Robert Deutsch

We Open in Venice
CES 2007
Robert Deutsch  |  Jan 04, 2007  |  0 comments
As we reported last March, the Consumer Electronics Association decided to move the "high-performance audio" and "high-performance home theater" exhibits of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to Las Vegas' Venetian Hotel in 2007. Here, then, in a blatant attempt to scoop my show-reporting Stereophile colleagues, is my picture of the new CES venue. I actually took this picture last year, not in anticipation of the change in show venue, but simply because I’m a sucker for the ersatz-European ambience of Las Vegas hotel-casinos like the Venetian. And whatever the advantages/disadvantages of the Venetian for demonstrating audio equipment, you have to admit that it’s picturesque!
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PrimaLuna ProLogue Three tube preamplifier & Seven monoblock amplifier
Tube Power Amp ReviewsTube Preamp Reviews
Robert Deutsch  |  Dec 24, 2006  |  0 comments
Everybody loves a bargain. No—make that: Most people love a bargain. Some just want the best, and they don't care about the cost. Some even distrust and reject out of hand any product that's not expensive enough. If you're one of these people, you might as well stop reading this review right now—the PrimaLuna ProLogue Three and ProLogue Seven are not for you. $1395 for a tube preamp? $2695 for a pair of 70Wpc tube monoblocks equipped with four KT88 tubes each? Must be based on old designs in the public domain using cheap parts carelessly assembled...
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Acarian Alón IV loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Robert Deutsch  |  Sep 09, 2006  |  First Published: Feb 09, 1993  |  0 comments
My first encounter with the Acarian Alón IV was at the 1992 Las Vegas WCES. I was doing the show report dealing with speakers, and there was already enough advance buzz about the Alón IV that I put it on my "Speakers I Must Listen To" list. And listen I did, at some length, and came away impressed with their open quality and well-defined soundstage. In discussing reviewing assignments with John Atkinson, I told him that the Alón IV was one of the speakers I wouldn't mind spending some time with. (The list also includes the WAMM, the MartinLogan Statement, and the Apogee Grand, but I'm not holding my breath.)
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Goodbye LA; on to HE 2007 in Chicago
HE 2006
Robert Deutsch  |  Jun 06, 2006  |  8 comments
And so we say goodbye to the Sheraton Gateway and the City of Angels. Home Entertainment 2006 was a good Show, with some great sounds. I echo Wes Phillips's sentiments below. In talking to people, I had a sense that we were all part of a community of individuals with much the same goals, if not always the same way of reaching them. The Show staff were unfailingly pleasant and efficient. The hotel’s facilities served the needs of both exhibitors and attendees well—and by the last day of the show I actually figured out how to go from my room to the escalators without making at least one wrong turn!
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More on the IsoMike Recordings
HE 2006
Robert Deutsch  |  Jun 06, 2006  |  0 comments
I heard some truly excellent-sounding systems at HE 2006, but if I had to pick one listening experience at the show that transcended all others, it would have to be Kimber’s IsoMike demonstration. The system itself is described by Wes Phillips in another blog entry, and I’m sure it would have sounded very good playing back normal CDs, but what made the sound more closely approach reality was that the source material consisted of four-channel recordings made by Ray Kimber using his IsoMike setup. (Ray is shown here holding a scale model of his IsoMike baffle.) I’ve been often disappointed with multichannel music playback, but this was completely convincing. The voices and instruments present in the room in a way that was at times spooky. Wes was right: Ray Kimber should be King of the Universe.
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The Second Rethm
HE 2006
Robert Deutsch  |  Jun 06, 2006  |  3 comments
Loudspeakers based on the Lowther full-range driver have a considerable following—our own Art Dudley included—but most will admit that the driver has its limitations, including some midrange resonant peaks and less-than-impressive bass response. These have been addressed in The Second Rethm by a set of modifications to the driver and the availability of an extension to the cabinet that produces better bass response. I heard a couple of the Rethm speakers (I don’t remember which models) a few years ago at CES, and was not too impressed, but I quite liked the sound of The Second Rethm with the cabinet extension. The extension adds $2000 to the $7500/pair price, but I suspect it’s worth it.
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Allen Perkins the Drummeister
HE 2006
Robert Deutsch  |  Jun 04, 2006  |  First Published: Jun 05, 2006  |  0 comments
Immedia's Allen Perkins, the third member of the John Atkinson Trio at their Sunday afternoon concert, is studying with jazz drummer Peter Erskine (Diana Krall, Joni Mitchell).
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Bob Reina: Stereophile's "Mr. 88"
HE 2006
Robert Deutsch  |  Jun 04, 2006  |  First Published: Jun 05, 2006  |  1 comments
Speaker reviewer Bob Reina is actually a classically trained pianist. He's seen here tickling the ivories in a most satisfying manner during the John Atkinson Trio concert at HE2006.
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Oil-cooled Von Gaylord Tubes
HE 2006
Robert Deutsch  |  Jun 04, 2006  |  0 comments
Can a show report have too many pictures of oil-cooled tube amplifiers? I don't think so.
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Totem's Vince Bruzzese & the Dreamcatchers
HE 2006
Robert Deutsch  |  Jun 04, 2006  |  4 comments
Canadian Totem Acoustic specializes in manufacturing loudspeakers that are small is size and price but big in sound. Perhaps no speaker of theirs exemplifies this better than the cheapest model in the line: the $450/pair Dreamcatcher. Here’s designer Vince Bruzzese with the Dreamcatcher.
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