Analog sources: J.Sikora Standard Max Supreme turntable and KV9 Max Zirconium tonearm; Benz Micro Gullwing and Aidas Tru-stone Gold Web phono cartridges.
Preamplification: Manley Chinook, Tavish Audio Design Adagio, Allnic H5500 (phono); Ampsandsound Yosemite.
Power amplifier: Rogue Audio Stereo 100.
Loudspeakers: DeVore Fidelity Super Nine, Volti Audio Lucera.
Cables: Interconnects: AudioQuest Pegasus and Black Beauty, Triode Wire Labs Spirit II (RCA), Spirit 75 S/PDIF (RCA/BNC). Speaker: AudioQuest William Tell Zero (10').
Accessories…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Ola Björling speaks with Hindrek Reiman of Degritter at High End Vienna 2026 about the Fonoteek, the company's new record cleaning station that blends brush and ultrasonic cleaning together in one device, in a video interview that's now posted on our official YouTube channel.
For more with Degritter, see Alex Halberstadt's Brilliant Corners #14.
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Ola Björling speaks with Tiago Novo of Orpheus Lab at High End Vienna 2026 about the company's forthcoming A Four N200 integrated streaming amplifier and their new, gargantuan H Three M1400 monoblock amplifier that weighs 330lb (!), in a video interview that's now posted on our official YouTube channel.
For more with Orpheus Lab, see Rogier van Bakel's listening report from AXPONA 2026.
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Ola Björling speaks with George Ligerakis of Ideon Audio at High End Vienna 2026 about the company's new Nous streamer/DAC that features an optional analog preamplifier section, in a video interview that's now posted on our official YouTube channel.
For more with Ideon Audio, see Herb Reichert's Ideon Audio eos D/A processor review.
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Ola Björling speaks with Martijn Mensink of Dutch & Dutch at High End Vienna 2026 about the company's new 6c loudspeakers, their RoomMatching technology, and their new app for speaker calibration, in a video interview that's now posted on our official YouTube channel.
For more with Dutch & Dutch, see John Atkinson's in-depth interview with Martijn Mensink.
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Not long ago, the return of vinyl records was still being labeled a fad—a momentary fascination that given the convenience of the digital world would soon fade. Then around 2022, when vinyl outsold CDs for the first time since 1987, minds began to change. What's still a mystery, however, is how vinyl long players, left for dead in the 1990s, suddenly became relevant and even cool again.
"When everything went very digital you couldn't say to people, 'Come over to my house and look at my cool record collection!'" said Dennis Wolfe, VP of A&R at Universal Music Enterprises and the force…
Michel Petrucciani: Kuumbwa
Petrucciani, piano; Dave Holland, bass; Eliot Zigmund, drums
Elemental 5990459 (2 CDs; also available as 2 LPs). 1987/2026. Zev Feldman, prod.; Russell Greene, eng.; Marc Doutrepont, remastering.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
Petrucciani, piano; Dave Holland, bass; Eliot Zigmund, drums
Elemental 5990459 (2 CDs; also available as 2 LPs). 1987/2026. Zev Feldman, prod.; Russell Greene, eng.; Marc Doutrepont, remastering.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
Osteogenesis imperfecta afflicted Michel Petrucciani, the brilliant French jazz pianist who died in 1999 at the age of 36. Just 3' tall, Petrucciani used a special attachment to reach the piano pedals. Despite constant pain, he played with captivating verve, in a style influenced by Bill Evans but more exuberant. This…
Avalon Emerson: Written into Changes
Dead Oceans DOC369CD (auditioned as CD). 2026. Bullion, Rostam Batmanglij, prods.; Keivon Mehdi Hobeheidar, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****
Dead Oceans DOC369CD (auditioned as CD). 2026. Bullion, Rostam Batmanglij, prods.; Keivon Mehdi Hobeheidar, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****
Avalon Emerson built her reputation crafting immersive deejay sets in Berlin's most vital clubs and on festival stages like Coachella, where she threaded together house, techno, and punk with nary a seam. Those sets were unpredictable and intuitive.
When the pandemic brought that world to a halt, Emerson, like everyone else, turned inward, writing and recording her own material at home. Her…
Lutosławski: Concertos for Cello and Orchestra
Bloch: Schelomo
Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello; Luxembourg Philharmonic, Gustavo Gimeno, cond.
Harmonia Mundi HMM 902714 (reviewed as 24/96 WAV; available on CD). 2026. Polyhymnia International B.V., prod.; Karel Bruggeman, Marko Schneider, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****
Bloch: Schelomo
Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello; Luxembourg Philharmonic, Gustavo Gimeno, cond.
Harmonia Mundi HMM 902714 (reviewed as 24/96 WAV; available on CD). 2026. Polyhymnia International B.V., prod.; Karel Bruggeman, Marko Schneider, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****
This fine recording, distinguished by copious color, excellent bass, and a deep if edgeless soundstage, showcases two phases of Lutosławski's compositional career. The Concerto for Orchestra was composed when he was in his early 40s; the far more "…
The Linda Lindas: Growing Up
Epitaph (16/44.1 stream, Qobuz). 2022. Produced, engineered, and mixed by Carlos de la Garza.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
Epitaph (16/44.1 stream, Qobuz). 2022. Produced, engineered, and mixed by Carlos de la Garza.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
When your uncle is an award-winning producer and engineer, a band formed by you and your cousins has a higher-than-average shot at going somewhere. But even that family advantage can't explain the immediate success of the Los Angeles–based Linda Lindas; they've earned their accolades through talent, hard work, and ingenuity. Their first album, Growing Up, offers proof of their worth and the promise of a stellar musical…