2nd Edition
Chord Electronics Hugo M Scaler upsampling digital processor
The idea of using digital signal processing (DSP) to convert digital audio data sampled at 44.1kHz or 48kHz to a higher sample rate is not new. I first heard the beneficial effects of upsampling at Stereophile's 1998 hi-fi show in Los Angeles, where a pro-audio dCS 972 digital-to-digital processor was being used to convert 16-bit/44.1kHz CD data to a 24/192 datastream.
A High-Resolution Audio Primer
January's Industry Update included a report on a scientific article presented at last year's AES meeting, in which the authors used test tones and a modest audio system (albeit in an anechoic chamber) to prove that listeners can discriminate between high-rez and CD-rez audio.
Metronome Technologie AQWO SACD/CD transport and D/A processor
In an era when polar opposites compete as absolutes, it can be a challenge to acknowledge the different and equally valid ways in which audiophiles approach musical truth. But the reality is that our perceptions of how reproduced music should sound are determined, to a large extent, by how we approach the live experience.
Let rolling streams their gladness show
In the 1980s, the CD nearly pushed the LP to extinction. Nearly. For all the claims of "Perfect Sound Forever," the main thing offered by the CD was convenience.
Recording of March 2020: Who
What motivates an artist to make great statements? Whatever it is, it's certainly a shock to see a rock-era songwriter rediscover his muse after some 40 years treading water. So it is that Pete Townshend re-emerges at the end of 2019 with his most powerful collection of songs since Empty Glass and the best Who album since Quadrophenia.
Rega Planar 10 turntable, RB3000 tonearm, Apheta 3 phono cartridge
While some turntable designs pile on the mass, hoping to tame resonances and better isolate the record from the outside world, Rega has long advocated ultralow-mass designs. What's up with that?
The Uncertainty Principle
Have you ever suspected that the component you bought after diligent research is somehow not "typical"? That its sound seems to bear little resemblance to the descriptions in the reviews you read? Sure, you listened to the unit before purchase, but the one you took out of the box at home--was that the same unit?
Florida Audio Expo 2020 Show Report!
Editor Jim Austin, along with new member of the Stereophile team Julie Mullins, covers all corners of this sold-out audiophile event!
1st Edition
Florida Audio Expo 2020 Show Report!
Editor Jim Austin, along with new member of the Stereophile team Julie Mullins, covers all corners of this sold-out audiophile event!
JA on Loudspeaker Measurements
It was the Saturday of Stereophile's 1991 Writers' Conference. The gathered scribes were talking about the circular logic of how you can't assess the worth of a component except by listening to recordings through it--except that you first have to listen to those recordings through the component to find out how good they were.
Post-Fire Future Unclear for Apollo Masters
On February 6, our sister site AnalogPlanet.com reported the news of a three-alarm fire at the Banning, CA headquarters of Apollo Masters, a renowned manufacturer of ready-to-cut lacquers for use in the LP-mastering industry.
Gramophone Dreams #33: Interconnects & Loudspeaker Cables
When I applied for this job, I wrote a pretend review of the Rogue Audio Sphinx integrated amplifier and emailed it to Stephen Mejias, then Stereophile's deputy editor, who printed it and put it on John Atkinson's desk.
Krell Power: A Visit to the Laboratory of Doctor Morbius
The Lockheed 1011 sits dormant on the ground at Chicago's O'Hare airport. "We have a little light bulb problem here" drawls the pilot in the approved Right Stuff manner. "We don't know if it's the bulb or what, we'll let you know."
Revinylization #2: Frog Pad Records, Electric Recording Company, Blue Note Tone Poet
Next to Christmas carols, Sousa marches, and the collected works of Bobby "Boris" Pickett, there's no more seasonal music than bluegrass, which comes to life at the 30 or so major outdoor festivals and scores of smaller events that take place every summer throughout the US.
"Isn't Our Hobby the Greatest?"
As per our ritual, Karim and Dan arrived at my door in late afternoon, bearing our ritual's customary offerings: dark beer, wine, cold pork sandwiches, fruit and chocolate tarts, good music on well-recorded CDs, and audio hardware to try out on the host's hi-fi--on this particular Friday, my hi-fi.
Schiit Audio Ragnarok 2 integrated amplifier
In Herb Reichert's review of the original Schiit Audio Ragnarok integrated amplifier, he wrote, "Schiit Audio's Ragnarok [is] the first amplifier of my experience that plays earth and sky, mind and body, brown eyes and blue, speakers and headphones, with equal narcotic intensity."
Book Review: Hi-Fi: The History of High-End Audio Design
The ongoing evolution of hi-fi can be measured in any number of ways. Most obviously, we see that evolution in the technologies associated with our industry: in big breakthroughs--mono to stereo, tubes to transistors, analog to digital--as well as incremental improvements in materials and manufacturing techniques.
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