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Letters -- June 2008


“High fidelity has been lost...”

June 25, 2008

Editor,

High fidelity has been lost to a great degree in our hobby. I suggest that as a topic for your “Answering the Questions No One's Asking” articles. I am constantly amazed at the number of components that are available that don’t seem to subscribe to the concept of high fidelity but instead are so colored that they confuse and mislead audiophiles. If components or systems can simply play what is input, then they are doing their one and only job in my opinion. I would suggest you listen to some Peak Consult speakers for a fine example of high fidelity.

Roger C.

Generally speaking, I agree with you. The question then becomes how to determine what is high fidelity and what is intentionally colored. Everyone has their opinions and most will tell you that what they like is basically uncolored. At this point in time there is no pass/fail test for high fidelity. We have objective measurements, sure, but listening is still the single best way to determine what’s high fidelity and what’s not. And that’s what reviewers do....Jeff Fritz


Magico?

June 12, 2008

Editor,

There's been a lot of buzz about Magico lately, but I can't help but notice that you guys haven't reviewed their speakers. You seem to have reviewed everything else. Any reason?

Thom Delaney

We have been in contact with Alon Wolf at Magico and may very well review one of his speakers at some point in the future. Magico's current line has been covered quite thoroughly in the audiophile press, so we want to make sure that we’re not re-treading old ground with any of our product reviews. Perhaps one of the “coming soon” speakers will find its way into our queue in the not-to-distant future. I have heard Magico speakers several times at shows and they do sound quite good…..Jeff Fritz


June “Opinion”

June 4, 2008

Editor,

In your June “Opinion” you stated, “But even if you fall in love with a specific model, don’t jump too quickly. Listen some more, particularly to your chosen model’s competition. Also, try to listen to your pick in more than one acoustic environment, to hear how it interacts with different rooms.” This could not be more true. I bought speakers after hearing them in a large dealer’s showroom, where they sounded like exactly what I was looking for: coherent, huge soundstage, and with tightly controlled bass. When I got them set up in my home they sounded just the opposite: fuzzy with muddy bass and a poorly defined soundstage. I’ve not been able to get them to sound good at all, even though the dealer has been to my house twice. Your advice is prudent, although in my case not all that timely! Thank you for the excellent article nonetheless.

Larry


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