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Callas Remastered: "La Divina" Receives Her Due

Move over John, George, Ringo, and Paul. There's another remastering that's come on the scene, and it's every bit as important as the Beatles Mono Edition. It's Warner Classics' high-resolution, 24/96 digital remastering of soprano Maria Callas' entire studio-sourced discography. Consisting of arias, recitals and complete operas recorded 1949–1969, the remasterings reach the international public on September 22, and US music lovers on September 23. Their sound, whether in the 69-CD box set of her entire studio recordings, or HDtracks' 24/96 downloads of its individual components, is revelatory.

The “Recommended Components” issue is here!

Hitting newsstands on Monday and already in some subscribers’ hands, the October issue of Stereophile features the second installment of our 2014 “Recommended Components” feature. Completely updated since the last edition appeared in April, there are more than 500 components described and rated. (Because this is the largest-ever listing, several product categories had to be omitted from the print edition; these will be published on this website early next week.)

Toronto: Angie's Audio Corner Opens an Annex

Toronto is turning into a happening place for audiophiles. The Toronto Audio Visual Entertainment Show being held October31–November 2, 2014, promises to be bigger and better in their new venue at the Sheraton Centre Hotel downtown. The Update TV & Stereo Elevated store, with a strong high-performance audio orientation, opened last spring in the Toronto suburb of Unionville. And now, Angie's Audio Corner, devoted to high end celebrated its second anniversary with the opening of the Annex Clearance Center in the coach house next to the main building, acting as a clearing house for used equipment of all sorts and used LPs.

AudioVision SF's Brand New Store

What a difference a change of location can make! What was originally a major challenge—AudioVision SF, one of the country's major dealerships, literally had the rug pulled out from under them by their landlord last spring, and needed to raise money and scurry to a new location—has turned into a major opportunity: a spanking new venue, whose main listening room sounds much—that's much, as in much—better than before.

Rocking It with the September Stereophile

For its PerfectWave DirectStream D/A processor, featured on our September issue's cover, PS Audio took a different approach. Rather than using the usual off-the-shelf parts, designer Ted Smith used Field-Programmable Gate Array chips (FPGAs) to process DSD data without compromising the integrity of the music. Art Dudley takes the new DAC out for a test drive and returned impressed by what he heard.

Albert Von Schweikert's Traveling Mr. Wizard Show

Inspired by Watch Mr. Wizard, a children's science show that aired on American TV 1951–1965, loudspeaker designer Albert Von Schweikert brought his updated, all-ages loudspeaker installment to Orinda, CA last weekend. Presenting to members of the newly constituted San Francisco Audio Society, Von Schweikert and his grandson, Devon Von Schweikert, enabled attendees to compare the sound of various midrange drivers and enclosure materials.

In Living Stereo Celebrates Mono

In Living Stereo's Steven Mishoe holds an EMT OFD25 pickup head.

On the evening of July 24, the passing of EMT's classic OFD series of pickup heads was noted in singular style: In Living Stereo, the hi-fi and record store that represents EMT in New York City, invited their customers to drop by for drinks, snacks, and the opportunity to hear their favorite mono LPs played with OFD 15 and OFD 25 pickups on an otherwise all-Shindo system.

Parasound Shares its Strengths in San Jose

On July 17, industry veterans Richard Schram, founder of Parasound, and John Curl, the company's legendary circuit designer (above), made a rare joint appearance at Century Stereo in San Jose, CA. Surviving unexpectedly horrendous freeway traffic, which made for a late start—perfect for this writer, who made the same commute—the two men's great spirits contributed to an evening as entertaining as it was informative.
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