Stephen Mejias

The March 2011 issue of Stereophile is now on newsstands. This is a powerful, action-packed issue, and we come at you from several directions with in-depth equipment reports on a wide range of products.

Fred Kaplan strikes first with a review of Simaudio’s Moon Evolution 700i integrated amplifier. John Atkinson follows with a review of the powerful (700Wpc into 8 ohms at clipping) Classe CT-M600 & CA-M600 monoblock power amplifiers. Up next is Bob Reina, our budget audio guru, with a rave review of the overachieving Marantz CD5004 CD player. Art Dudley gets down and dirty with a new breed of product, the Linn Majik DS-I networked D/A integrated amplifier. Erick Lichte then goes old-school with a review of the Mystere ia21 tubed integrated. Finally, Michael Fremer takes a very close look at the Soundsmith SG-200 strain-gauge phono cartridge system.

In our “Follow-Up” section, Bob Reina compares Marantz’s bargain-priced PM5003 integrated amplifier with the new and improved PM5004, and John Atkinson takes a look under the hood of the Luxman DU-50 universal disc player, a John Marks favorite.

In “As We See It,” Jim Austin tries to find a balance between the science and art of hi-fi. While this seems harmless enough—doesn’t it?—over at the Audio Asylum and elsewhere on the internet, Jim is being attacked from both sides. I have to think that those who are most critical of Jim’s piece haven’t actually read very closely. But such is life. Some people only see what they want (or don’t want) to see. (Which is not very scientific.)

In “Sam’s Space,” Sam Tellig auditions two M1 components by Musical Fidelity, the M1DAC D/A processor and the M1HPA headphone amplifier. In “Analog Corner,” Mikey Fremer has a few beers with a group of dentists while listening to a group of phono preamplifiers, including the Parasound Halo JC 3, Pass Labs XP-25, Allnic Audio H-3000V, and Ypsilon VPS-100. (I don’t know who the dentists were.) In “Listening,” Art Dudley’s got a saw and he knows how to use it: He builds a gorgeous plinth for his cherished Garrard 301 turntable. In “The Entry Level,” I get sad, so I go record-shopping; then I clean my new-old records with the Okki Nokki record-cleaning machine; then I get happy. In “Music in the Round,” Kal Rubinson spends some time with the Marantz AV7005 preamplifier-processor and tries out the new home-theater bypass version of the two-channel Parasound Halo JC 2 preamplifier.

Meanwhile, in our music feature, “Majestic Silver Strings,” Robert Baird talks with four guitar heroes: Buddy Miller, Bill Frisell, Greg Leisz, and the mighty Marc Ribot. In “Aural Robert,” our music editor speaks with singer-songwriters John McCauley, Taylor Goldsmith, and Matt Vasquez about their collaboration, Middle Brother. And, in “Record Reviews,” we go crazy over the latest release from Robert Wyatt, For the Ghosts Within, as well as Domino’s reissues of Wyatt’s rich back catalog.

I hope you enjoy the issue. Talk about it in the forum.