Sunday, September 16, 2012

The New Tocaro 45D Loudspeakers!

Announcing the arrival of the new Tocaro 45D Loudspeakers from Gütersloh, Germany!

We've been offering the Tocaro 40 Loudspeakers since 2008 (Austin Hifi is the U.S. importer and distributor), so naturally we were very excited to hear the new D-Series drivers (which are now standard-issue in The Tocaro 45D, The 42D and the 40D Loudspeakers. Owners of pre-D-Series Tocaro Loudspeakers can upgrade their speakers to D-Series specs. Contact us for details!)

The verdict? The D-Series Tocaro drivers do just about everything better than their already-impressive C-Series predecessors. More bass. Clearer highs. Better timing. As one listener said: "Damn, it sounds like music in here!"

The Tocaro 45D Loudspeakers each have twin 10-inch drivers with independent chambers (the bottom driver's chamber is ported while the middle driver's chamber is not.) The 45D Loudspeakers also employ the new Tocaro 5-inch high-frequency driver built around a proprietary laminated wood membrane (see picture above!) Overall sensitivity is 103dB/2.83V/m.

The 45D uses no electrical crossover or filtering and there are three pair of speaker terminals so that the 45Ds may be used with one, two, or three amplifiers. All internal wiring is Crimson Audio Cable.

The overall height of the Tocaro 45D Loudspeakers (with stands, which are included, and are an essential part of the sound of the 45D) is 50 3/4". They're 17 3/4" wide and 13 3/4" deep and are available in a variety of finishes.

Tocaro Loudspeakers are entirely hand-built. The 10-inch driver membranes are made by hand from raw cellulose. The cabinets and stands are made from hand-selected beechwood. There are some terrific photos of the Tocaro Loudspeaker factory in Gütersloh at Tocaro's own page on the subject.

But, of course, the sound is everything, so let's get to that. First of all, if you've been listening to "conventional" high-end speakers, the 45Ds are going to take a little getting used to. Just remember: they're getting you closer to the sound of real music and further from a polite, reserved simulacrum of same. They've got enormous scale, great pitch-definition, excellent timing and impressive dynamics. And as an added bonus, they'll play loud as heck if you want them to. These are extremely revealing loudspeakers that have an amazing way of "digging deep down into" recordings.

A note about amplifiers: usually when people (especially hifi magazine reviewers!) talk about high-efficiency loudspeakers, they say that you should use a low-powered amplifier. And while you can use a low powered SET amplifier with the Tocaro 45D Loudspeakers (did we mention their 103dB sensitivity rating?), we use and recommend (and import and distribute!) the incredible 175-watt Crimson 640E-III Monoblock amplifiers. which will allow you to experience all the scale and dynamics that the Tocaro 45D Loudspeakers can dish out.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Beck's Record Club: "New Sensations"

Beck has been doing a cool project called Record Club for a while now. He gets some friends together in the studio and records a classic album, then releases a video of the performance on the internet.

This time out, Beck has rounded up St. Vincent and The Liars, plus a few extras and recorded the album "Kick" by INXS.

Other Record Club outings:

The Velvet Underground and Nico

The Songs of Leonard Cohen

Skip Spence - "Oar"

Yanni - "Live at The Acropolis"

Monday, September 10, 2012

JM Reynaud with Crimson Amps and Preamps at RMAF 2012

The Abscisse, a terrific new loudspeaker by the renowned JM Reynaud is being introduced this year by JM Reynaud importer/distributor Bob Neill's Amherst Audio.

Bob will also be playing the Crimson 710/640E-III preamp and amplifier (with Crimson Audio Cables, of course!) as well as the Cantata Music Center by Resolution Audio.

Amherst Audio will be in room 561 at RMAF 2012.

You can also visit Amherst Audio in Amherst, Massachusetts.