Editor's Note: No indoor antenna can compete with a good roof or mast-mounted outdoor antenna, but because apartment dwellers often don't have a choice, we list the following indoor models that we have found to work well: AudioPrism 8500 ($499, Vol.14 No.6), AudioPrism 7500 ($299, Vol.12 No.5), Magnum Dynalab 205 FM Booster ($350, Vol.10 No.6), RadioShack amplified indoor FM antenna ($29.99, Vol.19 No.11), RadioShack 15-2163 FM antenna (Vol.27 No.7), and Fanfare FM-2G ($99, Vol.20 No.12). Outdoor antennae we have reviewed and recommended are the Antenna Performance Specialties…
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My wife and I have this ongoing riff: We try to make each other laugh by sharing examples of words we've looked at too quickly and misread—mistaking offered for overfed, bagel for kegel, that sort of thing. All very subtle and dry and Garrison Keillor. You can hear the belly laughs from there, can't you?
I mention this because of the mistake I made when I first opened the shipping carton from Bertrand Audio and saw this cartridge's packaging, which is prominently adorned with the words airy sound. I misread that as hairy sound, and, without waiting for correction, my brain tried to…
There are records in my collection I've owned and loved for more than 30 years, and after enjoying them on virtually countless combinations of different components, I've formulated a pretty good idea of what they sound like. In every instance, the ZYX sounded precisely like the sound of those records, nothing more, nothing less.
Barkeep? Total the bill, please, I'm leaving early. I hear some of you thinking those very words.
In a perfect world, I'd indulge myself by describing cartridges only in musical terms. But there's more to them than that. Take, for example, moving-coil…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Low-output moving-coil phono cartridge. Output: 0.24mV. Compliance: 12cu vertical, 15cu horizontal (1cu=10-6 dyne/cm). Channel separation: >30dB. Channel balance: ±0.5dB. Stylus profile: Micro-Ridge. Cantilever: boron rod. Distance from stylus to mounting bolt: 9mm. Source impedance: 4.0 ohms. Recommended load impedance: >100 ohms. Recommended tracking downforce: 2.0gm.
Weight: 5.0gm.
Serial number of unit reviewed: C3112.
Price: $2995. Approximate number of dealers: 15.
Manufacturer: ZYX Co., Ltd., 128-10, Funaki, Nagara-T, Chiba-…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Linn LP12 turntable with Naim Armageddon power supply, Naim Aro tonearm; Linn LP12 turntable with Linn Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm; Rega Planar 3 turntable with Rega RB-300 tonearm; Tubaphon TU3, Lyra Helikon Mono, Miyabi 47, Supex 900 Super, Rega Elys phono cartridges.
Digital source: Sony SCD-777ES SACD player.
Preamplification: Audio Note AN-S2, Tamura L2-D step-up transformers; Linn Linto, EAR 324 pre-preamps; Fi, Audio Note M2 Phono Balanced & M3 Phono Balanced, Cary SLP98, Naim NAC32.5, DNM 3-C Primus…
Loudspeaker cabinet design has been strongly influenced by home theater. Large floorstanding cabinets, required for reproduction of bass frequencies, are being replaced by tall, graceful towers with small footprints. While these slim speakers fit more easily into home décor and living spaces, to fill out their bass response they depend on being used with the subwoofers that are standard in multichannel systems.
Igor Levitsky, speaker designer for Bohlender-Graebener Corp. (aka BG Corp.), has taken advantage of the slim tower motif in the design of the Radia 520i speaker, which has a 50"…
Using pink noise from Stereophile's Test CD 2 (Stereophile STPH004-2) to drive the Radias without the subwoofer, the tonality of the resulting sound varied smoothly and gradually as I moved back and forth and from side to side in my listening chair. I found the Radias' sweet spot in my room to be about 6" wide and 12" deep. To stay within that small spot, I had to sit up and forward in the listening chair. I propped myself in position with two pillows—just moving the chair forward didn't position me properly. Outside this zone, the pink noise dulled slightly. It also dulled when I stood up…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, floorstanding, sealed-box loudspeaker with line-source ribbon upper-frequency driver. Drive-units: 50" by 1.1" planar-magnetic coaxial midrange and HF ribbon; two 6.5" cone woofers. Crossover frequency: 350Hz. Crossover slopes: fourth-order, Linkwitz-Riley. Frequency response: 70Hz-20kHz, ±6dB. Sensitivity: 88dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Recommended amplification: 50-250W continuous, 300W peak.
Dimensions: 70.25" (1800mm) H by 7.75" (200mm) W by 2.75" (70mm) D. Base: 13.25" (340mm) W by 17.25" (442mm) D. Weight: 59 lbs (26.8kg…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Linn Sondek-Lingo turntable, Linn Ittok tonearm, Spectral moving-coil cartridge.
Digital sources: Krell KRC-28 CD player, Sony SCD-C555ES multichannel SACD/CD player.
FM tuners: Day-Sequerra Classic, McIntosh MR-78, Sony ST-5000.
Preamplification: Mark Levinson ML-7 preamplifier with L3A MC phono cards, Margulis phono section, Duntech MX-10 head amplifier, Krell KCT preamplifier.
Power amplifiers: Mark Levinson ML-2 monoblocks and No.334 stereo amp; Krell FPB 600c.
Loudspeakers: Quad ESL-989, Revel Ultima Sub 30 subwoofer.
…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Ribbon speakers have historically offered low voltage sensitivity, but my estimate of the Bohlender-Graebener Radia 520i's sensitivity came in at 87.5dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is about average. However, its impedance lies at 4 ohms or below for much of the audioband, reaching a minimum value of 2.9 ohms at 165Hz. In addition, the combination of 4.2 ohms and -50 degrees capacitive phase angle at 120Hz, a frequency where music tends to have high energy levels, will stress lesser amplifiers. The impedance graph (fig.1) is free from the small wrinkles that would imply the…