Herb Reichert

Lord knows I try to keep an open mind, but those good-measuring delta-sigma chip DACs rub me the wrong way. Their processing complexity vexes my mind, and there's never been a reconstruction or upsampling filter that I've been a fan of. Nevertheless, I believe that every audio component must be judged by how it sounds and feels in use.

The first thing I noticed about the LAiV Audio GaNM monoblock amplifier is its unusual shape and size; it occupies space differently than the other, more basic amplifiers on my rack. The GaNMs sat there giving off a megalithic vibe.

On the front page of its owner's manual, Greek amplifier manufacturer Lab12 describes the Melto2 ($4995) as a "Remote Controlled, Fully Adjustable Phono Preamplifier." I'd describe it as a clear-speaking, fun-to-use, cartridge- and record-collector's dream. Plus: It's got tubes.

My DACs are taking naps. I have not played music from a digital source in at least 12 weeks. I'm having too much fun playing records from the '50s and '60s with period-correct phono cartridges and listening to 100-year-old 78s at the Hot Club of New York.

Last week, a black sedan pulled up by the curb in front of my building. I recognized the driver, Richard Cirulnick, because an old audio-world buddy named Al Rhodes introduced me to him at the New York Audio Show in 2017. Since then, we've hung out a lot, especially at audio shows . . .

The new MC X-series moving coil cartridges appear to have jumped the fence and broken free of what I long perceived as Ortofon's traditional Scandinavian style. This month, I'm auditioning the top of the X series, the MC X40, which costs $1150 and sounds almost Japanese.

Walking through any big art museum, even at a brisk pace, it's impossible not to notice how boldly each object wears the unique stamp of its time and place of manufacture. It doesn't matter whether the artist worked in Paris or Polynesia, in the 15th or 20th century. The force of the creator's persona, united with the constraints of the cultural system that supported the making of that type of art, determines the vibe the object emits. That vibe is what I'm hoping to grasp.