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This is unquestionably the best recording Telarc has done to date. It is almost impossible to fault. If I were to pick nits, I would complain about a slight lack of air in the strings. The rest is, simply, superlatives!

The performances aren't quite that good, unfortunately.…

The inductive process (reasoning from general observations to specific principles) has obvious application to math and science and is just as applicable to such studies as economics or history. And once one understands enough basic rules, deductive reasoning allows one to predict the outcome of a particular set of…

The reason I see red here is simple—I actually spend a lot of time listening to music using hi-fi equipment, and my ears tell me that SSDs work. BS seems content to use paper logic to prove that they don't, apparently without reference to any practical…

A perfect example of the opposite positive use of fascinating is Shorter By Two, an idea that probably shouldn't have worked but in practice succeeded in ways that most people could never have imagined. Originally released in 1984, these adaptations of Wayne Shorter's original compositions played by two pianos…

One of Crystal Clear's earlier releases (1978), this has very distant, directionally vague sound, but the sound (stupendous by standards of only a few years ago) cannot stand in the way of two of the most exciting performances of these potboilers that have ever been committed to…

Much has been written about balanced operation, but few real facts have been established except for its frequent use in professional studio applications, where it was primarily developed for low-level microphone signals and long cable runs, sometimes as long as 100m. By using an intimately twisted pair of conductors (which offers good rejection of external electromagnetic interferences when driven in a push-pull balanced mode), then shielding the assembly, often with two successive dense-wire braids, external hum and noise fields could be suppressed. The…

A well-judged assessment of equipment of this quality requires several conditions to be satisfied. First, the equipment must be conditioned, run-in for several days, and well warmed up. Second, its mode of use and the chosen interfaces should be carefully selected, with allowance made for some experimentation to determine the optimum arrangement. This area includes balanced and unbalanced operation, and the choice of cables. Third, it's valuable to have a handful of comparable and reference components with which to compare. In the case of the KSL…

As might well be expected, harmonic distortion levels were negligible—better than –83dB over the measured 20Hz–20kHz range at a nominal 0.5V IHF output level. With class-A circuitry, fully complementary harmonic orders were low, with quite negligible upper-range harmonics. The two-tone high-frequency intermodulation test generated a very low –89dB level of in-band difference tone. Little variation was observed at higher or lower signal levels. Virtually a little power amplifier in its own right, the KSL could deliver a maximum voltage swing of 8.7V RMS from a very…

Description: Line-level preamplifier. Gain: 10dB (x3). Frequency range: 0.5Hz–550kHz. S/N ratio: 95dB A-weighted. Input impedance: 48.5k ohms. Output impedance: 11 ohms. Maximum output voltage: 9.5V RMS, 28V p–p.
Dimensions: 18" W by 21/4" H by 13.75" D.
Serial number of unit tested: 17-39359.
Prices: $1800 (high-level), $2100 (with phono section) (1991); no longer available (2017). Approximate number of dealers: 55. Warranty: 5 years.
Manufacturer: Krell Industries, Milford, CT 06460 (1991). Krell Industries, LLC, 45 Connair Road, Orange, CT…