Setting Up Speakers and Subwoofers Using Anthem's STR Preamplifier with ARC Genesis

Details: Written by Diego Estan; Created: 01 December 2019

In a July 2019 feature for SoundStage! Access, “Integrating a Single Subwoofer into a Two-Channel System for Beginners,” I discussed the basics of that subject, and in August expanded on it in “Integrating a Single Subwoofer into a Two-Channel System . . . for Those Unafraid to Take Measurements, Fiddle with Filters, and Apply EQ.” In that second piece I mentioned Anthem’s STR Integrated Amplifier and Preamplifier, both of which include Anthem Room Correction Genesis, and are turn-key solutions for bass management and room correction.

Monitor Audio Gold 100 Loudspeakers

Details: Written by Diego Estan; Created: 01 December 2019

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

The United Kingdom has a long, rich history of birthing and nurturing makers of exceptional loudspeakers: Bowers & Wilkins, Harbeth, KEF, Monitor Audio, Spendor, Tannoy, Wharfedale -- and those are only the ones I can think of off the top of my head. That Monitor Audio, founded in 1972, is one of the newer kids on that block is further testament to the UK’s longtime stature as a fertile breeding ground for hi-fi, as well as to the staying power of Monitor and the other remarkable manufacturers on this list.

James Brown: "Live at Home with His Bad Self"

Details: Written by Joseph Taylor; Created: 01 December 2019

Republic B0030192-02
Format: CD

Musical Performance

Sound Quality

Overall Enjoyment

On October 1, 1969, James Brown performed with his band at the Bell Auditorium, in Augusta, Georgia, the city in which he spent much of his childhood. Brown’s time in the state’s second largest city was troubled, to say the least, but by 1969 he was a huge international star, and the city claimed him proudly. He was going to record his show there for release that December, but his plans changed, and instead he released Ain’t It Funky, a compilation of mostly instrumental tracks recorded between 1966 and 1969.

Triad Bronze Home-Theater Speaker System

Details: Written by Vince Hanada; Created: 15 November 2019

If you’re like me, you probably don’t know much about the Triad brand, but as it turns out Triad has been manufacturing speakers in their factory in Portland, Oregon, for 30 years now. Triad specializes in the custom installation of complete audio systems in homes and commercial spaces, and an interesting aspect of their product line is that they make multiple versions of each speaker: in-ceiling, in-wall, on-wall, and freestanding, to suit your room layout. At the 2014 CEDIA Expo, it was Triad that Dolby Labs partnered with to debut the Dolby Atmos home-theater system. Since then, Triad has designed and installed more than 600 Dolby Atmos home theaters.

Wilco: "Ode to Joy"

Details: Written by Joseph Taylor; Created: 15 November 2019

dBpm DBPM-010-20-LP (LP), DBPM-010-20-CD (CD)
Formats: LP and CD

Musical Performance

Sound Quality

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I was three songs into my second playing of Ode to Joy, Wilco’s 11th album, when I realized that drummer Glenn Kotche wasn’t using cymbals anywhere. He plays drums and other percussion, but no ride or crash cymbal, no hi-hat to fill in time or sound. That doesn’t keep him from providing a rhythmic foundation for these songs, even as he helps them flow and adds texture -- much as jazz drummer Paul Motian did on many of his recordings.

Getting to Know Me -- and the Music I Use to Review Speakers and Subwoofers

Details: Written by Diego Estan; Created: 01 November 2019

Lately I’ve been busy churning out reviews for SoundStage! Access and SoundStage! Hi-Fi, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the process. While listening to, evaluating, and comparing audio gear comes naturally -- I’ve been involved in the hobby for 25 years -- I’m relatively new to reviewing that gear, and in the past year I’ve learned a lot about how to write reviews. As a career public servant working in the sciences and regulatory sectors, I’ve done my fair share of technical writing, and that’s helped me in writing the technical sections of my reviews -- but I continue to sharpen my skills in describing, in the Listening sections, what I hear.

DALI Opticon 8 Loudspeakers

Details: Written by Diego Estan; Created: 01 November 2019

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

Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries (DALI) grew out of Scandinavia’s leading audio retail chain, HiFi Klubben, in 1983 -- both companies were founded by Peter Lyngdorf. DALI now claims more than a million owners of their products worldwide, in 70 different countries.

Brittany Howard: "Jaime"

Details: Written by Joseph Taylor; Created: 01 November 2019

ATO AT00505
Format: CD

Musical Performance

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Singer and guitarist Brittany Howard is best known as the lead singer of the Alabama Shakes, and for her side project and alter ego Thunderbitch. Although the Shakes are steeped in Southern soul, their second album pulled in other influences, including funk and 1960s psychedelia. Thunderbitch is searing garage rock. But Jaime, Howard’s first solo outing under her own name, is harder to classify. While rooted in the well-established genres of funk and neo-soul, it has an exhilarating immediacy.

NAD D 3045 Integrated Amplifier-DAC

Details: Written by Hans Wetzel; Created: 15 October 2019

Note: Measurements can be found through this link.

Reviewers' Choice New Acoustic Dimension (NAD) was founded in London, England, in 1972. Since 1999, the electronics manufacturer has been owned by the Lenbrook Group, the Canadian parent company to sister brands Bluesound and PSB Speakers. NAD’s reputation for making no-nonsense, high-value gear began in 1978 with the 3020, a legendary integrated amplifier that combined genuine hi-fi sound quality with supreme affordability ($135 USD in 1978). In 2012, to celebrate NAD’s 40th anniversary, the 3020 was reimagined as the D 3020, a diminutive, class-D integrated amplifier-DAC. In August 2018, Sathyan Sundaram raved about that model’s successor, the D 3020 V2 ($399), which was then named one of our Products of the Year. The D 3020 V2’s combination of a power rating of 30Wpc into 8 ohms, a moving-magnet phono input, and a variety of analog and digital inputs and outputs, make it a flexible, albeit not universally comprehensive, one-box integrated-DAC. It’s not perfect -- 30Wpc is enough for smaller rooms, but not for larger spaces and/or inefficient speakers. The D 3020 V2 also lacks some useful connections, and has some uncommon connectors; e.g., stereo miniplugs for its subwoofer and preamp outputs.

Enrico Rava and Joe Lovano: "Roma"

Details: Written by Joseph Taylor; Created: 15 October 2019

ECM 2654
Format: CD

Musical Performance

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Overall Enjoyment

Although saxophonist Joe Lovano has appeared on a number of ECM recordings since the early 1980s, Trio Tapestry, from earlier this year, was his first release as leader for the label. On his own recordings, Lovano is probably best known as a post-bop player with a solid, unerring sense of swing. Trio Tapestry was a move in a slightly different direction -- Lovano’s 11 compositions were atmospheric and contemplative without descending into background music. He was aided greatly by his accompanists, pianist Marilyn Crispell and drummer Carmen Castaldi.