Wes Phillips

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Transparent Music Link Reference interconnect & Music Wave Reference speaker cable
Cable Reviews
Wes Phillips  |  Jun 03, 2019  |  First Published: May 01, 1995  |  30 comments
"They cost WHAT? A hahahahahaaa!"

Nothing is more guaranteed to amuse non-audiophiles than the subject of high-end cable pricing. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to laugh at you, but...bwah ha ha haaa!" Who can blame them? Even in the hi-fi camp, there are those who are convinced that wires are no more than hideously expensive tone controls. "Hmmpf, cackle. Snort!"

Others hold that, differences in resistance, capacitance, and inductance aside (footnote 1), the whole high-end cable market is just an exercise in mass self-delusion. "Really, how much are they?"

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Parts Connection Assemblage DAC-1 D/A converter kit
Budget Component ReviewsDigital Processor Reviews
Wes Phillips  |  Apr 02, 2009  |  First Published: Apr 02, 1995  |  0 comments
"Dinner's fried chicken, honey."
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Monitor Audio Studio 2 loudspeaker
Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Wes Phillips  |  May 07, 2006  |  First Published: Feb 07, 1995  |  0 comments
What is truth? What is reality? What is music?
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Sennheiser HD-580 headphones
Headphone Reviews
Wes Phillips  |  Jan 09, 2006  |  First Published: Dec 09, 1994  |  0 comments
Drum me out of the High End if you must, but I have a shameful confession to make: I love headphones. I know, I know, I'm supposed to preface my comment with a lofty disclaimer, such as, "Of course, given my refined sensibilities, I could never derive satisfaction from such a compromised listening apparatus, but many of you seem to enjoy them." Well, pardon me for saying so, but pfffftttt!
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Conrad-Johnson Premier Eleven power amplifier
Tube Power Amp Reviews
Wes Phillips  |  Oct 02, 1995  |  First Published: Oct 02, 1994  |  0 comments
I love being seduced. I'm shocked to learn that not everyone does. The very qualities in live music that excite and intoxicate me are denigrated by many audiophiles as "colorations." It would seem they prefer the lean, chilly sound that they've dubbed "accurate." While I concede that almost all of their preferred audio components have ever-more-extended high frequencies, I'm not certain that that's the same thing as having greater accuracy. It sounds to me—to use Stravinsky's description of electronic music—"spayed for overtone removal." The overtones that I miss are those stripped from the middle ranges—the ones the clinical crowd (footnote 1) disparagingly refers to as the "warmth" region.
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ProAc Response 1S loudspeaker
Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Wes Phillips  |  Sep 08, 2016  |  First Published: Sep 01, 1994  |  1 comments
994ProAcR1S.jpgHere's the deal: If you're the kind of listener who must listen to your stereo at levels that change the barometric pressure of your listening room, or if you can't enjoy reggae concerts because they don't have enough bass, then the ProAc Response 1S (revised) is definitely not the speaker for you. Read no further. Move on. Scoot.

Anybody left? Good. Now we can talk about a very special little speaker. In a way, I didn't even want to review the 1S. I mentioned to John Atkinson that I'd heard them at my buddy Ruben's house and enjoyed them immensely, but I'd been using a pair of $13,000 speakers to review an exotic amplifier and had, sad to say, become quite spoiled: bass down to 28Hz, 93dB sensitivity, and some of the most accurate soundstaging I'd ever heard—we're talking about some serious suffering for my art, here.

So when the ProAcs arrived at my house, I thought it unfair: unfair to me (I was gonna miss them big dogs), and unfair to the Response 1S. After all, does anyone remember who played after the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show?

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Krell KPE & KPE Reference phono preamplifiers
Phono Preamp Reviews
Martin Colloms, Wes Phillips  |  Oct 28, 2007  |  First Published: Jun 28, 1994  |  0 comments
The Krell KRC-2 can be regarded as a remote-controlled successor to Krell's successful KSL preamplifier of a few years back. The outboard Krell Phono Equalizer (KPE) is a separate box powered from the KRC-2. Priced at $850, it contains a printed circuit board very similar, in fact, to the $499 unit that can be fitted within the KRC. The KPE and KRC phono stages are well-designed universal units; if someone has the need for a stand-alone phono equalizer of Krell KRC standard, a separate power supply may be purchased for the KPE. It is also an advantage to be able to locate the KPE head amplifier in a hum-free zone near the LP turntable.
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What is the least amount you have spent on an audio component that produced music that made you happy?
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Wes Phillips  |  Sep 05, 2010  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  136 comments
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Please explain what the phrase "listening to music" means to you.
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Wes Phillips  |  Sep 25, 2005  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  60 comments
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