Vivid Audio Introduces Giya Cu Loudspeakers

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

Sennheiser Drops HDB 630 Wireless Headphones

Sponsored: Radiant Acoustics Clarity 6.2 | Technology Introduction

PSB BP7 Subwoofer Unveiled

Apple AirPods Pro 3: First Impressions

LATEST ADDITIONS

Ariel Bitran

John Marks Teaches ORTF

Ariel Bitran Apr 01, 2013

In a recent Stereophile.com news item, John Marks informed readers about free online music production classes now offered from the esteemed Berklee College of Music. Seems like JM himself is taking up this opportunity. In this video assigment, JM shares his explanation of the ORTF microphone placement technique for stereo recording.

Sweepstakes

Schiit BiFrost USB and Modi DACs Sweepstakes

Jon Iverson Apr 01, 2013

Register to win a Schiit BiFrost USB and Modi DAC (MSRP $449 Bifrost; $99 Modi) we are giving away.

Bifrost is the world's most affordable fully upgradable DAC, featuring 32-bit D/A conversion, a fully discrete analog section, and a sophisticated bit-perfect clock management system, together with one of the most advanced asynchronous USB 2.0 input sections available, as well as SPDIF coaxial and optical inputs, all with 24/192 capability.

[This sweepstakes is now closed]

News

Gibson To Buy Majority Stake in TEAC

John Atkinson Mar 30, 2013

It was announced Friday March 29 that guitar manufacturer Gibson was to buy a majority stake in Japanese company TEAC, which manufactures audio components sold under the TEAC, Tascam, and Esoteric brandnames. From the press release: "Gibson has entered into an agreement, signed today, with Phoenix Capital in which two investment funds operated by Phoenix Capital have agreed to sell to Gibson all the shares they own in TEAC Corporation, or 157,447,000 shares, (54.4% of the issued and outstanding shares), at a price agreed between the parties of 31 JPY per share. . ."

Solid State Preamp Reviews Audacious Audio

Pass Laboratories XP-30 line preamplifier

John Atkinson Mar 29, 2013

It was the strangest thing. In the fall of 2008 I was comparing Ayre Acoustics' then-new KX-R line preamplifier with no preamplifier at allI was feeding the power amplifier directly with the output of the Logitech Transporter D/A processor. (Levels were matched for the comparisons, of course, made possible by the fact that the Transporter has a digital-domain volume control.) Being a rational being, I knew that the active circuitry of a preamplifier, as well as the extra socketry and cables, would be less transparent to the audio signal than a single piece of wire. I wanted to determine by how much the Ayre preamp fell short of that standard.

Tube Power Amp Reviews Audacious Audio

Ypsilon Aelius monoblock power amplifier

Michael Fremer Mar 29, 2013

I knew nothing of Ypsilon when I first saw its products in a room at an overseas audio show. Even though the speakers in this system were complete unknowns, I was convinced that it was the electronics that were responsible for the magical balance of what I was hearing. That was confirmed when I reviewed the VPS-100 phono preamplifier in August 2009 and PST-100 Mk.II preamplifier in July 2011.

Stephen Mejias

Payday Albums: 3/29/13

Stephen Mejias Mar 29, 2013

Today’s payday. I bought just one title.

News

Luxman does DSD

Stereophile Staff Mar 29, 2013

Luxman does DSD at listening events to be held at Audio Revelation in Carlsbad, California, and The Gramophone in Alberta, Canada.

Sweepstakes

A Nice, Normal Dude Wins the V-Moda M-80 Headphones

Ariel Bitran Mar 29, 2013

Hey everyone. Meet Zach.

As We See It

There's No Business Without Show Business

Jason Victor Serinus Mar 28, 2013

Cole Porter: An All-Star Tribute (DVD, VAI) includes outtakes of the great Ethel Merman filming for TV, in 1960, a performance of Irving Berlin's "Alexander's Ragtime Band." In take after take, something goes wrong. Each time the director shouts "Cut!," Merman stops in her tracks, almost as if deflating; when the director yells "Action!" she starts from the top, fresh as new, the model showbiz professional.

Recording of the Month

Recording of April 2013: Wisława

Thomas Conrad Mar 28, 2013

Around the last decade of the previous century, something significant happened in jazz. Suddenly, many of the best players were no longer Americans. Actually, it was not sudden. It was a gradual flowering that achieved critical mass and could no longer be overlooked.