Each year, while proofing the data which makes up the <i>Stereophile Buyer’s Guide</i>, I come across new and interesting components. At this point in the proofing process, we’re deep into the analog gear, which of course comprises my favorite section of the book. So, while the task can be tedious and draining, it’s fun to discover new products. Here are just a couple that have caught my eye:
Sometimes, a product review in <I>Stereophile</I> can breed additional reviews. Shortly after I reviewed the Audio Valve Conductor line stage in the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/tubepreamps/audio_valve_conductor_preamplifi… 2009 issue</A> (Vol.32 No.7), I was contacted by NAT's US distributor, Musical Sounds: "Hey, if you liked the Audio Valve Conductor [$13,995], you'll love the NAT Symmetrical line stage at $8000! Would you like to review it?" Aside from Michael Fremer's review of the battery-powered NAT Signature Phono stage in the July 2007 issue, I was unfamiliar with this Serbian maker of tube electronics. But "Sure," I replied; "why not?"
The phrase "the mystic chords of memory" comes from Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address. Of course, larger issues than those addressed in this column occupied most peoples' minds just then. But it is nonetheless worthwhile for us to spend a moment or two thinking about how differently people experienced music in 1861, compared to how things are today.
Victor Tiscareno and Byron Collett of AudioPrism are known in audiophile circles for their complete line of power-conditioning products. (See Barry Willis' omnibus review in the December 1998 <I>Stereophile</I>.) Their intimate knowledge of the ever-capricious electrical supply has resulted in a series of front-end components bearing the company's logo. The flagship Mana Reference monoblocks, under consideration here, represent AudioPrism's collected wisdom and engineering savvy taken to its logical extreme.
It's conventional wisdom among audiophiles: Small, high-end audio companies build high-quality products in small numbers. Products which are often expensive. But not always. Big mass-market companies build cookie-cutter products in big numbers. They're usually cheap. But not always.
Klaus Heymann has some surprising news. During an in-person chat in the lobby of San Francisco's Mandarin Oriental Hotel, the founder of the label that turned the classical-music recording industry on its ear revealed that, in the US, classical-music sales for the labels that Naxos distributes are stable.
Today Klipsch announced the launch of their new Synergy Series loudspeakers. If recent reviews by Wes Phillips (of <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/audaciousaudio/klipsch_palladium_p-39f_louds… $20,000/pair P-39F</a>) and Erick Lichte (of <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/klipsch_palladium_p-17b_lo… $4000/pair P-17B</a>) can offer any indication of what to expect from this new Synergy line, we are in for a treat.
The September 2010 issue of <i>Stereophile</i> is now on newsstands. The cover shows an extreme close-up of the Audio Research VSi60 integrated amplifier, highlighting its beautiful tubes. I was very impressed by this amplifier’s looks, as well as what I (perhaps fancifully) perceived to be its contributions to a very fine <i>system</i> <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/ssi2009/audio_research_vsi60/">at the 2009 SSI</a>, so I was happy to learn we’d be featuring the VSi60 on our cover.
As evidenced by the response to last week's vote, audiophiles are increasingly turning to their computers as a source of music. Should <I>Stereophile</I> review more or fewer computer audio products?