Sonus Faber Gravis III Subwoofer

Details: Written by Vince Hanada; Created: 15 September 2020

Sonus Faber describes itself as an “Artisan of Sound,” and a glance at their website reveals how much effort they put into physically crafting their loudspeakers -- from their least expensive speaker all the way up to the Aida ($130,000/pair, all prices USD). When, in June of 2019, I reviewed their Sonetto Wall speaker ($1199 each), the high-gloss black finish of my review samples was so seamless that each speaker looked as if carved from a block of solid ebony.

Pretenders: "Hate for Sale"

Details: Written by Joseph Taylor; Created: 15 September 2020

BMG 538603562
Format: CD

Musical Performance

Sound Quality

Overall Enjoyment

In 2016, producer Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys gave the Pretenders’ Alone a good dose of the original group’s energy, and it turned out to be the Pretenders’ strongest album in a long time. Hate for Sale, their newest, features their touring lineup of guitarist James Walbourne, bassist Nick Wilkinson, original drummer Martin Chambers, and original lead singer Chrissie Hynde on guitar and harmonica. The result is even stronger than Alone, with a cohesive group identity. Producer Stephen Street (Blur, Cranberrys, Smiths) lets loud guitars rule, but also points up other talents of this band.

The Music I Use to Evaluate Soundstaging and Imaging

Details: Written by Diego Estan; Created: 01 September 2020

In November 2019, I wrote a feature for SoundStage! Access in which I discussed a few recordings I use to evaluate loudspeakers and subwoofers. This month I write about the reference tracks with which I evaluate how well a pair of speakers can reproduce aural images of singers, instruments, and other sound-producing objects, and to create a three-dimensional soundstage on which to accurately position those images.

Triangle Borea BR08 Loudspeakers

Details: Written by Diego Estan; Created: 01 September 2020

Reviewers' Choice Recently wowed by French manufacturer Triangle Manufacture Electroacoustique’s Borea BR03 minimonitor, I wasn’t shy in expressing my admiration in a May 2020 review. Now in my listening room is the BR03’s floorstanding big brother, the three-way, four-driver Borea BR08 ($1399/pair, all prices USD). I looked forward to this review -- it had been a while since I’d heard a budget floorstander that impressed me, and I wondered if the Borea BR08 would deliver the BR03’s exciting sound and exceptional value.

Joe Jackson: "Body and Soul"

Details: Written by Joseph Taylor; Created: 01 September 2020

A&M/Intervention IR-SCD4
Format: SACD/CD

Musical Performance

Sound Quality

Overall Enjoyment

By March 1984, when Joe Jackson released his seventh album, Body and Soul, he’d already moved beyond punk and new wave. His fifth album, Night and Day (1982), and his score for the film Mike’s Murder (1983), had taken in other styles, indicating Jackson’s musical restlessness. Like those on Night and Day, the songs on Body and Soul defy easy categorization, but Jackson hinted at his jazz influences with the album’s cover art, which faithfully re-creates the cover of Sonny Rollins’s Vol. 2, photographed by Francis Wolff and designed by Harold Feinstein, and released on Blue Note in 1957.

Monitor Audio Bronze 100 Loudspeakers

Details: Written by Diego Estan; Created: 15 August 2020

Monitor Audio, founded in 1972, is part of the UK’s rich history of high-quality hi-fi design. Recently, Monitor launched the latest iteration of their affordable line of Bronze loudspeaker models, now in its sixth generation. The Bronzes have been completely redesigned for, per Monitor, superior sound and build quality.

GoGo Penguin: "GoGo Penguin"

Details: Written by Joseph Taylor; Created: 15 August 2020

Blue Note B003198202
Format: CD

Musical Performance

Sound Quality

Overall Enjoyment

GoGo Penguin’s last release, Ocean in a Drop: Music for Film (2019), was a five-track EP of music the trio wrote to accompany recent screenings of director Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi (1982). Philip Glass had composed the original film score, and it was while listening to the EP that I finally heard a connection between Glass and GoGo Penguin -- the group’s use of repetitive melodies that change subtly and shift in emphasis owes something to Glass. Still, GoGo Penguin’s rhythmic elasticity and grasp of everything from jazz to various pop genres set them apart. Glass is just one of their many influences.

The Care and Feeding of the Modern Audio Turntable

Details: Written by Thom Moon; Created: 01 August 2020

For the last several years, turntables have been at the center of my audio life. It had something to do with the vinyl revival, and the fact that I was one of the few SoundStage! Network reviewers who never lost the faith -- mostly because I have somewhat esoteric (read: strange) tastes in music, and own a large library of recordings on vinyl that have never been digitized. So I kept ready for action my late-1980s Dual CS-5000 turntable and myriad cartridges -- one ADC, four Grados, two Shures, one Stanton, one Sumiko -- until what goes around came around again: the LP.

NAD C 588 Turntable with Ortofon 2M Red Cartridge

Details: Written by Thom Moon; Created: 01 August 2020

It sounded simple enough. Our esteemed editor-in-chief, Jeff Fritz, asked me to contact NAD to request a review sample of their C 588 turntable ($899 USD). I did, and almost immediately, NAD rep Peter Hoagland told me he would arrange for NAD’s parent company, Lenbrook Industries, to ship me a C 588 from their HQ in Pickering, Ontario. A few days later the C 588 arrived.

Bob Dylan: "Rough and Rowdy Ways"

Details: Written by Joseph Taylor; Created: 01 August 2020

Columbia 19439780982
Format: CD

Musical Performance

Sound Quality

Overall Enjoyment

When Bob Dylan released “Murder Most Foul” as a single in April, he called it “an unreleased song we recorded a while back that you might find interesting” -- which sounded as if it was something he’d had in the can a while and had decided to release for the heck of it. I bought it as a high-resolution single, and I wasn’t alone. The song was Bob Dylan’s first No.1 on Billboard’s singles chart.