Stephen Mejias

The January 2010 issue of Stereophile is now on newsstands. Hooray! A new volume! A new year! Twelve more issues of Stereophile! Whee! We are pretty excited about starting the year off with a review of a PC soundcard. And at just $200, the ASUS Xonar Essence is the least expensive product to ever grace the cover of our magazine. Plus, it’s got that pretty golden tiger thing on it. What aroused John Atkinson’s interest, however, was the ASUS’s claimed signal/noise ratio of 124dB: “True high-end territory.”

But let’s forget about equipment reports for a second and turn the page to Art Dudley’s opening essay. Again, Art reminds us of the importance of recorded music, playback gear, and lasting quality:

Every solder joint on my beautiful Shindo Corton-Charlemagne amplifiers is still good: I know because my daughter has them now, and she plays her records through them all the time.

I feel like I can end this entry right there. I mean, that says it all, doesn’t it? But let me just mention what else you can find in the January 2010 issue of Stereophile:

Features
From Bicycles to Belt Drives: Jason Victor Serinus discusses music, audio, and engineering with Allen Perkins of Immedia and Spiral Groove.
Passionate Kisses: Music editor Robert Baird chats with the inimitable Flaming Lips front man, Wayne Coyne.

Equipment Reports
ASUS Xonar Essence ST & STX soundcards ($200; reviewed by John Atkinson)
Aesthetix Atlas power amplifier ($8000; reviewed by Wes Phillips)
Bryston 7B-SST2 monoblock power amplifier ($8390/pair; reviewed by Michael Fremer)
Marantz PM5003 integrated amplifier ($449.99 with phono stage!; reviewed by Bob Reina)
Rogue Audio M-180 monoblock power amplifier ($5495/pair; reviewed by Erick Lichte!)

All of these reports are interesting for several reasons, but I’d like to highlight the Rogue review because it is the first formal product review by new contributor, Erick Lichte. In his previous role as artistic director for male vocal ensemble, Cantus, Erick won the trust and admiration of our editor, John Atkinson. John tells me Erick has the ears of a dog, or a bat, or some other animal with really great ears; you know what I’m trying to say. Erick can hear. Erick is also a cool dude. (He likes beer and Portishead and hot Norwegian women, for instance.) Erick is also relatively young: He’s around my age, and we believe he’ll bring an interesting and fresh perspective to our pages. Erick’s next review, scheduled to appear in the March issue, will be on the new iTube version of Manley Labs' heralded Stingray integrated amplifier. I’m looking forward to it!

Okay. What else?

Follow-Ups
Parasound Halo JC 1 monoblock amplifier (compared against the Aesthetix Atlas, reviewed by WP, and against the Bryston 7B-SST2, reviewed by Mikey Fremer)
Musical Fidelity Titan power amplifier (compared against the Bryston 7B-SST2, reviewed by MF)
Creek 5350SE integrated amplifier (compared against the Marantz PM5003, reviewed by BJR)
Pass Labs XA30.5 power amplifier (compared against the Rogue M-180, reviewed by EL)
Totem Acoustic Forest loudspeaker (complete Follow-Up coverage by Erick Lichte)

All of these Follow-Up reports are interesting for several reasons, but I’d like to highlight the Totem review because, oh, it’s Erick Lichte again! And, oh, have you guys seen the response that Erick received from Totem’s Vince Bruzzese? It’s serious. Vince was “totally aghast.” I am totally aghast by Vince’s total aghastness! People are totally aghast all over the world. They are discussing it in the forum. Feel free to add your thoughts.

Now would be a good time to revisit Bob Deutsch’s charitable, instructional article, “How to Write Manufacturers’ Comments.”

Of course, we also have outstanding Columns:
Sam’s Space: Sam Tellig finds more affordable gems in the Cambridge Audio Azur 650A integrated amp and 650C CD player.
Analog Corner: Mikey Fremer reports from the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest.
Listening: Art tweaks a nerve and gets intimate with the Quantum RT QX4 “scalar field generator.”
Music in the Round: Kal Rubinson works on his low frequencies with Paradigm’s SUB 15 subwoofer and the Audyssey Sub Equalizer.
Record Reviews: Christmas albums from Carla Bley and Bob Dylan; Mozart from Gary Cooper and Rachel Podger; rock and roll from Guy Clark and Ray Davies; bebop from Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins.
Manufacturers’ Comments: An interesting and enlightening bunch of responses from Cambridge Audio, Aesthetix, Bryston, Rogue, and Totem.
Aural Robert: RB is delighted by the Numero Group’s deluxe box set, Light: On the South Side. (It is gorgeous!)

And that’s not all, folks. There’s so much to love about our January 2010 issue. Pick up a copy and find out for yourself, or pass the good vibes along and buy a copy for a friend. Happy New Year. May 2010 be filled with laughter, love, fun, and music.