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30+ Pages of Hot Gear from CES!

S T E R E O • M U L T I C H A N N E L A U D I O • M U S I C

STATE OF THE

from Esoteric

Ayre’s E-Series

Amp & CD Player

Sutherland Ph3D

Phono Preamp

PLUS:

of Music

Reviews!

www.theabsolutesound.com

STATE OF THE

ART DiGiTAL

SWEET DEAL

Ayre’s E-Series

Amp & CD Player

BATTERiES iNCLUDED

Sutherland Ph3D

Phono Preamp

18 PAGES

of Music

Reviews!

Contents

April/May 2007

“

Listening through the

P-03/D-03 was like

looking back into the

recording through a

transparent window.

116

EsotEric P-03 UnivErsal Disc transPort anD

D-03 Digital-to-analog convErtEr

Robert Harley reports on Esoteric’s 125-pound, two-box,

$30k contenders for the state-of-the-art in digital playback.

thE 2007

consUmEr

ElEctronics show

TAS brings you the

hottest new products

from the year’s biggest

high-end-audio event.

EqUiPmEnt rEPorts

18 AbSoluTe AnAlog

sUthErlanD Ph3D

BattEry-PowErED

Phono PrEamPlifiEr

Chris Martens on a lower-priced

version of Sutherland’s excellent Ph.D

phonostage.

89 aUDio analogUE

Enigma cD-rEcEivEr

Can a one-box audio system satisfy?

Neil Gader has the answer.

94 rEfErEncE 3a DUlcEt

loUDsPEakEr

Dick Olsher on the aptly named Dulcet.

107 harBEth hl comPact

7Es-3 loUDsPEakEr

Paul Seydor on a future classic.

92 rogUE aUDio stErEo 90

PowEr amPlifiEr

Sallie Reynolds on a roguish tube amp.

100 ayrE cX-7E cD PlayEr anD

aX-7E intEgratED amPlifiEr

Two of audio’s best values just got

better, says Sue Kraft.

112 synErgistic rEsEarch tEsla

sEriEs loUDsPEakEr caBlEs

Neil Gader on Syngergistic’s new, low-

capacitance, active-shielded cables.

April/May 2007 The Absolute Sound

Contents

founder; chairman,

editorial advisory board

editor-in-chief

editor

executive editor

managing and

music editor

acquisitions manager

and associate editor

art director

Harry Pearson

letters

Robert Harley

Wayne garcia

Jonathan Valin

bob gendron

1 From The editor

neil gader

“

Torquil Dewar

16 Start Me up

chris martens reports on

senior writers

Overall the Rotel

RC-1082 offers such a

well-balanced mix of

virtues, that is hard to

fault for the money.”

John W. Cooledge, Anthony H. Cordesman,

Robert e. greene, Chris Martens,

Dick olsher, Andrew Quint, Sallie Reynolds,

Paul Seydor, Alan Taffel

rotel’s excellent, affordable

rc-1082 preampliier.

Music

11 Recording of the Issue

arcade fire: Neon Bible

reviewers and

contributing writers

Soren baker, greg Cahill, Dan Davis,

Andy Downing, Jim Hannon, Jacob Heilbrunn,

Sue Kraft, Mark lehman, Ted libbey,

David Mcgee, bill Milkowski,

Derk Richardson, Don Saltzman,

Max Shepherd, barry Willis

1 Jazz

coverage of new records

from scott colley, mike

Dillon, stryker/slagle Band,

anat fort, mike mainieri,

norah Jones, and turtle

island string quartet.

hp’s equipment setup

Danny gonzalez

web producer

Ari Koinuma

absolute multimedia, inc.

chairman and ceo

vice president/publisher

advertising reps

11 Rock etc .

reviews of the latest cDs

and lPs from low, air, clap

your hands say yeah, shins,

kassin+2, antibalas, kodo,

X-clan, David Bromberg,

John mellencamp, and

greencards. Plus, legacy’s

sly and the family stone

reissues and two yes

audiophile pressings.

Thomas b. Martin, Jr.

Mark Fisher

Cheryl Smith

(512) 891-7775

Marvin lewis

MTM Sales

(718) 225-8803

reprints and e-prints: Jennifer martin, wrights reprints

toll free: (877) 652-5295, outside the U.s.: (281) 419-5725,

jmartin@wrightsreprints.com

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phone: (888) 732-1625 (Us) or (815) 734-5833

(outside Us), or write The Absolute Sound ,

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il 61054. ten issues: in the Us, $36; canada $52

(gst included); outside north america, $71 (includes air mail).

Payments must be by credit card (visa, mastercard,

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editorial matters: address letters to the editor,

The Absolute Sound , Po Box 1768, tijeras, new mexico 87059,

or e-mail rharley@absolutemultimedia.com.

classiied advertising: Please use form in back of issue.

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e-mail: tas@absolutemultimedia.com

www.theabsolutesound.com

133

16 Classical

the scoop on three new

titles in naxos’ american

classics series, godar’s

Mater , schubert’s string

quartets, lang lang’s

Dragon Songs , The Painted

Veil soundtrack, and The

Complete Philadelphia

Orchestra Recordings 1941-

42 set. Plus, three sacD

reviews.

168 TAS back Page

neil gader interviews taD’s

andrew Jones.

168

2007 Absolute Multimedia, Inc., April/May 2007. The Absolute Sound

(ISSN#0097-1138) is published ten times per year, $42 per year for US residents.

Absolute Multimedia, Inc., 4544 S. Lamar, Bldg G300, Austin, Texas 78745. Periodical

Postage paid at Austin, Texas and additional mailing ofices. Canadian publication

mail account #1551566. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Absolute Sound ,

Subscription Services, PO Box 629, Mt Morris, IL 61054. Printed in the USA .

April/May 2007 The Absolute Sound

Letters

after reading through all the AVguide Forum comments. To

add my two cents worth, so to speak, I purchased a pair of

MAGICO Minis without hearing a single note through them prior

to purchase. Before you come to the conclusion that I must be

insane to buy such an expensive product without irst auditioning

it, allow me to tell you about my situation. I live in New Zealand,

a very small antipodean country with a total population of ap-

proximately 4 million people. Although I live in Auckland, the

biggest city, with a population of about 1.4 million, two-channel

high-end audio does not exactly lourish here.

I bought the MMs on the basis of JV’s thorough and compre-

hensive review and of the comments made by other reviewers

such as WG, RH, and HP in the TAS report on last year’s CES.

Because New Zealand is so small, our currency is not strong in-

ternationally and the Minis cost me $45,000 NZ dollars. So what

do I think of them? The short answer is that they are everything

JV says they are. I have had my pair for about three months now,

so they are fully broken in. The level of musical insight the Minis

offer is simply amazing and I am still learning more about them

as I play more music through them. The upgrade from my 15-

year-old pair of Martin-Logan CLS speakers was staggering (by

my reckoning I managed to “resign” myself to them for about 5

or so years longer than JV—per his comments in Issue 99). Much

as I liked the CLSes they are no MAGICO Minis!

I have JV and TAS to thank for bringing the MAGICO Minis

to my attention. I look forward to improving the rest of my

system in due course to get the most out of the Minis.

Tim Whitlock

reviewing, as should TAS. I say this after reading his

recent reviews that appeared in the January 2007 issue and

checking his “associated equipment” list. How he can come to

any fair conclusion about the Gershman Acoustics Black Swan

loudspeakers that he reviewed when he apparently had the TacT

2.2 XP Dynamic Room Correction Preampliier (a DSP unit,

also reviewed in the same issue) in the listening chain is beyond

me. What was he hearing—the speakers, the processor, both? All

this is solved by a review policy banning all DSP being used in

any speaker review, unless the processor is part of the speaker’s

design. True, associated equipment like electronics, source, power

conditioning can also have a major impact, but if those items are

kept constant, maybe the review can be meaningful. Ban DSP

units from speaker reviews, period.

Ken Sheehan

Anthony H. Cordesman replies: The Gershman Acoustics Black

Swan was not reviewed with the Tact 2.2, but rather with

the Pass X0.2 preamp. Moreover, the Tact 2.2—like many DSP

units—has a bypass mode, and its use would not necessari-

ly mean I used any form of DSP. If I had applied any form of

DSP, I would have said so.

Before totally rejecting the use of DSP in reviews, however,

Mr. Sheehan might want to look at the work done over the last

40 years in measuring speaker-room interaction, particularly

below 400Hz. Some rooms are better than others, but even

most anechoic chambers—which are ghastly listening environ-

ments—are not neutral below 100Hz. One way or another, you

have the choice of reviewing room interactions or using DSP.

No one can ever listen to a speaker in an acoustically neutral

environment.

P.S. Even our Burmese cat prefers the MAGICO Minis. He

spends a lot more time listening to music with us than he ever did

with the CLSes, and he sits on axis with his head and ears facing

forward—he is actually listening!

Jonathan Valin replies: Many thanks for the kind words, Tim.

Although I understand your situation, I generally wouldn’t

recommend that anyone buy a product such as the Mini solely

on the basis of a review. That said, if you were in the market for

a world-class two-way, you sure picked the right one!

Robert Harley replies: Our loudspeaker reviews will be

performed without the use of DSP room correction. As Anthony

Cordesman correctly points out, however, the listening

impression of any loudspeaker will be inluenced by the room

in which it is auditioned.

write to The Absolute Sound

Blast From the Past

i remember reading in The Absolute Sound about using a pair

e-mail us:

rharley@absolutemultimedia.com

or write us a letter:

the absolute sound

Po Box 1768 ,

tijeras, new mexico 87059

of Advent speakers in each channel. Now, if I could only

ind a nearly new pair to accomplish this. Does the company

still exist? I bought my irst pair in November 1977, and still

use them. My ears cannot detect any defects. A few years ago, I

6 April/May 2007 The Absolute Sound

Magical Minis

i thought I would add my perspective on the MAGICO Minis

Room Correction in

Loudspeaker Reviews

t ony Cordesman should rethink how he goes about

Letters

was loaned some “high-end” speaker cables, which improved the

quality of sound.

For all I know my Advents could be the longest-lasting pair still

in use. I listen to FM radio any time I’m in my apartment, but the

truth is I seldom ever turn the receiver off. The Advents are the

only speakers that have ever been connected to my receiver—a

Yamaha CR-620, also 29 years old. I calculated that the system

has played for a minimum of 125,000 hours.

My Internet search for Advent hasn’t turned up any information

on the company, but I’d still like to add a second pair of speakers,

as your article suggested.

the Crystal CS4397, which was introduced in 1999. It would

appear that there has been very little development in chips

that focus on CD replay. More recent chips like the BB1792 or

CS4398 are made for universal players.

• CD-only transports like the Phillips and Sony have undergone

minimal development. Only Esoteric seems to be focused on

improving transports.

• It would appear that improvements from CD playback may

only be coming from power supplies, vibration control, and

non-DAC-related areas.

• Basic engineering principles are broken in some designs. (See a

fascinating Web site, www.lessloss.com, for a clear explanation

of this issue. I am not an engineer, but it seemed reasonable.)

• So, it would seem, in 2007, that if you want a high-quality CD

player, you need an Esoteric for the transport, a Resolution

CD21 for the engineering (meaning: upsampling done right),

and something to decode HDCD.

I would be curious to know what you think. There are many

similarities between all the top players and it is hard to distinguish

among them. Given the impossibility of hearing many of these

players under the right circumstances, I am forced to rely on

reviews and guidance from you guys.

Kelly Edwards

HP replies: Did this letter ever bring back memories. I reviewed

the Double Advent system in the irst-ever issue of this

magazine in 1973. The Advents, designed by the legendary

Henry Kloss, were a simple two-way system of unusually low

coloration, an obvious descendent of his classic KLH designs.

When doubled and stacked atop each other (tweeter down in

the top speaker), they produced a superb, and, for the time,

convincing approximation of the sound of music.

I had occasion to hear a double pair in Atlanta not long ago

and, truth to tell, I was just about as stunned then as I was the

irst time I heard them a generation ago. They sounded superb.

They could well hold their own in today’s marketplace, and if

their raised outside edges (that held the grille clothes) were

sanded down, they would also create a genuine soundstage. (At

the time, the double system could be had for just over $500.)

But, no, the original Advent company is no more, though

that doesn’t mean you can’t ind the speaker on the used

market or from other aicionados. I asked Ralph Wallace,

whose Double Advent system I heard in Atlanta, for some

tips. He wrote: “I wish there was a better answer for sourcing

thirty-year-old speakers from a defunct company. Fortunately,

hundreds of thousands were build in the seventies, so there still

exists quite a supply. The drivers are no longer built by anyone.

Regarding the woofer-refoaming suppliers, here are two I know

of: www.rssound.com and www.partsexpress.com .

“A great source for considerable information regarding all

issues Advent is the vintage forum over at www.audioasylum.

com/forums/vintage/bbs.html . There is rarely a day or two

when there is not a thread about them. There is one poster

in particular who goes by the name of ‘Bold Eagle’ (a retired

engineer), who possesses a wealth of useful information about

Advents.”

Peter Schwartz

Robert Harley replies: I agree with many of your assumptions,

Mr. Schwartz. Transport quality has remained static (or declined)

in the face of mass-market price points for players (see this

issue’s cover story for more on this point). In addition, today’s

DACs are asked to decode high-resolution digital audio in a

variety of sampling frequencies and signal formats (PCM and

DSD), and are increasingly integrated with other functions. The

result, in the view of many designers, is that older, dedicated

DAC chips sound better than today’s units for decoding

44.1kHz/16-bit sources. Finally, I share your enthusiasm for the

HDCD process; it should have become a worldwide standard for

CD encoding and decoding.

audio magazine in The Absolute Sound . I hope you will keep

up the same momentum and quality, so your magazine

continues to lourish.

Regarding Jonathan Valin’s review of the Audio Research

Reference 3 preamp and 210 power ampliier, I was delighted [by

it], since I also love ARC products and currently have the VT-200

power ampliier. But I would like to raise a question. In that review

Mr. Valin compares the Ref 3/Ref 210 combo to MBL’s most

expensive stuff. To me, it would be better if he used the Ref 610T

for a fair comparison. So…will we have any chance in the near future

to read any review of the mighty 610T? Unfortunately, I have not

yet found any respectable review of ARC’s lagship ampliier. Is it

Audio Research’s company policy not to provide a pair of 610Ts to

reviewers?

Digital Dilemma

o ver the past year I have embarked on a search to update

Hakan Kalkan

The Absolute Sound April/May 2007

Audio Research 610T

f irst of all, I would like to thank you, as you have a lovely

my CD player (Levinson No.390S, introduced in 2001

and still great, but you know the audiophile itch). During

this process I found out several interesting things:

• Most high-quality players use the Burr Brown 1704K [chip],

which was introduced prior to 2001, I think. Some players use

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