The number of two-channel Super Audio Compact Discs seems to grow by the week. There are now several hundred titles to choose from—and hundreds on the way, with the recent endorsement of the format by major record labels. Even so, there are still very few SACDs that exploit the multichannel capabilities of Direct Stream Digital.
Wes Phillips pries a hard-to-acquire <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/412/">Ayre Acoustics V-3 power amplifier</A> out of company hands and puts it to the sonic test. Does the amp live up to its legendary "Best of Show" status? Phillips has the answer.
In his review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/407/">Toshiba SD-9200 DVD-Audio player</A>, Chip Stern asks the question "In a rollout of new technologies more or less driven by the expectations of the home-theater crowd, what's in it for us music-lovers?" Stern uncovers the answer and then some, while Kal Rubinson explores the player's surround-music performance.
Melville, NY–based manufacturer <A HREF="http://www.josephaudio.com"> Joseph Audio</A> announced September 1 that the company was "pleased to accept the 'Best Sound at Show' award as determined by the votes of attendees" at the Home Entertainment 2001 event held in May at the NY Hilton. "We're deeply grateful that so many at the show felt that our RM33si Signature at $7500/pair was worthy of such an honor," said company president <A HREF="mailto:Josephaud@aol.com">Jeff Joseph</A>.
In his review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/403/">Conrad-Johnson Premier Eleven power amplifier</A>, Wes Phillips comes clean and admits that he loves to be seduced by sound. Phillips writes, "Now, I'm not proposing that we embrace coloration . . . but the removal of all pleasure-producing tonalities doesn't necessarily make for increased realism."
In his review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/398/">Cary Audio Design CAD-300SEI integrated amplifier</A>, Robert Harley admits up front that he's been "biased against single-ended tube amplifiers because of their quirky measured performances." Can the Cary redeem itself and the SET approach with a single hearing? Harley reports, with a "Follow-Up" from Jonathan Scull.
First, the bad news: Sales of stand-alone, two-channel audio products declined in the month of June by 1.8% to $164 million, according to recently published statistics from the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A>.
After the 2001 show's wildly successful run earlier this year, <A HREF="http://www.homeentertainment-expo.com">Home Entertainment 2002</A> is heading back again to the heart of New York City. HE2002 will take place May 30–June 2, 2002 at the Hilton New York.
From the August 2001 issue, we have Michael Fremer's illuminating review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/394/">Audio Physic Avanti III loudspeaker</A>. Fremer wonders how Audio Physic can top the outstanding price/performance success of its middle-of-the line <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/147/">Virgo model</A> with a speaker that costs twice as much. As Fremer asks, "Is the Avanti twice as good as the Virgo? <I>More</I> than twice as good? Or is it just another competent but undistinguished design?"
As Larry Greenhill states in his review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/390/">MartinLogan Prodigy loudspeaker</A>, "Electrostatic speakers are my passion." But Greenhill's heard a lot of great 'stats in his time, so he was "both excited and uneasy" when a review pair of MartinLogan's latest arrived in his listening room. He needn't have worried.