The Moon by Simaudio room was playing music streamed from the company's Roon-ready, DSD- and MQA-decoding Moon 680D streamer DAC ($13,000), connected to a 740P balanced preamp ($11,500), both connected to a two-output 820S optional external power supply ($10,000).
Without further ado, let's jump right in, starting with the system in the Hegel room, which was bright, clean, and crisp—and that was just the room.
Oh, là, là! It’s back!: the North American audio show with the Euro flair, the Montréal Audiofest—or as I like to call it, the sexy audio show. It’s at its usual illustrious spot, the Hotel Bonaventure. Boy, did I miss it—and miss covering it for Stereophile. It’s always a fun event to visit, and it’s my hometown show, the one I’ve been going to for thirty years—until the Big Bug stopped it. The show runs from March 25 to March 27.
Starting with her out-of-nowhere triumph at the 2010 Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition and continuing with the release of four albums including three Grammy winners, Cécile McLorin Salvant, still just 32, has been raising eyebrows and neck hairs for a dozen years. She reigns as the supreme jazz singer of our time, ranking among the best of all time. More remarkable, she keeps getting better, and, rarer still, she keeps evolving, expanding her repertoire of styleswhich was vast from the startwithout losing a wisp of her deep blues, swing, precision, wit, operatic range, or storytelling drama.
"Santana delivers one of the most ambitious, inspired, and magical records of his storied career. There are genre-bending, hook-filled celebrations featuring Rob Thomas, Chris Stapleton, G-Eazy, American Authors and Ally Brooke, and thrilling feats of bravura musicianship that pair the guitar master with fellow icons like Chick Corea and Steve Winwood, and knockout rockers with Metallica's Kirk Hammett and Living Colour's Corey Glover, among others."
"Featuring the artwork from the 2021 Blessings and Miracles release, this Santana Student Edition PRS electric guitar is a must have for any collector. This is a very limited run of these guitars and is hand signed by Carlos Santana."
[This Sweepstakes is now Closed.]
Within each category, products are listed by class; within each class, they're in alphabetical order, followed by their price, a review synopsis, and a note indicating the issues in which the review, and any subsequent follow-up reports, appeared. "Vol.44 No.9" indicates our September 2021 issue, for example. "WWW" means the review is also posted online.
Around the time I took over as Stereophile's editor, I bought a Peloton, the internet-enabled stationary exercise bike. It was a lifesaver during the pandemic, when gyms were closed; despite the poor audio quality and the awful music many of the instructors choose, it's good, diverting exercise.