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
- Written by: Roger Kanno
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
When the SoundStage! Network’s Editor-in-Chief, Jeff Fritz, asked if I’d be interested in reviewing a speaker from Audio Physic, I knew little about the German company other than that they’d been around for a while and had produced some highly regarded loudspeakers. I typically review more modestly priced speakers, primarily from North American manufacturers. And while I knew that Audio Physic was well established, I hadn’t known that they’ve been around long enough to have celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2015.
The Alan Parsons Project: "I Robot"
- Written by: Joseph Taylor
- Category: Recording of the Month
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab MFSL 2-455
Format: LP
Musical Performance: ****
Sound Quality: *****
Overall Enjoyment: ****1/2
By 1975, when Alan Parsons and lyricist-songwriter Eric Woolfson formed the Alan Parsons Project, Parsons had firmly established himself as a record producer and engineer. He’d been nominated for a Grammy for his engineering of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, which he produced, and had engineered albums by Paul McCartney and Wings, Al Stewart, the Hollies, Jeff Beck, Roy Harper, Peggy Lee, and Ambrosia, among many others -- including the Beatles’ Abbey Road. He was uniquely qualified to handle the recordings he and Woolfson created, for which they brought in various players and singers.
High Fidelity Cables CT-1 Ultimate Digital Link, Interconnects, Speaker Cables, and Power Cords
- Written by: Vade Forrester
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
Nearly every audio journalist I know hates to review cables. Aside from their being lazy buggers, there are some good reasons they feel that way: 1) cables sometimes require lengthy break-in, and manufacturers aren’t always helpful about specifying a break-in time; 2) the differences in sound between cables are sometimes minuscule; 3) cables can sound different from a reviewer’s reference cables without sounding better or worse; and 4) cables’ sound may be system-dependent. But occasionally, a set of cables comes along that sounds so different -- and, sometimes, better -- that we find ourselves coaxed into reviewing another set of cables.
New Directions in Hi-Fi: Jeff's Take on Doug Schneider's Article
- Written by: Jeff Fritz
- Category: Opinion
Last month, SoundStage! Publisher Doug Schneider wrote an editorial for SoundStage! Hi-Fi titled “Future Sounds -- Sonus Faber’s Sf16 and New Directions in Hi-Fi.” In it, he made some very good points regarding the future of the high-end audio industry, and what it will take for it to thrive into the next generation. In some ways, Doug said, these are bleak times: “Visit as many manufacturers as I do and you’ll hear tale after tale of how sales of traditional hi-fi products -- preamplifiers, amplifiers, standalone speakers (particularly big, boxy ones), etc. -- are way down. These have been -- or were -- the staples of the hi-fi scene for longer than I’ve been part of it; but now, fewer people want them, and no one I’ve talked to seems to think this trend will end. It’s not just a few manufacturers saying this -- it’s almost all of them.”
Gryphon Audio Designs Diablo 300 Integrated Amplifier-DAC
- Written by: Hans Wetzel
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
“Have fun dancing with the Devil.”
It’s the sort of line a B-movie bad guy would growl. It’s not the sort of sign-off you expect to see at the end of an e-mail from the founder and CEO of a high-end audio manufacturer. Yet Flemming E. Rasmussen, of Gryphon Audio Designs, in Denmark, had written just that in confirmation of my receipt of his company’s Diablo 300 integrated amplifier. If it were any other manufacturer, I’d have rolled my eyes and moved on. But Gryphon’s creations are bold and unusual looking, and I’d waited a long time to review one. I chuckled. Nervously.
Van Morrison: "..It’s Too Late to Stop Now … Volumes II, III, IV & DVD"
- Written by: Joseph Taylor
- Category: Recording of the Month
Sony Legacy/Exile Productions 88875134742
Format: CD/DVD
Musical Performance: *****
Sound Quality: ****1/2
Picture Quality: **1/2
Overall Enjoyment: ****1/2
When I saw that Van Morrison had released a set of the recordings from the shows used to form his legendary two-LP live set from 1974, I didn’t jump right away to buy it. The original set is so good I was afraid the new collection, three CDs and a DVD, would dilute what is justly considered to be one of the best live albums ever released. Luckily, a friend gave me ..It’s Too Late to Stop Now … Volumes II, III, IV & DVD for my recent birthday, and it is a stunning document of Morrison at his best with his finest live band.
- Constellation Audio Inspiration Stereo 1.0 Amplifier
- Sound Quality Isn't the Only Thing
- Kharma Elegance dB9-S Loudspeakers
- Radiohead: "A Moon Shaped Pool"
- Ayre Acoustics AX-5 Twenty Integrated Amplifier
- People Who Just Can't Be Happy
- Luxman EQ-500 Phono Stage
- Mark Knopfler & Evelyn Glennie: "Altamira"
- fo.Q Modrate HEM-25 Pure Note Insulators
- TWBAS Is Back! (Not Really)
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