The new preamplifier looks amazing.
(Credit: Einstein Audio Components)We're not talking about Albert Einstein, the legendary theoretical physicist; we're talking about Einstein Audio Components, a Germany-based high-end audio manufacturer.
Its advanced audio equipment designs use vacuum tubes. Its latest stereo preamplifier, The Tube MKII, uses a total of (gulp) 19 tubes. That's a lot of tubes! Most tube preamps only use four, five, or six tubes. However, here's the cool part about the new Einstein preamp: only 10 of the 19 tubes operate at any given time. Eight are used all the time, and two are selected for whichever audio source happens to be playing.
The rear panel of The Tube MKII.
(Credit: Einstein Audio Components)This feature makes The Tube MKII the only preamp in the world that lets users tailor the sound from each audio source by selecting the specific "flavor" of tube dedicated to each source. Some owners might opt for "warm" sounding tubes for the CD input, and superdetailed tubes for the phono input. Tweaky? You bet, but I guarantee a lot of wealthy tube-obsessed audiophiles will love that feature.
The 33-pound preamp has two large controls on its front panel: one for source selection and one for volume. On its rear, it has three pairs of XLR inputs, two pairs of RCA inputs, and two tape outputs.
Its build quality is superlative and is reflected in The Tube MKII's $17,800 MSRP. The preamp will make its U.S. market debut at the 2010 CES next month.
Matt's turntable, amp, and speakers.
(Credit: Matt Calderone)What's the definition of a great hi-fi? It's the one you're listening to. Not just for background "listening," but actual, focused listening.
Investing a lot of money on a hi-fi isn't the only way to get there. In fact, spending as little as possible on decent gear is the best way to get acquainted with good sound. Who knows, you might become an audiophile.
My friend Matt Calderone might be on his way. He was given a used Denon DP-7F turntable, and recently bought a Kenwood KA-701 integrated stereo amplifier on eBay and a pair of Klipsch speakers through Craigslist. All told, he spent less than $200.
Calderone is 26 years old so I was curious about how and why he wound up with a hi-fi. He says he's always been interested in LPs, and he likes listening to them over a decent stereo, not computer speakers. Calderone thinks good speakers make a big difference.
It's not just that the sound is better, music engages on a different level when heard over a hi-fi. Calderone frequently winds up just sitting on the couch and get this, he listens to entire records! The music is the main focus; vinyl has that effect on some people. Calderone is going to add a CD player soon, but for now his system is analog only.
The hardest part of buying a used hi-fi is picking the right gear. If you're new to hi-fi ask an older relative who knows audio about which brands are worthy, but for starters I'd recommend steering clear of Sony and Bose products. I like Creek, Denon, NAD, Onkyo, Pioneer, and Yamaha amplifiers and receivers; look for used Advent, AR, Boston Acoustics, DCM, Epos, Infinity, Klipsch, Magnepan, Mirage, Monitor Audio, NHT, Polk, Snell, or Vandersteen speakers. For a few hundred bucks you can put together a very listenable used system.
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Stereophile magazine has just published its "2010 Buyer's Guide," a tell-all "book" for audiophiles on the prowl for new gear.
Sure, you can get a lot of this information on the Internet, but it's nice to have it all neatly arranged between two covers of a magazine. Inside you'll find listings for 4,000 audio products. So if you're in the market for a hi-fi,the "2010 Buyer's Guide" will save you a lot of time.
You'll find listings of turntables, phono cartridges; CD, SACD and DVD-Audio players; preamplifiers, power and integrated amps; speakers and subwoofers; and headphones.
And don't get the wrong idea, the "2010 Buyer's Guide" may be published by Stereophile magazine, but the components aren't limited to high-priced gear. I found lots of affordable components in there.
Looking for hi-fi that's less than $1,000? How about an Onkyo DX-C390 CD player ($219), Denon DRA-297 stereo receiver ($299), and a pair of Monitor Audio Bronze BR2 speakers ($450 a pair). They're all in there, and each one is accompanied by a set of useful specifications.
High-end goodies are well represented too. Read all about the Wilson Audio Alexandria X-2 MkII speakers that weigh 1,210 pounds per pair ($158,000) and the stunning SME Model 30 turntable that runs $50,000!
Sure, you can probably score a better price buying audio gear online, and it's certainly easier, but is it a smart way to go? I don't think so.
First, buying hi-fi without listening to it is a bad idea. Smart buyers compare one product to another, it's simply the best way to learn what your choices are. Granted, it's not the same as hearing speakers in your own room, but at least you're hearing them in comparison to each other under the same conditions.
An Innovative Audio listening room in New York City.
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)Online reviews, including the ones I write for CNET and print magazines offer my opinions about sound. But reviews by me or anyone else can't predict about how, say a speaker, works with a receiver that's similar to yours. I have no idea about your specific needs, your room size, acoustics, taste in music, etc.
Use my reviews as a starting point and then try and listen for yourself.
User reviews? Hey, I make my living writing audio reviews and my opinions are drawn from my experiences with literally thousands of audio products. I can point you in the right direction, but at the end of the day, its your ears and your money. Buy what you like; just make sure you've heard it.
A good salesperson can offer sound advice based on your specific needs. That's a huge advantage online sales outlets can't duplicate. Yes, finding the right store or salesperson can take time, but that's true for doctors, lawyers, plumbers, and contractors, but once you've found a good one, their advice and council can be a huge asset. If you're spending $500 or more for speakers or a receiver try to make the effort to hear the thing. A successful salesperson has lots of happy customers, there's no other way to be successful. I sold audio for 16 years, I know from where I speak.
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My first hi-fi speakers looked a lot like this.
CNET News Poll
I bought my first hi-fi with money I made working at a supermarket when I was 16 years old.
The system had a Garrard turntable, XAM amplifier, and XAM speakers. The system cost $106 in 1965, that would be more like $600 to $700 in 2009 dollars.
Man, that little system ruled! My records came to life like never before. A month or two after I bought the system I accidentally crushed the "needle," so I bought a better phono cartridge and my records sounded even better. I became an audiophile! It didn't take long before I had the best stereo of all my friends, and they brought their new LPs over to my house to check it out.
What was your first music system like? Vote in the poll.
JBL's best speaker, the K2 S9900.
(Credit: JBL)Most of you probably think of JBL as a manufacturer of affordable high-performance speakers, but the company offers a truly vast range of consumer and professional models.
The K2 S9900 ($15,000 each) is the best consumer speaker JBL makes. It's a massive thing, weighing in at 182 pounds, and it's armed with a 15-inch woofer, 4-inch magnesium, horn-loaded midrange, and 1-inch magnesium horn-loaded tweeter. It can handle amplifiers as large as 500 watts a channel.
The JBL K2 S9900 will be equally at home in ultra-high-end music and home theater systems.
The K2 was originally developed for the seriously finicky Japanese audiophile market. There it has already achieved legendary status, and it was years before JBL brought it home. American hi-fi at its best.
I haven't heard this latest version of the K2, but I'm somewhat familiar with the previous K2 S9800. That one's sound was huge, incredibly effortless, and capable of delivering truly lifelike dynamic range. That last quality alone goes a long way to making reproduced sound sound realistic.
If you can afford the best, make it your business to hear the K2.
DeVore speakers and Shindo electronics at ILS.
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)
The shop has lots of tube electronics, but solid-state lives there too.
(Credit: In Living Stereo)Steven Mishoe opened In Living Stereo just a few weeks before 9/11, and it turned out to be the worst possible time to open a high-end hi-fi shop in New York City.
But ILS is still there on 4th Street, right across from where Tower Records used to be. And unlike the bigger, more established hi-fi shops, ILS sells music systems. Don't go there to pick Mishoe's brain about music servers or iPhone apps. No, In Living Stereo caters to people who listen to music at home. What a concept!
Over the years I've heard great sound there many times. Brand selection is choice, including tube electronics from Fatman, Leben Hi-Fi, Prima Luna, and Shindo Laboratory; speakers from DeVore Fidelity, Dynaudio, ProAc, Rega, and Verity Audio; and turntables from Rega and Shindo Laboratory.
Complete systems with a CD player, integrated amplifier, and speakers start around $1,200. Mishoe's an analog guy, so he stocks turntables starting around $400, tube amplifiers from $1,200, and speakers $500 and up.
Call ahead, make an appointment, and bring some of your favorite tunes to see how good they can sound.
Check out the ILS Web site to learn more about the store.
Margery just wants to have fun.
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)Women sometimes buy quality audio, but that doesn't make them audiophiles.
With rare exceptions, all the audiophiles I've known are men. The unifying mantra for audiophiles is that there's always something, maybe an amplifier or speaker just out a reach that might get them a little closer to the music. Audiophiles are gear junkies. They want to have Aretha Franklin or the New York Philharmonic or their favorite music sound like it's in the house. Audiophiles crave an emotional, visceral connection with their music.
That pretty much sums up Margery Budoff's audiophile urges. Like most audiophiles I know, Margery had an unusually strong affinity for music at a young age. She described herself as "A child musician with an industrial design fetish." Even as a little kid she loved the look of stuff, especially older, big and clunky 1950s and 1960s record players.
The first record Margery bought was "Telstar," then Dionne Warwick, then the Rolling Stones. The record player was the thing that could "Decipher the secret code encrypted in the records. I wanted to hear the sound in all its glory. That's how I became an audiophile."
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Your vacuum cleaner sucked out a woofer? Who to call?
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)I get this one a lot, what should I do about my--fill-in-the-blank--broken headphones, buzzing speakers, static noises, intermittent sound, or when my subwoofer stops subbing?
Only rarely can I solve the problem with a quick fix; I always first advise contacting the dealer or Web site that sold you the product. Service is their responsibility and if they don't provide it, you shouldn't buy from them.
Of course, the best time to ask about service is before you buy any product. Will they replace a product if it fails within 90 days of purchase? Do they pay for return shipping? I'm talking about audio products here, but that advice works for any tech purchase.
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(Credit:
Atocha Design)
Records are skinny things, but once you have more than 100 or so they start to take up a lot of space. Some vinyl philes just leave them on the floor, or lean them up against furniture. Yuch! The nice folks at Atocha Design build gorgeous hi-fi furniture. Each piece is made to fit your needs, contact Atocha Design to get a price quote. Finish options run to American Maple, Walnut, Oak, and Bamboo; handles are solid brass. Atocha Designs are hand crafted in the U.S.A.
