Joyce Hatto
More on Hattogate. A <I>lot</I> more.
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Would you attend an audio club get-together if there were one nearby? Why or why not?
<A href="http://www.stereophile.com/audiophilesocieties/">Audio clubs</a> have been doing well the last few years, with new ones appearing every so often. Would you attend an audio club get-together if there were one nearby? Why or why not?
Krell KSA-200S power amplifier
There's always a certain amount of jockeying for position at the very top of the High End. Every few months, a new star burns brightly, getting all the attention. While the constant turnover at the cutting edge helps to define the state of the art, audiophiles should keep their eyes on the longer term. It's a company's track record—examined over a period of years—which defines its position in the market and the credibility of its products.
Krell KSA-50 power amplifier
Some readers may feel that it is pushing poetic license beyond reasonable limits to call the Krell KSA-50 a "new-wave" amplifier. It has, after all, been around for several years. The Krell KSA-50 is new-wave enough, however, to be an incredibly stiff class-A design, rather than a pseudo–class-A circuit, and its 50 watts per channel are supported by enough of a power supply to drive an arc welder. You get about 70 watts of RMS power with 8 ohms, 150 watts with 4 ohms, and sufficient watts into 2 ohms to threaten my load resistors. There is almost enough power to drive a pair of Apogee Scintillas at their ohm setting—though I'd prefer at least the Krell KSA-100.
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The High End, Mid-Fi, & Pretend High End
If there's a phrase that increasingly gets my dander up, it's "mid-fi." I'm even starting to lose patience with the term "High End."
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Eminent Technology
<A HREF="http://blog.stereophile.com/cedia2006/091906soundfield/">Once again</A>, I was treated to a demonstration of Eminent Technology's $12,900 TRW-17 rotary woofer and once again I was baffled by its seeming lack of practicality, while being amazed at its creative approach to producing the lowest notes.
Meridian-Ferrari F80 Astounds Veteran Scribes
Meridian’s collaboration with Ferrari bore fruit as the F80 CD-Radio. "CD-Radio," by a long shot, is an unworthy designation for such an unusual device. Sure, it is an AM/FM radio of high quality and, yes, it will play CDs and DVDs and do all sorts of other neat things but you can go to www.thef80.com for all that info. What I want to tell you is that this $2999 clock-radio is drop-dead gorgeous and is a serious audio instrument. In a press conference room that I estimate was 25'x50' with 15' ceiling, Meridian's Bob Stuart popped in first one disc and then another to the amazement of the press crew. The f80 really filled that larger-than-domestic and nearly bare room with balanced sound. Now, I am not saying that it will replace a full component system for you or me, but I cannot think of another product that compares with it for size, appearance, or performance.
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New NAD Pre-Pro
That's a pretty snazzy new pre-pro from NAD, the T-175 ($1999). It sports four HDMI inputs, lots of analog and digital audio inputs as well as "legacy" video sources. Of special note is the inclusion of Audyssey MultEQ XT room correction, with a custom response curve option developed with PSB's Paul Barton. In addition, this is one of the first of a new generation of AVRs, pre-pros, and processors that are compatible with the potent Audyssey Pro Audio Calibration intended for professional installation. Others capable of Audyssey Pro include NAD's T775 and T785 AVRs, and Denon's AVR-5805CI, '5308CI, '4308CI and '3808CI AVRs. Also on Audyssey's lists are the Denon AVP1HD pre-pro, the Integra DTC-9.8 and OnkyoPro PR-SC885 pre-pros, the Integra DTR-8.8 AVR, the Crestron Adagio Media System, the Phase Technology dARTS system, and, of course, the Audyssey Sound Equalizer.
Even More Affordable Pioneer Speaker
Just a short note to tell you that the smaller brother of the affordably priced but high-performance Pioneer Elite S-1EX loudspeaker that I enjoyed so much last <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/307piosex/">March</A> has made its way to these shores. The S-3EX is slightly shorter and narrower, with 7" woofers in place of its bigger brother's 8" drivers. Retained are the CST Driver technology, the Aramid/Carbon-composite–shell woofers, the clean design and construction and, presumably, all the sound except at subwoofer levels. Not retained is about a third of the cost with the S-3EX estimated at $6000/pair instead of $9000.
Panamax MAX 7500-PRO
Panamax's $2000 MAX 7500 PO is billed as "home theater management." Its 720VA isolation transformer is designed to optimize the performance of digital sources and video displays and isolate them from audio circuitry. It also offers extremely sophisticated ground isolation.Voltage regulation and balanced power are also provided.
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