E<I>ditor's Note: This is Part Two of a six-part series from reader Hervé Delétraz of Switzerland, who is chronicling the development of his DIY (do-it-yourself) audio amplifier. (Part One is <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10825/">here</A>.)</I>
Dynaudio US's president, Al Filippelli, tells Wes Phillips that "Dynaudio speakers are a lot like the Danes who make them. They don't look all that fancy, but they tell the truth and they get the job done. To a lot of audiophiles, that's boring. But there are a lot of people who have been looking for those qualities in a loudspeaker, and for them, boring can be cause for excitement." Phillips takes an in-depth look at the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/262/">Dynaudio Contour 3.3 loudspeaker</A> to determine if "boring" can make <I>him</I> happy.
Spotting another online niche, <A HREF="http://www.Hifi.com">Hifi.com</A> announced the debut of <A HREF="http://www.CustomHifi.com">CustomHifi.com</A> last week. The new site is aimed at custom installers. HiFi.com claims that CustomHifi.com is the first "comprehensive national, Internet-centric marketplace to offer custom electronic design and installation professionals access to leading audio/video products, information, and installation support."
Bonnie and I decided to avoid the crowds last weekend, and instead settled in at home to watch the recent remake of <I>Great Expectations</I>, with Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow. It seemed like a pretty good movie, but before long I found my thoughts drifting to the review I had in progress: my audition and analysis of the Magnepan Magneplanar MG3.6/R. True, <I>Great Expectations</I> is a little slow, and a few explosions or car chases might have better held my attention, but if ever there was an audio product to which the phrase "great expectations" applied, it's the Magnepan 3.6/R.
<B>MAHLER: Symphony 6</B><BR> Manhattan School of Music Symphony Orchestra, Glen Cortese (cond.)<BR>Titanic 257 (CD). 2000. Charles G. Thomas, exec. prod., Jerry Bruck, eng., Michael Karas and Eric Wagner, assoc. engs. AAD? TT: 76:27<BR> Performance: <B>****?</B><BR> Sonics: <B>*****</B>
The public auction of the assets of <A HREF="http://www.wadia.com/">Wadia Digital Corporation</A> has been postponed for at least two weeks, according to an employee of the Minneapolis law firm Siegel, Brill, Greupner, Duffy & Foster, P.A., which is handling the liquidation.
Reader "Bob" says that he'd be very happy to pay for access to a complete Web-based version of <I>Stereophile</I>, and suspects other readers would too. Do you agree that this is a good idea?
Back in 1997, DVD-Audio was still miles away—and it may still be! But, as John Atkinson writes, "After a decade of stability, with slow but steady improvement in the quality of 16-bit/44.1kHz audio, the cry among audio engineers is now '24/96!'—meaning 24-bit data sampled at 96kHz. Not coincidentally, DVD offers audiophiles a medium with the potential for playing back music encoded at this new mastering standard." The <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/259/">dCS Elgar D/A processor</A> was one of the first consumer units able to decode 24/96, and still stands as a benchmark product. JA gives the details.
E<I>ditor's Note: There is a large contingent of </I>Stereophile<I> readers who design and build their own equipment—the DIY (do it yourself) crowd. Hervé Delétraz from Switzerland has been e-mailing us photos and stories over the last year about his own ambitious DIY amplifier design, so we asked him if he'd be willing to share a chronicle of his progress, starting from the beginning. This is the first in a six-part series written by Mr. Delétraz.</I>