by Michael

Playing with some toys left over from the show…

We put the Audio Note Gaku-On amps on the Marten Coltrane Supremes. And we had a few extra Nordost ODIN cables we put on the amps [I did not trust myself to put them on the pre-amp at the same time]. With the Emm Labs XDS1 CD/SACD player there was an amazing amount of separation – both dynamically and spatially. We then hooked up the S9 step-up transformer to the Brinkmann Balance turntable with an old Lyra Titan cartridge.

It has made me re-evaluate the assumption that real dynamics could only be [best be] gotten from a horn speaker.

Almost all of our equipment lately has gone to improving dynamics – and at the Same Time increasing the delivery of uber resolution and clarity to the Supremes – which can handle everything we throw at it [try to name one other speaker that can do that. It sucks but that is where our industry is at: it costs $300K just to be able to forget about the speaker being the primary limitation of your system. …though we would like to try the Marten Momentos… and they are only $150K :-)].

And, personally, I think the improvement of the S9 step-up over the S4 that we have been using is head-spinningly silly amazing. We will be doing some tests shortly to verify this – for other reasons too annoying to disturb our fine readers about.


The Marten Coltrane Supremes in the foreground, the Gaku-Ons in the background.


Audio Note U.K. Gaku-On


Audio Note U.K. M9 Phono – a preamplifier with a built-in phono stage.


Audio Note U.K. S9 step-up transformer

in Audio Note / Emm Labs / High-end Audio HiFi and Stereo / Nordost / RMAF 2009 / Show Reports 0 comments
 by Michael

Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2009

So, the Rocky Moun’tane Audio Festivities are soon to begin – well a couple of weeks seems like ‘soon’ to me.

We will be in our usual two rooms: 9030 and 9026. One big and one small [medium size seems just not the d’rigor for show hotels].

————————————————————————–

Tentatively we will be showing, in the large room:

* Audio Note AN/E SEC Signature speakers (we’ve shown with these before, but not in the big room!)

* Andio Note Gaku On amplifiers (Audio Note’s top of the line 211-based monoblocks)

* Audio Note M9 Phono preamplifier

* Audio Note TT3 Reference turntable

* Audio Note digital: DAC 4.1x Balanced and CDT-3 transport

…and…

* EMM Labs XDS 1 reference-level single box SACD/CD player (product debut: about $25K)

* Nordost ODIN cable (everything ODIN but our 10 meter Valhalla and the Audio Note Sogon hard-wired to the speakers)

… and …

* HRS MXR and SXR equipment racks and M3 isolation bases

————————————————————————

And in the small room:

Audio Note ‘Zero’-based system:

* I Zero integrated amplifier
* R Zero phono section
* CDT-Zero CD transport
* DAC 0.1x with USB input

… and …

* TT2 turntable with IQ3 MM cartridge
* AN/E SPe HE loudspeakers

… and…

* Rix Rax ‘Robbs Report’ equipment rack

————————————————————————

We’ll have photos of the XDS 1 and Gaku Ons before the show – both here and in Spintricity.

Hope to see you all there!

in Audio Note / Emm Labs / High-end Audio HiFi and Stereo / Nordost / Rix Rax / RMAF 2009 2 comments
 by Michael

Announcement: Nordost Odin goes digital with dedicated 75 and 110 Ohm leads

Nordost ODIN digital cable

Digital signal transfer is an exacting task that benefi ts from
all the considerations that affect analog signals, but with the
added concern of precisely defi ned termination standards.
Correct digital data transmission demands purpose built cable
solutions with dedicated conductors and impedance-matched
termination. The 75 Ohm S/PDIF transfer standard requires a
single, co-axial conductor, using properly confi gured 75 Ohm
connectors in order to avoid serious signal degradation.
The Odin 75 Ohm digital lead employs a unique, massively
oversized Dual Micro Mono-Filament construction, wrapped
in a Total Signal Control (TSC), “virtual solid” shield, ensuring
the superb geometrical accuracy demanded by a constant
impedance conductor, combined with fl exibility and the
complete shielding delivered by a tubular shield construction.
The choice of Silver NextGen RCA or Furatech Rhodium
BNC connectors ensures that the supremely accurate
transmission performance of the cable isn’t compromised by
its termination, delivering digital data integrity to match the
analog performance of the other Odin cables.
Like 75 Ohm S/PDIF data transfer, the AES/EBU balanced digital
transmission standard depends on closely controlled impedance
parameters to achieve its stated performance. That requires a
separate cable construction, dedicated to balanced mode data
connection, built around industry standard XLR plugs.
The Odin 110 Ohm digital lead corresponds precisely to the
AES/EBU standard, two purpose built Total Signal Control
(TSC) tubes delivering “virtual solid” shielding to the Dual
Micro Mono-Filament, silver-plated solid-core conductors.
The twisted construction and FEP insulation keep the
cable conveniently fl exible whilst guaranteeing superior
dielectric performance and geometrical consistency. Two
independent earth wires maintain the integrity of the
balanced grounding confi guration, ensuring common mode
rejection of spurious noise, while the professional grade
XLR connectors maintain constant impedance across the
cable termination, maintaining the Odin’s accuracy in this
demanding and critical application.

in High-end Audio HiFi and Stereo / Nordost 0 comments