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Fyne Audio F702 Speakers, Pass Labs INT-60 Integrated Amplifier and XP-17 Phono Stage, Aurender W20SE Music Server, Aqua LaScala MkII DAC, VPI HW-40 40th Anniversary Turntable

Suncoast Audio presented Fyne Audio F702 speakers ($8995/pair) in their US debut. Handmade in Scotland, the two-and-a-half-way floorstander features a concentric point-source tweeter/midrange array with a titanium center that seemed almost hornlike in its appearance and delivery.

The Suncoast folks noted that the speakers were still breaking in when I came by on Friday but the sound was still quite pleasing-some articulate upright bass, for instance, which might have been benefiting from the "secret" downward-firing port on the bottom side of the cabinet.

The F702…

Volti Audio Special Edition Rival Loudspeaker, BorderPatrol P20 EXD Power Amplifier and DAC SE-i, Innuos Zenith Music Server and Phoenix USB Reclocker, Triode Wire Labs Cables

In celebration of their first 10 years in business, Volti Audio unveiled a newly redesigned version of their Rival SE (Special Edition) speaker ($19,900/pair), seen here in an eye-catchingly exotic bubinga wood veneer (a rosewood option is also available). Although its side-curved form appears quite substantial, the horn-loaded hybrid floorstander can be sonically suitable for larger or smaller spaces. With its horn drivers and a sensitivity spec of 100dB, the Rival SE also makes for an easy to load-perfect for the 300B-powered BorderPatrol P20 EXD amplifier. The three-way Volti also features…

Gryphon Ethos CD Player/DAC at New York City's Sound By Singer

On Thursday, February 13 from 5 to 9pm, Manhattan retailer Sound By Singer will present a musical evening centered around the Gryphon Audio Designs Ethos CD player/DAC. Alongside host Andrew Singer, Philip O'Hanlon of On A Higher Note—Gryphon's North American distributor—will demonstrate the Ethos with hand-curated selections; other components in the system will include the Gryphon Diablo 300 integrated amp and a Kronos pro-LE turntable fitted with a My Sonic Labs Eminent Ex cartridge, all played through Stenheim Alumine Five loudspeakers; the system will be wired with Analysis Plus cables.…

Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby Grand Reference Speaker, Aesthetix Mimas Integrated Amplifier, Chord Qutest DAC, VPI Super Prime Scout Turntable and Voyager Phono Preamplifier

Room 516 from A La Carte Productions rooms at the Florida Audio Expo both featured speakers from Austria's Vienna Acoustics: the North American debut of the Beethoven Baby Grand Reference ($9498/pair). Said to have been three years in the making, the new model is the younger sibling to the larger and aptly named Beethoven Concert Grand Reference tower; the two models share similar drivers and technologies. A La Carte's second room featured the Spendor 9.2. [This paragraph has been edited. - JA2]

The three-way, reflex-loaded Beethoven Baby Grand Reference incorporates a patented flat…

JA on Loudspeaker Measurements

Author's Note: Although I started accompanying Stereophile's loudspeaker reviews with measurements soon after I joined the magazine in 1986, it wasn't until 1989, when we acquired an Audio Precision System One electronics analyzer and the then-new MLSSA speaker measurement system from DRA Labs, that I developed the standardized data presentation that is still featured in our reviews more than three decades later. In this article from October 1991, I summarize the results from the first two years of using MLSSA to test 69 loudspeakers.—John Atkinson

It was the Saturday of Stereophile's…

JA on Loudspeaker Measurements Page 2

I have arbitrarily grouped the speaker curves into five classes of flatness. Fig.3 shows those speakers whose weighted deviations are below 2dB; fig.4 features speakers with a weighted deviation ranging from 2dB to 2.5dB; fig.5 those ranging between 2.5dB and 3dB; fig.6 those from 3.0–3.7dB; while fig.7 brings up the back markers possessing a deviation above 3.7dB. The speakers are also listed in the Table, along with their price at the time they were reviewed, what issue their review appeared in Stereophile, and whether they appeared in "Recommended Components" and in what class.

I know…

JA on Loudspeaker Measurements Page 3

The Meridian D600 is downgraded by the standard deviation criterion due to its downward-tilted response trend, but actually sounded extremely uncolored. The absence of this digital-input speaker from "Recommended Components" is purely because we have not auditioned the latest version, which uses Bitstream oversampling and D/A conversion rather than the older Philips 16-bit, 4x-oversampling chip set.

Fig.6: Deviation 3.1–3.69: TARA Timekeeper 0.5 Mk.I (black); Fried Q4 (red); Rogers LS3/5a (1978) (green); Vieta Pro-5 (sample 2) (yellow); Snell K/II (blue); Acoustat Spectra…

JA on Loudspeaker Measurements Table 1: Loudspeaker reviews

Table 1: Loudspeaker reviews October 1989–November 1991

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Loudspeaker Review F-weighted Deviation (dB) Original Price/pair Stereophile Rating JBL XPL-90 July 1991 0.82 $1300 Meridian D6000 September 1991 1.3 $15,000 A Spendor S100 June 1990 1.39 $2500 B Snell C/IV April 1991 1.42 $2190 B Avalon Eclipse January 1991 1.46 $5800 B…

Black Ice Audio Fusion F11 and Fusion F22 Tube Integrated Amplifiers, F360 Tube Preamplifier, Glass FX DSD WiFi, and Fusion DAC Transport

A sub-brand under the Jolida marque, Black Ice Audio used the Florida Audio Expo to introduce the final production models for some new amplification components. (Prior versions seen and heard at previous shows were late-stage prototypes, I was told.) The Black Ice Fusion F11 and F22 integrated amplifiers were shown in striking glass and carbon-fiber chassis with relatively small footprints, which is particularly desirable for the European and Asian markets.

Available color options are black and gray. (There's also an F35 version housed in a larger chassis, primarily for US…

Zesto Leto Ultra Preamplifier, Bia 12 Stereo Power Amplifier, and Andros 1.2 Phono Stage, Vimberg Mino Speakers, Merrill Williams REAL 101.3 Turntable, Tri-Planar Tonearm, Benz Micro Gullwing SLR MC Cartridge, Cardas Clear Beyond Cables

Zesto Audio presented the third generation of its Leto preamplifier: an Ultra version that offers a slew of new features, from upgraded all-analog circuit topology and a new 12DW7 tube configuration to the addition of three gain options (3dB, 6dB, 9dB) that can be saved for different input sources. Full remote control capabilities have also been added for on-the-fly adjustments of input, volume, gain, mono, and muting.

But perhaps the most intriguing new feature is a Presence control for the upper or upper-mid frequencies. Broadly speaking, it's tone control-like but more…