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Having predicted it on The Today Show in the early 1990s, during a segment on how to transfer LPs to cassette (!), and having advocated vinyl and analog on MTV in 1993 (footnote 2), and on The Howard Stern Show in 2001, etc., I am not confounded by the LP's resurgence, nor do I wonder what's going on here. Thanks to reader tips, I've been monitoring the intensity of the backlash to the vinyl resurgence for years, and it seems to be directly…

They were paired with Wilson Audio’s WATT/Puppy loudspeakers ($39,500/pair); Clearaudio’s Reference Jubilee turntable ($30,000) fitted with a Hana Umami Red MC cartridge ($3950); a dCS Rossini APEX streaming DAC ($32,800) and a Rossini Master Clock ($11,500); Innuos’s ZEN Next-Gen streamer-server…

I heard three tracks: one by Abdullah Ibrahim; Dominique Fils-Aimé’s “Where There Is Smoke” (mercifully birdless); and Reference Recordings’ Danse macabre by Saint-Saëns, performed…

For years, my Stereophile colleagues have laid claim to Zesto Audio’s exhibits; so at this AXPONA, I was glad to cover a room where I could enjoy Zesto’s sparkling tube sound again.

On a 24-bit/192kHz file of Billie Holiday's inimitable late-career take on “A Foggy Day (In London Town),” from Songs for Distingué Lovers, the muted trumpet sounded delicious, and midbass tonalities were ideal. I loved how the combination of Zesto electronics and YG Acoustics Hailey 3 loudspeakers ($63,400/pair) projected Billie's voice upward, filling the room with her gifts.

Zesto…

Steve Daniels's Sound Organisation showcased components from Rega Research, Chord Electronics, and ProAc—renowned British manufacturers known for their competitively priced, high-quality designs—and drew attention with several debut products.

The Rega Planar 3 RS Edition turntable ($1795) features a new aluminum-skin HPL laminate, resulting in the stiffest plinth yet for the Planar 3 series. According to the Sound Organisation website, the RS Edition includes a custom-matched Neo MK2 PSU, with “each motor-vibration circuit hand-tuned to each individual motor.” The low-noise 24V…

Description: Circumaural closed-back wired and wireless headphones. Bluetooth 5.1 class 2 with SBS, aptX, aptX HD, and AAC codecs. Integrated DAC and amplification for each channel. 42mm edge-dampened cellulose-diaphragm drivers. Three levels of active noise cancellation. Transparency mode. 70 hours of playback in non-HQ Bluetooth on the 1200mAh lithium-ion battery, 35 hours with HQ on. Capable of sample rates up to 96kHz via USB. Frequency range: Active mode 4Hz–22kHz; passive mode 4Hz–45kHz. THD: <0.05% (1kHz/94dB). Impedance: 64 ohms. Weight 11.5oz (326gm…

Bluetooth sources: iPhone 14 Pro Max, LG V30, Samsung Galaxy S10e, iPad Pro (2016), 16" MacBook Pro M1.
Digital sources: Musical Fidelity V90 DAC, Auralic Vega DAC, Bluesound Node 2i streamer.
Headphones: HiFiMan HE1000se, Audeze LCD-4, Focal Bathys, Oppo PM-3.
Headphone amplifiers: LSA Hyperdrive 2, RME ADI-2 DAC FS, McIntosh MHA100.—Rogier van Bakel

I’ve commented on this combination so often—five of these eight brands occupy my music room—that I didn’t linger long in Quintessence Audio’s excellently assembled “Knowledge” room. That didn’t stop me from admiring the contrast between the riveting yellow finish of Wilson Audio’s Chronosonic XVX loudspeakers ($387,000/pair) and the bold black-and-copper livery of Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems’ Relentless M800 monoblocks ($195,500/pair). I began to wonder if the lovely blue of my Wilson Alexia Vs is a bit too sedate. When I chose my speakers’ finish I almost opted for the perfect…