It was interesting to see how small and…
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One day before the Los Angeles Audio Show, Jason Victor Serinus, his fresh haircut, and I visited VTL Amplifiers, Inc. in Chino, California. We were given a tour of the factory by Bea Lam and Luke Manley, who were featured in this 2007 interview by Jason. While Jason has a certain sense of familiarity with Bea, Luke, and their amplifiers, I only became truly aware of VTL at the 2016 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, when Bea and I fatefully met in the women's restroom of the hotel lobby—a rare place to meet people at a hi-fi show! (I highly recommend it.)
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: dCS Paganini SACD/CD transport, Scarlatti clock, Rossini & Vivaldi DACs, Network Bridge; Intel NUC7i7BNH computer with 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, running Roon; Linksys router with two TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters & multimode duplex fiber-optic cable; external hard drives, USB sticks, Apple iPad Pro.
Power Amplifiers: Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems Progression Mono monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia and Alexia 2.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Diamond (Ethernet), Nordost Odin 1 & Odin 2…
Chord's extraordinary DAVE—"Digital [to] Analog Veritas [in] Extremis (Truth in Extreme)"—D/A processor takes pride of place on its cover, but the June Stereophil is packed full of good stuff. Art Dudley reports on Peachtree's "Made in America" nova300 integrated amplifier; Herb Reichert and Jim Austin live with high-performance preamplifiers from PrimaLuna and PS Audio; Kal Rubinson checks out a two-channel AV integrated amplifier from Arcam; Ken Micallef reviews a truly loud speaker, the horn-loaded Rival from Volti; and Robert Baird listens to great-sounding vinyl reissues of recordings of…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: dCS Vivaldi DAC & Network Bridge & Scarlatti clock; Aurender N10 music server; Apple 2017 MacBook Pro computer with 2.8GHz Intel i7, SSD, 16GB RAM; Intel NUC7i7BNH with 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, running Roon; Linksys routers with two sets TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters, multimode duplex fiber-optic cables, Small Green Computer linear power supply; external hard drives, SS USB sticks, iPad Pro.
Power Amplifiers: Dan D'Agostino Master Systems Progression monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia 2.
…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: dCS Paganini SACD/CD transport & Scarlatti clock & Vivaldi DAC & Network Bridge; Apple MacBook Pro computer with Intel i7, SSD, 8GB RAM; Intel NUC7i7BNH with 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, running Roon; Linksys router with two TP-Link Gigabit Ethernet media converters, multimode duplex fiber-optic cable; external hard drives, USB sticks, iPad Pro.
Power Amplifiers: Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems Progression, Pass Laboratories XA200.8 (all monoblocks).
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia 2.
Cables: Digital:…
Anne-Sophie Mutter: East Meets West
Works by Aftab Darvishi, Unsuk Chin, Jörg Widmann, Thomas Adès
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin; London Symphony Orchestra, Adès, cond. (in his piece)
Alpha1244 (CD; reviewed as 24/192). 2026. Bernhard Güttler, prod.; various engineers.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
Works by Aftab Darvishi, Unsuk Chin, Jörg Widmann, Thomas Adès
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin; London Symphony Orchestra, Adès, cond. (in his piece)
Alpha1244 (CD; reviewed as 24/192). 2026. Bernhard Güttler, prod.; various engineers.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
Fabulous music. Fabulous playing. Excellent mastering. That sums up this issue of four works composed for the great violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, 63, to mark the 50th anniversary of her 1976 stage debut at the Lucerne Festival. The first in a series of recordings of premieres…
Erin Morley & Lawrence Brownlee: Golden Age
Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Ivan Repušić, cond.
Pentatone PTC 5187400 (CD; reviewed as 24/96). 2025. Morley, Brownlee, others, prods.; Michael Havenstein, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Ivan Repušić, cond.
Pentatone PTC 5187400 (CD; reviewed as 24/96). 2025. Morley, Brownlee, others, prods.; Michael Havenstein, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
For lovers of the human voice—those who enjoy seeing how far it can stretch and opera buffs with a soft spot for bel canto glories—Golden Age is sheer pleasure. More than a host of bonbons, it showcases two of today's finest high-flying 19th century specialists, tenor Lawrence Brownlee and soprano Erin Morley, in their glorious prime.…
Terry Riley: The Holy Liftoff
Claire Chase, flute; JACK Quartet. Realized by Samuel Clay Birmaher
Sono Luminus DSL-92290 (CD; reviewed as 24/96). 2026. Ryan Streber, producer, editing; Dan Shores engineering, mixing, mastering.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
Claire Chase, flute; JACK Quartet. Realized by Samuel Clay Birmaher
Sono Luminus DSL-92290 (CD; reviewed as 24/96). 2026. Ryan Streber, producer, editing; Dan Shores engineering, mixing, mastering.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
More than two years after its Brooklyn premiere, Terry Riley's mesmerizing The Holy Liftoff receives a definitive multitracked recording by its commissioner, flutist Claire Chase, and the ever-adventurous JACK Quartet. The genesis and completion of the work is unusual even by the standards of the 90-year-old father of…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: dCS Rossini Transport SACD/CD transport & Rossini DAC & Rossini Clock; Intel NUC7i7BNH with 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, running Roon; Linksys routers with two sets TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters plus multimode duplex fiber optic cables; Small Green Computer linear power supply (2) & Small Green Computer 200W Linear Power Supply; external hard drives, SSD USB sticks, iPad Pro.
Power Amplifiers: Dan D'Agostino Master Systems Progression Monos.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia 2.
Cables: Digital:…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport & Rossini DAC & Rossini Clock; EMM Labs DV2 DAC; Intel NUC-7i7BNH computer with 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, running Roon; Linksys routers with 2 sets TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters & multimode duplex fiber-optic cables; Small Green Computer linear power supplies (3); external hard drives, USB sticks, Apple iPad Pro.
Power Amplifiers: Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems Progression monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia 2.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Diamond (…