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Item: AC power-line conditioners have become a major audio product category, featured in "Recommended Components" and used by several Stereophile reviewers—including RH, JE, JA, GL, CG, and RD—in their own systems.

Item: British rep for Audio Alchemy finds that their D/A processor takes too long to warm up for convenient demonstration when he takes it to dealers. His solution is to build a battery-operated power supply, using a car battery, so that the D/A processor can be kept powered up while traveling. He then notices that the processor sounds better with the…

Initial listening was done with the system staying the same as in my review of the Mark Levinson No.28 (Vol.15 No.6): Lingo'd Linn/Ittok/AudioQuest AQ 7000 analog, Proceed PCT 2/Aragon D2A Mk.II digital front end, "stripped" original Quads driven by a Luxman MQ-68c, and Cizek MG-27 subs driven by a Bryston 3B via a Dahlquist LP-1 crossover. Interconnects were AudioQuest Lapis; speaker cables AudioQuest Sterling (Quads) and Midnight (subs). A Stax Lambda Signature headset, driven by the SRM-T1 headphone amp, served as an additional reference. All electronics were…

The output impedance of the battery-powered PAC CPR IIIB/TIPS (hereafter referred to as the CPR) at its main outputs measured under 201 ohms at 1kHz. The input impedance at the same frequency was just under 49k ohms at its lowest (right channel, full volume). The tape output appeared to be unbuffered. Unity gain was at 12:30 on the volume control; the maximum line-level gain of the preamp was 39.7dB in the left channel, 38.9dB in the right (with the balance control centered). DC offset measured 1.6mV in both channels. The CPR was noninverting, both line and phono.…

Frequency response: 0–100kHz, +0, $*–0.01dB; RIAA equalization: ±0.1dB. THD: <0.01%. Gain: phono stage, 56 to 66dB (adjustable); line stage, 21dB. S/N ratio: >110dB. AC line noise rejection: infinite. Power-supply regulation: line, infinite; load, >110dB. Input impedance: line stage, 75k ohms; phono stage, selectable 7.5 ohms to 47k ohms. Output impedance: 200 ohms. Maximum input: overload-proof. Maximum output: 10V RMS. Absolute polarity: correct for all inputs.
Dimensions: 19" W by 1.75" H by 10.5" D, each unit. Weights: 7 lbs (CPR), 8 lbs (TIPS…

The Thiel speakers were substituted for the Celestion SL600s in my usual system of Krell KSA-50 power amplifier, Audio Research SP-10 II preamp, CAL Tempest II and Meridian MCD Pro CD players, and Koetsu Red/SME V/Linn Sondek LP player mounted on a Torlyte stand. (At the end of the listening period, I substituted a 1987 Linn/Ittok combination fitted with the new composite armboard and the new Linn Troika cartridge, the whole sitting on a Sound Organization table.)

Interconnect was Monster Interlink Reference A, and Monster M1 speaker cable was used for…

I measured the frequency response of the speaker in the listening window—spatially averaged to minimize room standing-wave problems—using third-octave pink noise, and measured the near-field low-frequency response with a sinewave sweep to get an idea of the true bass extension. The nearfield –6dB point was a respectable 37.5Hz, which agreed closely with the measured amount of low bass in the room. This response showed only mild exaggeration in the upper bass, and the response was pretty flat through the midrange, ±2dB limits holding up to 3.15kHz. Above that…

Description: two-way, reflex-loaded loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" plastic-dome tweeter, 6.5" plastic-cone woofer. Crossover frequency 3kHz. Frequency response: 52Hz–18kHz ±2dB. Sensitivity: 87dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 6 ohms. Minimum amplifier power: 40W.
Dimensions: 36.5" H by 10.5" W by 10.5" D (base), 3" D (top). Weight: 41 lbs each.
Price: $950/pair (1987); no longer available (2017). Approximate number of dealers: 45.
Manufacturer: Thiel Audio Products Co., Lexington, KY 40511 (1987); 566 Mainstream Drive, Suite 500, Nashville, TN 37228. Tel: (…

In most cases this kind of repetition would be a detriment, a sign he'd run out of ideas, had a one-track mind, was trapped in a milieu of his own making. But in Sweet's case, his love affair with guitar pop music, one that carried through a pair of solid and fun all-star cover…

Truth be told, the Second Symphony tends to careen from idea to idea, and from one key change to another, sometimes without apparent regard for the big picture. It opens with music so densely…

As an adult magazine editor, going to the doctor's office is now like going to the airport, a voyage of…