KEF Debuts New Finishes for Blade One Meta and Blade Two Meta

Sennheiser Drops HDB 630 Wireless Headphones

LATEST ADDITIONS

Fischer's New Mahler Symphony 3

Jason Victor Serinus Jul 22, 2017

The latest installment in Ivan Fischer's near-complete Mahler cycle for Channel Classics, the Symphony No.3 (CCS SA 38817), renders the myriad beauties of this most wondrous of symphonies into an unforgettable experience. No matter what layer you audition on the two-disc hybrid SACD set, or whichever resolution DSD files you downloadI listened in DSD128you will discover the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Cantemus Children's Choir, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and alto Gerhild Romberger portrayed in stunning sound, with pounding percussion, cutting brass, tinkly triangles, and celestial children's voices laid out before you in a seamless soundstage.

Robert Baird

Artful Dodger

Robert Baird Jul 21, 2017

Better left in the cut-out bins? Rock from the era of one-album wonders.

CD Player/Transport Reviews

Bryston BCD-3 CD player

Art Dudley Jul 20, 2017

The English saying "putting the cat among the pigeons" has an obvious meaning in a general sense, but when applied to commerce it conveys something more specific: bringing to market a product that will make mincemeat of the competition, presumed complacent by comparison.

The phrase winked at me from the margins of an e-mail I received last year from Gary Dayton, Bryston Audio's VP of sales and marketing, whom I know from my visits to the Montreal Audio Fest. Referring to my ongoing series of reviews of ca-$10,000 CD playersthe best of which one might consider for the title The Last CD Player You'll Ever BuyDayton suggested I have a listen to his company's new BCD-3, which retails for the comparatively low price of $3495. I accepted almost at once, and set about adjusting an English saying for a Canadian product: With the BCD-3, has Bryston succeeded in putting the wolverine among the loons?

Budget Component Reviews Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Emotiva XPA Gen3 two-channel power amplifier

Herb Reichert Jul 20, 2017

Have I told you about my objectivist friendthe left-brain audiophile who puts a lot of trust in measurements? He has a high natural intelligence and is an extremely experienced listener, but once he knows a component doesn't measure well, he can never again experience it impartially.

I don't want to embarrass my friend, so in this story I will call him O., for Mr. Objectivity.

Headphone Reviews InnerFidelity

Audeze iSine 20 Planar Magnetic In-Ear Earphone

Tyll Hertsens Jul 19, 2017

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

When first I saw the Audeze iSine models I wondered to myself, "What the heck are these for?" and, "Who will want these?" I'd never heard of an open acoustic in-ear before...heck, I'd not even thought of the possibility. Why in the world was Audeze even going down this road? I spent some time on the phone with Sankar Thiagasamudram, founder and CEO of Audeze, to gain some understanding.

Audacious Audio Floor Loudspeaker Reviews

Rockport Technologies Avior II loudspeaker

John Atkinson Jul 18, 2017

Following my review of the floorstanding Magico S5 Mk.II last February, I spent some time with two-way stand-mounted speakers from Aerial Acoustics, Bowers & Wilkins, and Dynaudio. As much as I appreciated the small speakers' virtues, I found myself missing the big Magico's bass extension and ability to play loud; my next loudspeaker review, therefore, would be of another floorstander.

It's been a while since we published a review of a Rockport Technologies loudspeaker.

Gramophone Dreams Headphone Reviews

Gramophone Dreams #17: Abyss AB-1266 Phi headphones

Herb Reichert Jul 18, 2017

Recently, a friend played me a masterpiece: Ike & Tina Turner's River DeepMountain High, arranged by Jack Nitzsche and produced by Phil Spector (LP, A&M SP 4178). It sounded terrible: murky, distant, with badly booming bass. Even before the first track was over, we both laughed and called it a night.

Nevertheless, I went home obsessed with Tina's inspired singing and Spector's infamous Wall of Sound production.

Jason Victor Serinus

Pergolesi's Revered Stabat Mater Revisited

Jason Victor Serinus Jul 16, 2017

It is undoubtedly far more romantic for us to imagine young Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (17101736) spending his last weeks on earth writing four chamber cantatas in a Franciscan monastery on the Bay of Naples than it was for him to write feverishly while dying of tuberculosis. Had he experienced a miracle cure, he would have lived to discover that his Stabat Mater was fast becoming one of the most widely disseminated and frequently printed musical manuscripts of the 18th century.

Robert Baird

Arthur Alexander, Lonely Just Like Me

Robert Baird Jul 15, 2017

One of my favorite South by Southwest moments over the 28 years I have attended was the early-1990s performance of Arthur Alexander who was literally sobbing before his set was done. In 1993, after many years out of the music game, Alexander, with the help of a lot of talented friends, made Lonely Just Like Me for Elektra Records, a swansong he never thought possible. Convinced he'd been forgotten, his triumphant performance in Austin just after the record was released, in front of a wildly enthusiastic crowd, moved him to tears. A few weeks later he was gone.

Jana Dagdagan

Reviewer Video Profile: Art Dudley

Jana Dagdagan Jul 14, 2017

In this video, we visit Stereophile's Deputy Editor, Art Dudley, in his home in Cherry Valley, NY.

Who is Art Dudley? A devout Listener, a friend to all bunniesand some humansJohn Atkinson's right-hand man, and an invaluable voice, not just within Stereophile, but within the industry as a whole.