Interested in Dan D’Agostino’s most extensive amplifier upgrade in 11 years? Want to watch a D’Agostino Momentum S250 stereo amplifier get upgraded to the new Momentum S250 MxV? Curious about how well it can ignite […]
Tag Archives: Audio Gear Reviews
Editor’s Note: The genesis of this review began with our audio show coverage of the Ictra Design brand through the exhibits of Doug White and The Voice That Is! We petitioned Doug to help us […]
Deciding the Product of the Year Award for 2021 Last year was the first year we awarded a PTA Product of the Year. Last year’s winner–the Vimberg Amea loudspeakers from Germany—was chosen by me, Marc […]
Deciding the Best Value of the Year Award for 2021 As we finish out our year-end award season, I noticed that many of the same products that were considered for Product of the Year for […]
Does a 260-pound loudspeaker that packs an 8- and 10-inch driver need any re-enforcement in the lower octaves? Add in a delicious amplifier that can generate 500 watts at 4 ohms with ease and you are off to the races, right? The engineer in me is always looking for opportunities to continue to move closer to that moment when the music was recorded. The release of a new Wilson Audio ActivXO stereo crossover designed by John Curl tickled my interest. I was fascinated to see what would happen if I added a pair of 211-pound Wilson Audio WATCH Dog subs and Wilson ActivXO into my room. Could these elevate my system further? If so, in what ways and by how much? Wilson Audio ActivXO: Do I really need subs? Over the years I have listened to musical systems where they added a set of stereo subs to various loudspeakers. In the setups that were done correctly, it was not about more bass. Instead, it was about creating more space. By “space,” I mean that feeling when you close your eyes and the associated soundstage grows and takes you a few steps closer to that feeling of being there at that moment […]
Over the years, we’ve tried endless numbers of tweaks to get the most out of our components. Some work, others don’t, and some behave as un-wanted tone controls. It’s a puzzle that every audiophile loves to solve. The one piece that always seems to have a high hit rate are devices that help with reducing vibration. These usually take the form of platforms for our components, feet that go under our components, or fancy weights that sit on top of our components. When Wilson Audio announced their new Wilson Audio Pedestal isolation foot with some impressive test results, I was intrigued. Wilson Audio will not reveal who they tested against, and your guess is as good as ours. It doesn’t matter because test results only give you one piece of the puzzle. For me, it is always a combination of measurements and listening that gives you the complete picture. Naturally, when the Utah-based company was kind enough to loan me five sets of Wilson Audio Pedestals, I jumped in foot first! Could these elevate my system further? What would their impact be with and without the platforms I was already using? How about my components that don’t use platforms and […]