Happy New Year! The January 2012 issue of
Stereophile is now on newsstands. In this issue, you’ll find in-depth reviews of loudspeakers from TAD, Sonus Faber, Nola, and Dynaudio; amplification components from Sutherland, Fi, and Anthem; D/A processors from Weiss, Bel Canto, dCS, and Musical Fidelity; power conditioning from Audience, AudioQuest, and Shunyata; and CD players from Emotiva and Sony.
In “As We See It,” Bob Deutsch offers five ways to determine whether a “tweak” is worth our time and money. In “Letters,” readers tell us why they listen, and offer memories of audio industry pioneer, AR’s Edgar Villchur. In “Industry Update,” Paul Messenger reports from the National Audio Show in Whittlebury, Northamptonshire, and Jason Victor Serinus reports from the Burning Amp Festival in San Francisco. Meanwhile, music editor Robert Baird reports from Blues Masters at the Crossroads, Chad Kassem’s annual bluesfest; raves about
Bad As Me, the latest release from one of the world’s greatest songwriters, Tom Waits; and talks with Roy Head about biting Elvis, breaking fingers, and busting moves.
We’ve also got a ton of great new music in our “Record Reviews” section, including reissues of work by Patricia Barber, Tony Joe White, Black Sabbath, and the B-52’s; a live set from John Prine; and new releases from Mayer Hawthorne, Oneohtrix Point Never, Wooden Shjips, Patrick Cornelius, Fab Trio, Gerry Mulligan, Keith Jarrett, and the awesome power trio of Raoul Bjorkenheim, Bill Laswell, and Morgan Agren.
And the biggest news of all: The January 2012 issue introduces our new look. A ton of work and sleepless nights went into this, and we’re happy with the results. Special thanks go out to our graphic designers, Natalie Baca and Pip Tannenbaum. We’ve tried to make the magazine friendlier, easier to read, and more attractive, while reinforcing our strengths—the depth of our review coverage and the diverse personalities of our writers. Please let us know what you think. We’re excited about the year to come: Vol.35 represents the magazine’s
50th year of listening, measuring, and sharing the passion for great music and sound.
Thanks for reading
Stereophile.
