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Continue reading →: Understanding Amplifier Specs – Part 3Having discussed Power and Nonlinearity Distortion in the previous two parts of this series, we will now turn our attention to the remaining amplifier characteristics of interest: Gain, Frequency Response, Noise, Input Impedance, Damping Factor, Idle Power Consumption and Voice. Admittedly, Voice is not a specifiable characteristic, but it is…
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Continue reading →: Understanding Amplifier Specs – Part 2We opened Part 1 of this series with the observation that the power amplifier is an enormously important part of an audio playback system, and suggested that an understanding of the specifications available for this component was a worthy undertaking. Those seasoned enough to heft the price of a good…
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Continue reading →: Understanding Amplifier Specs – Part 1No component in an audio playback system has more capacity to spoil the magic that audiophiles ardently seek than the amplifier. It is covertly the cause of wandering minds and early power-downs for hopeful music lovers at the end of a hard workday. Often unsuspected of this mayhem, it keeps…
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Continue reading →: System Troubleshooting TechniquesOccasionally an audio system will act up, no matter how well put together. When this happens, it is important to use sound methods to troubleshoot it, because shipping components back to the manufacturer is expensive, and it is particularly disheartening when it turns out that the component you shipped is…
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Continue reading →: The Lowly USB CableWe audiophiles spend embarrassing amounts of money on the various cables that connect our audio components together, and we would defend them with hot-under-the-collar fervor if brought under question. But when it comes to the connection between the music server and the DAC, when the format is USB, we tend…
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Continue reading →: DACs Are Like LasagnaWhen my wife and I go out to Italian restaurants, wherever we may be, she has a propensity to try the lasagna. Making a very excellent lasagna herself, she is always curious how various restaurants interpret the dish. Over the years she and I have come to the same conclusion…
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Continue reading →: How to Listen to Audio ShowsThe age-old cliché of high-end audio shows is that nothing sounds good in a hotel room. While this has a degree of venerable truth, it is not the concern of the majority of attenders who are simply looking for a cheap form of weekend entertainment. To them the whole thing…
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Continue reading →: The Tube Sound?Many audiophiles are nuts about tube equipment because they have a love affair going with the tube sound. For those who fall into that category, and even for some who do not, the sound of tubes in general is easily recognized and described, though to varying degrees of precision. It…
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Continue reading →: Pillows, Plants and PhonesIn the frenzied or slow and methodical quest for incremental sound improvement, the audiophile laments that such hefty prices separate him from the next level. And so, he beds down to a long and protracted savings campaign and practices again the art of contentment. But quite often it is the…
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Continue reading →: Room Treatment Is Like PoolAnyone who has played even a modest amount of pool in their life, no matter how long in the past it may be, has a decent idea of how to make a bank shot. Granted, the ball may not be pocketed, but it will probably be reasonably close. The formula…
Mike Vice
Bella Sound
On a lifelong pursuit of audio excellence.
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