Description: Solid-state integrated amplifier with four line inputs. Output power: 100Wpc into 8 ohms (20dBW), 200Wpc into 4 ohms (20dBW). Input impedance: 22k ohms.
Dimensions: 17" W by 5" H by 11.5" D. Weight: 32 lbs.
Price: $1795. Approximate number of dealers: sold direct.
Manufacturer: Portal Audio, 6626 Charter Hills Road, Charlotte, NC 28277. Tel: (888) 737-4434. Web: www.portalaudio.com.
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Sidebar: Specifications
You're a typical audiophile. You read this magazine and others like it cover to cover, month after month, keeping up with industry trends and insider gossip. You've ingratiated yourself with every hi-fi dealer in your area, all of whom will let you take equipment home for extended auditions, give you generous trade-in allowances, and sell to you at a small percentage above their cost. Never pay retail, you chuckle to yourself, checking the newspaper's classifieds for audio bargains.
On weekends, you chase around to garage sales and flea markets in search of collector's items. You've been…
If you want to go all the way with a "statement" store, you might need two or three million to really do it right. Got an easy source for quick liquid capital? There's always your rich great-aunt, parents, in-laws, your savings, a second mortgage on your home, your local importer of recreational pharmaceuticals, or the lottery. Many eager entrepreneurs have tapped such sources.
The bank, a common supplier of start-up funds, will want you to provide proof of your stability and good intentions with a well-thought-out business plan that will answer some fundamental questions: What do you…
The security guard out front was able to call the building's plumber, who lived 30 miles away and said he would be there as soon as he could. I spent the next two hours on wet knees, forcing the broomstick into the water heater while I waited for the plumber—and the TV producer, who went ballistic when he saw what was happening. He cursed me, my friend, the audio industry, the building, the building's owner, the building's supervisor, the plumber, the city of Atlanta, the state of Georgia, and the entire southern United States, which he called a "Godforsaken third-world nation." He also…
Don't be shy about charging your customers the maximum for installation work; no matter how much it is, the job will begin to be unprofitable after your third or fourth no-charge service call. When bidding installations, take your maximum markup on hardware, and figure labor at twice your hourly labor cost, per man. When I was doing lots of freelance installs, one rule of thumb that worked well for me was to "guesstimate" the amount of time a job would take, then tack on 50% for the unknown—for the rental of tools to penetrate impenetrable hidden reinforced concrete or for the necessary…
Unfortunately, it isn't. Too many manufacturers take the position that if one of their products fails, it did so because of dealer ignorance or owner abuse. This is nonsense. Any well-designed, well-made piece of modern electronics should work perfectly for thousands of hours before it develops a problem, if ever. Don't allow yourself to be bullied by a haughty attitude or the implied threat to take the line away: if you do, you'll soon find your storeroom filling up with dead equipment you can't fix, can't return, and can't sell.
Take a tough stance from the moment you sign your dealer'…
TONY BENNETT/BILL EVANS: The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album
Tony Bennett, vocals; Bill Evans, piano
JVC JVCXR-0208-2 (CD). 1975/2001. Helen Keane, prod.; Don Cody, eng.; Akira Taguchi, XRCD2 prod., Alan Yoshida, XRCD2 mastering eng. AAD?. TT: 35:09
Performance *****
Sonics ****
Tony Bennett, vocals; Bill Evans, piano
JVC JVCXR-0208-2 (CD). 1975/2001. Helen Keane, prod.; Don Cody, eng.; Akira Taguchi, XRCD2 prod., Alan Yoshida, XRCD2 mastering eng. AAD?. TT: 35:09
Performance *****
Sonics ****
Everybody's favorite saloon singer, Frank Sinatra, often cited Tony Bennett as his favorite vocalist, and Bennett's returns of that favor have been quoted at length. A case can be made for Sinatra's spiritual relationship to Billie Holiday, while Bennett acknowledges Louis Armstrong as a vital influence…
It is a truism that audiophiles love music. What distinguishes us (footnote 1) from the vast majority of music lovers is the importance we ascribe to the high-quality reproduction of recorded music. But what, exactly, constitutes high-quality sound reproduction? To many audiophiles, the answer relates to accuracy. Useful indices of accuracy include many of the parameters that editor John Atkinson routinely measures: flat frequency response, time and phase accuracy, and low distortion, to name a few. On the other hand, many audiophiles apparently have little interest in these aspects and…
Letters in response appeared in May 2006 (Vol.29 No.5):
Truth, beauty, extremism
Editor: I really enjoyed Laurence A. Borden's article, "Truth vs Beauty" (March 2006, p.57), in which the author compares "beauty seekers" (equipment designers and audiophiles who favor a romantic and pleasant sound over ultimate detail and measured accuracy) to "truth seekers" (those who place greater emphasis on absolute purity of sound and equipment specs). Within this hobby there are extremists on either side of this debate. And, like all extremists—political, religious, or otherwise—these…
What could be easier to review than a power amplifier? No features or functions aside from inputs, outputs, and a power switch. So when Jonathan Scull asked if I could help out by taking on the Rotel RB 1080, which another reviewer hadn't been able to get to, I accepted the assignment. Before I could click my heels and say "FedEx!" twice, Rotel's 200Wpc RB 1080 had appeared.
I'm old enough to remember the Dyna Mk.II, which for the first time allowed impecunious audiophiles who had ogled Marantz and McIntosh equipment to acquire a power amp capable of driving nearly any speaker…