Thomas J. Norton

Hafler Transnova 9500 power amplifier
Solid State Power Amp Reviews
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 04, 2016  |  First Published: Apr 01, 1993
Boy, do we ever get letters. From readers angry that we review too many expensive products. From readers depressed that we review too many affordable products. From readers bemoaning our digital coverage. From readers asking when we're going to get with the 21st century and stop gushing over analog. From readers wanting more coverage of tube products. From readers wanting more coverage of MOSFET amplifiers designed for high voltage gain on the output stage.
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Dahlquist DQ-12 loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Robert Harley, Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 15, 2016  |  First Published: Apr 01, 1990
The DQ-12 is the latest loudspeaker from Dahlquist employing their "Phased Array" technology, first used in 1973. The company was formed that year by Jon Dahlquist and Saul Marantz to produce the DQ-10, a loudspeaker that enjoyed a long and successful life. When I sold hi-fi in a retail store in the late 1970s—we stocked Dahlquist speakers—the DQ-10 was among the more prominent audiophile speakers, prized for its imaging abilities.

In 1976, Carl Marchisotto joined the company, designing support products for the DQ-10 including a subwoofer, variable low-pass filter, and a passive crossover. Jon Dahlquist is no longer actively involved with the company; Carl has now assumed the engineering responsibilities at Dahlquist and is the designer of the latest group of Phased Array loudspeakers (footnote 1). This new line, introduced at the Winter 1990 CES in Las Vegas, encompasses three models: the $850/pair DQ-8, the DQ-12 reviewed here, and the $2000/pair flagship, the DQ-20i.

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Saturday at T.H.E. Show Newport
T.H.E. Show Newport 2016
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 05, 2016
While some components in the Triangle Art system were less expensive than the Usher Audio Mini Dancer Two-D speakers being used ($5500/pair), most—including the Triangle Art Apollo phono cartridge ($8000)—cost more.
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First Public Day at T.H.E. Show Newport
T.H.E. Show Newport 2016
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 04, 2016
Silverline Audio's tiny SR7 loudspeaker punches above its weight…
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T.H.E. Show Newport on Press Day: We Happy Few...
T.H.E. Show Newport 2016
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 03, 2016
Day One was press day, with only we ink-stained wretches (or at least the carpal-tunnel afflicted) invited to the party.
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Jeff Rowland Design Group Model 1 power amplifier
Solid State Power Amp Reviews
Thomas J. Norton  |  May 14, 2016  |  First Published: Apr 01, 1991
Michael, who might be termed our typical audiophile (if anything in Santa Fe can be termed "typical"), may have found his digital processor, but he's still in a quandary about choosing the right power amp to drive his new loudspeakers. He has listened to a number of them over the past few months, and has been unable to find one which satisfies him in every way. I suspect he has a lot of company. The thorny problems of room acoustics and placement aside, loudspeakers are easier. Their signatures are pronounced and generate strong feelings one way or another; it's usually no problem to narrow down one's choices in this category.
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Jeff Rowland Design Group Consonance preamplifier
Solid State Preamp Reviews
Thomas J. Norton  |  May 14, 2016  |  First Published: Mar 01, 1991
As I write these words in January 1991, we're right in the midst of an annual media feeding frenzy: the "Best of the Year" follies. This usually takes the form of lists compiled in groups of ten for reasons that must hearken back to some obscure Druidic practice. You know the routine: "Ten Best Books of the Year," "Ten Best Films of the Year," "Ten Top Personalities of the Year," "Ten Best Sports Plays of the Year." Every corner of the media seems eager to get into the act. Special-interest magazines are hardly immune. Car enthusiasts can get their fill of "Cars of the Year." Computer literates find their favorite rags full of the "Ten Best Computers/Computer Accessories/Computer Programs." And music magazines regale us with the "Ten Best Recordings of the Year." Everyone with access to a transmitter or printing press has got, it seems, a little list.
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Signet SL280 loudspeaker
Budget Component ReviewsStand Loudspeaker Reviews
Thomas J. Norton  |  Apr 13, 2016  |  First Published: Oct 01, 1990
Audio journalists tend to wander the corridors of a CES in a minor state of shell-shock. There are no carnival-barkers outside the rooms enticing one to enter (not yet, at any rate), but the sounds and reputations oozing from the open doorways yield little to the "hurry, hurry, hurry" crowd. The Signet room has always, it seems, been one of the quieter oases, often eschewing sound altogether while contentedly displaying their phono cartridges, cables, and various accessories. On a recent CES hunt, I was therefore intrigued to find them demonstrating two new loudspeakers, of all things, to the milling throngs.
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Paradigm Prestige 95F loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Thomas J. Norton  |  Dec 22, 2015
Déjà vu all over again?

Apart from being reminded of this Yogi-ism by the death, in September 2015, of its originator, I was all set to begin by commenting that this would be my first review for Stereophile of a Paradigm loudspeaker. But—the recent online posting of my June 1992 review of Paradigm's Studio Monitor took me back.

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SOTA Panorama loudspeaker
Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Thomas J. Norton  |  Dec 11, 2015  |  First Published: Jul 01, 1990
In their seminal work on the subject of audio "Bluff your Way in Hi-Fi" (1987), Sue Hudson and John Crabbe stated that "the perfect speaker would have no mass and no dimensions. The perfect speaker does not exist, and if it did, it still wouldn't." One might add, as a corollary, that a speaker with zero dimensions would also have infinite cost. At least there seems to be a trend in that direction. The Wilson WATT and Celestion SL700—to use today's two most visible examples—may have attracted considerable attention because of their exceptional performance, but they have also attracted at least as much because of their price/size ratio. Even in a considerably "lower" price bracket, a "simple" two-way loudspeaker with a 6" or 7" woofer costing $1000–$2000/pair would, at one time, have had most audiophiles laughing themselves silly.
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