LATEST ADDITIONS

ReDiscoveries
ReDiscoveries #6: Old is New, The Beatles' Red & Blue
Tom Fine  |  Dec 18, 2023  |  1 comments
The first Beatles music is more than 60 years old, and the group broke up 53 years ago. Yet they and their music remain relevant. So when Apple Corps announced "The Last Beatles Song," on October 26, the world's media ran with the story.

Beatles fans span at least four generations, and the group's promotion machine is looking to hook today's youth, and perhaps rekindle old flames, with 50th Anniversary deluxe reissues of the "Red" (1962-1966) and "Blue" (1967-1970) compilations. These expanded editions—12 new tracks on Red and nine on Blue, including the new-old single "Now & Then"—sport remixes performed since 2015.

Continue Reading »
Audacious AudioSolid State Power Amp Reviews
Burmester 216 power amplifier
Jim Austin  |  Dec 15, 2023  |  16 comments
When I was offered the opportunity to review a Burmester product—the 216 stereo power amplifier—I accepted immediately, mainly out of curiosity. Berlin-based Burmester is an important hi-fi brand, but I knew very little about the company and their products. What better way to learn more than to review one of their products?
Continue Reading »
Sweepstakes
MoFi Electronics SourcePoint 8 Loudspeakers Sweepstakes
Stereophile Staff  |  Dec 14, 2023  |  0 comments
Register to win a pair of MoFi Electronics SourcePoint 8 Loudspeakers (retail value $2,999.00 ) we are giving away.

"In a recent Stereophile review, the MoFi Electronics SourcePoint 8 Loudspeakers, masterfully designed by Andrew Jones, have captured the attention of audiophiles with their exceptional sound quality. Hailed as 'a revelation in audio fidelity,' these speakers showcase Jones' expertise in a compact yet powerful design. A reviewer observed, 'The SourcePoint 8 doesn't just play music; it breathes life into every track.'"

Click on the picture above for details on how to enter.

Continue Reading »
Digital Processor ReviewsSolid State Preamp Reviews
Naim NSC 222 streaming preamplifier & NPX 300 power supply
Martin Colloms  |  Dec 14, 2023  |  1 comments
Naim has comprehensively reimagined its Classic Series, which has been around for some 20 years with improvements along the way. Included in the new range of products is the 200 series, comprised of two products: the NAP 250 power amplifier, which I reviewed in the November 2023 issue of Stereophile, and the NSC 222 streaming preamplifier ($8999), which is reviewed here. A third component in the New Classic series, the NPX 300 power supply (also $8999), which is intended to be paired with the NSC 222 and other Naim components, is also considered in this review.
Continue Reading »
Recording of the Month
Recording of January 2024: Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos.2, 3, 12 & 13
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Dec 13, 2023  |  0 comments
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos.2, 3, 12 & 13
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons, cond.
Deutsche Grammophon 4864965 (3 CDs) (reviewed as 24/96). 2023. Shawn Murphy, Nick Squire, prods.; Murphy and Squire, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics *****

Auditioned with the bloody conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East as a backdrop, these riveting, superbly recorded performances confront listeners with the inescapable ravages of war. They also open a window on the shifting political convictions of one of the greatest composers to emerge during the early years of the Soviet Republic, Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich.

Continue Reading »
As We See It
Dispelling a myth (?) about phono-cartridge loading
Jim Austin  |  Dec 12, 2023  |  39 comments
In the midst of his December 2023 Gramophone Dreams column, Herb Reichert presented the results of an experiment. He was listening to the most recent version of Zu Audio's Denon DL-103, installed on his new-old Lenco. He hooked it up to the moving coil input of his SunValley SV-EQ1616D phono preamp, which apparently is intended for use with low-output MC cartridges since it loads them down with a 50 ohm shunt resistor—a heavy load for all but the lowest-impedance MCs. The rough rule of thumb for loading an MC cartridge, as many readers are aware, is that the load resistance should exceed the cartridge's internal impedance by about a factor of 10.
Continue Reading »
Music and Recording Reviews
December 2023 Classical Record Reviews
Jason Victor Serinus, Stephen Francis Vasta  |  Dec 08, 2023  |  5 comments
Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein: Oklahoma!; Postcards From Italy: Italian Music for Film; British Piano Concertos: Works by Jacob, Addison, and Rubbra; Bruckner: Symphony 7; Tan Dun: Buddha Passion.
Continue Reading »
Music and Recording Reviews
December 2023 Rock/Pop Record Reviews
Robert Baird, Phil Brett, Ray Chelstowski, Tom Fine  |  Dec 08, 2023  |  0 comments
The Beatles: Now & Then (single); Teenage Fanclub: Nothing Lasts Forever; Devendra Banhart: Flying Wig; Ariel Posen: Reasons Why.
Continue Reading »
Music and Recording Reviews
December 2023 Jazz Record Reviews
Thomas Conrad  |  Dec 08, 2023  |  0 comments
Johnathan Blake: Passage; Mark Turner Quartet: Live at the Village Vanguard; Darcy James Argue's Secret Society: Dynamic Maximum Tension.
Continue Reading »
Integrated Amp Reviews
Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800.2 integrated amplifier
John Atkinson  |  Dec 07, 2023  |  2 comments
I first met Musical Fidelity's founder, Antony Michaelson, in 1978, when he was running tube amplifier manufacturer Michaelson & Austin. I still have an M&A TVA-10 amplifier, which was designed by the late, great Tim de Paravicini. Soon after Antony founded Musical Fidelity in 1982, he employed de Paravicini to design the A1 integrated amplifier.

The A1 was a slim solid state design with a class-A output stage that output 20Wpc into 8 ohms. By contrast, the massive, dual-mono Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800 integrated amplifier, which Michael Fremer reviewed for Stereophile in November 2015, featured nuvistor tubes for its small-signal circuitry, coupled with a solid state, class-AB output stage that could deliver 330Wpc into 8 ohms.

Continue Reading »

Pages

X