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The Ultimate Bass Experience, Starting Tomorrow in New Jersey

Loudspeaker manufacturer SVS is embarking on a launch event tour for its new 4000 Series subwoofers. These free events will feature prize giveaways, home-theater demos of the new subwoofers, and a presentation by SVS president Gary Yacoubian, as well as "festive" local refreshments.

The next event will take place at Electronics Expo (491 US 46W, Wayne, NJ 07470) 6–8pm, Tuesday December 5. Please RSVP here.

Following events include Starpower Home Theater & Audio/Video (15340 Dallas Parkway, Dallas, TX 75248), 6–8pm, December 7—RSVP—Primetime Audio Video (6917 East State Street…

Recording of September 1975: <I>A Contemporary Collection</I>

The King's Singers: A Contemporary Collection
Works by Peter Dickinson, Malcolm Williamson, Richard Rodney Bennett, Krzystof Penderecki, Paul Patterson
EMI EMD 5521 (UK LP). MMG Records MMG 1142 (US LP). 1975. Christopher Bishop, prod.

Astounding performances! Every piece here was commissioned by the King's Singers, those six English gentlemen whose vocal artistry surely has never been surpassed. The works here are by Peter Dickinson, Malcolm Williamson (recently appointed by HRH Elizabeth II to the post of Master of the Queen's Musick, succeeding the late Sir Arthur Bliss),…

Listening Tests and Absolute Phase

Editor's note: The subject of "Absolute Phase," more correctly called "Absolute Polarity," was of intense interest to audiophiles in the 1980s, culminating in the publication of Clark Johnsen's 1988 book The Wood Effect. I wrote an article on the subject for the November 1980 issue of English magazine Hi-Fi News & Record Review, which expanded on that subject to include some thoughts on audio reviews in general, thoughts that are just as relevant now as they were 37 years ago. It is reprinted here with the kind permission of Paul Miller, the editor of that magazine, now called just Hi-Fi…

Listening Tests and Absolute Phase Page 2

One way, an initial compression at the microphone caused the speaker to deliver an initial compression (absolute signal phase maintained) and the other way, the initial compression at the microphone caused the speaker to deliver an initial rarefaction (absolute phase inverted). Extending this to hi-fi equipment, he found, when applying a rigorous methodology, developed with his co-worker John Vanderkooy, to two items which still sounded different when all the above-mentioned differences had been removed, that the matching of their absolute phase characteristic then removed that audible…

The 2017 Warsaw Audio Video Show

Poland's Audio Video Show, held in Warsaw each November and now firmly established as Europe's No.2 hi-fi event, has a very different feel from Event No.1: High End, held each May in Munich, Germany. Unlike High End's business-to-business approach, the Audio Video Show is very much for regular consumers, of whom more than 14,000 attended over the show's three days, November 17–19. Boosted by a modest "Smart Home" presence, that was an increase of nearly 18% over last year's show, alongside more modest growth in the numbers of exhibitors and exhibit rooms.

Having grown steadily over some…

Delaware Acoustics DELAC S10 loudspeaker

One of the joys of reviewing loudspeakers is that there are always intriguing aspects of any particular design. The problems involved in producing a speaker that has an even tonal balance, well-controlled directivity, good bass extension, and a smooth integration of the outputs from often widely disparate drive-units have what appears to be an infinite number of solutions. The result is often a speaker so different from the norm that it just cries out to be auditioned.

Such was the case with the Delaware Acoustics DELAC S10, which costs $629/pair. Only sold factory-direct, this would…

Delaware Acoustics DELAC S10 loudspeaker System Details

Sidebar 1: System Details

The review procedure followed, with minor changes, that established for my previous loudspeaker reviews: Each pair was used with a pair of VTL 100W Compact monoblocks, connected with Monster M1 speaker cable, while the preamplifier was a combination of the Mod Squad Line Drive Deluxe AGT and Vendetta Research SCP2 phono preamp. Source components consisted of a Marantz CD-94 CD player used to drive a Sony DAS-R1 D/A converter, a 1975-vintage Revox A77 to play my own 15ips master tapes, and a Linn Sondek/Ekos/Troika setup sitting on a Sound Organisation table to…

Delaware Acoustics DELAC S10 loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 2: Measurements

The higher-than-usual source and load impedances presented by the Mod Squad Line Drive and VTL 100W power amplifier (more than 2000 ohms including source, and 130k ohms, respectively) mandated my using the "H" version of the E10. I assessed its effect on the signal by measuring the voltage at the VTL's output terminals while the amps were connected to the speakers. (It will therefore include the interaction between the power amp's 1 ohm output impedance and the impedance curve of the speaker. I thought this valid as it actually will relate to what I heard.)

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Delaware Acoustics DELAC S10 loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar 3: Specifications

Description:> Two-way, sealed-box, floor-standing loudspeaker with passive, line-level LF equalization. Drive-units: 0.75" plastic-dome tweeter, two 4.5" doped paper-cone woofers. Crossover frequency: 4.5kHz. Frequency range: 50Hz–20kHz. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms (minimum 3.5 ohms). Sensitivity: 85dB/W/m. Amplifier requirements: 15–100W.
Dimensions: 40" H by 5" W by 3.5" D (loudspeakers); 10" square (bases); 2.5" H by 5.2" W by 6.5" D (equalizer). Shipping weight: 50 lbs/pair.
Standard finishes: teak and walnut veneer; black gloss and white gloss…

Solo Sounds: The Power of One

While it hasn't always made money or hit records, the music business has never been short on ideas. Most are nonsense, but every once in a while—the gramophone, onstage monitors, Les Paul's overdubbing—the biz comes up with a winner.

Many of the craziest ideas I've heard in 30 years of writing about music have been expounded on at the South by Southwest Music Festival, held each year in Austin, Texas. At SXSW, hope springs eternal. Secrets are whispered. Buzz bands gain momentum. Rumors ripple through crowds. Everyone has visions of morphing into a mogul. There's an intoxicating energy…