Complicated
Even though I’m the editor of Stereophile, I sometimes struggle to get my audio system to play. It’s a little bit embarrassing. Just last night, I put on a record and there was no sound. I figured out the problem immediately: I’d forgotten to turn on the amplifiers. But the reason isn’t always so obvious. Back in the day, our stuff was simple; it just worked. There were power switches, a volume control, a source-selector, maybe a Tape Monitor button. Turn it on, select the right input, set the volume, and put on a record. If there’s no music, make sure the Tape Monitor isn’t pressed. Easy. Today, things are more complicated. There are levels of input selection. Most systems still have a preamp, but other components accept multiple inputs. My phono…
