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.
Oh boy! This was one of my most eagerly anticipated auditions. At my first demonstration of an OLS loudspeaker system several years ago, I was bowled over not only by the demo, but also by the idea that OLS's Kharma line was topped by the $1,000,000 Grand Enigma system!
I had been with <I>Stereophile</I> only six months and feared my tenure was over—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.
The W-8 ($10,200) is the first of Simaudio's Moon series to incorporate the new Evolution cosmetics and new circuitry. I loved its predecessor, the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/167">Moon W-5</A>, which was one of the first power amplifiers I reviewed for <I>Stereophile</I> (March 1999, Vol.22 No.3). I also loved the "new and improved" W-5 when I wrote about in the May 2001 issue. In the September 2005 issue, Brian Damkroger praised Simaudio's monstrous <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/905sim">Moon Rock</A> monoblock, a contemporary of the Moon Evolution W-8 stereo amp.
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—and sometimes during them—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—and this was a big <I>but</I>—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.
In the past few installments of this column I've promised to talk about another subwoofer equalizer system. Now I'm going to pull the old switcheroo and discuss a different subwoofer EQ. The SMS-1 is a new, standalone digital equalizer system from Velodyne, based on the EQ built into their DD-series subwoofers. Larry Greenhill went <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/subwoofers/604velodyne">gaga</A> over the Velodyne DD-18 in the June 2004 <I>Stereophile</I>, particularly because of the ease and sophistication of the EQ system. Apparently, one of the Velodyne sales guys asked the obvious: What about making the EQ available separately for use with other subwoofers?
NHT's Xd system is what audiophiles have been saying they want: a matched loudspeaker system that optimizes the performance of its components for a real-world domestic listening environment. But with their dollars they've voted against just such systems for years. If we put our money where our mouths are, active speaker systems such as Meridian's DSP or those used in recording studios would dominate the High End.
In a press conference held September 28 at Sony Music Studios on West 54th Street, MusicGiants —see <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/051605musicgiants">Wes Phillips' earlier story</A> on this company—announced the launch of a new music download service that offers CD-resolution digital recordings from the major artists on the major music labels, EMI, Sony/BMG, Universal, and Warner.