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Description: 3-way vented-box loudspeaker system with bottom port. Aluminum internal construction and bracing. Separate aluminum chambers for midrange driver and tweeter. Drive units: 1" (25mm) Diamond Dome tweeter; 6" (150mm) Continuum cone FST midrange; two 10" (250mm) Aerofoil Profile woofers. Crossover frequencies: 400Hz and 4kHz. Frequency range: 13Hz–35kHz, –6dB. Frequency response: 15Hz–28kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 90dB/2.83V/m. Harmonic distortion: 2nd and 3rd harmonics (90dB at 1m, on-axis) <1%, 30Hz–20kHz; <0.3%, 100Hz–20kHz. Nominal impedance: 8…

Digital sources: dCS Bartók streaming DAC, Oppo DV-981HD universal disc player.
Analog sources: Technics SL-1200mk7 Anniversary Edition turntable, Shure V-15 Type III, Ortofon 2M Blue, and Grace F-9e cartridges.
Preamplifiers: Benchmark LA-4, Pro-Ject Phono Box RS2 phono.
Power amplifiers: Benchmark AHB2, LSA Warp 1.
Loudspeakers: B&W 808.—Tom Fine

For logistical reasons, I measured one of the 801 D4 Signature speakers, serial number 2320 0004094 FP 44229, in Tom Fine's listening room rather than at my home. (My thanks to Tom and Mike Barney for moving furniture to allow me sufficient room for the measurements with the loudspeaker away from the walls and firing along a room diagonal.) I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system with a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the speaker's behavior in the farfield and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield responses. Because of the speaker's weight—almost 222lb—it…

In the photo above, worker bees Megan Bovaird and Matt Bochicchio welcome you to the sixth annual Florida International Audio Expo (FLAX), held this year and all non-COVID years at the Embassy Suites by Hilton, in Tampa, Florida.

Bovaird and Bochichio aren't the only ones working to ensure a good time for show attendees. It takes a village to raise an audio show, or at least an enthusiastic team. That team is headed by chief organizer Bart Andeer and three cofounders: Ammar (AJ) Jadusingh, an engineer for the city of Tampa and owner of Soundfield Audio; Mike Bovaird, who owns…

I'm used to demoing SVS at AV trade shows, but not at high-end two-channel affairs like this Tampa show. The debut of the Ultra Evolution series speakers represents the dawn of a new era for a company that made its name designing high-performance subwoofers and affordable, high-performance speakers. Video below.

SVS is showing a two-channel system anchored by a pair of Ultra Evolution Pinnacle speakers ($5000/pair) powered by an Emotiva BasX A2 stereo amplifier ($499) and a PT2 stereo preamp/DAC/tuner ($699). The system was wired up with SVS SoundPath interconnects and speaker…

A big system can sound amazing, but a simple, well-tuned system will outperform a megabuck system that's set up badly or in a room that can't handle its size. That's easy to hear at a hi-fi show, where you frequently walk straight out of one room and straight into another. Do that enough times and you will gain an appreciation for the importance of good setup.

When I walked into the Fine Sounds America (FSA) room, FSA's Jeff Coates and Josh Gwin introduced me to Pro-Ject's T2 Super Phono turntable. At $599 including a built-in phono preamp, it's uber-affordable. The Super Phono…

MBL is best known for its striking Radialstahler omnidirectional speaker systems, first introduced in 1979, but the company has made electronics to accompany its speakers since 1986. On the Tampa Terrace at the Florida International Audio Expo, MBL showed off a system featuring the new Cadenza C41 network player ($11,100).

The C41's DAC incorporates the company's TruePeak technology, which fixes the problem of intersample overs in music that's recorded (or mastered) overly loud. The C41 is compatible with UPNP/DLNA, Airplay, Roon, and various streaming services including Audirvāna…

Dealer Scott Walker Audio, which has showrooms in Anaheim, California, and Keller, Texas, and Synergistic Research presented several new products at FLAX including the Synergistic Voodoo streamer erver ($14,995); the PowerCell 8 SX conditioner ($3495); and SRX USB ($5995), Ethernet ($5995), and XL Power cables ($13,000).

Walker and Josh Dolye (also of Scott Walker Audio) were especially jazzed about a new line the dealership has picked up: French amplification company JMF Audio. On active display in the Scott Walker room were the JMF PRS 1.5 Preamplifier ($36,000) and HQS 6002…

Japan's TAD had two rooms at FLAX, including the large Bayshore ballroom, which itself contained two systems, each with two pairs of speakers. Both systems wowed me even though an intermittent internet connection affected streaming playback.

With TAD CEO Shinji Tarutani in attendance and with Pro Audio Devices (PAD) and Malekpour Design Partners' Dave Malekpour and publicist Jaclyn Inglis shepherding the proceedings, I listened first to the smaller, extremely punchy-sounding rig. It consisted of the TAD-D1000TX-S SACD Player ($21,000), TAD-DA1000TX Third Gen DAC ($15,900), a new…

Jacksonville, Florida, dealership House of Stereo occupied eight (!) rooms at FLAX. Room 709 debuted Steinheim's 2.5 Alumine Two.Five loudspeakers ($23,500/pair), accompanied by a bevy of refined products that kept the room packed to overflowing. Several were from Germany's T+A, including the SD 3100 HV Reference Streaming DAC ($32,387).

To this Swiss (Stenheim) and German (T+A) party, House of Stereo added the Japanese DS Audio Grand Master EX System cartridge ($22,500) and phono stage ($45,000), the New Jersey–manufactured VPI Avenger Direct Turntable with FatBoy Gimbal tonearm…