Sam Tellig

Shure V15 V-MR phono cartridge
Phono Cartridge Reviews
Sam Tellig, Anthony H. Cordesman, Michael Fremer  |  May 05, 2020  |  First Published: Sep 01, 1984  |  15 comments
I was all set to give up on moving magnets until the new Shure VI5-VMR (MR stands for Micro-Ridge stylus) arrived. In a word, it's terrific. I was slightly disappointed with the original V15-V: I just didn't think it was a significant improvement over the Type IV. What I missed was fine detail—especially in the high frequencies and during heavily modulated passages. The original V was not quite up to the sound of certain moving coils. Which is not to say the original V was a bad buy: moving coils cost twice the price and you need a stepup. I could recommend the original V without hesitation.
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Four 3rd-Generation CD players: Adcom, Magnavox, Onkyo, Yamaha
CD Player/Transport Reviews
Sam Tellig  |  Sep 12, 2019  |  First Published: Mar 01, 1989  |  55 comments
I once told Stereophile publisher Larry Archibald it might be worth, say, a 10% loss in sound quality with CD not to have to jump up and turn over the damned record. Sometimes a CD saves you from popping up twice—Mahler's Fifth or Bruckner's Seventh on a single disc instead of three LP sides—or three times—Mozart's Magic Flute on three CDs instead of 6 LP sides. That might be worth a 15% sacrifice.
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DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93 loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Sam Tellig, Herb Reichert, Art Dudley  |  Apr 04, 2017  |  First Published: Jan 01, 2014  |  18 comments
John DeVore names his speakers after primates—apes, to be specific. Something to do with a family member being a zoologist.

John once worked at a hi-fi retailer in lower Manhattan. Now, as president and chief designer of DeVore Fidelity, he manufactures loudspeakers across the bridge, in the former Brooklyn Navy Yard. I talked with John the other day about his new speaker, the Orangutan O/93.

John makes two Orangutans, both floorstanders: the O/96, with a sensitivity specified as 96dB, over which Art Dudley went ape, in the December 2012 issue. Artie has made the O/96 his reference loudspeaker. It goes for $12,000/pair, stands included.

Now there's the new, smaller Orangutan O/93, specified at 93dB. It retails for $8400/pair with a front baffle in fiddleback mahogany veneer (other veneers are available).

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Thinksound On1 & On2 headphones
Headphone Reviews
Sam Tellig, John Atkinson  |  Apr 04, 2017  |  First Published: Jul 01, 2014  |  2 comments
Before he left Stereophile for AudioQuest at the end of March 2014, Stephen Meijas asked Thinksound to send me the On1 closed-back heaphones. He thought I might like them.

Cool beans, Stephen. I do. These are among the nicest 'phones I've come across lately. List price is $299.99, but the street price—sometimes directly from Thinksound—is usually $249.99. You save an imaginary $50. That's $50 of your savings that you can share with me in Bitcoins.

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DeVore Fidelity Gibbon 3XL loudspeaker
Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Sam Tellig, Herb Reichert  |  Mar 29, 2017  |  First Published: Jun 01, 2010  |  7 comments
Forty years ago, when I first had money enough to buy serious [ahem] consumer audio, there were a few good turntables available, from Thorens, Garrard, Ariston, some others. Today is the golden age of turntables: ask Mikey, if not antiquarian Artie. And loudspeakers! In 1970, models were few, and most were mediocre. Today, you can have a great loudspeaker for a song.
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Superphon Revelation preamplifier
Budget Component ReviewsSolid State Preamp Reviews
Sam Tellig, Anthony H. Cordesman  |  Sep 08, 2016  |  First Published: Mar 01, 1985  |  3 comments
Superphon's Revelation Basic preamplifier is made by Stan Warren, formerly the "S" of PS Audio, so it should come as no surprise that the Revelation Basic and the PS Audio Source sound much alike. The Revelation Basic sells for $399, assembled (no kit available). Like the Source, the Revelation has an outboard AC power transformer to minimize hum problems. But unlike the Source, the Revelation has dual volume controls (a pain) and lacks moving-coil capability.
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Sony D-7S portable CD player
CD Player/Transport Reviews
Bill Sommerwerck, Sam Tellig  |  Jul 05, 2016  |  First Published: Aug 01, 1986  |  2 comments
There's a race on between Sony and Matsushita, to determine who can build the smallest battery-operated CD player with the most features. Sony currently holds the lead with its second-generation D-7 ($300), about 30% smaller than the first "pocket" CD, the D-5. Most of the reduction is in height; both players have a horizontal cross-section only slightly larger than the CD itself. The illusion of smallness is further enhanced by an angled front panel with beveled edges.
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Marantz CD-94 CD player
CD Player/Transport Reviews
Thomas J. Norton, Sam Tellig  |  Nov 12, 2015  |  First Published: Oct 01, 1988  |  0 comments
Let's go back a few years. Well, more than a few, actually. The electronics end of high-end audio consisted of two companies—Marantz and McIntosh. If you were not up to shopping at their stratospheric price level—even though the industry hadn't yet invented components priced to compete with automobiles—you could always fall back on Dynaco, the poor man's high end in kit form. You hooked all this together with two-dollar connecting cables and 16-gauge zip cord purchased from the local electrical supply house, or—if you felt particularly flush—you'd spend a few (very few) bucks more at Fred's Stereo for the cables with the fancy molded plugs. Hoses were used for watering the lawns.
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Boulder 1060 power amplifier
Audacious AudioSolid State Power Amp Reviews
Sam Tellig  |  Dec 24, 2014  |  First Published: Nov 01, 2000  |  4 comments
Can an $18,000 power amplifier be a bargain?

Can an $18,000 wristwatch?

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Spendor D7 loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Sam Tellig  |  Nov 19, 2014  |  24 comments
Hi-fi firms have begun in garages. The English Spendor company was started in a bathtub. Or was it a kitchen sink?

By days in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Spencer Hughes worked as part of the BBC's loudspeaker research team. Among other accomplishments, he helped develop the 5" midrange/woofer for the fabled LS3/5A loudspeaker.

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