Benz-Micro MC-20E II: high-output moving-coil phono cartridge. Nominal output: 2.5mV. Compliance: 8cu (1cu = 1x10–6cm/dyne). Recommended load: 47k ohms. Stylus: elliptical. Tracking force: 2gm. Price: $125 (1993). Retipping cost: $75 (1993).
Benz-Micro MC Silver: high-output moving-coil phono cartridge. Nominal output: 2mV. Recommended load: 47k ohms. Stylus: elliptical. Tracking force: 2gm. Price: $325 (1993). Retipping cost: $175 (1993).
Both: Approximate number of dealers: 40. US Distributor Musical Surroundings, Oakland, CA 94618 (1993). Benz-Micro…
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Sidebar 2: Specifications
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
The cartridges were auditioned on the Well-Tempered Record Player and Arm, as well as the Roksan Radius turntable and Tabriz arm. The cartridges were all broken-in with at least 20 hours of playing time; this translates to approximately 30 LPs' worth of break-in, and if any of the manufacturers wanna carp that their baby needs at least 100 hours before the magic starts flowin', let 'em carp! Would you sit there and dutifully run your cartridge in for 100 hours before you sat down to enjoy your new booty? Me neither.
Both the WTRP and the Roksan '…
If there's a technical thing nearly every audiophile knows, it's that low frequencies (LF) aren't directional. We tend to treat LF as mono—think sub/sat systems in stereo, "LFE" in home-theater. But if the conclusions of a study by Thomas Lund, a researcher at Genelec OY (footnote 1), imply what they seem to, then that conviction is quite wrong.
In addition to resetting that bit of conventional wisdom, Lund's study may have uncovered an important contributor to the feeling of envelopment so many audiophiles crave, itself a profound source of pleasure beyond the music itself. As I have…
Mozart: Horn Concertos
Alec Frank-Gemmill, B-flat horn; Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan, cond.
BIS-2635 (reviewed in native 24/96). 2024. Thore Brinkmann, prod.; Brinkmann, Håkan Ekman, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
Alec Frank-Gemmill, B-flat horn; Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan, cond.
BIS-2635 (reviewed in native 24/96). 2024. Thore Brinkmann, prod.; Brinkmann, Håkan Ekman, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
When I recollect the soundtrack to my acid-tinged summer of 1967, several LPs stand out: The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's you-know-what, The Rolling Stones' Their Satanic Majesties, Richie Havens's Mixed Bag, and Dennis Brain's equally famed recording of the Mozart Horn Concertos, with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karajan.…
On Thursday January 30th, the frigid landscape of Red Hook, Brooklyn, was the site of several audio-focused debuts. Adam Wexler's Resolution AV, a purveyor of high-end audio, celebrated its grand reopening, showcasing new products from Fyne Audio. Fyne Audio CEO Max Maud and Harmonia Distribution Vice President Jesse Luna were on hand to introduce the new products and answer questions.
Fyne Audio's Max Maude and Harmonia Distribution's Jesse Luna.
Resolution A/V got its start as used-equipment dealer Stereobuyers, the subject of Art Dudley’s final column. While the…
Photo by Julie Mullins
Hi-fi dealership Big Kids Toys, in Greensboro, North Carolina, is aptly named. Since its 2002 inception, fun has been at the center of its ethos. At the outset, company founder Michael Twomey established a mantra: "Life is short. Enjoy yourself." It might not be all that original, but it's apt.
In the third quarter of 2024, Big Kids Toys began expanding to the Midwest: The dealership's sales manager, North Carolina native Luke Sumerford (above), opened a home-based dealership in Fort Wright, Kentucky, about five miles from the Ohio River and Cincinnati, Ohio…
Join Stereophile in Tampa as Mark Henninger, Ken Micallef, and Julie Mullins scope the warm weather and cool gear at this year's Florida International Audio Expo. Our coverage commences on Friday, so if you can't be there in person you can follow the action here.
The Florida International Audio Expo is gearing up for its seventh year, taking place from February 21 to 23, 2025—this time at a fresh, new venue: the Sheraton Tampa Brandon Hotel, located at 10221 Princess Palm Ave in Tampa. The expo offers a wide selection of high-end audio products.
The event isn’t just…
I have a love-hate relationship with subwoofers. They tend to bring out my tweaky alter ego. Perhaps one of these sorry personae lives within you too: the perennially neurotic Mr. Hyde to your more obliging Dr. Jekyll. Hyde is the tense, never-satisfied fault-sniffer who zeroes in on sonic details that are perhaps slightly off, even when other people in the room are enjoying themselves.
With subwoofers, he's at his worst. Did you hear that?, he'll exclaim when he worries that a low bass note received too much emphasis. He nags and niggles that perhaps the integration between the main…
Continuing its fondness for unconventional solutions, REL has also been pioneering "sixpacks" in recent years—six subwoofers, usually stacked in two towers of three. The cynic in me wants to view this as a cheeky ploy to move more product, but plenty of affluent REL customers insist that four subs are better than two and that six are the ultimate sonic upgrade (footnote 6). When Hunter and I first talked on the phone, he told me that sixpacks are king. "Bass doesn't just propagate along the floor. When a bass drum is concussive, you can't fake that from down here." (I imagined him…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Sealed subwoofer with a 12" carbon fiber-cone long-throw driver. Stereo high-level Neutrik Speakon input and outputs. Stereo/ LFE line-level on RCA and balanced XLR; XLR LFE and XLR line-level outputs. Stackable enclosure (with kit). Power: 900W class-D. Frequency extension: 17Hz (–6dB).
Dimensions: 17.1" (434mm) H × 25.1" (638mm) W × 28.3" (714mm) D. Weight: 115lb (52.3kg).
Finish: Piano-black lacquer.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: NO31PP01122, NO31PP00822. Designed in the US and UK, assembled in China.
Price: $7500. Approximate…