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Free Advice
the audio editors are faulty. If the music
coming out isn’t peeling the paint off
passing cars, then that’s probably the
case.
My husband and I had the distinct pleasure
of meeting you at the 1993 Toronto hi-fi
show. At the time we, were in the search for
a musical system for our home. When we
had asked you about the Totem One speaker
playing in a different room, you had waxed
enthusiastically about them. A short while
later, we purchased a pair and have enjoyed
them ever since. Thank you also for the
recommendation of Linn Intek integrated
amplifier — it works well with the Totem
speakers, and fit nicely into our budget.
Now, after 10 years, we are plunging
into the realm of home theatre, and are
again seeking your advice. I notice that
you will be reviewing the Totem Signature
One Center speaker in the upcoming issue
of UHF. Although I certainly plan to read
the full review, I have the opportunity right
now to buy this speaker, and ask if it would
be as pleasing, musically, as the Totem Ones
have been.
Tina Morgan
WINDSOR, ON
8 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
As we write this, Tina, we have completed
the preliminary listening tests on
the Model One Center, though we have
yet to do the group evaluation and the
instrument tests. Preliminary conclusion:
it doesn’t actually sound identical
to the Model One, for reasons that are
clearly visible: it has a second woofer, it
has a different size cabinet, and it lies on
its side instead of being upright.
The same can of course be said
of other central speakers. The badge
doesn’t guarantee that it will sound like
the main speakers sharing that badge.
That said, our preliminary listening
session, which was quite long, indicates
that the speaker works very well, and
it is certainly the one that is likely to
blend best with your Model Ones. We’d
recommend getting it.
This may be a dumb question, but here it
is. I currently use a Panamax bar to protect
against power interruptions. I live in the
country and we lose our power during the
thunderstorm season, plus severe winter
conditions. Does this Gutwire Stingray
power bar do the same thing, or will I still
require the Panamax?
David J. Gilchrist
ROCKWOOD, ON
Who was it who once said that that a
dumb question is the one you don’t ask?
No, the Gutwire Stingray does not provide
surge protection, and we don’t know
of any way to provide it without taking a
major performance hit. Living where we
do, where century-old trees tower over
the building like large natural lightning
rods, we don’t worry much about surges.
Makers of protection devices such as
the Panamax have an obvious reason to
overstate the importance of protection.
But then again you don’t live where
we do, so you’ll need to evaluate the
odds of having Mother Nature take
a fatal swipe at your investment. Two
questions, then. First, since we presume
you don’t use a protected power bar on
everything in the house, when was the
last time you lost an electrical product
to a lightning storm? Second question:
does your householder policy cover this
sort of damage?
I am looking for a good amp for upgrading
my system. I browsed through most of
your past issues. I became a subscriber in
the early 90’s. I found your review of the
McIntosh MC7150 (issue No. 37) and I
admire your candid comments. It’s 10 years
now and the Mac MA6900 has received good
reviews in the US and other places. Will you
be doing a review of this model in the near
future? If not, have you heard of it and what
is your general opinion.
I almost bought the Jadis Orchestra
Reference but then I read your review about
the short supply of the KT90 and I had second
thought. According to an ad in Stereophile,
the 2003 model of this amp in the US market
uses EL34’s. Again, will you do a review of
it in the near future and if not, can I have
some general comments?
I am a retiree of 66 years old, so the amp
I am looking for may be the last one in my
life and I have to be careful. My present amp
is a tiny Italian integrated with two EL34’s,
and is quite musical. Its latest model, Unison
Research S2K (KT88 instead of EL34) got
a class B grading by Stereophile.
Anthony Tang
HONG KONG
Not many years after this magazine
was founded, some 21 years ago, we commented
on a letter by saying that if we
agreed with what the other magazines
write, we wouldn’t bother producing
this one. To that we would add a second
observation: there is no audio product
so awful that it hasn’t received a good
review from someone, somewhere.
Our comments on the MC7150 don’t
necessarily carry over to all other models
of the marque, of course, though the