SSI 2013
Stereophile's Robert Deutsch and Art Dudley report live with complete show coverage.
News Flash: Oppo now plays DSD files
There has been a lot of buzz lately generated by show demonstrations of DSD recordings played directly from files and as the opportunity to download DSD files is expanding. Now, in one fell swoop, Oppo has made this possible at no cost at all for those of us who own an Oppo BDP-103 or BDP-105.
Too Many Shows?
Are there too many audio shows? With the Chicago AXPONA having been held two weeks ago, the Montreal SSI having just concluded, and the New York Audio Show coming up in what their website currently indicates is 16 days, 21 hours, 51 minutes, and 9 seconds away, people are starting to wonder whether we're getting an overload on audio shows.
Bel Canto Design C7R D/A receiver
As a young music lover, I never knew there were such things as separate preamplifiers, amplifiers, and FM tuners. All I knew was that if I wanted to play music from my CD player, hook up my VCR to my stereo, or listen to the radio, I needed that magical device: a receiver. It was all I ever wanted.
Velodyne Digital Drive Plus 18 subwoofer
Subwoofer technology is moving fast, with automated room equalization and system integration now a reality. A wave of new products has appeared in the past five years, all using different approaches to solving the problems of optimizing subwoofer response in listening rooms.
The Entry Level #27
While visiting KEF in England (see last month's column), I received an e-mail from the proprietor of HeadphoneCommute.com, a website devoted to electronic, experimental, and instrumental music.
Music in the Round #59
Growing up as an audiophile in the 1950s, I always aspired to owning Marantz equipment, and finally attained that status when, late one night in 1974 in Greenwich Village, a friend found a Model 8 amp sitting on a pile of discards on a curb. He quickly ran for his car, and scarfed up the amp and a pair of Acoustic Research AR1 speakers.
Book Review: How Music Works
Measuring 7.1" by 1.6" by 9.1" and with an attractive paper-over-board cover, [Talking Heads founder] David Byrne's boldly titled new book resembles the textbooks often found in public-school classrooms.
AXPONA 2013
Stereophile's John Atkison and Jason Victor Serinus report live with complete show coverage.
pendor S3/5R2 loudspeaker
The Spendor S3/5R2 loudspeaker reminds me of Art Dudley. My friendship with Art began more than 25 years ago, long before either of us joined Stereophile. Frequently, we would sit down to discuss music, guitars, and audiophiles. Art didn't have much patience for a certain category of audiophile who would evaluate an audio component based on how many points on their sonic checklists they could tick off. Image specificity? Check. Soundstage depth? Check. Lower-bass extension? Check.
Listening #123
Let's say you're lucky enough, or just plain old enough, to have bought a copy of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood on January 12, 1966. Let's say you're lucky enough or just plain smart enough to have held on to it and kept it in perfect shape for the past 47 years. And let's say it was one of the first 500 copies, which the author signed. If so, congratulations: For once in your life, even the smuggest collector can't claim that his copy of a book is "better" or more valuable than yours.
The Shape of Jazz to Come in 45rpm
A little over two years ago, I raved in this space over Rhino's 180-gram vinyl pressing of Ornette Coleman's 1959 album The Shape of Jazz to Come, one of the greatest and most important in all of jazz. Now I'm here to rave louder still (with one frustrating caveat) about another reissue, mastered by Bernie Grundman at 45rpm for the audiophile label ORG.
Three Days in England with KEF
It was around 9:30am on Monday, November 12, when my plane landed in gray and chilly London. I managed to get through Customs with nothing more than the usual amount of stress and embarrassment, satisfactorily answering all of the agent’s odd questions. That out of the way, I next had to find my host--KEF’s head of brand development, Johan Coorg. Because my cell phone wasn’t working, I was worried that I’d be left stranded at Heathrow, but I recognized Coorg immediately.
Payday Albums: 2/1/13 & 3/1/13
I started this Payday Albums project in January. By February, I’d already fallen behind. So, let’s play catch-up: Today’s payday. These are the albums I bought.
V-Moda M-80 Headphones Sweepstakes
Register to win a set of V-Moda M-80 Headphones (MSRP $230) we are giving away.
Peachtree Audio decco65 D/A integrated amplifier
Whether one was surprised, in 2010, by the success of Peachtree Audio's iDecco may have more to do with age than anything else. My peers and I wondered, at first, who would want their high-end integrated amps to come bundled not only with digital-to-analog converters but with iPod docks, of all things; at the same time, younger hobbyists wondered who in the world still wanted their integrated amps to contain phono preamplifiers.
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