A2ZWEBDESIGNSUSA

Month: September 2024

10 films à voir au cinéma dès le 13 décembre : Wonka, Les Trois Mousquetaires Milady…

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Anecdotes de tournage, notes d'intention, informations cinéphiles : chaque semaine, découvrez les coulisses des sorties cinéma.

Wonka de Paul King

Avec Timothée Chalamet, Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key…

De quoi ça parle ? Découvrez la jeunesse de Willy Wonka, l’extraordinaire inventeur, magicien et chocolatier de l’univers féérique de Charlie et la chocolaterie de Roald Dahl, dans le film WONKA. Timothée Chalamet incarne ce jeune homme débordant d’idées et déterminé à changer le monde… avec gourmandise !

Le saviez-vous ? Wonka est un projet qui a émergé en 2016, lorsque Warner a obtenu les droits du fameux personnage de Willy Wonka créé par Roald Dahl dans Charlie et la Chocolaterie, publié en 1964. C’est en 2018 que l’idée de faire un préquel à ce roman émerge. Cette même année, le réalisateur est choisi : il s’agit de Paul King à qui l’on doit Paddington et sa suite.

Wonka

De
Paul King

Avec
Timothée Chalamet,
Calah Lane,
Keegan-Michael Key

Sortie le

13 décembre 2023

Séances (965)

Les Trois Mousquetaires: Milady de Martin Bourboulon

Avec François Civil, Vincent Cassel, Romain Duris…

De quoi ça parle ? Du Louvre au Palais de Buckingham, des bas-fonds de Paris au siège de La Rochelle… dans un Royaume divisé par les guerres de religion et menacé d’invasion par l’Angleterre, une poignée d’hommes et de femmes vont croiser leurs épées et lier leur destin à celui de la France.

Le saviez-vous ? Les Trois Mousquetaires: Milady revêt une dimension plus tragique que le premier opus Les Trois Mousquetaires: D’Artagnan, avec la thématique de l’amour davantage présente. Martin Bourboulon explique : “À la différence du volet précédent, le temps de l’exposition est passé. La dualité entre l’amour et la mort est permanente.”

Les Trois Mousquetaires: Milady

De
Martin Bourboulon

Avec
François Civil,
Vincent Cassel,
Romain Duris

Sortie le

13 décembre 2023

Séances (1 129)

Past Lives – Nos vies d’avant de Celine Song

Avec Greta Lee, Yoo Teo, John Magaro…

De quoi ça parle ? A 12 ans, Nora et Hae Sung sont amis d’enfance, amoureux platoniques. Les circonstances les séparent. A 20 ans, le hasard les reconnecte, pour un temps. A 30 ans, ils se retrouvent, adultes, confrontés à ce qu’ils auraient pu être, et à ce qu’ils pourraient devenir.

Le saviez-vous ? Past Lives – Nos vies d’avant a notamment été sélectionné au Festival de Sundance, et a été en compétition aux festivals de Berlin et de Deauville.

Past Lives – Nos vies d’avant

De
Celine Song

Avec
Greta Lee,
Yoo Teo,
John Magaro

Sortie le

13 décembre 2023

Séances (161)

Les Inséparables de Jérémie Degruson

Avec Eric Judor, Jean-Pascal Zadi, Ana Girardot…

De quoi ça parle ? Quand les lumières s’éteignent dans le vieux théâtre de Central Park, les marionnettes prennent vie. Parmi elles, Don, qui joue le même rôle de bouffon depuis des années. Il rêve d’avoir pour une fois un rôle de vrai héros et de découvrir le monde. Il prend son courage à deux mains et claque la porte.

Le saviez-vous ? Les Inséparables est réalisé par nWave, un studio d’animation européen fondé en 1994, réputé pour son savoir-faire en images de synthèse et en 3D. On doit au studio des films comme Sammy, Le Manoir magique, Royal Corgi, Bigfoot Junior et Bigfoot Family.

Les Inséparables

De
Jérémie Degruson

Avec
Eric Judor,
Jean-Pascal Zadi,
Ana Girardot

Sortie le

13 décembre 2023

Légua de João Miller Guerra, Filipa Reis

Avec Carla Maciel, Fátima Soares, Vitória Nogueira da Silva…

De quoi ça parle ? Dans un vieux manoir situé au nord du Portugal, Ana aide Emília, la vieille gouvernante qui continue de prendre soin d’une demeure où les propriétaires ne se rendent plus. Au fil des saisons, Mónica, la fille d’Ana, remet en question les choix de sa mère, et ces trois générations de femmes tentent de comprendre leur place dans un monde en déclin.

Le saviez-vous ? Légua est le nom d’un petit village du nord du Portugal où la famille de João Miller Guerra possède une maison dans laquelle il a passé la plupart de ses étés. S’il garde de superbes souvenirs des moments passés dans cette demeure, il a commencé, une fois adulte, à réfléchir à la signification de ce manoir, “à la vie des personnes qui y ont vécu, aux structures sociales et économiques qui l’ont soutenu et aux relations humaines qui s’y sont nouées”.

Légua

De
João Miller Guerra,
Filipa Reis

Avec
Carla Maciel,
Fátima Soares,
Vitória Nogueira da Silva

Sortie le

13 décembre 2023

Winter Break de Alexander Payne

Avec Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da’vine Joy Randolph…

De quoi ça parle ? Hiver 1970 : M. Hunham est professeur d’histoire ancienne dans un prestigieux lycée d’enseignement privé pour garçons de la Nouvelle-Angleterre. Pédant et bourru, il n’est apprécié ni de ses élèves ni de ses collègues. Alors que Noël approche, M. Hunham est prié de rester sur le campus pour surveiller la poignée de pensionnaires consignés sur place.

Le saviez-vous ? Au début des années 2010, Alexander Payne a vu Merlusse (1935) de Marcel Pagnol, qui raconte l’histoire de quelques lycéens laissés-pour-compte à l’internat. Durant les vacances de Noël, ils doivent faire face au plus redoutable des surveillants, Merlusse, au visage balafré. Le réalisateur a envisagé ce film comme un excellent point de départ pour une nouvelle histoire.

Winter Break

De
Alexander Payne

Avec
Paul Giamatti,
Dominic Sessa,
Da’vine Joy Randolph

Sortie le

13 décembre 2023

Séances (215)

Rue des dames de Hamé Bourokba, Ekoué Labitey

Avec Garance Marillier, Bakary Keita, Sandor Funtek…

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De quoi ça parle ? Mia, 25 ans, employée dans un petit salon de manucure dans le 18e à Paris, apprend qu’elle est enceinte. Il lui faut trouver d’urgence un nouvel appartement alors que son copain Nabil, en liberté conditionnelle, peine à joindre les deux bouts.

Le saviez-vous ? Après le téléfilm De l’encre, le court métrage Ce chemin devant moi et le remarqué long métrage Les Derniers Parisiens, le duo pilier du groupe de hip-hop La Rumeur Hamé Bourokba et Ekoué Labitey signent, avec Rue des dames, leur troisième long.

Rue des dames

De
Hamé Bourokba,
Ekoué Labitey

Avec
Garance Marillier,
Bakary Keita,
Sandor Funtek

Sortie le

13 décembre 2023

Séances (44)

Follow_dead de John McPhail

Avec Augustus Prew, Andrea Bang, Justin Long…

De quoi ça parle ? Hiver 1970 : M. Hunham est professeur d’histoire ancienne dans un prestigieux lycée d’enseignement privé pour garçons de la Nouvelle-Angleterre. Pédant et bourru, il n’est apprécié ni de ses élèves ni de ses collègues. Alors que Noël approche, M. Hunham est prié de rester sur le campus pour surveiller la poignée de pensionnaires consignés sur place.

Le saviez-vous ? À l’origine de Follow_dead, on trouve une suite de tweets publiés par l’illustrateur Adam Ellis en 2017 et 2018. Ce dernier y racontait comment le fantôme d’un petit garçon venait régulièrement le hanter. Un fil à dérouler et à lire comme un véritable récit d’horreur, qui a captivé des milliers de lecteurs sur le réseau social, au point que le cinéma a fini par s’en emparer pour en produire un long métrage.

Follow_dead

De
John McPhail

Avec
Augustus Prew,
Andrea Bang,
Justin Long

Sortie le

13 décembre 2023

The Survival Of Kindness de Rolf De Heer

Avec Mwajemi Hussein, Deepthi Sharma, Darsan Sharma…

De quoi ça parle ? Au milieu d’un désert aride, sous un soleil de plomb, une femme est abandonnée dans une cage de fer. Déterminée à vivre, elle parvient à s’en échapper. Elle marche à travers les dunes, les ruines d’un monde en désolation, gravit la montagne et arrive en ville. Une odyssée qui la mène jusqu’aux frontières de l’humanité…

Le saviez-vous ? Les inspirations résultant des repérages en Australie-Méridionale ont défini la façon dont le scénario a été abordé : “Au lieu d’écrire ce que j’avais dans la tête et de trouver les lieux qui convenaient, j’ai trouvé des lieux qui m’intéressaient d’un point de vue cinématographique, qui me suggéraient ce qui pourrait s’y dérouler.”

The Survival Of Kindness

De
Rolf De Heer

Avec
Mwajemi Hussein,
Deepthi Sharma,
Darsan Sharma

Sortie le

13 décembre 2023

Séances (35)

Le Balai libéré de Coline Grando

De quoi ça parle ? Dans les années 70, les femmes de ménage de l’Université Catholique de Louvain mettent leur patron à la porte et créent leur coopérative de nettoyage, Le Balai Libéré. 50 ans plus tard, le personnel de nettoyage de l’UCLouvain rencontre les travailleuses d’hier : travailler sans patron, est-ce encore une option ?

Le saviez-vous ? Quand Coline Grando a entendu parler du Balai Libéré, elle a tout de suite été fascinée par le caractère exceptionnel de cette histoire : des femmes de ménage licencient leur patron et travaillent en autogestion pendant 14 ans… La réalisatrice confie :

“J’ai entrepris des recherches dans les archives pour en savoir plus, j’ai découvert le récit d’une lutte réussie qui s’inscrit dans l’histoire de la Belgique des années 70, mais aussi dans l’histoire d’une ville nouvelle, celle de Louvain-la-Neuve.”

Le Balai libéré

De
Coline Grando

Sortie le

13 décembre 2023

Stromtank charges ahead

Posted on by A2ZWEBDESIGNSUSA

One of my first stops at Munich High End 2024 was at the Stromtank power regenerator display in Halle 3. Accustomed to seeing the visually imposing Stromtank “A Mighty Fortress is our God” computer-monitored battery power supply units in either silver or black, it was a surprise to encounter the Stromtank S-2500 Quantum Mk2 ($30,000)—the unit I currently use—in white.

Even more surprising: the forthcoming mammoth S-6000 will be available in red and white. Literature was not yet available, but it is said to contain two converters—the S-1000 ($17,000) and S-2500 contain only one—and can provide a whopping 3000VA continuous output power.

When I asked the difference between MK-I and MK-II models—I’m set to review the S-4000 ProPower MK-II ($40,000) shortly—I learned that the former’s DC voltage is 24, while the MK-II’s is 48. “They need less current, and both sound quality and dynamics are better,” company founder Wolfgang Meletzky told me.

Detailed information on the S-6000 did not arrive by press time—I’ll add what I learn in the comments section later on. While there I snapped a photo of Meletzky, CEO Annett Dehmel, and research & engineering mastermind Sven Böttcher surrounding the S-2500 Quantum Mk2.

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Fidelity Imports: Diptyque, Audia Flight, Michell Audio, NEO, QED, Titan

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The French two-way Diptyque DP140 MKII loudspeaker ($17,000/pair) challenges the preconception that planar magnetic speakers struggle to put out deep bass: It’s specified to reach down to 35Hz. Its 87dB/W/m sensitivity is merely average—it will benefit from some power—but its 6 ohm nominal impedance means it’s not too heavy a load.

The sound quality of this system was outstanding. Its planar-magnetic mid/bass driver and ribbon tweeter operate in seamless harmony. There’s a loss of deep bass output with any open baffle dipole design, but this can be compensated, and it’s offset by the lack of cabinet coloration in open-baffle speakers. Such designs need room to operate and especially careful placement, but once that’s achieved, they work in harmony with the listening space instead of fighting it. Done right—as it was at the show—the results can sound sublime.

Justin Timberlake’s “Say Something” showed how deftly this system separates music elements. The vocal clarity and the guitar’s detail demonstrated the fast transient response of planar-magnetic and ribbon drivers, but the attention-getter was the tight, full bass. It was textured, thick, and agile in whatever proportion the program demanded. The way the system handled “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”—a live recording of Sara Bareilles covering the Otis Redding classic—had me feeling like I had the best seat in a cozy jazz club. This planar-magnetic bass sounded and felt closer to live than what many speakers achieve.

One of the notable trends on display at this show was the number of systems powered by an integrated amplifier instead of separates. Here, the Audia Flight FLS10 ($12,999) proved a great match for the Dyptiques. The power rating—200W into 8 ohms, 380W into 4 ohms, 700W into 2 ohms—suggests that it has plenty of headroom powering the DP140 MKIIs. The sound corroborated that: It seemed effortless to reproduce music at lively output levels.

The Michell Audio Gyro SE ($6499) with CUSIS E Cartridge ($1299) served as the analog source. A NEO rack, QED cables, and Titan power cords round out the system.

Check out the video below of the DP140 MKII speakers and the rest of the system, demoed at the show. Use a decent pair of full-range headphones to get a taste of the system’s in-room sound.

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Analog Corner #258: Dan D’Agostino Momentum Phonostage & Gold Note Tuscany Gold MC cartridge

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At the beginning of this century, when the vinyl resurgence was at best nascent and few believed it would be as strong as it is today, Boulder Amplifiers manufactured a phono preamplifier that cost $29,000. I reviewed that model, the 2008 (now discontinued), in the July 2002 issue. With a power supply that would probably be more than adequate for a high-wattage power amp, it was built to a standard approached by few other makers of phono preamps.


More than a decade later, today’s audio market is well populated with luxury phono preamps costing $30,000 and up. That this fact drives the anti-vinyl crowd absolutely crazy only adds to our pleasure.


With his lines of power amplifiers and preamplifiers well established, Dan D’Agostino—the founder, CEO, and chief designer of the company that bears his name (footnote 1)—set about designing a phono preamplifier. At an audio event a few years ago, he asked me a question that I thought, at the time was rhetorical: What would I like to see in a phono stage designed for the top of the market?


My answer: a phono stage with multiple, easily selectable inputs, easy-to-set loading and gain options, and memory in which to store those settings for each input.


D’Agostino then asked me about equalization curves. I delivered my usual lecture about consumers’ abuse of EQ curves, but concluded with “If people want them, why not?” Still, I implored D’Agostino not to pass on the misinformation about various non-RIAA curves being used well into the stereo era.


Some time later, D’Agostino announced a forthcoming phono preamp, and said he hoped to send me a review sample in August 2015. It arrived more than a year after that, in September 2016. Ironically, the delay was caused by the need for additional work on the preamp’s digital switching, not its signal-path electronics.


Dan D’Agostino’s Momentum Phonostage Arrives: Cradled carefully in its Pelican road case, the Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems Momentum Phonostage ($28,000) dazzled me, even when the only things visible were the vents machined into the thick, solid-aluminum top panel. As in all D’Agostino products, the Momentum’s appearance, craftsmanship, and fit’n’finish are eye-poppingly gorgeous. I wanted to run my hands across the main enclosure’s surfaces, just to feel their cool, satiny finish. And I did. The review sample was finished in gleaming silver; it’s also available in dramatic black.


But that main enclosure is only one of three of the Momentum’s components. The first is the external transformer box, an unglamorous case (4″ wide by 2″ high by 10.5″ deep) that’s intended to be separated by “at least a couple of feet” from the main enclosure, according to the owner’s manual.


The main enclosure (15.5″ wide × 3.5″ high × 12.75″ deep) contains the signal path. It’s supported by large screw-on cones that nestle into openings in the top of the curvaceous power regulator base (13.5″ wide × 2.5″ high × 11″ deep), which is machined from aluminum and which supplies DC to the main unit as well as physically supporting it. (I know some readers who don’t think that such cones do anything, and who would prefer energy drains like those from Stillpoints, but that’s another story.) An XLR-terminated cable connects the main enclosure to the power regulator base; the latter connects to the outboard transformer with another umbilical, terminated with multi-pin DIN plugs. Stacked, the main unit and base stand 7″ high and weigh 48 lbs.


This arrangement of main enclosure and base/power supply, as well as the Phonostage’s industrial design, mirror those of D’Agostino’s Momentum line-level preamplifier, even if, ironically, necessity dictated that D’Agostino’s signature round analog meters be replaced by digital displays.


The Momentum Phonostage’s front panel features six of those displays—small, rectangular, tiny-red-dot LED screens similar to those used by the military—with a row of four at the top and two more below. In the upper row, the two leftmost screens display resistive loading for moving-coil cartridges (10 choices, from 5 ohms to 47k ohms) for inputs MC1 and MC2, while the two on the right display the same for moving-magnet cartridges (16 choices, from 23k ohms to 391k ohms) for inputs MM1 and MM2. (Adjustable resistive loading for MM cartridges is something that’s found on few phono preamps because it’s widely and wrongly assumed that 47k ohms is always the correct load for MM.) The two lower screens indicate gain (the user can fine-tune it, with a range of ±6dB) and the MM capacitive load (16 choices, from 18.75 to 281.25pF). Below each of the six screens are Up and Down buttons for making settings.


The array of screens is flanked by two machined knobs. On the left is Input: MC1, MC2, MM1, MM2. On the right is Equalization Curve, with settings labeled R.I.A.A., F.F.R.R. (or ffrr, for pre-stereo Decca/London LPs), RCA Orthophonic, Columbia, and D.G.G. (Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft).


On the Main rear panel are four sets of inputs—two each MC and MM, single-ended (RCA) and balanced (XLR)—and a single pair of balanced (XLR) outputs. If you run single-ended, you’ll need correctly configured RCA-to-XLR adapters for the Momentum Phonostage’s output. A toggle switch selects between single-ended and balanced input.


The Momentum’s specifications include a wide frequency response of 20Hz–100kHz, ±1dB; low distortion of <0.003%, 20Hz–20kHz; and a signal/noise ratio of 75dB (standard reference, unweighted). The specified gains are 70dB MC and 50dB MM, adjustable as described above.


Electronic Notes: The Momentum is hand-built at the company’s Arizona factory, and features “through-hole” circuit boards stuffed with components carefully selected by Dan D’Agostino based on their reliability and sound quality.


Instead of transformers, the Momentum’s MC input stage uses multiple parallel direct-coupled, current-mirror, bias-regulated, differential field-effect transistors (FETs). Equalization is passive. The output/gain stage is identical to the one in the Momentum line stage. To ensure the quiet performance essential for a phono stage, there are three layers of power-supply regulation.


Plug Problems: The RCA jacks for the Momentum’s inputs are costly ones from Cardas, and the first time I used them I had the oddest experience: When I pushed in the Furutech RCA plugs that terminate the phono cable of the Schröder CB tonearm supplied with the Döhmann Helix 1 turntable I’m currently reviewing, they fell right out again. I then tried the locking WBT plugs on the Swedish Analog Technologies arm, but no matter how much I tightened them, they, too, fell out of the Momentum’s sockets. How odd was that? I thought about using adhesive tape to hold them in place, but you know what happens if one plug falls out with the volume up. I didn’t want to destroy my speakers.


So I used a Cardas RCA-to-XLR adapter. The fit was snug, and of course the XLR connection was secure. I reported all this to D’Agostino via e-mail, and a week later Bill McKiegan, the company’s president of sales, who was already scheduled to drop by, paid me a visit.


I removed the RCA plugs from the adapters and again pushed them into the Momentum’s RCA jacks. Now they fit perfectly. Same thing with Furutechs and WBTs. I think it was a problem of warm-up: the jacks needed to expand to room temperature to produce an ideal fit. Other than that, the Momentum Phonostage performed flawlessly in every way. Its convenience features made for a reviewer’s ergonomic dream.


Familiar Sound? Over the years, I’ve found that there’s usually a strong sonic correlation between a company’s line-level and power-amplification products on the one hand and its phono preamplifiers on the other. That only makes sense: aside from the RIAA implementation and a heroic effort to eliminate noise from the ultra-low-level signal path, the phono preamp’s gain-stage implementation can, more likely than not, be derived from the company’s line-level products. That’s what Dan D’Agostino has done in the Momentum Phonostage.


Switching from Audio Research’s Reference Phono 3—a hybrid design with a FET input stage and a tubed output stage—that I reviewed in January to the all-solid-state D’Agostino Momentum Phonostage could have produced a jarring difference in sound character. It didn’t. While the D’Agostino’s sound was different from the ARC’s, it didn’t have the threadbare, speedy, analytical qualities so often heard from solid-state. Instead, like the other D’Agostino products I’ve reviewed, the Momentum Phonostage had a relaxed, almost tube-like richness in the midband, without sacrificing the transient clarity, detail, speed, and, especially, the transparency I expect from a top-shelf solid-state design.


The Momentum couldn’t quite match the Reference Phono 3’s vibrant, richly saturated harmonic presentation—nothing else I’ve heard does—but it produced taut bass lines, dynamic slam, and resolution of microdynamics and inner detail that the tubed Ref 3 could not. In audio, you can’t have everything.


Tonally and texturally, the Momentum sounded closer to the Ypsilon VPS-100 phono preamplifier, with its metal-encased tubes, than to ARC’s Ref Phono 3, and that’s about as strong an endorsement of a solid-state phono preamp as I can make.


To get such richly developed textures from a solid-state phono preamplifier is, in my experience, highly unusual. Take, for instance, a recent reissue of Johnny Hartman’s Once in Every Life, originally released in 1980 (Bee Hive 7012/Analogue Productions APJ105). (The album was recorded by the late Ben Rizzi, who went on to run Mastersound Astoria Studios—where, in 1993, I recorded the narration for The Ultimate Test CD (ESX ESD-7059), later mocked on Late Show with David Letterman.) I know Once in Every Life well. It’s an intimately set sonic stunner, and AP’s reissue is even more so. Hartman’s career was past its peak, and he died three years later, but in 1980 his voice was still supple and his phrasing impeccable, even if he didn’t always get the lyrics 100% correct. He’s backed by top veterans: Frank Wess on tenor sax and flute, Joe Wilder on trumpet and flugelhorn, guitarist Al Gafa, pianist Billy Taylor, bassist Victor Gaskin, and drummer Keith Copeland.


Hartman thrived in small combos, and, as an intimately miked studio recording that used lots of isolation, this one is exemplary. In “Easy Living,” Hartman’s voice is out front, rich, round, and full-bodied, but with an extra, mike-induced sibilance on s sounds (it’s on the CD, too), with Taylor’s piano well back at stage left, and Gaskin’s bass—sounding as if its pickup was plugged directly into the board—tightly plumbing the depths.


The Momentum did this LP full justice, presenting a transparent window onto the recording. Hartman’s voice was three-dimensional, and possessed all the warmth in his lower register, even as his precise articulation was fully delineated, and the slight bit of added reverb was put in proper context.


In the second chorus, as Billy Taylor’s piano subtly floats down in the mix, behind and off to Hartman’s side, to create a relaxing bed, and as Wilder’s three-dimensional flugelhorn emerges from pitch “black,” I heard the Momentum’s reproduction of air and honest texture (not too soft, not too etched) and harmonic rightness—not quite as ripe as through ARC’s Reference Phono 3, but sufficiently developed to make the case. But in terms of dynamics and transparency, the Momentum won.


Footnote 1: Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems, PO Box 89, Cave Creek, AZ 85327. Tel: (480) 575-3069. Web: www.dandagostino.com

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Elac Adante AF-61 loudspeaker

Posted on by A2ZWEBDESIGNSUSA

German manufacturer Elac had a significant North American presence in the 1960s and ’70s, primarily with its Miracord automatic turntables. While it eventually disappeared from the US market, Elac never ceased to be a player in Europe, where it eventually shifted its primary focus from turntables to loudspeakers.


When Elac decided to reenter the US market a few years ago, its success was hardly assured. Faced with hundreds of brand names and thousands of models fighting for attention, it hired veteran speaker guru Andrew Jones to improve the odds. In his previous work, first for KEF and then for TAD and Pioneer, Jones had built a solid reputation on designing well-received, cost-no-object speakers as well as high-value budget designs.


The results have been startling. Beginning with the aptly named Debut line, now in its second generation, and following up with the Uni-Fi series, Elac and Jones have made serious inroads in the sales of budget loudspeakers, reviving not only the Elac name but also an audio market too long smitten with blindingly priced speakers.


Nevertheless, Elac models have followed at higher, if not sky-high, prices. The company’s current flagship line, Adante, comprises the AS-61 bookshelf model (and matching, optional, and recommended stands), the AC-61 center-channel, the SUB3070 subwoofer, and our subject here: the Adante AF-61 tower speaker ($5000/pair).


Design
Andrew Jones has used concentric drivers since his early years with KEF, and continues to favor them in all but his least expensive designs. For Elac they first appeared in the Uni-Fi range, and both the stand-mounted Adante AS-61 and the floorstanding AF-61 employ them as well.


1118elac.speak.jpg


In a concentric driver, the tweeter is positioned at the apex of the midrange cone, the latter acting as a waveguide for the former. The main benefit of a waveguide is to reduce the tweeter’s dispersion at the low end of its range: Since the midrange driver (or midrange-woofer) typically has restricted dispersion at the top of its range, where it hands off to the tweeter, reducing a tweeter’s dispersion in that region can smooth the transition between the two drive-units’ outputs. A waveguide can also, but not always, enhance a tweeter’s dispersion at the top end of its range. The AF-61’s concentric tweeter is protected by a web-like screen, and is crossed over to the aluminum-coned midrange at 2kHz.


That 5.25″ midrange drive-unit has a 2″ voice coil, which leaves plenty of room inside it for the wide-surround, 1″ soft-dome tweeter. To isolate it from the woofers, this concentric driver is mounted at the front of its own separate, sealed chamber with anti-vibration mountings.


1118elac.driver.jpg


While it might appear from the outside that the three-way AF-61 has three 8″ woofers, it doesn’t. What you see are three passive radiators. Each of these is partnered to its own 6.5″ woofer, which operates invisibly, in an internal subenclosure. Together with two ports, that driver radiates into a second, smaller subenclosure that contains the passive radiator. The woofer and its ports never face the outside of the cabinet. Instead, their energy simply activates the 8″ passive radiator, the “driver” you see. In other words: Each of the three visible woofers in the AF-61 is one of three separately enclosed woofer “systems,” each comprising a 6.5″ driver with two internal ports energizing an 8″ passive radiator, the latter’s diaphragm simply passing all of the bass to the outside.


1118elac.cross.jpg


This arrangement acts as an acoustical filter, limiting the bass output to below 200Hz and eliminating some of the expensive crossover parts that would otherwise be needed to achieve the same low-pass crossover with a conventional network (a high-pass filter is still required on the midrange). It also eliminates audible port resonances. Elac calls this design Interport-Coupled Cavity loading.


This isn’t a new idea, but rather a variation of what was called bandpass loading when it was first used, decades ago. It never caught on big, likely because it’s somewhat complex and expensive. Regardless of possible savings on crossover parts, a passive radiator together with a more complex cabinet will still cost more than a cardboard or plastic port. But the Wayback Machine tickling the dark recesses of my brain says that KEF did use it in some of its designs, which may be where Elac’s Andrew Jones first worked with or became aware of it.


1118elac.inside.jpg


The cabinet structure required for this complex arrangement, with six separate internal chambers, not counting the small chamber for each midrange, makes for an extremely rigid enclosure, as rapping a knuckle on it painfully revealed. A heavy metal base plate, with outrigger corners and adjustable spikes, is also included. In addition, the AF-61s come with magnetically attached metal grilles. I used neither grilles nor spikes. The latter weren’t sharp enough to penetrate the carpets that covered my hardwood floors, and if they had been I wouldn’t put those floors at risk. I used a single run of speaker cable to each speaker, though biwiring or biamping are possible using each speaker’s two pairs of high-quality binding posts. The available finishes are high-gloss black or white, or rosewood veneer (which looks more like dark walnut).


Setup
My listening area measures 21′ long by 16′ wide, with an oddly sloped ceiling at an estimated average height of 9′. This space is part of an open floor plan, with one of its 21′ sides almost entirely open to a kitchen/breakfast area, which in turn opens into a dining room. The acoustic space is therefore far larger than the actual 21′ by 16′ listening area, which also accommodates the home-theater system used for my work for our sister publication Sound & Vision. That system includes two projection screens, but they’re fully retracted when the main attraction is listening to music.


The room is relatively live, but apart from the kitchen, most of the floor area is covered with large, thick rugs. Shelves filled with books, CDs, and videos are on the back wall, several feet behind the listening seats.


1118elac.2.jpgI drove the Elacs with two channels (except where noted) of a Marantz AV8802A surround-sound processor, connected to two channels of a Proceed AMP5 five-channel power amplifier. In stereo operation, each of the Proceed’s channels is driven by a completely separate power supply and transformer, not just separate secondaries from the same transformer—as used here, it operates as two monoblocks built on one chassis. Proceed, now long gone from the market, was the home-theater branch of Mark Levinson, and 20 years ago, when new, the AMP5 sold for $5000 ($1000/channel), or about $7700/$1500 today, and was specified as producing 125Wpc into 8 ohms or 250Wpc into 4 ohms, all channels driven. Roughly the size of a high-end preamp, the AMP5 is small for a five-channel class-AB power amp but weighs over 100 lb. The source was a Marantz UD7007 universal BD player, connected to the Marantz pre-pro with a coaxial digital cable.


Except as noted, all recordings used were on CD.


Listening
The 52″-tall Adante AF-61s are moderately imposing in a domestic setting. I set them up about 9′ apart and 11′ from the main listening position, which put their front baffles about 4′ out from the front wall. The center of the AF-61’s concentric tweeter-midrange is 46″ above the floor, considerably higher than the typical seated ear height of 36–37″. While my current listening ear height is a bit higher than that, it isn’t close to 46″. To compensate, I tilted the speakers forward slightly, and toed them in toward the listening seat. According to Andrew Jones, sitting slightly off the center axis on a concentric driver produces the lowest coloration, but I heard no clearly identifiable colorations in my setup.


While the initial listening tests were good, there was a distinct lack of impact below about 45Hz, obvious on material I know to have substantially extended bass. This wasn’t entirely surprising, as it’s also been true of some other speakers I’ve tested in this very large room. But my Monitor Audio Silver 10s have no problem producing convincing bass from the same positions, nor does an ancient pair of Energy Veritas v2.8s, the latter roughly the size of the Adantes.


When I performed a close-miked measurement of the AF-61s (fig.1) using an OmniMic measurement system from Parts Express (not nearly as sophisticated as the tools John Atkinson uses for Stereophile‘s speaker measurements, but excellent for basic measurements and setup), the response rolled off rapidly below 50Hz at about 18dB/octave (third-order). I measured all three of the front-mounted passive radiators, and they were essentially the same. Since bass frequencies are radiated from nowhere else on the AF-61, such as a port, these measurements indicates the bass capability of the speaker itself, with no help from so-called room gain. The single driver in Elac’s Adante AS-61 minimonitor measured about the same when I reviewed that speaker for Sound & Vision, though the AF-61’s three bass drivers’ ability to minimize the well-known upper-bass floor-bounce dip (aka the Allison Effect), should offer benefits in overall bass balance and power handling.


1118elac.ElacMain-fig1.jpg


Fig.1 Elac Adante AF-61, nearfield response of passive radiators (5dB/vertical div.).


When a speaker is designed, certain assumptions must be made concerning the room in which it’s likely to be used, particularly the room’s size. All rooms affect the bass, including boosting the lowest frequencies—the room gain. The bigger the room, the lower the room gain, which is why a speaker used outdoors typically has anemic low bass. Designers who assume little room gain extend the bass as far as the design’s size and budget allow. If a smaller room with a lot of room gain is assumed, the designer will keep the extension in check. I don’t know what assumptions Andrew Jones made in designing the AF-61, but given the likely international appeal of the speakers, I suspect a room as big as mine, with little room gain, wasn’t high on the checklist.

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Theta DS Pro Generation V digital processor

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Some high-end audio companies develop reputations for having a particular “sound.” This reputation develops when every product the company makes has a similar sonic flavor. These products appeal to certain customers who like the company’s sound, and who therefore tend to stay with that company’s products year after year. Unfortunately, such an approach can limit a manufacturer’s appeal to a broader audience.


This situation has been especially true for Theta Digital, a pioneer in advancing digital playback, and one of the first US companies to market an outboard digital processor. Theta’s processors have always sounded a little forward and incisive to me, rather than subtle and refined. That’s why the sound of Theta’s top-of-the-line DS Pro Generation V will surprise Theta fans and detractors alike. Though the Gen.V represents a departure from the “Theta” sound, it manages to retain the qualities that have set Theta processors apart from the competition (footnote 1).


Technical description
Theta, in my view, has always concentrated spent more of their build budget on what’s heard than on what’s seen. For example, the best Thetas use Teflon printed circuit boards and Vishay resistors—both extremely expensive items, but unseen by the customer.


The antithesis is the product with a thick gold faceplate and machined chassis filled with mediocre electronics—all show and no go. Although the cosmetics and finish of Theta products have always been acceptable, they’re more business-like in appearance than other high-end processors.


The Generation V carries on that tradition, but is the best-looking Theta yet. A sculpted plate fits over the front panel, giving the unit a more refined look. In addition, all front-panel edges are nicely rounded and finished.


Four toggle switches select among inputs, choose between source and tape, turn the power on, and invert absolute polarity. Two blue LEDs indicate when the unit is powered and locked to a source. Note that the front-panel power switch turns off the computer and the power-indicating LED, but leaves the audio stages powered for the best sound.


Three digital inputs are included as standard: AES/EBU, coaxial on an RCA jack, and BNC digital connections. The review sample was fitted with Theta’s LaserLinque single-mode optical input, an $800 option (footnote 2). ST-type optical is also available for $300. For those who want to use the Gen.V with a laserdisc, TosLink output is available for an additional $100. A digital tape loop (on RCA jacks) provides for connecting a digital recorder to the Gen.V. Analog output is via a pair of XLR connectors (balanced), or RCA jacks (single-ended). The Gen.V is available single-ended ($3795) or balanced ($5595).


The Gen.V is an evolution of Theta’s highly regarded DS Pro Generation III processor (footnote 3). The V uses the same DSP engine for the digital filtering, and even the same filtering algorithm. The big differences in the Gen.V are the all-discrete analog output stage (no op-amps, as in the Generation III) and the updated power supply.


The Gen.V’s build is almost unique. The unit is divided into three distinct sections, each shielded from the other: the power supply is housed in a subchassis below the digital section and the analog output stage, and the digital compartment occupies about two-thirds of the upper area. These subchassis act as Faraday cages to isolate each subsystem from the others’ electromagnetic radiation.


The power supply has four separate power transformers supplying 13 regulators. Eight of the power-supply rails are regulated in the power supply, then re-regulated on the analog board next to the circuits they supply. All the regulators in the Gen.V are three-pin ICs; filter capacitors are the excellent Nichicon Muse types. The power supply of the Gen.V was significantly updated from that in the Generation III, to accommodate the new discrete output stage.


The digital board features a Crystal CS8412 input receiver. The input stage’s Phase Locked Loop (PLL) has been tightened for lower jitter, and is now supplied from a dedicated power-supply regulation stage.


As with previous iterations of Theta’s Generation series, the heart of the V is the custom digital filter. Three Motorola DSP56001 digital signal processors, providing a total computing power of 129 MIPS (Million Instructions per Second), perform the 8x-oversampling digital filtering, and a pair of Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM) chips contain the software code that contains the filtering instructions. In essence, the DSPs are the muscle and the EPROMs are the brain. The DSPs, the amount of computing horsepower, and the filter algorithm are unchanged from the Generation III. De-emphasis is performed in the digital domain by the DSP chips.


The EPROMs are socketed for easy replacement should there be a software change. The three DSPs, their EPROMs, and support electronics replace a single, drop-in, off-the-shelf filter used by most manufacturers. Note that the Gen.V’s filter will pass 20-bit data should you have a 20-bit source—or Audio Alchemy’s DTI Pro, which outputs 20-bit words. The NPC filter used in most processors truncates the input word length to 18 bits.


The digital board has two gate arrays—one to control the input selection logic, the other to convert the incoming serial datastream to parallel form for input to the DSP chips. These two gate arrays replace dozens of support chips.


The analog board is an impressive piece of work. The balanced version I had for review has four Burr-Brown PCM 63 DACs for true differential operation. In a fully balanced processor such as the Gen.V, the digital datastream is split into left +, left –, right +, and right –, with each signal converted to analog by its own DAC, then processed by four separate analog stages. Conversely, the shortcut method uses just two DACs, then puts an analog phase splitter on the output to derive the left and right + and – phases of the balanced signal. Doing it right, as in the Gen.V, doubles the circuitry—and the power-supply requirements. Balanced operation requires four DACs, four current-to-voltage converters, and four output buffers. It’s like having two DACs in one chassis.


A fully balanced processor such as the Gen.V benefits from not having another analog stage (the phase splitter) in the signal path, and from rejection of any noise or artifacts common to both DACs. In my experience with digital processors, I’ve found that true balanced circuits have a decided sonic advantage over single-ended designs, and especially over “balanced” outputs derived from an analog phase-splitter.


This doubling of the circuitry is what makes the balanced Gen.V cost $1800 more than the single-ended version. You can convert your single-ended Gen.V to fully balanced for a little more than the cost of buying it balanced in the first place. (Theta hadn’t set a price on the upgrade by press time.)


Previous balanced Theta products have had single-ended outputs that took the positive phase of the balanced signal and presented it to the RCA output jack, ignoring the negative phase. This technique has none of the advantages of balanced operation, even though the processor may have used four DACs. The alternative approach, introduced by Theta in the Gen.V, is to combine the two phases of the balanced signal differentially. The differential amplifier’s output drives the single-ended RCA jack. This technique brings the benefits of balanced operation to single-ended users.

Footnote 1: The Gen.V is the last Theta product that designer Mike Moffat worked on. Mike left Theta to start a company that makes surround-sound processors.


Footnote 2: LaserLinque is Theta’s trade name for an optical communication system used in the aerospace industry. Generically called “single-mode” optical, LaserLinque uses an optical cable with a much smaller inside diameter than usual. The narrower optical conductor minimizes dispersion of the light as it travels down the fiber, which would otherwise introduce jitter in the S/PDIF clock. In addition, the wavelength is shorter than that used in the AT&T ST-type optical interface. AT&T ST-type optical and TosLink are both “multi-mode” optical interfaces. Single-mode has been likened to rolling a basketball through a tunnel just bigger than the basketball; standard optical is like throwing a tennis ball down the same tunnel.


Footnote 3: There was no Generation IV—the numbering system jumped from III to V. (The number four in one of the High End’s main markets, Asia, is equivalent to the West’s thirteen.)

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Gray Forecast or Silver Lining?

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Photo: VPI


Social distancing. Flattening the curve. These expressions are embedded in our collective psyche as we to try to keep COVID-19 and the novel coronavirus that causes it at bay. Few of us who live through this will ever forget them.


But life and work must somehow go on, if at a slower pace than before. Even now—as I write, just a couple of weeks after the earliest stay-at-home order went into effect, in California—the pandemic anxiety and resulting closures have businesses across all sectors taking a huge hit. Today’s unemployment numbers were staggering, dwarfing those at the peak of the 2008 financial crisis. High-end audio—a specialty niche within the luxury market—is hardly immune.


Stereophile wanted to find out more about how COVID-19 was impacting the audio industry—how companies and people are coping and adapting to an unpredictable and unprecedented situation that’s still unfolding, changing daily. Also: What else is on manufacturers’ minds? What are they anticipating? Could there perhaps—strange as it sounds—be a silver lining to all this? Not everyone, it turns out, is entirely glum.


Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. People are dying—although so far we’ve heard of no major figures in our own industry who have passed on. There have been layoffs—lots of them apparently—although few are willing to talk about them. One who is is Bill Low, founder and CEO of California-based AudioQuest. Low provided Stereophile with a statement, with excerpts from a recent email addressed to his employees:

For only the second time in the forty years of AudioQuest, we have had to lay off people and make adjustments that are based not on the merit of the employee, but based on the extent to which the company can remain afloat without their valuable contributions. Some of the most valuable people the company has ever employed—irreplaceable people who had been with the company for decades—have been let go. . . .


“I apologize deeply and profoundly that I can offer no more hope other than that our heroic managers and I have stepped up to the plate to do our best to keep our intentions to regrow alive. Maybe that process can begin before the end of the year. . . .”


AudioQuest’s Stephen Mejias later sent an email adding that, because of Netherlands policies that ensure job stability, no layoffs have occurred among the company’s European staff: 38 people, all told. AudioQuest is operating at reduced capacity, for the health and safety of the staff (many of them working from home), but the company is continuing to process and ship orders.


We’re not here to circulate hearsay—we won’t be repeating anything specific we could not confirm—but we’ve heard numerous credible reports of layoffs, including at well-established companies. “The whole industry is being filled with layoffs, and no one is talking about it,” Mat Weisfeld, president of VPI Industries, says. “It’s as if these companies don’t want to talk about it because it’s going to make them look weak. And I’m like, ‘No, this doesn’t make you look weak, it makes you look like [the industry is] in a crisis, because we are.'”


At the time of this writing, some 35 states have ordered people to stay at home, except for essential activities like grocery shopping and dog-walking, in order to slow the transmission of the virus. Companies deemed “essential” are allowed to remain open, but the definition of “essential” varies from state to state.


In phone interviews and email exchanges, a common theme emerged: people and companies doing their best to stay the course however they can. Two company leaders uttered the phrase “keep on rocking and rolling.” “So far, so good” was also uttered twice by company heads. All the companies we contacted that remain operational are stepping up their sanitary practices, keeping hand sanitizer handy, arranging for some employees to work from home, ensuring that on-site staff follow CDC guidelines.


For some, this is a time for introspection. “This situation certainly pushes us to pause and evaluate every aspect of our business,” MSB Technology CEO Jonathan Gullman told Stereophile, via email. “But for every challenge, there’s a solution. No audio shows? Maybe we need to work on more online video to compensate. Will our team have to spend more time working remotely? Then we’ll improve our online systems, communication, and networking software. Are we short-handed for daily operations? Then we’ll improve documentation and company organization.”


California, which is home to MSB and many other audio companies, is on lockdown. MSB’s whole production team has been furloughed, but all are receiving some compensation and full health insurance and other benefits. In the meantime, principals Jonathan and his brother/business partner Daniel are “holding down the fort.”


Pushing Plans And Pivoting

COVID-19 has led two companies—Schitt Audio and VPI Industries—to accelerate plans already in the works. Push came to shove, you might say.


Schiit, which has headquarters in Santa Clarita, California, sells its products direct online, via brick-and-mortar dealers, and also at its own shop, which it calls the Schiitr, and which is closed until COVID-19 subsides. Although some of its 20 employees are now working from home, the company is still operational, for service, support, shipping, and so on.


“Some people are actually going into the office because under California’s rules, we are considered an essential business, or at least that’s what our lawyer [said],” Schiit cofounder and analog designer Jason Stoddard told Stereophile. “Our lawyer was okay with us continuing as long as we did all isolation measures and posted the right signs and everything.” Stoddard, who says he dislikes the phrase “social distancing,” has divided the production staff into two shifts within an 18,000-square-foot building so that employees “basically each get their own house to roam around in.” His staff is working voluntarily, knowing they can take a fully paid leave of absence if they want to. Very few have accepted that option, he says.

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Sony SA-Z1 nearfield active speaker system

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On top of a desk, an audio system must be able to deliver satisfying sound in a nonoptimal environment: a flat, reflective plane (the desktop) cluttered with keyboard (or maybe a laptop computer); a mouse; assorted papers, books, and trash; and, perpendicular to that, another flat, reflective plane (the computer display), which, if it’s not a tiny laptop screen, will block some of the soundwaves emanating from the speakers. Such sonically inhospitable spaces can consign 3D stereo imaging (and other desirable sonic traits) to the realm of the imagination.


My workspace is especially challenging. My two-tier triangular desk is wedged into a corner and bisected by a diagonal roof line that cuts across the listening space at a 142° angle. You’d think that would boost the bass, but somehow, instead, it traps it.


I decided to try Sony’s SA-Z1 nearfield active desktop speaker system ($7999) to see how well it could cope with my workaday acoustical nightmare.


The only thing it shoots is sound
The SA-Z1 speaker system, with a unique appearance that evokes some futuristic weapon from a Marvel cinematic thriller, is the latest addition to Sony’s Signature series, which also includes a headphone amp (TA-ZH1ES), two high-end Walkmans (NW-WM1Z, NW-WM1A), a couple of high-end headphones (MDR-Z1R, IER-Z1R), and the DMP-Z1 Digital Music Player that John Atkinson reviewed in the August 2019 issue of Stereophile. The series originated during the 75th anniversary year—2016—of the company that brought you the Walkman and is dedicated to creating the ultimate personal listening experience. Yoshiyuki Kaku (Kaku San), who designed Sony’s SS-AR1, SS-AR2, SS-NA2ES, and SS-NA5ES speakers and appears in a seductive video on Sony’s SA-Z1 website, also designed the SA-Z1, in cooperation with electrical designer Masaki Sato.


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The SA-Z1 system consists, of course, of two speakers. Each one contains a ¾” tweeter with a titanium-sputtered soft dome flanked vertically by two smaller, similar tweeters, all mounted on a narrow, tapered plate in front of the front baffle. Mounted on that front baffle is a 4″ forward-firing woofer with an anodized aluminum cone; behind that is a similar 4″ woofer that faces to the rear. Various buttons and controls sit atop each speaker.


The SA-Z1 system took three years to develop. “That’s a really long time for Sony,” Greg Carlsson, a San Diego– based electrical engineer and member of Sony’s senior staff who participated in one of the SA-Z1’s prototype listening stages, told me during an extended chat, which also included Kevin Portaro, Sony’s very helpful senior product marketing specialist. “It’s a really complicated digital-hybrid design that took an hour’s conversation with Masaki Sato for me to fully understand,” Carlsson told me.


Like most desktop speaker systems, the SA-Z1 includes a DAC, but it does not use an off-the-shelf, chip-based DAC. At its heart is an FPGA that converts all music data to PWM—pulse-width modulation, the generic term for DSD, which is a trademark. PWM and class-D amplification have many similarities: Both are single-bit technologies, meaning that at any given time, the signal occupies one of two levels, high or low, fluctuating between those two states at very high frequencies.


Sony takes advantage of the similarity between the two technologies to combine digital conversion and amplification. “Sato-san calls it a ‘power DAC’ because it amplifies the PWM or DSD signal before filtering it,” Carlsson explained. “The amplifier and DAC are together as one; they are not separate stages. This is effectively a discrete DAC and Class-D amplifier design.


“In parallel, the PWM or DSD signal is routed through another DAC, the output of which is amplified in the analog domain and used as a feed-forward signal for error correction. It’s a very unconventional and challenging design, but the result is a lower noise floor and lower distortion. Since there are two paths, we call it a Digital Analog Hybrid, or D.A. Hybrid, amplifier. It’s quite complicated, and I’m struggling to explain it in a simple way because it’s hard to wrap your head around.”


Rather than employing MOSFET transistors, which Sony says can produce ringing distortion due to slow switching speeds, the amps use gallium nitride (GaN) transistors, which allow faster switching and so less ringing. Sony claims that with GaN, “amplification errors are significantly reduced, even before the signal is error-corrected by the feed-forward analog amplifier.”


Yes, there’s an analog amplifier, too, another way in which the SA-Z1 is a digital/analog hybrid. Every woofer has its own amplifier pair, as does the main tweeter; the two assist tweeters are driven together by the fourth amplifier pair. That’s eight amplifiers per side.


“The SA-Z1’s D.A. Hybrid Amplifier design was initially deployed in our high-end TAZH1ES Signature-series headphone amp,” Carlsson said. “We don’t think that there’s anybody else out there that’s been able to pull off this kind of design. A lot of people speak about high-powered FPGA or gallium nitride MOSFETs, but this whole D.A.–hybrid amplifier design is quite unique.”


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“With a conventional speaker system, getting the room-speaker-listener positioning just right to achieve an expansive soundstage that extends to all the way beside you or even further is very difficult,” Carlsson stated. “The SA-Z1 system achieves an amazingly large soundstage easily, and there is much less influence from the room when you listen in nearfield,” because “in the nearfield, there is a lot less impact from early reflections.”


Sony calls its unique coaxial tweeter array “I-Array.” “A larger dome tweeter can produce a lot of sound pressure, but it has narrow directivity, which means that the high frequency response starts to drop off as you move off-axis,” Carlsson explained. “Smaller tweeters such as our assist tweeters can’t produce as much power (SPL), but they have much wider directivity and higher bandwidth, in this case up to 100kHz. Putting the three tweeters together in the I-Array creates a larger and more transparent soundstage and combines the strengths of the larger- and smaller-aperture tweeters in a coaxial layout for better imaging. … [T]he coaxial design allows us to achieve coherence in the nearfield.


“Time coherence and a flat, broad frequency response are also required to achieve a coherent impulse response. Typical multiway speakers can have good frequency response, but their impulse response is compromised, because getting the wave fronts aligned in time between driver units is very hard due to driver placement and passive crossover networks. We also use the FPGA to synchronize all drivers and achieve full time-alignment, which ensures a coherent soundfield. Any music signal can be described by convolution of an impulse, which means [that], if the speakers can reproduce an impulse accurately, you can listen to the sound as it was recorded. This is a key detail in the SA-Z1’s design.”


The SA-Z1’s two 4″ woofers are placed back to back in a layout that mimics that of the traditional Japanese “tsuzumi” drum (and also any number of subwoofer and loudspeaker designs). Sony claims that the two woofers’ vibrations cancel out when both are active. (On one setting, the rear woofers are deactivated; see below.) The layout is said to reduce enclosure resonance and deliver precise imaging. Bass disperses forward and through side vents located on either side of the rear-facing woofer.


The SA-Z1’s aluminum enclosure is comprised of two different aluminum alloys; each of its six panels has a different thickness. Specially designed trapezoidal rubber dampers between panels prevent vibration transmission and reduce resonance. An aluminum bridge between the front-speaker section and the amplifier and digital processing circuitry at the speakers’ rear, as well as a 5mm–thick steel plate, create a “frame beam wall” chassis intended to prevent vibration from reaching the electronics.


Doing the numbers
The choice of digital input determines the maximum PCM and DSD sampling rates that the SA-Z1 can accept. I used the most versatile input, USB, which can accept native DSD up to 22.4MHz (that’s 8×DSD), DoP (DSD over PCM) up to 5.6MHz, and PCM up to 32/768. The Walkman/Xperia input accepts DSD native up to 11.2MHz, DoP up to 5.6MHz, and PCM up to 32/384, while the poor old optical input is limited to PCM up to 24/96.


The SA-Z1 offers several options for digital playback: automatic upsampling of “Red Book” PCM files to high-rate PCM (32/384 for files input by USB; note, however, that all data eventually ends up as PWM, aka DSD); resampling of PCM to high-rate DSD (DSD256 when input via USB; this is called DSD-RE, for DSD Remastering); straight playback of DSD files; or what Sony calls “optional enhancement of compressed music” via the company’s “Digital Sounds Enhancement Engine.” “DSEE-HX” attempts to restore what’s been lost from compression with a combination of upsampling and what Sony calls “harmonic restoration.”


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Neither the DSEE-HX nor DSD-RE functions operate with the SA-Z1’s analog inputs—which should convince you that it’s best to use the system’s digital inputs instead. Just try feeding high-resolution signal from your computer to a high-quality DAC—I used Mytek’s Manhattan II—and connecting its RCA outputs to the SA-Z1’s analog inputs. I did, and I found the sound rather flat and disappointing. “SA-Z1 is designed as a digital system,” Carlsson told me. “As such, it definitely sounds best with digital inputs. It won’t benefit from an external DAC like a purely analog system would; in fact, it will not be able to perform at its best. The analog inputs are provided for flexibility.”


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The two speakers are connected by a digital sync cable (supplied), which attaches to each speaker’s rear, across from the power-cable inlet. Speaker A’s front panel includes power (on/off), input selection, and DSEE-HX and DSD-RE buttons. There’s also a volume control knob and an LED readout that displays input, volume level and muting state, bit/sample rate, and a few other things.

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December 2021 Classical Record Reviews

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Brahms: Symphony No.4

Macmillan: Larghetto for Orchestra

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra/Manfred Honeck, cond.

Reference Recordings FR-744 (CD). 2021. Dirk Sobotka, prod.; Mark Donahue, eng.

Performance ****½

Sonics ****½


From the Brahms symphony’s soft-edged yet clean and transparent opening, this issue sounds special. As the textures fill out, sonorities expand rather than merely getting louder. The woodwinds’ fanfares are crisply placed, yet their soft playing still has presence. Two legato brass chorales in James MacMillan’s Larghetto register with satisfying depth, and sustained bass tones are exceptionally focused. That the engineers should have achieved such outstanding results in concert constitutes a minor miracle.


The first three movements of the Brahms are flexible and unusually cogent despite Honeck’s occasional tendency to push forward. The yielding second theme is perfectly gauged, providing contrast without disrupting the pulse. The Andante moderato goes at a dignified rather than funereal tread; the second theme, gently ruminative the first time, is intensely vibrant in the strings’ recap. The scherzo, at once driving and exuberant, maintains momentum through the quieter passages.


Tempo fluctuations mar the finale’s start and the first few variations. Later, he regains his taut, incisive form, guiding the music with assurance to an inexorably triumphant finish.


MacMillan’s mesmerizing score builds from a Barber-like string chorale through those brass chorales and a yearning horn solo (with plaintive woodwind answers), to an uplifting final affirmation. It’s resolutely tonal, and the sonorities consistently please the ear. Horns are bright and lean, bronzen in the symphony’s Andante. Woodwind soloists are sensitive and assured; the ensemble tone is full-bodied and unified.—Stephen Francis Vasta

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Florence Price: Symphonies Nos.1 & 3

The Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, cond.

Deutsche Grammophon e-release, 24/96 FLAC. Dmitriy Lipay, prod., Dmitriy and Alexander Lipay, engs.

Performance ****½

Sonics ****


After decades of neglect, the music of Florence Price is getting its due. This digital-only issue of Price’s Symphonies 1 & 3 is the first in a series of Price recordings from Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra.


Little Rock–born and New England Conservatory–trained, Price was the first female African American classical composer to have music premiered by a major American orchestra. Although Price composed many other works, including vocal music championed by contralto Marion Anderson, subsequent orchestral performances were few. Her famous letter to conductor Serge Koussevitzky, which included the passage, “My dear Dr. Koussevitzky, to begin with I have two handicaps—those of sex and race,” was a classic case of understatement. Critics who dismissed her music as tonal and conservative failed to understand the coping mechanisms of a gifted Black composer whose mother urged her to pose as Mexican in order to get ahead.


It’s a shame that so much of Price’s music is lost, because in Symphonies Nos.1 & 3 we hear how she crafted her idiom from the “American” music of Antonin Dvorák, who found his inspiration in “Negro folk melodies,” as well as from the juba dance of Africa, the spirituals of her enslaved ancestors, and popular forms. Amidst lush melodies and passages of jubilation, we also hear anger, sadness, and mourning that many overlooked.


Equally worth exploring is the Price series from Naxos, whose latest issue includes the world premiere recording of Ethiopia’s Shadow in America.—Jason Victor Serinus

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Schumann: Arabeske, Kreisleriana, Fantasie

Stephen Hough (piano).

Hyperion CDA68363 (CD). 2021. Rachel Smith, prod.; David Hinitt, eng.

Performance ****

Sonics ****


The redoubtable Stephen Hough is at the top of his artistry and technical command in the Fantasie. The big chords at the start don’t just ring out imposingly; the soloist shapes them for ebb and flow. Pearly articulations highlight the treble melody over brilliant running figures. The tricky rhythms of the central movement are light as well as assured, with terrific balances. The soloist projects the simpler textures of the final movement to inward, searching effect, with gentle pianos and pianissimos. Hough binds the episodic piece into a coherent arc.


The shorter pieces don’t rise to quite that exalted level, but they offer perceptive details. The Arabeske‘s final episode is lovely and fragile; in Kreisleriana, the Sehr langsam chorale is anthemic rather than sentimental, and the fifth and eighth movements are playful (“spielend,” indeed!). He colors thematic recaps for heightened effect, infusing that in the second Sehr langsam movement with fervor and Innigkeit. Hough—as in the Fantasie, free-form on a broader scale—convincingly pulls these irregular pieces together.


Hough’s still-impressive playing doesn’t fully realize his intentions. The faster passages, as at the start of the Arabeske, articulated with full tonal weight, constitute a dazzling display in themselves, but they never coalesce into chords you can “hear,” though the rhythmic outlines come across quite well. And big chords, such as resonated so vividly in the Fantasie, come off the slightest bit restrained and percussive.


Hough’s piano sound is unmediated and almost perfectly balanced. The forte bass octaves sound assertive yet natural; the upper registers suffer from no digital shallowing. The ambience is unobtrusive.—Stephen Francis Vasta

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Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues Op.87

Ronald Stevenson: Passacaglia on DSCH

Igor Levit (piano)

Sony 714315 (3 CDs, auditioned in 24/96 MQA FLAC). 2021. Andreas Neubronner, prod. & eng.

Performance *****

Sonics ****½


Due to their supreme physical and technical demands, great performances of Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues and Stevenson’s Passacaglia on DSCH, which was inspired by Shostakovich, are few. Both works require concentration and stamina: Shostakovich’s for 2½ hours and Stevenson’s for 75 minutes. Stevenson’s, in particular, seems destined to make many a hand bleed.


Russian-German pianist Igor Levit, 33 when he made these recordings, has been playing both works for years. Political sympathies may have drawn him both to Shostakovich, who, like Levit, spoke out against antisemitism, even as Soviet officials condemned his music and limited its performances, and to Stevenson, whose championship of the cause of freedom inspired several of the themes in his Passacaglia on DSCH.


And yet, these works are very different. As much as Shostakovich may have tried to sublimate his emotions to safeguard his life, feelings surface throughout the 24 Preludes and Fugues. Take, for example, the 7-minute Fugue No.8, which seems the epitome of childlike innocence until darkness takes over and the exploration ends in sadness. Fugue No.12 is shockingly violent and adamant, while Prelude No.13 is filled with such sweetness that at one point the sound evokes images of dew on flower petals. The final Prelude is as grave as it gets.


Stevenson’s work, on the other hand, is so eclectic, relentless, and phantasmagoric that it frequently takes one’s breath away. For virtuosity, intensity, and mind-expanding music, On DSCH is a must.—Jason Victor Serinus

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Color for Days: Wilson Chronosonic XVX, D’Agostino Relentless Epic, Stromtank, Nordost, and More

Posted on by A2ZWEBDESIGNSUSA

Gone are the days of blacks and grays. Thanks in large part to the new face of Wilson Audio, color reigned supreme in Audio Reference Munich’s impressive Atrium spread.


It’s not that you can’t buy a Wilson speaker in traditional Brooks Brothers meets Provo garb. But for those who wish to brighten up the show, Wilson presented its Chronosonic XVX with one of its four new “Season” color highlights (below). Rather than asking the price, I greatly enjoyed what I saw and focused on the music, which in this case was a Schedrin encore, performed by pianist Simon Trpceski and recorded just a few days earlier by Wilson’s Peter McGrath, shown in the heading photograph.




Making the music possible were D’Agostino’s new Relentless Epic monoblock amplifiers ($349,000/pair) and Epic 800 Mono Amplifiers ($194,500/pair). The former upgrades the original Relentless, which appeared four years ago. The latter, which combines new circuit sections and components into a smaller-than-Relentless Epic chassis, joined forces with the three-chassis Relentless preamplifier, the XVX, Nordost Odin 2 cabling, and unheard-by-me Momentum phono preamplifier and VPI turntable to produce stellar sound. All electronics took full advantage of the stable battery power supplied by a Stromtank High Power S-5000 (below), which distributed power via Nordost Odin 2 cabling. For a review of the smaller Stromtank S-1000, see the forthcoming August issue. As you will read, the Stromtank was anything but an afterthought.




In a lengthy press release that offers far more detail than what follows, D’Agostino wrote, “The Relentless 800 Epic employ an all-new, fully complementary topology based around a precision input stage that maintains an essentially perfect balance between the positive and negative components of the signal. Any distortion artifacts that appear on one half of the signal will also appear on the other half, and thus cancel each other. Gain circuits operate in the current domain, assuring the amplifiers’ performance does not fluctuate regardless of the speaker demand… New input stage devices deliver a 300% increase in current as compared to the previous devices.”




D’Agostino claims extended low and high frequency performance, reduced distortion at both frequency extremes, and an open-loop linearity approach that obviates the need for global negative feedback. A nearly 50% increase in operating bias translates into more class-A sound and consistent temperatures that avoid extremes. (I suppose that means that you’ll have to fry your eggs elsewhere.) “Additional regulation circuitry prevents any AC power anomalies from upsetting the amplifiers’ input circuitry.”


The Relentless Epic contains 112 matching high-output transistors, while the smaller Epic 800 contains 84. The Epic 800 has a power supply with a nearly-4kVA transformer and 400,000µF capacitance.




Every existing Relentless amplifier can be upgraded to Relentless Epic level for $49,500/pair. The Relentless Epic 800 will begin shipping in Q4 in standard silver or black finish. According to D’Agostino’s Bill McKiegan (above), “We upgraded the original Relentless to Relentless Epic because the smaller ones sounded so good.”


One enticing tidbit omitted from the press release: The new 800 Epic, which has not yet begun to ship, will be available with an optional, Roon-certified DAC module. Additional information is slow in coming from multiple companied because a lot of people who attended Munich High End and dined/communed without masks have come down with COVID. This writer stuck to his usual platypus face alter ego identity, only ate outdoors, and returned home COVID-free. As mentioned in the introduction to our AXPONA 2022 coverage, I enjoy being a duck-billed platypus. Platypi, as I’m wont to call them, are a protected species. I’ll take all the protection I can get.

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