The LVR Colour its transparency with a kind of golden - honey quality
As much as I admire Belgian amplifier designer Bruno Putzeys’s accomplishments, I have harbored some misgivings about class-D amplifier sound. I do not believe it represents the future of perfectionist audio. Despite the fact that today’s active loudspeakers depend entirely on class-D’s free horsepower, lightweight, and low-temperature operation, I think it sounds vacant compared to class A. Class-D’s primary engineering virtues are its extreme power-to-weight ratio and power-efficiency, as well as its high damping factor. Class-D’s chief audiophile virtue is its uncanny transparency, especially in the six lowest octaves, ie, below 1.3kHz. When I listen to good class-D (with a fat, stable linear power supply), I feel like I am gazing into a clear, glass-smooth pond. I can see all the way to the bottom. But (sigh) there are no fish in the pond.
As you already know, I am the Prince of Serendip. For this month I discovered, almost by accident, a power amplifier that puts live fish (and tadpoles and turtles) into a class-D amplifier pond.
The amp I’ve stumbled on is LKV Research’s $10,000 Veros PWR+ stereo amplifier. I first experienced it at Capital Audiofest 2019, where the sound in the LKV room— with the Sonner Audio Legato Unum loudspeakers—struck a remarkable balance between analytical and romantic. I knew something unusually good must be causing that. After a long audition, I told LKV Research’s chief-of-everything, Bill Hutchins, that I thought his Veros PWR+ amp sounded more class-A than class-D and asked, may I please review it?
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Denne historien er fra September 2020-utgaven av Stereophile.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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INSTANTLY ICONIC
AUDIO SALON HOST/ENTREPRENEUR/SYSTEM AND FASHION DESIGNER DEVON TURNBULL'S RECORD-BREAKING ART OF NOISE SHOWING AT SAN FRANCISCO MOMA.
Buckeye PURIFI EIGENTAKT 1ET9040BA1
Back in 2016,' I documented the rise of class-D amps using the early Tripath technology. Used in the Bel Canto eVo 200.2, TriPath cracked open the door to the High End but was never admitted due to a dim and opaque treble.
Moon 891
No less than eight boxes, powered by six after-market power cables, comprise my current reference front-end.'
Clearaudio Signature
The Clearaudio allowed each mix, each sonic artifact, to reveal its unique character.
Gryphon Audio Designs Diablo 333
What's in a name? Denmark-based Gryphon Audio Designs laid down a marker when company founder Flemming Rasmussen chose that name in 1985. Browsing through the current Stereophile Recommended Components list, I only found one other manufacturer that utilizes an animal moniker.
The Rega Naia Turntable. Add Lightness.
To watch as Rega very slowly expands its turntable offerings upmarket requires the patience of a Thomas Pynchon addict waiting for each new tome from the notoriously slow-working and reclusive author.
Phono Preamplifier Seduction
Give me the seduction, give me the pleasure,\" Ron Sutherland was nearly shouting into the phone. \"I want to turn off the analytical mind and just enjoy myself!\"
Record Player Revelations
Like romance or car racing, the act of playing records is tactile by design. Like drifting through curves or making out, spinning vinyl is a learned skill that requires users to touch everything with practiced assurance.
Taking Care of Business
As Jim Austin wrote in this space in the December 2024 issue, following a medical procedure that he had in mid-October, he needed to take several weeks' leave to recuperate. He delegated the magazine's production to Managing Editor Mark Henninger, AVTech Editorial Director Paul Miller, and myself. The three of us worked with copy editor Linda Felaco and longtime art director Jeremy Moyler to produce the issue you hold in your hands.
Estelon X Diamond Mk II
Taste is a funny thing. Love cilantro? Millions swear it tastes like soap.
