J. Gordon Holt

Sort By: Post Date | Title | Publish Date
Outrageous Price?
As We See ItJ. Gordon Holt
J. Gordon Holt  |  Aug 04, 2016  |  First Published: Jun 01, 1970  |  6 comments
Editor's Note: Approaching its ninth year of publication in 1970, the advertisement-free Stereophile was failing as a business. There was just one issue published between December 1968 and June 1970, the date when J. Gordon Holt published this plea in response to the reaction to the increased subscription price: first to $4 for four issues, equivalent to $25 in 2016, then to $5 ($31). The response from subscribers to his plea was not positive enough to enable the magazine to continue publishing—Gordon could publish just two more issues in the next two years before Stereophile had to accept advertising, first from dealers in October 1972 and from manufacturers in December 1977.—Ed.

Our recent price increase at the end of 1969 elicited numerous letters telling us the magazine was exhorbitant at $4 a subscription and is outrageous at $5, and supporting their contention with comparisons between the price per page of the Stereophile and one or another of the commercial hi-fi magazines. We will answer this once, here and now, and then let the matter drop.

Continue Reading >
Crown DC-300 power amplifier
J. Gordon HoltSolid State Power Amp Reviews
J. Gordon Holt  |  Apr 12, 2017  |  First Published: Jun 01, 1970  |  12 comments
If we had been asked some time ago to describe our "dream amplifier," chances are we would have described the Crown DC-300. Designed originally as an industrial device, it was made available as an audio amplifier rather as an afterthought. But if that roundabout approach is necessary to produce an audio amplifier like this, so be it.
Continue Reading >
Revox A-77 open-reel tape recorder
HistoricalJ. Gordon HoltMiscellaneous
J. Gordon Holt  |  Nov 06, 2019  |  First Published: Jun 01, 1970  |  3 comments
The Revox A-77 has extremely good speed regulation, vanishingly low wow and flutter, very low noise, superb tape handling, and the smoothest, widest-range frequency response of any recorder we have ever tested.

The portable version, with built-in monitor amps and speakers, is very compact for a machine with 10½ reel capacity, and is easily carried by one person. Now that the later version is equipped with a flutter-filtering tension arm, our only criticism of the A-77 is its use of three-circuit jacks for the micro phone inputs instead of the XLR-type receptacles that are considered to be "standard" in the US for on-location audio recording.

Continue Reading >
Stanton 681EE & 681A phono cartridges
J. Gordon HoltPhono Cartridge Reviews
J. Gordon Holt  |  May 11, 2022  |  First Published: Jun 01, 1970  |  3 comments
Superb tracking ability, very good imaging and extremely smooth frequency response, plus unusual freedom from mounting problems make this one of the best pickups available and, quite possibly, the best all-around performer we have encountered.
Continue Reading >
Two More Channels?
As We See ItJ. Gordon Holt
J. Gordon Holt  |  Nov 18, 2015  |  First Published: Dec 01, 1969  |  18 comments
Four-channel stereo is here, but for how long? By the time this gets in print, it is extremely unlikely that any of our readers will have escaped being told that 4-channel stereo is here. "Two channels brought us direction," the announcements trumpet. "Now, four channels bring us dimension." Now, for the first time in the history of hi-fi, modern technology can bring us hall acoustics in stereo, to surround us with the sense of spaciousness that we hear in the concert hall.
Continue Reading >
Dynaco A-25 loudspeaker
Budget Component ReviewsJ. Gordon HoltStand Loudspeaker Reviews
J. Gordon Holt  |  Apr 13, 2017  |  First Published: Dec 01, 1969  |  8 comments
Everyone knows that a lot of serious music listeners—that is, those who listen to music instead of using it as a conversational background—have neither the space nor the money for a pair of typical floor-standing speakers, and must make do with bookshelf-type systems that are actually small enough to put in a bookshelf. But while the typical audio perfectionist will freely admit that there is a place in the audio sun for these dinky little speakers, he cannot really take them seriously, particularly when they're priced significantly under $100 each.
Continue Reading >
The Acoustic Research integrated amplifier
Integrated Amp ReviewsJ. Gordon Holt
J. Gordon Holt  |  May 08, 2018  |  First Published: Dec 01, 1969  |  6 comments
The first time we saw an AR amplifier (at a Hi-Fi Show), we were struck by its bland, almost antiseptic appearance. Amidst all those other audio products that looked as though they had been high-styled for Madame's boudoir, the unadorned simplicity of the AR amplifier made it stand out like an Eames chair at Williamsburg.
Continue Reading >
Prognostications for 1969
As We See ItJ. Gordon Holt
J. Gordon Holt  |  Sep 13, 2016  |  First Published: Dec 01, 1968  |  3 comments
Editor's Note: 40 years before it became a reality, J. Gordon Holt predicts music streaming and predicts the Compact Cassette will become the dominant prerecorded music medium.

Traditionally, the New Year is the time when editors light their pipes, tilt their chairs back, fold their hands and shut their eyes, and make bold predictions about The Future. It is said that prognostications are always risky, because events have a nasty habit of making fools of those who prognosticate. It has been our observation, though, that the only prognosticators who are remembered are those who were proven right, so we are going to do some fearless limb-climbing about something that is coming to worry increasing numbers of stereophiles: Namely, which of all the current recording media is going to become The Standard for home use, and which are going to be left stranded on the shoals of obsolescence?

Continue Reading >
Dynaco PAT-4 preamplifier
HistoricalJ. Gordon HoltSolid State Preamp Reviews
J. Gordon Holt  |  Feb 12, 2021  |  First Published: Dec 01, 1968  |  9 comments
This review of one of the first solid-state preamplifiers was published in 1968. It includes some of JGH's first thoughts on the ongoing subject of "Accuracy vs. Musicality."

Preview, from July 1968 (Vol.2 No.6): Overall sound extremely good, but phono sounds slightly lacking in deep bass, despite impeccable measurements. Scratch filter judged very highly effective, but tone controls felt to be less than ideal be cause of excessively coarse action and marked tendency to affect midrange output. Spring-return Tape Monitor switch probably will not appeal to serious tapesters. This preamp is slated for a full report in the next issue.

Continue Reading >
Why Argue?
As We See ItJ. Gordon Holt
J. Gordon Holt  |  Mar 15, 2016  |  First Published: Jul 01, 1968  |  1 comments
While we were preparing our list of specifications for our perfectionist's tape recorder discussed elsewhere in this issue, we suddenly came to a screeching halt at the spec which started "Scrape flutter less than . . ."

What, we wondered, was the scrape flutter percentage in a recorder in which scrape flutter is audible? Would it be 0.5%? Or 1%? Or even 5%? We perused the readily available literature, and were informed that "scrape flutter is caused by the tape's tendency to move past the heads in a series of tiny jerks in stead of in a smooth gliding motion." We were also told that scrape flutter is due to friction between the tape and the head surfaces, plus the slight elasticity of the tape that allows it to stretch slightly before being dragged along by another silly millimeter, and that it sounds like a rough edge riding on all signal frequencies between about 3kHz and 8kHz.

Continue Reading >

Pages

X