LATEST ADDITIONS

Sweepstakes
Woodstock 50th Anniversary "Peace of Stage" and 5 Vinyl LP Back To The Garden Sweepstakes
Stereophile Staff  |  Aug 12, 2019  |  87 comments
Register to win one of five actual pieces of the original 1969 Woodstock stage (Value $99.00 ea) or a Back To The Garden - 50th Anniversary Collection 5 Vinyl LP set (Value $124.98) we are giving away.

According to the companies:

"Peace Pendant: Always have a piece of Woodstock magic around your neck and close to your heart, with this Peace Pendant, that is encased with a piece of the original and authenticated stage from the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

Acrylic Frame: Ideal for display and connecting with the festival magic, this touchable piece of the original 1969 Woodstock stage is surrounded by rainbow colors with the concert dates and location, Peace of Stage logo, and a tamper-proof hologram certifying its authenticity.

Woodstock 50 – Back To The Garden - 50th Anniversary Collection features 42 of the finest performances recorded at the legendary festival, on 5 vinyl LPs."

[This Sweepstakes is now closed.]

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News
Telarc's Jack Renner Remembered
John Atkinson  |  Aug 11, 2019  |  20 comments
I was saddened to learn that Jack Renner, renowned recording engineer and cofounder with producer Robert Woods of Telarc Records, died on June 19, 2019, age 84, at his home in Rhode Island. Mr. Renner is survived by his wife, Barbara, three children, and six grandchildren.
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HistoricalJ. Gordon HoltReference
Subjective Loudspeaker Testing
J. Gordon Holt  |  Aug 08, 2019  |  First Published: Sep 01, 1966  |  30 comments
One of the most firmly-established audio platitudes is the one which says "The specs don't tell the whole story." One reason for this, of course, is the fact that most manufacturers, preferring to sell their products on the basis of emotional appeals in ads rather than on hard, cold performance claims, do not attempt to make their specs tell the whole story.
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HistoricalJ. Gordon HoltTube Power Amp Reviews
Futterman H-3A power amplifier
J. Gordon Holt  |  Aug 08, 2019  |  First Published: Sep 01, 1967  |  12 comments
It is not at all unusual these days to find manufacturers producing "matched" speakers and amplifiers that are designed specifically for one another. But it is very unusual to find this being done by an amplifier manufacturer who doesn't make loudspeakers. The Futterman H3-A is one of these rarities—an amplifier designed primarily to complement one of the best, and one of the hardest-to-drive loudspeakers on the market: the KLH Model Nine.
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HistoricalJ. Gordon HoltPhono Cartridge Reviews
Audio Dynamics ADC-1 phono cartridge
J. Gordon Holt  |  Aug 06, 2019  |  First Published: Aug 01, 1963  |  8 comments
We tested two samples of the ADC-1 phono cartridge, both of which were taken from a dealer's stock. One was a demonstrator that had been in use for some months. The other was brand new, right off the shelf. Both were tested in an Empire 98 tonearm and in a Gray 108-C tonearm with its damping lightly adjusted, but results with both cartridges were for all intents and purposes identical in both arms.
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Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Magnepan MG-20 loudspeaker
Dick Olsher  |  Aug 06, 2019  |  First Published: Feb 01, 1995  |  21 comments
Magnepan founder Jim Winey could be considered the patriarch of planar loudspeakers. His innovative leadership of and commitment to the technology over the past 20 years have propelled Magnepan to a position of preeminence in the speaker business. You won't find any hybrids rolling off the production line at Magnepan's corporate headquarters in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. The entire Magnepan line is devoted strictly to planars that use ribbon tweeters and quasi-ribbon midranges and woofers—not a stray dynamic woofer in the lot!
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News
Dealer Event: Gryphon Audio in Reno, NV
Stereophile Staff  |  Aug 02, 2019  |  2 comments
Friday and Saturday, August 2 and 3, mark the opening of the Mountrose Music showroom, 7589 South Virginia Street, Suites A and B, in Reno, Nevada, and they are marking the occasion with demonstrations of two complete, end-to-end Gryphon Audio systems, including Gryphon loudspeakers, electronics, source components, and cables.
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Tonearm ReviewsTurntable Reviews
HiFiction Thales TTT-Slim II turntable & Simplicity II tonearm
Art Dudley  |  Aug 01, 2019  |  6 comments
Money, that unreliable buyer of happiness, has at times proven effective at delivering good sound. It can buy other things, as well: Audiophiles can swap cash for products that function as objets d'art, as status symbols, or even as canny investments.

But—do you think money can buy peace of mind for the audio enthusiast who frets over binding voice-coils, leaking capacitors, drifting resistor values, oxidizing connectors, aging or incorrectly biased tubes, and that most pernicious worry of all, distortion and premature record wear from incorrectly aligned phono cartridges? Sadly, most of those neuroses, some quite reasonable, remain unaddressed by cash almighty.

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Music and Recording Features
Giant Step Arts: a Visionary Jazz Concept
Thomas Conrad  |  Aug 01, 2019  |  3 comments
Early in 2019, three jazz CDs appeared on a new record label. They were Jason Palmer's Rhyme and Reason, Johnathan Blake's Trion (both double CDs), and Eric Alexander's Leap of Faith. The label was Giant Step Arts.

Given that hundreds of jazz records—many of them good— are released every month, and that new jazz labels pop up all the time, is the release of three new albums really news?

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Media Server Reviews
Sony DMP-Z1 digital music player
John Atkinson  |  Jul 30, 2019  |  19 comments
Apple may not have been the first to market with a portable digital audio player, but its original iPod defined the genre: a device small enough to fit into a shirt pocket. When companies like Acoustic Research, Astell&Kern, Fiio, HiFiMan, and Questyle introduced portable players that could play high-resolution files, they echoed the iPod's form factor. The exception was the Toblerone-shaped PonoPlayer, but even that was small. The subject of this review is another exception: The DMP-Z1, from Sony's Signature Series, is comparatively enormous—almost the size and weight of a regular preamplifier. At $8500, it's also considerably more expensive than other players.
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