The Gearhead: Cult Classics

There are certain unique products out there that garner a following, even without extensive reviews. It’s a word of mouth thing, found mostly in forums, and if you happen to peruse such forums like I do, you see mention after mention of these things.

Two such products came by the testing bench recently, and I have a feeling these will be snapped up quickly. Both are beloved for different reasons, and both fly below the radar for the most part.

For the tweakers

The first piece of gear is one that’s sort of strange, but it seems has been owned at least once by everybody who claims to be an audiophile. Hyperbole, obviously, but what I’m talking about is the BSG Technologies QØL Signal Completion Stage. Whatever that means. It’s a stereo width enhancer that takes a bit of ~10KHz and up from each channel and adds a small amount of it, out of phase, to the other channel.

It’s got 4 channels in and 2 out, is balanced with RCA options as well, has a remote and thus has plenty of uses in a stereo system, provided the listener likes the effect it creates.

It’s also got a well-implemented mono summing capability, so I can think of a few great uses for it in the recording studio as well. Did I mention it’s quiet and also balanced?

I’ve seen talk about this device from many corners of the audio internet, and there are a lot of fans of the unique product from BSG Technologies. Back when I worked for a manufacturer, a customer sent one of these in to the engineering department, asking if they’d help figure out how it worked. It was a weird request, but there’s this sense of curiosity it provokes, so at least one engineer took stock of what’s inside.

I’ve certainly wondered if I’d like the effect in my room, and my immunity to the constant audiophile “tweak-itis” malaise is well-documented to be nonexistent. I’m going to have to try this thing, I think.

A quiet riot

The other HiFi gear that came across the testing bench that spurred me to write about cult classics is a pair of speakers that have a loyal following.

The loyalty is there not because the speakers are unique and attract curious audiophiles. It's there not because of clever or ubiquitous marketing.

This gorgeous pair of Audio Note AN-J/LX speakers with paper drivers in Satin Yew won't be on many popular “Best Of” lists, but those audiophiles who own or know about them prefer it stay that way.

To some, this is one of the best kept secrets in audio, a pair of speakers in a league far above most. A pair of speakers on par with some of the best of the price bracket above them, really. And at the same time an efficient-enough design to be driven to sonic bliss with 2 watts or 200 watts.

That’s actually a rare feat in audio, and requires both simplicity in design and precision in execution. And it turns out, after a little digging, I learned that the entire AN- line is a reincarnation of Peter Snell's famously popular speaker designs from the 70s and 80s.

These speakers remind of another brand capable of that kind of power input flexibility: DeVore Fidelity and their similar-looking Orangutan line. Although having spent some time with those speakers too, I find the ANs slightly more on the revealing and engaging side of things, and slightly less supremely holographic.

That said, both the AN-J series from Audio Note and the O/93 and O/96 speakers from DeVore are eager to show off differences in amplification. Some listeners out there have tried it all and come back to their AN-Js or AN-Ks as their “forever speaker.”

Considering the savings off retail for what is essentially a 10/10 condition pair (I really wanted to choose the 10/10 cosmetic rating, but we reserve that for products that have not been handled), these babies are not going to stick around for long. Join the cult already, won't ya?

BSG Technologies QØL signal completion stage

Audio Note An-J/LX speakers