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What if there was a character in Stanley Kubrick's classic movie 2001: A Space Odyssey who was an audiophile? Aboard the Discovery One interplanetary space ship, what would his system look like? He'd probably have a pair of ultramodern speakers that could pluck sound out of the ether. He'd control the system with something like a present-day smartphone or tablet, commanding the HAL 9000 computer to play his favorite songs. The speakers would stand unobtrusively in a white room with 1970s modern-minimalist furniture, no rack of components to drive them, no wires connecting them, no shelves of…
The 6.5" mid/bass driver includes a "Tuned Mass Damping" rounded surround and a "Neutral Inductance Circuit": a ring between the magnet and voice coil to keep the magnetism at the voice coil uniform throughout its range of movement. Mid/bass and woofer cones are made of Focal's "W" material, a sandwich of foam between two glass-fiber layers, designed to provide the desirable combination of rigidity and damping so that the cone vibrations are "pistonic," the whole cone vibrating at once, responding directly to the electrical signal.
The two 6.5" long-throw woofers on each side of…
Getting set for some music
On a rainy day in September, the speakers arrived on a large pallet, one box each plus a box for accessories (remote control, documentation, spikes, and so on). The speakers weigh 141lb each; buyers will be grateful that they're delivered on wheels and with a sturdy plywood ramp. Just open the box, remove some packing material, slide the ramp under the wheels, tip the speaker upright, and roll it out. The wheels are useful not just for uncrating but also for positioning. Once that has been accomplished, the screw-in spikes or feet can be adjusted with…
B>Sidebar 1: On The Inside
Occupying nearly the full height of the cabinet interior is the huge linear PSU, the DSP section, and the class-AB amplifiers (their heatsinks facing outward) that power its four bass units, midrange driver, and tweeter. Lowering the cabinet's center of gravity is a 700VA toroidal transformer (bottom left) feeding all the linear PSUs across the two main PCBs. A small switch-mode PSU under the black…
Phono Accessories:
AcousTech The Big Record Brush: $36.95
With grounding wire: $52.99
This large-handled brush has soft bristles of both natural hairs and conductive synthetic fibers, and makes dusting LPs nearly foolproof. The 5.5"-wide bristle area easily spans the width of any LP's grooved area. Version with ground wire ($52.99) does "a pretty effective job of dissipating static electricity," Mikey said. (Vol.31 No.9)
Acoustic Signature Load S record weight: $749–$899, depending on finish
The Load S is made from aluminum alloy, weighs 1.6lb (715gm),…
Miscellaneous Accessories:
Audio Research Tube Damping Rings: $5 each
Damping rings for all AR products are now available to the public at large. They're made of a proprietary polymer material that converts kinetic energy to heat, and their improvements are not subtle, exclaims BJR: tighter, cleaner, deeper, more dynamic bass; more coherent transient attacks; crisper, more extended highs; plus "improvements in the reproduction of subtle gradations of low-level dynamics." Give 'em a whirl—the cost is minimal. (Vol.23 No.2, Vol.26 No.8)
AudioQuest binding-post wrench: $…
Stands, Spikes, Feet & Racks:
Audio Elegance Furniture : $424-$6329
Audio Elegance's "aesthetically simple, sturdy designs" are available in three lines; in the upper two, Dakota and James River, only select hardwoods, softwoods, and multidirectional plywoods are used. Biscuit joinery is featured throughout, and finishes include catalyzed lacquers and hand-rubbed oils. Prices start at $319 for a Frontier Series amp stand and rise to $4759 for a Dakota Collection LP storage unit. Custom items are also available. (Vol.32 No.2 WWW)
Audio Points by Live-Vibe Audio: $…
Room Acoustics Treatments:
Acoustic Geometry Small Curve: $399.99 ★
Medium Curve: $449.99 ★
Deluxe Curve, Walnut Frame: $549.99 ★
Deluxe Curve, Red Oak, Stained Black Frame: $549.99 ★
Acoustic Geometry's Curve System comprises Diffusors, Absorbers, and Corner Traps, each 42" high and available in a number of fabric choices. Each model is built on a wooden frame with a wedge-shaped cleat for hanging the product from a matching piece attached to the wall. Diffusors include a Mass-Loaded-Vinyl (MLV) membrane and are intended to control low- and midbass frequencies;…
Interconnects:
Analysis Plus Silver Apex Interconnects: $1219.99 (1m pair)
The Analysis Plus Silver Apex uses as its conductor an oxygen-free copper "stabilizing strand" covered with pure silver, in an arrangement the manufacturer describes, somewhat elliptically (haw) as "a hollow oval cable inside a hollow oval cable inside a hollow oval cable," said to be double shielded and thus quiet. And MF found it to be so: In his words, the Silver Apex is "highly recommended!" (Vol.42 No.5)
Audio Art Cable IC-3 Classic: $140/1m pair (RCAs), $160/1m pair (XLRs)
The…
Pull down the shades, find a comfortable seat, and come with me on an imaginary journey to the year 1956. The Eisenhower-Nixon ticket wins reelection, the United Methodist Church begins to ordain women, and a can of Campbell's tomato soup costs 10 cents. Elvis Presley's two-week residency at Las Vegas's New Frontier Hotel and Casino is received so poorly by the middle-aged guests that Newsweek likens it to "a jug of corn liquor at a champagne party." And a Seattle couple gives birth to Kenneth Bruce Gorelick, who will become known professionally as Kenny G.
The hobby that will become "…