Apple AirPods Pro 3: First Impressions

Hegel H150 Integrated Amplifier Officially Announced

Sonus faber Announces Amati Supreme Speaker

FiiO M27 Headphone DAC Amplifier Released

Audio Advice Acquires The Sound Room

LATEST ADDITIONS

Jason Victor Serinus

Shakespeare Tributes of Different Colors

Jason Victor Serinus Dec 24, 2016

With 2016 almost behind us, there's just enough time to speak of two of the many recordings issued this year to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. Equally commendable, albeit radically different in the way they honor the Bard, are Shakespeare Songs (Warner Classics) from tenor Ian Bostridge and pianist Anthony Pappano (available in 24/96 from HDTracks), and Take All my Loves: 9 Shakespeare Sonnets (Deutsche Grammophon) from Rufus Wainwright and friends (available in 24/44.1 from HDTracks).

Fred Kaplan

A Few More Thoughts About the Top 10 Jazz List(s)

Fred Kaplan Dec 23, 2016

I took another look at the blog I posted on December 21 ("The Best Jazz Albums of 2016"), a few more thoughts came to mind. With one exception (#5, Brad Mehldau Trio, Blues and Ballads, on Nonesuch), the big labels (or even labels big by jazz standards) are absent from the list. . .

Headphone Reviews InnerFidelity

25 Years of Making a Good Thing Better: The Etymotic ER4sr and ER4XR

Tyll Hertsens Dec 23, 2016

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

"Dude, I just got off an airplane with this guy who had these cool insert headphones. He's a location sound recordist for movies and uses them for their isolation and good sound. I gave them a try...I need a pair badly! Do you know where I can get some Etymotic ER4 earphones?"

Art Dudley Listening

Listening #169: Altec Flamenco

Art Dudley Dec 22, 2016

On a bright, warm day in September, at the memorial gathering for our colleague Wes Phillips, I overheard John Atkinson, in pre-ceremony conversation, discussing men's fashions: "What's popular these days," he said, with a degree of puzzlement that stopped short of disapproval, "is very long hair on just the top, with nothing on the sides and back." Then he added, this time with disdain, "What I don't understand is this trend where men wear dress shoes without sockswhich I have actually seen!" The fact that we were in Park Slope, Brooklynthe very jaw of the hipster possummay have triggered his observations, which I overheard while chatting with Stereophile alum Laura LoVecchio. I remember reflexively looking down at my own ankles, to make sure I was wearing socks. I was.

Floor Loudspeaker Reviews

MartinLogan Masterpiece Renaissance ESL 15A loudspeaker

Jon Iverson Dec 22, 2016

I prefer and have owned electrostatic speakers for most of my audiophile life. Depending on your point of view, this makes me either the most qualified or the least appropriate writer to review MartinLogan's new electrostatic loudspeaker, the Masterpiece Renaissance ESL 15A.

Oh, I've flirted with dynamic speakers. I've owned and lovedand ultimately, when I was an audio retailer, soldmodels from Revel, Thiel, Vandersteen, and many others, while my long-term choice has been electrostats. And while I've spent plenty of time with electrostatic speakers from Acoustat and Quad, I've ended up owning MartinLogans: Sequels, Quests, ReQuests, and, currently, Prodigys.

Sweepstakes

Bryston Target HR50 Loudspeaker Stands Sweepstakes

Stereophile Staff Dec 21, 2016

Register to win a pair of Bryston Target HR50 Loudspeaker Stands ($339/pr Retail Value) we are giving away.

According to the company:

Target's HR50 20" tall stands are constructed entirely of steel and are ideal for even heavy bookshelf loudspeakers. Two rectangular risers bolt to thick top and bottom plates. The risers are fillable with aquarium rock or other media for even greater mass. Floor spikes, speaker pads and isolation spikes are included. The stands are made in Canada and distributed by Bryston Ltd.

[This Sweepstakes is now closed.]

Fred Kaplan

The Best Jazz Albums of 2016

Fred Kaplan Dec 21, 2016

It's that time of the year again. Here are my picks for the 10 best new jazz albums of 2016and the four best historical releases...

As We See It J. Gordon Holt

Merry Christmas Indeed

J. Gordon Holt Dec 20, 2016

Editor's Note: The editorial leader for the seventh issue of what was then called The Stereophile, cover-dated April 1964, was the first to introduce a recurring theme to the magazine's first 20 years of publication: an apology to subscribers for being late.John Atkinson

Those of you who have a mind for dates may have noticed that this issue of The Stereophile is very, very late. This, the seventh issue, was supposed to have been a Merry Christmas NovemberDecember issue, but as things worked out, it doesn't even deserve the title of JanuaryFebruary issue. So, we think a few words of explanation are in order.

Audacious Audio Floor Loudspeaker Reviews

Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 90 loudspeaker

Kalman Rubinson Dec 20, 2016

Bang & Olufsen's BeoLab 90 is not a loudspeaker to take on lightly. Though its size49.33" high by 28.9" wide by 29.4" deepand weight (302 lbs each) meant a major disruption of my listening room, which is also our living room, my wife assented. Its price of $84,990/pair puts it far beyond anything I might consider buyingand the complexity of the BeoLab 90, which has its own dedicated amplifiers and DACs, makes it impossible for a revieweror consumerto directly compare it with any other loudspeaker. So be it.

News

Wilson Audio's Ultimate Loudspeaker: the WAMM Master Chronosonic

Jason Victor Serinus Dec 20, 2016

Photos: Daryl Wilson except where indicated

On December 8, 12 days before an embargo on the news was lifted, I visited Wilson Audio in Utah. The occasion was the launch of the WAMM Master Chronosonic loudspeaker. Given its limited-edition production run (70 pairs), oversized dimensions (approximately 86" H with spikes x 26" W x 36.5" D), and high price ($685,000/pair), Wilson Audio's ultimate speaker is not slated for dealer and audio show demos. Instead, the only way prospective customers, dealers, and select press can experience Dave Wilson's magnum opusthe culmination of well over three decades of loudspeaker developmentis to journey to the Wilson residence in Provo.