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Pit Pony is a young band that hails from Tyneside, Newcastle, an English region once best known as one of Britain's main coalmining areas. In the early days of British coalmining, pit ponies were the engines for moving coal. They rarely saw the light of day. I truly hope this Pit Pony does, because this, their debut, is a powerhouse of an album. It may be my Album of the Year.

Labeling music is risky, and calling Pit Pony punk or post-punk might create…

If you don't love Dire Straits, either you're too young to remember the '80s or lack good taste. Mark Knopfler was one of the anointed. "Money for Nothing" and "Telegraph Road" are immortal. "Sultans of Swing" is as perfect a song as rock'n'roll ever gave birth to.

Arne Jansen is a German jazz musician who didn't start with jazz. He started…

Jazz pianist Keith Jarrett developed an interest in classical music midcareer, performing music by J.S. Bach and Shostakovich—whose linear styles he presumably found congenial. From the booklet: "I heard the Württemberg Sonatas recorded by harpsichordists, and I felt there was space for a piano version." He recorded them in 1994. This is their first release.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach occupies…

When it comes to evaluating equipment, audio engineers—especially those who specialize in naturalistic recordings—have an advantage. Someone like John Atkinson—I wrote "someone like," though really…

In 2022, PJ Harvey published an epic poem called Orlam. Harvey's 10th studio album, I Inside the Old Year Dying, isn't exactly a musical setting of Orlam's English- and Dorset-dialect poetry; rather, it's an interpretation of the poem with added improvisation. The result is as bizarre and fascinating as one could hope.

The story, if that's the right word, feels ancient. On a farm in Dorset, a girl…

Within each category, products are listed by class; within each class, they're in alphabetical order, followed by their price, a review synopsis, and a note indicating the issues in which the review, and any subsequent follow-up reports, appeared. "Vol.46 No.7" indicates our July 2023 issue, for example. "WWW" means the review is also posted online.

Stereophile's Recommended Components list is concerned mainly with products available in the US…

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J.Sikora Reference: $47,000 w/o tonearm
This Polish company's top-of-the-line turntable is a nonsuspended, high-mass design, weighing 253lb. The dynamically and statically balanced platter alone weighs 40lb! Drive is with four square belts spun by four Papst DC motors. MF found that the plinth was immune to knuckle raps and motor start-up noises and wrote that the Reference was very quiet. He decided that this J.Sikora 'table had been superbly tuned to extract deep, well-controlled bass free of overhang or excess. The measured speed accuracy was impressive, as…

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SAT CF1-09Ti: €88,000
SAT CF1-12Ti: €92,000
These two cost-no-object tonearms appear outwardly identical to the Swedish manufacturer's original CF1 arm. However, there is now a titanium tube running through the carbon-fiber armtube and the CF1's removable carbon-fiber headshell has been stiffened with a frame made from titanium. The 9" arm was auditioned, but the 12" arm should be just as good (but longer). Prices are when purchased separately; when the arms are purchased with the SAT XD-1 turntable (see "Turntables" ), the prices are €50,000 ('9Ti) and €60,…

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Analog Relax EX1000: $19,900
The top-of-the-line cartridge from Japanese company ZOOT Communication has a higher output voltage and a higher output impedance than typical moving coils. Nevertheless, not only did MF find that the Audio Relax was a superb tracker; he also wrote that "Velvet Fog" Mel Tormé had never been better served on record than through the EX1000: "The sonically sensual vocal presentation oozes 'velvet' without sounding at all soft, warm, or muffled, nor does it sacrifice transient articulation. This cartridge gets more of that correct…