Events
Spiral Groove Turntable Impresses Digital Audiophile(s)
BAAS membership reflects the current trends of audiophiles worldwide. As such, the majority (including myself) listen to digital these days. So it was interesting to see how our first “analog event” in several years would be received.
About 30 BAAS members gathered at Jason Victor Serinus’ home yesterday to listen to the latest in analog source technology, delivered by Allen Perkins of local manufacturer Spiral Groove (SG).
The system featured the following gear from SG:
- Spiral Groove SG 2 Turntable ($15,000)
- Spiral Groove SG Tonearm ($6,000)
- Lyra Cartridge ($6,000)
- Lehmann Audio Decade phono section ($2,400)
- Spiral Groove preamplifier (projected $15,000)
An impressive array, to be sure!
I am quite familiar with Jason’s system and listening environment, at least for digital sources. Here are my impression of yesterday’s sights and sounds:
- The SG gear is beautiful to look at, and even better to listen to. Furthermore, it’s practical. For example, it can be set up by one person in 30 minutes (!). Simple elegance.
- All told, I listened to the system for five hours. I heard fewer than a dozen tics or pops. This is a new record for me <g>. Especially notable: not a single record was treated in any way during the event. No rituals – just load & play. (Sorta like a CD…) [One member told me that the sound was clean because only
vintageolder "virgin" vinyl was used.] - Allen’s description of the engineering design choices that guided him made a lot of sense to me.
- The sound in the second session was a bit tighter than the first. (This is not unusual. I think it’s caused simply by the gear being more fully warmed up.)
- Nordost Odin cables are the real deal. At one point we substituted the preamp’s power cable with a Odin. Wow.
- For the first time in a very long while, I was thinking “…maybe I do need a turntable…”
We also conducted several listening tests on digital sources. These allowed us to compare several digital exemplars to state-of-the-art analog. I’ll say here that two things were apparent:
- Analog rocks. There’s a reason why so many audiophiles are driven to turntables (see this article from today’s NYT). – they can sound great!
- PS Audio’s(PSA’s) new “Perfect Wave” stack combines outstanding ease-of-use with media flexibility and great sonics. That’s a tough combo to beat! Very nice kit, especially for audiophiles wishing to get into high-resolution without going to a computer. (Digital sources that I consider “reference quality” generally have price tags beginning at 2X the PSA tariff.)
- I preferred the sound of the Wavelength Wavelink USB audio interface to that of the the transport (many members agreed). I don’t think it yet matches the best in firewire converters, but it sounded quite detailed and transparent to me (especially on hires material).
Note that Jason’s description of the event – and activities leading up to it – can be found on the Home secrets Blog.
Digital Audio Sources Compared; Playback Designs Shines
Last Saturday, BAAS members were treated to state-of-the-art digital courtesy of local vendor Playback Designs.
Indeed, one of the distinct highlights of the event was hearing from Playback founder and chief designer, Andreas Koch, who is an icon in digital audio innovation.
The Playback MPS-5 made sweet music, regardless of digital source – and we tried several.
In fact, we auditioned:
- A $4 12′ TOSLINK cable;
- A $1000 USB-to-SPDIF converter;
- A $1400 FIREWIRE-to-SPDIF converter; and
- The built-in drive on the MPS-5 (both on CD and SACD)
in formats:
- 24/176 PCM
- 24/96 PCM
- 16/44 PCM
- SACD; and
- CD
OK, so which sounded best?
Well, I would say that HIRES PCM (176/96) and SACD topped members’ preference lists. As to sources, Firewire and SACD were generally the winners, but lowly CD did surprisingly well on some material – the latter perhaps a tribute to the abilities of the MPS-5 on that media.
BAAS would like to thank Andreas Koch and Jonathan Tinn, the co-founders of Playback Designs for making this possible. Well done!
by Bob Walters
PS Audio CEO comes to the Bay Area Bringing Digital
Most audiophiles are familiar with the PS Audio brand, especially given the company’s pioneering efforts in cables and power treatment.
But last Saturday Paul McGowan, leader of PS Audio, shared with us a broader vision – to bring the same performance and value to all elements of the audio chain. He further explained that another key element of the PS Audio strategy is to bring “music-server performance” (e.g., ability to play hi res material) to audio enthusiasts not wishing to connect a computer to their sound system.
And with that strategy in mind, we sat down to a very compelling listening session featuring the ‘PerfectWave’ transport and DAC wherein we learned:
- The sonic differences between 16/44 and 24/176
- The degradation that a sample-rate-converter (SRC) often brings; and
- A comparison of modern reconstruction (‘anti-aliasing’) filters, including the now-popular ’apodising’ filters
The PerfectWave pair paired perfectly with Audio High’s reference Chord/KEF stack to produce vivid and powerful sonic images – and another great event.
BAAS thanks Paul, PS Audio, Michael Silver, and Audio High. Great job!
Great Classical This Weekend!
Looking for something cool to do this Sunday (9/13/09)?
Click here for tickets to what promises to be a great event.
Yet Another Stunning ‘Blue Coast Session’
Check out the recordings from this great session here. More on Jenna here, and Matt here.
text by Ori
pics by Bob Bergner
What’s always puzzling in a recording session is whether it will produce decent music or truly great music. Ordinary does not count.It takes two to tango and in this case what a great dance it was. Matt and Jenna have known each other in the past, but busy schedules and geographical barriers kept them away for five years or so.
There comes the third person to this party. Cookie Marenco needs no introduction in the BAAS circles and probably by now in the greater audiophile community as well. As it turned out, Cookie knows Matt and Jenna and convinced them to collaborate on this project. Cookie is to the artists what Matt is to Lyle and Ricky Lee-Jones. She plays the subtle role of an enabler, with her musical insight and magical artistry on the mixing console. These are not “filler words” to liven up the review and we will touch on her studio wizardry later.
On Lyle Lovett and Matt Rollings…
I didn’t even imagine I’m a Lyle Lovett fan until I visited another audiophile friend and he played a few tracks from “Joshua Judges Ruth”. The one track that stood out was “North Dakota”. I was so much taken by it that Curt insisted I have the CD. I thank him for that ever since…
What grabs your attention in this track is the superb orchestration, which creates a somewhat “misty” atmosphere, in a striking contrast to the pristine clarity of this exemplary track. I loved the vocal harmony of the male-female duet and the melancholic mood throughout the piece. I never really paid much attention to the piano, but now that I think of it… I should have…
When I heard that Matt Rollings played with Lyle Lovett, I had to go back and check. After all, I was about to attend a live session featuring Matt!
Sure enough, he’s the guy on “the track.” I knew the piano plays a big role in setting the overall tempo and pace. The piano probably contributes more to the overall lasting impression of the song than any other instrument, including the fabulous vocals, yet after many years I play this song I clearly focus on the vocals and less on the piano. Which brings me to the moral of this prologue/story…
Some things are great not because they stand out in the front row and declare themselves “I’m here!!!” Some things are great because they hold back and just play the team role by letting the other instruments or vocalist do their share in complete harmony. For a musician, that’s the greatest sign of maturity as an artist.
by Ori
Late Entry: Steve Hoffman Wows the Bay Area
Sorry for the delay in posting…I’ve been very busy at work and at home (building my first pair of speakers).To say that the event was a success perhaps undermines it. Quite simply, it was great – the music, the SH “war stories,” the system, and the venue all came together.Perhaps one of our members sums it up best:
Today was an absolutely breathtaking once-in-a-lifetime (well, until Steve comes back) experience. Some of the best sound and music I’ve heard in 29 years as an audiophile! John Lennon came to life in that room, as did Peggy Lee, James Taylor, etc… I actually got a little choked up by the raw emotion that superb system and recordings conveyed. I told Steve that and he said “Good, I like to make audiophiles cry!”Thank you for putting this together for us. I’ll never forget it. - Alón Sagee
What more can I say?Just one thing: for a great listening experience with great people, visit Audio High in Mountain View. You’ll enjoy it, for sure!Thanks much – Steve and Audio High.
by Bob Walters
Computer Audio Symposium in East Bay in June
Click here to find out more about the event.
It looks like there will be two identical sessions, one on Saturday the 27th and one on the 28th.
The event represents a collaboration between the Computer Audiophile website, high-end hardware and software vendors/manufacturers, and retail sales organizations.
I know some of the players involved, and content should be very good. There will be hardware demos, and maybe a product debut or two. The session will last 4 hours or so.
However, both the format of (e.g., panel discussions) and the level of (expert or novice) the content is unclear.
The venue is Fantasy Studios (very cool). Cool poster too!
Cost is $279 per person, including refreshments.
by Bob Walters
Steve Hoffman on May 16th!
On Saturday, May 16th, we will have a very special guest speaker: Steve Hoffman.
Steve is one of the best mastering engineers in the business, and his re-mastering work gives him access to some incredible material. (He is also a huge audiophile.)
At his presentation at CES, he played some “raw” Beatles and Sinatra stuff that was breathtaking.
To learn more about Steve and his skills:
- Check out his work;
- Listen to his many excellent disks – one of my favorites is Donovan’s Storyteller (CD is now $40 and climbing)
- Read some of his interviews or check out his quite-active forums
To make things more interesting, we’ll have a world-class system set up at Audio High in Mountain View, one of the Bay Area’s leading audiophile boutiques. Just look at the product lines that they carry – we’ll have terrific sound!
You must be a member of BAAS to attend. More details will follow….
by Bob Walters
Empirical Audio Event – Digital Audio at its Finest
Yesterday, about 30 BAAS members were treated to a fine demonstration of state-of-the-art digital audio.
On center stage were the pioneering products of Steve Nugent’s Empirical Audio. The key product highlight was the introduction to the new Overdrive DAC. Also on hand was a Pace Car tr-clocking/jitter reduction device and Steve’s personal Parasound JC-1 monoblocs.
The sound that they produced through the Ficion F-300 speakers (supplemented by 15″ Rythmic Signature subs) was driving, extended and accurate. Great stuff!
But the true highlight of the day was Steve himself, and the wisdom and common sense that he shared with us about the past/present/future of digital sudio. Steve is a natural educator, and he helped many guests sort through the obstacles that they had encountered. In particular, he demonstrated jitter and the sonic contamination that it causes.
We ended each of the demos with a quick comparison with my highly-modified Berkeley Audio Alpha DAC (I call it my “Beta DAC” <g>). My opinions are biased by ownership, but I’ll say that the Empirical stack sounded great – at half the price. 
So many thanks to Steve (and Janet and Lucy), and we wish them all the best.
by Bob Walters
Click for more photos…
Empirical Audio to present on Saturday (4/18/09)
Empirical Audio will be showcasing all of ots products and demonstrating its new Overdrive DAC at our April BAAS meeting this weekend in Santa Clara, CA.
Locus-Design has also provided some USB cables, and we will have a Revelation Audio Labs I2S cable as well.
But, most importantly, Steve Nugent – designer, CEO, and audiophile – will be on hand to explain what really matters in digital. Steve is very active on internet forums, and quite giving of his expertise.
Finally, we’ll have a modified Berkeley Audio Alpha DAC, modded Parasound JC-1’s, Ficion F-300 floorstanders, Rythmik 15″ subs, AKG K-10000 earspeakers and a vintage EL-84 amp to drive them, and more….
It should be great fun!
by Bob Walters
Event: Synergistic ART System, Power Conditioner, and Cables
Last Saturday, we had another great event, this time featuring two technologies that would drive by-the-numbers audiophiles batty:
- A room/acoustic treatment system consisting solely of small metal “cups”; and
- Cables whose outer layer contained a powered “EMF” element.
Say what? How could these designs possibly affect the sound at the listening position, let alone improve it? Well, subject to a couple of small caveats, about 30 audiophiles agreed that they did effect changes for the better. (This is tantamount to blasphemy in some folks’ minds, cf. these forum threads: Stereophile 1, Stereophile 2 and AudioJunkies.)
First, the ART system. Synergistic CEO and designer Ted Denney began with a fascinating tale of their genesis that included single-handed trans-oceanic sailing, Buddhist temples, and advanced metallurgy. Then on to the demonstration, wherein we played various tracks with and without the various ‘ART pieces’ (couldn’t resist).And damned if the didn’t make a difference – often a big one and almost-always for the better (IMO). To my ear, the more bass content in the piece, the better ART worked.
OK, but how do they work? Resonance, of course. The little devils vibrate and – like Shakti Holograms or absorbent panels – when placed in strategic positions (e.g., first-reflection points) they diffuse the reflected sound field. Thus, the ear gets more direct sound energy and the brain is less confused. Not as exciting as magic, but cool nonetheless.
As for the Tesla cables and PowerCell, we did not have the opportunity to compare them to anything, and so few real conclusions could be drawn. We did hear them in the powered and unpowered state, and the system sounded much better with them powered (as one would hope). But who’s going to buy them and not power them? Kinda like listening to an electric guitar without the amp. It plays music, but….
We thank Ted and Jason, and wish Synergistic Research the best. You can learn more about Synergistic here.
by Bob Walters
Audiophile Jazz Prologue Vol 3
Many of you enjoyed a 24/192 cut – “Lush Life” – that I used to demonstrate ultra-high-resolution at yesterday’s event.
The CD/DVD containing that track is now available in limited quantity from Kent Poon’s web site (click here).
Recommended. Even in CD (also available) this material sounds great!
Bob Walters
BAAS AIX/iTrax Event featuring Mark Waldrep
About 40 members and theirs guests were treated to some great music yesterday, courtesy Mark Waldrep and Bay Area Audio.
Between teaching at a local university, recording audiophile gigs at AIX Studios, and running iTrax.com, Mark Waldrep leads a very busy life. And did I mention Mark is also employed by a hot video startup?
One of the key elements of the event was the ability to compare/contrast 2-channel and 7.1 surround versions of Mark’s audiophile-quality recordings. And what great music it was, especially since it included “private” (unreleased) acoustic tracks from the likes of Jennifer Warnes!
Here are some notes from the day (mainly from the 2-channel room:
- Most sessions began with a conversation by Gabriel Sakakeeny – Music Director for the American Philharmonic, former tube amp designer, music synthesizer inventor, and audiophile. (He’s probably a 007 agent too! )
- In addition to providing some very cogent comments during the sessions, Gabe also volunteered to teach some classes on “audio electronic” and “music appreciation.” BAAS members present were enthusiastic.
- You can reach Gabe here.
- We featured Medea and Minerva DAC’s from Weiss Audio (this link also contains a list of web sites featuring high-definition music). The Minerva (PM session only, as FedEx didn’t arrive until noon!) was particularly stunning – easy-to-install and very musical. [Thanks, Clive, for the Medea.]
- We connected the Medea with the RME Fireface 400 firewire adaptor box (I bought mine here). Excellent (German) engineering, and great sonics. Another great option is the Apogee Duet ($500 street), especially for Mac’s. We also discussed the Bel Canto USB adaptor and the Lynx AES16 sound card.
- The speakers were the uber Ficion F300’s in stunning black laquor. They were great, especially since they were only out of the box for 4 days. Some of you will recall that they made my “Top 5″ list at RMAF 2008. They are described here.
- The amplification was by Goldmund and the cabling by Verastarr, Oritek, and Furutech.
- Two important software utilities for Mac were discussed: Max (for ripping and transcoding formats) and Audacity (for really geeky stuff like sample-rate conversion.)
- We also discussed the promise and perils of attenuation in the digital domain(often to elimanate the need for a preamp). Rather than rehash that thread, check out Bob Katz’s excellent articles here (read “Dither”).
I’m sure there’s some stuff that I’m forgetting, but duty calls….
Bob Walters
The Great BAAS DAC Comparison – Results are In!
We just completed another great BAAS event. When we succeed, we combine listening pleasure and camaraderie with a “wisdom of the crowds” learning experience. We seem to have hit the right note(s) yesterday in Jason’s superb listening environment.
First, here are the DAC’s that we had on hand:
- Weiss Medea – $16K MSRP (thanks Clive)
- Theta Gen VIII Series II – $11K (thanks Jason)
- Berkeley Audio Design Alpha – $5K (thanks Tim & Michael)
- Bel Canto DAC-III – $2.5K (thanks Dan)
We used a variety of music to audition each DAC, including:
- Richard Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra)
- Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances (Ref Recordings)
- Jane Selkye & Chris Kee: Slow Day (Blue Coast Collection)
- Dave Matthews Band: All Along the Watchtower (Live at Red Rocks)
- Patricia Barber: Alphie (Unpublished, but older version here)
- Jun Fukamachi: Chopin Nocturne in E Flat Major (At Steinway, direct from 45-RPM vinyl – a groovy disk!)
So – after a man-week or more of preparation (much of it by the esteemed digital consultant, Tim Marutani), five hours of listening, and much discussion – what did we learn?
I’ll save my specific conclusions for a later post, but here are some general comments:
- Sonic quality was not generally proportional to price or packaging
- No DAC was best on all material, for example:
- The Bel Canto was superb on simple acoustic material, but stumbled on “big,” complex pieces
- Digital interface type (SPIDF vs AES/BU) and analog out type (RCA vs XLR) can matter
- The quality of the digital clock and the manner in which it’s implemented matter greatly; and
- In this event, the Berleley Audio Design Alpha (BADA) DAC was a stunning performer, and – dare I say it – I want one ( even at its $5,000 price point). It sounded that good to me.
So that’s the story of this successful BAAS event. Special thanks to Jason Victor Serinus and Tim Marutani for their many contributions.
OK, attendees, the world wants to know what you heard. Post your comments now!
Free Download – Blue Coast “The BAAS Sessions”
Click here for exclusive recordings from our Blue Coast Records event.
The tracks are available as both playable MP3 and downloadable 16/44.1 WAV. So most everyone should be able to play them with good fidelity.
You’ll find not just the mixed versions, but also the “raw mic” tracks from the various microphones that Cookie used.
Listening to these tracks will give you a real perspective on “reproducing the original sonic event.”
As far as I know, this type of opportunity is very rare. So take advantage of it – especially if you weren’t at the event!
Thanks again, Cookie and Jason McGuire!
Best Systems at Rocky Mountain (RMAF 2008)
Let me begin with a quotable quote:
- Audiophile: “I just don’t understand how a power cord can matter.”
- Well-known cable vendor: “The first thing to understand is that the improvement has nothing to do with power….”
- Audiophile: “Huh?”
Yep – believe it or not – a lot of hype and misinformation flowed in Denver this weekend. But so did a lot of knowledge and great access to very interesting sound systems.
For my list of “best sounds at the show,” read on…
Pictures from Guru / Tonian Event
Thanks to Keith, Chris, and Carl from Bay Area Audio.
Here are some images from the event (click on pic to zoom, then hit “Back” button to return):
Head-Fi Meet on Sat, Jun 28th in San Mateo
If you haven’t been to a headphone get together, you’re missing something. They’re a hoot.
Head-fi.com, the very popular ‘phones web forum, is having their summer meeting in San Mateo.
Check it out!
Click here for details.
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