Listening #77
<I>Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.</I>—Hebrews 11:1
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How long should a component be broken-in before it reaches peak performance?
Reader Ron Satterly wonders whether other audiophiles consider component break-in necessary before critical listening. How long should a component be broken-in before it reaches peak performance?
Aragon and Acurus Revived
After four years of virtual inactivity, new and updated Aragon and Acurus high-end amplifiers, preamplifiers, and processors are slated to return to the marketplace. The long-established brands, which have been the property of Klipsch since 2001, are now in the hands of two enthusiastic veteran Klipsch electronics engineers, Rick Santiago and Ted Moore of <A HREF="http://www.indyaudiolabs.com">Indy Audio Labs, LLC</A>.
Nelson Pass On The Patents Of Pass
If high-end audio were to carve its own Mt. Rushmore, whose faces would appear there—besides that of <I>Stereophile</I> founder <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/66">J. Gordon Holt</A>, of course? It's likely that no two audiophiles would ever come up with identical lists of subjects, but I wouldn't be surprised if they could agree on at least one name: <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/1191pass">Nelson Pass</A>.
Landslide
Intern Ariel Bitran sent this around the office today, in an e-mail titled "Crying in My Cubicle."
Rather Ripped
Audiophiles and music lovers may be interested in <i>Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music</i>, the new book from music critic and <a href="http://soundopinions.org/">Sound Opinions</a> cohost Greg Kot. The book is being billed as "the first definitive account of the digital music revolution," and takes an appreciative look at a world in which peer-to-peer file sharing and CD burning are commonplace tools. It can be argued that such technologies are not only blessings for independent musicians looking to gain wider audiences, but also gifts to the music lover who cannot get enough.
The KEF Blade
At last year's <a href=" http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2008/010908future/ ">Consumer Electronics Show</a> and <a href=" http://blog.stereophile.com/fsi2008/040408muon/ ">Festival Son & Image</a>, British loudspeaker manufacturer KEF caught a lot of eyes and ears with their shimmering, $140,000/pair Muon. Now the company has unveiled the Blade, an artful, sleek, stealthy looking thing, poised to draw similar attention.
Rhapsody Remastered and Revitalized
Did you know that we recently remastered our <i>Rhapsody</i>? The album is a tribute to George Gershwin, conducted by pianist Hyperion Knight, and it's good, good fun on the hi-fi.
Marantz KI Pearls
I love the styling of the latest Marantz gear—strong and masculine without being overblown or audacious. Though the late '80s through early '90s saw Marantz move away from their high end roots, the last decade has been a return to form. Under the ownership of D&M Holdings, the respected audio company seems to be embracing their cherished past. In May 2008, Michael Fremer was extremely impressed by their <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/508mar11s1/index.html">SM-11S1 Reference power amplifier</a>. He wrote:
Desire, Passion, Hunger (Duh)
Fans of Shindo's gorgeous green and gold tube amplifiers will be excited to know that the Japanese manufacturer has just introduced (or re-introduced, I'm not sure) a new (or re-new, as the case may be) integrated amplifier.