It has been a sad season for audio. Earlier this year the shocking news about David Steven of dCS, then we heard that Gordon died, then that Jim Thiel had tragically passed away at only ...

Some Thoughts on Jim Thiel I’m deeply saddened to report that Jim Thiel, founder of the loudspeaker company that bears his name, passed away on September 18 at the age of 62. Jim Thiel was ...

The year was 1987 and digital audio was still emerging unsteadily from its technological stone-age. The year was also noteworthy for the highly anticipated, first-ever release of the Beatles catalog on compact disc. Although the ...

Okay you’ve just blown your budget acquiring the stereo or mono (or both!!) box sets of the new Beatles Remasters. That’s a big bundle of discs that you’ve just added to your collection. Sure they ...

It’s been more than a couple years since I unboxed a Simaudio integrated amp. WG recently did their latest entry level i-1 gear and loved it and truth be told I kind of felt a ...

Here’s a question: What stereo amp generates 130Wpc into 8 ohms, is stable down to 2 ohms, has a bandwidth that extends to 400kHz, is capable of 40 amp swings, has a damping factor greater ...

When I went to Tokyo this past spring I met a number of Japanese high-end audio designers. Alas, Fumio Ohashi, chief designer at Bridge Audio Labs (BAlabo), was not one of them. That’s a pity ...

This is the work station for the critical vertical bearing assembly; the small hand press (right) is used to check tolerances/resistance. Detail of bearing assembly SME's latest tonearm, the twelve-inch V-12 V-12 tonearms awaiting final ...

At this year’s CES I was introduced to Sonus Faber’s new Liuto which was being demoed in the Sumiko room. Filling the gap between the Domus line and the exclusive Classic line, the Liuto is ...

Before turning to the next batch of images a little background on SME Ltd is in order. The company was originally formed in 1946 by Alastair Robertston-Aikman and was known as the Scale Model Equipment ...

There are few names in audio, analog or digital, that get the heart racing like the turntables and tonearms from SME Ltd. Long admired for its precision mechanical engineering and jewel-like construction SME components are ...

Since the early 1970s, the arrival of a new preamplifier from Audio Research has been an occasion for excitement, and sometime early next week I’ll be getting ARC’s latest thinking on a piece of equipment ...

Coming Soon: Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2009—October, 2-4, 2009 Each Fall, music lovers and audiophiles of all stripes convene in Denver, CO for what has become an annual must-see/must-hear event: The Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. ...

Coming Soon: Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2009—October, 2-4, 2009 Each Fall, music lovers and audiophiles of all stripes convene in Denver, CO for what has become an annual must-see/must-hear event: The Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. ...

J. Gordon Holt: An Appreciation and a Remembrance Harry Pearson [This is a preview of a piece that will appear in Issue 197 of The Absolute Sound—RH] This isn’t going to be a conventional farewell. ...