Heaven 11 Audio at Montreal Audiofest 2026
Ken Micallef visits Heaven 11 Audio and interviews Itai Azerad at Montreal Audiofest 2026.
LATEST ADDITIONS
Continue Reading »
Codell Audio Room at Montreal Audiofest 2026: Quad, Brinkman, Supatrac, Zesto Audio, REL, Saturn Audio, Audience
How did an almost all-Quad system, featuring the brand’s 33 preamplifier w/ phono stage ($2299) and a pair of 303 power amps ($2299/each) in monoblock configuration driving flagship ESL 2912X speakers ($26,495/pair), sound in the Codell Audio room at Montreal Audiofest 2026? Read on to find out. . .
Wattson Audio Emerson Digital network bridge
My story with Wattson Audio began about three years ago. It happened as I was covering the Montreal Audiofest for Stereophile, in the exhibitor room helmed by Canadian distributor Phonographe. Behind a curtain, resting on the windowsill, was a stage star waiting for its big reveal—a Wattson Emerson Analog network bridge.
Continue Reading »
Welcome to Montreal Audiofest 2026!
Robert Schryer and Ken Micallef welcome one and all to our upcoming in-depth Montreal Audiofest 2026 coverage. Besides the teaser Reels we've already been posting, Rob and Ken will be conducting show interviews and showing us lots of great new gear from the show in the days ahead, so stay tuned!
Re-Tales #64: L.A.'s Common Wave Hi-Fi Attracts a Younger Audience
Hi-fi dealerships need to find creative new ways to get customers into their stores—to stoke their interest and to help new people feel welcome. Special events are the obvious way to get them through the door and keep them coming back.
Continue Reading »
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Two recent Stereophile columns have offered thoughts on record cleaning machines (RCMs). Writing about the Klaudio RCM (above left), Michael Trei noted that the manufacturer says to use just water. No surfactant.
Continue Reading »
Magico S2 loudspeaker
If I have a bias toward Magico, it's because I've never heard a Magico speaker I didn't like. Even so, when I listened to the company's M6 towers ($185,000/pair) in a large demo room at AXPONA 2022, my brain broke.
Continue Reading »
Alon Wolf: the Man Who Brings the Magic
A conversation with Magico founder Alon Wolf can feel like stepping onto a moving walkway; it's best to find your balance early. Over the course of a spirited five-hour conversation at the company's impressive production facility in Hayward, California, Wolf questioned my choice of gear. Twice.
Continue Reading »
Recording of April 2026: Lucinda Williams: World's Gone Wrong
Lucinda Williams: World's Gone Wrong
Highway 20 Records/Thirty Tigers H20015LP (LP). 2026. Ray Kennedy, Tom Overby, prods.; Kennedy, John Rooney, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
Continue Reading »
Highway 20 Records/Thirty Tigers H20015LP (LP). 2026. Ray Kennedy, Tom Overby, prods.; Kennedy, John Rooney, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
Stereophile's Standards and Principles
Jim Austin (left) succeeded John Atkinson (right) as Stereophile's editor in April 2019 and has preserved the magazine's Great Wall between editorial and advertising. Here are some of the most important principles that Stereophile religiously follows.
Continue Reading »