Stand Loudspeaker Reviews

Michael Fremer wrote about the Paradox phono preamplifier in the March 2022 Analog Corner, Jim Austin reviewed the CH Precision D1.5 CD/SACD player/transport in March 2022, and Herb Reichert included the EJ Jordan Marlow standmount speaker in his April 2022 Gramophone Dreams column. All three products get further coverage in Stereophile's May 2022 issue.

After the original review of the CH Precision D1.5 had been prepared for publication, it turned out that the review sample had not had the correct firmware installed. Not only did this mean that it didn't offer the specified optimal time-domain performance, the frequency response with CD data rolled off like a stone above 15kHz. CH sent Jim Austin the correct firmware and he reports on the difference it made to the player's sound quality here.

Michael Fremer was impressed by the Paradox Phono 70 Signature and suggested it would be worth my taking a look at its measured performance. The results of my testing are published here and suggest that this phono preamplifier will work best with low-output moving coil cartridges, like the Ortofon Verismo Mikey had used in his auditioning.

Herb Reichert enthused about the sound of the EJ Jordan Marlow, which uses a single 4" drive-unit developed from the small full-range drivers invented by the late Ted Jordan. The Marlow "offers a unique form of unmitigated clarity that will not be easily matched by conventional boxes with multiple drivers and crossovers," he wrote, adding that "Its super-focused imaging and extraordinary transparency made recordings sound unusually direct and unsullied." Intrigued, I subjected the Marlow to my standardized loudspeaker testing regime, including comparing its spatially averaged in-room response with those of two other high-performance minimonitors, the Vivid Kaya S12 and the GoldenEar BRX. Click here to see what I found.

We have also reprinted EJ Jordan's Manufacturer's Comment, in which the British company's Colin Shelbourn explains why he felt the tradeoffs between the Marlow's frequency-domain and time-domain performance worthwhile.