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How to define progress? Ask longtime locals about the state of their hometown and the moaning starts: “Whole Foods is corrupt.” “Austin’s lost what made it cool.” “South Congress is too crazy.” “The traffic here is nuts.” “My ex-girlfriend used to bartend there.” “They’re not using locally sourced Tomatillos.” Here, the historic building on Red River Street just north of Waller Creek that once held impromptu jam sessions during many SXSW’s long past—and should be saved but is now ominously boarded up—stands in very stark contrast to the non-descript, mirror and steel Fairmont Hotel being…
There were a pair of High Resolution Audio Panels at South By Southwest this year, Hi-Res Audio in Every Earbud and the one shown here, Listening in High Definition: Future Music Consumption where David Chesky (pictured here), of Chesky Records, fought boredom with this panel as well as the good fight for HDTracks and all of high resolution audio. His comments on how streaming devalues music and musicians had a lot of heads in the room nodding in the affirmative. His explanation of what makes for high end audio were the best information given during this entire panel. He know'd of what he…
Oh yeah, along with all the tech gadgets and panels on how VR (virtual reality) is going to save not only the music and film industries but also civilization as we know it (and perhaps even lower the price of bad pizza in the Austin Convention Center!),there was some actual music in Austin at South By Southwest 2016. Here African blues guitarist and singer Bombino from Agadez, Niger and his band perform at the Radio Day Stage. Another variation on the sub-Saharan African blues/groove guitar genre, the man is virtuoso and is not to be missed.
Although I'm not one of those people who dismisses Tom Cruise—he's a very capable actor, he works hard at his craft, he has a track record of choosing good material, and his personal beliefs are his own damn business—there's no denying that the addition of Simon Pegg has transformed the Mission: Impossible franchise into mandatory viewing for fans of films that are fun. So it was at Montreal Salon Audio, in the room sponsored by the French company Devialet: the opening scene of MI: Rogue Nation on a surround-sound system using multiple Devialet Phantom powered loudspeakers (starting at $…
Avishai Cohen: Into the Silence
Avishai Cohen, trumpet; Bill McHenry, tenor saxophone; Yonathan Avishai, piano; Eric Revis, bass; Nasheet Waits, drums
ECM 2482 (CD). 2016. Manfred Eicher, prod.; Gérard de Haro, Nicolas Baillard, engs. DDD. TT: 53:08
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
Avishai Cohen, trumpet; Bill McHenry, tenor saxophone; Yonathan Avishai, piano; Eric Revis, bass; Nasheet Waits, drums
ECM 2482 (CD). 2016. Manfred Eicher, prod.; Gérard de Haro, Nicolas Baillard, engs. DDD. TT: 53:08
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
In the new millennium, no country other than Cuba has exported more important jazz musicians to the United States than has Israel. But even though the Israeli jazz phenomenon has been much discussed in the jazz press, critics have been late to recognize that Avishai Cohen is one of the best…
It's one of audiophiledom's eternal questions: What can we do to draw more music lovers into the audiophile fold?
Of the proposals bandied about on audio forums, two seem predominant: a) sell stuff more people can afford, and b) sit your neighbor or the cable guy in front of your stereo, cross your fingers, and let 'er rip—the theory behind b) being that the experience will be so epic as to transform the reluctant participant into an audiophile butterfly. As if.
These ideas aren't wrong, but their aim is all over the map. Actual human beings have a ton of other things—and not just…
Components listed here have been formally reviewed in Stereophile and have been found to be among the best available in each of four or five quality classes. Whether a component is listed in Class A or Class E, we highly recommend its purchase.
Each listing—in alphabetical order within classes—is followed by a brief description of the product's sonic characteristics and a code indicating the Stereophile Volume and Issue in which that product's report appeared. Thus the May 2015 issue is indicated as "Vol.38 No.5."
Some products listed have not yet been reported on; these are…
Sidebar: How to Use the Listings
The classes each cover a wide range of performance. Carefully read our descriptions here, the original reviews, and (heaven forbid) reviews in other magazines to put together a short list of components to choose from. Evaluate your room, your source material and front-end(s), your speakers, and your tastes. With luck, you may come up with a selection to audition at your favorite dealer(s). "Recommended Components" will not tell you what to buy any more than Consumer Reports would presume to tell you whom to marry!
Class A
Best attainable sound…
Turntables
Editor's Note: We strongly recommend those interested in LP playback visit our sister website, www.AnalogPlanet.com, which is edited by Michael Fremer.
A+
TechDAS Air Force One: $105,000 plus tonearm ★
A visually stunning technological tour de force," the 174-lb Air Force One has a three-layer-damped aluminum chassis, a forge-processed stainless-steel platter, and a massive AC synchronous motor controlled by an outboard dual-50W amplifier. The platter uses an air bearing; LPs are held to the platter with vacuum suction. The review sample was equipped…
SACD, DVD-A, & CD Players & Transports & Media Players
Editor's Note: SACD and DVD-A player ratings are based on how they sound with their respective hi-rez media, not CD.
A+
Antipodes DX Reference: $8725 with 4TB internal storage
What could tempt the frugal JA into forsaking his computer-based file-playing system for a high-quality dedicated music server? The latter must offer sound quality with which the former does not compete—and that's precisely what he found in the Kiwi-built Antipodes DX Reference. The DX Reference, which runs on the Linux…