John Atkinson

From the VaultPre/Power Amplifiers
Some Like It Hot
John Atkinson  |  Dec 24, 2021  |  Published: Aug 01, 1983  |  0 comments
hfnvintageJohn Atkinson heats up his listening room with a Class A amp from Krell

It used to be said that the only true way to learn was to find out something for yourself, then it will stick when all book-learning has long since been shed. This was drummed into me when I was working on the development of LEDs (green ones, to be precise).

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Disc PlayersFrom the Vault
Revox B225 CD player
John Atkinson  |  Nov 23, 2021  |  Published: Jun 01, 1985  |  0 comments
hfnvintageJohn Atkinson reviews a high-end CD player from a specialist Swiss brand

Audiophiles who have spent large sums of money on LP playing equipment, such as myself, find themselves coming up with a number of excuses when presented with the thorny problem of reconciling the increasingly general acceptance of CD with their own love for vinyl.

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From the VaultLoudspeakers
A New Reference?
John Atkinson  |  Feb 23, 2021  |  0 comments
hfnvintageJohn Atkinson lives with the KEF R107, its new range-topping contender

An understated revolution in loudspeaker design has been taking place in Kent. KEF's Technical Director Laurie Fincham has put together a team of engineers who have been quietly but thoroughly examining the fundamentals of moving-coil, box loudspeaker behaviour, spinning off a regular series of products, starting with the original R105 nearly a decade ago.

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From the VaultPre/Power Amplifiers
Two Konnektikut Yankees
John Atkinson  |  Aug 19, 2020  |  Published: Jan 01, 1986  |  0 comments
hfnvintageJohn Atkinson lives with Krell pre- and power amplification

Streetwise. Now there's a word. I suppose you could say that in a hi-fi context it means being aware of the unwritten myths, such as 'image depth is due to microphony in valve amplifiers' or 'Class A amplifiers sound better than ones operating in Class B' or 'the only truly great preamplifiers use valves'.

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From the Vault
Chicago, Chicago . . .
John Atkinson  |  Jun 21, 2019  |  Published: Sep 01, 1980  |  0 comments
John Atkinson reports on the 1980 summer Consumer Electronics Show

Thought highly of by many, the Canadian 'Oracle' turntable is winning a reputation as perhaps the first design to supersede the performance of Linn's respected Sondek. Beautifully engineered, the rigid laminated subchassis arm mount is hung from three springs, which can be adjusted from above.

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From the VaultTurntables, Arms & Cartridges
State of the AR-T
John Atkinson  |  May 21, 2019  |  Published: Oct 01, 1983  |  0 comments
hfnvintageThe Acoustic Research turntable is back! John Atkinson looks and listens

It is June 1982 and Compact Disc is still more science fiction than fact (although both sides have carried out their groundwork and preliminary skirmishing). The scene is the restaurant of Boston's classy Copley Plaza Hotel and a handful of British hi-fi journalists, fresh from the Chicago CES, are dining with Ron Fone, the (English) President of Teledyne Acoustic Research. Over dessert arises the subject of turntables and the question, 'Why doesn't anyone – apart from Rega, or Thorens – produce a good mid-price mass-market deck?'.

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