Everything Audio Network

“Superb PCM and DSD DAC for Audiophiles and Pros”

Brevis...

Price: $1,995

Likes: PCM/DSD conversion

Dislikes: no balanced analog input

More info: DAC2 HGC

by John Gatski

Because of the increasingly linked relationship of the computer to the audiophile D/A converter, DAC manufacturers have not only progressively improved the resolution and sound quality of their products the last ten years, but they also have added features that make them more flexible for the PC user.

DAC manufacturer Benchmark Media is a prime example of this trend with its new DAC2 HGC, a D/A that not only gets a signal-path upgrade, but also decodes the new DoP (DSD-over-PCM) audio files now available for computer download.

It has taken awhile, but Benchmark Media has finally upgraded its long-running DAC1 Series with the new flagship, the $1,995 DAC2 HGC, and it is a nearly perfect DAC. Its feature set is a mile long and includes an improved, low-impedance drive headphone amp, implementation of the new ESS Sabre32 chip/clock, the aforementioned DSD-over-PCM compatibility, word length/sample rate indicators, digital and analog pass through — and a combo analog/digital volume control.
The DAC2‘s audio performance is stunning — in that it projects a smoother texture, with increased accuracy in the bass and mid-frequency soundstage. But the top-end is full of energy and detail. Usually, a DAC’s subjective improvements are subtle, but the DAC2 HGC’s audible improvements are obvious on first listen.

Features

The DAC2 HGC is Benchmark’s top-of-the line DAC, replacing the DAC1 HDR. With some similarity to the DAC1 HDR (remote control operation, analog input, and USB input), the feature set is much enhanced; the new DAC engine is the heralded ESS Sabre32 DAC chip, employed in a custom circuit that offers more digital headroom, better S/N and achieves gain via a unique Hybrid Gain Control (analog/digital) volume control. John Siau, Benchmark VP and chief product designer, said the DAC2 HGC’s High-Headroom DSP is key to the perceived audio smoothness heard in the DAC. Siau noted that the new DAC can handle signals as high as +3.5 dBFS, offering smoother-sounding performance on maxed digital recordings.

A boost in playback resolution and refined smoothness make the DAC2 HGC's sound much closer to live music, and the addition of DSD compatibility opens up more possibilities in the world of high-res computer music.

According to Siau, most digital systems clip signals that exceed 0 dBFS. For years, he explained, the 0 dBFS limitation seemed reasonable, as 0 dBFS is the highest sinusoidal signal level that can be represented in a digital system. However, real-world measurements and math equations show that PCM digital systems can have inter-sample peaks that may reach levels slightly higher than +3 dBFS — though the individual samples never exceed 0 dBFS.

These inter-sample overs, however, can wreak havoc on the PCM interpolation filter, which is a key component of 24-bit DAC performance. The inter-sample overs cause distortion components that are audibly non-musical and harsh under subjective testing — even the DAC1 is not immune to their effect. “The DAC2 HGC avoids these problems by maintaining at least 3.5 dB of headroom in the entire conversion system,” Siau noted. “We believe this added headroom is a groundbreaking improvement.”

To achieve linear volume control, the DAC2 HGC combines active analog gain control, passive low-impedance attenuators, a 32-bit digital gain control and a servo-driven volume control. All inputs are controlled by the rotary volume control, and the volume control moves in response to commands from the remote control. According to Benchmark, “analog inputs are never converted to digital, and digital inputs never pass through an analog potentiometer.”

The digital inputs are controlled in 32-bit DSP, said to achieve optimal L/R balance, and precise stereo imaging, while avoiding any source of noise and distortion.

Benchmark also believes its unique passive output attenuators are vital to the DAC2's performance, providing distortion-free gain reduction — without reducing the dynamic range of the converter. The attenuators are said to optimize the gain staging between the DAC2 HGC and the power amplifier. This optimization is essential for maximizing the dynamic range of the entire playback system, Siau added.

Benchmark has implemented an impressive list of internal components to get maximum performance out of such a reasonably priced DAC. The DAC2 HGC uses the 8-channel 32-bit Sabre32 ES9018 D/A converter. Four balanced outputs are summed in balanced low-impedance I/V converters to form each of the two balanced output channels. National Semiconductor LME49860 op-amps (which can easily handle low impedance loads) are used throughout the audio path. An Alps motorized gain control is used to control the volume.

Plenty of I/O on the DAC2

Digital processing includes a Burr-Brown SRC4392 Digital Audio transceiver, and a Xilinx FPGA running custom Benchmark firmware. The DSP functions include Benchmark's UltraLock2(TM) jitter attenuation system, asynchronous upsampling, automatic de-emphasis, PCM and DSD filters, DoP decoding (for DSD playback), word-length detection and sample rate detection. The DAC2 HGC uses distributed voltage regulation. Each critical circuit has dedicated low-noise voltage regulators. As per Benchmark's typical high-grade build quality, the circuit board has six layers of copper and includes 3-dimensional shielding for critical signals.

Always obsessed with jitter suppression, Benchmark relies on its UltraLock Jitter Attenuation and asynchronous USB2 input. According to Benchmark, the USB input uses an asynchronous USB transport mode to eliminate the computer and the USB connection as a source of jitter. The USB input can operate in a USB 2.0 mode that supports sample rates up to 192 kHz, or it can operate in a driverless USB Audio 1.1 mode — which supports sample rates up to 96 kHz. The USB input mode is switchable from the remote, or from the front panel. The USB 2.0 mode does not require driver installation on Apple Mac systems. A driver package is included to provide USB 2.0 support on Windows systems.

The DAC2 HGC has a host of other audiophile-focused functions as well: the SPDIF digital pass-through output, analog pass-through, sample rate and word length indicators (I have been after DAC builders for years to add this feature), and its DSD-over-PCM (DoP) compatibility.

The DSD-over-PCM processing opens up the world of DSD to non-professionals. The DoP scheme allows download services to provide DSD files (the same one-bit encoded music that is used for encoding SACDs) to be downloaded to a computer. Those DSD files are then “packed” onto a 24-bit/176 kHz PCM signal, so they can be output via the computer to a compatible DAC, usually through USB output.

With the DAC2, you can visually confirm what sample rate and word length is being output from the PC (or any other source) and whether your computer’s audio settings are in sync.

The DoP audio is not DSD-to-PCM conversion, such as is processed through such programs as Korg’s AudioGate. The DoP files are genuine, native DSD that are piggybacked on the PCM signal, which makes it more computer friendly. Labels, such as Blue Coast, provide the DSD download music, and Pure Music, Audirvana and JRiver, for example, make the conversion software that allows these files to be played from your computer through a compatible external DAC, a la the Benchmark DAC2 HGC. Pure Music and JRiver also allow the converted DoP files to be saved as export files that can be played from any PCM device that supports 24/176 PCM output, as long as they are connected to a compatible DAC — like the Benchmark or the new Mytek.

The Benchmark DAC2 HGC not only allows decoding and playback of the DoP audio from a computer or PCM player, but it can also enable recording of the DoP in real time from the computer. If you play the DSD-on-PCM from a Mac, for example, and the USB is connected to the DAC2, you can record that DoP signal to a 24/176-capable PCM recorder through the Benchmark’s SPDIF pass-through jack. And then you can play that DoP file back from the PCM recorder/player through the DAC2. Pretty darn slick. I’m really liking this DAC.
The DAC2 also has more goodies in its feature set including 12-volt trigger and optional silver or black front panels. The Dac2 is more energy efficient than the old Dac1 series, and runs much cooler.

Knobs and things...

The DAC2‘s front panel sports two low-impedance, load-handling headphone jacks, audio mute/dim switch, polarity switch, power switch, and motorized volume control. An assortment of input indicators and the sample rate and word-length indicators round out the front section. There is a lot going on, but Benchmark manages to squeeze it all into the half-rack of real estate.

With regard to the sample rate/word length indicators, I can only say thank you, thank you! This is a feature that most DACs lack. Some do have sample rate, but most do not show word length. However, as I have argued for years, knowing the incoming sample rate/word-length information is key to ensuring high-resolution playback from a computer.

As computer audio began taking hold in the pro and hi-fi niches, I began to notice that computer audio systems and software often were not automatically in sync. For instance on a Mac, you can have playback software outputting your 24-bit/96 kHz audio file, but if the Mac’s core audio system file parameter is set to 16-bit/44.1 kHz, your high-res signal gets sample rate converted and word length truncated down to 16-bit. That pristine 24-bit file you thought you were listening to through a DAC was barely CD quality, but you didn’t know because your DAC had no visual confirmation of sample rate or word length.

DAC2 displays 24/96 input

With the DAC2, you can visually confirm what sample rate and word length is being output from the PC (or any other source) and whether your computer’s audio settings are in sync. You can also, finally, confirm whether your Blue-ray player actually delivers full-res out the digital port (a hint, most don’t, except for the Oppos).

The DAC2‘s sample rate/word length indicator section contains 16-bit and 24-bit LEDs for word-length verification, and 44.1/48 kHz LEDs and 2X/4X LEDs for sample rate status. Thus, if your incoming signal is 24-bit/96 kHz sampling, the indicators show the 24-bit LED, the 48 kHz LED and the 2X LED (48 kHz x 2 equals 96 kHz). A 24-bit/192 kHz audio file lights the 24-bit LED, the 48 kHz LED and the 4X LED (48 kHz x 4 equals 192 kHz). DSD signals are indicated by simultaneous lighting of the 2X and 4X LEDs. Ya gotta do a little multiplication, but the indicators give you the needed info on input signal.

The DAC’s back panel is chock full of ins and outs. Ports include two TOSlink and two coax inputs, one USB input, two sets of analog inputs (DAC1 had only one set), two sets of analog unbalanced outputs and one set of balanced XLR outputs. Digital input number four doubles as the digital pass-through (accomplished by moving an internal jumper). There is no analog balanced input, my only quibble with the DAC2. Because the half-rack size necessitated careful feature selection, I suppose something had to go to make it all fit.

The remote control duplicates all front panel functions including input switching, volume, dim/mute, and polarity controls. The classy remote is made of aluminum and has a nice feel; the buttons are easy to operate. The motorized volume control makes minimal noise as its servo operates. When you turn on the DAC2, the servo goes through its self check and will move for a few seconds, before stopping at the last setting. When you push the mute/dim button from either the remote or front panel, it will lower the level. Hit it again, and it goes to the previous volume position.

The setup

I used the Benchmark DAC2 HGC in a variety of playback scenarios, as a headphone amp and line output preamp. I did a lot of headphone listening with my AKG K702s and Shure SRH1840headphones, monitoring from the DAC2's headphone outs — as well as the other DACs on hand. I also connected outputs of the DAC2 HGC and the Benchmark DAC1 Pre to my Coda preamp and connected the Coda output to my balanced Benchmark H1 discrete headphone amp. By matching the DAC’s outputs, the Coda/Benchmark combo allowed me to do some real A/B listening via headphones. With really accurate headphones, you can listen deeply for differences in audio components, such as DACs. The subtle differences, such as room ambience and audio stereo cues, are easier to hear when you’ve got the speakers right next to your ears.

The DAC review gear included the Benchmark DAC1 Pre, Lavry DA-10 and Oppo BDP-95. Other audio sources included the TASCAM DVRA-1000HD PCM/DSD player recorder, the mid-sized TASCAM HDP2 CF recorder/player and a Sony PCM-D1 handheld recorder with digital output. (I love using separate DACS with handheld digital players. The players' small footprint, along with the compact Benchmark DAC, make for a handy, high-res playback package that takes up very little room.)

For speaker listening, I either plugged the balanced output of the DAC2 into my CODA high-current solid state preamp, and then fed the pre into a Pass X350.5 or Bryston 14BSST amp, or I used the DAC2 as a standalone preamp, connecting straight to the amp. Speakers included Martin Logan Montis electrostatic loudspeakers and Legacy Focus 20/20s.

All component line cabling was done via Alpha-Core’s solid-conductor silver cables, and all AC was handled by Essential Sound Products Essence II cords and power strip.

The audition

Connecting the digital output of the Oppo BDP-95 to the DAC2 HGC, I played a number of high-res PCM recordings for headphone listening. Right off the bat, without even doing an A/B comparison, I could hear the improved resolution over the DAC1. A much more focused, bass and midrange — along with a smoother top-end — was heard form the DAC2. Imaging was wide and deep with the intricate layers of inner detail that high-res music delivers via top-notch components.

When comparing the DAC1 and the DAC2 through the Coda on the electrostatic Martin Logan's, I played the 2L Blu-ray recording Ole-Bull. This 24/192 kHz violin concerto was quite impressive through the DAC2 HGC. The rich violin textures and dynamic range were more immersive, like live music, than the DAC1 Pre. Its not that the DAC1 Pre was not high-res, but the DAC2 revealed increased detail and layers that made the violin sound more real — without the harder edge often attributed to PCM. The smoothness reminds me of DSD, yet you still have PCM’s snappy energy in the high-frequency transients. I could really hear those violin bow harmonics with the DAC2.

On the high-res 24/96 Chesky live-to-two track recording, Bucky Pizzarelli-Swing Live, the jazz guitar and live drums had dynamic range in spades through the DAC2. On the Itrax DVD-A, Lawrence Juber-Guitar Noir, the percussion and intricate guitar picking were noticeably smoother than the DAC1, and even slightly smoother than on the Oppo BDP-95’s converters, which use the same DAC chip. Those who are used to the tight, bright and hard edge of the previous generation of DACs will be tickled by the DAC2 HGC’s silky smooth sonic signature. Yet it loses nothing on top.

Benchmark has ensured compatibility with DSD by adding the DoP-decoding capability. Through computer software player programs, such as Pure Music, JRiver and Audirvana, computers can relay the DSD-on-PCM signal to the DAC2 HGC.

Another PCM recording that scored high with me through the DAC2 HGC was the Itrax music Blu-ray, Bryan Pezzone-Piano Pieces, a 24/96 PCM recording,. Though ultra-impressive in the 5.1 soundtrack, the mixed-to-stereo version is still first rate, and the DAC2 HGC delivers an exquisite piano tone that is about as real as you will ever hear from music played through a series of electronic components.

On pop music, I played the Talking Heads-Little Creatures, Dual-Disc, an analog-to-24 bit transfer that has multi-layered instruments with an equal tonal spectrum and nice, wide soundstage. Again, the DAC2 HGC projects more studio-recording refinement of the mix than the DAC1. Guitars, bass, and drums were nice and open with David Byrne‘s quirky vocals dead center. I noticed how real and focused the midrange frequencies were versus the DAC1. On some songs, the DAC2 made the DAC1 sound thin, in comparison.

In essence, the sonic signature of the much-touted ESS DAC chip is clearly in evidence in the DAC2, and I think it wise that Benchmark switched to that chip. Using it as a foundation to add its custom DSP, jitter reduction, higher digital headroom and premium analog path parts, the sonic result is one of the best sounding DACs I have ever heard. All the more impressive is the fact that it is under $2,000.

To DSD and beyond...

As pleased as I was with PCM performance of the DAC2 HGC, the ability to play 1-bit DSD recordings is a must-have feature for audiophiles. Though it is still relatively new, the ability to decode computer-based DSD-on-PCM is another step in moving audio listeners to more high-resolution formats on the PC.

The DoP process allows DSD files to be encoded onto PCM 24-bit 176.1 kHz audio files. Since computers are more PCM friendly than DSD, the DoP process allows easy computer upload and download, and ultimate DSD playback, via USB. As a result, DSD music download services have emerged, such as Blue Coast, allowing these files to be downloaded to the computer. Benchmark has ensured compatibility with DSD by adding the DoP-decoding capability. Through computer software player programs, such as Pure Music, JRiver and Audirvana, computers can relay the DSD-on-PCM signal to the DAC2 HGC. And it works.

Using an Apple Macbook Pro and Audirvana, I downloaded and played samples of Blue-Coast provided downloads, as well as my own DSD recordings that I had recorded on a TASCAM DVRA-1000 DSD/PCM high-res recorder and transferred to the Mac. I also transferred original live-to-two-track DSD piano cuts that Tom Jung recorded a few years ago. All the DoP music selections were transmitted from the Mac to the DAC2 HGC via USB.

A quality remote control is included

Just as with the impressive PCM playback, the Benchmark plays DSD audio with the same accuracy, smooth articulation and open stereo image. DSD always sounds a tinge warmer versus the best PCM, and that was the case with the DAC2. Those who like DSD recordings will be quite happy with the DAC2 HGC. Tom Jung’s DSD piano recordings, made with Joe Grado's specialty microphones, were mind-blowing in their realness. I have never heard a recorded Steinway sound this good. Such spatial definition and depth reflects well on TJ’s recording, Joe Grado’s mics and the DAC2’s decoding.

By the way, the DAC2‘s SPDIF pass-through output also enhances the Benchmark’s DSD capability. The digital pass-through mode, which is engaged by moving an internal jumper, on the number two SPDIF (coax) input, allows DoP files to be stored on a PCM recorder, when copied in real time. I found I could copy DoP files by connecting the DAC2 HGC’s SPDIF output to the SPDIF input of my TASCAM HD-P2. I set my TASCAM HDP2 compact flash recorder for digital input at 24/176, and then played the DoP file from the computer through the Benchmark (USB), which passed on the DoP signal to the TASCAM.

As the TASCAM was recording the DoP file, it was interesting to observe the incoming PCM recording signal; it showed up on the TASCAM’s signal meter as -30 dB of noise, and I could hear the hiss through the TASCAM’s headphone jack via my AKGs.

On playback from the TASCAM, the Benchmark decoded all the copied DoP DSD test cuts — with no glitches or noise — in all its glorious DSD openness and detailed soundstage. Although real-time recording is not as time efficient as saving the converted DoP file on the computer with Pure Music or JRiver programs, it does show that DoP is not limited to just the computer. In fact, I put those converted DoP files on a USB thumb drive, plugged it into an Oppo BDP-95, which was connected to the DAC2‘s SPDIF input. The DSD cuts played perfectly from the Oppo.

One fine preamp

With all the talk about the DAC2’s digital decoding prowess, we should not lose sight that it also is a flexible preamplifier — with an excellent Class A headphone amp. For many audiophiles, the DAC2 is all the preamp you need. It has two sets of analog RCA input jacks, balanced and unbalanced outputs, and numerous digital inputs, counting the USB.

The DAC2‘s audio performance is stunning — in that it projects a smoother texture, with increased accuracy in the bass and mid-frequency soundstage. But the top-end is full of energy and detail. Usually, a DAC’s subjective improvements are subtle, but the DAC2 HGC’s audible improvements are obvious on first listen.

In comparison to several standalone preamps, the DAC2 HGC analog output held its own, and it was extraordinarily quiet. BTW, factory spec’s show that the digital converter has a measured S/N ratio of -127 dB a-weighted — nearly a factor of 10 dB quieter over the DAC1. Shows what advances in chip technology and smart design will get you — in terms of numerical performance.

I had no issues with the Benchmark DAC2 HGC, even though it was their very first review unit. The remote control volume control worked perfectly; all inputs switched correctly and the various functions functioned. The manual was completed late in the review process, but the DAC2 HGC was easy to use without it; to me, its functions were obvious. I even tried the 12V volt trigger, allowing the DAC to kick on the Bryston amplifier. It worked as advertised.

As mentioned, my only negative was the lack of a balanced analog input to enable fully balanced playback from a balanced analog source. Though not a true criticism, I should also point out that activating the digital output pass-through on digital input number four requires a bit of effort. The cover has to be removed (eight screws) and the jumper moved on the jacks’ circuit. This also means you lose one digital input.

The verdict

Although the Benchmark DAC2 HGC does not look that different from the old DAC1 series, its performance and feature set is so much more advanced. A boost in playback resolution and refined smoothness make it much closer to live music, and the addition of DSD compatibility opens up more possibilities in the world of high-res computer music.

Whether you are in the DSD or PCM camp, or just need some clean analog gain, it does not matter with the Benchmark DAC2 HGC; it will play it or pass it on through — with stellar results. Without hesitation, the DAC2 gets an Everything Audio NetworkStellar Sound Award, and a permanent place in my reference review system. Now what to do with that DAC1 Pre?

©Articles on this site are the copyright of the Everything Audio Network. Any unauthorized use, via print or Internet, without written permission is prohibited.

Brevis...

Price: $895

Likes: sounds way above its price

Dislikes: makes expensive mics sound cheap

More info: Mojave Audio MA-301fet

by Dr. Frederick J. Bashour

As a classical music recording engineer and producer, I've been using (and collecting) expensive microphones for over forty-five years. One might say that I've made a career out of it, since — in classical music recording — very little audio processing is ever done to the microphone's signal. Thus, the sound of the microphones themselves (and their placement in the hall) completely determines the sound of the finished recording.

During all those years, I've seen various styles and fashions of classical music recording come and go, and I've adapted accordingly, evolving from a completely purist two-microphone approach, to a more eclectic style, using subsets of my microphone collection as paints — just like an visual artist would — to create, on my audio canvas, my best illusion of the performing musicians playing in the space between and around the listener's home loudspeaker setup.
To further that end result, I call upon both small and large diaphragm microphones, of both condenser and ribbon design, in various synergistic and euphonic combinations, but the quality that most of them share is that very few of them are actually off-the-shelf "store-bought" microphones. They may have started off that way, long ago, but over the years I've had the privilege of working with a few, very talented microphone designers and tweakers who have modified my wonderful Neumann, Schoeps, and AKG vacuum tube condenser mics (originally manufactured back in the fifties and sixties) with upgrades to their capsules and electronics — all in the name of increasing their resolution while maintaining their individual personalities. Make no mistake about it, even the flattest response, most "accurate" microphone has an audible personality and, as I just wrote, in classical music recording, the microphone's personality impacts directly on the perceived sound of that recording.

Imagine the ultimate condenser...
Over the decades of watching and listening to my precious mics being modified and tweaked has taught me quite a bit about the trade-offs involved in microphone design, and I've often wondered what kind of microphone I'd design for myself if I were going to start from scratch. I've learned to appreciate, from direct experience, the difference in sound between a 6-micron, a 3-micron, a 1.5 micron, and even thinner Mylar capsule diaphragms, such as those made from 1.0 and 0.9 micron film. But would it be a vacuum tube mic, or one using a solid-state FET impedance converter (since the Field Effect Transistor most closely models the parameters of tubes, and can be used in circuits which mimic the simplicity of early tube mic circuits)? Since I use both large and small diaphragm mics in my own recordings, I'd have to design one of each kind.
Luckily for me, I no longer have to theorize and dream about designing my own special mic: Mojave Audio actually manufactures a model that is about as close to my ideal as possible, the Mojave MA-301fet. It was designed by David Royer, an innovative microphone designer who started working in the mid-eighties, at the same time as a few other independent mic engineers, who also surfaced simultaneously in California. Today, Royer is now a major force in high-quality microphone manufacturing: running his namesake ribbon-microphone company, Royer Labs and a second company, Mojave Audio, which produces lower cost, yet high-performance condenser microphones.

The Mojaves immediately improved upon the sound I had become accustomed to from those aforementioned tweaked Neumann M 249s.

Mojave Audio has its roots in Dave Royer’s garage, circa 1985, where he first started repairing and modifying American and Japanese condenser mics, working his way up the learning curve in the nineties to the expensive European mics owned by L.A.-area engineers. And while designer Stephen Paul, who died in 2003, was the original pioneer of aftermarket capsule rebuilding and ultra low-mass diaphragms, Dave Royer went on to actually manufacture an entire line of condenser microphones based on the principles honed by that tiny group of California microphone designers.

The results of that fertile California mic design atmosphere are now available for all of us to experience in the current Mojave Audio microphone line, which now includes two small diaphragm condenser models (tube and FET) and four large diaphragm condenser (two tube and two FET, whose models are distinguished by their assortment of polar patterns).

Features
Mojave's latest mic model, the MA-301fet, is a three-pattern, solid-state LDC (large diaphragm condenser) shaped roughly like a black Neumann U87. I think the MA-301fet is the most "universal" of all the Mojave mics, and I really like it.

As with all Mojave mics, the MA-301fet is designed in the USA, but built at Royer’s mic facility in China — using a mix of US and Chinese components. The quality of the best Chinese-built mics now rivals European and USA models, and the MA-301fet typifies that quality with solid construction and fit/finish. The mic’s -15 dB pad and bass roll-off switches are precise, and high-grade internal parts — Jensen transformer and military grade FET — show that this mic has a high-end pedigree. Factory rated specs, including 14 dB self-noise and 120 dB maximum SPL, show that it can work in any studio application. The bass roll-off affects bass at 6dB per octave under 100 Hz.

The mic comes with a nice carrying case and shock mount. The $899 price is an incredible bargain for this kind of quality.

Mojave MA-301FET with case and mount

In his design of the MA-201fet and MA-301fet microphones, David Royer has designed a FET version of the classic vacuum tube impedance converter circuit, which is exactly the kind of design I would make. The classic tube circuit, as found in many of my classic mics, such as my Neumann M 49s, M 50s, and KM 53s and ‘54s, AKG C 60s, and my Schoeps 221Bs, is based on a simple, sub-miniature triode tube (the Telefunken AC-701k); the number of passive parts accompanying that tube design can be counted on the fingers of one hand; the circuit is really that simple!

It would stand to reason, then, that I would model that circuit, using a tube a bit more readily available today and, in fact, that's what Dave Royer did with his MA-100 and MA-200 and MA-300 tube mics. But David Royer has gone further by improving on the tiny transformers, used in the small diaphragm classic Neumann and Schoeps models, by specifying a larger Jensen transformer. This design gives considerably better specs, especially in the low end. (And in some cases, he’s gone the AKG C 60 route, running the tube in cathode-follower mode, enabling him to remote the transformer to the power supply itself.)

As a longtime recording engineer, I am convinced that the new, fashionably black Mojave MA-301fet is the new U87 for the twenty-first century.

In the Mojave FET mic design, Royer has succeeded in modeling that classic tube circuit with a FET instead of a tube, yet he still kept the passive parts count low, with a minimal complement of high-quality resistors, capacitors and, of course, that large audiophile-quality Jensen transformer. The design is amazingly close to the mic concept milling around in my head. It is like David Royer was reading my mind.

The capsule design is just as impressive. As a result of several decades of empirical field evidence from thin-film, high-resolution capsule diaphragms, Royer chose 3 microns as the best compromise diaphragm film for all his microphones, and I agree with his decision, especially for a product to be made in quantity. Any thinner than 3 microns and you start to reach diminishing returns with the resolution, while simultaneously making manufacturing consistency increasingly difficult.

**David Royer modeled the Mojave capsule on the Neuman KK67 design (U 67) rather than the M7/KK47 capsule, used in the U 47 and M 49, because of its better off-axis performance. The Mojave capsule’s sonic performance is excellent. In fact, it sounds closer to my prized, Stephen Paul-modified 1.5 micron Neumann M 269 than my 3-micron capsule M 249 vintage Neumann. I do not make this statement loosely; I'm intimately familiar with the sound of those classic mics (and the improvements brought by the modifications I had done back in the late eighties), so I calls it like I hears it!

The audition

So what does the MA-301fet sound like in the real world? In two words, big and clear. Used as a spaced pair of cardioids on my Mason and Hamlin piano, the Mojaves immediately improved upon the sound I had become accustomed to from those aforementioned tweaked Neumann M 249s — a pair probably worth at least five times the asking price of two MA-301fets. No, they didn't have the last bit of vacuum tube "liquidity" I get from my Neumanns, but they sounded at least as large, and were definitely clearer.

I'll assume that the tube version of the MA-301fet, the MA-300, would have given me that little bit of liquidity, but hearing the huge sound I heard from this solid-state mic was quite an eye-opener!

A few days later, I had a session where I had to mike a classical violin duo, while recording contemporary classical music. I tried the MA-301fets on the two violinists. If I placed the Mojaves low and slightly farther away than one would normally think of for a spot mic, the MA-301fets produced a big and completely believable sound on each of the violins. I consider this an acid test for any mic; if it can successfully capture a classical violin soloist close-up, then it can capture any difficult source. I also compared the MA-301fet pair with my Gefell M-930s, a cardioid-only mic which uses an authentic M7 diaphragm, accompanied by modern solid-state electronics. There was no contest; the MA-301fets were clearer and larger-sounding. Here, their 3-micron diaphragms, coupled with the KK67 backplates, proved that the thicker diaphragms and older design of the original M7 capsule could not compete. Noise-wise, the Gefells were a little bit quieter, but the design of their electronics trades off extremely low self-noise for a thicker, more "tense" sound quality.

For voice, the MA-301fet is predictable because of its flat frequency response curve. For smooth voices, which mate well with accurate, crisp mics, they sounded wonderful. For voices on the shrill, or sibilant side, it sounded a little too "hi-fi" and accurate, whereas a mellow ribbon mic or my old U 47 would have colored the voice pickup euphonically.

Luckily for me, I no longer have to theorize and dream about designing my own special mic: Mojave Audio actually manufactures a model that is about as close to my ideal as possible.

The MA-301fets also sounded killer on acoustic guitar, making even a cheaper instrument sound a bit more like a big Martin. A pair of these on a really good acoustic guitar, steel string or classical, would be just the ticket for an audiophile-quality, solo guitar recording session. I tried the pair in both omnidirectional and cardioid patterns, and each one provide results superior to my already high expectations.

The verdict

When I was starting out in the recording business back in the early seventies, the Neumann U 87 was quickly becoming the standard studio mic (replacing the cumbersome, "old-fashioned" vacuum tube U 67) because, like its predecessor, it was designed to sound good on everything — from individual instruments to the human voice. Over the years, microphone fashions have changed, and many engineers (yours truly, included) now appreciate the special virtues of classic vacuum tube large diaphragm condensers, even with their bulky power supplies. Nevertheless, the need for a "studio standard," solid-state large diaphragm mic — that sounds great on everything and always works with no fuss — remains the same.

As a longtime recording engineer, I am convinced that the new, fashionably black Mojave MA-301fet is the new U 87 for the twenty-first century. Dave Royer has, thus, come full circle, from tweaking and repairing old ‘87s to founding a company which now manufactures its modern replacement.

Based on my experience, an off-the-shelf, store-bought Mojave MA-301fet, street priced at $900, surpasses a stock U 87 in its sonic flexibility and accuracy. It even compares favorably with my seriously-tweaked, vintage Neumanns that are worth many times its price! Congratulations, David Royer. You have built the mic that I had designed in my head — and it sounds as wonderful as I had imagined. The Everything Audio NetworkStellar Sound Award has never been more deserved.

Dr. Fred Bashour has been a classical recording engineer for the past 45 years, with recordings released on over twenty labels, including Musical Heritage Society, Naxos and Dorian. His studio, Dufay Digital Music, is located in Western Massachusetts. He holds a Yale Ph.D. in Music Theory and is also an gigging keyboardist. He can be reached via the Everything Audio Network, everything.audio@verizon.net

©Articles on this site are the copyright of the Everything Audio Network. Any unauthorized use, via print or Internet, without written permission is prohibited.

Brevis...

Price: $1,795 (direct order)

Likes: Build quality, clean bass extension

Dislikes: I would be quibbling
Info: Legacy Metro

by John Gatski

Legacy Audio has produced custom-made, USA manufactured hi-fi speakers for 30 years, earning a high-performance reputation with big cabinet transducers, such as Focus, Whisper and Classic. I’ve owned a couple of pairs myself. However, the company also has produced smaller speakers that are just as impressive in their performance.

The new Metro subwoofer fits the space-=conscious category. This compact, powered subwoofer offers low-down bass at generous levels — via a smartly designed, 12-inch active driver/15-inch passive radiator. As a small-to-medium room bass delivery module for music and home cinema. the Metro has to be considered a prime choice.

Features

The Legacy Metro powered-subwoofer generates its bass through a 12-inch, active front-fired woofer and a 15-inch passive radiator, bottom-firing driver. I have always been a big fan of passive radiator subs — in that they can enhance the bass response in a small cabinet. It is a more advanced tuned port than the typical ported enclosure — with an actual radiator being moved by the pressure created by the active driver motion. Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, passive radiators were all the rage in larger book shelf speakers, and they performed well. In the 1990s, Velodyne made the VA-1215 active/passive radiator sub, which I reviewed for Audio magazine and found its performance to be superb, considering its size.

The Metro is equipped with an aluminum cone, 12-inch active driver with neodymium motor. The passive driver is made of a composite material that enhances its motion, yet remains stiff enough to ensure uniform extension. The Metro is powered by a 500-watt Class D amplifier that is clean and dynamic, especially for the small and medium rooms the sub is designed for.

The Metro offers welcome simplicity in its hook up: a pair of RCA line-level inputs and a set of high-pass speaker jacks for use with separate speakers. The crossover is adjustable from 40 Hz to 150 Hz. Controls include output level and up to 180 degrees of phase adjustment. The filter slope is 18 dB-per-octave. The MDF cabinet is very stiff and well braced to prevent any mid-bass coloration. My gloss black tester Metro looked great: modern, compact and much more high-end than its $1,795 would indicate. The sub sits on rubber decoupling isolating feet, and the front grill is removable.

**Spec wise, the Metro listed frequency response is 20 to 150 Hz — with no tolerance given. The Metro is more of a 30 Hz+ sub than a 20 Hz sub at meaningful room levels, but it does have output below 30 Hz. There is no amp or system distortion rating, but the Metro sounds extremely clean at levels up to 100 dB or so.
The Metro foot print is a modest 16-inches tall x 16-inches wide and 16-inches front to back. Weight is a manageable 68 pounds. It comes in three finishes: black, oak and walnut.

The setup

I used the Legacy Metro as a standalone subwoofer in my home theater room and as an audiophile bass extender in my audiophile suite, matching it with the Legacy Studio HDs — the company’s crown jewel for mini-speakers. The sub has just enough adjustment flexibility to match it to satellite speakers, and its Class D power ensures its performance in most listening rooms.

The Studio HD smooth, detailed midrange and top end, with excellent width and depth, and the Metro's clean bass extension at loud levels, delivered music in a most convincing fashion.

In my home cinema room, I routed the .1 bass from my system to the Metro. located in the room’s typical sub position, which is next to the left wall. The speaker system included Westlake Lc 8.1 L-R, Westlake Lc2.65 center channel and NHT-One dipole surrounds. Source gear included Oppo BDP-95BD player, AudioControl and Onkyo receivers, and MIT speaker cables. AC was handled through Essential Sound Products Essence II power cord and power strip.

My normal subwoofer is the marvelous Paradigm Sub 15, a much larger subwoofer that easily extends to under 20 Hz. For the review, I used the Metro, instead, to handle all of the low-bass duties. The Legacy crossover was set to 60 Hz and I routed all the individual channels low bass to the subwoofer via the receiver, matched the levels and sat down for the audition. I also ran an Audio-Control real-time analyzer to monitor the bass output in real-time.

The audition

I played numerous Blu-ray movies, including Sum of All Fears, U571, Avatar, and Monsters Vs. Aliens, to test the low bass output. I also sampled several music Blu-rays to see how the sub integrated with the neutral tone character of the professional-caliber Westlakes. In the WWII flick, U571, the relentless depth charges explosions are a good workout for a subwoofer. Less capable subs cannot handle the relentless succession of explosions that are highly percussive and dynamic — with portions of the bass that go under 25 Hz. Less-capable subs blur the bass and with an overhang character instead of the sound of separate explosions. High-end subs like my Paradigm Sub 15 handle this soundtrack with no audible strain.

For a compact box and with the benefit of the passive radiator, the Metro handled the U571 effects pretty well. The RTA did not show as much bass under 30 Hz as the Paradigm (a much bigger box), but it did a very good job of delivering the 30 Hz to 60 Hz aspect of the depth-charge explosions to levels nearing 100 dB (as loud as I can stand it in my cinema room). I could hear the window panel rattle, and a few other room side effects were noticeable.

This little sub kicks down pretty good. With real-world measurements and test tones, its lowest level with significant output was about 32 Hz near the wall in my room. And unlike many small subs that claim low extension and high level, but cannot do it cleanly, the Metro delivers its bass frequencies with good clarity. The Metro does not go as low as my Paradigm Pro 15 (a much more expensive, and larger subwoofer), or play as loud under 30 Hz, but it still delivered the bass fundamentals. For 95 percent of home cinema fans, it will do just fine. The crossover was seamless from the Westlakes on movie soundtracks and music.

With high-res music on the surround system, kick drums, organ and electric bass were convincing, as was the bass on Telarc’s now out-of-print Superbass II jazz SACD recording. The Metro was perfect: tight, fast and plenty deep — with no trace of boominess in the upper part of its delivered bass.For the music lover.

**The Legacy Metro later went into my audiophile room, where I matched it with the aforementioned Legacy Studio HD two-way ribbon tweeter speakers. The Studio HD is one of the best compact monitors on the speaker market and has solid bass down to 45 Hz. However, I wanted to see if this compact sub combined with the small Studios could make an even better sub/sat speaker system.

The passive radiator is a more advanced, controled tuned port than the typical ported enclosure — with an actual radiator being moved by the pressure created by the active driver motion.

I mounted the Studio HDs on Apollo speaker stands in the middle of my listening room, placing the subwoofer in between. The sub was connected to a Pass Labs X350.5 amplifier via Alpha-Core solid-conductor speaker cables, and then the sub’s speaker outs were connected to the Legacy. After some basic adjustments (crossover set at 60 Hz), I played numerous samples of 24-bit and SACD music, as well as my own 24-bit jazz guitar recordings, through the sub/sat system. Playback components included the Oppo BDP-95 universal player, Benchmark DAC1 Preand a Coda preamp.

As soon as I started pumping music through the speaker system, I heard how seamlessly integrated they were. I did not hear three individual speakers; I heard music coming from a three-speaker system. The Studio HD smooth, detailed midrange and top end, with excellent width and depth, and the Metro's clean bass extension at loud levels, delivered music in a most convincing fashion. The high-res detail made it that much more enjoyable.

With Classical music, the Metro handled cello, organ and kettle drum without straining. It even played the cannon shots from Telarc’s infamous 1812 Overture without getting out of shape. It may not go as low as bigger subwoofers, but with most music, you do not need any more sub than this. Pop or Jazz music performance was just as good.

Even on mid-bass heavy Hip-Hop music, the Metro low end was not exaggerated, but could pump out the jam. Of course, my middle of the room placement and solid, carpeted concrete slab floors, keeps speakers from interacting negatively with the room. When I moved the sub closer to the wall in a corner, the midbass did peak higher, but it was more a function of the room boundary reinforcement.

The verdict

As a fan of passive radiator subwoofers and speakers, the Legacy Metro is one of the better ones I have auditioned. It can play loud, goes fairly deep and can be seamlessly integrated with satellite speakers — or even used as a standalone home cinema sub in a small-to-medium room. If I were a customer looking for full performance from a speaker system, and had limited space, I would strongly consider the Metro and a pair of the Studio HDs. If you already have a good pair of small speakers that you want to enhance the bottom end, then you could just buy the Metro. No matter how you use, it is a worthy subwoofer for our Everything Audio NetworkStellar Sound Award.

©Articles on this site are the copyright of the Everything Audio Network. Any unauthorized use, via print or Internet, without written permission is prohibited.

Brevis...

Price: $2,195 (direct order)

Likes: A+ sound, quality build

Dislikes: Only black/white finishes

More info: Episode Speakers

by Russ Long

Don’t be surprised if you aren’t familiar with the Episode speaker brand, as they are singularly distributed by SnapAV and are exclusively sold to A/V professionals and custom installers. Everything Audio discovered this sleeper speaker manufacturer four years ago and has been impressed with the various models that have been reviewed.

The company’s design team is made up of alumni from several well-known speaker manufacturers, and their design sensibility is evident in the look, build-quality, and most importantly, sound of this fabulous brand of speakers. Episode offers four speaker lines, the 300, 500, 700 and 900 series that can be mounted in-wall or in room on stands and wall mounts.

In addition to the standard speaker enclosure, each series offers tower, in-wall and in-ceiling models providing installers with plenty of options for even the most challenging installations. Episode in-wall, in-ceiling and bookshelf Speakers have a lifetime limited warranty that includes parts and labor repairs on all components found to be defective in material or workmanship under normal conditions of use.

My review system consisted of a pair of Episode ES-700-MON-6 speakers for Left/Right ($299/each), an Episode ES-700-LCR-5 for Center ($449/each), a pair of Episode ES-500-SAT-4 speakers for Surround Left/Surround Right ($199/each), and an Episode ES-SUB-12-300 powered subwoofer ($749/each). Since SnapAV only sells through installers, customers interested in purchasing the speakers must do so through an installer/dealer who handles the speaker line.

Features

The Episode 700 Series speakers utilize unpressed NCS (Natural Cell Structure) Kevlar reinforced woofers and titanium catenary dome, ferrofluid-cooled tweeters, said to provide an uncolored, faithful sonic reproduction of recorded material. Distortion is minimized by the solid construction of the boxes, which eliminates cabinet resonance.

The full-range ES-700-MON-6 speaker measures 13.3” H x 7.5” W x 9.9” D, weighs 13.4 lbs. and is perfectly suited for home theater use. It includes a 6.5 in. woofer and a 1” tweeter. The speaker is rated at 130W RMS, 325W Peak — with a nominal impedance of 6 ohms. The speaker has a 1.9 kHz crossover frequency and a claimed 52 Hz - 23 kHz frequency response.

The full-range ES-700-LCR-5 measures 7.1” H x 20.5” W x 9.9” D and weighs 20.9 lbs. This is perfectly suited for left/right or center channel configuration; users that insist on all five channels of a 5.1 system being identical will love this enclosure. The speaker includes dual-5.25” woofers and a 1” tweeter. Between the unpressed paper/Kevlar woofers and dual front-firing ports, the speaker is capable of transparency and detail typically unheard of in a box of this size. The speaker is rated at 175W RMS, (325W peak) with a nominal impedance of 6 ohms. The speaker has a 1.9 kHz crossover frequency, key to its smooth, accurate character, and is rated at 48 Hz - 23 kHz in frequency response.

Episode ES-700-LCR-5

The compact ES-500-SAT-4 speaker measures 7.9" H, 5.1" W, 6.0" D and weighs only 5.4 lbs. The box includes a 4.5” polypropylene-injection cone woofer and a 1” Ferrofluid cooled, titanium-dome tweeter. The speaker is rated at 80W RMS, 200W peak with a nominal impedance of 6 ohms. The speaker has a crossover frequency of 2.1 kHz and a 70 Hz - 23 kHz frequency response. Low frequency response is maximized via a precision-tuned tapered port.

The ES-SUB-12-300 powered sub measures 17.2” H x 16.5” W x 16.5” D and weighs 42.1 lbs. The sub features a single, forward-firing 12” woven fiberglass driver powered by a 300-watt BASH (Bridged Amplifier Switching Hybrid) amplifier. The sub has a 25Hz – 200Hz (+/-3dB) frequency response. The crossover frequency is continually adjustable from 40-200Hz. Connection can be made via RCA inputs, as well as five-way binding posts for speaker level inputs. With the exception of volume, which is located on the front panel, all of the sub controls are found on the rear panel. They include crossover frequency, phase and power (on/off/auto).

I found the sub to be most impressive, thanks to its excellent design, wonderful craftsmanship and impressive performance from the BASH amplifier; the ES-Sub-12 delivers impressive levels of clean, deep bass that could easily be integrated into most any home theater system, Episode based or not. Since this sub includes five-way binding post and speaker inputs, in addition to RCA inputs, integration is simple. The patented BASH amplifier technology is claimed to combine the sound quality inherent to Class AB amplifiers with the efficiency of the newer Class D amplifiers. It provides hefty amounts of power — without the wasted heat and energy of Class AB designs.

Episode ES-700-MON-6

From the small ES-500-SAT-4 surround speakers up to the 42 lb. ES-SUB-12-300 sub, the packaging of the speakers was fantastic. I wish more manufacturers were this meticulous when it comes to protecting their gear for shipping. The beautiful, high-glass black finish with brushed metal faceplates will look wonderful in most rooms; for customers who don’t like black, the same high-gloss finish is also available in white for many of the models reviewed.

While I chose not to bi-amp the speakers for my review, removing the terminal jumpers from the five-way gold plated binding posts makes bi-amping or bi-wiring a simple process with the ES-700-MON-6 and the ES-700-LCR-5 (the ES-500-SAT-4 only has only one pair of binding posts).

The setup

I placed the ES-700-MON-6’s on a pair of 18” speaker stands with the ES-700-LCR-5 at the same height — mounted just below a Sony KDL-46EX640 LCD TV. The ES-500-SAT-4’s were mounted slightly higher at 36 inches. All five tweeters were focused at the listening position. The entire Episode speaker system, with the exception of the ES-SUB-12-300 powered sub, was powered with a Sony DA5600ES 7.1 channel 120 watt A/V Receiver. CD, DVD, DVD-A, SACD and Blu-ray disc playback was via a Pioneer Elite BDP-53FD Universal Blu-ray Player.

As expected (since they were new), the speakers were slightly bright right out of the box but after a few days of burn-in, their tone mellowed — resulting in a natural, warm sound that I immediately fell in love with.

The Audition

I used my standard evaluation Blu-ray material to test the playback quality of the monitors. The Batman — The Dark Knight Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track is simply stellar; this disc remains one of the quintessential purchases for Blu-ray audiophiles. From the low-frequency prominence of Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s powerful soundtrack to the spine-tingling laugh of the Joker, the sound of this disc excels in every way; the Episode system did a fantastic job of reproducing the detail of the BD and allowing the quality of the ES-SUB-12-300’s bass to shine. As is the case with the entire Pixar collection, the Ratatouille Blu-ray is worth purchasing for chapter two’s audio track alone.
The Episode speakers faithfully reproduced the dynamics and details of the disc without a hitch. Hugo, my favorite film of 2011, which won the Oscar for both sound mixing and sound editing, as well as receiving an original score nomination, is a sonic masterpiece and is a must for system audition. The Episodes again did an impressive job reproducing the film in all its sonic glory — especially the sweeping surround effects.

I make my living mixing music so when it comes to audio playback in my home theater; anything less than perfection isn't acceptable. I auditioned my staple music discs, including Pink Floyd — Dark Side of the Moon, Elton John —Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and James Taylor— Hourglass SACD. DVD-A music included The Beach Boys — Pet Sounds, The Beatles— Love, Bjork— Vesperine, and Fleetwood Mac— Rumours. In every instance, I was overwhelmed by the low-cost speaker’s punch, tight bass, vocal clarity and overall smoothness. I’m convinced there isn’t a music disc available that the Episode system won’t render the audio in a realistic fashion.

Episode ES-SUB-12-300

I was continually impressed with the smooth transition between the 500 series speakers used for the rear speakers and the 700 series speakers used for my LCR speakers. While the speaker size is drastically different, once I properly calibrated my system, I found the timbre of the speakers to be remarkably integrated. I anticipate we’ll be hearing a lot more about Episode, as there are few negatives to these speakers. They do tend to be slightly more directional than some speakers I’ve auditioned, creating a smaller sweet spot. But for home cinema use where the position is fixed, it just requires proper positioning to keep the speakers aimed at the sweet spot. Also, the ES-700-MON-6 and the ES-700-LCR-5 are a bit shy below 50 Hz. But they are fairly compact boxes, and you would expect them to have some compromise in the low end. Thankfully, the sub adds in the lowest bass, making a well-integrated system.

The verdict

The Episode 500, 700 amd 300 speaker/sat system is a great value for the money and will work well in virtually any music or home cinema situation. They excel when reproducing aggressive rock or dynamic cinema, but they have the necessary finesse and imaging to faithfully reproduce classical and jazz. The bass is tight, defined and controlled and the highs remain smooth and natural — even at loud volumes. I have also selected the system as a recipient of the Everything Audio Network Stellar Sound Award.

An avid home theater and audiophile listener, Russ Long makes his living as a Nashville-based professional audio engineer, who has recorded hundreds of albums for various artists, including Grammy Award winner Sixpence None The Richer.

Brevis...

Price: $1,395

Likes: build, accurate sound, price

Dislikes: only one 1/4-inch output
More info: Bryston BHA-1

by John Gatski

As a reviewer and for music listening pleasure, I love the detail and uncolored-by-room signature of a really good pair of headphones and a well-made amplifier. In doing comparisons and reviews, headphones afford a microscopic aural examination; I hear subtle details in transient response and detail that often get swallowed up by the room when listening to speakers, even big ole’ expensive high-end speakers.

Thus, I am a sucker for a great set of headphones and matching quality headphone amplifier. In recent years, I have auditioned and bought numerous combo DAC/headphone amps and have been quite content listening to high-res 24-bit and SACD music through them. However, like a receiver vs, separate amp and preamp, the combo DACS can be compromised, slightly, in order for all the parts to fit. Like dedicated preamps and amps, a solely focused headphone amp can, subjectively, up the listening quotient quite a bit, depending on what you plug into.

Which brings us to the Bryston BHA-1. After the introduction of its fine-and-dandy BDA-1 DAC a few years ago, Bryston heard it from customers, and reviewers like me, that the DAC needed a headphone amp. With its longstanding pedigree in building cost-effective, high-performing amps and preamps over the years (I loved the BP-20), Bryston engineers decided to step up their headphone design with a new standalone unit that can accommodate a bigger power supply, upgraded analog signal path and more connection options. The result is the new Bryston BHA-1 headphone amplifier that is so shockingly good, in audiophile terms, for a mere $1,395.

Features

The BHA-1 is a dual-mono, Class-A headphone amplifier that features 1/4-inch, 1/8-inch, and balanced L-R and stereo outputs. The handsome, full 2U rack-sized amplifier is elegantly simple, with the outputs neatly arrayed on the front panel, along with simple toggle switches for power, output selection and gain options. No learning curve on this preamp; no software updates, or connection to the Internet. It is 100 percent analog.

On the back panel are two unbalanced RCA L- and R-inputs, left and right balanced XLR inputs, and an 1/8th-inch balanced jack so you can plug in your iPod, or perhaps the line out of a really good digital portable, like my TASCAM DR-100 Mk II.

BHA-1 Connector Section

The BHA-1’s key ingredients are its internal parts. With a toroidal transformer-based power supply section, the signal path is rendered through six, fully discrete Class A, Bryston spec’d op-amps. An audiophile-spec Noble volume and balance controls also enhance its high-end signature. The overall design ensures linear frequency response past 20 kHz and dynamic range and signal-to-noise better than 107 dB. Plenty of performance to handle critical, hi-res listening tasks.

Option-wise, the BHA-1 is available with internal or external power supply, 17 or 19-inch wide faceplate and with silver or black faceplate. Price for the standard model is $1,395. My review version came in the silver, which I think looks the best and, visually, masks the scuffs and scratches.

The set up

For the review, I plugged into the BHA-1 with several headphones: AKG K701 and K702, Shure SRH1840, all open-back, high-end phones; Sony MDR-7510 and MDR-7520 closed-back professional headphones, Grado SR-325 open-back and some older Ultrasones. The AKG K701/K702s and the Shure are excellent headphones with just the right balance in the midrange and treble, allowing accurate, close-in monitoring. Thus, I came to rely on those HPs for much of the review. I did like the neutral timbre of the Sony MDR-7510s — especially since they are so well priced — and used them a bit as well.

I fed the Bryston with analog sources galore: an Oppo BDP-95 universal player, Esoteric DV-50 universal player, the Benchmark DAC2-HGC and DAC1 Pre digital-to-analog converters, Lavry DA10 DAC, TASCAM DVRA1000 HD master recorder/player, an iPod and the aforementioned TASCAM DR-100 MK II digital recorder/player. I even fed the XLR line output of my professional ORAM 16T 16-channel analog mixing console that I use in my home recording studio.

Listening through the Bryston revealed subtle, but noticeable, differences with my headphones. The BHA-1 is a classic example of what a dedicated headphone amp brings to the sonic equation.

Music came from diverse sources: DVD-As, SACDs, DSD over DOP, Blu-rays, high-res digital downloads, and my own 24-bit recordings of acoustic and jazz guitar/Fender tube amp sessions. I even used the BHA-1 and the Shure SRH1840 to monitor a “live” player session with a new Guild guitar that I was reviewing for the Everything Guitar Network.

The universal players, DACs and pro gear were connected to the BHA-1 with Alpha-Core Goertz solid-silver XLR or RCA cables, depending on the output. The iPod and TASCAM DR-100 MK-II were linked to the Bryston via Wire World 1/8th inch-to-stereo unbalanced cables.

Since the unit was new, I unboxed it, removed the top to peer inside at the well-groomed layout and marvel at the parts selection. I also let it run for three days before I did any serious listening. By the way, all components with IEC power cable sockets got the royal treatment in this review — with Essential Sound Products Essence II power cables plugged into an Essence II power strip. These big cables have a unique RF-shielding design and keep out extraneous AC noise that can ruin high-end headphone listening.

Since I had a new generation of hi-res DACs in for review (Benchmark DAC2- HGC) as well as the BHA-1, I tandemized those two components first, using the Alpha-Core balanced cables to link the XLR I/Os. I played numerous selections of hi-res music, using the Oppo BDP-95 as a transport and the DAC2 as the D/A connected to the Bryston.

The audition

I also conducted countless hours of extensive listening through the DAC’s headphone amp which is very good with substantial width, depth and smoothness noted, versus the old DAC1. I was impressed with what I was getting out of the Benchmark. But listening through the Bryston revealed subtle, but noticeable, differences with my headphones. The Bryston BHA-1 is a classic example of what a dedicated headphone amp brings to the sonic equation.

For example, on my 24-bit dub of Warren Bernhardt— So Real SACD from the early 2000s. I could hear a noticeable degree of extra width and depth in the treble, yet the BHA-1 output was ultra centered and up front in the L+R. I would describe sonic signature as very analog, yet the extra upper-end detail and bass precision of 24-bit PCM comes through loud and clear — without any strain or hardness. This level of sound from the BHA-1, I believe, is significantly above its price point. I would expect comparable caliber of sonics at $3,000. But at $1,395?
There is a percussion section in the cut “So Real” where the artist is moving his finger on the snare drum head, and the spatial imagery is like your head is right in front of the drum head. The Benchmark DAC2-HGC, through its HA, does an impressive relay of that musical section, but the dedicated Bryston BHA-1 pulls even more out of Benchmark’s revealing converter via the line output.

On the 2L classical Blu-ray Ole Bull — Violin Concertos (24-bit/192) the violin tone through the Bryston/AKG K701 combo was exquisite — the bowed textures, the depth of the string and wood overtone. The orchestral passages were rendered with a fully open, accurate timbre. Again, such audible depth from a headphone amp is amazing, considering the price.

Putting speakers to your ears, which is what you do with headphones, also reveals, rather quickly, any hard edge or raggedness in the electronics and the source. Many old CDs always sounded a bit edgy with previous generations of DACs, but the DAC2-HGC and Bryston made them actually listenable at higher volume. The original CD of Jennifer Warnes — Famous Blue Raincoat had less of that hard zing in the cut "First we Take Manhattan" than it did on through my AVA preamp

BHA-1's Impressive Parts Selction/Layout

Moving on, I hooked up one of my favorite high-end SACD players, the relatively new Esoteric K-07. I then linked the Bryston and Esoteric via the Alpha-Core solid-silver XLR cables. The sampled SACD version of Ole Bull astounded me with how much of the K-07‘s audible detail gets amplified through the BHA-1 and the cans. On the Gene Bertoncini nylon string guitar SACD, Body and Soul, the guitar’s detail on numerous jazz standards, again, showcased the Bryston's ability to translate the Benchmark’s A+ conversion to the headphones. With that sweet-sounding width and depth-infused guitar signature, I could hear every nuance contained in the recording. I really love this headphone amp!

My reference copy of The Anthony Wilson Trio— Our Gang SACD also was amplified with precision by the Bryston. All that Gibson jazz guitar and Hammond organ warmth was finely balanced with the drum cymbals and live-to two-track spatiality that only the best gear reveals. The AKG K701/702s are capable of clearly delineating the individual instruments in proper perspective; you just gotta feed it the best signal you can, which in my test, the BHA-1 delivered.

I was also awed by the AKG and Shure headphones, with the Esoteric K-07/ BHA-1 duo, on the Allman Brothers - Eat A Peach SACD. The sweet, acoustic guitar and percussion on the track “Melissa” are finely separated in the mix, just like a studio master. The Esoteric ramps up the detail quotient with DSD, and the Bryston passes it on through the headphones. The Benchmark DAC2-HGC via its analog input was close in this comparison, but I still think the BHA-1 had a little bit more spread to it, It’s subtle, but I could hear it.

Besides comparing Bryston to several DAC headphone amps, I also listed to various other HA-equipped components, such as my trusty Van Alstine FET/tube hybrid preamp, which has a pretty good dedicated headphone circuit. In sampling all the same material through the components, my initial impression of the Bryston held up, none of the other HA-equipped devices could quite match its gracious soundstage.

Once I went through the crucial listening tests with the upper-end converters, etc., I had some fun plugging in other gear to the BHA-1. After all, if you buy a really good headphone amp and headphones, you should be able to plug dang near any analog output into it and enjoy the aural bounty.

The TASCAM DR-100 Mk II portable 24/96 player recorder, via 1/8th-inch fixed input to the BHA-1, showed me how good its AKM DAC can sound. Another example: the Oram 16T professional mixing console; my headphone mix downs never sounded better than through the Bryston. Serious pros and mastering engineers should love this HA for QC monitoring.

The BHA-1’s key ingredients are its internal parts. With a toroidal transformer-based power supply section, the signal path is rendered through six, fully discrete Class A, Bryston spec’d op-amps. An audiophile-spec Noble volume and balance controls also enhance its high-end signature.

And via a classic IPod, the Bryston play-through confirmed that these 16-bit linear PCM players can transmit decent audio when you stop listening to that MP3 garbage and have a headphone amp that can drive good headphones. An iTunes transferred rip of Tuck and Patty— A Gift of Love sounded marvelous through the BHA-1,

I also enjoyed copious hours of LP listening with the Shure SRH1840, the Bryston BHA-1, a Clear Audio belt-drive turntable/cartridge combo and a Rogue Audio Model 99 Magnum tube line/phono preamp. The BHA-1 reminded me that well-recorded LPs can have really good channel separation. The uncolored, yet analog signature, of the Bryston HA drew me in with numerous plays of my Wes Montgomery— Full House LP and the original LP release of Michael Jackson — Thriller.

Despite the sheer number of devices, I played through the Bryston BHA-1, I did not have any balanced-connector headphones to try, but I believe the Shure SRH1840 and the AKG K701/K702 revealed enough detail to prove that the BHA-1 is a high-end HP amplifier that won’t break the bank.

In assessing the Bryston, I could find nothing to really criticize, maybe a second 1/4-inch output for multiple listeners. but that is really a nitpick. This unit is great as is. The overall build, silky smooth action of the potentiometers and just-right amount of connections makes this BHA-1’s ergonomics complaint proof.

The verdict

For those who are steadfast headphone listeners (count me as one), the Bryston BHA-1 is a real steal. Designed as companion for Bryston’s BDA-1 and upcoming BDA-2 DACs, you cant go wrong using the Bryston with any piece of audio gear with line outs. It is so good with quality headphones that you might find yourself reaching for the headphones a little more often. As if you couldn't predict it, I am giving the Bryston BHA-1 the Everything Audio NetworkStellar Sound Award.

©Articles on this site are the copyright of the Everything Audio Network. Any unauthorized use, via print or Internet, without written permission is prohibited.

Brevis...

Price: $$5,000/$5,997.50-LC265.1vf

$4,820/4,900-LC265.1f

Likes: smoothest speaker ever?

Dislikes: cramped speaker jacks

More info: Westlake Audio

by John Gatski

I have been using the Westlake LC265.1f center channel speaker for more than 10 years as my primary center channel transducer in my home cinema system. I have declared, steadfastly, over the years that this speaker, with its dual 6.5-inch bass drivers and concentric midrange tweeter, is the most natural dialogue speaker I have ever heard. In reality, the design, when put into duty with a pair of vertical LC265.1vf's, is good for any kind of audio: movies, music galore, sound effects, you name it, the LC265.1 series never ceases to impress — with linear, smooth, accurate, aural projection.

Features

The LC265.1vf and the LC 265.1f have been refined a bit over the years, but the three-way speaker still centers around the dual 6.5-inch bass driver with five-inch concentric midrange/1-inch tweeter, housed in a slender, heavy, front-ported cabinet. The Hi-Fi versions are available in a walnut veneer finish at $11,995 per pair. The Pro series are available in an attractive black at $10,000 per pair. The LC265.1f center speaker is $4,900 in the walnut finish or $4,820 in the pro black.
The two 6.5-inch woofers provide linear bass down to 42 Hz. The crossovers are centered at 180 Hz for the midrange and 4 kHz, a perfect blend that makes this speaker stunningly smooth at those crucial frequencies. Overall rated frequency response is 42 Hz to 20 kHz, within a tight 3 dB window. Nominal impedance is 5 ohms.

The speaker is fairly efficient, with 91 dB SPL at 1-watt/1 meter. Power handling is up to 400 watts in short term peaks (140 watts RMS continuous). The back panel features bi-wire jacks for separate wiring of the tweeter/midrange and bass drivers. A jumper cable is included to allow it to be used with single-ended termination cables. The vertical versions are 27-inches tall, 9.25-inches wide and 12-inches front to back. Weight is a hefty 65 pounds. The horizontal version is not quite as wide as the upright brethren, about 5-inches. The weight is a few pounds lighter as well.

Concentric mid/tweeter in LC265.1

Westlake’s custom-made birch cabinets are works of art. With their roots in pro audio, the driver housing is rigidly braced, and extremely inert so as to not compromise the sound of the superb drivers. Westlake’s Glenn Phoenix has spent years perfecting the speaker cabinet to the point that it does not affect the sound, at all. Even dispersion characteristics are kept amazingly coherent thanks to the simple, but effective speaker muffs that are optionally available.

By the way, the Westlakes look pretty with the grills on, but they are made to be played with grills off; the response is a bit more open on top. I did not have any of optional muffs that are designed to further optimize dispersion, but I was impressed with the speakers’ spread without them.
One piece of technology my original LC 265.1f does not have is the Low-PE distortion passive circuit. Now in all Westlake speakers, the unique termination technology is said to reduce harshness and add focus to almost any audio component, including speakers, by eliminating a nearly undetectable low-level distortion that is inherent in all electronic components.

Although the USA-designed and manufactured Westlake speaker models don’t come cheap (the lowest price is about $4,000 per pair for the small LC475s), in audiophile terms, the speakers are not the least expensive or over the top in terms of price.

The set up

I auditioned the Westlake LC265.1vf pair and LC 265.1f center as a high-end home cinema front speaker system, in conjunction with my LC 8.1s, for surround channels, enabling quite a capable 5.1 Westlake system. The speaker system also was used to play not only Blu-ray movies and concerts, but also high-resolution surround audio from 24-bit and SACD sources. A properly setup, accurate main/surround speaker system can project the music in about as life-like a fashion as capable through electronic reproduction.

The test surround system consisted of an Audio-Control AVR-4 receiver — the most audiophile of any A/V receivers that I have auditioned — the Westlake speakers, a Paradigm Sub 15active subwoofer, and an Oppo BDP-95 universal player. I used Alpha-Core solid-silver speaker cables in a single-ended termination with the LC265.1vf’s and LC265.1f, and the components were plugged into an Essential Sound Products Essence II power strip using Essence II power cords.

After years of listening to my original center channel LC265.1f, these speakers have an amazingly smooth character that ekes out the most natural mid/low-treble in vocal reproduction that I have ever heard. Compared to other speakers with metal domes, ribbons and even other textile material drivers, the LC265.1vf or LC265.1f has no edge, hardness or unflattering high-frequency artifact. In comparison to some zingy-sounding, metal-driver tweeters, the Westlakes might, initially, sound slightly dull, but measurements show that it has response to 20 kHz, but without unnatural peaks. The more you listen to it, especially at louder levels, the more you will appreciate the uncolored audio finesse.

The audition

With movie soundtracks, the Westlake's smooth uncolored top end made for much-less aural fatigue at aggressive levels. With the Avatar soundtrack, a spectacular, open, sound-effect cued mix, the dynamic range dazzled my ears, at 94 dB+ levels, but I did not hear the harsh artifacts on the high-mid/low treble that I have heard on lesser speakers. And the crossover range is just absolutely perfect.

If you want accuracy with a smooth, no-hype treble character in your mid-sized loudspeakers, the Westlake LC265.1vf and LC265.1f should be on your short list of speakers to buy.

Though I ran the .1 LFE channel with the powered sub, I left the L- and R- LC265.1vf’s in full-range mode, and they performed well down to under 45 Hz. Plenty of bass for music and quite a bit of home theater bass.

In playing samples from the Bruce Willis — Live Free or Die Hard, the opening action sequences with dynamic explosions and gun fire coming from every direction, the LC265.1s, again, projected the aural aggression with smooth precision. This soundtrack has literally hurt my ears at 90 dB+ on other speakers, but again, the peak levels went to 94-95 dB, yet no audible hardness.

As previously mentioned, the coaxial midrange/tweeter makes for center channel perfection when it comes to vocal clarity and accurate portrayal of the human voice. I don’t think there is a better speaker for the human voice reproduction. On the English Patient Blu-ray, the voice overs are well centered and the speaker clearly projects the Euro-accents that abound in this epic film. No weakness or thinness, excessive sibilance or exaggerated nasal quality at all. Just an accurate relay of the mic’d voices made for this movie.

On Blu-ray after Blu-ray, the more I watched and listened, the more I was convinced that these are about as good a main channel speaker system as you can invest in for home cinema use. If you want to set up a seven or nine channel system, you can buy more LC265.1s, or to save a bit you could use the LC8.1s or LC4.75s as auxiliary channel speakers.

With high-resolution, 24-bit/SACD surround and stereo music, the LC 265.1vf’s were just as impressive as the cinema playback. The clarity of the treble, and the tight, quick bass, were obvious from the first listening sessions. The DMP label Warren Bernhardt— So Real surround SACD (long out of print) was a sonic treat through the Westlakes. This Tom Jung surround recording is mixed very naturally so that the extra speakers help convey the additional sound around the room, in the way a live studio performance is heard. Everything perfectly in its place. The LC265.1vf’s relayed that ambient accuracy with its analog smooth character. The Steinway grand piano tone was perfect, and the drum cymbals were metallic, but not brash; yet there was an air of extra dimension that you hear in a real performance.

The Westlake speakers are fairly uniform in their dispersion, horizontally and vertically, thus, you can sit just about anywhere in a typical surround room and hear all the music. The 40-Hz bass was plenty low for most pop and jazz music I played. The front ports augment the bass, but never impart any slowness or thickening of the mid bass. Westlakes have always had tight, yet low extension in the bass without resorting to extra tricks.

The Warren Bernhardt — So Real surround SACD was a sonic treat through the Westlakes. This Tom Jung surround recording is mixed very naturally so that the extra speakers help convey the additional sound around the room, in the way a live studio performance is heard.

On classical music, the LC 265.1vf’s could handle any style: from the organic string tone of cello and violins to the bombast of the Telarc's infamous Tchaikovsky — 1812 Overture, I was quite happy with the result. Opera and choral music, of course, was magnificent via the Westlakes. On a Handel —Messiah recording from 1965, the voices were magical in their presentation — without any over sibilance or hard edge to the louder passages; a testament to the LCs and the superb analog recording, circa 1960s. On orchestral recordings with low-end pipe organ, you might want to add a subwoofer to get all the bass, but even without, the Westlakes were up to the task of presenting the essential bottom end.

Although I am convinced that the LC 265.1vf’s are perfect home cinema speakers for the front mains, they are also just as effective in audiophile two-channel setups. In stereo listening sessions, I found the speakers matched well with about any amp. I tested it with the brute horsepower of the Bryston 14BSST (600wpc) and Pass Labs X350.5(350wpc), to the 30-watt class A Pass Labs XA30.5. The speakers still sounded aces. They even matched well with the First Watt F3, a single-ended, solid state amp, at seven-watts a channel, as long as I kept the volume to a reasonable level.

My only complaint with the Westlake LC265.1vf and LC265.1f is that the rear cable connections are recessed in a tight square, making it bit cramped for large spade speaker cables. You also need a speaker post jumper to use them in single-ended wiring.

The verdict
If you want accuracy with a smooth, no-hype treble character in your mid-sized loudspeakers, the Westlake LC265.1vf and LC265.1f should be on your short list of speakers to buy. The coaxial midrange/tweeter and the cabinet design make for close to perfect vocal reproduction, and relay of upper-end frequencies are clearly heard — without being harsh or hyped. Throw in good linear bass, and you have got yourself a set of fine speakers for any application where you want honest sound. I have used the center channel version for nearly 20 years as a reference, and have never considered pulling it from long-term duty. With the newer versions and some tweaks over the years, the quality of the Westlake LC series has only gotten better. Both the LC265.1vf and LC265.1f speakers definitely deserve an Everything Audio NetworkStellar Sound Award.

©Articles on this site are the copyright of the Everything Audio Network. Any unauthorized use, via print or Internet, without written permission is prohibited.

The AVR-4 Is A Rewarding Audio Treat
Find One If You Can!

by John Gatski

On occasion, I discover terrific audio products whose life cycle ends too quickly (manufacturer ceases production, moves on to next model, etc). Out with the old/in with new is inevitable in the competitive environment of audio gear, but I still lament. Take the AudioControl AVR-4. It was introduced in January 2012, and is now being phased out to make way for a new model later this year. About a month’s supply is out at dealers, according to AC.

Based on a trial in my home cinema room, I will boldly state that the AVR-4 is the best sounding receiver I have ever auditioned! Sure, there are many good ones — even at lower prices, but if dollars are no object, and you have audiophile taste in home theater components. this one is a keeper. With well-designed A/V sections (but not overly belled and whistled), and a superb Class-H amp section, the 7.1 channel AVR-4‘s sonics are worthy of audiophile separates’ status.

Based on a trial in my home cinema room, I will boldly state that the AVR-4 is the best sounding receiver I ever auditioned!

Sure, this install-oriented receiver is $8,000 retail (as low as $6,000 at select dealers), but in the audiophile realm that sum is not a pie-in-the-sky price, plus you are getting 3-D, streaming options and custom features that make for an enhanced viewing and listening experience. Also, continual GUI and software upgrades made the AVR-4 an easier-to-operate over previous versions of the receiver. Ditto on its preamp brother the Maestro M4, which is still active in the AC lineup.

If you are patient, you can wait for the newer version, but If you can’t wait, type the model number into your search engine and push enter. You might get lucky and find a new AVR-4 at a dealer (or even a used one). Hopefully, AudioControl's next version AVR will be at least as good as the AVR-4. Based on my 20 years of reviewing their products, that is likely, but in the interim, if you can find an AVR-4 today, I say go for it. More info at AudioControl Concert AVR-4.

Brevis...

Price: $$1,199

Likes: Smooth sound, HDMI, SPDIF inputs,

headphone amp, no fan noise

Dislikes: no full-res DVD-A SPDIF out

More info: Oppo BDP105

by John Gatski

In just seven years, Oppo Digital has positioned itself as one of the more popular manufacturers of high-quality, audiophile universal audio players — at very reasonable prices. In fact, these days, the Oppo players are the standard by which most any universal player is judged. And as Blu-ray home cinema players eschew more and more features, Oppo still gives the quality conscious A/V and audiophile enthusiasts a stable line of players with a full array of audio outputs.

Replacing the heralded BDP-95 flagship player, introduced two years ago, the $1,199 BDP-105 utilizes the same ESS Sabre 32 ES9018 DAC chips. Two ES9018 DAC chips are used. Each has eight DAC channels. The stereo outputs and headphone amps use one DAC chip, and the multichannel output uses the other. As with the BDP-95, the unit features balanced analog outputs for the audio-quality conscious, but now adds a Texas Instruments headphone amp circuit for your onboard ‘phone listening pleasure, a first for Oppo.
The other significant upgrade, is the plethora of new digital inputs; that’s right, I said inputs — coax, TOSlink and HDMI — that allow other sources to be connected to the 105’s outstanding audio DACs. Oppo's entry level player, BDP-103 has many of the inputs/outputs of the BDP-105, but no balanced audio outputs, no ESS Sabre 32 DAC (Cirrus), no dedicated stereo outputs, and no headphone amp — for $499.

Features

The new Oppo flagship player looks very similar to the BDP-95, though it is just a bit taller; the giveaway is the headphone jack on the front. And that is just one of the upgrades. The new features incorporate an asynchronous USB DAC, which allows computer audio, up to 24-bit/192 sample rate, to be played using the Oppo. It’s a smart move since many of the standalone DAC competitors have offered that feature for several years. Now Oppo has it.

The new SPDIF digital audio input allows digital signals from other sources as well, but is limited to 24/96. The SPDIF input is designed more for sources, such as satellite receivers, cable boxes, TV sets, etc.

The player also is endowed with two HDMI inputs (front panel and rear panel) to allow the user to connect HDMI output sources, such as satellite receivers, cable boxes, or other BD players. The front-panel HDMI input is compatible with MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) products — such as iPad-style tablets, smart phones and digital video/recorder/players that can connect via HDMI.

To further enhance the audio, the BDP-105 gets an upgraded toroidal power supply and associated parts, as well as upgraded parts in the analog audio path. According to the Oppo specs, the BDP-105’s dedicated two-channel analog output, with specially optimized ESS Sabre 32 ES9018 DAC and output driving stages, improves the measured performance of the player, especially through the balanced outputs.

The headphone amp is a feature that I had suggested to Oppo a couple of years ago, when I remarked that the addition of a headphone listening option was a natural for a machine that has such a good DAC. I don’t presume to know if I had any influence on their design decisions, but it sure is a feature that makes the Oppo one step closer to the complete media player.

Audiophiles are going to like the addition of the headphone amp. The remote control, volume-adjusted headphone amp features a 32-bit digital volume control connected to a stacked pair of ESS Sabre 32 DACs, creating a very good, high-end audio path for most any kind of headphone. I found it a well-used option for reasonable high-res music listening during the test sessions. It's not an ultra-high-end, discrete headphone stage, but it does the job.

One other audiophile improvement is the elimination of the rather noisy cooling fan that was in the BDP-95. Those who like to listen to classical and acoustic music, including myself, noted that once the previous player warmed up, the fan would stayed activated for long periods of time, and its noise was noticeable. By increasing the number of heat sinks in the ‘105 and a slight increase in cabinet height, Oppo was able to eliminate the fan, while maintaining adequate cooling.

The BDP-105‘s other features are pretty much the same as the BDP-95, including coaxial and TOSLink digital outputs, a digital test jack, two USB inputs., 7.1 analog multichannel outputs and two separate unbalanced outputs.

BDP-105 Now Has HDMI, SPDIF Digital Inputs

One of the biggest reasons I like the Oppo players, since the 80 series, is their evolving, open digital output hierarchy. The BDP-80, 83, 83SE could output full resolution stereo audio up to 24/192 from the HDMI jack (but not the SPDIF), regardless of copy protection status of the source media, such as a DVD-A, Dual-Disc or SACD (via DSD-to-PCM conversion). This allowed owners of DAC separates to play the music from an Oppo player by plugging the HDMI output into an HDMI audio de-embedder, which routes the HDMI digital audio to a SPDIF output and on to an outboard DAC. You can buy them for as little as $40. (EAN plans a HDMI audio de-embedder round-up in February).

With the release of The BDP-93 and ‘95 in 2011, Oppo opened up all digital outputs: HDMI, SPDIF and coax, to allow up to 24/192 kHz PCM audio output for most any format: Blu-ray music audio (HDMI), DVD-A (SPDIF and HDMI), DVD Data (SPDIF and HDMI), DVD Video (SPDIF and HDMI), USB drive (SPDIF and HDMI), Blu-ray data (SPDIF and HDMI), and DSD-to-PCM conversion (at 24/88) and direct DSD bitstream (HDMI).

The new BDP105, and its less-costly sibling the BDP-103, continues most of the digital-output openness of the 93/95 series, though I was disappointed when I discovered that the SPDIF output (optical and coax) is truncated when playing DVD-A copy protected discs. The stereo PCM output is reduced from 24-bit to 16-bit, and the sample rate is converted to the lower rate of 48 kHz - regardless of the music’s native rate.

Oppo said that the firmware is integrated into the DSP, and cannot be changed, so those who have a collection of DVD-Audios and want to use an external DAC, you will have to buy an HDMI de-embedder to get the DVD-A full-res to your DAC.

As with the BDP-95, I love the BDP-105's ability to play almost any PCM or FLAC sources: it will play commercial Blu-ray, DVD-A, DVD-V, USB drive, DVD Data disc, and Blue-ray Data disc. Like the BDP-93/95 players, the BDP-105 even plays audio data discs from TASCAM’s DVRA1000-HD’s professional high resolution recorder, which records tracks as .WAV audio. There are other players that now support more open digital formats, but Oppo started the trend.

For you streamers, I should point out that the new Oppos are also fully DLNA compliant and can retrieve streamed audio from various sources including computers at up to 24/96 stereo audio, if you are so inclined to stream wirelessly,

The BDP-105 is a logical progression from the BDP-95. Its sonic refinement, rather than wholesale improvement, and its plethora of extra inputs, outputs, streaming features and 4K video compatibility, make it the closest thing to a complete media player.

Video-wise, the BDP-105 sports the Marvell Kyoto-G2H video processor with the latest generation Qdeo™ technology; it does an excellent job at 1080P and DVD upconversion. The machine also addresses upcoming higher-resolution HDTV technology, by adding 4K upsampling technology. The fledgling 4K HDTV standard increases resolution so that the popular, larger flat screens look sharper during close-in viewing in home cinema rooms. The 4K upsampling used in the BDP-105 and other players on the market, upconverts typical BD video so they can be viewed on the 4K screens. I did not have a 4K HD screen to try the feature. (I have put in a request for Sony’s latest 4K LCD. Stay tuned.)

Other noted BDP-105 goodies include video streaming of VideoNow VUDU and NETFLIX video services, as well as streaming of Pandora and Rhapsody Internet Radio services.

Speaking of video, I noticed that the Oppo does not have an analog video output, a trend that you will see on many new A/V devices; it has been mandated that analog connections be phased out for many consumer products, including TVs and media players.

The set up

The BDP-105 was a snap to connect and operate — its functions are nearly identical to the BDP-95; the GUI is the same as is the remote control. To test its audio performance, I connected it to various components, including aPass Labs XP-10FET preamp with passive output, a Legacy/Coda active, solid state preamp, and Bryston BHA-1 discrete headphone amp. I routed the audio to a Pass Labs X350.5 amplifier, which was connected to Martin Logan Montis electrostatic speakers (review upcoming) via Alpha-Core solid-silver speaker cables.

I had several BD and universal players on hand, including the previous flagship, BDP-95, an older BDP-83SE (the first Oppo player with an ESS DAC chip), the new Esoteric K-07 SACD player (about $7,000) and my ten-year old Esoteric DV-50. For comparison purposes, I also had several DACS, including the new Benchmark DAC2 HGC, Mytek Stereo 192 (review upcoming) Benchmark DAC1 Pre and a Lavry DA10, made in 2007.

For home cinema use, I plugged the analog 5.1 outputs into an AudioControl M4 Concert A/V receiver, and played numerous Blu-ray movies. That system also included Alpha-Core speaker and interconnect cables, Westlake LC8.1, LC2.65 and NHT speakers and a Paradigm Sub-15 subwoofer. All gear was plugged into the AC, using Essential Sound Products Essence II power cords and power strip.

The audition

After a couple days of break in, I dove into the music listening with the BDP-105. I popped in some of my favorite DVD-As, Internet-downloaded PCM, SACDs, and music Blu-rays.

It should be said that other than CDs or SACDs, where the playlist auto loads and can be easily played via the Play button on the remote or front panel, you have to use a video display to easily access and play the contents of most other music formats. It is crucial to have a video screen to navigate the setup menus, as well as the playlist menus. Otherwise, you are just trying to push buttons to get it to play. I used a compact, not-so-obtrusive, 15-inch LCD to enable me to see the menus, which fits nicely on top of the player in my test rack.

One other new feature that I discovered: the BDP-105 (and BDP-103 sibling) can transmit audio and video on the two separate HDMI outputs simultaneously (Dual Display mode), or it can split the audio and video in the Split Mode: one for audio one for video.

Oppo's Neat and Tidy Board Layout

Be careful, though, if you use the Dual Display mode to play hi-res audio from either HDMI and then connect an LCD TV to the other HDMI output to see the menus. Since most LCD TVs only operate at 48 kHz sample rate, the Oppo, in the Dual Display mode, downsamples HDMI audio in both HDMI outputs to 48 kHz — regardless of the high-res audio's native source sample rate. I confirmed this with the Benchmark DAC2-HGC’s sample rate indicator. You can avoid this limitation by using the Split A/V mode — where only the audio is routed to HDMI 2 and the video is routed to HDMI 1. HDMI 2 will then transmit full-res audio up to 192 kHz — regardless what is connected to HDMI 1. I bring all this up because many audiophiles will likely use the HDMI out, and they could be getting reduced audio quality — if they select the Dual-Display option and use an LCD to navigate the menus. The SPDIF outputs are always fully open (except for DVD-A, BD and DSD) as long as the downsampling parameter (audio options menu) is set to 192 kHz.

With that little problem taken care of, I started my initial listening sessions through the amazingly detailed, Martin Logan Montis, electrostats’. I quickly found the BDP-105’s sonic signature to be very familiar — in that it sounds, essentially, like the BDP-95. After all, it is the same ESS DAC chip.

In careful A/B tests with the BDP-95 and BDP-105’s unbalanced inputs into the Bryston headphone amp using the Coda preamp as the source switcher and audio relay, I could not reliably tell the difference between the two players when listening through my reference Shure SRH1840 or the AKG-K701 headphones. Oppo’s tweaked-out power supply and upgraded parts may have improved measured performance a bit, but it is not enough of a change to make a significant audible difference under most listening conditions.

Suffice it say that the BDP-105 retains the sonic pluses of the ’95 with some potential audible refinement, but its main advantage over the previous player is its greatly expanded feature set.

On the Natalie Merchant - Tiger Lilly DVD-A, a really well-recorded pop album from 1995, the drum transients, keyboard and guitar layers had that open, smooth, accurate character that typifies the ESS Sabre 32 sound. The PCM has nearly the smoothness of DSD, yet that energetic snap of the transients you get with PCM. It's a wonderful combination!

As with the BDP-95, I love the BDP-105's ability to play almost any PCM or FLAC sources: it will play commercial Blu-ray, DVD-A, DVD-V, USB drive, DVD Data disc, and Blue-ray Data disc.

Even versus the new batch of ESS Sabre 32 chipped DACs, such as the Benchmark DAC2 HGC and the Mytek Stereo 192, there was not a huge difference in the subjective audio quality. The ESS Sabre chip's superb detail and ultra-smooth reproduction is a signature that is quite noticeable in all of the products that utilize it.

The standalone ESS-based DAC’s have a modest increase in soundstage and inter-transient detail over the BDP-105, likely the result of their analog stages and unique DSP. I noticed this on the Natalie Merchant DVD-A, in particular, on the song Carnival; the Benchmark and the Mytek revealed a slight expansion of width and depth with the drum cymbals. Timbre-wise, though, the Oppo was right there.

The Oppo BDP-105 was much smoother sounding than the older Benchmark DAC1 Pre on energetic music, and the old Lavry DA10 was not even close — with less dimension and a bit of hardness in its midrange and treble — compared to the newer DACs.

On PCM or DSD, the BDP-105 delivered its high-end audio detail without a hint of harshness. The DSD playback via analog jacks, as with the BDP-95, is quite good. Only when I moved to the $7,999 Esoteric did I hear significant differences in upper-end detail when playing SACDs, such as Anthony Wilson - Our Gang (Groovenote) and Steve Davis— Quality of Your Silence (DMP). But the Esoteric is $7,000. The Oppo is $1,200.

As mentioned, the Oppo BDP-105 does transmit native multichannel DSD from the HDMI jack, thus, a DSD DAC equipped preamp, receiver or dedicated DAC can be used. However, it would take a significantly more expensive separate DSD DAC to top the Oppo for most listening purposes.

The headphone zone

Since Oppo added a headphone amp, I took a long listen from its new front-panel audio portal, plugging in a pair of AKG K701s and the Shure SRH1840s. I also had the Bryston headphone amp for reference, as well as the other DACs.

On first listen, I could tell that Oppo paid attention to the headphone jack, especially within the player’s overall price point. It was not an afterthought like on many BD players, CD players, receivers and preamps these days. It may be a chip amp, but the headphone output sounds good.

The smooth, textured ESS Sabre 32 sonic signature came through clearly in headphone listening (maybe just a touch thinner than the analog out and versus the other HP outputs on the DACs and the wonderful Bryston BHA-1), but there was plenty of detail and width.

A couple of listens to Warren Bernhardt— So Real SACD, recorded in 2002 by Tom Jung at DMP, proved that the headphone amp could do the job. I heard most of the subtle drum cymbal reverb edges that I heard through the speakers. And even against the Benchmark DAC2 HGC, Mytek and the Bryston BHA-1 headphone outputs (the DACs were connected to the BDP-105’s analog balanced jacks), the Oppo’s headphone amp was not out of the game — in terms of audible detail, correct instrument timbre and basic soundstage.

The BHA-1’s overall soundstage was a bit wider and deeper than the 105’s headphone delivery, and the Benchmark and Mytek gave a bit more as HP-equipped DACs, but the Oppo is pretty good, When not in the A/B test mode, I enjoyed numerous recordings through the Shure and AKGs, and did not feel I was missing the essential hi-res finesse.

For those of you who like the tactile feel of separate volume control for your headphone amp, Oppo’s remote control-only volume adjustment may disappoint. I like an onboard control as well, and initially considered “dinging” the company for not including it. However, an Oppo spokesman said that adding a high-quality, onboard volume control would have necessitated a redesign, and would likely have boosted the retail price beyond their $1,200 limit. If you use the headphone jack, keep the remote at hand.

Speaking of remote controls, the Oppo remotes are among the best A/V player remote controls out there— with durable build, nice big buttons and excellent IR coverage — even from steep beaming angles.

BTW, one more headphone-related item with the BDP-105: I discovered that when you insert the headphones into the jack, the other digital and analog audio outputs are muted, including HDMI. So much is going in the BDP-105's multiple signal routing, according to Oppo, that the muting is necessary to keep potential noise out of the headphone circuit.

BDP-105 Has XLR Balanced Stereo Outputs

Besides its excellent converters and headphone amp, I thoroughly enjoyed the BDP-105’s compatibility with all types of digital music formats for playing music From USB sticks to DVD and BD Data discs, commercial SACD and DVD-A and digital downloads, the player played everything I threw at it, except for SACD-copy ISO discs. You can even format a FAT32 USB powered portable hard drive and plug it in and have thousands of songs at your disposal.

I tested the BDP-105‘s digital output capability through the SPDIF and HDMI, using the ATI ADAC and the Benchmark DAC2 HGC word length/sample rate indicators. The HDMI audio output was routed to a KaneEX Audio De-embedder; its SPDIF output was connected to the converters.

If you want to use a separate DAC, receiver, preamp, etc., this player can deliver the full-res goodies. Other than the SPDIF limiting of DVD-A to 16/48 (and it does not sound good compared to full res), you don’t have to worry about this machine clamping down on 24-bit output.

By the way, the open spigot of the HDMI and SPDIF audio outputs allow for making real-time backups of rare DVD-As, Dual Disc or SACDs (via PCM). I copied numerous out-of-print SACDs and DVD-As, via an outboard PCM recorder, from the digital output of the Oppo BDP-105. The audio was recorded (yes, in real time; no ripping) onto my TASCAM DVRA1000-HD, which I then transferred to a dedicated audio storage hard drive. This capability allows me to have replacements of rare, high-res music — when the original gets lost, scratched or damaged. I have also used it to make audio-only copies of BD concert soundtracks. The Who— Live at the Isle of Wight 1970, for example, has a dedicated 24/48 stereo soundtrack that I dubbed for listening on my hi-res TASCAM portable.

As mentioned, the new digital audio input features allow the BDP-105 to become a DAC for other sources, such as your computer, or video gear. Or maybe you have an old CD transport that you love, but the DAC is out of date. No problem; just plug into the SPDIF input, and the audio is now running through the Oppo’s Sabre DAC.

Via the USB input, I connected the Mac laptop using Audirvana software player, and played HD Tracks downloads and my own high-res 24-bit/192 kHz guitar recordings.

The new inputs give the Oppo more user flexibility. Via the USB input, I connected the Mac laptop using Audirvana software player, and played HD Tracks downloads and my own high-res 24-bit/192 kHz guitar recordings. I also used the coaxial output of the TASCAM DR-100 Mark II portable, high-res recorder to play my 24/96 guitar recordings I had made minutes earlier. Plug the digital cable into the SPDIF input of the Oppo, select the input via the menu, and push play on the TASCAM. Out came all the fresh, directly recorded acoustic guitar tracks — through a first-rate DAC built into a Blu-ray/universal player. How about that?

A top-notch Blu-ray

The BDP-105 is an excellent Blu-ray player — with its onboard DAC audio output and video performance. Because of the uneven audio quality of some BDs, DVDs and video streaming, the smooth ESS Sabre DAC delivers the sound without an ear ache. Even MP3s sound better with the ESS Saber DACs.

For the most direct signal path, Oppo’s variable volume option, enables straight-to-amplifier analog audio. The 32-bit volume control for multichannel or stereo audio, relays the adjusted audio with good results. It is not quite as smooth as using a really high-end stereo preamp or multichannel A/V preamp, but the variable output is certainly better than many of the low and mid-class receivers on the market.

You can, of course, also HDMI (since when is HDMI a verb) the audio to a processor or receiver, but it is nice to know that Oppo continues to make players with quality analog outputs; many manufacturers have deleted the analog output feature in their Blu-ray players.

The BDP-105‘s video quality is first rate. This may be the best video player on the market — with pristine 1080P HD video and excellent up conversion. My previous benchmark was the Pioneer Elite BDP-09FD (close to $3,000) from 2009-2010, but I believe this latest generation Marvell video processor contained in the Oppo makes DVDs look a tad more detailed, yet clean when upconverting to 1080P.

For sheer utility and sound quality, its hard to beat the Oppo BDP-105. Does it garner an EAN Stellar Sound Award? What do you think?

Ergonomically speaking, the BDP-105 is easy to use via the remote, or the basic onboard buttons, which includes just the essential Power, Play, Pause, Stop, Track forward and back. Enough buttons to get your CD or SACD playing. Beyond that, you need the video screen.

Oppo did a great job quieting down the BDP-105 versus the BDP-95. The fan-less player is super quiet — with just a modicum of transport noise on start up and disc I/O. Of all the new functions, my only real complaint with the BDP-105 is the clamp-down on DVD-Audio digital output when using the SPDIF jacks. It is a deletion of a feature that was on the previous generation. Also, I would not mind an onboard headphone volume control, but I understand why Oppo did not add it.

The verdict

The BDP-105 is a logical progression from the BDP-95. Its sonic refinement, rather than wholesale improvement, and its plethora of extra inputs, outputs, streaming features and 4K video compatibility, make it the closest thing to a complete media player now available to the audiophile/videophile market segments. And it is a very reasonable $1,199 — direct from Oppo or select dealers.

If you have a BDP-95, and you primarily listen to stereo music through an amp/preamp/headphone amp, you may not gain that much by upgrading to the BDP-105. However, if you don’t have a BDP-95, the BDP-105 offers the same great audio performance, and you can connect more sources to take advantage of its grade-A sound, as well as having a headphone amp.

For sheer utility and sound quality, its hard to beat the Oppo BDP-105. Does it garner an EAN Stellar Sound Award? What do you think?

©Articles on this site are the copyright of the Everything Audio Network. Any unauthorized use, via print or Internet, without written permission is prohibited.

Brevis...

Price: $9,000

Likes: massive sub 20 Hz output

Dislikes: it's a heavy brute

More info: Paradigm Sub 2

by Tom Jung

Wow! The Paradigm Reference Signature Sub 2 gives a whole new meaning to the word subwoofer. I figured it would be good, but the Sub 2, from a company I’m quite familiar with, created a subsoinc bass speaker class by itself. It is that good.

I can’t say I’m surprised that Paradigm would come up with what is widely acclaimed as one of the best subs — if not the best on the planet. Not only has Paradigm been designing and building great subwoofers for many years, but the engineers have the technical chops and the resources to set a new standard in low-end reproduction.

Features

The Paradigm Sub 2, priced at a whopping $9,000, was designed with many state-of-the-art components and engineered in a cabinet/driver configuration that ensures sub 15-Hz bass levels at high SPLs and extraordinarily low distortion.

The Sub 2 hexagon design is unique with three pairs of 10-inch woofers, firing 120 degrees apart in a circle. In technical speak, the Sub 2’s high-tech driver section — designed and built just for this subwoofer by Paradigm — features six 10-inch RCR mineral-filled, co-polymer polypropylene cones. The drivers use FEA-optimized over-molded thermoplastic foam surrounds, 76-mm ten-layer long-excursion voice coils, high-temperature composite Nomex® formers, dual advanced spiders, 25.2-pound hard ferrite magnet/motor-structure, massive center heat sinks and oversize pole piece, as well as an AVS™ die-cast heat-sink chassis for extra cooling.

One of the big advantages of the Sub 2’s clustered driver arrangement is its vibration-canceling characteristics — with the matched, opposing drivers effectively canceling out distortion and unwanted resonances. This design also turns out to be an immensely effective way to energize a room at extremely, low, clean frequencies.

The massively braced cabinet housing also contributes much to the subwoofer’s ultra clean output.To show how inert the subwoofer structure is, Paradigm suggests placing a martini on the top of the cabinet while playing with serious low frequency content. I tried it and they are right, barely a ripple even with a full glass and lots of low bass. It also turned out to be a good reason to mix a couple of martins for me and my wife, after five o'clock of course.

By the way, I would love to have seen the drivers in action while transmitting their thunderously clean bass, but, unfortunately, the grills are not removable for safety reasons. I guess someone could get hurt, sticking their head up close when the Sub 2 cranks up.

The Paradigm Sub 2 Reference Sibnature subwoofer may be the best-measuring, self-enclosed, powered home cinema subwoofer ever made!

As you might expect the amplifier is anything but conventional. This Class-D power plant can deliver a maximum continuous RMS power output of (gulp!) 4,500 watts with 9,000 watts of dynamic peak power when connected to a 240-volt line; it will deliver 3000 watts RMS with a 120-volt line. Both voltage options are available with the Sub 2.

A Power Factor Corrected (PFC) power supply makes all this possible and is said to be 95% efficient. In simple terms, a PFC power supply is able to use more of the AC waveform from the wall, and turn it into real power whereas a conventional power supply can really only use the peaks of the AC sine wave. The Sub 2 simply could not do what it does without this sophisticated energy reserve. The PFC power supply also does not contaminate the AC power like a big old classic Class A or A/B power transformer can, impairing the performance of other components in the system with dirty AC.

Sub 2's Unique Driver Configuration

The Sub 2 structure measures 24.5 inches tall, 23.75-inches wide and 22-inches deep. Those heavy motors and stiff cabinet mean that the Sub 2 is no lightweight, weighing in at a 230 pounds. You need at least three people to safely set it up.

All this amp horsepower and driver cubic inches is said to generate bass down to 7 Hz at audible levels, well over 112 dB at 10 Hz (in a typical sized home cinema room), and more than 120 dB at 60 Hz, yet the distortion remains exceedingly low. This may be the best-measuring, self-enclosed, powered home cinema subwoofer ever made!

The Paradigm Reference Sub 2 is just not a brute-force subwoofer that goes wide open; it also is equipped with just the right amount of connections and adjustments to enhance its user friendliness, including stereo RCA Left/Right inputs, and a balanced XLR input. The rear mounted controls include the auto on/off switch, trigger on/off switch, subwoofer Level, adjustable subwoofer crossover frequency (continuously variable 35 Hz – 150 Hz), crossover bypass switch, adjustable sub/sat phase alignment (0° to 180°).

To tune the subwoofer to the nearly infinite number of room dimensions out there in the home cinema world, Paradigm provides its highly useful and accurate PBK™ Perfect Bass Kit, a serious room correction tool that is not to be confused with the simple uni-point measurement/tune systems that comes with most of today’s AV Receivers. The kit comes with a calibrated microphone, USB cables, mic-stand and software — along with detailed set up instructions that are well written and user friendly.

One PBK USB cable connects the sub to a PC while another goes from the PC to the USB microphone. Paradigm recommends at least five measurement locations; it takes all of 20 minutes to run the set up. Optimizing this wonderful speaker to the listening room is essential, and Paradigm engineers did their homework with the PBK™. It really works well!

The setup

My listening room/theater is all wood (floors, walls & ceiling) and is very well damped measuring about 38’ X 24’ X 10’. Six SLS Ribbon monitor speakers are used in an L-C-R front/L-C-R rear arrangement. The SLS front speakers use a dual-woofer design for the fronts and a single woofer model for the rears — all with the same 5-inch ribbon driver. Currently, the speakers are all powered by a Marantz SR-7005 AV receiver. The front speakers are pretty much full range — as they comfortably go down into the 30-Hz region in my room.

I called on two of my biggest and strongest friends to carry this 230 pound beast upstairs and place it about 9-inches from the front wall, just left of center. You have to be careful with a speaker this size. It could do some damage if it gets away from the crew.

The Perfect Bass Kit set up was a snap and worked so well that I never tried any different locations or ran the set up again. All listening and evaluation was done with a single-120 volt, 20-amp power circuit. Cables were typical of high-end home cinema installations. Listening/viewing location is about 12 feet from my HD projection screen/speaker setup.

The audition

I started with a Blu-ray of the WWII submarine movie U-571 which has some of the lowest frequency effects that I have heard on a commercially available BD. Within the first couple of seconds of that first depth charge explosion, I knew the Sub-2 was a game changer. The entire room shook and the leather in the theater chairs flapped like they were in a giant wind storm.

I should point out that I normally use four SLS subwoofers in my room, but for this review I removed them; the single Sub-2 more than replaced them, adding so much more below 20 Hz. And the Paradigm relayed, as much if not more, 30 Hz and up bass level. I have never experienced low-frequency extension like this before. The Sub-2 easily goes down more than an octave lower than what I am used to hearing from what I consider to be really good subwoofers.

Within the first couple of seconds of that first depth charge explosion, I knew the Sub-2 was a game changer. The entire room shook and the leather in the theater chairs flapped like they were in a giant wind storm.

Next I put on the Sum of All Fears, a terrorist drama that has a rogue nuclear explosion and an awesome stealth bomber take off. With every low bass effect, these ultra-low frequency experiences were something new, hearing and feeling sounds that don’t normally come from speakers or woofers of any kind. Even the finest movie theaters do not go where the Sub 2 goes — with low frequency extension of 7Hz (DIN)!

Never once during my time with the Sub-2 did I hear anything that resembled distortion. The power supply is so smart it can tell the amplifier not to go louder if it is getting close to tripping a breaker. Paradigm recommends using a dedicated 240 Volt line to realize the Sub 2’s full potential, but the 3,000 watts from the 120 volt line was plenty for my theater room.

Sub 2 Input Section

Next came critical music listening. I typically shut off my subwoofers when listening to music because of the cohesiveness of my good full-range system. But I wanted to try different crossover setting to see how flattering (or not) the Sub 2’s low end extension would be for music. I started with 80 Hz and was distracted by the location (slightly left of center) of the bass and kick drum on "Pineapple Getaway" from Fourplay - Let’s Touch The Sky album. I kept moving the crossover down with this directional characteristic decreasing as the frequency decreased and the best result ended up at lowest setting which is 35Hz. There the kick drum was perfectly centered with tremendous whack.

I came to the conclusion after listening to several albums over several days that this kind of low frequency extension can be a mixed blessing, depending on the music and the recording. Many recordings have nothing but rumble below 30Hz or so which often annoying. Yet there are some recordings such as pipe organ and bass drums that benefit from a really clean sub.

The verdict

No question about it this is the best subwoofer I have ever heard, nothing even comes close. For some the Sub 2 will add two to three octaves of low end to an already good system. For movies, it stands alone, just amazing bass performance for even the largest of home system rooms. For music it all depends on the recording and the music, but with the best recorded jazz and classical, it can be impressive as well. Made-in-North America quality like this comes with a hefty price $9,000. I'm going to miss that bass. For its gut-wrenching, low-bass performance, it deserves the Everything Audio NetworkStellar Sound Award; maybe two.

A professional audio engineer for almost 50 years (Sound 80, DMP Records), Tom Jung reviews home theater, audiophile and high-end recording gear for the Everything Audio Network, testing products from his home studio in North Carolina. He can be reached via email at tjeverything.audio@verizon.net

©Articles on this site are the copyright of the Everything Audio Network. Any unauthorized use, via print or Internet, without written permission is prohibited.

“Special Edition Ensures Accuracy, Comfy Fit”

Brevis...

Price: $649

Likes: very accurate, comfy

Dislikes: limited production

More info: AKG K702 65th

by John Gatski

For nearly 10 years. I have used either the AKG K701 or K702 as a reference headphone for open, accurate, smooth on-ear monitoring that enables me to hear deep into the mix of audiophile and high-resolution home studio recordings. They have been consistent, aural companions — offering superb sound and are as comfortable as headphones can get.

Starting out as the K701 on the hi-fi side, the K701 morphed into the K702 series ($400 retail/$349 street) in 2009. An audiophile Q701 Quincy Jones Edition, based on the original K701, also is available from AKG for under $300. The K702 Series and the limited 65th Anniversary, reviewed here, are the pro-oriented versions from the K701 lineage.

Features

The K702 65th Anniversary edition is a limited version of the K702 with an expected higher price tag ($649 retail/$499 street price); it gets a bit of special treatment with a softer leather headband, and slightly thicker soft foam ear pads. The K702 limited also gets a “Titan” blue/gray finish that adds a bit more class to its already attractive appearance. The K702 has not been around for 65 years, but AKG is offering the headphone and a special edition microphone to celebrate Austria's number one audio company's 65th birthday.

Like the standard AKG K702, the anniversary edition contains the Varimotion drivers, with flat-wire voice coils. According to AKG, the Varimotion technology improves high-frequency response and imparts a smooth, uncolored bass character.

The leather headband and adjustable ear cups, combined with the cushy ear pads, make this one comfortable headphone, yet it holds securely around the ears. My Shure SRH1840, another highly recommended open headphone, has a similarly comfortable feel.

In the audiophile headphone world, they are just as impressive. With 24-bit music, through a Benchmark DAC2-HGC DAC, connected to a Bryston BHA-1 discrete headphone amp, the AKG K702 65th Anniversary's music reproduction was superb.

Other AKG-supplied features include a detachable 12 ft. cord, terminated with an 1/8th-inch jack; it also comes with an optional, 1/4-inch screw-on adapter. Typical of AKG, the high-impedance (62 ohms) design needs a compatible headphone amp to drive it to louder levels, but most pro and audiophile gear have the boost to do it, including numerous portables, such as my TASCAM DR-100.

In the studio, the K702 it is a natural for recording and mastering pros. But categories don’t mean much anymore with Internet commerce. Audiophiles also have discovered the K702’s comfy fit, reasonable list price and accurate performance, which make the headphone an ideal mate for high-end headphone amps and hi-res music.

Other than the slightly softer ear-pads and the more flexible headband, the K702 65th Anniversary is the same, wonderful, headphone listening experience that I receive with my trusty K701 and K702 standard model — a finely focused, accurate midrange, open top end and the welcome lack of low-to-mid-treble boost. And unlike many headphones today that overhype the midbass, the AKG has a nearly perfect blend of low/midbass without the boost. These characteristics make the K702 so much more balanced.

With this accuracy, the K702 Anniversary (and the standard issue) are ideal for tracking, mastering and mixing for home and commercial recording studios. My 24-bit acoustic guitar and jazz guitar recordings sounded spot-on through my Trident mixer headphone amp, as well as through the latest pro/audiophile DACs from Benchmark and Mytek.

In the audiophile headphone world, they are just as impressive. With 24-bit music through a Benchmark DAC2-HGC DAC, connected to a Bryston BHA-1 discrete headphone amp, the AKG K702 65th Anniversary's music reproduction was superb with incredible, but not exaggerated, separation. Man, could I hear the expanded sound of 24-bit, acoustic guitar fingerpicking and drum cymbal recordings — made with a set of Audio-Technica AT4051B microphones.

Act quickly

The AKG K702 Anniversary edition, like its standard-issue K702, is a fantastic, open headphone that works for any high-quality on-ear listening task — from pro engineers to picky audiophiles. If you want the K702 65th Anniversary edition, you better order one now. They are limited to a few thousand units and will soon be out of production. If you can’t find the new one, go for the standard K702 (it is less expensive as well). I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Both models get an Everything Audio Network Stellar Sound Award.

©Articles on this site are the copyright of the Everything Audio Network. Any unauthorized use, via print or Internet, without written permission is prohibited.

Brevis...

Price: $1,595

Likes: DSD and PCM sound

Dislikes: no word-length status

More info: Mytek Stereo192-DSD

by John Gatski

In the world of audiophile and professional audio digital-to-analog converters, there are numerous high-end players in different price ranges. You can buy decent intro-priced DACs for a few hundred dollars — all the way up to the high-dollar units for many thousands of buckaroos. Despite a price of less than $1,600, the new Stereo192-DSD is right up there with the high-dollar DACs — in terms of build, features and audio quality. In fact, I think you would have to spend three times the price to get significantly better audio playback.

With features such as ESS Sabre 32 DAC chip, native DSD/DoP playback, dual analog/digital volume control and quality headphone amp, and up-to-date computer connectivity, Mytek designer Michal Jurewicz, who has made high-end DACs for more than ten years, has shown that his latest DAC has what pros and audiophiles are looking for. The last Mytek I reviewed was the DAC-96 in 2006, and I found it to be a good-sounding DAC for its time. The new one, however, is in another league.

Features

The Mytek Stereo192-DSD is a half-rack sized DAC that is a typical dimension in the audiophile and pro world. It comes in two versions: the audiophile “preamp” black or silver, and the mastering pro version, black only. The price is $1,595 for either DAC. Per all Mytek products, it was designed by Jurewicz; it is manufactured in Poland.

The “preamp” audiophile version features an array of inputs: AES/EBU, SPDIF coaxial, USB-1 (up to 24/96, no driver needed for computer), USB 2 (up to 24/192, DSD-128, Mytek driver needed), TOSlink, Firewire (24/192, DSD-128), and analog stereo RCA. Outputs include unbalanced RCA analog and XLR balanced analog. It also includes a word clock input and output. It will play up to 24-bit/192 sample rate PCM from all inputs (except USB 1), and DSD on PCM (DoP) and DSD native files from a computer via USB 2.

The “mastering” version operates the same as the preamp version, but eschews analog inputs for SDIF Left and Right DSD inputs, so it can work with pro-caliber DSD gear including TASCAM’s popular DVRA1000-HD player/recorder. The mastering and black preamp versions contain a PCM and DSD four-segment stereo level display, while the silver preamp model does not.

Both versions utilize the ESS Sabre 32-bit DAC, a premium DAC chip that is becoming more common in hi-end. Benchmark, Resonessence, and Oppo offer the chip in their flagship products. From my perspective as an audiophile and pro gear user, and as a reviewer, the ESS DACs have brought a wholesale improvement in the “smoothness” factor of PCM DACs. That harsh stridency that has always been a chink in the PCM armor is basically nill with the ESS Sabre DACs. They are indeed the most analog sounding of the DACs that I have heard.

Mytek Stereo192-DSD Preamp version for audiophiles

Both Mytek Stereo192-DSDs also sport a number of useful and audible options including 192 kHz upsampling PCM, adjustable PCM filter, adjustable DSD filter, analog volume control and a digital 32-bit volume control path, as well as signal bypass/adjustable gain. The Mytek also sports a sample rate display, as well as function status and numerical volume status. The mastering version adds level meters.

I appreciate the sample rate display, but I would really like to see the inclusion of a word-length indicator — like the Benchmark DAC2-HGC. When working with computers, it is useful to know the PC’s entire digital output signal status. Sometimes you think you are getting 24-bit audio because the playback software was used to select bit rate, as well as the sample rate. However, I have found that on an Apple computer, the default system audio setting is often at 16-bit/44.1 kHz, regardless of what the playback software setting says. The word-length indicator enables an instant bit status snapshot so you’ll know whether you need to make an adjustment on the computer to get the full-res output. Mytek says that it is possible to add the word-length function in later firmware revisions.

With a plethora of software features, the Mytek requires an initial learning curve to setup, but it is intuitive and easy to remember. To toggle through the settings, you first push Menu, then you rotate the onboard volume control to select the menu item. You then push the volume control, and rotate again for the options in that menu item. The adjustable options include Input (USB 1, USB, 2, TOSlink, AES/EBU, Firewire and either Analog or SDIF, depending on the version. Other selectable options include Filter PCM (sharp or slow) Filter DSD (50-, 60-, 70-kHz LPF), Volume Control (analog, digital, bypass) Volume Trim (-14 to -17 dB or disable) Function 1 and Function 2 (programmable assignments for input assignment, mute, phase, mono, L-R, mid-side, volume dim).

The Mytek software allows for Remote Assignment (for optional remote), Display options (brightness in four levels, meters on/off and meters auto/off 5 sec., 10 sec. or 20 sec.) and Firmware Restore. The level meters do not work when playing DSD.

The SPDIF, TOSlink, AES and ADAT Inputs allow selectable word clock frequency (44.1 kHz to 192 kHz). The SDIF inputs sport three submenus, rate (64 or 128 oversampling), sync, and mode (SDIF-3, Raw).

With computer playback compatibility, the Mytek web site features specific software to enable synchronization and control of the DAC for Firewire and USB connections. There is also a downloadable Mytek Stereo192-DSD computer control panel that allows selection of the input Bus, sample rate and sync source and monitoring the status of the playback. The software was very easy to install and worked perfectly on the Apple laptop.

SDIF inputs:
Mastering version

The volume control choice: digital or analog, is a useful feature of the Mytek Stereo192-DSD. If you select analog, the user can assign one volume control path for the headphone output and one for the main output. Selecting digital routes all outputs through the digital audio path.

Mytek’s use of the ESS Sabre 32-bit DAC chip makes this a thoroughly modern and up-to-date converter. The chip’s eight mono channels to two channel architecture, plus low-jitter clock is said to offer state-of-the-art sound from any source. Rated signal-to-noise on the DAC is better than -120 dB!

High-end analog components also are designed into the DAC. Low-distortion metal resistors, metal caps in the analog input stage, low-z caps throughout, and high-current headphone stage all contribute to the pristine sound quality, either through line out or the headphone jack.

The ability to play native and DoP DSD is a big plus in my book, so I picked the right Mytek DAC192-DSD DAC to review — the “mastering" version with SDIF inputs. Because I record a lot with the professional (but easily available to audiophile recordists) TASCAM DVRA-1000 HD, which records DSD (and PCM), the Mytek is a breath of fresh air as a DSD-monitoring DAC.

At $1,595, the Mytek’s utility and audio quality make it a bargain buy compared to DACs or high-end player/DAC combos at twice the price. We have, of course, given it our Stellar Sound Award.

The onboard DSD DAC is good on the TASCAM, but the Mytek DSD playback moves up another couple of levels in terms of opening up the stereo image and hearing fine detail of high-res DSD. The DSD-on-PCM processing opens up the world of DSD to computer users. The DoP scheme allows download services, such as Blue Coast and 2L, to upload DSD files (the same one-bit encoded music format that is used for encoding SACDs) that are downloaded to a computer.

The DoP files are encoded onto a 24-bit/176 kHz PCM signal, so they can be output via the computer to a compatible DAC, usually through USB or Firewire output. The DoP audio is not DSD-to-PCM conversion, such as is processed through such programs as Korg’s AudioGate. The DoP files are genuine, native DSD that are piggybacked on the PCM signal, which makes it more computer friendly. Music distributors provide the DSD download music, and software players, such as Pure Music, Audirvana and JRiver enable the files to be played from the computer to a compatible external DAC, like the Mytek.

Pure Music and JRiver also allow the converted DoP files to be saved as export files that can be played from any PCM device that supports 24/176 PCM output, as long as they are connected to a compatible DAC. For example, you can drag a Pure Music DoP file to a USB stick and play it back through an Oppo player connected to the Mytek or other DoP compatible DAC such as the Benchmark DAC2-HGC. Pretty darn slick. By the way, Mytek has nice software setup guide on its web site that walks Mytek DAC owners through the various DSD/PCM playback software players for computer audio.

The setup

I matched the Mytek Stereo192-DSD to several of my reference components, including the new Oppo BDP-105 and BDP-95 universal players, both of which use the same ESS Sabre 32 chip. I also connected it to the aforementioned TASCAM DVRA1000-HD, Apple Macbook Pro, Sony PCMD1 and TASCAM DR-100 Mk II handheld portable recorder/players, and an old professional Sony DAT machine (remember those) to see how well it handled old 16-bit recordings.

Besides listening through the onboard headphone amp, the Mytek Stereo192-DSD balanced and unbalanced outputs were connected to a Bryston BHA-1 discrete headphone amp, and a Coda preamplifier that fed a Pass Labs X350.5amplifier. Speaker listening was courtesy of the fantastic Martin Logan Montis electrostatics (review coming very soon). All components were AC connected via Essential Sound Products Essence IIpower cords and power strip. Interconnects included WireWorld digital cable and Alpha-Core solid-silver analog interconnects and speaker cable.

Besides the typical DAC digital connections, I also used a Kanex Pro HDMI de-embedder and a WireWorld HDMI cable to route full-res audio from the Oppo’s HDMI output to the Mytek — in order to play converted DSD-to-PCM music tracks from commercial SACDs. The Oppo converts DSD to PCM via the HDMI only. The de-embedder allows the end users to tap into the DSD stream via onboard player conversion to PCM.

The audition

I had high expectations for the Mytek Stereo192-DSD, and it sure lived up to those high standards. With various 24-bit music files, I immediately noticed the enhanced accuracy and depth of detail over previous Mytek DACs. And true to form, the ESS Sabre D/A’s smooth signature made the audio texture much more “analog” in its sonic gradient. The old PCM sound often contained a harsh artifact that lingered in varying degrees with successive generations of PCM converters, since their rise in popularity in the 1990s. However, the latest converters, like the Mytek and the Benchmark DAC2-HGC, have overcome that hard edge sound.

With various 24-bit music files, I immediately noticed the enhanced accuracy and depth of detail over previous Mytek DACs. And true to form, the ESS Sabre D/A’s smooth signature made the audio texture much more “analog” in its sonic gradient.

I listened to numerous hi-res cuts, via the Mytek, and was impressed by its wide open stage with l expanded inner detail; yet that smooth accuracy made the music much easier to listen to. Even more, processed pop music benefitted from the DAC's signature. On the Natalie Merchant - Tigerlily DVD-A, the song "Carnival," has a well recorded drum set, and with good players and converters; the drum cymbals emerge out of the busy mix with that realistic metallic sheen intact. Yet, it does not sound overly brash; the drums sound like drums. And though the recording gets dense when the vocal bridge and the lead guitar crank up a bit, the converter keeps the separate elements from being too mushed.

On the Yes - Fragile DVD-A, Steve Howe’s wonderfully recorded “Mood For A Day” classical guitar interlude, recorded in stereo, gets a broad presentation through the Mytek — with all the nuance of string squeaks and the player’s breathing coming through with precision. I could hear it clearly through line-outs or the Mytek headphone amp.

After listening to a dozen or so high-resolution recordings, my opinion started to solidify with the Mytek. On the DAC signature scale — from the warm and reserved to the energetic and lively — the Mytek sits squarely in the middle. It is ultra, analog smooth, but it also is analytical — opening up the nuances of percussion, room reverb, string harmonics, and upper register piano. In reality, it is quite neutral in its conversion from digital to analog and ultimate transmission of its line and headphone signal. And isn’t that what we are searching for when it comes to music listening — as close to live as possible? The Mytek does it well.

This quality also benefits lesser resolution recordings. On some 1990s 16-bit DAT recordings of a jazz band and a bluegrass band, the Mytek Stereo192-DSD breathed a bit of freshness to these 20-year old, direct-to-DAT music files. I had stopped using these tapes as reference listening since the harshness always bothered me versus better 24-bit recordings. But with the Mytek, they were way more listenable. Newer generations of DACs show that the A/Ds of yesterday were better than we thought. As a PCM DAC, Mytek is in the top echelon of today’s D/As.

Mytek handles DSD, PCM from PC/Mac

The DSD playback is just as impressive. The warm, easy-to-listen to nature of DSD exudes from the Mytek Stereo192-DSD, yet all the fine detail and accurate tonal balance remain. On a DSD dub of the Anthony Wilson - Our Gang SACD, played from the TASCAM DVRA-1000 via the SDIF inputs, the jazz trio presents a live, warm, sonic portrait of a classic jazz ensemble with a mixture of originals and classic tunes, such as "Chitlins Con Carne." With the better DACs, the warm, plump character of the Hammond organ is balanced by the dynamic percussion and expert jazz guitar playing by Mr. Wilson. The recording is outstanding via the Mytek; the analog warmness does not obscure the note picking or the expansive sonics of the drums — especially the close-up recording of the cymbals.

On another set of SACD-to-TASCAM DSD dubs, the Allman Brothers - Live At Fillmore East and Eat A Peach, the live and studio tracks sounded fresh through the DAC. The acoustic guitar on "Melissa" is mixed prominently out front as is Gregg Allman’s bluesy vocal, on the DSD version, yet the rest of the band is perfectly placed in the stereo image. Even my Esoteric DV-50’s DSD playback, which I have used for reference for ten years, did not sound as good as the Mytek. See what a couple of generations of digital chip advances will do for your audio.

On classical DSD, the DAC was just as strong as it was on jazz and pop. Janos Starker The Bach Cello Suites, a Mercury Living Presence SACD, poured out of the Martin-Logans with a realism you would not expect from analog tape recording from the 1960s. On the 2L Ole Bull violin concerto, the Mytek nails the full, rich violin string overtones and the open aural landscape of the orchestral parts. Just magnificent.
I played some of my own original DSD recordings made live-to-two-track on the TASCAM DVRA-1000-HD and connected to the Mytek. On a bit of solo playing of my custom Gibson L5 and a Fender blackface Deluxe Reverb, mic’d in stereo, the playback had noticeably more dimension and presence in the treble than the stock TASCAM DSD playback. The TASCAM is a great recorder/player, but a standalone high-end DAC like the Mytek makes the system that much better.

The DSD playback is just as impressive. The warm, easy-to-listen to nature of DSD exudes from the Mytek Stereo192-DSD, yet all the fine detail and accurate tonal balance remain.

Since the Mytek Stereo192-DSD is well-equipped to handle computer audio via USB and FireWire, I played various tracks of my DSD dubs through a Macbook Pro using Audirvana playback software, which will playback high-res PCM and DSD via DOP. I used the Mytek software control panel to choose sample frequency, clock sync, etc. It was straightforward in operation and worked without a glitch. On DSD on PCM, the Audirvana program converts the DSD bitstream in real time to a hybrid DSD/PCM stream, with the DSD contained in the last eight bits of a 24-bit/176 kHz PCM carrier. That hybrid signal is then passed to the DAC, via USB or Firewire, which decodes the DSD.

The DoP tracks also can be saved through Audirvana, Pure Music and JRiver computer playback software and then exported for play on another source. For example, the DoP files can be loaded onto a USB stick and played back from an outboard player to a DoP compatible DAC, such as the Mytek. I played DoP music from an Oppo BDP-95, BDP-105 and a Pioneer Elite BD-62 Elite universal player through the Mytek. Playing the entire Starker Bach Cello Suites from DoP files, via the USB stick plugged into the Oppo, it was kind of strange to see the player indicating 24/176 PCM, but trust me, the DAC only sees the pure DSD.

Operational ease
From a function standpoint, the Mytek was easy to use and the onboard features were easy to access. I listened to both volume controls, digital and analog, and was quite happy. The analog was just slightly warmer, but the digital volume worked perfectly with my Class A FET amps. The Mytek manual says the digital volume measures better, but the analog sounds better. I don’t necessarily agree with that. I found myself using the digital quite a bit with outboard preamps, such as the FET-based Pass Labs XP-10 preamp that are a tinge warmer than Mytek’s analog output. Just my preference.

The 24-bit/192 kHz upsampling feature worked well with old CDs, giving them just a bit more presence around the edges. For example, Til' Tuesday - Everything's Different Now CD benefitted immensely via the upsampling, bringing out the edges of the synth pop and drum machine percussion more than the standard setting.

An inside look at the Stereo192-DSD

The Mytek Stereo192-DSD headphone amp is very good with a substantial degree of width and depth. My reference Bryston BHA-1 standalone headphone amp relayed just a bit more width than the onboard headphone amp, but the Mytek was not that far off. It also handled the high-impedance AKG K702 with no sweat.

I only have one complaint with the Mytek DAC192-DSD — no word-length/bit indicator. I think every DAC with computer connection should have one. You can’t always trust that the computer is going to automatically spit out full res via USB or Firewire. When working with PCM music during this review, the Mac system settings would often default to 16-bit, 44/1 kHz sampling when I was playing a 24-bit file.

With a bit status display, you know what your computer is outputting. Benchmark got wise and added a bit/sample rate display to their converter. I use a broadcast DAC, the ATI ADAC, just for that purpose. The six-year old A/D, D/A, SRC was built with a comprehensive bit/sample display that has become indispensable to me. I seldom listen to the ATI DAC, but I always monitor the display to make sure my music is at the max. Hopefully, Mytek can add the word length display feature in the near future.

The verdict

On a scale of 1 to 10, the Mytek is a 9+; if it had the bit display, I would give it a 10. The mastering version I tested had all the right features for rack component playback or streaming high-res from my trusty Macbook Pro. Audio from the headphone amp or the outputs was top-notch. Like the new Benchmark, the use of the ESS Sabre 32 chip in the Mytek brings more clarity, yet ratchets up the smoothness quotient by a factor of four.

I highly recommend the Mytek DAC192-DSD to any user: pro or home music lover. Its got the necessary bells and whistles, as well as state-of-the-art sonics. If you like the DSD inputs, then the mastering version is your choice. The preamp version, with a set of analog RCA inputs, is for those who want to use it as a DAC and as their primary preamp. At $1,595, the Mytek’s utility and audio quality make it a bargain buy, compared to DACs or high-end player/DAC combos at twice the price. We have, of course, given it our Everything Audio NetworkStellar Sound Award.

©Articles on this site are the copyright of the Everything Audio Network. Any unauthorized use, via print or Internet, without written permission is prohibited.

"A New Class of Electrostats: Incredible Transparency"

Brevis...

Price: $9,995 per pair

Likes: sounds like live,

Dislikes: finicky auto on/off

More info: MartinLogan Montis

by John Gatski

I have always been fascinated by electrostatic speakers. These full-panel driver speakers, which produce audio by electrically charging a thin membrane with an audio signal, have been around for many years (Quad, KLH, MartinLogan). Because of the low-mass of the electrostatic panel driver and its dipole radiation, the essential audio character has been one of a present, fast, accurate presentation in the midrange and treble — without multiple drivers and complex crossovers. Their downside has been the complexity, lack of real low bass and high-cost. Still many audiophiles swear by them, and the technology continues to evolve.

Martin-Logan has been a player in the electrostatic speaker game since the early 1980s. Now with the resources of the Paradigm company behind them, their latest series of electrostatic panels some of the best sounding speakers I have ever heard, including the amazing Montis reviewed here. Being an audiophile and a recordist who plays and records real musical instruments, I can boldly state that the level of accuracy from the Montis loudspeaker is uncannily real.

Features

Priced at $9,995 per pair, the made-in-Canada MartinLogan Montis features an electrostatic panel radiator, and a built-in, sealed box, 10-inch bass woofer with digital crossover and high-powered Class D woofer amplifier, incorporated in what MartinLogan calls its Voijtko 24-bit digital engine. The Montis sits third in the MartinLogan lineup behind the CLX Art, and Summit.

The 59.3 inches tall Montis is just over 12-inches wide, and only 18-inches deep at its biggest point at the woofer section. Its footprint is quite compact, considering the produced sound. The angled electrostatic panel assures correct time alignment, and it gives it an ultra-modern flair in its appearance. Each speaker weighs only 56 pounds, the weight of a normal, medium-sized bookshelf speaker. The main panel sports a black frame; the woofer box is finished in a nice, dark cherry color. There are other color options as well.

Montis uses a sealed bass driver

The primary electrostatic radiator measures 44 inches tall and is just over 11-inches wide. Martin-Logan has implemented its latest electrostatic driver technology, XStat, into its high-end speakers. A series of specialized design features including CLS (curvilinear line source) shape, an improved Generation 2 manufacturing process to achieve optimum low-mass and MicroPerf Stator, which enables wider frequency response and dispersion from smaller panels. The Advance Airframe utilizes ultra-rigid extruded aerospace grade aluminum to secure the panel to the cabinet, which reduces vibration and unwanted physical interactions that can smear the sonic delivery and negatively alter the stereo image.
The perforated electrostatic panel reproduces audio from 340 Hz to beyond 23 kHz in a tight 3 dB window, according to MartinLogan. The key to the Montis’ full-range effectiveness is the digital crossover, digital amplifier and sealed 10-inch woofer that handles the low-end all the way down to a claimed 29 Hz. The woofer is powered by a 200-watt class D amplifier and signals/crossover are handled by a DSP-based preamp, which includes a bass control centered at 100 Hz to adjust the speaker to the room acoustics. The bass control adds or reduces as much as 10 dB.

Being an audiophile and a recordist who plays and records real musical instruments, I can boldly state that the level of accuracy from the Montis loudspeaker is uncannily real.

The speaker is recommended to be powered by a 20-300 watt amplifier. The speaker is very efficient at 91 dB 1W@1-meter, so you don’t need a muscle amp to make it loud in most rooms. I powered the Montis’ with variable amps, including a 600wpc Bryston, 350 WPC Pass Labs, and 200wpc Rogue Audio Medussa digital hybrid amp. But even a low-powered, 7wpc singled-ended solid state stereo amp from First Watt pushed the Montis speakers to loud levels in my room as well.
As mentioned, the Montis is a pretty speaker. Its futuristic persona is cast with a front and back panel blue logo lights, which can be dimmed or turned off. The rear panel houses the speaker connections, cable connectors, bass control, IEC cable receptacle and the logo light control. The speaker cables are tightened with a pair of easy-to-use wing handle knobs.
The speaker comes with isolation spikes (for those who must decouple the speaker from a room with hollow cavity underneath) and attractive covers to keep the dust out when not in use. The owners manual is excellent — detailed in its explanation of features, operation and placement suggestions. The manual also contains a bit of history on the electrostatic speaker design.

The setup
I installed the Montis’ in my audiophile listening room; about eight feet apart, a couple of feet from the side walls, and three feet from back walls. I angled them in slightly, per the manual. Since electrostatics radiate from both sides, the wall behind the speaker is a vital part of the sound. Close proximity to the front wall allows for necessary reflections to make the electrostatic radiate its sound properly. Since my floor is a solid concrete slab with a bit of carpet in the speaker mount area, I did not attach the spikes. Measured response was quite clean in the bass frequencies.
As previously mentioned, I used several amplifiers for the Montis evaluation, including Pass X350.5350wpc FET output, Bryston 14B SST2 600wpc bipolar output, First Watt F3 7wpc single-ended JFET output, Pass Labs XA30.5 30wpc FET Class output, and the brilliant Rogue Audio Medussa 200wpc hybrid digital/tube amp.

Montis' digital crossover/amp resides here

I connected the speakers to the amps via Alpha-Core solid-silver, 12-gauge flat cables. Preamps included my Legacy/Coda, a Pass Labs XP-10 with passive attenuator and the tube-staged Rogue Audio Model 99 Magnum. Sources included Oppo BDP-105, Esoteric K-07 SACD/CD player, the Benchmark DAC2-HGC and Mytek Stereo192-DSD DACs, Clear Audio turntable and my professional/audiophile TASCAMMDVRA1000-HD high-res player/recorder, which I used to play freshly recorded jazz guitar and acoustic guitar music.
All sources, preamp and amp options were connected to the AC via Essential Sound Products Essence IIpower cords and power strip. The Montis’ were also plugged in with the ESP cords.
Speakers on hand for comparison included Legacy Focus 20/20s, Legacy Studio HDs, Westlake and LC2.65s. I use a Paradigm SUB15 for low-bass duties with the small Legacy Studios. However, the electrostatic Montis is such a different animal. I really did not do that much A/B listening with my speaker switch box. My 2002 Legacy Focus 20/20s, with multiple drivers on the front, are the closest speaker that I own that radiate the room presence of the Montis.
In the initial setup and basic measurements, I found that the Montis needed just a tad of 100 Hz bass roll-off to achieve a flat mid bass in my room. In fact, with my measurements, I achieved a 35 Hz to 20 kHz response within 4 dB, which is an excellent result, and fairly close to the factory measurements.

The audition
After the initial break-in, I auditioned numerous hi-res jazz albums, including one of my favorite jazz SACD Anthony Wilson Trio— Our Gang: a jazz guitar, Hammond organ and live-to-two-track drum recording from the Groovenote label. From the first play of cut 4, "Time Flies," an energetic run of lead guitar, backing organ and close-up drums, I could tell the Montis‘ were something special. I could immediately hear the nuance of the recording room’s reverb decay and reflections that are often hard to hear through a conventional speaker. The sound was not an exaggeration, but just more detail over a huge stereo image. The front-to-back sonic layers also enhanced the live character of the instruments, and the fast-as-light transients make you forget that the sound is coming from a speaker. It is that good.
On the Tom Jung-recorded Warren Bernhardt — So Real, the title track has the drummer rotating a drumstick head around the snare and it sounds like the drummer is in the room. It’s like the recording went from 2-D to 3-D using the Montis.
Piano music lovers will love the instrument’s tone on the Montis’. Never have I heard such accuracy in the instrument's upper register. On a Tom Jung DSD recording of a Steinway grand using Grado HMP-1 microphones, the performance literally jumps out in the room. The microphone picks up the layered room reflections, the piano’s wood tone, and hammer on string action like no other microphone. and the Montis is its equal on the transmission side of the equation. How real it all sounds.

The MartinLogan Montis is one of the most accurate and revealing loudspeakers I have ever heard in 21 years of reviewing audio gear. The stereo image, low-level detail, sonic info spread across the soundstage is absolutely jaw dropping on 24-bit or DSD high-resolution audio.

Another recording that sounded aces through the MartinLogans was the Chesky label's David Hazeltine/George Kraz Trio— Manhattan. A straight ahead jazz trio with piano, drums and bass. I received a lot of complements from guest listeners on its sonic interplay of the piano and drums. Like a classic jazz recording — with more accuracy. Again, the piano’s upper register reproduction was outstanding.
With classical music, the MartinLogan Montis excels on any category instrument you want to play. String, woodwind, brass. The speakers will astound you with their precision. On the Mercury Living Presence classic, Janos Starker— The Complete Bach Cello Suites, played through an Esoteric K-07 SACD/CD player, I could hear the subtle detail from the bowed cello. I swear I could almost hear the rosin on the bow. The larger presentation even made Starker’s noticeable breathing that much more noticeable. Everything in the recording was magnified by the MartinLogans and their interaction with the room.
With higher quality music, the Montis’ sonic signature is one of a tight, lean bass, super focused midrange with abundant intricately placed treble detail. The midrange down to midbass is super fast in its response — lacking the pronounced bass bump of many conventional speakers. Some listeners may think, on initial listening, that the Montis does not have enough bass. That is not the case. The speaker has accurate, flat bass — not enhanced, hyped bass that can be exacerbated by room acoustics.
Electrostatic /conventional bass driver hybrids have been criticized in the past because the bass driver could not keep pace with the panel’s speed, making for a sloppy sounding low-end. The Montis is not that kind of speaker. Because of the digital crossover, digital amp and the tight acoustic-suspension woofer, the bass perfectly matches the electrostatic panel projection, no time lag, slow unfocused bass versus the rest of the spectrum. This electrostatic/bass woofer integration is perfect. The low end is there if you need it. I played several symphonies with big tympani rolls, electric bass jazz music and pipe organ, and the system did not feel bass shy. On a pipe organ recording in a cathedral hall, the hall reflections were relayed with extreme clarity, including the key clicks and mechanical noise of the organ. You hear everything.
To hear some fresh guitar through the Montis’, I played hi-res recordings of me playing a small body, custom Martin 00-28 — built with 1930s bracing and using silk and steel strings. On a 24-bit demo sample of the Martin, recorded in stereo with a set of Audix SC-25 lollipop microphones, the presentation through the Montis’ was like someone playing in the room. The finger squeak, the high fret plucks, the thumb stroked bass notes: it was clear as a bell, er, I mean acoustic guitar.
The Gene Bertoncini — Body and Soul SACD, confirmed my impressions of the Montis’ acoustic guitar conveyance. Mr. Bertoncini’s nylon string playing seems effortless and the stereo recording makes it much bigger sounding than one would think possible for a solo instrument. The Montis’ merely project that character with a broader brush than most speakers I have listened to on this album.

Piano music lovers will love the instrument’s tone on the Montis’. Never have I heard such accuracy in the instrument's upper register. On a Tom Jung DSD recording of a Steinway grand using Grado HMP-1 microphones, the performance literally jumped out in the room.

If you have good amps, like my Pass X350.5 and big Bryston, the speaker sounds clean at super loud levels. But as with any speaker, mate it with a marginal amp, the package may suffer. I thought it sounded a little slow on my old original Mac Mc275. The top-end was not as extended and the bass, fast as it is through the Montis, was a bit lumpy compared to the solid state amps.
Some people have told me they do not like horns on electrostatics. That is not the case with the Montis. I thought the horns were super. On Miles Davis’ Round Bout Midnight SACD, the trumpet’s modulated complexity shines through, as does the bluesy persona of John Coltrane’s saxophone solos. The horn “bite” is there, but not harsh. It is hard to believe that the analog gear from 50 years ago could capture the sound so divinely, and the Montis certainly reveals it.
What about rock and roll music, and pop? The Eagles— Hotel California DVD-A is a bit thick and compressed, but it has some open, detailed tracks, such as New Kid in Town and Randy Meisner’s Try and Love Again. Again, the Montis pair pulls out the detail, plays it loud and smooth without hurting your ears at 90+ dBs. Center image sounds, such as vocals, are dead center and distinct in their presentation.
On various cuts of the Beatles in 24-bit, the raw electric guitar sound of Abbey Road really stands out, as does Ringo’s distinct drumming style. The Montis, again, reveal the separate layers of the multitrack recording, even one as old as this. Mix and mastering engineers should check their final mixes on these speakers.

A super electrostatic...
I cannot criticize the MartinLogan Montis sonically or its build quality. The made-in-Canada speaker is an exemplary example of convergence of speaker technologies done right. Even the little things are done right, I really appreciated the speaker binding posts that are easy to access and attach big cables without standing on my head. Even the speaker shipping boxes were smartly done, enclosing the speaker in protective pads, yet easy to unbox.
The only problem I noticed was in the auto-on/off circuit for the amp/digital crossover. The auto-on/off circuit controls the audio signal to the speaker. The speakers do not activate until a signal is detected. When the audio signal from the amp is detected, the auto-on/off circuit triggers the Montis output, and there is sound. This is visually indicated by a rear-panel LED that turns from red to blue. After 15 minutes of no signal, the amp/crossover circuit shuts off; the LED goes red.

On my review Montis’, the signal threshold seemed a bit high before the speakers activated and passed sound. If the preamp level was low on initial play, the speakers did not sound for up to seven seconds. Thus, I missed a bit of the track.
If the preamp level was high, the speakers started within a second. To hear the whole song without any silence, I had to start the track again, at low levels, or crank the level way up on start up. After the initial auto-on, there was no problem because the speaker amp/crossover stays on. Maybe the delayed turn-on threshold can be adjusted in a firmware change. I would prefer an auto-on/off bypass option.

The verdict
Without a doubt, the MartinLogan Montis is one of the most accurate and revealing loudspeakers I have ever heard in 21 years of reviewing audio gear. The stereo image, low-level detail, sonic info spread across the soundstage is absolutely jaw dropping on 24-bit or DSD high-resolution audio. With the combination of the digital crossover and an ultra-fast woofer, the bass speed matches the rest of the frequencies perfectly above 30 Hz. This is the kind of speaker an audiophile lives for. Bring on the Stellar Sound Award!

©Articles on this site are the copyright of the Everything Audio Network. Any unauthorized use, via print or Internet, without written permission is prohibited.

Brevis...

Price: $5,400 Retail

Likes: multitrack 24-bit sound

Dislikes: a little heavy in a should bag

More info: TASCAM HS-P82

by Ty Ford
Compared to analog multitrack tape recorders, digital recording devices are a wonder for the remote recording professional or enthusiast. Not only can you do separate tracks of pristine high-resolution recording, but you can edit nondestructively, back it up on the computer, and store the audio on various of digital media.

TASCAM has been making high quality, digital recorders since the 1980s. From the original DA-88 that stored 24-bit audio on Hi8 video tapes to today’s popular DR-680, musician/audio enthusiast multitrack and high-end HS-P82 reviewed here, these devices allow amazing recording quality and features at prices that would have been unheard of 10 years ago.

A fine example of TASCAM’s recording product expertise is its top-of-the-line HS-P82 eight-channel location recorder, a high-end, pro grade machine that retails for $5,400 (but as low as $3,599 street). It is an eight-track recorder with eight, high-grade microphone preamps, internal two-track mix-down and SMPTE time-code I/Os. Intended for professionals who record video/film audio, as well as audio-only concerts, etc., the unit can be primarily powered from batteries, battery pack or the AC line. The HS-P82 can record eight tracks at 24-bit/96 kHz, four tracks at 24/192 kHz via the BWF format, which also is used in the TASCAM HD-P2 high-end stereo portable and DVRA1000-HD studio master recorder, both EAN Stellar Sound Award winners.

The HS-P82 records audio to Compact Flash cards, a media that was once a mainstay for digital cameras. TASCAM’s Pro Recording Products Manager Dan Montecalvo says the CF card has shown to be more robust in professional use than the smaller, lower-cost SD cards used in may audio recorders today. The fastest CF cards are not as widely available as the SD cards, and they are not cheap.

The HS-P82 records FAT 32 BWF files, either mono or polyphonic, and supports iXML metadata. Using 32 GB cards, it can record from 12.5 hours of 8-track at 16-bit, 44.1 kHz, to almost four hours of 4-track at 24-bit, 192 kHz. Recording at the higher sample rates of 176 kHz and 192 kHz mean you can only record up to four tracks.

Eight Onboard High-End Microphone Preamplifiers

Because of the immense digital info streams, your skill set needs to be upgraded from audio pro to data wrangler these days, and the HS-P82 points that out pretty well. File names and metadata are the Holy Grail and you better know how to handle them. The manual goes into detail about what and how to transfer files and when you can and can’t rename them.

Other features include: 48V phantom mic power on each input, eight AES/EBU outputs via DB-25 connector, BNC stereo AES/EBU digital output (no SPDIF digital stereo output), video/word clock/cascade BNC I/O and balanced XLR audio stereo output. The audio can be fed straight into your edit computer via USB cable, or pop the CF into a card reader. A keyboard port also is provided, as well as an external DC power four-pin connector.

Front panel controls include individual track gain pots, headphone jack/level control, digital graphical interface, electable option control and home, menu, project and exit cancel controls. The slate switch activates the onboard microphone.

All in all, the TASCAM HS-P82 eight-track recorder is a full-featured recorder for serious high-resolution audio recording of concerts, broadcast, and cinema audio. The internal A/D-D/A converters are from AKM and are highly regarded in their accuracy and linear smooth, sonic character. The 24/bit/192 kHz mode gets you an 80-kHz bandwidth.

Getting to know the PS82

You can power the HS-P82 via a supplied AC power supply with line-lump, camera-style NP batteries, an 11-16V DC external supply with 2A or more, IDX V-Mount batteries, or, briefly, with 10 AA-batteries in the supplied NP shell battery case. Field reports indicate 3-4 hours usage from a lithium-ion NP1, running phantom powered mics. Less time with the AAs.
The HS-P82 is designed with two power supplies, each of which handles four channels of the eight. TASCAM’s Montecalvo says the two power circuits have more than enough power for eight mics; 10mA per channel. (A Schoeps CMC641, a commonly used location microphone, requires only 4 mA.) The phantom supply is switchable on/off for each of the eight inputs.

I suggest skipping the NP shell with the AA batteries. That’s sort of OK because at eight pounds, without batteries, the HS-P82 is not a piece of gear I’d want to hang off my body for any length of time while doing location audio. For me, the eight pound weight of the unit positions the HS-P82 as a stand-alone recorder for a cart. (Although I say it’s not a bag recorder, TASCAM claims a number of owners do operate it from location-use shoulder bags).

A logical layout

The HS-P82 is smartly laid out as far as its ins/outs and controls. There are eight XLR connectors on the right side of the unit, each of which has hardware switches for mic, -25 dB mic level, and line input. Phantom power, per input, is switched on/off by the software. There are also two main XLR outputs. The left side is populated by power inputs, the two CF card slots, (you can mirror record to cards in both slots, but not serially from one card to the next), the DB25 digital audio I/O, USB port, cascade/word/video IOs, SMPTE I/Os and IBM PS/2 keyboard connector for entering alphanumeric information.

The HS-P82 is controlled by a tilt-up, TFT touch screen. If you’ve been using an iPhone or similar touch-screen device and have gotten used to dabbing at a small screen, you’ll be fine. Even though I don’t have sausage fingers, I found most functions worked fine, but the digital QWERTY keyboard was difficult for me to use. I preferred using an external keyboard. BTW, the manual goes on, at some length, to say the touch screen display is delicate, and you should only poke with a finger, not a finger nail or sharply pointed tool.

The HS-P82 records FAT 32 BWF files, either mono or polyphonic, and supports iXML metadata. Using 32 GB cards, it can record from 12.5 hours of 8-track at 16-bit, 44.1 kHz, to almost four hours of 4-track at 24-bit, 192 kHz. Recording the higher sample rates of 176 kHz and 192 kHz mean you can only record up to four tracks.

The touch-screen display has a wealth of information, and it took me a little while to make sense out of some of the info and where to look for it. I would suggest operators spend at least a day with the unit before trying anything more than basic recording.
When you select a file by touching it on the screen and touch the arrow in its menu, a window pops up showing its whole name and asks if you want to load that file. The screen is not big enough to display long file names, but you can easily create your own shorthand. If you don’t, you could accidentally delete a file.

In addition to the touch screen, the front panel has a simple mix of dedicated control soft keys, the headphone jack and volume control. The headphone amp has more than enough power to push even inefficient headphones. The mic preamp gain controls are retractable pots that ensure you don’t accidentally change the setting once the proper levels are selected. Location recorder manufacturer Sound Devices also uses this type of control.

Eight preamps is a handful for two hands. The HS-P82 makes it easy with trim groups that allow ganging a number of input trim pots together, so that the level of all trims in a group can be changed by adjusting one pot. You can have a maximum of four groups, but each channel can only be in one group. So if you’re using all four groups, each group contains two channels. If you have staggered gain settings, the group can only be turned up or down as high as the highest channel or as low as the lowest channel.

A Worthy Option: Companion RC-F82 Controller

Each input has its own on-screen polarity flip switch, adjustable limiters and high-pass EQ. These cannot be adjusted while the HS-P82 is recording. The EQ is selectable at 40 Hz, 80 Hz or 120 Hz with -12 dB or -18 dB/octave slopes. The limiter is a fixed value circuit and works well without crushing the sound. Even when I purposely overdrove an input to light the clipping light, the audio didn’t sound clipped and the waveform was not “flat-topped.” If you like the freedom of equalizing and engaging limiting while recording live, you’ll need a mixer with those features in front of the HS-P28.

Speaking of outboard gear, TASCAM makes a companion controller/moxer to enable functions in the HS-P82. The TASCAM RC-F82 remote control panel ($1,299 list, $999 street) is a worthwhile addition. It copies transport controls and enables dynamic mixing of all eight tracks to the internal mono or stereo master track on the HS-P82. (You can do a static stereo mix to internal tracks with the HS-P82 level and pan controls, but you can’t really mix.) In addition to eight 100-mm faders that can be assigned to preamp trim or mixer level, the eight rotary pots can be mapped for preamp trim, mixer level or pan. Dedicated Shift, Setup, Solo/Mute and Remote Setup buttons allow access to the HS-P82 menu operations. Headphone outputs and return lines for the boom operator and director or producer may also be tapped here. For a pro mixer, it is well-featured and not that expensive.

In the recording mode

Initially, I had a bit of negative experience trying to get my Compact Flash cards to work with the HS-P82. I had two CF cards that I had been using in my Sound Devices location recorder, including a SanDisk Extreme III 4GB, but the HS-P82 didn’t like either of them. In today's digital world, a recorder without media is a sad thing.

When I called TASCAM’s U.S. HQ for help with my CF quandary, I got an automated voice message system. I left a detailed message that I was reviewing the HS-P82 and needed additional information. Customer support never returned my call, but I did find the TASCAM web site quite helpful. On the TASCAM site, I found a recommended list of CF cards that reliably work with the HS-P82. TASCAM’s Dan Montecalvo said the fastest UDMA CF cards work the best in the HS-P82. Neither of my cards were fast enough, so I got a new one.

The HS-P82 offers several handy recording options. The HS-P82 can record in Mid/Side and either monitor during record or playback. You need to connect the mid capsule to an odd number preamp (1, 3, 5, 7) and the Side capsule to an even preamp (2, 4, 6, 8) for Mid/Side to function properly.

PreRec provides a 1-5 second bit bucket in case the action starts before you hit REC. You can record 16- or 24-bit multiple individual or polywav files. Maximum file size can be set for 640 MB, 1GB or 2GB. You can select whether or not after hitting the Pause button, going back into record continues the same file or creates a new one. The Retake function allows you to delete the last file you recorded, including a 2-mix file if you were recording that as well.

**You can mark files manually during recording or use the auto marker function that can be set to drop markers at audio overs, sync errors or time intervals. Playback can be set to playback just the currently selected take or all takes in a project.

Pro synchronization

The HS-P82 offers Free Run, Free Once, Time Of Day, Jam Sync, Regen and Rec Run. There are two BNC inputs and two BNC outputs. BNC 1 In accepts SMPTE time code. BNC 2 In accepts word clock, as well as 48 kHz pull-up or pull-down, NTSC/PAL black burst, and HD Tri-Level Sync. BNC 1 Out delivers SMPTE, AES3-2003/AES-3id-2001. BNC 2 Out delivers word sync and 48 kHz pull-up or pull-down. BNC 1 input and output can be used to cascade to other devices. The HS-P82 recognized the Time Code from my Sound Devices 744T in less than a second. I have never needed to edit Time Code User Bits, but the HS-P82 has a screen that allows you to do just that.

CompactFlash Cards Store Recorded Audio

The switchable Power-Off Gen feature keeps generating time code (using the internal clock) when the unit is powered down, so that when the unit is powered up the next time, the time code is up to date. Small differences might occur due to the use of the internal clock and the manual points out that 23.976F, 29.97DF, 29.97ND, and 30DF may have larger deviations.

All these modern features, control and computer compatibility, would not matter if the TASCAM did not make good recordings. Recording at 24-bit and at high sample rates, audio playback from Pro Tools or the internal converters showed that the mic preamps sound good and are quiet (factory specs greater than -100 dB A-weighted). The mic preamps worked well with most of my favorite mics: the Schoeps CMC641, a Sennheiser MKH416 or Neumann TLM 103. There was even enough gain to make my low-sensitivity, Beyerdynamic M160 ribbon mic sound nice — with just a slight amount of hiss. I was expecting more proximity effect from the Neumann TLM-103 and m160, but even without the high-pass filter engaged, the mics were not woofy. Additionally, a lot of outboard preamps don’t turn down all the way, but the HS-P82 preamps are designed to mute when turned completely down.

The verdict

The HS-P82 is a high-caliber, professional, multitrack high-resolution recorder that has all the features a pro needs, yet it is easy enough for an educated audio enthusiast to operate. Its price is reasonable as well, considering all the options; it looks and feels like a solid piece of pro audio gear that should last for years.

Based in Baltimore, sound engineer Ty Ford is a veteran of numerous broadcast, live and recording adventures, as well as an accomplished acoustic guitar player. He may be reached at "http://www.tyford.com/" www.tyford.com

HS-P82‘s High-Resolution Pedigree

As a professional location sound engineer, Ty Ford’s portrait of the HS-P82’s feature set and operation is quite flattering. And I also found its multi-channel sonic recording and playback quality quite impressive, considering it only costs a bit beyond $3,000. For your aspiring home recordists or occasional concert capturer, it is an amazing piece. In fact, according to TASCAM, the HS-P82 gets used a lot for high-res concert recording, due to its recording capability.
In converter audio quality, it is the equal of TASCAM’s brilliant 24-bit DVRA10000-HD studio master recorder, also an audiophile recordist’s dream. And combining the converters’ performance with high-spec mic preamps means ultra detailed sound. I recorded a basic acoustic guitar combo and vocalist with two Audix SCX-25 lollipop mics and a Lawson L251 tube condenser; the sound was terrific. The ultra quiet mic pres, plus the AKM A/Ds at 24-bit/192 kHz, was audiophile impressive with an ultra-wide stereo image and razor sharp guitar string detail. The AKM onboard DACs are aces as well — audibly more open than the lower cost DR-680, which is a great multitrack for less than a grand.

If you want true high-end, multichannel digital recording capability in a transportable, DC-powered form factor, the TASCAM HS-P82 should be on your list list. Based on Ty Ford’s positive comments and my concurring opinion, the HS-P82 gets a Stellar Sound Award.

—John Gatski

©Articles on this site are the copyright of the Everything Audio Network. Any unauthorized use, via print or Internet, without written permission is prohibited.

by John Gatski

In the world of video and home theater, the Blu-ray player is the king of quality for video and audio, but for the audiophile, Blu-ray players (which are often universal players with DVD-A, SACD and linear PCM playback as well) can frustrate audiophiles. On many players, an owner discovers he can’t get high-res audio out the SPDIF or TOSLink jack to his upscale DAC. DVD-A and Blu-ray PCM audio is inhibited by a BD player’s internal copy-protect software, converting audio output from 24-bit to-16 bits and/or reducing the sample rate to 48 kHz.

For example, my Oppo BDP-105 cannot play back a commercial DVD-A in full res from the SPDIF jack (the previous BDP-95 could). Nor can it output the stereo 24/192 tracks from my various Blu-ray music discs, such as 2L or AIX Records via the SPDIF. The audio is 16/48.

De-embedder to the rescue

But do not despair; I have discovered a useful gadget that is sold through many home theater accessories stores; it is called an HDMI audio de-embedder. The de-embedder enables high-res music fans to use their high-end DACs with certain BD/universal players. The DEs relay the high-res PCM stereo audio from commercial DVD-As, Blu-ray music discs, and DSD-to-PCM from SACDs from the player’s HDMI output.

The HDMI de-embedder takes a player’s HDMI audio stream, extracts the PCM stereo and routes it through its SPDIF output, TOSLink or RCA coax, which is then connected via cable to a digital input source — such as a DAC. The de-embedder also has an HDMI output pass-through jack that ensures audio/video compatibility with other HDMI input sources, such as a LCD, plasma, receiver, etc. The HDMI de-embedder was designed to maintain audio compatibility with devices that don’t have HDMI connections, such as old receivers, etc. An HDMI de-embedder can also output surround Dolby Digital and the core DTS surround soundtracks via the SPDIF jack.

The de-embedder enables high-res music fans to use their high-end DACs with certain BD/universal players. The DEs relay the high-res PCM stereo audio from commercial DVD-As, Blu-ray music discs, and DSD-to-PCM from SACDs from the player’s HDMI output.

The HDMI de-embedders range from a simple one-input HDMI unit to one with multiple HDMI inputs. Their outputs include SPDIF TOSLink and/or SPDIF coax RCA; some even have up to 7.1 channels of decoded analog audio output for Dolby, DTS and linear PCM movie soundtracks.The de-embedders range in price from about $50 to a couple of thousand dollars for the more elaborate boxes that also incorporate an audio de-embedder.

For my intended use as a BD/universal player stereo HDMI audio-to-SPDIF PCM conduit, the de-embedder boxes examined here are priced under $300; my favorite was one of the lower-cost, simple HDMI digital in/SPDIF out units, Although two of the tested de-embedders sported multichannel analog outputs, I did not really cover that feature since the focus of the article was to get HDMI audio from a BD player to a high-end stereo DAC.

Choose your player wisely

In order to use an HDMI de-embedder with a Blu-ray player and achieve full-res signal transfer to your DAC, you must have a player that passes the audio via HDMI — without firmware copy limitations. Most Blu-ray players, especially the cheap ones, do not pass high-res audio through the HDMI, unless they see an encrypted signal from a receiving “handshake” device that tells the player to allow full-resolution audio output. This electronic “handshake” is a mandated code that was agreed upon by electronic manufacturers to prevent perfect copying of video and audio.

Receivers, TVs, preamp/processors are the more-common devices that allow that HDMI handshake for full-res audio (and video) to be transmitted from a BD/Universal player. Once the two components talk to each other through the digital handshake, Blu-ray music soundtracks, a SACD’s DSD stream, or DVD-A music are delivered at full quality to the receiver or preamp/processor, which then routes the audio to the internal DAC.

If you try to use a handshake-compliant player and a HDMI de-embedder with your separate DAC, you will only get “dumbed down” audio sent to your DAC that ain’t even close to hi-fi — usually 16/48. You could listen to 24-bit Blu-ray audio or DVD-As through a receiver, but that defeats the purpose of being an audiophile. Most receivers don’t sound that good, and they will not pass full-res audio via their outputs to an external DAC either.

All Oppo players, since the BDP-80, can pass up to 24/bit/192 stereo PCM via the HDMI jack. The BDP-80, 83, 83SE, 93. 95, 103 and 105 all pass 24 bits through the HDMI, when using a de-embedder.

What about a dedicated audiophile DAC that has an HDMI input and supports the handshake protocol? None exist that I know of. Most DACs still rely on a SPDIF or AES/EBU XLR audio connection. Thus, if you want to successfully use your BD/universal player with an outboard DAC, you need an HDMI de-embedder and a player that bypasses the handshake.

Luckily, there are a few players that bypass the handshake protocol and allow the full-res audio signal to escape via the HDMI (and in some cases even the SPDIF). These are the machines the audiophile can use with their big-ticket DAC and an HDMI de-embedder, the subject of this article.

In my experience, the popular Oppo manufacturer offers the most digitally-open players on the market — in terms of an external DAC connection — and are a perfect mate for an HDMI audio de-embedder.

All Oppo players, since the BDP-80, can pass up to 24/bit/192 stereo PCM via the HDMI jack — without the aforementioned handshake. The BDP-80, 83, 83SE, 93. 95, 103 and 105 all pass 24 bits through the HDMI, when using a de-embedder. The Lexicon-badged version, the BD-30 is the same. The Oppo BDP-93/95 players can even play commercial DVD-As full-res from their SPDIF output. (The newer 103/105 players, however, can only transmit commercial DVD-Audio from the HDMI.

Wireworld Platimum Series Audiophile HDMI Cable

The new Marantz UD-7007 universal BD player also allows HDMI-transmitted, full-res audio from DVD-As and commercial BDs. And like the Oppo, the Marantz also allows DVD-A and data media (USB, BD and DVD-Data and portable hard drive via USB) PCM audio from the onboard SPDIF jacks. I also have confirmed that the latest Pioneer Elites and Yamaha high-end players support full-res, commercial DVD-A and data media full-res PCM audio output through HDMI and SPDIF, but no commercial Blu-ray audio output at full spec.

The set up

I tested four de-embedders for this roundup and used them, primarily, with an Oppo BDP105 — since its HDMI audio doorway is fairly open. I played selected music cuts from music Blu-rays: Ole Bull (2L), at 24/192 and The Who - Live at the Isle of Wight 1970, a concert movie Blu-ray with dedicated stereo PCM soundtrack at 24/48. I also used the commercial DVD-A of The Eagles — Hotel California, at 24/192.

I also played tracks downloaded from HD Tracks burned onto BD data, DVD data and USB 2.0 thumb drive. All HDMI de-embedders were measured on an Audio Precision digital signal test set to check SPDIF bit and sample rate transmission accuracy. All the units passed 24-bits, up to 192 kHz sample rate without error.

Each of the de-embedders was connected to a Benchmark DAC2 HGCwith its handy, dandy word-length and sample-rate status display, which visually indicates what the player is outputting. The Oppo’s HDMI output was connected to the de-embedder via a custom-made, 1 ft. length of Wireworld Platinum Starlight Series Flat HDMI cable. These Wireworld cables are extraordinarily transparent for audio and video. I use a 15 ft. version in my high-end home cinema setup. I used an MIT SPDIF cable to link the de-embedder and the Benchmark DAC.

Tested HDMI Audio De-Embedders

Monoprice HDX401TA

Retail Price: $43.21

Where to Buy: (factory direct)

The Monoprice HDX401TA was the lowest-priced de-embedder that I tested, yet it contained numerous features including four HDMI inputs, HDMI throughput, TOSlink and SPDIF digital output jacks and an 1/8th inch analog stereo output jack. The price was so low I ordered two. Each unit comes with a mini-remote control so the operator can select HDMI inputs remotely, as well as mute the audio and select either 5.1 or 2.0 output from the SPDIF port. The 5.1 or 2.0 feature is for routing HDMI audio to a TV with only SPDIF audio input. If you select the 2.0 mode, the audio is sample rate limited to 48 kHz. Thus, if you use the HDX401TA as a stereo audio conduit via the SPDIF, the channel mode should be set to 5.1 to reliably relay the highest sample rates. Most de-embedders work the same way.

The manufactured-in-China, 6-inches long x 3-inches thick metal-encased, Monoprice, sports a 5V wall wart DC power supply for electric power. One HDMI input is on the front; three are on the back along with the HDMI pass-through. The two SPDIF jacks are located next to each other. One of the Monoprice remotes arrived dead on arrival, but the company kindly sent me a replacement, and I was back in business.

When I played The Eagles — Hotel California DVD-A into the Oppo, it initially did not pass 24/192, the native digital stereo signal of the disc. The Benchmark DAC2 HGC indicated 24/48. Huh? I quickly figured out that the unit was set to 2.0 channel output mode. When I switched the de-embedder to 5.1, the DAC’s 192 kHz LED indicator was activated and I commenced my battery of subjective and objective testing.

My 2L Blu-ray music also played through the de-embedder at 24/192 via the selected stereo track, as did all my Blue-ray data and USB data-stored, high-res tracks from my own home-brew recordings and HD Tracks downloads. The Monoprice has a lot of features for such a low price. However, it locked to the HDMI signal a little slower than the others. The remote was a mixed bag; it was so small I kept losing it. I did really did not like it, but it is the only way you can switch between 5.1 and stereo output

Measurement of the Monoprice digital signals confirmed its ability to transparently transmit 24-bit PCM taken from the HDMI signal and route it through the SPDIF jack in its native sample rate: my listening sessions confirmed full res as well.

Overall, Monoprice HDX401TA IS inexpensive and has a lot of features, but the mini-remote and slow lock time put me off a bit. Still, it passed transparent audio, once the signal was locked, and it does have both TOSLink and SPDIF output. For $43 bucks, it ain’t bad!

KanexPro HAEXCOAX

Retail Price: $95.00 (as low as $65)

Where to Buy: Markertek, B and H Photo

The most compact of the HDMI audio de-embedders in my roundup, the KanexPro is effectively simple: an HDMI input, TOSLink and SPDIF RCA digital outputs, an HDMI pass-through, a 5.1./2.0 switch, and a DC 5V power jack for the wall wart. The designed-in-USA/assembled-in-China, KanexPro HAECOAX is sturdily built, and it became my favorite HDMI box for audiophile use because of its compact size (2.5 inches by 2.5 inches) and simple I/O layout. It basically fits in line and could hang with all the other cables without needing shelf space.

Like the others, lab measurements showed that the KanexPro passed 24-bit stereo audio perfectly. All my high-res audio samples from the 2L Blu-ray, the Hotel California DVD-A, as well as HD Tracks downloads (and my home studio recording of acoustic and jazz guitar) sounded brilliant as they passed transparently from the Oppo through the de-embedder to the Benchmark DAC2 HGC. The KanexPro HAECOAX locked on quickly to the digital signals and worked without a hitch. On the bench, measurements showed its transparency in transmitting the full-resolution PCM.

For my audiophile stereo HDMI audio tasks, I really liked the KanexPro HAECOAX. It is a simple HDMI-in, with TOSLInk and RCA coaxial outputs — with a pass-through HDMI jack. Minimalist and effective, it is $65 on the street through various accessories dealers, such as B and H and Markertek.

Atlona HD570

Retail Price: $279 ( as low as $184)

Where To Buy: Amazon, B and H Photo

The made-in-Tawain HD570 is a full-featured de-embedder with more inputs/outputs than the KanexPro. It may be overkill for the audiophile hi-res listener, but I included the de-embedder because it is a solid piece and readily available via numerous dealers. The unit features four HDMI inputs, an HDMI pass-through and 7.1 surround audio via four mini-jack, 1/8-inch analog outputs — two channels per jack.

The HD570‘s major downside is its single TOSLink digital SPDIF output, which limits its usefulness for audiophiles who don’t have a TOSLink connector on their DAC or other device. Also, TOSLink also does not always support 192 kHz sampling rates. Most of the other de-embedders on the market have both SPDIF and TOSLink. I ended up having to buy an extra box that converted TOSLink SPDIF-to RCA SPDIF in order to use it with one my older DACs.

Even with the limited-to-TOSLink output, the Atlona HD570 performed satisfactorily as an HDMI-to-SPDIF converter, passing the Oppo-derived 24/192 signals to the Benchmark DAC via a TOSLink cable and SPDIF adapter. The onboard converter’s A/D wasn’t bad for a little box, but it definitely was not full res. The 1/8th-inch mini-jack 7.1 channel outputs are kind of funky to use with a receiver or preamp, which always have RCA inputs. You need four 1/8th-inch-to-RCA adapter cables or plug-in adapters to make it all work.

Much better is the now-defunct, Atlona HD577 that I got in for testing a year ago, which is essentially an upgraded HD570 — with the additional SPDIF RCA digital output and 7.1 RCA analog outputs — no mini-jacks. It is housed in a bigger frame to accommodate the larger cables. And though it cost more, I preferred the HD577’s RCA SPDIF, more stable size footprint and its locking DC adapter barrel. Alas, though, the company stopped making it a few months ago. That always happens to things that I like.

The verdict

In my small sampling of the HDMI de-embedders for hi-res audio use, they were all pretty good, converting the Oppo’s HDMI PCM signals to SPDIF output — without degrading the signal. Since I was really focused on the stereo SPDIF output and not the de-embedder’s onboard analog outputs or extra HDMI inputs, I was more drawn to the KanexPro HAECOAX for its audiophile simplicity. It is compact, robustly built, contains both TOSLink and RCA SPDIF outputs — as well as the single-HDMI input and pass-through.

And most importantly, it converts, transparently, two-channel 24-bit, up-to 192 kHz audio from any player that passes it through the HDMI, including the mighty Oppo. To be fair, the other de-embedders passed audio transparently, but I preferred the KanexPro HAECOAX because of its non-obtrusive, compact size and sturdy feel. Plus, it synchronized a touch quicker than the others and always stayed locked in the presence of the HDMI signal. The $65 street price tag was welcome as well. Of the four HDMI de-embedders, the KanexPro HAECOAX also gets my nod for the Stellar Sound Award.

It should be noted that there are a number of the HDMI de-embedders on the market, so if you can’t find one of these, other options are available. Just make sure they pass the 192 kHz sampling rate. I found one that was limited to 48 kHz in its specifications.

©Articles on this site are the copyright of the Everything Audio Network. Any unauthorized use, via print or Internet, without written permission is prohibited.

by John Gatski

Benchmark Media Systems has announced a lower-cost DAC2, the DAC2 D, which costs $200 less than the highly rated DAC2 HGCthat EAN reviewed last Fall. Benchmark squeezed out a lower list price, by eliminating the analog inputs and the remote 12V trigger. The DAC2 D Price is $1,799 versus the DAC2-HGC’s $1,995.

Based on the factory info, the DAC2 D’s performance is exactly the same as the top-of-the-line HGC model — with the Sabre32, eight-channel 32-bit DAC (ES9018), DoP DSD conversion, onboard sample rate and word length indicators, UltraLock2 jitter attenuation, and asynchronous USB 2.0 audio.

The DAC2 D also gets the same high-resolution volume control and excellent headphone amp contained in the DAC2 HGC. Other features include polarity switch, home theater bypass, multiple digital inputs, digital pass-through, and high-efficiency, low-noise power supplies.

Look Ma! No Analog Inputs

In my view, I think the lower-cost DAC2 D is a good move for Benchmark. Though difficult to make major price reductions on USA-manufactured audio products, eliminating the analog inputs and 12V trigger ekes out a couple of hundred clams in savings — without hurting the performance. Many audiophile and pros only want to use a DAC as a DAC, and not as an analog preamp, which is the way I use them most of the time. Can’t wait to get my hands on a test sample DAC2 D. Benchmark says that the unit is already shipping, available in black and silver finishes.

©Articles on this site are the copyright of the Everything Audio Network. Any unauthorized use, via print or Internet, without written permission is prohibited.

EAN Reviews Orion32 at Sirius-XM Studios in DC

Brevis...

Price: $2,995

Likes: 32 channels A/D-D/A, sound quality

Dislikes: needs separate A/D channel trims

More info: Antelope Orion32

by Jackson Macinnis

With more than 30 years of digital recording under our belt, we have arrived at a place where we can use 24-bit technology to bring us the analog smoothness we all love, yet gives us the added dynamics and detail that are positively live in their character. To achieve this, all we need is hard drive space and computing power. But up to now, the vast powerful, digital rigs were expensive and complex — with proprietary interfaces, etc.

Digital audio recording is now at a crossroads where even the most astute commercial, savvy home studios and live sound companies are rethinking the need for full blown, complex recording rigs with massive investments in PCI cards and I/Os needed to put together a complete system.

The trend to downsize digital rigs without losing quality is typified by Antelope Audio’s new Orion32, a 32-channel A/D-D/A DAW 1RU-sized interface, retail priced at an incredible $2,995; it has come along at the perfect time. The Orion32 is the product that just could be a pivot point for many recording engineers who want to keep options open, rather than committing to expensive proprietary hardware systems. I wouldn’t mind rolling into a live venue with a laptop and the single-rack space Orion and handing the front-of-house engineer my one MADI cable and, later, walking out with all the tracks ready to mix.

Features

The Orion’s 32 channels of analog-to-digital conversion and digital-to-analog conversion, contained in a single rack space, is remarkable, but the feature that blows my mind is that it can record those 32 channels of audio via a single USB cable, up to 24/192. The word from Antelope is that they have created a proprietary USB 2.0 chip that does all the amazing automation required to move that quantity of data. This same specification would be nearly three times the cost of a comparable I/O Avid system, not to mention the cost of the PCI cards involved.

Holy Cow! 32 Channels for under $3,000

Some of Orion32’s features, including the built-in MADI inputs and outputs (which we find are more and more available on live mixing consoles from companies, such as MIDAS) are future-looking bells and whistles that are a great example of why this unit is relevant and timely. It also has full light-pipe I/O for even more flexibility.

One of Orion32’s key features, for use in larger studios and video post production, is the integration of the Antelope master clock, which is well known in the audiophile community. The Orion has multiple outputs from this clock. Another key feature is the addition of its “Atomic Clock” input, which is for facilities that have vast digital routing capabilities and needs, like a large broadcast facility or massive live sound system. Antelope makes an Atomic Clock generator, said to be one of the most accurate clocks on the market. Digital clocking is a specialty of Igor Levin, the founder of Antelope; in fact, we still have Levin’s Aardvark-manufactured digital distribution clock in use at Sirius-XM.

As with many computer recording interfaces, the analog I/O comes via a DB-25 connector/cable bundle, which saves a massive amount of chassis space and are readily available. There is also the standard SPDIF I/O as well.

The unit has a very simple front panel, with what I would describe as micro-meters, that show all 64 (32 A/D-32 D/A) channels’ activity. You can easily spot digital overs, regardless of the small size. The Orion has five preset buttons for various setups, one for tracking, one for dubbing, one for surround etc.; more on those presets later). It also has a sample-rate selection switch and clocking indicators. All recording is done at 24-bit.

The Orion’s 32 channels of analog-to-digital conversion and digital-to-analog conversion, contained in a single rack space, is remarkable, but the feature that blows my mind is that it can record those 32 channels of audio via a single USB cable, up to 24/192.

Overall the Orion32’s connections include: Analog Inputs are 4 x D-SUB 25 (32 channels). Digital inputs are 1 x fiber optic MADI, 2 x fiber optic ADAT, and 1 x S/PDIF. The analog outputs are 4 x DSUB (32 channels). The digital outputs are 1 x MADI, 2 x ADAT and 1 x S/PDIF. USB 2.0 I/O is via a data stream of up to 480Mbits/192 kHz. Word clock I/O includes the 1 x 10M Atomic Clock input, 1 x Word clock input and 4 x word clock outputs.

As an all-in-one A/D/D/A with expansive connectivity, the Antelope Orion32 has impressive specifications. On the A/D side, Antelope specs 118 dB for dynamic range, and THD+N at -105db. The D/A converter is spec’d at 118 dB dynamic range and THD+N is -98 dB.

One of the most incredible specifications is the clocking stability, due to Antelope’s fourth-generation clock with 64-bit DDS, oven-controlled crystal oscillator that puts the stability at <+/-0.02 ppm. Although in our testing we heard no audible latency, Antelope has tested the latency between 1ms-6ms, depending on user settings and sample rate.

The selectable sample rates are: 32-, 44.1-,48-,88.2-,96-,176.4- and 192 kHz. The Orion32 ships with an Apple/PC control panel that is required to establish your input and output preferences. An Internet connection and a computer are necessary setup items for first use. But the control panel has drag and drop functionality and is very quick to get up and running.

All this digital horsepower and channel capacity comes in a standard 19-inch rack and weighs a minuscule 6.6 pounds. It is but only 8.6 inches deep.

The setup

While we have used other multi-track systems via USB port, the sheer volume of the Orion32’s recording ADCs to USB input is what we wanted to check out first. After connecting connected its USB cable to a Macbook Pro 2011, we downloaded the latest version of Antelope’s Orion32 software. Antelope requires an Internet connection on first launch, which prompts you through registration, as well as updates of the firmware. After all the software formalities, it was time to feed some audio to the Orion32.

For the first test, I routed all of the ADC inputs via the USB to 32 channels of Avid ProTools 10 at 24/96 and hit record. On the back-end, we routed all the channels back to DAC 2 outputs and into a pair of ADAM S3A active studio monitors — all via Mogami balanced cables. When engaging record and hooking up a single mic and preamp for throughput and stability testing, I immediately noticed the lack of input-to-output latency in the system, which always is a concern with native processing systems. The Orion32 passed with flying colors. For the stability check, I left the Orion32 recording for two hours on the internal drive of the Macbook Pro. It did not crash, glitch or hang up in any fashion — even with all the tracks being used. This USB interface is rock solid.

Analog Connection is via DB25 Connectors

We then scheduled a bonafide recording session with the Orion32. We used two recording setups. One was through our house system and one through the Orion32. The house setup consisted of two Schoeps omni C-6 microphones through the Sirius-XM Sony Oxford digital console’s ADCs and mic preamplifiers, fed into ProTools at 24/48 (the max rate of the Sony).

The second setup was two Schoeps omni C-6 microphones through two Focusrite 110-A reissue preamplifiers and then into the Orion at 24/96. This obviously was not a pure apples-to-apples shoot out, but I wanted to hear the difference between the 10-year old $600,000 Sony Oxford system vs. a $3,000 multichannel recorder of today.

The audition

Since we had the option of two monitor playback systems, we decided to have both microphone pairs up during the live performance of Stile Antico, the famed classical choir from the UK. The performance was recorded at our Sirrius-XM main performance room here in DC.

As we switched back and forth between the two setups, I immediately noticed the difference between the old and the new. Through the Orion32, the first notes from the choir were airy, clean and detailed. The music was very life like. The frequency-extended Schoeps microphones were relayed with abundant detail on the top-end. Every “S” and breath from the choral group was like they were in the room with us. The musical “air” in the room and the low end were so much more accentuated than the audio from the old, very expensive Sony Oxford system, which has its roots in 1995 digital technology.

In direct comparison, the Oxford sound lacked the live character of the Orion32 and had a harder edge. In one vocal section, my other engineer and I simultaneously turned to each other and said “do you here that?” There was a distinct, gritty artifact in the ultra-high range coming from the house system. But when the Orion32 was punched up, the grit was replaced by a more natural smoothness. The Orion32’s converters are indeed impressive! There have been numerous advances in converter technology since the 1990s, and the sonic improvements in dynamic range, smoothness, accuracy and lower noise are easy to hear through the Orion32. For example, some of the soprano vocals in the choir were popping with energy in the stereo mix — way more than the old Sony system. The live character of the recording cannot be overstated.

Not only did the piano and room come alive — with the myriad overtones — but also the subtle brilliance of the usually dark-sounding Steinway was much easier to pinpoint in the mix.

After the choir left, we pulled out the Steinway D grand piano and set up a pair of the classic DPA 4011 omni-directional microphones for another listening test. This time, we used the Apple Logic recording software — via the Macbook Pro as the front end to record the audio. To capture all the brilliant nuance of the Steinway, I set the sample rate to 192 kHz and only used the Orion32 test system. The playback was absolutely vivid.

Not only did the piano and room come alive — with the myriad overtones — but also the subtle brilliance of the usually dark-sounding Steinway was much easier to pinpoint in the mix. The nuance in the dynamics was again, as was with the choir, undeniably improved. The feeling of ‘being in the room’ with the piano was quite evident, as these converters showed no digital impurities of older systems.

After a couple months of use, I formed a highly positive opinion of this single-rack multichannel unit A/D/D/A interface for the computer DAW. The Orion32 may just be just the perfect, modern recording system — for dedicated, hard-working home studios up to the high-end, audiophile-caliber recording studio. It can deliver a few tracks or a lot of tracks — as clean as you please.

Another instrument that I always like to bring out for converter testing is a set of chimes, which to my ears has always been difficult to reproduce; the complex overtones that exist north of 10 kHz don’t seem to sound natural on many converters. Through the Orion32, the recordings of my chimes came through without any of the crunchy character usually heard with 16-bit or cheaper recording ADCs.

Although the Orion32 excels in the high-class caliber of classical and jazz music, it was equally at home on pop music styles. I recorded a Fender Jazzmaster, played through a Fender Vibro-King amplifier, which has Celestion Alnico Blue speakers and fitted with hand-selected 1960’s NOS preamplifier tubes. This is a fantastic-sounding guitar rig and worthy of high-resolution recording!

Orion32's Virtual Control Panel

I placed a Royer 121 ribbon microphone on one of the three Alnicos and recorded at 24/192, again in Logic. The sound was nearly analog heaven! This electric setup was a great example of the tube sound and how to keep that warmth that you spent so much money to create. In the past, this rig ended up sounding like a cold digital recording when using with older pro systems. Not with the Orion32; the warm character came through, yet the dynamics of the playing were obvious and very precise.

Overall, I have no real complaints about the Orion32. In general, it was intuitive in all its setup and operation menus. Though there has been Internet discussion about stability issues, the Orion was Mr. Reliable, at least on the Mac, once the latest software was installed.

The Orion32 has numerous features, including its handy presets. If I owned an Orion32, I would make a custom preset for the routing of a split of the ADC audio back to the DACs and feed them into our Aviom 16-channel headphone mixers — which are used throughout the studio for the guest artists. Another preset could be used as a simple 32-channel ADC/32 USB for live venue multitrack capture. Yet another preset could be an overdub setup. You get the idea. The Orion32 could be all the patch bay you would need to integrate with all your external analog (or digital) processors. Overall, though, the software control panel is just plain slick, and Antelope engineers are constantly updating it.

In my audio recording Utopian world, nothing could beat a quality analog 32-channel mixer, the Orion32 and a new Mac computer. The Antelope Orion32 is definitely worthy of the Everything Audio Network Stellar Sound Award.

One feature that is missing from the Orion32 is channel-trim adjustment on the individual ADC inputs. The trim adjustment for each channel would enhance its use as a mobile recording rig. Many times, we get splits of a front-of-house feed after the preamps, and we are in a different location than the head mix engineer. In those cases, sometimes all we would need is a small trim — when a channel signal ends up being just a little hot. To be fair, not many computer interface recording rigs have that feature, but I put it on my wish list.

Orion32 In Action At Sirius-XM Studios in DC

It should be noted that in all our various track allocations for the Orion32, we were never able to make it choke on the Macbook Pro with 8GB of RAM, up to the 24/192 rate. Your results on track count and sample rate would be dependent, of course, on the speed and memory of your CPU.

Speaking of interfacing the Orion32, I was able to connect to an iPad, via the $28 accessory camera kit; you can connect the Orion directly to it via USB. I wanted to try out this functionality — more for the novelty. I suppose if you really wanted to do serious recording, you could buy the $50 iPad app, called Auria, and actually do a multitrack recording. I've seen some YouTube videos where people have done 24 tracks through the Orion32. I used it with the AudioTools application, which is a pro-level RTA (Real Time Analyzer) accessories bundle for the iPad.

Summary

The Antelope Orion 32-channel recording interface comes into the market at a price point and size that makes the product a trail blazer. While other companies are still at 16 channels, having 32 channels of A/D and D/A in one rack space is unique. There is something here for every budget.

And not only is the Orion32 filled with channels, this small audio box has a more powerful I/O connectivity and better sound than some of the more well-known products now being used by the audio recording community. In my audio recording Utopian world, nothing could beat a quality analog 32-channel mixer, the Orion32 and a new Mac computer. The Antelope Orion32 is definitely worthy of the Everything Audio Network Stellar Sound Award.

Jackson Macinnis is engineering manager for Sirius-XM’s Performance Theater in Washington, DC. He also is a composer, musician and film scorer.

©Articles on this site are the copyright of the Everything Audio Network. Any unauthorized use, via print or Internet, without written permission is prohibited.

"Top-End Model Offers Audiophile Sound Quality"

by Russ Long

Onkyo’s latest flagship receiver, the TX-NR5010, is the company’s most impressive to date. The $2,999 receiver includes THX Ultra2+ Certification, which is reserved for products that are equipped to successfully deliver the cinematic experience to home theaters up to 3,000 cubic feet — with a viewing distance of 12 feet or greater from the screen. This is the largest class of home theater.

Features
The substantial (17 1/8" wide x 7 13/16" high x 18 1/4" deep) TX-NR5010 weighs in at just over 55 pounds and is enclosed in a chassis constructed of thick anti-resonant aluminum panels. Featuring all discrete analog circuitry, the receiver incorporates a massive toroidal transformer supported by two independent transformers — one for audio and one for video processing.
The receiver’s D/A conversion incorporates PLL jitter-cleaning, VLSC noise-mitigation and premium 192 kHz/32-bit Burr-Brown DACs. Audio signals are amplified through Three-Stage Inverted Darlington Circuitry that incorporates a triple-transistor array, cutting distortion and boosting current flow to the speakers. The Digital Crossover Processing Network enhances performance when bi-amping the front channels. A Differential DAC Mode reassigns DACS to only the channels being used. Video technology includes the Dual-Core Video Engine that utilizes Marvell’s Odeo technology for upscaling to 4K, coupled with the HQV Vida VHD1900 for upscaling to 1080P. ISF video calibration allows every video input to be optimized.
The logical layout of the TX-NR5010’s connector-laden rear panel prevents it from feeling overly cluttered. The eleven pairs of gold-plated speaker output terminals are located along the bottom of the panel making it easy to isolate speaker cables from the component connectivity. The receiver contains nine 145-watt amplifier channels. There are also 11.4 channels of pre-out (the .4 is two outputs for each channel of the sub stereo out). The internal amps and pre-outs can be used simultaneously, and if you find (as was my case) that nine amplifier channels is actually more than you need, you can use them to power any or both of the other audio zones or to bi-amp the mains. HDMI or composite video out can also be routed to Zone 2 (up to 1080p).

The Onkyo TX-NR5010 really shines in its sonic output; this receiver rivals many audiophile separate amp/preamps when it comes to high-res audio movie and music music. It is that good!

The receiver’s HDMI, DLNA, and smart phone MHL allow playback connectivity from a wide variety of standard sources. Eleven HDMI ports (9 in and 2 out) include support for 3D, Audio Return Channel, DeepColor, x.v.Color, LipSync, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, DVD-Audio, SACD, Multichannel PCM, and CEC. In addition, the front-panel’s USB port provides iPod/iPhone connectivity while the rear panel’s USB provides for more permanent media storage. Three coaxial/optical digital audio inputs provide more audio connectivity.
There are two antenna inputs (one for the main zone and one for Zone 2) and even twelve-volt triggers for Zone 2 and 3. Also included is RS-232 control and a PC input. Onkyo’s optional Bluetooth adapter (UBT-1) provides an alternate way to listen to music from a mobile device; audiophiles will be glad to see that it includes a phono input.

The NR5010 Has Plenty of Speaker Options

The TX-NR5010’s brilliantly designed GUI overlays on the HDMI output for seamless receiver integration. It’s nice to see a receiver finally getting the GUI integration that its TV and Blu-ray player counterparts have enjoyed for some time. The versatile remote provides control of the TX-NR5010 as well as other Onkyo gear. It feels slightly cluttered at first but the layout is intuitive making it simple to find the desired function once you are used to the button arrangement. This said, I downloaded and installed the Onkyo Remote App on my iPhone 4S and found this to be my favorite way to control the NR5010 for normal use.
The built-in Audyssey MultEQ XT32 tool provides calibration of all of the system’s channels including the dual subwoofers. The DTS Neo:X feature, currently the most advanced and comprehensive upmixing solution available, offers up to 11.1 surround channels with distinct front-height and wide imaging. This amazing process pulls you into a film creating an amazingly realistic 3-D sonic experience.
The InstaPrevue feature provides a picture-in-picture preview for the HDMI and MHL inputs. The receiver is fully networkable and is DLNA Certified for local streaming. As is the case with most AV receivers, the TX-NR5010 doesn’t have built-in Wi-Fi but Onkyo sells a wireless LAN adapter. Utilizing an Apple Airport or Airport Express is another option. The receiver is pre-configured for many of the popular streaming services such as Spotify, vTuner, Pandora, Rhapsody, Slacker, LastFM, iRadio, Aupeo, MP3tunes and Sirius/XM iRadio. It does not support connection of a Sirius/XM satellite antenna as Sirius/XM comes via iRadio only. When you can stream music to the TX-NR5010 from Windows Media Player’s Play-To feature, there is no AirPlay support, but you can stream from an iPhone/iPod via the network — using Onkyo’s remote app.
Unfortunately, the Onkyo does not contain multichannel analog inputs. Thus, if you have a favorite BD player with analog outs, such as an Oppo, the older Yamaha, etc., you are out of luck. You gotta use HDMI.This probably isn’t an issue with newcomers to the home theater market, but those of us who have been doing this for a long time are most likely to have some older pieces of 5.1 equipment that we are not yet ready to retire.

The Setup
The majority of my testing was done using the Onkyo TX-NR5010 along with a set of Episode 700 Series speakers (2 x ES-700-MON-6, 1 x EX-700-LCR-5, 2 x ES-500-SAT-4, and 1 x ES-SUB-12-300). The ES-700-MON-6 speakers were placed on a pair of 18” speaker stands — with the ES-700-LCR-5 at the same height mounted just below a Sony KDL-46EX640 LCD TV. The ES-500-SAT-4’s were mounted slightly higher at 36”. All five tweeters were focused at the listening position. The entire Episode speaker system, with the exception of the ES-SUB-12-300 powered sub was powered with the TX-NR5010. The majority of my time was spent monitoring with all five channels single amped but I spent some time monitoring with the left and right channels bi-amped. Playback was primarily via the Onkyo BD-SP809 Blu-ray player, Pioneer Elite BDP-53FD Blu-ray player and an Apple iPod.

Stellar Sound is an understatement with the TX-NR5010

Before doing any listening or viewing, I calibrated my system with the built-in Audyssey MultEQ XT32 utility which I found to be easy and straight forward to use, and based on my listening tests, quite accurate. It automatically calculates and sets all levels and distances as well as performing room acoustic correction. The included microphone is connected to the front panel input and is used to take measurements from up to eight positions around the room before automatically calibrating the sound. Onkyo’s advanced 32-bit DSP chip provides a host of preset sound modes that work well in many situations including four gaming settings (Rock, Sports, Action and RPG), multiple THX presets and several music modes.

The Audition
I used my staple evaluation material to test the receiver’s audio performance and ease of use. Using a Pioneer Elite BD-52 univrsal player, the Onkyo TX-NR5010 is perfectly suited for music playback. I referenced Pink Floyd— Dark Side of the Moon, James Taylor— Hourglass, and Elton John — Goodbye Yellow Brick Road SACDs and a wide variety of DVD-A discs including The Beach Boys— Pet Sounds, The Beatles’ — Love, Bjork— Vesperine, and Fleetwood Mac— Rumours and was thoroughly impressed with the receiver’s performance and ease of use.
The sound, routed via my reference 5.1 cadre of Episode speakers, has never sounded better than when used in conjunction with the TX-NR5010 receiver. After spending time comparing between single-amping and bi-amping the mains, I found that making the jump to bi-amping makes a more significant audio quality improvement than I would have anticipated. Clarity improved, as did low-frequency definition. This was more noticeable when listening to stereo material than when monitoring in surround, but it was noticeable in both instances.
Compared to a reference ES Sony receiver from just a couple of years ago, the dynamics, width and depth were much more obvious via the Onkyo. In fact, the detail and clarity on movie soundtracks were the equal of many separates I have auditioned.

Many receivers that tend to sound good when listening at lower volumes often become edgy, brittle and piercing when listing to loud music or during dynamic segments of a film. This is not at all the case with the TX-NR5010, which retains its smooth, open, high frequency presentation — even during extremely loud playback.

The receiver did a wonderful job reproducing the audio tracks of Batman— The Dark Knight, Ratatouille and Hugo. These three films are among my favorites for pure audio quality and all three translated beautifully through the TX-NR5010.
Many receivers that tend to sound good when listening at lower volumes often become edgy, brittle and piercing when listing to loud music or during dynamic segments of a film. This is not at all the case with the TX-NR5010, which retains its smooth, open, high frequency presentation — even during extremely loud playback. Additionally, even at extremely low volumes the TX-NR5010 maintains clarity, definition and punch.
The width and space of the sonic cues and ambient effects in lossless soundtracks are excellent. They match or exceed receiver and standalone pre-pros/amp combos that cost twice the price. The Onkyo is a truly audiophile-grade multichannel receiver.
The only negative I found was that of the internal audio relay click noise. It’s on and off clicking as the audio activates or deactivates when moving through the menu items was noticeable. That is a minor quibble, but that is it. This receiver is that good.

The verdict
Onkyo’s feature per dollar count never ceases to amaze me and the TX-NR5010 is no exception. While $2,999.00 is a healthy price tag for a top-performing receiver, the more time I spend with this unit, the more I find myself considering it a bargain. Features like 11.4 channel DTS Neo:X support, Zone 2 HDMI output, and ISF calibration separate it from the rest of the pack. Plus the Onkyo really shines in its sonic output; this receiver rivals many audiophile separate amp/preamps when it comes to high-res audio movie and music music. It is that good.
Any home cinema user in need of a feature-packed receiver with uncompromising, spectacular sound should give the TX-NR5010 top consideration. It also gets our Everything Audio NetworkStellar Sound Award.

An avid home theater and audiophile listener, Russ Long makes his living as a Nashville-based professional audio engineer, who has recorded hundreds of albums for various artists, including Grammy Award winner Sixpence None The Richer.

Onkyo BD-SP809:
"A More Video Friendly BD Player”

During the TX-NR5010 review period, we utilized Onkyo’s flagship BD-SP809, priced at $600. The Blu-ray player is beautifully designed and perfectly matches the TX-NR5010. This THX-certified player, one of the few certified BDPs on the market, includes Marvell's Qdeo processing which delivers excellent image quality on Blu-ray and DVD discs. In fact, we were awed by its high-res image quality.
If you only want to play commercial Blu-rays, DVDs and CDs, the Onkyo is an outstanding player. The player’s dual-HDMI outputs can be helpful in unique configuration situations. USB connectivity provides digital playback from several file formats including MP3, DivX HD, and WMA.
While the player performs wonderfully as a video player connected to a receiver or pre-pro, with exceptional 1080P image quality and upscaling, its $600 price tag does not net you any extras that lower-price units deliver, such as Wi-Fi. And it has only a limited list of streaming media services (like Pandora, Amazon Instant, MLB.TV and Hulu Plus).
Compared to numerous other Blu-ray players, it also eschews more advanced audio features that are common on players produced over the last two years, such as the ability to play SACD, DVD-A, FLAC and high-res audio PCM .WAV files from data BD and DVDs, as well as USB drives. We could only play lower-quality WMA and MP3 stereo audio files from Windows-formatted USB drives.
The HDMI audio output from commercial Blu-rays allow only the full-res audio via the HDMI compliant handshake output to the receiving equipment (receiver, pre-pro). But many players can output more full-res stereo audio, PCM audio by utilizing an HDMI audio de-embedder that takes the HDMI output and converts it to SPDIF, which allows them to be connected to a separate DAC. The Oppo and Pioneer players, for example, output high-res PCM from Flac, HDTracks downloads, AIX Records and 2L BDs.
However, our tests show that the Onkyo’s audio output is limited when using it as a high-res stereo PCM player, when connecting its HDMI output to an HDMI de-embedder. At $600, I would expect the Onkyo to perform similarly to the Oppo, but the answer is no. The Onkyo, for example, would not output 24/192 kHz stereo tracks from our 2L BD through the HDMI de-embedder; it would only play as high as 24/96 if you seleetd downsample from the Audio menu. We could not get it to play any .WAV files from a USB stick, formatted Fat32 in Windows. Also, it would only play MP3s from the Windows-formatted USB stick. It also would not play any DVD or BD .WAV music data discs that our Oppo and Pioneer units play perfectly.
Our opinion: the Onkyo BD-SP809 is for hardcore Onkyo fans who want the corporate logo match with the excellent Onkyo receiver, and who primarily watch movies, which the player excels. If you want more advanced audio playback features, there are more capable BD players out there.

—Russ Long and John Gatski

©Articles on this site are the copyright of the Everything Audio Network. Any unauthorized use, via print or Internet, without written permission is prohibited.

Brevis...

Price: $1,795

Likes: same great DAC2 sound, less $

Dislikes: no AES/EBU input

More info: Benchmark Dac2 D

by John Gatski

Based on its highly acclaimed DAC2 HGC DAC, introduced last Fall and reviewed by yours truly, the new Benchmark DAC2-D gives you the same great decoding, headphone amp, and DoP (DSD over PCM) playback; but by eliminating the analog inputs and 12V trigger of big brother HGC, the DAC2 D nets you a $200 savings. Yay!

With audiophiles and computer audio buffs always looking for better deals, and the fact that foreign-made DACs are putting pressure on US manufacturers, it was smart of Benchmark to find a way to create a lower-priced model.

For many audiophiles, the analog DAC input is an option that is not always used. Since I have my personal preferences for either my Coda line preamp, Rogue Model 99 Magnum tube stage and or passive, volume control Pass XP-10, I rarely used the analog inputs on my old DAC1 Pre nor do I on the new DAC2 HGC, which I have had since October. And I have never used a 12V trigger to activate a component in a real-world setup, except to see that it works during a review.

In my opinion, it is more important that the DAC have exemplary decoding, one each of the typical digital inputs and balanced and unbalanced line outputs. And, of course, a great headphone circuit is required.

Features

Priced at $1,795, the DAC2 D’s performance is exactly the same as the top-of-the-line HGC model — with the Sabre32, eight-channel (summed to stereo) 32-bit DAC (ES9018), DoP DSD conversion, onboard sample rate/word length indicators, UltraLock2 jitter attenuation, and asynchronous USB 2.0 audio.

As well, the DAC2 D utilizes the high-resolution 32-bit volume control and excellent headphone amp contained in the DAC2 HGC. Other features include polarity switch, home theater bypass (high throughput mode), multiple digital inputs, digital pass-through, and high-efficiency, low-noise power supplies.

The DAC2 D offers the same dynamic accuracy, yet warm, smooth analog character as the "HGC." It just has a few less bells and whistles, but it is lower in price. In my opinion, both Benchmark DAC2s set the standard for today’s full-featured, modular high-resolution audio DAC.

Although it eschews analog inputs, the DAC2 D still has plenty of connections: two SPDIF RCA inputs, two TOSLink SPDIF inputs, USB input, two sets of analog RCA outputs and a pair of balanced line outs. (The DAC2 Series, however, does not have AES/EBU balanced input). Throw in the ESS Sabre chip, DOP decoding, and one of the few DACs to display both word length and sample rate values, and you have the recipe for a great DAC.

You can read my detailed rundown on the performance design that went into the DAC2 HGC/DAC2 D in my DAC2 HGC review, but I want to refocus on the the Hybrid Gain Control (analog/digital) volume control, which is key to its sonic signature. My DAC2 HGC review noted the increased smooth ness factor of the DAC2 vs. the old DAC1 series.

John Siau, Benchmark VP and chief product designer, stresses that the DAC2 HGC’s High-Headroom DSP allows the new DAC2s to deftly handle digital signals as high as +3.5 dBFS, which transmit smoother-sounding audio on maxed digital recordings. According to Siau, most digital systems clip signals that exceed 0 dBFS. For years, he explained, the 0 dBFS limitation seemed reasonable, as 0 dBFS is the highest sinusoidal signal level that can be represented in a digital system.

However, Siau noted that real-world measurements and math equations show that PCM digital systems can have inter-sample peaks that may reach levels slightly higher than +3 dBFS — though the individual samples never exceed 0 dBFS.

These inter-sample overs have a negative impact on the PCM interpolation filter, which is a key component of 24-bit DAC performance. The inter-sample overs cause distortion components that are audibly non-musical and harsh under subjective testing; with hot digital recordings, the old DAC1, as good as it sounded, could relay a certain harshness with revved-up recordings.

“The DAC2 HGC/DAC2 D avoid these problems by maintaining at least 3.5 dB of headroom in the entire conversion system,” Siau noted.

Another design element that contributes to the DAC2‘s lush analog character, is the volume control. To achieve linear volume control, the DAC2 HGC combines active analog gain control, passive low-impedance attenuators, a 32-bit digital gain control and a servo-driven volume control. All inputs are controlled by the rotary volume control, and the volume control moves in response to commands from the remote control as well.

No analog in jacks, but still pnety of connections for Dac2-D

According to Benchmark, “analog inputs are never converted to digital, and digital inputs never pass through an analog potentiometer.”

Speaking of inputs and outputs, the DAC2 D also includes the useful digital output via SPDIF jack. This is done by moving an internal jumper, which turns the Coax 2 Input into the output. You can feed another input, such as receiver, recorder, etc. with the digital output. Just one more DAC2 asset that stays put in the “D” model.

My silver finish sample looked right at home in an audiophile rack or computer set up, but the DAC2 is perfectly at ease with home recording or pure professional rigs as well. The myriad of digital inputs, analog unbalanced and balanced XLR output, professional grade headphone amp gives it enough features, and the decoding is worlds above many DAC-equipped recording/playback interfaces used by pros. Remember, Benchmark ha always catered to professional recording engineers and broadcasters.

The audition

I tested the DAC2 D in the same scenario as I tested the DAC2 HGC last Fall. I threw in a few extra components for headphone use. Components included Pass Labs X350.5 amplifier, Coda preamp, MartinLogan Montis electrostatic loudspeakers, Macbook Pro computer, Oppo BDP-105 universal player; for headphone listening, Bryston BHA-1 headphone amplifier, AKG K702 and Shure SRH1840 open phones. I used Wireworld USB and HDMI cables and Alpha-Core solid silver interconnects and speaker cables.

As with the Benchmark DAC2 HGC, the DAC2 D sound quality is A+. Via its headphone amp and line outputs, the sound is ultra-detailed with a wide soundstage — not a hint of harshness. Drums, cymbals, piano single notes and acoustic guitar flat picking are presented in an honest fashion, with instruments perfectly placed in the mix.

I had several DACs on hand including my Mytek Stereo192/DSD, and a review sample of the new TEAC UD501 for comparative listening. Most of the audio samples were 24/96 or 24/192 kHz. To test DoP playback, I took original recorded acoustic guitar recordings made on a TASCAM DVRA1000 in DSD-64. They were than transferred to computer and played via the Mac through Audirvana playback software.

As with the Benchmark DAC2 HGC, the DAC2 D sound quality is A+. Via its headphone amp and line outputs, the sound is ultra-detailed with a wide soundstage — not a hint of harshness. Drums, cymbals, piano single notes and acoustic guitar flat picking are presented in an honest fashion, with instruments perfectly placed in the mix. The amount of width and depth contained in hi-res instrument tracks is truly impressive — especially through the spacious character of my MartinLogan Montis electrostats.
That ultimate smooth factor added that much more to the realistic sheen of my original recordings’ playback. Through my AKG K702 headphones, for example, my Martin acoustic guitar 24-bit recordings were vivid in their presentation The recording rig, without any compression, limiting or multi-track layers, imparts an immediate, live feel to my acoustic guitar recordings; the DAC2 relays the A/D recording, like its big brother, with an enveloping accuracy that was not possible ten years ago from such an affordable DAC.

Dac2 D word/sample rate status LEDs

Through the MartinLogans, the breadth of the Tom Jung-recorded SACD of Warren Bernhardt So Real, dubbed to 24/192 PCM, filled the room with layers of detail of percussion and piano. Within the playback system, the Benchmark helped make a virtually live performance in my listening room.

Compared to the Mytek, which uses the same ESS DAC chip, the DAC2 D was a touch warmer via its headphone amps, but via line out they are very similar. (The TEAC was a bit more present in its tone via the headphone and line out, but not quite as smooth on more modulated instruments, such as brass.)

I have to emphasize how pleased I am that the Benchmark ‘D’ model comes includes the informative word length and sample rate visual indicators — via front panel LEDs, which first appeared on the top model, Dac2 HGC. In my opinion, you need that feature when listening to audio on a computer.

For example, since the Core audio system on a Mac doe not always follow the playback program’s playback word length/sample rate settings, I have found that the Mac system can inadvertently default to 16-bit and a lower sample rate — without the operator knowing it. Since the Mac sample rate converter kicks in without you knowing it, the music still plays out the analog and digital ports, but it can be dumbed down to 16/44.1 — even if the recording is 24/96.

With the Benchmark digital status indicators, the DAC2 D reveals the true digital output of the source — computer or another player. For example, its indicators showed me that the Oppo BDP-105 no longer supports full 24/192 SPDIF output from commercial DVD-As. All you get is 16/48 from a DVD-A via the SPDIF.

The verdict

In essence, the DAC2 D offers the same dynamic accuracy, yet warm, smooth analog character as the "HGC." It just has a few less bells and whistles, but it is lower in price. In my opinion, both Benchmark DAC2s are the standard for today’s full-featured, modular high-resolution audio DAC. The DAC1 personified the DAC world in the early 2000s, but the DAC2 rules today. Like its big brother the DAC2 D receives an enthusiastic Everything Audio Network Stellar Sound Award.

Sponsored Link!

©Articles on this site are the copyright of the Everything Audio Network. Any unauthorized use, via print or Internet, without written permission is prohibited.

Bonus Review! Pioneer BDP-62FD BD Player

Brevis...
Likes: ooh that sound
Dislikes: not a thing
More info: Pioneer SC-68

by John Gatski

Pioneer’s SC-68 9.2 channel continues the A/V company’s impressive line of digital amplifier based-receivers that began in 2008 with the SC-09TX Elite receiver. The basic features and audiophile-like Class D3 amp section are the same, but the SC-68 was upgraded with features, such as Mobile High Definition Link (MHL) for adapting smart phones as additional sources for audio and video. Video-wise, the SC-68 sports true 4K pass-through to take advantage of today's latest resolution upgrade.

Other interesting features include 32-bit asynchronous DAC for the USB input, allowing direct PC music playback and a third subwoofer output for a zone sub and improvements in its iControlAV2012 application. The latest iControl adds more adjustment parameters to audio from external sources (iPod touch, iPad or iPhone) such as PQLS Jitter reduction, equalizer, standing wave compensation, phase control and auto phase control plus, tone controls, advanced sound retriever (ASR), digital noise reduction, dialog enhancement, X-curve, Hi-Bit 24 and Virtual audio modes. Suggested retail for the the SC-68 is $2,500, about $2,000 street price.

Features

The Pioneer Elite SC-68 is a full-featured surround receiver that offers plenty of audio features including AirPlay and DLNA-certification and the renowned digital amplifier section. It decodes all latest audio formats: Dolby TrueHD, DTS Master HD Master, PCM linear, as well as DSP modes — such as Dolby ProLogic IIZ. As mentioned, the Class D3 amp section is truly impressive. Now in its third generation of Pioneer implementation, the circuit is equipped with the “direct FET topology” and digital implementation of numerous audio path components, that net a clean 140 wpc across 5.1 channels with less than .1 percent distortion in the listenable power range. All this without the power consumption or the heat of typical Class A-B amplifier power supply configurations.

The Pioneer SC-68 Elite Receiver remains among the best top-tier receivers for home cinema use. The impressive audio quality, via its superb digital amplifier and preamp design, and state-of-the art video engine make this a serious contender for those with a taste for audio accuracy and dynamics.

Like its predecessor, the Pioneer SC-68 contains plenty of features for connectivity of external devices, including the iControlAV application, which allows remote control of key functions of the SC-68 through the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad or Android phone. The AV-Navigator software, contained on an included CD-ROM, allows you to control and set up the SC-68 via your PC. The Multi-Zone audio and video feature enables second zone, on-screen display that gives you premium, customized, audio entertainment throughout your home.

The Pioneer SC-68 also features numerous network functions, including Apple AirPlay, DLNA, iPhone/iPad and iPod connectivity, Internet radio, the Pandora audio service, Rhapsody and Sirius satellite radio. The SC-68 maintains its ability to handle audiophile formats, such as FLAC, DVD-A and SACD through a compatible source. SACD’s DSD-based bitstream can also be converted to PCM.

The new USB 32-DAC means that the Pioneer SC-68 can now play high-bit audio via USB flash drive. The SC-57 could only play 16-bit; the SC-68 now plays 24-bit files.

The Pioneer MCACC room calibration software makes for easy automated or manual setup of the audio parameters via its measurement microphone and DSP. This includes delay, EQ and level matching for all channels, as well as other advanced adjustments.

Pioneer Elite SC-68 vast array of connections

In the video path, Pioneer utilizes the excellent Marvell QDeo video processor, with 4K processing, native digital 1080P or upscaled video. The receiver maintains its ability to customize video settings via the Elite Advanced Video Adjust software (LCD, plasma or projector). The Pioneer Stream Smoother technology reduces picture distortion and enhance images while viewing low bit-rate streaming video content from sites, such as YouTube.

Operationally speaking...

The Pioneer SC-68 control layout is maintained from the SC-57, which is very intuitive and not overly cluttered. Most control buttons are hidden under a panel in the center with only the volume and input selector knobs uncovered on the front panel. Most of the control buttons on the unit replicate the essential operation of the remote. There are also connections for headphones, the MCACC setup microphone port, the USB port with composite video for connecting an iPhone, iPod, or iPad device with charging supported, an analog 1/8th jack for handheld gadget playback, and a front-panel HDMI port.

The SC-68 has numerous inputs to accommodate all its component capability. There are seven HDMI inputs, two HDMI outputs, front panel USB input for iPod and flash drive audio playback, three component video inputs, one component output, four composite video inputs, and one composite video output.

Breaking News!Pioneer Releases New Flagship:

SC-79 Elite 9.2 Channel Receiver

The new SC-79 is the same receiver as the SC-68, but adds HDBase video distribution and ESS Sabre32 DAC chip for improved D/A conversion. The $3,100 SC-79 has been upgraded to the ESS chip set because it is considered the state-of-the art in D/A conversion — with better-specs: signal-to-noise, and dynamic range; its subjective analog character is said to be smooth, yet dynamic, with an increased soundstage for music and surround sound effect delivery. Numerous audiophile DACS and players use the ESS line of converters. The SC-79 also is one of the first A/V products to sport HDBase, a technology that allows uncompressed high definition video — including 1080P and 4K — up to 300 feet using Ethernet. Other features include up to four A/V zones and increased multiple room control of A/V components via the latest smart phone apps.

—John Gatski

The Elite receiver sports five assignable SPDIF digital inputs and one digital audio SPDIF output. The SC-68 Elite also continues pioneers commitment to multichannel audio devices with RCA jacks for 7.1 multichannel inputs and 9.1 channels of analog audio. There is a single set of RCA stereo audio input jacks for CD players, etc.

The SC-68’s hookup hierarchy also includes a phono preamp input and a slate of new technology connections, including Sirius Radio, Wireless adaptor port for Pioneer's optional AS-WL300 wireless LAN adapter, a Blue Tooth adapter port for the optional AS-BT200 Bluetooth adapter and an Ethernet port. The speaker binding post connections allow for front x 2, front wide x 2, front height x 2, surround x 2 and surround back x 2; some of the speaker jacks double for designated zone speakers. There was plenty of room for me to get my large MIT speaker cables plugged into the front and surround jacks for a proper 5.1 setup.

Although it is a full sized receiver with high-amplifier power, the SC-68 weighs only 39 pounds, thanks to the digital amplifier section’s minuscule mass.

The setup

As with the SC-57, the Pioneer SC-68 was a joy to operate in my home cinema system. I connected it to my Westlake LC8.1s(FR and FL) while an Westlake LC2.65 did center channel duty. Two NHT Ones — with soft-dome tweeters — were used for the rear surrounds. The Paradigm Pro Sub15provided the deep bass coverage.

I also had a couple of other receivers on hand while testing the SC-68, including the Onkyo TX-5009 and a Sony STR-5800ES. Blue-ray players included the Pioneer BDP-62FD Elite player the Oppo BDP-105, my favorite BD video player, the Pioneer Elite BDP-09FD from four years ago, and Yamaha’s excellent 3D capable BD1000. All the players were linked through the HDMI.

Though way above the Pioneer’s price range, I also compared the SC-68 to my reference AudioControl Maestro M3 preamp with made-in-USA Carver amps (a three-channel and a two-channel), and AudioControl AVR4, both high-end products three times the price of the Pioneer.

The speakers were connected to the receiver via MIT cables. All AC was routed through Essential Sound Products Essence IIpower cords and power strip. The SC-68 HDMI output was connected to my Sony BRAVIA XBR55-HX929 LCD. I used Wireworld HDMI cables for player-to-receiver and receiver-to-LCD connections. The Wireworld cables are among the most transparent, in terms of minimal signal loss, cables available for longer runs.

The receiver’s ability to play all sorts of music from USB thumb drive was a major feature for me. It can play 24-bit audiophile recordings via its internal converters, or as an analog conduit for the analog output of the Oppo BDP-105, was borderline audiophile in its aural depiction.

After assigning inputs to the SC-68, I enabled the Pioneer’s MCACC auto setup option , which adjusts audio level, delay and EQ. I placed the included mic at the listener position, engaged the software, and let it measure and adjust the audio all on its own. I then checked the results on my AudioControl RTA-3050 analyzer. The MCACC software did a great job matching the speaker levels, but it added a bit more EQ to the mid/upper bass than I like in my room.

The MCACC also has a number of advanced features that allow even further tweaking, making it ideal for the non-tinkering type. Me, I decided to set up the speakers manually. As with the previous version receiver, engaging the built-in test tones of the SC-68 manual mode was easy; it took just a few minutes.

The SC-68 is endowed with numerous adjustment parameters beyond basic speaker setup and level: Auto Sound Retriever (improves the sound quality of compressed audio files, like MP3), dialog enhancement, digital noise reduction, digital filter, dynamic range control, SACD gain, and dynamic range control. The scope of the adjustments just takes some exploration of the menus and submenus.

The audition

I found the SC-68 to be the same high-achieving receiver as the SC-57. The sonic performance is still amazing. Wide dynamic range, deep bass; exceptional separation among the channels gave it a wonderful, detailed character that opened up the lossless soundtracks from DTS Master HD and Dolby Tru-HD. Like a bunch of audiophile amps contained in one receiver!

The sound is slightly less warm than conventional analog power supply amps, yet it is neutral and smooth. More accurate. More detail. On the Monsters Versus Aliens 3-D Blu-ray, the BD’s DTS HD Master Audio lossless soundtrack projected a wide soundfield with detailed beaming of surround cues and abundant dynamic range. The deep bass was definitely noticeable as well. Although digital amps can sound dry and sterile, the Pioneer never descended into the buzzy and hard category — even at really loud levels in excess of 97 dB!

Versus the Sony ES and the Onkyo receivers, I thought the Sony was just as easy to operate, but, sonically the Pioneer definitely had more width and depth to the multichannel image and more snap to the dynamics.

The traditional Class A/B amp’d Onkyo projected similar audio immersiveness and dynamics/detail as the SC-68, but was a bit warmer in its tone; shall I say slightly more analog. Both receivers sounded fantastic, but the Pioneer was clean, dynamic and loud, only drawing under 3 amps at full power, while the Onkyo draws 12.8 amps.

The SC-68's audio quality is tops among A/V receivers!

Versus the AudioControl Maestro M3 preamp and Class A/B Carver amps, the Pioneer held its own, though the Maestro’s discrete preamp topology and the 5 x 250 Carver watts through separate amps eked out a tad more clean power at super loud levels. The Pioneer sonic delivery also matched up with the AudioControl AVR, even though the AudioControl was thousands more. Ultimately, the AudioControl may edge out the Pioneer in ultimate sonic finesse and open sound stage, but the difference is not as much as the price would indicate.

The receiver’s ability to play all sorts of music from USB thumb drive was a major feature for me. It can play 24-bit audiophile recordings via its internal converters, or as an analog conduit for the analog output of the Oppo BDP-105, was borderline audiophile in its aural depiction.

Through the Oppo, I played various DVD-As, SACDs, as well as 24-bit downloaded jazz music from HD Tracks. Man, did the SC-68 sound good through the Westlake/NHTs. Classical music and well-recorded pop discs were just as revealing, such as the 24-bit/44.1 kHz remaster of the Beatles’ albums.

Besides Apple AirPlay, that enables music from an iPhone, iPad or iiTunes to be streamed via the SC-68, I also sampled other audio via the SC-68 including audio from a USB thumb drive and G-Tech bus-powered 500GB hard drive. The MP3, Apple lossless and linear 16-bit files sounded as good as those formats can. Although iTunes can play 24-bit from an Apple computer, iPods and Apple AirPlay are limited to CD quality.

Being an avid headphone user, I listened to high-res music through my reference AKG K702 and Shure SRH1840 headphones. The headphone amp was resolute enough to relay Telarc’s infamous 1978 digital recording of the 1812 Overture (SACD version).

Since movies are a key ingredient of a high-end home cinema system, I also looked in-depth at the video performance. Vivid detail and accurate scaling personified the SC-68 SC-68. It is 4K compatible, but I had no video screen or source players to delve into that feature. (The 4K demos that I have seen do show improved resolution when watching much closer to the video screen.) The DVD upconversion from 480P to 1080P was about as good as I have ever seen when watching DVDs through a receiver’s video engine, rivaling the high quality of the my trusty Oppo BDPs .

**I also put the Pioneer Elite SC-68 into duty as a zone audio amp, feeding another pair of speakers to an upstairs room in my house. Same awesome sound as the main channels, and it handled the 60 ft. 16-gauge speaker cable run just fine with 8 ohm speakers..

As with other Pioneer A/V products in recent years, the SC-68 worked flawlessly out of the box. And being fairly fluent in A/V receiver operation, I was able to engage most features by just following the onscreen menus. I only looked at the manual to verify specs.

The verdict

As with its predecessor, the Pioneer SC-68 Elite Receiver remains among the best top-tier receivers for home cinema use. The impressive audio quality, via its superb digital amplifier and preamp design, and state-of-the art video engine make this a serious contender for those with a taste for audio accuracy and dynamics.

For those who like the latest in control and function, the SC-68 will keep you busy dialing in features, such as Apple AirPlay, Internet radio services, 32-bit USB DAC, automated/manual setup and computer control. I do not hesitate in giving Pioneer another Everything Audio NetworkStellar Sound Award for the SC-68.

Bonus Review!
Pioneer BDP-62FD Elite Blu-ray Player:

Ideal for Audio Playback Via Digital Output

For the review, Pioneer sent along its top of the line BDP-62FD Elite Blu-ray player. Priced at $399, the new Elite player does not exemplify the high-end Elite players of four or five years ago with their overbuilt chassis and high-end prices, but the performance remains high vs. the competition.**The BDP-62FD sports up to 7.1 channel playback via HDMI output and uses the Qdeo video engine to kick out 1080P and upsampled DVD to the highest resolution available. Of course, it plays in 3D, if desired. The Pioneer operates similarly to the BDP-52 Elite I tested last year with easy set up and wireless capability via an optional wireless adapter.

Like most BD players today, the BDP-62FD digitally outputs audio as multichannel digital streams via the HDMI or stereo PCM via SPDIf jack. With no analog output option, the Pioneer does not have a sonic signature.
From a music playback standpoint, the Pioneer is truly a bargain when it comes to playing high-resolution stereo audio. It can relay high-res audio (24 bit PCM, DSD) from commercial formats, such as Blu-ray (HDMI only), commercial DVD-A, SACD (HDMI and internal analog only), and FLAC. It, of course, also plays CD and MP3. It also supports most media for computer audio files and downloads, including 24-bit PCM and FLAC files, from all sorts of data media, such as DVD-Data, BD Data, USB and portable hard drives. Makes for a cost-effective universal player.

The new normal: no analog outputs

You can stream the digital audio via the SPDIF port to a high-end audiophile DAC and play almost every kind of media at full res, except for commercial BD audio and SACD. And like many of the new generation of available universal BD players, I am happy to report that the BDP-62FD’s unlimited HDMI audio output enables full-resolution BD stereo audio up to 24/192.

Audiophiles can tap into the unrestricted HDMI by using an HDMI de-embedder with SPDIF stereo output that enables them to use the ’62 with high-end DACs. I was able to play commercial music Blu-ray discs out of the Pioneer, such as the Ole Bull classical violin Concerto from the 2L label, at 24/192 using a Benchmark Dac2 and an Atlona HDMI de-embedder. The Oppo players are known for their liberal digital output routing, but this Pioneer delivers the same HDMI audio output, but undercuts Oppo’s least expensive player by $100.

I connected the BDP-62FD’s SPDIF stereo output to my Mytek Stereo192-DSD and Benchmark Dac2 DACs, and the system made an impressive high-res audiophile delivery combo. Through the DACs, I played 24/192 FLAC downloads from HDTracks and DSD on PCM (DoP) downloaded tracks without any problems. The Pioneer also outputs full-resolution from DVD-As as well; The Eagles Hotel California, for example, played fine out the SPDIF to the Benchmark DAC at the full 24/192 resolution.

For movies, I thought the BD-62FD to be a quite capable player. The video presets were a bit lacking in detail for my screen compared to other players that I have simply plugged in and played, but once I tweaked the setting in the custom menu, the picture was perfect on my Sony LCD. Blu-ray movies, such as Avatar, Titanic and Life is Beautiful looked terrific following my calibration of the player's custom settings

For those who like streamed services, the 62FD offers Pandora, Netflix, You Tube and Picasso web photo apps.

Overall the Pioneer BD62 is a bargain, high-quality BD player that gives you lots of audio playback options. If I were buying a universal audio player to use with a DAC, the $300 street price makes the BDP-62FD a fantastic deal. It can play almost everything at full res and pass the digital signal to an external DAC with no problem.**And if you want to use it as a movie player, it does a very good job of playing BDs and DVDs, and it has several video apps, including NetFlix.

Though it has no multiple analog channel outputs, I still highly recommend the Pioneer BDP-62FD for use with HDMI outboard home cinema preamps and receivers — and its ability to play nearly any format of stereo high-res music through its own DAC or linked to an outboard D/A makes it a serious audiophile player. It gets an Everything Audio Network Stellar Sound Award as well.

—John Gatski

Sponsored Link!

©Articles on this site are the copyright of the Everything Audio Network. Any unauthorized use, via print or Internet, without written permission is prohibited.

CAF Keynote Presentation Set For 11:30 a.m. on July 27

by John Gatski

Alan Silverman, a noted audio engineer who has mastered numerous Grammy Award winning recordings, will be a keynote speaker at the Washington, DC-area, 2013 Capital Audiofest, to be held at the Silver Spring Sheraton hotel, July 26-28. His presentation will focus on audio mastering and its ultimate impact on high-quality audiophile recordings, such as SACD and high-resolution 24-bit PCM.

Mr. Silverman specializes in high-resolution mastering. He has mastered numerous Grammy Award-winning CDs, including World Music phenomenon Lagrimas Negras, nominated for Record of The Year, Album of The Year, and Best Engineered Record at the 2004 Latin Grammy Awards. Silverman’s remastering of the soundtrack to Heartworn Highways, a film about outlaw country music artists in 1975, was selected as one of the must-have CDs of all time by Stereophile (an honor I heartily agree with). Mr. Silverman also is a technical consultant to HDTracks, the high-resolution, online download music service, run by David and Norman Chesky.

Mr. Silverman started his professional audio career at Electric Ladyland studios in NYC in the early 1980s, eventually moving on to A&R Recording. In the early 1990s, he began producing records for Judy Collins, as well as recording scores for feature films, including the United Artists musical adaptation of The Fantasticks. He later worked as a music supervisor for Sesame Workshop, producing music and directing Muppet performers and celebrities for the Sesame Street network television specials Elmopalooza and Cinderelmo.

Mr. Silverman turned to full-time mastering in 1996. He received critical acclaim for remastering the RCA and MCA back catalogs of the British supergroup The Kinks on hi-resolution SACD, a SACD featuring Norah Jones, and for his remastering of Keith Richards solo CDs.

With the creation of ARF Digital (now ARF Mastering) mastering facility in NYC, Mr. Silverman turned to full-time mastering in 1996. He received critical acclaim for remastering the RCA and MCA back catalogs of the British supergroup The Kinks on hi-resolution SACD, a SACD featuring Norah Jones, and for his remastering of Keith Richards solo CDs. Recent projects mastered by Mr. Silverman include releases by JD Souther, Paquito D’Rivera, Jane Monheit, Patricia Barber, and Jewel.

Mr. Silverman is active in the Audio Engineering Society (AES) and has chaired workshops on high-resolution mastering at its national conventions. He also enjoys teaching audio mastering to undergrads at the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music, which is part of NYU's Tisch School Of The Arts, and to graduate students in the Tonemeister program at NYU-Steinhardt.

Mr. Silverman is scheduled to speak at CAF 213 on July 27 at 11:30 a.m. at the Sheraton in Silver Springs. For more information, visit the CAF official web site at http://www.capitalaudiofest.com/

Sponsored Link!

©Articles on this site are the copyright of the Everything Audio Network. Any unauthorized use, via print or Internet, without written permission is prohibited.

Exclusive First Review!Benchmark Media DAC2 HGCDigital-to-Analog Converter

Home Recording Studio Review!Mojave MA-301FET Multi-PatternLarge Condenser Microphone:"The Mic I Wished I’d Designed!"

Home Cinema/Audiophile Review:Legacy Audio Metro SubwooferDual-Radiator Active Bass System

Home Cinema Review!Episode 500/700 Series Speakers,ES-SUB-12-300 Powered Subwoofer

Audiophile Review!Bryston BHA-1 Headphone Amplifier:“A Superb Class A Amp at A Bargain Price"

Home Cinema/Audiophile Review!Westlake Audio LC 265.1vf,LC 265.1f LCR Loudspeakers

Worth Searching For...AudioControl Concert AVR-4:The Most Audiophile ReceiverThat You Likely Never Heard

Audiophile Review!Oppo BDP-105 Universal Player:New Flagship Gets HDMI/SPDIF Inputs,Onboard Headphone Amplifier

Paradigm Sub 2 Signature ReferenceSix-Driver Powered Subwoofer:“Audiophile Recording Ace ReviewsThe Greatest Subwoofer Of Them All!”

Worth Searching For!AKG K702 65th AnniversaryStudio/Audiophile Headphone Review

Audiophile/Home Recording Review!Mytek Stereo192-DSD DAC/Preamp:New D/A Gets Enhanced Features, DSD

Audiophile Speaker Review!MartinLogan MontisElectrostatic Loudspeaker

High-End Recording Review!TASCAM HS-P82 Eight-TrackHigh-Resolution Location Recorder

Audiophile Review!HDMI De-Embedder OffersHigh-Res Conduit For Universal Players

D/A Converter Preview!Benchmark Media Releases New DAC2 D:Lower Cost, Same Performance as DAC2-HGC

Home Recording Studio Review!Antelope Orion32 Multichannel A/D-D/A24/192 Computer Recording Interface

Home Theater Review!Onkyo TX-NR5010THX Ultra2+ Multi-Channel Receiver

Audiophile/Home Recording Review!Benchmark DAC2 D D/A Converter:Lower-Cost DAC2 Sheds Analog Imputs,Retains Sonics, DSD-on-PCM Playback

Home Theater Receiver Review!Pioneer SC-68 Elite A/V ReceiverMaintains Sonic Edge, Feature SetWith Latest Home Cinema Flagship

High-End Audio Show Preview!Noted Mastering Engineer Alan SilvermanTo Keynote DC's 2013 Capital Audiofest