Every month Stereophile magazine offers authoritative reviews, informed recommendations, helpful advice, and controversial opinions, all stemming from the revolutionary idea that audio components should be judged on how they reproduce music.
A few months ago, the hi-fi world learned that Audio Research, perhaps the most storied hi-fi brand in US history (McIntosh would be the other choice), had a new owner. The company had overextended itself, then filed for “Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors”—somewhat like Chapter 11 bankruptcy but different. The company was then acquired by a group led by a Canadian, Valerio Cora of Acora Acoustics. In the September issue’s Industry Update, I wrote, “Audio Research, that great American hi-fi company, is now Canadian.” Not long after the issue came out, I received a note from Dave Gordon of Audio Research Corporation. With typical good humor, Dave suggested that my characterization was not correct—that ARC is not in fact Canadian. Why? Because Audio Research’s parent company is based in…
Returning to the fold Thank you, Stereophile, especially Herb. Some 30 years ago or so, I sent a letter to your magazine telling how I got the hi-fi bug and with the help of a local dealer and Stereophile magazine, I was able to compile a system of B-and C-grade Recommended Components (NAD, Snell, Cary) that sounded great and served me well. Then life and other interests came along. I sold the system and abandoned hi-fi. But deep down, I knew I’d be back. About 3 years ago, after retirement, I almost blithely picked up both Stereophile and that other high-end publication, and it all came back. I knew I didn’t want to be without great music reproduced well. I also realized that the other publication and their staff did…
SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT ACQUIRES AUDEZE Julie Mullins Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) announced in an August 24 press release that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Audeze, a well-established manufacturer of headphones and related speaker and driver technologies. SIE, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation, is probably best known for launching the PlayStation in Japan in 1994. Both companies are headquartered in California: Audeze in Santa Ana; SIE in San Mateo with “global functions” in London and Tokyo and game development studios in various other locations. Details about the transaction, including cost, were not disclosed. SIE is thought to be interested mainly in Audeze’s experience creating headphones intended for gaming. Stereophile received the following emailed comment from Audeze CEO Sankar Thiagasamudram: “Our business name…
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. It is inappropriate for a retailer to promote a new product line in “Calendar” unless it is associated with a seminar or similar event. CALIFORNIA AND THE INTERWEBS ■ Friday evenings, 5–7pm PST: The San Francisco Audiophile Society hosts a virtual happy hour via Zoom. This is open to anyone who’d like to join us to talk about hi-fi and whatever else is on your mind. For more information and registration, visit bit. ly/3RyaqX9. COLORADO ■ Monday, October 30, 6–9pm: Fort Collins specialty audio retailer Audio Alternative (1849 Michael Ln., Fort Collins, Colorado) will host Richard Vandersteen,…
If you’ve read any of my previous Dreams, you no doubt realize that I am an empiricist by trade—that I believe in the value of relaxed, mindful observation, especially if my solitary observances are independently corroborated by others. Whenever possible, I test my observations by getting either the Spin Doctor, the Audiophiliac, or my Russian neighbor to listen and tell me what they notice. If they notice the same things I noticed, independently, I relax. Corroboration is important because when I submit a review, I have an obligation to get it right. I need to be confident that readers, when they listen, will likely hear the same thing I heard, for themselves. After a review is submitted, my opinion about a product evolves, getting better or worse with further use…
In a scene from The Silence of the Lambs—a film that for all of its camp happens to be nearly perfect—FBI cadet Clarice Starling asks caged psychopath Hannibal Lecter for help in figuring out a serial killer’s motives. “Do we seek out things to covet?” Lecter responds, following Starling with his eyes as though she were his next meal. “No,” he continues, “we begin by coveting what we see every day.” Lecter’s astute observation applies equally well to audiophilia. Much of this hobby consists of coveting: before we own a component, we usually spend a long while imagining all the ways it will improve our lives. And how do we begin to covet? In my case, my father’s hi-fi introduced me to the practice of close listening. It was cobbled…
