LATEST ADDITIONS

In the April 2024 issue of this magazine, a piece by Editor Jim Austin appeared in the "As We See It" space. It was titled "On assessing sonic illusions," and it has haunted me for more than a year. Jim's thesis was that a music recording is a "synthetic, whole-cloth creation ... a complete fabrication."

One winner will take home two extraordinary Mobile Fidelity audiophile pressings that showcase analog recording at its finest: Rock a Little by Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac, each presented in strictly limited, reference-grade 45RPM editions. From the lavish, high-resolution textures of Rock a Little to the tape-like warmth, dynamics, and realism of Fleetwood Mac’s landmark 1975 release, this sweepstakes celebrates music made with ambition—and mastered for listeners who demand absolute fidelity. Enter for a chance to experience two iconic albums as they were always meant to be heard.

I reviewed the Kii THREE digital active loudspeaker in the September 2017 issue of Stereophile and was totally smitten. It was cutting edge in supporting analog and digital sources, direct-wired and network connections, and streaming.

Big loudspeakers are where diligent hi-fi reviewers really earn their pay. Not only are they heavy and difficult to move, but they also require attention and patience to set up so that they sound their best in our listening spaces. They take time to understand and study. And they all sound quite different from each other.

I was heading back home to New York in my old Mercedes diesel on a Sunday evening, having just attended the annual Capital Audiofest near Washington, DC. Riding shotgun was fellow Stereophile scribbler Ken Micallef, and as we puttered along the straight, featureless lower half of the New Jersey Turnpike, we started to reminisce about our audio show experiences.

When this feature premiered in 1991, it was intended as a list of recordings that were, in the words of Richard Lehnert, the music editor at the time, "both musically and sonically impeccable—in other words, the best, the tops, to die for."