Cable wars - gone before you knew it

If you read my review of the Wywires loom in the March 2012 issue of HiFi'Zine you'll know that I've been impressed with the addition of Spectron's Thunderbolt cords on my power amps. In fact, I was so impressed, I bought a couple as I'd never heard a power cord do for an amp what these cords did to my Musician Mk III monos. Intending to give these more coverage as time went on, I was surprised to learn tonight that Spectron are no longer going to sell them. Apparently production costs have risen through the roof and they don't think they can sell these profitably any more. What a shame -- these were not cheap, with the Mk2 listing at close to $2500 per cord, but still they can't make sufficient profit to justify continuation. I have no idea what went into these cables, and I do know metal prices have gone through the roof, but the Thunderbolt Mk 2s  remain for me the best power cords I ever heard on my monoblocks, and by no small margin. 

New Tone Audio issue out

As always, beautifully produced and an engaging mix of gear, beer and music...what more do you need? And it's free! Find it here

Get the vinyl on the platter...

If you are of a delicate disposition, don't try this at home:

Blind or Sighted listening tests

A most informative (but now two year old) posting from the Sean Olive blog, Audio Musings, reports data from a 1994 study of blind v. sighted tests of loudspeakers can be found under the heading "The dishonesty of sighted listening tests"

It's worth a read since Sean is one of the few folks in the world with the education in experimental methods involving human subjects and sufficient interest in applying these to audio reproduction. Apart from confirming what most open-minded people expected, that sighted listening has an effect on how you judge a product, there are two very interesting results that warrant particular attention. First, experienced listeners are no less susceptible to the effects of sighted listening, despite the protestations otherwise that we have learned to factor this out. Second, I was taken by the curious impact of blind or sighted listening on the judgement of speakers when layout/positioning is adjusted. It seems that you are far more sensitive to positioning of speaker in the room and the resulting impact on sound when you listen blind. Not sure how to turn these results into practical guidance for your own tweaking but then, blind testing is always very hard to do on your own :)

Interesting blog from nearby dealer

Well, consider me surprised to learn about a local dealer whose premises I've probably driven close by dozens of time without realizing they existed. Austin HiFi turns out to be an importer and dealer who sells the excellent Harbeth and ATC speaker lines, as well as a couple of more unusual products. Nothing too unusual there but the owner runs a nifty little blog that's full of nice entries and links to the wide and esoteric world of music and art. Check it out.

qøl™: review upcoming

One of the more talked about audio products so far this year has been the 'signal completion stage' from BSG Technologies (called the 'qol'). The forums started buzzing once Robert Harley gave it a positive review in TAS and reported an interview with chief designer, Barry Goldfarb. I can make neither head nor tail of the explanations of how this product works but I am giving it a good listen in my own system before I make up my mind. Review anticipated for the June issue. 

Speaking of speakers...

Got to love the new Morrow Audio (as in Morrow the handmade cable) mailing that invites you to learn about their new deal Lansche speakers.  You can actually hit an 'Add to Cart' button on a pair of $200,000 speakers....go on, you know you want to......

Got a few more bucks? Try the new Hartvig Audio turntable......price on request.  Described by the manufacturer as offering 'pure sound with soul'....as opposed to that pure sound without soul, I suppose. Is he having a go at my SME?

Origin Live does speakers...

Known for their good looking turntables and arms more than anything else, Origin Live have a new speaker on the way, the (perhaps aptly named) 'Astute'.  Using bamboo composite and string (apparently) they are eye-catching. Few reports as yet as to the sonics but the company reports a positive debut at UK show from attendees. Not enough info to see where the connections are or if that lamp-look for a base is a awful in real life as it appears here but the full range (if it comes to fruition) promises some interesting new ideas that move speakers beyond the typical box and driver look of so many others. Bet we'll have lots of arguments about arches in or arches out for placement once folks get their hands on them. It's not still April 1st is it? 

Loricraft in the house

OK, I had to do it. I eventually located a good condition Loricraft PRC-3 on the 'Gon and made a good deal with the seller. It came with a missing part so while I was working around this, I went looking for more info on line and turned up this excellent video on the PRC-3, complete with microscopic images of before and after cleaning. This is the best video explanation of the machine I've found and it's worth the 10 mins it takes to watch it all.

Video of the new Von S VR9 SE

OK, prepare for another round of audio lust.  And it's not just the new speakers -- the rest of the gear is pretty impressive.  This is from Cor Dekker, VSA dealer in the Netherlands and all round nice guy whom I got to meet at RMAF a couple of years back.

TAS latest guide to vinyl published

You can find it here.  As Robert Harley notes in the intro, 10 years ago he urged people to buy the best table they could, if they had interest, as hi-end LP players would not be round much longer. Looks at the goodies on show from table manufacturers and wonder how the technology has advanced. A thing of beauty is a joy forever! 

Upgrading the PS Audio Perfectwave DAC

As a generally happy owner of the PS Audio PWT/PWD combo for the last couple of years, I had to bite on the upgrade offered for the DAC. As a bit of background let me say that the combo is the best digital I've had in my home by considerable margin. While it offers a wide range of filter and upsampling options, I've always just enjoyed it running in it's 'native' mode where it has given my cd collection a major lift. The upgrade offers improvements wrought by the onward march of digital processing, particularly the option to use the USB connection seriously for computer-based audio.

Now the beauty, in theory, of this two box platform is that updates are handled by software download to a built-in SD drive and that hardware upgrades, such as the new DAC board, can be serviced by the owner. To this end, PS Audio have gone to some trouble to provide all the tools needed, and your $1000 results in a shipment containing new board, new screws, screwdriver, several wrenches, new wiring connectors, all-threads to help push off the cover, and even a white cloth to lay your DAC on to avoid scratches. Despite all the efforts the process has proven to be a mess for more than a few owners.

First, the descriptions of what to order and what will be entailed in the process involve considerable effort on the owner's part. Seems that multiple versions of the PWD were created and sold, and depending on which one you have, different boards and wiring harnesses have to be ordered. PS Audio generally get this bit right though I've read of some owners getting the wrong version because they could not accurately identify the version they owned.

Second, I ordered and paid online before being told by way of a confirmation email that it would be a few weeks before my upgrade shipped. Apparently supplier problems meant no stock on hand but you'd be forgiven for thinking this might be explained in advance.  Assuming I'd have it within a week, I ordered in anticipation of some downtime I'd planned. Scupper that idea. Oh well...could that not be made clear on the site before ordering? There's a series of discussions on the otherwise helpful PS Audio forum where you can learn that some folks have waited months. Ouch.

Third, the package I received came with a manual that encouraged me to check out videos on YouTube showing which of the two wiring harnesses I had received should be used and how to install it correctly. Sadly, the URLs on the manual front page were wrong. Worse, a check of the PS Audio site offered no clue as to the real location. Subsequent discussions with the 'help' desk (who responded three days after I asked)  informed me that a simple search using the words ?PS Audio DAC" on  YouTube would get me there directly but you try this...go on......see what you get.

I could go on....and I will, a bit.....the actual install is not difficult once you get the cover off but the real issue is the firmware update. The SD card provided with mine did not work. After all the labor of installation I had no sound. Not 'I had no upgraded sound', I had NO sound. Full stop. Silence. A dead DAC. This parrot was deceased.  Why? Firmware OR card problems. How do I know this? Well, a question to the PS Audio forum turned up lots of responses from owners who had the same problem  and it was clear (if anything here could be so described given the general convoluted nature of the website and process) that either some DACs did not read 2gb SD cards (as supplied) or the firmware was corrupted. Yikes. An earlier post on a thread from PS Audio's head honcho Paul suggested they had figured this out and all disks shipped before I got mine had corrected the 2gb problem (wrong, I still had it after that supposed date) so by the time I gave up trying to buy a 1gb disk around Austin (I got lots of sympathetic looks from staff in Target, Radio Shack, Walmart etc that confirmed only the most hopelessly backward or impoverished among us even want a 1gb disk)  did I try, at the suggestion of other owners, a fresh download of the firmware to another 2gb disk.

It all worked out in the end but sheesh, did I have to pay one thousand dollars to experience a lost day, incomplete and inaccurate instructions, and a dead DAC? How does it all sound now? Great.  Final score? Sonics: top marks. Service: not so great. I add this to the long line of problems I've had with PS Audio gear (phono stage repair, amp gain cell crash, power regenerator failure) only this time, the sound of the player and DAC keeps me hanging on.  Time for some scotch and jazz. PS Audio owners, be warned - stay calm, expect problems, have a plan B. The final help desk reply today told me they hoped their dealers would handle future upgrades. I don't feel comforted by this.

HiFi'Zine March 2012 issue published

The latest issue of HiFi'Zine (March 2012) contains, among several fascinating product articles from the crew, my review of the WyWires cable loom where, as well as just reviewing these fine cables,  I explored how much benefit there is to having a one-manufacturer cable set up in my reference rig. Despite the attraction of the argument, I found I preferred a mixed set up, at least with the wires I have in my home. That said, Wywires are really good cables at comparatively reasonable prices (at least for audiophiles!) and very easy to work into your set up. The star of the show is the entry level power cord which is really good on front end gear. But I 'fess up, I really am tired of cable changes now.

Making a B&W speaker

Nice quick-motion video of the making of an 800 series B&W speaker. Quite a process, especially for the piano-black finish models. Some audiophiles tend to dismiss  B&W probably due to their mass sales and HT-oriented dealer network but I still recall hearing the 802D for the first time when I was listening to every Wilson, Audio Physic and Martin Logan I could hear locally. They really sounded like music to me. As the video suggests, B&W is a serious design that makes some lauded speakers look like the work of hobbyists with decent woodworking skills. Enjoy.  

Jazz box sets: good value, so-so sonics

Amazon is carrying an interesting pair of imported box sets of classic jazz albums called, with no false modesty, "The Perfect Jazz Collection,Vols I and II". At the price of less than $40 for 25 original Sony/Columbia albums per set, there is no doubt about the value on offer. If you love jazz you'll no doubt have some of these recordings but at that price, I could stomach some overlaps, and it's always useful to have a spare copies anyhow, for friends, the car, other rooms etc. so I sprung for both sets: 50 classics for less than $75 shipped (I got lucky on the timing). All come in slim file cardboard versions of original sleeves (a bit small to read at length but an enclosed booklet helps) and combined together in a presentation box, the sets take up little shelf space for the amount of music involved.




OK, not to be overly critical but while the selection is great, the sonics are not always up to snuff. In a close listen to the enclosed Kind of Blue (you didn't think they'd miss this one!) and others with several versions I have already,  the Collection versions seem closer (or maybe identical) to the original CD releases than to any subsequent remastered version (you know, that slightly edgy, ragged treble, the tame bass of 80s digital). Not a deal breaker, the sonics are decent enough to enjoy and this is about the music first and foremost. Surprises abound. George Benson's "It's Uptown"....man, how did I ever miss that one before?  Throw in Ellington, Blakey, Vaughn, Monk, Mingus, Simone, Pastorius, Brubeck, Rollins, Armstrong,  and both soundtracks to Bird and Round Midnight and you just can't go wrong. See full listings and listen to samples here.  Is this a sign that the CD market is drying up so much the major labels are close to giving stuff away? I doubt it, but this price point is hard not to enjoy. Get an education while you can.