Products I Hope to See in 2017
- Written by: Jeff Fritz
- Category: Opinion
The annual Consumer Electronics Show is right around the corner, in January, and Munich’s High End won’t be long in following. As always at those events, we’ll see new products, and see and hear announcements of products soon to be launched. I’m most interested in components that are unique and/or extreme in some way -- products that fit the Ultra in SoundStage! Ultra. What follows is my wish list, with a caveat: I have zero insider info about whether or not any of this high-end gear is actually in anyone’s pipeline.
Synergistic Research PowerCell 12 UEF SE Power Conditioner
- Written by: Howard Kneller
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
In 2003, I asked a representative from Synergistic Research why, unlike many other cable manufacturers, the company didn’t make a power conditioner. The rep stated that, despite Synergistic’s many models of interconnect, speaker cable, and power cord, head designer Ted Denney had yet to discover a power-conditioning technology he thought worth developing. According to the rep, only when Denney had found something that he thought would move the field forward would he put the Synergistic name on it.
John Scofield: "Country for Old Men"
- Written by: Joseph Taylor
- Category: Recording of the Month
Impulse! B0025610-02
Format: CD
Musical Performance: ***1/2
Sound Quality: ****
Overall Enjoyment: ****
It’s hard to think of a guitarist who plays so many varieties of jazz with as much ease and versatility as John Scofield. He’s played bebop, fusion, and soul jazz with equal conviction and skill, and some of his records, such as Bump (2000) and Überjam (2002), pull in enough styles to make them beyond category. He paid tribute to Ray Charles with That’s What I Say (2005), and played New Orleans-style gospel on Piety Street (2009).
van den Hul Crimson Stradivarius Phono Cartridge
- Written by: Tom Mathew
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
Just before he left for college, my son turned me on to a TV show that’s become my new binge-watching passion. Netflix’s Chef’s Table is a visual and gustatory feast, and the first episode introduced me to the culinary talents of Massimo Bottura, chef of the three-Michelin-star Osteria Francescana, in Modena, Italy. On the short list of objects in my house that are getting or have gotten better with age are a 1989 bottle of Krug Champagne, my cast-iron frying pan, my wife’s red hair, and a bottle of Manodori -- Bottura’s meticulously crafted, perfectly aged balsamic vinegar. Drizzled over risotto, shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, arugula, or fresh-picked berries, Manodori’s complex, multilayered taste is a perfect example of how well certain things in life can age.
A $40,000 System I'd Consider Today, Sound Unheard
- Written by: Jeff Fritz
- Category: Opinion
I’d love to see the stats: How many audiophiles in 2016 bought parts of their system -- or their entire system -- online or over the phone, without ever having heard the component(s)? I know from the letters I receive that many of you do, if only out of necessity. The number of dealers stocking high-end audio gear has shrunk over the years, and sometimes it’s just not feasible to hear the component you’re considering buying before you actually buy it. And comparing two different brands side by side -- the two specific brands you’re most interested in -- is often next to impossible. Many dealers carry only a few brands, and typically complementary rather than competing brands.
Devialet Expert 1000 Pro Mono DAC-Integrated Amplifiers
- Written by: Jeff Fritz
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
Audiophiles can instantly tell the difference between a traditional high-end component and a “lifestyle” product. It’s either one or the other, and until recently, their paths did not intersect. In fact, the death knell for a new product’s credibility in the audiophile community was rung as soon as the word lifestyle appeared anywhere in its vicinity.
An Interview With A.J. van den Hul
- Written by: Tom Mathew
- Category: General Interest & Interviews
Tom Mathew: Thank you for speaking with me, Mr. van den Hul. You’re 78 years old and still making world-class stereo equipment. What is your fountain of youth?
Freddie Hubbard: "The Hub of Hubbard"
- Written by: Joseph Taylor
- Category: Recording of the Month
MPS 0210991MSW
Format: LP
Music Performance: ****
Sound Quality: ****
Overall Enjoyment: ****
Freddie Hubbard left Blue Note in 1965, after having made nine albums for them as a leader. He then made four albums for Atlantic, and this one for the German label MPS, before settling in for a while with CTI. His work for Atlantic hovered between hard bop and the avant-garde, but The Hub of Hubbard (1970) is straight-ahead bebop with a terrific lineup of players.
Audience adeptResponse aR6-TSSOX Power Conditioner
- Written by: Garrett Hongo
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
What is the true foundation of a seriously good audio system? I’ve heard very knowing people say that speakers set the character of the sound. Others argue that the amplifier is the key, as its power range and operating characteristics might also determine everything else. But, to more than a few, the true heart of any audio system is the preamp. Finally, there are those who insist that it’s source equipment -- the turntable, tonearm, and cartridge, or the digital player and/or DAC -- that determines each of our stereophonic fates. Yet before any of these essential components can contribute anything to the audio chain, it’s the power we get from our wall outlets that drives all else. No matter the quality and prowess of our vaunted audio purchases, saith a happy few, we won’t be able to realize the full capabilities of any of them without clean, reliable electricity.
Audiophile Reactions to Wilson Audio's WAMM Master Chronosonic and Devialet's Gold Phantom
- Written by: Jeff Fritz
- Category: Opinion
As a longtime audio reviewer, I’ve heard a lot of products in my room -- but not all of them. Nowhere even close to most of them, actually. So when I hear about a new product that I find interesting, I often do what most audiophiles do: I search for it online and see what information I can find. Generally, I come across two types of information: the marketing materials released by the manufacturer, and the reactions to those marketing materials posted by audiophiles on online forums.
- Audio Physic Avanti Loudspeakers
- The Alan Parsons Project: "I Robot"
- High Fidelity Cables CT-1 Ultimate Digital Link, Interconnects, Speaker Cables, and Power Cords
- New Directions in Hi-Fi: Jeff's Take on Doug Schneider's Article
- Gryphon Audio Designs Diablo 300 Integrated Amplifier-DAC
- Van Morrison: "..It’s Too Late to Stop Now … Volumes II, III, IV & DVD"
- Constellation Audio Inspiration Stereo 1.0 Amplifier
- Sound Quality Isn't the Only Thing
- Kharma Elegance dB9-S Loudspeakers
- Radiohead: "A Moon Shaped Pool"
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