| November 2009 - Bernard Salabert - Peter Dekker from Holland shares this news: "
A few weeks ago I was visiting Bernard Salabert with the director of STS-Digital
Frits de With and my friend Cor to make a movie about Bernard and PHY-HP.
You can watch it here.
We also made another movie for Hans Kortenbach of Musical Affairs, manufacturer of speakers with PHY-HP units." |
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| November 2009 - Black Wine Audio lightning - Red Wine Audio's new Black Lightning power supplies come in Series 10 and 12 size to, respectively, contain one 12V/10Ah
or two 12V/5Ah SLA batteries; or two 12V/10AH or three or four 12V/5Ah SLA batteries. Designed with power taps for 12/24V or 12/24/36/48V, multiple parallel taps for different component needs are available by custom order. These battery supplies replace the wall warts of many popular DACs and chip amps to upgrade their sonic performance without modification. |
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November 2009 - Light the path – From Sydney’s northern beaches comes the Lightspeed Attenuator with single input and volume control. This small marvel of a component has generated a huge vibe in forums around the world, especially in the DIY enthusiasts’ forums where members are attracted to the relative simplicity and potential sonic gains this device can offer.
Of major appeal to the ‘no preamp is the best preamp’ school, the Lightspeed Attenuator is simplicity itself and described by designer George Stancheff as the equivalent of "plugging your CD player directly into your power amp". Simple it may be but the volume control itself is rather a cunning bit of trickery. Perhaps reminiscent of an earlier attempt by long-gone audio specialist Melos, the Lightspeed Attenuator uses an optical system (LED) that controls a light-dependent resistor (LDR). Voltage to the LED is changed via the volume control, the light intensity changes and consequently the LDR changes the volume in response to the varying LED’s brightness.
There’s no moving parts, no contacts, nothing that can fail. The LED’s lifespan has been quoted as at least 50 years (conservatively). Frequency response is said to be 0Hz to infinity. Your upstream source and cable quality are the only determining/limiting factors to the sound as according to Stancheff, "the Lightspeed Attenuator is totally transparent to the source signal. However, the amplifier’s input impedance is of crucial importance here and must be at minimum 50kohm". The Lightspeed’s input impedance is approximately 10kohms and output impedance is approximately 7kohms.
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The Lightspeed Attenuator comes with a wall wart power supply. Several more robust supplies and even batteries were tested with zero resultant sonic differences as the wall wart purely powers the LED, nothing else. The Lightspeed Attenuator can be purchased direct for US$450 posted worldwide. |
November 2009 - Hifi Music World - Jac van der Walle announces participation at this upcoming DIY hifi event in Gelsenkirchen on the November weekend of Fri - Sun 20-22 with a rare public showing of a Yamamoto SoundCraft system. Besides Emission Labs valves of his own production, Mr. van der Walle will also bring the YS-500 hornspeaker, an amplifier kint running WE408 miniature pentodes for a power output of 0.3wpc and a 2-watt amplifier running current-production AD1 reissue triodes from his Emission Labs brand. |
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| November 2009 - Croatian Passion - To the news editor: "In our struggling little country of Croatia, you can find a Tenor Audio 175S stereo power amplifier on permanent demo. Son Et Image has been foolishly mad and rought this $55.000 stereo amplifier to set up in their Yagreb headquarters. The 130+ pound behemoth parks between Mårten Design loudspeakers connected to a Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC fed by the Silent music sever playing High Res files." |
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November 2009 - AE Radiance - Acoustic Energy's Radiance Series is their new flagship lineup of precision loudspeakers for music and cinema lovers. who demand no-compromise performance and elegant visual appeal. "The Radiance Series is distinguished by a high-frequency dispersion technology dubbed DXT® Lens. Using profile calculations, the DXT® Lens matches the sound wave dispersion from the tweeter to that of the bass driver. This improves interaction between the speakers and the room and provides time coherence that dramatically naturalizes the entire soundfield."
At the top of the Radiance Series stands the Radiance 3 [$3,000/pr.], a 3-way floorstander with a 38mm Neodymium ring radiator as well as "super-fast low-frequency and mid-band drivers with twin-wound aluminum voice coils. Response is a broad and flat 40Hz to 45kHz ± 3dB."
The same technologies are shared by the smaller Radiance 1 [$1,200/pr.] and Radiance 2 [$2,000/pr.] models designed for bookshelf or speaker stand placement. The accompanying Radiance Center [$800 ea.] utilizes the same driver and DXT® Lens technologies while the Radiance Subwoofer [$1,200 ea.] completes the picture with "deep, authoritative bass from a compact, unobtrusive enclosure.
With their elegant curved lines, attractive cast aluminum metal work and the highest quality real-wood veneers, the Radiance Series make beautiful items of furniture that are at home in any décor." |
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November 2009 - Toobs for your iPhone - ITOK Media Limited's Trends Audio brand launched the Trends PA-10 tube headphone/preamp for the
iPhone. "It is the first hybrid design utilizing a single 6DJ8/6922 series
or 12AU7 series input vacuum tube for the iPhone. Integrating new technologies
in our iPhone-to-RCA cable, the user gets high-quality audio
out of the iPone or iPod with this cable. It effectively isolates the serious
interference from the iPhone's line out.
"iPhone-Fi is coming. We want iPhone or iPod users to enjoy the music from our high-quality tube headphone amplifier. With a compact portable design (only 500 grams),
it is suitable for the hifi room, living room, sleeping room or even right beside your laptop," says David Ho, the marketing director of Trends Audio. "The unique PC/iPod input with higher
gain (x 6) works with low output-voltage sources."
The PA-10 for iPhone runs a pure class-A circuit and allows for tube rolling. A specially designed +24V
AC power adaptor with extra low ripple & noise comes bundled for
continuous power and supports:
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1) iPhone ( 2G & 3G Version)
2) iPod 3 Gen.
3) iPod 4 Gen (Color & photo)
4) iPod 5 Gen (5.5 Gen)
5) iPod Classic (6 Gen)
6) iPod Mini (1 & 2 Gen)
7) iPod nano (1, 2, 3 & 4 Gen)
8) iPod Touch (1 & 2 Gen) The PA-10 is now available for the suggested retail
prices of $265 [standard] and $299 [Special Edition and GE Edition].
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November 2009 - Canton Updates - Canton has announced the introduction of two new models in its acclaimed Vento loudspeaker series. The three-way floorstanding Vento 880 [$4,500/pr]and the two-way Vento 810 [$1,600] compact bookshelf speaker are the first models in the line to incorporate the company's 6-inch aluminum cone woofer, giving them a front baffle that is a full inch narrower than other Vento models.
Both the Vento 880 and Vento 810 include the company's ADT-25 aluminum-manganese dome tweeter with Canton's flared "transmission" style front plate and advanced suspension for great off-axis linearity and high frequency dispersion. Each also features a newly refined 6-inch woofer that affords a slimmer footprint while maintaining the musical deep bass response that the series is known for.
The Canton Vento 880 DC is a three-way bass reflex floorstander featuring a pair of aluminum cone woofers and a matched 6-inch aluminum midrange driver. At 39-inches tall and just under 8" wide, the speaker's slim line cabinet is further accentuated by curved side panels. It also features Canton's exclusive DC technology, which uses a proprietary high-pass filter to eliminate signals below the audible frequency range.
The Canton Vento 810 is the smallest model in the Vento lineup. With a single 6-inch aluminum woofer and a compact design, the speaker is ideal for use as a small monitor or as a satellite or surround speaker for a home theater system. |
Like the rest of the Vento line, both Vento 880 DC and Vento 810 feature gold-plated speaker terminals including biwire/biamp capability for the 880 DC. Each model is available in the line's hand-rubbed black, white, or silver piano-lacquer finish,as well as a high-gloss cherry veneer finish.
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November 2009 - Kawero! - Kaiser Acoustics, manufacturer of the Kawero! speaker, is proud to announce the assignment of Jan Kejser of Absolute Hifi in Denmark as their new distributor for Denmark and Scandinavia. Kaiser Acoustics celebrates this with a world premier update of the speaker.
Absolute Hifi will exhibit the Kawero at the Copenhagen Hifi show this weekend with a new custom-made RAAL-Kaiser-Echole tweeter. This refined tweeter is based on the famous RAAL 70-20 XR ribbon but now features an amourphous core transformer and silver-gold-palladium Echole wiring on the transformer core.
Kaiser is the only speaker brand with internal Echole Obsession wiring. "The improved synergy now is really stunning because from the binding posts to the ribbon transformer, the entire signal path runs the same musical alloy wire."
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November 2009 - Nordic Hifi Do - Moiz Audio "is proud to announce the hifi event of the year in Norway. Moiz Audio welcomes audiophiles and music lovers for a two-day event November 20/21 hosted by our partners at Renaissance Audio in Bergen. Sasa Cokic and Milorad Despotovic from Trafomatic Audio will be our main guests for the show. Trafomatic Audio has just released three new exciting products and attendees will have the opportunity to get in-depth details on design philosophy, concept and considerations for the entire range of Trafomatic Audio valve gear.
Products being auditioned at the show will be the Experience 2-300B and Experience One-2A3 integrated amplifiers, the
Elegance power amp, the Line One preamplifier, the SM-60 sinus generator and the Classic 500 power conditioner.
The big surprise of the show will be special guest Srajan Ebaen from 6moons.com who will document the event for his magazine. We hope fans will appreciate his attendance at the show.
On Friday Novemr 20th we will hold a contest where all attendees will have the chance to win hifi products! For more information please email presenter Mujtaba Hussein at mujtaba@moiz.no.
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November 2009 - New Boulder - Boulder Amplifiers announces the official 11 November, 2009 release of the 1008 Phono Preamplifier [$12,000]. The 1008 is the junior sibling to Boulder's $33,500 2008 Phono Preamplifier. At nearly one third its price, the 1008 features:
- Multiple equalization curves. Just as in the 2008, the 1008 features three additional EQ curves in addition to the standard RIAA curve, each selectable via a front panel button: FFRR, Columbia and EMI. These equalization curves enable correct and accurate playback of LP records made prior to 1954. An option on the 2008, these EQ curves are included as standard in the 1008.
- Simple single chassis design. All electronics and features are contained within a single machined aluminum chassis.
- +6dB greater gain for MC cartridges. Research into the thermal properties of electronics has resulted in greater gain for low output moving coil cartridges with no increase in the noise floor of the gain circuit.
- 985 gain stage. The 1008 uses the 985 gain stage, a discrete initial gain stage for significantly reduced distortion and noise. All 985 circuitry is housed in a massive aluminum housing and then potted in a proprietary epoxy resin for thermal stability and increased reliability.
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- Fully balanced dual mono construction. Inputs and outputs are high quality, fully-balanced connections and all audio circuitry is dual mono for total isolation of left and right channels.
- Dual inputs and outputs. Two inputs per channel are available for connecting multiple tonearms, each with customizable personality cards which can be tailored for optimal loading of specific phono cartridges.
- Additional features: Other features include a switchable 20Hz low-cut filter, selectable true mono mode for monaural recordings played on a stereo cartridge and extensive magnetic shielding of the main power transformer to eliminate noise in the audio stages.
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November 2009 - New Apple licensee - Apple Inc. has certified Abbingdon Music Research as one of the “Made For iPod/Made for iPhone” licensees to place AMR in a very elite group of high-end audio manufacturers to have been granted this status. "Following high-level meetings with Apple Inc., AMR is now officially approved by Apple Inc. to develop premium audio products with the “Made For iPod/Made for iPhone” certification. This paves the way for AMR to obtain bit-perfect digital audio output from any iPod/iPhone. Given AMR’s strength in digital and analogue circuitry design, in the near future AMR will be launching “Made For iPod/Made for iPhone” compatible components that will set a new benchmark of sonic performance for all iPod/iPhones."
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| November 2009 - B&W headphone - Bowers & Wilkins announces its first ever headphone. Designed for use on the move, the P5 "uses specially developed ultra-linear neodymium magnets and highly optimised mylar diaphragms to provide the best possible sound quality... married to design and construction techniques aimed at isolating as much noise as possible for consumers that do not require full electronic noise cancellation. This is
achieved through a combination of the closed-back design featuring a rigid metal faceplate and the sealed leather
ear pads. Recognising the dominance of Apple’s iPod and iPhone® in the portable media market, the P5 comes supplied with a Made For iPod approved cable which allows for speech and device control. It also comes
in white
supplied with a high-quality, standard audio cable with gold-plated plugs. Switching between the two is facilitated by the magnetically attached ear pads, which simply pop off allowing access to the cable." |
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November 2009 - New WLM models - Hannes Frick announces availability of his new parallel single-ended Sonata SE integrated amplifier with remote control, the big 6 x EL34 Allegra monoblocks with ECC99 driver shown delivering 120/60w in UL/triode and the new Gamma Reference Firewire converter which incorporates a custom OEM digital board from Weiss Engineering of Switzerland and offers 24/192 resolution on its 2 x Firewire and single S/PDIF, AES/EBU and Toslink digital inputs.
A new option across the entire WLM Acoustics range of tube electronics is a black stain + lacquer finish for the enclosures to easier match electronics from other makers. Additionally, the EL84 Minueta integrated shown below [5/14wpc in triode/UL] is now available with optional remote control for volume. WLM has been busy...
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| November 2009 - Black triangles - Export manager Eric Dubouays of Triangle Electroacoustique announces immediate availability of gloss black in their entire Genese range [Quartet shown at right]. This special finish demands a 10% premium, taking the price to €2750/pr for the model shown. |
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November 2009 - More Signal - The Signal Collection, LLC, specialty distributor of fine audio equipment and manufacturer of audio and digital interconnects, loudspeaker cables and AC power cords announces the production of their long awaited The Reference cable line which "picks up where Chris Sommovigo's prior topline designs for Stereovox left off, with further refinements to the materials, processes and geometry of these cables in order to push the designs to the next plateau. This new line therefore comprises the manifestation of many little improvements that have been gathering over the last five years or so as thought experiments at first, then as prototypes within the last year. One of the most important aspects of improving the design was to find the best manners and methods to remove the excess plastic from the cables, which resulted in the removal of structural fillers, the entire PVC over-jacket, mylar tapes and Nylon-derivative outer Nomex outer sheathing. This left the cable with a nude profile from which to begin the work of refinement.
"Conductors were subject to post processing, with the addition of a pair of solid-core silver-plated copper Mil-Spec strands insulated with the light 'Gossamer' air-articulated Teflon tape. As well, the pure silver solid-core strands remained insulated with Gossamer. A modified twisted-quad design, the cable is then shielded with pure carbon fiber sheathing and woven tinned-copper sheathing (neither of which is ever electrically continuous with signal). Over that is the dressing sheath made of a special spun-glass fabric. The result is a cable that delivers all the nuance, detail and staggering imaging and soundstage of its predecessors without the coolness of the 600 series. As well, the hand-applied RF shielding ensures blacker backgrounds out of which the music pops with 3-D realism. Low frequencies are rendered with power and musical fidelity, reminding the listener that there really are notes 'down there'.
"I-700 RX-S is our single-jacket stereo cable, which lends much of the character of the ‘big brother’ I-700 RX in a more convenient and less expensive cable form.
1.0m minimum length. Xhadow RCA or XLR ($1,750.00 @ 1.0m pair). I-700 RX is our flagship interconnect from The Reference line. Combining haute neutrality with explosive dynamics and low-frequency control, inner detail, expansive soundstaging, and superbly defined imaging, this interconnect is exceedingly excellent and recommended for the truly world- class system. Indicated for best use in fully-differential balanced systems. 0.5m minimum length. Xhadow RCA or XLR ($3,700.00 @ 1.0m pair). |
"LS-700 is our standard Reference loudspeaker cable suited for most loudspeaker types from mini-monitors to full range loudspeakers with an average current demand. The LS-700’s lightning-fast transient ability (due to its low dielectric effect and high velocity) will make it an excellent cable for use with electrostats and ribbons, as well. ($6,600.00 @ 3.0m pair, terminated with Xhadow Spades)
"LS-700 XL is our shotgun version of the LS-700, halving resistance and doubling current delivery capability. For use with loudspeakers that have an unusually high current demand (especially one with large, high-mass woofers). Retaining all the speed and agility of the LS-700, the XL version simply provides greater control and effortlessness to the performance of demanding loudspeakers. Excellent for use as the Low Frequency half of a Bi- Wired set of Reference 700 cables. ($13,200.00 @ 3.0m pair, terminated with Xhadow Spades)
"XV-Ultra: This is the most electrically precise 75 ohm cable we know of. From its Mil-Spec silver-plated copper solid core conductor to the precision applied low-density cold-process air articulated Teflon tapes to the metal foil + woven shields - the core of this cable emulates the exacting electrical environment of "semi-rigid" microwave cables without introducing the practical problems (and short work-life).
In this new iteration we've introduced long-cycle cryogenic treatment not only to the raw cable itself but also to all the connectors and adapters. This has the effect of altering the temper of the crystal lattice matrices in all of the metals used to create the cable. Lastly, we've incorporated an RF absorbing layer of pure woven carbon fiber, and an overall jacket that expresses minimal dielectric effect. 75 Ohm BNCs mated with proprietary BNC:RCA Adapters ($350.00 @ 1.0m)."
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November 2009 - Algahorn - Victor of Signapore's Aural Designs announces that "after two years of R&D and numberous prototype cabinets, my customer and friend has 'perfected' a back-loaded horn for what is known as the most exotic single driver manufacturer known today - Feastrex from Japan.
"The horn enclosure is handcrafted from a mixture of HDF and ply and optimized for Feastrex's 5" drivers which include the NF5 Naturflux, NF5 Monster Alnico and field coil drivers. The curved horn prevents standing wave buildup while effectively and efficiently extending the low frequencies to 45Hz with the basic NF5 Naturflux. The cabinet is handcrafted in right here in Singapore.
"While I consider Feastrex drivers to be the best of their kind, their prices are high. Algahorn is planning also to launch smaller and more economical models featuring single drivers from SEAS, Tangband, Fostex etc. We will be showing the Algahorn at the coming Singapore ISSE 2009 show from 6 - 8 November with Tektron (Italy) and Almarro single-ended amplification." |
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| November 2009 - Mad for Music - Dimitri of MfM announces that after 2 years of R&D, his Model 9 widebander speaker is ready. This project was completed in collaboration with Joseph Stzall
of ATD and www.capricciocontinuo.com and supposedly, this fullranger operates "without nasality but
great bass and detailed highs.
These loudspeakers will be presented at the Gran Galà dell Alta Fedeltà show in Rome later this year.
The price will be around €10.000/pr in piano lacquer. The Model 9 is
completely handmade in Italy." |
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| November 2009 - Get your PC pc - Norman from Aqvox announces his audiophile 'True ASIO' 32-bit driver for Windows 2000, XP and Vista 7. 64-bit and Apple OSX versions are due shortly. The price is €99 for the full versions. Free trial versions are available for download as well. The Aqvox USB cables are available from 50cm to 10 meters in length and cost €140 to €330. |
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| November 2009 - Get serious! - Gunnar Van Vliet announbes a new forum "for audiophiles looking for more
structure, higher quality advice and responsible posting. We've got active moderators and
the ability to rate contributors.
Our moderators are a mix of industry professionals, audio collectors
and musicians. They will encourage intelligent commentary and
discourage propaganda and aggressive posters. Our goal is to help you
get the answers you need with the minimum of web-forum aggravation
.
Users can rate each other on how thoughtful their posts are with a
system called Karm". You will be able to see who is trusted and who
is looked down upon so opinions have more relevance.
Please work with us to make this new forum a success!"
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November 2009 - Live/Replay Do - "Have you ever wondered how close our high-end audio equipment is in reproducing the live event? The perfect comparison would be having both the piano and reproduction equipment in the same room. Celebrated Georgian pianist George Vatchnadze will play a Steinway 'D' in a unique "Live versus Recorded" music recital to be held in Derwood, MD on Friday & Saturday November 6 & 7. Stereophile's editor John Atkinson will be the guest speaker as well as engineer in charge of recording the piano recital.
"Ken Stevens from Convergent Audio Technology will be on hand to answer any questions about his remarkable vacuum tube electronics while Philip O'Hanlon from On A Higher Note, North America's Vivid Audio importer will spin some disks on this remarkable system after the recital. |
"Shortly after the live performance, the recording will be played back on a state-of-the-art music system featuring Convergent Audio Technology's vacuum tube electronics, Esoteric's crown-jewel combo playback system and the Vivid Audio Giya loudspeakers. Cabling graciously provided by Stealth Audio.
As seating will be limited and because there are only two performances each day, to avoid disappointment, we recommend that you RSVP immediately to Kyomi Audio.
Tel.: (517) 755 6651 (517) 755 6651; email to george@kyomiaudio.com |
| October 2009 - Rock On - Ron Williams of Zu Audio dispatched this note:
"Zu House Party, Atlanta, Georgia, November 14, 2009. Tired of hearing everyone whining about how slow things are? Zu Audio has decided to take their upbeat message to the American home. Starting back in September, Zu Audio started what is now a substantial 'homegrown'
movement and we mean that literately! Whilst everyone else is singing the blues, it is our intent to just play it... with a good mix of everyone’s favorite jazz, rock, classical, alt country, Americana as well as live acoustic sets.
Naw, it’s not a dog & pony show, no pressure to buy but a real house party. It just happens that we are playing through hot new Zu gear. If we can plant seeds for future Zu purchases, even better. A Zu House Party is about the party not the gear. And any good party is about the music. Additional spice includes good sound, new or interesting gear, fascinating people, talking
music and hifi, our announcing of the new Mission cables and Soul loudspeakers. The Soul represents our first floorstanding speaker that breaks the $2000/pr price barrier. |
We’ll make sure there’s good food and drink, then chill on the
patio. It won’t be as unhinged as a Pi Kapp party but we’ll do our best to keep it raw, original, intimate and fun. Bringing
dates and audio newbies is encouraged as we continue to reach out to the next generation of music lovers. We’ll start early afternoon going through the evening: informal meet-and-greet, hifi & music listening and normal party flare.
We will finish up with a live acoustic set by Mark Selby and his lovely wife Tia Sillers. Things should start slowing down around
9:00PM and fizzle out altogether around 10:00PM.
If you’re interested in stopping by, we would love to have you join us but please let me know ASAP. We are about to our max
capacity of 60 folks.
For more info on up and coming Zu Parties, check out the link info as we get it posted.
We already are working on DC, Philadelphia, Allen Town, New York, Boston and St. Louis locations." |
| October 2009 - I wantz it - That was Frederic Beudot on staff, submitting this photo of Nagra's new 300B push/pull amp. Without any formal information yet on their website, the Zürich HighEnd Show still showed an empty mockup. |
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| October 2009 - From Istanbul with luv - Hakan Cezayirli, editor of the Turkish online magazine Stereo Mecmuası, announces their new issue which contains reviews of the Elation! series cables from Kubala-Sosna, Monitor V6 speaker
from Paradigm, Proburn from Blue Horizon, MPS-5 from Playback Designs,
Prinilius & Optirius power chords from Lookab, head amp from Kaan Seler
and a full Turkish translation of our own article on Jean Hiraga's visit to Chardonne.
Readers will also find The History Of Tube Amps part VI, a very
detailed Beatles biography and more. |
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| October 2009 - MiniMax DAC? - Bill O'Connell of Morning Star Audio, the US importer and co-owner of Eastern Electric, announces a DAC based on the new ESS Technologies 32-bit ES9018 Sabre chip. This machine will have volume and gain control, RCA-only analog outputs and RCA/Toslink/XLR and USB 2 or higher digital inputs. The output stage is true tube, not an op-amp + tube buffer affair but the tubes can be bypassed via switch. Pre-order pricing is $645, final retail upon landing on US shores $745. |
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October 2009 - Portugal celebrates Vinyl - On behalf of the Audiomania Internet forum, Paulo Carreira da Silva informed us of the upcoming second Still Vinyl 09 audio show in Lisbon/Portugal which is held October 31 and November 1 in the 5-star Tiara Hotel downtown.
"This event may only use analog sources, namely the old and proud vinyl LP. All the major-brand dealers will be present showing the latest products available. The Audiomania organization will present visitors with a vintage audio equipment exposition. Items like the Thorenz TD 124, EMT 950 and Linn LP12 among 35 other historical machines will be available during the weekend." |
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October 2009 - French horns - The JMF Audio HPM400 loudspeakers combine a "deeply modified TAD TD2001-JMF high frequency driver coupled to the superb JMF Audio 1" throat horn tooled in massive ash wood. Two JMF Audio 30HTS200 12-inch reference woofers feature a carbon fiber cone and proprietary magnetic circuit with super strong Neodymium magnets." Specs include 99dB@2.83V/m sensitivity, 4-ohm impedance, bandwidth of 38Hz (-3dB) to 23kHz, dimensions of 1350 x 500 x 620mm H x W x D and weight of 170kg each. This French company also has a line of electronics and other speaker models with active crossovers. |
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| October 2009 - W1000X - Audio Technica announces its replacement for the W1000 headphones for November at a retail of ¥ 71,400 and nicknamed 'Grandioso' perhaps because of its use of a 53mm driver (2 inches) which seems poised to compete directly with Sennheiser's HD800 on that front. |
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| October 2009 - Dennis Had retires - Cary Audio Design announces the promotion of Billy Wright to company president. Wright has been the company's COO since 1992 and will continue to manage the operations and sales channels while overseeing new product design and R&D. This change was effective upon the retirement of Dennis Had on October 7th, 2009. Had's passion for audio has spanned fifty years; since founding the company in 1989, he and Cary Audio Design have become icons of the two-channel vacuum tube audio industry. Since 1992, Had and Wright as partners have successfully grown Cary Audio Design. Looking to retirement, Had plans to pursue other interests while continuing to consult on future vacuum tube designs for Cary Audio Design. |
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October 2009 - Rack it! - At 130kg and €5.650, the Apogeo is Bassocontinuo Audio System's top audio support model and an evolution of their Regale model.
For the Apogeo,
the customer stipulates the shelf spacing and finishes. Options include piano lacquers in all RAL colors including a new mother of pearl lacquer. The support uprights are 60mm stainless steel AISI 303 tubes and Nitrile elastomeric decouplers are employed for the top sandwich platform and the lower shelves' suspensions. A small engraved plaque carries the owner's name. |
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| October 2009 - ABX - Simon Ashton of Acoustic Smile reports that he is "running a little ABX test over on the ZeroGain forum.
This ABX test is very simple. There are three audio samples to download.
One is a direct CD rip. The other has been passed though the DAC of an
AudioSmile modified DEQ and then the ADC stage of another. The third
sample is exactly the same as one of the first two - but which one? Can
you hear the effects of the conversion process?" Getting more people to participate will increase the validity of this experiment. |
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October 2009 - V3 - "Nuforce takes great pleasure in announcing our third-generation V3 analog switching amplifier. Since the advent of our revolutionary and patented amplifier technology in 2005, Nuforce has won two Power Amp of the Year awards from Japan and the USA. In keeping with our policy, customers are able to upgrade from earlier V1 and V2 generations. At no great cost, they continue to benefit from NuForce R&D.
"The V3 board differs from its V2 predecessor in several ways. Improvements in feedback and overall control produce a more linear signal across an astonishingly wide bandwidth to 130KHz. Harmonic distortion and noise have been significantly reduced. The music lover will experience V3’s advantages in terms of a clearer midrange, smoother highs, greater low-end weight and an overall sweeter presentation within a better-defined soundstage, pleasures that translate to extended listening without a hint of ear fatigue. |
"Starting this month, our amplifier-based products will include the V3 circuit board. Current customers can contact Nuforce or our dealers to request an upgrade. For pricing, consult our dealers. We invite customers located in regions without dealers to contact NuForce Sales directly. Visit for information, product specifications and sales contacts." |
| October 2009 - Curves - As spotted by Chris Redmond at the recent UK hifi show and soon to be reviewed by him, the Curvi-Hifi Model 1 Version 2 "... is a unique marriage between an E.J. Jordan Designs fullrange drive unit and a near-ideal tapered line designed for minimized reflections at the bends in the line.
This is very different to the majority of tapered-line speakers whose lines feature perpendicular angles of incidence and sound reflections back through the line out through the drive unit to cause sound smear.
The actual line length of the Curvi Model 1 is 2.4m. Together with the damping, this enables perceptible output at 20Hz and strong output at 25Hz. Whilst narrow cabinets are attractive, they are acoustically very different to the standard test baffles used for the actual measurements of drive-unit frequency response. Narrow baffles can lead to diffraction losses that reduce perceived LF loudness to cause thin sound.
The Curvi design accounts with a high performance compensation network formed with a high-power Vishay thick film resistor and 1.25mm wire inductor.
The virtues of the single-driver approach are fully preserved while maintaining a realistic frequency response." |
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| October 2009 - Pro - Kevin Halverson's new Music Streamer Pro just bowed under the High Definition Technologies banner. Like its two stable mates, it's a complete USB-to-analog self-powered DAC that runs off 350mA from the USB buss. The differences are TiniQ XLR outputs instead of RCAs and a scaled-up 4.5V RMS output of 200 ohms Z out. Performance specs include a noise floor of 9uV RMS from DC to 30kHz, a S/N ratio of 114dB and output isolation greater than 20M ohm. |
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October 2009 - Icon-ic - NuForce builds out its Icon lineup to include the following. The company's Jason provides the details:
Icon - integrated amp (USB DAC, 12Wx2 amp, headphone amp) with USB, 3.5mm, RCA inputs. An all-in-one device for driving S-1 or the new S-X speaker and active sub woofer. Shipping now.
Icon Mobile - portable and rechargeable USB DAC and headphone amp. Shipping now.
Icon uDAC - Volume control USB DAC with RCA and digital coaxial output. For use with Icon Amp-30 or other active speaker. Shipping mid to end of October. MSRP $69.
Icon Amp - 24wpc stereo amp for use with Icon Mobile, Icon uDAC or Icon to provide more power to drive most bookshelf and desktop speakers. Shipping by 1st week of October. MSRP $179
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Icon DAC (now called Icon HDP) - the crown jewel of Icon family, world class in every way and expected to outperform all USB DACs and headphone amps on the market at < $1000! Shipping end of October. MSRP $399. Shown are the new S-X speakers which replace the S-1. |
October 2009 - New website between your ears - HeadRoom is excited to announce the launch of an entirely new website. "Both experienced audiophiles and those new to personal listening will love the addition of many new products and categories, even more expert information about choosing the best personal audio equipment available, and a greatly enhanced online shopping experience. Travis Waller, CEO of HeadRoom, recently stated in a post to head-fi.org, an online headphone enthusiast community:
..."As we redesigned our site, we looked to strike a balance of having customers still recognize HeadRoom; being e-commerce friendly and inviting to anyone who comes to our site and wants to buy personal audio gear; and, still appealing to enthusiasts who want to sink their teeth into some beefy technical commentary. We think that newbies and experts alike will appreciate the easy-to-navigate menus, product information readily at hand, and enhanced sorting options along with many other great new features.
"You'll see new brands like Sony, Skullcandy, Monster and Boston Acoustics and new product categories like iPod/iPhone docks and headsets coming on board at the time of the launch. We will still evaluate products carefully and sell those products that truly offer value to our customers. |
Value, however, means different things to different people. For many, sound quality trumps all; for others, style or application tops the list. In any case, we want to help them get it "right between their ears.
"Also, you won't want to miss our new blog Right Between Your Ears featuring our founder Tyll Hertsens. Tyll and the HeadRoom crew just returned from Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, and Tyll has a great write-up on this popular event in Denver, Colorado.
"HeadRoom will be working hard to continually improve our website and the shopping experience. We will also keep expanding our personal listening product offerings, so please visit our website frequently to get the very best in personal audio!" |
October 2009 - Lindell Audio - Tobias Lindell announces that they will "launch Lindell Audio at the Malmö high-end show on October 31. We do active loudspeakers for extreme home hifi and mastering studios." This company began designing and building custom recording and mastering loudspeakers in the Bohus recording studio. The top expression of their new Reference Modular system runs a 70x20mm Flatfloil© Raal ribbon vertically flanked by two Morel 6" Carbon fiber/Rohacell cones with 3" Hexatech voice coils in a sealed enclosure. Separate front-ported woofer modules top and bottom each contain 2 x 10" Morel Carbon fiber /Rohacell cones with 5.1" Hextatech voice coils.
The full stack weighs 700kg, the half stack 475kg and the monitor 180kg, the high mass due to stacked and bonded MDF layers which allow for intensive cabinet bracing. The Reference Modular is fully active and powered by a DEQX processor/x-over.
The final website will be at www.lindellaudio.se |
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October 2009 - Kernel streaming - Fernando Marco Manunta reports that " hiFace is a high-performance USB-to-S/PDIF interface created to make a high-quality digital audio output interface available to all PCs and Macs. It features small size, very low jitter, high clock precision and handles 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz and 192kHz sampling rates. Resolution spans 16 to 24 bits. hiFace works in kernel streaming mode with a proprietary driver and can be used with FooBar, Winamp and Monkey Media. High quality, high stability and very low phase noise crystal oscillators allow for ultra-stable S/PDIF transmission for conversion performance never achieved before. The proprietary driver sets a very low load to the CPU (average 3%, no more than 12%), allowing music lovers to use hiFace with a cheap Atom N270 netbook. At the price of a mass market video player, it is possible to get a high-end digital source to listen to music files by feeding a D/A converter." |
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| October 2009 - Chord News - Bluebird Music is pleased to announce immediate availability of the new flagship Red Reference Mk II CD player from Chord Electronics [$24,900]. "Building on the success of the Blu and the DAC64, the Red Reference Mk II CD player now has the latest technological updates and has been revised with developments to improve performance even further. With stunning looks and state of the art design the Red utilizes ground breaking technology to give the most accurate reproduction of compact disc that can be obtained. With internal 176.4KHz upsampling data transfer, selectable RAM buffer clock retiming and both 1024 and 4096 tap length filtering, the Red earns its reference status in the Chord range." |
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October 2009 - FryCorder - Jim Hagerman of Hagerman Audio
Labs "has developed a better method of burning in audiophile power cords.
The plug and play FryCorder not only delivers the break-in signal through
the attached power cord, but also to the house AC wiring. Introductory
pricing is $199."
Hagerman also re-issued their Cornet2 tube phono stage and Chime USB tube DAC to be updated to "Silver Edition"
status with improved components and new silver faceplates. Limited
production run prices are $1199 and $1999 respectively.
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| October - Thiel's Future - Thiel Audio Products president Kathy Gornik has highlighted the direction that the company will take following the untimely passing of cofounder Jim Thiel. Gornik stated: “While this is undeniably a very sad time for us at Thiel, having lost not only one of the best audio engineers in the world but also a great man who was so very dear to us, we recognize how fortunate we are that he left us such a rich legacy. Jim was our polestar—always insisting on the highest of standards in virtually every aspect of our endeavors. Rest assured, Thiel will continue to forge full steam ahead. We have enlisted a team of talented engineers who have been charged with applying Jim Thiel’s advanced driver, crossover, and cabinet designs to future products, several of which are already in the pipeline. |
"We are very fortunate that Jim carefully documented all of his research and design parameters, giving us three decades of legendary achievements from which to base the company’s bright future. Beginning with some very exciting new product introductions slated for 2010, Thiel will continue to showcase leading edge products that have been engineered and built to the highest standards. From everyone at Thiel, we would like to thank all of our wonderful industry friends and customers for the amazing outpouring of support you have shown us. It has meant more to us than you could know, and we are so grateful to be a part of such a wonderful community. We look forward to working and prospering with all of you in the coming years. " |
October 2009 - Cable Research Lab - CRL has released a new entry-level cable set which the company is offering as a package buy. The Bronze cable ‘bundle’ includes a new interconnect and speaker combo designed by Art Almstead, cable designer/engineer for CRL, and are based on scaled-down versions of the company’s other metal-named offerings – the Copper, Silver and Gold range (review here).
Chip Winston, CRL president says, “I wanted to offer a bundle price so that listeners can experience CRL cables throughout their audio system at an attractive, affordable price. These exceptional cables are a true value and will be a fine match to any system size – from the modest audio system to the cost no object system.”
The bundle includes the Bronze interconnect and speaker cables which are available in various lengths and in bi-wireable configurations. The company’s high build quality, design philosophies and acclaimed sound quality are carried through to the Bronze series—albeit on a reduced scale—making the new bundle package high value for money.
The handcrafted speaker cables are copper-based designs with four 14-gauge individually insulated OFC conductors and hand-terminated with Wonder Signature solder.
The Bronze interconnect is a silver/copper hybrid design—a first for the company—with two solid core silver conductors and one OFC copper conductor, all individually insulated with Teflon and Polyethylene respectively. Again, the interconnect cables are hand terminated using Wonder Signature solder and are available with RCA or XLR connectors. The bundle is priced at $895 with additional Bronze interconnecting cable available for purchase for $600. |
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| October 2009 - Cheaper Wavelength USB DAC - The Proton 24/96 USB DAC with headphone output [starting at $900] runs a LiION battery for main duties and is charged by the USB bus. "The Proton supports 24 bit data at 44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96k as indicated on the rear by four LEDs. The volume control icon for the headphone and line output will appear on the computer desktop. Setting the volume slider on the computer will result in the hardware of the Proton to set the analog volume control for the outputs to the desired setting. Since both headphone and line outputs change with the volume setting on the computer, the Proton can be a powerful DAC/preamplifier combo. The Proton uses Mundorf coupling caps for the line outputs and the legendary red Black Gate BGN coupling capacitors for the headphone outputs." |
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October 2009 - Atollic - At the upcoming Paris Hifi show October 10 and 11, Atoll will present two new products, the Atoll CD30 player with a pure CD TEAC mechanism, USB input and optional FM tuner card to act as a multi source for an all Atoll system; and the Atoll DAC 100 shown, with 3 RCA, 3 optical and one USB digital input whose pricing is expected to come in around €500. First units shold be available by the end of October. |
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October 2009 - Big Horn - Blumenhofer Acoustics announces that their three-way Clara Luna [starting at €95,000/pr] is now in production.
The horn-loaded tweeter is a self-developed 1.4" Titanium dome unit, the midrange a 16-inch TAD from Japan and the active woofer a gargantuan 21-incher. The Prima Luna is impedance compensated and allows physical offsets between its modules to optimize time arrivals in the listening seat.
Claimed frequency response for the Clara Luna is 16Hz to 20kHz ±2dB, power handling a confident 750w/RMS. System sensitivity is a high 102dB (naturally compensated in the self-powered bass system), dimensions are 165 x 61 x 71cm and weight starts at 200kg.
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| October 2009 - New Weiss boxes - The ATT202 is a fully passive stepped resistive attenuator for balanced or unbalanced stereo signals. It can be used in place of a preamplifier to control a single source and controlled by remote. Signal switching is by magnet-actuated sealed reed contacts. There are 44 steps of attenuation with a range of 34dB and iXLR and RCA i/o ports; switches for different output impedances; and a stepper motor for the remote control whose power supply is external.
The INT202 is a small D-to-D interface for Firewire to AES/EBU or S/PDIF conversion with dithered digital domain remote-controlled volume. The outputs can be operated in single wire up to the 192kHz sampling rate or in dual wire at the 176.4/192kHz rates. The unit includes two Firewire inputs which also power it unless the optional power supply is added; and two each XLR/RCA outputs. The INT202 is less than half the price of the Weiss Minerva and intended for PC application where full 24/192 resolution is desired. |
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October 2009 - Got $2,000,000? - For years, we've followed Bo Bengtsson issuing ambitious ribbon speaker concepts via his Transmission Audio website. The latest idea consumes a cool 2 Million for which you get "a complete stereo speaker system with all the necessary amplification and installation". It breaks down into four dipole subwoofers each containing 10 x 15" woofers; two dipole woofers each containining 24 x 8" woofers; four dipole MF/HF ribbon panels each containing 14 meters of 2" wide ribbons; and two dipole HF super ribbons each containing two meters of 1" wide ribbons.
The entire array stands 2.1 meters tall and each subwoofer weighs 450kg, each woofer 300kg, each MF/HF section 250kg and each Super HF module 125kg. Crossover points are at 80/800/8000Hz via an adjustable electronic network. "Total continuouos RMS power capacity for a complete stereo system is 15.500 watts with +143dB max SPL at rated power. Delivery time is within 9 months from order and the price includes free shipping door to door and a pair of 12 x 500wpc amplifiers."
Just to clarify, it wasn't April 1 when Bo's e-mail arrived. What to think? |
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October 2009 - Not a building material but solid sound - Musique Concrete in Paris by Hugue Borsarello and Marco Henry makes an ultra-efficient hornspeaker in the 108dB range called the La Grande Castine, a physically time-aligned fully hornloaded 3-way about which the website at present offers scant detail while the photo gallery is already better stocked.
With talk of a possible visit to Paris in the air, we might have a bit more information to add by next month. Otherwise we'll have to wait for the website to begin listing more details about the specific design goals, drivers and implementation. |
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| October 2009 - Genesis/McCormack product - Gary Kohn of Genesis Advanced Technologies announces a preamplifier designed in collaboration with famed electronics designer Mr. Steve McCormack. "After releasing the Genesis Reference Amplifier to production, many dealers and customers clamored for a matching preamplifier. In the past two years, we showed with the SMc Audio VRE-1 both during CES and RMAF and I loved the synergy between that preamp and the Genesis amp. I also loved working with Steve, so I asked him if he would collaborate with us on a Genesis-badged preamplifier. I am honored that he accepted." |
"I am happy to be working with Genesis on this new product," said Mr Steve McCormack, President of SMc Audio. "The VRE-1 is a purist audiophile product. With the Genesis collaboration, we have been able to bring in some features that are appropriated by the larger market. It will have a remote control and built-in USB DAC. Nevertheless, the essential musical quality will not be compromised. It will be a fully balanced design to match the Genesis amplifiers with the transparent musicality that you have come to expect from me and Gary." |
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