Historical

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Floor Loudspeaker ReviewsHistoricalJ. Gordon Holt
Hegeman Model 1 omnidirectional loudspeaker
J. Gordon Holt  |  Dec 03, 2019  |  First Published: Sep 01, 1973  | 
Ye Editor had his first exposure to a true omnidirectional speaker system 15 years ago, while he was employed as chief equipment tester for High Fidelity magazine. The speaker was a most unusual-looking device for its time, being roughly a foot square and standing 3 feet high, with a "cube" of grille cloth at the top like a cupola. Inside the cupola was an 8" woofer facing upwards. Directly above it was the weirdest-looking tweeter you ever saw.
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Floor Loudspeaker ReviewsHistoricalJ. Gordon Holt
Ohm Acoustics F loudspeaker
J. Gordon Holt  |  Nov 06, 2019  |  First Published: Oct 01, 1974  | 
We have still not received a pair of these for formal testing, which may be a good thing in view of our feelings these days about "updatings." (Our feelings about such are clarified in this issue's "As We See It.")
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HistoricalJ. Gordon HoltMiscellaneous
Revox A-77 open-reel tape recorder
J. Gordon Holt  |  Nov 06, 2019  |  First Published: Jun 01, 1970  | 
The Revox A-77 has extremely good speed regulation, vanishingly low wow and flutter, very low noise, superb tape handling, and the smoothest, widest-range frequency response of any recorder we have ever tested.

The portable version, with built-in monitor amps and speakers, is very compact for a machine with 10½ reel capacity, and is easily carried by one person. Now that the later version is equipped with a flutter-filtering tension arm, our only criticism of the A-77 is its use of three-circuit jacks for the micro phone inputs instead of the XLR-type receptacles that are considered to be "standard" in the US for on-location audio recording.

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HistoricalJ. Gordon HoltTurntable Reviews
Garrard 301 & Thorens TD 124 turntables
J. Gordon Holt  |  Sep 05, 2019  |  First Published: Mar 01, 1963  | 
An editorial note: We recently republished Stereophile founder J. Gordon Holt's 1966 review of the Swiss Thorens TD-150AB turntable. This was the first high-end 'table I bought after leaving university and earning a wage. But as good as I felt the TD-150AB to be, with its belt drive and sprung suspension, it was sonically overshadowed both by Thorens's TD 124 turntable and by the English Garrard 301 turntable.
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HistoricalJ. Gordon HoltTonearm Reviews
Audio & Design M9BA tonearm
J. Gordon Holt  |  Sep 03, 2019  |  First Published: Sep 01, 1967  | 
Back in the days of pre-stereo high fidelity, when a 6-gram phono pickup was considered to be "featherweight," the best universal-type tonearm we knew of was a bulky, very professional-looking device made by Gray Labs and designated the Model 108. One unusual thing about it was that, instead of using sleeve or cone-face bearings, it had a single up-ended needle—a so-called unipivot—for both the vertical and lateral modes of motion. The other unusual thing about it was that the pivot system was viscous-damped, and it was this, we suspect, that was largely responsible for the arm's ability to make any pickup sound somehow sweeter and cleaner than it did in any other arm.
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HistoricalJ. Gordon HoltReference
Subjective Loudspeaker Testing
J. Gordon Holt  |  Aug 08, 2019  |  First Published: Sep 01, 1966  | 
One of the most firmly-established audio platitudes is the one which says "The specs don't tell the whole story." One reason for this, of course, is the fact that most manufacturers, preferring to sell their products on the basis of emotional appeals in ads rather than on hard, cold performance claims, do not attempt to make their specs tell the whole story.
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HistoricalJ. Gordon HoltTube Power Amp Reviews
Futterman H-3A power amplifier
J. Gordon Holt  |  Aug 08, 2019  |  First Published: Sep 01, 1967  | 
It is not at all unusual these days to find manufacturers producing "matched" speakers and amplifiers that are designed specifically for one another. But it is very unusual to find this being done by an amplifier manufacturer who doesn't make loudspeakers. The Futterman H3-A is one of these rarities—an amplifier designed primarily to complement one of the best, and one of the hardest-to-drive loudspeakers on the market: the KLH Model Nine.
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HistoricalJ. Gordon HoltPhono Cartridge Reviews
Audio Dynamics ADC-1 phono cartridge
J. Gordon Holt  |  Aug 06, 2019  |  First Published: Aug 01, 1963  | 
We tested two samples of the ADC-1 phono cartridge, both of which were taken from a dealer's stock. One was a demonstrator that had been in use for some months. The other was brand new, right off the shelf. Both were tested in an Empire 98 tonearm and in a Gray 108-C tonearm with its damping lightly adjusted, but results with both cartridges were for all intents and purposes identical in both arms.
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HistoricalJ. Gordon HoltTurntable Reviews
Thorens TD-150AB turntable and tonearm
J. Gordon Holt  |  Jul 11, 2019  |  First Published: Dec 01, 1966  | 
This is an integrated arm-and-turntable unit using single-belt drive from a stepped motor pulley to an inside platter (under the main one), and having a three-point suspension similar to that in the AR turntable for isolation from acoustic feedback and floorborne vibrations. Speed change is accomplished by a two-pronged "fork" which, actuated by the speed selector knob, throws the belt from one step of the motor pulley to the other. The motor is a special synchronous type that is actually two motors in a single case. Their speed is determined by the frequency of the AC supply, so there is no speed adjustment.
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HistoricalJ. Gordon HoltPhono Cartridge Reviews
Weathers PS-11 Professional Stereo Pickup System
J. Gordon Holt  |  Jul 09, 2019  |  First Published: Nov 01, 1962  | 
Editor's Note: This is the very first equipment report that was written by J. Gordon Holt for Stereophile, then called The Stereophile. The venerable JGH appended the following warning: The writer of this report was employed by Weathers Industries during the time when the product in question was undergoing development, so in view of this past association, and the doubt it may cast upon the writer's impartiality, this report probably should not be published, even though the writer left Weathers Industries over a year ago and is not bound by any obligations thereto.
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HistoricalJ. Gordon HoltSolid State Power Amp Reviews
Dynaco Stereo 120 transistor power amplifier
J. Gordon Holt  |  Jul 09, 2019  |  First Published: Sep 01, 1966  | 
One by one, the major amplifier manufacturers have acceded to the pressures of the marketplace and introduced "solid-state" models, whether or not these happened to sound as good as their previous tube-type units. Dynaco was one of the last of the hold outs, preferring, according to their advertisements, to wait until they could produce a solid-state unit that was at least as good as their best tube types. Now, they've taken the plunge at last, with their Stereo 120.
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HistoricalReference
Farewell to the Paper Cone
Irving M. Fried  |  Jun 06, 2019  |  First Published: Sep 01, 1962  | 
Ever since the first electrical loudspeaker—a glorified headphone with a horn on it—was outmoded by the balanced-armature cone speaker, paper has been the standard diaphragm material for speakers reproducing low frequencies. The Rice-Kellogg moving-coil transducer replaced the balanced-armature driving system in 1925, but the paper cone remained. And although many improvements have since been made, were no more major changes in loudspeaker design for over 30 years!
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HistoricalJ. Gordon HoltPhono Cartridge Reviews
Empire 880P phono cartridge
J. Gordon Holt  |  May 30, 2019  |  First Published: Mar 01, 1963  | 
The 880P is a moving-magnet stereo cartridge for use in transcription arms and the few high-quality record changers now available, such as the Garrard Model A and the Lesa units. It has standard ½" mounting centers, and the pickup requires the 47k ohm termination provided by most preamplifiers. The 8mV output, too, is about ideal for nearly all preamps.
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Historical
Stereophile: A Personal Odyssey
Richard Lehnert  |  May 07, 2019  | 
John Atkinson (left) and Richard Lehnert (right) in RL's house in May 2011, the day before RL moved from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to Ashland, Oregon. (Photo: Susannah Tyrrell)

I first became aware of the existence of Stereophile sometime in spring 1985, while working as a typesetter in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (Remember typesetting?) From far down the hall behind me I heard a big, high-pitched laugh. I turned to see my present boss guiding toward my dark typesetting cell my future boss: a very tall, balding, round-faced man with a huge grin who shambled along in loose chinos and a Hawaiian shirt in full sail.
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HistoricalReference
Analog vs Digital: Home-Brew Science at the Edge of the Art
Jay Clawson, Chuck Zeilig  |  Mar 07, 2019  |  First Published: Jun 01, 1986  | 
Publisher's note: The following article, from the early days of Compact Disc, is presented with no claim for absoluteness. (In fact, just as we go to press in the spring of 1986, we received a manuscript from Philip Greenspun, Product Review Editor of Computer Music Journal (Cambridge, MA), who had precisely the opposite result when comparing CD to analog versions of the same recording, though it was unclear that his test procedures were as thorough as in the tests by these authors.) The tests described are neither single- nor double-blind, and the author's decision to forego conversation while listening to the same products does not by any means guarantee lack of mutual influence—especially because their musical tastes are so well known to each other. Moreover, repeating the test with different phono equipment, a different CD player, and a different replica of the master tape would likely yield somewhat different results.

Nevertheless, I think the basic conclusion is sound: good CD reproduction is remarkably close to a fairly good version of master tape sound; there's a good chance that it's more accurate than what you'll get from the average cartridge, tonearm, and turntable.

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