2nd Edition
The Fifth Element #82
Knut Nystedt's composition Immortal Bach, performed by Ensemble 96 conducted by Oystein Fevang, is a stunning fractal reworking of J.S. Bach's "Komm, sAsser Tod."
Audio Beginnings
My e-mailbox fills up with press releases announcing new products and new companies, and that always makes me wonder: Where does all this stuff come from?
My Favorite Records of 2013
Stephen Mejias: Here’s a list of my 50 favorite albums of 2013. This is by no means a definitive list. These aren’t “the best” or “the most important” records of the year.
The Entry Level #36
In an August 21 post to his popular Lefsetz Letter blog, music-industry analyst Bob Lefsetz shared with his readers the great and often surprising joy of listening to music through a good set of headphones, specifically the open-back, planar-magnetic Audeze LCD-2.
Lindell AMPX power amplifier
Lindell Audio, a Swedish professional-audio company, was founded in 2010 by recording engineer Tobias Lindell, and claims to offer equipment "by engineers, for engineers."
Sophia Electric 91-01 300B monoblock power amplifier
"We put music in the souls of our amplifiers. Every amplifier, every tube, every transformer has music in its soul." Not to be cynical, but I've heard, over the years, countless variations on that sentiment.
Lossy Compression: the Sonic Dangers
Editor's Introduction: In 2013, lossy compression is everywhere--without lossy codecs like MP3, Dolby Digital, DTS, A2DP, AAC, apt-X, and Ogg Vorbis, there would be no Web audio services like Spotify or Pandora...
Electrocompaniet Classic ECD 2 D/A processor
Like many audiophiles of a certain age, I first became aware of the Norwegian company Electrocompaniet when I read a follow-up review of "The Two-Channel Audio Power Amplifier" in Vol.1 No.4 of The Audio Critic, cover-dated July/August/September 1977.
Simaudio Moon Evolution 850P line preamplifier
When it comes to being swayed by a pretty face or curves that are just so, I'm as shallow as the next guy--and I was particularly taken with the good looks of the Moon Evolution 850P.
Listening #132
Pity the aging perfectionist, the happy diversions of whose younger days--washing records, oiling turntables, leveling equipment racks, cleaning tube pins--have now become hated chores. And this from a man who used to redo his Roksan Xerxes setup every few months, just for "fun."
Stereophile's Products of 2013
It's time to celebrate another memorable year in high-end audio. Each December since 1992, Stereophile has named a few special components its Products of the Year. These are components that not only define the present audio landscape, but that we hope will someday be seen as classics--things you'll want to pass on to future generations of audiophiles and music lovers.
1st Edition
Stereophile's Products of 2013
It's time to celebrate another memorable year in high-end audio. Each December since 1992, Stereophile has named a few special components its Products of the Year. These are components that not only define the present audio landscape, but that we hope will someday be seen as classics--things you'll want to pass on to future generations of audiophiles and music lovers.
Parasound Halo CD 1 CD player
For the high-performance audio market, it makes a lot of sense to process digital audio data via sophisticated software running on a dedicated personal computer.
Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia loudspeaker
With the help of 20:20 hindsight, it looks as if I made a decision when I joined Stereophile: to review a loudspeaker from Wilson Audio Specialties every 11 years.
Recording of December 2013: The Grateful Dead's Original 13 Studio Albums
Deadlines and the Dead don't mix. Let me explain: Back when I was a cub reporter, green as ivy, I was, in retrospect, suckered into volunteering to review a Grateful Dead concert. . .
Snob Appeal
It began innocently enough. In June, Slate.com published a sampling from an exhibit by the photographer Kai Schaefer, in which classic LPs of different eras were partnered with the similarly classic record players on which they might have been played.
Death to the Loudness Wars?
Over at The Quietus, Nick Southall speaks with mastering engineer Bob Katz about how iTunes Radio may soon put an end to The Loudness Wars. I direct your attention to the article partly because it's a good read and partly because, in hi-fi circles, we tend to think that young people don't care enough about sound quality.
The New Old Face of Spendor
Jay Rein of Bluebird Music, the North American distributor for Spendor loudspeakers, has a cool, new idea. Collaborating with designers at Spendor, Rein developed retro-inspired grill for speakers in their Classic line up as well as for the Spendor S3/5R2.
Winamp Is No More
Starting December 20, 2013, Winamp will no longer be available for download. A warning was posted on the Winamp website yesterday. Winamp served an instrumental role in the proliferation of downloaded music giving music fans an easy way to play music on their computer.
How to Revive High-End Audio
The fear is that as members of the baby-boom generation increasingly look backward at their 50th birthdays, they will equally increasingly remove themselves from the market for two-channel audio components.
Source Stereophile
