LATEST ADDITIONS

As We See It
Chips Are Still For Chumps
Jim Austin  |  Apr 18, 2025
One Saturday not long before press time for this issue, I received an email from Technical Editor (and former Editor) John Atkinson with the subject line, "20 Years Ago."

"Just read your May 2005 As We See It for the first time in many years," John wrote. "Great stuff!"

Could 20 years really have passed since I wrote that piece? Back then, I was in a different career, indulging my hi-fi passion by contributing to Stereophile on the side; now I'm in my seventh year as Stereophile editor. Then I was still a youngish dude; now I am an oldish dude. "Time flies" just doesn't capture it.

Some readers will surely remember that long-ago editorial. It was about a product dubbed the Intelligent Chip, a small piece of—well, something—encased in plastic. I wrote, "This small, plastic-encased device is claimed to permanently improve the sound of CDs. Just place the chip atop your CD player, insert a CD, and press Play. 'The sound of the upgraded disc more closely resembles the sound of the original master recording.'"

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AXPONA 2025
Do-It-All, Done Right? Arcam’s SA45 Makes the Case
Mark Henninger  |  Apr 18, 2025
Arcam’s $4999 SA45 aims to prove that “do-it-all” and “high-end” can coexist. For the first time at a show, Jim Garrett, a senior director of product strategy & planning at Harman International, gave a live demo of the British brand’s SA45 streaming integrated amplifier.

Watch Mark Henninger’s interview with Jim Garrett.

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AXPONA 2025
DeVore Fidelity, Leben, Well Tempered Lab, Box Furniture: Vinyl, Intention, and the Art of the Demo
Ken Micallef  |  Apr 18, 2025
John DeVore brings more than music to his rooms: he brings thoughtfulness, a sense of discovery, and superbly curated recordings.
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AXPONA 2025
Jeffrey Catalano’s Show-Stopping System: DaVa Soul, Fuuga, Red Sparrow, Miyajima, TW-Acustic, Alieno, Cessaro, Stein, Codia, Silent Running, Shun Mook, ADD-Powr
Ken Micallef  |  Apr 18, 2025  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969
High Water Sound’s Jeffrey Catalano could give a master class in room setup. A veteran of hundreds of audio shows, he not only presents exceptional-sounding rooms but also curates adventurous vinyl selections. I invariably leave his room with music titles scribbled in my notebook, like recipes for marvelous dishes.
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AXPONA 2025
AXISS Audio, Soulution Amplification, Telos Power Gear, Acoustic Grove Treatments: Beauty, Brawn, and Billie
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 17, 2025
Before I heard the new Soulution 717 monoblocks ($109,975 each), I spoke with Cyrill Hammer, Soulution’s CEO and Chief Designer, and Cliff Duffey, President of AXISS Audio. The conversation was illuminating. The listening? Something else entirely.

Watch our exclusive video interview with Cyrill Hammer and Cliff Duffey.

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Recording of the Month
Recording of May 2025: Joe Henderson: Multiple
Robert Baird  |  Apr 17, 2025
Joe Henderson: Multiple
Milestone/Craft CR 00845 (LP). 1973/2025. Orrin Keepnews, prod.; Elvin Campbell, Al Vanderbilt, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½

The essence of jazz is supposed to be the free-flowing exploration of ideas and expressions. Yet hardcore fans of the music have the unnerving habit of supporting and denigrating the work of the same player from record to record. Artistic growth is often seen as a negative. Even devoted fans might not follow an artist who veers off into a stylistic direction they abhor. The classic example is Miles Davis, who went through several artistic reinventions during his long career. Many of those who love Kind of Blue recoil from Dark Magus, On the Corner, or You're Under Arrest. So-called fusion—adding influences from rock and/or funk—is most often the villain in these judgments.

After starting out as a hard-bop devotee in the early 1960s, with such classic Blue Note sessions as Page One, Our Thing, and Inner Urge, Joe Henderson grew curious about funk, about adding it to his jazz mix. In 1973, on Orrin Keepnews's Milestone label (now owned by the Concord Music Group), Henderson cut Multiple, one of the highlights of his discography.

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Revinylization
Revinylization #64: k.d. lang's All-Analog Ingénue
Robert Baird  |  Apr 16, 2025
Kathryn Dawn Lang was country ... until she wasn't. A native of the Canadian province of Alberta, lang (who prefers her name lowercase) grew obsessed with Patsy Cline and country music in general before she was out of college. She joined the Patsy-focused country act The Reclines in 1983 in Edmonton. They released their first album, A Truly Western Experience, in 1984.

Styled as "cowpunk" by many, the album caught the ear of pub-rocker Dave Edmunds, who produced the band's next, rockier album, Angel with a Lariat. That album, in turn, found its way to Patsy Cline's one-time producer Owen Bradley, who in 1988 produced lang's solo debut, Shadowland, on Sire Records. Shadowland and the Reclines' final album, 1989's Absolute Torch and Twang, convinced lang that she was too adventurous—not to mention too gay and Canadian—for the 1980s country music establishment.

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Montreal Audiofest 2025
Montreal Audiofest 2025: Show Report Wrap-Up, Now Complete
Robert Schryer  |  Apr 16, 2025  |  First Published: Apr 09, 2025
This show report covers over two dozen exhibit rooms from the 2025 Montreal Audiofest. Inside, you’ll find systems that impressed with powerful bass, nuanced detail, expansive soundstages, and a few surprises that left lasting impressions.
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AXPONA 2025
Børresen M2s: Highs Without a Ceiling
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 15, 2025
At an early-morning breakfast, Michael Børresen, co-founder and chief designer of Audio Group Denmark, unveiled the Børresen M2 loudspeakers ($190,000/pair) and their companion Bass Modules (price to be announced). Also shown for the first time in North America was the Aavik R-880 phono preamplifier ($70,000), designed to work with DS Audio optical cartridges. The R-880 enables users to adjust high cut, low cut, and absolute phase on the fly.
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AXPONA 2025
Back in the Groove: Koetsu Returns to Vinyl’s Front Lines
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 15, 2025
Arturo Manzano, long a fan of Koetsu phono cartridges, has reassembled Koetsu’s original team of artisans to return the legendary brand to the international market.
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