News

The October issue is here, with revised and updated capsule reviews of 500 audio products that have been reviewed in the magazine, rated in six categories, from "E" for "Entry Level" to "A+" for those few products that are beyond criticism. Stereophile's "Recommended Components"—often copied but never equaled.

Wednesday August 31, 6:30–8:30pm, Encore Home Entertainment Systems (2115 Siesta Drive, Sarasota, FL 34239) is hosting a special NAD/PSB/Bluesound event. Travis Huff, the Central Regional Sales Manager for Lenbrook America, parent company of NAD, PSB, and Bluesound products, will be discussing and demonstrating the introduction of the Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) audio codec into NAD and Bluesound components for 2016. Featured models include the NAD MDC module and all six Bluesound network-streaming player, speakers, and electronics products.

The news is not simply that Best Buy/Magnolia stores' 82 Hi-Resolution Listening Stations which they developed in the US in conjunction with Sony, have proven so successful, and generated so much interest in hi-res, that the company has added 250 more listening locations around the country. It's also that we now have data that shows a major reason for the expansion: Far more people care about sound quality than many would have you believe.

At their monthly listening party Esoteric Audio (111 West Monroe Street, Suite 100, Phoenix, AZ) will be featuring the local premier of the Grand Prix Audio Monaco v2.0 table. The official listening party is on Saturday August 13 at 3:00pm, but the table will be demonstrated Friday afternoon, August 12, and all day Saturday. Grand Prix Audio's VP of Sales and Marketing, Jesse Luna, will be on hand Friday and Saturday to show off the Monaco table as well as discuss current and future product offerings. More information is available at www.esotericaudioaz.com/upcoming-events.html.

Saturday, July 23, 10am–12pm: Constellation Home Electronics (215 North Guadalupe Street, Santa Fe) will host a digital-audio seminar and listening event designed to equip music enthusiasts with the tools needed to understand, embrace, and optimize digital-audio playback systems.

Michael Fremer may be Stereophile's Mr. Analog but he was mightily impressed with the Moon 780D digital processor from Simaudio, which never meets a source of data it can't turn into music. Herb Reichert gets excited by an affordable tube preamp from Rogue, as does Fred Kaplan over an expensive VTL tube preamp; and Art Dudley and John Atkinson get much musical enjoyment from Sony and PSB speakers, respectively. And as well as our regular "Analog Corner," "Listening," "Gramophone Dreams," "Aural Robert," and "Industry Update" columns, Sasha Matson interviews Ayre's Charley Hansen—the "Wizard of Boulder"—Robert Baird talks to power-pop icon Bill Lloyd, and Robert Schryer kicks the issue off by examining how audiophiles can get into their "Happy Zones."