Audio Video News

Madrigal has announced a new media console claimed "to establish new standards for connoisseurs of multichannel audio and video." If early publicity and its spec sheet are any indication, the $30,000 Mark Levinson No. 40 media console may, in fact, live up to the hype.

In its standard configuration, the No. 40 offers "extraordinary flexibility" for the "truly remarkable assortment of source components that may be utilized in sophisticated home entertainment systems," with the ability to switch three component video inputs, three composite video inputs, six S-video inputs, six SPDIF (RCA) digital inputs, one SPDIF on a BNC connection, four Toslink inputs, and two AES/EBU balanced audio inputs on XLR connectors. Video outputs include composite, S-video, and component main outputs; eight channels of audio are available on both balanced and single-ended connectors. The No. 40 also has two "R" zones (Remote or Record), for both audio and video. Madrigal's standard media console has been designed for "95% of prospective owners," but can also be customized via plug-in slots, which are also useful for future applications.

A unique feature is an onboard video display, for accessing the function menu via the Graphic User Interface (GUI) without the need to power up a primary display. The No. 40's menu structure is said to be both highly logical and intuitive, with clear indications of where you are at every step in the operating process. Madrigal says its design team went to great lengths to make the No. 40 useable for both the most sophisticated user and the most casual non-technophile. An elegant blend of "power" and "functionality" are said to result.

The technical heart of the No. 40 is its high-tech power supplies. Both hybrid switching and traditional linear power supplies are used for both audio and video processing circuits in the No. 40—each one designed to best serve the circuitry depending on it. Mains power is rectified directly to "two isolated, unregulated DC voltages," from which all other voltages and currents are derived. The technique renders the No. 40 immune to powerline fluctuations, Madrigal claims. High-grade parts are used throughout, as might be expected in a product in this price range.

All analog audio input signals are converted to a 24bit/96kHz digital signal via new, high-resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). Madrigal says the technique allows the No. 40 "to exceed the performance of almost all analog preamps." Engineers utilized a proprietary digital input buffer called the "Intelligent FIFO" (first in, first out) for all digital inputs. Thanks to a jitter reduction technique called Direct Digital Synthesis, the No. 40 is said to yield "resolution . . . of approximately four parts per billion (10⁹)." The No. 40 is compatible with all surround sound systems, including Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby Pro Logic II, and others.

As might be expected, the media console also offers "no-compromise video," with ultra-low-noise video switching comparable to "the finest professional video switchers that you might find in post-production houses in Hollywood." The No. 40's video frequency response is spec'd "in excess of 60 MHz ± 0.1 dB, with a signal-to-noise ratio better than 70 dB." All of video outputs are buffered to eliminate interaction. The console also performs video "transcoding," outputting any video input (component, composite, S-Video, etc) in any other format, without signal loss or color shifts. Madrigal takes pains to point out, however, that the No. 40 does not convert video with different frame rates. It will not convert European PAL programs to NTSC.

Only the upper tier of the home theater market can afford something as pricey as the Mark Levinson No. 40 media console. The rest of us can only hope its capabilities will trickle down to more affordable products as technology marches on.