Rega has not said that the 50th Anniversary Planar 3 will be limited to a certain number of units, only that production will cease at the end of 2023. Given what's on offer, I expect demand is strong. For $1695, you get a fully loaded Planar 3 in a special "walnut effect" finish with a 50th Anniversary model badge and a retro-style tinted dust cover. The package also includes the Neo PSU MK2 power supply (an option on other P3s), the Exact (Rega's best moving magnet cartridge), the aluminum motor-drive pulley from the Planar 6, and the Reference EBLT drive-belt upgrade. Normally, a…
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Saturday November 4th, 10am–4pm. Listening sessions and open house at Audio Element's Carlsbad location: 5235 Avenida Encinas Suite A, Carlsbad, California. In attendance will be representatives of Cardas Audio, Dan D’Agostino, dCS Audio, Musical Surroundings, Transparent Audio, VTL Amplifiers, and Wilson Audio Specialties.
For more information, call (760) 814-8009. Please RSVP at Constant Contact
Beatles Red and Blue At 50: The New Track Sequences
For the golden anniversary editions of 1962-1966, aka The Red Album, and 1967-1970, aka The Blue Album, every song has been remixed since 2015 and extra songs were added to the original 1973 tracklists. The anthologies will be available as 3LP (colored or black vinyl) and 2CD sets. Also, the two anthologies will be packaged together as 6LP or 4CD sets. The song sequences are different: the LP sets maintain the original 1973 sides A-D sequences, and the extra songs are on sides E-F; the CD sets embed the new tunes in chronological order.…
John Atkinson auditioned the Dynaudio Focus 10 with Dirac Live in November 2023 (Vol.46 No.11):
Jason Victor Serinus was impressed by this small, two-way, active all-in-one speaker from Denmark (footnote 1). He concluded his February 2023 review by writing, "Designed as a 'complete wireless sound system,' the Dynaudio Focus 10 active monitors are the most musically satisfying one-stop playback solution I've had the pleasure of hanging with. ... Within its limitations of image size and bass quantity, the Focus 10 is one of the most musically satisfying active loudspeakers I've had the…
A cultural steamroller that's sold more than 20 million copies so far, Frampton Comes Alive! is also the most celebrated example of an artist who broke through to worldwide fame thanks to a live record. In the wake of this monster success, fans went back and listened to Peter Frampton's four solo studio records that predated the live behemoth. Sales and respect grew.
Three of those four releases, Wind of Change (1972), Frampton's Camel (1973), and Frampton (1975), have been remastered and reissued in a limited edition, 180gm vinyl-LP box set, Frampton@50, In the Studio 1972–1975, by…
Register to win a pair of AudioQuest JitterBug FMJ USB Data & Power Noise Filters (value $99.95/pair) we are giving away.
From the company:
AudioQuest's JitterBug USB Data & Power Noise Filter has treated many thousands of music lovers to more naturally beautiful sound.
Of the original model, Stereophile's John Atkinson wrote, "I have no hesitation in declaring, loudly and longly, that I can think of no way to spend $49 that would make me more enjoy my computer-based audio than the AudioQuest JitterBug. Try one—or two—for yourself."
Nearly 10 years…
Jason Victor Serinus returned to the Innuos Statement in November 2023 (Vol.46 No.11):
On April 2020, when I reviewed the original version of the top-of-the-line, two-box Innuos Statement Music Server/Streamer (then $13,750, now $16,700+), it was able to do all of the things you would hope a server could do: play back music from its internal SSD or an external NAS; stream music from several music-streaming services; and easily play and rip music from CDs inserted into a built-in disc drive (a feature some other servers lack). I liked that it allowed me to use either Roon or—for those who…
Piece of cake, thought I. All I needed to do to review Wilson Audio Specialties' smallest active subwoofer, the LōKē ($8950 each in standard finish), was describe how low a pair goes in my room and how cleanly they woof.
As I was soon to learn, though, there was a lot more to reviewing LōKēs than that. Why? Because a pair of LōKē subwoofers does more than reinforce the already deep bass extension (footnote 1) of the Wilson Alexia V loudspeakers with which they are now paired in my system. Therein lies the tale.
Behind the woof
"Wilson Audio has a long history with subwoofers…
Features, setup, and phase
Rather than repeating every feature and setup parameter detailed in the LōKē's online manual (footnote 8), I'll highlight those I found most important. But first this: While it's true that placing LōKēs near room boundaries and corners provides even more bass reinforcement, care must be taken to avoid introducing upper-bass colorations caused by overloading upper-bass room modes.
Subwoofers come, broadly, in two varieties: those that operate entirely in the analog realm and those that digitize the music. The LōKē is in the latter category (footnote…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Floorstanding active subwoofer with 10" woofer and 500W class-D internal amplification. Frequency response: 20Hz–250Hz (±1dB). Effective piston area: 21.75in2. Effective displacement: 33.42in3. Input sensitivity (L+R) RCA, input level switch set to Normal: 310mV RMS; RCA, input switch set to Hi: 620mV RMS. XLR, input level switch set to Normal: 630mV RMS; XLR, input level switch set to Hi: 1.25V RMS. Maximum input level (L+R): RCA, input switch set to Normal: 1.1V RMS; RCA, input switch set to Hi: 2.3V RMS; XLR, input level switch set to Normal: 2.4V…