May 2023

Stereophile

High-end audio equipment news and reports with audio engineer interviews

Stereophile2 min read
Calendar Of Industry Events
ATTENTION ALL AUDIO SOCIETIES: We have a page on the Stereophile website devoted to you: stereophile.com/audiophile-societies. If you’d like to have your audio-society information posted on the site, email Chris Vogel at vgl@cfl.rr.com. (Note the new
Stereophile10 min read
Industry Update
Jim Austin I met Bryan Stanton before I knew I had met him, not too long ago. AXPONA 2019 was over. I packed my bags, came downstairs, and saw several of my colleagues sitting at a table. I’d be heading for the airport soon. With them was a gentleman
Stereophile13 min read
Two At The Top
Since the 1980s, I’ve been asking every speaker designer I meet, “What amplifier do you recommend using with your speakers?” Annoyingly, they always say, “My speakers are easy to drive. Any amp will do.” Whereupon I’d whine, “Aww, come on man, don’t
Stereophile12 min read
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue.
It turns out that PVC, or polyvinyl chloride—the stuff used to make Starbucks gift cards, imitation leather wallets, inflatable pool unicorns, the pipes under your sink, and Billy Idol’s pants—is also the main ingredient in phonograph records. And to
Stereophile16 min read
Karan Acoustics Master Collection POWERa Mono
It began with a bad outlet. Perhaps two weeks after my husband and visiting friend created several delightful holiday light displays in the living room, one of the living room outlets died. Every time I tried to plug in part of the light show, it, al
Stereophile4 min read
Measurements
I measured one of the Karan POWERa Mono amplifiers that JVS auditioned, serial number 005. Because the amplifier was too wide to fit through the door from my listening room to the corridor that leads to the test lab, I performed the measurements in m
Stereophile4 min read
Letters
All of us have read numerous audio reviews ending with the same tired phrases: “Highly recommended,” “Must audition,” “Put it on your short list.” Jason, in his review of the dCS Vivaldi Apex, goes in a different, original, direction: “If you’re fort
Stereophile4 min read
Punk Rock’s Wild Gift
This month’s music feature, by Mike Mettler, is an interview with John Doe, best known as cofounder, in 1977, of the legendary punk band X. During X’s long recording career, Doe’s urgent voice has offset the starkly contrasting voice of co–lead vocal
Stereophile12 min read
Moon by Simaudio Voice 22
I’m picturing a gaggle of cigar-chomping Simaudio execs in an office discussing what to do about the fact that their high-end amplification lines have become so successful that their names have become synonymous with the company. “In the ’90s, people
Stereophile10 min read
Mastersound Compact 845
Back in the ’50s, Cesare Sanavio, then a new electronics graduate with a specialty in output transformers for tube amplifiers, began his career in radio and television, traveling to various locations outside his native Italy to apply his expertise. E
Stereophile3 min read
Measurements
I used DRA Labs’ MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Simaudio Moon Voice 22’s behavior in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield responses. As the loudspeaker’s manual recommends that the grille be
Stereophile5 min read
Measurements
I performed the measurements of the Mastersound Compact 845 amplifier with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system.1 The tubes were installed when I received the review sample, and I waited for an hour after powering up the amplifier before starting the te
Stereophile14 min read
Arvus H2-4D
Before I can get to what the Arvus H2-4D does and how well it does it, I have to explain why I think it’s an important product. I spent years as an advocate for multichannel audio for music, based on discrete, lossless sources such as DVD-A, SACD, an
Stereophile5 min read
Measurements
I measured the Arvus H2-4D with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system.1 I connected the H2-4D’s Ethernet port to my network and used the unit’s GUI to set the processor’s output configuration to “5.1.2,” to make sure there was no DSP being used, and to s
Stereophile11 min read
Jay’s Audio CDT3-MK3
They say a jack of all trades is the master of none. While this expression is typically used to describe people, it also works for machines that play 5" optical discs. The Compact Disc was launched in 1982, but the four decades since have seen an alp
Stereophile3 min read
Measurements
The most meaningful test of a CD player or transport is of how well it deals with disc errors. I examined the Jay’s Audio CDT3-MK3’s performance with the Pierre Verany Digital Test CD, which has tracks with single or double gaps in the data spiral. I
Stereophile8 min read
Mojo Mystique X Se D/a Processor
Herb Reichert reviewed the Mojo Mystique X SE very favorably in Stereophile’s April 2023 issue.1 While he found that the dCS Bartók DAC made piano recordings sound crisper and more dramatic, “sounding bigger, tighter, and more forceful through the pi
Stereophile11 min read
John Doe
FEW PEOPLE MAKE ALBUMS ABOUT isolation and loneliness sound as appealing as John Doe does. That’s what Doe has achieved with his latest solo release, Fables in a Foreign Land (LP, Fat Possum FP 18001). Set as a song cycle in the 1890s, the album’s 13
Stereophile4 min read
Bob Meets Burt
Back in 2003, in an uptown New York City studio, a man who epitomized cool in the 1960s waited patiently for my next question. Well into his 70s but still thin and handsome, Burt Bacharach was casually dapper in his contrasting sweater and polo shirt
Stereophile4 min read
Glenn Gould’s Goldberg Variations from 1981
In 1955, Canadian pianist Glenn Gould surprised executives at Columbia Masterworks by choosing J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations for his debut recording. His performance was fast and fluid and sparkling and delicious, and it was an astonishingly big se
Stereophile4 min read
In Soul’s Kitchen With Jaws And The Queen
Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, also known as Jaws, was a self-taught originator of soul jazz. He recorded the first records that blend Hammond organ and tenor sax, with Bill Doggett at the B3, for Roost Records in May 1952. He continued to develop his blues-
Stereophile3 min read
Tyshawn Sorey Trio + 1
Sorey, drums; Aaron Diehl, piano; Russell Hall, bass; Greg Osby, alto saxophone Pi P196 (3 CDs, available as download). 2022. Sorey, prod.; Kengchakaj Kengkarnka, recording/mixing eng. There is no one like Tyshawn Sorey. As a jazz drummer, he is at h
Stereophile2 min read
Nielsen
Danish National Symphony Orchestra/Fabio Luisi Deutsche Grammophon 00028948634811 (16/44.1WAV). 2023. Bernhard Güttler, prod.; Mikkel Nymand, eng. The second symphony, with its depiction of the four classical “humors” in conventional, easily grasped
Stereophile3 min read
Alexander Melnikov
Alexander Melnikov, keyboards Harmonia Mundi 902702 (24/96 WAV). 2023. Martin Sauer, prod.; Benedikt Schröder, eng. On the face of it, Alexander Melnikov’s Fantasie: 7 Composers, 7 Keyboards is an audiophile’s dream. A follow-up to keyboard genius Me
Stereophile2 min read
R. Strauss/debussy
London Symphony Orchestra/François-Xavier Roth LSO Live LSO0833 (CD). Nicholas Parker, prod.; Jonathan Stokes and Neil Hutchinson, engs. For 15 minutes or so, Roth delivers one of the best Zarathustras in a while, a reading marked primarily by restra
Stereophile2 min read
Beethoven
Veronika Eberle, violin; London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle, cond. LSO5094 SACD (24/96 WAV download). 2023. Andrew Cornall, prod.; Neil Hutchinson & Jonathan Stokes, eng. This D Major concerto is equally essential because of Veronika Eberle’
Stereophile2 min read
Bobo Stenson Trio
Stenson, piano; Anders Jormin, bass; Jon Fält, drums, percussion ECM 2775 (CD). 2023. Manfred Eicher, prod.; Stefano Amerio, eng. Bobo Stenson may be the most under-recognized great pianist in jazz. He was essential to the aura of mystical lyricism t
Stereophile2 min read
Kirsten Edkins
Kirsten Edkins, tenor saxophone; Gerald Clayton, piano; Lemar Guillary, trombone; Ahmet Turkmenoglu, bass; Chris Wabich, drums Cohearent Records CR-AV-2201 (LP). 2023. Dave Connor, prod.; Kevin Gray, Ryan Wirthlin, engs. New, genuinely audiophile rec
Stereophile2 min read
Franco Ambrosetti
Ambrosetti, flugelhorn; Uri Caine, piano; Scott Colley, bass; Peter Erskine, drums; John Scofield, guitar; 22-piece string orchestra Enja ENJ-9811-2 (hybrid SACD). 2022. Jeff Levenson, prod.; Jim Anderson, eng. The SACD format, especially in 5.1 chan
Stereophile2 min read
Walter Smith III
Smith, tenor saxophone; Taylor Eigsti, piano, Fender Rhodes; Matt Stevens, guitar; Harish Raghavan, bass; Kendrick Scott, drums; two guests Blue Note B003704402 (16/44.1 WAV). 2023. Smith, prod.; Chris Allen, eng. Walter Smith III has been coming up
Stereophile2 min read
Paramore
Atlantic Records (16/44.1 FLAC stream/Qobuz). 2023. Carlos de la Garza, prod.; Harriet Tam, eng. Coming nearly six years after Tennessee-based Paramore’s previous album, This Is Why is a welcome arrival. Lead singer Hayley Williams made two solo albu
Stereophile2 min read
John Lee Hooker
Vee Jay/Craft Recordings CR00544 (LP). 2023. No prod. or eng. listed. Though it’s often forgotten in the wake of Motown’s success, there was also a blues scene in Detroit in which no one loomed larger than John Lee Hooker. Cut at a single session in
Stereophile2 min read
Yo La Tengo
Matador Records OLE1929 (LP). 2023. Yo La Tengo, prod.; James McNew, eng. Age has privileges and advantages. Nearing 40 years together, Yo La Tengo has earned the trust and freedom to write and play whatever they feel or want to say. Over the years,
Stereophile2 min read
New Order
Warner 0825646253012 (1 LP, 2 CD, 2 DVD, Book) New Order, Rich Osborn & Trish Macgregor, prod.; Michael Johnson, eng. Power, Corruption and Lies (1983) is regarded by many as New Order’s masterpiece. Well, maybe so, but the album that followed it, Lo
Stereophile4 min read
Goodbye To Gatekeeping
Several traditional hi-fi dealerships have shuttered in recent years: NYC’s Lyric Hi-Fi1 and Chicago’s Audio Consultants are prominent examples. A few new brick-and-mortar shops have opened, but it’s rare to see a next-generation owner breathe new li
Stereophile3 min read
Manufacturers’ Comments
Many thanks to Herb Reichert and Stereophile for this fabulous review of our Diana TC headphone and the XIAUDIO Broadway headphone amplifier. It’s simply AWESOME to be able to tickle a highly experienced listener’s engrams with a high-resolution audi
Stereophile4 min read
A Masterpiece As It Is Painted
Columbia Records continues to extend its Bob Dylan Bootleg Series, which began in 1991. The latest edition in this complex warren of burrows brings us to Volume 17, Bob Dylan – Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996 – 1997). Fragments—the title—
Stereophile1 min read
Stereophile
EDITOR JIM AUSTIN JIM.AUSTIN@STEREOPHILE.COM TECHNICAL EDITOR JOHN ATKINSON SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITORS HERB REICHERT, KALMAN RUBINSON, JASON VICTOR SERINUS WEB PRODUCER JON IVERSON COPY EDITOR LINDA FELACO FOUNDER J. GORDON HOLT COVER PHOTO DAVID DU

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