World Premieres by Marten
Marten from Sweden will have two important world-premieres at the Munich Highend 2012. One is Django Xl, a new powerful three-way full range model, which employs three 8” aluminum bass units from Seas, combined with a ceramic midrange and a ceramic tweeter from Accuton. The retail price is €10000/pair.
The second is Marten Heritage-series Miles 5, with a new ceramic tweeter with the latest Accuton technology, upgraded bass units, new crossover, new feet, pucks and cones. The same upgrades will apply to Duke 2, Getz 2 and Bird 2.
The MaIn system:
- Marten Django Xl, M.amp, M.furniture
- CD player, phono stage, and a new preamp by Nagra
- Turntable by Brinkmann audio
- Acoustic treatment Svanå Miljö Teknik.
The Second system:
- Marten Heritage Miles 5
- Integrated amp Nagra 300B, CD player Nagra
- Acoustics treatment by Svanå Miljö Teknik.
Penaudio 13th Anniversary
Penaudio clebrates its 13th Anniversary. It all started from selfish reasons: the head designer Sami Penttilä wanted to build loudspeakers for himself to better enjoy music. Thus was born Penaudio 7.6cx loudspeakers. That model already shared many technical features with the later models such as its small size, narrow front baffle, small drivers, quality components, textile dome. And according to Sami, a neutral and natural sound, coherence and wide listening spectrum.
All modern Penaudio models sport high quality mid/woofers because it matters most to Sami. To cover all fundamentals the mid/woofers are crossed at 4000Hz. As to the textile tweeter, Penaudio has made experiments with the sort of waveguide basically all other Finnish loudspeakers trust, but haven't got results that would satisfy them.
Typical to Penaudio are components that represent the highest quality such as SEAS Excel series drivers, special highend cables, best WBT-connectors. And the hand-made birch plywood finishing, from which Penaudio is best known world-wide, should not be forgotten.
Penaudio and Sami Penttilä is present at Sound Factor in Tampere at 13-14 April.
www.penaudio.fi
www.soundfactor.fi
Black Ravioli vibration pads
Black Ravioli is UK based audio company focusing on treating equipment against vibrations emanating from different sources.
The BR website provides an entry on their technology. A long text but I must say I didn't quite understand what the company wanted to say about it.
Judging from the pics, BR pads, big pads, big foot 1-3 look cute. How much is actually seen when the BR pads and foot are under units, is hard to assess. As is their effect on the sound, before actually trying them. Hopefully soon.
www.blckravioli.com
www.starsandstripes.fi
Bookcase by Manolo Valdes
This Bookcase by Manolo Valdes is at display at the Marlborough Gallery, New York. At first glance it looks as if the things in the shelf were books. But a closer look will reveal that all is wood.
Audiophiles have always used bookshelves for acoustic treatment at higher frequencies. Valdes' Bookcase could be excellent as a diffusor.
End of an Era
"The print edition became more difficult to maintain and wasn't the best physical element to deliver the quality of our database and the quality of our editorial," tells Jorge Cauz, president of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., to Reuters. According to the same source, Cauz predicts that print may not completely vanish from the market, but is going to be increasingly less important. "Many publications will never have a print analog and will only be printed on digital formats." But Wikipedia didn't kill The Encyclopaedia Britannica due to the latter's scholarly, reliable reputation.
The digital version no doubt has many advantages. For one thing, the online subscription costs around $70 per year while the printed edition is sold for $1400! Second, the digital version comes with all sorts of more or less useful apps, naturally not available with the printed version. And environmentally, I guess, the digital version is more sustainable than the paper version, although I have not seen any comparative calculations. And there are other advantages.
But is it the same to use, own and live with the digital version than with the paper version? Does it feel the same? Does it smell the same? Does it give the same experience?
I don't want to draw cheap parallells between publishing industry and audio industry. Publishing is publishing, audio is audio. And so what if it doesn't feel or smell the same. My point is not moral.
But there is no denying that "a growing dominance of the digital" is the trend in both. And not unlike in publishing, in audio too the digital has made, by and large, many audio products more affordable to the general public. Second, the digital has brought along many more or less useful functions not available in the analogue domain. And the digital driven audio industry can at least in principle take energy/raw material saving considerations increasingly more seriously, whereas the companies working on the analogue domain typically stress other values.
The digital has, no doubt, made things "lighter" too, concretely and qualitatively. But that's not the issue here. Quality, of any kind, can always be disputed. The reason why I was struck by the decision to discontinue The Encyclopaedia Britannica was that I just recently heard a system - turntable, tonearms, cartridges, amplifiers and loudspeakers - that was based on sound reproduction techniques of the 1930s to 50s, ie. at minimum 60 years old. One example. The output tube of the amplifier, the 6L6, was first manufactured in 1934-36, and they still sell millions (they probably will do so in the future, which cannot be said about many past or present integrated circuits, digital or analogue).
The owner said that he cannot understand why people buy modern loudspeakers, amplifiers etc., which can be better in some selected technical aspects (not really true in this case) but "cannot give the same feeling". They don't feel the same. And I could not but agree: once one has heard such a competent analogue system, it feels almost impossible to go back to listening to digital. One realizes how empty the pure and clean digital sound is. No matter how well the recording is made, it feels meaningless, indifferent. The old analogue sound talks personally to the listener. It is something. Every time different. I'm not romanticizing.
An encyclopaedia does not have the same role in human life as music does. It is more instrumental, functional, and being digitally available, even more instrumental nowadays. Maybe that is it: the growing dominance of the digital in audio has made music more instrumental in human life, and less as the goal in itself. It has not only homogenized the sound but also trivialized the musical experience. I'n not moralizing. It just has.
A new B-475 CD Player by Densen
The new Densen B-475 is the second Superleggera product from Densen, the first being the B-275 preamp. Superleggera means super light weight, the term that has been used to describe the chassis of some famous sportscars. It also refers to the fact that with its Superleggera products Densen separates the audiocircuits totally from the heavy powersupplies mechanically and electromagnetically.
In the B-475 the huge powersupply has its own cabinet, while the delicate audiocircuit is in the Superleggera cabinet, where everything possible has been done to reduce the weight and remove vibrations. This, according to Densen, has made a dramatic improvement in the sound quality.
The powersupply of the B-475 is placed in a cabinet named 2NRG. The 2NRG contains no less than 3 custom made transformers, each with 2 separate windings. Each audiochannel of the B-475 Superleggera has its own transformer and more than 200.000uF of Densens own capacitors, and rectifying by the use of ultrafast and precise diodes. The third transformer supplies the microprocessor, the heavily modified CD drive, display etc. All in all the 2NRG has no less than 510.000uF in the form of 51 custom made capacitors.
The B-475 Superleggera itself contains further voltage regulation, allowing a complete removal of interference between each part of the amplifier. Therefore the B-475 itself contains a further 140.000uF of powersupply capacitors, and 10 individual regulations. Totalling 650.000uF in a CD Player!
B-475 adds a digital input, allowing the use of the internal DAC in the B-475 as DAC for an external digital source. This is done via a coax digital input, which Densen believes is the best digital transfer.
The microprocessor contains Densens own control software, that controls both CD drive and all functionality including display, link and remote. The CD drive is modified with external clockcontroller. The analogue stages are based on Densens 6 watt class A amplifier stage, with no negative feed back (neither global or local).
Technical features:
Superleggera dual cabinet.
Line outputs: 2 sets
Digital outputs: 1 Digital DenLink and 1 BNC
Digital Input: 1 coax using BNC.
Converter type: 24 bit
Customized CD transport
Power supply size: 3x90 VA with 6 seperate windings.
Storage capacity: 660.000 uF
Output stage: a non feedback design without local or global feedback.
Main micro processor can be upgraded via a computer
Double sided Teflon circuit board.
4 layers DAC board.
DA Converter with shunt regulators in the PSU.
Prepared for the Gizmo system remote and available in a bundle pack with this.
Prepared for multiroom
Prepared for intelligent communication with other Densen products via the DenLink cable
Finish: Black with gold or chrome buttons or albino with chrome buttons.
Transparent sound by People People
This loudspeaker addresses not just the never ending aesthetic battle between home electronics and interior design, but also the problem of building loudspeakers into or behind the walls. These active speakers are designed to be seen, but not in an intrusive way.
The transparent design lets the speaker blend in to any living room. The size is big enough to offer a good sound quality, yet the speaker takes little visible space. The box is transparent and empty, but the sound creating components are clearly emphasized, say people at People people whose design they are.
The speakers come with a small wifi antenna, that can plug in to any computer, music player or smart phone. It will also work for old stereos or vinyl equipment. The aim is to set the music free regardless where it’s stored.
Saving environment, this speaker ships in a small, flat package that goes in through a mailbox. The glass sheets making up the box are being ordered through the glass repair shop closest to every single customer. In that way the speaker reduces shipping with up to 90%, and supports local handicraft in one go. The speaker is then assembled at home, IKEA style. Components that break first (eg. the rubber ring and the speaker cone) can be easily replaced, keeping the product away from any landfill.
The speaker is still under development, and not available for purchase yet. Those interested can drop a mail to speaker[a]peoplepeople.se and they will keep contacts posted on the progress.
www.peoplepeople.se
Music & emotions
Listening to sad music can cause real emotions of sadness in the listener, says a recent study carried out at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. This conclusion the research team regards as a genuine scientific result because "earlier studies have questioned the music's ability to arouse the real emotion of sadness". 
I've seen only commentary articles about the study conducted by Prof. Tuomas Eerola and Researcher Jonna Vuoskoski. Before my final condemnation, I need to get hold of the whole article published in latest issue of Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. Based on what has been written and said about the study so far, also by the researchers themselves, the study does not convince me. On the contrary. I see various problems in it, one of which being - apparently - lack of an adequate theory of emotions - the sort of theory that many philisophers have been working on in past two three decades. How can one deal with emotions without such a theory is real mystery to me.
In the study, the test subjects were listening to "sad music" chosen either by themselves or sad instrumental music selected by the researchers. Emotional reactions by the subjects were "measured" by indirect assessment and memory tasks.
As for the music chosen by the subjects themselves, sad music "made" almost all subjects "sad". When they were asked the reason, the test subjects told that the emotional reaction (feeling sad) was caused by associating the music with some 'sadness' evoking event in their personal past. This is no result at all! Those who question music's ability to arouse or convey meanings, whether emotional or other, are not interested in the cases, in which the emotions are related to past 'sad' or 'happy' events. Those 'emotions' can be caused by almost anything, not just music.
The instrumental sad music was effective only for "emphatetic" listeners. This fact the researchers use to support the proposition that personality can affect greatly on emotions aroused by sad music. "Personality"? Playing with personalities seems to be a hot trend in current experimental psychology. That is really baffling given that characterization of personalities - from what I've seen - is a true conceptual mess.
In everyday life sadness is normally experienced as a negative emotion but, acording to the study, that is not the case with sadness caused by sad music: "Although sad music arouse real emotions of sadness, music was nevertheless liked and listening to it was felt as pleasurable". This would be an interesting result because it would discharge the emotivists of the task to explain why people listen to music, even though it causes negative feelings. Unfortunately, the whole thing suffers from serious semantic problems. To be sad means to be sad, not happy. So either they talk about a totally different emotion/attitude (related to sadness but is not exactly it) or they talk about sadness metaphorically, not literally, or they don't understand what the "word" means. Sadness is an intentional state of mind: feeling it requires a proper reason (say, the death of a good friend). Music (sound) does not provide such a reason, and it is therefore that people can say with an ease that musical sadness is pleasant. Music can perhaps be expressive of some emotional states, eg. by sharing some expressive features with them, without the subjects being in the emotion; but that's a different story and a much more complicated question than the study lets us understand.
Novelties by Lavardin and Avantgarde Acoustics
For the 15th anniversary of the legendary Model IT, Lavardin has concentrated its latest research on an exclusive and rare refined version: the Lavardin technologies Model IT-15. The amplifier is said to feature improved circuitry, resulting of more than 10 years of research, and produces 2 x 47W into 8 ohms. Lavardin claims that Model IT-15 is their greatest amplifier ever showing the same tranparency and micro-dynamics as the Model IT.
More famous for its horn loudspeakers, Avantgard Acoustics has released two heavy-weight amplifiers: XA-preamp and XA-power amplifier. General features include: DC-Flow circuit (patent pend.); Electronic volume control switch (patent pend.); Single ended pure Class A output stage; Zero feedback; Symmetrical inputs and outputs etc. The preamp has a battery power supply and the power amp can do 150 watts. Both units weight more than 40 kg, and the chassis has stunning outlooks.
Three New Loudspeakers in Finland
Sonus Faber is now imported by Hifihuone in Tampere. Among the first models to arrive at Finland are acclaimed novelties Guarneri Evolution and Amati Futura. The Guarneri Evolution is the third edition of the famous Guarneri introduced in 1994, called Homage. The Evolution is a 2-way design on a dedicated stands as before but much of the rest has been changed. This applies to the new lute-shape style, new drivers (a 7" mid/woofer instead of 5 incher), and other new technologies (eg. low spurious vibration optimized suspension, stealth reflex para-aperiodic loading, multilayer cabinet construction with constrained-mode damping, etc.). The 29 mm Ragnar Lian moving coil tweeter is crossed at 2800Hz with Mundorf “Supreme” capacitors, and Jantzen inductors. The frequency response is 40 Hz – 30.000 Hz, sensitivity 86 db SPL (2.83V/1 m), and nominal impedance 4 ohm. Price, including the stands: 15900 € (colour: red and graphite)
http://www.sonusfaber.com/guarnerievolution/en/
AudioExklusiv is a manufacturer of many preamplifier and amplifier models but also an electrostatic loudspeaker P3.1. The P3.1 is a full-range loudspeaker that reproduces the whole frequency range by one foil only without a dynamic subwoofer for best homogeneity, spatial reproduction and resolution. The concept is loaned from its forerunner P3, but according to AudioExklusiv, certain decisive and important points had to be improved. For example, a new complex transformer extends the frequency response one octave downwards. At the same the phase behavious and the distortion characteristics are improved. Completely newly developed panels with a modified foil (a new coating procedure and a greater interspace between foil and stator) have increased the sensitivity, as well as amplifier friendliness. A special circuitry driving the HF-range, mid-range and bass-range improves radiation characteristics. Internal wiring is completely new, and so on. More info, here:
Amphion's new Argon7L is a 2-way vented floorstander in a 6.5" d'Appolito array with a 1600Hz crossover point. 4-ohm sensitivity is given as a high-ish 93dB and claimed frequency response is an ambitious 28 - 25.000Hz. Dimensions are 1160 x 191 x 305mm, weight is 30kg and available finishes are black and white chassis with black or white grill covers and waveguides as well as natural wood veneers. Pricing accordingly ranges from €4.399 to €6.399/pr.