Tag Archives: Products

The variety of turntables in the marketplace has elevated massively since 2010, and the variety of phono preamplifiers there are to select from has grown together with it. You want a phono preamp in case your amplifier or receiver doesn’t have its personal integral phono stage. Among the scores of outboard phono levels out there as we speak, you’re unlikely to search out one just like the Music Hall PA2.2, which is priced at $449.99 (all costs in USD). That’s due to its secret ingredient: an analog-to-digital converter (ADC).

Note: for the total suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click on this hyperlink.

I adore it once I can take a look at a product’s designation and inform what it’s and what it does with out having to dig a lot deeper. Denon is absolutely nice about this with its A/V receivers, breaking the household into the S Series, X Series, and A Series, and maintaining the incremental numbering constant from yr to yr, so I can come fairly near guessing a unit’s value and options simply by ogling a string of letters and numbers equivalent to “AVR-X3800H.” That kind of consistency isn’t remarkable within the two-channel world, in fact, however we positively want extra of it. And primarily based on the brand new MaiA DS3 ($1599, all costs USD), I’m guessing Pro-Ject Audio Systems agrees.

It’s been almost 30 years since computerized turntables have been broadly out there. In the intervening years, I can keep in mind only some that have been basically distribution. But evidently computerized turntables have instantly risen from the lifeless, identical to vinyl. Why? Because they’re good for the informal vinyl listener who desires a no-fuss document participant. Recently, I had the pleasure of reviewing 4 computerized turntables: the Andover SpinDeck Max; the Dual CS 429 and its inexpensive companion, the CS 329; and the Thorens TD 102 A.

Note: measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada’s National Research Council can be found through this link.

If you want a stereo system capable of delivering truly deep, penetrating bass near the bottom end of the audible spectrum, you generally have two options: get yourself a pair of beefy tower speakers—ideally hybrid ones with powered bass sections—or opt for a 2.1-channel system with a subwoofer or two. But what if neither of those options works for you? What if your room requires something a bit more compact, and you either hate the look of subwoofers or you just don’t have the floorspace? That’s where something like Atlantic Technology’s AT-3 ($3298 per pair from authorized dealers or $3629 per pair via the company’s website, all prices USD) promises to be your best friend.

Note: measurements taken within the anechoic chamber at Canada’s National Research Council may be discovered via this hyperlink.

If you desire a stereo system able to delivering actually deep, penetrating bass close to the underside finish of the audible spectrum, you typically have two choices: get your self a pair of beefy tower audio system—ideally hybrid ones with powered bass sections—or go for a 2.1-channel system with a subwoofer or two. But what if neither of these choices works for you? What in case your room requires one thing a bit extra compact, and also you both hate the look of subwoofers otherwise you simply don’t have the floorspace? That’s the place one thing like Atlantic Technology’s AT-3 ($3298 per pair from licensed sellers or $3629 per pair by way of the corporate’s web site, all costs USD) guarantees to be your greatest buddy.

This is my third evaluate of a U-Turn Audio Orbit turntable. The first was in 2014, once I reviewed one among their early choices, the budget-priced Orbit Plus. I reviewed the second in 2021, once I had the possibility to audition their then-newest product, the mid-priced Orbit Special, which included a built-in phono preamplifier. I believed each have been fairly good, and so they have been each superb values at their respective costs.

Note: for the complete suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click on this hyperlink.

I wished to begin this evaluate with a joke. Something to the impact of “What’s the precise reverse of a mullet?” And in case you’re not aware of that notably atrocious coiffure and the humor surrounding it, the response would have been some ham-fisted try to explain NAD’s new C 3050 LE Stereophonic Amplifier (additionally known as a “HybridDigital DAC Amplifier”) as a celebration up entrance and all enterprise within the again. Unfortunately, I simply couldn’t make it work. But check out this factor, and also you begin to get a way of why I used to be drawn to this unsuccessful dad joke.

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.

It’s not my intention to go full-blown “get off my lawn” on you here. But when I was growing up, it wasn’t difficult to know what to call a component with volume control, source selection, and built-in amplification. Did it have an AM/FM tuner built in? It was a receiver. Did it not? It was an integrated amp. That’s hardly helpful with a product like the new SVS Prime Wireless Pro SoundBase ($699.99, all prices USD), though. It lacks a radio tuner, sure. But it has so many other features that “integrated amp” hardly cuts it. SVS calls it a “smart integrated amplifier,” and I reckon that works.

Since my early days of audio madness, I’ve relied on Dual turntables, most of them automatic. Automatics are turntables that independently lift the arm and set it down on the lead-in groove, pick the arm up at the end of the side, return it to its rest position, and shut off the motor when done. So I was pleased to see that Dual had added a new automatic model to its lineup, the CS 329 ($499.99, all prices USD), a little brother to the more sophisticated CS 429 ($799.99) I reviewed back in October.

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.

In a recent editorial about the appeal of vintage audio, I said, and I quote, “Build me a $1500 stereo receiver or integrated amp that looks anything like [the $9500 Technics SU-R1000 stereo integrated amplifier], and I think I could turn a lot more uninitiated music lovers into high-performance audio enthusiasts.” Needless to say, at $2699.99 (all prices USD), the Technics Grand Class SU-G700M2 integrated amplifier isn’t precisely that amp. Still, this new offering promises to be a much more value-oriented alternative to the company’s big-boy flagship, at a price that places it reasonably within the spectrum of attainability for many people, even if they’re not hardcore.