By Michael Lavorgna
The Alta Audio Io were new to me when they first showed up in Barn many months ago but we have since become friends. Unlike some review stuff, but like many people, it took me time to get to know the Io. This is in part due to the nature of a loudspeaker where one can only know one as a couple, i.e. when paired with amplification. Sometimes, perhaps most times, this pairing can determine what a speaker “sounds like” which is to say speakers do not sound like anything on their own.
I know, obvious stuff but sometimes a review can lead the reader to believe that they will get the exact same results as the reviewer with a given loudspeaker—all one need do is buy it. While this cannot be further from the reality, ideally a review can give you a good idea about those aspects of a loudspeaker’s ‘sound’ that remain constant while the amplifier in-use does not. While we’re here in system-ville, my totaldac D-1 seven and dCS Network Bridge acted as my digital front end for this review.
