What are the boys are writing about this month? The Dec issue is often fun because it has their Product of the Year (POY) winners. Let’s see what’s up.
Speaker Measurements
JA says that to measure a speaker accurately without an anechoic chamber is impossible. He has tried to do so outdoors with no wind or traffic to try to get an honest read on the speaker. But it’s difficult.
If you’ve read the yellow tab BRYSTON SPEAKERS at the bottom of our home page, you might remember, Bryston does have its own anechoic chamber. Further, they say you cannot get accurate bass measurements below about 80Hz in it because of the boundaries of the room.
Bryston has a solution for this. They built a 100 foot tall tower. Yep, every Bryston speaker model goes up the tower for complete testing in its design stage. They do it on days that aren’t windy and there’s no traffic nearby. The tower gives Bryston a tool nobody else has. It also helps explain why Bryston speakers have particularly DEEP AND TEXTURED bass response. They are not one note boomers.
Amplifiers
Their amplifier choice for POY is the Audio Note Meishu integrated amp for $16k. It produces 20 w/ch with distortion of 10 percent. Yes, that’s right- TEN PERCENT! This… is their POY choice… I get a headache just thinking about the fuzz you have to listen through- like watching a TV in the 70s with 10% snow in the picture.
They like D’agostino for $80k and Karan for $106k. I’m sure they’re good. Sheeze!
They like the Benchmark for $3500- a 100×2 power amp. Stereophile tested it- and it clipped at 108 and dropped a channel. It incorporates class H design which has a second rail to kick in when needed. BM says damping is high at 350 at 20Hz. That’s not really high. The unit is ASSEMBLED in the US. I’m sure it sounds “fine”- but this is a lotta boasting for a 14 pound amp with an SMPS power supply, ASSEMBLED in the US.
They like the Ayre VX-8 power amp, $6800, 100×2. On tests the VX-8 barely hit the 100w rating. It uses an EI transformer and runs high bias- so it’s very hot. In this day and age, there is no need for a very hotttt amplifier. The warranty is 5 years.
I would recommend a Bryston 3B Cubed, $6000, 200×2. It far exceeds power specs, runs a pair of toroidal transformers, Salomie input circuit to prevent overloading and has a 20 freaken year warranty- made in Canada- not ASSEMBLED there.
Turntables
POY is the SME for $72k. And just who… reading this $14 a year subscription mag is gonna buy that?
They have TW for $19k, VPI for $36k and AMG for $12,300. After reading a few pages of this, $12,300 sounds cheap. But if you work for a living, consider the MoFi UltraDeck, $3500 with fabulous moving coil cartridge!
Speakers
This is my favorite category. No two speakers sound the same, regardless of price. Mating mechanics and electronics to create great music is just this side of wizardry.
POY is the Wilson Alexia V5 for $67k. Good heavens. What’s wrong with these guys?! Your POY is nothing more than a pipe dream. Surely you considered hundreds of speakers and decided, YEP, this is the one to encourage people to buy.
They also like Klipsch LaScalas which ARE great fun- as dynamic as you can get. For this mag, they’re a steal at $13,200pr. They also like the Chinese built rattle trap Kef LS60s for $7k. We just had a customer junk his for some Cornwalls.
Budget Product
They like the Klipsch 600M2 ($750pr) speakers and NAD C3050 ($1400, 100×2) integrated amp. Both are excellent performers at cheap pricing. Good call boys.
Overall Product
Yup, get ready. Their overall POY is the $46,500 dcs Vivaldi DAC. Outta all the hi-fi gear you might think you should upgrade to, they think this is the way to go. Holy cow.
Reviews
Well, let’s see what they’ve chosen to spend copious time reviewing for your consideration.
Let’s start with the Accuphase A300 power amp for a mere $52k, 125×2 class A. They devoted six pages to this beast and tell you that what you really need is a PAIR for monoblock operation. Sure boys, no problem.
Another 6p goes to the Estelon Auras. For your $20k you get (are you seated?), a Scanspeak soft dome tweet, and a pair of 5” Scanspeak mids and a 10” Faital (Parts Express $260) paper cone woof. Oh boy.
Another 5p for the Chinese built Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800.2 integrated amp, $11k, rated 330×2. I point out RATED at 330×2 because it clipped at 290. I’m not saying 290 isn’t a lotta power. But it was short 12% of rated power. That oughta be worth a 12% discount- right?! Oh, and it weighs 90 pounds. I haven’t heard NuVistor tubes in years. Last time I did, in a CJ preamp, they sounded great- if you could ignore the hiss they brought to the party.
Another 6p on the DeVore O/baby speakers, $5700 per pair. Not crazy pricing, let’s see what we get for just under $6k. It starts with a Vifa .75” soft dome tweeter. Hmm. Can’t cost more than $30. The bass/mid is a 7” Seas paper cone woof. Efficiency spec’d at 3dB less than the 90dB rating- which means it takes twice as much power to drive than you would infer from the manufacturer’s claim. Really boys? The reviewer says these are more transparent than their O96s, which run $12k per pair. Is that good?
Why not consider the Bryston A2 speakers for $3990 per pair? They’re made completely in house (not just ASSEMBLED) in Canada with a 20 freaken year warranty. They have contiguous Aluminum or Titanium drivers- nothing bonded to something else- go down to about 30Hz and will absolutely move the foundation of your living room!