Historical

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Floor Loudspeaker ReviewsJ. Gordon HoltHistorical
Infinity RS-4.5 loudspeaker system
J. Gordon Holt  |  Nov 05, 2006  |  First Published: May 05, 1979  |  0 comments
There are certain manufacturers for whom every new product implies the promise of countless modifications, Usually a month or so apart, culminating inevitably in a version so far removed from the original that it must be assigned a new model designation—usually a letter suffix ranging from A, to D. By the time E is envisioned, another CE Show is approaching, so the decision is made to give the unit an exterior facelift and a brand-new model number. Presto! A new product for CES.
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Floor Loudspeaker ReviewsHistoricalJ. Gordon Holt
Infinity Servo-Statik 1 loudspeaker
J. Gordon Holt  |  Nov 25, 1996  |  First Published: Dec 01, 1970  |  0 comments
An equipment reviewer for one of the consumer hi-fi magazines once confided to a manufacturer that he found it hard to like electrostatics because of the kind of people who usually like electrostatics. His implication—that certain kinds of people gravitate towards certain kinds of sound—is an interesting thought, and one that might bear some further investigation. But there is no questioning the fact that electrostatic speakers in general do have a particular kind of sound, that might be characterized as "polite."
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As We See ItHistorical
Is Analog Dead?
John Atkinson  |  Mar 03, 2009  |  First Published: Jun 03, 1990  |  0 comments
1950: "The ultimate in disc recording is to make the reproduced sound as near as possible to the original..." (The founder of Audio magazine, C.G. McProud, in "Recording Characteristics," Audio Engineering, January 1950, reprinted in The 2nd Audio Anthology, p.67, Radio Magazines, 1954.)
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As We See ItHistorical
J. Gordon Holt, 1930–2009
Larry Archibald  |  Oct 12, 2009  |  0 comments
"What about coming over for a little bit of din-din?"
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Floor Loudspeaker ReviewsHistoricalJ. Gordon Holt
Janszen Z-600, Z-900, & Z-960 loudspeakers
J. Gordon Holt  |  Mar 10, 2022  |  First Published: Dec 01, 1966  |  5 comments
The Z-600 is the latest of the "console" (as opposed to "bookshelf") systems made by Neshaminy Corp., and using Janszen electrostatic tweeters (footnote 1) and a Neshaminy-designed 11" woofer. The nominal crossover frequency is 1500Hz, with a broad overlap between the woofer's top and the low end of the paralleled tweeters. Tweeter level is not adjustable (footnote 2).
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HistoricalInterviews
John Atkinson: a Career in Audio
John Atkinson  |  May 11, 2020  |  27 comments
At the end of April, Adrian Low, the proprietor of Toronto retailer Audio Excellence, asked if he could interview me. "I've been interviewing audio luminaries for some time," Adrian wrote, "partly because I am so interested in how they started, their experiences, and also to share these with fellow audio enthusiasts."

We connected with Skype and, in the two videos embedded below, Adrian and I, along with Jan and Vilip from Audio Excellence, talk about many things connected with my 52 years as an audiophile, my 43 years in audio magazine publishing, and my 33 years at the editorial helm of Stereophile.

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InterviewsHistorical
John Crabbe: Firebrand
Steve Harris  |  Jul 14, 2009  |  0 comments
Editor's Note: John Crabbe was Editor of Hi-Fi News & Record Review when I joined that magazine as a lowly editorial assistant in September 1976. At the end of 2007, I had asked Steve Harris to interview John for Stereophile, as part of an ongoing project to create an oral history of high-end audio (footnote 1). Sadly, John passed away in December 2008—see "As We See It" and "Industry Update," in our March issue. We are publishing Steve's interview as a tribute to a man from whom I learned my craft as an audio magazine editor.—John Atkinson
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As We See ItHistorical
Ken Nelson 1928–2004
Laura LoVecchio  |  Jun 12, 2005  |  0 comments
On Friday morning, March 25, 2005, my friend Maura Rieland, Stereophile's show coordinator through the second half of the 1990s, e-mailed me to say that she had just learned of the passing of Ken Nelson.
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Floor Loudspeaker ReviewsHistoricalJ. Gordon Holt
KLH Model Nine loudspeaker
J. Gordon Holt  |  Mar 05, 2006  |  First Published: Jun 05, 1966  |  0 comments
Editor's Note: Although this product has been available for several years, it is being reviewed in considerable detail because it is a strong contender for the title of "Best Available Loudspeaker System, Regardless of Cost," and because we plan to review some of the other contenders for the same title within the next few issues. We feel that since all of these systems represent a considerable outlay of money, prospective buyers should have a thorough understanding of the merits and demerits of each system, so they will know what to expect from them in the way of performyince capabilities and operational requirements.
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Floor Loudspeaker ReviewsHistoricalJ. Gordon Holt
KLH Model Twelve loudspeaker
J. Gordon Holt  |  May 12, 2022  |  First Published: Feb 01, 1968  |  4 comments
The idea of a loudspeaker system whose frequency response could be tailored to suit room acoustics and/or personal taste is one that has always appealed to the high-fidelity perfectionist. Ideally, such a loudspeaker would allow you to raise or lower the level of any part of the audio spectrum to correct for, say, a sharp 370Hz room resonance or a mild absorptive condition that weakens, say, the 800Hz–3kHz range. Obviously, though, this kind of flexibility would require an infinite number of bandpass networks, each with its own volume control—which is an obvious impracticality.
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FeaturesHistorical
Krell Power: A Visit to the Laboratory of Doctor Morbius
John Atkinson  |  Feb 06, 2020  |  First Published: Apr 01, 1986  |  10 comments
The only one who knows this ounce of words is just a token
Is he who has a tongue to tell, but must remain unspoken.—Moondog, 1968

The Lockheed 1011 sits dormant on the ground at Chicago's O'Hare airport. "We have a little light bulb problem here" drawls the pilot in the approved Right Stuff manner. "We don't know if it's the bulb or what, we'll let you know."

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As We See ItHistoricalJ. Gordon Holt
Late Again!
J. Gordon Holt  |  May 28, 2015  |  First Published: Aug 01, 1976  |  3 comments
Editor's Note: In Stereophile's second decade of publication, things were starting to unravel, with long gaps between each issue. There were just seven issues published between January 1974 and January 1978. The late Harry Pearson has gone on record that he founded The Absolute Sound in 1973 part because he was tired of waiting for the next issue of Stereophile to reach his mailbox. In this "As We See It" essay from the "Surface Noise" issue in August 1976, founder J. Gordon Holt owns up to it appearing 8 months late!
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Art Dudley ListeningHistorical
Listening #116
Art Dudley  |  Aug 03, 2012  |  12 comments
This month I am writing about five vintage loudspeakers you should hear before you die.

Why vintage? Because the best vintage gear offers an abundance of musically agreeable qualities that are missing from even the best contemporary gear.

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Stand Loudspeaker ReviewsArt Dudley ListeningHistorical
Listening #89
Art Dudley  |  May 24, 2010  |  0 comments
Nineteen days after J. Gordon Holt died, my daughter and I drove west on NY Route 20, passing lawn sale after lawn sale on our way to the supermarket in Richfield Springs. Each sale promised a pleasant waste of time on that hot afternoon, but only one caught my eye: There, among the Avon bottles and the 8-track tape cartridges, were two large bookshelf loudspeakers, dressed in walnut veneer and light-colored fabric grilles. AR 3s, I thought. Or maybe Large Advents. "They'll still be there when we come back this way," I said, stupidly.
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Audiophile EssentialsFeaturesHistoricalReference
Listening Tests and Absolute Phase
John Atkinson  |  Dec 05, 2017  |  First Published: Nov 01, 1980  |  22 comments
The problem confronting the magazine reviewer when organising the necessary listening tests to accompany/reinforce the measured behavior of a device under test is complex. There has never been a problem with the measurement aspect; as long as someone has access to the same test gear—and full knowledge of the test conditions—then he should be able to replicate the critic's findings exactly (assuming an infinitely narrow spread of behaviour from sample to sample—a rasher assumption with some manufacturers' equipment than of others). However, when it comes to determining reliably the audible (or inaudible?) effects on music program by an amplifier/cartridge/loudspeaker etc. then the going gets tough.
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