KEN KESSLER

Releasing an all-tube, stereo amplifier seems like a curious way for a cutting-edge hi-fi company to mark its first quarter-century. The irony is lost on T+A (707.762. 0914, http://www.taelektroakustik.com), a German company known for advanced solid-state and digital hardware. “The V 10 integrated tube amplifier is the perfect way of proving to music lovers that […]

In audio circles, Jeff Rowland Design Group is to two-channel hi-fi as Brooks Brothers is to button-down collars. Now, however, the Colorado Springs, Colo., company is venturing into home theater territory, which, to extend the analogy, is equivalent to Brooks Brothers releasing an haute couture line. It is out of character—or, at first glance, appears to be.   For nearly […]

Although the popularity of plasma screens has been growing steadily, the picture is still far from perfect. Various degrees of digital noise, fuzzy edges, and image jitter, which occurs when a static background appears to shake as the camera pans, still plague the technology. Pioneer is closing the gap in visual quality between plasma and […]

The Italians constantly offer reminders about why they are known for their style; they see possibilities for beauty in places and items that others overlook. Vismara Design (www.vismara.it), a design firm located outside of Milan, turned its attention to CD and DVD storage and elevated it to an art form. The company employed a combination […]

Among his peers in the audio industry, Joe Atkins is an anomaly: He is not interested in how loudspeakers work. Indeed, Atkins has never read a hi-fi magazine. Yet this 47-year-old native of Toronto, whose firm jaw and trenchant gaze suggest that you should not waste his time with further questions about his aptitude for […]

A speaker may come close to reproducing sound perfectly in a laboratory, but alas, no one lives in a lab. When the real world includes wood floors and upholstery-free furnishings, the formerly flawless speaker will echo and sound too focused on the upper frequencies. At the other extreme, soft furniture and heavy drapes will absorb the […]

the concept behind the ribbon speaker is rather straightforward. A thin strip of conducting foil (the ribbon) is suspended between the poles of powerful magnets. The ribbon is secured at the top and bottom and moves within the magnetic field as the amplifier’s signal stimulates the magnets, resulting in a pleasing, open sound. The ribbon […]

With the introduction of Blue Ocean, we may be witnessing the emergence of a new product category. The transparent acrylic screen is such a standout that it likely will silence any potential buzz around an impressive assortment of soon-to-debut audio gear. Deep Blue See If picture quality is your theater’s outstanding feature, imagine the aesthetic […]

A subset of video processors is drawing attention from two disparate groups: videophiles, who are excited by even the slightest improvement in picture quality; and the rest of the world—people who are happily unaware that video is processed at all. Yet enthusiast and apathetic alike are lured to these machines for a relatively small reason: […]

Tube amplifiers were supposed to be passé by now. Following World War II, transistor, or solid-state, amplification was to be the order of the day. Transistors were expected to replace vacuum tubes because they take up less space, operate more efficiently, run much cooler, and cost less—a classic example of electronics evolution. The only problem […]