Why I Prefer Vinyl
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- Written by Jason Thorpe Jason Thorpe
- Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column
- Created: 01 August 2020 01 August 2020
“You could tell a lot about a man by the books he keeps -- his tastes, his interest, his habits.”
-- Walter Benjamin, Illuminations: Essays and Reflections
Bryston's Benchmark -- the 4B Power Amplifier
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column
- Created: 01 July 2020 01 July 2020
Last month, Jeff Fritz conducted a SoundStage! Talks video interview with Bryston Ltd.’s VPs of marketing and sales, respectively James Tanner and Gary Dayton. Mostly they talked about Bryston’s Cubed series of amplifiers, now comprising nine models that range in power output from the 2.5B³ stereo amp’s 135Wpc ($4295, all prices USD) to the 28B³ monoblock’s 1000W ($24,390/pair). The Cubed line includes the B135³ integrated amplifier, which costs $6695-$8195 depending on the options selected (e.g., a DAC and phono stage) and is specified to output 135Wpc.
Purifi Audio's Pint-Sized Powerhouses
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column
- Created: 01 June 2020 01 June 2020
After assembling in my listening room the best-sounding stereo system I’d heard anywhere, and writing about it in April, I did something to that extraordinary setup that most audiophiles might find unthinkable: I disassembled it. I needed the room to explore some cutting-edge products with features and technologies that might get me close to the sound quality of that ca.-$150,000 system (all prices USD) for a lot less money. The first of those products was Anthem’s STR preamplifier ($3999), whose extensive features I still haven’t fully explored.
Anthem STR Preamplifier -- "Extraordinary" . . . or Not?
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column
- Created: 01 May 2020 01 May 2020
Diego Estan was recently assigned the unenviable task of reviewing Anthem’s STR preamplifier ($3999 USD) for sister site SoundStage! Access.
Unenviable? Anyone who wants to thoroughly review the Anthem STR has to write a lot. The STR is not only a robust analog preamplifier with plenty of inputs and an astonishing number of customization options, it also contains a topflight DAC section with a rich feature set of its own, a phono stage compatible with moving-magnet (MM) and moving-coil (MC) cartridges, an analog-to-digital converter, a powerful DSP engine, Anthem’s proprietary Anthem Room Correction (ARC) Genesis processing, and the most advanced support of subwoofers I’ve seen in any hi-fi product. A lot.
After 25 Years -- Is This the World’s Best Audio System?
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column
- Created: 01 April 2020 01 April 2020
I founded the SoundStage! Network in November 1995 and have been here ever since -- which puts me in a fortunate position. In our 25 years we’ve not only launched a family of online audio publications covering a wide range of products, we’ve also traveled the world to report on the inner workings of many hi-fi companies, and what we see and hear at audio shows. Our longevity and global reach have meant that we’ve been able to review products of pretty much every shape, size, price, and place of origin -- and a lot of that gear gets reviewed, or at least heard, in my listening room.
The Best of Florida Audio Expo 2020
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column
- Created: 01 March 2020 01 March 2020
When I flew to Tampa to attend Florida Audio Expo 2020, held February 7-9 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore, I had it in my head to do something I hadn’t done at an audio show in a while: listen as critically as possible to as many systems as I could. (See SoundStage! Global for our team’s coverage of the show.)
Made in Canada! Axiom Audio and Totem Acoustic Insist on Making Affordable New Products at Home
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column
- Created: 01 February 2020 01 February 2020
Does it really matter where a product is manufactured?
It’s a question I often ask my audiophile friends, to learn if a product’s country of origin affects their purchasing decisions -- and lately, the topic has politically become a lot hotter.
The Best of the Tokyo International Audio Show 2019
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column
- Created: 01 January 2020 01 January 2020
The annual Tokyo International Audio Show (TIAS) is small enough that, in the show’s three days, one person can cover it all. But while it’s much smaller than, say, Munich’s High End or Warsaw’s Audio Video Show, each of which requires a team of three or more reporters to get everywhere, TIAS is a significant show -- hi-fi is still big in Japan, and brands from around the world exhibit there, mostly through their distributors. (TIAS began as a distributor-run show, to showcase brands from outside Japan.) Some of these brands even use the show to debut products. But what I most like about TIAS are the unique products on display, made by Japanese brands that don’t exhibit at other shows, as well as products that may be made elsewhere but are sold only in Japan. For all these reasons, it’s important that we report on TIAS.
The 2019 SoundStage! Network Products of the Year -- One-Sentence Summaries
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column
- Created: 15 December 2019 15 December 2019
If 2019 were like previous years, you wouldn’t see this list of SoundStage! Network Products of the Year until January 1, 2020. In the past, we waited till the first of the year, so that the announcement of our awards would more or less coincide with our presentation of trophies at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held each year in Las Vegas the second week of January. Times have changed.
The Best of Warsaw’s Audio Video Show 2019
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column
- Created: 01 December 2019 01 December 2019
Politics isn’t the only polarizing topic at audio shows these days. At the last few hi-fi shows I’ve attended, I’ve talked with fellow audio writers about how much value there is in seriously listening to the systems set up at these events. To say that their opinions vary is an understatement.
