Search

This, Stereophile's June 2023 issue, is the 50th I've produced as editor. That seems like a lot-yet the four-plus years it took have flown by; it seems impossible that I've [...]

This month's music feature, by Mike Mettler, is an interview with John Doe, best known as cofounder, in 1977, of the legendary punk band X. During X's long recording career, [...]

At the beginning of the 2022 novel Checkout 19, by Claire-Louise Bennett, I encountered some ideas that resonate in interesting ways with my recent experience of recorded music. The first [...]

As I've written more than once in As We See It, the recorded-music industry is experiencing a vigorous recovery, fed mainly by subscription-based music streaming. 'Numerically, 2021 recorded-music revenue set [...]

The science of sound absorption apparently isn't settled; indeed, it's an active area of research. Evidence of this was presented in our Technical Feature in the August 2022 issue of [...]

My first exposure to Manger Audio loudspeakers, which are based on the 'bending-wave' technology invented years ago by the company, was to the Manger p2, their passive flagship speaker, at [...]

With a few exceptions, audiophiles have long advocated high-rez music formats, believing that music should be recorded and presented in the highest fidelity possible, for our pleasure and posterity. And [...]

Remember quadraphonic sound? If you were an adult or older child in the 1970s, then of course you do. Quadraphonic sound was one (perhaps the most popular) of several technologies [...]

In a late-August press release, PS Audio announced a major change in how it does business. In the United States, its home market, the company stopped selling its products through [...]

- Julie Mullins HERETIC AD614 LOUDSPEAKER Choosing Heretic's AD614 loudspeaker as my personal Product of the Year was easy: It's new, innovative, and sounds like a high-rez studio monitor on magic mushrooms. Editors' Choice Awards MOFI ELECTRONICS SOURCEPOINT 10 LOUDSPEAKER I have had so many loudspeakers pass through my listening room in the past 40 years that it is rare for one to stick in my mind for more than a couple of months after it had been returned to the manufacturer or distributor. The Wilson and dCS both got three first-place votes; the Alexia V got one more second- place vote than the Vivaldi, but the dCS made it up in third-place votes. But the least expensive product, the Klipsch loudspeaker, and the most expensive, the NAD amplifier, scored the same number of votes, which was considerably more than the third-place Benchmark D/A processor. [Extracted from the article]

When Wilson employees added their voices, expressing a desire for an even smaller subwoofer for their own setups that was reasonably priced by Wilson standards, the LoKe was born. Piece of cake, thought I. All I needed to do to review Wilson Audio Specialties' smallest active subwoofer, the LoKe ($8950 each in standard finish), was describe how low a pair goes in my room and how cleanly they woof. The LoKe is in the latter category.9 Controls on LoKe's rear amplifier panel include an input-level switch, a power-mode switch, a Feature Setup knob, and a main power switch. The subwoofer and speaker must remain in exactly the same phase during the overlap to make the main speaker seem to descend even lower naturally while avoiding the introduction of such bass anomalies as a slightly blurred sound or a subwoofer that sounds like a subwoofer rather than naturally blending. [Extracted from the article]

Power amplifiers Naim NAP 250 DR power amplifier, D'Agostino Progression 350 stereo power amplifier. The NAP 250 incorporates eddy-current suppression at the loudspeaker output connections, in common with the reference-level Naim "Statement" power amplifier. Though output impedance isn't specified, if the specified damping factor (36 with an 8 ohm load) is accurate, it is about 0.2 ohms.1 The loudspeaker output connections are unchanged from earlier models: Naim-standard, spaced 4mm sockets, for which Naim also makes an inexpensive, proprietary, reliable bipolar plug designed to ensure unambiguous polarity. For review this modular of the matching audio component NSC 222 streamer set - a preamp with a matching NPX 300 power supply is forthcoming - we first cover the standalone NAP 250 100Wpc stereo power amplifier, a new version of Naim's 200-series amplifier, now so extensively revised that it must be regarded as a new model. [Extracted from the article]

In the time domain, the Maestro Utopia Evo's step response on the tweeter axis (fig.7) indicates that the tweeter and midrange unit are both connected in negative acoustic polarity, the woofers in positive polarity. In the vertical plane (fig.6), the tweeter-axis balance is maintained 5° above and below that axis, which is useful considering that the tweeter is 47" from the floor. The farfield response of the midrange unit and tweeter on the tweeter axis (green trace above 355Hz), with the jumpers set to Neutral, is even, with small, narrow suckouts balanced by equally small peaks. SPECIFICATIONS Description Three-way bass-reflex loudspeaker with two 11" woofers, one 6.5" Power Flower midrange driver with NIC motor, and one inverted-beryllium-dome tweeter. [Extracted from the article]

… In the C12000 control module, each channel's power supply has its own R-core power transformer, and in the C12000 preamp module, each channel has its own circuit boards. Other McIntosh preamplifiers have tone controls, whether accessed via internal menus or maybe staring you in the face as on the C53 preamp and its eight-knob front-panel equalizer. The C12000, which is now McIntosh's flagship stereo preamp, returns to the C1000's hybrid approach, but now both sets of electronics, tubed and solid state, occupy a single chassis - two chassis altogether including the controller. You may not get a DAC with this C12000 meatball, but you do get a high-power, class-A headphone amplifier, output from that 1/4" jack on the preamplifier module front panel. [Extracted from the article]

In contrast, Audio-GD's Vacuum HE1 XLR line-level preamp allowed diverse audio sources to sound maximally diverse - and that, folks, is transparency. Compared to PrimaLuna's EVO 400 For me, the real measure of Audio-GD's Vacuum HE1 XLR was how it compared to PrimaLuna's EVO 400 line-level tube preamplifier ($5295), which I reviewed in June 2019.3 I regard the EVO 400 as one of the finest tube preamps of the current era, and I was curious to see which of these two preamps I would enjoy most. The Audio-GD's Vacuum HE1 preamp did a spectacular job - better than my other preamps - of forming the sounds and expressing the harmonics of Gubaidulina's Piano Sonata VI. EQUIPMENT REPORTS PREAMPLIFIER In red letters on the first page of Chinese audio manufacturer Audio-GD's website are these words: Wisdom in mind, enthusiasm at heart. INSET: ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT. [Extracted from the article]

(Vol.46 No.2 WWW) DRAGONFIRE MINI DRAGON DFA 2.1: $10,000 FOR THE SYSTEM The DFA 2.1 system from Dragonfire Acoustics comprises the company's Mini Dragon Satellite planar-magnetic desktop speakers; MD-4 250 Wpc class-D amp, which contains a DSP module for correcting and controlling the speakers; and DFA SB-8P subwoofer, along with a version of the miniDSP SHD headphone amp/streamer (equipped with Dirac Live room-correction software), plus a suite of cables and a calibrated USB microphone. JA used the Roksan with Mission 770 and GoldenEar BRX speakers and noted that the amplifier kept tight control over both speakers' woofers. INTEGRATED AMPLIFIERS & RECEIVERS A AMPSANDSOUND BIGGER BEN: $5600 This single-input, single-ended, triode-wired, no-negative-feedback tube amplifier drives both loudspeakers and headphones. (Vol.44 No.12 WWW) CAMBRIDGE AUDIO CXA81: $1299 $$$ The CXA81 is a versatile, solid state integrated amplifier with analog and digital inputs, headphone, preamplifier, and subwoofer outputs, and the usual loudspeaker outputs. (Vol.45 Nos.1 & 3 WWW) LINEAR TUBE AUDIO Z10E: $6950 The all-tube Z10e integrated amplifier/headphone amplifier/ electrostatic headphone amplifier is built around a David Berning - designed, push-pull, output-transformerless (OTL) EL84-tube power amplifier that is rated at 12Wpc into 8 ohms and 13Wpc into 4 ohms. [Extracted from the article]

There has been much discussion lately about ChatGPT, the machine-learning based chatbot from OpenAI. Some experts say it will soon make human writers obsolete. Will that include human hi-fi reviewers? [...]

BLANCMANGE Private View London Records LMS 5521738 (CD; also LP, download). 2022. Neil Arthur, Ben Edwards (aka Benge), prods.; Arthur, Edwards, Shawn Joseph, engs. PERFORMANCE ***1/2 sonics **** You probably [...]

Since writing about Manhattan's renovated Geffen Hall in this space in our January issue, I've attended two concerts there. I thought I'd report back. The first of the two performances--the [...]

Audioengine has announced the availability of the DAC3 ($149), a chunky portable DAC-headphone amplifier that's so tiny it fits easily in your pocket. Audioengine says the DAC3 supports 'audio from [...]

Another anniversary product: To celebrate 45 years in the industry, Conrad-Johnson has announced a limited edition preamplifier, the ART88 Reference Line-Stage. 'The ART88 adheres to our maxim that best results [...]

What do New York's Lincoln Center and the typical Stereophile reader have in common? Both have recently made large investments to achieve sonic excellence. I doubt that very many Stereophile [...]

In early November, Strata-gee.com reported that at least one major shareholder is unhappy with the current leadership of Masimo, the medical-equipment company that bought Sound United-home of B&W, Classe, Definitive [...]

Two significant things have happened recently in North Carolina's Research Triangle. First, Chapel Hill-based UNC beat heavily favored, Durham-based Duke to ruin coach Mike Kryzewski's final game on the team's [...]

It's after 5pm on Wednesday, and I'm finishing up the listening part of my review of Apple's wireless speaker, the HomePod ($349). On a whim, I've just asked Siri to [...]

Over one busy week ill 1986, Karlheinz Brandenburg laid the foundation of a technology that a few years later would upend the record business. Brandenburg, a PhD student in electrical [...]

In February 2017, Bryston (1) announced the latest upgrade of their Digital Player, introduced in 2011 as the BDP-1 ($2195), (2) and upgraded in 2013 to the BDP2, with a [...]

Phrases like high fidelity and Perfectionist audio suggest a central norm to which all things audio should aspire. Not a bad idea, in some ways, but if you look at [...]

Much has been written about the divide in high-end audio between subjectivists, who trust their ears, and objectivists, who believe that anything not scientifically proven is fake news. I respect [...]

It's day five of our planned month-long stay a Paris, late April through most of May. My wife is here for work--for me, it's strictly for pleasure--and we're enjoying Paris's [...]

Do 'golden ears'--people with a unique ability to hear what the rest of us can't--really exist? Or if not golden ears precisely, at least people whose training and vast knowledge [...]

The article provides an overview of the Focal Bathys Bluetooth + Wired Headphones and the Focal Stellia headphones. The Bathys headphones aim to bridge the gap between Bluetooth and wired headphones, offering the option to use them with or without a cable. They have a built-in DAC that supports high-quality audio and come with features like active noise cancellation and a hearing test function. However, there are compatibility issues with Apple devices. The Stellia headphones are marketed as both wireless and wired, with Bluetooth being the primary mode of use. They are praised for their accurate sound reproduction and detail retrieval. The article concludes by discussing the potential for lossless streaming in the future of wireless headphones. [Extracted from the article]

When she reviewed two iFi ZEN Signature combos for our January 2021 issue--the ZEN DAC Signature V2 with two versions of the ZEN CAN Signature headphone amplifier, which include a [...]

Swiss audio-component manufacturer CH Precision has announced a new CD/ SACD transport/player, the modular D1.5, which replaces the D1. The D1.5 is, at its core, a transport. No plastic bits [...]

BROTHER JACK MCDUFF Moon Rappin' McDuff, Hammond B3; Richard Davis, bass guitar; Joe Dukes, drums Blue Note 84334 (LP). 1972/2022. McDuff, prod.; Bob Gallo, eng. PERFORMANCE **** SONICS ****1/2 I'm [...]

I have a confession, one I'm hesitant to make for reasons that will soon become clear, but my conscience compels me to make it. I have a new dog. A [...]

As much as I enjoyed reading his opening thoughts on 'product habituation' (and I do buy his innovative theory), I was completely nonplussed by Rob Schryer's descriptions of his listening [...]

In his Analog Corner column in the September issue, (14) Michael Fremer wrote, 'All AudioQuest 'Mythical Creatures' Interconnects use what the company calls 'Solid Perfect-Surface Silver (PSS)' conductors; they use [...]

For years, Audio Advice Live has been an annual event, drawing enthusiastic audiophiles to the dealership's showrooms on Raleigh's Glenwood Avenue, next to Virgin Cigars. This year, Audio Advice Live [...]

Wilson Audio Specialties has announced the latest version of its midsized, midpriced Alexia loudspeaker. The Alexia V, which replaces the Alexia 2, incorporates Wilson's new, vibration-damping V-material, following in the [...]

Lately, I've been thinking again about a concept I've thought about off and on for years: first impressions of a component versus lingering, meaningful differences. We've all had the experience: [...]