Where Measurements and Performance Meet featuring Andrew Jones

High End Munich: Audio Reference "Most Exclusive System Ever" with Wilson and D'Agostino

LATEST ADDITIONS

Digital Processor Reviews Gramophone Dreams

Gramophone Dreams #55: Mola Mola Tambaqui D/A processor

Herb Reichert Dec 02, 2021

Since the plague arrived, several of my closest audio friends have been chattering and bugging me constantly, not about masks, vaccines, Trump, or Biden but about Bruno Putzeys's digital-to-analog converter, the Mola Mola Tambaqui. They've been sending emails and texts like pesky kids:

"Herbie! Have you tried the Mola Mola? Come on man, what's taking you so long? Is Putzeys's DAC better than my MSB? Or the dCS Bartók? Or the HoloAudio May?"

My Back Pages

A Wolf Howled in Chicago

Larry Birnbaum Dec 01, 2021

In the early 1970s, my hometownChicagowas a hotbed of blues. I discovered the blues in high school via the Rolling Stones, and I began to frequent the city's blues clubs as a college student, at first while still underage. From Theresa's, the South Side tavern where Junior Wells performed, I progressed to the West Side, where on weekends I would head down Madison Street to see Howlin' Wolf at Big Duke's Blue Flame Lounge.

Analog Corner Phono Accessory Reviews Phono Cartridge Reviews Phono Preamp Reviews

Analog Corner #316: Analog Relax EX1000 phono cartridge, Luminous Audio Technology Arion Mk.II phono preamplifier, WallyTools cartridge inspection service

Michael Fremer Nov 30, 2021

So glad to be back in business with superclean electricity! Especially having spent the last few weeks listening to the remarkably pure-sounding Analog Relax EX1000 cartridge ($16,000).

The brochure asks, "Have you heard of YAKUSUGI Cedar?" No. I had never heard of Analog Relax, either. If you have heard of it, you're at least one step ahead of me.

Digital Processor Reviews Integrated Amp Reviews Tube Preamp Reviews

Three FollowUp Reviews

John Atkinson Nov 29, 2021

Stereophile often subjects products that have been reviewed to further coverage: sometimes because there was an aspect of performance that needed further investigation; other times because there was a controversial finding. Three recent followups concerned the Ayre Acoustics EX-8 2.0 Integrated Hub amplifier that Ken Micallef reviewed in the November 2021 issue; the Accuphase DG-68 Digital Voicing Equalizer that Jason Victor Serinus reviewed in August 2021; and the Zesto Leto Ultra II line preamplifier that Ken Micallef reviewed in February 2021.

Digital Processor Reviews Media Server Reviews Solid State Preamp Reviews

HiFi Rose RS250 audio & video streaming D/A preamplifier

John Atkinson Nov 24, 2021

In the summer of 2021, MoFi Distribution's Jonathan Derda emailed me about the South Korean HiFi Rose brand. "This brand strikes me as being the spiritual successor to the original SlimDevices Transporter and Squeezebox Touch," he wrote. "We're all really excited about it."

Recording of the Month

Recording of December 2021: A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle

Kurt Gottschalk Nov 24, 2021

John Coltrane: A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle
Impulse!/UMe (CD B0034290-02, LP B0034291-01, download). 2021. Ravi Coltrane, prod.; Kevin Reeves, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ***½

John Coltrane's career as a bandleader can be divided, with haphazard tidiness, into three periods. His so-called classic quartet with pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones, which deserves every bit of its legendary status, dominates the 19621965 middle section and encompasses Coltrane's greatest achievements. Before that was the ramp-up and after lay the free jazz experiments.

Floor Loudspeaker Reviews

Perlisten S7t loudspeaker

Kalman Rubinson Nov 23, 2021

I received an email from a longtime press representative I've known for years, telling me about a new loudspeaker company he's representing. The company is bursting from the gates with a line of products that includes floorstanders, standmounts, wallmounts, surrounds, center channels, and a range of subwoofers.

Integrated Amp Reviews

Bryston B135³ integrated amplifier

Herb Reichert Nov 22, 2021

Out of the blue, a forever friend I hadn't spoken to in years called and asked me to join him at Riverside Church for a concert of William Basinski performing his renowned Disintegration Loops. Dedicated to the victims of 9/11, the work was completed as Basinski watched the airplanes crash into the World Trade Center from his Brooklyn rooftop.

News

Michael Fremer enlivens impressive Audio-Ultra demos

Jason Victor Serinus Nov 22, 2021

Audio-Ultra, a Seattle-area (Sumner, Washington) dealership representing Magico, MSB, Taiko Audio, Kuzma, Vitus, StromTank, Equi=Tech, AudioQuest, Ansuz, and more, held an impressive two-day event November 12 and 13 at the Cedarbrook Lodge near SEATAC Airport. Of all the audio events I’ve attended over the years, this one, masterminded by Audio-Ultra’s Edward DeVito, made the most convincing case for the need of careful setup to fully appreciate the rewards of vinyl remasters of classic rock and jazz.

Products of the Year

Stereophile's Products of 2021

Jim Austin Nov 19, 2021

Here's another Stereophile milestone, our second one this year. In August, we celebrated the magazine's 500th issue. This month, we celebrate a number that's smaller but almost as round: our 30th Annual Product of the Year Awards.