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Reviews of Attainable Hi-Fi & Home-Theater Equipment

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Details: Written by: Hans Wetzel; Created: 01 January 2018

Note: Measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.

Bowers & Wilkins has had an action-packed two years. In May 2016, the storied English loudspeaker maker was bought by EVA Automation, then a 40-person startup run by a former Facebook executive, the stated goal of the acquisition being to marry EVA’s expertise in automation with B&W’s prowess in audio engineering. B&W also launched the 800 D3 loudspeaker, the top model in the company’s flagship 800 Series Diamond line. More recently, B&W announced its new 700 Series of speaker models, the successor to its outgoing CM Series. Does the new line continue the magic of past Bowers & Wilkins models, or does it strike off in a bold new direction for one of the high end’s biggest players?

Details: Written by: Hans Wetzel; Created: 15 December 2017

Note: Measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.

Reviewers' Choice A couple years ago, a buddy of mine shot me an e-mail telling me that he was hoping to buy some speakers for his dad, whose speakers from college had finally bitten the dust. He needed three pairs of bookshelf speakers, and wanted to spend a total of somewhere between $300 and $500 USD -- “Nothing fancy, as he probably couldn’t tell the difference between new ones and the ones he currently has.”

Details: Written by: Sathyan Sundaram; Created: 01 December 2017

The United Kingdom’s history of making sound-reproduction equipment is long, and Wharfedale has been there from almost the beginning. Wharfedale Wireless Works was founded by Gilbert Briggs in 1932, when wireless meant AM radio, and by the 1950s the company was firmly established as an important maker of loudspeakers. Today Wharfedale is owned by the International Audio Group (IAG), whose other brands include Audiolab, Castle, Ekco, Luxman, Mission, and Quad.

Details: Written by: Al Griffin; Created: 15 November 2017

Reviewers' Choice I’ve never been fussy about audio cables. When I moved into my present house more than a decade ago, I bought an enormous spool of Monster Cable S14-2RCL, a 14-gauge, two-conductor speaker cable specified for in-wall use. What was important for me was that I could safely run it under floors and through walls to reach other rooms while minimizing the cables’ visual impact. Sound quality? It’s always seemed to me that the main factors responsible for determining a system’s sound are the speakers, amps, and source components.

Details: Written by: Jeff Stockton; Created: 01 November 2017

Pro-Ject Audio Systems, an industry leader in turntable manufacture and design based in Vienna and with manufacturing facilities in the Czech Republic, offers a wide range of electronics, including phono stages. The Tube Box DS2 ($699 USD) is in the upper half of the company’s range of phono stages -- it’s a member of the DS2 line, which is just below the top, RS line, with a few features not included in the standard DS models or, below that, the S models.

Details: Written by: Al Griffin; Created: 15 October 2017

Reviewers' Choice From the 1970s into the 1990s, a stereo receiver -- an AM/FM tuner, preamplifier, and stereo power amplifier in a single enclosure -- was the first component most newcomers to hi-fi would buy. Some receivers -- models from Marantz, Pioneer, and Sansui come to mind -- are still sought by collectors, who eagerly refurbish and use them. I’m a proud owner of a circa-1972 Marantz. And though it’s been years since I’ve listened with it, I remain in awe of that receiver’s tank-like build quality, stylish gyro-touch tuning dial, and cool-blue meters.

Details: Written by: Hans Wetzel; Created: 01 October 2017

Reviewers' Choice Wires are not long for this world -- no one wants to be tethered if they don’t have to be. Soon enough, our cell phones and tablets will rely on wireless charging, wireless earbuds will be commonplace, and perhaps even our hi-fi systems will be freed from the shackles of unsightly cords.

Details: Written by: Roger Kanno; Created: 15 September 2017

Reviewers' Choice In recent years, Definitive Technology has produced many lifestyle products: sound bars, wireless speakers, headphones, and their Mythos line of elegant but still very-high-performance speakers in gorgeous enclosures of curved aluminum. In the 1990s, however, DefTech’s very first speakers were bipolar designs, and they continue to develop that technology. Their latest products are from their new BP9000 series of bipolar models, many of which include built-in powered subwoofers.

Details: Written by: Hans Wetzel; Created: 01 September 2017

Founded in Menlo Park, California, in 2004, Oppo Digital built its early reputation on its high-performance DVD players. It wasn’t until 2014, however, that Oppo began branching out into personal audio, with products like the PM1 headphones and the ultra-portable HA-2 DAC-headphone amplifier. I reviewed the HA-2 (since replaced by the HA-2SE), as well as Oppo’s PM-2 over-ear headphones (discontinued). Each product earned a Reviewers’ Choice award, and I bought the HA-2 review sample, which I’ve since replaced with an HA-2SE.

Details: Written by: Roger Kanno; Created: 15 August 2017

Reviewers' Choice It’s been about four years since Oppo introduced their last top-model universal Blu-ray player, the BDP-105, later replaced by the BDP-105D -- essentially the same player with DarbeeVision video processing. That’s a long time for an optical-disc player to remain in production, but it wasn’t until fairly recently that things settled down in the world of Ultra High Definition (UHD) video, and now Oppo has released a new top model, the UDP-205 4K Ultra HD universal BD player. As in their previous lines of BD players, the 90 and 100 models, the UDP-205 is a step up from its own line’s entry-level model, the UDP-203, with several enhancements, most notable being a much more advanced audio output section.