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Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Vienna Acoustics Mozart loudspeaker
Robert Deutsch  |  Mar 27, 2005  |  First Published: Jan 27, 1997  |  1 comments
Vienna is a beautiful city known for many things, but the design and manufacturing of audio equipment is not one of them. Waltzes and strudel, yes; loudspeakers, no. One exception is Vienna Acoustics, a company that has introduced a line of loudspeakers named after composers: Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and Haydn. At the 1996 Las Vegas WCES, Sumiko, US distributor of Vienna Acoustics products (footnote 1), demonstrated the second-from-the-top Mozart, and Stereophile reviewers as diverse in their approaches as Jonathan Scull, Tom Norton, and Sam Tellig (as well as yours truly) were unanimous in our admiration of the sound.
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Integrated Amp Reviews
Arcam Alpha 10 integrated amplifier & Alpha 10P power amplifier
Wes Phillips  |  Mar 27, 2005  |  First Published: Dec 27, 1998  |  0 comments
Consider the lowly spork, that modern marvel of versatility: half spoon, half fork. In theory, you should be able to eat just about anything short of a flank steak with it. But the sad fact is, whether you're eating soup or salad, you might as well try to shovel it in using a tongue depressor. The damn thing's so versatile, it almost doesn't work at all. There's a lot to be said for specialization.
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News
New Products For Spring 2005
 |  Mar 21, 2005  |  0 comments
Stick it in your wall: Polk Audio has introduced three new subwoofers aimed at the custom installation market. The $600 CSW88 is a sealed in-wall model featuring dual 8" long-throw, shallow-basket woofers mounted behind a metal pressure plate. Its enclosure is constructed from MDF with 1/8" aluminum panels. It is designed to fit within standard stud-wall construction, measuring 60" (H) by 13.5" (W) by 3.5" (D). Rather than a grille, the CSW utilizes a vent, which, not at all coincidentally, measures the same as a standard 10" by 4" heating vent. Inputs on the top and bottom of the enclosure simplify wiring.
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News
UmixIt? U Bet!
Wes Phillips  |  Mar 21, 2005  |  0 comments
Convinced that your favorite music would have sounded even better if you'd been the mixing engineer? UmixIt Technologies is going to let you put your money where your mouth is.
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News
CEA Declares Independence
Jon Iverson  |  Mar 21, 2005  |  0 comments
Audio equipment manufacturers want as few restrictions as possible when designing new products. Audio content providers, on the other hand, seem hell-bent on locking down any music you buy tighter than Fort Knox.
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News
Brussels Hi Fi Show Announced
Jon Iverson  |  Mar 21, 2005  |  0 comments
Audiophiles know there is no better reason to travel abroad than to attend a hi fi show in a foreign city. I'm only half kidding. With dozens of shows, most open to the public and scattered across every continent, what better way to see the world?
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Vote
What has been your favorite of all the components you've ever owned? Why?
Stereophile  |  Mar 20, 2005  |  101 comments

Some components simply endear themselves to audiophiles

What has been your favorite of all the components you've ever owned? Why?
Here it is
94% (101 votes)
Never had a favorite
6% (6 votes)
Total votes: 107
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Art Dudley Listening
Listening #27
Art Dudley  |  Mar 20, 2005  |  0 comments
Our December 2004 issue honored 56 contemporary audio products that stood out from the pack during the course of the year. Of those 56, fully nine were phonograph components (footnote 1), including one—the Linn Sondek LP12 turntable—that's been on the market for something like a hundred years.
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CD Player/Transport Reviews
Ensemble Dirondo CD player
Brian Damkroger  |  Mar 20, 2005  |  0 comments
I've encountered a number of audio products over the years whose thoughtful design and intricate craftsmanship brought to mind the expression "built like a Swiss watch." As often as I'd thought or even written that phrase, however, I don't think I'd ever stopped to seriously consider what an audio component might be like if actually built by the nation that produces Rolex and Breitling wristwatches.
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Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Verity Audio Sarastro loudspeaker
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 20, 2005  |  0 comments
Over the past year or so, a parade of expensive loudspeakers has passed through my listening room (footnote 1), each claimed by its manufacturer to deliver the real musical deal. Like the people who designed them, these speakers have come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. While the designer of every one of these speakers has claimed "accuracy" and "transparency" as his goal, the truth is, any concoction of pulsing cones, ribbons, sheets of Mylar, or whatever that's bolted into or on top of a box makes music because it is a musical instrument. How could it be otherwise, when all of these accomplished and expensive loudspeakers have sounded very different from one another, and made me feel different while listening to them?
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