The Latest Features
We Are 25 Years Old – And Some Other Things You Might Not Know About the SoundStage! Network
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column
- Created: 01 December 2020 01 December 2020
November was going to be a really big month for us — it marked the 25th anniversary of the SoundStage! Network. But with all the COVID-19 lockdowns around the world, resulting in people being cooped up in their homes, businesses shutting down, travel being restricted, and events being canceled, we decided to postpone all the plans we had made for celebrations until next year. However, I still think it’s worth marking the milestone here this month by highlighting a few interesting things about our founding that many people — including most of our writers, since I’m the only person who’s been here from the beginning — don’t know.
Musical Fidelity M8xi Integrated Amplifier-DAC
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- Written by Roger Kanno Roger Kanno
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 December 2020 01 December 2020
A couple years ago, Musical Fidelity was bought by Audio Tuning Vertriebs GmbH of Austria, which is owned by Heinz Lichtenegger, a cordial and respected industry veteran who founded and is CEO of Pro-Ject Audio Systems. At the time, a news release stated, “The future vision for Musical Fidelity is to grow with new products and push into new markets, while still retaining the sound quality, reliability and striking industrial design that helped make the brand such an influential part in the annals of hi-fi history.”
Munich's High End Returns . . . Maybe
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- Written by Ken Kessler Ken Kessler
- Category: SoundStage! UK SoundStage! UK
- Created: 01 December 2020 01 December 2020
As I write this, in late November, my diary is empty for the foreseeable future. Lockdown in the UK has been reintroduced to a draconian level, e.g., restaurants are closed except for take-out, the only open retail operations are pharmacies and supermarkets, etc. Thus, less-essential matters such as hi-fi retail, let alone shows or press events, are non-starters. Indeed, I haven’t attended anything hi-fi-related since the Tonbridge Audiojumble in February.
Recommended Reference Component: KEF LS50 Meta Loudspeakers
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- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 01 December 2020 01 December 2020
In 2012, UK loudspeaker manufacturer KEF released the LS50 loudspeaker, which Doug Schneider reviewed for this site in April 2013. The LS50 received a Reviewers’ Choice award at the time of the review, was further recognized as a Recommended Reference Component in August 2013, and was one of 2013’s Products of the Year. In October 2020, KEF released the LS50’s successor, the LS50 Meta. Doug reviewed it last month, and it too received a Reviewers’ Choice award. The LS50 Meta is priced the same as the original LS50 was in 2012 ($1499.99 per pair, all prices USD), and, according to Doug’s review, deserves similar praise.
KEF LS50 Meta Loudspeakers
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 November 2020 15 November 2020
Note: measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.
KEF’s new LS50 Meta loudspeaker was released in October and sells for $1499.99/pair -- the same price the LS50, which it replaces, sold for in 2012. (All prices USD.) I was in Munich that May, at High End 2012, when the LS50 was announced; I reviewed the speaker in April 2013, and I’ve owned a pair ever since.
The Purifi Puzzle, Part Two: The Measured Performance of the SPK5 Loudspeaker
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column
- Created: 01 November 2020 01 November 2020
So far, I’ve written four articles about Denmark’s Purifi Audio and their products. The first, “Audio Video Show 2019: Coffee with Peter Lyngdorf,” was published in November 2019 on SoundStage! Global, while I was attending the annual show in Warsaw, Poland. That conversation with hi-fi entrepreneur Lyngdorf was when I first got intrigued about his new venture, Purifi Audio, and the company’s products.
Vimberg Amea Loudspeakers
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- Written by Diego Estan Diego Estan
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 November 2020 01 November 2020
Note: Measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.
Vimberg, founded in 2018, is a brand of Tidal Audio GmbH, a German company founded two decades ago. Vimberg was created to offer loudspeakers that share the Tidal DNA, but not the Tidal models’ very high prices. The Vimberg website explains their relationship with Tidal: their speakers are made by “the same people with the same engineering skills, the same ‘we care’ attitude and all is being designed and built under the same roof.”
Listening More . . . and Enjoying It More
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- Written by Ken Kessler Ken Kessler
- Category: SoundStage! UK SoundStage! UK
- Created: 01 November 2020 01 November 2020
At first, I thought that reports of a slight upswing in hi-fi sales might be wishful thinking. If there was any discernible upward blip, it could only be attributed to people rediscovering their sound systems, due entirely to being stuck at home. Along with all manner of neglected pursuits, all those hobbies savaged by iPads and Kindles and Xboxes and PlayStations, interest in hi-fi has increased along with board games, jigsaw puzzles, model aircraft and car building, Lego, home-baking, and the like.
Recommended Reference Component: Beyerdynamic T5 (3rd Generation) Headphones
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- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 01 November 2020 01 November 2020
On October 1, for SoundStage! Solo, Brent Butterworth reviewed Beyerdynamic’s T5 headphones. He wanted to review this model, a closed-back design now in its third generation, for several reasons, one of which was: “So much attention in the audiophile headphone biz is devoted to relatively young companies, such as Audeze, Dan Clark Audio, and HiFiMan, that we tend to overlook the three German brands -- AKG, Beyerdynamic, and Sennheiser -- that were making good headphones before the founders of the aforenamed upstarts were even born.” He admitted that he’d “still never spent enough quality time with some of the high-end models from that classic Teutonic trio.” Even Brent had some catching up to do.
Raven Audio Avian Nighthawk MK3 Integrated Amplifier
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- Written by Oliver Amnuayphol Oliver Amnuayphol
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 October 2020 15 October 2020
Raven Audio has been in business for some time, but had completely escaped my awareness until early 2019, when the SoundStage! editors hipped me to them. The Texas-based manufacturer (they have an office in Shreveport, Louisiana) sells all its products direct to the consumer with a one-year trade-up policy, a three-year warranty, and 45 days of free in-home trial. As a former engineer for a consumer-direct loudspeaker company, I’m familiar with both the value proposition and the challenges inherent in this business model.
