LATEST ADDITIONS

A Comparative Review of High-End Noise Canceling Headphones

Tyll Hertsens Jun 22, 2012

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

With the recent spate of noise cancelers appearing from all corners, I thought I'd bring them together for a little workout in the lab. The Bose Quiet Comfort 15 has long been my favorite, but newcomers like PSB, Polk, and Klipsch are launching frontal attacks, so I think it's time for a re-evaluation.

Going in, I figured it would be hard to beat Bose. What's your guess?

Interviews

Arnie Nudell: From Here to Infinity

David Lander Jun 20, 2012

Imagine a speaker firm with an introductory product that pushes the outside of the performance envelope while tearing the pricing envelope to shreds. A reviewer in an audio journal that tilts toward the high end deems this speaker "appallingly expensive," notes he would have bought the test sample if he'd had the money, and confesses that being without it makes him feel "rather as though a member of the family has passed away." Now envision a speaker company at the peak of the industry sales curve, one so successful that a mainstream hi-fi magazine ranks it No.1 in market share for two separate years. Very different companies, right?

The Fifth Element

The Fifth Element #72

John Marks Jun 20, 2012

Fred Delius and the Duettes. Sounds like a 1950s vocal group, doesn't it? Let's start with some great new music. SACD fans: Prepare to vote with your wallets again. Frederick Delius (18621934) is one of my favorite second-rank composers who wrote first-rate music. Although not that easy to define, Delius's music is usually instantly identifiable as his.

Cable Reviews The Entry Level

The Entry Level #18

Stephen Mejias Jun 20, 2012

"Marvins Room," the second track on side two of Drake's platinum-selling Take Care (LP, Cash Money/Universal Republic B0016280-01), is a veiled but nonetheless intriguing confession from a sensitive young man whose addictions to alcohol, sex, and fame have prevented him from developing any sort of healthy relationship. I've come to this conclusion after several happy hours of listening to the song from beginning to end, over and over again, while swapping between two very different interconnects: AudioQuest's Sidewinder ($65/1m pair, now discontinued) and Kimber Kable's time-honored PBJ ($110/1m pair).

Phono Cartridge Reviews

London (Decca) Jubilee/Reference phono cartridge

Martin Colloms, Michael Fremer Jun 20, 2012

London phono cartridges still carry the famous Decca name (even if only in parentheses), but they are now produced by John Wright, a precision engineer and ex-Decca employee. Wright (not to be confused with his IMF and more recent TDL loudspeaker-designer namesake) was assigned the rights in 1989 by Decca's Special Products division (footnote 1), when the company's new owner, Racal, decided that they didn't want to be involved in the manufacture of audio equipment. Wright worked for 20 years in Decca's phono-cartridge division, where he gained a wealth of experience. As well as manufacturing the current range of London cartridges, he is also responsible for servicing and overhauling older Decca models.

Stephen Mejias

NYC’s Catalpa Festival brings the heat

Stephen Mejias Jun 20, 2012

Twisted fire-starters atop Arcadia's Afterburner DJ booth. The Afterburner will make its North American debut at the Catalpa Festival in NYC.

With New York City temperatures rising into the high 90s this afternoon, there’s no doubt that summer has officially arrived. And summer means great live music. Ask Stereophile’s editorial assistant, Ariel Bitran, who returned to the office all bronze-skinned and bleary-eyed after attending the recent Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tennessee. (He’s been wearing sandals ever since.) And, while I can understand and appreciate the desire to get away from the City during these summer months, I’m happy to know that New York will be home to another major outdoor music fest: The first Catalpa Festival will be held this July 28th and 29th, from 1 to 11pm, on Randall’s Island.

Stephen Mejias

Looking Forward: Cat Power's Sun

Stephen Mejias Jun 19, 2012

Yes, yes, yes!

Sun, Cat Power’s first album of original material since 2006’s The Greatest, will be released by Matador Records on September 4th. September 4th is going to be an awesome day.

News

Wilson and VTL Dance at Music Lovers

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 17, 2012

At Montreal's Salon Son et Image earlier this year, Peter McGrath of Wilson Audio (left in photo) found the pairing of the company's Sophia 3 loudspeaker ($18,000/pair) and VTL's MB-185 Series III, EL-34-based monoblocks ($15,000/pair) and VTL TL-5.5 preamp w/phono ($10,500) so felicitous that he proposed that he and VTL's Luke Manley (right in photo) revisit the coupling in the US. The opportunity arose at Music Lovers Audio in Berkeley, California, where a public afternoon demo on June 9, 2012 drew a large group of audiophiles who packed two large showrooms at the prestigious, well-appointed store.

Fred Kaplan

Ravi Coltrane’s Spirit Fiction

Fred Kaplan Jun 15, 2012

It’s risky, to say the least, for John Coltrane’s son to take up the tenor and soprano saxophones as a profession, yet that’s what Ravi Coltrane has been doing for 25 years, 15 of them as a leader, and his latest album, Spirit Fiction (his first on the Blue Note label), is his triumph.

Robert Baird

Vinylpalooza

Robert Baird Jun 15, 2012

If piles upon piles of LPs bring you joy, and you’re within striking distance of Pittsburgh, Pa. this weekend, you need to head for the Pittsburgh Irish Centre on Forward Avenue to check out the first annual Vinylpalooza