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Reviews of Attainable Hi-Fi & Home-Theater Equipment

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Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 July 2023

Rekkord Audio is the new brand name for turntables produced by an old name, Alfred Fehrenbacher GmbH, maker of the Pro-Ject Automat A1. Headquartered in Germany’s Black Forest region, Fehrenbacher formerly controlled the Dual brand name but relinquished it after a court battle with the owners of the revitalized Dual organization.

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

There are few things in the world I enjoy more than a good bit of pedantry, and frankly I couldn’t care less whether I’m the source or the target. To wit: when Denon originally offered to loan me a review sample of its new flagship AVR-A1H 15.4-channel 8K-capable A/V receiver ($6499; all prices USD), I initially demurred. I’ve set a soft budget cap for integrated amps and speakers I review on Access, and the A1H blows the hell out of anything resembling that cap. But SoundStage! founder Doug Schneider quickly chimed in, and although I can’t recall his exact words, they were something to the effect of “The formula for Access isn’t ‘attainable (hi-fi + home theater)’; it’s ‘(attainable hi-fi) + home theater.’” Rawr. Talk nerdy to me.

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 June 2023

Reviewers' Choice Back in 1975, I was involved in a project to build the sound system for a private disco club in New York City. We had a nearly unlimited budget, so we put in redundant power amps and big, efficient speakers, which were fed by a state-of-the-art mixing console. Naturally, the system included two Technics SL-1200 turntables. The SL-1200 was the premier disco/music-club turntable at the time. It offered great sound quality and effective pitch control, which allowed DJs to match keys or tempos, and it was practically indestructible. But it also had a following among audio aficionados. Technics’ 1200-series ’tables were so successful, in fact, that they stayed in production through various iterations from 1972 to 2010, with nearly four million units sold.

Read more: Technics SL-1210GR Turntable

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

Do you care what your subwoofer looks like? That’s not a trick question, and there’s no wrong answer; it’s merely something you have to consider when purchasing a new bass-maker. If you’re completely unconcerned with aesthetics, there are all manner of high-performance-but-unfortunate-looking black boxes that will put a rumbly in your tumbly. And if aesthetics come first, you have your pick of compact, cute-as-a-button micro-subs that do a great job of extending the bass response of your bookshelf speakers an octave or so while practically disappearing in the room, or even sitting behind your speakers unobtrusively.

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 May 2023

The number of turntables on the market has increased massively since 2010, and the number of phono preamplifiers there are to choose from has grown along with it. You need a phono preamp if your amplifier or receiver doesn’t have its own integral phono stage. Among the scores of outboard phono stages available today, you’re unlikely to find one like the Music Hall PA2.2, which is priced at $449.99 (all prices in USD). That’s because of its secret ingredient: an analog-to-digital converter (ADC).

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

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

I love it when I can look at a product’s designation and tell what it is and what it does without having to dig much deeper. Denon is really great about this with its A/V receivers, breaking the family into the S Series, X Series, and A Series, and keeping the incremental numbering consistent from year to year, so I can come pretty close to guessing a unit’s price and features just by ogling a string of letters and numbers such as “AVR-X3800H.” That sort of consistency isn’t unheard of in the two-channel world, of course, but we definitely need more of it. And based on the new MaiA DS3 ($1599, all prices USD), I’m guessing Pro-Ject Audio Systems agrees.

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 April 2023

It’s been nearly 30 years since automatic turntables were widely available. In the intervening years, I can remember only a few that were in general distribution. But it seems that automatic turntables have suddenly risen from the dead, just like vinyl. Why? Because they’re perfect for the casual vinyl listener who wants a no-fuss record player. Recently, I had the pleasure of reviewing four automatic turntables: the Andover SpinDeck Max; the Dual CS 429 and its less expensive companion, the CS 329; and the Thorens TD 102 A.

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

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

If you want a stereo system capable of delivering truly deep, penetrating bass near the bottom end of the audible spectrum, you generally have two options: get yourself a pair of beefy tower speakers—ideally hybrid ones with powered bass sections—or opt for a 2.1-channel system with a subwoofer or two. But what if neither of those options works for you? What if your room requires something a bit more compact, and you either hate the look of subwoofers or you just don’t have the floorspace? That’s where something like Atlantic Technology’s AT-3 ($3298 per pair from authorized dealers or $3629 per pair via the company’s website, all prices USD) promises to be your best friend.

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 March 2023

Reviewers' Choice This is my third review of a U-Turn Audio Orbit turntable. The first was in 2014, when I reviewed one of their early offerings, the budget-priced Orbit Plus. I reviewed the second in 2021, when I had the chance to audition their then-newest product, the mid-priced Orbit Special, which included a built-in phono preamplifier. I thought both were quite good, and they were both fine values at their respective prices.

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

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

Reviewers' Choice I wanted to start this review with a joke. Something to the effect of “What’s the exact opposite of a mullet?” And in case you’re not familiar with that particularly atrocious hairstyle and the humor surrounding it, the response would have been some ham-fisted attempt to describe NAD’s new C 3050 LE Stereophonic Amplifier (also referred to as a “HybridDigital DAC Amplifier”) as a party up front and all business in the back. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t make it work. But take a look at this thing, and you start to get a sense of why I was drawn to this unsuccessful dad joke.