Paradigm Reference Signature Sub 25 Subwoofer and Perfect Bass Kit Software (PBK-1)

Ross Jones

Not so long ago, the word subwoofer meant one thing: a squat, black cube-shaped box sitting in the corner of your listening room. These days, subwoofers are made to fit in walls, ceilings, floors, even tucked under a couch. There are cylinder-shaped subs, wireless subs, and itsy-bitsy subs sure to please the wife. But there will always be a place in the hi-fi world for the mega-sub, the Beast, the Mother-of-All-Subwoofers.

Subwoofers

Next Generation Home Products Remote Extender

Chris Eberle

I love products that solve irritating problems simply and inexpensively.  The Next Generation Home Products Remote Extender is one such product.  With a five-minute installation you can eliminate the need to point your remote control at your gear.  You can also control components in closets or even in other rooms.  The best part is any remote that accepts AA or AAA batteries can be converted in seconds.

Video Accessories Misc

Marantz SA-7S1 SACD Player

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Marantz has been a renown audio company for a better part of the 20th century. Although it changed hands several times over the years, the quality never wavered from being superb. The average consumer these days may think of mass market receivers when the name Marantz is mentioned, but they also build some of the best high performance products in the consumer arena. The SA-7S1 is Marantz' top-of-the-line SACD player. It is fully balanced throughout - thus having XLR outputs along with the standard RCA unbalanced outputs - and has some of the lowest distortion bench test results I have ever measured. It sounds as smooth as satin whether playing SACDs or standard "old fashioned" CDs, and is built to make sturdy equipment racks creak when you place it on the shelf. Last, but not least, it is beautiful to look at whether it is playing or not.

SACD Players

Sherwood RD-7503 7.1 A/V Receiver and BT-R7 Bluetooth Adapter

Robert Kozel

The Sherwood RD-7503 A/V Receiver is one of the newest offerings from Sherwood aimed at controlling all the latest devices in your home theater. The RD-7503 A/V receiver provides 7 channels of amplification at 100 watts per channel, 3 HDMI 1.3 inputs with repeater, on-board decoding of DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD high resolution audio formats, automatic room setup and support for a second zone. The RD-7503 also provides optional support for their DS-10 iPod dock, SIRIUS Satellite, and Bluetooth support which I will discuss later in the review.

Receivers

A Collection of New Vinyl Releases – July, 2009

Jason Crawford

I came to the Iron and Wine game late.  I bought 2007's "The Shepherd's Dog," amongst the disapproving howls of his audience who seemed to think he'd abandoned his sound.  You'd have thought he'd started rapping or something.  "Around the Well" is a collection of B-sides and rarities that span the length of his career, and I can kind of see his fans' point in retrospect.

Vinyl Music ReviewsVinyl Reviews

CalMAN Video Display Analysis System

Chris Eberle

If you want to get the most accurate picture from your television or projector you need to calibrate it.  The question then becomes – do you hire a professional or do it yourself?  It is now quite feasible to do your own calibration with tools that don't cost much more than a pro calibrator's fee.  The product that is squarely at the forefront of this market is CalMAN from SpectraCal.  CalMAN is a package that can be used by anyone interested in display calibration from the hobbyist to the professional.

 

Video Calibration

conrad-johnson Classic Vacuum Tube Preamplifier with Phono Stage

Ed Becker

conrad-johnson (lower case c and j) was formed in the mid-seventies, shortly after I became seriously interested in audio gear. I'm sure the two events were entirely unrelated. Their first product, a preamplifier, was immediately recognized as "state of the art," and so their storied history began. I encourage you to visit their website for more details. There, they provide a long list of products that have been reviewed as "Best of Class", and even "Best in the World."

Preamplifiers

The British Choral Group Stile Antico Talks About its U.S. Debut

Jason Victor Serinus

On June 12, 2009, the English early music choral ensemble Stile Antico made its much-anticipated U.S. debut at the Boston Early Music Festival. The entire concert debut was recorded by NPR, and can be heard online.

After Stile Antico won the 2005 Early Music Network International Young Artists' Competition, the young ensemble's debut disc for Harmonia Mundi, Music for Compline, won the Diapason d'Or, Choc du Monde de la Musique, and a Grammy Award nomination. Their second disc, Heavenly Harmonies, received the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik and another Diapason d'Or. Attention from NPR, and a tour with Sting in Europe and the Far East in support of his Dowland lute song project, Songs from the Labyrinth, elevated them into company rare for an early music ensemble, and helped project their most recent CD, Song of Songs, into the Top 15 of the Billboard Classical Chart.

In anticipation of Stile Antico's U.S. debut, I spoke by phone with one of the group's founding members, towering bass Olly Hunt. Chief among my queries was the genesis of the group's marvelously fresh, oft-sensual sound.

Musician and Vocalist Artist Interviews

conrad-johnson Classic Vacuum Tube Preamplifier with Phono Stage

Ed Becker

conrad-johnson (lower case c and j) was formed in the mid-seventies, shortly after I became seriously interested in audio gear. I'm sure the two events were entirely unrelated. Their first product, a preamplifier, was immediately recognized as "state of the art," and so their storied history began. I encourage you to visit their website for more details. There, they provide a long list of products that have been reviewed as "Best of Class", and even "Best in the World."

Phono PreamplifiersPreamplifiers