The Absolute Sound 262 April 2016

Welcome to The Abso!ute Sound online! We explore music and the reproduction of music in the home. We believe that the sound of music, unamplified, occurring in a real space is a philosophic absolute against which we may judge the performance of devices designed to reproduce music. Our goal is to provide the resources consumers need to judge how a component's sound either honors or departs from the music's truth, and to make sound purchasing decisions that maximize their experience of reproduced sound. Below is our Issue 262, April 2016 table of contents and editorial.

Articles & Reviews In This Issue
Letters

From the Editor

Future TAS
New products on the horizon

Industry News
The Absolute Sound to host Legends of High-End Audio panel at the Chicago AXPONA show.

The 2016 Consumer Electronics Show
We Bring You the Hottest New Gear from the Las Vegas Extravaganza

Cover Story
Vandersteen Treo CT Loudspeaker
Now fitted with Vandersteen's celebrated carbon drivers, the Treo CT brings more than a taste of flagship performance to mid-priced speakers. Neil Gader has a full and enthusiastic assessment.

PLUS! Affordable Speaker Focus
8 Great Speakers for Any Budget!
We review speakers from $749 to $175,000 — with lots of stops in-between.

Affordable Speaker Focus
Audioengine HD6
Audioengine's HD6 wireless powered speaker is the little engine that could. Neil Gader reports on this $749 wonder.

MartinLogan Motion60
An outstanding new ribbon/cone floorstander from MartinLogan proves that the company is much more than an electrostatic speaker specialist. Dave Martson has the details.

Falcon Acoustics LS3/5A
The venerated LS3/5A's BBC monitor has been recreated by Falcon Acoustics with painstaking fidelity to the parts and specs of the original. But was the original worth resurrecting? Paul Seydor has the answer, as well as an informative history of this iconic speaker.

Sony SS-AR5ES
Robert E. Greene looks at the most affordable descendent of Sony's acclaimed SS-AR1 loudspeaker.

Tannoy Definition DC10ti
We went wild over Tannoy's $2600 Revolution XT 8. Now Andrew Quint reports on what the company can do at the next price level up.

Equipment Reports
Benchmark ABH Power Amplifier
Benchmark boasts that the new ABH has the lowest noise and distortion of any amplifier extant. Paul Seydor puts this claim to the test.

Audio Alchemy DDP-1 Preamplifier/DAC/Headphone Amplifier, DPA-1 Stereo Power Amplifier, and DPA-1M Monoblock Power Amplifiers
Audio Alchemy is back with a line of upscale products that redefine the concept of value in affordable electronics. Robert Harley brings you the good news.

Synergistic Research Atmasphere 4 Cable
Neil Gader listens to an outstanding mid-priced cable.

The Cutting Edge
Gauder Akustik Berliner RC9 Loudspeaker
Andre Jennings falls in love with this unusually high-tech speaker from the fertile mind of physicist Dr. Roland Gauder.

Manufacturer Comments

Music
Country Music's "Big Bang" Reloaded
Larry Nager explains the history behind Orthophonic Joy.

Bernard Herrmann's Obsession
Two new releases devoted to a rare score impress Arthur Lintgen.

What's So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love, & Compact Discs?
Jeff Wilson thinks there's still life left in the CD.

Download Round-Up
Alan Taffel and Andrew Quint review hi-res pop and rock and classical downloads.

Rock
New releases by David Bowie, Natalie Merchant, the Cactus Blossoms, City and Colour, Ola Fresca, Terre Roche, Peter Cooper, and Alex Chilton, plus live recordings by Arthur Lee & Love.

Jazz
New releases by Josh Berman, Scott Amendola, and Myra Melford & Ben Goldberg, plus a live recording by Anthony Braxton & Derek Bailey and a 7-LP vinyl box set of George Duke.

Classical
The Monte Piano Trio, pianist Nadia Shpachenko, French mélodie performed by Véronique Gens & Susan Manoff, chamber works by Tartini, Stacy Garrop's Mythology Symphony, and Andrew Norman's Play, plus an 80-CD Leonard Bernstein compilation.

Back Page
We talk with turntable designer Louis Desjardins of Kronos Audio.

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