Headphone Reviews

One reason Stereophile publishes a FollowUp is when the original review leaves an issue unresolved. Such was the case with Julie Mullins's review of the iFi ZEN CAN headphone amplifier and ZEN DAC Signature V2 D/A processor ($599/pair) in the January 2022 issue. JMu had found that the pair's gain architecture was mismatched. She ended up using an attenuating cable between the DAC and the headphone amplifier to keep the volume manageable. The measurements didn't indicate why the volume was too loud, so Jim Austin took a listen. You can find his report here.

Audio engineer Tom Fine has been looking for a versatile, high-performance phono preamplifier for some time. When he read Julie Mullins's review of the affordable Pro-Ject Phono Box RS2 ($1999) in the August 2021 issue, he purchased one. Not only does TF discuss how it sounded with his collection of phono cartridges in his FollowUp, he offers his thoughts on the Decca de-emphasis curve here.

Ken Micallef was intrigued by my very positive review of the Canton Reference 7K loudspeaker, which costs a relatively affordable $6995/pair, in the September 2021 issue. Accordingly, once the original review had been prepared for publication, I drove the speakers over to KM's penthouse pad in Manhattan's Greenwich Village for him to live with for a while. You can find his thoughts here.