CATEGORIES

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.

REVINYLIZATION

Chronic jazz

AURAL ROBERT

Records for the New Land

Ayre VX-8

POWER AMPLIFIER

JBL 4329P

INTEGRATED LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEM

Electrocompaniet AW 800 M

STEREO/MONOBLOCK POWER AMPLIFIER

SPIN DOCTOR

The Vertere DG-1S record player

BRILLIANT CORNERS

Dual-mono mahis

GRAMOPHONE DREAMS

Laissez-faire listening

The curse of composition

Something has happened in jazz culture in the new millennium. There is more emphasis on original composition than ever before. There has been remarkably little discussion and analysis of this phenomenon, perhaps because many assume it is a positive development. Jazz, after all, prioritizes originality.

Munich from the back of the bus

If you're going to Germany to immerse yourself in big-city excitement-churning dance clubs, matterful contemporary art, visitors and food from around the world, and street life that goes on all night-you'll probably find it in Berlin. Though rents have been climbing and there's no shortage of dirty sidewalks and petty crime, the German capital remains one of the most youthful and vibrant cities in Europe, an art and culture center with large expatriate communities and endless things to do. For urban thrills on a smaller scale, you can make a case for Cologne and even Leipzig.