November 2022

Stereophile

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

Stereophile1 min read
Stereophile
EDITOR JIM AUSTIN [email protected] TECHNICAL EDITOR JOHN ATKINSON SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITORS MICHAEL FREMER, HERB REICHERT, KALMAN RUBINSON, JASON VICTOR SERINUS WEB PRODUCER JON IVERSON COPY EDITOR LINDA FELACO FOUNDER J. GORDON HOLT COVE
Stereophile4 min read
As We see It
For years, Audio Advice Live has been an annual event, drawing enthusiastic audiophiles to the dealership’s showrooms on Raleigh’s Glenwood Avenue, next to Virgin Cigars. This year, Audio Advice Live was different. It was a fully fledged audio show,
Stereophile4 min read
Letters
To me, audio gear has gone off the deep end. How do you expect to get new readers or purchasers of said equipment when the prices are out of this solar system? I make a pretty good living, but I wouldn’t buy this stupidity if I had the money. It also
Stereophile3 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 [email protected]. (Note the new
Stereophile12 min read
Industry update
Julie Mullins Entrepreneurial audio designer and cable specialist Chris Sommovigo passed away on August 16, 2022, at his home in Atlanta, Georgia. Doug White of dealership The Voice That Is announced the news in a statement on Facebook, which read in
Stereophile13 min read
Gramophone Dreams
Whenever I install a new, in-for-review DAC, after some amount of spaced-out not-listening listening I find myself just sitting there, being happy I got the damn thing working. Once I recover from the stress of installation, my brain begins, without
Stereophile11 min read
Western Electric 91E INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
During my 30-odd years inhabiting New York City’s Greenwich Village, I’ve seen many things come and go. Today’s Village buzzes, blasts, and bellows in every direction, change itself the only constant. Once the province of printers, factories, piers,
Stereophile14 min read
Brilliant corners
The first audiophile I met lived near a sewage treatment plant on the outskirts of Moscow. It was a few months after the Soviet Union collapsed, in 1992, when I was a college senior, and I recall walking with my father to his home past block after bl
Stereophile5 min read
Measurements
I performed the measurements of the Western Electric 91E with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system.1 I carefully installed the tubes following the instructions in the excellent manual, and after turning on the amplifier, waited for the 91E to optimize t
Stereophile1 min read
Specifications
Description Three-way bass-reflex loudspeaker with marble-base composite cabinet. Drive units: 1" (25mm) Accuton inverted diamond-dome tweeter, 6.25" (158mm) Acuton ceramic-membrane midwoofer, 8.7" (220mm) ceramic-membrane woofer. Crossover frequenci
Stereophile13 min read
Estelon XB Diamond Mk II LOUDSPEAKER
I remember, at High End Munich 2019, setting eyes on one of the most attractive loudspeakers I’d ever seen, in the color that, as I now know, Estelon calls Ocean Mystery. I remember it as a passive demo, no music playing, seen through glass; whether
Stereophile1 min read
Specifications
Description Solid state, class-AB power amplifier, bridge-able as monoblock. Inputs: 1 balanced (XLR), 1 singleended (RCA). Outputs: 2 pair binding posts. Output power: In monophonic mode (as auditioned), 750W into 8 ohms (28.75dBW), 1500W into 4 ohm
Stereophile4 min read
Measurements
I measured the Estelon XB Diamond Mk II in Jim Austin’s listening room. I used DRA Labs’ MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the farfield frequency response and an Earthworks QTC40 microphone for the nearfield and in-room res
Stereophile13 min read
Simaudio Moon 860A v2 POWER AMPLIFIER
We’ve all been in similar situations. We approach an undertaking with the highest of expectations. Then reality intervenes, expectations change radically, and we have another story to tell, post on social media, or use to begin a review. This tale of
Stereophile4 min read
Measurements
I performed the measurements of the Simaudio Moon 860A v2 with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system.1 I initially preconditioned the amplifier by operating it at1/8 power into 8 ohms for 30 minutes. At the end of that time, the top panel’s temperature w
Stereophile1 min read
Specifications
Description Two way, reflex-loaded, standmounted loudspeaker. Drive units: 8" (200mm) mineral-loaded polypropylene-cone woofer, 1.1" (28mm) microfiber-dome tweeter. Crossover frequency: 2.9kHz. Frequency response: 42Hz–20kHz ±3dB. Low-frequency exten
Stereophile5 min read
Measurements
I used DRA Labs’ MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone with an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the Mission 770’s farfield frequency behavior and dispersion. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield and in-room resp
Stereophile1 min read
Associated Equipment
Digital sources dCS Rossini Apex DAC, Clock; Synology 5-bay 1019+ NAS; Uptone Audio EtherRegen with AfterDark Giese-mann Emperor Double Crown Master Clock, Roon Nucleus+ music server, and Nordost QNET Ethernet Switch, all powered by Nordost QSource l
Stereophile9 min read
Mission 770 LOUDSPEAKER
Some audio experiences stick in your memory. For me, one such was in 1978, which I reminisced about in a 1987 review for Stereophile of the Mission PCM 7000 CD player, Mission 780 Argonaut loudspeaker, and Cyrus Two integrated amplifier.1 Mission fou
Stereophile1 min read
Associated Equipment
Analog source Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv B cartridge, Channel D Seta L phono preamplifier. Digital sources Roon Nucleus+ file server; Ayre Acoustics C5xeMP universal player; MBL N31 CD player/DAC
Stereophile1 min read
Specifications
Description Eight-channel power amplifier based on Ncore NC500 class-D technology. Inputs (per channel): 1 RCA (unbalanced), 1 XLR (balanced). Input impedance: 15k ohms (RCA), 36k ohms (XLR). Input sensitivity: 1.7V (RCA, 150W 8 ohms); 3.4V (XLR, 150
Stereophile8 min read
Primare A35.8 POWER AMPLIFIER
Back in 1999, while reviewing the Wazoo integrated amplifier from Bow Technologies, 1 I learned that its designer and company founder, Bo Christensen, had previously founded another audio company. That’s how I discovered Primare. Over the years, vari
Stereophile4 min read
Measurements
I tested the Primare A35.8 with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system.1 As the A35.8 has class-D output stages, all measurements other than frequency response were taken with Audio Precision’s auxiliary AUX-0025 passive low-pass filter, which mitigates n
Stereophile1 min read
Associated Equipment
Digital sources Oppo Digital UDP-105 universal disc player, Custom Intel/Win11 music server running JRiver Media Center v29, Roon, and DiracLive. exaSound s88 Mark II, Okto dac8 Pro, and Topping DM7 D/A processors. QNAP TVS-873 NAS. Preamplifiers Col
Stereophile6 min read
Follow-up
In addition to a full complement of digital inputs, Bel Canto’s e1X DAC1 has two pairs of single-ended line-level analog inputs on RCA jacks and a third pair for an MC/MM phono input. The signal fed to all three analog inputs is converted to digital
Stereophile11 min read
EISA 2022 2023 Hi-Fi PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR
Stereophile may be, as the editor of a European hi-fi magazine—an EISA member—announced to the audience at a recent event, “the most important hi-fi magazine in the world,” but we’re one magazine among many. EISA—the Expert Imaging and Sound Associat
Stereophile11 min read
On The Road Again On
THE FIRST EUROPEAN JAZZ FESTIVAL I EVER ATTENDED WAS IN 2006. IT WAS THE UMBRIA JAZZ FESTIVAL IN PERUGIA, ITALY, ONE OF THE BIGGEST. TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE OVER-RAN THE COBBLESTONE STREETS AND PIAZZAS OF PERUGIA’S OLD TOWN. THE MUSIC BEGAN BEFOR
Stereophile17 min read
Record Reviews
From Afar seems on its face like a dream recording for audiophiles and music lovers. The 2-CD, 44-track project spotlights Víkingur Ólafsson, the sensitive, 38-year-old Icelandic pianist, performing a captivating program of short pieces twice on diss
Stereophile4 min read
Revinylization
With its indelible Francis Wolff cover image of a pensive John Coltrane bathed in blue, freshly fired by Miles Davis but four months free of heroin, and its confident, accessible music that hints at the genius to come, Coltrane’s Blue Train is a time
Stereophile4 min read
Re-tales
Audiophilia often leads the afflicted on a long journey, but no one need take that journey alone: Many audiophiles seek the company of like-minded people, online or in person, to exchange tips and advice, buy and sell gear, and share skills, fun, and
Stereophile4 min read
Manufacturers’ Comments
After 50 years in the farkakte audio business, my greatest joy is developing products that offer both amazing performance and terrific value. I also enjoy finding and distributing great products that might not otherwise be seen in the US, like those
Stereophile4 min read
Aural robert
Professor Longhair in his living room! Etta James—live—at Tipitina’s!! Previously unknown James Booker recordings!!! All of it unreleased and unheard??? In the music world, spare time spurred by COVID closures led to many good ideas and side projects
Stereophile4 min read
My Backpages
It was another glorious Lower Cape summer, the warm breeze almost viscous against your skin. Tim Dickey played bass, or ersatz bass, tuning his Gibson SG Special down an octave. I played drums. My brother John and cousin Dave Scherman traded leads. T

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