Sumiko Oyster Moonstone Moving-Magnet Phono Cartridge

Details: Written by Thom Moon; Created: 15 November 2018

Reviewers' Choice Sumiko, a well-established importer and distributor of excellent audio gear, recently added to its Oyster line three new moving-magnet phono cartridges: the Oyster Rainier ($149 USD), the Oyster Olympia ($199), and the subject of this review, the Oyster Moonstone ($299). These models continue Sumiko’s tradition of value-priced cartridges, two of which have become standards: the Oyster Pearl moving-magnet and the Blue Point moving-coil, a cult favorite.

Paul Simon: "In the Blue Light"

Details: Written by Joseph Taylor; Created: 15 November 2018

Sony Legacy 19075841442
Format: CD

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On September 7, 2018, two great 1960s singer-songwriters named Paul released new discs. Paul McCartney’s Egypt Station, his 18th solo recording, was accompanied by a big PR push and the announcement that Sir Paul will tour in support of the album. Paul Simon’s newest disc, In the Blue Light, was preceded by the news that his tour ending in September would be his last.

The Real Schiit

Details: Written by Hans Wetzel; Created: 01 November 2018

SoundStage!’s founder and publisher, Doug Schneider, calls me at least once a week. “I’ll just keep you a minute,” he says. Then, almost without fail, the ensuing 15- to 30-minute conversation is steered toward affordable, high-value gear. Over the past year or two Doug and I have become convinced that gear costing less than $2000 USD -- and now, less than $1000 gear -- is what SoundStage! Access should focus on. In 2018 and going forward, the phrases lo-fi or even mid-fi no longer apply to this site, because so much real engineering is now on offer at those prices from real hi-fi brands.

Simaudio Moon 110LP v2 Phono Stage

Details: Written by Thom Moon; Created: 01 November 2018

Reviewers' Choice What’s in a name? According to my family history, it’s said a Scandinavian king’s personal guards were the only people in the kingdom allowed to use the crescent moon as their symbol. After raiding England sometime around 1000 CE, they decided the weather there was better than in their homeland, settled in Yorkshire, and took Moon as their name. A Korean acquaintance told me that Moon is one of the most common surnames in her homeland, along with Pak (Park), Kim, and Lee. That must be the case, given the amount of junk mail this Moon receives, most of it in Korean.

Christine and the Queens: "Chris"

Details: Written by Joseph Taylor; Created: 01 November 2018

Because Music/Caroline 0525436048
Format: CD

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Héloïse Létissier, born in Nantes, France, in 1988, performs as Christine and the Queens and has released two full-length CDs and eight EPs. Her music addresses many of the issues of gender and sexuality that are so much a part of conversations these days. For her new album, Chris, Létissier has adopted a masculine persona, with hair and attire to emphasize it, in an attempt to examine her own freedom to choose a fluid definition of gender, as well as to look at male attitudes toward women, sexuality, and other issues.

Paradigm Monitor SE Atom Loudspeakers

Details: Written by Hans Wetzel; Created: 15 October 2018

Note: Measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.

Paradigm’s Monitor SE Atom is one of the least expensive loudspeakers I’ve ever reviewed. At $298 USD per pair, the Canadian company’s entry-level model isn’t an aspirational product that someone will lust over for months, waffle back and forth about whether to buy, then pull the trigger on in a moment of weakness. These are speakers that almost everyone can afford, and that anyone can appreciate.

Mike Marshall & Caterina Lichtenberg: "Third Journey"

Details: Written by Joseph Taylor; Created: 15 October 2018

Adventure Music AM1115 2
Format: CD

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Mandolin master Mike Marshall has been recording for more than 30 years on labels large and small. For the last 12 years he’s recorded for Adventure Music, a label he founded with the late Richard Zirinsky. Marshall has played or collaborated with many musicians, including fiddle player Mark O’Connor, guitarist Jerry Douglas, banjoist Béla Fleck, and the Turtle Island Quartet. In 2010, he and classical mandolinist Caterina Lichtenberg recorded their first collaboration, Caterina Lichtenberg & Mike Marshall, and in 2015 they returned with a disc of arrangements of works by J.S. Bach. For Third Journey, the two selected a program of classical, traditional, and modern compositions, each work showing off their virtuosity without being a mere showpiece.

The Right Way to Debut a Product

Details: Written by Hans Wetzel; Created: 01 October 2018

If you want to understand why the high end has had difficulty attracting new customers and younger blood, you need only attend a trade show like Munich’s High End. The vast majority of rooms display products that cost exorbitant amounts of money. You’d imagine that any such product would be launched with a blizzard of accompanying materials -- pamphlets, professionally shot photographs, maybe even a white paper. You’d then leave the manufacturer’s exhibit, take the metro back to your home or hotel, hop on your laptop, and direct your web browser to that manufacturer’s website to find more information.

Technics Grand Class SB-G90 Loudspeakers

Details: Written by Hans Wetzel; Created: 01 October 2018

There are brands with history, and then there are brands with history. Technics is one of the latter. Created and owned by Japanese electronics giant Matsushita, aka Panasonic, Technics released its first product, the Technics 1 two-way bookshelf speaker, in 1965; the following year came the 20A tube amplifier, and in 1969 the 50A solid-state integrated amp and Technics’ first turntable, the SP-10. Each of these products was pioneering in its own way. The SP-10 was the world’s first direct-drive turntable, a design approach that required cutting-edge engineering and precision manufacture. Technics’ subsequent turntable model, the SL-1200, became, in its many forms, one of the most popular turntables of all time, with more than 3.5 million units sold during its 38-year production run of 1972 to 2010.

Death Cab for Cutie: "Thank You for Today"

Details: Written by Joseph Taylor; Created: 01 October 2018

Atlantic 572449-2
Format: CD

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Thank You for Today is Death Cab for Cutie’s ninth studio album, and the first without guitarist Chris Walla, who had announced his departure during the recording of the band’s last album, Kintsugi (2015), to which he contributed guitar, keyboards, and vocals. But even then, for the first time in Death Cab’s recording career, Walla wasn’t in the producer’s chair. Rich Costey produced Kintsugi, and now this new one as well.