As We See It

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As We See It

A High-End Audio Horror Story

John Marks May 14, 2006 First Published: May 14, 2006 0 comments

Tom Swift is a talented young loudspeaker designer. Tom believes that he has never been able to prove exactly how talented he is, because the company he works for refuses to build the cost-no-object loudspeaker he's been doodling designs for (on company time).

As We See It

Strawberry Fields: Auditory Objects & Bad Science

John Atkinson Apr 16, 2006 First Published: Apr 16, 2006 0 comments

Getting a name check from the mainstream press can be a good thing. But as Wes Phillips wrote in his bloghttp://blog.stereophile.com/wesphillips">blog; on February 5, "to paraphrase Mason Williams on winning an Emmy Award, 'It's like being kissed by a girl with bad breath—you appreciate the honor, but...'"

As We See It

The Mystery of Music

Jason Victor Serinus Mar 11, 2006 First Published: Mar 11, 2006 0 comments

The debates may be old, but they're not tired. They rage on with a virulence that suggests there's plenty of life in these old dogs yet. Online forums and Letters to the Editor are filled with them: objectivist vs subjectivist, engineer vs audiophile, double-bind vs doubly blind. The divisions may be artificial or downright specious—false dichotomies perfectly set up for cheap shots—but that doesn't dissuade people from drawing sides, driving stakes into the ground, and firing off volley after volley of accusation and retaliation.

As We See It

Building Bridges

John Atkinson Feb 12, 2006 First Published: Feb 12, 2006 0 comments

"BRIDGE WILL BE RAISED AT 1:45 PM," said the road sign. I looked at my watch. 1:35. I sighed and let my right foot become even more leaden.

As We See It

Dog Legs and Feet: the Marginalization of High-End Audio

John Atkinson Jan 14, 2006 First Published: Jan 14, 2006 0 comments

"What?"

As We See It Audiophile Essentials

Resistance Is Futile

Art Dudley Dec 11, 2005 First Published: Dec 11, 2005 0 comments

The mechanical toys were very superior, and looked down upon every one else; they were full of modern ideas, and pretended they were real.—Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

As We See It

When Things Go Wrong...

John Atkinson Nov 13, 2005 First Published: Nov 13, 2005 0 comments

Michael Fremer's review of the AudioPhysic Caldera III loudspeaker in this issue (p.81) reminded me of a subject I have written about many times in the past: what happens when a manufacturer submits a faulty sample for review. I formalized Stereophile's policy on this matter in late 1988, following both an unfortunate series of reviews in which the samples either arrived broken or broke during the auditioning, and my learning about how much went on behind closed doors at other audio magazines, where reviewers and editors too often appeared to collude with manufacturers.1 I wrote back then that:

As We See It

Leveling the Playing Field

Wes Phillips Oct 16, 2005 First Published: Oct 16, 2005 0 comments

Although you're reading this in October, I had to write it in the middle of summer's dog days—what Washington journalists used to call "the silly season," not so much because there's anything inherently funny about August, but because, in pre-AC DC, all the legislators went home then to escape the heat and humidity, leaving the press corps with little to write about other than "man bites dog" stories.

As We See It

The Absolute Experience

Jim Austin Sep 17, 2005 First Published: Sep 17, 2005 0 comments

I've never lived in New York City, but I've visited often, especially the Upper West Side, where my wife's grandparents lived for many years. There's a little jazz bar there, on Broadway near 106th Street, aka Duke Ellington Boulevard.

As We See It

The Blind Leading the Blind?

Jon Iverson Aug 14, 2005 First Published: Aug 14, 2005 0 comments

The first epiphany I experienced in blind audio testing took place in the Dunfey San Mateo Hotel, in Northern California. We were stuffed into a largish, well-lit room in which dozens of listeners sat in chairs, and others stood around the back or sat on the floor. Up front were two large B&W">http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/506">B&W Matrix 801 speakers on tall stands spaced far apart, behind them, opaque curtains hid a small pile of audio equipment. John Atkinson and Will Hammond stood at stage left.