Hi
So I've read on this sub some posts talking about Stereophile ( magazine ) and some people here seem to hate it. and they criticize the magazine.
But I really like the "Recommended Components " form Stereophile
Are there any better websites/magazines that have a similar concept?
Here is waht Art Dudley wrote in his review of Klipshorn speaker :
https://www.stereophile.com/content/klipsch-klipschorn-ak6-loudspeaker
"...In the years since the Klipschorn's debut, loudspeaker technology has progressed in many ways. Speakers that sound timbrally neutral and uncolored are much more common today, as are speakers with consistent and effective dispersion across their operating range. Thanks to the pioneering work of people like Jon Dahlquist, Jim Thiel, Richard Vandersteen, and John Fuselier, physical time alignment of drivers in a dynamic loudspeaker system is virtually a given these days, and the problem of baffle edge diffraction has been identified and smacked upside the head. The result is a great selection of loudspeakers that offer apparently flat frequency response, superb stereo imaging, and great airiness and transparency.
And what did we give up to gain such easy access to all those things? Natural-sounding dynamics. Impact. Pluck. Snap. Body—especially body. And soul."
Heres my commentary about his conclusion.
VERY DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO SPEAKER DESIGN and SOUND REPRODUCTION
Yes, most modern speakers tend to be non-colored not using horns, have narrow baffles, extremely stiff, rather heavy membranes, good to great integration of drivers. Fancy, expensive and vibration free cabinets. All these efforts result in sound full of detail, wide range sound, often down to 20 or 25 Hz, transparency and sometimes even excellent transient response esp. with electrostats or planars. Yet, they have a problem being properly driven by tube amps and esp. SET tube amps. They crave power. They have problems delivering grand macrodynamics.
The major trade off with horn speakers is that they do offer great sensitivity and therefore dynamics and IMPACT, but at the expense of mainly soundstage off the sweet spot and neutral tone. Horns are therefore more suited to genres like jazz or folk. Genres where human voice is of special importance .... for many listeners horns are a no go. To get rid of horns inherent problems, huge efforts need to be undertaken, think of Aries Cerat and their uber expensive speakers.
Horns and modern, narrow Raidhos, Magicos, Gryphons or KEFs offer very different sound philosophy. What is ofte
... keep reading on reddit ➡Immediate redirect to Stereophile with a "Page not found" when attempting to access old stuff via Google links which, interestingly, are still visible. Can't seem to access headphone measurements archive but I have local copies as I imagine others do, so that's something I guess.
YouTube channel is still live with all the old content I think, so there's that for getting Tyll's input and explainers.
Mildly sad because I occasionally still check out his tutorials on measurement interpretation and purpose. Screw this, though.
Despite the constant backlogs on the Schiit website it's good to see that this small California company is making big waves and highly rated products even the High End have to notice.
This years Stereophile Recommended Components 2021 winners are:
In the A categories: Amps - Aegir, Digital Processors - Yggdrasil, Headphones - Jotenheim R and Turntables - Sol.
In the B category: Integrated Amps - Ragnorok.
In the C category: Phono preamps - Mani.
Great work by Jason Stoddard, Mike Moffit and all the engineers and staff at Schiit Audio. Its all backlogs and setting up new production now, but by late 2021 and definitely 2022 will be the best times yet. With the new Tyr Amp, Loki maximus, Folvangr 10 tube headamp and Urd transport announced for production this year as well, I hope, several mid and small size products there will be lots to look forward to.
I found this review and the subsequent mild controversy very interesting - a real look into how a groundbreaking technology was received while they attempted to look toward the future of audio media. Also interesting how the debate rages on nearly 40 years later...
My favorite quote:
"I do not, however, expect to see CD replace the LP for a long time, and I won't hazard a guess as to how long, because there is no way a laserdisc player can ever be made to sell as cheaply as a cheap phono unit. If the LP is superseded in the mass market, I think it more likely that it will be killed by the audio cassette, not by the CD. But it is my personal opinion (and not necessarily the magazine's) that the CD will wipe out the LP in less than five years as the preferred medium for audio perfectionists. And before that time, most of the program material which set sound-quality standards during the previous five years will be available on CD." - J. Gordon Holt
I've been posting a lot to this forum recently in an attempt to learn the basics of how to get great quality sound out of my gear, in order to improve my listening experience.
About 6 years ago I worked in a big box store selling iPods, iPod accessories and occasionally, entry-level speakers and AVRs.
Although I didn't learn a lot technically when I was working there, and I was told a LOT of BS by my managers, who pushed me to sell $150 Monster cables and overpriced BOSE systems, working there did start me off on on my journey towards improved sound.
As I got a bit more interested in audio equipment, I was very lucky in terms of acquiring significantly better equipment than I was used to, either for free, or at very low prices.
Bear in mind up until I started working at this store, my family had never owned anything beyond a $200 Sony HTIB or a basic Technics stereo receiver from the 1990s. I pretty much listened to everything on a discman, cheap earbuds, and a boombox.
So when my uncle gave me some of his good quality equipment that he didn't need anymore, like NAD and Technics integrated amps, Nakamichi tape decks, and a Technics turntable, things started to get a bit more fun, as, when combined with my first ever decent speakers from Energy, I was able to hear music in a whole new way. It was quite a leap from $100 boomboxes.
Fast forward to today, and I'm just now getting serious about audio again. But now I'm absolutely shocked at what appears to me to be the UNBELIEVABLE level of bullshit spouted by so-called audio experts, and by the "audiophile" accessory companies whose products they review.
When I worked in retail, I was always a bit wary of claims by my coworkers and bosses pushing Monster that their cables were significantly better than generic, yet adequately-shielded and well-constructed cables that could be had for a tiny fraction of the price. When selling a new Pioneer plasma with a blu-ray player, it was required to push an "Ultra-High Speed" $200 Monster HDMI cable. If countered with a rebuttal from the customer that they thought "digital was digital," and the cable should either work, or wouldn't, and that maybe they could just buy our $40 store-brand one instead (wink wink, still overpriced), our go-to response would be along the lines of something like:
*"Look, you wouldn't put cheap gas in a Ferrari, right? If you want the BEST quality picture from your new blu-ray player and TV, you're going to HAVE to get the Monster
... keep reading on reddit ➡