Added to the Archives This Week
"How much power do you really need? How much power can you actually use? What's necessary, and what's icing on the cake? And does anyone really need 1000Wpc?" Jonathan Scull takes the Boulder">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/764/">Boulder 2050 monoblock amplifier into the listening chamber to confront these and other pressing audio dilemmas.
Added to the Archives This Week
Kalman Rubinson fires up the Sonic">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/769/">Sonic Frontiers Line 2 line preamplifier, commenting, "I began this review grudgingly because I'd made a decision a while back to no longer pursue vacuum-tube electronics." But it's where KR ends up after months of listening that counts.
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Michael Fremer investigates the Parasound">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/774/">Parasound Halo JC 1 monoblock power amplifier, exclaiming, "The 5-to-1 ratio of cost to retail price suggests that the "raw" cost of the JC 1 is about $600—a number almost impossible to believe, given the superb build quality and sheer heft of this powerhouse monoblock." And then there is the sound.
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In his review of the Wadia">http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/156/">Wadia 830 CD player, Brian Damkroger states: "My take on the Wadia was that: a) it probably wasn't going to sound that much better than the best of the $1000-ish players I had around, and b) even if it did, the differences wouldn't matter enough to me to justify its cost. My audio path took a dramatic turn one weekend, however, when a pair of cable manufacturers stopped by to demo their new products." Read about his journey and the ultimate audio destination will be revealed.
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Madrigal Audio Labs designed the original Mark Levinson No.30 nearly 10 years ago with the idea that, as a Reference Series product, it would never be made obsolete. John Atkinson reviews the No.30's latest upgrade, the Mark">http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/159/">Mark Levinson No.30.6 Reference D/A processor, after sending his personal unit from 1992 back to the factory for the required work. What he got back included new D/A converters in the unit's twin towers. Was it worth the effort, and does this processor still define the state of the art? You'll want to read his report to find out.
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Steven Stone writes that "the Signature SC-VI is probably the most 'anti-tweak' flagship high-end speaker ever made." In his very thorough review of the Dunlavy">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/162/">Dunlavy Audio Labs Signature SC-VI loudspeaker, Stone details this legendary audiophile favorite from top to bottom. Is it the perfect speaker? Stone lays down his verdict, and more.
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Robert Deutsch writes that "There's a well-known tradeoff in speaker design between sound quality for one listener vs. multiple listeners." But his review of the Dunlavy">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/166/">Dunlavy SC-IV/A loudspeaker reveals that, in the hands of a great designer, these limitations can sometimes be transcended. How did John Dunlavy do it? Deutsch gets to the bottom of this, and more.
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In his review of the SimAudio">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/167/">SimAudio Moon P-5 preamplifier and W-5 power amplifier, Kal Rubinson wrote, "something about their aesthetics appealed to me: Canadian ruggedness coupled with a decidedly French panache. I remember that those attributes also characterized the demo's sound, although I can't recall the speakers or the sources involved. At succeeding shows, it gradually dawned on me that the Moon components were the fixed elements in a succession of impressive demos."
Added to the Archives This Week
One of the more popular monthly columns in Stereophile these days is Jonathan Scull's "Fine Tunes." To keep our online readers fit and tweaked, we are going to be adding Scull's columns to the online Archives section on a weekly basis, starting with the first column he wrote for the magazine, back in July 1998: "Fine">http://www.stereophile.com//finetunes/169/">Fine Tunes #1." "I think I just got 2000 bucks' worth of difference," writes a reader about the value of the advice contained in J-10's first installment.
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In his second installment of "Fine">http://www.stereophile.com//finetunes/171/">Fine Tunes," Jonathan Scull writes: "I met a chap the other day whose wife said to me, 'Oh, you suffer from the same audiophile disease.' I hastened to inform her that I am the disease." But J-10 is also the cure, as he proves in this ode to building the perfect listening room.