LATEST ADDITIONS

Back in the early summer of 2017, Jack Oclee-Brown, KEF's Head of Acoustics, visited John Atkinson to set up the KEF Reference 5 loudspeakers in his listening room. JA's review of the Ref 5 was published in October 2017, and during Jack's visit JA talked to him about the design of that speaker. But they also discussed KEF's affordable "Q" line of speakers and the challenges a manufacturer faces in bringing an inexpensive loudspeaker to market, the subject of this interview.

Forgive us for the French but our March issue is about to hit newsstands, tablets, and mailboxes. With Naim's Uniti Nova amplifier and media player on its cover and reviewed inside by Ken Micallef, this issue will provide hours of reading pleasure. It has reviews of speakers ranging from the affordable to the high-priced, from KEF, Monitor Audio, Sonus Faber, Stenheim, and TAD. John Atkinson reviews closed-back headphones from MrSpeakers; Art Dudley reviews Ayre's KX-5 Twenty preamplifier; Michael Fremer auditions moving-coil cartridges from Kuzma and Koetsu; and Jim Austin offers further thoughts on that most controversial of topics, MQA.

In my October 2017 column I reported on two turntables, the Palmer 2.5 and AMG Giro G9, each costing $10,000 and up, depending on ancillaries. It wasn't that I wanted to get all Mikey Fremer Uptown on you; I wanted to refine my listening skills and familiarize my senses with what my own humble system would sound like with a pair of world-class record players.

Saturday, February 10, 10am–3pm, Northern Audio (3003 Babcock Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15237) welcomes Mike Marko of Nordost Corporation and Bob Scranton of Cambridge Audio for their "2018 Audio Innovations" seminar. Mr. Marko will provide the latest product demonstrations and cable comparisons, while Mr. Scranton will present how the right gear makes music lovers' lives better.

Mobile Fidelity reissues Heart Like A Wheel...

Bax: Symphony No.5 in c sharp
London Philharmonic Orchestra; Raymond Leppard, conductor.
Musical Heritage Society MHS-1652 (LP, From Lyrita SRCS-58).

Sir Arnold Bax (1883–1953) completed his fifth symphony in 1932 and dedicated it to Sibelius. Its first performance was conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1934. Have any of our major orchestras ever played it? Not to my knowledge, and after over 40 years, it's about time. At least we have it on disc now, in addition to The Garden of Fand and Tintagel. Lyrita has even more Bax in their catalog.

Chances are, if you're a regular Stereophile reader, you're already a fan of tenor saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh. How so? Because our astute crew of writers, editors, and all-round trendsetters have their collective fingers on the pulse of music that matters. Stereophile Contributing Editor Fred Kaplan reviewed Sabbagh's 2015 vinyl release, The Turn, bringing his honed insight to bear on a recording he describes as "spectacular. Sabbagh's sax floats palpably between the speakers, Ted Poor's drumkit crashes and sizzles . . .Ben Monder's guitar sparkles or wails. . . and Joe Martin's bass plucks and thumps like an anchor. Everything is clear, in a wide, deep, seamless space."