LATEST ADDITIONS

It wasn't too many years ago that no audio perfectionist would even consider owning speakers having woofers of less than a 12" diameter. Everyone knew that it took a BIG speaker to reproduce real bass, and pointed at the size of a double bass and an organ bass pipe as proof that there was no way of circumventing that particular law of physics.

I wrote in the April 2026 issue of Stereophile that when you clean records in an ultrasonic bath, you need to make some decisions. The first is whether it's necessary to use distilled water or whether tap water is good enough . . . The next decision is, should I use a surfactant?

Brahms: Trio Op.114; Tabea Zimmermann, viola; Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello; Javier Perianes, piano. Mahler: Symphony 9; London Philharmonic Orchestra/Vladimir Jurowski. Sean Shibe: Vesper. Elsa Barraine: Symphonies 1 & 2; Song-Koï; Les Tziganes; Orchestre National de France/Cristian Măcelaru.

Gabrielle Cavassa: Diavola; Miroslav Vitous: Mountain Call; Pepper Adams Quintet; Cecil Taylor Unit: Fragments: The Complete 1969 Salle Pleyel Concerts; Javon Jackson: Jackson Plays Dylan.

In the opinion of this hi-fi reviewer, the debate over the efficacy of audio-quality network switches should be over. As logic would dictate, when connections are made via a network switch, the quality of its inputs, outputs, oscillators (clocks), power supplies, and pathways affects the sound of everything downstream. It's clearly audible. Everything matters.