Our Twelfth Meeting

Ok, fellow audiophiles in the Las Vegas area and everywhere really (this is the world wide web after all,) the first audio club ever in Sin City, has now completed its twelfth meeting!

We had our twelfth meeting on 7-19-14.

For details on the meeting, and a list of equipment, check out our last blog post here: http://lasvegasaudioclub.blogspot.com/2014/07/july-meeting-place-and-time-set.html

Needless to say, the sound produced by the Luxman/Vivid system was nothing short of glorious. One track led to another seamlessly without any hiccups, buzzing, booming bass, etc. You had crisp highs, a lush midrange, and a deep and wide soundstage. As well as deep, tight bass. Which was surprising due to the Vivid's woofers being on the smaller side. Also surprising was the driving capabilities of the Luxman Class A integrated amp, which is (conservatively) a rated at 30 W per channel into 8 Ohms. Quite an incredible feat there! Anyway, at one point, the members of the LVAC were applauding after 1 track ended just like they would at a live concert. Our special guest for the afternoon, Philip O'Hanlon from 'On a Higher Note,' who is the distributor of Luxman and Vivid (and other high quality brands,) started us off with high resolution digital files vis the Luxman DAC, but then went to the wonderful Luxman PD-171 turntable! This turntable is a tour de force of technology and aesthetics. It is because of this that it made out 'component of the week' late last year: http://lasvegasaudioclub.blogspot.com/2013/11/component-of-week-luxman-pd-171.html

Whether it was digital or analog, the Luxman/Vivid combo really strutted its stuff. The sound was everything you could ask for in a high end system. The build quality of all of the components was second to none as well. This stuff just breathed high quality all the way. And to think, these components are not anywhere near the flagship products in their respective lineups! So after listening to the system we just did, you can only imagine how good that stuff sounds! And it is to say that the LVAC members present were really impressed by both the looks and the sound of this system.

Also presented was a unique desktop system by Japanese manufacturer Eclipse. This was incredible bang for the buck, and at $1300 MSRP, it's great candidate for someone who wants a small but high quality system for their computer room, bedroom, or other smaller space.

Regarding our special guest, Philip of 'On a Higher Note,' we must say his presentation skills were right on the money, he was professional, and made use of time wisely.

Of course there was good food and drink to be had (courtesy of our host, LVAC member Kirk) and overall it was good times!

Therefore, it was a very successful meeting, and probably the best one we've had to date. Everything went perfectly, and there wasn't one member who was disappointed in the slightest.

 A BIG special thanks to LVAC member Kirk for hosting this fantastic meeting, and of course Philip from 'On a Higher Note' for working his magic by doing the presentation of these incredible audiophile products.

For more info, please visit 'On a Higher Note website at: http://onahighernote.com/

Visit them on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/onahighernote

Photos of the event are below. Photos were taken by LVAC member Des and Philip of 'On a Higher Note.'

Component of the Week: Accuphase P-4200 amplifier

Accuphase says this superb amp incorporates the design technology of their flagship Class-A amp, the mighty A-200. It sits at the bottom of the Accuphase Class A/B lineup. It also is in reach of more audiophiles than the more expensive models, but the sound is incredible, and certainly doesn't sound like it sits at the bottom of the line. Is it destined to become a landmark product? Time will only tell...

LVAC President and Founder Dave says: "I just heard this amazing amp in the Accuphase room at the 2014 CES. To put it mildly, I was bowled over by it! It's got great power and finesse, it is refined and delivers the dynamics in the music. It also sounds very much "live" and colorful. I couldn't believe that this was a Class A/B amp. It sounded much more like Class A. It sits at the bottom of the Accuphase A/B lineup, but it doesn't sound that way. Accuphase has a true winner here, and just wait for the reviews to come in! I can't imagine they will be disappointed in the wonderful product!"

Links: http://accuphase.com/model/p-4200.html

http://accuphase.com/cat/p-4200_e.pdf

Price: $12500 USD

Component of the Week: Accuphase E-600

LVAC member Dave says: "A soon to be reference standard for integrated amps! Need I say more? It's not cheap, but the nothing of this caliber is!"

The integrated amplifiers from Accuphase operating in full class A enjoy an excellent reputation both in Japan and overseas for their outstanding musical qualities. The E-600 represents a model change from the popular E-560. While incorporating the sophisticated technological know-how gained by Accuphase over the years, it features a further refined AAVA volume control and uses the latest circuit topology and strictly selected parts of the utmost quality. The E-600 is destined to become the new reference model for high-class integrated amplifiers.

AAVA is a revolutionary principle designed for high performance and ultimate sound. It integrates the amplification and volume control tasks in a single electronic entity that uses analog processing and eliminates all variable resistors from the signal path. Its performance and sonic purity do not deteriorate over the years, providing excellent reliability. The AAVA version in the E-600 takes the principle to the next level, delivering the same peerless performance in a more compact form factor.

The power amplifier section is built as an advanced instrumentation amplifier, which enables fully balanced signal transmission throughout. Together with the further improved MCS+ circuit topology and the highly acclaimed current feedback principle, this makes for even better electrical characteristics. In the output stage, high-power MOS-FET devices renowned for their great sound and utter reliability are arranged in a triple parallel push-pull configuration per channel.

TECHNOLOGY

Revolutionary AAVA volume control
Output stage with triple parallel push-pull power MOS-FETs
Instrumentation amplifier principle for power amplifier input stage allows fully balanced signal transmission and enhances current feedback and MCS+ topology
Tone control circuits
Logic-control relays for straight and short signal paths
Option board slots provide capability for digital signal input (DAC-40) and analog record playback
Logic-control relays for straight and short signal paths
Robust power supply with large high-efficiency toroidal transformer and high filtering capacity
EXT PRE button allows separation of preamplifier and power amplifier stage
GUARANTEED SPECIFICATIONS (with AD-20 Phono board installed)
Continuous average output power: 120 W/ch (2 ohms), 60 W/ch (4 ohms), 30 W/ch (8 ohms)
Frequency response (1 W output): 2 Hz - 150 kHz +0 -3,0 dB
Damping factor: 500 (EIA 8 ohm, 50 Hz)
Input sensitivity: 0,05 mV (DISC MC), 0,98 mV (DISC MM), 77,7 mV (HIGH LEVEL), 0,617 V (POWER IN)

MAIN FEATURES

Recorder switch
Copy switch
Tone controls
Loudness compensator
Speaker selector
Meter operation/illumination switch
EXT PRE switch
Balanced inputs
Two sets of speaker outputs
Maximum dimensions: 465 (W) x 191 (H) x 426 (D) mm
Mass: 24,0 kg

Component of the Week: Luxman PD-171 turntable

This is LVAC member Dave's pick for Component of the Week.

Dave says: "Very ingenious and high quality Japanese (and actually made in Japan!) belt drive turntable with speed control and a host of other features. Luxman is back in the analog world, and with a vengeance. It's not cheap, but no component of this quality rarely is. The sound is said to be very dynamic and transparent. The only caveat is the tonearm, which is said to be one of the cheaper (but still high quality) Japanese-made Jelco brand tonearms. Nevertheless, a turntable I could easily live with for many years. Build quality is head and shoulders over many European and American brands as well. Overall, you can't go wrong with the Luxman PD-171!"

Links: http://www.stereophile.com/content/luxman-pd-171-record-player (Stereophile review)

http://www.onahighernote.com/luxman/?c=&id=57

http://luxman.com/product.php?pid=21

Price: $6400 USD