Music lovers (and reviewers) long for those listening moments when their entire being lights up with joy. For me, that divine spark surfaced unexpectedly one February afternoon when, late for an appointment, I dashed into the music room, searching for my keys. That’s when I heard a bit of the 24/96 WAV files of this issue’s Recording of the Month, conductor Andris Nelsons’s mammoth survey of the complete orchestral works of Richard Strauss, which I’d cued up on repeat to help Meitner’s MA3 integrated D/A converter ($10,500) settle in. I didn’t know which of Nelsons’s two orchestras, the Boston Symphony Orchestra or the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, was playing—what was clear, even from the hallway, was the glorious, silken smoothness of the strings. Those strings sounded so heavenly, so right, and so absolutely in tune with what a superb conductor can bring forth from the finest orchestras that I immediately knew my time with the MA3 would be a treat.
What it is
The MA3 is manufactured in Canada by Meitner Audio, the lower-priced brand of digital audio pioneer Ed Meitner’s EMM Labs. A trickledown product derived from EMM’s DV2 Integrated Converter ($30,000) and flagship DA2 V2 Stereo D/A Converter (also $30,000), the MA3 uses the same fully discrete, one-bit DAC circuit, with an internal conversion rate of 16×DSD (alternatively described as DSD1024); incoming data is upsampled to that frequency—1024 × “Red Book’s” 44.1kHz—then converted bit by bit. Meitner/EMM’s DSD technology stems from the company’s work with Sony/Philips to refine the SACD’s possibilities through innovations in DSD recording, mastering, and playback.1
SPECIFICATIONS
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Denne historien er fra June 2022-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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My last Far East trip
First comes the anticipation, that initial jet of warm water, that miraculous searching, finding the sweet spot, then heaven on earth as it cleans and caresses.
Riding the Common Wave
In the e-commerce era, brick-and-mortar dealerships must give customers compelling reasons to stop by. Los Angeles hi-fi dealership Common Wave's owner Wesley Katzir keeps customers coming through the door with a simple idea: that music matters in our everyday lives and that what he enjoys, other people will enjoy, too.
Mind Games to the bottom of the rabbit hole
After a wild decade in the biggest pop music group ever, John Lennon's post-Beatles years were spent in protest, in various kinds of therapy, in immigration court, and in search of a new musical identity.
Trane meets the Motor City
Detroit became a destination for migrating African Americans early, starting with the Underground Railroad; the city's proximity to Canada was convenient for those seeking to escape Southern slavery.
Vital art never rests
At this late date, it seems impossible that there could still be \"lost\" albums lingering in the vaults by musicians as important and successful as Johnny Cash and Paul McCartney.
DUKE IN 10
TO COMMEMORATE THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF DUKE'S DEATH, ROBERT BAIRD SELECTS A DOUBLE HANDFUL OF EXEMPLARY TRACKS FROM PERHAPS AMERICA'S GREATEST MUSICAL GENIUS.
Piega Coax Gen2 811
It's funny how we discover some music in unexpected, twisting ways.
Pass Laboratories XP-27
One of the pleasures of reviewing-and also using-products from Pass Laboratories is an encounter with Nelson Pass's writing, which can usually be found in the owner's manual and is always competent, insightful, and sometimes funny.
EMT 928 II
Modern turntables are a paradox.
Dynaudio Contour 30i
Ah, Denmark. Land of the Vikings and blue-eyed, blond-haired folk with faces sculpted just so.
