Budget Component Reviews

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Stand Loudspeaker ReviewsBudget Component Reviews
NHT Classic Three loudspeaker
Robert J. Reina  |  Nov 19, 2006  |  0 comments
When reviewing affordable speakers, it's critical to have benchmarks and comparisons for various price points. Inexpensive speaker designs are exercises in tradeoffs and compromises, especially for the least costly products. In all of my reviews, I try to compare the speaker in question with other designs close to the review sample's price, chosen from my list of previously reviewed speakers. From time to time, if a speaker particularly impresses me, I ask the manufacturer if I can keep the speakers around a while longer, so that it can serve as a comparison reference for a certain price point. That's not to say that any speaker I don't keep around is less desirable—there's just not enough room in my house to keep a sample of every speaker I like. An audio reviewer's wife puts up with enough as it is.
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Budget Component ReviewsIntegrated Amp Reviews
NAD C 372 integrated amplifier
Jim Austin  |  Oct 22, 2006  |  0 comments
At the extreme high end—Halcro, VTL, Boulder, etc.—reviewers gush about a lack of character. If you're paying $20,000, you want a preamplifier or power amp to disappear. At those price points we also want extreme, unfatiguing resolution, and noise that's well below what most people would consider audible. But at those prices, an absence of character is definitely something most people aspire to.
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Stand Loudspeaker ReviewsBudget Component Reviews
BG Z1 loudspeaker
Robert J. Reina  |  Oct 22, 2006  |  0 comments
Last summer, John Atkinson and I were playing a jazz gig poolside at my local club, and during a break we began discussing equipment. As JA adjusted his microphones and I became increasingly nervous about the running, jumping kids splashing chlorinated water on his Nagra digital recorder, he asked me if I'd like to review the Z1 loudspeaker from BG Corp. "It's an interesting little bookshelf speaker featuring a ribbon tweeter." Hmm—an affordable bookshelf speaker matching a ribbon tweeter to a dynamic woofer? Very interesting. "Sounds good," said I, and resumed my ivory duties.
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Budget Component ReviewsDigital Processor ReviewsMedia Server ReviewsComputer Audio Reviews
Sonos ZP80 & ZP100 WiFi Music System
John Atkinson  |  Sep 17, 2006  |  First Published: Oct 17, 2006  |  0 comments
Don't get the wrong idea. I don't watch trash TV. I am not interested in the doings of people who are famous merely for being famous. I was probably the last to realize that Paris Hilton was not the name of a French hotel. But the kitchen TV just happened be tuned to Channel 4 when I switched it on while I was preparing dinner. No, I do not watch NBC's Extra, but as I was reaching for the remote I was stopped in my tracks by what I saw. The show was doing a segment on the new L.A. home of Jessica Aguilera, or Christina Simpson, or . . . well, it doesn't matter. What does matter was the host's mention of all the cool stuff the bimbette had had installed in her new pied-à-terre: "...and a Sonos audio system, of course."
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Solid State Power Amp ReviewsBudget Component Reviews
Sonic Impact Model TA2024 Super T power amplifier
Wes Phillips  |  Oct 15, 2006  |  0 comments
Why don't you review affordable gear?
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Budget Component ReviewsDigital Processor ReviewsMedia Server ReviewsComputer Audio Reviews
Slim Devices Squeezebox WiFi D/A processor
John Atkinson  |  Sep 09, 2006  |  0 comments
As readers of the Stereophile eNewsletter will be aware, the twin subjects of distributing music around my home and integrating my iTunes library of recordings into my high-end system have occupied much of my attention the past year. I bought an inexpensive Mac mini to use as a music server, using an Airport Express as a WiFi hub, which worked quite well, but my big step forward was getting a Squeezebox. I described this slim device in the mid-March and mid-April eNewsletters; I urge readers to read those reports to get the full background on this impressive device. In addition, the forums and Wiki pages on the Slim Devices website offer a wealth of information on getting the most from a Squeezebox.
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Budget Component ReviewsHeadphone Reviews
Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline The Hornet headphone amplifier
Wes Phillips, Sam Tellig  |  Nov 05, 2006  |  First Published: Sep 05, 2006  |  0 comments
I've been a little remiss in writing about one of the best tools for travel I've experienced recently: Ray Samuels Audio's Emmeline The Hornet ($350), a tiny (3" L by 2" W by 1" H) rechargeable portable headphone amplifier. I tend to travel with my iPod packed with hi-rez music files and a pair of low-impedance headphones. That's not a marriage made in heaven, so I also need a headphone amplifier. Over the years, portable headphone amps have gotten better and better while getting smaller and smaller. The Hornet is the smallest I've discovered so far and is my current favorite.
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Floor Loudspeaker ReviewsBudget Component Reviews
JBL Studio L880 loudspeaker
Robert J. Reina  |  Oct 01, 2006  |  First Published: Sep 01, 2006  |  0 comments
When I reviewed JBL's S38 loudspeaker for the June 2001 issue of Stereophile (Vol.24 No.6), I was impressed with the performance of this large, inexpensive ($599/pair) bookshelf speaker. When I received a press announcement at the end of 2005 announcing JBL's new affordable speakers, the Studio L series, which incorporates innovations developed for JBL's recording-studio monitors, I began a discussion with JBL's public-relations firm. They promised many significant design innovations and sonic improvements over the S series.
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Floor Loudspeaker ReviewsBudget Component Reviews
DALI Ikon 6 loudspeaker
Robert J. Reina  |  Jul 23, 2006  |  1 comments
When I review an affordable loudspeaker, first impressions are important. Once I've unpacked the speaker, noted the quality of its construction and finish, and have complimented or grumbled about the ergonomics of its five-way binding posts, I fire 'er up and give 'er a first listen. Occasionally, the sound will put a smile on my face, either because I'm impressed with the amount of uncolored detail emanating from such an affordable product, or because the speaker sounds so sweet that I'm intoxicated.
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Floor Loudspeaker ReviewsBudget Component Reviews
Revel Concerta F12 loudspeaker
Kalman Rubinson  |  Jul 23, 2006  |  0 comments
I am a Revel junkie. Their Ultima Studios have been my reference loudspeakers for years, and I've spent many happy hours with their Performa F-30s and Ultima Gems. They're all great speakers. When the original Gem was launched, it was made clear that all the corporate and economic weight of Revel's parent company, Harman International, was behind the development of this new line. When I visited Revel some years back, I saw cutting-edge design and development, in-house manufacturing of the most critical parts under the tightest scrutiny, and quality control of nearly compulsive meticulousness. All of this was reflected in the speakers' prices, which were reasonable for their quality and performance.
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Budget Component ReviewsCD Player/Transport Reviews
Rega Apollo CD player
Art Dudley  |  Jun 26, 2006  |  0 comments
You've heard it said that the early bird catches the worm, which is all well and good if you like worms. If you're more interested in music, you might want to follow the lead of Roy Gandy instead: He's the managing director of Rega Research, a 331/3-year-old audio company that was the very last of its kind to enter the CD market. Rega's first CD player, the Planet of 1996, was a success in virtually every way.
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CD Player/Transport ReviewsBudget Component ReviewsMedia Server Reviews
Olive Symphony CD player/Wi-Fi Music Server
John Atkinson  |  Apr 09, 2006  |  0 comments
How to integrate a computer into a high-end audio system is a hot topic these days. I'm getting more and more e-mails from readers asking for advice, Wes Phillips wrote about transferring his LPs to audio files in his October and November newsletters, and a lively thread on this topic ran on the forum at www.stereophile.com.
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Budget Component ReviewsIntegrated Amp Reviews
Outlaw Audio RR2150 stereo receiver
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 11, 2006  |  0 comments
Wilson Audio Specialties' David Wilson likes to say that you should build a stereo system from the speakers down. Of course he does—he sells speakers. But that doesn't mean he's wrong. So recently, when offered an inexpensive new product for review, I decided it would be a good test of Wilson's theory. I tried driving Wilson's $45,000/pair MAXX2 speakers with Outlaw Audio's RR2150, a $599 stereo receiver.
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Floor Loudspeaker ReviewsBudget Component Reviews
KEF iQ9 loudspeaker
Robert J. Reina  |  Feb 19, 2006  |  0 comments
The penultimate stop on Bob Reina's British Invasion Tour of Affordable Loudspeakers (footnote 1) brings us to the doors of KEF. Although KEF is a large and well-established British firm, I've noticed that their product lines have not been as visible in the US as those of, say, B&W, Wharfedale, or Mission. In fact, the last time I heard a KEF speaker, it was the company's then-flagship design, at a Consumer Electronics Show nearly 20 years ago! Before that, when I lived in London, KEFs were ubiquitous, down to the older, entry-level designs tacked to the walls of the ethnic restaurants I frequented. My strongest KEF memory is a cumulative one: Every KEF speaker I've ever heard, regardless of price, venue, or setup, has always produced good, convincing sound.
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Stand Loudspeaker ReviewsBudget Component Reviews
Usher Audio Technology S-520 loudspeaker
Robert J. Reina  |  Dec 18, 2005  |  0 comments
The last few years at our annual Home Entertainment Show, many readers have come up to me and asked: "How do you select which speakers to review?" In my case, most candidates are either new products that have impressed me when demonstrated at our HE Shows, or new products from manufacturers whose designs have impressed me in the past. Occasionally, editor John Atkinson gets wind of a speaker and asks if I'd like to review it. But once in a while, a manufacturer reads a rave review of a competing product that makes his or her blood boil.
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