Description: Low- and high-frequency acoustic absorbers.
Dimensions: 36" and 24" high; 9", 11", 16", and 20" diameter. Semi-cylindrical versions of all sizes available.
Prices: $59–$299, depending on size (1986); $458–$858 (2009).
Manufacturer: Acoustic Sciences Corporation, P.O. Box 1189, Eugene, OR 97440. Tel: (541) 343-9727. Fax: (541) 343-9245. Web: www.tubetrap.com.
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Sidebar: Specifications
BOBBY KING & TERRY EVANS: Rhythm, Blues, Soul & Grooves
Rounder 2101 (LP), CD 2101 (CD). Brian Levi, eng.; Bobby King, Terry Evans, prods. AAA/AAD. TT: 49:53
Rounder 2101 (LP), CD 2101 (CD). Brian Levi, eng.; Bobby King, Terry Evans, prods. AAA/AAD. TT: 49:53
"I ain't askin' for favors / I believe in hard sweat and labor." So begins the first cut on Bobby King's and Terry Evans's second album, Rhythm, Blues, Soul & Grooves. The song is "One Way Ticket to Memphis"; they're home by song's end, and stay there until the end of "Boogie Jam," the last cut—hard sweat and labor are evident on every single track.
It's hard to believe anyone's still making music this vital,…
1950: "The ultimate in disc recording is to make the reproduced sound as near as possible to the original..." (The founder of Audio magazine, C.G. McProud, in "Recording Characteristics," Audio Engineering, January 1950, reprinted in The 2nd Audio Anthology, p.67, Radio Magazines, 1954.)
1951: "One of the important factors in the public acceptance of LP discs is the fact that they can be played with a total absence of surface noise..." (Maximilian Weil in "Phono Facts," Audio Engineering, June 1951, reprinted in The 2nd Audio Anthology, p.62, Radio Magazines, 1954.)
1979: "…
Everyone loves a bargain. Everyone loves finding an undiscovered gem. But for audiophiles on a budget, finding good, reasonably priced cables isn't a luxury but a necessity. In a $1000 or $2500 system, there simply isn't money for $500 interconnects or $1000 speaker cables. Even a $5000 system—which most of my well-educated, music-loving, affluent friends view as pretty extravagant, by the way—can't accommodate premium cables like the Nirvana, Synergistic Research, or Nordost models that we reviewers rave about as "critical to getting the most out of your system."
So it came as a…
The Alpha-Cores were also very good in terms of their reproduction of dynamics, again, particularly at the louder end of the scale, from f to ffff. Orchestral crescendos were reproduced without strain or confusion, and sharp impacts—rimshots, for example—were precise and explosive.
Where the Alpha-Cores fell a bit short of the super-premium cables was at the smaller, subtler end of the scale. Very-low-level detail, like the tonal shadings and textures that clearly identify individual instruments within a section, weren't as clear as with my reference wires. For example, the Alpha-Cores…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Flat-conductor speaker cables and interconnects.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: Micro-Purl Cu: 9287. Micro-Purl Ag: 9406. TQ2: 11.997, 11.998. Python MI2: 23.110, 23.117.
Prices: Python MI2, $287/8' biwire pair w/banana plug or spade termination; Micro-Purl, $78/1m pair (Cu conductor), $127/1m pair (Ag conductor); TQ2, $186/1m pair. Interconnect prices refer to unbalanced (RCA) termination, gold-plated plugs. Solid silver plugs and balanced termination available at extra cost. Approximate number of dealers: 69. Warranty: 3-week money-back…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: VPI TNT-V Hot Rod turntable, JMW Memorial tonearm, Benz-Micro LO4 cartridge.
Digital sources: Wadia 861, Simaudio Moon Eclipse CD players.
Preamplifier: VAC CPA1 Mk.III.
Power amplifiers: Classé CAM 350, VAC Renaissance 70/70, VTL Ichiban.
Loudspeakers: Magnepan MG3.6/R.
Accessories: Duo-Tech Cable Burn-In device, Bright Star isolation systems, MIT Z systems, PAC Super IDOS and Nirvana AC isolation and AC delivery systems, VPI HW16.5 record cleaner, Nordost ECO3 and Musical Fidelity DiskSolution CD treatments, Tiptoes, Sumiko…
Like all companies that have been in business long enough to become fixtures in the marketplace, Infinity has seen its share of changes. It has long been that audio rarity—a company with one foot in the High End and one in the mass market. For the past few years, however, and despite continuing production of the now-classic IRS in its Series V incarnation, Infinity's mass-market foot has been the more firmly planted. Infinity, now a large company, is part of an even larger conglomerate, Harman International.
Cary Christie, one of Infinity's co-founders and the only one still…
Needless to say, the gains of the left and right upper-range amplifiers must be closely matched; the same is true for the woofer amps (footnote 2). But it's also important that the gains of the woofer and upper-range amplifiers be within 6dB of each other, or adjustable to within that range. Controls on the SCU can compensate for up to 6dB of gain difference between these amps, but no more. In addition, the voltage gain of the woofer amplifiers must also be within the 21–39dB range for proper setup—which includes almost all available power amps.
I encountered four problems in my efforts…
The Epsilons driven by the Pass Aleph 0 single-ended, solid-state monoblocks continued to sound remarkable. While my auditioning with the Alephs was too brief for me to state definitively whether I preferred them to the Krell KSA-300S in this application—the Krell certainly left little to be desired—the former did appear to be incredibly fine amplifiers. They do run very hot, however—one shut down twice after several hours of use—but were easily reset by merely being turned off, then on again. Perhaps setting them up side-by-side resulted in a bit too much heat buildup, though they…