Wes Phillips

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Capturing Lightning in a Bottle: the 96/24 DVD Revolution
As We See It
Wes Phillips  |  May 27, 2007  |  First Published: Jun 27, 1997  |  0 comments
In his impassioned "As We See It" in May (Vol.20 No.5, p.3), Robert Harley pleaded that the Compact Disc is actually quite a bit better than it sounds, and requested that audiophiles focus instead on the significant improvements wrought in digital sound since its inception. Bob's point—that picking on CD's shortcomings has become a ritual bloodsport within the High End—is well taken: witness my own catty swipe at it in the first sentence. The fact is that the glaring imperfections of the first generation of digital products are now mostly distant memories. Most of us do derive hours of musical pleasure from our CD players and CD collections.
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Stax Lambda Nova Signature electrostatic ear-speaker
Headphone Reviews
Wes Phillips  |  Jun 26, 1997  |  0 comments
"When I find something that works," John Candy leered, "I stick with it!" I have no idea if the folks at Stax Industries are fans of Splash or not, but they've certainly taken Candy's philosophy as their own. Despite manufacturing superb—if demanding—loudspeakers and electronics for the last 15 years or so, Stax has been best known for producing one thing: electrostatic ear-speakers, aka headphones.
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The Rhapsody Project
FeaturesMusic and Recording Features
John Atkinson, Hyperion Knight, Wes Phillips  |  Jun 11, 1997  |  0 comments
Thirteen Ways of Listening to a Recording Session (with apologies to Wallace Stevens): Wes Phillips
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Focus Audio Signature Model 88 loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
John Atkinson, Wes Phillips  |  Jun 03, 1997  |  0 comments
A science-fiction parable I read too many years ago to remember who wrote it used the image of a glass jar stuffed with colored plastic spheres. The story's protagonist was asked whether the glass was full. "Of course," was his reply, whereupon a hidden faucet was turned, the jar filled up with water, and fish swam in the spaces between the balls.
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MartinLogan SL3 loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Wes Phillips  |  May 12, 1997  |  0 comments
"Wow! What's that?" asked the pizza delivery boy, peering over my shoulder at the slender, 5'-tall Martin-Logan SL3 visible behind me.
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Plinius SA-100 Mk.II power amplifier
Solid State Power Amp Reviews
Wes Phillips  |  Sep 03, 2006  |  First Published: Apr 03, 1997  |  0 comments
Man, you've got to watch out for those preconceived notions—they'll kill you every time. For the last several years I've seen Plinius amplifiers at hi-fi shows and—even though I didn't know the first thing about the company or its products—figured that I knew what they were all about. Spotting their brawny façades festooned with feathery heatsinks, I smugly assured myself that they were some kind of antipodean pretender to the muscle-amp throne—Krell or Threshold wannabes.
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Charlie Hansen, Ayre Acoustics
Interviews
Wes Phillips  |  Mar 30, 1997  |  0 comments
While I was working on my review of the K-1 preamplifier, I telephonically corralled Ayre's Research Director Charlie Hansen for a midwinter afternoon's gabfest. I started by asking Charlie how he became an audiophile.
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Ayre Acoustics K-1 preamplifier
Solid State Preamp Reviews
Wes Phillips  |  Mar 30, 1997  |  0 comments
The Glimmer Twins were right: If you can't always get what you want, sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need. Take Ayre's K-1 preamplifier, for instance. I'd been trying to get Ayre to send me their $3750 V-3 power amplifier since the moment I started writing for Stereophile; after approximately a year and a half, I finally got a phone call from then Marketing Director Bruce Van Allen.
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Audio Odyssey: Ken Kreisel of M&K
Interviews
Wes Phillips  |  Mar 22, 1997  |  0 comments
With 25 years of experience in sound recording, audio retailing, and loudspeaker design and manufacturing, Ken Kreisel has insightful things to say about just about any audio-related subject. The president of Miller & Kreisel Sound Corp. (M&K), Kreisel pioneered the satellite/subwoofer speaker concept that laid the groundwork for the home theaters of today. M&K's most recent offering—the S-150THX surround speaker system—is reviewed in this issue (see archived article).
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M&K S-150 THX Surround Loudspeaker System (SGHT Review)
Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Wes Phillips  |  Mar 22, 1997  |  0 comments
In the summer of 1996, SGHT editor Lawrence Ullman made me an offer I couldn't refuse: "Wes," he asked, "how would you like to review M&K's new THX speaker package?"
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