It wouldn't have occurred to me that I'd ultimately derive frequent joy from listening to sound effects…
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In my high-school days, I visited a friend whose well-to-do dad proudly demonstrated his new Quad ESL system for us. First up was a recording of a man with heavy footsteps traversing the space from left to right. Next came a speeding police car, siren engaged, complete with Doppler tail. I found it impressive, and a little lame at the same time. My friend and I, in love with our own artsiness, preferred Fear of Music by Talking Heads and Drums and Wires by XTC, or (in a pinch) U2's Boy.
Helpless against such beauty, and partly in anticipation of the TD3.8s' eventual arrival, I purchased a U280 SC. In my room, the synergy between the Mexican tube (ch)amp and the TD3.8s was apparent from the get-go. The music flowed easily, beautifully, without a hint of strain. But it wasn't perfect. I now felt that heft and authority were on the skimpy side compared to what I'd heard before. After a few weeks of belly-aching and telling myself it was all in my head, I called Bruce Ball to get his take. He wasn't surprised. Essentially, he relayed the old Doublemint chewing gum motto ("double…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Rear-ported three-way loudspeaker with planar-magnetic ribbon tweeter and two 5" (127mm) tantalum-diamond (TD)–cone midrange drivers in an MTM configuration; two 8" (203mm) TD woofers. Crossover frequencies: 400Hz and 2.4kHz, stepped slope. Frequency range: 24Hz–50kHz. Sensitivity: 89dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 6 ohms; minimum impedance, 4 ohms at 120Hz. Power requirement: 50–300W.
Dimensions: 56" (1422mm) H × 17" (432mm) W with supplied outriggers × 23" (584mm) D. Weight: 183lb (83kg).
Finishes: Piano black, walnut burl, others available…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: 16" MacBook Pro M1 Max running Roon 2.0; Roon ROCK (Lenovo ThinkCentre); Auralic Vega; Naim Uniti Atom; and HiFi Rose RS520, controlled via iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Preamplifiers: Benchmark HPA4; Audio Research LS16 MkII; Margules SF-220.
Power amplifiers: HiFi Rose RS520 integrated amplifier; Krell FPB 200c (recapped); two Margules U-280 SC tube amps, used as monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Tekton Moab; Focal Scala Utopia EVO.
Cables: AudioQuest, Blue Jean Cable, Clarus Crimson, Nordost, RSX, Viborg.
Accessories: Core Power…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Due to the Raidho TD3.8's bulk, I wasn't able to bring it up the stairs from the driveway to our living room, where I usually measure loudspeakers. I therefore measured the speaker in the driveway, keeping its front baffle turned away from the sun so the drive units would stay cool. I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system with a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the loudspeaker's behavior in the farfield and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield responses. It wasn't possible to raise the 183lb TD3.8 off the ground for the measurements, so the first reflection…
"I hope you're decompressing from AXPONA," I recently wrote to a frazzled-looking friend I'd met at this greatest of North American hi-fi shows. Google's spellcheck offered to change decompressing to decomposing. I declined, though it's true that such expos can be grueling—just not grueling enough to stay away.
In these observations about high-end audio shows, fondness is foremost, but a few dark side notes will slip in.
1. Everybody There Is Crazy—In A Good Way.
In the real world, do people slap you on the back when they learn that you're about to spend the equivalent of a…
Little Feat's beginning was a slow burn, bolstered by the faith of record company execs as the band found its groove. Once it found its, um, feat, the band thrived through deaths and other turmoil. In fact, they're still at it. This fall, according to Rhino Records, the band will be performing "on back-to-back nights ... at selected venues" the two albums that document the time they found their way: 1972's Sailin' Shoes and 1973's Dixie Chicken.
In conjunction with that 50th anniversary mini-tour, Rhino has issued deluxe remasters of both albums on 3 LPs or 2 CDs, with plenty of bonus…
At High End Munich, Michael Trei chats with Thorens CEO Gunter Kürten (right) about the Thorens Reference turntable's active suspension. (Photo: Jeff Joseph.)
It's hard to convey the scope of the annual High End Munich audio show to someone who has never attended. Spread out over three floors of a large facility called the Munich Order Center (MOC), the show is notable for how different it is from audio shows in the US. The ground floor is an area about the size of three American football fields, where brands set up professional trade show booths to display their wares. This is a long way…
10. Acoustic Signature's listening room with its massive PBN loudspeaker system.
May has long been one of my favorite months of the year, mostly because it means it's time for the Munich show, the annual gathering of the high-end audio tribe in the Bavarian capital. High End Munich 2023 marked my return to the biggest audio show in the Western world following three years of lockdowns and travel restrictions, so I was eager to get back to the land of Wiener schnitzel and bratwurst.
This year, as an added bonus, I was invited to visit the production facilities of turntable and…
Apparently accurate reproduction of a Bösendorfer piano is no small achievement, but the piano is just one instrument, albeit one with wide dynamic and frequency range. A large orchestra playing Mahler is a different kind of challenge. Jason Victor Serinus favorably reviewed Rafael Payare and Orchestre symphonique de Montréal's recording of Mahler's Symphony No.5 (Pentatone PTC5187067) in the September 2023 issue of Stereophile. His only caveat was that it "may lack ultimate transparency." Perhaps so but, listening to the 5.1 channel 24/96 download from pentatonemusic.com, I cannot fault…