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Big Drum, Buell Neidlinger Quartet (K2B2 3069, 1992)
Recorded live in 1990, with Vinnie Colaiuta, drums, and Hugh Schick, trumpet. Neidlinger addressed the liner notes to the departed Herbie Nichols. Compositions by Neidlinger, Krystall, and Thelonious Monk.

Blue Chopsticks, Buell Neidlinger Quintet (K2B2 3169, 1995)
A smoking, all–Herbie Nichols program. Neidlinger is on cello, his first instrument as a child prodigy. The music swings light and hard at the same time. Excellent sound.

Across the Tracks, Buellgrass (…

True full-range horns include the classic Voigt (1936) and Klipsch (1945 onward) designs, the former most famous for a corner horn that ingeniously exploited the…

Sound
No one should have to make allowances for a horn design. Rather, it should be judged on its overall merit; then its balance of favorable qualities, assuming them to be…

Description: Three-way loudspeaker with midrange and treble horns and active, reflex-loaded woofer. Drive-units: compression-loaded 1" concave-dome tweeter, compression-loaded 5.5" Kevlar-cone midrange driver, two 7" cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 170Hz, 2kHz. Frequency range: 170Hz–20kHz (midrange/treble), 22–200Hz (woofer). Sensitivity: 101dB/2.83V/m (midrange/treble); 95dB/2.83V/1m (woofer). Nominal impedance: 8 ohms (midrange/treble). Woofer amplifier power: 100W into 4 ohms.
Dimensions: 5.6' (1.7m) H by 2.22' (670mm) W by 2.23' (680mm) D. Internal…

For this review analog was sourced from a Linn LP12/Lingo turntable with Naim ARO tonearm and Koetsu Rosewood II, Linn Arkiv, and van den Hul Grasshopper GLA 1V phono cartridges. Disc equalization was by a Conrad-Johnson Premier Fifteen feeding C-J's ART control unit. Digital source was mainly a Krell KPS-20i. Cables included Siltech and Transparent.

While I had no flea-sized power amplifiers on hand, on the single-ended triode side I used a Cary CAD572 and a Bel Canto SET 40. The push-pull Conrad-Johnson CAV50 integrated amplifier also made an appearance. These…

The importance of the Avantgarde Acoustic Duo's sensitivity result puts this parameter at the top of the list of lab tests—I measured 103dB/2.83V/m, possibly the highest yet for a Stereophile review. Moreover, the impedance rating is a genuine 8 ohms, which doesn't compromise the sensitivity value.

The implications are substantial, and in no small way help define this design's engineering value. 103dB means that a loud program level of 96dBA is attainable at the listening position with input of just 0.5W. The Duo is wholly compatible with 3W-and-up SE…

It doesn't take a forensic turntable scientist to figure out who manufactures both of those turntable models. Clearly, Pro-Ject does (footnote 2)—although some audiophiles might recognize only a few key parts. Other elements, especially the two different tonearm models, may appear unique to AVM, having been built to their specs.

For me, the first hints that the AVM Rotation R 2.3 came…

On the Miyajima Labs website, the designer described the sound this way: "The bass is thick and tight. Midrange is firmly insisted. A treble that has no useless resonances is realistic. Sound separation is the best ever. It is a feeling that all the performers are putting their feet on the…

According to Grado:

The All New Grado GT220 True Wireless earbuds utilize an 8mm Dynamic Driver to deliver rich accurate bass, detailed midrange and clear precise treble, resulting in a user experience second to none. Grado wants you to hear the music as the recording engineer intended it, true and natural, nothing artificial.

The GT220 incorporates Bluetooth 5.0 as well as aptX, AAC and SBC codecs, making it possible to connect with a wide range of devices. When the…