For years, the number of brick-and-mortar hi-fi dealerships has been shrinking. Audio Advice,…
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North Carolina hi-fi dealer Audio Advice has been busy lately. As I reported in last month's Industry Update, the company recently acquired The Audio Lab, a longtime dealership based in Wilmington. As this issue went to press, Audio Advice was getting ready for Audio Advice Live, the show they put on annually at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel. Just before showtime, Stereophile spoke with Audio Advice CEO Scott Newnam and COO Gregg Chopper via Zoom. We asked about the expansion and their approach.
While it's a distant memory now that he's making mediocre albums and using his US website to sell $50 T-shirts for gigs in Helsinki, there was a time when Bruce Springsteen had a hungry heart: Hungry to be perceived as a consequential artist. Focused on telling stories and making vivid albums. Alive with conflict and memorable characters. Back in those days, the early 1970s, he broke any number of rules and barriers. In the case of The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle, that meant defeating the dreaded sophomore slump.
It's a music-biz truism that debut albums, particularly…
The "Bowers" in the name of British manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) refers to founder John Bowers, whom I got to know fairly well before he passed in 1987. In recent years, I've reviewed two Bowers & Wilkins loudspeakers: the 705 Signature two-way standmount in the December 2020 issue and the Diamond Series 804 D4 three-way floorstander in the January 2022 issue. More recently, Tom Fine reviewed the three-way, floor-standing Signature Series 801 D4 in March 2024.
Currently there are two models in the Signature Series, which was launched in 2023 to pay tribute to the…
Piano recordings are very revealing of midrange coloration. I followed Sasha's piece with a more naturally recorded piano, Mitsuko Uchida performing Mozart's Concerto No.5 in D with the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jeffrey Tate (16/44.1 FLAC, Philips/Qobuz). I have been a fan of Ms. Uchida's since Stereophile's then-publisher Larry Archibald and I saw her in concert the February 1986 night we agreed that I would replace J. Gordon Holt as the magazine's editor. The balance on this recording is rich and warm and was well-served by the B&Ws. I was intending to use just the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded, standmount loudspeaker. Drive units: 1" (25mm) Diamond Dome tweeter, 6.5" (165mm) Continuum cone woofer. Crossover frequency: not specified. Frequency response: 42Hz–28kHz ±3dB, 34Hz–35kHz, –6dB. Sensitivity: 88dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Minimum impedance: 4.6 ohms. Recommended amplification: 50–120W into 8 ohms on unclipped program.
Dimensions: 17.3" (440mm) H × 9.4" W (240mm) W × 14.7" (373mm) D. Weight: 34.3lb (15.6kg).
Finish: Midnight Blue Metallic or California Burl Gloss.
Serial numbers of units…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Roon Nucleus+ file server; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; MBL N31 CD player/DAC; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 A/D converter; NetGear Nighthawk router.
Power amplifiers: Parasound JCA100 Tribute monoblocks.
Integrated amplifier: NAD M10.
Loudspeakers: GoldenEar BRX, KEF LS50.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Vodka (Ethernet), DH Labs (1m, AES3). Interconnect: Ayre/Cardas (balanced). Speaker: AudioQuest Robin Hood Combo. AC: AudioQuest Dragon Source and Dragon High Current, manufacturers' own.
Accessories: 24"-high, single-…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system, a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone, and an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the quasi-anechoic frequency- and time-domain behavior of the 805 D4 Signature in the farfield. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 microphone for the nearfield responses and Dayton Audio's DATS V2 system to measure the impedance magnitude and phase. I used a plastic-tape accelerometer with a preamplifier of my own design to examine the enclosure's vibrational behavior.
Every product listed here has been reviewed in Stereophile. Everything on the list, regardless of rating, is genuinely recommendable. Occasionally we get letters of complaint from manufacturers who object to being included in, say, Class B—but inclusion in Class B is a thing to be proud of.
Within each category, products are listed by class; within each class, they're in alphabetical order, followed by their price, a review synopsis, and a note indicating the issues in which the review, and any subsequent follow-up reports, appeared. "Vol.47 No.7" indicates our July 2024 issue, for…
Turntables:
A+:
J.Sikora Reference: $48,000 w/o tonearm
This Polish company's top-of-the-line turntable is a nonsuspended, high-mass design, weighing 253lb. The dynamically and statically balanced platter alone weighs 40lb! Drive is with four square belts spun by four Papst DC motors. MF found that the plinth was immune to knuckle raps and motor start-up noises and wrote that the Reference was very quiet. He decided that this J.Sikora 'table had been superbly tuned to extract deep, well-controlled bass free of overhang or excess. The measured speed accuracy was…
Tonearms:
A+:
Acoustic Signature TA-7000 NEO: $18,995 for 12" Silver, $16,995 for 9" Silver
The TA-7000 uses 4N silver internal wiring, a gimbaled ball/race bearing system, and a carbon-fiber armtube with an internal lattice structure that adds stiffness and damping. It is available with SME or Rega-type mounts and in 9" and 12" versions. The model reviewed was the 9", which conforms to the standard Rega geometry. It pays to be cautious when adjusting arm height, MF advised, as the pillar goes, in a hair-turn of the grub screw, “from rock-solid secure to dropping like…