My old pal George Stanwick, who worked at Stereo Exchange, spotted me walking up Broadway through the store's window, whereupon he ran out and literally dragged me off the street pulling me by the arm-against my mumbled protests.
I followed George into Stereo Exchange's luxurious back room, where, spotlighted in front of me, I saw what looked like an expat's spin on trad-British "minimonitors." He busked me saying, "I know how you like Quads and Snells, so I know you'll like these Totems even more."
I loved George, so I sat and listened patiently-knowing that when he finished, I could laugh and tell him how wrong he was.
But he was right. These little boxes steered the music straight into my brain-just like Quads and Snells. I sat riveted, as George, who also worked at Tower Records, played a selection of genre-diverse recordings that he had just purchased (with my money) especially for me. (At that time, I was giving George $50 a week to buy me any records he thought I should have.) The Model 1s did not sound British, or American. But, like the best British speakers, the Totems preserved each record's unique flavor, a trait I regard as proof of truth.
Proof of truth is why I've always liked studio monitor type speakers, but at that time my BFF Altec 604s were feeling forward and noisy and fatiguing. That they lacked "pinpoint" imaging- which was the hi-fi fashion of the day-was stuck in my awareness. As was their shipping-crate bulk. I needed a radical change. George corralled me because he already knew I was shopping for something smaller and more laid-back. Something where the soundspace happens behind the speakers, where the speakers disappear while presenting a deep, wide, delicate soundstage. These new Totems did all that, and I used them until I bought my second pair of BBC LS3/5a's.
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Michael Des Barres and the Art of Aural Obsession
Listening to music inspires us to take action. Upon hearing an I.E.-Instant Earworm-we must then determine the best way we can go about listening to it again (and again) at our convenience.
PLANET OF SOUND
BLACK FRANCIS ON HARNESSING THAT MAGIC PIXIES DUST
T+A R 2500 R STREAMING RECEIVER PHONO MODULE
In my review of the T+A R 2500 R receiver (August 2024 issue), I covered many of its features and took as deep a dive as time and column inches allowed.
Audia Flight FLS10
The dogma of separates has long reigned supreme among audiophiles: If you're serious about sound quality, you're supposed to need a dedicated preamp and power amp.
Totem Acoustic Element Fire V2
Totem Acoustic was founded in 1987, in Montreal, Canada, by a former high school math teacher named Vince Bruzzese. The company's first product, the Model 1 loudspeaker,' impressed me so much I bought a pair.
MoFi Electronics MasterDeck
Get two mouthy jazz drummers in a room and watch the sparks fly. Talented turntable designer Allen Perkins, the brain behind Spiral Groove,2 Immedia's RPM turntables,³ and various SOTA models, is first and foremost a jazz drummer.
Soulution 727
AImost 14 years have passed since a review of a Soulution product appeared in the pages of Stereophile.\"
The Spin Doctor checks out the Kuzma Safir 9, a superarm from Slovenia.
The British audio scene from the late 1970s through the mid-1980s was pretty strange. Audio as a hobby was a big deal, with widespread appeal to a much younger crowd than today. Audiophiles were guided by a flurry of what my friends called \"hi-fi pornos,\" audio magazines that filled the racks at the newsagents.
Alex goes to Japan
Arriving in Japan from the United States is like being turned upside down. This condition lasts for much of the first week. When I visited in November, the time difference between Tokyo and New York was 14 hours. \"The floating world\" is a term for the pleasure-addled urban culture of Edo-period Japan, but it's also an apt description for the twilit and not-entirely-unpleasant weirdness of first arriving in Tokyo. Everything seems slightly unreal.
Wilson Audio Specialties The WATT/Puppy
Since the original WATT/Puppy concept kicked off in the late 1980s,' there has been a 40-year evolution leading to the latest version reviewed here.
