Entertainment
Stereophile
The Rolling Stones v3.0
In the Rolling Stones' long history, the Mick Taylor era was a peak, if not the peak. Taylor, who replaced cofounder Brian Jones in the late 1960s, proved a great musical foil for Keith Richards. He was a technical wizard on the guitar; those fluid higher-octaves riffs and runs were the perfect counterpoint to Richards's jabbing and stabbing and growling style. At heart, he was a bluesman, so a great fit for a band named after a Muddy Waters tune. The run of albums from Let It Bleed through It's Only Rock 'n Roll took the Stones' music in new directions and set the standard for tight, fast, and loose arena rock circa the early 1970s.
3 min |
March 2026
Stereophile
Bob Dylan Through the Open Window
Columbia Legacy has released Vol.18 of the Bob Dylan Bootleg Series. Through the Open Window covers the years 1956–1963. The collection is available as three physical sets: two-CD or four-LP “Highlights” versions that contain 42 tracks, and an eight-CD “Deluxe Edition Box Set” that contains 139 tracks and has a running time of 8 hours, 59 minutes. The “Highlights” package is available streaming at 24/192, but the other 97 tracks are only available in the big box. That big box also includes a 124-page hardback book containing full credits, 100 photos, and liner notes—really a substantial monograph—by Sean Wilentz, professor of American History at Princeton University and author of the book Bob Dylan in America.
7 min |
March 2026
Stereophile
Technics SL-50C
Every first love leaves a strong impression. Hopefully it’s a good one.
10+ min |
March 2026
Stereophile
The passing of two Americana greats
Just before Christmas 2025, American music suffered two irreplaceable losses with the passings of Raul Malo (December 8) and Joe Ely (December 15). While a lot of musicians exist on the artistic and commercial fringes, Malo and Ely were foundational artists, gifted creators and performers who refused to be confined by artistic boundaries. Though not without their struggles, each eventually found widespread respect and success. Each leaves behind a significant body of wonderful recordings.
3 min |
March 2026
Stereophile
HI-FI as ART
Since founding Ojas in the 1990s and applying the name to his audio components, Devon Turnbull has mined a young audience that the traditional hi-fi industry has struggled to reach.
10+ min |
March 2026
Stereophile
Burmester 232
My first response, upon being offered for review the new Burmester 232 Classic Line modular class-AB dual mono integrated amplifier ($25,000), was apprehension—but not because of the product itself, and certainly not because of the Burmester brand. My first response, upon being offered for review the new Burmester 232 Classic Line modular class-AB dual mono integrated amplifier ($25,000), was apprehension—but not because of the product itself, and certainly not because of the Burmester brand.
10+ min |
March 2026
Stereophile
Kind of a 'pinch me' situation
In these days of industry transformation, acquiring a brick-and-mortar hi-fi store is not for the faint of heart. That's just what 41-year-old Brandon Bartee did in August 2025. Bartee acquired Audio Concepts from Mark Ashworth, who was celebrating the store’s 40th anniversary, all 40 years under his ownership. Ashworth has been consulting for the store since the acquisition and will continue to do so for another few more months. Audio Concepts has been in the same location in North Dallas, near Preston Hollow, an affluent neighborhood about six miles north of downtown, for 37 of its 40 years. The store has four isolated demo rooms and a few other listening areas.
3 min |
March 2026
Stereophile
Collecting used records. And cleaning them
I own a lot of records. Way too many if we're being honest. It's hard for me to come up with an accurate count, and I'm not even remotely organized enough to have a formal inventory, but if I had to make a guesstimate based on linear feet I figure I must have around 10,000. About 10 years ago, I started to recognize that I owned far more records than I could ever hope to listen to, even once, in my remaining time on the planet, and since that realization my record purchasing rate has slowed to a trickle. These days, my worst weakness kicks in when I'm visiting my friend of over 45 years, Alan B out in L.A. Our idea of great social interaction is to head out and visit some of the record stores near his home in Pasadena, such as Amoeba and Freakbeat Records. Ten years ago on these trips, I would pick up enough records over a weekend to fill three big boxes that I would then ship back home to New York, using the US Postal Service's bargain Media Mail service. Times have changed, and on my most recent visit I came home with just a dozen or so new acquisitions, few enough to easily slip into my suitcase.
10+ min |
March 2026
Stereophile
Steve played it
Legendary Stax guitarist/producer Steve Cropper hated when deejays talked over song intros. He decided to do something about it for the countless hit singles cut at the label's Memphis studio in the 1960s. As a result of his efforts, Cropper—who passed away on December 3, 2025, at age 84—became known as “The Intro Guy,” a sobriquet he was proud to honor.
3 min |
March 2026
Stereophile
New digs
It's difficult to put a positive spin on moving. A recent survey ranked it as life's most stressful event, ahead of divorce, losing a job, or becoming a parent. Forty-two percent of respondents said it brought them to tears. Thirteen percent said it was worse than a week in jail.
10+ min |
March 2026
Stereophile
TALE of the TAPE
RHINO LAUNCHES REEL-TO-REEL TAPE SERIES UNDER ITS HIGH FIDELITY BRAND
7 min |
March 2026
Stereophile
Ruark Sabre-R
Like many aging American music lovers, my earliest memories include watching the televised supernova that was The Beatles performing on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.
10+ min |
March 2026
Stereophile
Vernon Runs the Hoodoo Down
Once and forever iconoclast Vernon Reid, the Britain-born guitarist for iconic American band Living Colour, is perpetually in pursuit of sonic excellence, regardless the point of entry. “A lot of different things have attracted me—everything from gentle breezes to thunder and lightning,” Reid told me during a recent Zoom interview. “I’ve straddled two centuries where I’ve been on a mission to explore different emotions, different modalities, and different ways of using the guitar.”
3 min |
March 2026
Stereophile
In search of lost sound
On the front page of its owner's manual, Greek amplifier manufacturer Lab12 describes the Melto2 ($4995) as a “Remote Controlled, Fully Adjustable Phono Preamplifier.” I'd describe it as a clear-speaking, fun-to-use, cartridge- and record-collector's dream. Plus: It's got tubes.
10+ min |
March 2026
Stereophile
Muse Records via Time Traveler Recordings
As the jazz buyer for Tower Records's Lincoln Center (66th St.) location in the early 1990s, I held a unique vantage point on New York City, its music and culture. My position guaranteed daily encounters with an eclectic variety of unforgettable characters. Between regular visits by the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (grouchy), Kathleen Turner (pushy), and Michael J. Fox (perpetually running from the store's female staff), I saw a lot. I also learned a lot about jazz records: from John Newcott of PolyGram/Universal; from A&R executive and Grammy-winning producer Brian Michel Bacchus; from fellow Tower employee Kevin Elliot—and from Joe Fields, the founder of Muse Records, and his son Barney. Joe had worked with Bob Weinstock of Prestige Records before he founded his own crucial imprint. Joe and Barney would go on to found HighNote records and its sublabel Savant; today Barney runs the two labels, which are still issuing jazz.
3 min |
March 2026
Stereophile
Eversolo Play CD Edition phono stage
The inexpensive but versatile Eversolo Play CD Edition integrated amplifier that Rogier van Bakel reviewed in the January 2026 issue has optical and coaxial digital inputs, line and phono analog inputs, can play CDs, and can stream audio over its network connection, all for just $799! Although RvB doesn't have an LP player and was therefore unable to audition the Play's phono stage, I performed a complete set of measurements on the phono input with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system. As usual when I am measuring a phono stage, I connected the ground terminal on the amplifier's rear panel to the analyzer's ground to minimize noise. As the Play uses a class-D output stage that emits relatively high levels of ultrasonic noise that would drive my analyzer's input into slew-rate limiting, I inserted an Audio Precision AUX-0025 passive low-pass filter between the test load and the analyzer. This filter mitigates noise above 80kHz and eliminates noise above 200kHz.
2 min |
March 2026
Stereophile
Dynaudio Confidence 20A
There's something inherently suspicious about most all-in-one solutions.
10+ min |
March 2026
Stereophile
INDUSTRY UPDATE
UK-based Cambridge Audio has closed its US subsidiary and partnered with Fidelity Imports, based in Manalapan, New Jersey, and Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania.
10+ min |
March 2026
Stereophile
ICONS AND INNOVATORS AT DEFINITIVE AUDIO
Definitive Audio in Bellevue, Washington, near Seattle—one of the premier dealerships in the Pacific Northwest—continued its 50th anniversary celebration with an event it called “Icons and Innovators.” Highlighted by showings of the new JBL Everest series and Bowers & Wilkins Nautilus and 801 Abbey Road edition loudspeakers, the event drew a full house to the first of two sessions.
10 min |
February 2026
Stereophile
Touched-up Beatles and Ringo in color
Opinions vary, but like everything connected to The Beatles, charged arguments over Giles Martin's ongoing remastering of, and sonic tinkering with, the band’s hallowed recording catalog are unending.
3 min |
February 2026
Stereophile
Traveling through time and space
In the April 2024 issue of this magazine, a piece by Editor Jim Austin appeared in the “As We See It” space. It was titled “On assessing sonic illusions,” and it has haunted me for more than a year. Jim’s thesis was that a music recording is a “synthetic, whole-cloth creation ... a complete fabrication.” He writes: “Very few recordings correspond to an actual performance. Most are studio concoctions with pieced-together instrumental tracks and artificial ambience that document no sonic event that ever occurred.”
4 min |
February 2026
Stereophile
EgglestonWorks Andra 5
Big loudspeakers are where diligent hi-fi reviewers really earn their pay.
10+ min |
February 2026
Stereophile
RECORD REVIEWS
Why award Recording of the Month to a project whose vocal soloists, though thoroughly committed, are in some respects less than ideal?
3 min |
February 2026
Stereophile
Doshi Audio Evolution Stereo
Nick Doshi is cautiously reserved when he talks about his amplifiers, preferring to let the products speak for themselves.
10+ min |
February 2026
Stereophile
Sticking with it
David and Alma Wilson must be doing something right. They’ve been married for 50 years, and for 36 years, they’ve owned and operated Accent on Music on Main Street in Mount Kisco, New York, about an hour north of New York City. In a recent, lively Zoom conversation with the Wilsons, it became apparent that staying the course is a viable approach, for marriage and for business.
4 min |
February 2026
Stereophile
Period-style listening
Last night, I sat on a bright yellow velveteen sofa eating red beans and rice while listening for three hours to blues and jazz from rare 78rpm records. I walked out feeling gospel-level raised up, with a head full of dreams and cultural memories.
10+ min |
February 2026
Stereophile
CH Precision L10
TWO-CHASSIS LINE PREAMPLIFIER
10+ min |
February 2026
Stereophile
Rock don't give a shit, you know
Punk rock was never meant to grow old. For their first three studio efforts, The Replacements epitomized the punk ethos. Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash (1981), the EP Stink (1982), and Hootenanny (1983) are loud, bashy fun.
3 min |
February 2026
Stereophile
Kii SEVEN
I reviewed the Kii THREE digital active loudspeaker in the September 2017 issue of Stereophile and was totally smitten.
10+ min |
February 2026
Stereophile
Hi-fi shows, Capital Audiofest, and the Doshi Evolution Phono
I was heading back home to New York in my old Mercedes diesel on a Sunday evening, having just attended the annual Capital Audiofest near Washington, DC. Riding shotgun was fellow Stereophile scribbler Ken Micallef, and as we puttered along the straight, featureless lower half of the New Jersey Turnpike, we started to reminisce about our audio show experiences.
10 min |