Aesthetics Count More Than We Care to Admit
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Uncategorized
It’s been just over two years that I’ve been headlining this publication. It feels longer, but I suppose two years is enough time to build routines and create patterns.
VinnieRossi Brama Integrated Amplifier
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
How much flash should a flagship component radiate? In the world of turntables, the answer is a lot. For the most part, the more expensive a turntable is, the more physical space it occupies, and the more levels of chrome and polished acrylic there are between the shelf and the top of the platter.
My Ten Best—Part One
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: For the Record
For his September Pulse! column on SoundStage! Xperience, music editor Joseph Taylor recommended ten iconic albums for new collectors of vinyl. I read that article with great interest, as Joe’s a walking musical encyclopedia who has likely forgotten more about music than I’ll ever know. Joe took an interesting approach in this piece, which was aimed at the 20-something crowd. “I’m going to lean towards records that are musically significant,” Joe wrote. “Some may be beautifully recorded, but my primary criterion for inclusion here is musical worth.”
Bowers & Wilkins Sub-Sat Wrap-Up
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Opinion
So this is where the rubber hits the road. It’s decision time. It all started back in December of last year, when I reviewed the Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4 Signature loudspeaker. As you can tell by that review, I was blown away by the experience. I said it before, and I’ll say it one more time: These were the best speakers I’ve yet had in my room. Huge bass, outstanding imaging. A unique sonic signature with a rising top end, yes. But so clean, and so pure-sounding that I just couldn’t get enough.
Mola Mola Lupe Phono Preamplifier
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
My background, before taking charge of SoundStage! Ultra, is in IT. I’ve been a COBOL programmer, systems analyst, team leader, QA tester, and technical writer, all at varying times, sometimes running each task in series on the same project. I’ve gathered business requirements, coded up processes, and then tested my own code. I wrote it, so I know what to test, right?
Acora Acoustics MRC-2 Loudspeaker
- Written by: Phil Gold
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
Note: measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.
Behind the loudspeaker reviewed here is the story of a man with skill and interest in two seemingly unrelated fields: stonework and speaker design. Valerio Cora had the idea to bring those two fields together, and set about through painstaking development to bring that idea to fruition.
Siltech Loose Ends
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Opinion
It’s early August, and I’ve just returned from Europe. In Vienna, I stopped in at Pro‑Ject Audio Systems and European Audio Team, which are sister brands, then traveled to the Netherlands, where I visited International Audio Holding (IAH), parent company of Siltech, Crystal Cable, HMS Elektronik, and Sphinx Audio Engineering. My writeups of both visits will be going live on SoundStage! Global right soon, but I’ve got a few pressing deadlines that I have to attend to first. Karen Fanas, our miracle-working art director (she’s made a thriving career out of removing dust from my photos), is going on holiday next week, so I need to submit my photos right now. And since I’m doing photography, I have to write up this editorial before I do anything else.
Marantz Model 10 Integrated Amplifier
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
Hi-fi as physical art—that’s a concept manufacturers (and consumers) have wrestled with since sound reproduction became a thing. To deliver music into a living space, you need speakers, an amplifier, and a source component. There are many ways to accomplish this. One way is to build the speakers into the wall and sequester the electronics in another room. This works reasonably well, but it would take a monumental effort to achieve the same sound quality as that delivered by a pair of freestanding speakers and some performance-driven electronics.
Van Halen Fireworks—More Mobile Fidelity Reissues!
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: For the Record
It’s a polarizing band. People either like or absolutely hate Van Halen. Note that I said “like,” and not “love.” It’s hard to love Van Halen, as—to me anyway—the band’s music lives in the moment you’re listening to it. Van Halen’s music is a roller-coaster ride that’s all about the immediate experience. It’s bolt-of-lightning, shot-out-of-a-cannon music. There’s no subtlety here. Add in a whole bunch of misogynistic banter that’s straight out of a high-school boys’ locker room, and it’s no wonder the band is polarizing.
Be Careful What You Wish For
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Opinion
As I write this, I’m panicking a little. It’s Friday, July 11, and I’m starting to make little piles around the house as I pack for my flight to Europe this coming Monday. I’ll be in Europe for nearly two weeks as I visit the Pro‑Ject Audio Systems / European Audio Team and Siltech / Crystal Cable headquarters. Then I’ll be writing up factory tours of those facilities, and you’ll get to read about them on SoundStage! Global in the next few weeks.
- Ortofon MC X40 Moving-Coil Phono Cartridge
- Goldring Ethos SE Moving-Coil Phono Cartridge
- Silver Everywhere: Sliding in More Siltech
- Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 Signature Loudspeaker
- Stunned into Indecision at High End 2025—European Audio Team to the Rescue
- Tariffs—Stingin’ Like a Sumbitch!
- Audiovector Trapeze Reimagined Loudspeaker
- My Favorite Analog Accessories
- Many Boxes of Luxury: Siltech’s Royal Single Crown Cables
- Siltech Royal Single Crown Speaker Cable
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