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With this music feature, we're trying some new things. First, we've created a playlist on Qobuz that lists most of the individual tracks mentioned in this review; it can be accessed here. The feature refers to many whole albums, however; rather than load up the playlist with individual tracks, making it unwieldy, we've instead included URLs to the albums, on Qobuz or Tidal. If you're a Roon user, you can import the list into Roon by favoriting it in Qobuz. To access a complete album, see the link.

If you're expecting hi-fi sound, a word of warning:…

Like all electrostatics, the Z-600 requires an external source of power (consumption: 2 watts), and the built-in power supply requires a 115V AC supply. The polarizing supply is designed for continuous duty, and the…

Every loudspeaker design must embody various compromises with absolute perfection, and while we have long felt that Janszen's Z-600 system was the most musically natural reproducer available for under about $500, we have also recognized the fact that some things about it could be improved. Its treble dispersion is not as wide nor as uniform as it could be, its low end (although better defined than that of most other low-efficiency systems) does not go quite as deep as, say, an Acoustic Research AR-3, and its low-frequency…

Although we have long preferred the Janszen Z-600 to any other speaker system in or about its price range, is nonetheless an outstanding example of the old saw that nothing is perfect and loudspeakers are less perfect than most. For while has excellent overall balance, unsurpassed high-end range and transient response, superb detail, a deep, rich low end and a remarkanle degree of musical naturalness, it also has rather poor stereo imaging, a slight tendency toward a rising high end in most listening environments (because of…

Z-600: Floorstanding, two-way system with two electrostatic tweeters and dynamic 11" woofer section. Frequency range: 30Hz–>30kHz. Crossover frequency: Nominal 1500Hz; 1000–2000Hz overlap region. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Power capacity: 100W program.
Dimensions: 26.625" H × 20" W × 13" D.
Price $208.95 (1966); no longer available (2022).

Z-900: Floorstanding, two-way system with dual 11" woofers and 4-element electrostatic tweeter. Frequency range: 20Hz–>30kHz. Impedance: 8 ohms. External power supply requirements (for electrostatic elements…

HiFiMan presented a few noteworthy new products at CanJam NYC, including the EF400 DAC/headphone amplifier, the Edition XS planar-magnetic headphones, the HE-R9 closed-back dynamic headphones, and the HM800 mini-DAC.

The HiFMan EF400 DAC/headphone amplifier (shown above with the HE-R9 headphones) follows their older EF6, the company's PR rep, Adam Sohmer, told me. "People were looking for an update." Updates it brings. The EF400 contains HiFiMan's latest "Himalaya" R-2R "ladder" DAC module. It converts PCM signals of up to 24/786, Sohmer told me. The EF400 DAC/amp will retail for…

Brilliant Adventure could easily have been called Bowie Gets His Edge Back. After years of shallow creativity, he found himself back at pop's outer reaches. Included in this wonderfully packaged box set are the remastered studio albums Black Tie White Noise, Outside, Earthling, 'hours...', and The Buddha of Suburbia, which served as a soundtrack for a BBC series of the same name. There's also an exuberant live album…

Isaiah J. Thompson is a new pianist of exceptional promise. He is 24 and has already acquired two degrees from Juilliard and released two impressive records. He is not your typical wunderkind. He has qualities that most young badasses acquire later in life if at all, like concision, control, taste, and humility.

The first…

Here's a superbly executed oddity that somehow manages to enthrall: Atmospherically recorded arrangements for string orchestra of works written between 1847 (Mendelssohn's final String Quartet No.6 in F minor, Op.80) and 2019 (Joanna Marsh's In Winter's House). That a string program that includes two pieces initially composed for choral voices works so superbly is due to the care and…

Unfortunately, that strategy hasn't…