Reviews of Attainable Hi-Fi & Home-Theater Equipment
Equipment Reviews
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- Written by: Colin Smith
Son of a Thingee
Blue Circle Audio’s Gilbert Yeung is the audio equivalent of James Bond’s Q. Like the Secret Service’s technician-in-chief, Yeung is quirky, somewhat reclusive, and an entirely unconventional technical genius. Q turned watches into lasers and pens into high explosives. Yeung turns women’s shoes into amplifiers and sections of plumber’s pipe into preamplifiers and digital-to-analog converters. And he’s good at it, too. Blue Circle’s first try at a USB DAC, the USB Thingee, was named GoodSound!’s Product of the Year for 2008. Two years later, Yeung has brought us a higher-resolution USB digital converter in a pipe, the USB Tunnel 24/96 ($399 USD).
Yeung makes it very clear that the USB Tunnel is not a USB Thingee. While they look alike, inside each model’s humble length of ABS pipe are differences as great as those separating cats from dogs. The USB Tunnel 24/96 is a hi-rez device capable of passing 24-bit/96kHz audio signals from a USB input to RCA (S/PDIF) and XLR (AES/EBU) digital outputs. The Thingee was strictly a 16-bit/44.1kHz machine, though it offered internal D/A conversion and analog output, something the Tunnel eschews.
Read more: Blue Circle Audio USB Tunnel 24/96 Digital Converter
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- Written by: Ron Doering
Money, money. In the 25 years I’ve been a self-proclaimed audiophile, inflation has taken its toll. According to the inflation calculator at www.bls.gov/data, 2010 prices are more than twice what they were in 1985. This may not entirely explain the existence of $20,000 electronic components and $100,000/pair speakers, but it goes a long way toward justifying why so many makers of A/V gear now have their products manufactured in China. Take my Snell EII speakers, for example. I’m pretty sure that 22 years ago, when I bought them, I felt that $995 was no insubstantial sum, even if I never doubted their overall value, especially after hearing other speakers costing several times as much. Since then, the Snells have required very little in terms of maintenance, repairs being limited to the onetime replacement of woofer surrounds. This, and the fact that I still enjoy the Snells, marks them and speakers of similar quality as some of the better long-term audio investments you can make. But even though I know that a dollar isn’t worth half what it used to be, $995 still seems like a lot of money to me -- and my guess is that I’m not alone. Today, those Snells would be priced around $1900/pair!
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- Written by: Ron Doering
It must have been the audible squeak of surprise I let out on opening the box containing Musical Fidelity’s new M6i integrated amplifier ($2999 USD) that caught my wife’s attention. You see, I was under the impression that the good folk at Tempo, the US distributor of MF gear, were sure to send me . . . oh, I don’t know, something more suited to this reviewer’s taste for workmanlike but good-sounding gear. Since my wife has known me, that has meant good-quality but relatively low-powered amps -- I’ve never owned anything that put out more than 100Wpc. “Wow,” I said, “they sent me one of their big boys!”
Sensing the imminent onset of testosterone-fueled giddiness, my wife asked, her face deadpan but her voice dark with fear and dread, “How big?” On learning that the M6i is rated at 200Wpc, four times as powerful as my NAD C 325BEE integrated, she asked two more reasonable questions: 1) Can you tell me when you’ll start your listening sessions so I can make plans to be out of the house? And 2) Why on earth would anyone need so much power? At that point I thought it unproductive to tell her that MF makes 1-kilowatt amps. I also knew that the explanation -- more power means greater headroom, which means a more lifelike dynamic range -- would be equally unpersuasive. She’s heard recordings with lifelike dynamic range and sound-pressure levels. Her response? “Turn it down!”
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- Written by: Colin Smith
I was doubly keen to give the new AQ1003 DT Mk.II integrated amplifier a whirl -- it had been some time since I’d reviewed a tube amp, and I’d never heard a product from Antique Sound Lab (ASL). When I’d first looked into owning tube amps, ASL’s reputation for producing high-value, great-sounding products had made it a top contender for my dollars.
Those familiar with the original version of the AQ1003 DT (discontinued) might remember that it was among the uglier audio products out there. Its very utilitarian, cubes-on-a-box look was more agricultural than elegant, but that Mk.I edition had a reputation for good build quality and fine sound. The AQ1003 DT Mk.II ($1495 USD) builds on the original’s sonic strengths while bringing to the deal some welcome improvements in appearance, especially the rounded semi-column of machined metal that forms each corner.
Read more: Antique Sound Lab AQ1003 DT Mk.II Integrated Amplifier
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- Written by: John Crosssett
When the time comes for you to finally begin to assemble a top-notch stereo system, where should you begin? Speakers? Well, they’re the components that actually convert electronic impulses into the sounds we hear, so they’re vitally important. Source? That’s where everything begins, so yes, the source, too, is important. Amplification? Sure -- after all, that’s what gives the music its power to impress. All of those parts are important, and much careful thought should be given to the selection of each.
But if I had to pick one component category that, to me, is the most important, it would be the preamplifier. Why? To begin with, because every source runs through the preamp, I’ve found that how the preamp affects the performance of each goes a long way toward determining how the overall system sounds. But finding a preamp that combines just the right sound with enough features to make for easy switching between sources, precise volume control, and any other characteristic you may feel important, is a big deal. Time needs to be spent looking and listening to make sure that the preamp you finally choose is the one that’s perfect for your associated components, your budget, and, most important, your ears.
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- Written by: Thom Moon
Not all that long ago, "full-range" loudspeakers were enormous; witness classic systems such as the Klipschorn, which not only stood 51"H x 31"W x 28"D, but demanded to be placed in the corner of a room. Such systems provided wide bandwidth and wide dynamic range, but didn’t win good vibes from interior decorators, or the spouses of most audio addicts. Something needed to be done, and it was -- but it didn’t happen overnight.
It was several decades before someone invented the modern powered subwoofer, in which a small enclosure contains a relatively large low-frequency driver as well as a powerful amplifier whose response curve is the inverse of that of the woofer's low-frequency rolloff: the sub’s low-bass response is flat down to a nearly ridiculous bottom. Such bass extenders, now de rigueur in home theaters, also lend themselves to good-sounding two-channel audio systems.
Granted, some still talk of the difficulty of getting a smooth handoff between the satellite speakers and the sub, the problems of significant suckout at the crossover frequency, and other painful-sounding maladies. But many of today’s A/V receivers include room-equalization and setup programs that can solve these problems. It takes a bit more effort with most two-channel systems, but it can be done -- at least to my own satisfaction.
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- Written by: Aron Garrecht
While removing my review samples from their impressive packaging, I was reminded of my first introduction to Paradigm loudspeakers. The year was 1999, and a fellow student, rather than shrink his ever-growing college loan, had decided to spend what was left of his limited summer-job savings on a pair of speakers: the then-new Paradigm Monitor 7s. While helping him shop, I found myself contemplating my own next loan payment.
However, still having a year of college to go without so much as gas money in my pocket, I was forced to admire the Monitor 7s and their many descendants, if not from afar, then only in audio showrooms. Over the years, Paradigm’s Monitor line has continued to evolve, consistently offering remarkable combinations of style, value, and performance.
Now, 11 years later, I find myself reviewing a home-theater system ($3694 USD) comprising members of Paradigm’s newest line: the all-new Special Edition. The SE 3 towers ($1598/pair), SE 1 monitors ($698/pair, used here as surrounds), SE Center ($599), and SE Sub ($799) present themselves with class, handsomely finished in High Gloss Black or a real-wood Rosenut veneer.
Read more: Paradigm Special Edition SE 1 / SE 3 / SE Center / SE Sub Home-Theater Speaker System
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- Written by: Colin Smith
About three years ago, publisher Doug Schneider and I toured Simaudio’s factory, in Montreal, Canada. Following our look-see, we sat down with two of the company’s executives and discussed the future of home audio. We agreed on many a thing, but not in one key area: While Doug and I were convinced that USB connectivity in digital-to-analog converters would be universal within a year or two, the Sims disagreed. But that was then. When Simaudio’s superb Moon i3.3 integrated amplifier debuted at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, I couldn’t help noticing that its internal DAC had a USB input. You can imagine my shock when I learned that Simaudio wasn’t going to pay us a royalty.
If nothing else, this tale shows that even the best audio companies can’t necessarily see what the next big thing will be. More important, it shows how quickly the industry’s top-tier component makers can throw on the brakes and reverse course, hopefully without compromising quality. The Moon 300D D/A converter ($1599 USD) is Simaudio’s first dedicated DAC to have a USB port. It also has three other conventional digital inputs, two S/PDIF and one TosLink. But let’s get back to that USB: What a great idea! (OK, I’ll stop now.)
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- Written by: Doug Schneider
A successful entrepreneur once told me that he credits his accomplishment in business not only to the idea he had, but also to the fact that when he was starting out, he was able to perform so many of the necessary tasks needed almost as well as a specialist could do them, and this kept his costs down. At the beginning, he wasn’t just the guy who designed the product; he also handled the production, marketing, and accounting, and at the end of the day was the janitor as well -- and he did all these things pretty darn well. Later, when he could afford it, he brought in some of those specialists to help him take his business a step further.
The same sort of thing can happen in audio gear. If one component can perform well the tasks of many, you can create a great system at far less cost than if you have to buy a separate component for each function. The most common example is the integrated amplifier, which combines a preamplifier and power amplifier in a single chassis, and costs less than separates built to the same standard. I know from experience that a well-designed integrated can deliver most of the performance of expensive separates for far less cost. Hold on to that thought.
Read more: Benchmark Media Systems DAC1 HDR DAC-Preamplifier-Headphone Amplifier
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- Written by: Thom Moon
The first genuine hi-fi speakers I owned were a pair of two-way JBL L88 Cortinas, which I bought in 1970 with my earnings from the JBL dealer where I worked. They offered the "West Coast Sound" for which JBL was famous: fulsome bass, forward midrange, sizzling highs. Ten years later I bought a pair of JBL L110s, a three-way bookshelf speaker that still provided plenty of bass, but toned down the in-your-face highs. I sold those in 1996 when I bought my NEAR 50 ME II towers. More recently, a listening buddy with an enormous music library got a pair of JBL 4412 studio monitors, so I haven’t gone without frequent exposure to the classic JBL sound. Which is why the LS60 ($1800 USD per pair) surprised him -- and me.
Description
The LS60 is the smaller of two floorstanding speakers in JBL’s new LS series, which returns to James B. Lansing’s classic design -- they’re the first JBL speakers in a while to use horn-loaded midranges and tweeters. (Lansing was responsible for the famous Altec Lansing Voice of the Theater speakers, which filled large movie theaters with full-range sound from a huge, horn-loaded woofer and mid/tweeter, despite being driven by a single-ended amplifier that put out only 5W.)
