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Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia Series 2 loudspeaker

John Atkinson | Jun 14, 2018 | 97 comments

One of the benefits of being a reviewer is that, of the large number of products that pass through my listening room, occasionally there are those that I really would like to see take up more permanent residence. One of these was Wilson Audio Specialties' Alexia loudspeaker, which I reviewed in December 2013. "Its clarity, its uncolored, full-range balance, its flexibility in setup and optimization, and most of all its sheer musicality, are, if not unrivaled, rare," I wrote, and concluded: "If I were to retire tomorrow, the Wilson Alexia would be the speaker I would buy to provide the musical accompaniment to that retirement." Nothing I subsequently heard disabused me of that dream, though a couple of other speakers, in particular Vivid Audio's Giya G3 and KEF's Blade Two, joined the Alexia on my bucket list.

AkitikA GT-102 power amplifier

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Herb Reichert | Jun 14, 2018 | 10 comments

An e-mail from an old audiophile pal: "Herb, my buddy owns a recording studio, and he told me one of his $10k reference amplifiers stopped working and the manufacturer said it would take months to be repaired. So he went online and bought this 60W AkitikA solid-state amplifier to use while his big amp was being repaired. The trouble is, the kit cost only $314. (The studio guy bought his assembled and tested for $488.) Now, he likes the AkitikA more than his broke-down reference amp."

The Sound and the Image

As We See It

Jim Austin | Jun 12, 2018 | 66 comments

It's not surprising that many people, like me, love nice cameras and good stereo gear. In my worse moments, I attribute this to mere consumerism: We love expensive stuff and the thrill of buying something new, whether for reproducing music or creating visual images. In my better moments, it's clear to me that there's more than that to this common taste for audio and photography, and more to the hobby of so-called perfectionist audio.

Recording of July 2018: Life Of

Recording of the Month

Jon Iverson | Jun 12, 2018 | 6 comments

Steve Tibbetts: Life Of
Steve Tibbetts, 12-string guitar, piano; Michelle Kinney, cello, drones; Marc Anderson, percussion, handpan
ECM 2599 (CD). 2018. An ECM production; Steve Tibbetts, eng.; Greg Reierson, eng., mastering. DDD. TT: 50:40
Performance *****
Sonics *****

The sound of Steve Tibbetts's guitar music is unique—one need hear only a measure or two of his new album to identify the distinct tang of his playing. Common wisdom is that a guitarist's sound is in the hands and fingers, but Tibbetts has another trick: his weathered, 50-year-old Martin D12-20 12-string acoustic guitar.

Bernstein's Great Mahler Song Cycles in Hi-Rez

Jason Victor Serinus

Jason Victor Serinus | Jun 10, 2018 | 20 comments

Why should you or anyone care about a 24/192 download reissue of recordings of two Mahler song cycles that were made in Vienna and New York in 1968 by conductor Leonard Bernstein and three of his favorite singers, mezzo Christa Ludwig, her bass-baritone husband Walter Berry, and baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau? After all, the recordings are "old" and the music much older, all but one of the artists is dead, the language is German, and the reissue lacks lyrics and translations . . .

The Hot Shade of July

News

Stereophile Staff | Jun 08, 2018 | 33 comments

But maybe not so hot in the listening room, where you can get absorbed reading the latest issue of Stereophile. The expensive but superb-sounding Wilson Alexia 2 speaker is featured on the cover and reviewed inside, but also inside this issue is a review of the least expensive amplifier we have reviewed in decades, AkitikA's GT-102, which costs just $314 as a kit and $488 assembled and tested.

Dick Olsher Dahlia speaker

Features, Historical, J. Gordon Holt, Stand Loudspeaker Reviews

Dick Olsher, J. Gordon Holt, Martin Colloms | Jun 07, 2018 | First Published: Feb 01, 1986 | 0 comments

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) loudspeaker projects are quite common in the UK, where details about several excellent designs, including a recent one by Martin Colloms, have been published for public domain consumption. Stateside, the situation is rather grim, where only an occasional subwoofer project (always popular) makes it into the commercial magazines.

Acustik-Lab SR Bolero loudspeaker & Forte woofer

Stand Loudspeaker Reviews

John Atkinson | Jun 07, 2018 | First Published: Apr 01, 1989 | 0 comments

The Acustik-Lab SR Bolero loudspeaker ($1580/pair) debuted at the 1988 SCES in Chicago. I must own up right from the outset that I know nothing about the Swiss SR Trade (Acustik-Lab) company. I do know, however, that Audio Advancements' Hart Huschens was getting an intensely musical sound from their little Bolero speakers, driven by the German Klimo Kent tube amplifiers, at the 1988 Summer CES. I immediately asked for a pair for review; in addition, Mr. Huschens sent along a pair of the matching Bolero Forte woofers ($920/pair).

AudioCon-June in SoCal Saturday & Sunday

News

Stereophile Staff | Jun 06, 2018 | 14 comments

Following the last-minute cancellation of the 2018 Los Angeles Audio Show, scheduled to be held this coming weekend in Irvine, two Southern California audio retailers have stepped into the breach with AudioCon-June. Jason Lord of The Source A/V Design Group (3035 Kashiwa Street, Suite 101, Torrance, CA 90505. Tel: (310) 534-9900) and Sunil Merchant of Sunny's Components (1370 E. Cypress St, Covina, CA 91724. Tel: (626) 966-6259) are holding weekend-long free events. The events run 10am–6pm on Saturday June 9 and Sunday June 10 and you can find full information here and here.

Conrad-Johnson PV-4 preamplifier

Tube Preamp Reviews

Steven W. Watkinson | Jun 05, 2018 | First Published: Oct 01, 1984 | 1 comments

In appearance Conrad-Johnson's PV4 is distinctly plain: a basic black and silver box with a few simple knobs and buttons. The controls are logically laid out, clearly labeled, and work properly. The two channels track well through the volume control, maintaining balance; pushbuttons and control knobs have a smooth, solid feel (except for the noises audible through the system when switching inputs). Don't forget the turn-on and turn-off thumps mentioned above; the PV4 is the only one of the preamps I review in this issue—the others are the Audible Illusions Modulus ($450) and the Counterpoint SA-7 ($595)—that lacks a mute switch.

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