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February's the month when Stereophile publishes its coveted "Records To Die For" feature, wherein everybody working for the magazine gets to make like a music critic and add their two cents' worth about what gets them excited (musically speaking). R2D4 2001 is on newsstands right now, in the February issue of Stereophile; to commemorate its publication, we add the 2000 "Records To Die For" to the online archives.
"Even right out of the box, it's obvious that the Wadia Digital 861 CD player is something special," writes Brian Damkroger in this month's issue. "Its heft and finish are beyond the usual high-end standards." But how about the sound?
Wes Phillips pops the latest RME Digi96/8 PAD computer soundcard into his PC and sets out to record some music. "As someone who had lusted after the most modest project studio for years—and since I was in the market for a new computer—I knew that a high-quality soundcard was in my future." Phillips reports on the sonic results.
"What kind of speaker…
Will audio dealers be interested in selling a product that's been available so far only via mail-order? Audio Advisor thinks so, and has created a new distribution company, WS Distributing, to begin selling the Musical Fidelity product line through "qualified" high-end audio dealers in the USA beginning May 21. Musical Fidelity has been available through retailers in Europe and Asia for years, but in the US, only from AA's catalog and website sales.
AA's Wayne Schuurman explains that "during our last four years distributing Musical Fidelity, we've received numerous requests from dealers to…
For his review of the diminutive Acarian Systems Alón Petite loudspeaker, Wes Phillips explains that the "li'l guys frequently image like bandits—which some of us just can't resist." Also included is Robert J. Reina's followup review of Alón's matching PW-1 woofer system, from February 1997, along with his take on the Alón Petite.
A stable of Stereophile scribes covered the legendary Spica TC-50 loudspeaker back in the mid- to late '80s. We've compiled comments from Anthony H. Cordesman, J. Gordon Holt, Larry Archibald, Martin Colloms, and John Atkinson for your reading pleasure. See…
Sam Tellig triggered a hailstorm of comment with his original review of the RadioShack Optimus CD-3400 portable CD player. After Tellig suggested that the modest player just might be a cheapskate audiophile delight, writers Corey Greenberg, Jack English, John Atkinson, Barry Willis, and Robert Harley each added his two cents. Some revealing but hitherto unpublished measurements are also included.
John Atkinson learned how easy it is to make a wrong assumption as he drove through Connecticut and discovered the forest among So Many Trees!. So what do assumptions about millions of trees…
One of the more intriguing discussions we had at last week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was with Jim Weil of Berkeley, CA–based Sound Application.
The company's line conditioners have been well-reviewed and have been endorsed by a number of the industry's luminaries, including engineer Tim De Paravacini and loudspeaker designers Alan Yun and Albert Von Schweikert. Mobile Fidelity's Shawn Britten uses Sound Application devices for high-resolution mastering, and CBS has them installed in its Studio Center listening room. Once dismissed by old school engineers as snake oil, AC line…
When a manufacturer makes extraordinary claims about a product, the result is sometimes an extraordinary review. That's what happened when Jonathan Scull examined the Richard Gray's Power Company 400S AC line conditioner last June. His report raised a chorus of reader and industry reactions, all of them included here along with some additional unpublished observations.
With the August 2000 issue, Stereophile bids farewell to its home of 22 years, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and, like Ma and Pa Kettle, packs up the wagon (with cats and dog) and heads for the bright lights and big city. John…
For years, we've seen attempts to disguise loudspeakers as paintings. A pair of announcements last week highlights the ongoing drive within the consumer electronics industry to find new ways to hide speakers within other objects.
NEC is introducing what it is calling the world's first personal computer equipped with an LCD monitor that also functions as a speaker. The company says it will start shipping the new machine for the Japanese market starting this week.
The new laptop comes with a 17"-wide LCD screen that delivers video and also generates sounds, "creating a theatrical…
"Size does matter," John Atkinson discovers, as he fits the Shure E3c in-ear headphones into his ears. Once fitted, JA hooks the mini "cans" up to his iPod and PowerBook to discover how much audiophile sound a little set of ear buds can produce.
Art Dudley notes in "Listening #17" that "literally everything in the DNM 3-C preamplifier that isn't meant to conduct electricity is made of plastic." AD listens to the 3-C as well as the DNM PA3-S power amplifier to uncover the sonic attributes of the company's uncommon designs.
Kalman Rubinson takes two multichannel disc players for a spin…
Music fans are mourning the passing of swing era giant Lionel Hampton. The vibraphonist, band leader, and multi-instrumentalist died August 31 at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan of complications from age and a recent heart attack, according to his manager Phil Leshin. Hampton was 94.
A percussionist who was adept at both drums and piano, Hampton was the first major jazz musician to master the vibraphone, an electronic instrument based on the marimba and the xylophone, an instrument he had played as a student. His "flamboyant mastery" of the vibes, in the words of the New York…