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,…
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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!
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.…
Manufacturers' Comment
Editor: I read with interest, and not a little relief, Jason Victor Serinus's "As We See It" in the July issue of Stereophile.
Relief because, after we were forced to defer Salon Son et Image 2016 this year, various adverse and, in some cases, vile accusations were made. Why would we do such a thing? The truth is, no organizer of any worth has anything to gain by deferring or even canceling a show; the only genuine reason will be lack of trade support. That lack of support had to be influenced by the ongoing financial viability of this show, in the eyes of…
When Jason Victor Serinus visited the Bluebird Audio room on the Venetian's 35th floor, he mentioned that Chord was demonstrating its Blu Mk.2 CD transport ($11,788) along with the Dave DAC that I reviewed and was impressed by last June. I chatted with Chord's digital guru Robert Watts (above in photo) about the new transport and he mentioned that it incorporated his latest WTA (Watts Transient Aligned) digital filter with a million taps! (The more taps there are, the closer a DAC can reproduce the timing information in the reconstructed analog signal—see my DAVE review for why Robert feels…
Joint Digital Components of the Year
Ayre Acoustics QX-5 Twenty Digital Hub D/A processor ($8950; reviewed by John Atkinson, September 2017, Vol.40 No.9 review)
Mytek HiFi Brooklyn D/A headphone amplifier ($1995; reviewed by Jim Austin, Kalman Rubinson, Herb Reichert, November 2016 & May 2017, Vol.39 No.11 & Vol.40 No.5 review)
Our 2017 Digital Component of the Year competition was also a tie—and both winners are the sorts of products that stretch our thinking on what to expect from a digital processor.
More than just a digital source component—a…
Component of the Year
Magico A5 loudspeaker ($24,800/pair; reviewed by Jim Austin, July 2021, Vol.44 No.7 Review)
Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Degritter record-cleaning machine ($2990; reviewed by Michael Fremer, January 2021, Vol.44 No.1 Review)
Gryphon Essence mono power amplifier ($45,980/pair; reviewed by Jason Victor Serinus, December 2020, Vol.43 No.12 Review)
Okto DAC8 Stereo D/A processor (1203; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.44 No.2 Review)
OMA K3 turntable ($363,000 including power supply, tonearm; reviewed by Michael Fremer, October 2021…
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to spend a couple of afternoons listening to a system built around the late David Wilson's magnum opus, the Wilson Audio WAMM Master Chronosonic loudspeaker ($685,000/pair), which Jason Victor Serinus reported on in December 2016. In addition to the joy of simply listening to music on such exotic speakers, the experience provided insight into just how well the Master Chronosonics would work in a relatively normal-sized listening room—in this case, one measuring 21.5 feet long by a little over 18 feet wide, with a ceiling height of a little over 9.5…
Jason Victor Serinus compared the Rossini D/A processor with the Puccini SACD player in January 2017 (Vol.40 No.1):
For three years, until the dCS Rossini DAC came on the scene, my reference source for digital playback was its predecessor, a dCS Puccini SACD/CD player connected to a dCS Scarlatti clock. As soon as I connected the Rossini DAC ($23,999) to the rest of my reference system (footnote 1), I knew there was no turning back.
Other than not having a CD transport mechanism, the Rossini DAC is identical to the Rossini Player that John Atkinson reviewed in the December 2016…
C.P.E. Bach: Württemberg Sonatas (6), Wq. 49
Keith Jarrett, piano
ECM New Series 2790/91 (1994/2023). Manfred Eicher, prod.; Peter Laenger, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics *****
Keith Jarrett, piano
ECM New Series 2790/91 (1994/2023). Manfred Eicher, prod.; Peter Laenger, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics *****
Jazz pianist Keith Jarrett developed an interest in classical music midcareer, performing music by J.S. Bach and Shostakovich—whose linear styles he presumably found congenial. From the booklet: "I heard the Württemberg Sonatas recorded by harpsichordists, and I felt there was space for a piano version." He recorded them in 1994. This is their first release.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach occupies…
When standalone digital/analog processors made an appearance a quarter-century ago, they were limited to the CD medium's 16 bits of resolution—at best. These days, almost every DAC can process at least 24 bits, and many models offer between 20 and 21 bits of real-world resolution. Modern models from Benchmark, dCS, Merging, Mola Mola, Okto, and Weiss illustrate not just the skill of the circuit designer but also that of the engineer who laid out the printed circuit board.
One of the first digital processors I encountered that offered 21 bits of resolution was the Weiss DAC202, which Erick…