The 2008 Seminar Series (Posted on: 7/8/2008 12:00:00 AM)
The lineup for our 2008 Seminar Series is set. As usual, there will be a tour of the WFMT studios guided by Rich Warren. We will also be welcoming Steve Silberman, Adam Center and Ariel Brown from Ayre Acoustics, Peter McGrath from Wilson Audio, Brad O'Toole from Transparent Cable and our own Scott Soloway. Click Here to register for the seminars of your choice.
The B&W Zeppelin Continues to Soar (Posted on: 6/26/2008 12:00:00 AM)
Since its introduction last year the B&W Zeppelin continues to be far and away the best iPod docking mini system we have heard. Shaped like the famous airship and very compact, the Zeppelin will impress you with its ease of operation and its musical performance truly worthy of the B&W legacy. Bring in your iPod and take the Zeppelin for a test spin.
Pro-Ject Price Increases (Posted on: 6/21/2008 12:00:00 AM)
Pro-Ject, has been our favorite supplier of high value turntables, phono preamps and headphone amps for some time and has always strived to keep their prices down. With the lowering value of the dollar and cost increases for parts, energy and shipping, something had to give; so on July 1st they will be raising prices between 10 and 20 percent depending on the model. The good news is that you can get the old price on any order placed by June 30th
Bryston and Grammy Awards-- Coincidence? (Posted on: 6/13/2008 12:00:00 AM)
Bryston has good reason to be proud. The following 2008 Grammy Award winning artists all utilize Bryston electronics in their professional/personal audio systems:
Herbie Hancock
Album of the Year
Prince
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
Alicia Keys
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
Best R&B Song
Jay-Z
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Mary J. Blige
Best Gospel Performance
AudioConsultants welcomes Sonos and Audioengine (Posted on: 4/1/2008 12:00:00 AM)
We are pleased to announce that we are now dealers for two new brands of products optimized for use with music on your computer. The Sonos Multi-Room Music System products allow you to network your digital music collection and internet radio wirelessly throughout your home. Their bundled systems are surprisingly inexpensive, straightforward to configure, and use a delightful hand-held controller that will be intuitive to anyone familiar with an iPod.
At long last, we have found a solution for small, inexpensive powered monitors to connect to your computer... but not sound like computer speakers! The Audioengine A2 and A5 speakers surprised us with their musicality, ease of use, and value. Bring in your laptop or portable player and try them yourself, we think you will be amazed!
Now playing at an Audio Consultants near you (Posted on: 2/12/2008 3:21:45 PM)
Even with multiple listening rooms in each of our four stores, we still don't have enough room to display all of our finest speaker offerings at each location. So we like to juggle things around a bit, ensuring that your closest Audio Consultants always has examples from our diverse range of high-end (and heavy!) speakers. For example, here are the current coordinates for some of our most talked about favorites:
Evanston: B&W 800D and 802D, Magnepan 20.1, Thiel CS3.7
Libertyville: B&W 802D, Thiel CS3.7, Wilson Audio Sophia
Hinsdale: B&W 802D, Magnepan 20.1
Chicago: B&W Signature Diamond and 802D, Wilson Audio Duette and Watt Puppy 8
Additionally, all four stores now have models from one of our favorite new lines of high-end bookshelf speakers, a Finnish brand called Amphion. Please give any of our stores a call to discover what state-of-the-art speakers are available for demonstration near you.
Behold! The new Paganini System from dCS is on display in Evanston. (Posted on: 1/21/2008 12:00:00 AM)
Just when many of us are contemplating the place of MP3 and .wav files in our audio systems, dCS has released a CD/SACD player that has redefined our expectations of how musical and involving CD playback can be. The Paganini System consists of three exquisitely machined components: the PTT is a CD/SACD transport that upsamples PCM audio to DSD; the PDC performs stereo digital to analog conversion; and the PCK is the master clock for all connected devices. Come visit our Evanston store and we think you'll agree-- you simply have not heard 5-inch plastic discs sound this good. And if the $45,000 price tag doesn't make you flinch, rest assured that the Paganini is merely the middle model in the dCS line! For more info, click here.
Our ambassadors return from CES 2008 (Posted on: 1/12/2008 4:54:02 PM)
Thin was in this year in Las Vegas. Pioneer, Sony, and Hitachi were all showing prototype TVs less than an inch thick, likely to be available in the next year or two. Another theme we noticed, to our surprise and delight, was that good ol' high fidelity stereo was back at CES with renewed enthusiasm. Turntables in particular, from countless different manufacturers, were enjoying the spotlights. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD continue to battle on.
Some specific highlights... Arcam showed us an impressive new all-in-one mini system that will be selling for around $1000. As if to prove how difficult and complex it is to do wireless speakers well, B&W introduced a simple and sleek wireless surround sound system for $15,000. Phase Tech demonstrated a great sounding speaker system that incorporates custom calibration electronics. As usual, the Magnepan speaker demonstration was some of the best sound at the show. Wilson Audio premiered a subwoofer the size of a refrigerator, appropriately named Thor's Hammer. Boulder is bringing their prowess to CD player design: they unveiled their first model, priced at $24,000.
Finally, there will be many price increases in the American hi-fi market in 2008. For example, prices on models from Ayre Acoustics, B&W, Classe, Thiel, and Wilson Audio either have gone up already, or will do so very soon. Please contact any of our stores for more of the latest info.
The Zeppelin has arrived (Posted on: 12/29/2007 12:00:00 AM)
The long-awaited B&W iPod speaker is now available at our stores. The Zeppelin is far and away the best iPod docking mini system we have heard. Shaped like the famous airship and very compact, we think you will be impressed with the ease of operation and the musical performance truly worthy of the B&W legacy. Bring in your iPod and take the Zeppelin for a test spin. To learn more, click here.
Important news from Ayre Acoustics (Posted on: 12/24/2007 12:00:00 AM)
For the first time in 6 years, Ayre Acoustics will be raising their prices on January 15. Also, following on the extremely successful MX-R monoblock amplifiers, Ayre will be releasing the KX-R preamplifier in 2008. Please contact any of our stores for more information.
We celebrate our 40th Anniversary and introduce our NEW website and e-Newsletter! (Posted on: 12/4/2007 12:00:00 AM)
The world of audio and video has been transformed since 1967 and along the way, through various mailings, we have kept you abreast of important innovations. We hope that our new website will serve as an additional tool to help you navigate all the new technologies. Please have a look around our new site, and feel free to share your comments with us. In addition to our extensive and very popular used equipment list, you will find some interesting new areas and resources. We will also be sending out periodic e-Newsletters to present and clarify new developments in our industry. Subscribe here.
We share (almost) a milestone with B&W (Posted on: 12/3/2007 12:00:00 AM)
In 2007, B&W celebrated their 41st anniversary and we celebrated our 40th. Our relationship is a long-standing one. We started to carry their speakers in 1970 and that makes us the oldest continuous B&W dealer in the world.
John Bowers founded B&W in Worthing, England, in 1966. From the beginning, he established a close relationship with recording studios which provided vital feedback on how the speakers could be improved. The famous B&W 801, launched in 1979, became the reference speaker in nearly all of the world’s classical recording studios, including EMI Abbey Road, Decca, and Deutsche Grammophon.
B&W invests a great deal in research and development. Introduction of new speakers often means a leap in technology and integration of important innovations into the new models. Here is a very short list of the most notable benchmarks in B&W’s history: the DM 70 which featured an electrostatic midrange and tweeter; the B&W 801; the Silver Signature speaker to mark their 25th anniversary; the Signature 30, to mark their 30th anniversary; the flagship Nautilus, one of their most original designs; and to mark their 40th anniversary, the Signature Diamond, featuring the diamond dome tweeter.
We invite you to make an appointment at any of our stores to audition the Signature Diamonds or any other current B&W speakers.
2007 Seminars announced (Posted on: 10/16/2007 12:00:00 AM)
It's that time of year again, and this year we have a variety of industry insiders coming to speak at the Audio Consultants stores. But first, once again we will host an exclusive tour of the WFMT studios with Rich Warren, who is responsible for one of the longest running programs on WFMT. We will have occasion to hear about new products from Arcam, a legendary British company making some of the finest audio and video electronics. You are invited to be among the first listeners in the US to hear B&W's new Signature Diamond loudspeaker, an unusual and masterful $20,000 two-way design. Also, we will be learning about some of the most respected subwoofers and turntables in the world from Sumiko, importer of REL subwoofers, SME turntables and tonearms, and Pro-Ject turntables and analog accessories. Finally, are you still confused about all things television and video? Come let our resident scientist Scott Soloway bring you up to date on current and emerging broadcast and video technologies. To get all the seminar details and to register to attend, visit the Seminars page on our site or just click here.
The B&W Loudspeaker Factory Tour (Posted on: 3/30/2008 12:00:00 AM)
If there's one thing we fight over around here at Audio Consultants, it's who among us gets to attend the B&W factory tour in England. Unlike most other loudspeaker companies, B&W actually manufacturers both the enclosures and drivers in their designs (two other such companies are Thiel and Magnepan). And as you may already know, B&W makes a lot of speakers! They are famous for their two-pronged approach to speaker design and construction: they have a research and development facility in Steyning where engineers are given free reign to experiment and innovate, and they have a state-of-the-art factory just far enough away in Worthing. By keeping these two facilities separate, B&W allows their engineers and designers the freedom to focus purely on optimum performance, regardless of manufacturing challenges. Having such a versatile factory filled with highly capable and devoted employees makes this luxury possible.
It's one thing to know this about B&W, but it's another thing entirely to see their crews in action. Normally, you the customer would just have to take our word for it. But recently, in honor of B&W's 40th anniversary, Home Theater magazine took a tour of the B&W facilities and took extensive photographs behind the scenes. For a rare glimpse into perhaps the most impressive loudspeaker manufacturing facilities in the world, click here.
Video refresh rate wars (Posted on: 2/28/2008 12:00:00 AM)
Many customers shopping for flat panel displays are asking us about the “refresh rate” or “frame rate” specifications. Some LCD sets specify 120Hz or even 240Hz frame rates, while even the best plasmas operate at no higher than 72Hz. Can we conclude that plasmas are at a technological disadvantage?
Well, not really. Movies and video programs have frame rates (i.e. frames per second) ranging from 24Hz to 60Hz, so a perfect television would have no need for anything higher. The high refresh rates used by LCD panels can be helpful because LCDs can suffer from blurring during image motion. This is because LCDs are "sample-and-hold" devices where the pixels are on for the entire time until the next frame comes up. Because of our persistence of vision we still “see” an old frame while a new one is being displayed, creating a blurred image. Plasma panels do not use sample-and-hold and therefore do not have this problem.
The seminal research on the effects of frame rate on motion perception was done by Douglas Trumbull in his development of the Showscan film projection system. His research showed that with non-sample-and-hold systems there was no meaningful benefit to rates above 60 frames per second. So, for display types that do not have a motion blur problem, such as plasmas, there is no reason for ultra-high frame rates. When watching movies, which are shot at 24 frames per second, a 72Hz rate does have an advantage over 60Hz because it is an even multiple of 24 and therefore minimizes motion judder (which is a fun topic for another day.)
The conclusion, as usual, is that paying attention to buzzwords and numbers is not likely to help you find the best product; but, we humbly claim, talking to our sales people will.
The End of Analog Television? (Posted on: 1/10/2008 12:00:00 AM)
Many people are aware that February 17, 2009 will be a watershed date in the history of television, but few know what that date really means. Congress has mandated that after that date (a Sunday), television stations must stop broadcasting analog signals. There is no mention of signal content, so the rule does not require anyone to broadcast in High Definition or even in color for that matter. The only requirement is that the transmissions be digital, regardless of content. The rule also has nothing to say about how your cable or satellite company sends you TV signals; they can use any system they want.
You may have heard that this change will make old TVs useless, but this is not the case. If your TV does not have a digital (ATSC) tuner built in, you will be able to buy an inexpensive outboard tuner box which will work just like a cable box for over-the-air signals. Starting in January 2008 you will be able to request up to two $40 vouchers from the government to help defray the cost. You will have to replace your VCR, however, if you use it for timer recording.
While there is no mandate for cable changing to all digital, Comcast Cable has already started making the conversion. They went all digital in Chicago on July 1, 2007, and plan to convert the suburbs by the end of 2008. The consequence is that if you have Comcast cable and want to receive more than local stations, you will need either a cable box for every TV in the house or TVs with cable card capability.
What is HD Radio and should I get it? (Posted on: 1/5/2008 12:00:00 AM)
HD Radio is a trademark of Ibiquity Digital and has nothing to do with high definition. It is a compressed digital audio format that is broadcast alongside traditional AM and FM transmissions. As with all digital broadcast systems, reception is essentially immune from interference and low signal strength degradation. Additionally, most FM broadcasters are using HD Radio to send two channels on the same frequency. Typically, one channel is a simulcast of the analog signal and the second provides more adventurous programming with fewer or no commercials. Some stations may also use the system for weather and traffic data. In Chicago, virtually all major radio stations are broadcasting in HD. The most significant exception is WFMT, which has no plans to transmit in this format.
Ibiquity claims that their system results in FM signals that sound as good as CDs and AM that sounds as good as analog FM. In our listening tests we found that this was not true. In fact, when played through a high quality sound system we preferred cleanly received analog FM to HD Radio. Given that the data rate on HD radio is lower than even basic quality MP3, this is not really surprising. Nevertheless, with the possibility of better reception and the extra free programming, adding HD Radio capability to your system may be a reasonable choice.
See the proof with PS Audio's Noise Harvester (Posted on: 5/15/2008 12:00:00 AM)
We at Audio Consultants have never considered ourselves to be a "tweak boutique", but every now and then a product comes along that leaves us all scratching our heads. One such device is the Noise Harvester from PS Audio. At first, the little device screamed "gimmick", but as soon as we plugged it into the wall and watched its blue light start flickering, we were all shocked at the noticeable reduction in noise. The claim is simple: the Noise Harvester converts line noise to light and "drains" it through a small bulb, removing noise from the audio system. We experimented with it in many different circuits, with a few different levels of systems, and the result was always a dramatic lowering of the noise floor. Performance improvement for the dollar, the Noise Harvester is an amazing value. Learn more here:
PS Audio Noise Harvester
Transparent announces new MM2 Technology (Posted on: 4/18/2008 12:00:00 AM)
Already our favorite line of cables, Transparent has just announced another level of performance improvement with their new MM2 Technology. Features include network design advances, network assembly improvements, and more precise network component matching on all audio interconnects and speaker cables. Additionally, their Reference level and above models feature connector technology advances with non-electromagnetic connector covers, as well as more precise custom calibration of the networks to match the impedance characteristics of your associated components. In their own words: "Transparent has become more transparent with MM2 Technology-- less noise, more musical impact, more expansive listening space, and greater low-level resolution than ever before." Contact any of our stores to learn more about MM2 and Transparent's generous upgrade policy.
The Classe Delta Series continues to receive rave reviews (Posted on: 1/29/2008 12:00:00 AM)
2007 was another banner year for Classe, with an abundance of outstanding press from around the world. Among other awards, the CDP-102 CD player and the CP-500 preamplifier received Editor's Choice Awards from The Absolute Sound. Below are links to recent reviews:
Classe CDP-202 review at AVrev.com
A collection of Classe reviews in PDF
B&W's new 600 Series receives international acclaim (Posted on: 1/5/2008 12:00:00 AM)
Once again, B&W has discovered ways to “trickle down” advanced technologies from their high-end speaker lines into their entry level line, the newly redesigned 600 Series. Here we share with you a couple of recent reviews for speakers that will surely become benchmarks in their price range:
B&W 685 Review - The Absolute Sound Magazine
B&W 683 - Product of the Year, Electronic House Magazine
Monoblocks are back! (Posted on: 12/5/2007 12:00:00 AM)
Just when home theater and surround sound systems have made 7-channel amplifiers and receivers a common household item, three of our favorite audiophile manufacturers decided to release incredible new mono amplifiers. We invite you to come in and check out new models from Ayre Acoustics, Boulder, and Classe Audio. Below are links to recent reviews.
Ayre MXR review in Stereophile
Boulder 850 review in Widescreen Review
Classe CAM400 review in HiFi Choice
March 9, Alfred Brendel's final performance in Chicago (Posted on: 3/1/2008 2:21:52 PM)
One of the world's preeminent pianists performs his final recitals in Chicago at Symphony Center.
March 29, Cowboy Junkies (Posted on: 3/1/2008 2:17:36 PM)
Two shows in the great acoustics of the Old Town School of Folk Music.
May 8-13, Chicago Symphony Orchestra: Haitink conducts Shostakovich, Haydn (Posted on: 2/28/2008 8:12:44 PM)
Bernard Haitink leads the CSO through Shostakovich's Symphony No.4 and Haydn's Symphony No.101 (The Clock) at Symphony Center.
Doctor Atomic, Lyric Opera, December 14, 2007 through January 19, 2008 (Posted on: 12/24/2007 12:00:00 AM)
Simon is looking forward to this opera with music by John Adams and libretto by Peter Sellars, tracing the story of the mercurial Robert Oppenheimer in Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 1945.
Thrill Jockey's 15th Anniversary Celebration, Logan Auditorium, December 14 & 15, 2007 (Posted on: 12/5/2007 10:25:35 AM)
Local independent record label Thrill Jockey will host two concerts featuring artists such as Fiery Furnaces, Fred Anderson, The Sea & Cake, Califone, Eleventh Dream Day, Pit Er Pat, Trans Am, and many more.
Skybox, Metro, December 22, 2007 (Posted on: 12/5/2007 12:00:00 AM)
After a couple of national tours, Skybox is playing their final show of 2007 at the Metro. The Evanston store's very own Christian is Skybox's illustrious guitarist and multi-instrumentalist.