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What can you tell about the intrinsic sound quality of a loudspeaker if you've heard it only at an audio show? Arguably, not much. If it sounds bad, there may be a number of reasons for that, only one being the speaker itself. It may be the acoustics of the room, problems with speaker setup, poorly matched associated equipment, insufficient break-in/warm-up, or poor choice of demo recordings. Other conditions may not be conducive to the speaker revealing its potential, such as not being able to sit in the sweet spot, being distracted by people talking throughout the demo, etc. You might…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Due to some logistical issues, I couldn't measure the Focus 10s auditioned by Jason Victor Serinus. Instead, I tested samples that had been shipped to me from Denmark by Dynaudio. The serial numbers were 10033212 (Primary, left) and 10033213 (Client, right).
I followed the manual's instructions to set up the Dynaudio Focus 10s, first installing the Dynaudio Connect and Control app on my iPhone 11 then connecting the Primary speaker to my Wi-Fi network. Once the speaker was connected to the network, it automatically updated its firmware to version 1.2.77.…
In the summer of 2021, MoFi Distribution's Jonathan Derda emailed me about the South Korean HiFi Rose brand. "This brand strikes me as being the spiritual successor to the original SlimDevices Transporter and Squeezebox Touch," he wrote. "We're all really excited about it."
I bought a Wi-Fi–connected Slim Devices Squeezebox at the beginning of 2006, to experiment with streaming. When Slim Devices released the high-performance Transporter, I was sufficiently impressed that I purchased the review sample after measuring it for Wes Phillips's review in the February 2007 issue. I used the…
LELAND RUCKER
BOB DYLAN: World Gone Wrong
Columbia CK 57590 (CD). 1993. Bob Dylan, prod.; Micajah Ryan, eng. AAD. TT: 43:58
BOB DYLAN: World Gone Wrong
Columbia CK 57590 (CD). 1993. Bob Dylan, prod.; Micajah Ryan, eng. AAD. TT: 43:58
They're calling this the worst economic period since the Great Depression. Fifteen years ago Bob Dylan channeled the Mississippi Sheiks, popular among Great Depression audiences because, as he observes, "their songs are faultlessly made for these modern times." And so they are: Songs of hypocrisy, lust, and economic and political turmoil. Songs blaming the other guy. Songs, written decades ago, that show that, as a species, we haven't changed much.…
PSB’s Paul Barton, proud designer of the new Imagine Mini. Photo: Bob Deutsch.
I complain—a lot—about Vegas. I have to apologize to my family, friends, and colleagues for all the whining I’ve let loose over the last couple of weeks. I’m sorry.
I should apologize to you, too, Las Vegas, because there must be more to you than all your neon lights and annoying buzzers and piped oxygen and smoky casinos, your fancy facades and empty promises—everything in Las Vegas looks beautiful from afar, but the closer you get, the uglier it becomes, the clearer its lies and flaws, the more…
As I begin writing this column, I'm on an airplane on my way back from the funeral of David A. Wilson, founder of Wilson Audio Specialties. Two days before I left for Provo, Utah, came the news that my friend and analog mentor, Wally Malewicz, had died the previous day in Minneapolis, after suffering a massive heart attack. Immutable Music's Seiji Yoshioka, designer of the Transfiguration phono cartridges, passed away February 17, after a lengthy hospital stay. (I hadn't written anything about this before because his family, which plans to keep the brand alive, wasn't then ready to make an…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
When I received the sample of the Moonriver 404 Reference that Jason Victor Serinus had auditioned, serial number DK201002153RE, it rattled when I unpacked it. I removed the top cover and saw that the amplifier had incurred damage during its transcontinental journey. The heavy toroidal power transformer is mounted on one side of the large printed circuit board that occupies almost all the amplifier's internal space, with two aluminum straps connecting the board to the central internal heatsink to provide the necessary support. The box must have been dropped on its…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Cary SLI-100 amplifier using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). Before doing so, I installed all the tubes, following the guide in the excellent manual, and checked the bias current for the KT150 output tubes. Each channel measured close to the recommended 75mA. I ran a 1kHz tone through the amplifier at 1Wpc into 8 ohms, then rechecked the bias before starting the testing. I checked the bias currents several times while performing the measurements, but neither channel had drifted by more than a few milliamps. I…
Herb Reichert wrote about the Aqua Formula xHD in January 2019, Vol.42 No.1):
On first hearing, Aqua Acoustic Quality's Formula xHD D/A processor was highly engaging. It was immediately obvious that the Formula xHD was a relaxed, unmechanical-sounding ladder DAC—a converter that dispenses with off-the-shelf processor chips in favor of a string of voltage dividers, made from discrete resistors arranged in an R-2R or ladder configuration. In less than a minute, I was admiring the deluxe, all-natural quality of its sound. Wow! I thought. So this is what it's like to have a $17,000 DAC in my…
Kalman Rubinson
Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos 1 & 2, Rondo Brillant, Hebrides Overture
Roberto Prosseda, piano; The Hague Residentie Orchestra, Jan Willem de Vriend
Decca 4817207 (5.1-channel DXD download, CD). 2018. Bert van der Wolf, prod., eng. DDD. TT: 62:08
Bert van der Wolf of Northstar Recording, producer of many wonderful albums for Channel Classics and other labels, now has a license to release on his website, www.spiritofturtle.com, the projects he records for Decca "in all the High Resolution versions that I have available." I hope his model…