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…
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AXPONA 2019 was a good show—I'm tempted to say an important show. It's just an intuition, but I sense renewed vitality.
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.…
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…