The importance of being Earl
The late Bill Monroe may have been the father of bluegrass music, but it was the distinctive banjo playing of Earl Scruggs that most listeners came to recognize as the voice of an entire style. Scruggs, who died on March 28 at the age of 88, left an indelible imprint on American music, influencing virtually ever player of the five-string banjo to follow.
The Internet Audio Dilemma
News last">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11094/">last week about SafeAudio CD copy protection indicates that while fighting pirates, the major record labels are also attempting to seal off the ability of users to place their own music from CDs onto computers. If they succeed, the only alternative for consumers who want non-pirated music on their desktops will be to buy content directly from the labels themselves, or companies set up to legally supply digital audio.
The January 2015 issue is here!
We kick off the New Year with the "Loudspeaker issue" there are seven models reviewed at all price levels, from Vienna Acoustics, Sjöfn, Monitor Audio, Wharfedale, DeVore Fidelity, Revel, and KEF, a review of an affordable subwoofer from SVS, and an interview with veteran speaker designer Michael Kelly of Aerial Acoustics.
The July 2015 Issue is on Newsstands Now
Bel Canto's extraordinary Black amplification system is featured on the cover. Combining state-of-the-art class-D monoblocks with an all-digital preamplifier, the Black sounds and measures as good as it can get. At a price, of coursebut at the other end of the price spectrum, we review Creek's Evolution 100A integrated amplifier, as complete in its way as the Black is in its. These are not your father's amplifiers.
The July Issue is Here
The July issue—now in mailboxes and on newsstands—features the world's first review of Mark Levinson's fully loaded (and affordable by Levinson standards) No.5805 integrated amplifier, reviews of audio products from CH Precision (a big amplifier), Vanatoo (affordable active speakers), PrimaLuna (a new flagship preamplifier), and Kuzma (their Stabi R turntable).
The June Issue . . .
. . . is here and Art Dudley feels that in the age of streaming, there is still life in the CD medium, as typified by Rega's new Apollo player. Art's enthusiastic review is joined by reviews of EgglestonWorks' 20th anniversary Viginti speaker; Bryston's BP173 preamplifer; Rogers High Fidelity's single-ended 65V-1 amplifier; the NOS Formula xHD DAC from Italian company Aqua Acoustic; and comparisons between preamplifiers from Ayre and PS Audio.
The June Issue Hits Newsstands This Week
While Bowers & Wilkins' new 802 D3 Diamond loudspeaker, reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, takes pride of place on the cover of the June Stereophile, to judge from the many comments posted to our recent story on MQA, it will be Jim Austin's review of the MQA-capable Meridian Explorer2 on page 102 and John Atkinson's technical evaluation of MQA on page 108 that readers will turn to first. . .
The Last Beatles Song (and Other News)
The news zipped across the interwebs like lightning just after 9AM Eastern Time today (it went live here first). "Now & Then," a new-old song by The Beatles made with modern technology, bringing the band back together once more across time and space, will be released November 2. The evening prior, at 7PM London time, the BBC will broadcast "Now And Then – The Last Beatles Song," a short documentary directed by Oliver Murray, describing how the song was made. It will appear on the Beatles' YouTube channel at 8:30PM London time November 1, 3:30PM Eastern US time. There will also be a radio documentary about the song, produced by Beatles historian Kevin Howlett. The BBC today released the first 5 episodes of "Eras - The Beatles," a podcast hosted by actor Martin Freeman; episode 6 will drop November 2 (see https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001rzhw).
There's more: New 50th Anniversary expanded versions of 1962-1966 ("The Red Album") and 1967-1970 ("The Blue Album") will be released November 10.
The Lyric Show 2013
Tempo High Fidelity's John Quick, dCS's US distributor, stands beside a dCS Vivaldi stack at Lyric Hi-Fi's annual audio show.
The Lyric Show 2013 was held at Lyric Hi-Fi & Video (1221 Lexington Avenue) in Manhattan, on Friday and Saturday, April 12 and 13. An informal VIP presentation, held on Thursday, April 11, was open to members of the press. Last year, Ariel Bitran and I covered the event; this year, I was on my own.
This year’s event, much like the last, was well-attended. Most guests made their ways casually from one demonstration to the next. Some lingered in between rooms, chatting and enjoying glasses of red or white wine while picking happily at small plates of fine food. Others seemed glued to comfortable seats in one of the several listening rooms. Manufacturer representatives, many of whom were also enjoying refreshments, held tight to iPads and kept close to gorgeous turntables, ready to take music requests. The entire place buzzed with energy and enthusiasm.The Magico Q3 at Goodwin's High End
Saturday, May 14, 126pm: Goodwin’s High End (899 Main Street, Waltham, MA) will host the public world premiere of the Magico Q3 loudspeaker, sibling to the Q5, which was recently reviewed by Michael Fremer. During the evening, Magico’s Alon Wolf will provide a demonstration and discussion of the Q3. For more info and to RSVP, call (781) 893-9000.