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Description (Bolero): Two-way, reflex-loaded, stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" hard-dome tweeter, 5.25" plastic-cone woofer. Crossover frequency: approximately 3kHz. Frequency response: 50Hz–19kHz ±3dB. Sensitivity: 90dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Amplifier requirements: 10–60W.
Dimensions: 14.125" H by 7.75" W by 9.4" D. Weight: 17 lbs each.
Price: $1580/pair (1989); no longer available (2018).

Description (Forte): Drive-unit: 6.5" doped paper-cone woofer. Crossover frequency: approximately 150Hz. Measured –6dB point: 32Hz.…

Visibly, there is nothing to distinguish Dick Olsher's Dahlia design (see later) from hundreds of other small speakers—except, that is, that it's uglier than most such. Although our samples were superbly finished (Dick Olsher bought them from a professional cabinet maker), the enclosures' dimensions were apparently chosen according to acoustical dictates rather than aesthetic considerations. The resulting shape is rather squat, like a kneeling dwarf.

Since I haven't tried putting one of these together according…

Since the publication of the Dahlia do-it-yourself speaker article in February 1986 (Vol.9 No.1), I've been inundated with requests for clarification of construction details and additional information. I'm very pleased that the Dahlia has been received so favorably and wish I could personally acknowledge each and every one of your letters. To have done so, however, would have kept me very busy for a long time, and would have precluded additional research work on my part. Instead, let me take…

In Vol.9 No.1, Dick Olsher offered a neat two-way loudspeaker design which exploited the virtues of the Son Audax 8" bass/mid unit, a TPX-coned unit which I also favor. As Dick could not avail himself of measurement facilities to determine the flatness and balance, his crossover was more or less to "book." Having tried his network, I found the resultant sound rather forward and lightweight compared with neutral, commercial, BBC-balanced references, while the bass, in my opinion, was not fully…

Description: Two-way, do-it-yourself dynamic bookshelf system with 1" soft-dome tweeter and 8" TPX-cone woofer in vented enclosure. Impedance: 8 ohms. Rated frequency range: 60Hz–18kHz. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Rated power: 50W maximum.
Dimensions: 14.5" W by 20" H by 12" D.
Price: approx. $200 for parts (1986).



Other amplifiers reviewed in this issue come from Anthem, Border Patrol, and Bricasti, Mikey Fremer lives with the Bergmann Galder turntable and Odin tonearm, while our review team offers second…

Because anyone who cares about the terrible costs of war, and the suffering it engenders, must hear the pain,…

When Jason Victor Serinus reviewed LG's MQA-capable V30 smartphone in our May issue, he was mightily impressed. "LG's implementation of its Hi-Fi Quad DAC is a work of genius," he wrote, concluding that "If ever there were a device that could bring the experience of high-end sound to millions of music lovers, the hi-rez V30 with MQA is it. It's more than a game-changer." JVS added that the V30's combination of audiophile sound quality and smartphone portability "may prove unbeatable." However, our publishing schedule didn't include…

The sound of Steve Tibbetts's guitar music is unique—one need hear only a measure or two of his new album to identify the distinct tang of his playing. Common wisdom is that a guitarist's sound is in the hands and fingers, but Tibbetts has another trick: his weathered, 50-year-old Martin D12-20 12-string…

It's not surprising that many people, like me, love nice cameras and good stereo gear. In my worse moments, I attribute this to mere consumerism: We love expensive stuff and the thrill of buying something new, whether for reproducing music or creating visual images. In my better moments, it's clear to me that there's more than that to this common taste for audio and photography, and more to the hobby of so-called perfectionist audio.

One commonality: we like well-made machines. There's beauty in finely wrought devices,…