Herb Reichert

Pass Labs INT-25 integrated amplifier

Herb Reichert Jan 23, 2020

In my personal life I prefer the minimalist, one-box architecture of integrated amplifiers. Always have. Before I started writing for Stereophile, my only audio system consisted of a pair of 15 ohm Rogers LS3/5a loudspeakers (with factory wall mounts) and an ancient Creek integrated amplifier, connected to my computer via a Halide DAC HD, and to an Oppo CD player. That system had pitch-perfect tone and was satisfying with all types of music.

Gramophone Dreams Headphone Reviews

Gramophone Dreams 32: RAAL-Requisite SR1a headphones

Herb Reichert Jan 08, 2020

Tell me now: When you're there in the scene, watching Lord Voldemort chase Han Solo through the Cave of the Klan Bear, how often do you notice that the sounds you're experiencing are being pumped at you from five black-painted room boundaries, while the flickering-light images approach from only one? Moreover, in a parallel, more quotidian reality, you're sitting upright in your seat, noisily chomping popcorn while absorbingand processingmassive amounts of sensory data: Did you ever consider the sensual, mechanical, and psychological complexity of a moment like this, and how fundamentally unnatural it is?

Stand Loudspeaker Reviews

Elac Carina BS243.4 loudspeaker

Herb Reichert Dec 26, 2019

No one thinks I have a good memory, but I can easily remember a few sentences from my March 2016 review of Elac's Debut B6 loudspeaker. The sentence I remember best: "I might be able to forgive you for liking Paul more than John, George, or Ringo, but if you don't grasp the genius of Mel Tormé, only God can save you." I felt guilty for bringing God into the story, but I sincerely wanted everyone to experience the wonder of the Velvet Fog (Tormé) and to realize how good Mel could sound on a pair of $279.99/pair upstart speakers with audiophile pretensions.

Gramophone Dreams Headphone Reviews

Gramophone Dreams #31: Feliks Audio, Focal, Grado, JPS

Herb Reichert Dec 04, 2019

My current romance with audiophile-quality headphones began in earnest with the appearance, about 10 years ago, of Audeze's LCD-2 planar-magnetic headphonesthese predated the company's patented Fazor elements, said to guide the sound around the transducers' magnet structuresand Schiit Audio's original Asgard headphone amplifier. Together, these groundbreaking products rekindled my interest by making headphone listening into something new and excitingsomething less distorted, more dynamic, denser, and more intensely lifelike than what I was getting from my speakers on the floor. Best of all, I could listen while lying in bed with my eyes closed.

Floor Loudspeaker Reviews

Manger p1 loudspeaker

Herb Reichert Nov 27, 2019

Everyone who reads my loudspeaker reviews knows: I wish box speakers did not sound like box speakers. Plus! I wish all speakers sounded focused and transparent like LS3/5a's or vintage Quads. I also want them to be uncompressed and play large, with window-shattering power and floor-shaking bass. And while I'm wishing . . . I'll take a little glow and sparkle and voodoo magic as well.

Capital AudioFest 2019

Just In from CAF (Part II): VK Audio Room with Sparkler Audio CD Player, EleKit Amplification, AER Speakers, Mogami Cables

Herb Reichert Nov 07, 2019

Some products I review touch my heart and affect how I see all other products that I review afterwards. VK Audio's made-in-Japan $1785 EleKit TU-8600R 300B single-ended tube amp kit was one of those. This amp uses Swedish-made Lundahl transformers (and super-premium parts) to deliver near-state-of-the-art performance at a price anyone with a soldering iron could afford.

Capital AudioFest 2019

Overture Room: Technics’ SL-1000RE-S turntable, Van Den Hul Master Signature Cartridge and Grail SB Phono Preamp, Magico M2 Loudspeakers, Esoteric Grandioso C1 Preamplifier and Grandioso M1 Amplifiers, Shunyata Cables, HRS Racks, Artnovation Room Tuning

Herb Reichert Nov 06, 2019

I saved the Overture room for last because for me and my taste, this room had the best sound at CAF 2019.

Capital AudioFest 2019

EMIA Re-Visioned Quad ESL 57 Loudspeakers, Garrard 301 Turntable, Schroeder and Schick Tonearms, Made-from-Scratch EMIA Phono Cartridge, and Everything Else

Herb Reichert Nov 06, 2019

Look at the photo. What you see is a re-imagining of the original Quad ESL 57s by Dave Slagle of EMIA (Experience Music Intact Audio). The only thing that remains from the original Quads are the PVC stator parts rebuilt to original standards by Wayne Picquet of Quads Unlimited in Longwood, Florida.

Capital AudioFest 2019