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Winner of a coveted CTA Innovation Award, Wilson Benesch's A.C.T. One Evolution loudspeaker, here shown in the P1 version with eye-catching blue carbon-fiber composite cabinet ($38,800/pair, or $36,500/pair with standard cabinet), maintains the company's use of carbon-fiber technology. As explained by Wilson Benesch's Craig and Luke Milnes, the use of carbon fiber enhances the speaker enclosure's stiffness as well as its damping properties. The blue P1 model has an additional thick skin of carbon fiber which grants the speaker cabinet additional control and "improves everything."
Transparent Audio has added to its line the Opus power cord ($5750/2m) and Opus Power Isolator ($15,950 including an Opus power cord). Claimed to use all-new technology that improves vibration control and hence lowers the noise floor, these are the company's new top-of-the-line products in their respective categories.
The Opus Power Isolator, which is a power conditioner, has a unique carbon-fiber carapace (shell) to eliminate magnetic-field interference and control vibrations, and includes a special dampening epoxy that is intended to further control vibrations that can limit dynamics.…
There's no connection implied between their position on the floor in the photo above and their status as Stage III Concepts' new entry-level offerings: The Stage III Concepts Kyros interconnect ($1800/1m RCA pair, $1900/1m balanced pair) and speaker cable ($4400/2m pair) feature proprietary cryogenically treated Hyperion connectors with silver contacts and ceramic-infused polymer insulators. Also boasting four cryogenically treated continuous-cast pure-silver "Aerostrand" ribbon conductors and proprietary shielding, the Kyros products are scaled-down versions of the company's more expensive…
Esprit, a French cable company celebrating its 20th anniversary, was represented by Richard Cesari. Now imported by Source Systems Ltd., the cables are all handmade. "It takes 16 hours to make one cable," said Cesari.
Almost the entire Esprit line is now available in the US. The company pays special attention to shielding, and uses lithium-ion batteries in its top four lines. All connectors are 14-micron silver-plated copper. Other special features include the use of long-crystal, ultra-pure copper, a silicon dielectric, and Kynar (polyvinylidene difluoride, a thermoplastic fluoropolymer…
Virtually identical in appearance to the Niagara 7000—the only outward differences are two little lights and one button—AudioQuest's new 38-lb Niagara 5000 ($4000) "Low-Z Power/Noise-Dissipation System"(shown sitting atop the Niagara 7000) is one-half the price and 50 lbs lighter than its big brother. AudioQuest's Kevin Wolff characterizes it as "an extremely high-value piece that offers 90 percent of the 7000's performance at half the price."
To get a bit more specific, the Niagara 5000's high-current power-correction circuitry is identical, and ideal for systems where source components…
Whatever I mock, I become. Before I started prattling for Stereophile, I thought all class-D amplifiers were
well, "Not class-A amplifiers." And then I reviewed the hybrid tube/class-D Rogue Sphinx integrated ($1495). And then I borrowed a Bel Canto REF500S ($2595). And I came away praising the beauty of both amplifiers' voices. And it was just today when I discovered the physical and sonic beauties of Bel Canto's REF600M monoblock ($4990/pair), which Kalman Rubinson reviewed in the September 2016 issue.
What's not to like about this amplifier?
It looks pro-school Paul Newman…
I know that Hegel Music Systems founder and chief engineer Bent Holter named his company after a music group he used to play in, called the Hegel Band. But
every time I listen to recordings via products made by Hegel Music Systems, my mind still drifts to the analytic-poetic philosophies of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)—and it's not just because they all share a name. Even when I am not playing German music from the Romantic era, I speculate about how naturally Hegel products synthesize my experiences of sound (objective) and music (subjective) in a way that overcomes and negates…
CES 2017 saw the introduction of the 350Wpc Mark Levinson No.534 stereo amplifier ($20,000). Todd Eichenbaum, Director of Engineering for Harman International's Luxury Audio Group and designer of the No.534, explained that it was developed to fit between Levinson's entry-level No.532H stereo amplifier ($8000) and the $50,000/pair No.53 reference monoblock amplifiers. The No.534 is a fully differential, fully discrete, dual-monaural amplifier. It uses the company's Pure Path circuit design, which includes a folded cascode, high-bias circuit to drive its 24 output transistors (12 per channel),…
The Vacuum Tube Logic room was difficult for me
and I am not sure why. Luke Manley was, as always, the most convivial and informative host. I visited his room three times, collecting photos and data, and every time Luke was smiling his big Luke-smile: "Herb, how can I help you?" He handed me a list of all the products and their prices: That small gesture always makes my life happier and easier. The room was well-lit—and yet I failed to get good pictures.
But the sound? Ahhhh! Music reproduction was world-class/top-shelf, with just the right touches of pepper and sunshine to keep it from…
Mark Levinson introduced its new No.523 stereo preamplifier ($15,000) at CES 2017. Todd Eichenbaum, who designed the No.523, explained that it offers many of features found in the company's No.52 preamplifier ($30,000). However, compared to that reference preamp, the No.523 is an all-new design. It features six line-level inputs, a phono preamplifier, and a headphone amplifier (there's a 1/4" jack on the preamp's front panel). The No.523 is identical in every way to Levinson's No.526 preamplifier ($20,000), apart from lacking that unit's internal DAC.