Stereophile August 2017

THIS ISSUE: It’s time for a paradigm shift. For the longest time, I’ve found the label “hobby” inadequate to describe the audiophile goal of better sound reproduction. Yes, for some, the mechanics of the High End have become an end in themselves—a way to tinker and tweak, build and rebuild in classic hobby faction. But for many others, specifically earbud listeners, folks with whole-house systems, and those who’d rather push a button on a remote and sit back or dance rather than roll tubes or tinker, the descriptor hobby falls woefully short. Recent conversations with high-resolution advocate Marc Finer, of the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG, www.degonline.org) and Stream the Studio (www.streamthestudio.news); Meredith Gabor, of cable manufacturer Nordost; and Craig Allison, of retailer Lavish HiFi, in Santa Rosa, California helped clarify my belief…

“What are you doing for your 40th?”, everyone asked. We thought about it and decided that since we aren’t wild about lavish cakes (although we do love a tasty fastelavnsbolle), we’d celebrate a little differently. Even the thought of making new speakers makes us warm and fuzzy, so that’s what we chose to do. Meet the Special Forty: hygge for your ears. Laurels aren’t for resting on, which is why we gave Dynaudio Labs free rein to play. (It gave our accountants a heart attack). Our only instruction: take our classic tech and see what you’d do differently this time. Their design was nothing short of genius. They took our classic Esotar 28mm soft-dome tweeter design, put our DSR* precision coating on it and then machined an aerodynamic vent into the powerful neodymium…

TAKE HEED! Unless marked otherwise, all letters to the magazine and its writers are assumed to be for possible publication. In the spirit of vigorous debate implied by the First Amendment, and unless we are requested not to, we publish correspondents’ e-mail addresses. Listening for yourself Editor: I love Stereophile and its level of professionalism. I enjoy both the subjective (reviewer impressions) and objective (John Atkinson’s bench measurements), along with the challenge to “listen for yourself.” I find it amusing that some get caught up in between these angles. Why don’t some trust their ears? What if it’s distortion I like? So what! I don’t know art, but I know what I like. I have no problem living a lie, as long as it’s a good lie! —Bruce Kasprzyk revox77a@gmail.com Listening to Art Dudley Editor: I have subscribed…

ATTENTION ALL AUDIO SOCIETIES: We have a page on the Stereophile website dedicated solely to you: www.stereophile.com/audiophilesocieties. If you’d like to have your audio-society information posted on the site, e-mail Chris Vogel at info@XLinkAudio.com. 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, July 26, 7–9pm: The Arizona Audio Video Club will hold its monthly meeting at LMC Home Entertainment Ltd. (1705 W. Ruby Drive, Suite 109, Tempe 85284, www.lmche.com). The LMC stores feature top-line gear from Audio Research, Burmester, JL Audio, Linn, Magnepan, MBL, McIntosh, Sonus Faber, Wilson Audio, and many more. The meeting will highlight the store’s recently completed home theater and the new Homage line of loudspeakers from Sonus Faber.…

SUBMISSIONS: Those promoting audio-related seminars, shows, and meetings should e-mail the when, where, and who to JAtkinson@enthusiastnetwork.com at least eight weeks before the month of the event. The deadline for the October 2017 issue is July 20, 2017. GERMANY: MUNICH Jason Victor Serinus MQA, whose codec reduces the bandwidth required to stream highresolution files while promising improved sound quality,1 announced at Munich High End (May 18–21) that its hardware partners now include Audio- Quest, CanEver Audio, dCS, Esoteric, IAG, Krell, Lumin, Mark Levinson, Pro-Ject Audio Systems, Simaudio Moon, TEAC, and Wadax. These are in addition to its partners already on board, which include Aurender, Bel Canto Design, Bluesound, Cary, NAD, Brinkmann, Meridian, MSB, Mytek, Onkyo, Pioneer, Technics, and Tidal. Of special interest to budget-conscious audiophiles was AudioQuest’s free firmware update for the DragonFly…

THIS ISSUE: An update of a classic Ortofon phono cartridge. Johannsen has been trickling down the technology he developed for the MC Anna. O rtofon, which turns 100 next year, launched the original Windfeld cartridge nearly a decade ago. Named for cartridge designer Per Windfeld—who had just retired at age 75, after 30 years with the company—that top-of-the-line cartridge cost $3400 at the time of its introduction. Between 1976 and 2006, Per Windfeld oversaw the development of cartridges from the top to the bottom of Ortofon’s extensive line, including the MC 20, MC Rohmann, and MC Jubilee, as well as Ortofon’s many series of models: MC Super, Kontrapunkt, MC Rondo, and the budget-priced OM and Concorde DJ series. In a recent interview, Windfeld said that he figures he’s developed at least 50 cartridge…