Patrick Dillon, weary of power cable swaps, resolves to evaluate Gary Koh’s new Absolute Fidelity power cords, or interfaces, and discovers a renewed enthusiasm for the right cord with the right component. “The Absolute Fidelity power interface made such an instant impact on the sound that I almost doubted what I was hearing… I find myself thinking my next upgrades have to be Absolute Fidelity cords.”
Patrick Dillon takes a look at the Legacy Audio Studio HD. Offering an 8″ woofer and folded ribbon tweeter in a compact cabinet, the Studio HD is the baby of the Legacy lineup. He concludes that the Studio HDs “soundstage extremely well, offer great resolution across most of the important frequency ranges, good timbre and easy placement” but has reservations about their performance with rock: “bass can overwhelm or lag behind the nimble response of the upper frequencies…”
“Over several decades of listening to and buying audio gear I’ve learned that price is only mildly correlated with sonic quality.” Patrick Dillon examines the new low-cost offering from Von Schweikert Audio, the VR-22. Available only factory-direct, Patrick concludes that they are “a great introduction to the qualities of high-end speakers.”
“Of all the exciting new products, innovations, and breakthroughs in audio science that are claimed for 2012, BSG’s qøl Signal Completion Stage will be the most talked about by year end. Already the subject of numerous reviews, mostly positive, skeptics are having a field day with this unique component.” Patrick Dillon investigates in depth.
“You don’t have to spend a long time among audiophiles before realizing that electricity, particularly the clean supply of sufficient electricity to power your components, is a topic of some interest. We seek to reduce noise, stifle radiation, recalibrate voltage and suppress electro-magnetic radiation.” Patrick Dillon continues.
“For his new line, Rick marshalls the intricacies of magnetic forces in a way that is far less hazardous to limbs and much more attractive to the eye,” writes Patrick Dillon in the review of Rick Schultz’ new cables. The technology may be obscure, but the result is clear: “the new High Fidelity Cables do something that others I have tried do not, they simply enable my system to reproduce music as well as I’ve ever heard in my room.”
Accompanying his review of the High Fidelity cables in this issue, Patrick Dillon interviews their creator Rick Schultz, previously of Virtual Dynamics. Rick gives us the lowdown on his work, the industry and his views of the music scene. “Music is unquestionably one of the greatest things life has to offer. Music is universal and almost everyone enjoys it.”
Patrick Dillon explores the concept of doing a complete system rewire with cables from a single manufacturer. “The theory, if we may call it such, is that the true benefit of cable changes are found when one employs the same manufacturer’s cables for the complete rig rather than cherry picking different cables for different components.” The results? Read on…
After encountering the Harbeth P3ESRs at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, Patrick Dillon had to hear them again on his home turf. Here he takes a pair through their paces. “There is something ineffably right about these speakers… If someone told me now that I had $2k to spend on speakers and I would have to live with my choice for years without chance of exchange, I’d buy these Harbeths on the spot.”
Harmonic Technology is a cable company that’s built up a reputation for itself slowly since its founding in 1998 by Jim Wang in San Diego. Patrick Dillon takes a listen to their “Magic” HDMI cable.