I had been in the Santa Fe room 12 years. It had settled around me like a comfortable old shoe. I knew…
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I left you last month 104 miles from Santa Fe, New Mexico, heading east on I-40 accompanied by a dog and two cats, with 1946 miles to go to reach Stereophile's new editorial home, New York City. To cut a long story short, I did arrive in New York (covered in dog and cat hair). After a nerve-wracking delay, so did our furniture. We will be living out of boxes for a while chez Atkinson, but that's a mere inconvenience compared with the Great Adventure of setting up a new listening room.
"Digital is superior," proclaims Mr. Alberto Arebalos in February's "Letters." I'm glad that's settled. Still, I'm typing this ten feet from a wall lined with LPs, Don Patterson's Satisfaction! is spinning on the old Systemdek turntable, and my usually cold, drafty Chicago apartment seems like a summer night at the Green Mill Jazz Club. But I agree: digital is superior. What's wrong with me?
The main problem Mr. Arebalos sees in vinyl is simple. "With physical contact between the stylus and the disc, you are going to have degrading performance along the way, despite all the care with…
The Placette Audio Remote Volume Control is simplicity itself: a paperback-sized black box with one set of unbalanced inputs and outputs, a toggle switch (and a remote) to change the level, and a row of LEDs that light up to indicate the relative volume level. The signal path, too, is simple, with only a stepped attenuator between input and output. But this is not just any attenuator—it's a 125-step model built entirely with super-premium Vishay S-102 foil resistors.
The idea behind the Placette is also simple. Most source components have enough output voltage to drive a power…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Remote-controlled, 125-step passive volume control. Input impedance: 9k ohms.
Dimensions: 7.25" (184mm) W by 1.5" (3.8mm) H by 9.5" (241mm) D. Weight: 4 lbs (2kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed: Not noted.
Price: $1000. Approximate number of dealers: 1 (sold direct). Warranty: Lifetime, nontransferable.
Manufacturer: Placette Audio, 682 Granite Way, Boise, ID 83712. Tel: (208) 342-6141. Fax: (208) 333-0138. Web: www.placetteaudio.com.
Brian Damkroger returned to the Placette in January 2006 (Vol.29 No.1)
The Placette model that most directly competes with the Sonic Euphoria PLC is the Passive Line Stage, which combines remote input selection and volume control with multiple inputs and outputs and retails for $1595 ($300 more than a single-ended PLC, $400 less than the balanced version). I didn't have one of these on hand, but I'm told that it's sonically indistinguishable from my single-input/output Placette Remote Volume Control.
The PLC and Placette are both excellent but quite different. The PLC has a more…
By now you've no doubt realized that Stereophile has changed its size—from 5½" by 8 7/16" to 7½" by 10¼". (All right—maybe you didn't know the exact dimensions of the change, but that's what they are.) We have Edward Chen, Publisher of Stereophile's Chinese edition, to thank for our new size. It is the same size as the Chinese Stereophile and a common size in the Far East. We've been admiring it in Chinese for the last two-and-a-half years, and we thought it would make sense in English as well.
We're very excited about this change. If you've already read this issue, you'll have seen that…
Letters commenting on the size change appeared in March 1994 (Vol.17 No.3):
Bigger & better?
Editor: Just when I thought I was well into a rut, along comes a new Stereophile, bigger and better than life! The new size is definitely impressive, the new weight will take some getting used to (like the new Krell). But what really took me by storm was Larry Archibald's response in "Final Word" to the other audiophile publications attacking Stereophile. Yes, Stereophile is excellent: well researched and well edited. If the other guys can't follow suit, it's time for them to find new…
For & against
Editor: If I may make a couple comments on Stereophile's new size:
1) Quite frequently I read while sitting on the throne. The old Stereophile used to fold itself up and jump off my lap. The new Stereophile, if placed just right—ie, spine between thighs—stays put. Score: 1-0, new Stereophile.
2) Always, I bring Stereophile (or, ahem, The Abso!ute Sound) to work. (Sort of like a security blanket.) The old Stereophile fit perfectly in my lab-coat pocket. The new one is too big. Score: 1-1.
3) At work, the old Stereophile was stealth-like. If I left…
Pick up that pen
Editor: I have written in the past (but have not been published) about ways Stereophile can improve. Generally, I have been satisfied. But after receiving a totally mangled copy in the new size format, I felt compelled to pick up the pen. Larry's "Final Word" suggested that subscribers will now receive Stereophile in pristine condition, like other large magazines. I estimate that 5% of the large magazines I subscribe to (11 monthlies, 2 weeklies) arrive with some damage. This seems to happen to Stereophile more than the others. Perhaps my post office has something…
Perturbed
Editor: The January issue of Stereophile arrived on December 24—great Christmas present. I really enjoy the larger format. I am not sure if the type is any larger, but everything seems to be easier on my eyes. [However], the cover and the first four pages of this issue look like they went through a nasty scrap with an armed mailperson.
Quite frankly, I'm a little perturbed that my first issue in this format will never become a collector's item, due to its condition.—David Schwartz, Coral Springs, FL
Say what?
Editor: Congratulations on the new format.…