Pioneer's room was downstairs from the very hot $45,000/pair TAD Model-2 loudspeaker. Both speakers were designed by Andrew Jones—Pioneer is TAD's parent company—and under Andrew's leadership, a multi-national team reconfigured the TAD beryllium technology into the 145 lb, three-way, $9000/pair Pioneer S1-EX. Both speakers use the same…
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"Larry, I've just come from the Alexis Park." Tom Norton, editor of Ultimate AV button-holed me. "I think the Pioneer speaker is worth a visit. It's one of the only new things I've found over there." Tom's words rung in my ears. Had to see it!
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: MacBook Air running Tidal, Roon, Qobuz. Bricasti M1 Series II DAC, Musical Fidelity M1 CDT, Pro-Ject CD Box RS 2 T CD transports.
Preamplifier: McIntosh C12000.
Power amplifier: McIntosh MC462 Quad Balanced Stereo.
Integrated amplifier: McIntosh MA252.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties The WATT/Puppy, Harbeth P3ESR.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Diamond AES3, Coffee USB; Interconnects: AudioQuest Fire, Sky; Speaker: AudioQuest Firebird, Robin Hood; AC: AudioQuest Dragon.
Accessories: AudioQuest Niagara 7000 power…
These days, listeners the wide world over enjoy hearing their music recreated for them by equipment whose origins are international; trade isolationists might consider the example of PrimaLuna. This Holland-based company's operations span three continents, with designers from Floyd Design and Durob Audio in the Netherlands, manufacturing in China, and input from California-based Harmonia Distribution.
The PrimaLuna EVO 300 Hybrid is a hefty 63.8lb. It's designed to be used as either a stereo amplifier or, in pairs, as a monoblock ($7195 each, $14,390 for a pair). The handsome grayish-blue…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used my Audio Precision SYS2722 system to measure one of the PrimaLuna EVO 300 Hybrid amplifiers that had been auditioned by SM. It had the serial number XA994S8721BN. After making sure the six preamplifier tubes were correctly seated and letting the amplifier operate at low power for 30 minutes, I performed a complete set of tests in both Stereo and Mono modes.
The PrimaLuna preserved absolute polarity with both the balanced and single-ended inputs in both Stereo and Mono modes. The balanced input XLR jacks are wired with pin 2 hot, the AES standard. A…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Hybrid tube input/solid state output, dual-mono class-AB amplifier. Tube complement: six 12AU7s. Analog inputs: 1 pair balanced (XLR), one pair single-ended (RCA). Outputs: Stereo and mono loudspeaker binding posts, 12V Trigger. Frequency response: 10Hz–80kHz ±3dB. Output power (rated at 0.2% THD), stereo: 100Wpc (20dBW) into 8 ohms, 150Wpc (18.75dBW) into 4 ohms. Power output, mono: 220W (23.4dBW) into 8 ohms, 300W (18.75dBW) into 4 ohms. Input impedance, stereo: 32k ohms single-ended, 49k ohms balanced. Input impedance, mono: 18k ohms single-ended…
Audio Vision San Francisco will host a two-day "Experience the Future of Sound" event on Saturday and Sunday, October 18–19, 2025, from 12–6pm at 1628 California Street in San Francisco, with seminars, system demos, and a giveaway drawing.
A large-room "state of the art" system is slated with YG Acoustics loudspeakers, Goldmund electronics, Master Fidelity digital, an Innuos server/streamer, SME analog, Nordost cabling, and Harmonic Resolution Systems isolation. Showroom sessions run both days, plus a headphone room with Audeze electrostatic and planar magnetic headphones and Woo Audio…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: VPI HW-40 turntable, VPI 12" Fatboy tonearm, Lyra Etna λ Lambda cartridge; Pro-Ject Classic EVO turntable (with supplied tonearm), Ortofon Bronze Cadenza, Sumiko Amethyst cartridges.
Digital sources: MacBook Air running Tidal, Roon, Qobuz; Bricasti M1 Series II DAC; Musical Fidelity M1 CDT, Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T transports.
Preamplification: McIntosh C12000.
Power amplifier: McIntosh MC462.
Integrated amplifier: McIntosh MA252.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties The WATT/Puppy, Harbeth P3ESR.
Cables: Digital:…
There are incredible values in audio, and then there are incredible values. The ones that deserve italics are those like Pioneer's SP-FS52 floorstanding speaker, designed by TAD's Andrew Jones and recently reviewed. I covered them on analogplanet.com because I've received so many e-mails from freshly minted (sorry) young vinyl enthusiasts looking to trade up from their computer speakers. Vinyl has that effect on the soul.
Only $360—and often much less—will buy you a pair of SP-FS52s, which deliver more than a whiff of what high-end sound is all about. The online blowback I received for…
Michel Petrucciani Trio: Jazz Club Montmartre - CPH 1988
Petrucciani, piano; Gary Peacock, bass; Roy Haynes, drums
Storyville 1038541 (CD; available as LP). 1988/2025. Christian Brorsen, prod.; Ole Matthiessen, Lars Palsig, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ***½
Petrucciani, piano; Gary Peacock, bass; Roy Haynes, drums
Storyville 1038541 (CD; available as LP). 1988/2025. Christian Brorsen, prod.; Ole Matthiessen, Lars Palsig, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ***½
If you saw Michel Petrucciani live, you came away changed. To witness this tiny, severely disabled person (who had to be carried to the piano bench) unleashing torrents of brilliant piano extravagance and grinning with joy was to believe anew in the invincibility of the human spirit. Osteogenesis imperfecta, a rare…
Wet Leg: Moisturizer
Domino Recording Company (auditioned as CD). 2025. Dan Carey, prod.; Alexis Smith, Adele Phillips, engs.
Performance ****
Sonics *****
Domino Recording Company (auditioned as CD). 2025. Dan Carey, prod.; Alexis Smith, Adele Phillips, engs.
Performance ****
Sonics *****
Wet Leg—the duo of Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers—made a splash in 2021 with the viral success of their debut single "Chaise Longue." Much of the early conversation focused on their playful irreverence, in sound and persona. With the release of their sophomore album Moisturizer, that image begins to shift toward something more layered and musically ambitious.
For this outing, Teasdale and Chambers expanded Wet…