I was instantly taken by the Diptyques' performance—not just by the effortless, lightning-quick…
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"Panel speakers that do bass? Sign me up!" That was my reaction when I first heard a pair of Diptyque Reference loudspeakers, at AXPONA 2023. The Reference is a 6'-tall, French planar magnetic speaker whose designers, Gilles Douziech and Eric Poix, make no secret of their love for Magnepan, the Minnesota company famed for its dipole panels. The French duo has improved on Magnepan's pioneering technology by addressing the number-one shortcoming of such designs: a lack of low-frequency extension.
As a music teacher, I can think of no better learning experience than what trumpeter Donald Byrd did in the early 1970s for a group of his music students. To quote the band's current website, "Byrd envisioned taking active students at Howard University in Washington, DC, on a real-world field trip which would expose them to ins and outs of the music business."
Leveraging his music-business connections and salting the adventure with his own compositions, Byrd set his students up as a funky musical act to, in his own words, "bridge the gap between academia and the real world." The…
Hegel has introduced the H150, a streaming integrated amplifier that replaces the H120. The company says the H150 uses the same streaming platform and control app found in the H400 and H600, adds a Moving‑Magnet phono stage, and in a first for Hegel, plays music directly from a USB‑A drive. Hegel refers to the H150 by the nickname Prodigy.
Power is rated at 2 × 75W into 8 ohms (1 kHz, 1% THD) from a class‑AB output stage with the company’s SoundEngine 2 topology. Published figures include damping factor >2000, operation into 2‑ohm loads, <0.01% THD…
Scott Walker Audio will host a three-day Super Speaker Showcase at its Keller, Texas showroom (1101 Keller Parkway) on September 26-28. Hours are 12–5 pm CT each day.
Admission is free. Seating is limited; reservations are required. Attendees may reserve for more than one day. You can register by clicking here. A light lunch will be served. For out-of-town visitors, a Hampton Inn is directly across the street, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is about 20 minutes away, and there are approximately 50 restaurants within 10 minutes of the store.
Friday, September 26 (12–5…
Sonus faber has announced the Amati Supreme, a floorstanding loudspeaker derived from concepts developed for the Suprema. The company positions the model as a compact implementation of its “Voice of Sonus faber” engineering approach.
A Y‑shaped window on the top panel exposes the mid–high crossover section. Sonus faber describes the network as an evolution of its Phase Coherent design and says the components match those used in Suprema.
The driver complement includes a silk‑dome tweeter, a supertweeter, and the company’s Camelia midrange unit. These driver units are…
Manufacturer's Comment
Thank you very much for this detailed review of our Reference speakers.
Our primary objective is to reproduce music as naturally as possible. We are convinced that plane-wave propagation is the most natural way of reproducing an ensemble of acoustic instruments, as in a concert. In this review, we are delighted to see that you have experienced intense musical emotion.
The technical limitations you noticed with the 2023 version have been completely resolved with the new MK2 version we presented in Munich this year: new composite diaphragm frame for…
Hana has introduced the Umami Black, a new top-of-line moving‑coil phono cartridge above the Umami Red and Blue. US list price is $11,500. First public US demos are scheduled for September 6 at Quintessence Audio (Morton Grove, IL), with customer shipments beginning September 22.
What’s new
The Umami Black’s headline change is a solid diamond cantilever carrying a nude Microline stylus. The cartridge also debuts Hana’s OKD high‑efficiency generator, which combines an inverted U‑shaped front yoke with an integrated pole piece/rear yoke. According to the company, the…
But I didn't find the Atoms to be rock speakers only. Their superb articulation of low-level dynamics, their abilities to soundstage and retrieve ambience, made them excellent producers of intimate chamber works such as George Crumb's Quest (Bridge 0007-2), as well as of such orchestral blockbusters as Dorati's interpretation of Stravinsky's Firebird (LP, Mercury Living Presence 90226). Fans of intelligently miked classical works recorded in sonically superior concert halls will not be disappointed in the Atom.
The Atom was also well-suited to small jazz ensembles. On the Modern Jazz…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded, stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drive-units: 0.75" ceramic-metal dome tweeter, 5.5" polypropylene-cone bass/midrange driver with die-cast chassis. Frequency response: 70Hz-20kHz, ±2dB on axis, 70Hz-16kHz, ±2dB off axis. Impedance: "compatible with 8 ohms." Sensitivity: 89dB in room, 86dB anechoic. Recommended amplification: 15-80W.
Dimensions: 10.5" H by 6.5" W by 8.5" D. Weight: 13 lbs/pair.
Finish: Black vinyl.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 296193 & 4.
Price: $189/pair; magnetic shielding adds $20/pair.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: VPI TNT IV turntable, Immedia RPM tonearm, Koetsu Urushi cartridge; Rega Planar 3 turntable, Syrinx PU-3 tonearm, Clearaudio Aurum Beta S cartridge.
Digital sources: California Audio Labs Icon Mk.II Power Boss, Creek CD53 Mk.II CD players.
Preamplification: Vendetta Research SCP-2D phono stage, Audible Illusions Modulus L1 line stage.
Power amplifier: Audio Research VT100 Mk.II.
Integrated amplifiers: Creek 5350SE, JoLida JD-101A.
Cables: Interconnect: MIT MI-350 CVTwin Terminator, MIT MI-330SG, MITerminator 2. Speaker:…