Stephen Mejias

The May 2011 issue of Stereophile is now on newsstands. I’m sorry: I don’t remember anything about the making of this issue. It seems like it happened a million years ago. It must have been traumatic. (I do remember making meatloaf. That was a lot of work, too.) But I can tell you what’s inside this issue.

Let’s take a look:

Features
Attention Screen Takes Flight at Yamaha: This is very cool. Jason Victor Serinus interviews the guys in Attention Screen and John Atkinson discusses the making of the band’s latest album. Musicians, music lovers, recording engineers, and audiophiles should all find this article illuminating.

Equipment Reports
Kal Rubinson spends time with the large, but elegant, Bowers & Wilkins 800 Diamond; Bob Reina is impressed by the small and elegant Totem Dreamcatcher; Brian Damkroger takes a break from vinyl and enjoys the unusual Vincent C-60 CD player; Art Dudley takes a break from computer audio and returns home with the new, affordable Rega RP-1 turntable; Mikey Fremer stays busy with the direct-drive Brinkmann Bardo turntable, 9.6 tonearm, and Pi phono cartridge.

Follow-Up
We provide additional coverage of the Musical Fidelity M1 DAC D/A processor, Sony XA-5400ES SACD player, Oppo BDP-83SE Blu-ray player, and the Meridian Reference 861 surround processor, while John Atkinson takes a close look at the measured performance of the Head-Direct HiFiMan HM-602 digital audio player.

Columns
In “As We See It,” Steve Guttenberg wonders if digital technology is the cause of music’s current malaise. In “Industry Update,” Paul Messenger offers some interesting European sales statistics and reports on new developments in measuring techniques. In “Sam’s Space,” Sam Tellig finds religion and praises the Rega DAC. Is there a step-up transformer Art Dudley hasn’t loved? Nope. In “Listening,” he falls for the Silvercore One-to-Ten transformer and matches it with the EMT TSD 15 A-style pickup head. In “The Entry Level,” I invite Natalie and Nicole over for dinner and we listen to music with the Music Hall USB-1 turntable, Audioengine A5 loudspeakers, and HiFiMan HM-602. In “Music in the Round,” Kal upgrades his Meridian 861 surround processor and listens to the Yamaha Aventage BD-A1000 Blu-ray player. In “Aural Robert,” Robert Baird chats with David and Norman Chesky about HDtracks and the Rolling Stones catalog. In “Manufacturers’ Comments,” Roy Hall tells me to get laid. (You can discuss this, and lots of other fun stuff, in our forums.)

Whew! That’s a lot of stuff.

But that’s not all.

We also have reviews of new records from Greg Dulli and his Twilight Singers, classical violinist Lisa Batiashvili, The Decemberists, The Spampinato Brothers, Warren Haynes, Teenage Fanclub, Benito Gonzalez, Angelica Sanchez, and Henry Threadgill.

Sex, food, music: What else do you want? Stereophile has it all.