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I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Monitor Audio Gold 300's frequency response in the farfield and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield responses. I left off the loudspeaker's grille for the measurements.

Although Monitor Audio specifies the Gold 300's sensitivity as 90dB/W/m, my estimate was almost 3dB lower, at 87.3dB(B)/2.83V/m, perhaps due to the fact that the Gold 300's impedance is specified as 4 ohms. (An input of 2.83V is equivalent to 2W into 4 ohms.) The impedance magnitude (fig.1, solid trace…

Organized by the editors of Stereophile's sister publication Hi-Fi News & Record Review, the show will feature more than 200 brand exhibits, product demonstrations across all audio categories, listening sessions, interactive workshops, seminars on vintage gear, live music performances, and scheduled presentations and demonstrations by famous designers, engineers, and audio personalities, including a vinyl session hosted…

The Soft Parade has long been the Doors' most under-valued album. After the revolutionary impact of the band's first two LPs, The Doors and Strange Days, and the commercial consolidation of the band's popularity on the third, Waiting for the Sun, Soft Parade was perceived as a fall from grace. The charismatic Jim Morrison, famously dubbed "The Lizard King" by Crawdaddy! guru…

Richard Vandersteen doesn't appear to believe in stews or stirring. Vandersteen loudspeakers stay on the market for a long time, with infrequent updates. Consider the Vandersteen Quatro loudspeaker. The…

Listening
Despite its relatively modest size, the Quatro Wood CT…

Vandersteen Quatro Wood CT

Description: Three-way loudspeaker with integral powered subwoofer. Drive-units: 1" dual-chamber, carbon-fiber sandwich, composite-dome tweeter; 4.5" woven composite-cone midrange unit; 6.5" woven, composite-cone mid/woofer; two 8" paper-cone subwoofers. Crossover frequencies: 100Hz, 900Hz, 5kHz. Crossover slopes: first-order, 6dB/ octave. Subwoofer amplifier: built-in, 250W, with 11-band room-response compensation. Frequency response: 24Hz–40kHz, ±2dB. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms (±3 ohms). Sensitivity: 87dB/2.83V/m.
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Analog Source: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv B cartridge, Channel D Seta L phono preamplifier.
Digital Sources: Roon Nucleus+ music server; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream D/A converter; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 USB A/D converter.
Power Amplifiers: Lamm Industries M1.2 Reference (monoblocks).
Cables: AudioQuest Vodka (Ethernet), DH Labs (1m, AES/EBU). Interconnect: AudioQuest Wild Blue (balanced). Speaker: AudioQuest William Tell Zero Bi-Wire (with M5-HPAs…

I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Vandersteen Quatro Wood CT's frequency response in the farfield and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield responses. I left the loudspeaker's grille in place for the measurements, as it provides the necessary acoustic boundary conditions for the drive-units.

Vandersteen specifies the Quatro Wood CT's sensitivity as 87dB/2.83V/m. My estimate was 83dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is lower than average but within experimental error of the 83.5dB/2.83V/m I measured for the…

I performed a full suite of measurements on one of the Vandersteen M5-HPA amplifiers (serial no.0138), using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It"). I usually precondition a power amplifier by running it at one-third the specified power into 8 ohms for 60 minutes. However, the M5-HPA turned itself off after 30 minutes. At that time, the side panels next to the heatsinks were hot, at 118.2°F (48.2°C), while the top panel was only slightly cooler, at 110.9°F (43.9°C). I waited a few minutes then turned the…

"The crying rain like a trumpet sang
And asked for no applause."—Bob Dylan, "Lay Down Your Weary Tune"

I remember as a toddler sitting in the kitchen on a highchair, watching my mother smoke a cigarette, apply red lipstick, and tune a turquoise table radio from one news station to another. Between the strange, nattering voices, the radio emitted a sharp hissing sound. That's my first memory of human voices coming from a little box.

I did not understand how the voices got into the box. But I saw a wire that went…