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In the beginning, there was . . . No, this is not a Bible study course, but I do wish to pave the way (with gold, I wish) to the Genesis Advanced Technologies room hosted by Gary and Carolyn Koh and Joe Pittman. Mostly exhibiting Genesis products, the system was headlined by the hardly small Genesis G2 Juniors ($85,000/pair), driven by Genesis GR1440 monoblocks ($22,000/pair), unheard Genesis Muse Server/DAC ($12,000), Genesis SMC-1 preamp (prototype model—$18,000) with Absolute Fidelity Balanced Interface ($5500 for 6 meters), Genesis phono preamp ($12,000), Genesis cabling, and a prototype…
Stereophile's founder, J. Gordon Holt, photographed toward the end of his life by Steven Stone.
Editor's Note: The forthcoming August 2017 issue of Stereophile is No.451, but 55 years ago this summer, J. Gordon Holt was putting together the first issue of what initially was to be called The Stereophile. Here is Gordon's editorial leader from that issue, published in November 1962:
We are always embarrassed and a little annoyed when a shopkeeper, rubbing his hands obsequiously, bids us tell all our friends about his little establishment. If we liked what he had to offer, we'd tell…
America has always been blessed with music. From Chuck Berry's "Back in the USA" to Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, to Hank Williams "Your Cheatin' Heart" and Louis Armstrong's, "West End Blues," we are nothing if not a musical people. It's become one of most enduring exports. On July 4, between watching episodes of the fabulous min-series John Adams, which is by far the best thing that HBO has ever done and Paul Giamatti has ever acted in, I play my greatest hits of the USA.
First up, of course, and played again at selected intervals throughout the day as the ultimate palette…
If you have already read the reviews, you have probably formed a pretty firm impression of which of the three contenders for the title "Best Pickup" is the winner. In case you haven't, though, here's a capsule wrap-up of our reactions to the three phono cartridges reviewed in May 1974.
The Ortofon M-15's rather heavy sound will nicely complement some overbright systems, but in terms of master-tape sound, it was judged to be less perfect than either the Shure V15-III or the Decca Mark V.
If we were to assign equal values to every aspect of pickup performance, we would have to…
John Wright wrote about the SME 3009 II in March 1971 (Vol.2 No.12):
Nominal length: 9". Rear overhang: allow 3¼". Distance from turntable center: 8.45". Mounting: By cutting a 1" by 2½" hole. Exact positioning not necessary, as the base has a sliding adjustment for tangency.
Cartridge acceptance: Will balance cartridges weighing between 4 and 20gm. without alternative counterweights or headshells. No allowance has to be made for tracking force, as this is applied by moving a rider weight forward.
Headshell: A perforated lightweight headshell is provided, weighing 5½gm.…
Better known for their speaker cables and interconnects, The Absolute Reference Audio Labs (TARA Labs) has quietly branched out into electronics and loudspeakers. Their Passage is a line-level–only preamp. I actually favor such a modular approach to preamp design. Standing as we are at the dawn of the digital audio age, the breakup of the traditional preamp into separate phono and line-level stages represents a more flexible, cost-effective design approach. Systems whose front ends are heavily into digital (CD and DAT), supplemented only by such other high-level sources as analog tape, could…
Sidebar 1: Measurements
The output impedance of the Passage preamplifier at its main outputs measured a highish 912 ohms at any volume control setting. The input impedance measured just over 27k ohms (left channel, slightly lower in the right) at full volume, increasing to just over 37k ohms in the 9 o'clock position of the volume control. The output impedance of the tape outputs measured about 47.4 ohms with either a 25 ohm or 600 ohm source, indicating that these outputs are buffered. Unity gain was at 2 o'clock on the volume control; the maximum gain of the preamp was 37.7dB. DC…
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: Tubed, line-level preamp. Tube complement: two 12AU7A (ECC82) twin triodes, one 12AX7A. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.2dB. Channel separation: >80dB at 1kHz. Total harmonic distortion: 0.05% maximum.
Dimensions: 16" W by 12.5" D by 3.75" H. Weight: 10 lbs.
Serial number of sample tested: 10154.
Price: $995 (1992); no longer available (2017). Approximate number of dealers: 28.
Manufacturer: TARA Labs, Inc., Ashland, OR 97520 (1992); 716 Rossanley Drive, Medford, OR 97501 (2017). Tel: (541) 488-6465. Fax: (541) 245-9119. Web:…
When you graduate from mass-market hi-fi to high-end audio, one of the first things you notice is that audiophile gear dispenses with the gadgets and gimmicks that clutter up the front panels of most stereo receivers and integrated amplifiers. The dominant philosophy in mass-market design is that features sell products: the more functions a product has, the more desirable it will seem in the store. High-end designers, on the other hand, prefer the KISS approach: Keep It Simple, Stupid!
Every added feature means that the audio signal must go through additional wires, plugs, switch…
Bernie Krause: Citadels of Mystery
Mobile Fidelity MFSL 1-505 (LP).
Mobile Fidelity MFSL 1-505 (LP).
This is a very hyped, contrived recording, but then nobody ever pretended that this kind of musical construction was supposed to approximate the sound of a live performance. The strings are quite steely on this but, in all other respects, the recording is is stupendous—unctuously rich, smooth and limpidly clear, with some awesomely taut low end and cuttingly crisp percussion sounds.
Much of the program draws from African and Haitian sources, and I must say I found some of the maddeningly repetitive passage to…