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The Graham Audio LS8/1 Loudspeakers Debut in the US

Jason Victor Serinus First Published: Oct 13, 2021
Jake Snider of Gig Harbor Audio and band Minus the Bear stands between Philip O'Hanlon of On A Higher Note (left) and Gig Harbor co-owner Erik Owen (right).

After two years of COVID-enforced isolation, the ever-dapper Philip O'Hanlon, founder and president of On A Higher Note distribution, flew to the PNW (footnote 1) to present, on October 2, the US premiere of the Graham Audio Limited Anniversary Edition LS8/1 loudspeaker. At $9700/pair with stands, the Graham Anniversary Edition LS8/1 looked right at home in the tastefully appointed, main floor showroom of three-floor Gig Harbor Audio, a dealership located a major swim or easy drive from the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area.

News T.H.E. Show 2021

T.H.E. (First Post-Pandemic) Show Starts Today

Jason Victor Serinus First Published: Jun 11, 2021
It's been a long time coming, but it is finally happening. As I write these words, T.H.E. Show (aka The Home Entertainment Show), the successor to the late Richard Beers' original T.H.E. Show that began as an alternative high-end showplace to CES, is about to begin in the Long Beach Hilton. (That's Long Beach, California, for the uninitiated.) Dealers and exhibitors have set up in 20 or so rooms and numerous marketplace booths, said their prayers, enjoyed dinner in the hotel or in downtown Long Beach, and begun to burrow in for the night. As they do, components cook, cables settle, and the acoustic gods and karmic gatekeepers prepare to hold their traditional midnight meeting of the minds to decide each exhibitor's fate.
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The FTC Proposes Eliminating Its "Amplifier Rule"

John Atkinson First Published: Feb 08, 2021
When I joined Hi-Fi News in the mid-1970s, one of that magazine's stable mates reviewed cars. An automotive writer appeared in the pub one lunchtime—"I rolled another one," he said, as he joined us at the bar. It turned out that one of his tasks was to take a car he was testing to the skid pad to see how many lateral G's the car could handle. Of course, the chances of a consumer turning that car over were minimal, but the reviewer was investigating the edges of the performance envelope.

As I became familiar with audio measurements, it struck me that the equivalent of the skid pan test was the thermal preconditioning we perform when we get an amplifier on the test bench. Even if an end-user doesn't drive his amplifier into thermal meltdown, the edges of the envelope need to be explored.

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Tim de Paravicini, RIP

Jonathan Scull First Published: Dec 18, 2020
Dammit! Tim de Paravicini, the Baron as he was known, passed from this mortal coil on December 17th, 2020. I loved the guy. His deep, steeped, sharp-elbowed engineering bona fides in matters of electronics, cars, planes, and life earned him plaudits from all over the world. [Editor's Note: this appreciation of Tim's life and work now includes personal memories from John Atkinson]
Interviews News

Beer & Measurements with Ayre & Atkinson

John Atkinson First Published: Nov 14, 2020
"Pints With Ayre," the series of videos produced by Colorado manufacturer Ayre Acoustics, has been regular viewing chez Atkinson during these pandemic times. Covering subjects like volume control design, amplifier gain stages, audio transformers, and listening tests, the series presents sometimes esoteric technical subjects in an easy-to-grasp manner.

In the latest episode of “Pints With Ayre,” I was invited to talk about a subject close to my heart, the how and why a review magazine’s reviews should be accompanied by measurements. You can find my current thoughts at the link in this article. I don’t think I gave too many secrets away!

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