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The Overwhelming March of Technology: Anthem Statement M1 Mono Amplifiers

Note: Measurements performed by BHK Labs can be found through this link.

Bias is a hard thing to overcome. Even admitting that you have biases, let alone identifying precisely what they are, can be difficult. But such an admission is the necessary first step to being able to control them.

High-end audio is fraught with biased reviewers, and I’m no exception. I’ve gravitated toward specific types of audio products over the years, and looking back, the trend lines are clear. My taste in power amplifiers has been for physically large, heavy hardware. There’s something confidence-inspiring about peering through the top vents of a 150-pound amp and seeing a huge transformer -- you just know that the bass that amp will produce will be subterranean, and that the amp will grip your speakers like a vise. I "know" that about the amp before I listen to it -- that’s the definition of bias, and this one is built into my psyche.

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Take Notice: Jones Audio PA-M300 Series 2 Mono Amplifiers

Note: Measurements performed by BHK Labs can be found through this link.

In almost any field of endeavor these days, starting a new company is hard enough, but it’s a daunting task to differentiate your high-end audio product from the many long-established models available so that audiophiles will buy yours, and especially with a solid-state power amplifier. Let’s face it -- companies like Simaudio, Krell, Mark Levinson, Boulder, Vitus, and Gryphon are more than just formidable. Each has, at one point or another, been considered a benchmark by many in the industry, and each has an impressive track record that will make consumers more comfortable spending the enormous amounts of money asked for their products.

Read more: Take Notice: Jones Audio PA-M300 Series 2 Mono Amplifiers

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Inevitable: Magico Q7 Loudspeakers

For the last few years, the Q5 has been the flagship of Magico’s line of loudspeakers. This first of the Q models was lauded by a number of reviewers, dealers, and owners as the "best loudspeaker in the world." Still in production, the Q5 costs $65,000 USD per pair; it was followed by the Q3 ($38,950/pair) and the Q1 ($26,500/pair). But if you thought the Q5 would be Alon Wolf and Yair Tammam’s magnum opus, think again.

I think the Magico brain trust needed some time to fully get their legs under them: expanding their manufacturing resources and growing their technical knowledge base in order to more fully develop their vision of a flagship loudspeaker. The result is the most ambitious Magico ever: the new Q7 loudspeaker, which retails for $165,000/pair.

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Ribbons and Revelations: Raidho Acoustics C2.1 Loudspeakers

Earlier this year, at the Consumer Electronics Show, I had a conversation with Michael Børresen, president and chief designer of the Danish loudspeaker manufacturer Raidho Acoustics. He made one specific point about his company that, while simple in concept, struck me as alarmingly important in understanding his loudspeaker-design philosophy. Børresen said that whereas most companies buy raw drivers from third-party vendors but make their cabinets in-house, he decided early on that Raidho would do the opposite. He realized that while cabinet-making capability is readily available, designing and building drive-units from the ground up would give him the absolute technical control he needed to make Raidho speakers sound precisely as he envisioned them. Basically, he didn’t want to outsource what is arguably a loudspeaker’s most important component: its drivers. 

That conversation hit me like a ton of lead. Why don’t more speaker manufacturers actually make the things that make the sound -- the drivers -- themselves? Based on my experience, I’ve concluded that the answer is one of two things: Either they don’t know how to design drivers, or they don’t have the capital to invest in the manufacturing capability. 

One thing was certain from my conversation with Børresen: Raidho speakers are designed from the ground up and the inside out, starting with the drive-units. But then there are a number of technical elements that are important to Raidho. Read on . . .

Read more: Ribbons and Revelations: Raidho Acoustics C2.1 Loudspeakers