The Latest
- Details
- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Ed Comment Ed Comment
- Published: 30 December 2019 30 December 2019
The SoundStage! Australia Products of the Year 2019 Awards
We’re counting down the hours and heralding the New Year with SoundStage! Australia’s Products of the Year 2019. This time, we’ve pushed the Awards virtual ceremony a little forward. Throughout 2019, our skilled Aussie writers carefully auditioned a wide variety of high-end audio. The gear reviewed reflects a microcosm of the ample gamut of product categories available in, what is effectively, a relatively small to medium-sized consumer market. Albeit a buoyant one, to be sure.
- Details
- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 December 2019 15 December 2019
Cary Audio SLI-100 Integrated Amplifier
Austere, stark, unembellished… yet aesthetically truthful, functionally honest. They’re the terms which came to my mind as I unboxed the matter-of-fact SLI-100 integrated amplifier from Cary Audio. The design seems non-superfluous, stripped of excess and devoid of unnecessary decoration. But with a purposeful, regimented functionality to provide music. Does the SLI-100 deliver on its direct, straightforward promise?
- Details
- Written by News Editor News Editor
- Category: News News
- Published: 13 December 2019 13 December 2019
SVS Drops New 2000 Pro Series Subwoofers
In a reinvention of SVS’s highly acclaimed, and extremely successful, 2000 series subwoofers, the company now announces three much-enhanced 2000 Pro Series active subwoofers.
- Details
- Written by News Editor News Editor
- Category: News News
- Published: 13 December 2019 13 December 2019
Soundgil Loudspeakers Available in Australia
The modular Cube loudspeaker products from Soundgil, a multinational design and manufacturing collaboration between Germany, UK, Korea and Taiwan, is now available in Australia.
- Details
- Written by News Editor News Editor
- Category: News News
- Published: 12 December 2019 12 December 2019
McIntosh Laboratory’s New MC901 Monoblocks… With a Twist
It’s a monoblock amplifier but not as you know it. McIntosh Laboratory covers the best of both worlds while putting a twist in the new MC901 ‘Dual Mono Amplifier’.
- Details
- Written by News Editor News Editor
- Category: News News
- Published: 09 December 2019 09 December 2019
Rogers LS5/9 Classic – A Reinvented Icon
With the new LS5/9 Classic standmount loudspeaker, Rogers reintroduces the iconic LS5/9 BBC ‘Grade One’ broadcasting monitor with refreshed 21st-century ingredients.
- Details
- Written by News Editor News Editor
- Category: News News
- Published: 07 December 2019 07 December 2019
Magico's New A5 Loudspeaker Announced
Magico’s new A5, the A Series loudspeakers’ new flagship, features new custom driver designs plus enhancements, refinements and a world debut in the company’s proprietary crossover technology.
The new speaker is an extension of the popular A3 which itself has garnered acclaim around the globe. For the new design, Magico has developed its first 5-inch (125mm) driver and engineered new bespoke woofers. The new midrange driver is said to achieve superb transparency while also having very wide dispersion capabilities. It’s a very low distortion, high power design featuring a titanium voice coil and powerful magnet system. Eddy currents are minimised via a pure copper pole cap which also aids in improving driver efficiency.
- Details
- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 06 December 2019 06 December 2019
Naim & Focal Luxury Audio Event at Bentley Motors Melbourne
For many audio enthusiasts, luxury cars and high-end audio are symbiotic… like Astaire and Rogers, or Lennon and Mc Cartney, Fripp and Eno. Like the almost interdependent association between the auto and the audio, others also stretch these relationships to cameras, watches and even high-end writing utensils. However, think unrivalled luxury in the auto industry and the name Bentley draws gasps of awe and lustful admiration. The über luxury brand has had an association with Naim Audio for round about 10 years now, with the quintessential British brand supplying bespoke electronics for Bentley Motors’ top models. BusiSoft AV, Australian distributor for Naim Audio and Focal among many other high-end brands, staged an event at Melbourne’s Bentley showroom to showcase Naim’s Statement preamplifier and power amplifier masterpiece to dealers and their selected customers and also to introduce these flagship products to an affluent new audience.
- Details
- Written by Barry Jones Barry Jones
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 December 2019 01 December 2019
Focal Sopra N° 2 Loudspeakers
Now celebrating its 40th anniversary, Focal was, originally, first and foremost a driver manufacturer. The company’s continual pursuit of excellence has meant investing heavily in R&D, along with state-of-the-art tools to test and evaluate its designs. Confirmation comes via its superb factory and facilities. Not surprisingly, when moving into designing complete speaker systems, the prevailing philosophy was to start with, and to perfect, the drivers first thus avoid the deleterious effects of complex crossover networks. As a result, Focal speakers are typically amplifier friendly and are therefore likely to perform consistently across a wide variety of equipment, giving the owner more freedom to enjoy their favored amplification. The Sopra range embodies the key technologies that Focal developed for its flagship Utopia range, but in a more compact and affordable package, allowing a wider audience to appreciate Focal’s signature sound. Here, we examine the mid-point in the penultimate range – the Sopra N° 2 loudspeakers.
- Details
- Written by Peter Katsoolis Peter Katsoolis
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 December 2019 01 December 2019
Balanced Audio Technology VK-655SE Power Amplifier
The big, black BAT sat staring back at me with the same undeniable presence as “The Object” on the cover of Led Zeppelin’s album of the same name. The Editor had just left, having indeed delivered, as he had promised, “the flagship solid state Balanced Audio Technology amplifier”. Heeding the Call Up, we continued to eyeball each other as I scrounged around for another power cord to plug into its hulking, monolithic, dual mono chassis. The whole planet’s on fire, not least our sunburnt country right now, so what use did I have for all this grid-draining, solid-state fire-power?
- Details
- Written by News Editor News Editor
- Category: News News
- Published: 29 November 2019 29 November 2019
Vinyl Record Cleaning System Expands Cleaning Options
The indisputable efficacy of the Vinyl Record Cleaning System’s Easy Spread n’ Peel (ESP) is now enhanced by further options to restore and maintain your records in pristine condition.
- Details
- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 25 November 2019 25 November 2019
Halcro Eclipse Monoblock Amplifiers Sydney Launch
After a near-ten-year hiatus, which saw the highly-acclaimed and headline-grabbing Halcro marque going into slumber, the Australian company’s recent relaunch has the potential to revive audiophile fervour around the world.
