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Reviews of Attainable Hi-Fi & Home-Theater Equipment

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Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 01 October 2016

Reviewers' Choice It strikes me that preamplifiers have always so dramatically varied in form -- by era, by manufacturer, by purpose -- that rarely has there been a preamp that one could describe as “typical.” Early on, the functions offered were amazing. Some early preamps provided different phono-equalization curves for the many different ways record labels equalized recordings; thank goodness, now all we have to worry about is RIAA. The famed McIntosh Laboratory stereo models of the 1950s through the 1970s featured a seven-position Mode switch that gave the user the choices not only of stereo, reverse stereo, and mono (L+R to both channels), but left or right channel individually to both outputs, or L+R mono to either the left- or right-channel outputs. The ubiquitous Dynaco PAS-3X, of which more than 25,000 were made, offered three mono modes (L, R, L+R) and full stereo, plus two levels of “blended” stereo that traded a loss of channel separation for a quieter signal.

Details: Written by: Roger Kanno; Created: 15 September 2016

Reviewers' Choice Usually, I think of Arcam as producing high-value integrated amplifiers. Sometimes I forget that they have a long history of producing high-quality digital audio gear -- their reasonably priced CD players and, later, their DVD-Audio, and universal DVD and SACD players, were some of the best available at the time, and Arcam continues to produce high-quality optical-disc players with their latest BD-and-SACD models. And while, as a maker of digital source components, they’re better known for their optical players, they were one of the first to produce a standalone DAC. A few years ago, Arcam returned to the DAC market, first with the compact, entry-level rDAC, followed by the more expensive, full-size FMJ D33. The latter was reviewed very positively by our own Hans Wetzel, who now uses the irDAC, a later version of the rDAC, as one of his reference DACs.

Details: Written by: Kevin East; Created: 01 September 2016

Reviewers' Choice A long time ago, I played electric bass guitar in a little rock’n’roll band. My axe was a ca. 1985 Fender Jazz Special, my amp a Yamaha B100-115III combo. After a while, I replaced the amp’s stock speaker with a JBL E140, then generally regarded as the best 15” bass speaker made. The effect was dramatic: low notes retained their metallic character, and high notes, especially slapping and popping, leapt from the fretboard with a hard, brittle edge. The overall sound was tighter, less diffuse, more focused -- more bass-like.

Read more: PSB SubSeries 450 Subwoofer

Details: Written by: Roger Kanno; Created: 15 August 2016

Note: Measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.

Reviewers' Choice It’s been six years since iconic loudspeaker designer and manufacturer Sandy Gross wowed us with one of the first products from his latest venture, GoldenEar Technology: the Triton Two loudspeaker with powered subwoofer section. Since then, GoldenEar has introduced larger and smaller versions of the Triton, including passive models, as well as bookshelf speakers, sound bars, and powered subwoofers, all to near-universal acclaim. But time moves on -- even for products as admired as the Triton Two and the smaller Triton Three, both of which are now available in updated versions: the Triton Two+ ($3499.98 USD per pair) and the Triton Three+ ($2499.98/pair).

Details: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Created: 01 August 2016

All over the world, there are good audio manufacturers you’ve never heard of. As entrenched as I am in high-end audio -- I’ve been with SoundStage! for two decades now, many of those years as editor-in-chief -- not a week goes by that I don’t see online some cool, audio-related thingamabob from a company I’ve never heard of. Granted, many of these “companies” are just a guy with a shop and maybe an uncle who’s helping him assemble his thingamabob. But if you don’t want to buy from the mainstream companies, there are options around every corner.

Details: Written by: Oliver Amnuayphol; Created: 15 July 2016

Having been an audiophile for almost 30 of my 40 years on this planet, I’ve seen more than a few changes in audio software and hardware. One particular change in hardware I lament more than almost any other is the demise of the full-function preamplifier. Those of you close to my age or older probably remember them. Time was, having a preamp in your hi-fi rig meant you had a standalone component that accepted a bevy of input signals, and provided gain and volume control for them -- said signals perhaps originating from a record player, a reel-to-reel deck, a cassette deck or two, and an AM/FM tuner . . . maybe even from a CD player, if you had an early-1980s to mid-’90s preamp.

Details: Written by: Howard Kneller; Created: 01 July 2016

It was in 1984 that the Danish company System Audio manufactured its first loudspeaker, the diminutive System 2. As its line broadened to include large speakers and subwoofers, SA prospered, winning a significant following in Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. Through its US distributor, Sonic Integrity, SA also established a significant US presence. Things went rather swimmingly until about 2007, when Sonic Integrity went out of business, which put the kibosh on SA’s US sales. Still, to this day, a handful of US retailers carry the brand, and are adamant about the high quality of SA’s products. Now in the process of rejuvenating its US retail channel, SA asked if I would review their SA Saxo 5 active Bluetooth speaker ($1295 USD per pair).

Details: Written by: Vince Hanada; Created: 15 June 2016

Cocktail Audio is based in South Korea, and distributed in the US by Audio Plus Services and in Canada by Plurison. Their main US product line is dedicated to music servers at various prices, and the flagship model of that line is the X40 ($2695 USD). It has native DSD playback and other features befitting a top-of-the-line component, such as balanced analog outputs, a toroidal transformer, and an ESS Technology Sabre32 Reference DAC. (Sathyan Sundaram favorably reviewed the X40 for SoundStage! Hi-Fi in May 2015.) Near the bottom of the X-line is the subject of this review: the Cocktail Audio X12 ($699). Although the X12 lacks the X40’s build quality, it shares many of its features and ease of use, and adds several more functions. With its built-in amp, the X12 also serves a purpose different from its siblings: it’s an all-in-one music server, but its built-in stereo amplifier means it can be the centerpiece of a sophisticated lifestyle audio system. So it’s not simply a lower-priced X40: It’s a self-contained little electronics package that would be perfect for, say, desktops or small office spaces.

Details: Written by: Hans Wetzel; Created: 01 June 2016

Reviewers' Choice It wasn’t long ago that most loudspeakers were just boxes of folded MDF with a half-decent finish slathered on top. There was little in the way of proper cabinet bracing, driver arrangements were far more haphazard than they are today, and build quality was, by today’s standards, sub-par. It was also generally assumed that a listening room’s appearance was secondary to the sound spewed about the room by rudimentary-looking, upright caskets.

Details: Written by: Howard Kneller; Created: 15 May 2016

Reviewers' Choice In 2003, after a long history in car audio, JL Audio began making subwoofers for the home. Unlike some subwoofer makers, however, JL Audio has not branched out to full-range home speaker systems. This single-minded focus has paid off for them.