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.
Lately in this space I’ve focused on all things (rather, some things) analog. This month I return to digital, specifically to streaming. I love listening to records, but I also listen to a lot of streamed music. I’m a Qobuz devotee, since Qobuz is the most approachable streaming service and the friendliest to audiophiles. When Spotify went lossless, I subscribed, because that service’s popularity means that it’s easy to trade music and playlists. Most playlists I’ve seen published online are Spotify. Streaming is revolutionary, but there’s one aspect that bugs me. Whenever new content shows up on the services, as it does every Thursday, I look to see what’s new. Each week I find ~50 new albums in the Qobuz “New Releases” section. I just counted 46 new albums that…
“Premiumization” Jim Austin absolutely nailed it with the “As We See It” column (September 2025). I believe that the primary issue is the companies and CEOs that make the high-dollar (but not necessarily better sounding) stereo items want to make as much money as they can as quickly as they can, which is no different than any other company and a basic tenet of Capitalism. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to be looking at the long-term impact of selling their megabuck stuff, and Mr. Austin detailed that quite nicely. I seriously doubt they care or will make changes to their marketing and sales models because their profit margins would decrease. I also believe Stereophile enables this because it’s fun to review those $100,000 (or more) amps and speakers, and it gives…
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 FLORIDA ◼ Saturday, December 6, 2025: Bending Wave USA (2800 North Federal Highway, Unit #5, Boca Raton, FL) will host Brandon Lauer of Wadax. Lauer will present live demos of the Wadax Studio Player with the new Studio Power Supply and Studio Clock, and the new Akasa cables. ◼ Saturday, January 17: Bending Wave will host Silvio Delfino of Riviera Audio Labs and Jonathan Halpern representing Revival Audio. Both will present live demonstrations. Both events will feature special promotions for attendees. ◼ Friday–Sunday, February 20–22: The eighth annual Florida International Audio Expo will take place…
CHANNEL D FOUNDER ROB ROBINSON DIES AT 67 Mark Henninger Robert S. “Rob” Robinson, the engineer and entrepreneur behind Channel D, died on Wednesday, October 15, 2025. He was 67. Best known for the Pure Vinyl and Pure Music software and for the Seta and Lino C phono preamplifiers, Robinson promoted current-mode amplification and RIAA equalization carried out in the digital domain. Those ideas shaped how many listeners archive and play records. An engineer and inventor, Robinson earned a PhD, published AES papers on digital compensation for analog playback, and held patents related to audio software. He ran Channel D from Lambertville, New Jersey, where the company became known for careful engineering and practical help for users. His work drew steady attention from Stereophile; his Seta L phono preamp has…
I do not believe in chance or coincidence. Instead, I put my faith in the divine nature of Luck. When I talk about standing on the right corner at the right time wearing the right hat when the limo pulls up, I am explaining one of the ways I prepare to experience the providential. When the doors to my mind are open, adventure always enters. Last week, a black sedan pulled up by the curb in front of my building. I recognized the driver, Richard Cirulnick, because an old audio-world buddy named Al Rhodes introduced me to him at the New York Audio Show in 2017. Since then, we’ve hung out a lot, especially at audio shows, and talked extensively about engine building and phonography. But that day I did…
One of my foundational memories of becoming an audiophile was waiting to listen to a pair of speakers at Sound by Singer in Manhattan. Perhaps a more apt verb is loitering, because I was in my mid-20s and always felt on the verge of being thrown out. The store was patronized mainly by affluent-looking men in suits, and from time to time I’d see Jonathan Scull, the famous Stereophile reviewer, sweep into the place and step into a listening room as though it were his den. That afternoon, a salesman was demonstrating a pair of inexpensive speakers for a middle-aged customer who’d shown up before I did, and I was standing around while they finished their audition. The customer handed the salesman a CD he wanted to listen to, which…
