Mytek Hifi Manhattan II

D/A Preamplifier-Headphone Amplifier

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In equipment reports, I use the phrase forward momentum to refer to something a little deeper and more encompassing than what’s meant by that well-worn Brit-fi expression pace, rhythm, and timing (PRaT).1 Pace refers to the speed at which a piece of music is being played, and the accurate reproduction of that speed requires audio sources with good dynamic pitch stability. (Digital folk always lord it over LP clingers for digital’s superior pitch stability.)

Rhythm is a sequential pattern of any kind, and pattern is the building block of musical expression. Rhythm is especially important. I define intelligence as pattern recognition; therefore, dancing, foot tapping, and head bobbing are proofs of a high musical IQ. When I know that a pattern exists, but am unable to define it, I call it a mystery. (I like this definition of intelligence: it’s pancultural, and probably pangalactic.)

Pace and rhythm are notated on musical scores, but I’m less certain about what the Britfi folk mean by timing. My best guess is they mean tune or melody, and are referring to our ability grasp the design of patterns we observe.

Forward momentum is more difficult to define. I hear it as the invisible driving force behind all music making: the vector sum of pace, rhythm, and melody, a coefficient of musical invigoration. I feel it’s what musicians strive for when playing.

A hi-fi system is an engine that converts electrically recorded patterns into compressions and rarefactions of air. A good measure of a hi-fi’s effectiveness is the degree to which it helps the listener to recognize sequence and pattern within this field of pulsating energy. When I say that a hi-fi system delivers realistic forward momentum, I mean that the system seems to express the music’s patterns with a lifelike quantity of force.