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Reviews of Attainable Hi-Fi & Home-Theater Equipment

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Details: Written by: Brent Butterworth; Created: 15 September 2018

Elac IW-S10EQ measurements can be found by clicking this link.

It’s almost impossible to get smooth, natural bass reproduction without a subwoofer -- and this principle is easy to prove, despite the dominance of 2.0-channel systems in high-end audio. But a subwoofer is also the most troublesome component in audio: the most prone to distortion, the most difficult to place and adjust, and the most obtrusive. With its IW-S10EQ in-wall subwoofer, Elac aims to solve the latter two problems.

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 01 September 2018

Although NAD is a Canadian-owned company, its roots are in London, UK, where many music aficionados never abandoned the turntable as their favorite music source. So it’s not surprising that NAD’s new C 558 record player ($499 USD) follows the pattern set by Linn, Rega, Revolver, Roksan, and other British firms: a turntable thoroughly traditional in concept and totally modern in practice, with no frills, flash, or gimmicks.

Details: Written by: Hans Wetzel; Created: 15 August 2018

Reviewers' Choice When I received an e-mail from Jeff Fritz, SoundStage!’s editor-in-chief, asking if I was interested in reviewing Edifier’s S350DB 2.1-channel speaker system ($299.99 USD), a wave of nostalgia swept over me. From my senior year in high school, way back in 2003, through the end of college, I listened to my music through Klipsch’s ProMedia speaker systems -- first the 2.1, then the Ultra 5.1 (which I used in a 2.1 configuration). They were great computer speakers, with clean mids and highs, punchy bass, and terrific output for their size. With a simple 3.5mm input, I could plug my computer or iPod into them and get pretty killer sound. Fifteen years later, a descendant of the ProMedia 2.1 can still be had for $129, but there’s no way they could now live up to what they sound like in my memory.

Details: Written by: Vince Hanada; Created: 01 August 2018

NAD Electronics is part of the Lenbrook Group, which also owns PSB Speakers and Bluesound, the latter a maker of wireless multiroom music systems and related components. NAD has always been a bit different, offering value-oriented electronics with many of the unnecessary extras stripped away. Lately, their line of preamps and A/V receivers has provided value with add-on MDC modules to upgrade their products’ functionality -- users can buy a base model, then customize it to suit their needs and guard against obsolescence.

Read more: NAD T777 V3 A/V Receiver

Details: Written by: Brent Butterworth; Created: 15 July 2018

As high-end audio shifts its focus to products costing four, five, or even six figures, we forget how great a simple, affordable system can sound. A basic integrated amplifier or stereo receiver hooked up to a good pair of bookshelf speakers can deliver realistic and satisfying reproduction of music, which is most -- perhaps even all -- of what most people want from an audio system. People who are just now getting into traditional stereo audio because of their interest in vinyl understand this, and it’s for them that NAD has produced the C 316BEE V2 ($399 USD), an integrated amp designed to deliver all the power and options a basic stereo system needs.

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 01 July 2018

Reviewers' Choice Sumiko, a longtime importer and distributor of high-quality audio equipment, is now owned by the McIntosh Group, formerly the Fine Sounds Group and owner of McIntosh Laboratory, Audio Research, Sonus Faber, Pryma, and Wadia. For years, Sumiko’s Oyster and Pearl moving-magnet and Blue Point moving-coil cartridges have been considered great values by many reviewers and audiophiles. Recently, they added three new low-priced MM models to their Oyster line, to fill the price gap between the Pearl (MM, $119 USD) and the Blue Point No.2 (MC, $449). The new models are the Rainier ($149), the Olympia ($199), and the Moonstone ($299), and Sumiko recently gave me the opportunity to check out all three. This review is of the least expensive, the Rainier.

Details: Written by: Hans Wetzel; Created: 15 June 2018

Reviewers' Choice I don’t believe that Definitive Technology gets the audiophile street cred that it deserves. In some respects, they were one of the first companies whose reputation was predicated on designing speakers that allowed folks living on real-world budgets to get a taste of genuine hi-fi sound. Short of iconic designs like the Mythos ST and Mythos STS, Definitive was always more concerned about the sound of their creations than about their looks. Their best-known speakers, their bipolar tower models, were clad not in veneered cabinets but in simple black fabric socks that made them look like obelisks. They were distinctive, if not exactly stylish. The fact that they can be purchased from Best Buy and Crutchfield lends the brand more of a consumer feel, rather than the holier-than-thou audiophile patina. Just because you can buy a speaker online rather than through a bricks-and-mortar dealer doesn’t mean it can’t sound great.

Details: Written by: Brent Butterworth; Created: 01 June 2018

Elac Adante SUB3070 subwoofer measurements can be found by clicking this link.

For the past couple of years, the Andrew Jones-designed speakers from Elac have ranked among the most discussed products in audio -- as were the Pioneer speakers designed by Jones in the years before that. What haven’t been talked about as much are the subwoofers Jones has come up with -- from the low-budget favorite, Pioneer’s SW-8MK2, to the technically advanced Elac Debut S12EQ. Elac’s new Adante SUB3070 may be the subwoofer that at long last draws attention to Jones’s work in the bottom two octaves of the audioband.

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 May 2018

Reviewers' Choice In my 20-plus years of reviewing audio equipment, I think I’ve auditioned more models from NAD than any other two brands combined. Amplifiers, tuners, CD players, receivers, and soon a turntable -- I’ve covered the waterfront with the Canada-based brand. And I’m glad. Most often, I’ve found NAD gear to be honestly designed with excellent sound quality, a lack of flash or trash “features” that do nothing to enhance one’s listening, and build quality that’s up there with some of the best budget-priced gear. I believe that NAD prices their products to be affordable for any audiophile.

Details: Written by: Vince Hanada; Created: 01 May 2018

SVS has firmly established itself as an online retailer of loudspeakers, first with its highly acclaimed subwoofers, and then through its Ultra and Prime speaker lines. The Ultra line comprises its higher-end speakers, the Prime line its more budget-friendly models. I first became acquainted with SVS through my review of the Prime Tower speaker, which I thought punched well above its price.