search
No grand pronouncements on the state of the industry or the even grander universe. No ruminations about the mysteries of the high end or the ultimate interconnect to immortality. Rather, a single, simple, indisputable fact: I needed a preamp. For months, I had longed for a preamp. Not just any preamp. An excellent preamp—one that delivered a generous helping of the glorious color, image weight, bass heft, and clarity of my former reference preamp (footnote 1). Which accounts for my excitement when the new EMM Labs PREi stereo preamplifier ($28,900; footnote 2)—the first of at least three new…
When auditioning a new audio component, I invariably start with some ideas about what I should listen for, based on my preconceptions about the pitfalls and propensities of products in its category. For example, with single-ended triode amplifiers, I listen first for punch and transient definition in the lower octaves. With solid state amplifiers, I check for realistic tone and air in the upper octaves. With digital, I'm listening for sound that's awake and unprocessed. With every component, I start by hoping I can spot their colorations and assess their level of importance.
I could not…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Multisource streaming disc player/DAC with app support, radio-frequency remote control. Disc player: Plays SACD Stereo, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, CD Text. Streaming client (Ethernet, Wi-Fi): Supports MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG Vorbis, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, ALAC/UPnP AV; Data rates: PCM up to 32/192, 16/24 bit; MP3 up to 320kbps, constant, and variable; Music services: Tidal, Qobuz, Deezer, Roon Ready; Other services: Airable internet radio and podcasts. Tuner (FM): 87.5–108MHz; sensitivity 1µV. S/N ratio: >65dBA; Also receives HD Radio and DAB (where supported).…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: dCS Lina DAC with Master Clock; HoloAudio Spring 3 KTE and HoloAudio May Level 3, Denafrips Terminator Plus DACs; TEAC VRDS-701T and Sparkler Audio S515t CD transports.
Preamplifier: HoloAudio Serene.
Power amplifier: Elekit TU-8900 with Cossor 2A3s and Western Electric 300Bs.
Loudspeakers: Voxativ Hagen2, Falcon Acoustics Gold Badge LS3/5a.
Headphones: Stax SR-009D, HiFiMan Susvara Unveiled, Grado HP100 SE.
Headphone amplifiers: Pass Labs HPA-1, LTA Z10e.
Cables: Speaker: Cardas Clear Beyond. Interconnects: Cardas…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Jim Austin reviewed the original version of the T+A MP 3100 HV in June 2020. On the outside, the upgraded G3 version reviewed by HR appears unchanged, but the processor is now Roon Ready. I measured the T+A with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system using CD and SACD test discs, the S/PDIF inputs, and with test tone files played with Roon or stored on a USB stick inserted into the front-panel port. (I wasn't able to send data to the MP 3100 HV G3 via USB from my 2017 MacBook Pro, and the review sample had to be picked up and shipped to AXPONA 2026 before I was…
Two major figures in high end audio have quietly moved on from long-held positions.
Jürgen Reis, MBL's chief engineer for 42 years, has left MBL. Reis is the person who took the core idea of the Radialstrahler speaker and turned it a viable product.
In an email, Reiss told Stereophile, "The transition from MBL Akustikgeräte to MBL International does go differently to what I would like to see or would / can support. It appears that there are different views regarding both the company's legacy (all my work) and its future direction.
"I remain available to support former…
Ola Björling talks to Dr. Christian Feickert about Dr. Feickert Analogue's new turntable, the Virgo SE, at High End Vienna 2026 in a video interview that's now posted on our official YouTube channel.
Follow us on YouTube.
Ola Björling speaks with Richard Braine of Supatrac at High End Vienna 2026 about his tonearm design philosophy, why he feels it's an exciting time for vinyl, and whether a Supatrac turntable might be part of the company's future plans in a video interview that's now posted on our official YouTube channel.
For more information about Supatrac tonearms, see Michael Trei's Spin Doctor #35. Or, Follow us on YouTube.
Over the past 40 years, R.E.M.'s 1983 full-length debut, Murmur, has come to seem ever more timeless. "There's something very special about that record that you can't put into words exactly," mused Don Dixon, who coproduced Murmur and its follow-up, Reckoning, in a recent interview.
"The band always wore its heart on its sleeve, very democratic. It was not a lead singer with a band. It was not two guys who controlled the band. [Drummer] Bill Berry was huge. And we had to figure out how to anchor everything around [Mike] Mills's more melodic and contrapuntal kind of bass playing," Dixon…