Ken Micallef narrates his recent Denon and Marantz factory tour in Japan in a video travelogue that's now posted on our official YouTube channel.
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AnalogPlanet.com has gone live. Allan Toussaint should title an album. Elvis Costello should write a song. I'm running the website, and will continue to write this monthly column for Stereophile, as well as equipment reviews (though fewer of the latter) (footnote 1).
The new site also includes reviews of analog components originally published in Stereophile, and currently features the first 124 installments of "Analog Corner," almost none of which has ever been available online. (Installments 205–325 of Analog Corner can be found here.) Let the hunt for contradictions begin! I've gotten…
I'm known as an unrepentant tube-amplifier devotee and turntable missionary. I spin vinyl in listening spaces, make jazz-vinyl videos, and review turntables, cartridges, and record cleaning machines. I'm a semi-Luddite for whom streaming is a last resort rather than a daily need. I prefer the analog-playback setup gauntlet to the setup gauntlet that comes with streaming amplifiers and network bridges. Each new digital component that enters my space requires navigating menus and connections—a stark contrast to the straightforward ritual of the needle drop. There is much to be said for the…
Turning to the AVM AS 5.3's digital inputs, I used optical and coaxial S/PDIF data to examine their behavior. I used network data played with Roon to evaluate the streaming (Ethernet) input. The coaxial input locked to data with a sample rate of 192kHz, the TosLink input was limited to 96kHz, and the Roon app indicated that the amplifier would accept 32-bit network data with sample rates up to 384kHz. The digital inputs preserved absolute polarity at all the outputs.
With the volume control set to the maximum, the output level with a 1kHz tone at –30dBFS was 82.4mV from the LINE…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I performed a full set of measurements on the AVM Evolution AS 5.3 with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system. I installed the AVM RC X app on my iPad mini, and when I connected the AVM's Ethernet port to my router, the app asked if I wanted to update the amplifier's software. After the update, the AS 5.3 was running firmware version 1.0.117.
As the AVM uses a class-D output stage that emits relatively high levels of ultrasoic noise, which would drive my analyzer's input into slew-rate limiting, I inserted an Audio Precision AUX-0025 passive low-pass…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-channel streaming class-D integrated amplifier with tubed input stage, MC/MM phono stage, remote control, and app support. Amplifier section: Gain: 29.5dB. Output power: 180Wpc into 8 ohms (22.5dBW), 350Wpc into 4 ohms (22.44dBW). Distortion: <0.005%. S/N ratio: >95dB. Input sensitivity: (for 350W output into 4 ohms, both channels driven): 1.2V. Preamplifier section: Input impedance: 50k ohms RCA, 40k ohms XLR. Output impedance: 47 ohms (RCA, pre, line), 94 ohms (XLR). Distortion: <0.025%. Signal/noise ratio: >100dB. Crosstalk…
SV-Audio, a newcomer Danish speaker manufacturer, were in one of the halls at High End Vienna 2026. This was where the rooms were boxes are made of temporary structures, and thus ought to be inferior to the proper rooms in the adjacent building. Somewhat surprisingly, these "boxes" were generally a little better sounding than I expected.
If you watch my interview with SV-Audio Marketing Manager Lærke Vestskov Poulsen on our YouTube channel, you'll hear how the camera's shotgun microphone picks up a lot of room tone. This makes it precarious to say anything about their…
Bill Voss first sold a Technics turntable in 1975, as a high school student working part-time at the Audio Den in New Haven, Connecticut. He retired in June 2026 after 44 years with parent company Panasonic, the past decade as US Business Development Manager during Technics's successful relaunch as a hi-fi major player.
While at Panasonic, Voss was involved in sales, marketing, and education as the company brought new technologies to market. He took part in Panasonic and Technics product launches for the Compact Disc, HDTV, plasma TV, digital still cameras, DVD, DAT, Digital…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: J.Sikora Aspire turntable, VPI Goldy MC cartridge.
Digital sources: Tascam CD-200iL CD player, HoloAudio May DAC.
Preamplifiers: Manley Chinook (phono).
Loudspeakers: DeVore Fidelity Super Nine, Voxativ Ampeggio 2024.
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: Pro-Ject VC-S2 ALU, HumminGuru record cleaning machines; AOCISKA soft bristle brush; AudioQuest PQ-707 and IsoTek EVO3 Aquarius…
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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