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Reviews

SVS STS-01 Floor-standing Speakers, PB10-NSD Subwoofer, and AS-EQ1 Subwoofer Equalizer

John E. Johnson, Jr.

With SVS' release of the STS speaker series, they have made a concise statement that they are definitely in the speaker trade as well as subwoofers. The STS follows on the MTS series, and according to their website, a high-end speaker series is slated for late 2009. In the current article, we review a pair of STS-01 floor-standing speakers along with a pair of PB10-NSD 10" subwoofers and their new AS-EQ1 equalizer that is made specifically for subwoofers. The listening tests as well as bench tests show that SVS is a company to be reckoned with. Their products continue to perform at a very high standard, and yet, they are priced so that anyone can afford them.

Surround Sound Speaker Systems

Cambridge Audio 840 Series CD Player, Stereo Preamplifier, and Stereo Power Amplifier

Larry Hryshko

My wife, who I affectionately refer to as "the music Anti-Christ" often calls me "He without Brains" when it comes to purchasing audio gear. Our latest interchange of pleasantries began when I announced that I needed a new CD player in the $1500 to $2000 range.  She found one at Costco for considerably less than a hundred bucks and thought I would be very pleased.  "You just don't get it" I said, to which she replied "Neither will you".  I think she meant it in so many ways.

CD Players

Benchmark ADC1 USB Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC)

Rick Schmidt

The pro-audio company Benchmark has a firm foothold in the audiophile world with their digital to analog converter/headphone amp the DAC1 and DAC1 USB. These have been universally well reviewed, including here at Secrets, and I've been able to listen to them myself, and I concur with the positive reports.

DACs

Spendor A5 Floor-standing Speakers

Brian Florian

Ah...British Hi-Fi. Say no more and an entire wing of audiophiles suddenly get giddy. When I was offered a pair of speakers for review from Spendor, renowned speaker manufacturer since 1969, I simply had to take advantage and hear for myself the state of British Hi-Fi today.

Floor Standing Speakers

Flagship Home Theater – Part 1: Anthem LTX-500 LCoS Projector and SI Black Diamond II Screen

Chris Eberle

Flagship Home Theater.  The very words evoke the highest quality in audio and video reproduction.  Anthem, a well-established maker of high end audio products has just released their first display, the THX-certified LTX-500 LCoS Projector.  Like their audio gear, Anthem is marketing this unit as a reference quality piece.  In their own words, "A full HD 1920x1080 ‘Reference' point of view… brings the scale and excitement of the Cinema experience home."  Have they achieved their goal?  Boy did I ever have fun finding out! In this review, which we call Flagship Home Theater - Part 1, I take a look at Anthem's top of the line projector, and also an SI Black Diamond II projection screen.

Projectors

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

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."

Phono PreamplifiersPreamplifiers

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

Pass Labs XA30.5 Stereo Power Amplifier

Chris Groppi

What do a 30 watt stereo solid-state amplifier and a 500 watt solid-state monoblock have in common? A lot, it turns out. The seemingly diminutive Pass Labs XA30.5 weighs 75 pounds, has an enormous toroidal power transformer, and uses 20 output transistors to deliver 30 watts of pure class A power. It turns out these specs are similar, or in some cases, better than my recently reviewed Emotiva XPA-1 monoblocks. The XA30.5 proves that rated power is by no means everything. In fact, if you have speakers of even moderately high sensitivity, the XA30.5 renders any discussion of power output irrelevant. When paired with the right speakers, this may be one of the best amplifiers there is, regardless of price.

Power Amplifiers

Velodyne SC-600 IF/IC In-Floor / In-Ceiling Subwoofer

Jared Rachwalski

For those of you new to the home theater game Velodyne has been making subwoofers for longer than some directors have been making movies. They make big ones, small ones, loud ones, and even louder ones. They were also one of the first to recognize the importance of room correction in the subwoofer domain and have many products that feature equalization and digital sound processing. The subwoofer featured here is part of the SubContractor line of subwoofers.

Subwoofers

NAD C565BEE CD Player

Jim Milton

I well remember the day I got my first NAD product back in the 70's. I have long since forgotten the model number, but it was a stereo receiver. I remember listening to it and thinking how great it sounded compare to the old Marantz it was replacing. I knew back then that moving up to the NAD meant that I was no longer just listening to tunes. I had moved up into the realm of being a lover of music, an audiophile.

CD Players