Labyrinth

In the world of high-fidelity audio, maintaining the integrity of the audio signal from the source to the speakers is the key to accurate music reproduction. This is why purists espouse the audio philosophy of the simpler, the better. They believe that signal should travel less distance before coming out as music from the speakers. Purists frown on a stereo system with a labyrinth of electronics; with sound signals having to navigate a series of stages from CD players and turntables to the speakers.

I respect and have no quarrel with audiophiles who embrace this audio philosophy; but I don’t have to necessarily believe their premise as Bible truth. This is just food for thought: If high fidelity really means recreating musical events as faithfully as they were in the place they have been recorded (such as during live concerts and studio recordings), then the “simpler is better” dictum does not apply. Why? We all know that, in live concerts and in studio recordings, sound signals go through several stages before we hear them as music — from the microphones to the amplifiers, mixers, equalizers, digital processors, among so many other electronics, especially in large concerts staged outdoors. If these musical events are what purists want to recreate in their respective sound systems, I believe that it does not do justice to their avowed audio philosophy.

If purists believe that it’s un-audiophile to have many electronic devices to enjoy music, then I’m guilty as charged. My system runs through a labyrinth of electronics, but I don’t hear any losses at all in audio signal. The audio signal of my system navigates this route: Rega Saturn CD player, Lenco 75 and Rega P9 turntables are hooked to Musical Fidelity X-10D line buffers. The line buffers are then latched on to my Harana preamplifier. From there, the signal passes through these stages: another DIY line buffer, then to an unbalanced-to-balanced (RCA/XLR) converter. From the converter, the signal is passed on to the DBX active crossover before going to the other RCA/XLR converters. Finally, the converters are wired to my three amplifiers, which are hooked to the speakers. Very un-audiophile really in the minds of purists, but this system has given me hours and hours of listening pleasure.

Some may argue that hearing is subjective. So, I had my system subjected to a real time analyzer (RTA) diagnosis using an Audio Control SA 3055 just to confirm what my ears are hearing. I couldn’t be happier with the results. The RTA — which measures the bandwidth, the peaks, dips, and valleys of each frequency within the 20Hz to 20 KHz band — tells me that my system is up to par.

Those who are be reading this column for the first time may be confused with some of the technical jargon we just used. Never mind the gobbledygook; what this all means is that there has never been a hard and fast rule in building a home stereo system. Do what it takes to bring you to your audio nirvana. Some audio philosophies that you may have read about somewhere do serve well as a guide; giving you a lay of the land in which you could embark on to build your dream system.

If there are audio components in my setup which may have kept the integrity of my system’s signal all throughout that maze of an audio chain, they would be Musical Fidelity’s discontinued X-10D and my custom-built DIY line buffers. The original X-10Ds are now hard to come by; I count myself very lucky to own and maintain two of them. Musical Fidelity came up with an upgrade, the X-10V3, but this had not stirred the market’s interest the way the former did. The next best thing to these products? Try the range of inexpensive, China-made line buffers that now proliferate in the marketplace, or you can have one built by local DIY specialists.

The X-10D which Musical Fidelity marketed in the early ’90s as the “the missing link” is a pure Class-A audio equipment originally meant as a CD-player accessory, but which has evolved to be used as an output cushion when placed between a preamp and an amplifier. It has two tube complements of 6922/6dj8 and acts as an output stage and a buffer. This simply means that it can make your preamp handle with ease the signals that come from your music source. It can do this function mainly because of its high input impedance which ensures unbridled and pure music signal. It can be placed between a CD player/turntable and a preamp, and in my case, between a preamp and an active crossover. It does not add distortion or alter frequency response. Distortion could be less than 0.01 percent from 10Hz to 100 kHz and the signal-to-noise ratio is way better than 90dB. All told, buffers such as X-10Ds can maintain the signal integrity that most purists are aiming for, especially in a system with a labyrinth of electronics, to recreate beautiful music.

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For comments or questions, e-mail audioglow@yahoo.comor atvphl@hotmail.com. You can also visit www.wiredstate.com or you can tweet audiofiler at www.twitter.com for quick answers to your audio concerns.