As We See It

The Flip Side of Digital...

Doug Sax Nov 04, 2007 First Published: Dec 04, 1982

The following was submitted as a letter to J">http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/66">J. Gordon Holt, in response to his Editorial "Digital">http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/882awsi">Digital Revenge," in issue #53 (August 1982, Vol.5 No.6). We are publishing it as a guest editorial, because the writer is one of the few audio people whose judgement we respect who disagrees with us about digital's merits. The feeling, it would seem, is mutual.—Ed.

As We See It J. Gordon Holt

Digital Revenge

J. Gordon Holt Nov 04, 2007 First Published: Aug 01, 1982

Many audiophiles will look back on the summer of 1982 as the year the creeping cruds invaded their hallowed halls of hi-fi. In the Conrad Hilton hotel, where most of the high-end contingent gathered at the June 1982 Consumer Electronics Show, one exhibitor was featuring a videodisc presentation with wide-range audio and insisting that this was the way of the future. And at least three others had managed to smuggle in digital tape recorders (all Sony PCM-F1s), and were giving many CES visitors their first taste of real, unadulterated, digital reproduction.

As We See It J. Gordon Holt

The Listening Room: the Forgotten Factor

J. Gordon Holt Nov 03, 2007 First Published: Mar 03, 1983

Question: What is it that almost every audiophile takes for granted, yet has more effect on the sound of his system than does any single component in that system? Answer: His listening room.

As We See It

The Price is Right

John Atkinson Nov 03, 2007 First Published: Sep 03, 1996

In recent months, Stereophile's "Letters" column has been filled with complaints about the equipment we choose to review. "Too rich for my pocketbook" is the universal sentiment. This puzzles me, considering that Stereophile does review many "affordable" components. In part, I think this reaction is due to the high profile invariably associated with very expensive gear. Although we did put both speakers on our cover, one review of a Wilson Grand SLAMM or a JMlab Grand Utopia seems to outweigh 10 reviews of more realistically priced products. Our writers love to cover the cutting edge of audio—witness Martin Colloms's report from HI-FI '96 in this issue—because progress is more easily made when a designer is freed from budget constraints. But without the Grand SLAMM or Utopia, would Wilson have been able to produce the $9000/pair WITT, or JMlab the $900/pair Micron">http://www.stereophile.com/">Micron Carat, to name two high-value, high-performance designs recently reviewed in the magazine?

As We See It

Ground Rules For Reviews

Wes Phillips Oct 31, 2007 First Published: Oct 01, 1996

As Stereophile's Equipment Reports Editor, I get a lot of calls from readers asking how we choose the gear we review, and from manufacturers asking how to get their products reviewed. So I told JA to take the month off from writing this column so that I could talk about Stereophile's Equipment Reports section.

As We See It Audiophile Essentials

Audio Observations

Robert Harley Oct 24, 2007 First Published: Dec 02, 1996

"If the midrange isn't right, nothing else matters." Stereophile founder J. Gordon Holt's decades-old observation of the musical importance of the midrange has become a truism cast in stone. Gordon's other famous observation, "The better the sound, the worse the measurements," was made only partially in jest.

As We See It

Watching the Detectives

John Atkinson Oct 14, 2007 First Published: Oct 14, 2007

I made myself comfortable. The system—Linn Unidisk universal player, Meridian digital active speakers—was obviously working well: "For unto us a Child is born..." pum pum pum pum...

As We See It

The Past Is Prologue

John Atkinson Sep 16, 2007 First Published: Sep 16, 2007

"Why didn't they choose a color set?" I had been reminiscing about the early days of TV and how my parents bought a black-and-white set so we could watch the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. My daughter Emily's question had me stumped. It is difficult to explain to someone born 10 years after the launch of CD—someone who, for example, has never seen, let alone used, a typewriter, and who enjoys a comparatively infinite set of choices among mature 21st-century technologies—that it was not always thus.

As We See It Audiophile Essentials