Stereophile August 2025

By my estimation, this year’s High End hi-fi show—the last in Munich before the world’s largest audio show moves to Vienna—was a major success, perhaps the first I’ve attended since the pandemic that managed to completely escape that shadow. Every day but Sunday it was very busy—sometimes too busy; on the busiest days, the hallways at the MOC convention center reminded me of NYC’s Fifth Avenue on Black Friday, an experience I’ve had once and hope to never have again. Most important: I heard a lot of really good sound. What did I hear that was special? I heard far less than I wanted to—a small minority of everything—since I spent much of the show in meetings. But I do recall some highlights. The multimillion-euro Wilson/D’Agostino/dCS/Stromtank system achieved its shock-and-awe…

Mark, mirrored I enjoyed the article about the Brothers in Arms CD in the June 2025 Stereophile (Vol.48 No.6). But I was disappointed that the photo on p.116 shows Mark Knopfler playing left-handed—the photo is a mirror image. Compare this photo to the correct group photo on page 113, which shows Mark holding his guitar right-handed. Ronald Levenberg East Brunswick, New Jersey Mr. Levenberg, that’s how we received the photo from the record label. But I admit that’s a feeble excuse: We should have noticed, and if we had, we probably would have chosen a different photo. Thanks for pointing out the error.—Jim Austin Praise for Herb Reichert I always enjoy Herb Reichert’s nitro-methane–fueled insights into listening to new equipment—especially so when I have to pull the chute, slow down,…

Analyses of the latest Goldman Sachs “Music in the Air” report show how the same news can be interpreted in different ways. Billboard sees it in a negative light: “Goldman Sachs Lowers Global Music Industry Growth Forecast, Wiping Out $2.5 Billion.” Music Business Worldwide is more measured, writing, “Despite revising some forecasts downward following a slower-than-expected 2024, Goldman Sachs maintains a positive long-term outlook for the music industry.” The Billboard article is good, but the headline is clickbait. The Goldman Sachs report didn’t wipe out $2.5 billion. Rather, it reported a less optimistic forecast, projecting lower future revenues than last year’s report projected: The value wiped out was never real. 2024 was, however, a disappointing year relative to previous years and to Goldman Sachs’s expectations. The International Federation of the…

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. United States CALIFORNIA ◼ Sunday, July 20, 2–5pm: The Los Angeles & Orange County Audio Society holds its Second Society LP Event at AudiophileUSA (10572 Calle Lee #126, Los Alamitos, CA). Host Mark Hoover will discuss the vinyl industry and record store culture. Special LAOCAS record discounts are available. For more information, visit laocas.com or call (657) 298-3003. ◼ Saturday, August 23, 2–5pm: The Source Audio Video Design Group Event (3035 Kashiwa St., Torrance, CA 90505). Hosted by Jason Lord. For more information, visit thesourceav.com or call (310) 534-9900. ◼ Saturday, September 13–Sunday, September 14: CanJam SoCal…

Robert Lietz, owner of the Analog Shop in Victor, New York, has passed away. Bob founded his retail hi-fi store in 1992 and provided outstanding sales and service to the audiophile community of Central New York until the time of his death. He was born in Silver Creek, New York, in 1958. Pursuing an early passion for music and sound, he received a degree in electronics and spent many years working at stereo stores in the Rochester, New York, area. Robert met his wife, Victoria Neuhart-Lietz, while dancing to The Human League at a punk club in Buffalo. She assisted him in running the Analog Shop. Lietz established long-running relationships with customers and manufacturers of the best high-end audio equipment. He was always an enthusiastic listener and collector: Just a…

As someone who has consistently enjoyed the sonic benefits of MQA, I found a recent MQA Labs press release tantalizing. “MQA Labs Debuts FOQUS ADC Design with First Ever Demonstration, Showcases Full Technology Suite,” it declared. It continued, “Highlights will include a first listen to audio captured with a FOQUS ADC chip, showcasing the enhanced clarity made possible by a reimagined decimation process.” The press release promised further surprises, including “a walk-through of our new and upcoming studio plug-ins, offering creators powerful tools for managing impulse response and noise shaping,” and “a showcase of QRONO d2a, our playback solution that delivers unmatched transparency and time performance across all audio formats.” The company claims that these technologies improve sound quality from creation through playback, all in pursuit of “digital audio with…