What I have learned after six decades in audio (call it my journalistic legacy)
What I have learned after six decades in audio (call it my journalistic legacy)
Read more →Powered 3-Way Dipole Loudspeaker The Final Mod: Orion 3.3.1SN
It takes a special jolt these days to interrupt my geriatric hibernation and prompt me to post something new on this website. Audible improvements of the Linkwitz Lab “Orion” loudspeaker are among the...
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Powered 3-Way Dipole Loudspeaker System Linkwitz Lab “Orion 3.2.1”
Equalized electrodynamic dipoles are still relatively virgin territory, and there are always new insights, generally small, which he could shrug off, but his conscience won’t let him. He remains the o...
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Blu-ray Disc Player & DLP High-Definition TV OPPO BDP-83 & Mitsubishi WD-73835
High-definition video has become an inevitable sequel and companion to high-quality audio. It is impossible to be heavily involved with the latter without being at least somewhat involved with the for...
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Benchmark DAC1 HDR
DAC1 HDR stereo preamplifier with remote control, digital-to-analog converter, headphone amplifier, and computer audio interface, $1895.00. Tested sample on loan from manufacturer.
Read more →A Unique and Unexpected Audio Experience
I am an unregenerate and unrepentant Wagnerian, so I try to keep abreast of all new Wagner releases on CD.
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Sony XDR-F1HD
This is a $100 (that’s no typo) tuner that blows away the classic “super tuners” of McIntosh, Marantz, Sequerra, Accuphase, etc., according to FM experts who know more than I do.
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Linkwitz Lab “Orion++”
“Orion++” loudspeaker system, $10,350 and up for two complete channels (custom-built, complete with two electronic crossovers, all necessary cables, two “Thor” subwoofers, and ATI AT6012 twelve-channe...
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Back Issues of The Audio Critic Are Now Available as Downloadable PDFs.
Back issues of the former print version of The Audio Critic aren’t like back issues of ordinary audio magazines. They aren’t yesterday’s news. Each issue addresses fundamental questions, concerns, and...
Read more →Obsession with Amplifiers
Letters to the Editor are not a feature of this website because in nearly all cases they are trivial and replying to them is a waste of time. The following exchange of messages is an exception.
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Spherex Xbox 5.1
Spherex Inc., 3641 McNicoll Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M1X 1G5, Canada. Voice: (416) 321-6211. Fax: (416) 321-1500. Web: www.spherexinc.com. Xbox 5.1 Surround Sound System, $180 to $210 (lowest Internet...
Read more →Electronic Signal Paths Do Not Have a Personality!
I keep forgetting that my newer readers outnumber the old-timers and that some of the basic truths about audio that are old hat to me and to the regulars are new and fresh to the recent arrivals. Here...
Read more →A New, and in Some Ways Preferable, A/B Comparison Technique
I have believed for decades now that the only scientifically valid technique of A/B-ing two audio components against each other was a double-blind ABX listening comparison at matched levels.
Read more →New CD/SACD Reviews
As always, I am reviewing only those CDs, new or fairly recent, that I found interesting. (Sometimes even a bad performance can be interesting.) Just because they sent me a review copy is insufficient...
Read more →A Note About Loudspeakers
I have written about this many times before but I keep forgetting that more of my readers are first-timers than longtime habitués. So, even if you know little or nothing else about audio, be aware of...
Read more →A Fraud That Anyone with Common Sense Can See Through
Longtime readers of The Audio Critic are fully aware that many of high-end audio’s articles of faith are bogus. Most of these fraudulent pronouncements about cables, tubes, vinyl, etc., require a litt...
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Behringer A500 “Reference Amplifier”
When I opened up the box the A500 came in and saw it for the first time, I said to myself, “This is either the most incredible bargain in the history of audio or a total fraud!”
Read more →Postscript to the Linkwitz Lab "Orion" Review
Postscript to the Linkwitz Lab "Orion" Review
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Center-Channel Speakers: What the Industry (Even the "White Hats") Often Refuses to Tell You
What’s wrong with two-channel stereo? The main problem: it’s a sweet-spot deal. Good spatial rendition requires that listeners sit on the centerline. Off-axis listeners get nearside bias—the stage and...
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Benchmark DAC1
Standalone digital-to-analog converters make sense only if they are significantly better than the DACs built into typical integrated players. This one is. It is made by professionals for professionals...
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Linkwitz Lab “Orion”
“Orion” loudspeaker system, $5300.00 the pair (custom-built, complete with electronic crossover and cables, but without the required power amplifier and not including S&H). Kit versions available in v...
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Powered 4-Way Digital Loudspeaker System Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 5
I have a dream. I dream of the Ultimate Loudspeaker. It can only exist in my dream because in the real world no manufacturer would have the overarching vision and multifaceted expertise to incorporate...
Read more →Download a Sample Article
Below are just two examples of what you'll see in The Audio Critic. Click on the thumbnail to view the full article as a PDF.
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