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The Final Word: Ethics

Ethics is a subject always more easily discussed than practiced. There's been a lot of discussion recently about the ethics of retailing—or, more accurately, the ethics of buying retail.

It's always been a problem, but the Internet has raised the stakes by an order of magnitude. Customers go to the high-service shop when they're trying to figure out what to buy, then shop on the Internet for the lowest price.

You could call it a classic free-market situation—only those retailers who don't offer sufficiently higher value to compel a sale will lose out—but it's impossible to ignore…

The Final Word: Ethics Page 2

I was surprised by the car I settled on, a BMW 740il. After devoting 16 years (1967-1983) to fixing Mercedes, who'da thunk it? (My first arrival at Stereophile's new offices in the new car generated massive interest. Apostasy!)

The Internet proved surprisingly useful, though not in the way I'd expected. I had guessed that typing "BMW AND 740il" in the Find box would generate a bunch of magazine reviews and maybe a few car-finding services. In fact, the standard magazine reviews were absent from the Internet, but there were a bunch of newspaper articles (which unfortunately are usually…

The Final Word: Ethics Letters page 1

Relevant Published Letters from Rocking' Ron, John Rossmann, and Alan Anderson:

Mail-order & added value
Editor:
As a longtime subscriber to Stereophile and eight other audio magazines, I had to write—first time, by the way—in response to John Atkinson's September "As We See It." JA wrote how high-end retailers need to add value to what they sell.

In all honesty, I consider myself a knowledgeable—very knowledgeable—smart, high-performance buyer. I had to laugh at the article: Why should I support my local retailer? He doesn't support me. I pride myself on being the…

The Final Word: Ethics Letters page 2

With regard to business transactions, it seems that Mr. Bauza sees those transactions as situations where one person wins and the other loses. This view is a commonly held misconception among those who don't like capitalism and free markets. The reality is that, in a noncoerced business transaction, both parties gain. When I subscribe to Stereophile, I gain (or obtain value), and so does Stereophile. I want the magazine more than I want the money it costs me; Stereophile wants my money more than they want my copy of the magazine.

When Mr. Bauza buys a pair of speakers from his local…

AudioQuest Gibraltar speaker cables & Anaconda interconnects

Being a metallurgical engineer, I've always been intrigued by audio cables—their construction, the materials they're made of, how they're produced, and, of course, how all of that relates to their sound. Over the years, I've auditioned a wide range of cables, from Nordost's round conductors in a flat cable, to Alpha-Core's flat cables in a round conductor, to MIT's complex termination systems. I've even got a closet full of cables—some quite good—from companies that no longer exist.

But one thing I'd not done in the 25 years since I began both making my own interconnects and…

AudioQuest Gibraltar speaker cables & Anaconda interconnects Page 2

Another aspect of the Anaconda's big, bold sound was a huge, expansive, open soundstage. On the AC/DC album, the soundstage, artificial though it may be, was noticeably wider than with any of my reference wires. Depth was increased as well, and the music projected farther out into my listening room, contributing to the system's bold, immediate sound.

Individual images were slightly larger with the Anacondas than with my reference cables, and the distances between them seemed larger and more distinctly portrayed as empty space. This big, expansive nature was particularly captivating with…

AudioQuest Gibraltar speaker cables & Anaconda interconnects Page 3

The conductors and insulators are sized and chosen to best serve a specific function. The bass quad, for example, consists of two 16 AWG negative conductors and two 19 AWG negative ones, while the treble half uses 18 AWG positives and 21 AWG negatives. AQ calls this Spread Spectrum Technology, the idea being that any size and material of conductor has a distinct sonic signature that occurs over a specific frequency range. Mixing the conductors spreads out this signature over a wider range, preventing the effects from piling up to the point of audibility. A final bit of wizardry is the use of…

AudioQuest Gibraltar speaker cables & Anaconda interconnects Specifications

Sidebar: Specifications

Description: Interconnect and loudspeaker cables. Anaconda interconnects available with single-ended (RCA) and balanced (XLR) terminations. Gibraltar speaker cables available in single- and biwired configurations, with spade-lug or banana-plug terminations.
Prices: Anaconda: $$1250/m pair, balanced (XLR) or unbalanced (RCA). Gibraltar: $850/10' pair, full-range (single-wire) or biwire configurations; $1700/10' pair, double-biwire configuration, spade-lug or banana-plug termination. Approximate number of dealers: 350. Warranty: lifetime, unconditional.
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The Advent Loudspeaker

After a number of years of equipment reviewing, one gets rather blasé about "compact" loudspeakers. The appearance of yet another one that looks like hundreds of others and embodies no radically new innovations to pique one's curiosity is likely to be greeted with a passionate Ho-Hum.

That, at least, is how we felt about receiving a pair of Advent speakers—their first product since the company was formed. Of course, we were pleased to see a new hi-fi manufacturer taking the plunge and we wished them well, but my God, not another oversized "bookshelf" loudspeaker! Who needs it? And at $112…

The Advent Loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar: Specifications

Description: Two-way direct-radiator loudspeaker. Crossover frequency: 1kHz. Balance control: Tweeter switch selects flat, +3dB, or –3dB. Impedance: 8 ohms. Power capacity: 100W program.
Dimensions: Not noted.
Price: $116 each in walnut veneer, $102 each unfinished (1971); no longer available (2006).
Manufacturer: Advent Corporation, Cambridge, MA (1971). Company no longer in existence (2006).