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LATEST ADDITIONS

Floor Loudspeaker Reviews

GoldenEar Technology Triton Two loudspeaker

Robert Deutsch Feb 08, 2012

Gross is about to play an excerpt from a recording of John Rutter's Requiem. It's a piece that challenges just about every aspect of sound reproduction: there's an orchestra, a soprano soloist, a chorus, a pipe organ, and the acoustics of a large concert hall. Wimpy speakers need not apply. I listen, expecting to be underwhelmed.

Whoa! The low bass of the organ so fills the room that I look for subwoofers in the corners. The orchestra and chorus have great presence. There's a believable sense of space. These are some speakers! How much?

Headphone Reviews InnerFidelity

Preliminary Investigation of the Audez'e LCD-3 and LCD-2

Tyll Hertsens Feb 08, 2012

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Like most people upon first hearing the Audez'e LCD-3 at last year's CanJam at RMAF, I was struck by the quicker sound of the new planar magnetic headphone over its predecessor, the LCD-2 Rev. 2. Definitely a step in the right direction. Then they started shipping ...

... and all hell seemed to break loose.

As We See It

A Brief History of the Lost

Art Dudley Feb 03, 2012

Children, for the most part, are normal human beings who like to make believe that they're extraordinary, just for fun. Adults, on the other hand, are delusional creatures who enjoy pretending that they're normal, simply for their own peace of mind.

Recording of the Month

Recording of February 2012: Dusty in Memphis

Robert Baird Feb 03, 2012

Dusty Springfield: Dusty in Memphis
Atlantic/Analogue Productions APP 8214-45 (two 45rpm LPs). 1969/2011. Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin, prods.; Ed Kollis, eng.; Kevin Gray, 45rpm mastering. AAA. TT: 76:40
Performance *****
Sonics *****

Coaxing a singer to "stretch" always sounds like a good ideathat is, until the singer is standing in the same recording booth used by Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett, and suddenly her confidence, never brimming to start with, drops through the floor and she can't or won't sing a note. Add to this that Dusty Springfield was already a sticky perfectionist who'd self-produced most of her records and wasn't happy with the songs to be recordeddespite the fact that most of them were straight out of the Brill Buildingand you have the recipe for an all-time classic record, right?

Ariel Bitran

Pop Music.

Ariel Bitran Feb 03, 2012

Here at the Stereophile office, we listen to lots of different tunes ranging from Bach to Fucked Up to Sylvester, but in the Bitran/Mejias cubicle, there has been a recent resurgence in our passion for POPULAR music.

Stephen Mejias

All Tape Guide

Stephen Mejias Feb 02, 2012

Photo: Teen River, a cassette-only label.

I’ve discussed my (apparently controversial) attraction to cassettes. Besides being affordable, fun, pretty, and filled with interesting sounds and art, cassettes provide a direct and meaningful connection between artist and audience: The person releasing cassettes in 2012 is likely doing so out of passion, with a spirit for adventure, perhaps even a with a distaste for modern technologies and conveniences; the person purchasing cassettes in 2012 probably has similar motivations and interests.

I like cassettes.

Stephen Mejias

World's Largest Collection of Vintage Audio?

Stephen Mejias Feb 02, 2012

Wow, look at all the pretty boxes.

Maybe I'll finally find that Nakamichi CD-1 cassette deck I've been waiting for.

Records To Die For

2011 Records To Die For

Stereophile Staff Feb 01, 2012

Each year when I sit down to write this introduction, I get stuck on the whole dying-for-music thing. I get visions of the Lincoln assassination conspirators, swinging from ropes with sacks over their heads. Like '80s hair bands do ya? Pull the trap door! Or Mary Queen of Scots kneeling before the block: A fan of smooth jazz? Let the blade fall! Yes, it's silly on some level, but what exactly is the feeling that would make one martyr oneself for music?

Sweepstakes

Van den Hul The Valley Interconnect Cable Sweepstakes

Jon Iverson Feb 01, 2012

Register to win a pair of Van den Hul The Valley Interconnect Cables (MSRP $395) we are giving away.

These cables are distributed in North America by Bluebird Music and according to Van den Hul, The Valley interconnect cables are a twisted pair balanced cable with two 21 strand conductors and a double braided shield.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. Click on the picture above for details on how to enter.

[This sweepstakes is now closed.]

News

KEF's The Blade in Action

Jason Victor Serinus Feb 01, 2012

As one of the Top Five KEF dealers in the United States, AudioVision San Francisco was chosen as the site for the country's first in-store demo of KEF's Blade ($30,000/pair) on January 19. Given that the Blade's previous three quasi-public demos were either at showsCEDIA 2011, where the environment was reportedly too noisy for anyone to get a good listen, and RMAF 2011, where the room was too smallor KEF's 50th Anniversary Party in the British Embassy in New York City, this was actually the first time that anyone on the West Coast, or any bloke who happened to wander in off the street, had a chance to hear KEF's long-awaited speaker in more supportive surroundings.

Doing the honors for KEF was April Sanders, the company's Western Regional Manager (top photo). Sanders' 30 years experience in the speaker industry makes her one of the longest-surviving women in the high-enda feat that, IMHO, deserves at the least a medal of honor and epaulettes covered with brass stars and other emblems of bravery on the front lines.