For this review, I was supplied with Torus's RM20 ($3000), a PIU that uses a single 2400VA toroidal transformer to supply…
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When I arranged to review the Bryston 28B-SST monoblock power amplifier, I wanted to be certain that the 1kW amplifier wouldn't be starved for current. Bryston advised me that Plitron, who manufacture the 28B-SST's toroidal transformer, also make Power Isolation Units (PIUs), under the brand name Torus Power. Torus explained that its PIUs combine surge suppression with massive toroidal transformers to provide AC power conditioning and protection from voltage surges.
P.D.Q. BACH: WTWP Classical Talkity-Talk Radio
Prof. Peter Schickele and the Usual Cast of Clowns; many instruments, some of which you'll recognize
Telarc CD-80295 (CD only, as if we had to tell you that). Robert Woods, Elaine Martone, prods.; Jack Renner, Michael Bishop, engs. DDD (as if we had to tell you that, too). TT: 61:39
Prof. Peter Schickele and the Usual Cast of Clowns; many instruments, some of which you'll recognize
Telarc CD-80295 (CD only, as if we had to tell you that). Robert Woods, Elaine Martone, prods.; Jack Renner, Michael Bishop, engs. DDD (as if we had to tell you that, too). TT: 61:39
When confronted with the transcendent ouevre of the late P.D.Q. Bach, this reviewer frequently finds himself at a loss for words, but here faced with what is not only the crowning glory of P.D.Q.'s opus, but an effective satire of contemporary "classical…
Recently, I assessed four disparate room-correction systems based on digital signal processing (DSP): Copland DRC205, Lyngdorf Audio RoomPerfect, Velodyne SMS-1, and Meridian DRC. I concluded that Meridian's approach—which applies IIR (Infinite Impulse Response) "anti-resonance" filters to suppress room resonant modes, if only partially—was, in many respects, the best. What I particularly like about Meridian DRC is that, unlike the Copland and Lyngdorf processors, its approach to system tonal balance is largely hands-off. Yes, it lightens up the extreme bass a little, as you'd expect, but it…
When Robert Harley reviewed the Phantom Acoustics Shadow in the December 1989 Stereophile, Vol.12 No.12, he was clearly impressed: "The improvements in low-frequency definition, dynamic impact, and LF tonal neutrality were dramatic." And yet the Shadow soon faded into obscurity. Moreover, so far as I am aware, no one in the domestic audio industry has since attempted to resurrect the idea of active modal absorption (footnote 2). Considering the DSP power now readily available, this is surprising—we almost certainly could do a better job today than the Shadow did two decades ago. In…
When it comes to loudspeaker drivers, Dynaudio has earned an enviable reputation for quality and reliability. To use an automotive analogy, they are the Mercedes Benz of the driver universe. If you're a speaker builder, the odds are that you have already experimented with these drivers. And even if you're not a speaker builder, it's quite possible that your speakers use Dynaudio drivers. After all, some of the finest speaker systems in the world do. A case in point is the Duntech Sovereign, which single-handedly embodies almost the entire Dynaudio catalog.
Surprisingly, Dynaudio's line…
The woofer (24-W-100) is nominally a 240mm drive-unit with a plastic cone and a 4" aluminum voice-coil featuring Dynaudio's patented Hexacoil winding technique. This process improves not only the density of the winding within the magnetic gap, but also reliability and heat dissipation. Power handling for 10-millisecond transient bursts is an astounding 1000W. The range between 500 and 5000Hz is handled by a 3" (model D76), soft-dome midrange which is capable of excellent dispersion and dynamics. The tweeter is Dynaudio's time-honored D28, a 1" soft-fabric dome with ferrofluid damping in the…
Sidebar 1: Measurements
I was very curious to see just what the measured frequency response looked like. Sometimes the frequency response of a loudspeaker offers no clues as to why a speaker sounds the way it does. This seeming failure of objective measurements to corroborate subjective impressions is due primarily to the nature of the colorations. The auditory system is quite sensitive to broad-band low-Q resonances. Because they persist for many milliseconds and usually cover more than one critical band, these resonances translate into audible colorations—even if the amplitude of the…
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: Three-way active loudspeaker with three 150W amplifier modules. Input sensitivity: 775mV.
Dimensions: 42" H by 11" W by 14" D.
Price: $10,196/pair (1989); no longer available (2008). Approximate number of dealers: distributor direct (1989); 95 (2008).
Manufacturer: Dynaudio, Hamburg, W. Germany (1989); Dynaudio A/S, Sverigesvej 15, 8660 Skanderborg, Denmark. Tel: (45) 86-52-34-11. Fax: (45) 86-52-31-16. (2008). Web: www.dynaudio.com. US distributor: Madisound, Madison, WI 53711 (1989); Dynaudio North America, 1140 Tower Lane, Bensenville,…
Sidebar 3: Manufacturer's Comment
Editor: Dynaudio wishes to thank the staff at Stereophile for taking the opportunity to audition and comment on our Accent 3 model. The care and thoroughness of the review as well as the compliments on our drive-unit design are very appreciated.
We are, of course, disappointed that Mr. Olsher did not find the sound of the reviewed pair more to his liking. One aspect deserves comment. For the last two years Dynaudio has employed a sophisticated quality-control system to make sure that no speaker pair is shipped with a tolerance of more than 0.5dB…
This year marks the tenth time I've written an introduction to Stereophile's venerable annual feature "Records To Die For." Looking back, I'm proud that readers always find it useful and entertaining. I'm also amazed, on some levels, that our writers—hardware or software, deadline-phobic or not—manage to find something worthwhile to say, year in and year out, about music—which, after all, is why we became audiophiles in the first place.
And last, farfetched as it sounds, it seems as if "R2D4" has actually had an effect on bringing several out-of-print titles back into circulation…