Blog

We have PSBs Alpha AM5 Powered Bookshelf Speakers ready for demo right now. This is a great solution to start a simple stereo set up with powered speakers, with a built in phono preamp, aptX bluetooth streaming, rear volume control, sub out, and aux inputs. Just add a turntable or source, and you’re ready to play your favorite music! Great powerful PSB sound in a simple to use and set up package. Available in white or black.

Shunyata Research has just released a slew of new products in the past couple of weeks, including the XC series power cables, and v2 NR series power cables. We are not currently showing the new Omega series, but do have the Venom, Delta, Alpha, and Sigma series. These have once again raised the bar for what is possible from power cables. We look forward to showcasing these great new products for you! You can download a pdf of a recent review of the v2 version of the Shunyata Research Delta NR power cable here. We also have the newly released Shunyata Research reference vertical power distributor Shunyta Research Everest 8000, featuring 8 outlets with the technology used in the Hydra Triton and Typhon designs. Contact us if you are interested in this new exciting reference product. Check out our page on this amazing featured product here.

We now have the Focal Chora speaker line on our floor and ready to audition. This is the Chorus replacement value line from Focal. Complete with new styling, speaker drivers, and more. We have the floorstand Focal Chora 816 speakers in, as well as the stand mount Focal Chora 806 speakers. These are an amazing value and a great speaker to either build a two channel or full home theater surround speaker set up with. You can read a review of the Chora 816 here and the Chora 806 here. Come in for an audition!

We have the new English Electric 8Switch from Chord Cables, featuring an 8-port gigabit music streaming network switch for bringing a higher level of wired streaming music to your system.

Our latest OPEN store days/hours are:

Wednesday Thursday, Friday 11 am to 4 pm 

Saturday, 11 am to 5 pm

For questions be sure to email us (or call us, but email is the best method to reach us). 503-280-0910.

We now have the Arcam SA20 Integrated Amplifier and the Arcam CDS50 CD/SACD Network Player from Arcam’s HDA product range. The SA20 Integrated Amplifier is a Class G amplifier running at 90watts per channel. What is Class G? Class G is essentially a hybrid amplifier, utilising Class A specifically for low-level signals, but when required switching in an additional power supply to power those larger sections of the waveform. It also has 5 analog inputs (including a phono), 3 digital inputs, a built in 32-bit Sabre ESS9038K2M DAC. Want to add a disc/network player to the mix? Look to the new CDS50. It plays CDs and SACDs, and also is a network player, supporting audio file formats including FLAC, WAV, AIFF, OGG, MP3, AAC and WMA.

We have the brand new Naim Audio Supernait 3, and it’s delivering some amazing music in our Bamboo room! Naim Audio has upgraded the power amplification system of the previous Supernait 2, delivering an even greater engaging music experience. The 3 has received significant upgrades in the built-in phono stage, as well as in it’s Class A preamp output stage that can double as a headphone amplifier. They also have taken the same individually decoupled inputs from their flagship NAC 552, delivering a lower noise floor by minimizing noise and interference. The Supernait 3 can also be upgraded with Naim Audio external power supplies and amplifiers, taking it to the next level. Simple and Powerful, with gorgeous sound. Come audition it today!

We have also added the Audio Physic Midex Loudspeaker to our line up from Audio Physic. While boasting a host of innovative Audio Physic technologies, the new Midex seems to also follow the purist school of speaker design. The rather unique woofer/midrange/tweeter placement helps to avoid any uncontrolled effects via room acoustics (in the bass region). This helps to enhance low-frequency fidelity significantly. This is a 4 Ohm impedance, has two 6.7″ woofers, a HHCM III midrange driver, and a HHCT III Tweeter. You can read the reviews here, and here.

We’ve added to our great Audio Physic loudspeaker line up that we carry here at Stereotypes Audio in Portland, Oregon, with their long-standing Classic 12 Loudspeaker. The Audio Physic Classic 12 is a loudspeaker that excels in its class through technical innovations, intelligent detail solutions, and elegant styling, while sonically achieving an impressive degree of maturity. The two and a half-way system features two 5.9″ drivers and a 8/9″ tweeter, with 89 dB sensitivity and a 4 Ohm Impedance.

We’re proud to have the latest Cambridge Audio AX series of components, featuring the AXC35 CD Player, the AXR35 35-watt Integrated Amplifier, the AXR85 85-watt Integrated Amplifier, and the AXR100 100-watt Integrated Amplifier. We also just got in the sweet sounding Cambridge Audio CX A81 Integrated Amplifier, a new unit that has been redesigned from the ground up. New better components, DAC, etc., providing a warmer and richer sound, with all of the greatest features like new Bluetooth, Roon, etc. We still can’t believe just how great this sounds at this price point. We also have the matching CXC CD Transport. Read the latest review here.

ProAc loudspeakers from the UK have always been a store favorite, and we recently brought in their top level Response series floor stand speaker, the ProAc D48R. The short of it? We’re in love. But that’s not surprising with this long-standing great line of speakers. They just keep getting better. Ours has a gorgeous wood finish (an upgrade over the standard finish), which not only looks worth that, but also has the sound to match. With their two-way system with three drivers in a D’Appolito configuration (a pair of 6 1/2” bass/midrange cones with a ProAc ribbon tweeter between), these speakers feel ‘just right’ size-wise in most rooms, not taking up much more space than even a set of ProAc’s Tablette speakers… and yet the full sound that comes from them gives you so much more than a stand mount. Capturing all of the magic of a small monitor, these speakers have great soundstage and center point imaging, with a ribbon tweeter that blends seamlessly with its cone drivers. We’re excited to share these great speakers with you. Read more here, here and here.

We’ve recently picked up the Revel Loudspeakers line, and are really excited to present their amazing Performa Be series of loudspeakers. We have the floor standing Revel Performa F228Be speakers (their mid-sized floor-stander), as well as the stand mount Revel Performa M126Be speakers. Like the Focal loudspeaker line up we carry, Revel has a complete line up of options for every price range, as well as playing well with in a dedicated two channel stereo environment or 5.1 and beyond Home Theater environment. Revel has always been known for their highly technical R&D development and being able to draw from a vast pool of resources from being apart of the Harman International family, but through other recent acquisitions has even deeper pockets for development. From this great development process comes their mid-priced Performa Be series with integrated Beryllium tweeters, bringing trickle down of their reference-top-dollar Ultima line to their more reasonably priced Performa series.

Design
Whether you’re considering the M126Be’s for smaller spaces, or the larger floor-standing F328Be, F226Be or F206 loudspeakers, they all have the magic of the ‘Be’ Beryllium tweeters. Revel has executed this with the most natural of sound, flowing effortlessly with the rest of the speakers. Fit and finish are outstanding, as you would expect. And the white cones that are revealed when you remove the grills are truly stunning. The model of these speakers that you choose will obviously depend on your room size and budget, but overall these are reasonably sized speakers for the size of their 8” woofers in our F228Be speakers. And the M126Be would be at home in nearly any space. Our floor models have the wood grain finish, and are a great fit for the asking price.

Sound
Our first impressions of these speakers: “Wow, there’s an amazing amount of detail there!” It’s not the kind of goosed up detail that says “Hey, look at me!” Instead choosing to naturally be part of the overall sound as a whole. While some might quibble over wanting more authoritative bottom end, bass was always extremely accurate and controlled, while sounding musical and natural. While the mids may lean towards being slightly more analytical than some of our British monitor stalwarts, they still remained extremely musical and a seamless part of the whole. The F228Be’s have a way of presenting an expansive soundstage with pinpoint center imaging that will leave you wanting more. While Revels tend to be slightly more forward leaning in their presentation, this Be line up never goes too far in any direction. When it comes to beryllium tweeters, you always get crisp detail on the top end capturing the strike of a cymbal or front end strike of a piano note. This was all there, but never felt harsh or too in your face. The other sound quality that stood out, was their ability to capture the natural room and instrument decay that is often buried by other speakers in the presentation. This can be heard much more full and present than with many other speakers, adding to the overall experience of a musical performance. This Performa Be line is extremely accurate and transparent, natural, and engaging. What about speed? Shifting to modern electronic music, the Revels were amazingly fast and effortless without being overly sterile. With the M126Be stand mount speakers, much of what was found with the F228Be’s can be found within this smaller package, sans the full authority in the bottom end. Some may want to bring one of our JL Audio eSub or Fathoms to the mix to fully flesh out this experience, while gaining a much smaller footprint for your listening space. The Revels are extremely efficient, so whether you choose to pair them with solid state or tube, they will play well with either.

Wrap Up
This is an amazing addition to our already stellar line up of speakers. Whether you’re in the market for a dedicated stereo set up, or want to build the ultimate home theater set up, the Revel Performa Be speakers will deliver hours of amazingly natural sounding music, bringing along oodles of resolution/detail, with a wonderful soundstage. But don’t take our word for it… come in soon to have your own personal audition of these wonderful loudspeakers. This line of Performa Be speakers are truly in the sweet spot of value and performance.

Specs/Features

Revel F228Be:

–1-inch Beryllium Dome Tweeter
-Mid driver: 5.25″ DCC aluminum cone with cast frame
-Dual 8″ Deep Ceramic Composite (DCC) Aluminum Cones with cast frames
-High-order Crossovers with Film Capacitors and Air Core Inductors
-5th-generation Acoustic Lens Waveguide
-Magnetically Attached Grilles
-DCC Cone Midrange and Woofers
-4 Premium High-gloss Finishes Available
-8 Ohms
-Sensitivity: 90dB (2.83V @1M)
-Dimensions: 46.6″ x 13.5″ x 14.8″
-Weight: 82 lbs

Revel M126Be:

–1-inch Beryllium Dome Tweeter
-6.5” Deep Ceramic Composite (DCC) Aluminum Cones with cast frame
-High-order Crossovers with Film Capacitors and Air Core Inductors
-5th-generation Acoustic Lens Waveguide
-Magnetically Attached Grilles
-DCC Cone Midrange and Woofers
-4 Premium High-gloss Finishes Available
-8 Ohms
-Sensitivity: 86dB (2.83V @1M)
-Dimensions: 15.2″x 8.3″ x 10.3″
-Weight: 22 lbs

You can read the glowing reviews for the Revel Performa F228Be here, and here

You can read the glowing reviews for the Revel Performa M126Be here, here, and here.

Stereotypes Audio of Portland, Oregon is now proud to offer Revel Loudspeakers. We will be carrying Concerta 2 line and the Performa Be line of speakers. We currently have a pair of white Revel F35 floorstanding speakers ready to audition. This is a great addition to an already amazing line up of speaker brands that we offer. We now have the the F228Be Loudspeakers and M126Be Bookshelf speakers in and are ready to audition!

The new Parasound JC3 Jr. Phono preamplifier by John Curl is in stock and in our Bamboo room! This great value phono stage is already garnering some wonderful reviews, being cut from the same cloth as it’s higher priced sibling product from Curl. If you’re in the market for a reasonably priced solid state phono stage, this one is well worth an audition! It provides cartridge options for 47 Ohm MM and MC/MI, and has balanced and unbalanced outputs. You can read a review here.

We have the brand new Cambridge Audio AX series in stock and ready to audition, including the AXA35 and the AXC35. We also have the new Cambridge Audio TT Alva turntable is a direct drive table that also packs a built-in bluetooth APTX HD unit that… (wait for it)… actually sounds really amazing! (Bluetooth? yes. Bluetooth). Imagine streaming great vinyl to your phone to listen through good headphones. It comes with a pre-installed high output MC Cartridge. The AXA35 is an Integrated Amplifier with built-in MM phono-stage, has 35 watts per channel, a display screen, and a 1/4″ headphone jack. The AXC34 CD Player has gapless playback, a quality DAC, that can read standard CDs, as well as discs with MP3s and WMA files. These Cambridge products have the usual great build value that Cambridge has become known for.