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

News

AudioCon-June in SoCal Saturday & Sunday

Stereophile Staff Jun 06, 2018

Following the last-minute cancellation of the 2018 Los Angeles Audio Show, scheduled to be held this coming weekend in Irvine, two Southern California audio retailers have stepped into the breach with AudioCon-June. Jason Lord of The Source A/V Design Group (3035 Kashiwa Street, Suite 101, Torrance, CA 90505. Tel: (310) 534-9900) and Sunil Merchant of Sunny's Components (1370 E. Cypress St, Covina, CA 91724. Tel: (626) 966-6259) are holding weekend-long free events. The events run 10am6pm on Saturday June 9 and Sunday June 10 and you can find full information here and here.

Tube Preamp Reviews

Conrad-Johnson PV-4 preamplifier

Steven W. Watkinson Jun 05, 2018

In appearance Conrad-Johnson's PV4 is distinctly plain: a basic black and silver box with a few simple knobs and buttons. The controls are logically laid out, clearly labeled, and work properly. The two channels track well through the volume control, maintaining balance; pushbuttons and control knobs have a smooth, solid feel (except for the noises audible through the system when switching inputs). Don't forget the turn-on and turn-off thumps mentioned above; the PV4 is the only one of the preamps I review in this issuethe others are the Audible Illusions Modulus ($450) and the Counterpoint SA-7 ($595)that lacks a mute switch.

Recording of the Month

Recording of July 1968: Stravinsky: Petrouchka, Circus Polka

Margaret Graham Jun 05, 2018

Stravinsky: Petrouchka, Circus Polka
Los Angeles Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta, cond.
London CS 6554 (LP/tape).

This is all the proof one could want that London's big, fat sound is more the result of their recording philosophy than of the halls they record in. One of the first London recordings ever made in the US, this has the now-familiar London sound all down the line: The big, fat low end, the richness, the superb balance, and the razor-sharp detail without zizz or zip. As usual, the result is not terribly real, but it certainly is exciting as well as being musically satisfying.

Jason Victor Serinus

Olivier Messiaen: Birds Like You've Never Heard Before

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 02, 2018

There is music so unique, so colorful, and so potentially challenging for the casual listener that words like "pretty" or "entertaining" go flying out the window. Such is the case with pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard's mind-boggling recording of Olivier Messiaen's (19081992) Catalogue d'Oiseaux. Anything but background music for a relaxed evening by the fire or in the hot tub, the Catalogue consists of 13 extended odes for solo piano, each of which was inspired by a different bird species. Recorded by Pentatone in 24/96 hi-rez stereo and surround in the famous Saal 1, Funkhaus, Nalepastrasse, Berlin, and issued as a three-disc SACD set (PTC 5186 670), the box includes a bonus DVD on which Aimard, a professor at the Hochschule Köln, discusses the pieces at length and offers insights into Messiaen the man and composer.

Integrated Amp Reviews

Rogers High Fidelity 65V-1 integrated amplifier

Herb Reichert May 31, 2018

"Okay, all you high-rolling audiophile know-it-allswhat is the argument against amplifiers that operate in high-bias, class-A, single-ended mode, with the lowest possible parts count? Is there a better strategy for beauty, rhythm, color, texture, and easy-flowing musical verity? I think not. And please explain: Why has mainstream audio gone to such ridiculous and expensive lengths to avoid building and selling precisely these sorts of amps?"

Gramophone Dreams Headphone Reviews

Gramophone Dreams #22: Koss, Focal, iFi

Herb Reichert May 31, 2018

Brooklyn, 1979: Fridays were fierce. After a week of doing construction, I would gobble Wild Turkey at the Spring Lounge, then fall asleep on the F train with a fold of cash and a Sony Walkman stuffed in a chest pocket of my paint-spattered Belstaff Trialmaster jacket. Usually I missed my York Street stop by only a few stations, but occasionally I'd wake up at sunrise on Saturday at the last stop: Coney Island. I didn't mind. It was restorative to shuffle the deserted boardwalk, listening to the Ramones' Road to Ruin or Television's Marquee Moon.

News

Doshi/Brinkmann Event in Virginia Saturday

Stereophile Staff May 31, 2018

Saturday June 2, 11am5 pm, Command Performance (115 Park Avenue, Suite 2, Falls Church, VA 22046) welcomes Nick Doshi of Doshi Audio and Anthony Chiarella of Brinkmann Audio for a special analog event.

Solid State Preamp Reviews Tube Preamp Reviews

A Preamplifier Faceoff: Ayre & PS Audio

Jim Austin May 29, 2018

In the March 2018 issue, Art Dudley admired the sound quality of Ayre Acoustics' KX-5 Twenty preamplifier, but didn't love some of its operational aspects. I've staged this Follow-Up as a putative face-off between the Ayre and my current reference preamplifier, the PS Audio BHK Signature, which I reviewed in the June 2017 issue.

Interviews Music and Recording Features

Steve Albini: Serve The Servants

Robert Baird May 29, 2018

Notoriously opinionated and obstinate Steve Albini, a guy ever vigilant and vocal about the wicked ways of the music business, showing up in Austin, Texas, at the annual South by Southwest festival? This I had to see. After a near-miss at his Austin hotel, we spoke the next morning on the phone.

"It was unspeakable on all levels, as bad as I imagined, and in some ways worse."

Any notion that he'd somehow softened, somehow accepted the music biz as it

Wait. What the hell am I thinking?

News

Au Revoir Dave Wilson (1944-2018)

Jason Victor Serinus May 28, 2018

Dave Wilson stands with his final design, the WAMM Master Chronosonic speaker system from 2016. (Photo: John Giolas)

Wilson Audio founder, Dave Wilson, 73, died of metastatic bone cancer on Saturday evening, May 26. Dave was receiving hospice care at his Utah home, and took his leave with his beloved wife and partner, Sheryl Lee Wilson, and other family members at his side.

Dave's exit came after he had overseen the 2006 expansion of Wilson Audio's factory in Provo, Utah by over 60%; announced, in November 2016, the succession of his son, Daryl Wilson (then 38) as CEO and President of Wilson Audio; and completed his magnum opus/ultimate statement, the limited edition WAMM Master Chronosonic loudspeaker ($685,000/pair). Secure in the knowledge that Daryl, who had already contributed to or taken over the design of at least 32 successful loudspeaker models, he was able to depart with a sense that his legacy as one of the great innovators in loudspeaker design will live on.