Stereophile Sep-17

Not-So-Giant Steps I’m a thirty-year-old puppy doing what I’m told And I’m told there’s no more coal for the older engines,” —ANDY PARTRIDGE, “Train Running Low on Sould Coal” “[We] know the truth of this: We would likely live happily ever after with a system from nearly 60 years ago. An idler-drive turntable, some Marantz electronics, and Quad ESL-57s can be very satisfying. The main improvements to be made are not necessarily in the area of musical enjoyment, but rather boring old reliability.” Charley Hansen of Ayre Acoustics, who made these observations in an e-conversation two years ago, gives himself too little credit: He and many of his colleagues have not only made playback gear that’s more durable than average, they’ve also succeeded in making playback gear that’s safer to use and more portable,…

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. Don Garber Editor: I was deeply saddened to hear of Don Garber’s passing. Individuals of such uniqueness and exceptional talent are rare and memorable. Though I had not had the pleasure of meeting him in person, and was merely hoping to get in the long line for one of his creations, he has inspired me a great deal. From the perspective of an architect and designer, his amplifiers blew everything else out of the water, and I can only imagine what they sound like. I hope to contribute half…

GERMANY: MUNICH Paul Messenger The 2017 High End show, held May 10–13 in Munich, made it clear that in global high-end hi-fi, the Germans have grabbed the high ground and have no intention of losing control of it anytime soon. And despite a rumor that the MOC venue might shortly be repossessed by its owners—car maker BMW—the show organizers apparently have a contract until at least 2020. OFFICIAL STATS: 538 exhibitors from 44 countries (+4%) 21,412 visitors (+10%) 8002 trade visitors from 78 countries (+13% from 2016). After spending a couple of days trying to cover the vast show, I admitted defeat. Nonetheless, I saw that laptops were far outnumbered by turntables and a few open-reel tape recorders (mostly from Nagra); that tube amps seemed to hold the advantage over solid-state; and that every other…

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. CALIFORNIA Sunday, August 20, 2–5 pm: The Los Angeles & Orange County Audio Society will hold its monthly meeting at The Source Audio/Video Design Group (3035 Kashiwa Street, Torrance 90505). Our hosts, Steven and Jason Lord, will demonstrate top-of-the-line equipment in spaces custom-designed to showcase both the sonic and visual arts. This meeting will highlight McIntosh Laboratory, with the biggest presentation in California by their No.1 US dealer. Also listen to Boulder,…

Notes from the Road At audio events held by the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society, I’m usually called on to speechify about one thing or another, or to roast an honoree at one of the Society’s December Galas. 1 But at last spring’s Los Angeles Audio Show,2 Bob Levi, the Society’s president, quipped, “This is one awards dinner where you won’t have to entertain—so relax and enjoy!” After the dinner and the speechifying came the show’s 23 Alfie awards, in three categories—Best Personal Electronics, Best Speakers, and Best Electronics—the winners selected by teams of judges led by Roger Skoff, founder of XLO Electric Co., Inc., and VP at Large of the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society; Chuck Bruce, VP of Public Relations for LAAS; John G. Williams, VP…

Shindo Redux In January of 2014, some of us wondered if the sudden death of designer Ken Shindo would spell the end of the company he founded in 1977: It was hard to imagine Shindo Laboratory being led by anyone but its founder, a former Matsushita engineer who made it his life’s work to study not only the designs of audio’s golden age, but to learn the sound of every vacuum tube, every passive part, every circuit variation that he might reasonably press into service. Ken Shindo wasn’t just a builder—he was one part engineer, one part curator, and one part master chef, and his work stood, so far as I know, as the sole commercial testament to the idea that the sound of music at the moment of its creation…