The design, reminiscent of a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle, is far more complex and ingenious than it might at first appear, and while the SG1.1 superficially resembles a few other turntables now on the market, those took…
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Allen Perkins's Spiral Groove SG1.1 turntable ($25,000; footnote 1) is a remarkably dense, compact, belt-driven design that weighs a surprising 75lb. With the motor isolated inside its 18.5" wide by 15" deep plinth, the SG1.1 has a small footprint, and its height of ca 5", including feet, permits a flexibility of placement seldom found with premium-priced turntables.
Every product listed here has been reviewed in Stereophile. Everything on the list, regardless of rating, is genuinely recommendable. Occasionally we get complaints from manufacturers who object to being included in, say, Class B. That's their error: Inclusion in Class B is an honor.
Within each category, products are listed by class; within each class, they're in alphabetical order, followed by price, a review synopsis, and a note indicating the issues in which the review and any subsequent follow-up reports appeared. "Vol.48 No.11" indicates our November 2025 issue, for example. "WWW"…
As I listened to the newly remastered edition of John Coltrane's Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings, I read through some critics' takes, which make it apparent just how far critics tend to trail the musicians they cover, the great ones at least.
The most malicious response to this music came from DownBeat's John Tynan, who called the music, Eric Dolphy's solos in particular, "musical nonsense being peddled in the name of jazz" and "a horrifying demonstration of what appears to be a growing anti-jazz trend." Apparently, Tynan had overdosed on Mitch Miller or Dave Brubeck and his…
On Friday, I entered a Schaumburg hotel room that, it's safe to say, looked like no other at AXPONA. The first thing tipping me off that this would be special was that exhibitor Tony Crocker (shown above), the man behind Swan Song Audio, greeted me with a good-natured "Hello! Come to see the freakshow?"
Once inside, it was hard not to be impressed. Make that amazed. Delighted. In front of me stood a pair of loudspeakers that looked like honest-to-god rockets. I don't mean they were vaguely cigar-shaped and pointy. I mean that right there arose (if you will) two 3D-printed…
Western Electric CEO Charles Whitener amidst the company's equipment in room 464 at AXPONA 2026.
The Western Electric room at AXPONA 2026 (room 464) is one of those rooms that make you feel you have traveled in time the moment you see it.
Charles Whitener, tube expert and Western Electric CEO, was in the room, among the company's newest creations: the WE 203C CD player ($12,000), 91E preamplifier ($8000), 100E monoblock amplifiers ($150,000/pair), and A2 speakers ($140,000/pair). Absolutely stunning in construction, scale—and specifications!—were the new 100E…
Oftentimes, when I see a piece of equipment that is highly stylized in form, I expect that function will not be up to par. Listening to Treble Clef Audio's TCA-M Signature active speaker ($103,900/pair) in room 1505 at AXPONA 2026 proved me wrong.
Shaped like a musical note, this Treble Clef Audio speaker (shown below) incorporates a host of cutting-edge technology: The transducer includes a folded dipole air velocity bass system—producing bass that radiates to the front and back eliminating sidewall reflections, linear-phase DSP crossovers, three integrated Pascal Class-D…
Chief audiophile and President of AXISS Audio USA Cliff Duffey talks with Ken Micallef about the gear in one of Axiss Audio USA's rooms.
Playing a wild, assaultive Afro Cuban track, the Axiss Audio USA system in room 1628 at AXPONA 2026 practically shook the walls. Though the room didn't do the bass response any favors, the soundstage was well scaled, and imaging was strong, though at times a mite diffuse.
But this system also made me forget my critical listening hat and simply pulse, rock, and sway my old joints 'til they grew warm enough to resurrect the…
Loudspeaker Systems:
A (FULL RANGE):
Audiovector R8 Arreté: $78,800/pair includes Freedom Grounding Cables
Optional grounding cable adds $3850. (Vol.44 No.9 WWW)
Bang & Olufsen Beolab 90: $211,800/pair ★
(Vol.40 No.1 WWW)
Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4 Signature: $60,000/pair
(Vol.47 No.3 WWW)
Dutch & Dutch 8c: $14,950/pair (stands necessary) ★
(Vol.42 No.8, Vol.43 No.4 WWW)
Dynaudio Confidence 30: $24,000/pair
(Vol.44 No.8 WWW)
EgglestonWorks Viginti: $46,998/pair ★
(Vol.41 No.6 WWW)
Estelon Forza: $186,…
Integrated Amplifiers & Receivers:
A:
Ampsandsound Red October SE: $14,000
Ampsandsound Red October XL SE: $18,000
See Headphones and Headphone Accessories. (Vol.47 No.11 WWW)
Anthem STR Integrated: $4999.99 ★ $$$
Anthem's solid state STR integrated amp offers 200Wpc (into 8 ohms) of class-AB power, along with seven analog inputs—one balanced, four single-ended, and two phono (one MM, one MC). It also offers a 32-bit/192kHz D/A processor with six digital inputs—four S/PDIF (two RCA, two TosLink), one AES3 (XLR), and one USB. A subwoofer output is provided,…
Headphones & Headphone Accessories:
A+:
ampsandsound Bigger Ben: $5600
See “Integrated Amplifiers.”
Audeze LCD-5: $4500
The open-back LCD-5 is the successor to Audeze’s well-regarded LCD-4 and, like its predecessor, uses planar-magnetic drive units, which feature proprietary, single-sided Fluxor neodymium N50 magnet arrays and a voice-coil concept called Parallel Uniforce. The idea is to vary the width of the conductor to match, or counter, variations in the magnetic flux to achieve uniform force across the membrane. The 90mm diaphragm is just 0.5 microns…