The Latest Features
Paradigm Defiance X12 Subwoofer
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- Written by Roger Kanno Roger Kanno
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 May 2019 15 May 2019
Paradigm’s newest line of powered subwoofers, Defiance, comprises six models. The Defiance V subline ranges from $399 to $649 USD, while the Defiance X subseries ranges from $999 to $1499. All but the lowest-priced model, the V8 ($399), include advanced features such as Anthem Room Correction (ARC), a built-in wireless Bluetooth module for Paradigm’s Subwoofer Control app, and an optional wireless connection module ($199). The Defiance subs offer the value-conscious audiophile a wide range of options to extend the bass response of an audio system.
Seven Shades of AC/DC's "Back in Black" -- Finding the Best Version to Test Your System With
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: System One System One
- Created: 01 May 2019 01 May 2019
Every so often, I post to my Facebook page my opinions on audio- and music-related subjects, to see what others think. For example, on March 27, 2019, I uploaded an image of the cover of AC/DC’s album Back in Black (1980) and wrote: “Is it only me who thinks that this is one of the best-recorded rock albums of all time?”
GoldenEar Technology Triton One.R Loudspeakers
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 May 2019 01 May 2019
Note: Measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.
The bigger, the better, right? The old adage doesn’t always hold, but so far, it’s been true of my own experiences of reviewing loudspeakers from GoldenEar Technology: the Aon 3 bookshelf ($998.98 USD per pair), the Triton One floorstander ($4999.98/pair), and their flagship, the Triton Reference ($8999.98/pair), each bigger and costlier than the one before. And as the speakers increased in size and price, their sound quality and build quality, too, have improved.
Big Surprise -- Fluance RT83 Turntable
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: System One System One
- Created: 01 May 2019 01 May 2019
In last month’s column, I expressed the disappointment I felt when I first unpacked Paradigm’s Premier 100B loudspeakers. For speakers costing $798 USD/pair, I thought the 100B looked a bit too much like its little brother, Paradigm’s Monitor SE Atom, which costs only $298/pair. Thankfully, the 100B’s sound didn’t disappoint.
Recommended Reference Component: Meze Audio Empyrean Headphones
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- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 01 May 2019 01 May 2019
Brent Butterworth began his review of the Meze Audio Empyrean headphones, published April 1, 2019, on SoundStage! Solo, with this declaration: “The Empyreans represent the gutsiest move the headphone biz has seen in a long time. At $2999 USD, they’re almost ten times the price of Meze Audio’s next-priciest over-ear headphones, the 99 Classics ($309). They use a new driver technology I’ve never seen before. And they’re designed and manufactured in the medieval country town of Baia Mare, Romania, which isn’t exactly a tech nexus.”
Dutch & Dutch 8c Active Loudspeakers
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- Written by Diego Estan Diego Estan
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 April 2019 15 April 2019
Note: Measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.
When Doug Schneider asked me to review the 8c active loudspeaker from Dutch & Dutch, my first reaction was: “Dutch and what?”
I looked up the 8c on Dutch & Dutch’s website, and the description was intriguing: a speaker with built-in preamp and power amp, subwoofer, DAC, digital volume control, IP control, and advanced digital signal processing, all in a package that fits on a pair of minimonitor stands and costs $13,000 USD per pair. The 8c’s home page states: “Accurate. Adaptive. All-in-one.”
My response to Doug was enthusiastic: “Yes, please -- I’d love to review this product.”
The Best of Montréal Audio Fest 2019
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column
- Created: 01 April 2019 01 April 2019
Early in the morning of Monday, March 25, I typed this into my personal Facebook feed: “[Montréal Audio Fest] gets a 10 out of 10 this year. Big congratulations to Michel Plante and Sarah Tremblay for bringing this event back to life. The enthusiasm and crowd sizes on all days were the best [they’ve] been in 10 years. See our coverage at www.SoundStageGlobal.com.”
TEAC Reference NR-7CD Network CD Player and Integrated Amplifier-DAC
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- Written by Hans Wetzel Hans Wetzel
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 April 2019 01 April 2019
The Tokyo Electro Acoustic Company (TEAC), one of the older hi-fi brands around, was founded in 1953 by brothers Katsuma and Tomoma Tani. The company’s subbrands include TASCAM, which manufactures professional audio gear; Esoteric, which makes ultra-high-end products; and TEAC Consumer Electronics, or TEAC for short. In 2013, guitar maker Gibson acquired a majority stake in TEAC, which has over 1000 employees. While TEAC has been well regarded by audiophiles for its analog and digital sources since the 1970s and 1980s, the company's recent offerings, such as its Reference series, have focused on small, integrated electronics.
Disappointment and Surprise -- Paradigm's Premier 100B Loudspeakers
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: System One System One
- Created: 01 April 2019 01 April 2019
When I first unboxed Paradigm’s Premier 100B loudspeakers, I was a little disappointed. I still had Paradigm’s Monitor Atom SEs, which I’d written about in the very first edition of this column, in September 2018. Although the Premier 100B’s front baffle looks markedly different from the Atom’s, their sizes, weights, and textured-black finishes seemed pretty much the same. The 100B measures 11.125”H x 6.625”W x 9.125”D and weighs 12.9 pounds, while the Atom is 12.75”H × 7.125”W × 11”D and weighs 12 pounds. Both speakers also come in gloss-white finishes, but only the 100B comes in vinyl veneer, in a faux-wood finish they call Espresso Grain. The build quality also seemed comparable -- not a criticism of the 100B ($798 USD/pair), because it’s very good, but very high praise for the Atom, given its low price of $298/pair. But while each speaker has a 1” aluminum-dome tweeter and a 5.5” midrange-woofer, both in similar positions on their baffles, those drivers aren’t identical -- as I learned from Oleg Bogdanov, Paradigm’s director of engineering. Nonetheless, in many ways these speakers look very similar.
Baselworld and How It Relates to Hi-Fi Shows
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- Written by Ken Kessler Ken Kessler
- Category: SoundStage! UK SoundStage! UK
- Created: 01 April 2019 01 April 2019
Sometimes, I wish I had studied marketing, if only to understand precisely how influencers create or affect trends. No, make that “to understand how trends even start.” Of course, we now live in the era of instant communication, and all matters time-related have been compressed as far as the spread of news, opinions, or, indeed, trends are concerned.
