Art Dudley passed peacefully this morning around 4am after a short illness. The cause was metastatic cancer.
Art bought his first record—Roger Miller's "King of the Road," the single—at age 8 or 9. He picked up the guitar at 16 and played throughout his life. When he was young, he had a band, The Norm.
Starting in the late '70s, Art worked at Backpacker magazine. In 1985, he joined The Absolute Sound as its managing editor, quitting that gig after precisely a year. After that, he earned his…
Sponsored by Stereophile and Music Direct, AXPONA Livestream will feature 25 of the leading audio manufacturers who will update music lovers and the global audio community with timely…
How did they do it? There's a clue on the company's homepage, which claims "more than 200 years of experience" among Fyne employees: The founders are a core group of former senior managers from Tannoy Ltd.—including former Tannoy…
Description: Two-way, rear-ported, standmount loudspeaker. Drive units: 1" (25mm) polyester-dome tweeter. 6" (150mm) multi-fiber cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 3.2kHz. Crossover type: 2nd-order low-pass, 3rd-order high-pass. Frequency response: (–6dB typical in room) 44Hz–28kHz. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Sensitivity: 89dB/2.83V/m. Recommended amplifier power: 25–100W(RMS). Continuous power handling: 50W (RMS).
Dimensions: 11.8" (300mm) H × 7.5" (190mm) W × 10.7" (271mm) D. Weight: 11.7lb (5.3kg).
Finishes: walnut, black ash, light oak.
Serial…
Analog sources: Kuzma Stabi R turntable & Kuzma 4Point 11" tonearm; Hana ML MC phono cartridge.
Preamplification: Tavish Audio Design Adagio phono preamplifier.
Integrated amplifiers: Schiit Audio Ragnarok 2, Cary Audio SLI-80HS.
Loudspeakers: Quad S2.
Cables: Interconnect: Shindo Laboratory, Triode Wire Labs Spirit II. Speaker: Auditorium 23. AC: Triode Wire Labs Obsession NCF power cord, manufacturers' own.
Accessories: IsoTek EVO3 Aquarius line conditioner, Salamander five-tier rack; IKEA Aptitlig bamboo chopping boards (under…
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system to measure the Fyne Audio F301's farfield behavior with a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone. (I left the vestigial grille that covers the woofer in place for the measurements, as it appears to provide the necessary acoustic environment for the tweeter.) For the speaker's nearfield responses, I used an Earthworks QTC-40 mike, which has a small (0.25"-diameter) capsule.
Although the Fyne F301's specified sensitivity is a high 89dB/2.83V/m, my estimated sensitivity was slightly lower, at 86.2dB(B)/2.83V/m. The Fyne F301's nominal…
Sized similarly to many modestly sized floorstanding loudspeakers, a pair of 452s makes for a striking physical presentation. They were first introduced to the public at the Capital Audiofest, November 2019—though at AXPONA earlier last year, VAC demoed…
Through these VAC amps, my room evaporated, leaving an enormous space, wide, tall and deep, near the back of which appeared the 25-voice choir—and, behind them, the Aoelian-Skinner organ. When John Atkinson came to measure, I…
Description: Mono/Stereo power amplifier. Tube complement: 4 6SN7GTB; 8 Gold Lion KT88. Maximum output power: 225Wpc into 4 ohms (20.5dBW), stereo; 450W into 4 ohms (23.5dBW), mono. Frequency range: 4Hz–75kHz. Power bandwidth: 20Hz–70kHz. No other specifications provided.
Dimensions (approx.): 8.5" W × 29.5" H × 18.5" D. Weight: 280lb (gross weight in flight case).
Serial number of units reviewed: 1929702 & '703.
Price: $75,000 each, $150,000/pair, mono (as reviewed). Approximate number of dealers: 14.
Manufacturer: Valve Amplification…