Premiere Issue: January 2006

THE
E-ZINE
FOR
FRUGAL
AUDIO
BUYERS
Affordable$$Audio
Premiere Issue: January 2006
Copyright 2006 AffordableAudio.org. All Rights Reserved.
Buyer Preparation
Have the itch to upgrade your system?
here are some training tips to help you
prepare for the shopping adventure.
Page 2
Polk LSi9
The Rodney Dangerfield of quality bookshelf speakers.
Page 4
DIY Workbench
How To Use
a VOM (VoltOhm-Meter)
Well Enough
To Get By.
Big sound in a small
package.
Page 8
Outlaw RR2150
Receiver.
Retro looks and 21st
Century power
Linn Keilidhs
Warm, mellow towers.
Page 12
Page 10
A little sledge
hammer of an amp
Page 6
Welcome
Affordable$$Audio is an idea born out of a des-
perate quest to find reviews on various pieces of
used and vintage audio equipment.
The Goal
In starting Affordable$$Audio it is
my goal to bring reviews of reasonably priced quality audio gear
based upon real-world buyers testing environments. The big audio
magazines test $500 speakers using
$10,000 amplifiers and $6,000 preamplifiers. Not to mention interconnects priced at double most people’s
car payments.
Therefore, when you read reviews in
Affordable$$Audio you will see that
the author’s equipment is very consistent with what the vast majority of
buyers can afford. In that way, you
can be assured that what you may
eventually hear is very similar to what our reviewers did in their own homes.
The reviews will consist of both new and used
equipment. I, myself, am notorious for buying
demo or used equipment. However, new pieces
will be reviewed as well, but not when they first
hit the market. Why? Since Affordable$$Audio
doesn’t accept manufacturers advertising, reviews will occur when the writers have the op-
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Totem
Dreamcatchers
Adcom GFA-535
Page 14
portunity demo the model in their own home as
they become curious about the specific item.
But count on most reviews to cover equipment
that has a bit of age and has earned a strong
reputation and fan club. In my case, I will be
working with a few independent new/used dealers focusing on intriguing pieces that were found
on the resale shelves. After all, quality audio
gear ages very gracefully when well taken care
of. Thus allowing the new owner
greater bang for the buck.
You will notice that the photography
in the pieces I reviewed has some
issues, namely my unsteady hands.
Next month I promise to use a tripod.
The Staff
All the writers for Affordable$$Audio
are volunteers. They do this out of
sheer passion, and in some cases,
frustration with the lack of independent reviews of equipment they could
afford. Since writing reviews is a
hobby, don’t expect to see a review/
article each month by everyone. Instead, just sit back, turn on your current favorite
piece of music and enjoy reading Affordable$$Audio.
Mark Marcantonio,
Publisher, Editor, Owner
P.S. Please, feel free to email your comments to:
[email protected]
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AUDIO TRAINING CAMP:
P R E PA R E D T O A U D I T I O N
By Mark Marcantonio
For years I have teased my wife about how
much effort she expended preparing to shop.
Now granted, she is a Professional Organizer.
But still, the time spent laying the foundation
for a shopping adventure seemed downright
silly. Then, I got the itch to upgrade my audio
system after an amazing 15 year run.
At first, I just wanted to re-acquaint myself with
brands, statistics, and terms. I began where I
had left off by perusing the audio equipment I
had grown fond of in the wonderfully chaotic
world of eBay, and later, the refined spaces of
Audiogon. Names and numbers I hadn’t
heard of in eons jarred my memory. Then
came new names and designs, I felt as if I had
ignored an old and dear friend. I knew that I
was wholly unprepared to purchase, I needed
to reawaken my auditory perception/
recognition. Below, is the regimen that led me
to a successful upgrade.
Step One: Get back to “critical listening”, the
concentrated analysis of picking out the good,
the bad, the euphoric, and the downright painful passages of recorded music. This means
going thru virtually every piece of music you
may own. Don’t be surprised at how terrible
some recordings sound from the 1980’s. One
artist, whose album won a couple of Grammies comes to mind as
sounding horrifically
compressed. Then
again, some absolute
gems appeared that you
had no memory of
sounding so good.
Step Two: Visit your
area dealers; find out what kind of business
they operate. Are they friendly to the serious
audio shopper? Is there a sense of passion
towards audio equipment? Are the sound
rooms setup like a typical home, or modified to
the point of unrealistic perfection? Do they
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encourage direct in-store comparison to your
current equipment? Finally, are they willing to
be patient that it may take several listening
sessions before purchasing?
Step Three: Select a handful of cd’s and
spend several days listening to just those selections. Try to select specific passages and
listen for items such as: fingers sliding on the
guitar strings, breathing, straining of high frequencies, anything out of the ordinary. Day
after day listen for the subtleties, train your
ears to discern the specific reason for the flaw,
if possible. Write down what you hear, and
save it for later.
Step Four: Back in the 1980’s when I sold low
to mid-fi stereo equipment I kept on hand several cassettes (metal) of all types of music recorded from my trusty Harman Kardon deck.
Using metal tapes was my way of tweaking
the sound to get the most favorable reaction
possible. Nowadays, virtually most any
speaker shopper can do the same thing. All
one needs a computer with a CD-RW burner
and by copying your favorite songs from your
own personal library you can create a demo
disc encompassing the variety of music you
enjoy. In my own case, that involved a couple
of acoustic guitar songs, followed by Joe
Jackson’s “Cha-Cha Loco (Body and Soul),
James Taylor, Donald Fagan, Phoebe Snow’s
“Something Real”, Dan Fogelberg, George
Winston, Melissa Etheridge, Spyro Gyra, Pete
Townshend, and Aaron Copeland.
Every track should have both an overall musical quality, and a specific passage that you
can recognize as a critical sound reproduction
point. I went so far as to bring along a note
pad reminding me of the absolute impressions
I had with my current speakers. This may
sound like overkill, but I found it had a tendency to keep the salesperson quiet, so I
could listen in peace.
Step Five: After doing the initial auditions, join
a couple of audio chat rooms. The variety and
experience of audio enthusiasts is both refreshing and inspiring. It used to be that havAffordable$$Audio
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ing a conversation with another stereo fanatic
was limited to the occasional party conversation. Nowadays, it is a virtual guarantee that
anyone can find a post discussing his or her
specific interest. For myself, it was more a
much a confirmation of what my retrained ears
were hearing than a college dorm stereo war.
Step Six: To some, audio equipment reviews
are nothing short
of religious truth,
to others, selfserving sanctimonious snobbery. I take more
of a middle
ground, a thorough conversation about a
product. After all,
no matter who
the reviewer is,
they are writing
because they
have a passion
for audio equipment.
So, I began my
reading, luckily we live in the cyber age where
research can be done via the Internet. A few
words “Googled” and I had my list of sites to
visit. One that I came to enjoy was
www.audioreview.com, where anyone could
post his or her opinion. What I valued most
about these reviews was what equipment the
person posting was comparing it to. Of the
professional sites, www.stereophile.com with
its free access to all its reviews should be a
highly valued resource to any audio fan.
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made was to come in on a weekday, when the
shops were less crowded. It made it much
easier for the sales staff to work with my desire to compare what I owned versus what
they carried. It made the entire process (2
plus hours on average) far more enjoyable
and focused. In addition, having a demo CD
made the sales staff’s life much easier. I was
given the remote and was able to swap tracks
at will. The only
down time was
the few seconds in swapping cables between equipment. The
down time may
seem to be
make for a difficult direct comparison, but
having spent
the time to train
my audio perceptibility it
wasn’t difficult
to pick out the
differences.
In the end, the most important thing is to relax and
enjoy the pursuit. After all, the opportunity to compare equipment is a joy that takes but a short time,
but is remembered for ages.
Step Seven: The final step involves direct
auditioning. This usually requires an independent dealer, as the chains rarely approve
of bringing in equipment. Besides, independents are the life-blood of quality audio equipment. In many cases they enjoy comparing as
much as the customer does. I have been
lucky enough to find a number of shops in the
Portland, Oregon area. A personal courtesy I
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Polk Audio LSi9 Bookshelf Loudspeakers:
By Steveaz (Club Polk member)
Editors note: This review originally appeared in Polk Audio discussion board before the review standards were setup for
this e-zine. The author has given permission for it to be published here.
Music:
Pearl Jam; Allison Krause; Rush; No Doubt;
Steely Dan; John Mayer; Seal; Trapt; Avril
Lavigne; Lifescapes "Smooth Jazz"
Setup:
The Polk Audio LSi9 Speakers were setup on
makeshift (err...redneck) stands that placed
the tweeter at ear level. My apologies for the
cheesy stands, but I haven't owned a standmounted bookshelf since 1992. Front baffles
were approx 4' from the rear wall, 5' from side
walls, 7' apart, and 8' from the listening position with about ½" of toe-in. The room is approx 23' x 48' (14' vaulted ceiling) great room,
the living room/dining room/kitchen are all in a
single open space, with the living room (listening area) at the first 1/3 of the space. This
means no wall for about 28' from behind the
listening position. Grilles were left off. There
were no stock jumpers supplied, so we used
4" lengths of 14awg copper wire to jump the
binding post on the speakers.
Initial Impressions:
Oddly enough, the LSi9 looked smaller than I
had imagined, at first I thought they were
LSi7's. The build and aesthetics are very nice—the speakers are heavy for bookshelf
style speakers. The finish was Ebony and well
executed with black piano gloss top. Binding
posts are of good quality and beefy/rugged;
everything about the build exudes quality &
elegance. They wouldn't look at all out of
place sitting next to rack full of Krell or Levinson gear.
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Listening:
From the moment I hit the "Play" button on
the CEC I was immediately impressed with the
LSi9's BIG sound. It wasn't the typical bookshelf sound at all, and Wes and I were all
smiles. They filled the room quite easily with
modest volume settings, and the midrange
grabbed me right away during the Steely Dan
set. Wes commented on how Allison Krause'
voice can sound a bit nasal on lesser quality
speakers, but noted that her vocals sounded
very good thru the LSi. I agree, extremely accurate in weight, tone and realism. The LSi9 is
a wonderful "vocals" speaker. I noted during
the John Mayer set that the Lsi9's do miss the
lowest octaves, but to be expected on a bookshelf speaker---still bass was very good; the
best I've heard in a bookshelf especially considering they were off the back wall a good
distance. I can understand how the LSi9 might
be accused of being a little heavy in the midbass if it were closer than the 4' distance he
had them at. Midrange was a "ten ring" all the
way, beautiful. Treble was very extended and
though a touch forward as compared to my
Energy Connoisseur's, it never got edgy or
etched. The air around cymbals was apparent
and abundant---a very nice 3 dimensional portrayal. Imaging was very good, soundstaging
left-to-right very good, depth pretty good. Piano music sounded extremely real, no huffy or
chestiness in the sound of the notes, just
beautiful bell-like clarity with great attack and
smooth decay--two thumbs up.
Caveats? A few minor nitpics: Keep in mind
this is a bookshelf speaker and my listening
room is large. In that context, the Lsi9 did begin to unravel a bit when pushed hard—very
hard. Some perspective: My preamp volume
knob has never seen the 1 o'clock position,
we had the LSi's at about 11:30; I approximate
(seat-of-the-pants-estimation) that we were
probably pushing 103db or more when I noticed the speaker began to sound compressed
in dynamics; hey, again, to be expected when
pushing a bookshelf this hard in a room this
big. Everything just shy of "concert" levels
sounded wonderful, regardless of the material
thrown at them, and was plenty loud and unAffordable$$Audio
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compressed for music well beyond typical listening levels.
My only other observation was that on a couple of rare occasions, with certain music, the
transition from midrange to the tweeter
sounded a little disconnected---let me explain;
On a few passages I felt like I could "locate"
the tweeter as it sounded as if it were playing
by itself, does that make sense? Let me try
again, I could localize sounds coming straight
from the tweeter, it was a little strange---and
rare, so not that a big a deal. I noticed it specifically on a track that had finger snapping in
it; the snapping of the fingers sounded like it
was coming exclusively from the tweeter,
rather than blended in with the midrange.
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you'd never know if that was the Polk’s playing
or my Energy towers"...Wes agreed. The midrange was gorgeous; treble very nice 99.9% of
the time; and bass, as good as you'll get in a
package this size. It never sounded bloated or
boomy, like a lot of bookshelves can, it was
very clean and deep reaching at reasonable
playback levels.
Build: *****
Sound: ****
Value: ****
Related equipment:
- C.E.C. CD-3300 CD transport AES/EBU digtal output
- Benchmark DAC1 DAC
- Musical Fidelity A3CR Preamp
- Parasound HCA-1500A Power amp
- Kimber PBJ Interconnects
- Signal Cable AES/EBU digital cable
- Kimber 8TC speaker cable
Addendum: 12/12/2005
After much debate/brainstorming on the Lsi9
displaying dynamic compression, some believe that amplifier clipping may have been the
culprit. Although I have doubts about this, it's
important to understand the Lsi9 can dip to 2
ohms in some frequency ranges. Bottom line,
it might be wise to select an amplifier that is
stable to 2 ohms. Just an FYI. I'm still convinced that what I heard was compression, not
clipping, as the speakers didn't sound harsh,,
but rather the soundstage just collapsed;
however, keep the above in mind.
Conclusions:
I'm impressed; really impressed. The first 5
minutes of listening, Wes and I just stood
there with our mouths hanging open, looking
at each other in disbelief---we were speechless. The Lsi9 sounded much better than I had
anticipated and that’s saying a lot, as I had
pretty high expectations. It's really amazing to
see such a small speaker sound so large.
Wes and I were out on my patio as the system
was playing, and I told Wes "from out here,
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DIY – By and for the Marginally Competent.
By Bob Lombard
This article, and any that may follow it, is not
intended to educate experienced audio Do-ItYourselfers. If you are one of those, feel free
to read on and send critical letters to the editor. (Just be aware that, for some editors, any
feedback is good feedback.) The intent is to
help make the use of vintage (i.e. affordable)
equipment more practical for the ‘common
man’.
How To Use a VOM (Volt-Ohm-Meter) Well
Enough To Get By.
You need to know how to use a VOM so that
you can do simple chores like setting the DCoffset at the speaker outputs of your amp,
checking/setting the bias current on the pc
board of your amp (somewhat scary, but otherwise simple), and
checking to
see if that
solder connection you
just made is
really a connection.
We’ll use a
Fluke 77
VOM for illustrative purposes; there
are a lot of
Flukes
around that
look like this
one, and a lot
more VOMs
that work like
it. Plus, it’s easy to see the controls, and this
is the VOM I have.
This VOM is auto-ranging. If yours isn’t, it has
more positions around the selector knob; no
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big deal, you’re just more apt to see the outof-range message in the LCD window. The
sine wave symbol after the V(olts) and the
A(mps) indicates AC positions. The horseshoe
symbol represents Ohms. The position
marked with a symbol that looks something
like ->|- |||| is for testing diodes. Some VOMs
have a selector knob for choosing ranges, and
another one to read volts, milliamps, or Ohms.
I don’t know if all VOMs make you move the
non-common lead to a different jack to check
current rather than volts/Ohms; this one does.
I think this way is safer. The Fluke also has
the capability to measure current up to 10
amps when connected in series with the circuit. I can’t think of a use you will have for this
in DIY audio work, and it’s possible to ‘smoke’
the meter using it that way, because it isn’t
fuse protected there.
Checking Continuity and Measuring Resistance
Lets examine how to check continuity/
resistance. If you have a populated pc board
you can get at, good. Otherwise we can make
do with your body. No harm should come of it.
The first thing you have to do before checking
resistance is to make sure that the device has
NO POWER going to it. You can’t check resistance in a powered circuit, but you can blow
the meter’s fuse, which is annoying, or zap
yourself, which is also at least annoying. Unplug the device; that’s safer than relying on
the position of its power switch.
Plug the black lead into the COM(mon) jack
on the VOM, and the red lead into the volt/
ohm jack. It doesn’t really make a difference
now, but when you’re checking DC volts or
milliamps it does, so you may as well get used
to it.
Move the selector knob from the OFF to the
Ohms position. When the meter finishes its
self-test and battery check, the window will
show 0.L and the bar graph will extend all the
way to the right. M (Ohms) will appear on the
right side of the window. That’s lack of continuity. Now take a probe in each hand and
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squeeze it with your fingers. You’ll see a reading, probably some decimal part of a megohm.
Touch the two probes together and the widow
will change to show some small value, probably 1 or 2 tenths of an Ohm.
If you have that populated, NOT POWERED
pc board, you can play with checking resistances across various sub-circuits. It will give
you practice placing the probes where you
want them to be; that becomes important
when you are checking voltage in a poweredup circuit.
Measuring Voltage and Current
It’s easy to find a voltage source - you can use
a wall outlet. Set the VOM’s selector knob to
V-AC (sine wave symbol); plug the red lead
into the volts/ohms jack. Insert a probe into
each, ah, prong-hole of the wall outlet and the
meter will display the voltage that’s there.
What we really want to see though is DC volts
and milli-amps. I thought about taking you directly to setting DC-offset and bias current in
an amplifier here, but that makes me nervous.
You really ought to get more practice with
those probes; sticking one in the wrong place
could mess up your amp.
So, how about using a wall-wart? That’s what
some folks call those little plastic-cased power
supplies you plug directly into a wall outlet.
You want one that outputs DC and is rated at
not more than 300 mA. We need to cut the
cord, but when you’re done it can be reattached and will work good-as-new.
OK. With the wall-wart NOT plugged into the
wall, cut the output cable 3 or 4 inches from
it’s free end. Strip an inch of outer covering
from the end of each piece; since this is a DC
power supply, one of the wires revealed ought
to be insulated in red. Strip a half-inch of insulation from each wire. Bend the wires that are
connected to the wall-wart away from each
other (to avoid shorting them together in the
next step).
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Now we are ready to read DC voltage. Set
your VOM to Volts DC. Place a wooden bench
(or whatever is non-conductive and handy)
near the wall outlet; rest the cable on it, and
plug in the wall-wart. Touch the black lead of
your VOM to the black wire and the red lead to
the red wire. You should see a reading in
volts. Now swap the leads; you should see the
same reading, except that now there is a minus sign before it.
You probably noticed that it isn’t all that easy
to get and hold a good connection between
probe and wire. Remember that, and you
won’t accept faulty readings later.
To read current, we need to connect one of
the wires back to the plug, leaving the other
wire disconnected. Unplug the wall-wart first. It
doesn’t matter which color, just be sure it’s red
to red or black to black. Twist the wires together tightly and wrap electrical tape around
it. Bend the two unconnected wires away from
each other.
Now plug in the unit the wall-wart is meant to
supply, and the wall-wart back into the wall. If
the unit has an on-switch, turn it on. Set the
selector knob on the VOM to Amps DC, and
move the red lead to the milli-amps jack.
Touch the probes to the wire ends. If you have
a good connection you will see a reading in
milli-amps. Note that what you are doing here
is connecting the VOM is series with the load.
When you’re done with this experiment, connect those two wires together, and wrap some
electrical tape around the pair and the outside
covering; good as new, right?
Next time (if there is one), I’ll go over setting
DC-offset and bias current.
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Totem Dreamcatcher Speakers
By Mark Marcantonio
Manufacturer:
Totem Acoustics
Saint-Leonard Quebec, Canada
www.totemacoustic.com
Type:
Compact 2-way bookshelf speaker, rear ported
Frequency Response:
57 Hz – 25kHz
Impedence:
4 Ohm
Power Handling:
100 watts max
Crossover:
2.5 kHz 1st order
Terminals:
4 way bi-wireable
Woofer: 4in Long Throw
Tweeter: 1in Titanium Dome
Dimensions:
w 5 x d 7 x h 11 ¼
New $430-470, Used pricing: $250-300
Discovering audio in the 1970’s meant that
when it came to speakers, bigger was always
better. Sure, one heard rumors of a mightymite speaker from Europe (Rogers LS3/5A)
that was supposed to be amazing, but the opportunity to actually hear it was non-existent.
The bigger the woofer, the better was almost
the only thing anyone wanted to know.
Well, as Bob Dylan sings, “The times, they are
a changing”, smaller, faster drivers are now
the rage, backed up by endless computer
generated graphs. One of the best examples
of room filling sound from just a pair of wine
bottle-size boxes is the Totem Acoustic
Dreamcatchers.
I first heard the Dreamcatcher’s this past
summer, but my attention at that time was on
their big brother, the Rainmakers. Very recently, I noticed on the website for Portland,
Oregon’s Echo Audio (www.echohifi.com) that
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a used pair was available. A quick email to
the owner, , and I was all set to pick them up
for an in-home audition. When I arrived, I
asked if they
could be
hooked up for
a quick listen,
just to make
sure I wasn’t
crazy. Although Totem
says 100
watts max,
the speakers
were connected to a
DK Audio Design VS.1 Reference MkII, 150w Integrated
amplifier. Once the music began, I was startled by what was coming out of such a small
pair of boxes. As a comparison, I had the
salesman switch over to a quality brand bookshelf, the change was amazing, the Dreamcatchers just blew the bigger, more expensive
bookshelf away. I just knew I had to get these
little monsters home and see what they could
do with both a simple Adcom GFA-535 amplifier (60 wpc) and when powered by a Harman
Kardon AVR75 receiver (75 wpc).
The pair I tested came in a wonderful burgundy mahogany veneer. The fit and finish
was impeccable. Normally, I am not a fan of
this finish, but in this case it works very well.
On the back is the standard bi-wireable terminal setup. A small rear firing port sits opposite
the tweeter. I tested the Dreamcatchers without the grills and found that dust, etc. weren’t
attracted to the cones at all.
I first set up the Dreamcatcher’s in my living
room (21 x 12), on 24 inch metal stands, approximately 12 inches from the back wall and
30 inches from a side wall. Being Christmastime, I played a random selection of seasonal
music while I went about setting up the yuletide tree. My first impression while moving
about was how well they sounded off axis.
There was only the slightest hint of being off
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the sweet spot. Instrument placement could
still be located even when standing way off to
one side or another. I was particularly impressed by the how the Dreamcatcher’s handled creating the soundstage once the tree
was placed between the speakers. For lack of
a better description, the sound flowed around
the obstacle like a stream around a boulder.
My second session occurred in my family
room, a 12 x 12 room. The speakers were
placed on a low bookcase shelf (15 inches
from the ground) on either side of the entertainment center. This time I used my HK
AVR75 to power the Totems. I then popped in
my demo cd. The first song is John Mellencamp’s “Justice and Independence” with its
energetic drum solo. What I heard was amazing, the room became the stage! Musicians
were all around me.
The drums were
right off my feet as I
sat in my recliner.
The bass was a bit
more pronounced
and deeper, but not
tiresome (bass fatigue is a pet peeve
of mine). The
Dreamcatchers
used the natural
acoustics of the
bookcase to accentuate the sound.
The deliciously clear voice of Phoebe Snow in
“Something Real” with her abrupt cut offs
brought me forward in my chair. During Dire
Straits “Making Movies”, the cymbal crashes
shimmered even standing up, demonstrating
once again the outstanding dispersion capability. Equally fun during that song was hearing the combination of bass guitar and bass
drum thumping the room.
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speakers struggle to handle the deep intonations of Brad Roberts vocals. The Dreamcatchers performed flawlessly. Another test is
the drum roll from one speaker to another
while Dan Fogelberg’s voice stays front center
in “Higher Ground”. Once again, the Dreamcatcher’s passed with flying colors. As a Fogelberg fan, I was also pleased how these
gems didn’t exaggerate the sometimes raspy/
breathy nature of his voice.
In the third & fourth listening sessions I finally
detected a crack in the Dreamcatcher’s armor.
The French horns from John Williams underrated score “Dances with Wolves” lacked a bit
of their pronounced emphasis. This I caught
wind of during the third session in the family
room, and was more pronounced in the living
room with its larger, non-bookcase setting.
Interestingly enough, later in
that same piece the trumpets come through strongly,
as they should. This could
be a case of a specific
sound not being able to accurately reproduce due to
cabinet size. Whatever the
case may be, it is a minor,
minor issue.
Conclusion:
Vince Bruzzese, has done
audio a great service in creating a truly affordable
speaker capable of quality, room filling sound,
to those who desire very small footprints. If
you are looking for a speaker can perform at
audiophile level and truly fit on a normal bookcase, then the Totem Dreamcatcher should
rank at the top of your list of speakers to audition.
A favorite musical test of mine for speakers is
seeing how well they handle the deep bass
vocal of Crash Test Dummies, in a live recording of “Superman’s Song”. Many bookshelf
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Outlaw Audio RR 2150
Stereo Receiver
By Steve Eddy
Outlaw Audio RR 2150 Receiver
Price: $599
http://www.outlawaudio.com
Specifications:
Audio Section
• Continuous Average Power:
100 watts per channel, 20 Hz - 20kHz,<0.03%
THD, both channels driven into 8 ohms
160 watts per channel, 20 Hz - 20kHz,<0.03%
THD, both channels driven into 4 ohms
• Input Sensitivity/Impedance:
High Level: 200mV/47kohms
MM Phono: 3.3mV/47kohms
MC Phono: 0.6mV/47kohms
•S/N Ratio: 96dB
•Bass Management:
Adjustable 60/80/100/Bypass
High-Pass Slope 12 dB/octave (2nd order)
Low-Pass Slope 12 dB/octave (2nd order)
•Tone Control:
Bass Center
Frequency/Range
50Hz ± 6.5dB
Treble Center
Frequency/Range
1KHz ± 6.5db
FM Tuner Section
•Frequency Range:
87.5-108MHz
•Usable Sensitivity IHF:
12dBf
•Signal-to-Noise Ratio:
Mono/Stereo 75/70dB
•Stereo Distortion:
0.24%
•Stereo Separation:
37dB @ 19kHz
•Selectivity: +/-10kHz,
70dB
AM Tuner Section
•Frequency Range: 530-1710kHz
•Usable Sensitivity: 500uV/M
•Signal-to-Noise Ratio: >54dB
•Selectivity: +/-10kHz >25dB
General
•Supply Voltage 120V, 60Hz only
•Power Consumption:
5W Idle
400W maximum, both channels driven
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•Dimensions:
(HxWxD) 5.75 x 17.1 x 15 in.
Weight 27 lbs
Outlaw Audio’s
“retro” receiver
was nearly an
idea whose
time never
came. Production was repeatedly delayed, to the
point that it became an item of nearly mythological proportions. But, like so many other
things in life, the 2150 has emerged as undisputed proof that good things are worth waiting
for.
Although it can be a fatal flaw for audiophile
opinions to be skewed by a product’s looks,
an exception has to be made for the 2150.
With its sweeping metal face, large, blue digital readout and one-of-a-kind design, it is indeed striking. And
it’s heavy – at 27
pounds, it presents a solid, noplastics fit and
feel.
Straight operation
with FM, CD and
the movingmagnet phono
output as sources
were tested here
(the unit also has
a moving-coil cartridge option). Although “retro” in
appearance with a nod to the lovely Bakelite
radios of the late 1930s and 1940s, the 2150
boast such 21st-century accoutrements as an
MP3-player input and USB hookup, should the
listener want to link it to a home computer.
Instead of a conventional “loudness” control,
the 2150 features a bass boost at selected
frequencies. This will particularly appeal to lisAffordable$$Audio
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teners who have bookshelf-style speakers that
can use a little extra “oomph.” Adding a sub?
The receiver
boasts a twochannel version of the
“bass management”
function found
in hometheater receivers (you’ll
need a sub whose built-in crossover can be
bypassed to enjoy this feature.)
As always, it’s the music that counts, and
those coming from a mid-fi receiver will immediately notice a delicious transparency, particularly on string selections. In honor of the
season, we pulled out Leroy Anderson’s venerable “Sleigh Ride” (Naxos). Our slender Polk
towers threw an unusually wide soundstage
with this recording, and it was nearly possible
to denote each individual string instrument.
The trumpets boasted plenty of bite, and the
“whip” was holography suspended above and
to the right of the left speaker.
With renewed interest in recordings from the
1950s, we put the 2150 up against the formidable RCA "Living Stereo" re-release of
Gershwin’s "Rhapsody in Blue" by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. Even without benefit
of SACD reproduction, this classic exhibited a
realistic front-to-back orchestral presentation
and a heart-stopping dynamic range. The receiver packs an honest 100 watts of power,
and never developed heat or seemed to
strain.
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Stereo devotees are frequently vinyl fans as
well, and the receiver’s
phono stage tested quite
well. Female vocals are
always a good measure,
and the Classic Records
200-gram pressing of
Norah Jones’ “Come
Away With Me” made the
popular singer’s voice
sound almost eerily lifelike, completely natural and uncolored. (The
realism of the slide guitar on "Lonestar” and
the solid punch of the bass on “I’ve Got To
See You Again” are also worth noting.)
More good points? The manual is unusually
complete, and Outlaw customer service is deservedly legendary. Weaknesses? They are
few and far between. With the remote, the
volume control is imprecise, and radio-station
presetting has a bit of a learning curve. But
these are minor piffles. Outlaw has a major hit
on its hands, and deservedly so. Without any
sort of conventional marketing, the 2150 has
already been out of stock twice since its introduction in November. It seems that interest in
stereo is alive and well, particularly among
those willing to look beyond the Denon’s and
Sony’s of the world and latch onto a product
as unique and noteworthy as this.
Associated equipment: Polk Audio Monitor 70
speakers, Canare 4S11 cable, Panasonic RV-32
CD/DVD player, NAD 533 turntable, Rega Super
Elys cartridge.
On the jazz side, pianist Jacques Loussier’s
rendition of Ravel’s “Bolero” (Telarc) remains
one of the finest jazz-trio recordings ever, particularly noteworthy for the reproduction of
Benoit Dunoyer de Segonzac’s exquisite
standup-bass lines. This is the kind of track
that would sound good on the weakest of systems, but in the hands of the 2150, it is nothing short of hypnotic.
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Linn Keilidhs
Compact Tower Speakers
By Mark Marcantonio
Type: 2 way loudspeaker with crossover at 2.8kHz
Frequency response 50Hz - 20kHz +/-2dB, 1m on axis.
Input impedance: 4 Ohms nominal
Amplifier requirements: At least 60W per channel
into 4 Ohms. For example, Linn LK140.
Features: Internal adjustment of treble level.
Wiring options: Single-wiring, Bi-Wiring, Biamplification, Active Bi-Amplification, Active TriAmplification.
Size: 825mm (H) x 200mm (W) x 275mm (D)
Weight 18kg each.
Used pricing: $575-750
Nothing has diffused the decorator versus the
audio fanatic debate as much as the change in
speaker design. Until the early 1990’s tower
speakers looked something akin the the monolith
in 2001: A Space Oddessey. Thankfully, the
“post” design came into favor, thus allowing for
both music and plant stands to be combined into
one.
One of the best examples of this graceful design
is the Linn Keilidhs. A slim, but exceptionally
sturdy short tower. I was able to procure a pair
from the fine folks at Echo HiFi in Portland, Oregon.
The Linn Keilidhs can be found in either a black ash or
medium cherry veneer. The pair that graced my living
room was in a gorgeous cherry. No grills were present in
the my model but Linn offers a unique solution to those
that require such items. The front “face” has deep groves
whereby a simple piece of fabric can be place with some
type of elastic band. The drivers are recessed, allowing
for a flat covering of the face. In this way, the grill becomes virtually transparent, eliminating sound deflections.
The Keilidhs came with the side feet affixed. This bass
gives an exceptionally sturdy stance to a fairly narrow
mini-tower. One is warned to use caution with the spikes,
as I managed to slightly impale my palm when placing
them in my car for the ride home.
The Keilidhs require some form of bi-wiring. For my own
tests I used the simplist form, a jumper wire from one
connection to another. My first little test is to see how
they sound when using a long run of 14 gauge wire from
my equipment in the family room. The Keilidhs definitely
didn’t like the connection. The speakers sounded bland,
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lacking life, especially in the deep end. The sound stage
was severely compressed. they were not the same
speaker I had heard in the showroom.
Next, I brought into the living room my Adcom 535 amplifier, Harman Kardon cd player, and my 20 plus year old
Monster Cable speaker wire. I have never heard speaker
performance change so drastically. The sound stage
opened wide, something akin to blackout curtains being
removed from
London windows on VE
day. Most impressive was
the appearance
of a whole new
low octive.
Bass remained
acceptably tight.
In the shop, Kurt
had described
the Linn’s as
“mellow”. He
was quite right,
but in my home
a new description also became apparant,
a warm chestiness during
acoustic guitar
music. While
not unpleasant,
it did color the
music. In addition, the bass
did begin to wear on my listening, causing a slight fatigue
in my enjoyment. I don’t want to over emphasize this as I
am quite sensitive to boomy bass.
The mids are quite pleasant on the Keilidhs, very smooth
with a hint of warmth. Brass instruments sound quite
natural with a satisfying sense of sharpness. The french
horns that sounded muffled with the Totem Dreamcatchers, were full and airy, giving off the impression of the
openess of the great plains as it is shown in the movie
Dances With Wolves.
The highs sounded quite similar that of the Celestion SL6
models. Not bright or showy, just simply content. This
may be why the Keilidhs weren’t on many Americans
“must have” lists. I found them quite pleasant, especially
with the low ceiling in the living room. I tried a variety of
piano music to try and get the tweeters to show some
sense of strain, alas, nothing fazed these speakers.
I was determined to see if I could reduce the chestiness.
For a final test. I took the Keilidhs out to the garage, setting them on some carpet and played my demo cd. The
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Dolly Parton issues disappeared, what was left was a
wonderful musicality, with a sound stage of crisp instruments and just a hint of warmth.
I pondered why the garage would be so special to bring
out the best in these cherry beauties. Being a geography
teacher the answer was only an image or two away. In
Scotland, most flooring is hard surfaced (stone, concrete,
hardwood) with area carpets. My home is typical North
american with cut-pile carpeting above a pad and plywood, with a crawl space below. The Linns were using
the natural acoustics to expand on their inherent characteristics.
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Had I still lived in Colorado, or on a hillside with a basement, the Linn’s would still be there. The Keilidhs are a
rare speaker, European in consistency, but with a warmth
and liveliness of the best of the new world. If your in the
market for a small tower, that you can support with quality
wiring and a hard surface underlayment, skip some of the
more famous big box names and look for a used set of
Keilidhs, you won’t regret the time spent with these
friendly towers.
Associated equipment:
Harman Kardon PL-8450 CD Changer
Harman Kardon AVR-75 (used as a preamp and receiver)
Linn Keilidh compact tower speakers
Infinity Kappa 200 speakers
www.echohifi.com
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Gone was the massive face with macho man handles. Understated elegance was the statement.
By Mark Marcantonio
The first indication of what was lurking under the
hood came when lifting it. The 535 was no microchip
flyweight. Their is some serious quality transformers
and heat sinks powering this unit. The weight is
equally balanced on both sides.
60 watts per channel, 20Hz - 20kHz into an 8 ohm load with
both channels driven with less than 0.09% Total Harmonic Distribution
The ability to drive low impedance loads
Instantaneous Distortion Alert which indicates when distortion
products are above the 1% level
As is typical of power amplifiers, the front panel of
the Adcom 535 has few buttons switches. Just a
square power button with a red light on the left. Two
instantaneous distortion alert lights (one for each
channel) on the right, along with buttons for both A
and B pairs of speakers. This, a nod of recognition
that many buyers of the 535 were probably replacing
a receiver operating more than one pair of speakers.
Outputs for 2 sets of speakers (A & B Channel)
Two additional pass-thru AC outlets for additional rack components supporting 100 watts maximum
Used pricing: approximately $150-200
Every so often a watershed product (or product line)
comes along that shakes up the audio industry. In
most cases the actual idea is pretty damn simple. In
the mid-1980’s Adcom did just that. It came out with
a slim-line, lower powered amplifier with the raw energy to kick the daylights out of some
big name, big power
competition. It was
the wolf in sheep’s
clothing.
The back panel is in the typical non-painted steel
look, with black lettering. One set of RCA inputs
along the right side. Then cam the one clunker in the
entire design; the connections for the speakers are
not the typical audiophile binding posts. But instead,
the mass market insert and twist connection. Maybe
it was another nod to the beginner for ease of connection, but this style of posts has significant problems: First, no larger than 14 gauge wire can be used
without issues. Second, it eliminates the usage of
spades, banana
plugs, pins, etc.. This
was changed in later
models, but so was
the “B” set of speakers.
Adcom was not the
The real beauty of
first with the slim-line
this amplifier lies undesign. Harman
der its black metal
Kardon had the 700
hood. A low profile
series amplifier a few
version of many high
years prior. But it
power amplifiers.
didn’t have the monWhat surprises many
ster lurking under the
first time lookers at
hood. The Adcom
the insides of amplifi535 was one piece in
ers is how simple the
a whole new line of
design usually is.
equipment bearing
The weight comes
what is now their sigfrom just four parts: two transformers and two heat
nature look. A flat face plate with one to several hori- sinks. To show complete isolation the left and right
zontal groves running from one edge to the other.
channels are completely separate. The image to the
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left shows the virtual mirror image of the two sides.
This balanced approach with the massive heat sinks
to either side allows for even cooling of the 535 during heavy load periods.
Jubilee with its wonderfully diverse instrumentation
and dramatic sound taxes many amplifiers. The Adcom just kept pumping.
Listening:
The Adcom’s big brother, the GFA 555 was well
known for both it’s brute power and occasional harsh
sound. I, myself owned that model in the late 1980’s
and experienced it firsthand. I counter-balanced it
with the tube
pre-amp, the
ConradJohnson PV7. Thankfully,
the Adcom
GFA-535 suffers not from
that malady.
Instead, it
sounds more along the lines of Harman Kardon solid
state pieces. A slightly warm sound. The piano music of George Winston, with its occasional sharp attacks hit and decay smoothly, something that I specifically NOT remember from its bigger sibling.
I also ran the Adcom into the Infinity Kappa 200.
This Infinity Kappa series are well known to be difficult speakers to drive. My HK receiver never was
able to handle the Kappa’s load. The Adcom once
again using its brute strength of 100 wpc at 4 Ohms,
made the
Kappa’s
flush. The
effect of the
sledge hammer!
This is not to say that the 535 is perfect, by comparison to similar models produced today it would be
considered slightly noisy and a bit dry. That includes
the Music Hall A25 and the Parasound NC 275 to
name a few. Those two models exhibit a more liquid
quality to their output. But then again their engineers
have had 20 years to improve upon the Adcom design.
To wrap up, if
your budget
is strained but
you want to improve upon the sound of your receiver,
take a serious look at the Adcom GFA-535. Chances
are pretty fair that your local used dealer has these
come in and out of stock quite often. If that doesn’t
work, then roll the dice with Audiogon or eBay. Just
remember, most any used dealer will give you some
type of warranty, plus trade up options.
Associated equipment:
Harman Kardon PL-8450 CD Changer
Harman Kardon AVR-75 (used as a preamp)
Linn Keilidh compact tower speakers
Infinity Kappa 200 speakers
The best way to describe the power of the Adcom
GFA-535 is comparing a simple hammer to a small
sledge hammer. One can hear and feel the impact,
and the item being driven pierces the resistive force.
Where the 535 really shines is it’s ability to deliver
difficult passages without compressing the sound. I
specifically chose to run this amp with the Linn
Keilidhs, not an easy speaker to drive with lower
powered equipment. Using original Monster Speaker
cable the 535 pushed the Linn’s to the max without
causing the distortion lights to come on. Equally impressive was how cool the top of the unit stayed during the extended test. John Mellencamp’s Lonesome
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About Affordable$$Audio:
Is a privately held venture, published via the Internet,
the content is delivered free of charge to readers.
Created using Apple Computer’s Pages software
program and translated into .pdf document format.
Writing Opportunities:
If you have an interest in audio equipment, especially
quality affordable or vintage gear, please contact the
publisher for guidelines. Specific areas of interest
being looked for are vintage wood-sided equipment
and tube fanatics.
Advertising:
Retail shops dealing in both new and used audio
equipment are highly encouraged to advertise as this
e-zine was created specifically to support your business. For rates please contact the publisher at:
[email protected].
Affordable$$Audio: accepts no manufacturer advertising, however, if you would like your equipment reviewed please contact the publisher at:
[email protected].
Copyright Notice
All articles are the property of Affordable$$Audio.
Manufacturers need only to ask permission to reprint
or post a link to the web page.
Staff Biographies:
Mark Marcantonio- Editor, Owner, Publisher
Is a school teacher in the Portland, Oregon metro
area. Audio has been a fascination/budget drain
since his early teenage years.
Steve Eddy, 57, is a longtime journalist and jazz
writer currently doing freelance writing. He lives in
Southern California with his wife, Diana, and
son, Brian.
Bob LombardWas a field service technician/manual writer for a
machine tool company. Now retired, tripping along
through The Golden Years.
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