LATEST ADDITIONS

I am grateful MoFi sent me Quad's flagship Platina Integrated ($5495) because by the time I got it wired up and running on three inputs, I could tell how its basic character reflected the aesthetic values championed by Quad founder Peter Walker.

I started writing "On the Road Again" pieces for Stereophile in 2022. They are European jazz travelogues. The motivation behind them is to inspire others to make similar treks. No one needs an excuse to go to Europe. But European jazz festivals are a great thing to build a trip around.

About a decade ago, The Wall Street Journal posted a short video about Itsushi Hamasaki, a diffident and rather nondescript man living in Tokyo. To free up money for his loudspeakers—a pair of hulking horns costing north of $100,000—Hamasaki lives in a 250 ft² apartment and hasn't bought a stitch of clothing in 15 years.

Every product listed here has been reviewed in Stereophile. Everything on the list, regardless of rating, is genuinely recommendable. Within each category, products are listed by class; within each class, they're in alphabetical order, followed by price, a review synopsis, and a note indicating the issues in which the review and any subsequent follow-up reports appeared.

Before diving into Luxman's new L-100 Centennial integrated amplifier ($11,995)—which marks the Japanese firm's 100th year in business—I did what any audio reviewer with a paper trail does: I read my past Luxman reportage: the L-509X and the L-509Z integrated amplifiers.

I sometimes lament how much technological know-how is required for a consumer to successfully navigate the world of high end audio. Why do we have to wade through all this engineering mumbo jumbo just to enjoy great sound?

Sometimes artists walk away from a final mix, heads shaking after a reluctant sign-off . . . This is essentially what British prog outfit Gentle Giant did with their 1973 LP In a Glass House.