ArtVibes Audio Picasso Loudspeaker

Specs

Material used for the cabinet: Russian plywood

Thickness of the front baffle: 38 mm (1.25 inch)

Dimensions and weight of the speaker: W: 228 mm: H: 1016 mm (1066 mm with puck and spike); D: 254 mm

Weight: approx. 25 kg

Frequency response defined by decibel variation: on axis: 25 Hz-30 kHz (+/- 1 dB); off axis : 25 Hz-20 kHz (+/- 1 dB @ 30 degrees)

Frequency range: 30 Hz-25 kHz (in room response)

Impedance: 8 ohms

Sensitivity in decibels: 87 dB @ 2.83 v/1w

Power handling: 100 watts RMS

Recommended power: 20-100 watts

Warranty duration and terms: 10 years manufacturing faults

Price : 9,995$ – 19,995$ CDN depending on finish


Technical White Paper

Avid Reference One Loudspeaker

Our flagship Reference One loudspeaker is by definition the pinnacle of performance. A statement of our limitless passion and resolve to surpass even our own expectations.

By any margin it's a colossal design, capable of exposing every detail in your music.

Revealing a stunning transparent stereo picture, with an immense sense of power and control with real room-filling capabilities, coupled with a vast dynamic range and power handling, mean you can unleash the ferocious power that our amplifiers can deliver.

As with our other products, all metalwork and construction is done within our own factory. Cabinet construction employs aerospace grade aluminium plate up to 40mm thick. Once crafted together, these form a massive and incredibly rigid, low-resonant structure.

Shunning convention, AVID developed a method that sandwiches the drivers between metal plates, resulting in a superior fixture, damping and guiding unwanted resonances to our vibration damping element and offering a stunning fixture-free appearance.

All cabinets are reflex loaded, providing each drive unit with an optimum working enviroment and maximising low frequency performance. Hidden porting also minimizes room positioning issues and thankfully each speaker is fitted with easy-rolling quick release casters and attractive adjustable solid stainless steel spikes for grounding.

Each crafted cabinet houses no less than four 10" Bass drivers, two 6" Midrange units, a natural sounding 28mm soft dome tweeter and all use Titanium voice coil formers. This material offers great thermal stability and minimizes the effects of eddy currents, improving both dynamics and transient response characteristics.

This material choice, along with the massively large diameter voice coils, means the speaker as a whole is able to handle high-power, yet still accurately reproduce subtle detail at the same time. Adding the ultra rigid cabinet ensures a colouration free sound that's sweet and natural, leaving you enjoying music, not listening to your speakers.

Finished in Black, Bronze or Charcoal Silver with contrasting chrome trim panels.


Specifications

Driver Configuration

HF
1 x 28mm (Titanium voice coil former)

MF
2 x 160mm (75mm Titanium voice coil former)

LF
4 x 254mm (130mm Titanium voice coil former)

Frequency Response
24Hz - 22kHz +/-3dB

Sensitivity
89dB 1W@1m

Recommended Power
80 - 1200W

Impedance
4 Ohm

Crossover Topology
3-way, 2nd Order

Cabinet Construction
Aluminium Plate. All internal volumes sealed with O-Ring gaskets

Dimensions
(cabinet)   1970 x 346 x 522 (HxWxD)
(overall)    2055 x 550 x 540 (HxWxD)

Finishes
Black, Bronze or Charcoal Silver with chrome trim, stainless steel feet

Net weight
340 KG

D'Agostino Progression Mono Amplifier

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Alum Rock Technology 304 TL stereo amplifier

$85000


The 304TL stereo amplifier shown on this site is optimized for use with 8 to 16 ohm high-efficiency speakers and has the following features.

A classic audio channel, in which half of a 6SN7GT dual triode drives a 304TL through an interstage transformer designed specifically for the 6SN7. With the 6SN7's 7,700 ohms plate resistance, the unloaded output of this interstage transformer is typically flat +/- 1/2 dB from 20 to 90,000 Hz. The amplifier uses no feedback.

All transformers are manufactured to the highest standards of quality, using typical military-standard procedures. Visible transformers are styled with end-bells and have similar appearance to the Stancor, Triad, Thordarson or UTC units of the past. However, the output and the plate transformer end-bells are potted. (Detailed photo of an unpainted output transformer.) Transformers and inductors mounted below chassis use heavy machined aluminum frames and specially designed heavy-duty terminal strips.

Direct current 10 V @ 26 A filament supply with choke-input filter.

1,000 VDC @ 300 mA high voltage power supply with:

866A mercury vapor rectifiers.
Choke-input filter, three LC sections, and oil-filled capacitors.

125 uF capacitor in third section. This capacitor stores 62.5 joules.

Autotransformer control of both filament and plate voltage. This allows the user to warm the filaments slowly and to operate the amplifier at reduced plate voltage and dissipation if desired. A mechanical interlock between the autotransformers allows the knobs to be rotated only in the correct sequence. Operation is fail-safe in the event of a power interruption.

Front-mounted bias controls and plate current meters. This, together with control over the plate voltage, allows the operator to choose the quiescent operating point of the 304TLs.

12 gauge steel chassis, with extensive use of machined aluminum plates and mountings.

3/8 inch thick borosilicate (Pyrex) glass cover.

Gain control and three inputs via pairs of XLR connectors, wired for unbalanced input in the Ampex convention. (Pin 2 is signal ground, pin 3 is signal.)

Convection cooling and quiet operation, with attention paid to audible hum which can be mechanically generated by power components.

Frequency response +/- 1/2 dB from 21 to 20,000 Hz.

Output and damping capabilities:

50 Vpp maximum.
3 ohms effective source impedance.
30 W/channel at 500 Hz and 10 W/channel at 20 Hz into 8 ohms at the 5% total harmonic distortion level.

Voltage gain (no load) 10.

Hum and noise less than 2 mVrms.

Heat dissipation approximately 300 W plus 304TL plate dissipation, which is determined by the quiescent operation point chosen and is 300 W maximum.

Case temperature measurements:

At 100 mA plate current: 38° C temperature rise above ambient (24° C) at the hottest spot, which is the portion of the left side panel directly opposite the left 304TL.

At 150 mA: 41° C temperature rise at the same hottest spot. Typical case temperature rise at this current (at places such as the front of the chassis) is approximately 16° C.

Reezoldini Master R7F

Master R-series

Röhrenschmiede Comet Preamplifier

Röhrenschmiede new preamplifer with OTL headphone amplifier and adjustable phono input.

Quad Z Series loudspeakers

Quad latest loudspeaker range, the Z Series, is the first of many new products planned for 2016 in celebration of the brand’s 80th year.

The new range combines advanced Kevlar-coned bass and midrange drivers with a ribbon tweeter. The Z Series takes this fundamental design to a whole new level with reengineered drive units, crossovers and cabinets. The range comprises two standmount models (Z-1 and Z-2) and two floorstanders (Z-3 and Z-4).

The Z-1 stands 383mm high and incorporates a 150mm bass/mid cone, while the larger S-2 uses a 175mm bass/mid cone. The two floorstanders sport three-way configurations, coupling a 150mm midrange driver with two 175mm bass drivers in the Z-3, and three 165mm bass drivers in the Z-4.

All Z Series models have a bespoke ribbon tweeter. Like the ribbon unit developed for the S Series, the composite sandwich construction of the Z Series ribbon ensures “it is robust enough to handle high-powered amplifiers”, but at 90x12mm it is significantly larger than the S Series ribbon.

Designed especially for the Z Series, the speakers’ bass and midrange drive units use cones fashioned from woven Kevlar – an exceptionally strong yet light aramid fibre that is as ideally suited to speaker diaphragms as it is body armour. A key feature of these drive units is their unique double-roll cone surround, “which controls breakup modes to enhance accuracy and transparency”, coupled to a cast aluminum basket.

All the Z Series models feature bass reflex loading. This incorporates a dual-chamber filter system inside the cabinet, with the reflex port exiting via a specially shaped expansion chamber in the plinth that is filled with resistive foam. The treble, midrange and bass units are aligned via a phase-compensated Acoustic Butterworth crossover devised using computer-aided design coupled with listening tests.

Every Z Series model cabinet is constructed from multiple layers of wood fibre composites of varying density, extensively strengthened using multiple circumferential braces, all of which reduces panel resonance to “below the level of audibility”. Each speaker is has a piano lacquered finish, made up of multiple layers of piano lacquer, each layer being hand-polished to a high gloss before the next layer is applied.


Recommended retail prices per pair:

Z-1: £1200
Z-2: £1500
Z-3: £2500
Z-4: £3200

DR Acoustics Pegasus II Silver Ultra Reference Edition

$1795


High Quality SafeConn chrome plated stainless steel power plug cover

Exclusive double 4 gauge cable (AWG)

99.99% copper (OFC)

High-performance copper jacket

Silver-plated copper for maximum resolution

2 x 1,800-individual strand conductor

Micro-silicates technology

Male and female rhodium-plated connectors

Available with European plugs (Schuko)

Optional 20-A C19 connector

High-quality nylon outer jacket

Large 45-mm diameter

Length: 1.8 m

Custom lengths available

Weight of 5 kg for a 1.8-m cable

Solid ABS Carrying Case

30-day refund policy

Lawrence Audio Bul Bul

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Soundkaos Libération

Libération is a completely open system with no box, so no added colouration.

With a driver array of 2x 8″ full range, dipole ribbon super tweeter and a 15″ woofer per side the soundstage and imaging it presents is astoundingly real and with such a large woofer the low end has superb dimension and scale.

True to the Soundkaos design philosophy it looks as good as it sounds, with most dipole design you end up with a untidy and messy rear end.  Not with Libération, it comes with beautifully finished phosphors bronze covers for both front and rear.

Scheduled for relaese in summer 2016.

Zellaton Legacy at Bristol Sound & Vision 2016

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Trafomatic Head 2

Review

Audio Research Reference 6 in black

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Symposium Acoustics Osiris rack system

Info

PS Audio DirectStream Junior Dac

The advanced FPGA and pure DSD technology employed in DirectStream was expensive, our most expensive DAC ever made. PerfectWave customers were asked to spend an additional 41% to enjoy the benefits of designer Ted Smith's seminal effort at redefining the very architecture of digital to analog conversion. And many thousands of customers did.

But not all could afford DirectStream. Many loyal PS customers had to sit on the sidelines, priced out of the market. Within a few months of DirectStream's launch, work began on a lower cost version code-named "Junior".


DirectStream Junior

Ted Smith learned much in the 7 years it took him to develop DirectStream. At first blush it seemed a relatively straightforward task to develop a lower cost version by taking costs out of low hanging fruit like the chassis, user interface, and PC boards. But our goals were loftier than that.

Our product directive asked for similar architecture to DirectStream in a PerfectWave-like chassis, with the network Bridge built in and performance not less than 85% of the original. A tall order by any measure.

Retooling the chassis, replacing the touch screen with a less expensive OLED display and manual volume control was relatively straightforward work by PS Engineering. The real challenge fell upon Ted Smith's shoulders. How do you get 85% of an instrument's performance with 41% less to spend? The answer turns out to have a number; two years of hard work. The end result is DirectStream Junior.

Who did we build DirectStream Junior for?

Customers who want to uncover what's been missing in their libraries, but could not manage a DirectStream DAC. At $3,999, DirectStream Jr. (DSJ), with its built in Bridge II, is slightly more than half a similarly outfitted DirectStream (DS). That makes it a  a more cost effective DAC than even the original PWD.

No, it is not a DirectStream when it comes to ultimate performance, but DirectStream Junior offers 85% of DirectStream's performance at a significantly lower price.

Soon DS and DSJ owners will enjoy pure SACD

And there is another compelling reason for you to step up to DirectStream or DirectStream Junior. SACD raw. In October of this year PS Audio will launch DirectStream Transport (DST). DST will play SACD in raw DSD if connected to either DirectStream or DirectStream Junior through their I²S inputs. For the first time, you will truly appreciate what has been buried on your SACD, DVD-A, and BluRay Audio discs.


DST will stream pure DSD from SACD only with connected FPGA based DirectStream DACs.

Audible differences

The two instruments have near identical character of sound. Full, rich, warm, never electronic. Both units share the remarkable ability of helping Red Book CDs sound close to high resolution audio, and uncover a wealth of music long buried in home libraries.

Where the two deviate is in terms of spatial accuracy, transparency, separation of instruments, soundstage width and treble accuracy. The best measure of these differences can be expressed in percentage. DirectStream Junior provides 85% of DirectStream's performance in the aforementioned areas. The differences are not glaring, and auditioned in a vacuum, DirectStream Junior will impress listeners as one of the finest audible experiences they have yet had.

Compared to any other DAC at anywhere near the price, DirectStream Junior stands head and shoulders above the pack.


Firmware updates

DirectStream Junior operates with the same FPGA architecture as DirectStream, though the firmware is not identical. Differences in the front panel board and output stages between the two instruments requires different code.

DirectStream Junior is upgradeable just as DirectStream is, though they use different storage mechanisms. DirectStream relies on SD card storage, Junior, USB memory sticks for upgrades.

When DirectStream receives another upgrade, as we released between Pikes and Yale, DirectStream Junior will also be updated at the same time to enjoy the same benefits as DirectStream.

Summary

DirectStream took 7 years to design and launch. Its technology of upconverting both PCM and DSD to a pure DSD analog stream has never been copied and sets the standard for all DACs to aspire.

Avid Reference Three

€46000

Metaxas Solitaire Diamond Stereo Amplifier

World Premiere : Munich Hi End Show, May 5-8th, Room F204

Avid Reference Series Speakers

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TEO Audio Liquid Pre Preamplifier

The Liquid Pre is a purist’s dream: a passive preamplifier with only an input selector and volume control, using the highest quality input and output connectors, and eschewing the use of transformers.

Transformers are not necessary in this unit because it employs Liquid Cable technology throughout, which effects perfect impedance matching between source and amplifier, and the liquid cable conductors scale volume exceptionally well. The Physics article and the Technical Background article give insight into the reasons for use of liquid conductor material.

The Liquid Pre embodies simplicity at its highest level, as does a racing yacht or a Formula One car.

Judciously placed vibration control materials are located within the case of the Liquid Pre for the purpose of tuning, as the performance of the Liquid Pre is so refined that everything matters. In fact the center foot on the bottom of the unit is interchangeable for the purpose of voicing the system in which it is used: soft to hard. Even placing a thin item such as a business card under the center foot can tailor the sound. Similarly, one does not want to place anything on top of the Liquid Pre such as a book, as it will be detrimental to the performance.

Four pairs of inputs and one pair of outputs are standard. Single ended RCA only.

The input selector switch is hand modified from using two NOS units with the correct specifications.

The volume control is a 23 position stepped attenuator and is a modified hand built unit.