Stereophile
Audio Research Reference 330M
MONOBLOCK POWER AMPLIFIER
10+ min |
December 2025
Stereophile
DeVore Gibbon Super Nine
LOUDSPEAKER
10+ min |
December 2025
Stereophile
MANUFACTURERS' COMMENTS
MoFi Distribution would like to thank both Ken Micallef and John Atkinson for their time and effort reviewing the HiFi Rose RA280 integrated amplifier (November 2025, p.93).
2 min |
December 2025
Stereophile
Some marketing claims are true
None of the amps I build are better than the others,” Justin Weber of Ampsandsound told me not long after we met. “They are just different.” I may have smirked inwardly. According to his company’s website, Weber makes no fewer than 23 amplifier models, many capable of driving both headphones and speakers, ranging from the $2700 Kenzie OG to the $38,000 Arch Monos. Are they really all equally good?, I wondered. Surely this was just a clever Buddhist ploy to distract us from some of his amps’ high prices. Doesn't the extra $35k spent on the Arch Monos buy you something more desirable than the performance offered by the little Kenzie? Writing for an audio magazine means I hear a lot of marketing claims, some more risible than others, and I have learned to take them with an entire seabed worth of salt.
10+ min |
December 2025
Stereophile
Baby you can drive my car(tridge)
While I was coming to grips with this month's review subject, the idler drive Garrard 301 Advanced, I began to think about the various methods that have been used to spin turntable platters over the years. Since the transition a century ago from windup clockwork to electric motors, there have basically been three ways to spin a turntable platter: idler drive, belt drive, and direct drive. True, there have also been a few designs that go their own unique ways, such as the rare, water-driven Oasis made by David Gillespie of Saturn Audio in the late 1970s and the gear-driven H.H. Scott 710 I once owned and foolishly sold. But almost everything made since the 1950s uses one of the three main drive systems. Even the Omega Drive system, which was used by Wilson Benesch on their extraordinary GMT One turntable, is at its core a direct drive design.
10 min |
December 2025
Stereophile
Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 600.2
INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
10+ min |
December 2025
Stereophile
Excel Sound/LP Gear The Vessel
MOVING MAGNET CARTRIDGE SYSTEM
10+ min |
December 2025
Stereophile
Life in the emerald beyond
If you find yourself in Monaco on a Sunday night, make your way to La Note Bleue, a cozy restaurant and music bar on the beach by the Avenue Princesse Grace. There, you're likely to find a legendary world/fusion guitarist sitting in with a group of young jazz musicians eager to cut heads with the acknowledged maestro of inner awareness and otherworldly spirits. Forever known to some as “Mahavishnu,” you can call him by his birth name, John McLaughlin.
3 min |
December 2025
Stereophile
Lotti Golden
Her life became a whirlwind. Taking the train in from Brooklyn to Manhattan to pitch songs and experience the East Village scene, she landed a song-publishing deal at age 14. In 1968, at 18, after a chance meeting in an elevator, a legendary songwriter/record producer was interested in assisting her in making her debut album. Released on Atlantic Records in 1969, Lotti Golden's Motor-Cycle was wildly experimental and ahead of its time. Seemingly poised for success, the album and her career suddenly vanished.
4 min |
December 2025
Stereophile
36 sides of late Bowie
I Can't Give Everything Away is the sixth and last of the Bowie box sets that survey specific periods in the artist's career. The first was Five Years 1969–1973, released in September 2015. That was followed by Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976), A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982), Loving the Alien (1983–1988), Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001), and finally the new set. Together, the six sets are an impressive testament to a musical giant—a heavyweight tribute figuratively and literally. You could use this last installment to pump up your biceps.
3 min |
December 2025
Stereophile
Full circle in Colorado
A hi-fi dealer's son, Matt Alterman has been in or near the business almost all his life. His dealership, Crescendo Audio, is coming full circle as he opens a new location in Boulder, Colorado, the town where he launched his first store 13 years ago.
3 min |
December 2025
Stereophile
Arendal Sound 1528 Tower 8
LOUDSPEAKER
10+ min |
December 2025
Stereophile
Midpriced phonography
My mother Lily Mae was a Lutheran from Norway. She sent me to Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran School so that I'd become a well-mannered, tea-with-her-friends choirboy, with starched white shirts and a secret penchant for wildness that was nurtured by those freethinking Catholic girls at the elementary school next to ours.
10+ min |
December 2025
Techlife News
QUANTUM COMPUTING STOCKS SEND SPECULATORS ON A VOLATILE RIDE AS INDUSTRY HYPE CLASHES WITH REALITY
Shares of quantum computing companies have surged and plunged in rapid succession this year, drawing comparisons to past speculative frenzies in frontier technologies.
4 min |
November 08, 2025
Techlife News
GOOGLE UNVEILS PROJECT SUNCATCHER TO POWER ORBITAL AI COMPUTE WITH CONCENTRATED SOLAR ENERGY
Google has revealed Project Suncatcher, an experimental initiative that reimagines how large-scale computing could evolve beyond Earth's surface.
3 min |
November 08, 2025
Techlife News
DJI LAUNCHES OSMO MOBILE 8 IN THE U.S. WITH IMPROVED STABILIZATION AND AI TRACKING FEATURES
DJI has officially launched the Osmo Mobile 8 in the United States, the latest iteration of its popular smartphone gimbal line designed for creators, vloggers, and mobile filmmakers.
3 min |
November 08, 2025
Techlife News
Vision Pro-THE NEW-GEN BRINGS IMPORTANT IMPROVEMENTS IN PROCESSING POWER & COMFORT
The Apple Vision Pro is a powerhouse machine, and its latest upgrade features the powerful M5 chip, a redesigned Dual Knit Band for all-day comfort, and visionOS 26, loaded with AI smarts and immersive features, all designed to take spatial computing to a whole new level.
5 min |
November 08, 2025
Techlife News
APPLE RUMORED TO BE DEVELOPING LOWER-COST MACBOOK TO COMPETE WITH CHROMEBOOKS
Apple is reportedly preparing a new line of lower-cost MacBooks aimed at the education and entry-level markets, a move that could place the company in more direct competition with Google's Chromebook ecosystem.
2 min |
November 08, 2025
Techlife News
STUDY FINDS LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS STRUGGLE TO DISTINGUISH FACTS FROM BELIEFS
A new academic study has found that large language models (LLMs), including leading systems developed by major technology companies, continue to struggle when asked to differentiate between verifiable facts and human beliefs.
3 min |
November 08, 2025
Techlife News
HUAWEI UNVEILS MATE 70 AIR WITH LIGHTER DESIGN AND AI-ENHANCED CAMERA SYSTEM
Huawei has officially launched the Mate 70 Air, a new addition to its flagship smartphone lineup that combines a lightweight build with high-end performance and AI-assisted photography.
3 min |
November 08, 2025
Techlife News
APPLE CAPTURES 28% VALUE SHARE IN INDIA, BECOMES THIRD-LARGEST IPHONE MARKET BY VOLUME 7
Apple has captured a 28 percent value share in India's smartphone market, marking its highest level in the country to date.
3 min |
November 08, 2025
Techlife News
SELF-REPLICATING PROBES COULD TRANSFORM SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION, STUDY SUGGESTS
A new theoretical study published this week proposes that self-replicating robotic probes, capable of constructing copies of themselves using materials found on asteroids and moons, could revolutionize the future of solar system exploration.
4 min |
November 08, 2025
Techlife News
GOOGLE MAPS GETS AI CONVERSATIONAL UPGRADE TO TRANSFORM DISCOVERY AND NAVIGATION
Google is rolling out a major artificial intelligence update to Google Maps, introducing conversational capabilities that allow users to interact more naturally with the app to find destinations, plan routes, and explore surroundings.
3 min |
November 08, 2025
Techlife News
MICROSOFT TO BUILD AI CENTERS DATA IN THE UAE USING NVIDIA'S BLACKWELL CHIPS
Microsoft announced plans to develop a new network of artificial intelligence data centers in the United Arab Emirates, using Nvidia's Blackwell processors to expand its global computing infrastructure.
3 min |
November 08, 2025
Techlife News
AMAZON THREATENS LEGAL ACTION AGAINST PERPLEXITY OVER AI SHOPPING TOOL
Amazon has issued a legal warning to Perplexity, the rapidly growing Al search startup, accusing it of violating data use policies through its new “agentic shopping” feature—a tool that allows users to browse, compare, and purchase products directly through conversational interaction.
3 min |
November 08, 2025
Techlife News
NINTENDO LAUNCHES OFFICIAL STORE APP FOR IPHONE AND IPAD WORLDWIDE
Nintendo has released its first-ever official Store app for iPhone and iPad, allowing users to browse and purchase games, consoles, and exclusive merchandise directly from their mobile devices.
3 min |
November 08, 2025
Techlife News
APPLE REVEALS MULTIPLE IOS AND IPADOS SECURITY FLAWS, URGES USERS TO UPDATE IMMEDIATELY
Apple has released a set of critical security updates for iOS and iPadOS, addressing vulnerabilities that could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code, escalate privileges, and gain unauthorized access to user data.
3 min |
November 08, 2025
Techlife News
SAMSUNG TEASES GALAXY S25 EDGE WITH AI-CENTRIC DESIGN IN NEW ADS TAKING AIM AT APPLE'S IPHONE AIR
Samsung has launched its first teaser campaign for the upcoming Galaxy S25 Edge, positioning the device as its next-generation flagship built around on-device artificial intelligence—and directly challenging Apple's recently introduced iPhone Air. The promotional videos, released across social platforms and television in select markets this week, emphasize AI-assisted creativity, adaptive display technology, and edge-to-edge design refinements that highlight Samsung's shift toward what it calls “the intelligent interface era.”
3 min |
November 08, 2025
Techlife News
APPLE NEARS $1 BILLION-A-YEAR DEAL TO USE GOOGLE'S GEMINI AI IN SIRI AND APPLE SERVICES
Apple is reportedly close to finalizing a multiyear agreement with Google valued at nearly $1 billion annually, granting access to Google's Gemini AI model for integration into Siri and other Apple services.
4 min |
November 08, 2025
Techlife News
APPLE TO ROLL OUT AIRPODS LIVE TRANSLATION FEATURE ACROSS THE EU NEXT MONTH
Apple will begin rolling out its Live Translation feature for AirPods across the European Union next month, expanding the real-time language functionality that debuted earlier this year in select regions.
3 min |