John Atkinson

KEF Reference 207 loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
John Atkinson  |  Feb 16, 2003  |  0 comments
The very last review I wrote for Hi-Fi News & Record Review (these days just plain Hi-Fi News)—before crossing the Atlantic to take up the reins at Stereophile in May 1986—was of KEF's then-new flagship speaker, the Reference 107. That rave review appeared in the English magazine's July 1986 issue, and was followed by equally positive reports from Stereophile's writers.
Continue Reading >
No Smiths: Matters of Taste
As We See It
John Atkinson  |  Feb 09, 2003  |  0 comments
"What? What??? No Smiths?" asks reader Steven J. Wilder in this issue's "Letters" (p.9), regarding my interjection in the "Honorable Mentions" sidebar of last November's "40 Essential Albums." Hey, I think The Smiths suck—okay, Mr. Wilder? Morrissey's self-absorbed adolescent whining had no place on a list that included music from such grownups as Morrison, Mitchell, and Mingus. I'm not alone in this sentiment. Jon Iverson, www.stereophile.com's webmaster, almost stapled together the pages of Mojo magazine's April 2001 retrospective of Morrissey's and Marr's music so he could skip over it without running the risk of the veins on his forehead exploding.
Continue Reading >
Canton Karat Reference 2 DC loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
John Atkinson  |  Jan 19, 2003  |  0 comments
Despite my 26 years in audio journalism, the amount of stuff I need to know seems to increase faster than I can cope with it. Thus it didn't come as too much of a surprise for me to learn that speaker manufacturer Canton, the Teutonic equivalent of England's B&W, a) was 30 years old in 2002, and b) claims the dominant market share of the German market. Yes, I'd been peripherally aware of Canton through the years, but for various reasons had never auditioned any of their models. I was amenable, therefore, when Canton USA's Paul Madsen suggested to me last May, at Home Entertainment 2002 in New York City, that I review their flagship speaker.
Continue Reading >
The Five Dealer Rule
As We See It
John Atkinson  |  Jan 05, 2003  |  0 comments
Surfing the Usenet newsgroups and the Web audio forums recently, it struck me that the old wisdom is correct: If you keep your mouth shut, you won't say anything with which anyone can disagree. A topic that seems to be of perennial interest is how Stereophile chooses the products it reviews. Yet the more I have explained how it's done, the greater the criticism that is heaped on the magazine.
Continue Reading >
Against the Dying of the Light: the Second Cantus CD
FeaturesMusic and Recording Features
John Atkinson, Wes Phillips  |  Dec 24, 2002  |  0 comments
Part 1: Wes Phillips on the CD's genesis
Continue Reading >
Mission Pilastro loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker ReviewsAudacious Audio
John Atkinson  |  Dec 22, 2002  |  0 comments
"Is that it?" I asked.
Continue Reading >
Suicide Junctions
As We See It
John Atkinson  |  Dec 15, 2002  |  0 comments
"Suicide junctions," I calls 'em. The ones with which I'm most familiar are on I-278, just north of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in Brooklyn, New York, and along North Mopac in Austin, Texas, but they must exist all over the US. Traffic about to enter the freeway must first cross the line of faster-traveling offcoming cars, the intersection's on- and off-ramps crossing in a shallow X.
Continue Reading >
The 2002 Products of the Year
FeaturesProducts of the Year
John Atkinson, Stephen Mejias  |  Dec 08, 2002  |  0 comments
For more than a decade now, Stereophile has recognized components that have proved capable of giving musical pleasure beyond the formal review period by naming its "Products of the Year."
Continue Reading >
Happy Birthday www.stereophile.com
News
John Atkinson  |  Dec 01, 2002  |  0 comments
On Sunday, December 1, 2002, we celebrated five years of uninterrupted webcasting, our website having emerged from the Internet darkness on December 1, 1997 to become, at least in my eyes, an institution. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote that "an institution is the lengthened shadow of one man," and www.stereophile.com is definitely the shadow of erstwhile high-end audio retailer Jon Iverson.
Continue Reading >
40 Years of Stereophile
As We See ItHistorical
John Atkinson  |  Nov 17, 2002  |  0 comments

"The monthly miracle," it's called in publishing: that magical moment when the new issue of your magazine arrives in the mailbox hot from the printer. And with this issue of Stereophile—No.274, or Vol.25 No.11—we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the start of our "miracle." With the 20 pages of Issue No.1, Vol.1 No.1, cover-dated September-October 1962, "Ye Editor & Publisher" J. Gordon Holt introduced both a new audio magazine and the philosophy that an audio product is best reviewed by doing exactly what its purchasers will do: listen to it. On that small rock of an idea was founded not only Stereophile but the entire high-end audio industry. Here, reprinted from a 1974 anthology of the first 12 issues, is J. Gordon Holt's description of the events that led up to the founding of Stereophile:

Continue Reading >

Pages

X