Multichannel maven Kal Rubinson reviews three-channel amplifiers from ATI and budget specialists Monoprice; vinyl champion Mikey Fremer auditions a new turntable from the designer of the superb Continuum LP player; Larry Greenhill cleans up his power with a tidy…
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Auralic's innovative and affordable streaming Altair D/A processor takes pride of place on the March Stereophile's cover, but loudspeakers dominate this issue's interior, with reviews of super stand-mounts from Aerial, Bowers & Wilkins, and Wharfedale and an intriguing, room-friendly tower from the Swedish Larsen company.
Monster Cable press conferences are always fun to attend, Noel Lee (left) demonstrating the enthusiasm that I’m sure has been a major contributor to his company’s success in the business. His son, Elbert, who did some of the presentations, looks like a chip of the old block. Sure, Monster's press conferences have a strong blow-your-own-horn element, but that’s true for all press conferences.
And they had a lot of new products to introduce. I’ll leave the description of these products to my colleague, Jason Victor Serinus, whose show report assignment is accessories, but I’ll note that…
Ayre's 20th-Anniversary edition of its MX-R monoblock stands proud on this 132-page issue's cover. Inside, John Atkinson finds it to be one of the best-sounding amplifiers he's auditioned, while Fred Kaplan enthuses over the sound of Simaudio's Moon Evolution 860A amplifier and Jon Iverson finds much to enjoy with Rega's affordable DAC-R. Loudspeakers from Wilson Benesch, Falcon, and Magnepan are reviewed, with the littlest, cheapest Maggie earning the highest praise from Herb Reichert.
"What's an audiophile?" asks Jason Victor Serinus in this month’s "As We See It" essay; Art Dudley…
The October issue is here, with revised and updated capsule reviews of 500 audio products that have been reviewed in the magazine, rated in six categories, from "E" for "Entry Level" to "A+" for those few products that are beyond criticism. Stereophile's "Recommended Components"—often copied but never equaled.
And "Recommended Components" doesn't replace the October issue's regular content: we review 3 American amplifiers—Bel Canto, First Watt, SAE—2 European loudspeakers—Crystal, Dynaudio—a state-of-the-art phono cartridge from Audio Technica; Focal's new super 'phones; and a super-DAC…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: dCS Paganini SACD/CD transport & Rossini DAC & Scarlatti Clock; Oppo Digital BDP-93 NuForce Edition universal BD player; Apple MacBook Pro with Intel i7, SSD, 8GB RAM; external hard drives, USB sticks.
Power Amplifiers: Pass Labs XA200.8 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Diamond (FireWire, Ethernet), Wireworld Platinum Starlight Ethernet, Nordost Odin 1 & 2 & Valhalla 2 (USB). Interconnect, Speaker, AC: Nordost Odin 2.
Accessories: Grand Prix Monaco rack…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: dCS Paganini SACD/CD transport & Rossini DAC & Scarlatti clock; Oppo Digital BDP-93 NuForce Edition universal BD player; Apple MacBook Pro with Intel i7, SSD, 8GB RAM; external hard drives, USB sticks.
Power Amplifiers: Pass Labs XA200.8 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Diamond (FireWire, Ethernet), Nordost Odin 1, Odin 2, & Valhalla 2 (USB). Interconnect: Nordost Odin 2. Speaker: Nordost Odin 2. AC: Nordost Odin 2.
Accessories: Grand Prix Monaco rack &…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: dCS Paganini SACD/CD transport & Rossini DAC & Scarlatti Clock; Oppo Digital UDP-205 universal BD player; Apple MacBook Pro with Intel i7, SSD, 8GB RAM; external hard drives, USB sticks.
Power Amplifiers: Pass Labs XA200.8 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia, Harbeth M40.1.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Diamond (FireWire, Ethernet), Wireworld Platinum Starlight Cat8 (Ethernet), Nordost Odin 1 & Odin 2 & Valhalla 2 (USB). Interconnect, Speaker, AC: Nordost Odin 2.
Accessories: Grand Prix…
Our October 2018 issue features the latest "Recommended Components" listing, updated and revised. Want to know what we thought about more than 500 audio products? You will find the answers to that question inside this 196-page issue.
Featured on this issue's cover is Audio Research's awesome Reference 160M monoblock power amplifier, reviewed inside by Jason Victor Serinus. John Atkinson reviews the Australian Centaur II 500 amplifier; Herb Reichert, Legacy's Studio HD monitor; Michael Fremer, Sonus Faber's flagship Aida speaker; Kal Rubinson, Paradigm's hi-tech Persona 5F speaker; and Ken…
For many of us in the press, RMAF 2010 began with VTL's well-orchestrated press breakfast launch of the new MB-450 Series III monoblocks ($18,000/pair) and TL7.5 Series III preamplifier ($20,000). Speaking before a full house that included representatives from Stereophile, The Absolute Sound, Positive Feedback On-Line, Enjoy the Music, and many other media outlets, VTL's Luke Manley explained that the Series III is VTL's first fully balanced amplifier.
With auto-bias, and three layers of fault sensing, the amps feature a shorter, faster and fully balanced negative feedback loop,…
Brahms: Trio Op.114
Robert & Clara Schumann: Three Romances
Joachim: Hebrew Melodies
Tabea Zimmermann, viola; Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello; Javier Perianes, piano
Harmonia Mundi HMM 902789 (24/96 FLAC). 2026. Magnolia Classics, prod.; Julian Schwenkner and Sebastian Nattkemper, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
Robert & Clara Schumann: Three Romances
Joachim: Hebrew Melodies
Tabea Zimmermann, viola; Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello; Javier Perianes, piano
Harmonia Mundi HMM 902789 (24/96 FLAC). 2026. Magnolia Classics, prod.; Julian Schwenkner and Sebastian Nattkemper, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
Joseph Joachim suggested that 20-year-old Johannes Brahms introduce himself to his instant champion, the influential composer/critic Robert Schumann, and his wife Clara. Though Joachim's Hebrew Melodies for viola and piano are the weak part of the album—…