“It’s almost a year since we reviewed the Reference Active/40 (Wtr 99), and I thought it would make some sense to follow up with a look at its unpowered sibling, the Studio/40. This speaker uses the same drivers, but with a passive crossover, and it doesn’t have the flexibility of level and frequency contour adjustments. However, it does have the potential of sounding better when driven by a superior amplifier to that provided in the Active/40… “

“The 5.0s is a bookshelf speaker that has optional matching stands ($499), using a “5.25″ rigid poly fiber cone” and a “1.125″ double chamber, silk dome with unique proprietary coating applied by hand”, according to the brochure. Both drivers are magnetically shielded. Origin of these drivers is not revealed, though it appears they are custom made for Soliloquy, and are inverted, the tweeter below the woofer/midrange…”

“A veteran internet merchandiser, Newform Research’s John Meyer (pronounced Mayer; he’s of Norwegian background) has been selling his speakers without any dealer network for years. He has weathered the drop-step slam dunks of the courier known as “Oops!” to sell his ribbon loudspeakers all over the world; recently the first order came in from Australia…”

“… Now that preamplifiers are coming mostly with line-level inputs only, outboard phono stages are proliferating. It’s not a new concept to me, having owned the Bryston version for many years: I bought their professional BP-1 to use in my home broadcast production studio. I still use it for more casual listening, finding it superior to that inside my 11B preamp in terms of resolution and spatiality…”

Highlights Include: Our 3rd Annual Product Directory Issue! Over 4,500 Hi-Fi and Home Theatre products listed with detailed specifications, Canadian prices and full contact information. The only directory of its kind! Also a full featured issue of AIG featuring the following reviews and more! Jeff Rowland Concentra Integrated Amplifier, AcousTech Phono Preamp, NAD L 40 CD Receiver, Newform Research R645, Paradigm Reference Studio/40 V.2, ADA Cinema Reference A/V Processor/Preamp, more…

“…In listening, this player was outstanding with DVD audio discs like the Chesky Remembrances by Jon Faddis (CHDVD176), the big band sound beautifully portrayed through the player’s 24/96 DAC. I also listened carefully to our Chuck Israels CD, The Bellingham Sessions, Volume 1, and liked what I heard from this disc that I know better than just about anything else…”

“This year it’s DVD carousel changers, and next season it will be 100-to-300-DVD jukeboxes, the path already followed by CD. The DVD-C900 handles 5 discs, and has quite a few features you wouldn’t expect on a changer, including 96 kHz audio playback, though it outputs only a 48 kHz digital signal…”

” If the reviews in this issue are any indication, the CD/receiver is the hottest new category in electronics, at least for stereo systems (in home theatre it seems to be multidisc DVD players). The NAD L40 comes without speakers, so I thought a good coupling would be with the wonderful Paradigm Reference Studio 40, though Paul Barton, designer for NAD sibling company PSB might not agree…”

“Though the name Concentra may suggest a new Japanese compact car, one look at its lustrous, thick front panel tells you that, whatever it is, this ain’t no econobox. An inch thick, this machined aluminum fascia appears to have contours and depth, as if it were an acrylic surface, with visible gentle vertical curves that aren’t there when you run your hand along its smooth surface: The curvature is an illusion created by the manner in which the aluminum has been machined and polished. This process must take many hours of meticulous work. And it’s simply gorgeous!..

“Bob Carver is being typically modest when he describes this new powerhouse amplifier, capable of 405 watts per channel (and a whopping 810 at 4 ohms) as a “magnificent amplifier”, and “my best amplifier design ever. I’ve spent over twenty years developing it, and cannot imagine how I could make it any better, or refine it any further.” Does that mean that the Cinema Grand Signature is the last amplifier we’ll see from Bob the man? Somehow, I doubt it. In fact, I’ve seen and heard prototypes of a tiny 12-volt amplifier driving a small cube subwoofer…..