New! Klipsch LaScala III $10,000 Per Pair,
40h, 24 1/4w, 25 5/16d, 201 lbs, 105dB SPL!

Klipsch has been updating its Heritage Series over the past year. The last model to get the treatment is the classic LaScala, now dubbed LaScala III (or AL5 by K aficionados).

Let’s take a look at the upgrades.

*New, thicker, heavier cabinet construction. Since 175 lbs wasn’t heavy enough, K has gone bigger/badder! Real wood, matching finish, made in the USA of course.

*New, Polyimide (film) tweeter- like its bigger brother the Klipschorn

This includes new Neodymium magnets, Horn construction & a copper clad voice coil.

*New, Phenolic midrange driver- like its bigger brother the Klipschorn

*New, Improved 15” woofer with updated loading

*New, internal cabling & crossover network: new back plate & bi-ampable.

The sonic improvement is immediately evident in the high end where AL5 is more delicate and extended. Think RIBBON TWEETER sound with this new FILM technology. The prior version was lovely, but actually a tad soft on top.

The bass is tighter on AL5. Klipsch uses a unique, accordion style suspended woofer. It is extremely taut, especially when horn loaded, as with LaScala or Klipschorn. Despite being 15”, this big guy needs just a tiny excursion to bring you real bass. Despite the girth of the cabinet, LaScala is tight and lean, not tubby. The most iconic loudspeaker from yesteryear is now upgraded to quite modern standards!

Quad ERA-1 Planar Headphones $800 (94dB SPL, 420g)

Quad has been promising to release stellar headphones to the market for years.

We’ve read a lot about this and that on the drawing board. But finally in 2019, THEY’RE HERE! These are Quad’s FIRST EVER headphones. Coming from a company with a rich history in stats and technology, prepare to be impressed.

Quad uses a lightweight planar diaphragm, thinner than a human hair. Quad uses magnetic control over the entire cross section of the diaphragm. Outstanding transient attack and definition are clear attributes. The sonic terms I’ll apply are BALANCED, powerful and smooth.

Headphone lovers are among the fussiest in our hobby. The best thing we can do is invite you to listen. My perception is that ERA-1 is very comfortable, detailed and surprisingly WARM & MUSCULAR in the bass region, which I happily report, but didn’t anticipate.

NAD C328 Integrated Amp $550 (50×2)

The Absolute Sound reviews hi-fi gear every month, the majority of which costs more than my car. For them to absolutely RAVE about something a mere mortal can afford- is SHOCKING!

And yet, they’ve done precisely that. The bottom line is, C328 is SO GOOD and SO CHEAP,

that you would do very well to buy it- and then throw the lion’s share of your investment into the speakers.

For example, look at any of the Klipsch Heritage models. They’re all 99dB SPL on up! C328 will drive any and all of them nicely! Suppose you have about $4k to spend. Please consider C328 with the Forte III ($3600pr) speakers! Run your existing disc player (use the DAC in C328) and link your phone to Bluetooth. Or, maybe run C328 with Heresy III ($2000pr) and for under $3k, you’re in biz!

Felix Mendelssohn

FM was a great composer and pianist. In 1831 he played Beethoven’s music for a close friend of LVB. An Austrian official was in the room and asked, “Won’t you play something of my father’s?” FM asked just who that might be. “Why, Mozart!” And so FM did- the rest of the evening.

 

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 DAC
Inputs include MM phono, two sets analog RCA inputs, two OPT inputs, two Coax inputs.
Ouputs include XLR out (YES!!), analog RCA out, and sub RCA out.

It’s also A STREAMER!
That’s right. C658 basically has a Bluesound Node 2i on board! A new, edge of the art DAC
even has MQA decoding (YES!!) built in. You should run the streamer wired, though Wi-Fi may work if your signal is powerful. Nah, run the wire!

It has Dirac Room Correction Built in.

It also has space for up to two NAD MDC modules, in case you want to add something like- HDMI
input for the sound of a cable/satellite box, Apple TV or Roku. C658 doesn’t do video switching or processing.

The most common scenario will be to run C658 into a great power amp like the NAD C268.
Or better yet, why not run TWO NAD C268s BRIDGED?! You read correctly. C658 supports BALANCED and single ended outputs. Oh boy! This is getting to be wayyy fun!

You can, of course, run C658 into whatever power amp you currently have. And, or, you can run C658 into powered speakers, at XLR or RCA mode! Are you joking me?!

GoldenEar Triton 1.R $6000 Per Pair

We informed you of the arrival of the Triton 1.R in December when it landed. It has made a particularly auspicious impact for such a NEW speaker that isn’t a BUDGET speaker.
Please don’t let 1.R pass your attention as “just another new product.” This speaker is an uncommonly high end performer! As an “affordable high end” speaker, it punches way above its weight.
It will compete with the BEST OF THE BEST in terms of sparkling detail/definition. With its Ref Level Ribbon tweeter, 1.R takes a back seat to NOBODY.
Typical subwoofers come in cube-ish enclosures. They have a driver or two and a plate amp of 300w. Due to the enclosure and sub driver shapes and dimensions, they’re booming machines! Not only do they sound muddy, with all the gol dang vibration going on, like a paint shaker, they literally self destruct the on board amps. We have sadly learned, that most sub amps only last five to seven years because they’re being battered to death.
T 1.R has three oval shaped 5×9 subs, driven by a 1600w DSP amp. They are linked to opposing firing Quadratic radiators which tune the bass and minimize the out of control vibration that
kills the on board amplifier. The opposing radiators cancel the proclivity to act like a paint shaker.
By using a 1600w amp, the subs are under control, instead of flapping in the breeze as the speakers shake, rattle & roll. When the sub amp is 300w or so, you’re stressing it when you hit it hard. With 1600w, you’re unlikely to challenge the amps in the T 1.Rs.
Hence the 1.R not only sounds better, it portends much superior reliability. You’re not over driving the amps, which definitely takes a toll on them. You have more controlled sound from the oval drivers vs the round drivers. You have less cabinet ringing with the opposing radiators- which propels
energy into the sound, instead of losing it into uncontrolled resonance.
Triton 1.R is absolutely taking off!

 

GoldenEar SuperCenter Reference $1500 (5 3/4h, 35w, 11d)

This new Ref Center has just landed. With improved drivers, cabinet & crossover, SuperCenter Reference is the ideal center for T-Ref or T1.R.
The improved ribbon tweeter gives SuperCenter Reference the same precision detail of
the T-Ref and Triton 1.R. While it has been designed to mate these GE speakers, don’t rule out
the SuperCenter Ref with any number of great towers! For example, if you have Maggies/Logans or any speakers with exceptional detail, this boy at under six inches tall is a likely mate that will up your game in dialog and all things center in performance.
You’ll note it is only 5.75 tall and will fit in many applications where other high end centers will not. Remember, it has GoldenEar’s new, higher performance ribbon tweeter for improved definition.

Isotek Syncro Uni $800

Isotek has made its Syncro for many years. The new Syncro Uni is the same electronic network packaged in a rock solid box. Its task is to eliminate sine wave distortion which yields a distinctly cleaner, quieter sound. You connect an AC Cable in and out of Syncro Uni.
We suggest running a pair of Isotek Premiers, which run $150 each.
The Syncro Uni Premier, provides a bit of a price break as it sells for $1000 with two Premier cables!
You can add Syncro to any mains conditioner to improve its sound. What Syncro does for your sound is tighten up the bass and improve clarity. You’ll note the black spaces in between transient attacks of a guitar or piano more clearly. Since 2012, the improvements in POWER products in our industry has been incredible and fascinating. Little did we know just a handful of years ago, how much improvement our systems could glean by wonderful products like Isotek makes!

Best Selling Billboard Single of All Time?

“Candle In The Wind” by Elton John. Released 9-22-1997. It debuted at #1 and stayed there
fourteen weeks!
Originally released in 1974 as a tribute to Marilyn Monroe, the lyrics were modified to honor
Princess Diana for the 1997 version.