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Phono Cartridge ReviewsSpin Doctor
Spin Doctor #11: Alternative Phono Cartridge Technologies and the DS Audio DS-W3 optical cartridge system
Michael Trei  |  Mar 19, 2024  |  1 comments
Over the last 50 years, I must have installed well over 1000 phono cartridges, but I still remember the very first one: a Goldring G850 I put into the family Garrard Autoslim turntable when I was 11 years old. In 1973, the G850 was the least expensive moving magnet cartridge Goldring made. The change from the flipover-stylus ceramic cartridge that came with the Garrard wasn't an attempt to satisfy a youthful audiophile itch but, rather, a result of my first encounter with a system compatibility problem.

A few months earlier, I had convinced my nonaudiophile dad to upgrade the family stereo. We went from our ancient Monacor SMX-50 tube receiver to a pretty weird but less ancient Sony all-in-one cassette system called the TC-133CS. I failed to understand that the new Sony's magnetic phono input was incompatible with our old ceramic cartridge. Once I figured that out, I tried to convince my dad that what we really needed was a Shure M75ED. After all, that cartridge came from the same company that made the legendary V-15 Type III, widely regarded as the best cartridge in the world at the time. My dad, however, had different plans. Guided by his home-product purchasing bible, Consumer Reports, he decided we should go instead with the less-costly Goldring.

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Southwest Audio Fest 2024
Songer Audio S1x Field Coil Loudspeaker
Mark Henninger  |  Mar 19, 2024  |  11 comments
Ken Songer of Songer Audio must be on to something because his demo led me to experience a heart rate of 141 while listening to "Sharkey's Day" from Laurie Anderson's Mister Heartbreak.
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Southwest Audio Fest 2024
Van Zyl Audio: Alpine Mid-Horns with BB-10 Subwoofer
Mark Henninger  |  Mar 19, 2024  |  First Published: Mar 18, 2024  |  6 comments
The Van Zyl Audio Alpine mid-horn speaker ($12,000/pair) is designed to cover a frequency range of 125Hz up to 20kHz. It uses a horn-loaded 8" Tang Band full-range driver that connects to the amplifier directly, free of crossover componentry. The design adds a physically time-aligned AMT tweeter—implemented as a super tweeter—to extend the highs with a simple first-order crossover applied.
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Southwest Audio Fest 2024
Synergistic Research Voodoo Streaming Server
Mark Henninger  |  Mar 19, 2024  |  First Published: Mar 18, 2024  |  1 comments
Ted Denney used a top-tier stereo system to demonstrate Synergistic Research's latest product, the Voodoo Streaming Server ($14,995), at the inaugural Southwest Audio Fest. The demo also included the Vibratron SX ($3995), a passive resonator design from the company's early days.
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Southwest Audio Fest 2024
Planet Venus Audio Technologies Spectral Coherence Control Plugin
Mark Henninger  |  Mar 19, 2024  |  First Published: Mar 18, 2024  |  0 comments
With the consumer version of the Planet Venus Spectral Coherence Control Essential plugin ($189), adventurous audiophiles can experiment with removing distortion inherent to a recording, independent of the playback system.
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Southwest Audio Fest 2024
German Physiks, Accuphase, EMM Labs, Ypsilon, Thales, Live-Vibe Audio
Mark Henninger  |  Mar 19, 2024  |  1 comments
Some fresh, high quality products making their U.S. show debuts—not to mention the excellent sound quality that was achieved—made this system a fun one to audition.
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Southwest Audio Fest 2024
Greetings from Southwest Audio Fest 2024 in Dallas
Mark Henninger  |  Mar 15, 2024  |  10 comments
An audio show is born: the inaugural Southwest Audio Fest (SWAF), taking place on March 15-17 in Dallas, Texas, at the Hilton Anatole hotel.
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Recommended Components
Recommended Components 2024 Edition
Stereophile Staff  |  Mar 15, 2024  |  3 comments
Every product listed here has been reviewed in Stereophile. Everything on the list, regardless of rating, is genuinely recommendable. Within each category, products are listed by class; within each class, they're in alphabetical order, followed by their price, a review synopsis, and a note indicating the issues in which the review, and any subsequent follow-up reports, appeared.
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Digital Processor Reviews
StormAudio ISP Evo immersive sound preamp/processor
Kalman Rubinson  |  Mar 14, 2024  |  5 comments
One thing that interested me about the StormAudio ISP Evo is that, despite its obvious hi-fi function, it's more like a computer than a typical "prepro." While it does offer a few "legacy" analog inputs, it is for the most part all-digital, input to output, including network connections on both ends. Consequently, it is less likely to leave sonic fingerprints on the music than devices that convert digital to/from analog or modulate their signals with active amplification or attenuation. It is notable that, despite its audio function, the Storm completely lacks traditional audio specifications—distortion, dynamic range, and so on.

Yes, that aspect of the product was appealing, but the real trigger for me was that when I began this review, the StormAudio ISP Evo was the only consumer device to fully incorporate the latest version of Dirac Live Active Room Treatment (ART).

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Recording of the Month
Recording of April 2024: Wagner: Famous Opera Scenes
Stephen Francis Vasta  |  Mar 13, 2024  |  0 comments
Wagner: Famous Opera Scenes
Nikolai Lugansky (piano)
Harmonia Mundi HMM 902393 (CD). Nicolas Bartholomée, prod.; Bartholomée, Ambroise Helmlinger, engs.
Performance ****
Sonics *****

Concert arrangements of operatic themes for piano, like Liszt's famous concert paraphrases, obviously provide an opportunity to display one's virtuosic keyboard technique. As Denis Morrier's program note for Harmonia Mundi indicates, however, transcriptions of Wagner served a second important purpose: spreading awareness of the composer's operas when they only played in a limited number of venues. There was no Spotify or Idagio back then!

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