Anniversaries serve industry well: who doesn’t love an “Anniversary Model,” be it a wristwatch, a car, a bottle of scotch? The beauty of such events is that they provide a credibility that money cannot buy – only the genuine passage of time will suffice.
Hi-fi is now old enough to celebrate with its longest-surviving companies nearing the century mark, while the elite level of high-end audio itself has been around since circa-1950.
In 2011, for example, British manufacturer SME was able to boast that its first tonearm, the Model 3009, had reached its 50th birthday. Indeed, 1961 was a good year for British audio, as loudspeaker manufacturer KEF was also born then, and the company recently celebrated with a book recounting the story. This year, Wharfedale celebrates its 80th birthday, and it, too, inspired a fantastic book.
Perhaps the most memorable way of celebrating a milestone is with a special model, be it a loudspeaker, an amplifier or a record deck. The secret is to revive something so good that it can stand up against designs that are decades younger, because retro styling – however cool it looks – is not enough to justify the expenditure: the performance must match the reputation.
McIntosh, the granddaddy of the American specialty audio, marked its 60th anniversary last year with a couple of products, including reissues of an amplifier and a pre-amplifier, as well as an all-new mini-system. But the news for 2012 is a unique anniversary marking not a milestone of a company, but of a specific model: the McIntosh MC275 stereo power amplifier is 50 years old. Although it hasn’t been in continuous production for that amount of time, it is re-launched periodically, and this will be its most radically revised version – though the main circuit and iconic styling remain unchanged.
McIntosh isn’t the first to do this. From time to time, other brands have also reissued classics from their line-up, from Radford’s STA25 MK IV in the late 1980s, reviving a 1960s masterpiece, to Kiseki issuing a limited run of moving-coil cartridges in 2011, made up from “new old stock” parts. Marantz once offered reissues of its 1950s/1960s tube electronics, while Quad revived not only its original Quad II power amplifier – it developed an entire new family of amplifiers around it, all boasting the distinctive 1950s look. For 2012, French brand Elipson will offer again their BS50 spherical speaker from 1953, still looking as futuristic now as it did then.
For company, rather than model, anniversaries, 2012 sees the 40th anniversary of the Mark Levinson brand, which raised the bar for high-end audio, creating no-compromise models with seemingly limitless pricing. More importantly, their earliest pre-amplifiers and power amplifiers represented a watershed moment in design, for they proved that solid-state equipment could sound as good as tube electronics – or “almost as good,” depending on your political affiliation.
Meridian is another company celebrating a birthday this year, also the 40th, and they’re issuing a limited edition 40th Anniversary System comprising an enhanced pair of the company’s flagship DSP8000 loudspeakers and a special version of their 808 Signature Reference CD Player in a gorgeous ruby colour. They’re also using the opportunity to issue a radical new model, the M6.
A word of advice for those of you intrigued by these nods to the past. Invariably, such models are all limited editions, so you need to move quickly. And you should also realise that Japan, Korea and other markets boast hi-fi enthusiasts so appreciative of audio’s history that they always grab the lion’s share of production for two reasons: the limited edition/collector’s status imparts extra value, and the pieces are usually worth owning for their performance alone.
Mcintosh 50th anniversary limited edition MC275 tube power amplifier
With its legendary MC275 turning 50, McIntosh will offer a version of the stereo classic with a number of refinements, while leaving the styling alone – aside from gilding the chassis. “The 50th Anniversary Limited Edition McIntosh MC275 tube power amplifier” – to give it its full name – now includes a multi-coloured LED display to indicate performance readiness, as well as a new circuit that automatically turns the amp off should any particular tube wear out. For the first time, the Limited Edition MC275 is equipped with Power Control input and output, so on-off operation can be controlled by a cable connection to any McIntosh preamp or processor.
Meridian limited edition 48th anniversary sound system
With more than 165 international awards bestowed on their product designs, Meridian Audio founders Bob Stuart and Allen Boothroyd are celebrating the 40 years since their creative partnership began with a limited edition 40th Anniversary System. The package consists of an enhanced pair of the company’s flagship DSP8000 loudspeakers and a special version of their 808 Signature Reference CD Player. Limited to only 40 numbered editions worldwide, each system is signed by Bob and Allen, and comes with an engraved plate showing its system number. The unique additions include the ruby colour not available on other products in the range, coordinated glass inset panels, speakers grilles and tweeter surround. Each system will also come with a book, illustrating the history of Meridian’s Digital Signal Processing (DSP) loudspeakers, which is also signed by Bob and Allen.
Meridian M6 loudspeaker
A stylistic departure for Meridian, the M6 is conceived to be a discreet high-end audio system that is simple to use, easy to live with, and accessible to the whole family. It has a circular footprint, unlike boxy speakers, with an eye-pleasing taper and the use of non-reflective finishes. The column itself is fashioned from a specially developed, uniquely heavy and rigid barium-doped resin. The same cylindrical enclosure gives M6 its naturally wide dispersion pattern, so positioning it for optimum performance is more flexible than with conventional designs. As with all Meridian active loudspeakers, the performance is controlled and monitored by the company’s proprietary digital signal processing that creates a loudspeaker able to perform as would a conventional speaker with eight times the physical volume.
Elipson BS50
French speaker maker Elipson has issued a tribute to the company’s iconic BS50 loudspeaker, which also marks the brand’s 60th birthday. It is part of a plan for the company to honour the landmark models that have shaped its history. The BS50 was its first speaker to achieve fame, the name itself an acronym for “Ball Staff, 50cm diameter.” Designed in 1953, its swivelling “ear” distributed the sound with increased dispersion. The 820 x 665 x 775 mm spherical speaker is positioned on a brushed alloy tripod with no separate visible fixing. Elipson has reproduced this model using the latest high-quality materials, while preserving the acoustic sound qualities that were so unique to a product that defied all normal standards of loudspeaker design.
by Ken Kessler
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