If you buy into Malcolm Gladwell’s interpretation of the “10,000-Hour Rule,” popularized in his book Outliers, I’m a long way from being an expert at audio production. A very long way. SoundStage! Solo editor Brent Butterworth and I have recorded 22 episodes of the SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast to date, and I’ve mixed and mastered about half of them. Each episode takes me anywhere between 16 and 20 hours to produce and edit, which means I’m creeping up on somewhere around 200 hours of experience in the field of audio production. And 200 divided by 10,000 is math.
Read more: What Audio Production Has Taught Me About Audio Reproduction
Since my early days of audio madness, I’ve relied on Dual turntables, most of them automatic. Automatics are turntables that independently lift the arm and set it down on the lead-in groove, pick the arm up at the end of the side, return it to its rest position, and shut off the motor when done. So I was pleased to see that Dual had added a new automatic model to its lineup, the CS 329 ($499.99, all prices USD), a little brother to the more sophisticated CS 429 ($799.99) I reviewed back in October.
Read more: Dual CS 329 Turntable with Audio-Technica AT91 Cartridge
There are two things worth noting about the packaging of Atlantic Technology’s AT-3 loudspeaker right up front. Thing the first: I’m pretty sure the only things left after the upcoming nuclear apocalypse will be cockroaches and unopened AT-3 speakers. I’m seriously considering turning the crates into a makeshift storm shelter if this autumn’s tornado season gets too squirrely for comfort.
I was recently chatting with an industry colleague who’s reviewing an updated version of a wireless headphone model I reviewed several years back (for another publication). Without knowing the tonal quirks of this new version, I told him the old one had a reasonably flexible built-in EQ, and I’d be happy to share my custom profiles for that version to see how well they worked for the new release.
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.
In a recent editorial about the appeal of vintage audio, I said, and I quote, “Build me a $1500 stereo receiver or integrated amp that looks anything like [the $9500 Technics SU-R1000 stereo integrated amplifier], and I think I could turn a lot more uninitiated music lovers into high-performance audio enthusiasts.” Needless to say, at $2699.99 (all prices USD), the Technics Grand Class SU-G700M2 integrated amplifier isn’t precisely that amp. Still, this new offering promises to be a much more value-oriented alternative to the company’s big-boy flagship, at a price that places it reasonably within the spectrum of attainability for many people, even if they’re not hardcore.
Read more: Technics Grand Class SU-G700M2 Integrated Amplifier-DAC
Parlophone / Apple Records / Universal Music Group PCS 7009, 0602445599691
Format: LP
Musical Performance
Sound Quality
Overall Enjoyment
The new reissue of The Beatles’ 1966 album Revolver follows the pattern of recent re-releases of the band’s recordings: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (2017); The Beatles, aka The White Album (2018); Abbey Road (2019); and Let It Be (2021). Those reissues came in various download and physical media formats, and in packages that would satisfy everyone from the casual fan to Beatles obsessives.
There have been times in my career when I was certain someone oopsed and shipped me an empty box. Granted, almost all of those times were when I was covering gaming headsets or lightweight gaming mice or custom IEMs or things of the like—never an honest-to-gosh hi-fi stereo amp. Until, that is, the new SVS Prime Wireless Pro SoundBase arrived at my door.
In 1991, at a time when most people thought vinyl was dead, Heinz Lichtenegger introduced the first Pro-Ject Audio Systems turntable. He knew there were probably millions of people who still owned billions of records and that many of them would want to hold on to their collections. So he set out to build a turntable that offered great sound at a budget price. That turntable was the Pro-Ject 1.
Read more: Pro-Ject Audio Systems E1 Phono Turntable with Ortofon OM 5E Cartridge
If you’re shopping for new gear—especially as a relatively new audio enthusiast—one of the most important decisions you can make is which songs to use as test material when auditioning an amp or preamp or—most importantly—a pair of speakers. And the choice of which material is most illustrative isn’t always super intuitive.
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.
As I’ve said more than once here lately: with well-established brands, once you get to a certain level of product you can very nearly take performance for granted these days. At least in the two-channel domain. It really just comes down to whether or not the product in question fits your specific needs.