
truction. THD + N into 8Ω. appears to be essentially noise- processor, $600.00. Tested sample on loan from manufacturer.
dominated at all frequencies, with minima varying
between -94 dB and -97 dB just before the 200-watt clip­ The Marantz AV600 nondigital AV surround pre­
ping level. Into 4Ω, there is a bit of dynamic distortion; amplifier/tuner was reviewed in Issue No. 23 and is still
the 20 kHz minimum is -84 dB, whereas at lower fre­ in the Marantz line. The DP870 digital processor became
quencies the minima are in the -92 dB to -95 dB range, available somewhat later to add Dolby Digital (AC-3)
all immediately before the clipping level of 350 watts. I capability to the AV600 or any similarly configured AV
would call that awesome performance in a $500 power equipment.
channel. I also checked the absolute noise floor with the There is little to report here except that the DP870
input shorted; it was in the 5 µV to 75 µV range all the is easy to set up and performs as intended. The difficulty
way up to 200 kHz, except in the two octaves from 10 Hz of critiquing DSP algorithm implementation is explained
to 40 Hz, where it dropped to the 420 nV to 4 µV range. elsewhere in this issue. I did, however, measure the DAC
Again, I would call that quiet. in the processor, as it is an important component of the
The PowerCube looked equally excellent, showing digital system.
dynamic power of 318 W (50.4 V) into 8Ω/0°, 542 W Through the optical input, the THD + N measure­
(46.6 V) into 4Ω/0°, 827 W (40.7 V) into 2Ω/0°, and 793 W ments at 44.1/16 across the audio spectrum indicate from
(28.2 V) into 1Ω/0°. Into ±30° and ±60° loads the output 13 dB to 23 dB excess distortion at full scale above the
went slightly up in each and every instance, exactly as it theoretical minimum of-98.08 dB. That's awful, and not
should. What more can you ask for at this price? all of it is gain-related analog distortion because at no fre-
48 THE AUDIO CRITIC

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quency can the excess distortion be lowered to less than How can a Hyundai be better than a Lamborghini? Well,
10.6 dB simply by reducing the digital input. What we in the delirious world of consumer audio, it can be and in
have here is cost cutting on the DACs. Gain linearity is this case is.
not too bad but no more than fair: 0 dB error at -70 dB, Of course, the only way I can deal with the credi-
+0.25 dB error at -80 dB, +0.6 dB error at -90 dB. Even bility issue is to give you my test results. They won't con-
the frequency response through the optical input droops vince the brainwashed ignoramuses who believe that the
to -0.13 dB at 10 kHz and -0.4 dB at 20 kHz. best-sounding equipment can never be the one with the
Don't misunderstand the above figures, however. I best measurements, but then it has always been difficult to
seriously doubt that they impose any limitation on the fight voodoo with science. Here are the measurements:
transparency of the audio, which in AV country is almost Frequency response, at 1 V output, 10 Hz to 70
certainly dependent on the DSP algorithms. kHz, ±0.0 dB, rolling off to -0.2 dB at 200 kHz (I cannot
measure accurately below or above that band). Channel
Line-Level Preamplifier separation, at 1 V output, 105 dB or better from 20 Hz to
2 kHz and 98 dB or better from 2 kHz to 20 kHz. Noise
Morrison ELAD floor, with inputs shorted and gain at maximum, 0.2 µV or
(Reviewed by Peter Aczel) lower from 10 Hz to 1 kHz, 0.8 µV or lower from 1 kHz
Morrison Audio, 334 King Street East, Toronto, Ont., Canada
to 20 kHz, 3.3 µV or lower from 20 kHz to 200 kHz. Best
M5A 1K8. Voice: (416) 362-0523.. Web: www. surpher.com/MOR- of all, THD + N at the maximum output of 10 V is -100
RISON. ELAD line-level preamplifier, $590.00 (direct from dB (0.0010%) at nearly all frequencies, rising to -97 dB
Morrison). Tested sample on loan from manufacturer. (0.0014%) at 20 kHz. Into a 600-ohm load maximum out-
put drops to 9 V, with no other change in performance.
What is the worst nightmare of the high-end audio These figures have never been surpassed individually in
fraternity? A clearly better audio product at a much lower my testing experience and never equaled in combination.
price. Yes, there is a story here, with a moral of great The Morrison ELAD is the most nearly perfect line-level
poignancy. preamp known to me.
The story began in Massachusetts in 1992, at the Now, it must be pointed out that the unit has two
laboratories of Analog Devices, where a gifted engineer volume controls, one for each channel, in lieu of a sepa-
by the name of Scott Wurcer had just developed a new IC rate balance control, and that definitely helps the channel
op-amp featuring phenomenally low distortion and noise separation. There are only two inputs, selected by a tog-
at audio bandwidths. David Rich, in Issue No. 18, almost gle switch; a second toggle switch mutes the two avail-
immediately called the audiophile community's attention able outputs. That's about all there is to the preamp—
to this veritable God's gift to the preamplifier designer, minimalism at its most intense. There are two small gen-
the AD797. And what happened? Little or nothing. I don't uflections to the blessed high-end sacraments, however.
know how many AD797's were sold to manufacturers of One is the separate power-supply chassis; the other is the
professional audio equipment (microphone preamps, absence of a power on/off switch. To me only the latter is
mixing consoles, etc.), but I do know that the consumer a minor irritation, since the sum of the two chassis is still
audio industry responded with a big yawn. I became smaller than one conventional preamp. That separate
aware of one application, by Theta, in an otherwise undis- small power-supply chassis is actually quite heavy as a
tinguished midpriced outboard DAC, but that was about result of serious overdesign, and the metalwork is also of
it. The Krells and Mark Levinsons and Audio Researches a heavy gauge, so that the visual impact is "rather agri-
of the high-end mafia obviously didn't want to have any- cultural, don't you know," as a London audio salesman
thing to do with a lowly op-amp chip, even if it could do once remarked to me about some other equipment.
circles around their golden-ear-approved topologies. Why Compact agricultural, that is. The rugged XLR plugs on
do it the easy way when the hard way works so well for us? the power-supply cable reinforce the impression.
Years passed. I suppose Analog Devices found a One interesting feature of the preamp is that the cir-
market for the AD797 because it remained in the line. cuitry designed around the AD797's is potted, to foil the
Then, finally! Circa 1996-97, Don Morrison of one-man untutored modifiers. There is some careful engineering in
Morrison Audio, located in the area that is the Florence there, including a second stage of regulation, and the
of today's Canadian audio Renaissance, had an inspired extraordinary performance is almost certain to go to pot
idea. Let's design a simple line-level preamp/control unit in the wake of some know-it-all tweak's soldering iron.
around the AD797 and freak out the high-end cultists. What do you give up when you pay only $590 for a
(The idiocies of the latter are the subject of Don's favorite state-of-the-art line stage? Remote control, for one thing
anecdotes—see also "Box 978" in this issue—so I think I (a TV carryover, no big deal in audio). Lots of inputs, for
can get away with ascribing to him such a motivation.) another, but an inexpensive outboard switching box can
The result was higher-than-high-end performance at a take care of that. And, of course, home-theater AV con-
mid-fi price. The problem that remained was credibility. trols, which are another ballgame altogether. Not much
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 49

pdf 46
else, really. Compare with the $15K Conrad-Johnson the UltraAnalog DAC D20400. All high-end icons. David
ART tube line stage and weep. The C-J's measurable per- Rich's circuit analysis tells me that the S/PDIF decoder
formance is almost obscenely inferior. Only the sancta gets its own ±12 V supply and that each analog section
simplicitas of the faithful makes it "sound better" and also gets its own ±12 V power rails. The DAC has provi-
worth the 25½ times higher price. sions to be powered by two sets of power supplies, and
The poignant moral I referred to at the beginning? Parasound powers it with the two analog supplies. The
To put it as delicately as I can without trivializing the analog section's power comes from its own transformer,
basic issue: the designers of megabuck line-stage circuit- with 6600 µF of capacitance on the unregulated rails. The
ry are playing with themselves and their marketeers are digital section is powered by a separate transformer and
playing with you. has two 5 V regulators. The 6600 µF of capacitance at the
• • • bridge rectifier of the digital power supply is surprisingly
David Rich analyzed the circuit topology of the large, says David. The S/PDIF decoder, digital filter, and
ELAD and sent me the following memo: DAC get one of the digital supplies; all other digital cir-
"The AD797 is wired for 6 dB gain. The amplifier cuits get the other. The switching of digital input signals
is in the noninverting gain configuration with a dc servo is done by relays rather than logic gates, an expensive
circuit formed with a very low offset OP177. No capaci- approach which must be perceived as a method to reduce
tors are in the signal path. I am somewhat worried about jitter. All regulators are in the 78xxCT and 79xxCT fami-
volume-control noise occurring in the future because the ly-
bipolar AD797 does draw dc bias current. A small input The analog stage starts with a passive 3rd-order
coupling cap would have solved the problem. Secondary elliptic filter, complete with series inductor ("what will
regulation is in the box with LT317 regulators. They bring the tweaks think of this?" asks David). The active analog
the externally applied ±22.4 V supplies down to ±16.7 V. stage is formed with the Analog Devices OP275 and an
Near the power supply is another pair of LT317 regulators. added complementary follower output stage. Separate
The unregulated rails are ±27 V. Overall an excellent inverting and noninverting stages are provided to form
design which achieves excellent measured results." the fully balanced output. A relay mutes the output, and a
3rd-order passive network is at the output to remove even
Outboard D/A Converter more RFI energy. David believes this is clearly in
response to EEC rules. It is interesting, he observes, that
Parasound D/AC-2000 the FCC has been relatively lax on this issue, but the
(Reviewed by Peter Aczel) Europeans seem to be really enforcing their laws.
Parasound Products, Inc., 950 Battery Street, San Francisco, The construction of the Parasound is very good.
CA 94111. Voice: (415) 397-7100. Fax: (415) 397-0144. E-mail: The sheet metal is of high quality, and the double-sided
sales@parasound.com. Web: www.parasound.com. D/AC-2000 PC board is stuffed with high-grade components. David
outboard D/A converter, $1995.00. Tested sample on loan from would like to substitute an op-amp of higher performance,
manufacturer. such as the AD797, and goose the analog supply rails up
to ±15 V.
Until now, for some strange reason, we never had a Needless to say, I was pretty eager to measure the
piece of equipment with an UltraAnalog converter in it distortion performance of the fabled UltraAnalog con-
come our way. This is the first one. David Rich, in Issue verter. I was not disappointed. Instead of deluging you
No. 15, pointed out that the UltraAnalog DAC, a hybrid with endless numbers, let me keep things very simple just
circuit, had the lowest guaranteed THD levels of any D/A by specifying the deviation from theoretical perfection,
converter. That was eight years ago, but the pecking order which is -98.08 dB THD + N when the word length is 16
has remained pretty much the same, at least as far as bits. The Parasound comes within 0.5 dB of that, at all
Parasound is concerned. The D/AC-2000 is Parasound's frequencies, when the digital input is well below full
"statement" product for the audiophile who can't live scale. With a full-scale input, gain-related analog distor-
without a multi-input D/A processor on a separate chassis. tion enters the picture, but even then the excess distortion
The sleek black box comes with four digital inputs is only 2.4 dB. (With an AD797 and ±15 V analog supply
(coaxial, AES/EBU, Toslink, ST optical) and offers both rails, as David suggests, the 0.5 dB figure would probably
balanced and unbalanced outputs. The front panel has hold even at full scale.) This is as close to texbook-perfect
LEDs to indicate sampling frequency (32 kHz, 44.1 kHz, performance as I have seen, but I must confess that these
48 kHz), HDCD decoding, polarity (right above an invert figures apply only to the better channel in my sample; the
switch), and de-emphasis, in addition to the four input other channel was worse by 2.5 to 3 dB. With a 20-bit
indicator LEDs. Can't ask for much more. word length I measured only about 6 dB lower THD + N
As for the circuit, the S/PDIF decoder is the Ultra- in the better channel, which is more like 17-bit perfor-
Analog AES C003 module, the digital filter is the PMD- mance—but that's exactly what I expected.
100 from Pacific Microsonics, and the D/A converter is Gain linearity with the UltraAnalog converter is as
50 THE AUDIO CRITIC

pdf 47
close perfection as with any delta-sigma DAC I have response at 1W/8Ω: -0. 1 dB at 10 Hz, -0.1 dB at 20 kHz,
measured: 0 dB error down to the -90 dB level, no more -0.45 dB at 50 kHz. Front left/right channel separation:
than 0.25 dB error down to -110 dB. Wow! The "Rob minimum 75 dB (in the 5 to 10 kHz octave), maximum
Watts test" (FFT spectrum of a dithered 1 kHz tone at -60 100 dB (at the lowest frequencies). THD + N into 8Ω:
dB) shows a bin-by-bin noise floor of -126 dB and no basically noise-dominated, 1 kHz minimum -91 dB, 20
harmonic blips whatsoever. Channel separation is out­ Hz minimum -81 dB (cause discussed above above), 20
standing: 117 dB or better at any frequency under 1 kHz, kHz minimum -75 dB (dynamic distortion), all just
still 107 dB at 20 kHz. before clipping at 150 W. THD + N into 4Ω: again basi­
One little peculiarity: the frequency response at full cally noise-dominated, 1 kHz minimum -87 dB, 20 Hz
scale droops by 0.18 dB at 10 kHz and 0.65 dB at 20 kHz. minimum -77 dB (same thing!), 20 kHz minimum -70
Could that be some kind of audiophile tweak? I have no dB (dynamic distortion), all just before clipping at 240 W.
idea. The noise floor with an 8Ω load and inputs shorted fluc­
Be that as it may, I am unaware of any more nearly tuates between 5 µV and 15 µV over the audio range, with
perfect digital equipment than the Parasound D/AC-2000. some minor 60 Hz and 120 Hz peaks.
Into resistive (0°) loads of 8Ω/4Ω/2Ω, the Power-
Cube system measured 200W/350W/339W of dynamic
5-Channel Power Amplifier power (i.e., 40V/37.4V/26V). Into the corresponding

Rotel RB-985 THX reactive loads, the dynamic power dropped slightly at the
2Ω/±30°/±60° test points but was OK at all the others. As
(Reviewed by Peter Aczel) for 1Ω, either resistive or reactive—forget it. The ampli­
Rotel of America, Equity International, Inc., 54 Concord Street, fier cries uncle and shuts down.
North Reading, MA 01864-2699. Voice: (978) 664-3820. Fax: Now these are quite decent results on the whole, but
(978) 664-4109. Web: www.rotel.com. RB-985 THX 5-channel they could be significantly better with some very minor
power amplifier, $1000.00. Tested sample on loan from manu­ changes, such as larger power-supply filter capacitors, the
facturer. slightly more complex RHB-10 topology, and a more
sophisticated protection circuit. Come on, Rotel. Give
Build quality, topology, measurements. That's all Bryston and Mcintosh something to worry about.
there is to the evaluation of a power amp. There is no
mystique, no gestalt, untutored subjective reviewers not­
withstanding. Compact Disc Player
The construction of this plain black box is typical
Rotel. Definitely better than Japanese mainstream but not
Sony CDP-XA20ES
as good as Bryston or Mcintosh. The sheet metal is of (Reviewed by Peter Aczel)
good quality. No push-on connectors are used inside. Sony Electronics, Inc., 1 Sony Drive, Park Ridge, NJ 07656.
Resistors are all metal-film. On the other hand, the small Voice: (201) 930-1000. Fax: (201) 358-4060. Web: www.sony.com.
primary power-supply filter capacitors are inimical to CDP-XA20ES compact disc player with remote control, $750.00.
good THD performance at the lowest frequencies. They Tested sample on loan from manufacturer.
have insufficient energy storage for keeping the power-
supply line ripples to a low enough level. As David Rich The $3000 CDP-XA7ES is still Sony's flagship CD
points out, this is an effect we seldom see in modern player and my top choice when price is no object. (See
power amplifiers and certainly not at this price point. Issue No. 23.) The XA20ES is an attempt by Sony to
As for circuit design, basically the same comple­ make a comparably strong statement with a unit costing
mentary topology can be seen in the 5-channel RB-985 as ¼ as much. The attempt must be called at least a partial
in the 2-channel RB-990BX reviewed in Issue No. 20. success, since the quality/performance difference between
The dual output devices are driven by two stages of emit­ the two players is much smaller than the price difference.
ter followers. Both amplifiers lack emitter followers One feature that Sony is trying to use as a high-end sig-
between the first and second voltage-gain stages; that lack nature to tie the two products together in the mind of the
of isolation of the two stages from each other explains the consumer is the unorthodox disc transport. In both mod-
measured dynamic distortion, according to David Rich. els the laser pickup is fixed and the rotating disc is carried
The very similar but much costlier Rotel RHB-10 (see past it on a moving sled. The mechanism is a little less
Issues No. 21 and 22) includes the extra stage and has robust in the XA20ES; the slightly annoying disc stabi-
considerably lower dynamic distortion. Another small lizer (mislay it—no play) is smaller and lighter; and the
problem of the RB-985 is a current-limit sensor that read circuitry is similar but not identical. David Rich
appears to be a bit touchy, as witnessed by the PowerCube prefers the old Sony G-base transport assembly of the dis-
results. continued X779ES to either version but points out that the
The measurements came out as follows. Frequency overall build quality of the XA20ES is still well above

ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 51

pdf 48
 that of standard Japanese audio components. at 1 kHz and skyrockets to 17 dB at 10 kHz. (It gets even
The digital electronics are functionally similar in worse if the test bandwidth is widened to 80 kHz, but
the senior and junior models but the chips are not the that's not considered realistic by most practitioners.)
same. A single chip combines the digital filter and noise- What's happening here is gain-related analog distortion,
shaped DAC in the XA20ES; it appears to be functional- as indicated by the return to 1 dB excess distortion, or less,
ly equivalent to the corresponding two chips in the across the entire audio range when the digital signal level
XA7ES, but we "do not have details on FIR tap lengths, is reduced to -24 dB. The XA7ES, as my review in Issue
multiplier, data path, and coefficient word lengths to No. 23 stated, did not exhibit more than 1 to 2 dB excess
make a really informed judgment," says David Rich. distortion at any digital level regardless of frequency. Its
David finds the analog circuitry in the XA20ES to analog circuitry is clearly superior to that of the XA20ES.
be a comedown not only from the XA7ES but also—and In other respects the XA20ES is pretty close to per-
perhaps more significantly—from previous Sony CD fection. Quantization noise: -97.9 dB. Dynamic range:
players at this price point. The highly sophisticated dis- 97.9 dB. Channel separation: 102 dB at 16 kHz, increas-
crete regulator for the analog side of the D/A is gone. ing to 124 dB at low frequencies. Frequency response:
Small 7807L and 7907L regulators replace it for the ana- +0.0/-0.1 dB from 10 Hz to 20 kHz. Low-level linearity
log supplies, and a 7805L replaces it on the digital side. error: 0 dB all the way down to -100 dB. FFT spectrum
The analog supply rails are a low ±7 V. The four sub- of a dithered 1 kHz tone at -70.31 dB (modified "Rob
regulators used on the XA7ES are gone, as is the inde- Watts test"): no harmonic blips whatsoever, bin-by-bin
pendent crystal oscillator and its subregulator. The XA20ES noise floor of-127 dB. Pulse response: positive polarity.
uses the oscillator on the digital filter IC. This will result Monotonicity test pattern: slight glitches but no serious
in a clock with more phase noise. The dual transformers anomalies.
of the XA7ES are, not surprisingly, replaced by one, but My conclusion is that the Sony CDP-XA20ES very
that single transformer of the XA20ES is not a cheap one, neatly splits the difference between ultrahigh-end and
as it has four secondaries. Supply capacitors on the ana- standard midpriced CD players. It would be even more
log side have been dropped from 4700 µF to 3300 µF. The attractive if it had been designed with late-'80s/early-'90s
digital side drops by half to a still substantial 6800 µF attention to quality details.
The analog signal path itself follows the same basic
design in the two players, but in the XA20ES the M5238P
and NJM2114 op-amps have replaced the AD712 units. CD/DVD Player
The discrete output stage and the dc servo used in the final
stage of the XA7ES are also gone. The signal flow in both
Sony DVP-S7000
players goes from two single-sided 3rd-order Sallen-and- (Reviewed by Peter Aczel)
Key filters (one for each of the two differential outputs of Sony Electronics, Inc., 1 Sony Drive, Park Ridge, NJ 07656.
the filter) to a differencing amplifier with a lst-order low- Voice: (201) 930-1000. Fax: (201) 358-4060. Web: www.sony.com.
pass response and finally to another 2nd-order Sallen- DVP-S7000 CD/DVD player with RMT-D100A remote control,
and-Key filter. This fixed-level signal is sent to a volume $1199.00. Tested sample on loan from manufacturer.
control to provide the option of a variable output, but the
buffer amp that follows the control in the XA7ES is miss- This was Sony's original all-out, reference-quality
ing from the XA20ES, nor are the balanced outputs of the DVD player, released a little too late to be reviewed in our
XA7ES available on the XA20ES—that whole circuit is last issue and now, in consequence of our dilatory pub-
gone with the wind of simplification. lishing schedule, a little too old to be reviewed as an
Now then, how does all that affect the measure- exciting new item. It was, however, still in the Sony line
ments? (Did I hear some Harleyfied naïf ask how it affects when I last checked, even if labeled "first generation" by
the sound? You need to read some of our back issues, reviewers now that "third generation" is the marketing
guy.) Basically, the XA20ES is a good clean CD player, buzzword. (The new DVP-S7700, with 96/24 DACs and
not quite the equal of the XA7ES in full-scale D/A per- all sorts of other updates, is scheduled to replace it for
formance at the higher frequencies but otherwise quite $200 more.)
comparable to it and—this is a surprise—actually superi- The remarkable thing is that Sony was so far ahead
or in digital error correction. On both the old Pierre Verany of the curve when they came out with the DVP-S7000,
and the new Digital Recordings test discs, the lower- and so intent on including all possible goodies available
priced player did a little better on the error-correction tor- at the time, that I experience absolutely no hankering after
ture tests than the flagship. Of course, both passed the tests the "third generation" when I view a DVD movie on this
that are within the CD standard and some steps beyond. equipment.
The full-scale (0 dB) THD + N of the XA20ES is It must be immediately pointed out that the video
within 1 dB of the theoretical 16-bit limit of-98.08 dB at quality of DVD playback depends not only on the player
the lower frequencies. The excess distortion reaches 2 dB but also on the disc, the decoder/processor, and the TV
52 THE AUDIO CRITIC

pdf 49
monitor, and I have neither the inclination nor the test Hi-Fi VHS VCR
setup to separate those four factors subjectively. I can
make the sweeping statement, however, that the DVDs of Sony SLV-M20HF
recently made motion pictures are distinctly superior in (Reviewed by David Rich)
video quality to any videocassette or laser videodisc Sony Electronics, Inc., 1 Sony Drive, Park Ridge, NJ 07656.
played through the same high-end home-theater system in Voice: (201) 930-1000. Fax: (201) 358-4060. Web: www.sony.com.
my home. Is that due to the specific features of the DVP- SLV-M20HFHi-Fi VHS videocassette recorder, $499.99. Tested
S7000 or the overall superiority of the DVD technology? sample owned by reviewer.
I shall have more authoritative answers to such questions
when we bring our video bench-testing protocol up to the This is absolutely the last item to go into this great-
level of our various audio protocols and do comparative ly delayed issue (the Editor is ready to kill me), but I just
evaluations of DVD players such as we have done with have to tell you about this VCR, which is unlike all oth-
preamps and power amps. (At this point I could not even ers. More precisely, it is almost exactly like all others (see
evaluate the component-video output of the Sony, having Consumer Reports for typical examples) except for two
only coax and S-video inputs on my aging monitor.) very significant differences. One is that it uses the
Meanwhile here are some basic measurements of this Gemstar Guide Plus+ system. This is basically similar to
player's CD performance, which Sony originally the old StarSight Telecast system (Gemstar now owns
announced to be right up there with their best CD-only StarSight), but it is free. (Little banner advertisements
players. Not quite so. appear at the side of the guide display. These pay the cost
The frequency response at full scale is ruler flat of the system.)
from 20 Hz to 15 kHz and -0.1 dB at 10 Hz and 20 kHz. If you are unfamiliar with StarSight, what it and
THD + N at full scale is approximately 8 dB higher across Gemstar do is to give you a complete programming grid
the audio band than the theoretical limit of-98.08 dB (for for all covered stations, running for a number of days (in
16 bits). I'd like to report that this is gain-related analog this instance, two days). Click on any block in the grid
distortion, but it isn't. With the digital input reduced to and you can find out more details about the show. Click
-24 dBFS, there is still 5.7 dB distortion in excess of the on another button and you set up the VCR for taping. Yes,
adjusted theoretical minimum—and that comes from the one click does it! No more VCR guide numbers to type in
DAC, almost certainly. Sony's CD-only players don't do or manual programming menus to fill in. One click does
that. Yes, the gain linearity is absolutely perfect down to it. Of course, the signals you are interested in must also be
the lowest levels, even -100 dB, but I expected that from of interest to Gemstar. They do not cover my local
the Sony "current pulse" D/A conversion system. Mono- (Lehigh Valley) PBS station, nor do they cover the
tonicity is OK with very minor aberrations; de-emphasis Ovation network or BBC America. Gemstar claims the
error is zero; channel separation is in the 100 dB to 134 number of stations that can be covered is limited by the
dB range (depending on frequency and the driven chan- data rate at which data can be sent. If you try to complain
nel); polarity is noninverting; error correction (according that they must start carrying your favorite station at the
to the new Digital Recordings test disc) is about as good expense of some old movie channel, you are told that
as that of the Sony CDP-XA20ES. All in all, a decent since the service is free you have no leverage on them.
result. Unlike the old StarSight system that placed the dig-
A few small quibbles. The menus could be a little ital data signal (in the vertical blanking portion of the TV
more user-friendly. The default setting for the digital out- signals) on PBS carriers, the Gemstar system uses com-
put is PCM, not Dolby Digital (AC-3)—it should be the mon cable stations. Many PBS station were not carrying
reverse, since the player can be assumed to have been the StarSight signal, rendering the system inoperative in
purchased by the consumer mainly for playing movies. If those areas. By determining where on the dial the
there is a temporary power failure or the unit is unplugged Gemstar-carrying cable signals appear, as well as using
for some reason, the 5.1 surround sound is lost until the time cues, the SLV-M20HF Guide Plus+ system figures
user remembers to reprogram. Even more annoying is the out where you live and what cable carrier you are using.
tendency of the player—at least of my review sample—to With this set of information, the Guide Plus+ system fig-
turn itself off in the middle of a program, for no reason. ures out what data should be downloaded to the VCR and
This happened to me three or four times, with different what channels match which network. No six-year-old
DVDs, and I could not figure out what triggered it. The computer genius is required—your grandmother could set
remote control is OK but I have seen ergonomically bet- up the SLV-M20HF because the incredible complexity of
ter ones. the system is transparent to the user.
None of the above imperfections is serious enough On top of the Gemstar guide, Sony also throws in
to be an argument against the basic design. The Sony SmartFile, the second big difference. This is a strip that
DVP-S7000 was state-of-the-art when it debuted and you put on the back of a VCR tape. It contains an induc-
remains a fine machine. tively powered and coupled nonvolatile memory circuit
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 53

pdf 50
that stores data on what is recorded on the tape. That data safety device in case the load impedances get crazy low.
comes from (you guessed it) the Gemstar Guide Plus+. Of The 8Ω setting yields the better numbers in all tests.) The
course, if Gemstar does not track the station, all you get five power amps in the Sony are distinguished by excel­
is the recording time and the station number—which is lent current capability, but they suffer from considerable
why you do not want to purchase the $50 cheaper version dynamic distortion. Into 8Ω. in direct mode, the THD + N
of the SLV-M10HF, which has SmartFile but not the curves are identical (and completely noise-dominated) for
Gemstar Guide Plus+ system. You do not need to put the 20 Hz and 1 kHz signals, bottoming out at -87 dB just
tape in the VCR to view the SmartFile data—just hold the before clipping at 110 watts. The 20 kHz curve parts com­
tape near the inductive coupling pod on the VCR and the pany from the others at 200 mW (!) and reaches a mini­
data appears on the screen. The days of unmarked VCR mum of only -68 dB shortly before clipping at 110 watts.
tapes are gone forever. Unfortunately, the SmartFile strips The distortion curves have almost the identical profiles
cost $2.00 each (more than the VCR tape!). The price is when the impedance selector is switched to 4Ω. and a 4Ω
not out of line with the technology used but it clearly lim­ load is connected, the only difference being 5 to 6 dB
its the use of the system. It is not out of the question that more distortion all around. Small-signal frequency
SmartFile could be the El Cassette of the VCR world. A response is -0.2 dB at 20 Hz, -0.1 dB at 50 kHz, and dead
large price drop for the strips and the use of the technolo­ flat in between; front left/right channel separation is 40
gy by companies other than Sony would be a sign that dB at 20 kHz (not so hot), increasing linearly to 87 dB at
SmartFile is here to stay. 20 Hz (better).
The days of recording the wrong program are now The PowerCube looks very good indeed with the
over. (Yes, even Ph.D. E.E.s do it more often then we will impedance selector at 8Ω. Dynamic power into resistive
admit to.) Long live the Gemstar Guide Plus+ system and (0°) loads of 8Ω/4Ω/2Ω/1Ω is 145W/238W/341W/384W
its embodiment in the Sony SLV-M20HF! (34V/31V/26V/19.6V), showing quite remarkable current
capability for a midpriced receiver. Into reactive loads the
output is slightly higher at each test point, which is the
A V Surround Receiver desired result.

Sony STR-DA80ES The D/A converter measurements show impossibly

high gain-related analog distortion at full scale, but with
(Reviewed by Peter Aczel and David Rich) the digital input reduced the excess distortion relative to
Sony Electronics, Inc., 1 Sony Drive, Park Ridge, NJ 07656. the theoretical 16-bit minimum is an acceptable 6 dB.
Voice: (201) 930-1000. Fax: (201) 358-4060. Web: www.sony.com. Gain linearity, on the other hand, is virtually perfect all
STR-DA80ES Dolby Digital receiver, $1200.00. Tested sample the way down to -100 dB, where the error is still only
on loan from manufacturer. ±0.3 dB. And that's all she wrote.
—Peter Aczel
This is basically the same AV receiver as the top-of- • • •
the-line Sony STR-DA90ESG, but for $400.00 less. What What we have here is a remarkable piece of engi­
you give up are the on-screen readouts (to me that's not neering, given its low price. Judging how well the design
trivial), adjustable DSP parameters, some EQ facilities, has been implemented is impossible, however, with the
and DSS (satellite dish) receiver control. The core hard­ testing methodology I use. The problem is that most of
ware is all the same. the design issues are embedded in software in one of the
The receiver is remarkably well-designed, especial­ three (count them, 3) DSPs that this thing uses. On top of
ly from a per-dollar perspective, and will accommodate that you get two microcontrollers and three custom ASIC
more analog and digital program sources than one would devices that perform the digital interpolation and delta-
expect even in a fairly elaborate AV home system. There sigma D/A conversion. Each ASIC handles two channels.
is a very sexy motor-driven lid that covers/uncovers all Now, the performance of this very complex system comes
the secondary controls, leaving only the essentials down to the nature of (1) the digital hardware—data path
exposed. There are more surround and virtual-surround sizes, coefficient sizes, multiplier rounding and truncation
settings than I would ever want to use, all clearly indicat­ methods, proper use of dither, etc.—and (2) the digital
ed on the front-panel dot-matrix display (as for me, I'm software—are the algorithms robust against clipping? are
strictly a Stereo/Dolby Pro Logic/Dolby Digital person). there any limit cycles or other noises generated due to
Let me cut straight to the measurements then, of which I improper coefficient selection? is nonlinearity introduced
made only some very basic ones, as the receiver was as a result of coding errors? have the digital algorithms
available to me only for a relatively short time. for perceptual decoding been properly implemented
The power amplifiers in the unit incorporate an against the Dolby AC-3 standard? etc.
8Ω/4Ω. impedance selector, for the same reason as the Now there are two ways to determine if this has all
Yamaha AX-592 integrated amplifier reviewed by David been done correctly. One is to have the manufacturer sup­
Rich in this issue. (See his explanation; it's basically a ply complete details on the DSPs and ASICs along with
54 THE AUDIO CRITIC

pdf 51
the source code for the DSPs. Now, even if the manufac- assume this pot is in the signal path because Sony has not
turer were crazy enough to do this core dump of IP (intel- figured out how to do low-distortion digital volume con-
lectual property) for our use, there is no way we could trols (as Denon has) or, more likely, they know that is a
interpret the information (ever try to slog through raw more expensive option so they went with cheap, unreli-
DSP assembly code?) and check for design errors in a rea- able old tech.
sonable period of time. That brings us to the second pos- New tech is found in the power amp, which consists
sible approach, which is to develop novel test signals and of a monolithic voltage-gain-stage IC. This is not such a
protocols to uncover hardware and firmware design errors bad thing even if its main purpose is to save space and
or cost reductions. Since AV systems have a very low pri- cost. The differential-pair front stage gets a real current
ority within my personal range of interests, you are going source and active current-mirror loads. The second gain
to have to look somewhere else for these new tests to be stage consists of a cascoded common-emitter stage with
developed. Luckily, David Ranada of Stereo Review degeneration and even a cascode stage! This stage comes
appears to be up to this challenge, and his reviews are def- out of the chip to drive the output stages through a dis-
initely must reads. crete VBE multiplier and then back on the chip to be ter-
One nice thing about all the digital processing is minated into a current source. The healthy (yes, good
that it gets rid of a lot of analog complexity. Tone con- PowerCube!) output stage is also formed with composite
trols, bass crossover filters, and bass management all hap- structures. All the output devices and predrivers for the
pen in the digital domain. In the future I predict that npn side are in a single package. The pnp side is similar.
everything will happen there, with just a small class D All stages have discrete current-monitoring circuits,
amplifier (or some variant of pulse technology, such as which work quite well judging from the PowerCube. The
delta-sigma modulation) representing the only analog higher-than-normal dynamic distortion may be the result
left. It is possible it could all be boiled down to a pair of of slow lateral pnp devices in the composite voltage-gain
switching transistors per channel and a passive output fil- stage, or it could be the result of second-order effects that
ter. For now there is still some analog to talk about. First, occur when so much circuitry is squeezed into such a
there is a phono stage (many AV receivers leave that out) small space. Although the overall performance of the
based on an M5218 op-amp. The M5218 is also used in DACs and analog components is not state-of-the-art, the
the rest of the analog chain of this unit. You also get the numbers are clearly at least an order of magnitude inside
cheapest tuner Sony knows how to make. They are too the plane of audibility. The power amp can drive difficult
embarrassed to use it in Europe, where they still care loads as well as anything, up to its power limit.Six chan-
about FM, so they remove it and sell this as the TA- nels of this near state-of-the-art stuff, three DSPs, two
V88ES integrated amp over there. microcontrollers, and a nice user interface for $1200—
Analog input switching is by way of a Sanyo isn't progress wonderful? If only I were an AV enthusiast...
CMOS chip. Latchup is prevented the el cheapo way with —David Rich
series 1k resistors. Analog signals get converted by a
CXD8681 A/D converter. Since this is an internal Sony Indoor/Outdoor FM Antenna
design, its operation is a mystery to me as is the
CXD8505 interpolator and DAC chip that performs the Terk FM Pro FM-50
inverse operation. The differential output of the DAC gets (Reviewed by David Rich)
converted to a single-ended signal by the use of three op- Terk Technologies Corp., 63 Mall Drive, Commack, NY 11803.
amp sections. Reconstruction filtering gets done with Voice: (516) 543-1900 or (800) 942-8375. Fax: (516) 543-8088.
another op-amp section. All six signals next go through E-mail: terk@pipeline.com. Web: www.terk.com. FM Pro FM-
another op-amp that functions as a 3-bit volume control. 50 indoor/outdoor FM antenna with Power Injector, $119.95.
The passive part of this circuit is a discrete affair that is Tested sample on loan from manufacturer.
formed with a resistor ladder and bipolar switches.
Everything but left and right also gets finer level adjust- This is a ½-wave dipole in a plastic box that is suit-
ments by way of a Sanyo LC7553 integrated potentiome- able for hanging indoors or out. Also in the box is a well-
ter. One assumes this is for making relative level adjust- designed broadband amplifier with a gain of 11 dB, which
ments. The left- and right-channel signals pass through a is completely bypassed with a remotely controlled relay.
relay which selects between the DACs or the analog sig- The disadvantage of a dipole is that it is directional; thus
nal that came off the Sanyo CMOS input selector. When you have to aim the antenna. Your walls may or may not
you select the analog path, the .1 channel may be deacti- be in the optimum position, and if you have signals com-
vated (it is not clear from the info I have), thus this mode ing from multiple directions you have an even bigger
may be a full-range-speaker-only mode. problem. Hanging it from the ceiling so it can be rotated
All the signals next go into a six-gang (ugh, what is a solution but not one with a high WAF (Wife Approval
mistracking, what reliability problems!) motorized poten- Factor).
tiometer that was old technology before I was born. We The advantage of a dipole is that it will receive hor-
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 55

pdf 52
 izontally polarized signals. FM stations are generally cir­ number of unusable signals now emerged cleanly. If you
cularly polarized, so that both horizontally and vertically are having reception problems with an indoor antenna,
polarized antennas may receive the signal. Sometimes the replacing it with the Terk is clearly the most economical
power varies between the signals. For example, during peak first step, provided you can deal with the aiming problem.
driving hours more power may be sent into the vertical com­ Terk also makes an AM antenna that I also had a
ponent so cars can get the signal clearly. From the stand­ chance to test. This one is tunable. It is basically a thin 6-
point of DX-ing, an antenna receiving a horizontally inch circular ring mounted on a flat stand. I did not sub-
polarized signal is the best bet, since vertically polarized ject it to same rigorous set of tests that we did with the
signals attenuate at a faster rate. This is a result of razor- FM model, but I can report it improves AM reception sig-
edge diffraction effects, according to Richard Modafferi. nificantly over smaller antennas supplied with tuners. I
A small remote box to be connected at the receiver can join Richard in talking about receiving WQED from
end powers the antenna amplifier through standard coax New York City 100 miles away with this antenna attached
cable. Terk supplies a standard balun for receivers that to nothing better than the Pioneer receiver. Again a very
have only 300Ω inputs. In addition, they provide a pas­ impressive result from Terk. Clearly Terk's decision to
sive coax-to-bare-wire converter for el chepo receivers increase the size of its products has resulted in significant
that have 75Ω. inputs using push-in connectors (like the performance improvements. I highly recommend that you
Pioneer receiver we reviewed in the last issue). This is the try these antennas if you are having reception problems.
first time I have seen this very useful adapter. Clearly Terk
wants its antenna to perform optimally and is not going to • • •
be prevented by cost-cutting at a receiver's terminals.
So how does it work? In my experience it was equal
to or better than any other indoor antenna I had available,
...and something
provided it was correctly aimed. The AudioPrism APPA-
8500 was much more convent to use, since its direction­
you always looked for:
ality patterns are remotely controllable, but signal levels
were weaker on distant stations, since it is vertically Service Manuals
polarized. Richard Modafferi reports similar results, call­
ing the Terk the best FM antenna he has tested so far. It
A. G. Tannenbaum
even beat his own ¾-wave indoor vertical. He reports A. G. Tannenbaum, P.O. Box 386, Ambler, PA 19002. Voice:
that a distant signal on 91.3 MHz (WCNY) was usable (215) 540-8055. Fax: (215) 540-8327. Web: www.agtannen-
with the Terk antenna, with the internal amplifier produc- baum.com. Service manuals for discontinued equipment.
ing slightly better results. Richard's vertically polarized
antenna could not bring in a usable signal unless the What do you do when you need a service manual
Magnum Dynalab amplifier was added to the chain. and the manufacturer no longer has it in print? One source
I was amazed to find that I did not have a spuriae is Sams, but their audio selection is limited and the qual-
problem with the untuned amplifier switched in, as I have ity of the reproductions is not so hot.
a 50 kW station a few miles away. Richard did find some A better source is A. G. Tannenbaum. Their Web
spuriae from cell-phone and pager operators that have a site is www.agtannenbaum.com. Copies are lovingly
tower in his backyard. Clearly a worst-case test. Should reproduced in a binder format. No more loose oversized
you have spuriae problems, you can always switch the pages. No more unreadable photos, PC board traces, and
amplifier out of the signal path with the remote relay schematics. Prices are low and selection is very wide.
bypass. Other antennas do not bypass the amplifier but You may want to, as I did, purchase manuals to
just reduce its gain, so the amplifier is left in the signal examine classic designs, even if you do not own the units.
path and can still contaminate the signal. Early Marantz manuals make for good reading, as do
By far the most amazing signal improvements Kenwood top-of-the-line tuners from the '70s. Yes, you
occurred with the dirt cheap tuner in the Pioneer receiver can even look deep into the past and see why early Fisher,
after I had removed a small tunable amplified Radio Sherwood, and Scott designs were not transparent.
Shack antenna (12-1833) and replaced it with the Terk. A —David Rich

Truth can never be told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd.

—WILLIAM BLAKE (1757-1827)
56 THE AUDIO CRITIC

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 have developed methods to help peo- I was biased. The subjects couldn't
ple avoid "hearing" inaudible differ- hear. The statistics were "inconclu-
ences. Differences that are a product sive." And so on. Any experiment
of wishful thinking or listener bias that fails to support the Golden-Ear
are eliminated from Cyborg consid- agenda is automatically evil at the
eration. worst and "inconclusive" at the least.
There is no more feared citizen Atkinson said the experiment
than the one who knows the emperor "read" as bad science. He said there
has no clothes and is unafraid to say were a dozen variables being tested
so in public. I love Peter Aczel's simultaneously, any of which could
Planet of the Apes metaphor. John have made a large difference but just
Atkinson is Dr. Zaius, hiding the as easily could have cancelled each
truth from his staff. In this scenario other out. According to John, it was a
I love Golden-Ear reactions to the Cyborg is to be truly feared case of managing the experiment to
bad news. Over the past year or so because he is not afraid of the truth. get preordained results.
Golden-Ear Apologists have started He is not afraid to tell. He is analo- Boy, what a superior or incredi-
labeling anybody who uses or ac- gous to the Charleton Heston charac- bly lucky guy I must be. I just hap-
cepts results of controlled listening ter. pened to stumble accidentally on
tests as a 'Borg. Scientists like Jim I hear-by, pun intended, unveil exactly those dozen elements that all
Johnson of AT&T and Bob Myers of my 'Borg heritage. I do possess supe- perfectly cancelled out? I don't think
Hewlett-Packard are depicted as rior listening techniques. I refuse to so. Perhaps my superior 'Borg hear-
Cyborgs or machine-like beings that knowingly let myself fall prey to lis- ing allowed me to select precisely
do not ever listen to music. Kind of tener bias. I refuse to spend money those dozen variables that all perfect-
like when Ken Kessler called me a on things that fail to improve the ly cancelled one another. Only a
"propeller-headed lab tester." The sound quality of my system or Master Tweak could do that, I would
idea is that anybody who takes a sci- increase my productivity. If I buy think! With such abilities why would
entific approach to his hobby or pro- something just for the hell of it, I I want to hide the real differences
fession and learns things that are know the true cost and the true from everybody?
unpopular or contrary to popular benefit. I will not pretend, even to Of course, this is the regular
opinion is not human but some kind myself, that I bought an amplifier for whining from the Golden Ear
of unfit, unfeeling machine. sound-quality benefits. I refuse to let Society. This experiment was a real
The implication is that 'Borgs inaudible sonic differences subtract attempt to see if, as proponents
are incapable of hearing the subtle from the quality of my sound system claimed, a series of tweaks worked
differences that Golden Ears are so by stealing resources they do not together in a synergistic fashion. It's
fond of alluding to. The reason why deserve. really not my fault they don't.
controlled listening tests tell us that That said, I want to address a Information perceived as bad news is
"amps is amps" and wire is wire is comment that John Atkinson made always unpopular, especially for
that the test administrators and listen- about my June 1998 Stereo Review wishful thinkers. Sorry, John. Life is
ing subjects are unfeeling and deaf. article entitled "To Tweak or Not to tough.
They are incapable of "getting it" and Tweak." As you may recall, this was On to greener pastures. At a
fond of faking test results. a single-blind, single-stimulus, con- Prairie State Audio Construction
Let's ignore for a moment that trolled listening test, where a com- Society meeting last February, we
some of those loathed controlled lis- mon CD player and loudspeakers dissected the Monster Cable M2.2s
tening tests were run by Golden Ears were matched with an el cheapo loudspeaker cable used for "To
vainly attempting to confirm their "geek" stereo system, which was Tweak or Not to Tweak" to find out
silly notions and others used compared against a full-tweak sys- just what was in those mysterious
Believers (like Steve Zipser) as test tem (outboard DAC, vacuum-tube networks at each end of the cable.
subjects. Let's cut to the chase. The preamplifier, high-end power ampli- One end has a can labeled Amplifier
detractors are simply defending an fier, expensive interconnects, fancy and the other is marked Speaker.
indefensible position, slinging mud speaker wire, plus careful system There is a two-layer metal case at
at the messenger. There is no experi- installation and wire dress). None of each end.
mental evidence that supports their seven subjects was able to tell reli- The outer layer comes off with
position. Indeed, there are mountains ably which system was driving the threads. The inner layer has to be cut
of evidence to the contrary. So they loudspeakers when they didn't know off. A Dremel saw took care of that.
are reduced to defaming anyone who in advance. Underneath is a thick tough slug of
actually has or might have a smoking Of course, the Golden Ears made potting compound. Ten minutes of
gun. the usual complaints. The system deft work by Tom Perazella exposed
A good friend of mine defines a was not "really" tweaked. The pre- the networks. At the amplifier end,
Golden Ear as someone who can hear sentation method was low-resolution. the network consisted of nothing
inaudible differences. In practice (Of course, if I had used a switchbox except the metal housing and potting
'Borgs are superior listeners who they would have bitched about that.) compound. No capacitors, no induc-
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 57

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 tors, no nothing, just wire. them. We will adapt and things will justing your system from your listen-
The network at the speaker end get even better even faster. ing position makes a huge difference.
contained a single component. Are At the AES Convention I attend- 6. Get a picture. Consider a
you ready for this? The network was ed a workshop called "The Produc- large-screen TV—you would be sur-
a single 100-ohm power resistor er's View." Four recording engineers, prised at how much a picture im-
wired across the terminals. Yep. A George Massenburg and Alan Par- proves imaging.
100-ohm resistor. The device will sons among them, concluded that 7. Make your own recordings.
lower the impedance of your speaker consumers are not going to spring Digital recording and computer edit-
system by a tiny fraction but it is extra bucks for a 96/24 DVD-Audio ing are relatively inexpensive these
electrically and sonically a no-show. disc. Although they were all for a days, and you can do a remarkably
I suppose a network that does new expanded CD format, they real- good job in your den.
nothing and will have an unnotice- ized that multichannel would be 8. Renew your subscription to
able effect should it burn out is much easier to sell and most likely Stereo Review. It's still the best
preferable to one that screws some- would be the next important medium. source of information available to the
thing up! What a charade. No wonder Amen to that! Two-channel is dead; audio enthusiast. You get information
the network is hidden in potting com- long live the King. expressed quickly and clearly, well in
pound. I wouldn't want to show the So where does the hard-core advance of any other source. Just
real nature of my product to my cus- enthusiast go from here? If new wires because the news is not surrounded
tomers, either, if I were selling this and new amplifiers and more vinyl with bullshit doesn't mean it isn't
brand of snake oil. are no longer performance upgrades, useful. They also have editors with
So where is the industry heading where do we go next? Here's my balls. Can you think of any other
now? Well, I think we are entering a take. The best ways to improve your magazine, slick or underground, that
new era where the topology of the system, in this order: would have published "To Tweak or
audio system will eventually look 1. Buy some new recordings. Not to Tweak"? Technical Editor
like a computer. Right now we are a Your system is best improved from David Ranada is one of the sharpest
black box industry. Every time you the outside in. Better recordings and tacks in the industry.
get a new function, you buy another better speakers make the biggest dif- 9. Everything else: Remember
black box complete with chassis and ferences. time is also a resource. Time spent
power supply. Thanks to cost-effec- 2. Reposition your speakers. auditioning wires can never be
tive VLSI integrated circuits, the Speaker position is the single largest retrieved.
metalwork and power supply are now performance factor in home repro-
the two most expensive parts of any duction. It's more important than the Editor's Note: When Tom Nousaine
component. They're too expensive speakers you use. wrote the above, he didn't know yet
with multichannel systems. 3. Extend the bandwidth of your that Hachette Filipacchi Magazines
The fix is the telephone/comput- system. The separate subwoofer is would combine Stereo Review and
er style bus system and central necessary for optimal performance. Video into a single AV-oriented pub-
processors. New functions are added And it is a DIY opportunity: you can lication. I was going raise my editorial
with plug-in circuit cards and/or soft- still make a better one yourself than eyebrow in reaction to his unbridled
ware. This topology is one reason you can buy. adulation of Stereo Review (I share a
telephone service has been so inex- 4. Get a new format. Multi- great deal, but far from all, of his
pensive for so long and computer channel is a major improvement. enthusiasm), but now it's all quite
prices have fallen so rapidly. Dolby Digital is fantastic. Once you academic. At this point only the HFM
Audio is ready now. Further- go to high-performance surround, high command knows—and maybe
more, we have a new breed of enthu- you can never go back to two-chan- not even they—what might be the
siast. The old guys, you and me, have nel stereo. Consider investigating the future direction of the new hybrid
a different set of baggage. The new new virtual surround systems, which magazine. You can be sure, however,
guys learn about sound at the key- are really computer-based binaural that it won't be anything HFM con-
board. They are interested in music played back through two speakers. siders bad for business. (David Ranada
but the computer is second nature to 5. Get a remote control. Ad- is staying, as far as I know.) ·

A Note on Binaural CDs

At a time when the hot news (Sony, Dolby) is 5.1 surround sound decoded for headphone listening
with directional and ambience cues supposedly intact, the obvious question that arises is—what
about binaural recording? Isn't that the theoretically perfect headphone medium? I have received a
few binaural CDs—recorded with microphones in the ears of a dummy head—the most interesting
of which is Stravinsky's Le sacre du printemps with Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances (Pasadena
Symphony, Jorge Mester, conductor, Auracle/Newport Classic NCAU 10002). This is an excellent
performance by moonlighting Southern California pros, but the sound fails to turn me into a born-
again binaural religionist. Tremendous immediacy, yes; extreme detail, yes; directional information
up the yingyang; but it's too much of a muchness, oppressive, disturbingly uncanny. It's like taking
a bath in good wine, instead of sipping it from a glass. Not really the concert-hall experience.—Ed.
58 THE AUDIO CRITIC

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 Hip Boots
Wading through the Mire of Misinformation in the Audio Press

Editor's Note: We have a new contributor girded for the fight against ignorance, antiscience, and
tweako cultism. Glenn Strauss is not yet a burnout on the subject of cable idiocies (as I am and I
think even David Rich is), so his first knightly foray here is into the wild world of wire warlocks.

Synergistic Research: through a Forest, Darkly. a deeper meaning. On page 10, there is an attempt to edu-
Synergistic Research can't see the forest for the trees. cate the reader on "The Basics—Capacitance, Inductance,
This company unapologetically touts the subjective, weighty Resistance." Never mind that each section ends with a
importance of cables in home audio applications. That is subjective interpretation of how these physical constraints
not man-bites-dog news. But dog bites man on page 37 of change the "sound" of cables. But, according to Syner-
their "Explorer's Guide to Synergistic Research Cables." gistic, capacitance is measured in "pico Farrats." Or is
The topic is the controversial subject of cable burn- that ferrets? Or is it polecats? Or do I smell skunks?
in. (Well, it is controversial only in the audio-pile press.) —Glenn Strauss
In attempting to explain this silly notion to the untutored, [Ted Denney III is listed as CEO/Lead Designer of
our guide uses the following: Synergistic Research. Isn't it possible that he cut English
"To better understand how cable burn-in effects classes in school just as often as physics?—Ed.]
[sic] the music you hear, it may be helpful to think of each
frequency traveling through a conductor as a different Robert Harley in Fi Magazine
trail or path through a forest. If you are traveling through Oh no! Please! Not Robert Harley again! But wait a
the woods for the first time, and no trail exists, your going minute, this is a little different. Harley is no longer with
will be fraught with difficulty as you encounter rocks, Stereophile; he is now Technical Editor of Fi, hired by
thick bushes and dense forest. However, as you travel the founder/publisher/moneybags Jerry Gladstein (a former
same paths over and over, your going gets easier and eas- Harry Pearson disciple) in the belief that the Harley name
ier. This is why cables seem to gain performance over would lend some scientific credibility to the magazine.
time, and can actually lose performance or burn-in if they Can you imagine? Of all the people they could have had,
are not used in your system for long periods..." that's the one they went with. Of course, no one splits the
I cannot begin to fathom what physical universe or difference between techie and tweaky talk as glibly as
laws could serve as the framework for such nonsense. Bob, and that obviously filled the bill for Fi. Be that as it
Does the conductor undergo physical changes from an may, let me point out a classic Harley Howler to ruffle
audio signal? Does the conductor even matter according Jerry Gladstein this time, instead of Larry Archibald.
to Maxwellian concepts? Do the audio frequencies Harley's specialty is supposed to be the digital
"learn" the best route through the cables as a human being domain, right? Well, get a load of his editorial in the
would in walking? Do cables forget what they have September 1998 issue, titled "Is Your CD Collection a
learned if not used regularly or if jostled? Hidden Gold Mine?" He oohs and aahs over the revelatory
This is just the kind of baloney that turns audio improvement in CD sound quality ("dramatically in-
enthusiasts off and makes audio professionals shake their creased transparency, space, treble smoothness, resolution,
heads. This "guide" is fraught will other cable half-truths, and harmonic accuracy") when the CD is played through
unchallenged speculations, and sheer audio myths. It is an upsampling digital processor that samples at 96 kHz
also, like many high-end advertisements, chock full of and/or 192 kHz instead of (as he understands it) the 44.1
spelling and grammatical errors. kHz of a conventional CD player. He states that the higher
One spelling error in particular may be revealing of (continued on page 62)
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 59

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 The first indication that some- argue with that logic. That was until
thing was not right in the seller-buyer we learned he was buying the same
relationship was the way the guy equipment at discount, from a dealer
asked questions. Most of the ques- about 200 miles away! For obvious
tions were quite reasonable in that reasons, our attitudes toward this guy
they were directed towards a better changed immediately, once we
understanding of our products, why learned he was an audiophile vam-
we thought they outperformed other pire, living off the lifeblood of oth-
products, and what kind of support ers. His loaner privileges were
both we and the manufacturer offered revoked, although he was allowed to
to our customers. But he had the irri- come into the store to "rap" (hey, this
tating habit of asking another ques- was the '70s, after all).
tion well before the first one was We maintained one of the largest
By Glenn O. Strauss answered. At first we just shrugged it assortments of electrostatic loud-
Editor's Note: As a parody name for off as a personal mannerism but later speakers in the Southeast. For all
our journal, "The Audio Cynic" was realized he wasn't really interested in their flaws, we were convinced that
first publicized in 1977 by a disgrun- what we had to say. Instead, he was they were the best things going in
tled amplifier manufacturer whose trying to put in enough time at our terms of transparency and transient
product had gotten a bad review in dealership to demand some loaner response. Our vampire was particu-
one of our earliest issues. It happens service. larly argumentative that some cone
to be a timeworn witticism, but when The loaner process is unique to loudspeakers could do the job. In a
Glenn Strauss wanted it as his handle the high end in the consumer elec- moment of guard dropping, he spilled
for his new column, my reaction was tronics business, The seller maintains the beans—he had purchased a pair
"why not?". an inventory of expensive equipment of AR Model 9's. We knew there was
• • • that can be borrowed by a customer no AR dealer in town, so they had to
I was a part-time, weekends-only and used for an often surprising have been bought mail order. That
salesman in a high-end audio salon amount of time at no cost, with was the last straw, or was it?
during the high end's heyday in the absolutely no commitment to buy. It This worm set a new standard of
late '70s and early '80s. A computer is part of the dealer service and is audiophile effrontery about seven
engineer by profession, and later partly covered by the dealer markup, months later when he showed up at
technical editor for an audio "under- All risk is to the dealer, and we often the store one Saturday, wife in tow. (I
ground" quarterly, I found it neces- had equipment returned damaged, have tried to keep the wife out of the
sary to enter the inner sanctum of cosmetically or electrically. We picture because she was never really
audio's holiest shrines in order to always absorbed the cost, even when a player, except for the common
afford the ever-increasing price of someone's kid poured a soft drink spousal practice of viewing us as
admission. The tale that follows, and into a $3000 Threshold amp. Did we children of Satan, hell-bent on
others I might get around to, are ever have a customer offer to pay, destroying architectural progress in
meant irritate, educate, placate, and even when many homeowner's poli- her home, and the only thing stand-
elucidate—and maybe even provide cies would have covered the dam- ing between her children and an Ivy
a laugh or two. But they are 100% true. age? Not that I recall. League education.) When we asked
The Audiophile from Hell Back to our fledgling audiophile. him what he wanted, he opened a lit-
Every high-end audio shop has Over the period of a year, this guy tle cardboard box in which a dome
experienced the intense fear and borrowed preamps, amplifiers, and tweeter nestled. We looked at the
loathing that follow the peculiarly any number of large panel loud- tweeter, and it wasn't one we recog-
irritating "customer" who really isn't speakers, all of which we brought to nized, so we looked questioningly at
one at all. Here is the story of one his home, set up, picked up, and the guy. "It's from my AR Model 9—
particularly obnoxious fellow. Before returned to the shop. Often these it's defective." Never mind that we
the whole sick thing was ended, his were pieces so expensive that we had never seen a defective tweeter,
behavior moved from odd to rude to could not afford duplicates in the unless you call a melted voice coil a
sociopathic. store. That meant that we sometimes factory defect. But that's another story.
It all started innocently and typi- went a week without having a prod- When asked what he wanted us
cally enough. A young professional uct on display. This was not uncom- to do, he indicated he wanted us to
showed up in the store one day, mon practice, and one we gladly per- replace it. When we pointed out that
bedecked in the uniform of the formed for our buying customers, we didn't sell him the speakers in the
Southern intelligentsia—golf shirt, After a year, it became clear that first place, his reasoning was that
baggy chinos, deck shoes. He seemed something was amiss. We tried to pin since we were an audio shop and
interested in a number of the high- the guy down, but he deflected most repaired equipment, we could fix
end lines we carried, particularly of our questions by saying this was things for him by acting in his behalf
some of the electronics. And he going to be a big purchase and he with AR. We suggested he get the
seemed sincerely interested in a pur- wanted to make sure he was getting selling dealer to assist him, but his
chase at some point. products that pleased him. Hard to response was that "that would be a
ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 61

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hassle." Apparently any hassle we contract argument: because we were 15% of the people who came to our
might experience was not relevant. an audio store, we had a moral imper- store saw nothing ethically wrong in
We finally said we would be willing ative to assist him. I kid you not. stealing time and "sweat equity"
to get him a new tweeter for its retail We asked him to leave the store. from us. I have always felt that this is
cost plus shipping. At this point his wife got into it. the sort of thing that forced more and
The guy went berserk. From (Who says opposites attract? Appar- more tweako product sales, since a
somewhere in the vast nothingness of ently these two were cut from the $5000 speaker cable has at least 50
his mind he started to dredge up in- same philosophical cloth.) She points profit, is a carryout, and is
creasingly bizarre arguments about opined that our store was a public unlikely to be damaged.
why we should be acting in his be- place, and that they could not be Oh yeah, the audio vampire
half. He was "a friend of the store," asked to leave. We suggested that called back several months later after
an odd claim since he had never unless he, she, and the abused tweet- everything had cooled down—he
bought a damn thing and had wasted er did not leave immediately, we wanted to borrow some more prod-
many hours of our time. (Remember, would call the police. They left, as uct. It was then I decided that the
it is Saturday and we are busy, and had half the people in the store by chances of my investing any money
his voice is starting to exceed con- that time. Who knows how many in a high-end audio store were about
versational levels.) He then formulat- potential sales we lost? as good as his chances of getting any
ed his ultimate absurdity, the social We estimated that approximately more loaners. ·

H i p B o o t s (continued from page 59)

sampling rate permits a gentler filter at a higher frequen- York. Titled "Novel Feedback Topology Obviates the
cy with a less steep rolloff, hence "far less time smear." Need for High Loop Gain," the paper was distributed as
The mind reels. Is it possible that Harley doesn't Preprint 4597. The idea Didden presents is that by adding
know that for the past decade he has been listening to another loop to the standard feedback topology, high loop
ordinary CD players with 4-times and 8-times interpolat- gain is no longer required in a feedback system.
ing digital filters? That's upsampling (oversampling in Unfortunately some pole-zero cancellation in the mathe-
vulgar parlance) to 176.4 kHz and 352.8 kHz, no differ- matics causes a singularity to be hidden. In fact, as point-
ent from what he admires so much in the $5750 processor ed out during the q-and-a session, the extra loop intro-
his comments are based on. Well, it appears the "digital duces positive feedback with a loop gain of one. In the
lad" (his pet name at Stereophile) doesn't know that. actual realization, compensation methods prevent the
Maybe the word "upsampling" is new to him, so he thinks amplifier from oscillating, but as another questioner
the technology is new. He writes that "upsampling con- pointed out they also prevent the amplifier from having
verters may become commonplace in high-end playback any performance advantage over normal negative feed-
systems. I can't wait." back. As a final blow, it was pointed out that even if sta-
My take on this is that John Atkinson at Stereophile ble during normal operation, the amplifier could latch to
still exerted some sort of minimal control over Harley's a supply rail if clipped. Note that nothing is wrong here—
technical fantasy life, but at Fi the lad is totally out of this is how the academic process works, and Mr. Didden
control because there is no one to question him. Jerry is to be congratulated for having the courage to bring his
Gladstein, who sold you this bill of goods? ideas before his peers for testing.
I think what Bob needs now is a nice $120 Sony On the other hand, Stereophile—in their December
Discman with that incredibly sophisticated, futuristic 1997 issue, pages 35 and 37, "Industry Update" section,
upsampling/oversampling/interpolation capability. The under Peter van Willenswaard's byline—reported this
harmonic accuracy will astound him. development in a very different manner than the clinical
—Peter Aczel Didden paper, which makes no sonic claims for the sys-
tem. "...I have become very suspicious of (overall) feed-
Peter van Willenswaard in Stereophile back... feedback tends to kill the magic in the music...To
One of the purposes of engineering conventions me Didden's proposal is a major step forward in feedback
like those of the AES is to bring new untested ideas out theory." It looks like Stereophile has once again attempt-
in the open. During the question period at the end of each ed to canonize an idea as having sonic benefits even if the
paper presented, the merits of the ideas are openly dis- idea itself is all wet. Note that the AES convention took
cussed. AES audits only the 500-word precis, not the full place in late September, so Stereophile should have had
paper; thus some bad ideas make it through, but the iden- enough time to kill, or at least modify, an article that hit
tification of such problems is part of the purpose of these the street two months later, but they chose not to do so.
conferences. What we have here is yet another example of Stereophile
A recent example of the working of this process is not taking the time to do the required fact checking before
a paper presented by Johannes M. Didden on September they rush to publish.
29, 1997, at the 103rd Convention of the AES in New —David Rich
62 THE AUDIO CRITIC

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 just as poetically. Indeed, it any way he can. His best those newfangled audio
poetry is everything in the work defines the state of DVDs.
performance of these ex- the art, and very little of •
tremely short pieces, and his work strays from his DVD Music Breakthrough:
Lortie is equal to the inter- best. 16 tracks from the Delos
pretive challenge. The • catalog (Litton/Dallas, De-
other opuses are also per- Engineer's Choice II: "Top Preist/Oregon, Macal/New
formed with considerable recording engineer John Jersey, etc.) in Dolby Dig-
technique and musicality, Eargle picks his favorite ital and stereo versions.
but the supply of great demo tracks." DE 3512 DV 7002 (1998).
Chopin playing available (1996 and earlier). DVD Space Spectacular:
on CD today makes it very In 1991 Delos released Strauss's Also sprach Zar-
difficult for any pianist to John Eargle's original En- athustra and Hoist's The
make an important addi- gineer's Choice, with the Planets in Dolby Digital
tional statement—and that same subtitle. This sequel and stereo versions. Dallas
is neither expected nor also has 22 tracks, just a Symphony Orchestra, An-
accomplished here. The few of which overlap with drew Litton, conductor.
Chandos 20-bit recording the older CD. Most of the DV 7003 (1998).
yields a truly superior tracks are new, however, These two audio DVDs,
ABC Classics elan, that sort of thing), piano sound. and thus more representa- sequels to Delos's original
The initials stand for but now and then they tive of John's latest and "Spectacular," came in
Australian Broadcasting come up with a winner for Chesky greatest efforts. Put this after the above review was
Corporation; the label has us mundane classical-music Known for perfection- CD in your pocket when written. They are not an
been around for a number lovers stuck in the three- ism in sound, occasionally you go a-hi-fi-ing; it's com- improvement in surround
of years, but its introduc- B's rut. (Hey, it's a rut even rendered questionable by prehensive and portable sound over DV7001; I
tion to this country is quite if it's Bartók/Berg/Boulez.) genuflections to the tweako reference material second was actually less im-
recent. Australia is by far • element, this label addresses to none. Check out the 20 pressed—but maybe only
the most remote civilized Heinrich Schütz: Der both the classical and non- Hz pedal notes in the because of the somewhat
place from our vantage Schwanengesang, SWV classical markets and fea- Messiaen organ excerpt less AC-3-genic program
point and remains a source 482-493. The Song Com- tures newly recorded as and the incredible orches- material. There is some
of wonderful musical sur- pany, Roland Peelman, well as remastered releas- tral definition in the Sho- good music here, and the
prises because that's not artistic director. 13139-2 es. Their best work is stakovich 8th Symphony Strauss/Hoist performances
where we generally look (1996). impeccable. excerpt. The John Eargle are also available on con-
for them. This is as different from • signature qualities are the ventional CDs (DE 3225,
• the currently trendy New- David Chesky: Three total lack of strain, regard- 2 CDs, 1997). Unfortu-
"Rita Hunter: Ritorna Vin- Age-flavored "chant" re- Psalms for String Orchestra. less of dynamics, and the nately, Litton's Zarathu-
citor!" Arias from Verdi, leases, which bore me to Deutsches Filmorchester wide-open, panoramic sound- stra is quite pedestrian; he
Ponchielli, Puccini, Beetho- tears, as prime filet mignon Babelsberg, Stephen Somary, stage. (Yes, tweaks, sound- does not seem to be com-
ven, and Mozart operas. is from a Big Mac. Schütz conductor. CD163 (1997). staging comes from the fortable in the great Austro-
Rita Hunter, soprano; Tas- was born 100 years before On the box it says recording, not from your German tradition, making
manian Symphony Orches- Bach, and this superb cycle "High Resolution Tech- overpriced amplifier.) little effort to phrase the
tra, Dobbs Franks, con- of motets (for eight voices nology" and "Recorded at • magnificent string pas-
ductor. 8.7000 10 (1989). in two antiphonal choirs 96/24." That refers to the DVD Spectacular: Tchai- sages passionately. The
I chose to review this with organ continuo) is all digital master; the CD is kovsky's "1812 Overture" Hoist warhorse requires
relatively ancient record- the evidence needed to still just a CD, and that (Litton/Dallas) and other more technique than Innig-
ing out of a good many prove he was a very great means 44.1/16. But what a demo tracks, audio tests, keit and is much better
sent to me by the distribu- composer. The style is a wonderful-sounding CD! video tests, etc., for AV performed. John Eargle's
tor because of the aston- blend of homophony and The strings have just the surround-sound systems. recording of The Planets
ishing voice of Rita Hunt- counterpoint. The perfor- right weight on the bottom DV 7001 (1997). is the only one known to
er. I have no idea whether mance is by a truly superior and are never, never harsh This is not a CD but a me that never, ever, turns
she still sounds as good ensemble of Australian on top, even when the DVD, which arguably be- harsh and unpleasant in
today as in 1989, but on singers. The recording, a music gets loud. Why can't longs in a different review the climaxes; it is worth
this CD she is fantastic. very clean job, was made the major-label strings column. (We are planning having for that reason
Her voice is big, warm, at the Sydney Opera sound like this? As for the to have one in all future alone, on audio DVD or
utterly secure, free and Concert Hall, which has music, it is eclectic, fairly issues.) The reason for its CD.
unstrained on top—I can't lovely acoustics. Excellent melodious, totally accessi- inclusion here is that it •
fault it. Her musicianship booklet, too. Recommended. ble, maybe a bit monoto- features a Dolby Digital Hector Berlioz: Symphonie
is also of the first order. I nous, but nice listening (5.1 discrete surround) ver- fantastique, Op. 14; Romeo
played her Vissi d'arte side Chandos overall. Those who like the sion of the same perfor- et Juliette, Op. 17, Scène
by side with Callas's from For no particular rea- Samuel Barber "Adagio mance of the "1812 Over- d'amour. New Jersey Sym-
the 1953 Tosca recording son, by mere happen- for Strings" (Platoon sound- ture" whose sound quality phony Orchestra, Zdenek
on EMI, and I swear I can't stance, this fine English track) will probably enjoy I praised so enthusiastical- Macal, conductor. DE 3229
make up my mind which label has been neglected it. Oh, yes, the composer ly in the last issue. Well, if (1997).
is better. (Callas is more by this journal. Here is one owns Chesky Records, the 5.1 system is properly Audiophiles will want
dramatic, more riveting; of their recent releases. with his brother. set up and trimmed in, the this CD because it is argu-
Hunter is more controlled • sound is even more impres- ably John Eargle's best
and more beautiful in Frédéric Chopin: 24 Prel- Delos sive here. This is probably work to date—and that
sound.) The Tasmanian or- udes, Op. 28; Prelude, Op. If I were asked to award the most realistic orches- means the best there is. It
chestra plays very well (of 45; Andante spianato et Olympic gold, silver, and tral/choral sound you can is the first orchestral record-
course, these accompani- Grande polonaise bril- bronze medals to present- have in a well-equipped ing made in the recently
ments are not terribly lante, Op. 22; Polonaise- day recording engineers, it domestic listening room. I completed New Jersey Per-
demanding), and the digi- fantaisie, Op. 61. Louis would be a tough call, but am almost ready to admit forming Arts Center in
tal recording by the ABC Lortie, piano. Chan 9597 I think the gold would go that the best two-channel Newark, obviously a great
leaves nothing to be de- (1997). to John Eargle of Delos. stereo leaves something to venue. Music lovers, on the
sired. Throw a shrimp on "We have been, let us He, and he alone, is with- be desired. (Of course, not other hand, will be able to
the barbie, mate, and listen say, to hear the latest Pole/ out a techie/politico agen- all Dolby Digital sound is cite much better perfor-
to this one. Transmit the Preludes, da regarding microphones, authored by John Eargle.) mances, especially of the
through his hair and fin- microphone placement, The test signals on the disc magnificent "Love Scene,"
Celestial Harmonies gertips."—T S. Eliot. Ac- electronics, etc. He doesn't are useful, but that's an- which appears to be under-
Most of the releases on tually, Louis Lortie is Ca- want to prove anything to other discussion altogeth- rehearsed by this part-time
this label have only niche- nadian, not Polish, and has other engineers or to er. And don't expect any orchestra of top musicians
market appeal (music of a short haircut; even so he audiophiles; he just wants video footage of the or- from the New York area.
Islam, didjeridoo, gam- "transmits" the Preludes great sound and goes after chestra. This is one of The Fantastique receives a

ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 63

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respectable performance; square simplicity in my Think of all those Karajan, idealized renderings of the 331/316; Concerto in D
Macal is after all a conduc- 1797 Viennese music. I Bernstein, etc., performances! music. To me they appear Major, HWV 335a; Passa-
tor of some stature; but the know: my taste has been • little short of miraculous, caille, Gigue and Menuet
obvious star here is the corrupted by the Romantic Ludwig van Beethoven: The and I do not miss the in G Major; Occasional
sound—a case of the best performance style. As for String Quartets. Emerson verismo of a "live" event. Suite in D Major. The
getting better. A DVD ver- audio quality, the German- String Quartet: Eugene The audio quality, as I English Concert, Trevor
sion is in the pipeline. Japanese recording team Drucker and Philip Setzer, already reported last time, Pinnock, harpsichord/mu-
• did a fabulous job in three violins; Lawrence Dutton, is also quite sensational— sical director. Archiv 453
Erich Wofgang Korngold: different locations, achiev- viola; David Finckel, cello. as natural, transparent, 451-2 (1996)
The Sea Hawk; Symphony ing total transparency and 447 075-2 (7 CDs, 1994-95). and detailed as I have ever Those who are familiar
in F-sharp, Op. 40. The unstrained dynamics. The This is the set I pre- heard in a quartet record- with my usual sour com-
Oregon Symphony, James slightly nasal string tone is viewed (having auditioned ing. In sum, a landmark ments on period practice
DePreist, conductor. DE true to life, not an artifact. producer's DATs of three set and a joy forever. will be surprised. This is
3234 (1997). • of the quartets) in Issue • period practice with a ven-
Lots of interesting an- Leos Janácek: Msa Glagol- No. 23. I wrote: "this will Johannes Brahms: Con- geance—18th century in-
gles here. Korngold was 6 skaja (Glagolitic Mass); be the set to own, above certo for violin and Orches- struments, A tuned to 415
years younger than Pro- Sinfonietta. Julia Varady, all others." Now that all tra in D Major, Op. 77. Hz, unequal temperament
kofiev and 9 years older soprano; Stella Doufexis, 16 quartets are available Robert Schumann: Fan- tuning, etc.—and it's won-
than Shostakovich, and his mezzo-soprano; Valentin on these 7 CDs, I see no tasy for Violin and Orches- derful! The famous "Royal
idiom fits right in there, in Prolat, tenor; Peter Rose, reason to change that opin- tra in C Major, Op. 131. Fireworks" piece is played
terms of reined-in moder- bass; Rundfunkchor Berlin; ion. At the same time, I am Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin; in the original 1749 ver-
nity and high accessibility, Arvid Gast, organ; Deut- New York Philharmonic, sion with 24 oboes, 12
sches Symphonie Orchester aware that not all critics
with a bit of Mahler nos- agree with the Emerson's Kurt Masur, conductor. bassoons, contrabassoon,
talgia thrown in. Not that Berlin, Eliahu Inbal, con- 457 075-2 (1997). 9 horns, 9 trumpets, 3 tim-
ductor. CO-18049 (1995). Beethoven style. No one
he is quite as good a com- denies their amazing vir- The Brahms is the fea- pani, and 3 side drums. Put
poser as any of those three Two of the indisput- tured work here; the Schu- that in your CD player and
able masterpieces of the tuosity and perfection of
but he is clearly a master ensemble, but some feel mann is a 13-minute filler. turn the volume up! And
in his somewhat shallower century, in very intense, The Mutter/Masur perfor- that's not all. Part of the F
committed performances. that their interpretations
Hollywoodsy way, a fabu- are too "modern," hard, ag- mance of the concerto is major concerto is a re-
lous orchestrator, and The Berlin orchestra plays almost incredibly good; working of the earlier
with considerable virtuos- gressive, literal, unrelaxed,
never boring. The sym- unlyrical, ungemütlich, or both violinist and conduc- Water Music, and there are
phony, which took him ity, and the singers are tor are caught here on their quotations, adaptations, and
excellent, although I can't whatever. I, on the other
three decades to complete, hand, believe that what we best day in a live perfor- cross-references across the
is a massive 54-minute guarantee their pronuncia- mance before an audience. board in the other pieces.
tion of Old Church Sla- have here is as close to the
work for huge orchestra. vonic. Maybe a Janácek music Beethoven heard in Mutter is virtuosic, expres- Handel loved to quote
The Oregonians under De- specialist can find fault his head as we are ever sive, and romantic to the himself. Pinnock's orches-
Preist play it so well that with these performances, likely to hear. (He still had nth degree; the Philhar- tra plays this Handel fest
you could have fooled me but I can't. The audio his hearing when he com- monic plays as if the year with tremendous panache;
if you told me I was listen- quality is right up there posed Op. 18, Nos. 1-6, so were 1936; and Masur the "rhythm and pace"
ing to one of the biggies. with Nippon Columbia's I am basically talking makes it all happen. The here come from the musi-
And that's not all. In a best, which is second to about the ten quartets that recorded sound is a Martin cians, dear tweaks, not the
new venue for his VR2 none. It all adds up to a followed.) Max Wilcox, Fouqué triumph over the speaker cable. Archiv's
recording technique, John very satisfying musical listed as both recording wretched acoustics of Avery all-German recording team
Eargle proves once again experience. producer and balance en- Fisher Hall—remarkably did a great job with the
that he is a little better • gineer for the set, exerted rich and beautiful. But sound in an English hall.
than the best of the rest. more than the usual pro- then I took out the 1955 Highly recommended.
This is a demo/test disc for Richard Strauss: Also ducer/engineer's influence Heifetz/Reiner/Chicago re- •
big systems if there ever sprach Zarathustra, Op. on the recordings and was cording in the remastered W.A. Mozart: Opera Arias
was one—and the music 30; Till Eulenspiegels lust- one of those who encour- Living Stereo edition and ("Kathleen Battle Sings
actually bears repetition! ige Streiche, Op. 28; Mac- aged these four great quickly realized that Anne- Mozart"). Kathleen Battle,
beth, Op. 23. Orchestre de string players to depart Sophie Mutter is to Jascha soprano; Metropolitan Op-
Denon la Suisse Romande, Eliahu from their accustomed tem- Heifetz as Drew Bledsoe era Orchestra, James
I was wrong in the last Inbal, conductor. CO-18067 pi and follow closely Bee- is to Joe Montana. Not Levine, conductor. 439
issue. There are plenty of (1995-96). thoven's metronome mark- quite there yet. 949-2 (1993).
new releases on this label. I obsessively listen to ings. Eugene Drucker, who • DGG sat on this for
• all—well, nearly all—new alternates between first Frederic Chopin: Fantai- four years before releasing
Franz Joseph Haydn: 6 recordings of Also sprach and second violin in the sie in F Minor, Op. 49; it, probably because of the
"Erdödy" Quartets, Op. 76, Zarathustra, the audio- Emerson's performances, Piano Sonata No. 3 in B embarrassment of Battle's
Nos. 1-6. Kuijken String phile's benchmark piece. I explains in the program Minor, Op. 58; 3 waltzes; expulsion from the Met.
Quartet: Sigiswald Kuijken regret to report that this notes that the pet theory of 3 études; et al. Mikhail That doesn't make her a
& Francois Fernandez, vio- one doesn't particularly metronome error in the Pletnev, piano. 453 456-2 less good singer. She can
lins; Marleen Thiers, viola; excel in any area, be it early 1800s, as advanced (1996). do just about anything
Wieland Kuijken, cello. CO- interpretation, orchestral by some writers, simply Pletnev is barely forty with that not very big but
18045/46(2 CDs, 1995-96). playing, or audio quality. does not hold water. I find and already an interna- very pretty and beautifully
The Kuijkens' period That doesn't make it bad, the tempi in these record- tionally celebrated con- trained voice, and she has
practice doesn't set my just routine. Maybe Inbal ings to be exactly to my ductor, as well as a pianist. the ear of a musician. Her
teeth on edge nearly as had to deliver this package liking, thrilling in the fast His Chopin is far from high tessitura occasionally
much in Haydn as in quickly, without sufficient movements and exquisite- straightforward, quite man- strays from her absolute
Mozart (see Issue No. 22, rehearsals. Till and Mac- ly flowing in the slow ones. nered in fact (especially in best, and her lower tones
p. 54), but I can't say this beth are roughly on the Of course, no quartet can the great Fantaisie), but he are not the warmest possi-
is my favorite way to hear same level. The latter, one get through the entire projects a remarkable mu- ble, but she is still a very
these superb quartets, of the very early and less- Presto (scherzo) move- sical personality in every distinguished soprano. As
which are among Haydn's er tone poems of Strauss, ment of Op. 131, nor the phrase, and in the end one a singing actress she could
best. I admire the sure- is seldom recorded, but concluding Allegro, at the is totally captivated by the be quite a bit better; her
handed authority, polished Schwarz/Seattle (1990) on Emerson's tempo and with beauty of his playing and Countess, Susanna, Cher-
ensemble playing, and un- Delos is better. Can't win the Emerson's attack with- dazzled by his virtuosity. ubino, Zerlina, and Pamina
shakable musicality of them all. out making a single mis- The recorded piano sound all sound like the same
these scholarly artists; I take, but the editor (Max) is excellent. lovely, polished singer,
realize that the style is Deutsche Grammophon can make it happen. And • with little or no character
echt Haydn; but I want I I continue to like the that's just one example. George Frideric Handel: differentiation. There are
little more vibrato, a little sound of DGG's 4D Audio No, these aren't documen- Music for the Royal Fire- 13 arias from 7 Mozart
more anachronistic expres- Recording. Why couldn't taries of actual perfor- works, HWV 351; Con- operas on this CD, all of it
siveness, a little less four- it have happened sooner? mances but completely certo in F Major, HWV as good as it gets. The Met

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 An Object Lesson in Creeping Subjectivity
(How We Unfairly Suspected Deutsche Grammophon of Doctoring the Sound)
As our readers know, The Audio released by DGG. David rushed out and tion was there. I had obviously caused
Critic is pretty doctrinaire when it comes bought it at once, before I could get a him some grief.) For the first time, I
to listening comparisons. Double blind, review sample. He brought it over; I began to think that maybe David and I
levels matched within ±0.1 dB, a mean- inserted into the CD player a quartet we had been careless and jumped to a false
ingful number of trials, no excuses. This had already heard on DAT; and we lis- conclusion.
little cautionary tale is about what hap- tened. Almost at once, as if we had never I then set up a bulletproof compari-
pens when those rules are not followed. sloughed off the conspiracy theories of son. Instead of switching between the
The kicker here is that the offenders were our early tweako years, there came the line outputs of the CD player and of the
none other than your Editor and Dr. exclamation: "The bastards changed the DAT deck, with the attendant level-
David Rich, which is the audio equiva- sound!" Let's face it, DGG is not exactly matching pitfalls (not to mention two
lent of catching two bishops in the a hero to old-time audio purists; the mar- entirely different D/A converters and two
whorehouse. keters' allegiance to Max Wilcox, who different analog output stages), I used the
I said no excuses. Well, we did have was the producer/engineer on the digital output of each, plugged into an
an excuse for letting our guard down a lit- Emerson players' insistence, did not outboard D/A processor with several dig-
tle bit. We weren't comparing audio appear inviolable; and the sound did ital inputs. That way the level matching
equipment; we were comparing recorded seem brighter, more aggressive, less was automatic, as long as 0 dB was set
music. It's a terrible excuse because the refined than what we remembered. We identically in both digital sources, and I
discipline should be equally rigorous in were outraged. The desert-island treasure just had to switch between the two
either case. had been vandalized. through the same DAC and the same ana-
What happened was that I fell in I then played Max's DAT again to log circuitry. (Remember, what Max had
love with some DAT "previews" of the check the same passages, and we con- recorded was simply a bitstream, which
Emerson String Quartet's new set of the cluded that maybe the CD version wasn't the CD people had either tampered with
Beethoven quartets. Max Wilcox was in all that terrible but still quite audibly dif- or not.) Lo and behold, the two sounds
the process of producing these new ferent, probably as a result of a little EQ were now indistinguishable. Max's sound
recordings for Deutsche Grammophon snuck in there in anticipation of peasant was clearly inviolate. Red faces in our
and had been kind enough to lend me the tastes. Oh yes, we did match the levels of listening room, with egg on top.
DATs in order to give me a foretaste of a the CD player and the DAT deck—by ear. Obviously the flaw in the original
project of which he was enormously After all, as string quartet aficionados, we listening comparison was that the CD
proud. Rightly so because the recordings knew how to detect gross differences playback level was marginally higher
brought an unprecedented level of virtu- without endless fussing. "Just listen," we than the DAT level, maybe by as little as
oso string playing to these much-record- kept saying in the best Bob Harley tradi- 1 dB or even just 0.5 dB. You can't match
ed masterpieces—absolutely breathtak- tion, totally out of touch with our knowl- it much better than that by ear, and such a
ing attack, synchronicity, intonation, and edge base. small difference isn't necessarily per-
clarity—and at the same time adhered And that's not all. I called up Max ceived as louder/softer but as a quality
religiously to the tempi specified by Wilcox, knowing that he listens to his difference. It is also possible that we were
Beethoven's metronome markings. As for master tapes a lot more regularly than to even sloppier, maybe by several dB. The
the audio quality, I heard the purest, most the CDs, and informed him of DGG's sound of string music, in particular, can
natural, most believable string sound out "treachery." He was both upset and vary along the sweet-to-edgy axis
of my reference system, unsurpassed by incredulous. It is utterly impossible, he depending on loudness. In a given room,
any quartet recording known to me. This told me, that anyone should have touched through a given audio system, there is
was going to be one of those alone-on-a- the sound he had approved as producer. really only one level that sounds utterly
desert-island sets: the world's greatest That's not the way the system works, he natural. We screwed up, bigtime.
music (isn't it?) in the world's greatest said. At the same time, I sensed that I had Do I have to spell out the moral?
performances (in my instant opinion, planted a seed of doubt in his mind. Holy There is no meaningful listening compar-
anyway) and the world's best sound (at PolyGram, what if Peter is right... ison at even slightly mismatched levels.
least to my ear). David Rich, who usual- I received a call from Max the very Even in a double-blind test, you first have
ly tries to one-up me with something next day. He had carefully compared the to match the levels, otherwise everything
"better" that he knows and I don't, actu- CDs with his DAT copies of the masters, will sound different and the test will be
ally agreed with me (sort of, as much as and there was nothing wrong; the two worthless. It's Rule No. 1. We knew that
he ever does). sounds were identical. What kind of all along but we forgot. And you know
Then, after a somewhat longer delay tweako cultist have I become, anyway? Rule No. 2: never forget Rule No. 1.
than expected, the seven-CD set was (That's not what he said, but the implica- —Ed.

ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 65

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orchestra is wonderful and den Haydn." Symphony Gürzenich Orchestra/Co- Chamber Orchestra, Jef- José van Dam, Hans Sachs;
so is Levine. The sound, No. 12 in E Major; Sym- logne Philharmonic, James frey Tate, conductor. 289 Ben Heppner, Walther von
recorded in New York's phony No. 64 in A Major Conlon, conductor. 7243 5 '458 858-2 (1997). Stolzing; Alan Opie, Beck-
Abyssinian Baptist Church, ("Tempora Mutantur"); 55515-2 (1995). Critics seldom point messer; Karita Manila,
leaves nothing to be de- Symphony No. 44 in E Alexander von Zemlinsky: out the difference between Eva; Herbert Lippert, David;
sired. A success, all in all. Minor. Apollo Ensemble, Der Zwerg. Soile Isokoski, a beautiful voice and a very Iris Vermillion, Magdalene;
John Hsu, conductor. DOR- the Infanta; David Kuebler, beautiful voice; the music René Pape, Pogner; Chi-
dmp 90226 (1995). the Dwarf; Iride Martinez, lover has to do some inde- cago Symphony Orchestra
I like Tom Jung's work I should have reviewed Ghita; Andrew Collis, the pendent listening. The title & Chorus, Sir Georg Solti,
so much, just for its sheer this extraordinary CD two Chamberlain; Frankfurter of this CD should include conductor. 452 606-2 (4
sound quality, that I try to issues ago, when it was Kantorei, Gürzenich Orches- that "very," since Renée CDs, 1995).
force myself to like the new, but didn't. There's tra/Cologne Philharmonic, Fleming's voice is of the If performance and au-
music he records but I suc- nothing like it among the James Conlon, conductor. very highest order—Elea- dio quality are equally
ceed only occasionally. latest Dorian releases. 7243 5 56208-2 (1996). nor Steber comes to mind important to you, and you
Yes, I rather like the music When I want to demon- Seven years younger as a soprano who had a own only one recording of
on the following CD. strate the highest degree of than Richard Strauss, Zem- similar effect on me in my Meistersinger, this should
• sonic credibility, of you- linsky (1871-1942) was younger years. Her musi- be the one. Probably the
Bob Mintzer Big Band: are-there realism achiev- Arnold Schönberg's broth- cianship is also impecca- last major recording by
"Latin from Manhattan." able in a two-channel er-in-law and sounds a lit- ble; her sense of style is Solti while he was still in
Bob Mintzer, saxophone; recording, this is the CD I tle bit like Strauss edited highly sophisticated; the full possession of his pow-
16 others (saxophones, trum- take off the shelf. The pal- by Bernard Herrmann (I only thing missing here is
music that I truly love. (I ers, it satisfies all the top-
pets, trombones, piano, pable presence of John am only half kidding). It's priority requirements: good
bass, drums, percussion). Hsu's 14-piece period- a postromantic sound, very can live without the
"Jewel Song" from Faust singers, good orchestra,
CD-523 (1998). instrument chamber or- beautifully orchestrated, good conductor, good con-
chestra between the two maybe a little too slick, and stuff like that, but then
Ten tracks, most of she also has Mozart and cept of what Wagner's
them Latin-flavored, all of stereo speakers is une- too much like movie mu- Schubert CDs on the same music is all about. (That
them played with consid- qualed in my experience. sic—but so much better label.) As for the recorded any composer could create
erable verve by these fine Brian C. Peters, who is no than a lot of stuff in the sound, it could be a wee this stupendous celebra-
big-band musicians. (Try longer with Dorian, was permanent repertory. What bit more flattering to her tion of the diatonic scale
track 8 for some truly vir- producer, engineer, and it needs is some good PR, top notes but is quite right after staging the
tuosic horn solos.) The editor of the recording. He and James Conlon is just excellent on the whole. chromatic revolution with
sound is quintessential moved in a little closer to the man for that. He is the • Tristan is one of the mira-
Tom Jung: fantastic in- the orchestra in the Troy principal conductor of the cles of musical history.)
your-face presence with hall than is the general Paris Opera and a great Richard Strauss: Also sprach Solti applies a light touch
hard left/center/right local- Dorian practice, and the admirer of Zemlinsky's Zarathustra, Op. 30; Till to the many monologues
ization. Of its kind, it's state- result is magic, at least on music. The Cologne orches- Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, and dialogues in the opera,
of-the-art; there's nothing this kind of music. Just lis- tra, of which he is also Op. 28; Salome: Tanz der never letting the orchestra
better. Good speaker test. ten to those strings! That chief conductor, plays all sieben Schleier, Op. 54. drown them out (he
the music is great ("hidden out for him, both in the Berliner Philharmoniker, explains this in an intro-
Dorian Haydn" because these sym- purely orchestral pieces Sir Georg Solti, conductor. ductory program note), but
The superior audio phonies remained unpub- on the single CD and in 452 603-2 (1996). he hasn't forgotten how to
quality of Dorian releases lished during most of the two-CD opera set, My obsession as an unleash the almighty pow-
can hold my attention just Haydn's life) and the per- which features the excel- Also sprach Zarathustra er of the Chicago Sym-
so long; then the music has formances outstanding is a lent tenor David Kuebler "compleatist" is richly paid phony in the big moments.
to take over, and their mere bonus to the flabber- in a very difficult role. Der off here—this is the finest Heppner and van Dam are
most recent repertoire just gasted audiophile. Zwerg (The Dwarf) is con- recorded performance, in about as good a Walther
doesn't do it for me—with • sidered by many critics to my opinion, since the and Sachs as you can find
a few exceptions. Heitor Villa-Lobos: String be the composer's master- 1954 Reiner/Chicago clas- these days, and the rest of
• Quartet No. 7 (1942); String piece, a one-act "sicko- sic. Reiner's phrasing of the cast is also splendid.
"For Your Ears Only." Quartet No. 15 (1954). drama" based on an Oscar the string passages is still The Decca team from Eng-
Music from James Bond Cuarteto Latinoamericano: Wilde play, just like (well, the most powerful and riv- land did a very creditable
movies, etc. Proteus 7 (sev- Saúl Bitrán &Arón Bitrán, not unlike) Strauss's Salo- eting I have ever heard, job compiling the finished
en-piece band). xCD-90258 violins; Javier Montiel, vi- me. If you're into the Mah- and the groundbreaking product from several live
(1997). ola; Alvaro Bitrán, cello. ler/Strauss/early-Schon- RCA Victor Living Stereo performances in Orchestra
Brian Levine, Dorian's DOR-90246 (1996). berg bag, you'll almost recording is obsolescence- Hall (which today is far
rather elitist A-and-R man, A relatively recent Do- surely like this music, as proof, but the Solti/Berlin from the perfect recording
must have been holding rian release, this is won- you will the German-engi- combo is almost equally venue it was back in the
his nose when they made derful music, beautifully neered sound. Good show. persuasive. Splendor and days of Lew Layton); the
this audio-goon spectacu- played and recorded. I find lyricism are in perfect bal- sound is more than good
lar. It features a 24-bit dig- the earlier quartet more London ance in Solti's interpreta- enough not to be an issue
ital recording technology immediately captivating, Other major labels have tion, and the subtle inner when opting for this par-
developed by Craig Dory but both are outstanding upgraded their sound over details of the orchestration ticular version of Meister-
and yclept xCD. Imagine examples of comprehensi- the past few years (DGG are illuminated as never singer.
the dmp type of sound that ble 20th-century music. and RCA come to mind), before. The virtuosity of
jumps out at you, but with The three Bitrán brothers but English Decca has not, the Berlin players is stun- Mapleshade
a rounder, acoustically and their violist partner perhaps because they feel, ning and further displayed See my previous com-
more graphic, more suave- have the idiom down pat, not without some justifica- in Till and Salome's ments (Issues No. 22 and 24)
ly delineated quality, since and the Mexico City re- tion, that their sound was dance, whose renditions on Pierre Sprey's mind-
the venue was the great cording sounds every bit very good to begin with. are in the same class with boggling results with his
Troy hall. It's a sound that as good as stateside Do- Even so, their recent re- Zarathustra. The sound, live-to-2-track analog re-
will indeed impress you rian. Highly recommended. leases could do with a bit recorded in live concerts in cording technique.
and go into your demo more precise spatial delin- the orchestra's home ven-
collection if you don't EMI eation and a slightly less ue, is actually better than "Brand New Bag." Ebony
cringe when you hear the This is another great hot top end to be competi- standard English Decca Brass Quintet with Hamiet
da-da-dum-dee-dah James label that has had insuffi- tive with the absolute best (see above), with superior Bluiett. MS 03032 (1994).
Bond signature theme on cient coverage in our of today's recordings. soundstaging, terrific bass, Most lifelike recorded
steroids (not to mention pages. Here are two fairly and a sweet top end. James brass sound on the planet.
the jokey sound effects). recent releases of more Renée Fleming: The Beau- Lock, a name new to me, A gigantic tuba, a French
What a classical record than ordinary interest. tiful Voice. Arias and songs was the engineer. A great horn, a trombone, and two
label won't do for a little • by Gounod, Lehár, Orjf, CD—check it out. trumpets play avant-garde
extra income... Alexander von Zemlinsky: Puccini, Rachmaninov, R. • jazz (almost Webern-like)
• Die Seejungfrau (1902-03); Strauss, et al. Renée Richard Wagner: Die Mei- right in your face. A total-
Joseph Haydn: "The Hid- Sinfonietta, Op. 23 (1934). Fleming, soprano; English stersinger von Nürnberg. ly awesome experience.

66 THE AUDIO CRITIC

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 lomov, viola; David Geber, brands, while continuing to of the modern symphony much more relaxed and
"Makin' Whoopee" (Trib- cello. 01612-67171-2 (1996). employ better artists. orchestra. The producer lyrical than Levi's and
ute to the King Cole Trio). See my comments in was Andreas Neubronner, even the sound is more
King/Bluiett Trio: Hamiet Issue No. 24 on the first Ludwig van Beethoven: the engineer Markus Hei- sumptuous, though a bit
Bluiett, baritone sax; Rod- three volumes of this out- Fidelio. Deborah Voigt, Leo- land, in the first collabora- less close-up, in a much
ney Jones/Ed Cherry, gui- standing series. The matched nore; Ben Heppner, Flo- tion between RCA Victor better hall. The Telarc CD
tar; Keter Betts, bass. MS set of Antonio Stradivari restan; Elizabeth Norberg- and Thomas/San Francisco. is labeled Surround Sound
04832 (1996). instruments from the Smith- Schulz, Marzelline; Michael Get this CD if you don't with the explanation that it
Jazz as I like it, 1950s sonian Institute sound as Schade, Jaquino; Matthias already have it. is compatible with all sur-
smoke-filled barroom style. wonderful here as ever, and Hblle, Rocco; Günter von round sound systems. Huh?
Bluiett has a highly indi- the quasi-Beethovenian Ada- Kanneri, Don Pizarro; Thom- Telarc •
vidual style on the stento- gio of K. 458 (the "Hunt" as Quasthoff, Don Fernan- This label, famous for Gustav Mahler: Symphony
rian baritone sax, and Pierre quartet) alone is worth the do. Bavarian Radio Sympho- its sound, is beginning to No. 6 in A Minor ("Trag-
Sprey's recording is you- price of admission. Not ny Orchestra and Chorus, run out of standard classi- ic"). Atlanta Symphony
are-thereness incarnate. that K. 590 is anything to Sir Colin Davis, conductor. cal works to record and Orchestra, Yoel Levi, con-
be sneezed at. What's 09026-68344-2 (2 CDs, appears to be leaning more ductor. CD-80444 (1997).
MusicMasters Classics more, Judy Sherman's re- 1995). toward jazz and other The English critic Bur-
This label represents cording technique with Beethoven was proba- upscale popular music. nett James thinks this is
the most uncompromis- this group seems to be get- bly the greatest composer • Mahler's best symphony.
ingly serious side of the ting better and better. who ever lived, but this is Ludwig van Beethoven: The American composer
BMG Music empire. It not a good opera, no matter Fidelio. Gabriela Benac- and critic Paul Turok
sure works for me. Nonesuch how politely musicolo- ková, Leonore; Anthony thinks this is the best-ever
• Any label that records gists and critics speak of it. Rolfe Johnson, Florestan; recording of the sympho-
Igor Stravinsky: The Com- Richard Goode is good. (A The vocal writing is heavy- Siegfried Vogel, Rocco; ny except for the old Kara-
poser, Volume IX. The Fire- deliberate Gertrude Stein- handed, formulaic, lacking Franz-Josef Kapellmann, jan/Berlin analog set. Who
bird (1910) plus 5 shorter ism by your Editor.) in grace, and unflattering Don Pizarro; lldiko Rai- am I, ex-adman and plod-
works. The Philharmonia • to both male and female mondi, Marzelline; John ding audio journalist, to con-
and London Phiharmonic Frédéric Chopin: Polo- voices. The orchestral writ- Mark Ainsley, Jaquino; tradict these experts just
Orchestra (the latter only naise-Fantaisie in A-flat ing rises to Beethovenian David Wilson-Johnson, Don because I've been a music
in 2 short pieces), Robert Major, Op. 61; Nocturne heights here and there (how Fernando. Scottish Cham- lover all my life and have
Craft, conductor. 01612- in E-flat Major, Op. 55, No. could it fail to?), but not to ber Orchestra and Edin- a good stereo system? I
67177-2 (1997). 2; five Mazurkas; Scherzo the level of the contempo- burgh Festival Chorus, Sir can think of three or four
Epiphany! All the little in E Major, Op. 54; Bar- raneous symphonies. Bee- Charles Mackerras, con- Mahler symphonies I like
corruptions and mistaken carolle in F-sharp Major, thoven kept revising the ductor. CD-80439 (2 CDs, better, and (just as an ex-
edits that have crept into Op. 60. Richard Goode, work; the final version is 1996). ample) the nine-year-old
Stravinsky's original 1910 piano. 79452-2 (1996-97). arguably the best but still Please read my com- Chailly/Concertgebouw
score over the years have At this point in his ar- clunky, saved only by the ments on the music itself recording on London is
now been cleaned up by a tistic development, Richard tremendous sincerity of the in the review of the RCA played with greater or-
team of German scholars, Goode is one of the world's great composer's effort and Victor recording above. chestral refinement, but
and the world's greatest great pianists. His great- the drama of the famous This version is more inter- Levi does combine ele-
Stravinsky authority (in- ness comes through no mat- offstage trumpet fanfare esting sonically because mental power with great
deed, Stravinsky's alter ter what he plays. He is that everybody waits for. of Mackerras's use of nat- clarity. The Jack Renner
ego) is performing the definitely not a Chopin If Fidelio were an opera by ural horns and small-bore 20-bit recording, labeled
authoritatively restored, specialist, but in this case the other Ludwig of the era, brasses—a more authentic Surround Sound with no
pristine score here with a that's actually a good thing. Spohr, I wonder how often early-19th-century sound, explanation, has tremen-
great orchestra. What more He addresses the often it would be performed. Once very vividly recorded by dous dynamic range (dig
do you want—Pierre Bou- trivialized composer with every 50 years? This re- Jack Renner, in the best those famous hammer
lez? I find Craft sufficient- a Beethovenian serious- cording is about as good Telarc tradition. The con- blows!) but tends to be a
ly inspired in the Stravin- ness, playing the notes as as can be put together any- ducting itself is crisper, bit too hot on the top end
sky repertory to keep me written, taking very few where today—one great more incisive than Davis's, in the louder passages.
from craving a virtuoso liberties, using less rubato singer (Heppner), several but maybe too much so—
superstar conductor in this and pedal than the flam- very good ones (especially Mackerras has something Teldec
wonderful music. Craft boyant Chopinists, but Voigt), excellent orchestra of an agenda. The singing The following is not a
conducts the corrected score achieving tremendous clar- and chorus, and a world- is not in the same league CD but a videotape, which
correctly, the way Stravin- ity and a thoroughly con- class conductor who knows with the RCA version; it is I hope will be available on
sky would have, and that's vincing poetic quality all how to bring out the mu- quite undistinguished across DVD one of these days. It
all it takes for a great Fire- his own. It isn't traditional sic's strengths and lighten the board and ultimately has also been issued on
bird. The recording, pro- Chopin playing but it's up on the weaknesses. The the decisive factor. The LD, but that's a moribund
duced by Gregory K. great. I am particularly Leonore Overture No. 2 is Leonore Overture No. 3 is medium at this point.
Squires like the previous impressed by his inclusion included (maybe because included as an appendix. •
eight volumes, is perhaps of a large assortment of Ma- it isn't as much of a war- • "The Art of Conduct-
the best-sounding of the zurkas in his first recorded horse as No. 3). The sound Gustav Hoist: The Planets. ing—Legendary Conduc-
series, possibly on account Chopin program; even Ru- quality is beyond reproach. Atlanta Symphony Orches- tors of a Golden Era."
of the London hall. Close- binstein found those quirky tra, Yoel Levi, conductor. Sergiu Celibidache, Wil-
miked detail, brightly rhythms challenging. Easy Sergei Prokofiev: Romeo CD-80466 (1997). helm Furtwängler, Erich
etched but never to the success is not what this & Juliet (Scenes from the Most audiophiles have Kleiber, Willem Mengel-
point of unpleasantness, is artist seeks. The piano Ballet). San Francisco Sym- several versions of this berg, Evgeny Mravinsky,
combined with panoramic sound as recorded by Max phony, Michael Tilson Thom- showy warhorse in their Charles Munch, et al.
soundstaging and a huge Wilcox is superb. My only as, conductor. 09026-68288- CD collection. Should this 95710-3 (released 1997).
dynamic range. The bass quibble is the mere 48 2 (1995). one be added? The Michael This is a sequel to "The
line, so important in this minutes of music on the Prokofiev's best music Bishop 20-bit recording is Art of Conducting—Great
score, is particularly im- CD—if Richard Goode (in my opinion), magnifi- perhaps the widest in dy- Conductors of the Past,"
pressive. This is clearly ran out of Chopin pieces cently played and so well namic range and the most which was released in 1994
the "canonical" Firebird he felt comfortable with, recorded that this is now clearly delineated textur- and which I have seen but
for the nonce. (Oh yes, the he could have given us, one of my demo CDs. The ally of any version, but I not reviewed. The sequel
fillers are also great stuff.) say, a little Schubert. suite is not one of Prokof- think Levi's conducting is presents longer passages
• iev's but a new one, ar- too rigid and ungenial for featuring fewer conduc-
W. A. Mozart: String Quar- RCA Victor Red Seal ranged by the conductor, the essential character of tors; both are invaluable
tets, Vol. TV(K. 172, K. 168, The classic of classics but all the familiar music this music. My favorite historical documents. Do
K. 458, K. 590). The Amer- among record labels (now from the ballet is there. I recording of the digital era not expect high fidelity,
ican String Quartet: Peter owned by BMG Music) couldn't offhand name a is James Judd's with the just the most intimate con-
Winograd & Laurie Car- has finally achieved sonic more convincing and nat- Royal Philharmonic on tact with unforgettable
ney, violins; Daniel Avsha- parity with the audiophile ural-sounding recording Denon (1991). It is so musical presonalities. •

ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 67

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 very familiar to the reader of The major disadvantages of linear regu-
Audio Critic. What follows are 13 lated power supplies are nicely dealt
chapters on how to design power with (take that, Dan Banquer).
amplifiers that achieve high perfor- Instead of adding Band-Aids to the
mance against real, not imagined, power supply, Self discusses, in
performance specifications. detail, methods to make the amplifier
The Self text may be a bit of a more robust with regard to power rail
rough go for non-E.E. types. It is fluctuations. About the only thing on
written at a level that assumes famil- which I really disagree with him is
iarity with analog electronics at the that he calls slew rate an amplifier's
junior level of an E.E. program. This "speed."
is a higher level than what I try to The only real downside of the
write at in this publication, but if you text is its concentration on one circuit
High Performance understand my stuff you should get a topology. The impression is given
Audio Power Amplifiers lot out of the book. I do wish that the that this topology is the optimal one,
By Ben Duncan text were a little more tutorial, with when in fact it is one many excellent
Newnes (an imprint of Butterworth- more complete explanations of the topologies. While one can under-
Heinemann) 1996, 479 pages basics and more complete derivation stand the author's desire to limit the
of equations. The added material size of the text by limiting discus-
Audio Power Amplifier would have allowed the book to be sions of alternative topologies, it
Design Handbook understood by an audience that des- would have been nice to see coverage
By Douglas Self perately needs to be shown the truth of high-performance designs in more
Newnes (an imprint of Butterworth- about amplifier design. The text is depth. Important omissions are a
Heinemann) 1996, 329 pages well documented with annotated significant discussion of topologies
schematics, computer simulations, with three voltage-gain stages that
Reviewed by David Rich and lab measurements. This is a book work well in many Japanese
of science and it makes clear why a amplifiers, discussion of alternative
Here are two books on the same grainy midrange, etc., is science methods of output stage protection
subject, published by the same U.K. fiction. besides VI foldback limiting, and a
publisher with the same publication If you do slog your way through discussion of output stages that use
date, yet they are as different as black the text you will be well rewarded. dynamic bias stages. It is also sur-
and white (hats?). You will get the Eight different distortion mecha- prising that the advantages of degen-
point right from the start when you nisms of a standard-topology ampli- erating the second gain stage are not
read each author's introduction. On fier are identified and explained. presented by Self, even though they
page 1 of the Duncan text we are pre- Some distortion mechanisms are sur- were clearly demonstrated by
sented with a "Hip Bootable" quote prising by their simplicity, such as Edward Cherry in the early '80s.
from John Atkinson, who is intro- taking the feedback connection off Also, Self's dismissal of compensat-
duced as the "foremost international the wrong point at the amplifier out- ing an amplifier by adding a capaci-
writer on, and reviewer of, audio put. Audiophiles may be surprised to tor to ground on the second gain-
quality." This is followed by defi- see a discussion of power-rail cou- stage output, while very plausible,
nitions of airy, closed in, pace, pling distortion and distortion from fails to explain why so many excel-
rhythm, etc. (5 pages of this stuff). capacitors. Some parts of audiophile lent designs use this approach.
Then we move on to a section about lore do have grounds in science, but You get lots of different circuit
psychoacoustics which includes the these effects are measurable and eas- options discussed in Duncan's book,
statement that frequencies up to 80 ily correctable. Audiophiles may find which is more of a survey text.
kHz can be perceived by the brain. it satisfying to learn that class A Unfortunately, Ben Duncan is a card-
Switching to Chapter 1 of the amplifiers are indeed more linear, but carrying member of the high-end
Douglas Self text, we find on page 5 chagrined to find that increasing the audio party, and much of what is in
a section titled Misinformation in bias of a class B amplifier makes this book would also be right at home
Audio: "In the last twenty years the things worse. in The Absolute Sound. He is on bet-
rise of controversial and non-rational Much of what has been pub- ter behavior here than in his Hi-Fi
audio hypotheses, gathered under the lished in The Audio Critic is devel- News & Record Review column,
title Subjectivism...'''' There follow oped independently in Self's text. where he has talked about how solder
16 brilliant pages on the realities of BJTs are preferred over JFETs at the affects sound quality, but he is far
audio design and the failures of the input stage and over power less rigorous than he has been in his
subjective analysis. Douglas Self MOSFETs at the output stage. articles for Studio Sound. His analy-
concludes Chapter 1 with a section Current mirror loads are prefered sis of the different topologies in this
on the performance requirements for over resitors in the first stage. The text often enters the land of voodoo.
an amplifier—safety, reliability, advantages of placing a follower The sonic quality of different stages
power output, frequency response, between the first and second gain is discussed without any justification
noise, distortion, etc. It will all be stages are explained clearly. The of why they should have a sound at

68 THE AUDIO CRITIC

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all. Often we get a little English jin­ tances are matched. In a court of law, The Home Theater Companion
goism thrown in, as in this example Self's hard science would easily beat Buying, Installing, and Using
on dc servos: "Servos have been de Duncan's marginal technical analysis Today's Audio-Visual Equipment
rigeur in US and US influ­ and single-presentation listening-test By Howard Ferstler
enced. ..amplifiers...Tellingly, servos results. Schirmer Books (an imprint of
are not usually nor likely to be found It comes as no surprise to find Simon & Schuster Macmillan) 1997,
in amplifiers with truly accurate that Duncan comes down on the side 450 pages, $40.00
sounding bass." As expected, the of regulating power supplies:
Japanese are not left out of the "Another approach is to use electron­ Reviewed by Peter Aczel
author's biased view of the world: ic (i.e. active) means to reduce the
"...the history of class G demon­ supply impedance. Sonically, this the The title and subtitle of this big
strates how the Japanese giants have real benefit of regulated supplies." I fat paperback are strangely mislead­
tinkered with audio technology, recommend that Mr. Duncan get ing. They actually underplay the
while the smaller US companies 'got himself a copy of Douglas Self's scope of a tremendously ambitious
stuck in'." book so he can see the better and one-volume effort. "A Comprehen­
The text in some ways can be cheaper methods discussed in sive Introduction to Audio and Home
recommended for the unintentional Chapter 8 of Self's text for improv­ Theater for the Diligent Novice with
comic effects. For incoming QC ing power supply rejection. We again a Long Attention Span" would be a
inspection of bipolar output devices should not be surprised to find more appropriate label for the
we are told to test for: VBE for match­ Duncan's position on feedback: author's intentions and the book's
ing, beta, noise, breakdown voltage, "...for music signals, where there is contents. Literally everything is cov­
and sonics. We are told that "individ­ little continuity, NFB is condemned ered, from the meaning of a watt to
ual BJTs maybe listened to, typically to be always trying to catch up with the dismissal of faddish tweaks, with
in a simple circuit (e.g. class A, lwatt what has just happened." Self neatly long explanations of all the current
into 8Ω) fed by a high resolution disposes of this and a number of technologies, including the very lat­
music source." It comes as no sur­ other feedback myths—including the est. Howard Ferstler must have toiled
prise that Duncan favors MOSFET one Stereophile is currently promot­ like no other writer on consumer
output devices despite measurable ing, that NFB increases higher-order electronics known to me.
problems, to wit "there is usually harmonic energy—in his section Considering the breadth of infor­
some un-nullable crossover residue titled Some Common Misconcep­ mation in the book, the Johnsonian
yet sonics are perceived as benign or tions about Negative Feedback. "it is not done well, but you are sur­
absent..." I should point out that the prised to find it done at all" comes to
Duncan does give some techni­ Duncan text does have a significant mind. Actually, a great deal of it is
cal analysis in his section on amount of useful information, but done well—well enough to make it
MOSFETs to go with the mysticism; you must be a sufficiently well- unquestionably recommendable to
for example, he cites the wider band­ informed reader to be able to separate the intended readership—but there
width of power MOSFETs and the facts from the audiophile fan­ are a few scientific bloopers and tuto­
reports that the high R0N of a MOS­ tasies. Mr. Duncan is an audio rial misfires which unfortunately, and
FET is "a relatively minor matter" as amplifier designer and not one of perhaps unfairly, hurt the credibility
a disadvantage. But trying to bend those history professors (or whatev­ of the total text. Ferstler is no E.E. or
the facts to fit an agenda is fraught er) who do audio reviewing as a physicist but he comes on like one.
with peril, and all we have to do is go hobby. It is fascinating to watch him For example, Ferstler states that
to Douglas Self's book to find out deal with the design issues when the Sony Super Bit Mapping can extract
what's wrong here. Self points out in realities of engineering clash with the "true 19- or 20-bit performance" from
his book that the high R0N is going to audiophile belief system. An excel­ a 16-bit PCM-encoded CD, thus con­
"make more likely the lowering of lent example is when he explains the fusing psychoacoustic tricks with quan­
the output pole by capacitative load­ need for a series inductor at the tization noise. He also thinks that so-
ing," thereby preventing the domi­ amplifier's output. "The motto 'no called 18- and 20-bit D/A converters
nant pole of the amplifier from being component unless essential' is make the external trim pot adjust­
raised, even given the MOSFETs' admirable, but inductorless power ments less critical, thus ignoring (a)
wider bandwidth. Self also points out amplifiers are renowned for becom­ that currently manufactured DAC
that power FETs are difficult to par­ ing RF unstable..." If you must have chips cannot be trimmed externally
allel because of wide parametric vari­ every book in print on amplifier and (b) that those 18 and 20 bits are
ations and a tendency to go into par­ design, go ahead and add Ben in nearly all cases "marketing bits"
asitic oscillation, in direct contrast to Duncan's text to your collection, but with little relevance to actual resolu­
Duncan's incorrect claim that they most readers of The Audio Critic are tion. He furthermore thinks that Roy
are easy to parallel. He then goes on clearly much better served by Allison is God, a ranking not quite
to present an analysis and computer Douglas Self's wonderful seminal borne out by the performance of RA's
simulations showing that BJTs are text, which I highly recommend to speakers. And that's just a random
more linear than FETs in class A and anybody willing to spend the time to sampling of questionable items.
class B operation when transconduc- understand it. Leafing through the book I had
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occasion to be amused by Ferstler's my other statements in this to move your speakers around and/or
essentially 1960s-oriented mindset, book review are correct but put room-treatment material in your
which runs in counterpoint to all the this embarrassingly basic listening room (such as the Echo
up-to-date information. Some of his error reduces the impact of Busters discussed in the last issue),
illustrative examples surely belong in the ideas I was trying to then you need this software. It is best
the Smithsonian. Was the Edgar convey. In my rush to explain to state what it is not—it is not soft-
Villchur era truly the belle époque, the many errors in the book ware for designing and measuring
Howard? I pulled in correct state- loudspeakers. What it does is mea-
Don't misunderstand me, though; ments as well as the errors. sure your loudspeaker and room.
it's just that Howard tends to bring This sloppy reporting is And when you see what you are real-
out the nitpicker in me. Blemishes inexcusable.—David Rich ly listening to, you will know that
aside, the book is fundamentally Now, in my humble opinion,if wire is not going to make any differ-
sound, as easy to read as a magazine Robert Harley were a mensch like ence in the sound of your system.
(wide margins, icons, sidebars, David Rich instead of an insecure What you need, of course, is a
charts, etc.), and basically on target and spineless lightweight, he would computer, and it has to be in your lis-
for the slightly nerdy tyro. also have openly and contritely apol- tening room. If it is a laptop, no prob-
ogized for his not one but myriad lem. If it is a desktop and in the same
The Complete Guide to dumb-ass errors, perhaps even diffi- room, you are still OK, but it cannot
High-End Audio dently offering David a freelance be in another room. What you do not
By Robert Harley assignment as the fact-checker for need is any special hardware. ETF
Second Edition the second edition (which David uses the ADCs and DACs built into
Self-published 1998,558 pages, $29.95 would then have politely declined). your computer. Douglas Plumb, who
Instead, here is what Harley did: wrote the software, is I believe the
Followup by Peter Aczel The circuit schematics with first and only person to come to this
screwed-up explanations that David realization and make it a practical
The original 1994 edition of this specifically pointed out in the first solution in software for acoustical
grotesque exercise in untutored edition are gone in the second edi- measurements. Everybody else re-
techie-exegesis-cum-subjectivism tion. Just gone—no schematic, no quires add-on electronics (so much
was reviewed at some length by explanation. Some totally erroneous for laptops), and they charge four-fig-
David Rich in Issue No. 24. He dis- statements found by David that were ure prices. One must note that using
cussed about a dozen unprofessional possible to correct by changing a internal data conversion does come
technical blunders in the book and word or two are now correct. Even with the price of working in a noisy
then gave up on the rest of it. He is so, most of the original errors, and environment. This can affect mea-
not interested in going over the same especially those not discussed by surement accuracy but not enough to
boring and depressing ground all David, have been retained. In some be significant for the purpose here.
over again just to review this emend- cases an error corrected in one chap- Any computer made in the last
ed and expanded new edition, nor am ter resurfaces later in the book. It's three years should have a good
I except for some very general philo- fairly obvious that David was enough sound card. Call ETF if you
sophical observations. Harley's unacknowledged and unre- have doubts. For an extra $200, ETF
David does have, however, a mea warded fact-checker, but of course will sell you a calibrated mike and
culpa to insert here (which he also the mooched corrigenda did not preamp, but Radio Shack stuff is
posted on the Internet). extend from cover to cover, and that good enough to get you started in
I wrote that Harley "then remains the big problem. David should seeing relative differences. The com-
moves on to explain that a have finished the job—right, Bob? puter's ADC encodes the mike or line
differential amplifier con- Thus The Complete Guide to input (depending on the gain you
verts balanced signals to High-End Audio in its second edition need). The computer's headphone (or
unbalanced signals—wrong is still disastrously flawed as a source- line) outputs are connected to your
again. Trust me, this is what book. Perhaps its only value is as a stereo aux inputs. The DAC gener-
he thinks, as Figure 5-9 sociocultural document of an era in ates the test tones. Is this clever or
shows an XLR input con- which incompetent instruction finds what? Obviously you need to take
nected directly to a block he a ready market, especially when the care with anything that generates
marks Differential Ampli- instructor is some kind of cultist. large-scale test tones. Keep the vol-
fier." Well, any college stu- ume low until you know what level
dent who has taken his first ETF4.0 Room Acoustic the signals are at.
electronics course would Measurement Software I could take pages to show you
tell you that Harley's state- ETF, Oshawa, Ont., Canada, $199.95 all the things you can do with this,
ments are absolutely correct but given the fact that a free preview
and I am totally wrong to Reviewed by David Rich version is available on the Web
object to the them. I apolo- (www.etfacoustic.com) and that a
gize to Mr. Harley for this If you have spent four figures on couple of large reviews have already
major blunder. I hold that your hi-fi system and you have room appeared (again see the Web site), I
70 THE AUDIO CRITIC

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shall be brief. I hear some of you out ence. The more you read and spend will be placed in the room, and what
there saying you have no access to time using the software, the better limits you impose on where you will
the Web. OK, back to audio reviews. you get at it. It's lots of fun if you are be (including ear height). The pro-
The free Web version is actually very into nerdy things like this—but not if gram needs to know where the
useful, with a surprising amount of you're not. woofer is with respect to the floor. If
the program features left intact. To you want to, you can let the program
use ETF you must have a computer, RPG Room Optimizer™ put the speakers on virtual stands and
and in all likelihood you are on the RPG Diffuser Systems, Inc. it will determine the height of the
Web. (Another incentive to be brief is Upper Marlboro, MD stands. The program knows how to
that your Editor thinks major rear- $495.00 deal with two woofers in a speaker. It
rangements of a room are allowable knows how to work with subwoofers
only in bachelor pads or dedicated Reviewed by David Rich and it will do stereo or 5.1 (5 matched
listening rooms, and thus he is not speakers or THX dipole) configura-
giving me much space.) Among the This software just arrived at the tions. While trial and error may get
things the software generates are last minute. Kevin Voecks (Revel you close to optimum in a two-speak-
low-frequency response and distor- Speakers) recommended it to me er deployment, with 5.1 it is impossi-
tion curves. It also generates a vari- when I was discussing the problem of ble. It is important that the program
ety of energy/time curves taken over finding the optimum speaker place- has the ability to constrain the speak-
different frequency bands. Frequency ment with the ETF software. The ers' position because the best solu-
response plots with different time ETF software measures your room tion for bass response will not always
gating and 3-D frequency response and helps you determine optimal be optimal for stereo imaging and
curves (waterfall plots) for identify- placements by trial and error. The other factors (like where your signif-
ing resonances are also generated. RPG software tells you where to icant other says the speakers can go).
Unless you know your computer is start, so you can spend less time The program also tells you where to
free from digital noise (definitely not doing the final optimization. RPG is put acoustical room treatment by cal-
the case when it comes to my laptop), a company that makes room treat- culating the points on all the walls
I would not trust any THD reading be- ment not only for homes but also (yes, floors and ceiling included)
low 1 % (a nonissue in this application). large acoustic spaces and studios. where the first bounce position
Data crunching is a little slow on The Web site (www.rpginc.com) occurs for all loudspeakers..
my low-end Compaq 1210 laptop, shows an impressive list of clients. For computer science types I
but waiting for results is part of the This is not a tweako high-end com- will mention that the simplex routine
fun, at least when you first use the pany but a professional organization is used to carry out the optimization
thing. After that, the two-minute wait providing products for acoustical process. The simplex routine is a
gets to be a drag. Ground loops are engineers and installers. You can also robust optimizer for linear systems.
easy to form with computer peripher- download a demo program from their Other algorithms may be faster but
als. If you hear hum, yank the printer Web site. The demo lets you play not as robust. The cost function of the
cable out of the computer. Even this with the program for a preset room optimization is the evenness of the
PC-illiterate analog-loving creature size. Unlike the ETF demo program, response the listener hears. The pro-
found the user interface to be intu- the RPG demo gets you interested gram allows you to watch the opti-
itive and easy to use. The only point but provides no functionality to allow mization process in action. You see
of frustration I had, besides finding you to optimize the room you live in. virtual speakers and listeners fly
the darn ground loops, was in setting To optimize your room you have to around the room as the program
up my sound card's control panel. purchase the program. Warning— looks for the best position. You can
once you play with it, you will want also watch the spectra change as the
The nifty online instruction
the real one for yourself and it is not program attempts to smooth out the
manual gets you started in the subject
a cheap program, so download with response. It takes a while to do this,
of room acoustics and how to
this caution in mind. running up to 500 trials in the default
improve things. If you really get into
this, it is off to the (online) book store The program calculates under setting. The program does try to keep
to pick up a text on room acoustics constraints the recommended place- stereo imaging in mind by keeping
and treatment. Understand that you ment of your loudspeakers and of the ratio of the distance from the lis-
are an amateur in a world that you the listener, using computer opti- tener to the center point of the speak-
requires a professional to get the job mization. The constraints are set in a er plane and the distance between the
done quickly and correctly. The key very easy-to-use series of setup pan- stereo pair in the range of 0.88 to
thing to take away from this review is els (advanced features require a 1.33. This nonlinear constraint cre-
that this software is for room deeper commitment to learn the pro- ates complexity for the chosen opti-
acoustics measurements. There is no gram and the fundamentals of room mization method. Dr. Peter D'Anto-
mode that subtracts the room out of acoustics). You tell the program how nio and Dr. Trevor J. Cox, who wrote
the measurements and leaves you big your room is (rectangles only at the program, report in a journal-like
with a loudspeaker measurement. the moment), which wall you want to paper supplied with the program
Think of it as computer-assisted place the speakers on, what limits (revised from AES Preprint 4555)
tweaking that can make a real differ- you impose on where the speakers that geometric constraints increase

ISSUE NO. 25 • WINTER 1998-99 71

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the chances of finding the best (glob- one example. The program works ware that lets you optimize your
al) minimum for the problem under from 300 Hz on down, where both room size (the ultimate tweak, I
optimization with the nonlinear these effects are dominant. would think). The Room Optimizer
stereo constraint. Information on this Answers are generated by the is clearly aimed at dealers and
and much other detailed information program in feet and inches or meters. installers given its price, but that
can be found in the AES preprint. The results are two decimal places should be not be a deterrent if you
I believe this is the only program deep. One wonders why such a high have five figures invested in your
that takes both the speaker-boundary accuracy is specified. No sensitivity system. If you use the program and
interface effects and modal excitation functions are supplied at this point in follow its advice, you will get better
response into account, and the pro- the program's development. Thus a response from 300 Hz downward.
gram's algorithm attempts to opti- small change from the recommended Cable will not change your system's
mize both. Modal response results placement may make a large change sound; new electronics will not
from the natural resonances that in room response. The program does change it for the better (single-ended
occur as sound waves reflect back not consider sensitivity in its opti- triodes will make it worse); but this
and forth between solid walls. The mization. The optimization itself was software will improve the sound you
effect is minimized by placing the robust to all examples I tried hear. I should point out that any deal-
speaker in the room in such a way (remember, this is a last-minute er/installer should be using this soft-
that it is minimally affected by the review). ware and a room analysis program
room's natural modes. Speaker- At $495 the software is pricey. such as ETF. That is what those 50
boundary interface effects are differ- Special-purpose software costs a lot points are for. If they are not using
ent. They occur through the interac- to develop and support. The company these tools, but are instead doing
tion of the direct sound from the says that it is working on optimiza- installations with the help of only
loudspeaker and reflections from the tion for multiple listening positions, their golden ears, they are commit-
walls. The so-called Allison effect is nonrectangular rooms, and even soft- ting acoustical malpractice. ·

How to Be a Sophisticated Audiophile (continued from page 40)

statement about them; there may be small differences in snake oil, then it is snake oil. Put your hard-earned money
video quality; the audio performance appears to be per- into better speakers, for heaven's sake.
ceptually equal to that of ordinary CD players.) All of the above is more common sense than rock-
As for outboard D/A converters, they have no et science. The trouble is that pure common-sense infor-
inherent advantage over built-in ones except that they mation has become extremely scarce in the audio world.
generally have multiple digital inputs (coax, optical, and Even those who are completely aware of the difference
sometimes AES/EBU, ST, etc.) for multiple digital between fact and fiction tend to equivocate under the
sources. That is totally irrelevant to consumers with one pressure of marketing forces. For example, why hasn't
CD player and no other digital source, or even to those every audio journalist who is not an idiot denounced the
with AV electronics equipped with multiple digital inputs. wire and cable ads as fraudulent? Because the checks col-
With an outboard D/A converter, jitter at the digital inter- lected by the journalists from their publishers are drawn
face becomes an issue, although it is hardly ever a on the money the publishers make from those ads. You
significant problem from the user's point of view; a built- don't bite the hand that feeds you, even if it isn't clean.
in DAC by its very nature steers clear of that risk. I am Thus the simple truth is revealed only in private conver-
not implying that you should avoid an outboard unit; just sations, if at all, and very rarely in print. (Note that I said
have a damn good reason for getting one. "every audio journalist who is not an idiot." There are a
What you should avoid like the plague are few who actually believe all the tweako articles of faith.
tweako/weirdo accessories and add-ons, such as ebony Note also that this publication carries no advertising for
wood pucks or magic bricks that you put on the equip- products that defraud the consumer, but then we are not
ment to make it sound better, or cable burn-in devices, or even tempted on account of our low overhead.)
anything to treat your CDs with, or horrendously costly
power conditioners, or clocks you plug into your wall for One Last Mystery
better sound, or pure silver interconnects—the list is end- What puzzles me is why there is so much more B.S.
less, but the common denominator is the lack of a scien- in audio than in, for example, the automotive or photo-
tific raison d'etre. Sometimes we publish specific graphic fields? Why aren't we told to use silver wire in
"gotcha" commentaries on these frauds, but there are just our car's ignition system or to paint the outside of each
too many of them. The rule of thumb is that if it looks like roll of 35-millimeter film with a special green paint?
snake oil, smells like snake oil, and is promoted like Maybe some of our readers can answer that. ·
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