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.
I recently received a letter (not yet published) suggesting a need for a glossary of newer hi-fi terms.1 Some audiophiles raised on physical media, it seems, are perplexed by descriptions of the new streaming landscape. Just yesterday, all we had to worry about was DACs and transports. Today we have servers, streamers, players, streaming DACs, and all that. That immediately struck me as a good idea, allied with a second reason: To avoid confusion, it makes sense for the industry to standardize the nomenclature. When we see the word “streamer,” for example, we should all be thinking about the same thing. So, here’s a brief glossary of streaming-related devices. The goals are two-fold: to explain some of the newer terminology for those who haven’t yet mastered it, and to encourage…
Frogs, woodpeckers, and Jascha Heifetz I enjoyed Mr. Miller’s essay, “Why not listen to everything?” (My Back Pages, June 2023).1 I’m reminded of how fortunate I am to live in a calm, quiet part of Florida on a small peninsula about 5 minutes from the Atlantic. I enjoy listening to the evening sounds of the owls and birds of all kinds, the frogs after frequent rains, the working of woodpeckers the size of chickens, and the scurrying noises of squirrels and the occasional fox or racoon. So, I’m with Mr. Miller so far as how enjoyable and fulfilling it can be to take in the sounds of the natural world around us. This doesn’t diminish in any way the privilege we have with those time machines, the stereos in our…
HARMAN BUYS ROON Jim Austin Roon, the server/music-management software of choice for many audiophiles, has been sold to Harman, the parent company of Mark Levinson, Revel, and JBL as well as AKG, Harman Kardon, Infinity, and Lexicon. Since 2017, Harman has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics. The sale was announced in a press release on November 27. In that press release, Harman committed to continuing Roon’s “open to all” strategy; that is, the software will not become exclusive to Harman products. “Roon will operate as a standalone Harman business with its existing team,” the press release continued. “All Roon operations will stay in place and continue to be dedicated to serving and growing Roon’s community of device partners and customers, under a joint mission to deliver engaging…
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. (Please note the new email address.) 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 ■ 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. FLORIDA ■ February 16–18, 2024: The Florida Audio Expo will take place at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Tampa Westshore, 555…
Decades ago, when I was peddling million-dollar sound systems, an astute potential customer asked me: “If I buy your very expensive system, what will I get that I’m not getting with my less expensive system?” Smiling my best fatherly smile, I whispered to his ear, “Goosebumps, tears, and laughter.” With a slightly worried look, he asked, “How much did you say those silver cables cost?” Thirty years later Changing audio cables always changes the sound of my system, sometimes a lot but usually just a little. Typically, the sonic effects of cable changes are modest shifts in focus, tone, or transparency. But sometimes during blue moons I’ve seen a new set of cables turn a blah, dull, fuzzy system into a macrodynamic, microdetailed one. Or turn a cool, mechanical sounding…
In 1976, a Soviet fighter pilot named Viktor Belenko made an emergency landing in Hokkaido, Japan. He was flying a MiG-25 supersonic interceptor jet and, upon touching down, requested political asylum. This proved to be a stroke of brilliant luck for the Americans. The MiG-25 remains one of the fastest and highest-flying aircraft ever produced, and Belenko’s defection allowed them to have a tantalizing look at the technology inside. After the US Air Force took the plane apart piece by piece, the Japanese returned it to the Soviets in 30 containers, charging them $40,000 for crating services. Later, the Soviets sent the Japanese a $10 million bill for missing parts. Both invoices are still outstanding. In the meantime, Belenko became a US citizen through an act of Congress and, after…
