CATEGORIES

RABBIT HOLES

Art Pepper Lives! Or, Long Live the CD!

AURAL ROBERT

There's a fear out there, even among jazz cognoscenti, that the music's best years and true geniuses are all part of the past. Even in New York City, the richest magnet for live jazz on earth, it sometimes seems that experiencing generational talent, the kind that once drove the music forward, is now confined to gazing at the famous photos on the walls of the music's most revered shrine, the Village Vanguard.

FOLLOW-UP

CH PRECISION M1.1 POWER AMPLIFIER - At Stereophile, every reviewer takes a different approach to reviewing, and so they inevitably reach varied conclusions.

StormAudio ISP Evo IMMERSIVE SOUND PREAMP/PROCESSOR

One thing that interested me about the StormAudio ISP Evo is that, despite its obvious hi-fi function, it's more like a computer than a typical \"prepro.\"

Rogue DragoN: MONOBLOCK POWER AMPLIFIER

When Editor Jim Austin asked me to review the new Rogue Audio DragoN monoblock amplifier, my first thought was, \"Isn't that Herb's beat?\"

Gold Note Mediterraneo X RECORD PLAYER

Though the hotel halls of Capital Audiofest 2023 were not as busy as some exhibitors might have hoped, the event's listening rooms were filled to the brim with choice equipment, practically overflowing. One piece that captured my attention was a turntable that embodies thoughtful design and contemporary Italian style: the Gold Note Mediterraneo X ($12,999). This elegant turntable combines traditional materials with touch-friendly digital technology in arresting fashion.

Krell KMA-1800 - MONOBLOCK POWER AMPLIFIER

Ever since I raved about Krell's K-300i integrated amplifier after it was released in early 2019,¹ I've wanted to review other Krell products. After spending more than a year and a half (since its prerelease announcement) awaiting the opportunity to review Krell's new flagship mono power amplifier, the KMA-1800 ($73,000/pair), the time has come.

Weiss Engineering Helios D/A PROCESSOR

When standalone digital/analog processors made an appearance a quarter-century ago, they were limited to the CD medium's 16 bits of resolution-at I didn't dance of the diesen it was a best.

Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4 Signature

Back in August, I received an email from Editor Jim Austin. Subject line: \"Want to do a big review?\" He had my attention. Jim wrote that he had visited Bowers & Wilkins parent company Masimo Consumer in Carlsbad, California, for a demo of the brand-new B&W 801 D4 Signature and 805 D4 Signature loudspeakers. (That visit was chronicled by Jim in the September 2023 Industry Update section.)

STEVEN WILSON

A MASTER OF IMMERSIVE MUSIC TALKS ABOUT HIS MUSIC AND THE CRAFT.

FOLLOW-UP

I concluded my September 2023 review of this tubed integrated amplifier by writing that the Audio Research I/50 \"is the perfect amplifier for use in a relatively small room with a high quality source and speakers, especially if the latter have a fairly high impedance.

Focal Bathys

BLUETOOTH + WIRED HEADPHONES

JMF Audio HQS 7001

MONOBLOCK POWER AMPLIFIER

Klipsch The Nines

INTEGRATED LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEM

Ferrum Wandla

D/A PROCESSOR

Luxman L-509Z

When I reviewed Luxman's L-509X flagship integrated amplifier, in May 2018,' that sleek machine shook me to my vitals.

Wilson Audio Specialties Sasha V

Wilson Audio's new Sasha V loudspeaker (that's \"V\" as in victory, not \"five\") extends the line that began in 2009 with the debut of the Sasha 1 model.

BRILLIANT CORNERS

I said to Hank Williams, how lonely does it get?

SPIN DOCTOR

In 1985, I visited what was then known as Soviet Estonia with my family.

GRAMOPHONE DREAMS

I always say I can't find what I'm not looking for, which doesn't mean I always know what I'm looking for. And not knowing what I want is unsettling.

A Love Supreme: Revinylization

Why is John Coltrane's A Love Supreme still so resonant nearly 60 years after it was recorded? Much to its credit, it's short (just over 30 minutes) and to the point.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN, A YEAR LATER

A YEAR AFTER HIS FIRST POSTPANDEMIC JAUNT, TOM CONRAD RETURNS TO EUROPE FOR-WHAT ELSE?-JAZZ.

Wilson Audio Specialties Lōkė: SUBWOOFER

Piece of cake, thought I. All I needed to do to review Wilson Audio Specialties' smallest active subwoofer, the Löke ($8950 each in standard finish), was describe how low a pair goes in my room and how cleanly they woof.

Naim Classic 200 Series NAP 250: POWER AMPLIFIER

For this modular audio component set-a review of the matching NSC 222 streamer preamp with a matching NPX 300 power supply is forthcoming-we first cover the standalone NAP 250 100Wpc stereo power amplifier, a new version of Naim's 200-series amplifier, now so extensively revised that it must be regarded as a new model.

Monitor Audio Platinum 300 3G

Loudspeakers from British manufacturer Monitor Audio have consistently received favorable reviews in Stereophile over the past decades.

McIntosh C12000: PREAMPLIFIER

As I was talking with an audio-retailer friend recently, he reached for a Rolls-Royce metaphor to describe the McIntosh brand. Expensive? Sure, but not as expensive as some boutique high-end products. Fast? Sure, but there are faster things-also bigger things, smaller things, wackier things, and cheaper things.

Focal Maestro Utopia Evo: LOUDSPEAKER

How do you know you're beyond help as a card-carrying audiophile? For me, it happened during a recent trip to Italy.

A new P3 on Rega's 50th: SPIN DOCTOR

When I think about landmark years in the history of British hi-fi, 1973 sticks out. Three companies got their start in the first half of that year that went on to become cornerstones of the British audio scene: Linn Products, Naim Audio, and Rega Research. That means they're all celebrating their 50th anniversaries in 2023.

A Clean, Good-Sounding Place: BRILLIANT CORNERS

In a scene from The Silence of the Lambs-a film that for all of its camp happens to be nearly perfect-FBI cadet Clarice Starling asks caged psycho-path Hannibal Lecter for help in figuring out a serial killer's motives. \"Do we seek out things to covet?\" Lecter responds, following Starling with his eyes as though she were his next meal. \"No,\" he continues, \"we begin by coveting what we see every day.\"

The EMT Experience: GRAMOPHONE DREAMS

If you've read any of my previous Dreams, you no doubt realize that I am an empiricist by trade-that I believe in the value of relaxed, mindful observation, especially if my solitary observances are independently corroborated by others.