The system was made of Sony’s big, gorgeously finished SS-AR1 loudspeakers ($27,000/pair; reviewed by Kal Rubinson in our July issue), Pass Labs amplification, Parasound Halo JC3 phono preamplifier, and Clearaudio Concept turntable.
Overall, the sound was as Kal described the sound of the Sony SS-AR1: Smooth, unaggressive, and rich, with a generous bottom end, ample soundstage, and good detail. Sweet, sweet, sweet.
The two-way,…
Margules’ Grand Orpheus loudspeakers ($30,000/pair) were mated to the company’s 40Wpc U280 power amplifier and F220 preamplifier ($3000). Source was the M6 CD player ($2500) and cables were all Cardas.
Whether playing solo piano or large-scale orchestral, I was impressed by the system’s sense of flow…
Our host, Steven Lester, used an iPad running PlugPlayer and a QNAP NAS to play a combination of "Red Book," DVD-A, HDTracks, and Society of Sound files.
Vocals sounded consistently big and smooth,…
Partnering Gradient’s Revolution Active loudspeakers ($11,995/pair) in bi-amped configuration with a $500 Fosgate amplifier and 50Wpc Resolution Audio C50 amp, and playing ordinary CD-quality music files through iTunes running Channel D’s Pure Music and a Resolution Audio Cantata Music Center (review to come from Jon Iverson), Ryan wanted…
I was delighted to see so many people at the 2011 California Audio Show so attentively listening to music, as though listening to music on the hi-fi in 2011 is as much of an event as watching an episode of “True Blood” on Sunday night. Of course, we know that listening to music on the hi-fi is a special event, an active, enriching, and entertaining experience, worthy of our time and energy for the joy and nourishment it brings our minds and souls. It’s a lot of fun. If you were present at the California Audio Show, you experienced this…
A week ago, when we first caught up with Owen and Ben, they were about $2000 away from the funds needed to support their Kickstarter project. As of today, with 10 days left to go, they are only $500 short of their goal! Owen says we’ve…
Instead, most speakers work this way: Complicated electronics split the audio signal into pieces, adding various colorations and phase shifts along the way. The pieces are distributed to different drivers, each of which adds another unique set of characteristics. We then expect these fragments of electronic signal to be brought together again in a continuous, coherent reproduction of music. We agonize over different cable routings or which contact cleaner to use, and yet we calmly accept this grotesque…