Book Review: Bob Cordell’s Designing Audio Circuits and Systems

Designing Audio Circuits and Systems is a surprising effort by the author and one that deserves careful exploration. A true compendium of lessons in audio that reflects Bob Cordell’s long-standing track record of designing audio equipment as well as advanced test equipment. The vast content contained in this book makes it an essential reference for anyone designing audio circuits, including excellent “hands-on” material for anyone starting to experiment in audio electronics.

Listen to music as you (not the artist) intended. Schiit Audio announced the availability of Loki Max, a 6-band equalizer designed to meet the needs of the highest-end systems. Featuring remote control with relay potentiometers, a pure inductor-capacitor topology, and a fully discrete design with high voltage power supply, Loki Max was designed to be one of the best home listening EQs, ever - available at schiit.com for $1499.

TransAudio Group, the Las Vegas-based U.S. distributor of professional recording equipment, announced the new Daking Mic Pre 4T, the latest product from the company founded by Geoff Daking. Building on the legendary British sound of the Daking Mic Pre One and Mic Pre II/T, the new Daking Mic Pre 4T adds four variable high-pass filters to four high-gain/high headroom Mic Pres in a single rack space unit - a one-of-a-kind combination of soulful circuitry and proprietary problem-solving features.

Following availability in the European market, Pro-Ject has confirmed the launch in the North-American market of a series of new phono products and accessories. Topping the list is the new Phono Box RS2, a fully balanced, fully discrete, reference class phono preamp with an MSRP of $1999. This new MM & MC capable true dual mono design offers a unique continuously variable input impedance loading and channel balance control to match every cartridge to 100% (adjustment even while playing).

Once in a while, British guitar amp specialists - increasingly turning also into a lifestyle brand - surprise the industry with some unusual products. We've seen Orange introducing headphones, the VT1000 valve/tube tester and even an automatic bias adjustment kit, the DIVO OV4. But now, Orange truly surprised us, with the introduction of its new Dual Discrete Op-Amp, which has been specifically designed for audio use. Orange simply says, "it is one of the most musically sounding of its kind on the market today."

German high-end studio processor manufacturer Elysia announced the availability of the mpressor 500, its latest 500 series module, bringing the heritage of its immensely powerful rack-mount mpressor creative compressor to the popular standard format. Like all Elysia products, the audio path of the mpressor 500 is completely based on discrete circuitry and features unique ways of processing the audio signals in the most effective way.

Burson Audio, the Australian manufacturer of USB DAC/Headphone Amplifier/Preamplifiers, Headphone Amplifiers and Stereo Amplifiers, announced its latest Generation 5 of their world-renowned discrete-circuit audio op-amps, available through subsidiary Supreme Sound Audio Components.