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Reviews

Primare A30.7 Seven-Channel Class D Power Amplifier

Jim Clements

This new seven-channel Class D power amplifier comes to us from the Swedish high fidelity brand, Primare. The engineers at Primare designed this amplifier from the ground up with some fresh ideas on how to optimize this burgeoning amplifier topology. Will this compact multi-channel amp be able to muster the chutzpah to power your home theater? Will it be able to deliver this power with the grace that is missing from so many other Class D amps?

Power Amplifiers

Cary Audio Design CD-500 CD Player

Jim Milton

Every so often I get to review a product that sets itself apart from the "other guy" stuff. You know, the mass produced stuff that we often see in the brick-and-mortar stores. The special products are ones that are intelligently designed and built to exacting standards. It's sort of like comparing a Mercedes to a Chevy. Nothing wrong with a Chevy, but just slamming the door on the Mercedes can make you go, "Whoa! Now that's quality"! In this review, we cover the Cary Audio Design CD-500 CD Player.

CD Players

Axiom M3 v3 Bookshelf Speakers

Greg Z

Bookshelf speakers – a loved and hated niche in the audio industry. A step up from cubes or soundbars for certain. But to the purist they are a "unacceptable" compromise vs. floor standers for primary listening. Be that as it may - they still provide massive sales volumes in the industry and often benefit greatly from technology trickledown from a manufacturer's reference level systems. Since most of our music is produced on "bookshelf" sized monitors – why shouldn't bookshelf speakers receive just a little more respect? Well, here are two that deserve respect: Axiom M3 v3 (version 3 of the M3).

Bookshelf Speakers

Marantz NA7004 Network Music Streamer

Robert Kozel

Almost every manufacturer these days is including some type of network support in their products. From receivers that connect to home music servers and disc players that stream music and video from the internet, we have lots of options for enjoying content with our home entertainment systems. While Marantz has been including network support in their products for a while, they have not offered a stand-alone network streamer until now: The NA7004 streams music from your computer, the Internet, and even USB thumb drives.

Media Streamer

Sunfire SDS-10 Subwoofer

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Sunfire didn't build the first small subwoofer, but they did begin the trend towards small, powerful subwoofers, characterized by having drivers with long excursion and high power class D amplifiers. The SDS-10 is the 10" model in a line that also has 8" and 12" versions. It uses a front-firing driver with a 10" down-firing passive radiator. The amplifier is rated at 250 watts RMS. For $500 MSRP, I was pretty amazed at its performance. It won't crack the plaster, but it will party hard.

Subwoofers

Second-Generation Apple TV Media Streamer

Chris Eberle

Ever since Louis Daguerre took the first photograph and Thomas Edison lowered the needle on the first phonograph, media has been a part of our lives. The reproduction of still and moving images and sound is an art form that we are unlikely to see the zenith of in our lifetimes. Since the early part of the twentieth century, sound and video reproduction usually came in the form of magnetic tape, film or vinyl records. Now with the proliferation of digital storage methods, evolution has accelerated. The Apple TV second generation media streamer tosses the hard drive storage from first generation model. What does it add? Read our review to see for yourself . . . .

Media Streamer

Paradigm MilleniaOne Satellite Speakers (Set of Five)

Secrets

Paradigm has made a name for itself around the globe for delivering speakers that are consistently strong in accuracy, gigantic soundstage, very precise imaging, deep, powerful bass (which usually significantly increase the cost of other speaker manufacturers offerings) all while keeping the cost below the competition. They do all engineering in house, all speaker component manufacturing in house, all assembly in house and all testing in house. #1 Best Price/Value for 20 years in Inside Track Magazine and #1 Overall 6 times. The MilleniaOne is a satellite speaker that can be used in all five (or seven) channels, along with a subwoofer. Only the MilleniaOne satellite speakers (set of five) are reviewed here.

Surround Sound Speaker Systems

Pass Labs XA-100.5 Pure Class A Monoblock Power Amplifier

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Most amplifier manufacturers produce power amplifiers that are biased as Class AB, meaning that they run a few watts in Class A and the rest in AB. This is usually a push-pull configuration, and the AB moniker refers to a slight overlap in the + portion of the waveform that is delivered by one section of the amplifier with the - portion handled by the other amplifier section.

Power Amplifiers

Emotiva XPA-3 Three-Channel Power Amplifier

Ross Jones

The term "separates" was once reserved for the upper crust of the home theater world. Only those with the most discerning ears (and fattest wallets) considered purchasing a separate preamp/processor and multi-channel power amplifier. That time has long gone, thanks in part to the rise of Internet-direct firms such as Emotiva. They manufacture monoblocks (single-channel amplifiers) and multi-channel amplifiers, up to the XPA-5 which has five channels. The current review explores their three-channel amplifier, called the XPA-3.

Power Amplifiers

MartinLogan Ethos Hybrid Electrostatic Speakers

Jim Clements

MartinLogan has recently expanded its line to include the Ethos, which is a hybrid electrostatic speaker, meaning that it has not only an electrostatic panel, but a cone woofer. Using woofers to handle the bass is necessary in smaller electrostatic speakers because the surface area of the panel is not large enough to move much air at the lowest frequencies. In the case of the Ethos, the woofer has a built-in amplifier to drive it.

Floor Standing Speakers

Bryston BP-1.5 Phono Preamplifier

John E. Johnson, Jr.

With vinyl experiencing such an incredible comeback over the past few years, so have phono preamplifiers, a.k.a., phono stages. They are required because the output of a phono cartridge is so low - on the order of 0.3 mV to 5 mV - that the inputs of preamplifiers that don't have phono stages can't amplify the signal enough for the power amplifier down stream.

Phono PreamplifiersPreamplifiers

Velodyne DD-18+ Subwoofer

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Just when you think a product can't get any better, it gets better. Velodyne, renown manufacturer of subwoofers from the very small to the very large, has released its latest very large sub, the DD-18+. It has a 1,250 watt RMS power amplifier (3,000 watts peak) and a frequency response of 14.4 Hz -120 Hz ± 3 dB. The magnet, at 40 pounds, weighs as much as some small subwoofers themselves. The subwoofer uses a Windows software interface, via USB, for setting the room EQ, and the bench test results are the best I have ever seen from Velodyne.

Subwoofers

Toshiba BDX3000 Blu-ray 3D Player

Chris Eberle and Stephen Hornbrook

By now you've heard lots about 3D TVs. Every manufacturer has at least one 3D-capable model and even the projector companies are offering new products that include this technology. The display is not the only component required to view 3D however. You will also need, at a minimum, a new Blu-ray player. The format itself has not changed but a 3D model is required to view Blu-ray 3D discs. No matter what the brand, every 3D flat panel has a companion player. In the case of the Toshiba WX800 Cinema Series LED panel, recently reviewed at Secrets, that player is the BDX3000.

Blu-ray Players

Rotel RSX-1550 7.1 A/V Receiver

Piero Gabucci

Almost 50 years at Rotel has culminated in the 15 Series relatively new and was highly anticipated from 2009. The RSX-1550 arrived at my home in mid-2010. Admittedly, I'm a little behind on my review of the Rotel receiver and although this is an apology to the good people at Rotel for their patience, it speaks volumes about the product I've had it in my system for many, many months.

Receivers

Phase Technology CineMicro One 5.1 Speaker System

Richard Stevens

I have no problem admitting that I like a certain type of manufacturer. I've always had admiration for companies that specialize in one area. I'm not saying that manufacturers who throw their hats into multiple rings don't make solid products, many of them do. If I'm being honest though, if my favorite brewery started manufacturing headphones I'd probably take a step back to evaluate the situation. There's no question that Phase Technology is a speaker company, one with deep roots at that; dating back to 1955. It's safe to say that they know a thing or two about high-fidelity. While not necessarily a household name, odds are you've probably come across their speakers in demo rooms, trade shows or publications. The CineMicro One is the company's attempt to pack their audio expertise into a compact, easy to use 5.1 home theater system. Knowing the company well and being a "big speaker guy" myself, I was interested in hearing how these little guys stacked up.

Surround Sound Speaker Systems