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Q Acoustics 3020i Loudspeakers
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- Written by Roger Kanno Roger Kanno
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 June 2019 15 June 2019
Note: Measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.
A year ago in Munich, when I visited the exhibit room of UK speaker maker Q Acoustics at High End 2018, I knew little about them. However, former SoundStage! Simplifi writer Al Griffin was familiar with their reputation for making high-value, budget-friendly speakers, and wanted to see what they had to offer. They were displaying their Concept 500 floorstander ($5999.99 USD per pair), but what really caught our attention was their new 3000i series, which begins at $249.99/pair for the smallest minimonitor, and ends with a $799.99/pair floorstander that looks a lot like the Concept 500. That speaker was the floorstanding 3050i, which sounded extremely promising, with a captivating, smooth, and coherent sound throughout the audioband. I was so impressed that, when offered a chance to review the 3020i minimonitor ($299.99/pair), I jumped.
The Best of High End 2019
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column
- Created: 01 June 2019 01 June 2019
High End 2019, held May 9-12 at the Munich Order Center (MOC), in Germany, was busier for me than previous High Ends. The show has grown -- a few days after it closed, the event’s organizer, the High End Society, released statistics that indicated that HE2019 had topped their previous biggest show, HE2018, with 551 exhibitors (up 3.8%), 8208 trade visitors (up 8.6%), and a grand total of 21,180 attendees (up 6.5%). The sheer size of High End has always made exhaustive coverage of it a challenge, and this year the challenge was even greater.
Focal Kanta No1 Loudspeakers
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 June 2019 01 June 2019
Note: Measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.
Through no fault of the speaker or its manufacturer -- last year, shortly after Focal announced the launch of the Kanta No1, they sent me samples -- I wasn’t able to review it as soon as I’d hoped to. Other things got in the way. Better later than never, you might say, but really, it’s too bad -- when at last I got to seriously listen to the Kanta No1s, I wished I could have gotten out the word on them long before this.
Two Hi-Fi Accessories Actually Worth Buying
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- Written by Ken Kessler Ken Kessler
- Category: SoundStage! UK SoundStage! UK
- Created: 01 June 2019 01 June 2019
As far as I can tell, unless it’s something so grand or outrageous that missing it would be a faux pas too far, accessories usually get short shrift in show reports. Given the space allocations, especially in print coverage, a new speaker, amp, or turntable will always trump a new gadget. I do exclude from my contempt for add-ons such items as quality record-cleaning machines, stylus pressure gauges, tube testers, and other items with a valid purpose. But hi-fi accessories in the main tend to be as useful as electric carving knives.
Recommended Reference Component: GoldenEar Technology Triton Reference Loudspeakers
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- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 01 June 2019 01 June 2019
In Doug Schneider’s May 2019 review of the GoldenEar Technology Triton One.R loudspeaker ($5999.98/pair, all prices USD), he repeatedly referred to its bigger, more expensive sibling, the Triton Reference ($8499.98/pair at time of review, now $8999.98/pair), which he’d reviewed in November 2017. GoldenEar’s flagship Reference model is the source of most of their latest technology that has trickled down into the One.R.
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: Monthly Column Monthly Column
- 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.”
