Amphion has introduced a like minded, less expensive brother to its highly touted Argon 1 ($1900pr). We now have Amphion definition and musicality for not a lot over a grand.

Helium 510: $1400 Per Pair (Black or White) $1500 Per Pair Walnut

(12.44h, 6.3w, 10.43d, 13 lbs, 86 dB, 8 ohms)

Helium 510 is the same size as Argon 1. It runs less money because it uses a pulp fiber bass mid driver while Argon 1 uses a linear-piston aluminum driver. While Helium 510 can’t achieve the stunning clarity that Argon 1 does, it IS competitive and charts new territory for $1400 pr.

If you haven’t heard Amphion’s open spacious sound, you’re in for quite the experience. Literally everything else in this price range is a cloudy sounding box from China.

The mass market knows that fat bass and a bright top end grab your attention. Those characteristics do indeed sell. But of course the muddy bass and grainy high end will wear you out in short order.

Enter Helium 510. Helium 510 has been made for accuracy, just like its bigger brothers. Helium 510 uses the same Titanium tweeter within Wave Guide as Argon 1. It shares the same open, airy character of sound without being bright or harsh. What a treat- to hear acoustic music without zip and zing.

Amphion is always for portraying great space and a broad/deep soundstage. They always pursue these characteristics before adding more bass. Like Argon 1, Helium 510 has no sins of commission. Its bass is leaner than chunkier. It reveals bass definition and textures. It doesn’t have an upper mid-bass hump in frequency response to try to fool you into thinking there is deep bass.

You can always add a sub if you want more bass. But if your R&L speakers sound foggy, they’re not much fun on vocals especially.

NAD C-389 Integrated Amp $1500 (130×2)

C389 is an imminent, versatile integrated. First, let’s talk about NAD power.

C389’s power rating is 130×2, 20-20k, at 8 ohms, with THD of .03%. In other words, at FULL POWER, distortion is only .03%.

NAD’s competitors claim their wattage ratings at 1% THD, commonly known as CLIPPING. Further, many competitors claim their power at 1k, not 20-20. They often claim 6 ohms instead of 8.

The sneaky characters are cheating. Their power ratings are claimed when the amp is running ragged- not under control. NAD is still cool and unflappable at its full power rating.

Now, you might ask NAD (as I have), why don’t YOU claim your specs just like your competitors do? Instead of 130×2, C389 would CLIP at 200×2. Wouldn’t you be more likely to sell more units if you claimed 200×2 instead of 130×2? Of course you would.

But NAD says, nay nay.

NAD is playing the long game, trying to educate the market that the other guys do cheat. NAD is being honest and wants to expose the tricksters- by pulling the curtain away from devious sales tactics.

C389 uses NAD’s lauded UcD amplifier design. There are no traditional mismatched output transistors in use! C389 has a 32b DAC on board (2 OPT and 2 Coax). It has MM phono and two additional high level inputs. It has pre outs and sub outs. It has HDMI Arc. It has Bluetooth.

For the record, NAD’s C399 runs $2k and DOES have a superior amplifier design. If you can afford $2k, buy C399. But of course, C389 runs a good chunk less dinero.

Beethoven For Three

Beethoven wrote his symphonies for a full orchestra. How do they sound with 3 pieces-piano, violin and cello? Count me WON OVER! This stunning recording of #6 by Sony features Emanuel Ax, Yo Yo Ma and Leonidas Kavakos. Give it a test drive on Tidal.

Isotek Elektra Mains Conditioner $2000

(4.1h, 17.7w, 13.7d, Black or Silver)

Isotek has taught us that Mains Conditioners can IMPROVE OUR SOUND!

Up until about 2014, every conditioner I ever auditioned actually HURT the sound- but did provide AC line protection that we needed. The electronics in play did so in a heavy handed fashion and stole resolution and dynamics in the process.

Isotek has proven that WITHOUT A DOUBT your music is veiled if you’re not using a top flight conditioner. And if you lose information by not having a great conditioner at the start of the equation, you can’t get it back later!

Do you remember when we had snow in our analog TV reception? That is exactly what is happening with the AC sludge coming into your hi-fi gear. Isotek will remove the snow so you can hear resolution in the music that would otherwise be obfuscated by the line hash.

Elektra V5

Elektra is Isotek’s new $2000 product entry. It is an attractive looking component that logically sits at the bottom of your equipment stand. It has six outlets. Two are high current for power amps or subwoofers. Four are lower current for other components.

There is an isolating filter for EACH of the six taps. Consequently there is no back wash among the products plugged into Elektra. Each component is immune from the debris of the wall and any back splashing companions.

Elektra’s main purpose is to CLEAN UP your sound. Listening with Elektra vs without, you’ll hear faster transient response. You’ll hear more delineated percussive action on a drum kit. You’ll hear faster attacks with a pick against a guitar string. You’ll hear the vocal POP to the front of the recording as opposed to laying back in a two dimensional, mundane blend.

Elektra does also provide the PROTECTION you need from electronic spikes or belches.

Isotek upgraded Aquarius to V5 in the fall. It’s a fantastic conditioner that we highly recommend it for $3k. Yet if you’re not up for $3k, you’ll find Elektra will make a significant improvement in your music system for a grand less.

Hegel H95 Integrated Amp, $2200 (60×2)

Are you looking for a magnificent sounding integrated amp with no bite or sizzle?

Most of us simply DON’T NEED the body slamming that the audio magazines are gushing about every issue. Issue after issue of the rags espouse why we need a $30-60k amp. Really?

I’m sure the 445 pound, $100k Gryphon Apex power amp will do plenty of slamabama along with a bag of chips. But seriously…do you need to play at jet aircraft volume? I know a few of you do. May heaven help your hearing!

Do you actually want the volume in your music system to be similar to that of a concert in a baseball stadium that seats 50,000 of your closest friends? Is it even a good idea?!

First of all, if you buy the right speakers, you CAN play at 100dB with the Hegel H95. The Klipsch Heritage models are all 99dB SPL on up. You can blast your brains out with H95. But I’m recommending H95 because of its musical beauty instead of a Joe Frazier left hook.

H95 is actually three products in one. It has a great DAC, preamp and power amp all in one box.

The DAC is Hegel’s SYNCHRO DAC, which converts the native source. It doesn’t bugger it up with upsamplling processing.

The preamp is discrete, made with hand matched transistors in Oslo. The discrete preamp brings more nuance and character to the music than using chips in the preamp section. The power amp section uses Hegel’s patented SoundEngine2 circuitry, which eliminates the harsh edge we expect from solid state designs with mismatched output transistors. The damping factor is 2000, which allows your speakers to start and stop on a dime. Check out the damping on any competitor.

Maybe… 250.

Great TV Sound: No, Don’t Buy A Sound Bar!

Let’s do it right. Think Amphion speakers.

Start with a GREAT set of speakers that are tremendously articulate and not BRIGHT sounding. If you get a lightweight soundbar or speakers from the far east, your ears will get sunburned fast. They’re all voiced to grab your attention and will wear you out in no time.

Start with highly resolving Amphion speakers, made with TLC in Finland.

Here I’m showing the Helium 410s which run a grand per pair. Amphions are not harsh or grainy. They disperse in a cardiod pattern that largely eliminates the highly resonant characteristics of your listening room. Or do you have the perfect listening acoustics?

Mate them with the dynamite STEREO receiver from Marantz, NR-1200 ($800, 75×2). The Marantz has all the right inputs to shake hands with video as well as audio sources. For under $2k you’ve got the answer to audio that’s more than up to par with the high quality video of today’s flat screens.

Jimmy Buffet Isn’t Always In Margaritaville

Did you know the talented singer/guitarist is also a pilot and owns six airplanes?!