When Herb Reichert reviewed this elegant, stand-mounted, two-way speaker (footnote 1) in the April 2017 issue, he had a hard time optimizing its low-frequency balance in his room. Using PrimaLuna's ProLogue Premium 35Wpc tube amplifier, he eventually got the Contour 20 to sing, and concluded that "The Dynaudio Contour 20 is the first speaker I've heard that might actually be as neutral (I hate that word) as the best headphones. . . . It leaned a touch more toward the left side of my brain than I prefer, but not…
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John Atkinson wrote about the Dynaudio Contour 20 in May 2017 (Vol.40 No.5):
If we had been asked some time ago to describe our "dream amplifier," chances are we would have described the Crown DC-300. Designed originally as an industrial device, it was made available as an audio amplifier rather as an afterthought. But if that roundabout approach is necessary to produce an audio amplifier like this, so be it.
We thought we had heard virtual perfection in power amplifiers before. The SAE Mark II, for instance, produced such beautifully lucid, effortless sound that we honestly believed further improvement would be superfluous. It isn't.
By comparison, the DC…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Solid-state stereo power amplifier. Rated power: 100Wpc into 16 ohms (23dBW), 150Wpc into 8 ohms (21.8dBW), 250Wpc into 4 ohms (21dBW), all at <0.1% IM distortion. Frequency response: DC–20kHz, ±0.1dB; DC–100kHz ±0.6dB. IM distortion: <0.1%, 10mW–150W into 8 ohms; typically below 0.05%. Input sensitivity: 1.75V in for rated power out.
Dimensions: 7" (178mm) H by 9¾" (229mm) D by 19" (483mm) W (standard rack-mount panel). Weight: 40 lbs (18.2kg).
Price: $795 (1970); no longer available (2017).
Manufacturer: Crown International,…
Everyone knows that a lot of serious music listeners—that is, those who listen to music instead of using it as a conversational background—have neither the space nor the money for a pair of typical floor-standing speakers, and must make do with bookshelf-type systems that are actually small enough to put in a bookshelf. But while the typical audio perfectionist will freely admit that there is a place in the audio sun for these dinky little speakers, he cannot really take them seriously, particularly when they're priced significantly under $100 each. At least, that has been our feeling about…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Two-way, dynamic bookshelf loudspeaker with aperiodic woofer loading. Impedance: 8 ohms. Power ratings: minimum amplifier 15Wpc continuous sinewave watts; maximum 70W program.
Dimensions: 11½ (280mm) H by 9¾ (229mm) W by 10" (254mm) D.
Price: $159.90/pair (1969); no longer available (2017).
Manufacturer: Dynaco, Inc., Philadelphia, PA 19121 (1969); company no longer in existence (2017).
...goes the song from the Middle Ages and no, it isn't really true in the month of Apriling. But the May issue of Stereophile is about to hit newsstands, mailboxes, and tables as we write and it is, we modestly claim, one heck of an issue!
Taking pride of place on the cover is the new No.526 preamplifier from the venerable Mark Levinson brand. Designed by a team led by the well-respected Todd Eichenbaum at Harman's new Engineering Center of Excellence and manufactured in the US, the No.526 offers a full array of inputs—line, phono, and digital—and excels with all of them. The Levinson is…
It has been six years since we last released a recording on the Stereophile label—a jazz album featuring Attention Screen, the late Bob Reina's free-jazz ensemble. This dry spell was mainly due to the increasing demands made on our editorial team's time by social media and the magazine's website, but also by John Atkinson's recording activities with the Portland State Chamber Choir, who issue their recordings on their own label. Nevertheless, we've been keeping our eyes and ears open for suitable opportunities.
Back in 2011, composer Sasha Matson asked John Atkinson to produce his jazz…
The ballet-like Berkeley Hills, arranged for a mixed septet similar to that Stravinsky used for his L'Histoire du soldat, was composed in honor of Elinor Armer, a longtime professor of composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Armer is also a longtime friend and mentor to Sasha, who writes, "I grew up in Berkeley, and composer Elly Armer has long had a home on the top of the ridge there, a part of the coastal ridge referred to by locals as the Berkeley Hills. Memories of fog coming and going in the summer months, over the slopes of dry, brown grass and eucalyptus trees, are…
Sidebar 1: The Composer
Sasha Matson spent his formative years in Berkeley, California, where his father taught philosophy at the University of California. He received a bachelor's degree in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Moving to Los Angeles, Sasha began scoring music for feature films and other multimedia, and received a PhD in composition and theory from UCLA. Recordings of his work have been released on the Albany/Troy, AudioQuest, and New Albion labels. Sasha writes about audio and music, and is currently a contributing editor for Stereophile magazine. He…
Sidebar 2: The Cast
Composer, conductor Sasha Matson
Violins Peter Kent (concertmaster, solo violin), Becky Bunnel, Roberto Cani, Joel Derouin, Clayton Haslip, Ben Hudson, Marina Manukian, John Wittenberg.
Violas Briana Bandy, Andrew Duckles, Daniel Oguri, Cameron Patrick, Kari Prescott.
Cellos Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick, Paula Hochalter, Cameron Stone
Double bass Jeff Bandy
Clarinet Phil O'Connor
Bassoon Anthony Parnther
Trumpet Marisa Benedict
Solo harp Amy Shulman
Percussion Scott Higgins
Keyboards Mark Gasbarro
Production, CD/file mastering…