Stereophile Sep-12

Skin deep In the old days, when audio-show reports routinely appeared in the print edition of Stereophile, life was easier. I spent my show days visiting exhibitors and listening to new gear, but I decorated those days with record shopping, dining out, and staying up late to visit with friends in the industry. And because hard-copy deadlines always seemed to be at least a few days away, I would wait until I’d returned home before doing any actual writing. The new way is better—expecting excitement from a show report in a print magazine is like expecting carbonation from an open beer you’ve found behind the couch the day after a party—but it’s considerably more work. Most of the writing and photo editing must be done before leaving for home, which…

How the . . . Editor: Does anyone else find the Emotiva ad on p.34 of the June issue humorous? Look closely! The gentleman is apparently enjoying a CD while his preamp is set to “Phono Direct.” Also, there is no cartridge mounted in the ’table! —Don Shoemaker donshoemaker@yahoo.com What the . . . Editor: I’ll be damned, power cables work! I always thought it was so much snake oil. —Kevin Thomas kevinthomas95@yahoo.com Where the . . . Editor: In this day and age, I think adding the country of manufacture to a product review’s specifications box would be a useful bit of information. While ours is a global economy, I think many prospective purchasers would be interested to know where a product was made. While ultimately it is still…

ERRATA Stephen Mejias In the May 2012 “Analog Corner,” we mistakenly identified an AirTight cartridge as a Lyra Atlas (bottom image, page 33). In the title to July’s “Analog Corner,” we misspelled the name of the $150,000 Onedof Turntable. Apologies. UK: HIGH STREETS Paul Messenger In late summer 2010, the British hi-fi industry was surprised to hear of the merger of the UK’s two biggest hi-fi retail chains, Audio T and Sevenoaks Sound & Vision. After nearly two years of working to integrate the chains, including changing the name of some 15 Audio T outlets, it comes as an even greater surprise that the merger has been called off. Although rebranding 15 Audio T stores gave the impression that much work had already gone into the merger, apparently most of…

ATTENTION ALL AUDIO SOCIETIES: We have a page on the Stereophile website devoted to you: www.stereophile.com/audiophile-societies. If you’d like to have your audio-society information posted on the site, e-mail Chris Vogel at info@vcable.us. Please note that it is inappropriate for a retailer to promote a new product line in “Calendar” unless this is associated with a seminar or similar event. ARIZONA Wednesday, September 26, 7–9pm: The Arizona Audio Video Club will hold a meeting at Esoteric Audio (17442 N. 28th Street, Phoenix), where Esoteric’s Gary Hjerpe will demonstrate gear from Simaudio’s Moon series. The meeting is open to all members and guests, and anyone interested in audio. Snacks and beverages will be served; parking is limited but free. For more info, visit www.azavclub.org. Nonmembers should RSVP to wootsmusic@live.com CALIFORNIA Sunday,…

Flea-power amplifiers & full-range drivers THIS ISSUE: Lowther-powered speakers and a terrific set of travel headphones. One good book leads to another. Adam Gopnik’s The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food has led me to The Perfectionist: Life and Death in Haute Cuisine, by Rudolph Chelminski (Gotham Books, 2005). It’s one of the best books I’ve read about two of my favorite subjects: a) food, and b) France. Bernard Loiseau was one of the great French chefs of the late 20th century, up there with his colleagues and friends Paul Bocuse and Guy Savoy, both of whom he knew well. Loiseau took his own life in February 2003, fearful that Le Guide Michelin might knock down his three-star rating to two. His very identity, from adolescence,…

THIS ISSUE: Musical Fidelity’s M1ViNL phono preamplifier and Clearaudio’s Goldfinger Statement phono cartridge set up residence chez Mikey. Travels, an affordable phono stage, & a far-from affordable cartridge I recently spent a week traveling—it was good to get out of the basement! First up, toward the end of May, was an event at the Audio Alternative, in Fort Collins, Colorado. Owner Rick Duplisea is a vinyl fanatic and Linnie whose store—actually, his sprawling home—is packed with gear and LPs. His record collection beats mine. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to look at every album—it would have taken days—but even a quick peek turned up lots of vinyl I wish I owned or even just had a chance to hear. Next time! I demoed for an appreciative crowd vinyl vs 24-bit/96kHz…