2nd Edition
Simaudio Moon Evolution 740P line preamplifier
Transparency is a trait we all value in a hi-fi rig, and it's a concept I've long thought I understood. A system that tosses up the illusion of a clear, spacious soundstage, on which you can hear--almost see--all of the singers and/or instruments.
Listening #149
At home, I have two different ways of listening to music--just as I have two different ways of cooking and washing the car and making coffee and getting dressed to go out.
Record Store Day 2015
As vinyl geeks know, the 2015 version of “The List,” the annual compilation of special items to be released for Record Store Day, had little this spring that was either super rare, super essential or super exciting.
AXPONA Chicago Set To Wow Friday–Sunday
In the consumer audio show arena, the newly rebranded Audio Con (after Comic Con) from AXPONA Chicago seems on course to claim the crown as one of the three top high-end shows in North America.
Coltrane 1961
Perhaps it’s a form of cosmic justice, but it seems that just as a form of audio playback technology is perfected, it dies. But often, in its death throes, it also finds its finest expression .
Theta Data universal disc transport
"In the fields of observation, chance favors only the mind that is prepared." When Louis Pasteur uttered these words more than a hundred years ago, he must have speculated that they would apply equally well to future circumstances as to the events of his day.
Access Journalism vs Accountability Journalism
As I try to put down these thoughts, I'm listening to the high-resolution masters of the April issue's "Recording of the Month," Sasha Matson's jazz opera Cooperstown, on my Pono player using Ultimate Ears UE18 in-ear monitors.
Trip and Jitter: the Electronic World of Dan Deacon
Violet- and orchid-colored LED banks shimmer across the room. Green and pink spots radiate out and back. A steady stream of beats and keyboards from other electronica luminaries rumbles out of the speakers. Let's dance! Or maybe just listen?
NAD D 3020 integrated amplifier
In the mornings, just before I leave for work, I power up the system, turn the volume down low, and set the CD player to Repeat. I like to think that if I play calm, soothing music while Ms. Little and I are away, the cats will feel less alone and more relaxed.
From the JGH Archives: Who's Right? Accuracy or Musicality
Many years ago, the now-defunct Life magazine ran a feature article about science and its sacred cows, in which a cartoon showed a huge inverted pyramid-shaped structure of great complexity, tapering downward to a single support at its base: a toothpick.
1st Edition
Thöress 300B monoblock power amplifier
In 1978, after enduring four or five years of wretched music made by men with long hair and beards and tendencies toward eonic guitar solos, I suddenly discovered that the only music worth hearing was made by clean-shaven men of limited musical proficiency.
The Fifth Element #90
As a film title, Quantizing Hanson Hsu might not rank up there with Kissing Jessica Stein, but we work with what we have to work with. Hanson Hsu is the principal designer at Delta H Design, Inc., an acoustics and architecture firm based in Marina del Rey, California.
Classic JGH: The Audio Centennial (+1) Revolution
Despite the myriads of technological breakthroughs announced month after month with tedious regularity by manufacturers of pickups, amplifiers and loudspeakers, there are only five developments in the 101-year history of audio reproduction that we would call truly revolutionary.
SSI 2015 Live From the Show!
Robert Deutsch and Art Dudley report live from the Hilton Bonaventure. in Montreal, Canada.
Audioengine's B2 Bluetooth Speaker Sweepstakes
Register to win an Audioengine B2 Bluetooth Speaker (MSRP $299) we are giving away.
Robert J. Reina RIP
All of us Stereophile were deeply saddened this morning to learn of the death of Bob Reina, after a brief battle with cancer. Bob was 61. After a stint at The Absolute Sound and cofounding a high-end audio magazine, Sounds Like..., Bob joined Stereophile in 1995 and his first review was of a Creek amplifier. Bob's final review will be of VAC's Signature SE preamplifier in our June issue.
Ryan Truesdell's Gil Evans Project
A few years ago, Ryan Truesdell, a jazz composer and arranger, gained access to a treasure trove of Gil Evans' handwritten scores from the 1940s to the '80s--some of them recorded, many not--and set out to form a big band to play them.
Emotiva Audio Pro Airmotiv 4s powered loudspeaker
"I'm intrigued how Emotiva can offer an active speaker for so little." This was John Atkinson's response to my request to review Emotiva's Pro Airmotiv 4s ($299/pair).
2015 Recommended Components
Components listed here have been formally reviewed in Stereophile and have been found to be among the best available in each of four or five quality classes. Whether a component is listed in Class A or Class E, we highly recommend its purchase.
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