Thomas J. Norton

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Stax SR-Omega headphones
Headphone Reviews
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 09, 2020  |  First Published: Mar 01, 1995  |  0 comments
Ah, yes, headphones again. The market for super–high-end headphones must be small, but manufacturers nevertheless keep introducing new designs. At least two manufacturers—Stax and Sennheiser—seem to have carved out a big chunk of this market for themselves, and are currently slugging it out with their respective takes on the best that electrostatic headphones have to offer.
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Sennheiser HE 60 headphones
Headphone Reviews
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 03, 2020  |  First Published: Mar 01, 1995  |  1 comments
In February 1994, when I reviewed the pricey ($12,900 with amplifier) Sennheiser Orpheus headphone system—HE 90 headphones and HEV 90 D/A processor/amplifier—I commented that the company had a similar, but less expensive, alternative available: the HE 60 headphones combined with the HEV 70 amplifier. At the headphone end, the HE 60s aren't so different from the HE 90s furnished with the Orpheus system. Both are extremely lightweight and supremely comfortable—even for long listening sessions (I logged up to four hours without a break on the HE 60s). In fact, the less-expensive HE 60s are about 100gm—4 ounces—lighter than the HE 90s.
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Counterpoint Natural Progression NPS-400 power amplifier
Solid State Power Amp Reviews
Thomas J. Norton  |  Feb 11, 2021  |  First Published: Mar 01, 1995  |  1 comments
Amplifier designers have frequently looked for ways to marry the advantages of tubes to those of solid-state devices. Hybrid designs of various stripes have appeared over the years, most of them using tube input stages with transistor output stages, eliminating the major weaknesses of tube amplifiers: eg, they run hot, are unreliable in that tubes have a finite life, are more expensive than a similarly powerful solid-state design, and have power-hungry output tubes and output transformers.
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Mirage M-7si loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Thomas J. Norton  |  Apr 09, 2006  |  First Published: Feb 09, 1995  |  0 comments
Audiophiles have long had a love-hate relationship with dipolar loudspeakers. These devices are nearly always a pain to position properly, they tend to dominate a room, and more often than not they're fussy about amplification. But when it all comes together, the best of them can make magic.
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Building the Hi-Fi House
Reference
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 27, 1995  |  0 comments
Anyone who's ever looked for it knows how rare audio-friendly living space is. Perhaps someday an enterprising developer will build Audiophile Acres---a whole subdivision of audio houses or soundproofed condos that'll meet these needs---then stand by while hordes of long-suffering audiophiles stampede the sales office, frantically waving down-payments in their sweaty hands.
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Infinity IRS Epsilon loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Thomas J. Norton  |  Mar 05, 2009  |  First Published: Jan 05, 1995  |  0 comments
Like all companies that have been in business long enough to become fixtures in the marketplace, Infinity has seen its share of changes. It has long been that audio rarity—a company with one foot in the High End and one in the mass market. For the past few years, however, and despite continuing production of the now-classic IRS in its Series V incarnation, Infinity's mass-market foot has been the more firmly planted. Infinity, now a large company, is part of an even larger conglomerate, Harman International.
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Cary Christie: from Infinity to Artison
Interviews
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 16, 2015  |  First Published: Jan 01, 1995  |  1 comments
95christie.250.jpgWhen Cary Christie, Arnie Nudell, and John Ulrick founded Infinity Systems more than 25 years ago, high-end audio as we know it today didn't exist. Hi-fi was audio, though the reverse wasn't necessarily true.

Through the growth years, Infinity became a major force in the High End. Cary Christie is the only one of the original players still associated with Infinity in 1995, now part of Harman International. His relationship, however, is now as an independent designer and consultant with Christie Designs, Inc. (footnote 1). I corralled him by phone on a clear fall day in Santa Fe, and a snowy one at his home near Lake Tahoe, Nevada. I asked him how Infinity had started.

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Future Shock, High-End Style
As We See It
Thomas J. Norton  |  Oct 18, 1994  |  0 comments
The future is rarely what anyone expects it to be. I still remember reading, as a child, predictions in Popular Science that everyone would have a personal helicopter by 1980. It never happened, though it sure seemed like a reasonable projection of events. Events, however, have their own agenda.
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Proceed PAV audio/video preamplifier
Solid State Preamp Reviews
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 10, 1995  |  First Published: Sep 10, 1994  |  0 comments
Until just recently, only companies known primarily for their surround-sound processors were producing the most advanced—and most expensive—Home Theater products. No longer. It was inevitable that traditional high-end audio manufacturers would begin producing equipment for this fast-growing market.
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Energy Veritas v2.8 loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 07, 1995  |  First Published: Jun 07, 1994  |  0 comments
If Canada has emerged as a hotbed of loudspeaker production in the past few years, the folks at Audio Products International must be positively sizzling. Of their three lines—Mirage, Energy, and Sound Dynamics—Mirage is perhaps the best known in the US, with Energy running a distant second. Mirage, at least in their flagship M series, features rather esoteric bipolar designs, while Energy sticks to the more conservative, forward-radiating approach. Stereophile has had extensive exposure to the various Mirages (a review of one of the M-series babies, the M-7si, is scheduled for a future issue); our exposure to Energy has been virtually nil, save for the odd Hi-Fi Show and CES. And thereby hangs a tale.
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