You’ll find us located in SE Portland’s Morrison Place next to Nostrana Restaurant. Get Directions! >
Blog
Chord Hugo 2 in now. Ready for a listen.
Hey, we have the brand new Chord Hugo 2 in and ready to demo in our bamboo room. The first Hugo was a HUGE hit… we can’t wait to put the Hugo 2 through some long listening sessions. Use it on the road, use it in your main system. This is destined to be another great portable DAC/headphone amplifier that can do more than just travel. It retains the colorful globe indicator lights, but adds playback for up to 768kHz, DSD512, extended range Bluetooth, and so much more. Get in for a demo soon!
TAS 50 Greatest Bargains In High End Audio, many here at Stereotypes Audio
The latest edition of The Absolute Sound (Nov 2017) features the “50 Greatest Bargains in High End Audio” for which we have many of the featured products on hand and ready to demo. In the “Entry Level” section, it covers the Rega Planar 1 turntable, and the NAD D3020 Integrated Amplifier. The NAD Integrated Amplifiers have a long history of providing great value. No other Portland, Oregon store carries these great values. We currently have this system set up with a Rega Fono Mini phono stage. If you’re ready to get started in great high end sound without breaking the bank, start here at Stereotypes Audio, where we have components and systems at EVERY price point.
The new Focal Kanta No.2 Speakers are in!
The new Focal Kanta No. 2 speakers arrived on Friday last week, and we’ve been marveling in them ever since! Wow, right out of the box they were producing magic… and by Monday they we’re sounding absolutely sublime. The mating of their latest generation beryllium tweeter and Flax drivers is absolutely seamless. Detailed, musical, airy, and magical… it’s hard to completely describe the wonder that are these new Focal speakers. Combine that with their unimposing compact size and beautiful finish work, and you have a winner. You have to hear and see these to fully appreciate what Focal has pulled off with the Kanta No. 2. Our floor model has the taupe matte finish with the walnut case work. Be the first to hear the Focal Kanta No. 2 speakers in the Portland Oregon area! You can find out more information here, here and here. (and the full Tone review here as well.)
Rega Planar 6 Turntable (archived featured product)
For nearly 45 years, UK based Rega has been producing some of the top turntables in the business. While you can always spend more or could even spend less, it’s hard to find fault with the high level of performance you get at each price point that Rega is entrenched at. Whether it’s the Planar 1 or all the way up to the current RP10, you get ‘best in class’ performance per dollar at each price point. Our current featured product, the Rega Planar 6 (PL6)makes the strongest case for ‘value’ yet.
Topping the previous RP6 was no easy feet, but they went back to the drawing board and have borrowed heavily from the plinth technology found in the Rega RP8, as well as borrowing the technology from the RP10’s external power supply, providing an all new power supply, the Neo PSU. It uses a crystal controlled oscillator to create a perfectly stepped sine wave to deliver a perfect vibration free power supply to the motor, as well as perfect timing. While the plinth uses a Tancast 8 polyurethane foam – a material developed for the aerospace industry, it does not use the same ‘skeletal’ design in the RP8 and RP10. This all new process based on their trickle down technology provides the perfect balance between lightness and sturdiness, that allows it’s low mass to provide the hallmark Rega sound. All Rega Planar 6 turntables come in a gorgeous matte powder gray finish, with a smoke gray tinted dust cover. (Sorry, no wild colors for the Planar 6, but with it’s classic good looks, you won’t miss it).
Adding to this mix is the new RB330 tonearm found in the new Planar 3, but with an upgraded stainless-steel balance weight. Other updates include a custom-machined drive pulley, a single-piece aluminium sub-platter, and the new NEO PSU.
Three Ways to Have it.
The P6 is available in three different versions. You get the table itself without a cartridge. There two versions above that where Rega bundles the Planar 6 with two of their cartridges, offering significant package savings. (you will save $ by purchasing the package versus buying the cartridge and the turntable separately.) You can get the Rega Planar 6 paired with the Rega Exact moving magnet cartridge. But… Rega has added a new option that is putting a great big smile on everyone’s face, Rega’s brand new Ania moving coil cartridge. This MC cartridge is based on their more expensive Alpheta 2 MC, and when partnered to the Planar 6… it’s a match made in heaven.
While we are all drawn to gear that immediately grabs you, the Rega Planar 6 just ‘sounds right’, with an astonishingly refined and mature sound rarely heard at this price point. It balances resolution, timing, subtlety, and a musicality that is effortlessly precise and quiet… really quiet. The Rega Planar 6 truly raises the bar on what we have come to expect from a turntable at this price point, and will provide the vinyl fan with many years of music enjoyment. Isn’t that what it’s all about?
New ProAc DT8 Speakers in Stock. Ready to Demo.
We just got the new ProAc DT8 speakers in stock, and are the floor ready to demo. These are another great compact floor stander from British monitor maker ProAc. Similar in size to the discontinued Studio 140 MK II, it’s an entirely new speaker, using a driver arrangement similar to the Response D48s. More information to come, but for now… you can go here and here for details.
Update: Moon by Simaudio ACE. Bluesound Mini Flex Battery packs in.
**(This is an outdated/archived post. Be sure to contact us for the latest product information)
A quick update: Moon by Simaudio well regarded Neo ACE all-in-one Music Player is here. This is a great value with their best in class 10 year warranty. The all-in-one market has gotten very competitive and this unit is a great value. Check out the specs on the ACE here. Reviews here (a perfect 5 stars from What HiFi?), here and here. We also just got in the battery pack add ons for the BlueSound Mini Flex speaker, making them truly wireless/portable with this add on battery. Come and get them!
Brand new Rega Planar 6 turntables are here!
The brand new and hotly anticipated Rega Planar 6 have arrived! Rega has slowly been working on revising their turntable lineup, first with the Planar 3 last year, then the Planar 2 and 1. The new Planar 6 is truly an all new product, not sharing any original components from the outgoing RP6 (except the hinges. why mess with what works?). There is so much that has gone into this new table, that we can’t fit all of the new information into a blog post. You can read more about it here. We’re in the process of putting this new table through the paces. A glowing 5 star review from What HiFi? here.
The heavily anticipated Naim Audio Uniti Nova is here!
The heavily anticipated Naim Audio Uniti Nova is here!!! And it is GORGEOUS! And it sounds AMAZING!!! This is a welcome edition in to our Naim Audio Unit Atom that is already garnering oohs and aaahhhhs from everyone that sees it and hears it in our bamboo room. This flagship Naim Audio Uniti is truly a remarkable all-in-one product. You have to see it and hear it to believe it!
New Shunyata Research Products in. Venom, Delta, Alpha, and Sigma.
We have a full line up of all new Shunyata Research products in stock! Venom, Delta, Alpha and Sigma product lines are on the floor and breaking in. We even have the new Alpha and Sigma speaker cable in our main upstairs room, along with the Delta speaker cable in our bamboo room. Be sure to come in to find out all about this exciting new line up of products from Shunyata Research! These are products so new, that they aren’t even listed on Shunyata’s own website yet! There is a new pdf guide that lists all of the new cables here. Get in now to audition these truly ground breaking products.
Naim Audio Uniti Atom now in!
The brand new Naim Audio Uniti Atom is now in stock and ready to demo! This is highly anticipated compact high-end all-in-one Uniti line product, that is both gorgeous in sight and sound. Its a 40-watt integrated amplifier and full featured high-resolution music streamer that will fill your home with stunning high-fidelity sound. Just add speakers, and download the latest Naim app for iOS or Android, and you’re ready to bring all of your music/music sources into one location. More information to come soon!
New Yumi YU4 and YU6 Powered Speakers ready to demo up front
We have the newer Yumi YU4 and YU6 powered speakers up front in a very simple vinyl set up, ready to audition the moment you walk in! These powered speakers have Bluetooth 4.0, a subwoofer output, a built-in DAC and the YU4s have a built-in Phono stage to play your favorite vinyl. Just add a turntable! You can’t get any more simple and cost effective to get into vinyl from zero gear to listening now! Add a Yumi sub and adding digital music from your phone, tablet or computer… you can have the best of both world with digital and analog! Whether for a small listening space, second listening space, shop or vacation home… Yumi really spells YUMMY!
Mytek Brooklyn DAC here! Also new Shunyata product coming soon.
**(This is an outdated/archived post. Be sure to contact us for the latest Mytek DACs and products that we carry)
We have several Mytek Brooklyn DACs in stock and on demo in both black and silver. This is a great DAC that also does MQA natively, and comes with a well regarded built-in phono stage. It also has a quality headphone amp, and allows for up to DSD 256 and 32/384K playback. On the back it’s inputs/outputs allow for balanced stereo out, unbalanced stereo RCA out and in, 2 SPDIF in, USB, Optical/Toslink, and a built-in attenuator. You can read the reviews here, here, here and here (pdf).
We also have new Shunyata Product on it’s way! More info soon.
2Q 2017 Featured Product: Naim Audio Uniti Core Reference Hard-Disk Server
Naim Audio makes hard disks sexy! Ok, no… not in the way you think. But it’s true, that it’s what’s inside that counts (not that the case work is not Naim Audio level quality. It is.). And we don’t necessarily mean the actual ‘guts’ (although those are very nice as well), but… it’s how it performs. We know that many of you have been sitting on the sidelines of the digital music file front, waiting for the best solution to serve up your music without a lot of hassle. Well, that day has finally arrived. Enter the Naim Audio Uniti Core Reference Hard-Disk Server. Forget all of the computer complications, Naim Audio has you covered.
New Spendor A6R Speakers are here!
We have the new Spendor A6R speakers are here and ready to demo. The new 2-way Spendor speakers feature a 18cm main drive unit with technology developed for the D7 speakers. We also have those Spendor D7s on display in Rosewood finish and are ready to demo now.
Dali Opticon 6 Speakers in our Bamboo Room.
We now have a wonderful pair of Dali Opticon 6 speakers in our Bamboo listening room. These speakers offer a lot and represent a great value for the quality of music they produce. We’ve been enjoying them thoroughly with several different Integrated Amplifiers in our bamboo room, including our new NAD Hybrid Digital DAC Integrated Amplifier C368. The Option 6s have twin 6.5″ low-loss Wood Fibre Woofer, and combine a soft dome and Ribbon Tweeter module. We carry quite an extensive line of Dali speakers across all price ranges, including the Rubicon line (we have Rubicon 6s and Rubicon 8s on our showroom floor ready to demo). Here are reviews for the Opticon 6s here and here. (more…)