Stereophile

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.

Puppies, tequila, and the blind leading the blind • THIS ISSUE: Is blind testing really this bad?

LETTERS: FEEDBACK TO THE EDITOR • THIS ISSUE: That purple-blue glow; Intimate machines; Is this year's "gobsmacked" next year's "ho-hum"?

INDUSTRY UPDATE • As detailed in last month’s Industry Update, the ARChive of Contemporary Music (ARC)—a collection of over 3 million records, thousands of printed materials, and other music-related artifacts—has found a permanent home in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Klipsch is providing speaker systems, with Onkyo amplification, for a large “kissa-style” group-listening space and several archival transfer workstations.

GRAMOPHONE DREAMS • Panning for gold

Tannoy, Townshend, and Dolly • Good things lost, good things retained.

Analog hierarchy and the Korf TA-CF9 Series II • The Spin Doctor talks about his evolving thinking on turntable system hierarchy and auditions Korf Audio's new flagship 9" tonearm, the TA-CF9 Series II.

Audio Research Reference 20 • LINE PREAMPLIFIER

MEASUREMENTS

T+A elektroakustik A 3100 HV Reference • POWER AMPLIFIER

MEASUREMENTS

Consonance Compact Monitor • LOUDSPEAKER

MEASUREMENTS

Clearaudio Compass • RECORD PLAYER

Soulnote P-3 • PREAMPLIFIER

MEASUREMENTS

Monitor Audio Gold 100 6G • LOUDSPEAKER

MEASUREMENTS

Nagaoka MP-700

EISA 2026-27 HI-FI PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR • THE BEST SOUND, MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AND DESIRABLE FEATURES. THE ULTIMATE EXPRESSION OF DESIGN AND, OF COURSE, THE GREATEST VALUE FOR MONEY. EVERY YEAR THE EISA AWARDS APPLAUD THOSE PRODUCTS THAT STAND ABOVE THE REST. READ ON...

Miles Showell, HALF-SPEED MASTER

Funkadelic • THIS ISSUE: New reissues of two seminal Funkadelic albums, including Maggot Brain, from newly discovered master tapes.

Park arranger • THIS ISSUE: Gary Louris and The Jayhawks reunite with producer Bob Ezrin to ensure the band's beautiful three-part harmonies shine through on Sanctuary Park.

REVINYLED! • THIS ISSUE: Two premium reissue series are making great jazz titles from the Verve label family—Verve, Impulse!, EmArcy, and others—available again at prices regular people can afford.

Frank Hewitt Lives • THIS ISSUE: The legacy of this great, underappreciated jazz pianist survives only due to the enthusiasm of a fan.

RABBIT HOLES • THIS ISSUE: Miles Showell shows (and tells) how he found the right tonal balance on his half-speed masters for the recent reissues of seven Supertramp albums and two Roger Hodgson solo releases.

RECORD REVIEWS • CLASSICAL ROCK / POP JAZZ

It’s a musical life • For hi-fi industry veteran, musician, and AXPONA founder Steve Davis, music—preferably analog—will always come first.

MANUFACTURERS' COMMENTS • THIS ISSUE: Representatives of SVS, Korf Audio, Consonance, and Monitor Audio respond to our reviews of their products.

New dimensions in hi-fi