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Saturday, December 21, 2024

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Opinion

: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 April 2018

Last month I discussed how buying used audio gear can be a great option for any audiophile, even reviewers who have access to industry accommodation pricing (usually a discount of about 50%). This month, I put my money where my ears are.

I bought an amp.

: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 March 2018

In my last “Opinion” article I wrote about some audio lessons I’ve learned over the years, including this one: “newer isn’t always better. In fact, these days, newer might come about only because the product can be made more cheaply or efficiently. I’ve seen that, too. I don’t need the latest and greatest.”

: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 February 2018

The months I’ve spent thinking about and writing the series of “Jeff’s Getting a New Stereo System” articles have taught me some valuable personal lessons. For one, I don’t seek out trophy hi-fi gear anymore. I’ve had more than a few manufacturers tell me in private that they make some models priced in the six figures simply because some rich guys want to spend that much. The practice is commonplace, but I no longer aspire to be one of those rich guys, or to own or even be loaned for review the kind of gear designed for them. If you do, more power to you -- but it’s not me.

: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 January 2018

This year I break with my annual take on the SoundStage! Products of the Year awards -- Doug Schneider gives you the complete list over on SoundStage! Hi-Fi -- to tackle another subject that’s been on my mind lately: the safety -- or, in some cases, the false sense of security -- that comes with shopping by brand.

: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 December 2017

Last month I established an upper limit ($10,000 USD) on what I’d spend on a DAC with a built-in volume control. For my present system I can’t justify an analog preamplifier, with its banks of analog inputs of which I’d use precisely one -- though I do miss, on some sentimental level, the very last analog preamp I owned: an Ayre Acoustics KX-R Twenty. But unless you have multiple analog sources (I don’t), there’s no need for the extra box and interconnects an analog preamp would require. But I do have multiple digital sources, so I need digital switching and, of course, the ability to adjust volume.

: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 November 2017

Last month I established an upper limit to the retail cost of the loudspeakers I’ll eventually select: $39,900/pair. This month I look at amplification. But first, I want to discuss system configuration.

: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 October 2017

I don’t have all of this figured out yet, but I know where I’m not going, and that establishes some upper price limits for the components that will eventually comprise my new stereo system. To review where I’ve come from:

: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 September 2017

The Dynaudio Contour 60 loudspeakers had just landed in the Music Vault and the Soulution 711 stereo amplifier was on its way out the door. A second set of speakers, the TAD ME-1 compact standmounts, were inbound. I had an amplifier lined up for review that would have given me a smooth transition from the Soulution, but, as often happens with these things, that shipment was delayed. Now my concerns were that there’d be a gap between power amps, and that I was running the risk of changing so much in my system in so short a period of time that I would muddy the waters of which outswapping of gear had caused which change in the sound.

: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 August 2017

Some of you guys might remember Randall Smith, who wrote for the SoundStage! sites from 2006 to 2013. He reviewed a lot of home-theater gear, but also integrated amplifiers from the likes of Simaudio and Boulder, speakers from companies as varied as KEF and Rockport Technologies, subwoofers from JL Audio, and a source component from Esoteric. He accompanied me to Maine to pick up the Rockport Arrakis speakers that formed the heart of The World’s Best Audio System 2009, and has been to Canada to tour the R&D facilities of Paradigm and Axiom Audio. He’s helped schlep countless speakers and amps into my Music Vault listening room, a space he helped construct in 2006. (Randall lives only minutes away from me.) In short, Randall has not only been around the high-end industry, he’s been my friend and accomplice in my own audio adventures.

: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 July 2017

In my 20 years of reviewing audio equipment, I’ve bought and sold a lot of gear. From the beginning, I took the tried-and-true audiophile path: each upgrade promised better performance than what had preceded it, and usually cost more. Through the years, the total retail value of my system has inched up in price, culminating in my current rig of Magico Q7 Mk.II speakers, Soulution 711 and 560 electronics, Nordost cables, and Torus power conditioner: about $400,000. That doesn’t include my custom listening room, the Music Vault, or all the money and sweat equity I’ve spent moving gear into and out of it.