I wasn't able to visit as many rooms as I wanted to—too many meetings! Those meetings, though, had their own rewards—indeed, they were the highlight of the show for me. What a privilege to meet so many talented and enthusiastic people who share my passion for hi-fi. I met Sandy Gross of GoldenEar, who, years ago at Polk Audio, designed my first serious pair of speakers, Polk's Model 7Bs, bought when I was 16. I met Tim de Pavaracini, who designed the EAR 834P…
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AXPONA 2019 was a good show—I'm tempted to say an important show. It's just an intuition, but I sense renewed vitality.
Francesco Diodati Yellow Squeeds: Never the Same
Francesco Diodati, electric & acoustic guitar, gongs; Francesco Lento, trumpet; Glauco Benedetti, tuba, valve trombone, flute; Enrico Zanisi, piano, Fender Rhodes, synths; Enrico Morello, drums, gongs
Auand AU9080 (CD). 2019. Francesco Diodati, Marco Valente, prods.; Stefano Del Vecchio, Roberto Lioli, engs. DDD. TT: 44:24
Performance ****½
Sonics ****
Francesco Diodati, electric & acoustic guitar, gongs; Francesco Lento, trumpet; Glauco Benedetti, tuba, valve trombone, flute; Enrico Zanisi, piano, Fender Rhodes, synths; Enrico Morello, drums, gongs
Auand AU9080 (CD). 2019. Francesco Diodati, Marco Valente, prods.; Stefano Del Vecchio, Roberto Lioli, engs. DDD. TT: 44:24
Performance ****½
Sonics ****
Guitarist Francesco Diodati is one of the freshest voices to enter jazz in the new millennium. If this news comes as a surprise, you probably live in the US. A…
When we launched Stereophile's website at the end of 1997, we decided that we would not reprint the magazine's most popular features, including the biannual "Recommended Components" listings and Michael Fremer's monthly "Analog Corner" column. We were concerned that doing so would cannibalize magazine sales. As it turned out, we were wrong—and so the latest "Recommended Components" is available on our free-access website day-and-date with the publication of the April and October issues in which it appears. And starting with Mikey's very first "Analog Corner," from July 1995, I have been…
I keep getting older. By the time you read this, I will be genuinely old. When I was genuinely young, I bellyached, "Wires are the worst part of hi-fi—there's gotta be a way to get rid of them." I first made that statement when audio electronics and loudspeakers both still nestled inconspicuously in proper bookcases. Back then, people sitting on the sofa weren't forced to stare at diverse audio boxes and ungainly wires.
I marveled when audiophile speakers departed the bookcase and ventured into the walkabout space of the room. I laughed as they and their zip-cord tails inched nearer the…
Next, I cleaned, waxed, and rearranged my writing desk, to create an attractive, intimate system. The KEFs were about 36" apart, the centers of their tweeters some 30" away from and 8" below my ears. The sound was fundamentally clean and meticulously detailed. Unfortunately, the bass notes of Amanaz's Africa (16/44.1 FLAC, Now-Again/Odk/Tidal) shook my whole desk, making loud, buzzy-blurry-woody noises below 1kHz. I stopped. And thought. Some little IsoAcoustics stands would have been just the ticket, but I had none. Instead, I put a short stack of dense books under each speaker. Now their…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, coaxial, rear-ported, active, dynamic wireless loudspeaker and all-in-one stereo hi-fi system. Drive-units: coaxial Uni-Q array comprising a 0.75" (19mm) aluminum-dome tweeter and 4.5" (115mm) magnesium-aluminum-alloy midrange-woofer, each powered by its own class-D amplifier (30W, tweeter; 70W, woofer) and 24-bit/192kHz DACs, with active crossover and DSP functions. Direct streaming: WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2 (aptX). All functions managed and controlled by KEF apps: Control accesses the LSX's Music Integrity Engine digital signal processing;…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Dr. Feickert Analogue Blackbird turntable, Jelco KT-850L tonearm, Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum MC cartridge.
Digital Sources: iPhone 5 SE, Mac mini computer running Audirvana+ 3.2; PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream D/A processor.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 step-up transformer; Tavish Design Adagio RIAA phono preamplifier; Rogue Audio RP-7 line preamplifier.
Power Amplifier: Rogue Audio Stereo 100.
Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Excite X-12, KEF LS50.
Cables: Digital: Kimber Kable D60 Data Flex Studio (coax).…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the KEF LSX's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 microphone for the nearfield responses. After I connected the Master LSX to my network, it checked with KEF that its firmware was up to date—it was (v.3.0). I then opened the Roon app on my iPad Mini and the speaker was recognized by Roon as "KEF LSX" and successfully handled data sampled up to 192kHz via the network. The KEF's volume control was active in Roon as well as in KEF's own Control app, which I used to…
It hit me not long ago: I need more Mac in my life! I promptly purchased the current production version of McIntosh Laboratory's time-honored MC275 tubed amplifier, to mate to the Mac C2300 tubed preamplifier I already owned. The recently reinvigorated debate in these pages comparing solid-state and single-ended tube designs got me to thinking. One thing led to another, and voilà! McIntosh's latest solid-state stereo amplifier, the MC462 Quad Balanced ($9000), arrived, bolted to a shipping pallet and encased in two big, heavy, nested boxes. All that packaging weighs 33 lb—the amp inside…
It’s too easy to bash the record business. Yes, they’ve lied to us (“CDs will get cheaper”). Put out inferior product (Dynaflex, need I say more). And been uncaring if not downright larcenous when it comes to artists. But strangest of all, is the seeming disregard that the business has always had for its own future. Planning ahead has never been a strong suit. Like maybe getting ahead of Napster before piracy dried up the cash might have been a good plan?
All this came to mind when Rhino’s new Otis Redding, Soul Manifesto: 1964-1970 boxed set arrived. Here is Redding’s entire official…