The Audio Revolution is dedicated to bringing you the absolute best in high performance music and film playback equipment along with the most emotionally charged home video and music software. Our Best Of 1998 awards are reserved for the absolute best performers and consider both performance, value and asthetic. Congratulations to the winners.

Introduction Trying to find the right home theater speaker system can be an anxiety-ridden process, but listening even once to the warm, dynamic and articulate performance of the Atlantic Technology System 370 may be the audio Prozac that will relieve your blues. The 371LR and 373C are sealed box designs consisting of two 6 inch coated composite graphite woofers, two 3-inch composite graphite midrange drivers and a 1-inch silk-dome tweeter arranged in a D'appolito configuration. The rear surrounds, deemed "TwinPolar," have their two 5-1/4-inch composite graphite woofers and two inch silk dome tweeters mounted on two sides of a triangular cabinet. Both speakers have frequency responses of 80Hz-20kHz. The 372PBM subwoofer is powered by a 275-watt amp that can drive the 15-inch-high excursion cone to a peak SPL of 108dB with a frequency response of 25Hz-500Hz. The System 370 retails for $4,300 without the optional floor pedestals. Performance One of the biggest challenges faced by a manufacturer is to ...

Introduction The MCA5 is the first five-channel amplifier from Anthem. It is part of their new MCA series and retails for $1,399. Unlike the majority of products in the Sonic Frontiers and Anthem lines, the MCA series is solid state. The MCA series of multi-channel amplifiers offers 200 watts per channel in two-, three- and five-channel configurations. The description below applies to all three amplifiers in the series unless otherwise noted. The back panel contains single-ended and balanced inputs for each channel, an iec standard power cord socket and a DC relay trigger socket and switch to control the auto-on circuitry. This switch lets you choose from three different modes, manual on, trigger and auto on. In the auto on mode, the amplifier switches itself on after sensing an input signal. The sleek and deep chassis is well finished and is a bit unusual as you can see through the top and out the bottom ...

Introduction A home theater’s central nervous system is the digital processor, serving as preamp, digital surround decoder, D-to-A converter (DAC) and switcher. Audio Design Associates (ADA), a company that specializes in custom installation, manufactures a line of high performance components and the Cinema Reference is their most comprehensive and versatile processor to date, incorporating both Dolby Digital and DTS decoders along with THX enhancements. As manufacturers firmly entrench themselves in the DVD revolution, Laserdiscs are already virtually a footnote in A/V history. While the majority of processors require the purchase of additional outboard gear to play Dolby-encoded Laserdiscs, the Cinema Reference actually houses the often-elusive RF Demodulator. Functioning as a sophisticated preamp/switcher, this processor is loaded with a wide assortment of inputs and outputs, insuring future expandability as digital products continue to emerge. High-quality components, superior sonic performance and advanced features tend to drive the price up on processors, and so it is with the Cinema Reference. At ...

Introduction The Audio Research LS15 Line Level Preamp has been in existence since the middle of 1996. It’s an all new design which theoretically replaces the former LS2B Mk II in the Audio Research line. I say theoretically because although it took the spot of the former, and much-respected LS2, it is very different in many ways. The LS15 is priced at the midpoint in the Audio Research line at $2995, and comes with a handy remote control, something that was an additional $500 option for the LS2. Its basic makeup is an all-tube gain using four 6922 twin triode tubes. It incorporates a fully differential zero feedback; balanced circuit with electronically regulated high and low-voltage power supplies. The LS15 has a large array of input/output options. These options include balanced inputs, as well as direct balanced inputs, for best signal purity. This path bypasses switching electronics, and allows for the most direct and cleanest ...