Added to the Archives This Week
They've been around for years, under a variety of guises and from an evolving list of manufacturers and distributors. But the BBC">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/361/">BBC LS3/5a loudspeakers still cling to their legendary status. We provide not only J. Gordon Holt's original 1977 review for Stereophile, but also follow-ups from 1984, 1989, and 1993. Read about the little speaker that could.
Added to the Archives This Week
As Michael Fremer reports, critics have universally hailed Infinity's $8k flagship Prelude MTS. But can the success of the MTS trickle down to the lower price points? For his review of the $2000/pr Infinity">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/364/">Infinity Intermezzo 2.6 loudspeaker, Fremer set out to determine if the more modest sibling is a "worthwhile chip off the old block or just a marketing divot."
Added to the Archives This Week
As John Atkinson puts it, Meridian usually does things "their way," putting amps and DACs inside of speakers in an all-out attempt at "re-creating the original soundfield, no matter how many speakers and channels it takes to do it right." But as Atkinson finds, the Meridian">http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/367/">Meridian 518 Digital Audio Processor might be the company's most perverse product: "The $1650 518 offers digital inputs and outputs only. It can digitally perform gain and source selection; it can change data with one digital word length to data with another; and it does all these things with 72-bit internal precision." So JA asks, "How does the 518 fit within a conventional high-end audio system?" Read along as he figures it all out.
Added to the Archives This Week
Brian Damkroger finds that, while struggling unsuccessfully to fit the Conrad-Johnson">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/370/">Conrad-Johnson Premier 17LS line-stage preamplifier into his preconceived notions of the company and its products, a paradigm shift in his thinking occurred. Damkroger explains that "it was only during a marathon session of listening and comparing the C-J to a couple of other preamps that the truth dawned on me . . . I went back and forth between the C-J and the other units several times over the course of the next week, and one evening it hit me." The truth awaits.
Added to the Archives This Week
Several months back, Stereophile editor John Atkinson asked David Rich to investigate the technical merits of SACD. With Super">http://www.stereophile.com//features/374/">Super Audio CD: The Rich Report, DR discovers that there is both more and less than meets the ear to the new format, including why it is being promoted in the first place.
Added to the Archives This Week
While doing research for his analysis of the Totem">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/378/">Totem Acoustic Forest loudspeaker, Larry Greenhill uncovered a legacy of great reviews for the company's previous products each ending with a final "but . . ." comment. But . . . does Greenhill discover any killer "buts" with the Forest? He explains in detail.
Added to the Archives This Week
Larry Greenhill says he'll never forget his first encounter with the Krell">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/382/">Krell LAT-1 loudspeaker at a meeting of the Westchester Audiophile Society. Suitably impressed, Greenhill reports, "I'd been bitten. I made arrangements to continue the audition in my own listening room." His complete analysis awaits.
Added to the Archives This Week
Wes Phillips is hesitant as he takes a listen to a revised version of the first speaker he ever reviewed for Stereophile. Will the new ProAc">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/386/">ProAc Response One SC loudspeaker vindicate his original positive assessment of its predecessor, the ProAc Response One S? Phillips admits all.
Added to the Archives This Week
As Larry Greenhill states in his review of the MartinLogan">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/390/">MartinLogan Prodigy loudspeaker, "Electrostatic speakers are my passion." But Greenhill's heard a lot of great 'stats in his time, so he was "both excited and uneasy" when a review pair of MartinLogan's latest arrived in his listening room. He needn't have worried.
Added to the Archives This Week
From the August 2001 issue, we have Michael Fremer's illuminating review of the Audio">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/394/">Audio Physic Avanti III loudspeaker. Fremer wonders how Audio Physic can top the outstanding price/performance success of its middle-of-the line Virgo">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/147/">Virgo model with a speaker that costs twice as much. As Fremer asks, "Is the Avanti twice as good as the Virgo? More than twice as good? Or is it just another competent but undistinguished design?"