Hi-Fi Is Worth Doing Badly

Details: Written by Dennis Burger; Created: 01 February 2023

You wouldn’t think someone from my neck of the woods would have a favorite loblolly pine tree. The things are so ubiquitous, it’s almost like having a fondness for one specific blade of grass. But I do have a favorite: a particularly majestic old Pinus taeda that I reckon is at least 150 years old—perhaps much older. It’s oddly the only pine on my property. It’s also the only tree of mine I can see out my office window. And of all the trees that were here when I bought the house a quarter-century ago, it’s one of only two that remain.

And it’s dying.

Fluance RT83 Turntable with Ortofon 2M Red Cartridge

Details: Written by Thom Moon; Created: 01 February 2023

Reviewers' Choice My first experience with the Fluance brand was some years ago when I reviewed their then-top-of-the-line XL7F floorstanding loudspeaker (now discontinued), which I found to be an amazing value. While the firm still makes several speakers for home audio/video applications, they’ve become just as well known for a line of turntables that retail for eye-openingly low prices. In keeping with this trend, the RT83, the subject of this review, sits squarely in the middle of their offerings but sells for a reasonable $349.99 (all prices in USD).

"The Adventures of Baron Munchausen"

Details: Written by Dennis Burger; Created: 01 February 2023

The Criterion Collection 1166
Format: BD, UHD

Overall Enjoyment

Picture Quality

Sound Quality

Extra

Terry Gilliam’s beloved 1988 film concludes with the most curious of pronouncements: “This is a new motion picture. This motion picture is not to be confused with the UFA/Transit/Murnau 1942/43 motion picture bearing the title ‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.’” As if anyone could confuse this with any other film by any other filmmaker. It is a unique statement, a singular effort, and yet . . .

SVS Prime Wireless Pro SoundBase Streaming Integrated Amplifier

Details: Written by Dennis Burger; Created: 15 January 2023

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

It’s not my intention to go full-blown “get off my lawn” on you here. But when I was growing up, it wasn’t difficult to know what to call a component with volume control, source selection, and built-in amplification. Did it have an AM/FM tuner built in? It was a receiver. Did it not? It was an integrated amp. That’s hardly helpful with a product like the new SVS Prime Wireless Pro SoundBase ($699.99, all prices USD), though. It lacks a radio tuner, sure. But it has so many other features that “integrated amp” hardly cuts it. SVS calls it a “smart integrated amplifier,” and I reckon that works.

Unboxing the Project Audio Systems MaiA DS3 Integrated Amplifier-DAC

Details: Written by Dennis Burger; Created: 15 January 2023

As I’ve said a number of times, we all have our biases and blind spots, and the biggest for me is that the more I weigh the pros and cons of vinyl, the more I love my all-digital hi-fi system. As such, there are a number of revered audiophile brands I don’t get to interact with much.

What Audio Production Has Taught Me About Audio Reproduction

Details: Written by Dennis Burger; Created: 01 January 2023

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.

Dual CS 329 Turntable with Audio-Technica AT91 Cartridge

Details: Written by Thom Moon; Created: 01 January 2023

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.

Unboxing Atlantic Technology's AT-3 Loudspeakers

Details: Written by Dennis Burger; Created: 15 December 2022

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.

Why Do We Treat Audio and Video So Differently?

Details: Written by Dennis Burger; Created: 01 December 2022

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.

Technics Grand Class SU-G700M2 Integrated Amplifier-DAC

Details: Written by Dennis Burger; Created: 01 December 2022

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.

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