Apple AirPods Pro 3: First Impressions

Hegel H150 Integrated Amplifier Officially Announced

Sonus faber Announces Amati Supreme Speaker

FiiO M27 Headphone DAC Amplifier Released

Audio Advice Acquires The Sound Room

LATEST ADDITIONS

Digital Processor Reviews Music in the Round

Music in the Round #98: Trinnov Altitude 32 & Essence Evolve II-4K

Kalman Rubinson Jul 02, 2019

As I wrote before in these pages, I have long been acquainted with French electronics manufacturer Trinnov. Years ago, at an Audio Engineering Society convention in New York, a Trinnov rep used a mastering console equipped with their processor to move, at will, the sounds of instruments around the 3D soundstage and left me thoroughly impressed. That was before my conversion from stereo to multichannel music listening, and before the blurring of borders between home theater and mainstream audio.

Jason Victor Serinus Music and Recording Features

As One — Original Cast Recording

Jason Victor Serinus Jul 01, 2019

What’s the most frequently performed new opera in America at present? It’s Laura Kaminsky’s 2014 chamber opera, As One, whose libretto by Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed explores the coming out process of its protagonist, Hannah, as a transgender woman.

Art Dudley Listening Stand Loudspeaker Reviews

Listening #199: Falcon & Graham LS3/5A

Art Dudley Jun 27, 2019

It all started when I moved my playback system from my 11' by 16' living room to my 12' by 17' family room: The latter has proven the better-sounding setting, and it's also sunnier and more accessibleand the floor is more level and stable. (The family room is a circa-2005 addition on a 1936 house.) And now that my speakers and my racks of gear have been removed from the living room, there's room for bookcases, books, and people who aren't me.

Tube Preamp Reviews

PrimaLuna EVO 400 preamplifier

Herb Reichert Jun 27, 2019

I am an artist-painter and an audiophile. When I listen to recorded music, I sit in the sweet spot and stare at the empty space between the speakers. And while I listen, I survey and critique the soundfield, as if it were an unfinished landscape painting in my studio.

As I observe the soundstage and the apparitions of musicians within, I notice the dimensions of the recording venue (and/or microphone placement), as well as the physical energy of the entire vibrating illusion.

Budget Component Reviews Computer Audio Reviews Stand Loudspeaker Reviews

Vanatoo Transparent One Encore powered loudspeaker system

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 25, 2019

Has Serinus been demoted? You might well ask. This month, instead of reviewing a $58,000 stereo amplifier, I'm tackling a $599 powered loudspeaker system.

Truth be told, I'm always on the lookout for products that deliver outstanding sound at bargain prices. And since I maintain in my living room a modestly priced system built around powered speakersthis in addition to the far costlier system in my dedicated listening roomit's an easy fit for me to evaluate low-priced products in a real-world context.

Audacious Audio Solid State Power Amp Reviews

CH Precision M1.1 power amplifier

Michael Fremer Jun 25, 2019

CH Precision's massive, versatile, technologically sophisticated, 165 lb M1.1 power amplifier ($54,000 configured for stereo) can easily crush your foot if you're not careful when installing it. But the more important consideration is this: Can this cool gray techno-square sing and dance without stepping on its own feet?

Jason Victor Serinus

Stilling Heartbreak from Weinberg

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 22, 2019

Lithuanian conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla's (b. 1986) rendition of Polish-Jewish composer Mieczysław Weinberg's (1919–1996) final symphony, which is dedicated "to the memory of those who were murdered in the Warsaw Ghetto," has all the earmarks of a life-affirming Record to Die For. Rarely have I heard such hallowed silence, absolute control, and reverence for life and beauty from a conductor so young. For those willing to explore the mysteries of exquisite sadness amidst suffering, this recording cries out.

Integrated Amp Reviews

Mark Levinson No.5805 integrated amplifier

Jim Austin Jun 20, 2019

Mark Levinson isn't known as a budget brand, and most people would not consider $8500 a budget price for anything short of a new car. One could argue, though, that Levinson's new No.5805 integrated amplifier ($8500 with DAC and phono stage) is a budget componentcombining high performance and build quality with a price tag that's moderate by hi-fi standards. Plus, there's a lot of functionality in one box.

Recording of the Month

Recording of July 2019: Takin' Off

John Swenson Jun 20, 2019

Herbie Hancock: Takin' Off
Herbie Hancock, piano; Freddie Hubbard, trumpet; Dexter Gordon, tenor saxophone; Butch Warren, double bass; Billy Higgins, drums.
Blue Note Records 84109 (LP), 1962, 2019. Alfred Lion, prod.; Rudy Van Gelder, eng.; Don Was, Cem Kurosman, reissue prods.; Kevin Gray, reissue eng. AAA. TT: 39:01
Performance ****
Sonics ****½

From 1962 until now, and counting all formats except downloads, there have been no fewer than 62 releases of Herbie Hancock's debut album, Takin' Offmore than any of his other albums except Maiden Voyage (1965) and Head Hunters (1973). This issue's Recording of the Month comes from an ambitious project referred to by Blue Note Records as the Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series, which is distinct from the company's Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series, described in Sasha Matson's interview with company President Don Was in the May 2019 Stereophile.

News

In L.A.: The North American Debut of the DeVore O/Reference Loudspeaker System

Stereophile Staff Jun 19, 2019

Common Wave Hi-Fi is proud to host John Devore for the North American debut of his long awaited Orangutan Reference speaker system.