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All prices listed in Canadian dollars.

Hegel hosted a few rooms. In this one, the Norway-based company’s setup included its brand-new 150Wpc H190V streaming integrated amplifier with MM phono stage ($4899, projected release: May), a pair of Andrew Jones–designed MoFi Sourcepoint 8 speakers ($4399 with stands)—the model's 8 designation refers to the size of the concentric driver—AudioQuest cabling (various prices), and a MoFi Ultradeck turntable with factory-aligned Mastertracker MM cartridge ($3999), which wasn't in use during my visit.

The sound of Tidal-streamed files…

All prices are in Canadian dollars.

The first time I heard a pair of standmount Kii Audio Three speakers, a few years back at a Montreal Audiofest, I immediately got them—their sound, their purpose, their futuristic, polished look. I was infatuated by these strange, complex, almost entirely self-sufficient sound-reproduction devices, so unlike anything else I'd seen they may as well have been from outer space ($21,278).

What makes the Kii Three so different from everything else? Start with the fact that it’s a fully active, digital speaker, with 1500W of amplification, DSP…

Description: DSP-controlled wireless streaming amplified stereo speaker system, floorstanding, three-way, bass-reflex enclosure. Drive units: 1 5/8" (27mm) inverted–beryllium-dome tweeter, 6½" (165mm) mid/bass driver, two pairs 6½ (165mm) sidemounted woofers, bottom-firing bass port. Crossover frequencies: 200Hz, 2.3kHz. Crossover frequencies: 200Hz and 2300Hz. Class-AB power amplifiers: 75W tweeter, 75W mid/bass, 2×125W woofers. Wireless: AirPlay 2, Google Chromecast, Bluetooth 5.3, UPnP compatible. Streaming services: Spotify via Spotify Connect, Tidal via…

Analog source: Technics SL-1200MK7 turntable with Ortofon 2M Blue MM cartridge and ProJect Phono Box RS2 phono preamplifier.
Digital source: Oppo DV-981HD universal disc player.
Accessories: Butcherblock Acoustics equipment rack, SME turntable cable.—Tom Fine

As this is an active loudspeaker, with both analog and digital inputs, many standard lab tests—including impedance/phase (amplifier loading) and speaker sensitivity—are redundant. We can examine frequency response, pair matching, and distortion; the latter is predominantly third-order but very low for a loudspeaker, at <0.2% for much of its working range (ref. 90dB SPL/1m, 100Hz–10kHz). This result might have been anticipated, because the Diva uses DSP and custom amplification for the two pairs of 165mm "W"-coned bass units, matching 165mm mid and 27mm "M"-…

In less than 11 years, guitarist Emily Remler went from rising star to shooting star, from her first major exposure—an invitation from Herb Ellis to perform as part of "Guitar Explosion" at the Concord Jazz Festival on July 21, 1978—to her final concert on May 3, 1990, at the Hotel Richmond in Adelaide, Australia, where she was found dead from a heart attack the next day. She was 32 years old.

Her documentation on record was even shorter, from her April 1981 Concord debut Firefly to This Is Me, her seventh and final album, released in 1990. She has fewer than a…

Guess which cookie Alice ate
I'm referring to the Alice of Lewis Carroll, not the Alice of Gertrude Stein. Gertrude's Alice preferred brownies (footnote 3).

As Mahler's tragic march began to unfold, Ed and I immediately bolted upright, gazed at each other in amazement, and proclaimed, almost simultaneously, "Did you hear that?" Images increased significantly in size, and each percussive pound packed more wallop. The sound was smoother, the midrange more substantial. As we continued to listen, I found myself lowering the volume to accommodate dynamic contrasts, which seemed…

Description: Computer-controlled lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) A grade battery array with dual power inverter technology. Capacity: (XT version) 5300Wh. Nominal battery voltage: 53V DC/48V system. Input voltage: 200–245V AC or 90–130V AC. Input frequency: 50Hz or 60Hz (set at factory). Transfer time (on grid to off grid): <15ms. Output voltage (US): 100–130V. Output frequency: 50Hz or 60Hz ±0.05% (set at factory and crystal controlled). Output power: 1100VA at 25°C, continuous; 30 minutes max, 1500VA at 25°C. Pulse load (3s): 3700VA at 25°C. Maximum…

Digital sources: dCS Vivaldi Apex DAC, dCS Rossini Apex; EMM Labs DA2i DAC; Innuos Statement Music Server/Streamer; Synology 5-bay 1019+ NAS, Uptone Audio EtherRegen with AfterDark Giesemann Emperor Double Crown Master Clock, Small Green Computer Sonore opticalModules (2) and Deluxe opticalModule, Linksys router and Arris modem, all powered by HDPlex 300 (3) and HDPlex 200 linear power supplies (3); Nordost QNet Ethernet Switch; Nordost QSource linear power supplies (2); Apple 2017 iPad Pro and 2017 MacBook Pro laptop with 2.8 GHz Intel i7, SSD, 16GB RAM.…