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Audiophile Archives

The Latest, Dave’s Faves, and the AE Newsletter all in one:



Don’t Forget Silver Discs!

Streaming is lots of fun. The option to choose a song with a light touch of your tablet is pretty tempting. We are so spoiled! Yet for those of us who listen to entire works, or ALBUMS (can you imagine?!), please don’t lose track of your silver discs. That would include Red Book CD, and of course SACD. I for one, still…

07.2019

Klipsch RF-7 III $3600 Per Pair (49h, 13 7/8w, 17 7/8d, 97lbs, 100dB SPL) Klipsch’s RF-7 is now here. Made in Hope, Arkansas, RF-7 is a big tower. SO WHAT?! If you want your music to hit big and hard, you need major league muscle. RF-7 doesn’t apologize for being a sizable tower. RF-7 uses a new 1.75” Titanium Horn Tweeter. It…

06.2019

Marantz AV-8805 Preamp Processor $4500 Every top flight surround system is “bottle necked” by the preamp/processor you choose. The task of a pre/pro is enormously complex. The truth is, you need a large Asian manufacturer that has the technology DOWN COLD to make a piece you want- both in terms of current features and high end sound quality. All of the N…

Klipsch LaScala British Hi-Fi Review Comments

“The speaker’s upper cabinet contains the new tweeter, which sports a lightweight polyimide diaphragm loaded by Klipsch’s Tractrix horn.” Like no other. “This is a striking sounding design, in an almost entirely positive way. It’s the aural equivalent of a bright, fresh autumn morning with an azure-blue sky and a chill in the air through which the sunshine blazes a path. Listening…

05.2019

Obstacles! You readers don’t know how hard it is to sort through all the great hi-fi gear these days. There are numerous obstacles in my way. Glenn just came into my office and proclaimed- “You won’t believe what I just found!” I’m thinking, he found a Mac MR78 in mint condition, or a pair of Maggie Tympani 1-Ds that don’t need to…

Stereophile Magazine Surprises

I admit, I chide magazines like Stereophile & The Absolute Sound. There’s no doubt the writers are smart guys that love the hobby. But their perspective on price/performance doesn’t correlate with ours- the readers. The magazines don’t buy products to audition. Products are loaned. All you have to do is read a review or two to see how out of touch these…

04.2019

Bob Carver Crimson 275 Power Amp: $2750 (75×2, 7h, 14w, 9.5d, 19 lbs) The new Bob Carver Crimson 275 tube power amp is now here! It is made in the state of Washington. It has a five year warranty which includes the tubes themselves! Who else warranties tubes for more than a few months? Crimson 275 sounds almost exactly how you would…

Bjorn Erik Edvardsen: RIP (1945-2018)

BEE of NAD has died after being with the company 46 years. What a run! BEE was born in Norway and gets significant credit for changing the face of affordable audio gear. After stints at Dolby Labs and AR, BEE helped kick start a new audio company, NAD, in England in1972. In 1978 BEE designed the iconic NAD 3020 integrated amplifier. It…

03.2019

NAD C275BEE Power Amp $1300 (150×2, 6h, 17 1/8w, 15d, 33 lbs) This fantastic power amp has been back ordered for months. With the array of great gear NAD makes, this CLASSIC SERIES two channel, class AB power amp sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. They have spent their resources making other “more hip” products and have just caught up on C275BEE….

01.2019

  NAD C658 Preamp/Streamer/DAC $1500 Due by Jan 7 is NAD’s new Swiss Army Knife which I predict will REDEFINE the preamp product category. It does so much, so well, that we just have to shake our heads at how lucky we are to be audio addicts in 2019! Here we go- hold on tight! It’s a stereo preamp with cutting edge…

12.2018

Brand New! GoldenEar Triton Reference 1.R $6000 Per Pair, (54h, 8w, 16 5/8d, 92dB SPL) We are very excited to share that GoldenEar has just introduced a second speaker to its Reference Series. Triton Reference 1.R has just arrived! T 1.R is the same size as the classic Triton 1. But T 1.R has the improved components of its bigger brother, GoldenEar’s…

McIntosh Integrated Amps (& One Receiver)

McIntosh doesn’t allow us to post prices. This doesn’t make any sense, but that’s their edict. Just Google a review of a given product to find its price. With so many customers buying the Bluesound Node ($550) from us these days as their streaming source that supports CD and MQA level sound through Tidal, integrated amps make great sense to interface to…

Klipsch Heritage Speakers

Finished in Satin Black Ash, American Walnut & Natural Cherry I’ve been at many an audio demonstration, that no matter how impressive, when it ended, the audiophiles were sitting on their hands in stone silence- as if they were in church. There is something about the nature of being a card carrying audiophile that makes these guys afraid to express an opinion,…

11.2018

Klipsch Pro-200A Power Amp $750 (80×2 or 200 mono; 5.5h, 5.69w, 12.75d) Klipsch is now shipping Pro-200A. The Pro-200A is a solid power amp to run with any speakers, but please consider Klipsch speakers as they’re designed to work together. Pro-200A is an AB amp with discrete, high current output transistors. The heat sinks are extensive, not flimsy. Pro-200A has an overload…

10.2018

Now On Display! Klipschorn AK-6, $15,000 Per Pair Take a look! Marantz Reference Series Marantz Reference Series products have always been among the finest products you can buy. They have been designed by Marantz’s renowned engineer, Ken Ishiwata. Ken has just created a new integrated amp and SACD/CD player dubbed KI RUBY series to mark his 40th anniversary with Marantz. Ken is…