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I played LPs on a Well Tempered Turntable fitted with a Naim ARO tonearm and Sumiko Transfiguration MC cartridge; CDs were played on a Theta Data Basic transport Linque'd to Theta's new Generation V digital processor; and eight-tracks were played on a Wollensak 8050A deck. Preamps included the Audible Illusions Modulus 3, my own buffered passive job, and Exposure's XVII. I tried the Minuettos with an Aragon 4004 Mk.II, an Exposure IV Dual-Regulated, and my vintage Dynaco Stereo 70 tube amp, with the bulk of the listening done with the Aragon.

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The Sonus Faber's B-weighted sensitivity, at a calculated 85dB/W/m, was moderate for a small speaker. Its impedance (fig.1) is kind to amplifiers, remaining above 6.5 ohms at low frequencies, and above 12 ohms in the treble. The port is tuned to 42Hz, the frequency of the saddle between the two low-frequency impedance peaks, though the lower peak is much lower in frequency than is usually the case.

The individual response plots for the…

Description: Two-way ported, stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drivers: 6.5" paper-cone woofer, 1" fabric-dome tweeter with ferrofluid cooling. Frequency response: 40Hz–30kHz. Sensitivity: 88dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Recommended amplifier power: 30–150W. Finishes available: teak, walnut, and black ash standard; others to order.
Dimensions: 16" (406mm) H by 8" (203mm) W by 10" (254mm) D. Weight: 27 lbs (12.3kg).
Serial number of review samples: P03319.
Price: $1400/pair (1994); no longer available (2013). Approximate number of dealers: 35.
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For several months, on and off, the ProAcs took over my listening room from the mighty NHT 3.3s—my long-term reference speakers for over a year and a half now. Solid-state amplifiers included an Aragon 4004 Mk.II, an NAD Model 304 integrated, and an Exposure IV Dual-Regulated. I tried the ProAcs with two tube amps as well: my trusty, mostly stock Dynaco Stereo 70, and a 2W—that's right, two watt—homebrew, single-ended, direct-coupled amp featuring the 45 output triode, and which was designed by Wavelength Audio's Gordon Rankin and built by Sound Practices…

The Studio 100 was quite sensitive at an estimated 86dB/W/m (B-weighted), although I would have thought this would be marginal for use with a 2W amplifier. Its impedance, however, would be acceptable to PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Amplifiers). Fig.1 shows that, apart from at the port tuning frequency of 44Hz and in the upper bass, where it drops to a minimum value of 6.75 ohms at 200Hz, the impedance remains above a benign 8 ohms. A very slight wrinkle at 280Hz, probably not visible at the scale graphs are printed in Stereophile, indicates the…

Stereophile celebrated 50 years of continuous publication in November 2012 and released its milestone 400th issue in May. The magazine remains committed to providing all audiophiles&#151young, old, enthusiastic newbies, and grumpy veterans alike&#151the tools necessary to get the very best from their systems and music libraries. To that end, we’ve bundled our hot-selling Recommended Components Collector’s Edition and our invaluable test discs into two neat and affordable Audiophile Essentials packages.

The Audiophile Essentials Editor’s Choice Package ($15) includes…

Wait! What!? You want me to go to Munich? Oh baby, I'm totally IN!

What follows are my impressions of a handful of exhibitors that tickled my ears.

Intro
I'm a headphone guy (see InnerFidelity.com), so when JA asked me to provide a report on four or five of my favorite listening…

According to the company:

The Munich High End Show is huge. It is also very well organized…