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To perform the measurements on the Mystère ia21, I mostly used Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It" and www.ap.com); for some tests, I also used my vintage Audio Precision System One Dual Domain.

As Erick Lichte mentioned, he sent me the first sample of the ia21 (S/N 210213) after his preliminary auditioning, as there seemed to be something wrong. I carried out a full set of tests with the amplifier, and yes, one channel was offering around ten times the distortion of the other…

I haven’t had much luck with in-ear headphones.

Kelli’s Etymotic ER-6i earphones ($99) offered a well-balanced sound, with satisfying bass and natural highs, but I found them extremely uncomfortable and I had a difficult time getting them to fit properly in my ear canals. I liked Shure’s SE210 ($149.99) and SE115 ($139.99), but they felt large and heavy in my ears, and friends often balked at their prices. Don’t get me started about the V-MODA Remix Metal in-ears ($99.99); their highs were so pronounced and glaring and bass so completely…

Both the performers and the theater are donating their services, ensuring that 100%…

Many years ago, when all of the South by Southwest seminars and panels were located inside the Hyatt Hotel across Town Lake from downtown Austin, I tottered in from a long night of music and revelry, and stood waiting for one of the glass elevators that ran up and down one side of the hotel’s giant atrium. When the car arrived the doors swung open to reveal Mississippi blues piano player Pinetop Perkins who according to my math had to be in his early Eighties then, and who, with a mixture of teeth and gold in his mouth, was flanked by two beautiful and much…

As if he's not got enough to do building his extensive lines of moving-iron cartridges, preamplifiers, amplifiers, and speakers, Soundsmith's Peter Ledermann also makes a full line of strain-gauge cartridge systems available with a choice of six user-replaceable stylus profiles. I believe the Soundsmith is the only strain-…

Magnet-based cartridges are very sensitive to how quickly or slowly the…

The Strain Gauge's recommended range of VTF is 1.7–1.9gm. Though the cartridge can theoretically track as low as 1gm and as…

I suspect that the Strain Gauge cartridge's displacement-based operating system was in some way…

Description: Strain-gauge phono cartridge with interchangeable styli (6 choices) and dedicated preamplifier and power supply (two 24V DC wall warts, no specifications provided). Styli supplied (both with ruby cantilever): SGS-5 nude line contact (standard, $399.95 if purchased separately), SGS-6 "Contour Optimized" nude line-contact ($499.95 if purchased separately). Recommended vertical tracking force (VTF): 1.7–1.9gm. Compliance: low–medium, depends on VTF, 10–16µm/mN. Frequency range: DC–70kHz. Effective tip mass: 0.30mg, SG-10; 0.32mg, SG-5. Channel…

Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn, Cobra, Castellon turntable, tonearm, stand; Graham Engineering Phantom II tonearm, Ortofon A90 cartridge.
Digital Sources: Playback Designs MPS-5 SACD/CD player–DAC, BPT-modified Alesis Masterlink hard-disk recorder, Benchmark ADC1 A/D converter, Sooloos music server, Pure Music software.
Preamplification: Ypsilon VPS-100, Allnic H-3000, Einstein Turntable's Choice phono preamplifiers; darTZeel NHB-18NS preamplifier.
Power Amplifier: Musical Fidelity Titan.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties…