Yes, the 2011 Stereophile Buyer’s Guide includes detailed listings for: LP Playback (cartridges, phono preamps, tonearms,…
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On newsstands now, right beside the December 2010 issue of Stereophile, you should find the 2011 Stereophile Buyer’s Guide. In its 164 pages, you will find technical specifications and prices for over 4500 audio components. That includes everything from the speed accuracy of a Rega turntable to the full-power bandwidth of Audio Research’s latest integrated amplifier to the frequency response of a Wilson loudspeaker to whether NuForce sells speaker wire. (They do.)
Music Matters Jazz—the L.A.-based audiophile label that reissues classic Blue Note titles, each on twin slabs of thick, quiet vinyl, mastered at 45 rpm and eased into gorgeous gatefold packages—keeps churning them out.
One of their latest, and greatest, is Andrew Hill’s Point of Departure, a jaw-dropper from 1964 that sounds as fresh as tomorrow.
Hill, 33 at the time (he died in 2007, active till the end), was a precisely adventurous pianist and one of the most inventive composers of that transition era, pushing metric rhythms and chord-based harmonies right up to the edge…
This Saturday, December 4, from 11am to 4pm, Overture Ultimate Audio/Video will host an open house to present Vivid Audio’s visually and sonically impressive G1 Giya loudspeaker.
In his July 2010 review, Wes Phillips was charmed by this speaker’s superb imaging, unmatched dynamic range, holographic soundstaging, and overall musicality, deciding that the G1 Giya was the “best” loudspeaker he’d ever heard. A few months later, in our October 2010 issue, John Marks was similarly impressed by Vivid’s less expensive V1.5 ($7650/pair).
JM: “Now that I’ve heard the V1.5, I can readily…
"We did this for audiophiles, really," says the San Francisco Symphony's general manager, John Kieser. "Our distributors around the world have been telling us that it would be terrific if our Mahler series were available as a complete set on vinyl. This is a major endeavor, in that we're talking about 22 LPs."
The boxed set of Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the San Francisco Symphony in their cycle of the symphonies of Gustav Mahler, pressed on 180gm virgin vinyl in a limited edition of 1000 copies, is in its final phase of preproduction. Complete with, on a bonus 45rpm disc, a…
I first became interested in Jolida’s glass-enclosed, cube-shaped integrated amplifier when I saw the cute, little thing at the 2008 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. I wasn’t even drunk. I was, in fact, completely sober. I mean, look at it. It’s so adorable! And then I heard it.
I was impressed by how far its 10W could go without stressing out too much, even when partnered to a pair of 88dB loudspeakers. How might the amp sound when mated to something more efficient?
Jolida’s Michael Allen told me that the amp was geared toward a younger audience—besides being cute and…
STRAUSS: Also Sprach Zarathustra, Don Juan
Herbert Blomstedt, Staatskapelle Dresden
Denon CD-2259 (CD only). Claus Struben, eng.; Takashi Baba, prod. DDD. TT: 51:07
Herbert Blomstedt, Staatskapelle Dresden
Denon CD-2259 (CD only). Claus Struben, eng.; Takashi Baba, prod. DDD. TT: 51:07
STRAUSS: Also Sprach Zarathustra, Tod und Verklärung
André Previn, Vienna Philharmonic
Telarc CD-80167 (CD only). Jack Renner, eng.; James Mallinson, prod. DDD. TT: 61:35
These are two very fine discs. Both convey to perfection the full weight of Richard Strauss's opulent orchestration for Zarathustra without the slightest hint of distortion, despite the huge dynamic range both employ. Both have the…
It seems to me that it should be possible to make a perfectly jitter-free CD transport without resorting to elaborate, expensive mechanical structures. This idealized transport would ignore all mechanical considerations of disc playback—vibration damping and isolation, for example—and simply put a jitter-free electrical driver at the transport output. If such a circuit could be made, it wouldn't care about how bad the signal recovered from the disc was (provided the recovered data were error-free). The circuit would just output a perfect, jitter-free S/PDIF signal. The result would be the…
The Data Basic had a clean, open, and very dynamic character. The transport's clarity, excellent bass, and transparent soundstage were very much like that of the Lambda. Starting with the bass, the Data Basic had a full, robust, and well-defined bass presentation. Bass drum had a nice solidity, acoustic bass was warm and round, and the presentation had a good sense of weight. The Data Basic's bass tended to be a little leaner, tighter, and better defined than the Lambda's, although both were similarly impressive. The Lambda seemed to have a little more extension at the very bottom end,…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: CD transport with remote control. Drive mechanism: Philips CDM9 Pro. Outputs: one coaxial on RCA jack, one AES/EBU; ST and Theta's Single Mode optical output are optional.
Dimensions: 17" W by 3.25" H by 15" D. Weight: 18.5 lbs.
Price: $1750 (1994); no longer available (2010). ST-type optical adds $300, Theta's Single Mode optical output adds $800. Approximate number of dealers: 65. Warranty: 3 years parts and labor, 1 year on drive mechanism.
Manufacturer: Theta Digital Corporation, Agoura Hills, CA 91301 (1994); 1749 Chapin Road,…