July 2024

Stereophile

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

Stereophile4 min read
AXPONA In The Rear View
If buying a hi-fi product from an internet retailer is like an arranged marriage, a hi-fi show is like speed dating. Not everyone, I realize, approaches hi-fi shows (or speed dating, for that matter) the same way, and anyway, the analogy between hi-f
Stereophile1 min read
Stereophile
EDITOR JIM AUSTIN [email protected] TECHNICAL EDITOR JOHN ATKINSON MANAGING EDITOR MARK HENNINGER SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITORS HERB REICHERT, KALMAN RUBINSON, JASON VICTOR SERINUS WEB PRODUCER JON IVERSON COPY EDITOR LINDA FELACO FOUNDER J. G
Stereophile4 min read
Letters
Kudos once again on your great magazine and fantastic staff of writers and equipment reviewers. A question comes to mind, however: Do your reviewers lift weights in their spare time or moonlight as furniture movers? How did Brian Damkroger and Sasha
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 [email protected]. (Please note
Stereophile10 min read
Industry Update
Michael Trei Andrew N. Singer, founder and owner of New York City high-end audio retailer Sound By Singer, died Sunday, April 21, 2024, following a lengthy illness. He was 73 years old. Born and raised in New York City by a Jewish father and a French
Stereophile12 min read
Harbeths Standing Tall
After lifelike timbres and speed-train momentum, how a loudspeaker projects its energy into my room is the main thing that determines how my sound system feels as I listen to it. When I review loudspeakers, I try to notice the unique tone and force o
Stereophile10 min read
The Gal Who Invented Kissin’
Country is a music of diverse pleasures: the bel canto balladry of George Jones and Tammy Wynette, the psychologically acute portraiture of Tom T. Hall, the politically rousing storytelling of Loretta Lynn, the self-deprecating myth-making of Billy J
Stereophile11 min read
Spring Fever
It has been more than a decade since 2012, when Lyra launched the original Atlas moving coil cartridge as the company’s flagship, but in the intervening years, there have been a few updates. First, in 2016, Lyra introduced what they call the SL versi
Stereophile1 min read
Specifications
Description Tubed pentode push-pull mono power amplifier. Tube complement: four KT88 S4A Carbon standard, four KT120 or KT150 optional; two ECC82; one 6SN7. Inputs: 1 balanced (XLR), 1 single-ended (RCA). Outputs: 1 pair binding posts. Output power:
Stereophile16 min read
Octave Audio MRE 220 SE
Tubes, tubes, tubes—how we love to bask in their glow, roll them, and take their second-order harmonic distortion into our hearts as if it were a child or a pet. Some may put out so much heat that we have no choice but to open a window, turn on the a
Stereophile4 min read
Measurements
I measured a different sample of the Octave Audio MRE 220 SE to that auditioned by JVS. Mine had the serial number 412182330. JVS had told me that he performed his critical auditioning with the balanced input, the Power switch set to High, the dampin
Stereophile2 min read
Associated Equipment
Digital sources dCS Vivaldi Apex DAC, Vivaldi Upsampler Plus, Vivaldi Master Clock, and Rossini Transport; EMM Labs DV2 Integrated DAC, Meitner MA3 Integrated DAC; Innuos Statement Next-Gen Music Server; Small Green Computer Sonore Deluxe opticalModu
Stereophile1 min read
Specifications
Description Four-way acoustic suspension, floorstanding speaker system. Drive units: One 12" polypropylene-cone woofer; two 4" polypropylene-cone lower midrange drivers; one 2" softcloth–dome upper-midrange driver, and one ¾" (20mm) treated titanium-
Stereophile12 min read
McIntosh ML1 Mk II
What was old is new again. McIntosh Laboratories has been in business long enough that they are able to bring new design thinking, materials, and construction methods to products from their extensive back catalog. Example: McIntosh’s first successful
Stereophile5 min read
Measurements
I used DRA Labs’ MLSSA system, a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone, and an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the quasi-anechoic frequency- and time-domain behavior of one of the McIntosh ML1 Mk IIs—serial number BBB1256—in the farfield. The
Stereophile1 min read
Associated Equipment
Analog sources VPI HW-40 turntable, VPI 12" Fatboy tonearm, Pro-Ject Classic EVO turntable, Lyra Etna λ Lambda cartridge, Ortofon Bronze Cadenza cartridge, Sumiko Amethyst cartridge. Digital sources MacBook Air running Tidal, Roon, Qobuz. Bricasti M1
Stereophile1 min read
Specifications
Description Music streamer, DAC, preamp with 6" LCD touchscreen, onboard parametric EQ, virtual VU meters, dedicated control app, AK4191EQ delta-sigma modulator, AK4499EX D/A converter, and the XMOS XU316 audio processor. Capable of decoding up to st
Stereophile11 min read
Eversolo DMP-A8
A few summers ago, I briefly got it in my head that I could become a wine connoisseur. This was due to a very generous and unexpected gift. A local acquaintance had passed away, and his wife wanted to rid her basement of his small wine collection. I
Stereophile5 min read
Measurements
I measured a different sample of the Eversolo DMP-A8 from that auditioned by RvB. The serial number was 800A805CC764, and my sample was fitted with the v1.2.80 firmware. Looking first at the line-input performance with my Audio Precision SYS2722 syst
Stereophile1 min read
Associated Equipment
Digital sources Eversolo A6 Master Edition. Aurender A20 streamer and DAC controlled with Conductor 4 iOS app. HiFi Rose RS520. 16" MacBook Pro M1 Max running Roon 2.0. Roon ROCK running on a Lenovo ThinkCentre. Preamplifiers Benchmark HPA4, BAT VK-9
Stereophile1 min read
Specifications
Description Tube-rectified single-ended triode integrated amplifier capable of outputting 3.5Wpc into 8 ohms (5.4dBW). Tube complement: Input/preamp, one pair each: Sophia Electric 12AX7, Northern Electric 6SN7; rectifier: Sophia Electric Aqua 274; p
Stereophile10 min read
Triode Lab 2A3 EVO
For 16 years, I bled jazz. Countless hours alone in my practice shed, honing technique, recording myself for brutal self-analysis, dissecting and transcribing master drummers’ solos note for note. My dream was to transcend technique, to exist in a st
Stereophile5 min read
Measurements
After carefully installing the Triode Lab 2A3 EVO’s tubes, I performed a complete set of tests of the amplifier with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system1 using the Electro-Harmonix 2A3 Gold output tubes, then repeated the testing with the KR 2A3 tubes
Stereophile1 min read
Associated Equipment
Analog sources VPI Avenger Direct turntable with 12" VPI FatBoy tonearm, Hana Umami Blue MC cartridge; Thorens TD 124 turntable with 9.5" The Wand Plus tonearm, Luxman LMC-5 MC cartridge. Digital sources HoloAudio May DAC, Sonore opticalRendu, Roon N
Stereophile1 min read
Specifications
Description Solid state, class-D stereo streamer/integrated amplifier outputting up to 60Wpc into 8 ohms, 120Wpc into 4 ohms (both equivalent to 17.8dBW). SNR: 98dB. THD+N: 0.002% (–92dB). Analog inputs: 1 single-ended on RCA. Digital inputs: 1 TosLi
Stereophile11 min read
WiiM Amp
Life is not for Goldilocks. “Just right” is elusive. Every day, we face countless situations where our choices are either too many to navigate or too few to find satisfaction. Behavioral scientists call those dissatisfying alternatives “choice overlo
Stereophile5 min read
Measurements
I performed a complete set of measurements on the WiiM Amp with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system.1 Before I did so, I installed the WiiM Home app on my iPad mini and connected the amplifier to my network with a CAT-5 Ethernet cable. The app (version
Stereophile1 min read
Associated Equipment
Digital sources dCS Bartók streaming DAC, Oppo DV-981HD universal disc player. Preamplifier Benchmark LA-4. Power amplifier Benchmark AHB2. Integrated amplifier McIntosh MA6500. Loudspeakers B&W 808, Amphion One18, Behringer Truth 2031P, Klipsch Here
Stereophile4 min read
Follow-up
When I reviewed the new version of PS Audio’s classic D/A processor1 in the June 2023 issue,2 I enjoyed its sound quality, but some aspects of its measured performance concerned me. The impulse and frequency responses, the behavior of the reconstruct
Stereophile11 min read
Straits Shooter
SINCE DISBANDING DIRE STRAITS, WHICH HE LED FROM 1977 to 1992, Knopfler has evolved from headband-sporting guitar hero to acclaimed observational songwriter. Commencing with his 1996 solo debut Golden Heart (Warner Bros.) and continuing through One D
Stereophile3 min read
Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler
It’s no secret that the musical history of New Orleans is rich and varied. From Buddy Bolden to a young Louis Armstrong being consigned to the Colored Waif’s Home for shooting off his stepfather’s pistol on New Year’s Eve, to the many pianists who ac
Stereophile4 min read
An American Beauty unblemished
Of all the albums in the Grateful Dead catalog, American Beauty is the one with the widest appeal. Its proto-Americana tunes are neither antique nor modern; instead, they are timeless. The album’s sound is clean and lean, up to modern snuff even more
Stereophile4 min read
The Fox-y West Coast bop of Harold Land
Most of the 1950s Contemporary Records catalog is the bullseye of “West Coast Jazz,” a smoother, more laid-back flavor than the hard bop and soul jazz styles percolating back east. Set in that context, tenor saxman Harold Land’s The Fox stands out fo
Stereophile4 min read
Nina on Colpix
Seventy years ago this summer, a young pianist from Tryon, North Carolina—a town of fewer than 2000 residents—made her professional debut in Atlantic City. This was not the culmination of a dream but rather an economic choice born of the racial circu
Stereophile16 min read
Record Reviews
For those who care about sonics, the current wave of expensive 45rpm vinyl reissues has made one question urgently relevant: Does convenience trump better sound? Put differently, does the ease of not getting up every 10 minutes to turn over or replac
Stereophile4 min read
Music To Our Ears
It’s a truism in business—or if it isn’t strictly true, it’s at least a cliché—that you can’t please everyone. But Mark Mawhinney sees everyone as a potential customer. He does his best to cover all customer bases, from old-school audiophiles to newc
Stereophile4 min read
Manufacturers’ Comments
We at Voxativ in Berlin are deeply grateful to Ken and JA for their perceptive review of our reborn Ampeggio in Stereophile (Vol.47 No.6). Their meticulous exploration and nuanced portrayal of the listening experience encapsulate the essence of our o
Stereophile4 min read
My Triumphant Return To Vinyl
I recently started buying records again after a 30-year hiatus, thanks to my youngest daughter. She was 9, and I was gutting it out through the implosion of my first marriage. I was invigorated by the challenge of outfitting a new apartment on the ch

Stereophile

More Issues From Stereophile