I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone with an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the Stenheim Alumine Two.Five's farfield frequency behavior and dispersion. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield and in-room responses and Dayton Audio's DATS V2 system to measure the impedance magnitude and electrical phase angle. The loudspeaker was too heavy for me to carry up the stairs to the large room where I usually perform speaker measurements, so I measured one of the Alumine Two.Fives in my basement listening room.…
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My Russian neighbor Alex forges ax heads and smokes pig chests 5' from my bedroom window. At 2:00am, shirtless, in February. One especially cold night, I woke up to the sounds of hammering and loud music. When I looked out, Alex was blacksmithing a glowing red meat cleaver blade, with Rachmaninoff plays Rachmaninoff blaring from a cassette in his boom box. I once helped him break into a white-painted chest-high office safe that he bought at auction. After grinding the tips off a dozen long drill bits, we could see inside through a little hole, and there was nothing in it. No metals dealers…
Super fans who dig deeper into a favorite artist's recording catalog eventually come to the crossroads of performance versus sonics. In the case of Sly Stone, who died this past June at age 82, that question has new relevance with the release on CD and vinyl of a "new" Sly and the Family Stone record, The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967.
The audio document of an afterhours performance at a teen club in Redwood City, California, that was named after the 1966 novelty hit by the New Vaudeville Band, this performance is described in the liner notes (with slight hyperbole) as…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone with an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the Volti Audio Lucera's farfield frequency behavior and dispersion. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield responses and Dayton Audio's DATS V2 system to measure the impedance magnitude and electrical phase angle. I took a full set of farfield measurements with the microphone at my usual 50" on the tweeter axis, which is 36" from the floor.
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Phono preamplifier with dual inputs and wireless Wi-Fi remote control of cartridge loading, gain, and other parameters. Inputs: 1 pair XLR/RCA, 1 pair RCA only, both switchable balanced/single-ended via rear-panel pushbuttons. Single-ended setting connects input ground to chassis ground. Each input is switchable, moving magnet or moving coil, with an Android app. Outputs: balanced XLR or single-ended RCA. Gain: MM: 30, 36, 44, or 50dB; MC: 50, 56, 64, or 70dB. Input capacitance: 0pF to 750pF in 50pF steps, adjustable for each input. Input resistance…
"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.
I was instantly taken by the Diptyques' performance—not just by the effortless, lightning-quick…
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…