All items in category Magazine Articles
Show Report: Audio Expo North America (AXPONA) 2019
by Oliver A.Masciarotte

Show Report: Audio Expo North America (AXPONA) 2019

AXPONA (Audio Expo North America) 2019 took place April 12-14 at The Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center and Hotel. In this report for audioXpress, Masciarotte spent three days traversing multiple hotel floors packed with listening rooms, which this year included 50 new exhibitors, and writes about all the product highlights in most categories, from speakers to headphones, electronics and the traditional oddities. This article was originally published in audioXpress, August 2019.
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Fresh From the Bench: Cambridge Audio Edge W Power Amplifier
by Oliver A.Masciarotte

Fresh From the Bench: Cambridge Audio Edge W Power Amplifier

Oliver Masciarotte and Stuart Yaniger tested Cambridge Audio’s Edge series power amplifier, the Edge W, which the British manufacturer introduced in 2018 as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations. audioXpress submitted this design, which claimed to be the culmination of the brand’s audio engineering expertise, to extensive listening and measurement sessions. This article was originally published in audioXpress, January 2020.
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Book Review: Exploring High-Quality Horn Loudspeaker Systems
by Mike Klasco

Book Review: Exploring High-Quality Horn Loudspeaker Systems

The book High-Quality Horn Loudspeaker Systems — History, Theory and Design, written by Bjørn Kolbrek and Thomas Dunker, was presented during the 147th Audio Engineering Society (AES) Convention in New York, NY, and is available in a limited first edition. The massive 1,070-page hardcover book caused quite an impression among Audio Engineering Society (AES) members and audioXpress authors. Mike Klasco took the review copy and submitted a “first impressions” review. This article was originally published in audioXpress, February 2020.
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Book Review: A Look Inside Sensory Evaluation of Sound
by Richard Honeycutt

Book Review: A Look Inside Sensory Evaluation of Sound

Sensory evaluation is a field of study that bridges physical measurement and human perception, helping us to improve product design and aural environments. Richard Honeycutt reviews this extended work, which was edited by Nick Zacharov, exploring the latest sensory evaluation techniques, specifically applied to the evaluation of sound and audio. This article was originally published in audioXpress, February 2020.
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Voice Coil Spotlight: The Smith & Larson Audio Analyzers
by Dean Rivera

Voice Coil Spotlight: The Smith & Larson Audio Analyzers

The “Woofer Tester” range of speaker test solutions from Smith & Larson Audio is one of those systems that thousands of speaker designers have learned to use and continue to rely upon in their daily activities or hobbies. This review looks at the system's possibilities and compares the company's Woofer Tester 2, Speaker Tester, and Woofer Tester Pro products. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, March 2012.
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R&D Stories: A Groundbreaking Approach to Gain Control that Cuts Conference Call Annoyance
by Erica Yorga

R&D Stories: A Groundbreaking Approach to Gain Control that Cuts Conference Call Annoyance

Nureva was granted three new patents for its Microphone Mist technology, including the ability to focus sound signals in a shared 3D space, and the use of sound source positional information to derive automatic gain control output parameters. In this article, two Nureva’s engineers to explain the thought process that lead to these innovations, which give the company substantial market runway. This article was originally published in audioXpress, February 2020.
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The Impact of MEMS Speakers in Audio
by Mike Klasco

The Impact of MEMS Speakers in Audio

In this article for Voice Coil focused on MEMS loudspeakers, Mike Klasco reviews a bit of the history of the technology and previews the evolution and impact on the audio industry in general. The article examines MEMS devices in general, provides a basic explanation of how the various types of MEMS speakers work, and what commercialization challenges are ahead. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, December 2019.
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Fresh From the Bench: Audio Precision APx555 B Series Audio Analyzer
by Stuart Yaniger

Fresh From the Bench: Audio Precision APx555 B Series Audio Analyzer

Stuart Yaniger offers his review of the latest Audio Precision APx555 B Series audio analyzer, and the corresponding new updated V5 software for the APx series. The APx B series now features a new High Performance Sine Generator and a High Performance Sine Analyzer, which Audio Precision claims reduces THD+N to better than -120 dB, with a 1 MHz bandwidth and Fast Fourier Transforms (FFTs) of up to 1.2 million points. This article was published in audioXpress, December 2019.
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Fresh From the Bench: Benchmark HPA4 Headphone/Line Amplifier
by Gary Galo

Fresh From the Bench: Benchmark HPA4 Headphone/Line Amplifier

Gary Galo reviews the Benchmark HPA4, a reference headphone/line amplifier designed to deliver amplification of analog sources for audio enthusiasts, mixing and mastering engineers. Resulting from Benchmark’s collaboration with THX, the HPA4 features a THX-888 headphone amplifier for an output signal with high voltage, current, and and power complemented by low distortion, noise, and crosstalk. This article was published in audioXpress, November 2019.
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Book Review: A Look Inside Bob Cordell’s Designing Audio Power Amplifiers, 2nd Edition
by Jan Didden

Book Review: A Look Inside Bob Cordell’s Designing Audio Power Amplifiers, 2nd Edition

We know many of our readers will enjoy this extended book review by our technical editor, Jan Didden, about Bob Cordell’s Designing Audio Power Amplifiers, 2nd Edition. When Cordell published his long-awaited first edition of Audio Power Amplifier Design, it was hailed as a significant addition on the subject. Reactions of readers made it clear that Cordell hit his mark, and in this article, Didden explains why the long-awaited second edition is an essential buy. This review was originally published in audioXpress, October 2019.
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