Jonathan Scull

Sony SCD-1 Super Audio CD/CD player

Jonathan Scull Nov 12, 1999

Rarely have I anticipated the arrival of a review component as I did the Sony SCD-1 Super Audio CD player. I'd first heard the machine itself with the enthusiastic audiophile hordes at Chicago's HI-FI '99. I'd also been lucky enough to enjoy a few of the Direct Stream Digital-encoded recordings Tom Jung had made for DMP right off the hard drives of a prototype DSD processor via Ed Meitner electronics. (See my interview with Jung elsewhere in this issue.)

Fine Tunes

Fine Tunes #17

Jonathan Scull Nov 02, 1999

"Hey! Make sure you mention my name in your article! I don't want you taking all the credit."

Fine Tunes

Fine Tunes #16

Jonathan Scull Oct 26, 1999

So here I am expounding on the tendency of audio components---especially tubes, capacitors, and resistors---to become microphonic, and you're wondering how you can find out if there's any of that shakin' goin' on in your system. And you want to do it easily and for next to nothing. The first thing you do, then, is listen carefully to Victor Tiscareno of AudoPrism. The following is his big idea, and a damn good one it is.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Linn Klimax 500 Solo monoblock power amplifier

Jonathan Scull Oct 03, 1999

Recently I found myself on the phone with Linn's chief design engineer, Bill Miller, talking about switch-mode power supplies. Affable Mr. Miller was ensconced in Linn HQ in Glasgow, Scotland. After a bit I inquired if Head Man Ivor Tiefenbrun was about the manse, and was quickly handed over. "You're such a cheeky guy. Why'd you call it the Klimax?"

Fine Tunes

Fine Tunes #15

Jonathan Scull Sep 19, 1999

Pssst. Hey you. Yeah, you . . . we know you're a tweaker. It's nothing to be ashamed of. You just wanna make it better, right? Even as everyone around you wants to know when enough's enough already.

Fine Tunes

Fine Tunes #14

Jonathan Scull Aug 05, 1999

First, my thanks to HI-FI '99 attendee John Loveless (loveless@dmci.net), who thrust a handwritten letter into my hands just after a particularly enjoyable "Grill the Editors" session:

Fine Tunes

Fine Tunes #13

Jonathan Scull Jul 27, 1999

So where and on exactly what should you plunk your precious audiophile components when you get them home? And why even bother?

Solid State Preamp Reviews

Classé Omega line-level preamplifier

Jonathan Scull Jul 08, 1999

One room at the 1999 CES in Las Vegas that knocked me for a loop was the Avalon/Classé installation mentioned in my April show report. Classé had just debuted the Omega preamp, the companion piece to the Omega amplifier I reviewed in March. It proved a very suave, musical, and high-performance marriage.

Fine Tunes

Fine Tunes #12

Jonathan Scull Jun 19, 1999

Now that we've gained a basic understanding of speaker setup, cable dressing and hygiene, and electrical theory, it's time to consider where and how to site your equipment. I've seen all sorts of weird, jerry-rigged shelves and poor component placement, some of the worst in pricey systems whose owners really should have known better. But you can achieve a stunning level of improvement from a haphazardly set-up system---even an entry-level one---when it's rearranged so as to let the components breathe.

Fine Tunes

Fine Tunes #11

Jonathan Scull May 13, 1999

Sometimes you have to sweat the details, sometimes they just fall in your lap. Take Victor Tiscareno. Victor's company, AudioPrism, has been making electronics, accessories, and power-conditioning products for quite some time. While he was visiting and installing a pair of his Mana Reference tube amplifiers for an upcoming review, Victor and I got to talking about power---the kind that comes out of the wall. Victor studied electrical engineering and is very au courant in such matters. During these ruminations he shared with me a recipe for what he calls The Poor Man's Dedicated Line.