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The Sound of Red October
I have to start this section with a caveat for can heads: Though I've been using good headphones for much of my adult life, I strongly prefer listening through speakers. So my impressions of the Red October's headphone capabilities lack the subtlety and knowhow of a true headspace aficionado like Herb Reichert. That said, I used four sets of cans—the Audeze LCD-3, the Sennheiser HD 650, the HiFiMan HE-R10P, and the Meze Elite—and listened to both vinyl and streaming.

Though the Ampsandsound flagship lacked the near-silent backgrounds of some solid…

The latest iterations are tailored for modern music production environments, offering an impedance of 30 ohms to ensure compatibility with a wide variety of playback devices. According to the company, this adjustment addresses…

For its early-'60s moment, that slide projector is high-tech—and "technology is a glittering lure," Draper tells the assembled group of cigarette-smoking suits around a conference room table. Draper mentions Teddy, a Greek former colleague Draper…

Aesthetics? Forget the clunky wooden box speakers that made your father drool (although the Corner Ribbon was and is lovely): The Revela 1 (which for the remainder of this review I'll occasionally call the R1) would not seem out of place in a billionaire bachelor pad. The cabinets are gorgeous, with real walnut veneer finished with several layers of high-gloss lacquer. The baffle is a similarly glossy piano black. (The Revela 1 is also available in Piano Black all over.) Those rounded corners and edges contribute to a striking silhouette. The speaker seems to float above its dedicated…

Description: Two-way, bass-reflex, standmount speaker. Drive units: 1.6" × 2.36" (27mm × 60mm) True Ribbon high-frequency driver and 6.5" (165mm) wood pulp/para-aramid cone mid/bass driver. Crossover frequency: 2.9kHz. Nominal impedance: 6 ohms; minimum 4.1 ohms. Peak SPL: 102dB. Frequency response: 54Hz–24kHz, ±3dB; –6dB at 40Hz. Sensitivity: 86dB/2.83V/m. Peak power handling: 120W. Recommended amplifier power: 30–120W.
Dimensions: 15½" (395mm) H × 10" (246mm) W × 12" (312mm) D. Weight: 24lb (10.8kg).
Finishes: Piano Walnut/Piano Black, Piano Black.
…

Analog sources: VPI Avenger Direct turntable with 12" VPI FatBoy tonearm, Hana Umami Blue MC cartridge.
Digital sources: HoloAudio May DAC, Sonore opticalRendu, Roon Nucleus+, Small Green Computer power supply, TRENDnet switch, Apple iPad mini.
Preamplifiers: Tavish Audio Design Adagio (phono), Rogue Audio RP-7.
Power amplifier: Rogue Audio Stereo 100.
Integrated amplifiers: PrimaLuna EVO 300 Hybrid, Riviera Labs Levante.
Loudspeakers: GoldenEar Bookshelf Reference X.
Cables: Interconnects: Agent Pur, AudioQuest Pegasus, Analysis…

I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system, a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone, and an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the Quad Revela 1's quasi-anechoic frequency response and time-domain behavior 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.

Quad specifies the Revela 1's sensitivity as 86dB/2.83V/m; my estimate was higher, at 87.6dB(B)/2…

Today, the ascension of streaming as the conduit for both audio and video content has nudged these, too, from the center stage. One can stream content from the bewildering…

NAD's documentation does not tell us what specific solution they implement—normally it's a simple matter of reducing the maximum level by a dB or two—but testing it is easy, since you can switch it on and off in the BluOS app. I pulled up a classic recording of Stravinsky's L'histoire du Soldat recorded in 1956 for Westminster Records, with Robert Mandell conducting Ars Nova (an all-star ensemble) and Stanley Drucker and Herbert Sorkin playing the crucial clarinet and violin parts. It's a transfer from two-channel tape to digital (24/96 FLAC High-Definition Tape Transfers HDTT10464). It…

Description: Remote-controlled, network-connected, D/A-integrated preamplifier with BluOS network streaming, Dirac Live (full range) Room Correction, tone controls, multiroom capability, and front-panel 7" color touchscreen. Analog inputs: one pair RCA (line), one pair XLR (line), two pair RCA (phono MC/MM). Digital inputs: two TosLink, two S/PDIF (RCA), one AES3 (XLR), one HDMI ARC/eARC, 1Gb Ethernet (RJ-45), USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 aptX HD. BluOS supported file formats: MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG, WMA-L, ALAC, OPUS, MQA, FLAC, WAV, AIFF. Supported sample rates: up to…