2004 Multichannel Music Component
Linn Unidisk 1.1 multichannel universal player (review) ($10,995; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, Vol.26 No.12, December 2003)
Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
Bel Canto Pre6 multichannel preamplifier-processor (review) ($3990; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, Vol.26 No.12, December 2003)
Fosgate FAP V1 multichannel preamplifier-processor (review) ($13,000; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, Vol.27 No.6, June 2004)
Krell SACD Standard multichannel SACD player (review) ($4000; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.26 No.12, December 2003)
Magnepan…
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2004 Accessory
Shure E3c in-ear headphones (review) ($179; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.27 No.5, May 2004)
Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
Acoustic Sciences Corp. SubTrap (review) ($438; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, Vol.27 No.9, September 2004)
AudioQuest Kilimanjaro speaker cable (review) ($6400/8' pair; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.27 No.1, January 2004)
PS Audio Power Port (review) ($50; reviewed by Art Dudley & Robert J. Reina, Vol.26 No.11 & Vol.27 No.3, November 2003 & March 2004)
Shunyata Hydra Model 8 AC conditioner (review) ($1995;…
Shure E3c in-ear headphones (review) ($179; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.27 No.5, May 2004)
Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
Acoustic Sciences Corp. SubTrap (review) ($438; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, Vol.27 No.9, September 2004)
AudioQuest Kilimanjaro speaker cable (review) ($6400/8' pair; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.27 No.1, January 2004)
PS Audio Power Port (review) ($50; reviewed by Art Dudley & Robert J. Reina, Vol.26 No.11 & Vol.27 No.3, November 2003 & March 2004)
Shunyata Hydra Model 8 AC conditioner (review) ($1995;…
2004 Editor's Choice
Benchmark DAC1 D/A headphone amplifier (review)
Benchmark DAC1 D/A headphone amplifier (review)
It was more than a decade ago that D/A processors were the "hot" product category in high-end audio. In the early 1990s, hardly an issue of Stereophile hit the streets without a new contender for "DAC of the Year" gracing our pages. By contrast, as you'll see if you peruse the paucity of the DAC listings in the 2005 Stereophile Buyer's Guide—available this month at a newsstand near you—the world of high-end audio appears to have passed the standalone D/A converter by. (The irony is that, with a few notable…
2004 Joint Budget Products of the Year
Magnepan CC3 center & MGMC1 surround loudspeaker system (review) ($2490/system; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, Vol.26 No.12, December 2003)
Spendor S5e loudspeaker (review) ($1649/pair; reviewed by Art Dudley, Vol.27 No.9, September 2004)
Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
B&W 705 loudspeaker (review) ($1500/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.27 No.2, February 2004)
Benchmark DAC1 D/A headphone amplifier (review) ($975; reviewed by John Marks & John Atkinson, Vol.26 No.7 & Vol.27 No.5, July 2003 & May 2004)
…
Magnepan CC3 center & MGMC1 surround loudspeaker system (review) ($2490/system; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, Vol.26 No.12, December 2003)
Spendor S5e loudspeaker (review) ($1649/pair; reviewed by Art Dudley, Vol.27 No.9, September 2004)
Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
B&W 705 loudspeaker (review) ($1500/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.27 No.2, February 2004)
Benchmark DAC1 D/A headphone amplifier (review) ($975; reviewed by John Marks & John Atkinson, Vol.26 No.7 & Vol.27 No.5, July 2003 & May 2004)
…
2004 Joint Products of the Year
Aerial Acoustics Model 20T loudspeaker
Focal-JMlab Nova Utopia Be loudspeaker
Linn Unidisk 1.1 universal disc player
Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
Halcro dm38 power amplifier
Lamm ML2.1 monoblock power amplifier
MBL Radialstrahler 101E loudspeaker
Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista kW power amplifier
Sony SCD-XA9000ES multichannel SACD player
Velodyne Digital Drive DD-18 subwoofer
VTL MB450 monoblock power amplifier (review) ($10,000/pair; reviewed by Paul Bolin, Vol.27 No.4, April 2004)
Wilson Benesch A.C.T.…
Aerial Acoustics Model 20T loudspeaker
Focal-JMlab Nova Utopia Be loudspeaker
Linn Unidisk 1.1 universal disc player
Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
Halcro dm38 power amplifier
Lamm ML2.1 monoblock power amplifier
MBL Radialstrahler 101E loudspeaker
Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista kW power amplifier
Sony SCD-XA9000ES multichannel SACD player
Velodyne Digital Drive DD-18 subwoofer
VTL MB450 monoblock power amplifier (review) ($10,000/pair; reviewed by Paul Bolin, Vol.27 No.4, April 2004)
Wilson Benesch A.C.T.…
Sidebar: Previous Awards:
Stereophile's Products of 2003
Product of the Year: Quad ESL-989 loudspeaker (review)
Budget Component: Apple iPod (review)
Loudspeaker: Quad ESL-989 (review)
Joint Amplification Components:
Linn Klimax Twin power amplifier (review)
Parasound Halo JC 1 monoblock power amplifier (review)
VTL TL-7.5 Reference preamplifier (review)
Digital Source: dCS Verdi-Purcell-Elgar Plus SACD/CD playback system (review)
Analog Source: SME 30/2 turntable (review)
Joint Accessories:
Echo Busters Decorative Room Treatments (review)
Rives…
"Viagra couldn't cure our voltage droop!"
"We've got a midbass hump so big, it's X-rated!"
"We need another day of break-in—come back tomorrow!"
"The room's flexing like a Slinky!"
Knock on doors at a Consumer Electronics Show and that's the kind of stuff you hear as manufacturers make excuses for bad sound.
More often than not, the complaints are justified. Getting music from a hi-fi at a Show is tough under the best of circumstances. Cramped hotel rooms, polluted electrical lines, sadistic freight handlers, and dozens of other problems create a nightmare…
(Non Emeril) BAM!
Getting deep bass from a 6.5" vented woofer is problematic no matter how you play with the port tuning or the crossover. According to Palkovic, the speaker's basic alignment is -1dB at 60Hz, -2dB at 42Hz, -7dB at 35Hz, and -10dB at 32Hz. The outboard BAM bass equalizer, powerable by battery or AC and via a tape loop or in series with the preamp and amplifier, applies a carefully contoured boost of 5.2dB at 35Hz. With the BAM, Merlin claims the VSM's response is flat at 60Hz and 42Hz, -2dB at 35Hz, and -4.5dB at 30Hz. A high-pass filter operating below 28Hz prevents…
Getting deep bass from a 6.5" vented woofer is problematic no matter how you play with the port tuning or the crossover. According to Palkovic, the speaker's basic alignment is -1dB at 60Hz, -2dB at 42Hz, -7dB at 35Hz, and -10dB at 32Hz. The outboard BAM bass equalizer, powerable by battery or AC and via a tape loop or in series with the preamp and amplifier, applies a carefully contoured boost of 5.2dB at 35Hz. With the BAM, Merlin claims the VSM's response is flat at 60Hz and 42Hz, -2dB at 35Hz, and -4.5dB at 30Hz. A high-pass filter operating below 28Hz prevents…
The VSM excelled at expressing music's tactile and textural qualities. It got right to the sensual heart of fingered or picked guitar strings, of bongos and congas, drum brushwork, and bowed instruments. It communicated the metallic yet round and warm sound of brass instruments to perfection.
Well-recorded voices, such as Netania Davrath's on Canteloube's Songs of the Auvergne (Vanguard VSD 2090/Analogue Productions APC002), were rendered with an eerie naturalness free of boxy hangover—or, on the other side, thinness and sibilance.
The speaker's combination of delicacy, speed,…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Merlin VSM Millennium loudspeaker: Two-way, floorstanding, loudspeaker with battery-powered, line-level low-frequency equalizer. Drive-units: 1" soft-dome tweeter, 6½" carbon-fiber-cone woofer. Crossover frequency & slopes: 2.25kHz, second-order. Frequency response: 33Hz-22kHz, ±2dB, 1m on-axis. 4dB down at 30Hz with BAM, Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 6.5 ohms minimum, 15.6 ohms at crossover point. Sensitivity: 89dB/2.83V/m. Power handling: 200W (music program). Maximum output: 111dB (music program). Suggested power requirements: 17W minimum (tube), 25W minimum…