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Røde Launches NT1 fifth Generation Studio Condenser Mic

Røde NT1 5TH Generation Studio Condenser Microphone.
Røde NT1 5TH Generation Studio Condenser Microphone. Photo: Future.

Sydney, Australia (February 21, 2023)—Just a few years in the past, Røde started focusing closely on content material creators, fueling their output with a tidal wave of attainable microphones and tools; the corporate made nice inroads partly due to its standing within the skilled studio world—and far of that status was because of the firm’s long-running NT1 sequence of studio condenser mics. Today, Røde introduced (and shipped) the road’s newest version—the NT1 5th Generation.

Using the Dual Connect output with an XLR cable results in a typical analog signal, while inserting a USB-C cable into the socket results in 32-bit float digital output via an internal audio interface within the mic.
Using the Dual Connect output with an XLR cable leads to a typical analog sign, whereas inserting a USB-C cable into the socket leads to 32-bit float digital output through an inner audio interface throughout the mic. Photo: Future.

Aiming to take care of the acquainted sound of the NT1, the brand new microphone nonetheless sports activities new know-how, most notably a patent-pending Dual Connect output that may present each XLR and USB connectivity, reportedly “unclippable” 32-bit float digital output, superior DSP and extra.

Returning from the NT1 4th Generation mic is the HF6 large-diaphragm (1-inch) gold-sputtered capsule, stated to be engineered to sub-micron tolerances with the intention of offering a decent cardioid polar sample, easy frequency response, excessive sensitivity and excessive SPL dealing with.

While it might probably deal with loudness, the mic itself is claimed to supply customers low self-noise (4 dBA), as much as 192 kHz analog-to-digital conversion, and on-board DSP for Aphex audio processing, together with a compressor, noise gate, two-step high-pass filter, and each Aural Exciter and Big Bottom results.

The microphone’s Dual Connect output can connect with audio interfaces, mixers and consoles, or direct plug-and-play recording with a pc. Using the Dual Connect output with an XLR cable leads to a typical analog sign, whereas inserting a USB-C cable into the socket leads to 32-bit float digital output through an inner audio interface throughout the mic. With that output, customers recording in a DAW can modify audio after the very fact to a desired stage with out issues about having set acquire accurately.

Røde RødeCaster Pro II Gets Firmware Update

The NT1 5th Generation mic is offered in a black or silver aluminum physique, ships with a shock mount and pop filter in addition to XLR and USB-C cables, and is designed and manufactured in Røde’s Sydney, Australia amenities. Using the corporate’s companion apps, Røde Central and Røde Connect, customers could make use of two totally different processing modes—the VoxLab editor with primary controls for Depth, Sparkle and Punch, or a complicated editor, which presents granular management over each parameter. Up to eight NT1 fifth Generation microphones may be linked to a single pc for multitrack recording.

Introduced in 1991, the NT1 was Røde’s debut microphone, and the corporate has gone on to promote greater than 6 million NT1s throughout the road’s lifetime. The NT1 5th Generation has an MSRP of $249.

Snake River Audio Signature Cables

Good luck finding Riggins, Idaho, without a good map. Located in the west-central edge of the state in the Pacific Northwest, Riggins, an hour north of McCall, is just over a ridge where the Snake River courses through Hells Canyon. Beautiful, rugged country, but as unlikely a spot for a cable company as I can imagine. Nonetheless, that’s where you’ll find Snake River Audio and its affable founder/designer Jonny Wilson. And business is good.

Snake River Audio (SRA) designs and manufactures analog and digital cables across most categories, including power cords and guitar and pedal cables. Its business model is factory direct. The company prides itself on customer communication and service. Playfully or alarmingly (depending on your comfort level with these reptiles), each Snake River model is named for a particularly lethal species—jararaca, mamushi, cottonmouth, adder, boomslang. But clearly, it’s all in good slithery fun. Certainly, the scaly, snakeskin look of these cables will put a smile on your face. The brightly multi-patterned jacketing of each model casts a fluoro-iridescent glow conjuring up memories of 80s-era spandex-wrapped, glam-rocker gods like Van Halen’s David Lee Roth and/or Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler. While most cables attempt to disappear into a room’s décor (and usually not very effectively), Snake River models go the other way, seeming to celebrate their eye-popping outrageousness.

This review marks Snake River Audio’s debut in TAS. For the first evaluation, its premium Signature Series cables interconnects (RCA and XLR), speaker wire, and power cords got the nod. (When the term “premium” is tossed around in the cable world thoughts of mid-five-figure pricing often comes horrifyingly to mind. Not so with Snake River where most Signature Series models are below two grand.) SRA describes Signature as its “hybrid” conductor formulation. Its primary signal conductor is strands of 99.999% pure silver and red copper augmented with 24k gold. Optionally, Snake River goes the extra mile by making available models in pure silver or 24kt gold over copper, as well. Signature is configured in an innovative “Eddie Twist” of multiple twisted pairs and conformed in such a way that it yields greater signal surface area and reduced eddy-current distortions. Connectors are top-notch WBT-0681Cu (spades) or WBT-0610Cu (banana) connectors and Neutrik for the XLR interconnects. The dielectric material is either polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or Teflon, depending upon the model of cable. The outer sheathing is a metallic and nylon mixture.

Since I was running active speakers and required a longer run of interconnects, I was provided with SRA’s Mamushi interconnects—magnetically shielded versions of Signature Series cables specifically designed to reject noise due to RFI/EMI (a particular hazard for long runs of cable). SRA cables are cryogenically treated and cured for 200 hours before shipping. 

Since SRA is a factory-direct operation, I found packaging and presentation to be superb, right down to the vacuum-sealed packets and the logo-inscribed carrying pouches. Jonny Wilson is particularly careful about service and customer relations. Once the order is submitted via the website, the customer receives regular emails informing him of the status of each cable as it moves through the various production and shipping processes. 

I listened to the Snake River cables in two reference systems: my small-room compact system based on ATC SCM20 passive speakers driven by an Aesthetix Mimas integrated, and my full-range ATC SCM50 active system, which is augmented with a pair of REL S/812 subs, a dCS Bartók, and a Pass Labs XP-12 preamp. Signature Series power cords connected the Aesthetix Mimas integrated amplifier and the Lumin S1 media player or Parasound JC 3+ phonostage.

Despite its outgoing appearance, Snake River’s sonic performance ran far more than skin deep. Signature slipped into my system with all the élan and character of a high-end traditionalist. Clean, confident, and texturally colorful, Signature Series wires delivered music in a warm, relaxed, almost sedate manner. They settled into my system like a soothing balm. These cables didn’t glamorize the sound or make themselves the centers of attention; nor did they attempt—through selective frequency swings—to cure all manner of sonic ills that can beset an audio system. They evinced excellent balance across the criteria that my ears tend to key on, namely micro-dynamics, harmonic sustain, and top-to-bottom extension. Treble response was particularly smooth and easy on the ears—even trumpet blasts, though appropriately brassy and aggressive, still retained the instrument’s signature glow and bloom. Bass response was equally up to the task, portrayed with tuneful pitch and dynamic brio in a manner that equaled some of the best cables I’ve experienced.

A fluid and smooth signature was the first thing to draw my attention. As I listened to Vaughn Williams’ playful and colorful The Wasps Overture (LSO, Previn, RCA), what impressed me most was the continuity and flow through this score’s many musical moods, as it accelerates and then turns contemplative. The feeling of an unbroken stream of harmonic energy emanating from the orchestral soundstage had me concluding that Signature Series was a classical music lover’s dream. 

Vocals, from chesty baritones to high-flying coloraturas, were expressive and detailed from the singer’s diaphragm up into the falsetto range. Sibilance possessed the requisite attack and transient electricity but rarely veered away from the naturalistic.

Dynamically, these cables could rock, unfazed by anything a typical, studio-pop recording could throw at them. They would, however, light up with musicality whenever a naturalistic, uncompressed recording came their way. Try Patricia Barber’s Higher twin-LP, 45rpm set on Impex for a master class in micro-dynamics, air, and harmonic sustain, coupled with the eerie sense of just being there in the studio with a group of world-class musicians.

Audiophiles often discuss the meaning of a lack of noise in a cable (or an entire system for that matter), citing the preternatural background silences that precede the opening note of a performance or the rests and lengthier pauses during a symphony. What these silences represent most to me is what isn’t being inflicted on the reproduced sound—what isn’t being transferred through the cables to produce distortions or colorations that can impair the music. Without a clean undistorted platform for the signal to spring from, everything that follows becomes, to a greater or lesser degree, colored or obscured. This is why timbre and textural expressiveness also rank high on my list of qualities that Signature conveyed—the darker sonorities of a viola versus the brighter bite of a violin or the warmer, gentler flugelhorn compared with the more aggressive trumpet. Signature Series effortlessly defined leading-edge information like a singer’s breath off a microphone, or the flick of a flat pick on a bluegrass mandolin, or a thumbnail riding the bottom strings of a flamenco guitar, or the grit of rosin on a cello bow. 

Imaging was stable and consistent from straight-on centerstage into the periphery of the soundspace. Signature Series cabling held images in place like, well, a boa constrictor (ok, enough with the snake jokes). Even the lowest level orchestral voices (harp, for example), gentle background harmonies, and choral work were essentially free of veiling or opacity. SRA’s ability to soundstage and elicit three-dimensional space from broad acoustic spaces like the Troy Savings Bank (Laurel Masse Feather & Bone) or the Myerson Auditorium (Rutter’s Requiem) was very good, indeed. 

Compared with pricier cables that have gotten my attention recently, like Audience frontRow or MIT Evo, Signature was only mildly subtractive, and then only in a couple of minor areas. For example, during Norah Jones’ “Nearness of You,” the piano soundboard wasn’t as broad and commanding as it is through the Audience frontRow. Vocal and low-level micro-dynamics could have been better graduated and the delicacy of the player’s touch on a piano keyboard reproduced in finer terms. And in a perfect world, I’d ask for a whiff more bloom and air on top. These are relatively minor issues that my ears tended to ignore after a minute or so of listening.

By any benchmark, Snake River Audio Signature cables represent an auspicious debut—the kind of coming-out party that would make anyone wonder what else might be cooking up in Riggins, Idaho. Combine that with competitive pricing, and these cables are well positioned for those seeking to make a major cable upgrade to their rigs. No snake oil here, folks, just the real thing. 

Well worth seeking out, Snake River Audio cables embody authentic high-end audio values, dollar value, and performance that just never gets old.

Specs & Pricing

Price: Interconnect, $1695/1m RCA, $1795/XLR; loudspeaker, $2095/3m; power cord, $1545/2m

SNAKE RIVER AUDIO
1311 S. Main Street
Riggins, Idaho 83549
(208) 724-5152
snakeriveraudio.com

The post Snake River Audio Signature Cables appeared first on The Absolute Sound.

SMSL 8s Stack Goes Live at Apos Audio

SMSL made a great impact with their SX-9 stack which combined clean, high-end audio hardware, modern design and reasonable pricing. The company returns with an update to their very popular SX-8 series in the form of the SX-8s devices. While lacking the feature set of the 9-series, the 8s devices boast a focus on similar audio quality while keeping the usability experience simple to uphold the same legendary value as the original series.

The SH-8s is the update to the SH-8 amplifier, with enhanced 6Wx2 power output, 17.5dB of adjustable gain, high-quality relays and low noise power supply. It implements a very similar chassis to the SH-9 though the colour screen makes way for basic switch-based operation. This is a balanced design supporting RCA and XLR inputs in addition to XLR and 1/4″ outputs.

The SU-8s as expected follows up on the immensely popular SU-8 that was the go-to budget balanced DAC for a long time. It’s utilising ESS’ new ES9068AS DAC chip supporting DSD512 and PCM 32bit/768kHz. In addition, the DAC supports Qualcomm’s aptX and aptX HD Bluetooth codecs for high quality wireless streaming. An XMOS 16-core usb chipset maximises wired codec support to match the powerful DAC inside. It also supports remote operation and it has a colour display much like the higher end SU-9. Interestingly, while the SU-9 has a lower SNR for its balanced output, the SU-8s promises a lower noise from its RCA outputs.

You can read all about the SH-8s here and the SU-8s here (affiliate). For those interested in purchasing both, Apos Audio supports the new 8s stack on their ensemble program offering discounts when both are purchased together.

Look forward to the full review coming to THL soon!

The post SMSL 8s Stack Goes Live at Apos Audio first appeared on The Headphone List.

Balanced or Unbalanced: Which Is Better?

As it stands in today’s times, some type of wire is necessary to connect components and speakers in a high performance audio system.  Unlike lower fidelity audio, wireless technology has not yet progressed to the point of any measure of the superior sound audiophile’s demand. For anyone new to the hobby, I thought it might be informative to look at the principal differences between balanced, or XLR, and single ended, or RCA cables in more detail. Please note, however, this is a cursory look – audio cables are far more technical than discussed in this article. 

When we use the term “cable,” we are using a catch all phrase. Any piece of wire in an audio system could be called a cable. However, the term cable principally refers to something transferring the signal from a power amp to a speaker. 

The term “interconnect” is used for components connected to each other – like a music server or streaming device to a DAC, or a DAC to a preamp or amp. This article will briefly examine interconnects more closely. 

Generally speaking, the goal of any piece of wire in an audio system is to transmit a signal from one place to another with no change to that signal in any way. In other words, the cable or interconnect should come as closely as possible to doing absolutely nothing to what passes through. It doesn’t always work that way, however. Physics, and electronic circuitry tend to get in the way. 

There are any number of types of insulation available. Actual design depends on the application. As such, insulation used on a lamp cord will very likely be quite different than what is used for high performance equipment. Air is widely considered the best insulator, or dielectric, but is also the hardest to utilize. Hence, many insulation materials are some type of plastic or rubber compound. Insulation alone, however, is only the beginning. 

One unchangeable characteristic is wire tends to act as an antenna, therefore picking up unwanted signals from the air. Longer lengths act more as antennas than shorter lengths. The dielectric may or may not adequately filter out unwanted externally borne signals. 

These signals, be they TV, Radio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Cell Phone, you name it – any and all may potentially be picked up by that piece of wire and ultimately passed through the system as distortion. It is these signals and subsequent distortion we want to eliminate. 

Balanced or unbalanced, in addition to describing a type of interconnect, also refers to a circuit. Because if a balanced interconnect is being used, a balanced circuit within the component must also be used to ensure distortion is removed to the highest degree possible. Just because a component has a balanced connection, typically called an XLR connector, does not mean the component is balanced. It needs to be “balanced” from the input to the output. Somewhere in the component’s literature you should find terms like “fully balanced,” or “balanced from back to front.” 

In most cases, a single component possessing separate circuits for the left and right channels are called dual mono, or two (basically identical) mono components in one enclosure. Dual mono components are also, most commonly, a balanced design. Fully mono components, like monoblock amplifiers, have one enclosure for the left channel and a separate enclosure for the right. 

Bottom line, the component must be balanced or using a balanced interconnect will not make a lot of difference. Sadly, some components have XLR connections even though they do not have balanced circuitry. Be wary of a very inexpensive component with an XLR connection on the back. Check to be sure the component is actually fully balanced.    

Common Mode Rejection. This is pretty much the crux of the discussion of XLR (balanced) vs RCA (unbalanced). Common Mode Rejection is the ability to eliminate externally created distortion from a circuit that will otherwise be passed through to the speakers. 

More specifically, three wire, or XLR interconnects have a hot, neutral and ground. Actually, the technically correct terminology is “hot,” “cold” and a ground. Use whichever is easiest to understand and remember. RCA has one wire to carry current and a ground wire to complete the circuit. Actual music signals carried by XLR will have the polarity of the hot wire opposite to that of the neutral, or cold. Those signals are allowed to pass. Specifically, they are 180 degrees opposite in phase. 

Distortion that enters the interconnect from the outside, because remember, all wire acts as an antenna, is removed because the signal is in the same phase on both the hot and cold in an XLR connection. Because of Common Mode Rejection, any signal, or part of a signal that is common, or in phase with both current carrying conductors is removed. As such, distortion is reduced. 

Because an RCA connection only has one wire to carry current and a ground, any signal the interconnect picks up from the outside will easily pass through to the component, through the system and to the speakers manifesting as distortion. 

Oddly enough, and very often the case in high performance audio, using RCA connections does not always mean an inferior to XLR sonic quality. There are certainly instances where system owners will actually prefer the sound of an unbalanced circuit. Like absolutely everything in our hobby, the ultimate preference lies in the ears of the listener. 

What cannot be denied, however, is with a proper balanced circuit in the signal chain, XLR will remove, or not allow externally borne distortion to pass. This, therefore, lowers the signal to noise ratio (or how much noise a music signal contains – less noise means better sound) and delivers an overall improved listening experience. 

Also, like in many other areas of an audio system, a widespread and comprehensive usage of a technology is recommended. It is a wise choice to not permanently mix unbalanced and balanced components and interconnects. It is also generally the case that systems more on the budget side of the price spectrum will be unbalanced. More expensive systems will be balanced. Despite balanced cables typically costing more than RCA, the safest choice for superior sonics will be an XLR connection connected to balanced components. 

Most seasoned audiophiles are aware of these differences. However, for anyone who may be unsure why XLR interconnects are used in preference to RCA, this article will hopefully help provide increased understanding. 

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