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Past, Present, Future—How Monitor Audio and PSB Speakers Are Celebrating 50 Years

Details: Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider; Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column; Created: 01 August 2022 01 August 2022

I can’t help but wonder what was going on in 1972 that prompted so many entrepreneurs to launch hi-fi companies that year. The two companies featured in this article—Monitor Audio and PSB Speakers—were founded in 1972. Many others were, too, and likewise have stood the test of time: The famous American brand Mark Levinson was established in 1972, as was Taiwanese speaker maker Usher. Germany’s Canton, another speaker maker, also started operating that year. NAD Electronics was born in London, England, in 1972. Then there’s Polk Audio, one of the most successful and influential speaker manufacturers of all time—Matthew Polk, George Klopfer, and Sandy Gross established that iconic brand in 1972 in Baltimore, Maryland. The legendary Japanese firm Accuphase Laboratory also began 50 years ago, and I’m sure there are many more.

Roksan Attessa Turntable

Details: Written by Philip Beaudette Philip Beaudette; Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews; Created: 01 August 2022 01 August 2022

The more I hear them, the more intrigued I’ve become by the growing selection of all-in-one turntable packages available. They are supplied with a preinstalled cartridge and tonearm. Some even feature a built-in phono preamplifier and require nothing more than a pair of cables (that are typically included) to hook up to your system and start spinning vinyl. They come in a range of prices, so whether you’re on a tight budget or able to invest significantly, there’s almost certainly a product for you.

Movie Night, Music Night with the Focal On Wall 302 Loudspeaker

Details: Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider; Category: System One System One; Created: 01 August 2022 01 August 2022

When I started this column about three-and-a-half years ago, I envisioned it would be for products priced in the hundreds, not thousands, of dollars. But occasionally I’ve felt the need to stretch the budget, like the time I wrote about the Sonus Faber Lumina III loudspeaker and Rotel RA-1572MKII integrated amplifier-DAC, which are priced at $2100 per pair and $2099.99 respectively (all prices in USD). Granted, they’re not cheap, but they’re good value for money and I felt that thrifty audiophiles should know about them.

"SoundStage! Real Hi-Fi" on the Mission 770 Loudspeaker

Details: Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors; Category: YouTube YouTube; Created: 15 July 2022 15 July 2022

The original Mission 770 loudspeaker debuted in 1978. According to the company, “it quickly became Mission's best-selling speaker, and gravitated naturally into MK2 and MK3 alterations with improvements to sensitivity and power handling.” Mission reintroduced the 770 in 2021, retaining the original aesthetic and design ideas while incorporating the latest materials, speaker technologies, and manufacturing know-how.

DS Audio DS 003 Cartridge and Phono Preamplifier System

Details: Written by Jason Thorpe Jason Thorpe; Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews; Created: 15 July 2022 15 July 2022

Reviewers' Choice It’s rare to find anything under the sun that’s truly new in the world of analog LP playback. Since the advent of the LP—and even going back to the first 78—the sun has risen and set on the same technologies. A turntable has one main job, namely, spinning the disc at a specific and constant speed. The tonearm needs to hold a cartridge and move in a precise manner with as little friction as possible. The phono stage? For nearly 70 years now, its job has been to amplify the punky little signal put out by the cartridge, and then invert the RIAA equalization.

"SoundStage! Travelers" Debuts with "European Hi-Fi Tour Behind the Scenes"

Details: Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors; Category: YouTube YouTube; Created: 09 June 2022 09 June 2022

For about eight years now, the SoundStage! video team has been traveling around the world creating videos for the SoundStage! Network’s YouTube channel. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of that traveling for two years, of course. As restrictions have gradually lifted around the world, the team has been back on the road and in the skies—and with renewed enthusiasm and new ideas for content to shoot.

The Best of High End 2022

Details: Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider; Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column; Created: 01 July 2022 01 July 2022

After two years when hi-fi shows have been few and far between, 2022 saw them return in force. First, the Florida Audio Expo in Tampa, Florida, in February; then Canada’s Montreal Audiofest in March; in April, AXPONA in Chicago; and then, the focus of this article, High End in Munich, Germany, in May. No one from our team attended AXPONA, but I was at Florida Audio Expo with fellow-writer Jason Davis and then at Montreal Audiofest on my own, with the express purpose of providing coverage of those events for our SoundStage! Global site.

Cyrus Audio CDi-XR CD Player

Details: Written by Roger Kanno Roger Kanno; Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews; Created: 01 July 2022 01 July 2022

Cyrus is back. Well, maybe they never really went away, but it’s been a while since they had much of a presence in the North American market. It’s been almost four decades since the introduction of the Cyrus One integrated amplifier from this electronics brand offshoot of Mission loudspeakers. The two companies haven’t been affiliated for years, and Mission is now part of the International Audio Group (IAG), which has purchased a number of different brands, including Luxman, Wharfedale, Audiolab, and Quad among several others.

Recommended Reference Component: Gryphon Audio Designs Apex Stereo Amplifier

Details: Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors; Category: Components Components; Created: 01 July 2022 01 July 2022

Recommended Reference Component “Fortune favors the bold” is a well-known proverb that could certainly apply to Gryphon Audio Designs, a super-successful Danish hi-fi company known for making bold statements with its products. The industrial design of Gryphon components often makes them look menacing but beautiful; they’re big, well-built, great-sounding, and expensive. The latest example of the company’s bold approach is the Apex Stereo amplifier, which Jeff Fritz reviewed for SoundStage! Ultra in May.

miniDSP SHD Power Integrated Amplifier-DAC

Details: Written by Roger Kanno Roger Kanno; Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews; Created: 15 June 2022 15 June 2022

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.

Reviewers' Choice Since 2009, miniDSP has developed a plethora of audio products relating to its namesake technology. The company’s current offerings include the UMIK line of measurement microphones, digital room correction systems, active crossovers, and many other DSP platforms for audio applications. Hong Kong–based miniDSP’s products are relatively inexpensive and are known for their excellent value. The subject of this review, the SHD Power, is the company’s most expensive product at $1549 (all prices in USD), but it is the least-expensive streaming integrated amplifier-DAC I know of that incorporates Dirac Live room correction.