LATEST ADDITIONS

Historical J. Gordon Holt Recording of the Month

Recording of June 1964: Joan Baez In Concert, Part 2

J. Gordon Holt Nov 13, 2018

Joan Baez In Concert, Part 2
Joan Baez, vocals, guitar
Vanguard VTC-1679 (tape), VSD-2123 (LP). Maynard Solomon, prod., Reice Hamel, eng. TT: 48:00.

Well, we finally got ourselves equipped to review 4-track open-reel tapes, via a slightly modified Ampex F-44. All the tapes we have auditioned had noticeably higher hiss than the average stereo disc, but this was not loud enough to be distracting except when the tapes were reproduced at very high levels. Even then, we found the smooth, even hiss to be less objectionable than the ticks and pops from some discs played at the same level.

NY Audio Show 2018

Sunday at the NYAS with Jim Austin

Jim Austin Nov 12, 2018

The last time I covered the New York Audio Show it was not, frankly, a great experience. The show was really small. It seemed like everyone was playing Diana Krall or some pop-classical piece from an audiophile label. Nobody, it seemed, dared to play interesting music.

News

Dealer Event in San Francisco Thursday

Stereophile Staff Nov 12, 2018

Thursday November 15, 7:3010pm, Audio Vision S.F. (1628 California Streetat the end of the historic cable car lineSan Francisco, CA 94109) is holding what they call a "BIG FREE HOME AUDIO EVENT!!" Featured will be D/A processors from Chord Electronics, a SME Reference turntable system, loudspeakers from Raidho, and Nordost power and cabling systems.

News

The December Issue's Here

Stereophile Staff Nov 12, 2018

We know, we know, it's only November 12. But it's one heck of an issue, featuring our Products of 2018, and it's hitting newsstands, tablets, and mailbox now! The versatile Ovation PA 8.2 preamplifier from German company AVM is featured on the December cover and this issue's line-up of reviews has a European flavor: as well as the AVM, we audition Elac's Adante AF-61 speaker and EMT's HSD 006 phono cartridge (Germany); the ATC CDA2 CD player, Harbeth P3ESR minimonitor, and Wharfedale Diamond 11.2 bookshelf speaker (UK); Ortofon SPU Wood pickup head (Denmark); and Aqua Formula xHD DAC (Italy).

NY Audio Show 2018

Sasha Reports from the NYAS

Sasha Matson Nov 11, 2018

"We want the Beatles! We want the Beatles!" the packs of teenage girls screamed as they chased Herb Reichert down the halls of the Park Lane Hotel, grabbing for his still-ample hair. Stereophile's Fab FourKen Micallef, Jim Austin, Herb Reichert, and myselfhit the halls early for the first day of the New York Audio Show.

NY Audio Show 2018

Herb's Friday at the NYAS

Herb Reichert Nov 10, 2018

A fun fixture of every audio show is the hanging badge-on-a-lanyard we all acquire at the registration table. I'm glad for these thingsat least the large-print editionsbecause they help me overcome the steady embarrassment I feel because I can't remember any names. If you know me, I am sure you have talked to me while I've stared at your belly trying hopelessly to memorize your name.

NY Audio Show 2018

NY Audio Show 2018: Herb's Preview

Herb Reichert Nov 09, 2018

I could ride my bike there from Brooklyn. What's not to like?

Jason Victor Serinus

A Modern Witches' Sabbath

Jason Victor Serinus Nov 09, 2018

This review and its companion that will follow next week spotlight two very different and equally recommendable recordings of contemporary music with a common theme: the quest for freedom and justice in perilous times. This week's special, Lament/Witches' Sabbath (New Focus Recordings), due out today (November 9), contains four works by Mathew Rosenblum, an East Coast composer who occasionally ventures into forbidden territory as he blends percussion, acoustic instruments, electronics, voice and microtonal elements in extremely visceral, moving, and sometimes gut-wrenching ways.

Budget Component Reviews Solid State Preamp Reviews

NAD Monitor Series 1300 preamplifier

John Atkinson Nov 08, 2018

By far the most complicated of the three preamps i review in this issue in terms of facilities offered, NAD's "Monitor Series" 1300 ($398) provides two buffered tape loops, an external processor loop (which can also be used as a third tape-recorder loop), a headphone output, a "null" switch, switchable bass equalization to extend the low-frequency range of small loudspeakers, and treble and bass controls, each with a choice of three turnover frequencies: 3kHz, 6kHz, 12kHz, and 50Hz, 125Hz, 250Hz, respectively.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Luxman M-05 power amplifier

Larry Greenhill Nov 08, 2018

Japanese audiophiles venerate American high-end audio components, paying huge sums for vintage Marantz tube amplifiers, racks of Levinson ML-2s, and early Audio Research tube preamplifiers. The balance of trade, at the high end anyway, hasn't been reciprocated: Japanese high-end amplifiers and preamplifiers have not received as positive a reception in the US. Perhaps it was a matter of styling, but the sonics of the Sony Esprit line and the class-A Stax amplifiers did not receive the following they might have, had the products been American.