Review: Denon AU-S1 step up transformer

 

Moving back to a low output moving coil has been a real eye-opener.  Yes I had experience with the venerable Denon DL-103R mounted on a rather sketchy VPI HW19 Mark III with a Rega RB300.  But, at least with that system from long ago, I never quite cottoned to the sound I was getting.  I wanted more.  Luckily I found it (some time later!) with the Rega Planar 8 with a Rega Ania Pro MC cartridge.  This combination has quickly become my favorite analog reproducer so far.

My MC step-up transformer is the popular Cinemag 1254 which did its job quite admirably.  Nonetheless I had a nagging thought I could do better here.  Would a passive device, especially something made of wound wire actually make a difference?  I had to find out.  So I read and read some more, trying to find an affordable venue to follow.  I thought of buying some Lundahl transformers and DIYing my own case.  Or I could have gotten anything else, including an active device to give me that additional gain needed for the low 350 micro volt output of the Ania Pro.

Several searches on Ebay and I saw a Denon AU-S1 unit for sale.  It looked extremely well built, more so than my Cinemag "transformers on a box" look.  But finding information on the Denon was, to be blunt, extremely difficult.  It was designed for Denon's once top-of-the-line cartridge, the DL-S1 that cost a princely $1000 way back in 1996.  The transformers themselves are mounted horizontally in the case with padding to reduce vibration.  How much this would work in real life is questionable.

After several audio philosophical discussions a friend, I decided to take the risk on purchasing the AU-S1.  It was the idea that something like this would be of the highest quality given the amount of time and research that a company like Denon can do.  There was only way to find out.  Thankfully the Japanese seller was very quick and I received the transformer(s) in only three days.  The AU-S1 weighs _alot_ for such a small thing.  Build quality was extremely good with gold-plated RCA jacks and (oddly enough) separate grounding lugs for each channel.

 I took out the Cinemags and put the Denon in its place.  Turning the volume up I was immediately taken aback by the amount of hum I was getting out of the speakers.  Moving the AU-S1 around and I was able to get some reduction in noise but still I wasn't happy about it.  It wasn't until I touched my fingers to the left RCA outside jack and then to the ground lug that the hum completely disappeared.  It's the nature of the Rega turntable output connection which doesnt have a separate ground wire.   To circumvent this grounding issue I took a length of solid-core bare wire and wrapped it several times around the left RCA outside lug with one end plugged into the ground lug of the AU-S1.  After that I was hum free!

Well, dear readers, that was a lot of introduction for something that was ultimately bought as an experiment.  How does it sound?  Read on.

Initial impressions were good - solid bass, a "cleaner" view of the soundstage, and just better air. Several records later and a listening session with my audiophile friend and I can say the Denon AU-S1 was a worthwhile upgrade.   

Does it surpass the Cinemags?  Yes.

The Denon reproduces the space around instruments better - such as the horns on Lonnie Liston Smith's Visions of a New World.  This gives the impression of more body and weight.  

And speaking of body, the bass is terrific.  It feels like an extra octave is being recovered - not bloated - but detailed with depth and slap.  Something that was really apparent on Brian Bennet's Voyage album as the excellent bass player provides the space age groove.

Soundstaging is deeper and wider than before.  An example of this is the beautiful Dead Can Dance album Into the Labyrinth.  The second song, "The Ubiquitous Mr Lovegrove," has a moment where the drum shifts left and right, now well detailed beyond the edges of my KEF speakers.  A true demo disc moment.

Overall there seems to be less grain than before.  Why?  I have no idea.  The purity of the copper?  The padding reducing microphonics?  The quality of the transformer windings?  Your guess is as good as mine but the clarity is higher than before and that's all that matters.  Finesse would be a fine word to discuss these SUTs, and given their roughly $700USD price they are a good bang for the buck.  Perhaps, when funds permit, I'll try something more expensive.

Denon AU-S1 Step-up Transformer Specifications
- Ratio: 1:13
- Frequency range: 10Hz-80kHz
- Size: W150 x H70 x D175mm
- Weight: 7.1 pounds

Review: Sovtek 12AX7WA

 I have a love and hate relationship with Russian tubes.  Some of them - like the ECC99 - rival some of the best vintage American and European tubes, while others, like much of the Electro-Harmonix line sounds like solid-state in a bottle.  Yes these tubes can be transparent but they are often lacking in detail or suffer from an aggressive treble and upper midrange.

The early Russian tubes, that first were available in the 1990s to the Western World, were godsend to the tube-o-phile community.  They were cheap and rugged.  An example of this is the 5881WXT which could take the current hungry bias of the Harmon-Kardon Citation V.  Even a RCA blackplate of the era would start to glow on the seams.  But not these Russian mil-spec tubes.

It's been my belief - shared by some friends too - that Russian tubes have good metallurgy but not the best cathode chemistry.  Yes they are rugged, but many of them have the already mentioned issues with the higher frequencies.

As for the Sovtek 12AX7WA, it has a pair of very small coated plates and what I would call a primitive looking spacer that should be made out of mica.  The pins ends are sharp but overall construction looks quite good.  I plugged it into my Frankenstein EICO ST70, which provides the initial gain before the 6SN7 phase-splitter.

The Sound:  Initially I was surprised how much I like the Sovtek.  The sound was very transparent and, at first listen, very modern sounding.  I was reminded of a really good JFET preamplifier or MOSFET amplifier - big, dynamic and smooth.  But, like the aforementioned solid-state gear, lacking in inner detail.  The soundstage was also smeared a bit, removing the space around individual instruments and the big front-to-back sound of a vintage Mullard.  Dynamics in the upper part of the spectrum became a little rough/forced sounding with the Sovtek.

What I'm really finding - at least so far - is that modern tubes often has a good tonal presentation but lack in inner detail and making a big soundstage.  I'm curious to the reason why this is true.  Is this linearity or an artificial presentation brought on by - an unknown variable?  We shall have to continue and have some vintage comparisons.  More later!

Review: Rega Planar 8 turntable

 

I've owned a half-dozen turntables in my time.  Starting with an old Technics direct driver with a p-mount cartridge and working through two VPIs, a long running Dual CS5000, and two Thorens of varying vintages.  Except for some experimentation with the Denon DL-103R MC, it has mostly been MM cartridges of different expenses.  I thought, for example that the Thorens TD309 and Ortofon Bronze cartridge was very good - especially for the price - combination.

Well the past few months living with a new Rega RP8 and Ania Pro MC cartridge has been a real eye-opener.  Gone is the fuzziness and opaqueness of the MM sound, replaced by more detail and a bigger soundstage.  The experience has changed my mind about the moving magnet.  Though the Rega Ania Pro MC needs a step-up transformer  - in my case Cinemag 1254s - the speed and transparency has brought everything up to a much higher level of refinement.

Since there are already several reviews of the 'table I will keep it short.

The biggest surprise with the Rega combination is the bass and dynamics.  It was always my belief that a "real" turntable required a gagillion pound platter and base.  Instead the RP8 is decidedly unimpressive - at least visually - compared to something like a VPI Aries.  How did Rega do it?  I have no idea about the mechanical engineering behind this table, but, to my ears, is just works.  Perhaps it is the turntable acting as a whole system with a cartridge, arm, and everything else like the included speed controller working together.

Soundstaging, like on several original Dead Can Dance LPs, is superlative.  We are talking a rounded arc left-to-right that goes beyond the edges of the speaker, along with exceptional depth.  The coloration and clarity of something like Lonnie Liston Smith's Visions of a New World comes through much better than my now-departed Thorens TD309/Ortofon 2M Bronze.  This is also a big sound turntable with excellent resolution and separation of instruments; exceeding any front end I've ever had before.

Yes the Rega RP8 is much more expensive than my previous turntable but, at least in this case, the cost was worth the sonic upgrade.  Not only does my whole system sound that much better, but everything from the preamp to the amplifier and even the speakers sound way better than their price point. 

Very, very recommended.

System:

• Audio Research SP8
• modified Eico ST70 with 6AR6 tubes
• Cardas Neutral Reference interconnects
• KEF R500 speakers with Mogami stranded wiring
  
• Dual CS5000 turntable with an Ortofon OM20 cart, aftermarket Shibata Stylus

Review: JJ ECC83S short plate 12AX7

 

To be honest my expectations for this 12AX7 was low.  I haven't had a JJ tube in any of my gear for well over a decade.  Nothing personal, mind you, but back then I was all about more exotic tubes like the C3m, 5687s, EL156s, and whatnot.  JJ has been around since 1994, built on the ashes of Tesla and Ei.  Their small signal tubes aren't mentioned all that much on the forums I visit, or at least I missed the posts.

This particular version of the 12AX7 looks to be based on the famed Telefunken ECC803S, which also had a Tesla copy.  The architecture has small plates that are very similar to a 6DJ8.  This should translate to low microphonics.

As for the sound, at least as the gain tube for a power amplifier, the JJ ECC83S was better than I expected.  There is an overall darkness, making this a good match for some zingier MC cartridges or digital front ends.  This is a "chocolate" expression of the music, with solid and tuneful bass, warm mids, and a high end (to my older ears) that is even less detailed than a Mullard. 

Inner detail with the JJ is less than the long plate Mullard; a slight smearing of instrument and vocal space along with soundstage depth.  Nonetheless at least the JJ sounds like an vacuum tube unlike some of the inexpensive Russian offerings I've heard.  So, much like the TJ and the Psvane, a solid offering but, and your mileage will vary, not exceeding the better old stock versions of the 12AX7 I've heard.

Review: Psvane 12AX7

 

The Psvane T-12AX7, apparently the base version, is a Chinese design that looks much like a vintage one with gray ribbed plates, quality construction, and steel pins.  The triple-layed mica also looks good.  Bulb size, like so many other new tubes, is slightly larger than my collection of old stock, a mm or two difference in height and circumference..

Break-in was approximately fifty hours as the driver tube in my Frankenstein Eico ST70.  This is basically the classic Mullard 5-20 circuit.  It's been my general experience that the driver tube - before the phase splitter - has a high impact on the overall amplifier sound, more so than the phase-splitter or even the output tubes.

Listening was initially done while reading a book.  There were several times where I had to look up from the pages to truly appreciate what I was hearing.  Like the TJ FullMusic, the Psvane has a great almost vintage tone.  I was hearing little details - an example is Lonnie Liston Smith's Vision of a New World - that I thought weren't apparent to my standard vintage Mullard.  I was beginning to feel some really high hopes for this Psvane.

However some further, more detailed listening, some of it shared with an old audiophile friend with an extensive knowledge of 12AX7s both new and old, began to show some weaknesses.  Though the sound was never muffled, the Psvane, like the TJ, also lacked inner detail and bloom around the instruments.  But wait a minute, you say, where did that extra detail you mentioned go?  It is a strange effect of the Psvane: suppression of reverberation both artificial or natural, pushed some information forward.

Keep in mind this is still the best new production 12AX7 I've heard and I could see use for it in gear or speakers that aren't the most transparent.  The bass was excellent, there was a distinct lack of glare unlike some lesser "solid-state in a bottle" new production tubes.  The midrange was also even as was the treble.  It was just the lack of detail that stopped the Pvane running with the best of the vintage 12AX7s.

Disclaimers: No tube is 100% perfect for all gear.  The only way to be sure how a tube will sound in _your_ system is to hear it.  Also a tube in a phono stage, for example, may have different audio characteristics than say line, input, or phase-splitter use.

 Negative feedback - several dB in this circuit - also reduces the sonic signature of the tube.  An example of this came apparent to me when I built a triode-connected EF86 linestage.  The tube selection - GEC CV4085 and the Mullard "long mesh" were the best - played a big role in the sound quality.  However the EF86 in my Eico HF60 monoblocks were less important, most likely due to the loop negative feedback or perhaps the total number of tubes in play with a more complicated circuit.

 It should also be noted that I am not biased towards vintage tubes.  I really do want a new tube that can compete with the old.

So take this review as a general guideline, not as hard fact.

Review: TJ FullMusic 12AX7

 

 

The TJ Full Music 12AX7 is a box plate Chinese design that looks much like a vintage Mullard M8137 and completely unlike any other current new 12AX7 offering.  The gold pins are a nice touch, and it looks like actual mica (?) was used instead of the whatever the heck is used for the Shuguang small tubes.  Bulb size is slightly larger than my collection of old stock, a few mm difference in height and circumference..

Break-in was approximately fifty hours as the driver tube in my Frankenstein Eico ST70.  This is basically the classic Mullard 5-20 circuit.  It's been my experience that the driver tube - before the phase splitter - has a high impact on the overall amplifier sound, more so than the phase-splitter or even the output tubes.   

Tonally the TJ 12AX7 was one of the better new production tubes I've heard so far.  I was initially hard-pressed to hear any difference between it and a quality old tube like a 1950s Mullard.  Bass definition and instrumental shading of the TJ was particularly good, but, even as the hours piled on, I detected a slight muffled sound.  There was a lack - especially compared to the Mullard - of inner detail or instrumental/vocal bloom.  That is to say the TJ had a flatter and smaller presentation.  I'm reminded of an inexpensive cartridge or CD player; the magic "glow" or shimmer, whatever one prefers to call it, was pulled back on the soundstage.

The old Mullard, in comparison, sounded bigger and had better bloom.  The music was more "filled in" with depth and soundstage width.

Do the TJs need more break-in?  I really didn't hear large differences between hour zero and fifty so I remain skeptical.  Nonetheless I did like the TJ tonally, especially compared to some other new production valves I have heard, but I was ultimately disappointed.  I do want new tubes that can perform in the realm of the best of the old.  At least with this tube I'm not hearing it!

Disclaimers: No tube is 100% perfect for all gear.  The only way to be sure how a tube will sound in _your_ system is to hear it.  Also a tube in a phono stage, for example, may have different audio characteristics than say line, input, or phase-splitter use.

 Negative feedback - several dB in this circuit - also reduces the sonic signature of the tube.  An example of this came apparent to me when I built a triode-connected EF86 linestage.  The tube selection - GEC CV4085 and the Mullard "long mesh" were the best - played a big role in the sound quality.  However the EF86 in my Eico HF60 monoblocks were less important, most likely due to the loop negative feedback or perhaps the total number of tubes in play with a more complicated circuit.

So take this review as a general guideline, not as hard fact.

Review: Denon DCD-600NE CD player

 (image from the Denon website)

I still remember the first time I heard a CD player - this was at some teenage party back in the mid-1980s and I was rather impressed how loud it played.  Hey this was before I knew what being an audiophile was.  It was a year later when my dad bought a Magnavox player for his system.  I spent a mighty chunk of change - $22 - buying a Misfits compilation that, sadly, ended up sounding very bright, thin, and irritating to the point where a headache soon came on.  Later, in college, when I got into tube gear, I owned a Theta Basic DAC.   However I still thought my Thorens TD-166 turntable with a $20 Grado Black cartridge served the soul of music much better.

Years later there was a time that I was into digital.  By then vinyl was getting harder to get a hold of and the CD re-issues were pumping out some excellent compilations of rarer groups.  I started experimenting with several DIY modifications and designs.  For example, the transformer-coupled RAKK DAC was one of the better iterations of digital I have ever heard.  But in the end it was analog that won my heart.  Over the years my CD collection continued to shrink while my passion for vinyl increased and became the focal point of my system.

Time marched on - CDs are now ridiculously cheap.  From a purely music lovers point-of-view, they are an easy way to build a music collection, especially compared to the now high price of vinyl.  I decided once again to buy a CD player, hoping that technology has improved the Red Book standard.

But what to get?  I searched through Ebay and Audiogon, looking at several vintage models.  Ideally I wanted something with a digital out so I could experiment with DACs in the future.  Accessories 4 Less came to the rescue with a refurbished Denon DCD-600NE player that featured a 32 bit DAC and AL32 processing that - to quote their website - "expands audio data to 32 bits and uses a proprietary algorithm to interpolate the data and perform up-conversion and sampling, achieving a playback sound that is close to the original source."  So, as my friend likes to joke, "Perfect Sound Forever just got MORE perfect."

The Denon DCD-600NE is a stripped down player and - shockingly - has a metal enclosure.  If you want to use the full functions - random play, direct mode, track programming, etc, - this is where the rather large remote comes into play.  Digital out is via Optical - not ideal - but this may point to a future Schiit Bifrost 2 DAC upgrade.

So how does this little beast sound?  Initial impressions weren't the best.  There was a forwardness to the sound that was tiring, along with a sense that, compared to even my lowly Dual CS5000 turntable, that 20% of the musical information was just missing.  What I mean are the spatial cues were gone, rendering the voice and instruments as very two-dimensional.  A good reproduction system should have depth along with breadth, transporting the listener to the mind of the producer, or with some classical recordings, to the venue itself.  Instead the Denon reminded me once again why I prefer vinyl for home listening.

After a few days of break-in I decided it was time for some comparisons against two different turntables along with some general impressions.

The forwardness was reduced but there is no other way to say this - this budget Denon still sounds like digital.  Compared to the same LP, the CD is missing reverb cues; either the room or artificial.  An example of this is Willie Nelson's Stardust.  The body of the acoustic guitar is gone, leaving just the top layer of the guitar notes.  The "black background" sounds uncanny but not in a good way.  It's like a black hole of information - nothing is there! - compared to the warmth and fullness of analog which captures the space of the room and the size of the instruments.  It feels as if the music has gone through some kind of horrible clinical ward, stripping off the flesh of the music and leaving only the bones.

Now that does sound like a harsh review.  To be fair some CDs were better than others, like a few Chet Baker albums in my collection that sounded quite good.  Jazz is usually well-recorded but I still preferred my LP versions - even with my second turntable, a budget Dual CS5000.  At least with analog my brain connects to the music and I can relax.  With digital I am still gritting my teeth and feel uncomfortable with the overall presentation.

Maybe a DAC will bring some improvements.  We shall see!

System:

• Audio Research SP8
• modified Eico ST70 with 6AR6 tubes
• Cardas Neutral Reference interconnects
• KEF R500 speakers
• Dual CS5000 turntable with an Ortofon OM20 cart, aftermarket Shibata Stylus
• Thorens TD309 with Ortofon 2M Bronze
  

Review: A Tale of Two Schiits - Mani 1 vs Mani 2 phono preamp

(photo from Schiit)

I've been using the original Schiit Mani 1 phono preamplifier for some time.  Its sole purpose has been to provide the needed amplification and equalization for my second turntable, the Dual CS5000.  It has done well plugged into the line section of the Audio Research SP8, which has a phono section that is used for the primary turntable, a Thorens TD309.

To be fair, the Mani is a budget phono stage so I could put up with the slight graininess, mid-fi resolution, and the general lower fidelity.  For all the Mani 1's faults, it is still better than a lot of stock phono sections found in budget receivers, preamps, and integrateds.  And given the mostly background music it was used for I had no complaints.

A recent visit to the Schiit Audio site and I saw that a second version of the Mani has been released, this one using a different op-amp and it was also direct-coupled.  The case looks exactly the same but the dip switches on the bottom have changed, allowing more settings for MM and MC cartridges.

To cut to the chase, compared to the old version, the new Mani 2 is more detailed, faster, has better resolution, deeper bass, and higher overall fidelity.  It also images, left-to-right in a fashion that will be most pleasing.  It isn't perfect - nothing is! - but it does swing at a higher than the $149 (black face model) price point suggests.

Where the Mani 2 ultimately fails - compared to the Audio Research SP8 or the Classe Five - is inner detail and that certain "you are there" magic that I've heard with these more expensive units.  The soundstage of the former is also flatter without that depth I've come to expect.   However, to be fair. the Mani 2 does strike awfully close to better preamps making my budget Dual CS5000 sound a lot closer to the combination of Thorens TD309 and the ARC SP8 phono stage.  Depending on your front end, amps, and speakers, this difference may not matter at all.

 As always your mileage may vary depending on your front end, setup, and preferred listening habits.

System:

• Dual CS5000 with Ortofon OM20 and an aftermarket Shibata stylus
• Thorens TD309 with Ortofon 2M Bronze
• Audio Research SP8 with vintage Mullard 12AX7s 
• Eico ST70 "Frankenstein" amplifier with 6AR6 output tubes
• KEF R500 speakers
• MIT interconnects
• Cardas Twinlink speaker cables
  

Short Review: a Hafler SE-120 amplifier

 

This is a Rockford Corp era amplifier good for 60WPC; made to be _not_ user friendly versus the kit amps of yore. This one looks to have been around the block though some face plate cleaning helped to remove a bit of yellowing.

The amp sounded a little tired so I went in and replace the main electrolytic capacitors, the input caps, and two of the smaller power supply rail caps. Needless to say getting to the underside was very frustrating with the number of screws, removing the output mosfets from the heatsink, and pinching the nylon standoffs to free the PCB. In the end I also checked the bias, cleaned the RCAs and speaker jacks.

After my work: Overall it is a nice sounding budget amp - to my ears a little warmer than something like an Adcom 535. Good bass, and more of a rock 'n' roll sound than say the Musical Fidelity. My Aleph J clone is a bit more refined with a touch more detail and "space" around the instruments. Though all three amps are "warm" none of them exactly sound like a tube amp. An old Frankenstein Eico ST70 - modified to be a power amp with 6AR6 output tubes - I have kicking around has a presence and sense of dynamics that I just don't hear with these (admittedly low powered) SS amps. Nonetheless I could live with the Hafler if I really needed a compact amplifier.

Short Review: Lepai LP-2020TI amplifier

I'm in the midst of building a small home studio for recording synth and guitar.  My plan for monitoring was to use a pair of KEF Q350 speakers with a small amplifier.  With my past love of the Charlize and other Class T amplifiers, and a low budget, I decided to give the Lepai LP-2020TI, available from Parts Express, a try.  For $25 it is hard to go wrong.  If I didn't like it, no big hit to the pocket book.

This thing is tiny - like the size of two packs of cards.  It is also extremely light; helped by the 12V outboard power supply.  Build quality is just okay.  I'm not a big fan of the spring clip speaker wire connectors or the tone controls; which can thankfully be bypassed.  The light-up volume control is gimmicky too but no real major complaints given the silly low price.

In my garage system - replacing the venerable Adcom 545 - I was surprised how good CDs from the old Pioneer DVD player sounded.  There was a toe-tappin' excitement to the music with plenty of kick.  The Wharfedale Denton speakers are a good match with this amplifier, making more volume than I expected.  There was a nice speed to the sound too.  Over all I would give the slight nod of the Lepai over the Adcom, but we are talking a garage system so let's not get too carried away!

I originally wasn't thinking of plonking this little amp into my main system, but given the amount of free time I have due to being furloughed, I decided to give it a try.  Initial impressions were rather eye opening.  This is one very nice sounding amplifier.  But a few minutes of listening, even with my Dual CS5000 and Schiit Mani phono, I could hear a loss of detail and blurring compared to the Aleph J.  Bass of the Lepai was also a little rolled off and there was some solid-state grit and forwardness on top.  But to be fair, the Aleph cost in the neighborhood of $900 to build; a far cry from the dinner-for-one price of the Lepai.

Conclusions?  It's a good amp for cottages, garages small apartments, dorms, or where critical listening is not of upmost importance.  I could easily imagine a system with a Rega RP1, Schiit Mani, the Lepai, and your favorite budget mini-monitors.  Such a stereo would best a lot of ones that I've heard (or even owned!). 

Garage System:
Pioneer DV-V7400 DVD/CD Player
Schiit SYS passive linestage
Adcom 545
Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary
Belden 9497 speaker cable
generic interconnects

Main System (second turntable)
Dual CS5000
Schiit Mani
Classe Five preamplifier
DIY First Watt Aleph J amplifier
KEF R500 speakers
Cardas Twinlink speaker cables
Cardas Neutral Reference and Iridium interconnects

A Very Brief Review of the Schiit SYS

I bought this little $49 passive preamplifier to use in a CD-only garage stereo system.

For fun I plugged it between the Schiit Mani phono preamp and the Aleph J amplifier, using the cheaper of my turntables, the Dual CS5000 as source. The SYS sounds really nice. There is that slight lack of drive I've heard before with passive preamps but detail and transparency is extremely good.  None of that (minor) JFET darkness of the Classe either. I should try the Schiit Mani/SYS combination out with my Thorens TD309 but that will have to wait for another day.

For the price, it's a steal and would work wonders in simple system.

Review: KEF R500 loudspeakers

Introduction: Last month I bought a pair of KEF Q350 speakers. I liked some of the attributes over the Wharfedale Denton speakers - mostly the sense of speed and some better detail. My plan was to eventually replace the Q350s with a pair of KEF R3s, speakers that were being sold via Accessories4Less for a very nice price. Things, however, began to move a little faster than I expected.

Fate stepped in: the Walnut R3s were no longer available. With my wife's blessing I instead purchased a pair of reconditioned R500s, the previous generation of the current production R5. It's been a few years since I've owned "full range" speakers so I was curious to see how these would sound in my narrow mid century listening room.

Shipping was fast with a Sunday (!) delivery from Fedex. I managed to unpack and setup the speakers without any help but be warned, the cabinets are heavier than they look. My weekly workout plan paid off! I also liked the spiked feed and the cups to stop damage to the new cork floors.

First Impressions: Where did all that bass and body come from? The two 5.25" woofers move a lot more air than I expected but perhaps I've been living in mini-monitor land for far too long. Sure it's not quite in the old UREI 813A territory with 15" woofers but the KEFs acquit themselves well with most rock music. The blending of the drivers - bass, uni-q midrange and tweeter - is also seamless.  Even though I only have 25Ws of Class A Aleph J on tap I had no urge for more power with the small listening room.

My friend rolled over and we listened to a few favorite records. It was obvious that these speakers still had some breaking in to do since changes were audible even in the middle of an LP side. After a few hours it seemed as if the treble had become more extended and the drivers even faster than before. Forwardness and depth changed with whatever turntable / preamp was being used. ie - the Thorens TD309 / Classe Five gave a "back in the hall sound" while the Dual CS5000 / Schiit Mani was more forward "mixing board" approach but with a little less resolution and bass depth.

Listening: After a week of daily use, it was time for a solid listening session with notebook in hand.   Turntable used was the Thorens TD309 paired with the Classe Five.

The Who - Tommy (Tracks) is an odd little album that I like but only in small bursts.  It is also an album I've heard on several of my systems.  The first side of this German pressed double-LP album has a lot of dynamics and a wide soundstage with a lot of things going on.  The KEFs did a very admirable job here; the firm foundation of Keith Moon's drumming and John Entwistle's bass was some of the best I've heard; only beaten by the massive UREI 813A speakers.  Where the R500s really shined was the attack of Pete Townshend's guitar work, sounding detailed and full of body.  There were a few times where my jaw literally dropped with surprise by the sheer dynamics of the album, not to mention the soundstage height(!) which is something I usually only hear on very expensive speakers.

Dead Can Dance - Into the Labyrinth (4AD) has a lot of acoustic instruments in a wide, sometimes shifting soundstage.  My original 1993 British pressing sounded marvelous.  On the song The Ubiquitous Mr Lovegrove, Brendan Perry's voice had real weight and presence.  The fleshy finger strikes on the heads of the drums was readily apparent..  Dynamics, once again, were excellent as was soundstage depth and width.  Just a stunning album, one that I would use to demo any excellent hi-fi system.

Hiroshi Suzuki - Cat (Coumbia) has recently been re-issued on very clean and quiet Japanese vinyl.  The color of the Suzuki's trombone is vivid with astounding dynamics shifts.  The rest of his bandmates sound as if they are sitting in a living real space.  An example of ths is the song Walk Tall which begins with hand claps that echoed with a natural decay.  The treble is fast and transparent, especially for a metal tweeter driver.  The high end detail doesn't quite match the best I've heard - QUAD ESL-63s or Ionovac plasma tweeters - but still has less aggression than the horn tweeter of an Altec 604.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bayou Country (Liberty) is a classic rock 'n' roll album.  This original British pressing somehow bests the American copies I've heard with a cleaner, more see-through midrange.  The attack of the guitar has real body and presence; unlike the past mini monitors I've reviewed.  Once again the dynamics were impressive, especially the harmonica playing which had a real raw and dirty swamp sound.  It sounded as if a whole lot of air was being moved!  The instruments were each locked into their own space, separate but joined in the musical whole. 

 

Conclusion: As you can tell, I was taken away by the presence the KEF R500s could project.  The body of instruments and vocals were especially enjoyable.  These speakers seemed to sit in a middle ground between the UREI 813As and the Magnepan 1.6QRs, which is to say they could swing dynamically, soundstage quite well both in width and depth, and still provide musical enjoyment.  But they also didn't have the aggressive warts and all sound of the horn speaker, or the dark graininess of the planars.  After living several years with the limitations of small monitor speakers it will be difficult to go back; the ability of the larger KEFs to provide life-like body is something I cannot forget now.

In the future I will be playing with some wiring changes, a different cartridge, and maybe even a more powerful amplifier.  For now, however, the speaker quest is finished.

Review System:
Thorens TD-309 turntable with Ortofon 2M Bronze
 Classe Five preamplifier
First Watt Aleph J clone
Cardas Iridium interconnects
Cardas Twinlink speaker cable

Review: KEF Q350 speakers

 

Nothing too expensive or too exciting but for the price - brand new - from Accessories 4 Less, I couldn't pass them up. I've been a KEF fan for a long time, owning multiple iterations of the Uni-Q driver over the years. I was curious to see how this similarly priced speaker would sound versus my favorite budget Wharfedale Dentons.

I've been letting the speakers cook with daily usage from a vintage Dual CS5000, Schiit Mani, and Ortofon OM20 combination. At moderate levels the difference between the old *Wharfedale Denton and the KEF Q350 speakers are subtle. The Q350s are a touch cleaner with a brighter tone. Detail - neither are what I would call overachievers here - is also a little better, perhaps the difference between aluminum and woven Kevlar drivers.  The bass out of the 6.5" KEF woofers go down a touch deeper and with a bit more definition than the 5" unit on the Dentons.

With the family out of the way for an hour, I fired up the Thorens TD309 and spun my US copy of Pink Floyd's The Wall. At a higher listening level: within their dynamic limitations, the KEFs do a bit better here too. The busy sound effects come across cleanly and have real depth too. Definition - inner detail and body - are certainly not the best I've heard. These are, after all, no electrostatic speaker or an Altec 604 driver with a time-aligned crossover, but given the price the KEFs are more than acceptable. The old "PRAT" factor is high with lots of toe tapping enjoyment. Bass with the 6.5" driver is good but if you want to go deeper and louder a sub (or a larger Q-series) would be needed.

Further listening with a variety of records revealed a clean midrange with only some minor veiling - again, compared to the best I've heard. ie - there is an ever-so slight blurring of aggressive guitar work and the leading edges of high-hats. The treble is, however, extended with shimmer and shine but still not etched. I was expecting some overdone brightness from the aluminum tweeter but my (aged) ears weren't driven out of the room.

Overall I would give the KEF Q50s a solid thumbs up. They do punch quite above their cost point but these days that's no big surprise given the available computer modeling and testing that would have been a dream for speaker designers in the past.. I'm curious how the R Series would perform. But that's a future hope.

*Regarding the Wharfedale Denton speakers: these are equally good speakers but something I would recommend with a more aggressive digital front-end or amplification chain. In my case the smoothness of the Aleph J and the slight darkness of the Classe Five preamplifier was perhaps too much of a good thing. The Denton appears to have been voiced to have a vintage, smooth sound instead of the "hi-fi" approach of the KEFs.

System: 

Classe Five preamplifer

Aleph J amplifier

Thorens TD309 turntable with Ortofon Bronze phono cartridge

Belden 9497 speaker cable

various budget interconnect cables 

Short Review: Schiit Mani

With a new Thorens TD 309 turntable in the house, the Dual CS5000 still manages to live on to play less-than-mint records or non-audiophile recordings.  So it was goodbye Pioneer DVD player that I used for CD playback.  Since the Classe Five preamplifier only has one phono input. I needed a separate phono stage.  There are several budget options available but I zeroed in on the Schiit Mani.  US-made, handsome, the silly name, and designed by Mike Moffat.  What's not to love?

How does it stack up to the Classe?  Not bad at all.  The Mani is a little edgier, not as big and dynamic, and also lacking the inner detail.  But it certainly sounds better than I expected: fun even though it doesn't exactly have the smoothness of a good tube unit, or even a FET based preamplifier.  Oddly enough, the lack of detail works well with the Dual CS5000 turntable, removing some of the veil and analog playback artifact noise.  I'm reminded of a more "really nice CD Player or mid-priced DAC" sort of quality to the sound.

The longer you keep this unit on, the better it does sound.  Given the low power requirements, why not?  With the new KEF Q350 speakers, the Mani does sound way better than I expected at this price point.  Of course many will disregard anything using op-amps but my experience with the Audio Sector Phono Stage disabused me of that notion.  Recommended for budget systems.

Review: Classe Five preamplifier

 
Introduction:
Given my heavy valve past going with an upscale solid-state preamplifier was a difficult choice.  Though certainly not a heart-wrenching one as I do have more recent experiences with Threshold, Adcom, and even some homebrew gear.  And since I was considering going all separates, different preamps for both phono and line, my choice to buy a full-function Classe 5 may also be a puzzling one.

Classe, however, is one of those companies that have been on my radar ever since I was a twenty-something reading Absolute Sound and Stereophile.  Back then Classe was considered very "tube-like" and warm, completely opposite to the common complaint of much solid-state gear: harsh or strident, especially in the treble region.  Such descriptions, like the warm sound of early Mac SS gear, piqued my interest.  But since I was a poor college student, living on a diet of vintage tube amps, Mac 'n' Cheese, and $2.99 records, anything in the price range of a Classe DR-5 or DR-6 preamplifier was unthinkable. So instead I soldiered on with DIY gear, plenty of Dynaco PAS preamps, and an Eico HF-85.

Well doesn't time fly?  Perusing through the Audiogon ads, I saw a recently listed Classe Five preamplifier.  It had a phono stage, switchable from MM or MC cartridges, and even a remote control.  Their isn't much information out there on the Five but some search engine sleuthing and I found it is essentially an upgraded 1990s version of the original DR-5.  It also features balanced (XLR) or single-ended (RCA) outputs; a single set of balanced inputs too if I ever needed them.  The XLR outputs will come in very handy for my planned bridged ACA amplifiers that are being built sometime very soon.

With the price being right, I put an offer in and it was accepted.  Given the proximity of the seller, I received the preamplifier the next day.  Unpacking the Classe Five and I found myself with a very heavy duty unit that was nearly flawless.  The switches, which have a wonderful tactile feel, worked perfectly, as did the remote control and the various knobs.  The wireless remote has buttons that causes little motors on the volume and balance to physically turn the knobs.  Very neat (I'm still an adolescent at heart!).  This is also great for adjusting the gain to get that perfect playback level from the comfort of my favorite listening chair.

Initial Impressions:
It is always exciting to listen to something new - but the Five wasn't exactly earth shattering.  The sound was dark, a bit muffled, and seemingly missing some bite on the top end.  Bass, however, was controlled and the overall sound was smooth.  With only an hour or so of time, I went to bed, leaving my new preamplifier in standby mode since there is no power off button.

The next day, after work, I heard an improvement in sound.  The smoothness was still there but everything sounded a lot more cohesive.  I fought the urge to do any serious listening, waiting for a quiet Sunday afternoon where I could experience the Classe Five without any familial distractions.



In my doddering middle-age I've become a bit of a Chet Baker fanatic, even exploring his musical output beyond his 1950s heyday.  Nonetheless I still have an appreciation for his signature album, Chet.  It's a brooding masterpiece that has the fingerprints of Bill Evans all over it.  Listening to this album - 1980s Riverside pressing - reveals a lot more detail than I was hearing through the Adcom GFP-555.  The Classe Five does a better job of revealing the light cymbal work, which sounds deeper in the soundstage but with the attack and decay being more apparent as is the metallic nature.  Too many systems turn cymbals into a hard SHHHH noise, instead of the shimmering, complex sound it should be.

Instrument - piano, the brass instruments, and drum - have a more natural body than my old preamplifier.  The overall sound is very smooth but doesn't inhibit the more aggressive tones of the music.  It is a different type of smoothness than I ever heard; not imbued with a golden hue like a vintage tube preamplifier but more as if the sonics were cut from a single, grain-less cloth. 

Willie Nelson has a rich and immediately familiar voice.  On Stardust, the vocals come across as completely natural with just a hint of studio reverb added.  The instruments remain firmly behind the singer, reproducing the very intimate nature of this album.  Tonality is some of the best I heard, exceeding my expectations given the budget nature of the speakers and my turntable and cartridge. Cohesiveness is another word that came to mind, and one that kept popping up as made notes.  No single instrument seemed crowded out while another took the center of attention.



For something more dynamic, I turned to one of the greatest live blues albums ever recorded: Drinkin' TNT 'n' Smokin' Dynamite which has an all star backing band behind Buddy Guy and Junior Wells.  The Classe Five captured the audience background noises allowing me to place them in location and distance from the stage.  The dynamic shifts, given the limitations of the Wharfedale Denton speakers, were impressive; never sounding bloated or blurred.  An example of this is the stuttering starts and stops of the lead guitar, along with the deep bass foundation.  Each instrument had its own space but jelled together as one whole, making for a very toe-tappin' experience.


After that good time, I needed a melancholic change of pace.  Richard and Linda Thompson deliver this in spades with their album Shoot Out the Lights.  Linda's voice is sublime here, all barely hidden pain while the barbed wire guitar of Richard grinds away as if stripping the heart out of his troubled marriage.  His backing vocals sit separate from hers, as if he is giving his ghostly agreement.  This album, needless to say, a heart-wrenching series of songs.  The Classe Five does an excellent job of baring these emotions.





I listened to several other albums of varying quality - like The Fixx, Wardruna, The Police, and even some old 1930s-era Billie Holiday.  Poor recordings sounded like, well, poor recordings.  And mediocre ones weren't given any extra magic either.  The Classe Five appears to be rather neutral, low in coloration, and even-handed.  This one is a keeper.


Takeaways:

The Classe Five has the best treble I have ever heard from a solid-state preamplifier.  At first I thought it was rolled-off; lacking in air and excitement.  However further listen revealed that it is actually a lack of glare and edginess that is often common in lesser solid-state gear.  If a recording is bright, you will hear that.  If it is dull, or poorly recorded, that will be revealed.  There is no heavy coloration going on here.

Along with this natural treble comes the feeling, from top to bottom, that all frequency points are sonically similar; that is to say no part of the sound, be it treble or bass, sticks outs or draws attention to itself.  As I mentioned above, everything is cut from the same sonic cloth.  It's something I never quite heard to this degree with any preamplifier that I've ever owned and took some time to understand this new experience.  A similar situation occurred when I first heard the VPI Aries 1, only then did I hear the warble and background rush of lesser turntables.

Bass control is excellent - tight and dynamic without any bloat or smear.  This is essential for providing the foundation of the song.

Detail is very good; though some listeners may prefer a more hyper detailed presentation.  Perhaps this is the limitation of my front-end or the nature of the Wharfedale speakers.  Some future upgrades will see how well this holds true.

The quality of the Classe Five makes me question, to some degree, my allegiance to valves.  At least with valve gear you can roll in different tubes to find the best match with your system.  But, if you're tired of buying high priced NOS valves or even new stock, then give the Classe Five a try. You may be surprised.


System:
Adcom GFA-545 amplifier
Dual CS5000 turntable with Ortofon OM20 phono cartridge
Pioneer DVD-V7400 DVD player
Kimber 8PR/4PR bi-wire speaker cables
various budget interconnect cables

Review: Ortofon Super OM 20 Phono Cartridge

Introduction: Reviewing phono cartridges is a difficult task.  Why?  Because it's part of a complex system involving the tonearm. platter, vibration, setup, and, based on the quality of the other components downstream, can radically alter one's perception of the whole system.  Also a cartridge that works wonderfully for one system may be dreadful on another.  That's the nature of the analog beast: difficult to tame but, to my ears, worth the trouble.

As for why I decided to replace the Shure M97xE; it's a matter of personal taste.  The M97xE is one smooth cartridge but I had the feeling I was missing something, mostly the very top end sparkle.  And since I'm upgrading my current system - one component at a time - I thought it was time to try something a little different. The OM series was mainly selected because it is supposed to be an ideal match with the lightweight arm on the Dual CS5000 turntable.  The CS5000 originally did ship with an OM cartridge, so why not take the manufacturer's recommendation to heart?

Among the family of Ortofon's OM cartridges I selected the OM 20 - it is affordably priced and, based on my online research, strikes a good balance between detail and listenability.  It's a Moving Magnet cartridge with a healthy 4mV output, which will work perfectly with my soon-to-be-replaced Adcom GFP-555 and my next future preamplifier.

Setup:  Since the Dual CS5000 has a lightweight tonearm, I pulled out the removable 2.5g weight that is inserted on top of the OM20 cartridge.  With the Dual's easy to remove headshell, cartridge swaps are easy; provided you have a pair of good eyes.  I'm definitely due for my first pair of bi-focals so it took a bit of fiddling with the wires, along with some careful tightening of the headship clips.  Once I had the cartridge mounted, I used the protractor that came with the turntable.  The narrow body of the OM 20 cartridge makes alignment easy.  Tracking force was set at 1.2g using my fiddly digital gauge.

Initial Thoughts: After installing the new cartridge I found the sound to be a touch bright and forward.  Lively was the first thought.  Some hotly records vocals were strangely muffled. After adjusting the VTA and double-checking the tracking force, I spun a couple of records that night.  A few days later I felt comfortable enough to start some detailed listening.



Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance has a voice that is both ethereal and powerful.  The Mobile Fidelity pressing of Spiritchaser showcases her vocals wonderfully, as does the Ortofon OM 20.  The notes from that golden throat soar above the primeval music, and roll around, expand, and then come together like I'm under the effects of a psychedelic drug.  This is about as close as one can get to being high without taking an illicit substance.  I've heard this record done a little better on more expensive systems, but not by leaps and bounds.  Nor have I ever heard the Dual CS5000 sound this good.  Sure isn't in VPI Aries 1 territory, and any sins are ones of omission, but I am loving the overall sound coming out of the Wharfedale Denton speakers.  Considering the budget, very impressive.

Bass has depth and impact, while the left-to-right stereo spread go beyond the edges of the speakers.  The real magic is in the midrange - lively, engaging, and with good pace and timing.  The treble is more extended than the old Shure cartridge, but it isn't bright either.  So far so good.  For my next record I picked something a little more down to earth.


I'm not sure if you will find many Outlaw Country fans in audiophile-land, but with Waylon Jenning's Honky Tonk Heroes they're missing out on one humdinger of an album.  This first pressing is pure RCA studios: warm, wonderfully recorded, and just brimming with that old school Nashville production.  Jenning's vocals are rich, and if a system doesn't capture this magic, then you know something is wrong.

Bass: Attack of the deep bass guitar is quick with no overhang.  Warm, dark, and low - like it should be for this era of recording.

Midrange: full-bodied but no excessive warmth.  In comparison the Shure could overdo this portion of the spectrum. The upper midrange of the Ortofon is definitely more lively but still captures the huskiness of Waylon's vocals.

Treble: More extended, lively, but the upper end never becomes aggressive or shrill.  How much of this is the Denton speakers remains to be seen.  In this department the Shure was more rolled-off, and perhaps more pleasing on some hotly recorded albums.  

Other: Channel separation is excellent and every instrument sits in its own space.  I've heard more detail and body with moving-coil cartridges but this moving magnet, at least in this system, is more cohesive.  There is no portion of the frequencies that stick out like a sore thumb.  Depth is also less than the best I've heard.  It's not quite flat-as-a-pancake, but I certainly never got the illusion that the drums were in the next county.


Neil Young's Live at Massey Hall 1971 is an excellent recording that should be part of anyone's collection of good music and good sound.  This is a very system friendly album that sounds great on every stereo I've owned.  This current budget setup was no exception.

The body of the acoustic guitar was about as real as it can get, and so were the vocals.  The effect is similar to sitting mid-row in a small coffee shop.  So a very personal album.  Micro and macro dynamics of the guitar and the piano were fairly realistic, only bettered by the Aries 1 turntable and UREI speakers of yore.  Once again I heard shorter depth and a bit less detail than my older systems, but there was still a cohesiveness that really brought my enjoyment factor to a very high level.


At one time, when I was a much younger man, The Clash was called "The Most Important Rock Band in the World."  If anyone was listening to me, I would have to snub The Clash and go for James.  Their Eno produced Laid is an early example of what makes their albums sound so close to perfection: catchy hooks, memorable lyrics, Tim Booth's powerful vocals, and the ability to bring me near tears with a mix of sadness and elation.

The Ortofon cartridge wrings out the best of the 90s production - deep bass, the sound of the drums, the jangle of the guitars, and the dynamic contrasts.  This is no audiophile hidden gem since it was probably recorded on early digital equipment with plenty of overdubs and even a few effects.  Nonetheless I've never heard this album sound so right.  I had to tap my toes, smile, and remember my youth with wistful melancholy while being uplifted with the wonders of life.

The swelling and rolling of the bass was impressive and was the precision of the midrange.  The treble was never overly aggressive either.  Again there was a slight lack of body and some minor loss of definition compared to more expensive cartridges, but the Ortofon is really no slump in this department.  I'm looking forward to trying out some different phono stages to see if this area can be improved on.  The Adcom, after all, uses op-amps with high negative feedback and currently has some aged components, so perhaps I'm expecting too much out of this budget unit.


Conclusion: With cartridges it is hard to make blanket recommendations, but with the Dual CS5000 and it's lightweight tonearm, the Ortofon OM 20 bests anything else I've tried on this rather modest turntable.  It certainly is more cohesive than the Shure M97xE, an Audio Technica ATN95HE, and even better than the Nagaoka MP-110.  Of course the Ortofon is a bit more expensive than any one of these cartridges, but what is really happening here is a matter of system matching.  And, as a bonus, the Ortofon OM 20 cartridge can take any number of stylus upgrades which will be worth exploring in the future.

As for the sound of the OM 20, it really did exceed my expectations, bumping my rather pedestrian system up another notch in quality.  Considering the odd blend of gear here - vintage American amplification, small British mini-monitors, and a German turntable and cartridge - the sound is cohesive, engaging, and just touching on the fringes of high-end.  I hate to gush since such proclamations are often viewed with distrust, but, at least with this turntable and system, the Ortofon OM 20 is a real winner.  Highly recommended.


System:
Adcom GFP-555 preamplifier
Adcom GFA-545 amplifier
Dual CS5000 turntable with Shure M97xe phono cartridges
Pioneer DVD-V7400 DVD player
Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary speakers
Kimber 8PR/4PR bi-wire speaker cables
various budget interconnect cables

Review: Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary speakers

 

Introduction: I've been running with B&W Matrix 805 speakers for almost five years now.  They are good speakers but after such a long time I was interested in trying something new.  I first started concentrating on finding some KEFs, which is a speaker brand that I've always liked.  I had my eye on a pair of LS50s, Reference 1s, or even some small Q towers.  Instead I was drawn to a Wharefedale Denton review on the Steve Hoffman forums which had several fellow audio nuts being in love with this speaker.  One of them even sold his KEF LS50s and stayed with the Denton speakers. Given the low clearance price of these speakers I decided they were worth a try.

 

The Wharfedale Denton is a small mini monitor sporting a 5" Kevlar woofer and a 1" textile dome tweeter, something you would find out of an 1980s speaker.  These particular units, with an original cost of $1000USD, were created for Whardale's 80th anniversary and as a homage to the original vintage version.  Sensitivity is only 86dB so low-powered amplifiers may have trouble driving them.  The speakers can be bi-wired via the gold binding posts outback.  Bonus - prices have dropped considerably with this speaker, now they can be purchased new for $400USD.

I bought my pair of Dentons used so they were already broken in.  The original Wharfedale box arrived quickly and without any damage.  Packing was excellent and the little cloth bags surrounding the speakers was a nice touch.  Build quality appears to be very high.  Rapping on the side of the cabinets gives a high "tink" instead of low, hollow "thunk" which reveals some heavy construction.  The veneer / wood combo and silver grille looks quite presentable in my mid-century modern furnished house.  Very high - at least in this domicile - wife acceptance factor.

After removing the Matrix 805s and associated line-level bass equalizer, I plunked the Wharfedale's on top of the speaker stands.  I then moved the speakers a little further out into the room.  Since I already had some Kimber 8PR/4PR cables in place I decided to bi-wire.  Amplification is the soon-to-be replaced Adcom GFP-555 preamplifier and GFA-545 amplifier while the front end is the Dual CS5000 with the soon-to-replaced Shure M97xe phono cartridge.  As you can tell, I'm in the middle of a system rebuild so stay tuned for further developments.  But right now this is a decent budget system, something that someone who has $400USD to spend on speakers might have.

Listening: Initial thoughts - a little boxed in sounding.  A little flat and very polite.  But these speakers were literally winter cold having sat in a UPS truck and on my doorstep for a few hours before I set them up.  After running some errands, and with a fully warmed up stereo, I finally sat down to do some serious listening.

One of the groups I've been collecting lately is The Police.  I now have all of their albums on Japanese pressed vinyl, but for this session I went with 12" British-pressing single of Wrapped Around Your Finger.  This is a really excellent sounding cut of this song, besting my LP version.  On the Wharfedales the bass had a lot of PRaT, laying down a solid foundation that only increased the enjoyment of this song.  Dynamics, considering the size of the woofer, was impressive.  I've heard similarly sized woofers in KEF and other speakers that get muddled in this part of the spectrum.  Perhaps there is some mid-bass hump here at play but it was still tight and well-done without any overhang.

The all important midrange was clean and lively with a touch of warmth.  Vocals sounded natural as did the other instruments.  Each sat in it's own space without sounding confused.  This made it easier to pick out the different threads of the song.  With the narrow front baffle, the Denton speakers also did a more than fair job at disappearing, only leaving a good left-to-right stereo spread.

The treble on this 12" cut was clean though perhaps a bit rolled-off.  Very British polite, if I do say so myself.  The brashness of the cymbals were muted, though to what degree would require further exploration.  But the first impression was of a very listenable speaker that didn't sound forward or overly bright.  That can be a difficult thing for many small speakers since the temptation for manufacturers is to make a speaker that has a lot of fake detail by having a tipped-up response.

Dan Bejar is the talented singer-songwriter that fronts Destroyer.  Kaputt may be the best realization of his vision: idiosyncratic lyrics mixed with breathless delivery, all held together by a tight multi-instrumented backing band.  It reminds me of the lighter moments of Roxy Music mixed with free form poetry.

On the Denton speakers the music jelled together very nicely, making a cohesive picture that allowed me, to repeat myself, hear the different threads of the song but experience them as a whole.  Bass, once again. was very tuneful.  The midrange was smooth as was the treble.  I also noticed some extra detail retrieval that I hadn't heard before with the Matrix 805s speakers.  With the Dentons there was some synth that was low in the mix, along with extra breathiness in the backup vocals.  I've heard this album many, many times so this extra detail came as a bit of a surprise.  Nor was it hyped up detail from a bright treble, but instead seemed a completely natural part of the song.  Color me impressed.


 It was time to try an album that I am very familiar with, one that I have heard across several systems - a British pressing of Supertramp, Crime of the Century.  The lead in song, School, is bombastic with very deep bass and explosive dynamic contrasts.  How does the Wharfedale hold up compared to my departed UREI 813A speakers, which could really deliver the goods?  In a word (or three), not so well.

The deepest bass here - and there is a lot of it - becomes rather one-note and plodding, missing out on the subtle shadings I hear on much larger speakers.  The same was true with the dynamics which did not have the swell and force it should have had.  This is hardly a surprise given the physics of a 5" woofer; after all there is only so much air that it can move.  An added subwoofer would really help out here.  It really was surprising how nice the bass sounded on the Police cut versus the Supertramp track, showing the physical limitations of the small woofer on some material.

The midrange and treble, however, were still very pleasing but the muddiness of the bass did distract from the overall presentation.  Depth was foreshortened compared to the best I've heard, but the left-to-right stereo spread was marvelous.

A non-audiophile favorite of mine is John Moreland's High on Tulsa Heat.  The simpler tracks, which feature John's emotional voice and guitar, sounded pretty satisfying.  I was reminded of the time I saw him play live at the Ark in Ann Arbor.  The full band songs, however, were dark sounding and lacked air and detail.  I put the blame on the home studio recording equipment and microphones used, but just to be sure I listened to some brighter albums to see if they were noticeably rolled off on the top end.

The Stranger Things Volume 2 soundtrack is nothing but synth music made in a retro-70s style.  The higher frequencies were well-controlled and didn't display any massive roll-offs.  I would expect this to be a tad brighter than what I heard but not by much. 

Next up was The Blue Nile - A Walk Across the Rooftops, which features swooping synths and austere guitar work.  The top end was prominent but a small touch of top end loss was still apparent to these middle-aged ears.  It is obvious that this treble roll-off was an intentional design decision, made to replicate the sound of more vintage speakers.  So the Dentons are not the most accurate of speakers but a flaw that I can live with given the rest of the system budget.

Conclusion: In the sub-$1000USD range, the Dentons are the best that I've heard - period.  Highly recommended.

Life is about compromise, and speakers are among the worst in this regard.  The reality is that when dealing at this price range, it takes a lot of first-class engineering and careful listening to make a speaker work this well.   These are transducers that carry the music in an engrossing, melodic fashion.  Poised is the word that comes to mind, making lesser speakers in this cost bracket sound positively brash and unsophisticated.  The toe-tapping enjoyment I get from the Wharfedales make their sins ones of omission, which though are many, mostly fade into the background.

Limitations?  Many.  These are not party speakers. If you want something that rocks and plays harder, I would suggest you research any number of larger brands and models; especially something with a bigger woofer.   Another option is to add a subwoofer.  If you need even more finesse or bandwidth, then you're looking at spending more money.  The Denton speakers are well-balanced for their size, drivers complement, and price point but there are a lot of possibilities out there for better sound.  We shall be exploring these as my system changes.  But for now I will stick with the Denton speakers and see how they respond with tube amplification and a better phono cartridge.  Stay tuned!

System:
Adcom GFP-555 preamplifier
Adcom GFA-545 amplifier
Dual CS5000 turntable with Shure M97xe phono cartridges
Pioneer DVD-V7400 DVD player
Kimber 8PR/4PR bi-wire speaker cables
various budget interconnect cables

Update: The replacement of the Shure cartridge with an Ortofon Super OM 20 really broadened the bandwidth of the Wharfedale speakers.  Treble no longer sounds rolled off and bass -within middling listening levels - has a lot more composure.  It's a nice little match.  See the Ortofon review for more details.