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One winner will take home two extraordinary Mobile Fidelity audiophile pressings that showcase analog recording at its finest: Rock a Little by Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac, each presented in strictly limited, reference-grade 45RPM editions. From the lavish, high-resolution textures of Rock a Little to the tape-like warmth, dynamics, and realism of Fleetwood Mac’s landmark 1975 release, this sweepstakes celebrates music made with ambition—and mastered for listeners who demand absolute fidelity. Enter for a chance to experience two iconic albums as they were always meant to be heard.…
Punk rock was never meant to grow old. For their first three studio efforts, The Replacements epitomized the punk ethos. Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash (1981), the EP Stink (1982), and Hootenanny (1983) are loud, bashy fun. Song titles on Stink give a fair idea of the band's level of maturity in those days: "Fuck School"; "White and Lazy"; and "Dope Smokin' Moron." It has been suggested over the years that this most worshipped and mythologized of all '80s indie rock bands weren't just deliberately sloppy but suffered from self-sabotage. Around 1984, the band discovered that punk, even…
"They lack the original analog warmth." "The AI-powered 'demixing' process has produced a clearer sound with better separation." "The new mixes lose the magic of his father's original '60s mixes." "The selective use of compression is pure heresy."
Opinions vary, but like everything connected to The Beatles, charged arguments over Giles Martin's ongoing remastering of, and sonic tinkering with, the band's hallowed recording catalog are unending. To be fair, potentially changing the band's sonic profile to something more "modern" was always a no-win proposition, with zero chance of pleasing…
Photo and Recording by Jimmy Katz
In the April 2024 issue of this magazine, a piece by Editor Jim Austin appeared in the "As We See It" space. It was titled "On assessing sonic illusions," and it has haunted me for more than a year. Jim's thesis was that a music recording is a "synthetic, whole-cloth creation ... a complete fabrication." He writes: "Very few recordings correspond to an actual performance. Most are studio concoctions with pieced-together instrumental tracks and artificial ambience that document no sonic event that ever occurred."
When it came to rock and pop and…
The "High-End Audio: Regaining the High Ground" panel at the 2012 RMAF (from right to left): Ken Kessler, Roy Hall (Music Hall), Michael Fremer, Kathy Gornik (Thiel), Peter McGrath (Wilson), and Alan Sircom (HiFi Plus). (Photo: Art Dudley)
Analogplanet.com covered new products exhibited at the 2012 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver last October (Stereophile('s full coverage can be found here); in this month's column I'll comment on the show generally, and specifically on two seminars.
RMAF's growth over the past few years has been phenomenal. This year's attendance appeared to…
Nick Doshi is cautiously reserved when he talks about his amplifiers, preferring to let the products speak for themselves. At every show I've heard them at, from Chicago to DC to Munich, they have done exactly that: Every system I've heard featuring a Doshi amp has delivered great sound. When I pressed him as to why, he just smiled.
So it was with a little trepidation that I asked to review the hybrid Doshi Audio Evolution Stereo Amplifier ($24,995), a push-pull, hybrid solid state/tube amplifier that operates its first 50Wpc in class-A into 5 ohms, up to 65Wpc in class-AB. The amp…
Photo: Matthew Rivera
Last night, I sat on a bright yellow velveteen sofa eating red beans and rice while listening for three hours to blues and jazz from rare 78rpm records. I walked out feeling gospel-level raised up, with a head full of dreams and cultural memories.
The Hot Club of New York
Matthew Rivera's Hot Club of New York is on the third floor of an old commercial building at 20 W 20th Street, across from what used to be the Limelight Club (footnote 1). The walk from the F Train at 23rd Street generated a Rolodex of memories from watching this neighborhood evolve…
Salt Collective: A Brief History of Blindness
Propeller Sound Recordings LPPSR029 (LP). 2025. Chris Stamey, prod.; Stamey, Dave McNair, others, engs.
Performance ****
Sonics ****
Propeller Sound Recordings LPPSR029 (LP). 2025. Chris Stamey, prod.; Stamey, Dave McNair, others, engs.
Performance ****
Sonics ****
Formerly unknown French singer-songwriter Stéphane Schück is back with the second album from his Salt Collective. A lifelong fan of North Carolina power pop legends The dB's, Schück has teamed up with former dB's Chris Stamey (guitars/vocals) and Gene Holder (bass) and longtime North Carolina rock-pop kingpin Mitch Easter (keys/guitars).
With basic tracks recorded in Easter's Fidelitorium…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Nick Doshi, accompanied by Jessie Bentley of Virginia dealer Command Performance AV, picked up the Doshi Evolution Stereo amplifier from Ken Micallef's Greenwich Village apartment and delivered it to me in Brooklyn. They carefully installed the eight numbered Electro-Harmonix 6CA7-EH output tubes, then Nick briefed me on his design philosophy and how to operate the various buttons and switches. As I did with the similar-looking Evolution Monoblock amplifier that Jason Victor Serinus reviewed in May 2021, I left the amplifier powered up for 45 minutes before I…
Julie Roset: M'a dit Amour
Julia Roset, soprano; Susan Manoff, piano
Alpha 1189 (24/96 WAV download). 2025. Martin Sauer, prod.; Jupp Wegner, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
Julia Roset, soprano; Susan Manoff, piano
Alpha 1189 (24/96 WAV download). 2025. Martin Sauer, prod.; Jupp Wegner, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
For vocal lovers, regardless of the specific genre they favor, few thrills are as great as encountering a young artist whose fresh voice radiates health, confidence, and optimism. To hear such a voice intelligently deployed in a wide-ranging recital of extremely beautiful, rarely programmed French songs—each a gem in its own right—compounds the sense of discovery andjoy.
With thanks to…