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Audiophile Archives

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



Good Reputation, Poor Sound!

We sold some Magnepan MG 1.7i’s recently to a fellow who is building a new system. The 1.7i’s are a beautiful way to start a system with GREAT resolution. He settled on the Maggies quickly. MG 1.7i’s ability to cast a life sized vocal and guitar presentation, for example, is just about as good as it gets! They have excellent resolution and…

Don’t Neglect The Middle Child!

Atoll IN100 Signature Integrated Amp, $2100 (100×2, Class AB, Dual Transformers!) We all know the Middle Child sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. It ain’t fair. Well, maybe it is in YOUR family, but not in the Atoll family. Atoll is made in France with a 3 year warranty. They make five integrated amps below $4500 and each is a stalwart of…

Dave’s Faves – Bryston Model Trim T-10

Bryston Model Trim T-10, $8000 Per Pair {60h, 10w, 16d, 83 lbs, 91 dB SPL, 4 ohms} Finishes: Black Ash, Walnut, Walnut Expresso, Boston Cherry, Natural Cherry Two 6.5” Pure Aluminum Woofers, Two 5.25” Pure Aluminum Mids, Two Titanium Tweets in each tower. Frequency Response, 32-20K, +/- 3dB Bryston Model Trim T-10 Bryston’s brand new Model T-10 LINE ARRAY speaker lineup, is…

Affordable Electronics

It USED TO BE that virtually all modestly priced electronics in our hi-fi hobby came from China. While China still dominates the inexpensive mass market on Amazon, Atoll of France has changed the landscape of AFFORDABLE ELECTRONICS for true music lovers. We welcome Atoll because they make stunningly fine integrated amps, CD players and separates, that budget oriented audiophiles can afford. By…

Just Add Speakers!

Atoll SDA200 Signature, $4300 (120×2) Atoll’s SDA200 is an amazing, Streamer/Integrated amp. You literally- just add the speakers of your choice. The market is filled with streaming integrateds. Almost all are made in China and have very limited sound quality due to sissy amplifiers. Some of the others are made in the UK. They have decent amps but their streaming sections are…

Do We Really Need A $600 Amp?

No, we don’t. Not really. And we don’t need a $10 T-shirt. Please help me draw a line in the sand. Let’s work on our audio buddies not to buy cheap Chinese products that undermine our sound quality and N American & Euro economies. Audio gear enhances our lives with wonderful music. Let’s make our entry level amplifier something nice, built in…

Silver Discs

Compact discs have gotten a bad rap from snooty audiophile experts. It’s undeserved. I read something this month that puts the topic into perspective. What has prompted this entry is Stereophile’s Sept 2024 issue. The reviewer addresses his CD history starting on p23. I’m shocked at what I’m reading. He says he was slow to dive into CDs because they sounded bad….

Atoll, McIntosh, Hegel

Somehow I ended up on an audio forum’s email list. Once a week they hit me (& you?) with some topic. I have read the forum a few times. I’ve never contributed. I dunno how they even know of me. I guess there is a spy living in my computer. If that’s the case, I would have thought by now the Blackhawks…

Benjamin Grosvenor: Schumann & Brahms CD

Ben Grosvenor is a young Englishman (b. 1992). He was the youngest solo artist (19) to open the Proms at Royal Albert Hall. In 2011 he was the first British pianist signed by Decca in 60 years. He was also the youngest artist Decca has ever signed. Not bad for starters… Decca has always had state of the art piano sound. Vladimir…

Kimber Tonik Interconnect Cables

Kimber makes the fabulous, and often overlooked, Tonik interconnect cable. It isn’t expensive so you might not be inclined to take it seriously. I want to take a minute to sing its praises due to a recent discovery I made. I want to be sure to bring it to your attention. Pricing With Outstanding Kimber Ultratike RCA Terminations .5m $96, 1m $108,…

Stunning System! $9700

All of our customers want to be sure they’re getting the most performance for their money. What is the point of diminishing returns for my budget? And that’s our goal at Audio Emporium. No matter how much you decide to spend, whether on a component, cables or a full system, we’ll help you get the best bang for your buck. For this…

Stunning System! $7150

All of our customers want to be sure they’re getting the most performance for their money. What is the point of diminishing returns for my budget? And that’s our goal at Audio Emporium. No matter how much you decide to spend, whether on a component, cables or a full system, we’ll help you get the best bang for your buck. For this…

Stunning System! $4100

All of our customers want to be sure they’re getting the most performance for their money. What is the point of diminishing returns for my budget? And that’s our goal at Audio Emporium. No matter how much you decide to spend, whether on a component, cables or a full system, we’ll help you get the best bang for your buck. For this…

Atohm Sirocco 2.0 Speakers $3500 Pair

In Store Only Special Price On White Demos (39h, 8.5w, 10d, 40 lbs, 6 ohms, 89 dB SPL) Atohm of France makes beautiful sounding, POWERFUL speakers, in a smallish form factor. Up on offer now is our last pair of WHITE Sirocco 2.0s. The 2.0 is a killer diminutive tower. People in France don’t have big living rooms like we do, so…

Should I Run An All In One Box?

Yes – but not the CD portion! Streaming Integrated Amp If you want a great streaming integrated amp, I’ll happily say YES to a one box solution because I love the Atolls. They’re made in France, not China. They have a 3 year warranty and run their own very friendly app. We’ve sold a few already and the feedback is quite positive….