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HiFi & Stereo System News

According to this month’s issue of Stereophile magazine (May 2011), our Totem Dreamcatcher is a speaker which fully lives up to its name! Allowing those who dream of enjoying $2000.00 monitors, an equivalent musical experience without the cost!  (See review by Robert J. Reina).  Reading his review  will make you want to own a pair for yourself.  We have been thoroughly enjoying them since shaking hands with Vince Bruzzese (Totem’s Chief Engineer/CEO) at Totem’s state of the art factory in Montreal.  Totem, as their name may suggest, uses mostly native components from North America, but  adds the worlds very finest drivers, which are made in Europe. Not a single part in a Totem speaker is sourced from Asia. Vince is a firm believer in quality sourcing, and states unequivocally, that though his components cost him many times more, it is because of this, that he is able to maintain the highest standards in all aspects of production, quality control, fit and finish!  This extremely high level of quality production is evident in every single model. Yes, all the way down to the Dreamcatcher.  Most speakers built with this level of engineering cost three to four times as much from other manufacturers. In fact, most manufactures don’t build anything themselves, but only design & outsource!?!  Personally, I feel this is due more to “greed than necessity”.  And those who do some of their own manufacturing more often source everything under $2000.00 to China.

I highly suggest not only reading Robert’s review, but looking over what John Atkinson’s test bench report revels.  As this is a perfect example of a very common disparity in true state of the “art” products, like the Dreamcatcher, and those most common these days, which are designed and built by computers. Which brings up another little know fact – most speaker names today are just that -“names” with the designers who started the company long gone!  These companies were taken over by the suites, who use computers for their designs and “never” actually listen to their own products???  How on Earth can you claim you’re building a great “sounding” product, if “humans” never listen to the design prototype?  The good news is, Totem’s are designed by humans. They undergo multiple listening tests, and are hand tuned by ear not oscilloscope. Of course, they use computers for the preliminary designs, but the speakers are FAR FROM finished at that point. Vince will experiment with lots of different drivers, crossovers, and designs before he is satisfied that is the absolute BEST he can do for a particular model.  And what’s particularly entertaining about John Atkinson’s report, is that in the end, he too concedes the sound quality, albeit begrudgingly.

In my experience, it seems far too many “techie types” can’t get their heads around what truly makes an outstanding speaker, or audio component.  If they can’t “see it on paper” they can’t understand the artist’s vision, or accept the outcome. They seem to forget some of the most important things in the equation, such as the human ear.  Only the very finest speakers in the world are built in this way, and sadly, too often, the street prices for these stay well into the thousands of dollars.  This is where Totem is a true breath of fresh air, sculpting each work of art with the same dedicated love and devotion, making absolutely beautiful  speakers affordable for everyone!

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By now, everyone knows I’m rather fond of our new Golden Ear Triton II speakers.  And as we have been getting a lot of customer interest as well, I decided to test the reality of some of their assumed merits.  The biggest of which, is their rated efficiency of 91db.  The average speaker has an efficiency rating in the mid to high 80’s, so a rating of 91db suggests they “should be” easy to drive with lower powered amplifiers.  It’s interesting though, that in our particular industry (consumer electronics), the governing body that sets the rules for product claims, “the FCC” does a very poor job of placing any meaningful limits on what manufacturer’s can claim.  Watts per channel for instance is an excellent example.  Haven’t we all done the preverbal double take when seeing the little plastic stereo boom box at the local chain store, claiming “100 watts per channel” (w/p/c)….now do we actually believe that if we connect said amplifier to a pair of “real speakers” of ANY EFFECIENCY RATING, that the little microchip amplifier there-in, will drive them???  For most of us who have some grasp of basic electro-mechanics, lets’ hope not!  However, watts per channel has caused a surprising amount of confusion over the years, as many customers try to make decisions about what to buy and connect together. And far too often results- versus expectations are pretty far off.  This rather loose FCC standard is a major reason that our more respected amplifier manufacturers build in safeguards, preventing customers from over driving amplifiers when connecting to less efficient speakers.  So to get back to my story, I had a couple of customers audition the afore mentioned speakers.  One plans to drive them with our McIntosh amplifier which will definitely do the job, and with great ease and musical integrity. The other however has a more conservative budget and was mentioning that with the Triton’s high efficiency rating, he was considering a very modestly amplifier with a low power rating of about 40 w/p/c.  So knowing that rated speaker efficiency, rated amplifier power, and a few other variables does not guaranty that any given set of components are going to behave as expected, I decided to put said assumption to the test.  Now here’s where it gets interesting.   First, I grabbed a 40 w/p/c  amplifier, similar to that suggested by the  customer. Also, let me say that I use about 20 different standards to measure performance.  Two of the more appreciable standards are “size of sound stage” and “enjoyable frequency range” or (top to bottom fullness). With these two standards, I was simply amazed by what I heard.  The 40 w/p/c solid state was giving almost the same level of performance as our reference amplifier, to which these speakers had been connected. The reference amplifier is about 175 w/p/c. and costs about 10x as much.  Of course, the other harder to define characteristics were being done with somewhat less integrity, but for most people, it would be difficult to identify what those performance differences actually equate to, especially in monetary terms.   The second test, which involved an even lower powered (and priced) tube amplifier, netted yet different results.  Not only was the sound stage equally impressive but the tube sound actually made the overall system synergy seam like a more expensive rig, with a sweet liquid  midrange usually reserved for much more expensive systems. So obviously I have to conclude, that Golden Ear has been conservatively rated at 91db.  Thus, I must say, the Triton II has demonstrated to me a much more rare speaker attribute.  Obviously, Sandy and Co. knows a thing or two about speaker design, in that a high efficiency rating does not automatically equate to “easy to drive”. Other factors, such as a stable impedance plays a significant role when using lower powered, and priced amplification as well. To which Golden Ear is obviously in tune!   This almost tempted me to go get that boom box amplifier and hook em’ up…but perhaps that’s a bit silly, after all, these are serious speakers, which will absolutely pay you back with greater and greater sonic rewards, as you improve various source components such as those in our reference system. This allows them to give every ounce of musical nuance, detail, and range, that the ultimate source has to offer, and makes for a very fulfilling and  satisfying  musical experience!    

So in summary I must say, yes Virginia, there really is a low powered amplifier solution to a Golden Eared system. And it could get you amazingly good performance at a cost not much more than the speakers themselves.  Imagine, a $2500.00 pair of full range speakers, being 1/3 the physical part of a $3000.00 sound system.  For most people, this is absolutely Absurd!  

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The Montreal Salon Son & Image: Annual Hi-Fi Show

Every Spring, Montreal throws a party for both enthusiasts and those of us who are in the trades. So this past weekend, we have been indulging ourselves in essentially a giant toy store overflowing with tempting goodies from all reaches of the world. Some of the latest and without a doubt greatest gear created to date was on display for our aural pleasures. Exotic audio artwork from Ayon, MBL, Specimen Horns, Roksan, Luxman, T+A, Totem Acoustics and Oracle were some of our favorites. And this year, about 98% of the show was about AUDIO. In fact, we saw only one manufacturer showing video, which is just about right. As more customers today are interested in “sound quality” rather than the compromises which have permeated too much of the industry for the past ten years, with ever changing video technology and formats. Thankfully the “High-End” has reached the same consensus, and most of the more astute companies have dropped video processors altogether. By employing a high integrity integrated by-pass the high-end can stay with the “music first concept,” offering customers a much better audio experience. So be sure to stop by soon to check out even more of what’s new in cherry picked gear here at The Sweet Spot. Cheers!

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Golden Ears aren’t necessary to enjoy these unassuming, yet amazing budget speakers! The PSB Alpha B1, at $279.00 a pair, is one of Hi-Fi’s greatest speaker bargains. With the ink quite possibly not yet dry on the review I just wrote about our coveted Golden Ear Triton II’s, I must say something right now about our most popular speakers, as I stare at them on the cover of this month’s(April) issue of Stereoophile Magazine that Jason just handed me? How bizarre. This is Stereophile’s Special 500 Recommended Component Issue. And we are once again fortunate to be a dealer for such a great and universally respected line of speakers. Ironically, every single one, of the now eight speaker models, designed by Paul Barton, (of PSB) is currently reviewed by someone, somewhere, as an industry’s “best in class”. What’s even more daunting however is that in this current recommended component issue almost appears to be a catalogue for our store, with no less than half of our current production pairs of speakers, as recommended components in each of their classes! But it doesn’t stop there; Stereophile has gone on to name the bulk of our inventory of electronics as winners in their various classes as well. I mean, Jason and I did “cherry pick” this stuff out from the masses, as we have the pleasure of being able to do for our Hi-Fi shop, but really, this many recommended components sitting on our display room floor is overwhelming. I almost feel that someone has given me one of the bogus magazine’s that the tourist photo shops can make up, complete with bogus articles about how great you are…I mean really, what is going on here!?! …are the editor/reviewers of Stereophile spying on us? Are the rooms here bugged? They’ve named our Revel’s, McIntosh, Marantz Reference, etc, etc, etc,. For instance, I regularly tell customers what a great value our Marantz PM5004 is as an Integrated Amp for its paltry $450.00 price tag, which they have listed right alongside many others at much higher prices! Or I’ll mention how you can actually enjoy a full blown symphony orchestra recording on these little PSB Alpha speakers at their ridiculously CHEAP price of $279.00 a pair, but occasionally I get the feeling that some customers think, “of course you say it’s good Mark – you sell it!!!” But really, if you like the idea that hey, you can build a quality system that will allow you to sit back, relax, and enjoy your favorite recordings. You should really like the idea that you can get away with that for less than a grand these days, including another greatly reviewed IPOD dock or CD player to go with! Come in and give these amazing bookshelf speakers an audition. They won’t disappoint!

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I wrote, “Finally, a speaker that does it all” on February 17, 2011, which I had thought, about covered it, on this impressive new speaker technology from Golden Ear. But now it seems, I must write another review, about this same speaker!?!

Please note, “*Important Note”, below, as this is an excerpt from Chris Martens Perfect Vision’s Review of the Triton Cinema Two 5-Channel Surround System, which of course, is fronted by the “Triton II’s”.

*Important note: while this may not be the first review you read of the
Triton Cinema Two system, we believe it may be one of the first to cover the
final production version of the system (just like the ones enthusiasts will
be able to buy). The fact is that early Golden Ear press samples of the Triton
Two’s (including the ones sent to The Perfect Vision) were identical to the
pilot production models first demonstrated at CEDIA 2010. The Perfect
Vision learned, however, that Golden Ear had made small but significant
improvements in the control circuit for the Triton Two subwoofer amplifier
— changes that have been incorporated in all production model Triton Two’s
shipped to Golden Ear dealers. Accordingly, TPV elected to delay its review
until its Triton Two review samples could be retrofitted with final production
version amplifier control boards, which proved to be a good decision. The
change essentially redefines the neutral tonal balance point for the user
adjustable subwoofer amp, giving the production Triton Two’s an even clearer,
better balanced sound than the CEDIA demo units exhibited (plus a more
usable real-world range of amplifier adjustments).

The good news is that I cannot agree more. With the new crossover boards I received and installed at the beginning of the week, the greatly smoother, and more refined top to bottom tonal balance was immediately apparent. I was able to dial in the subs to the room much more accurately, completely relieving the mid base and mid-range of slight, but definitely noticeable, colorations. Now, the balance between very low base, mid base, and midrange is utterly perfect! This allows the Triton’s to really show their true colors, colorlessly, if I can put it that way. It has been a long time, perhaps too long, since I have heard a speaker produce such a detailed, uncolored, open, and true to the original portrayal of the midrange and high treble spectrum. Not to mention, entire audible frequency response. It may be time once again, for me to replace my home speakers. Not that mine aren’t very good ones, as they were $3000.00/pair from another very well respected speaker manufacturer. But alas, I am really enjoying hearing things I simply have not been able to, for a very long time, having previously owned speakers that employed that very special “Heil Air Motion Transformer” to which Chris, and other reviewers, are referring to.

To illustrate my point, take the DCC gold recording of The Doors, with Ray Manzarek’s insane organ notes; which on the Triton II’s seams to not only come to life in erie 3D largeness, but which includes the rarely audible secondary glass tube resonance, from Ray’s tube organ. This is goose bumb material, clearly overlaying the whole sonic image, which on our set up, is about 20 feet deep and wide, and seemed to have front row / front stage like height. Yes, a HUGE sound stage normally reserved for much more expensive speakers! Then with the sickeningly sweet triple lead guitar on-slot from the (Doobie Bros) China-Grove, this ingenius perfected technology based on the Heil Tweeter, coupled with totally unique piston driven mid-base drivers, completely takes over playing this stuff like I have not heard since the 70’s, when I often enjoyed this legendary ensemble LIVE! It’s flippin’ incredable! I feel like I’m being transported back in time right to the experience.

I further must caution you however, as stated by Chris Martens, that the Golden Ears will spoil you! This is the very problem I’ve been having since we put them on our floor. As I am responsible for doing all of the equipment testing here at The Sweet Spot@ADKAV, I’ve found I cannot listen to the Golden Ears prior to testing other speakers! Because what happens is, exactly as Chris says, the other speakers then sound mechanical, strained, or otherwise flawed. It’s a very discerning issue indeed!

Please see Reviews http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/audio/2011/01/test-report-goldenear-technology-triton-two-tower-speakers
http://www.avguide.com/review/goldenear-tritoncinema-two-5-channel-surround-system-part-2-tpv-101
http://www.hometheater.com/content/goldenear-technology-tritoncinema-two

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I’ve just returned from Binghamton NY, home of America’s very own Stereo Electronics Manufacturer, McIntosh Labs.  What a wonderful experience.  Not only are the folks at McIntosh some of the most down to Earth, friendly people you want to meet, but they are like my neighbors. One of my neighbors works for Bard, assembling catheters for the Hospital Industry, and another works for Scott Paper, the source of my home paper product.  On the factory tour, I met people who hand craft the circuit boards, glass faceplates, and even hand wind the power transformers. Many of these people have worked there for decades.  Not only has McIntosh has been in business since 1949, but in the same building.  One woman is a grandmother, who taught her trade to her daughter, and granddaughter, who now work their craft side by side with her.  McIntosh “really is” a family business.   I was thrilled and amazed to see how these dedicated crafts people work their trade, making each and every component for McIntosh Amplifiers, Tuners, CD Players, Music Servers, DAC’s, and Speakers.  You know, there are some fine U.S. companies left, but very few, who still do all their own manufacturing right here in the U.S. of A.  I try to do my little part, especially when making long term purchases, like my American made Harley Davidson, and my “mostly” U.S. made Dodge Charger, but now I can also truly appreciate owning not only the world’s finest sounding stereo electronics, but really appreciate knowing it was hand made by some great  neighbors, in Binghamton, another – home town USA!   

See link for a look into McIntosh: http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/inside/1073.asp

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Okay, this is the one I was squakin’ about on FB two weeks ago.  Now to clarify, I have not only been an audiophile for too many years to want to admit, but I’ve had the privilege of being in the industry since the late 80’s, so suffice it to say, I’ve hear allot of great speakers, and great wanna-bee’s. To further clarify, like any industry, your very best products are almost always the very most expensive, and in the home audio biz, the very best speakers can range well into the 10’s of thousands of dollars.  You see, the problems are many, and solutions are few.  Essentially, to recreate an audio image of a life like musical performance is quite complicated.  Ironically, you can get “sound” from a single vibrating driver moving air, however, in most cases, it’s physically impossible for that to sound like the real thing. The human ear is actually very difficult to fool.  I’ve found it amazing how even through a “phone” most people can tell if the sound in the back ground is “live” or reproduced. But that’s a whole other story.  There’s lots of loud speakers out there for sale, but few that really get down to it in a believable fashion, and that also manage to recreate the “entire frequency response”. The Golden Ear Triton II is the real deal.  Articulately creating a literal WALL OF SOUND, from 18HZ to 35KHZ.  BTW, that frequency response will get any and every nuance of ambient information that went into the original session!  And with it’s own amplification for the hard to drive sub-woofers, and an efficiency of 91db it doesn’t take massively expensive amplifiers to drive them.  You can do it with a modest Home Theater receiver.  True Audio Luxury Speakers, for get this – $2500.00 a pair!!!  Unheard of price vs technology in the Audiophile World!  Bring in your favorite music and hear it for the FIRST TIME like it was meant to be played! Check out this Ultimate Gear Review

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I-phone/pod doc

Marantz’s IS301 I-Dock $250.00

This is anything BUT just another I-Pod dock.  It has a “spin-dial” that allows it to adjust to an I-whatever. It’s “blue-tooth wireless, and can transfer video via the included special cable!  So not only can I put my I-whatever tunes through my whole house sound system, or view my phone video in my home theater, but I can take it virtually anywhere, and control it with my I-pod’s menu system…totally cool!

Plus, unlike most typical I-Pod Docks, the Marantz actually sounds great!  Of course, what else would we expect from a “music actually matters” company like Marantz.

The IS301 includes everything you need including: the handset, the base station/charger, the connector block, the AC adaptors, the small system remote, and associated cables.

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The SpinClean Record Cleaning Machine

Just got these in, and I cannot believe how effective they are.  I have the usual assortment of items that remove dust and static from a record on the turntable,  but this thing is sooooo much more effective that it’s alomost UNBELIEVABLE!   I mean, let’s take the average record in my collection which I’m thinking is clean, because 1. Can’t see anything on it now that I’ve brushed it, and 2. all the pop’s, clicks, and static must be from the tiny scratches and smudges I can’t really see, right?   NOT!!!   Even my “thought they were already clean” records were DRAMATICALLY improved after running them through the spin clean.  Playing them sounded silky smooth, with complete silence apart from the music itself.  Even records I thought were worn out and almost unplayable, sounded like new again!   From this day forward, when someone asks me what the single most effective way to improve their stereo is (if records are a source) it’s a good record cleaning machine, and this one in particular, is the CHEAPEST one I know of;           $79.95 Includes everything!

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First, I would like to clear the air: I freely admit, that I am not only an Audio Fanatic, but I am a registered AUDIOPHILE! Okay, now that I’ve admitted it, I can go on…

Maybe I’ll start this by suggesting to myself I should write a book. But I must then ask myself, what would I be qualified to write? An industry colleague of mine, Robert Harley, who is in fact a published reviewer of high-end audio equipment wrote one; The Complete Guide to High-End Audio. Now this is the book I would have aspired to write, but then, it’s already written! But as I am not a “published” reviewer, how would anyone know if I was truly qualified to write such a book? But then my prayers were answered; God looked upon my poor mute existence and said BEHOLD I give you the BLOG!

So perhaps I have found a way to write the book I’ve always wanted to, and am best qualified to write; The Idiots Guide to High End Audio! Finally, a book for me, and just maybe others like me, fledging along trying to find the absolute sound achievable for our personal edification; The sound of the original music, that is as little degraded as possible, by the now virtually millions of degrades out there, whether it’s been digitized, uploaded, downloaded, converted, under-converted, transferred here/there, burnt, put onto an aluminum or vinyl disc, shot over the air, or compressed into an I-whatever, so that I can enjoy what sounds like “the real thing”. That today ironically, with all of our techno-wizardry, is more difficult than ever before! Is this progress?

I mean trust me, I love that I can carry my whole music collection on a magic wand the size of my credit card, but what I never realized is though I can hum along to the 4000 plus melodies stored there within. They don’t seem to sound quite as awe inspiring as I remember them when I put them through my stereo. It’s like the most passionate vocalist’s alive sound like they’re anemic, or have the flu or something. And the bands who were just belting it out, and jamming with all kinds of instrumentation when I saw them live, sound sort of like what I remember my old portable radio did back in the day, flat, un-dynamic, and pitiful y uninvolving and boring. It’s totally messed up! Why can’t I have it all, convenience, and the Power, the Glory, and the Majesty of the music I’m really into?

Well thank God for High-End Audio enthusiasts like you, because I’m not the only one with this desire. In fact, there must be a bunch of us, and enough to be heard, because there are some really cool manufacturers who have developed some really great solutions.

So it is here, that I will be sharing with you not just a bunch of techno-babble, but the true-grit of what these cool new technologies can really do for us. And most importantly, letting us be able to really get into our beloved music from WHATEVER our source is – through the stereo, with enough life left to melt our ear drums…only, in a good way of course!

So the deal is this; Every time I get my hands on a new piece of gear, I will be testing it out, and posting the results here for you to read. I’ll let you know which stuff is really good, and if we’ll be carrying it or not. We also have several audiophiles here, and who will be coming here to share their music with us in a listener’s club I’m starting. So I figure at least once a week we will be posting equipment, system, or album reviews for your listening pleasure.

And for this listener’s club (The Audio Club), I’ll shoot for at least once or twice a month to meet up, possibly on a Thursday evening, just to hang out, spin discs on one of the high-end systems, and just enjoy the music. Because it’s the MUSIC that the High-End Audio hobby is all about!

And, if you have an interest in joining the Audio Club, shoot me an email at theaudioclub@adkav.com CHEERS!

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Contact Us

1048 State Route 9
Queensbury, New York 12804
(518) 792-3528

ADKAV

Adirondack Audio & Video is the premier hi-fi store and custom integrator in northern New York State, now with locations in Vermont and Brooklyn.

We specialize in the custom installation and integration of “smart home” automation systems, audio and video distribution, home theaters, and surveillance systems.

Return Policy

• In-stock items: 30-Day return policy for a full refund.
• Special order items: 30-day return policy for store credit, minus a 15% re-stocking fee.
• Built-to-order items: 50% deposit required. Balance is due before the item ships to the store. Equipment is covered by manufacturer’s warranties, but ALL SALES ARE FINAL.