Hall of Fame
We have sold thousands of
different products over the years. But there are a few that became true “friends”
along the way. Now, like your friends, some come with baggage and turbulence. But at the
end of the day, they’re still friends. I’m placing them by the year that they
made their mark at AE. Some were designed earlier than we “discovered them.” I
don’t pretend that AE has touched base with every good product out there. But we’ve
seen a lot of good stuff. So, in thinking this over, since 1977…
1977
This was a great turntable
for its day! It’s the epitome of a friend you love and hate. It sounded oh so good
when loaded up with a Sonus Blue cartridge. But, it was more than a little funky. Its
rubber boot kept falling off. The headshell was a mess. LP rumble could be nasty. But,
considering its time… t’was a mighty fine source! It had good detail, but not
much foundation.
These
are simply the best values in the history of turntables! They still make them, with
upgrades of course, today! The original Planar 2 came with a teak base and Luster S shaped
arm. The 3 had the better arm and black plinth. Within a few years both models were fitted
with Rega’s own tonearms. When that happened, they blew the competition away. I still
remember a turntable demo we had with the Regas vs B&O vs Technics direct drive. We
had four of the same LPs, synched them up and could compare with the flip of a switch. It
was so easy to tell that the Regas were better that it was embarrassing to the other guys.
Panasonic couldn’t care less, but our B&O rep came by to say he wouldn’t
sell us B&O anymore if we didn’t change the demo- cuz our competitor was
complaining that B&O was impossible to sell in light of this revealing comparison!
The
Regas supported the best cartridges of the day- the Denon 103D, Grados, Deccas- super
tables! They still are, by the way!
The
DQ-10 was one of the first really good dynamic driver speakers. They were hideously
inefficient and needed careful placement. But, they didn’t sound boxy and when run
with big amps, did a very nice job. Despite being large, the bass wasn’t prodigious.
It sounded better with a sub!
To
this day it’s one of the most unique speakers to have graced hifi-dom. They sounded
large and open. But, they were difficult to dial in. It was the ultimate tweaker’s
speaker. They rewarded you for hours of fiddling and fussing. I heard them sound great,
and lousy- depending on how they were placed and what they were run with. The good news
is, they rewarded the customer who was willing to work with them and massage them with the
right electronics.
1978
I wandered into
the Snell demo room at CES in
What
a great table! Linn showed us that the darn thing spinning the LP was more important than
the arm or cartridge. When fit with a great arm and cartridge, which was NOT a given in
1978, the LP-12 extracted more info than the Regas. But, with many of the BAD arms of the
day, the LP-12 didn’t sound as good as the Regas!
My
hair turned gray early messing with arms and cartridges! Trying to find good marriages
was, well, like trying to find a good marriage. There aren’t many! The Grados did the
hula in most arms, and the marvelous Denon moving coils needed a substantial arm. Hence,
this was my choice for best of the day! Run with a Denon HA-1000 headamp- very nice! It
even tracked well.
The
1979
I
came back from a trade show with a sample, listened, and have been hooked ever since! Ray
Kimber was the first guy talking about OFC, braided cable and all kinds of cool things
like “cold drawing.” It’s no wonder that in the new millennium Kimber is
still at the head of the class.
The
best speaker the market had yet to see arrived in 1979. The 801 bettered the planars and
electrostatics, to my ears anyway, in every way, shape and form. They demanded power, but
so did the screens. The 801 made use of Kevlar and a special midrange housing that nobody
had even thought of before. With a big time woofer and excellent cabinet design, the 801
really introduced the modern era of loudspeaker design. Before this, guys were basically
just buying drivers from Madisound and screwing them in boxes! Most companies still are.
The
big debate of the day was, which is better? 801, or 802? The 802 had two 8s, the 801 had
one 12. They had the same gorgeous midrange/tweeter head- truly ground breaking speakers!
I liked the 801’s fullness but some folks liked the leaner look and tauter bass of
the 802.
This
was the first CLASSIC SUB. It was a coffee table size. This sub made full use of its
driver by tuning the chambers fully. It was a terrific sub which whupped the competition.
Yeah it was big and not many ladies would let them in the house. But… if you got one
of these bad boys hooked up to T-1Ds, pretty esoteric stuff for the day! On top of the
performance Randy Hooker (RH) called it a subwoooofer, which added to the charm!
David
Hafler left Dynaco in the dust and created these terrific sounding little guys. The preamp
sounded better than it had a right to. It was built cheap as can be, but sounded very
clean. The amp was a better value- with very tight bass and good clarity. Most of you old
audio guys had at least a sniff at these, I would guess!
1980
Threshold
knocked ARC off the shelves for me! I had grown to love ARC’s warmth and smoothness.
But, it was slow and dark compared to the Threshold. The 400A amp at about $1300 was a
steal. The 4000A at $2k was the best amp you could buy! The SL-10 preamp had a dead silent
moving coil section- what a great array of products! These, like the B&W 801, ushered
in the era of truly progressive gear.
While
all the world was raving about Hafler, I was raving about Audire. Sorry, but the Hafler
preamps were built like paper airplanes. The DH-101 sounded good, but it had its share of
problems, not the least of which were that many of the people who tried to build them,
didn’t do a very good job! The Legato preamp blew it away! It was much smoother and
warmer- and built ten times better. The Crescendo amp was more mellow than the DH-200, a
better choice with most speakers. Audire didn’t get much NATIONAL acclaim, but it
deserved more than Hafler!
1981
The
Audire Forte was a wonderful amp. It had Herculean bass and pushed DQs, Maggies and big
B&Ws properly. We sold many, with pride. It was a dual mono amp with huge power supply
and a deal at under a grand.
One
of the constant battles of the day was how to step up the gain of the moving coil- without
adding hiss or killing the clarity. The Marcof headamp was OK, but ultimately too noisy
for a top system. The Denon HA-1000 was nice, but $450. The Poco at $175 was a bargain! It
was battery operated and enabled customers to enjoy Denons, Supexes and other top MCs.
The
Ampzilla was big and nasty! It was very nice for driving DQs and Maggies at high volumes.
But… it was one of those friends you love, and hate. It needed more service than
anything else above. Yet, it was better sounding than the Dyna 400 and, ultimately, worth
the trouble… most of the time.
1982
The
CJ preamp was a tube, basic, no frills preamp. It sounded warm and mellow- plenty of gravy
on those mashed potatoes! The bad news is, it ran noisy, ate up tubes and occasionally
decided to belch and pop. We sold them for a few years but ultimately realized they didn’t
belong in top systems because within a couple years, they all went down. CJ’s repairs
would only hold for a while. It was sort of like an MG automobile- great in the summer
when it was sunny and dry- but you couldn’t rely on it for 12 months or reliable
operation.
This
ground breaking table competed with the Linn LP-12. It was much prettier and accepted a
wider range of arms. We sold bazillions of these with Magnepan Unipivot arms and Talisman
cartridges. They were great fun! They required much diddling. But Steve McCormack of
Oracle was a class guy and a pleasure to deal with. When he left the company, it was a
nightmare.
1983
The
3020 was a crisp, clean sounding integrated amp. It didn’t have much bass, but was a
bargain basement wonder. It was super for your Polks or bookshelf B&Ws.
At
about $600pr the DM-23 was B&Ws first modestly priced 3-way speaker. It was easy to
drive and more accurate in the middle than anything similar. It laid the groundwork for
B&W to be a powerhouse in affordable speakers. Up to this point, B&W only played
in the stratosphere.
1984
The
Stasis design came of age with this big boy. What a great amp with magnificent sparkle!
The
Amber Series 70 was one of those “good tweak” amps. It ran 70 w/ch or 200
bridged. It was too sensitive in the bridged mode, but sounded nice in stereo. It was
smoother and rounder than the DH-200. But when you pumped it up, the rail fuses went.
Nonetheless, it was a fine amp for only about $400 and I remember it fondly.
1985
Were
you ready to rumble?! By 1985 the 801 was such a venerable product that it was king by
acclamation. So B&W decided, almost as a goof, to build two 801s in one box! The 808
was a mere $8k pr and about 350 pounds. It was truly awesome with the right horsepower!
The
best stereo receiver I ever heard came out this year. The R-851 started a great
relationship for us and Kyocera. It was priced like Yamaha or Denon but built much better!
At $850 with guts! 85 w/ch, this was the first RECEIVER that could drive some of our
demanding speakers nicely.
Ray
Kimber stepped up from the 4PR plastic coating to Teflon Coating and variable size
stranded wire. It improved musically in midrange and high frequency resolution. 4TC
remains one of the best values in the speaker wire world!
Interconnects
up to this point had been mostly parallel wires with a plastic jacket around them to make
them look larger than they were. Kimber’s PBJ was braided in weave, without a shield.
The result was passage of more information- and arguably the best interconnect you could
buy for reasonable money!
1986
Do
you remember this pentagonal shaped speaker? It was a forerunner to the Matrix design that
has propelled B&W away from the field. They learned with DM-2000 that controlling all
this cabinet reflection info was vital to precise imaging. This did it for about $1400pr.
This
was a weird speaker that developed a cult following. It was just under 8’ tall and
less than two feet wide. It was inefficient as heck and a tough impedance. But, its image
was large, albeit beamy. Magazines dubbed it the best speaker of the day. And then a
famous reviewer said it had a “credit card” character of sound. The mouth that
fed its success (reviews), killed it!
1987
This
marvelous integrated set the stage for many a serious, affordable high end system. To this
day Rotel has great sounding integrateds with real power and fair prices. The RA-870 was
the first to cut the mustard.
Kimber
introduced the high end KCAG to the market. With pure silver wire and the unshielded
weave, KCAG set new standards for transparency, regardless of price.
What
a fine CD player! Up to this point we had sold a few reasonable players from NAD, but this
is the first one that was truly built like a brick outhouse and demanded our respect. It
was about $800 and made the other stuff look like tinker toys!
1988
Most
of you will remember that in the early days I was not excited about the sound or build of
CD players. We actually modified or “enhanced” as I called it, some early NADs
and Denons to soften up the bright top end. Well, the Kyocera 310 pretty much ended all
that. It was only $325, built very well and had good components. It won me over and I was
proud to sell it to anybody!
The
850 was the first digital tuner that sounded good and performed as advertised. It was
clear, didn’t drift, easy to use. We sold a boatload because back in the day, as my
rotten kids say, FM was still a vibrant source
without one third of its time wasted on ads!
1989
What
a great amp! Once again Threshold raised the bar with this high end offering!
Boy,
what these guys did right, they really did right! The Aria was a warm, smooth CD player.
It was a BAT wannabe (see 2001). Unfortunately, it wasn’t very detailed and when the
lasers had problems,
1990
To
me, this is one of the most significant speaker introductions of all time! It put the
large panel to death in our store. It was a small tower, imaged GREAT, sounded boxless,
was efficient, had quite respectable bass. Finally, we had a smallish speaker SHE was
happy to have and HE was thrilled to have. With separate Kevlar mid in its own enclosure
and the open air tweeter, this marked the era where B&W started to leave the
competition in the weeds!
1991
This
great sounding class A amp from Threshold was a joy. At about a grand it was great for
B&W 804s or any number of other, reasonably efficient speakers. What a great amp!
At
only about $209 per pair the Titan redefined how good a cheap speaker could sound. When it
came out, it clobbered the mainstream competition. There is no arguing with its hardware.
It used a cast frame driver, sturdy cabinet and whupped fanny. With a number of revisions
over the years, Titan dominated its price class for about fifteen years!
This
small, tube, DAC, was just the ticket for taking the edge off some of the CD harshness
that was common in the day. You could add it to most any CD player with a digital out and
it made something downright nasty, enjoyable. A nice product!
1992
Paradigm
followed the Titan with a little brother- that Atom- another killer! It was 10% smaller
and sounded 95% as good. This one-two punch put Paradigm on the map as the best budget
spks out there!
The
RB-980 was an instant classic! At 120 w/ch and about $600 it sounded more like a Threshold
than an Adcom, NAD or Carver. It was fast, stable, solid and NOT BRIGHT. This marks the
time frame when Rotel really gained the upper hand over its upper mid priced competiton.
Rotel OWNS this territory post 2000. But this amp in particular brought the roof down!
The
MA-500 was the cute, long skinny amp that worked wonderfully in home theater or stereo. It
didn’t have quite the warmth or altruistic audiophile character of the Rotel. But, it
was bullet proof and very flexible. We sold a ton and they served our theater goers very
well indeed!
1993
The
T-2 established new performance standards industry wide for its clean, quiet, powerful
sound. Things not only started, but STOPPED better than anything I’d heard before.
Tube products introduced a certain color that some folks would prefer, period. But for
most of the market the T-2 stepped away from prior solid state competition. A true
classic!
The
Five was a wonderfully voiced, 8” 2-way tower with soft dome tweet. It sounded large,
mellow and was just what the doctor ordered for so much of the early, edgy digital sound.
The Five made it all more palatable. At only $500 per par, I’d still miss the Five,
but I still have a pair in my theater system!
1994
This
was the first of the Nautilus Series. At a mere forty grand a pair, we didn’t sell as
many of these as we did Paradigm Titans, but the Nautilus gave us a picture of what was to
come. It controlled cabinet resonance better than anything else. We’ve enjoyed seeing
this technology trickle down to more affordable B&Ws!
Most
of what I said about the Monitor Five in 1993 holds true for the Mini Monitor. The Mini
had the same soft tweeter, but used a 6 ½” woof instead of the 8” found in the
Five. It was $300 per pair and enough better than the Titan to be well worth the money.
This speaker dominated its price range for several years!
1995
The
P6 was a dynamite product because it was a 3-way, with open air tweeter, in a sleek
rosenut cabintet. It was sort of a workingman’s 804 without the Matrix, at about
$1600pr. The P6 was lean and threw a large image!
We
had sold powered subs before- M&Ks, Velodynes, but all had their problems. The finish
work wasn’t good, the amps had their trouble holding up, the crossovers weren’t
very lean. But the PS-1000 at $550 turned the powered sub market on its ear! To this day
it remains one of the best values in our business, a 10” cast frame sub with big time
discrete amp- and lots of muscle!
The
drive/DAC world was humming along but at some pretty major money. Remember Wadia? Theta?
PS? Well, typical of Rotel… they swiped most of the good ideas, made modest tradeoffs
withholding mechanical overkill, and came out with two reasonably priced, great sounding
components! The sound was warm, the image was broad. The bass wasn’t as muscular as
the $2k per box guys, but at about $700 each, what a deal!
1996
We
picked up Bryston when Threshold/PS/Forte imploded. The timing was ideal! Bryston had just
improved its classic 4B to the Stuart Taylor inspired 4B-ST. At about $2300, 250 w/ch, and
20 yr warranty, Bryston offered some of the best sound in the most reliable package we’ve
ever seen! The bass impact ran rings around its competition, as did the silent noise
floor.
This
companion remote preamp just came out too. Its noise floor was better than Threshold and
the units have proven to be even less persnickety. While we were sad to see Threshold
evaporate, Bryston picked up the slack without a missed step for us.
B&W
broke the mold with the 602. With a 7” Kevlar midrange, 1” thick cabinet and a
few other technical gains, the $500pr price range would never be the same again. The 602
has gone on to become the best sounding traditionally sized bookshelf speaker for many
years. It’s had a couple revisions and is fresh as a daisy in 2006!
This
beauty was almost an accident. Marantz had a fine sounding CD-63 at $400. A reviewer
offered, heck, if they just dotted a couple I’s and crossed a couple Ts, this could
be a state of the art contender for not much more! And, that’s exactly what they did!
1997
The
B-60 shattered integrated amp standards of performance. At last, in a single, skinny
chassis you could get definition and image specificity like big separates. Of course it
didn’t have the bang to drive huge speakers, but it got the most out of anything
less. At about $2k, it remains one of the best electronic buys out there.
Following
the 4B-ST, Bryston came out with the 3B-ST, an improvement over its renowned classic. The
3B was significantly less money and for most speakers, plenty of amp! Everything the 4B-ST
did well, the 3B-ST did ALMOST as well, for a third less cash.
Marantz
finally came out with a bigger brother for its 125w MA-500 mono block. At 200 w mono the
MA-700 was primarily and testosterone charged theater amp. Whether you needed one, or
more, the MA-700 became a bullet proof theater goer.
1998
While
turntables weren’t selling well in the late 90s, they were still selling. It was
interesting that Rega made a quantum level improvement in the performance at the $2700
range. It was great- if not 15 years later than we’d have liked! The Planar 9 had a
much superior power supply and drive mechanism, as well as perhaps the best tonearm the
industry has ever seen! Further, it came out with its own EXACT cartridge. For a little
over $3k you couldn’t beat it for…perhaps $10k!
The
AV-9000 brought good sonics to an A-V preamp with all the switching you could use. The
late 80s was a tough time in A-V preamp design. There wasn’t much out there that
worked as advertised. The AV-9000 did!
1999
The
25 was only about $1300 and a significant upgrade from the venerable Planar 3. The only
thing we can again say is, too bad so many folks cashed in their LPs years ago! With the
amazing Elys cartridge, the 25 set new standards of performance and non ditzing for about
$1500.
Kimber Hero Interconnects
Kimber
introduced is mid priced Hero cable. At under half the price of KCAG the Hero quickly
became our best seller, featuring a unique weave design to act as a shield.
Marantz
had the first CD recorder for about $15,000 in 1983. They learned a lot over the years and
finally had one that could replace your cassette deck!
It was inexpensive, sounded good and was easy to use. I still use one
regularly.
2000
This
Planet 2000 took what was basically a good player, a modified Philips, and made it the
best sounding sub $1000 CD player ever built! The Planet was built well, had proprietary
Wolfsen DAC and would fit in the best sounding music systems out there- very warm
sounding! I especially liked it with the Bryston B-60!
The
Naim CD-5 presented us with our first look at this clever English outfit. The CD-5 made a
number of “in your face” or “so what?” choices in design- that
resulted in groundbreaking sound, for $2250. It could be upgraded with the Flatcap power
supply, so they let you step up without trading in.
At
only $2k this preamp with 6922s charted new waters. It weighed about 30 pounds and is as
gorgeous inside as it is outside. For $2k, it was just too good!
2001
The
Duos are among the best speakers I’ve heard. They present a larger, more delicate and
life sized vocal image than anything else going. They were easy to drive. They were
stunningly beautiful. They put the musician in the room with you with a level of immediacy
that is unparalleled!
The
CM-4 is the diminutive, gorgeous tower that images like a champ. At only $1500pr in real
wood finish, the CM-4 is immediately wife acceptable. It provides serious sound and
stunning aesthetics!
The
BAT CD player achieved levels of performance previously unheard of even in 2pc drive-DAC
combos. It’s one box for $6k, but, there’s nothin’ better!
At a
mere $5k and 500 w/ch, the 14B-ST was like two 4B-STs in one box. Not many speakers need
this kind of power. But… there are a few!
2002
What
a great thing when you find a super sounding piece that’s a great value too! The 1066
has precisely the array of nuts and bolts 99% of our customers want, at only $1500. Yes,
you can beat it, but for three times the price. At $1500, everything else pales in
comparison!
The
RMB-1075 is a gem! In one box, you have 5 x 120w. It isn’t like a receiver. It’s
a TRUE 120 x5, all channels driven amp. It’s attractive too. It came out at $1300 but
when the RSP-1066 came out, they dropped this guy to a grand!
This
is THE BEST sounding surround preamp out there. Bryston made this a purist piece- no video
switching or on board tuner. This handles only audio. Your video goes straight from your
sources to the TV or projector. This is like a surround version of the hallowed BP-25
stereo preamp!
BAT
made the VK-50SE a couple years back. It was very nice, a bit of a standard with its
“super tube” design. When the VK-51SE came out, I couldn’t believe the
difference! The 50SE has been a reference standard for many magazines and listeners. But
to me, the 51SE has broken new turf in terms of transparency. It isn’t cheap at about
$8k, but it’s the best preamp I’ve ever encountered!
2003
Kimber Timbre
Interconnect
The classic PBJ interconnect was
improved to the Timbre, like the music, not the tree! The Timbre softened a slight edge
off the PBJ. The result is the most open, airy cable available at affordable money, under
$100 per meter.
Rotel RCD-1072 CD Player
We’ve
had lots of good values in CD players. But RCD-1072 set new standards for warm, detailed
sound at the price. The other nice thing- the RCD-1072 was built well! It came in black or
silver and appealed to die hard audiophiles or just normal “civilians” wanting a
CD player that matched the mates in their Rotel stack.
B&W 703 Speakers
B&W
switched from the CDM to the 700 Series. The CDMs were very nice, lean towers. But the 700
Series is much more refined! The 703 was the least expensive model to use B&W’s
unique FST, surroundless midrange driver. The subsequent speed and detail was a nice notch
up from 704 and lesser models. Made in B&W’s own Danish furniture factory, the
fit and finish improved dramatically too.
2004
Bryston BP-26 Preamp
Bryston
raised the bar on a solid state preamp with the two chassis BP-26. It was great to see
them get past the wall wart power supply. BP-26 rounded out the bottom end better that
BP-25. It was a significant upgrade of a classic preamp!
B&W Diamond Tweets in
the 800 Series Speakers
The
ultra high end of the speaker world improved much with the introduction of the diamonds.
We audiophiles are always asking for more extended top end- until it gets too aggressive.
With the new diamond series we could have our cake and eat it too. The 802D and 803D in
particular have done very well even in conservative
2005
Rega Apollo CD Player
The
Apollo was the surprise hit of 2005! It was quietly announced and ended up redefining
serious CD playing for about a grand. The level of transparency Apollo brought to $1k was
indeed a new benchmark.
Bryston BP-6
When
Bryston brought out BP-26 we were afraid they were DONE worrying about a $2k preamp.
Fortunately, BP-6 answered our wishes. The sound was very much like the classic BP-25 and
for a fair amount less money. It didn’t have as many ins/outs, but the music was
classic Bryston clarity and precision!
B&W 705 Speakers
The
705 for about $1500 featured B&W’s open air, Nautilus tweet. The sound was huge
and open- not the least bit boxy. You can always get more bass with a sub. But the 705s
sound like opening the window to the music.
B&W 603 Speakers
The
updated 603 is an excellent value. It’s a fairly lean 3way tower for about a grand.
It could be driven by almost any receiver out there so it was very forgiving. Yet, if you
ran great stuff into, like Bryston, the speakers showed they could get up and run. I liked
it a lot cuz a guy could buy them for his surround sound receiver, and yet keep them when
the electronics got better.
2006
Rega Saturn
Rega rewrote the book on Red Book
CD operation procedure- literally! The Saturn was the highly anticipated upgrade over the
shockingly successful Apollo. With 7 power supplies instead of 3, with dual DACs and a
superior line stage, Saturn’s performance, especially in regards to transparency and
airy, spacious sound, is second to nobody!
Rega P1
It’s
nice to get a turntable back into the mix. When Rega disco’d the P2 in 2004 we
thought, well, they just can’t make a “cheap” turntable and be profitable.
Imagine our surprise when P1 was announced! It’s a Rega through and through.
Machining tolerances aren’t as precise. But sonically, it’s a terrific upgrade
from its $350 competition and a welcome answer to guys with old Duals, B&Os and
Technics that need replacing!
NAD C325BEE Integrated
Amp
This
new edition of NAD’s classic little integrated for $400 is just outstanding. It’s
tough into difficult impedances, yet sounds warm and open. More than ever the NAD bargain
amp is a bargain.
NAD C525BEE CD Player
Ditto
above, except the amp part! NAD has long been known for great, cheap 2ch. They’ve had
a fine history of $300 ish CD players. C525BEE raises the bar yet again.
Paradigm Mini Monitor
& Monitor Seven
In
late 2006 Paradigm introduced much improved versions of their classic Mini Monitor and
sleek Monitor 7 tower. These improvements go way beyond a little crossover tweak or
unobtanium on the tweeter. The new designs radically up the efficiency and clarity from
small cabinets.
2007
Rotel RC-1082 Preamp
With video and surround sound
dominating the market since HD became real, two channel advancements have been few and far
between. This $1200 preamp was a welcome exception. Sounding clean, warm and quiet- but
offering main stream features like, remote, phono, headphone amp/jack, tone controls and
IPOD input jack on the front, RC-1082 gave us an affordable preamp to brag about.
Rotel RB-1072 & Class
D Power Amps
Rotel’s first class D amp was
the $2500, 500 w/ch RB-1092. It was a super product and value. But how many people wanted
500w/ch?!
It
was a welcome addition when the RB-1072 landed at only $900, 100 w/ch. The clarity of
RB-1072 was stellar. The bass control was taut and solid as a rock. The dynamic contrast
of RB-1072 was lightning.
Rotel
offered RB-1072 in seven channel form in the RMB-1077 for $2500. Hence, 2007 is the year
Class D came of age. I’m confident we’ll look back in ten years and give a lot
of credit to Rotel for making these strides!
B&W 683 Speakers
This
is an instant classic! At $1400 pr the 683 is a working man’s 804. It has the FST
surroundless midrange, solid bass and warm top end!
updated 9-21-07