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Alright—you: up against the wall!

No, I'm not Daryl Gates. I was just telling the Muse Model 18 active subwoofer that its services weren't going to be needed for this review; I can't very well judge an amp from 75Hz up only, can I?

Aw, c'mon! It was sitting right there; I had to try it! As I said in my July turntable roundup, the Muse Model 18 subwoofer has been absolutely killer in my system, giving the Spica Angeluses bass and dynamic capability across the board they never dreamed of. Inside this…

Both Robert Harley and Corey Greenberg had raved about the Muse Model 18, a slot-loaded mono active subwoofer. Small plug-in circuit boards ("Personality Cards") allow the Muse to be customized to different satellite loudspeakers. This customization, and the Muse's very restricted frequency response (17Hz–100Hz), allow it to play with dynamic agility and a lack of plodding slowness. The Muse has become one of this magazine's top-rated subwoofers at a price competitive with the Velodyne ULD-18 and somewhat less imposing…

The subwoofer to beat, of course, would appear to be the Muse Model 18. My experience with this woofer had been limited to shows and the occasional visit to Robert Harley's listening room, where the Muses are a regular fixture. Since Bob was occupied reviewing two large, full-range loudspeakers and not currently using the Muse, I took the opportunity to snatch (footnote 1) his sample away for a listen in my own system. Muse was kind enough to send along several personality cards for the Model 18. I inserted the card for…

Description: Powered monophonic slot-loaded subwoofer. Drivers: two 10" long-throw woofers. Alignment: 6th-order. Internal amplifier power: 225W. High-pass filter type: 4th-order passive with active buffers. High-pass gain: unity, with 100 ohm output impedance. Maximum high-pass output level: 10V RMS. High-pass –3dB point: default at 50Hz, selectable with different "personality cards." Low-pass –3dB point: default of 50Hz, selectable with different "personality cards." Controls: 3: level, damping, and delay. System –3dB point: 18–25Hz depending on damping…

From the safety of your own home or office (without the threat of JA throwing a baseball at you or pouring a glass of water on your laptop), you can tune in to Scott’s podcast and enjoy much of what JA covered in his fascinating lecture, titled “Where Did the Negative…

Chick Corea is at the Blue Note in New York City all for the entire month, celebrating his 70th birthday by riffling through all the chapters of his wildly eclectic career, playing different music with different bands, shifting casts and moods each week, sometimes from night to night.

I caught the early set Thursday, a trio with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Brian Blade, and it was a thorough delight. Last time Corea played the club, in May of last year, with Eddie Gomez and Paul Motian, in a set he titled “Further Explorations of Bill…

Tomorrow night, from 7 to 8pm, in the Rare Book Room of Manhattan’s wonderful Strand Bookstore (828 Broadway), author Kevin Avery will sign copies of his new book, Everything is An Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson.

Who was Paul Nelson?

From the Strand:

The RS-30EQ is just as well built as Leben's CS300 integrated amplifier, with which I auditioned…

Description: Tubed phono preamplifier. Tube complement: two JAN 12AT7A (GE), one 6X5GT (GE).Phono inputs: 1 (MM). Voltage gain: 23.5dB. Input impedance: 47k ohms. Output voltage: 175mV.
Dimensions: 13.3" (340mm) W by 5.5" (140mm) H by 9.4" (240mm) D. Weight: 13.2 lbs (6kg).
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 960120.
Price: $2695. Approximate number of dealers: 11.
Manufacturer: Leben Hi-Fi Stereo Company, 3-22-2 Nishikoya, Amagasaki City, Hyogo 661-0047, Japan. Tel: (81) 06-6433-4054. Web: lebenhifi.com. US distributor: Tone Imports. Web: www.…

Analog Sources: Garrard 301, Thorens TD 124 turntables; EMT 997, Schick tonearms; Ortofon SPU, EMT OFD 25 & OFD 65 pickup heads.
Digital Sources: Wavelength Proton USB D/A converter; Apple iMac G5 computer running Apple iTunes V.10.2.2, Decibel V.1.0.2 playback software; Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player; Sony PlayStation 1 (as CD player).
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Standard (SPU version), Silvercore One-to-Ten step-up transformers; Shindo Masseto preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Shindo Corton-Charlemagne monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Audio…