Sam Tellig

Sort By: Post Date | Title | Publish Date
Cambridge Audio Azur DacMagic D/A converter
Budget Component ReviewsDigital Processor ReviewsComputer Audio Reviews
Sam Tellig  |  May 29, 2009  |  First Published: Mar 01, 2009  |  0 comments
In 1989, Cambridge Audio, then run by Stan Curtis—who is still active in hi-fi— introduced their DAC 1. At about the same time, within a few weeks of each other, Arcam introduced their Delta Black Box and Musical Fidelity their Digilog. I forget who was first among the three. Arcam, I think. But the DAC race was on, led by the British. (There was even a DAC called the Dacula.) US companies got into the DAC race, too—at higher prices, of course.
Continue Reading >
Conrad-Johnson MV60 power amplifier
Tube Power Amp Reviews
Sam Tellig  |  Jan 29, 2002  |  0 comments
It's always good to tear into a good steak with Tor Sivertsen, Conrad-Johnson's main marketing man.
Continue Reading >
Conrad-Johnson PV10 preamplifier
Tube Preamp Reviews
Corey Greenberg, Sam Tellig  |  Jun 09, 1995  |  First Published: Jun 09, 1993  |  0 comments
Last September, in Vol.15 No.9, I started my quest for the Ultimate Kilobuck Tube Amp with reviews of the $995 Panor/Dynaco ST70-II and the $1695 Nobis Cantabile. While neither really fit the bill—the Dynaco fell a bit short in terms of sonics, while the Nobis was priced a bit higher than a thou—they got me thinking of the Ultimate Kilobuck Tube Preamp. Because the greatest amp in the world can only sound as good as whatever drives it, and there's no sense looking for a kick-ass affordable tube amp if you're going to play Scrooge McDuck when it comes to the preamplifier.
Continue Reading >
Crown Macro Reference power amplifier
Solid State Power Amp Reviews
Sam Tellig, Lewis Lipnick  |  May 09, 2008  |  First Published: Dec 09, 1992  |  1 comments
Crown?
Continue Reading >
DeVore Fidelity Gibbon 3XL loudspeaker
Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Sam Tellig, Herb Reichert  |  Mar 29, 2017  |  First Published: Jun 01, 2010  |  7 comments
Forty years ago, when I first had money enough to buy serious [ahem] consumer audio, there were a few good turntables available, from Thorens, Garrard, Ariston, some others. Today is the golden age of turntables: ask Mikey, if not antiquarian Artie. And loudspeakers! In 1970, models were few, and most were mediocre. Today, you can have a great loudspeaker for a song.
Continue Reading >
DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93 loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Sam Tellig, Herb Reichert, Art Dudley  |  Apr 04, 2017  |  First Published: Jan 01, 2014  |  19 comments
John DeVore names his speakers after primates—apes, to be specific. Something to do with a family member being a zoologist.

John once worked at a hi-fi retailer in lower Manhattan. Now, as president and chief designer of DeVore Fidelity, he manufactures loudspeakers across the bridge, in the former Brooklyn Navy Yard. I talked with John the other day about his new speaker, the Orangutan O/93.

John makes two Orangutans, both floorstanders: the O/96, with a sensitivity specified as 96dB, over which Art Dudley went ape, in the December 2012 issue. Artie has made the O/96 his reference loudspeaker. It goes for $12,000/pair, stands included.

Now there's the new, smaller Orangutan O/93, specified at 93dB. It retails for $8400/pair with a front baffle in fiddleback mahogany veneer (other veneers are available).

Continue Reading >
Dynaudio Focus 160 loudspeaker
Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Sam Tellig  |  Jul 16, 2014  |  First Published: Jan 01, 2012  |  2 comments
These are great times for hi-fi gear, especially loudspeakers.

I latched on pretty fast to Dynaudio's Excite X12, but I wasn't the first at Stereophile to discover that loudspeaker. That was Bob Reina.

Drat!

Continue Reading >
Electron Kinetics Eagle 2 power amplifier
Solid State Power Amp ReviewsJ. Gordon Holt
Steven W. Watkinson, J. Gordon Holt, Sam Tellig  |  Aug 10, 2009  |  First Published: Apr 10, 1985  |  0 comments
When I first heard the Eagle 2 at the 1985 Winter CES I knew this amplifier was a winner. I was eager for a chance to get my hands on it, but I also knew that J. Gordon Holt was champing at the bit to do the same. So it came as both a surprise and a delight when ye Gracious Editor gave me first crack at the Eagle 2. I wasn't disappointed; the little Eagle more than lived up to expectations. It's not the best power amplifier I've ever heard, but it's damn good. It is, in fact, better than its big brother, the Eagle 7A, in significant ways; in view of the 2's reasonable price, that's saying a lot.
Continue Reading >
Epos Epic 2 loudspeaker
Stand Loudspeaker ReviewsBudget Component Reviews
Sam Tellig, Robert J. Reina  |  Dec 09, 2011  |  10 comments
Roy Hall has his famous Music Hall MMF (Make Money Fast) turntables made for him in the Czech Republic.

Roy has also long been associated with Epos Limited, since a chap named Robin Marshall started the company in 1983. Their first product was the ES-14 loudspeaker, followed by the smaller ES-11. Both were largish, stand-mounted models, and both offered a lively, expressive, unstuffy sound. The speakers have always been fun to listen to, even if they lacked—and still lack—the refinement of some far more expensive speakers.

Continue Reading >
Four 3rd-Generation CD players: Adcom, Magnavox, Onkyo, Yamaha
CD Player/Transport Reviews
Sam Tellig  |  Sep 12, 2019  |  First Published: Mar 01, 1989  |  55 comments
I once told Stereophile publisher Larry Archibald it might be worth, say, a 10% loss in sound quality with CD not to have to jump up and turn over the damned record. Sometimes a CD saves you from popping up twice—Mahler's Fifth or Bruckner's Seventh on a single disc instead of three LP sides—or three times—Mozart's Magic Flute on three CDs instead of 6 LP sides. That might be worth a 15% sacrifice.
Continue Reading >

Pages

X