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It's trite to observe that we're doomed to fail to understand the generations that come after us, yet it's true. We are also, apparently, doomed to forget we're doomed. "We have to get a younger generation into hi-fi, or the industry is dead," lament aging men, unable to imagine a traversable path other than their own.

Oscar Peterson was born in 1925. In late 2026, a set titled World Tour was released on the Mack Avenue/Two Lions label. It is advertised as "part of the continued celebration of Peterson's centennial." Consider this article a modest attempt to join the celebration.

I bought my first real stereo setup—a Sony STR-6050 receiver, an Audio Research XA turntable, and a pair of KLH 6 speakers—in 1968. After that, I routinely changed my equipment, but it wasn't until 1982, when I started reading Stereophile and The Absolute Sound, that my pursuit of great sound began in earnest.

AXPONA was immense and overwhelming. Bass vibrated down hallways. Rooms spilled sound into each other. We took a deep breath and dove in, starting with the car audio section.

If you had to describe the kind of audio system that you would like to have, with only one word, what word would you choose? Some would choose the word "quality." In a book titled Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values, from 1974, Robert Pirsig considers the word and concept as a fundamental way of thinking about things that encompasses both reason and feelings.

Jim Austin (left) succeeded John Atkinson (right) as Stereophile's editor in April 2019 and has preserved the magazine's Great Wall between editorial and advertising. Here are some of the most important principles that Stereophile religiously follows.

Legendary Stax guitarist/producer Steve Cropper hated when deejays talked over song intros. He decided to do something about it for the countless hit singles cut at the label's Memphis studio in the 1960s. As a result of his efforts, Cropper—who passed away on December 3, 2025, at age 84—became known as "The Intro Guy," a sobriquet he was proud to honor.