All you see of the Bose system is a sleek, small brushed-aluminum box containing the CD player and the radio tuner. Unobtrusiveness and operating ease are the keynote of this singular design. Only a tape deck need be added, and the whole rig lists for $2,100 It is a nearly complete system comprising speakers, amplifier, tuner and a CD player. No midprice listings would be complete without mention of the Bose Lifestyle System - an offbeat item likely to appeal to listeners who love music but hate gadgets. The last two are three-headed models that permit the tape to be monitored as it is being recorded.

Two bookshelf speakers, one by a/d/s/ (Model L8e) and the other by Altec Lansing (Model 205) both sound forth with a clarity and sweetness that makes any music more enjoyable, and both list at $600.Īmong the many commendable CD players in the midprice range, the Harman-Kardon HD7450 ($429), the Technics SL-PS70 ($450) and the Yamaha 930Ti ($549) all use the new one-bit decoding technology, which yields superior results at relatively low cost. The unforced naturalness of sound typical of the more expensive speakers made by Allison Acoustics of Framingham, Mass., is also evident in the company's midprice Model AL-115 ($440). A Canadian newcomer, the PSB 50MKII ($550) combines exemplary clarity and detail with a full-bodied sonic aura, and Boston Acoustics' T830 ($500) also excels in conveying a sense of sonic magnitude. This arrangement results in an uncommonly precise stereo location. In the KEF C55 ($598), the tweeter nestles right at the center of the woofer so that all sounds - highs and lows alike - originate at the same point in space. All quoted prices refer to a pair of speakers. But any of the following designs is likely to please listeners who go to concerts frequently and whose ears are accustomed to the real thing. The choice of loudspeakers is always a matter of individual taste. Other highly capable receivers in this group include Yamaha's RX-730Ti ($499, 70 wpc) and Denon's DRA-625RA ($500, 65 wpc), both of which have an unusually flexible loudness control that assures proper tonal balance at any volume setting. It has muscle enough to clear all musical hurdles in almost any domestic setting, and its sonic quality ranks among the best. Thanks to the receiver's unusual overload characteristics, the effective output of the NAD is far greater than its rating of 40 wpc would indicate. With only half that much power, NAD's 7240PE receiver ($479) would seem would seem a weak contender, yet the numbers don't tell the whole story. They make good sense, musically and financially.Īmong stereo receivers in this group, Sony's STR-GX50ESII ($500), rated at 80 watts per channel (wpc), is a champion in terms of sheer power, and it is well designed in other respects. And at their best, components in this group approach the performance of top-rank designs without approaching their price. Here the designers enjoy a fair amount of creative freedom, and that freedom shows up in the sound. On the whole, midpriced components spring from the drawing board unhampered by the compromises typical of products designed to shave costs. Moreover, their broad dispersion of highs accounts for sonic spaciousness beyond the range of budget systems. And when it comes to contemporary sounds, the more potent lows and generally higher power of midprice systems add greater thrust to the rhythms of rock.Īt the upper end of the tonal spectrum, midpriced systems generally exceed their lower-priced counterparts in smoothness and clarity. What is to be doubled? The quality of sound or the listener's pleasure? And even if we assume the two to be roughly identical, neither can be precisely measured.īut if you'll settle for metaphor in place of exactitude, be assured that the costlier systems, thanks to richer bass, lend heft to massive scores - especially in passages where cellos and basses play in octaves to put a deep, sonorous foundation under the musical structure. However, the notion of twice as good is problematic.

This difference prompts the question of whether they are twice as good. Prices in this group are roughly double those of low-budget models. Having roamed through stereo's bargain basement last week, our annual pre-Christmas shopping guide now climbs up to the middle class.

Scott stereo master 499