Herb Reichert

When I began writing for Stereophile in 2014, I decided not to mention Audio Note. I decided this because during the best part of the 1990s, I enthusiastically represented both Audio Note UK and Audio Note Japan (Kondo). I did not want my new readers thinking my Stereophile review stories were biased by my previous affiliations.

It only took 40 years, but I think digital can now compete one-on-one with analog for exciting, satisfying sonics and user satisfaction. It took a long time to happen, but I think it was worth the wait.

I was walking with my neighbor, guide, old friend, and fabled "blue saloon" limo driver Beau Ranheim when I heard a shout from afar. It was Todd Garfinkle of M•A Recordings. "Hey Herb! Are you ready to go to Japan?"

Last year, I reported on Stax's glamorous new SR-007S electrostatic earspeakers ($2390) in conjunction with the Stax SRM-700S driver amplifier. This report was extra fun because I was just finishing up a long romantic affair with a loaner pair of vintage Stax SR-Omegas about which, in his 1995 Stereophile review, Tom Norton declared: "If you want the truth, however—at least as honestly as I've heard it in any headphones—you want the Stax SR-Omegas."

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 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.

Lord knows I try to keep an open mind, but those good-measuring delta-sigma chip DACs rub me the wrong way. Their processing complexity vexes my mind, and there's never been a reconstruction or upsampling filter that I've been a fan of. Nevertheless, I believe that every audio component must be judged by how it sounds and feels in use.

The first thing I noticed about the LAiV Audio GaNM monoblock amplifier is its unusual shape and size; it occupies space differently than the other, more basic amplifiers on my rack. The GaNMs sat there giving off a megalithic vibe.