Innovative Audio hosted the sessions in their listening rooms on 58th Street in New York. We heard the vinyl, played by a top-tier…
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Movie characters pondering momentous decisions are sometimes subjected to a raging debate between an imaginary angel on one shoulder and an imaginary devil on the other. Think of Larry "Pinto" Kroger deciding whether to take advantage of his passed-out-drunk date during the infamous Animal House toga party.
Audiophiles, too, are often pulled in opposite directions. But instead of angel's wings or devil's horns, our imaginary duelists are decked out in T-shirts, one with a logo that says "…
According to T+A, the development of this product was not merely cosmetic; it is part of a larger plan to apply foundational…
Please join us and meet Mike Manousselis, President of Dynaudio North America, and John Quick, VP of Sales & Marketing, Americas, as we feature and present our range of loudspeakers, including:
• the new, limited-edition Contour Legacy from the…
RCA Records (auditioned as LP). 2024. James Blake, Jim Reed, Rex Orange County, and Teo Halm, prods.; Ed Farrell, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics *****
At his core, Rex Orange County is a singer-songwriter, and his new album begins fittingly with a track that finds him alone with an acoustic guitar. But from there the record blossoms and the hip hop, soul, and jazz elements that weave into his arrangements make clear that his "technique" involves so much more. It tends to follow a Stevie Wonder "classic period" playbook, tapping into a…
Mette Rasmussen, alto saxophone; Craig Taborn, piano; Ches Smith, drums, percussion
Otherly Love OLR009 (auditioned in WAV, available as CD, LP). 2024. Weird of Mouth, prods.; Chris Benham, eng.
Performance ****
Sonics ***½
Stereophile probably doesn't cover enough avant-garde jazz. Consider this review a step toward correcting that. In fact, the trio that calls itself Weird of Mouth is so hardcore that this could count as two steps.
First a public service announcement: Don't try this record at home unless you are a bold listener,…
Jeremy Denk, piano; Stefan Jackiw, violin; Tara Helen O'Connor, flute
Nonesuch 075597899054 (auditioned as 24/44.1, 24/96 WAV). 2024. Adam Abeshouse, prod. and eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****
One hundred and fifty years after his birth, the music of visionary American composer Charles Ives has gained a degree of public and critical acceptance, but even that acceptance has seemed confined to orchestral works, especially The Unanswered Question and Three Places in New England. One of his thorniest compositions, the stunning…
The H400 was the second streaming amplifier I reviewed while it was in a slow-moving line (queue in British English) to receive Roon certification; the other was the T+A R 2500 R…
Following the supplied instructions, installing the phono module was straightforward: it replaces a multi-pin jumper cable behind the input jacks on the rear panel, and a new…