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I am finding hard to grasp that it is almost 50 years since I first went to a hi-fi show. That show, held at London's Olympia exhibition center, was notable both for Yamaha's launch of a loudspeaker with a speaker diaphragm shaped like a human ear, and for being the first time I saw the drop-dead gorgeous Transcriptors Hydraulic Reference turntable, which was later featured in the film A Clockwork Orange. The most recent show I attended was AXPONA, held last April in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg. There I saw no ear-shaped drive-units, but the final room I visited featured sound that the…
Brahms: Symphony No.4
Macmillan: Larghetto for Orchestra
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra/Manfred Honeck, cond.
Reference Recordings FR-744 (CD). 2021. Dirk Sobotka, prod.; Mark Donahue, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
Macmillan: Larghetto for Orchestra
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra/Manfred Honeck, cond.
Reference Recordings FR-744 (CD). 2021. Dirk Sobotka, prod.; Mark Donahue, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
From the Brahms symphony's soft-edged yet clean and transparent opening, this issue sounds special. As the textures fill out, sonorities expand rather than merely getting louder. The woodwinds' fanfares are crisply placed, yet their soft playing still has presence. Two legato brass chorales in James MacMillan's Larghetto register with satisfying depth…
Osvaldo Golijov: Falling Out of Time
The Silkroad Ensemble
In a Circle Records ICR 017 (CD). 2020. Jeremy Flower, Jonny Gandelsman, prods.; Jody Elff, Kevin Killen, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
The Silkroad Ensemble
In a Circle Records ICR 017 (CD). 2020. Jeremy Flower, Jonny Gandelsman, prods.; Jody Elff, Kevin Killen, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
The Silkroad Ensemble represents a specific sort of intermingling. Founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma and named for the ancient trading route that for centuries connected Asia, East Africa, and Southern Europe for commercial and cultural exchange, the ensemble seeks to promote global understanding through the blending of artistic traditions.
There may be no more powerful…
Digital Source Component of the Year
dCS Bartók Apex D/A Processor
($20,950–$22,950; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.46 No.8 review)
Finalists (In alphabetical order)
Benchmark DAC3 B D/A Processor ($1890; reviewed by John Atkinson in Vol.46 No.3 review)
CH Precision C1.2 D/A Processor ($36,000–$43,500; reviewed by Jim Austin in Vol.46 No.2 review)
dCS Vivaldi Apex D/A Processor ($46,500; reviewed by Jason Victor Serinus in Vol.46 No.3 review)
HiFi Rose RS250A Streaming D/A Processor ($2695; reviewed by John Atkinson in Vol.46 No.10 review)
…
. . . and nobody came? If you look at the numbers for the high-end audio sector alone, it certainly looks like something went south. However the rest of CES is thriving: gadgets, AI and even self-driving cars have supplanted much of what used to dominate these shows (one of the Innovations Award winners this year is Kohler's "intelligent bathroom.")
So it looks like the downturn is just us. A few short years ago, high-performance audio had a thriving presence here. We occupied three floors of regular rooms at the Venetian hotel, with plenty of exhibitors occupying large swaths of the top…
AXPONA 2019 was a good show—I'm tempted to say an important show. It's just an intuition, but I sense renewed vitality.
I wasn't able to visit as many rooms as I wanted to—too many meetings! Those meetings, though, had their own rewards—indeed, they were the highlight of the show for me. What a privilege to meet so many talented and enthusiastic people who share my passion for hi-fi. I met Sandy Gross of GoldenEar, who, years ago at Polk Audio, designed my first serious pair of speakers, Polk's Model 7Bs, bought when I was 16. I met Tim de Pavaracini, who designed the EAR 834P…
Amplification Component of the Year
NAD M33 integrated amplifier ($4999; reviewed by Kal Rubinson, October 2020, Vol.43 No.10 Review)
Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Audio Research Reference 160S power amplifier ($20,000; reviewed by Jim Austin, February 2020, Vol.43 No.2 Review)
Benchmark LA4 preamplifier ($2599; reviewed by Kal Rubinson, January 2020, Vol.43 No.1 Review)
Classé Delta Mono monoblock power amplifier ($21,998/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, July 2020, Vol.43 No.7 Review)
Krell K-300i integrated amplifier ($7000, plus $1000 for DAC Board…
The May 2011 issue of Stereophile is now on newsstands. I’m sorry: I don’t remember anything about the making of this issue. It seems like it happened a million years ago. It must have been traumatic. (I do remember making meatloaf. That was a lot of work, too.) But I can tell you what’s inside this issue.
Let’s take a look:
Features
Attention Screen Takes Flight at Yamaha: This is very cool. Jason Victor Serinus interviews the guys in Attention Screen and John Atkinson discusses the making of the band’s latest album. Musicians, music lovers, recording engineers, and…
The August issue ships to press tomorrow. Somehow, despite nasty computer viruses, similarly nasty sinus infections, trips to Los Angeles, Denver, and Munich, and a terribly unforgiving production schedule, we managed to get the book out on time—miraculous!
Today, then, is a relatively quiet day in the office. And I like it. Editorial assistant Ariel Bitran has hit the road for a dusty, 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, where he will enjoy (among other naughtier things) the eclectic sounds of Buffalo Springfield, My Morning Jacket, Dr. John, Explosions in the Sky,…
Budget Component of the Year
KEF Q350 loudspeaker ($649.99/pair; reviewed by Herb Reichert, March 2018, Vol.41 No.3 review)
Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Akitika GT-102 power amplifier ($488 assembled, $314 kit; reviewed by Herb Reichert, July 2018, Vol.41 No.7 review)
Apple HomePod smart speaker ($349; reviewed by Jim Austin, August & September 2018, Vol.41 Nos. 8 & 9 review)
Focal Elear headphones ($999; reviewed by Herb Reichert, June 2018, Vol.41 No.6 review)
Hana SL phono cartridge ($750; reviewed by Herb Reichert, October 2018, Vol.…