Kalman Rubinson

It seems these days that everybody and his brother is doing something about room equalization. Sure, we had the old-time graphic and parametric EQs&mdash;now we're seeing much more sophisticated and dedicated devices, from the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/roomtreatments/437">TacT</A&gt; and <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/solidpreamps/278">Z-Systems</A&gt; standalone products to the auto-setup and EQ systems found in many A/V receivers. I was impressed with the Audyssey MultEQxt in the Denon AV-4806 receiver&mdash;see my "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/musicintheround/306mitr">Music in the Round</A>" column in March, p.50&mdash;and a standalone AudysseyPro unit was demonstrated at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show.

I am a Revel junkie. Their <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/302">Ultima Studio</A>s have been my reference loudspeakers for years, and I've spent many happy hours with their <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/244">Performa F-30</A>s and <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/89">Ultima Gem</A>s. They're all great speakers. When the original Gem was launched, it was made clear that all the corporate and economic weight of Revel's parent company, Harman International, was behind the development of this new line. When I visited Revel some years back, I saw cutting-edge design and development, in-house manufacturing of the most critical parts under the tightest scrutiny, and quality control of nearly compulsive meticulousness. All of this was reflected in the speakers' prices, which were reasonable for their quality and performance.

Ever since the 1960s, when I built a pair of Altec A7 clones, I've had a preference for relatively big speakers. Yes, I was seduced by the Stax F-81 electrostatics because of their incredibly low coloration, but inevitably I felt the need to return to something that would move more air. Regardless of the type of music (I do like the big stuff) or the sound levels, unless the sound has solidity and size, I can't easily suspend disbelief.

I had been with <I>Stereophile</I> only six months and feared my tenure was over&mdash;I thought I was losing my hearing. There was pain, ringing, and stuffiness. I couldn't listen to anything.

When I got married, my mother pulled my bride aside and said, "Now it can be <I>your</I> fault!" You see, I have always practiced blame-avoidance. Now I get to do it again.

In September 2005, for the first time, I attended the Expo of the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA), in Indianapolis. Although I saw many familiar faces and companies, it was apparent that the event was dominated by a spirit very different from the one that pervades this magazine or the high-end exhibitions at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES). That spirit, however, does suffuse the rest of CES, and is well represented at Primedia's own Home Entertainment shows. That spirit encompasses video, and a view of audio that differs significantly from that of traditional audiophiles. Multichannel surround sound is taken as read, and novel technologies are prized higher than the proverbial "straight wire with gain."

Back in the 1970s, I used to hang out at an audio store on Northern Boulevard's Miracle Mile. After business hours&mdash;and sometimes during them&mdash;a group of us audiophiles would put every new product through the wringer. One of the most anticipated was the original B&W 801, which appeared in 1979. The 801 was simply unflappable. Fed enough power, a pair of them played louder and cleaner than anything we had ever heard, including the mammoth, multimodule Fultons that were the pride of that shop. But&mdash;and this was a big <I>but</I>&mdash;the 801 lacked immediacy and engagement, and I soon fell back to preferring an earlier B&W model, the DM6, which seemed more coherent and to offer the music out to the listener. The 801 was more objective and detached, but boy, could it knock you over with the right source material.