After reviewing Bryston's BP-173 line preamplifier ($3995) in June 2018, I returned the review sample to Bryston to have its optional DAC and moving-magnet phono modules installed ($750 each). I was curious to hear if these options would maintain the high standard set by this component, which is included in Stereophile's "Recommended Components."
When the BP-173 returned, it looked unchanged. But when I removed its top plate, I saw that two new daughterboards had been installed above the…
"Herb is one of those triode-horn guys."
Wrong. Most of my life, I've favored solid-state integrated amplifiers driving small, British-made speakers.
"I'm sure he hates digital."
Wrong again. I sold all my LPs some 12 years ago, and since then I've been filling my days with CDs and high-resolution downloads. (However, I am starting to collect vinyl again, because my vintage DNA still remembers how to worship at the Altar of Black Discs.)
"Reichert? He's a mono guy. He's not into imaging."…
I performed a full set of measurements on one of the two FMJ P49 samples I was sent (serial no. FPA4901087_14_52), using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). As the P49 is specified as having a maximum power output of 200Wpc into 8 ohms, I preconditioned it before the measurements by running both channels at one-third that power, 67W, with a 1kHz signal into 8 ohms, for one hour. Following that period, the top panel was warm, at 109.8°F (43.3°C), though the vents covering the internal heatsinks were hotter, at 134.1°F (56.8°C).…
Art Dudley was the first at Stereophile to discover this little gem, which he reviewed in the October 2013 issue. I was intrigued because: a) Artie loves it, and b) John Atkinson does not. After measuring it, JA snorted: "To me, it seems, at best, inadequately engineered, and at its worst . . . just plain inadequate."
You have been warned: If you listen to test tones, you can probably hear distortion. JA: "[T]he phono stage suffers from a severe rolloff in the treble. . . ."
JA measured the output impedance…
In December 2013, the KEF LS50 loudspeaker ($1499.99/pair) was named Stereophile's Budget Product and Overall Component of the Year, marking the first time in 22 years of voting that any component had earned this strange double distinction. Consider the achievement: The former award is typically granted to products that provide outstanding value but may nevertheless exhibit some obvious, albeit carefully considered, compromise(s); the latter, loftier award is often won by cost-no-object, flagship designs that shun even the…
"lt's kind of Roy's philosophy," Bateman explained. "The Brio is the amplifier equivalent of a Planar 3 turntable, which is no-frills. Digital would get in the way. It's like the old amplifiers of 40 years ago: the Creek CAS4040, Arcam A60, or the Sugden…
The Nomad's transient articulation was superb. In Charles Wuorinen's Speculum Speculi, with Fred Sherry conducting Speculum…