Vinyl Bliss: Discover Your Music Universe at Absoulute! #shorts
Klipsch Trumpets 80th Anniversary Klipschorn Loudspeaker at Audio Advice Live 2026
See How the New HumminGuru NOVA RCM Cleans an LP!
Canvas HiFi Unveils Powered 2-Channel Speaker System at Audio Advice Live 2026
KLH Previews the New Model 4 Loudspeaker at Audio Advice Live 2026
GoldenEar Technology Talks Up the T44 Loudspeaker at Audio Advice Live 2026
KEF Showcases the New LS Luxe Loudspeaker at Audio Advice Live 2026
Paradigm Premieres a Trio of Premier Series Speakers at Audio Advice Live 2026
Bowers & Wilkins Stands Tall at Audio Advice Live 2026
Vibrant HiFi at SouthWest Audio Fest 2026
Pure Audio Project at SouthWest Audio Fest 2026
Dreamscapes A/V at SouthWest Audio Fest 2026

LATEST ADDITIONS

Analog Corner #215: B.M.C. Phono MCCI phono preamplifier

In July 2008 I reviewed the intriguing Phono 2Ci moving-magnet/moving-coil phono preamplifier from Aqvox Audio Devices. Though it then cost only $1400, the Phono 2Ci's current-input circuitry represented a high-tech departure from the typical voltage-gain circuits used by almost everyone else. Although keeping its retail price so low resulted in some sonic compromises, it sounded remarkable, and tough to beat at the price.
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Payday Albums: 7/26/13 & 8/23/13

Julianna Barwick's new album, Nepenthe, is available now. Photo: Shawn Brackbill.

I’ve been so happily preoccupied with my review of NAD’s new D 3020 integrated amplifier that I’ve again fallen behind on my “Payday Albums” posts. My review of the D 3020 will appear in our November issue. I used many of the albums listed below as demo material for that review.

It’s been a seriously great time.

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Nothing More than Lights in a Box

"Without content, television is nothing more than lights in a box."—Edward R. Murrow, 1958

"When it comes to video, most audiophiles are insufferable snobs."—J. Gordon Holt, 1984

Those who have followed the arguments between audiophiles and home-theater enthusiasts in the pages of Stereophile—I lifted the Murrow quote from a 1996 battle between Steve Guttenberg (representing the former community) and Joel Silver (representing the latter)—will have no doubt over which side of the argument I am on.

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The Great Wall of China

You could sense the frustration in Keith Pray's e-mail. "We are on the same team. I have always respected your wishes and will continue to do so," he had written me. At the request of a possible advertiser, Stereophile's publisher had asked me a question about something appearing in the issue of Stereophile we were preparing. I had responded that not only would I not give him an answer, I felt it inappropriate for him to ask.
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JBL 250Ti loudspeaker

685jbl.jpgOnce upon a time, in audio's infancy, anyone who wanted better than average sound—average sound during the 1940s being rich, boomy and dull—had no choice but to buy professional loudspeakers. In those days, "professional" meant one of two things: movie-theater speakers or recording-studio speakers. Both were designed, first and foremost, to produce high sound levels, and used horn loading to increase their efficiency and project the sound forwards. They sounded shockingly raw and harsh in the confines of the typical living room.
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Recording of January 1983: The Art of the Transcription

669rotmwild.jpgEARL WILD: The Art of the Transcription
Earl Wild, piano, recorded live at Carnegie Hall on November 1, 1981
Audiofon 2008-2 (2 LPs). Julian Kreeger, prod., Peter McGrath, eng. AAA

It takes nerve for a performer to allow an entire concert to be recorded for release on disc. It also takes extraordinary confidence in one's technique. Mistakes that are overlooked in the live experience become snags for the ear in the recorded version. One starts to listen for them and loses the musical experience in its totality.

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Rolf Gemein: the Heart of the Matter

I'm not sure why, but people tell me things. Maybe it's because they realize I listen. They reveal themselves, sometimes in charming and unexpected ways. So I was almost prepared for my three-way conference call with the designer of the Symphonic Line Kraft 400 power amplifier, Rolf Gemein, in Germany and Indianapolis-based importer/distributor Klaus Bunge. I started by asking Rolf about his design philosophy . . .
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