By Chris Martens
Perspective can be a funny thing, as I discovered when I asked the people from the Danish high-end firm Gamut (pronounced “Gah-MOOT”) to hear their new mid-priced Phi-series loudspeakers. “Are you sure you want to hear them?” they asked.

“Those are our mid-priced models and these sets aren’t broken in yet. Besides, we think of them as what Americans might call, well, ‘lifestyle’ speakers.”

“Yes,” I said, “I’d hear them if it’s not too much trouble.” (Truth to tell, I can’t resist exploring mid-priced offerings to search out the affordable gems).

The smallest GamuT Phi3 bookshelf monitors ($2150-$2250/pair) were duly hooked up, and after listening to a few sample tracks through them I found myself thinking that—lack of break-in time notwithstanding—they offered tremendous (More Pics After The Break) (more…)

By Chris Martens
Frank Van Alstine, long a champion of affordable yet decidedly performance oriented audio components, demonstrated three new models featuring hybrid tube/solid-state circuitry: The Ultra EC Hybrid Preamp with tone controls (starting at $1799), the Fet Valve Ultra 550 Hybrid Tube Amplifier ($2199), and the Ultra Hybrid Tube DAC ($1599).

Several of these designs are based on 6N1P tubes originally developed for Russian military applications.

On the basis of a too brief listening session, we suspect Mr. Van Alstine may have hit the sonic nail on the head, finding that elusive (more…)

By Chris Martens

Peekskill, NY-based Soundsmith continues to evolve its family of six Strain Gauge phono cartridge systems, with models starting at $6000.

Those unfamiliar with strain gauge cartridges may be pleased to learn that they are powered devices whose outboard power supply/preamplifier boxes eliminate the need for conventional phono preamps.

Unlike traditional phono cartridges, the Soundsmith Strain Gauge cartridge does not use a comparatively massive moving coil or moving magnet motor assembly to generate audio signals.

Instead, it uses “two tiny silicon beams (to) sense the (more…)

By Chris Martens

The Walla Walla, Wash.-based firm Cain & Cain announced one the first new products to be released since the tragic and untimely death of company founder Terry Cain, who died at age 47 on December 10, 2006.

The new model, called the Wall-O-Sound or “W3” (for Walla Walla Wall of Sound, $3300/pair), is both visually and sonically striking and offers bass performance that few other full-range, single-driver, back-loaded horns can match.

At first glance, the Wall-O-Sound looks much like a shallow, 30” wide x 42” high wooden room divider with a single, full-range Fostex driver planted at its center, up near the top. But on closer inspection, that “room divider” turns out to be a sophisticated enclosure housing a cleverly folded tractrix-type horn that opens to the side.

The W3’s unusually wide front baffle and large internal horn combine to give the Wall-O-Sound dramatically deeper and more realistically-weighted mid-bass than is typical of designs of this type.

The upshot is that the W3 offers the sonic purity and cohesiveness for which the better (more…)