Ariel Bitran

Wabaam! Another month, another Stereophile. My how time flies when you are reviewing hi-fi.

Compared to the enormous April issue that hosts our chunky Recommended Components listing, May is petite but still packs a powerful punch loaded with insights and audio enhancers. Enhancers you ask? What might those be? Well how about bell bronze gongs! And magic fuses! And audio to make you cream…I mean, P.W.B.’s Electret Cream, which according to AD, just might work if you rub it in the right place.

In the office, we were expecting the April issue to really cause a hubbub on our forums, believing that Art Dudley’s interview with May Belt and Sam on the placebo effect may get people talking, but surprisingly, it has been the May issue that has stirred the pot the most.

Maybe it’s the hesitant spring weather, much like the winter that chose to never bore its scruffy face, that is sending our readers in a tizzy, but readers want to know what is up and they are asking questions! Can you use a BBQ lighter instead of the Milty Zerostat? Has Sam tried wearing the Passive Multivocal Resonator aka the gong as a hat? and what ever happened to SM and that Wilderness Road LP?

All these questions and more are not answered in the pages of the May Stereophile. People already complain about our coverage of the Milty Zerostat. Imagine if we actually started comparing the de-static potential of different modified BBQ lighters. Then people would really get burnt up.

Here’s what you will find in May:

Art Dudley tells readers to “Occupy Avery Fisher Hall”. Not only does Sam hear how the Passive Multivocal Resonator (PMR) affects his room, he also investigates Skylan speaker stands. Mikey admits he was wrong about something and reviews Lyra’s new Atlas MC phono cartridge. Art Dudley continues down the P.W.B. road and tries out the controversial P.W.B. Electret Foil. He also gives Mikey a call to check if he’s been feeling chilly. SM goes all analog with a return to the Vinyl Flat LP flatter, the Milty Zerostat, and the Musical Fidelity V-LPS II phono preamplifier with the V-PSU II power supply. Kal gives his preliminary report on the Bryston SP-3 pre/pro, which he continues in July, and also tries out the latest version of the XTZ acoustic analysis system.

In the music department, Robert Baird interviews Ben Nichols from Lucero and the Archers of Loaf. Record reviews include Gil Evans, Schubert, Grimes, Anthony Braxton, and Dan Tepfer (and that is just the half of it). I look forward to making this playlist.

And as for the equipment reports?

Our cover story! Mikey reviews this revolutionary integrated amplifier: the B.M.C. Audio Amplifier C1 integrated amp.

Fred Kaplan returns to his Krell obsession with the Krell Cipher SACD/CD player. Ain’t she beastly.

Jon Iverson continues his quest for the perfect DAC with the Peachtree DAC•iT D/A processor. Ain’t she cute.

JA falls in love all over again with the Quad Reference ESL-2805 loudspeaker.

Will the entry-level Paradigm Reference Studio 20 v5 loudspeaker measure up? Bob Reina reports.

Enjoy!

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