I remember being completely bowled over by the sound. It did some things far better than any tubed component I had heard, and I was so impressed by those things that I did not at first detect the things the TR-1 was doing worse than tubes. I am confident that I would run screaming from the room were I to listen to it today, though a lot of its shortcomings were doubtless being masked…
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I believe it was 1958 when I first heard a transistorized audio product. The Fisher TR-1 was a small battery-powered box that provided microphone preamplification and inputs for three magnetic phono sources.
HAYDN The Creation
Sandrine Piau, Miah Persson, sopranos; Mark Padmore, tenor; Peter Harvey, baritone; Neal Davies, bass; Chetham's Chamber Choir, Gabrieli Consort of Players; Paul McCreesh
Archiv 477 7361 (2 CDs). 2008. Nicholas Parker, prod.; Jonathan Stokes, eng. DDD. TT: 108:56
Performance *****
Sound *****
Archiv 477 7361 (2 CDs). 2008. Nicholas Parker, prod.; Jonathan Stokes, eng. DDD. TT: 108:56
Performance *****
Sound *****
Between 1796 and 1798, when Haydn composed The Creation, he was the most beloved composer the world had ever known. Already an old man, he had befriended and outlived Mozart and was deeply religious: he prayed daily that he might live to finish this oratorio. "I spent…
It was a simple little thing that turned into so much more. Michael Lavorgna started it. Out of the blue and as sudden as spring, he sent an e-mail to me and speaker designer John DeVore: "Let's plan a trip to the Princeton Record Exchange!" And, just in case 60,000 beautiful LPs wouldn't be enough of a lure, Michael put a cherry on top: "The Triumph Brewing Company is right next door!"
Have you heard? Michael Lavorgna and John DeVore are into vinyl. They are also into beer. In the hearts and minds of these two manly men, vinyl plus beer equals love. A trip to the record store, punctuated…
Stereophile should start a "Personals" section in the back of the mag—maybe stick 'em in with the classifieds:
SWF ANALOG FETISHIST looking for a few good LPs. Send photo to P.O. Box 433, Indianapolis, IN.
MWM WITH TUBES seeks same for hot days and hotter nights. Reply to P.O. Box 12, Los Alamos, NM.
I mean, wouldn't that be great? Not only could we all hook up with that Special Someone a helluva lot easier than hanging around hi-fi huts with red hankies protruding from our back pockets, but we could also send messages to the manufacturers telling them what we really…
But all it took was ten seconds into the first CD I played through the DIA 100 to realize that this Acurus integrated is not only the best-sounding pre/power combo under a thousand bucks by far, but one of the best values in all of high-end audio, period. After I'd tried countless mid-priced preamps and power amps in my Real World system, mostly to no avail, the DIA 100 immediately took the system up several full notches in sound quality. No joke: This is the best sound I've heard for the bux.
So what does it sound like? "Tube-like" is not a word I'd use to describe the DIA 100—tonally,…
Sidebar 1: Systems
As has been the case with other budget gear under review, the DIA 100 spent most of its time in my Real World system, an audio assemblage painstakingly designed to exactly replicate the kind of affordable home hi-fi system an actual taxpaying citizen of these here United States would set up in his or her living room. No expense was spared trying to duplicate the exact living and listening conditions which affordable hi-fi gear might encounter in the typical non-dedicated listening room that people lucky enough not to be hi-fi critics usually listen to music in. And,…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
The Acurus DIA would not complete the one-hour, 1/3-power preconditioning we perform as a matter of routine. The test was run four times: twice, before going to CG for listening, the DIA shut down after 45 minutes; twice more, after CG was finished with it, it shut down 20 minutes into the conditioning. It was running hot at shutdown (footnote 1), but not unusually so, indicating that its thermal protection may have been set to trip early.
The Acurus's input impedance into its CD input measured between 11k ohms and 12k ohms at volume-control settings up to…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state integrated amplifier with passive control section. Rated power: 100Wpc into 8 ohms (20dBW), 150Wpc into 4 ohms (18.75dBW). Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.25dB. S/N ratio: 100dB, A-weighted. Input impedance on all inputs: 10k ohms. Input sensitivity: 200mV for full output. Voltage gain at full volume: 43dB. Damping factor: >300.
Dimensions: 17" W by 5" H by 14" D. Weight: 35 lbs.
Serial number of review sample: 025405.
Price: $995 (1993); no longer available (2008). Approximate number of dealers: 150.
Manufacturer:…
Getting a good connection to ground can make or break a fussy audio (and video) system. Jonathan Scull reveals several tips and tricks in "Fines Tunes" #9. As J-10 states: "Of course, the 'Fine Tunes' brief is low- or no-cost techniques for improving your system's sound. So let's consider that unruly beast called Ground. Aside from walking on, what's it good for?" The answer awaits.
Also this week, we have Scull's review of the Mark Levinson No.32 Reference preamplifier: "I've always wanted to review one of Madrigal's Mark Levinson products, and finally my prayers have been answered."…
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) believes 2002 will be a slow year for home-audio sales, but not an unsuccessful one for either manufacturers or retailers.
The CEA expects almost $4 billion in factory sales of home-audio products for 2002. Good news? Yes and no. The bulk of the gains will be in home-theater-in-a-box systems, which the CEA sees as the big winner for the coming year. The popularity of HTiB, as the category is abbreviated, has basically tracked the growth of the DVD, the most successful consumer electronics format ever launched. The CEA is predicting an increase…