Monthly editorial - 2010/04
On Reference Equipment by Colin Smith
"At least once a week, I’m asked by a reader to recommend an electronic component, a cable, a loudspeaker -- or all three at once."

Equipment review - 2010/04
NAD Classic Series C 326BEE Integrated Amplifier by Jarrett Dixon
"Overall, I found that the C 326BEE integrated amplifier supports NAD’s reputation for creating affordable yet high-quality hi-fi components."

Featured music release - 2010/04
Lin McPhillips: My Shining Hour by Joseph Taylor
"Lin McPhillips spent 35 years in the Bay Area singing jazz, and she did a stint in the 1970s and ’80s with the jazz fusion group Solar Plexus, where she used synthesizers and electronics to create wordless vocals, becoming in effect a co-soloist with the other band members."

Shannon's Select Sounds - 2010/04
The Music Will Find You by Shannon Holliday
"Several new releases piqued my interest this month, so I decided to seek out a few that I knew would be good. Before I discuss the music, however, my experience buying it is worth mentioning."

Equipment review - 2010/03
Analysis Plus Black Oval 12 Speaker Cables and Micro Copper Oval-In Interconnects by Colin Smith
"Anyone who’s read my past cable reviews has probably figured out that I don’t have much patience for hype, marketing claims, or junk science. My cynicism about cables came to me the old-fashioned way: I was ripped off. I believed one company that waxed lyrical about what made its cables so much better than the other animals in the zoo, only to discover that my $500 speaker cables were made of 14¢/foot wire from Home Depot."

Monthly editorial - 2010/03
Tweaks . . . That Work! Part Two by Colin Smith
"Back in September 2008, I wrote 'Plugapalooza' on SoundStage!, and it turned out to be quite a controversial article. I still get emails from people asking, 'Audio wall plugs? Are you serious?'"

Equipment review - 2010/03
Audioengine P4 Loudspeakers by Kevin East
"After I’d reviewed Audioengine’s A2 multimedia speakers in July 2008, they were named GoodSound!’s Product of the Year for that year, and I’ve lived happily with them ever since. Audioengine packed fabulous nearfield sound into the A2’s dinky cabinet, and crammed a 15Wx2 amplifier into one of ’em in the bargain -- no mean engineering feat."

Featured music release - 2010/03
David Bowie: A Reality Tour by Joseph Taylor
"It’s pointing out the obvious to say that David Bowie has tried and discarded many stage personas, but his latest is perhaps his strangest and most unexpected. The Bowie onstage for A Reality Tour is an old school entertainer."

Monthly music feature - 2010/03
Five new reviews by various contributors
Raphael Fays: Extremadura | Fernando Otero: Vital | Scott Lindsey: Set ’Em Up, Shoot ’Em Down | The Villains: The Villains | Various Artists: España

Equipment review - 2010/02
TEAC PD-H600 CD Player by Ron Doering
"Well, here’s a shockeroo: 2012 will mark the 30th anniversary of the first commercially available CD player. Maybe Sony’s early hype about 'perfect sound forever' really was true. Still, it didn’t take long before there appeared to be room for improvement in the original 'Red Book' specification for digital music storage."

Monthly editorial - 2010/02
Tweaks . . . That Work! by Colin Smith
"What with all the ranting I’ve been doing about tweaks this last little while, it was heartening to read the SoundStage! Network’s coverage of the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show and learn that real engineering still rules the new-product roost."

Equipment review - 2010/02
Blue Circle Audio GDC Integrated Amplifier by Thom Moon
"GoodSound! and its sister website SoundStage! have offered a good deal of coverage of products from Gilbert Yeung’s Blue Circle Audio. The firm, based in Innerkip, Ontario, has a wide range of components, many in the higher-priced bracket."

Featured music release - 2010/02
Randi Tytingvåg: Red by Joseph Taylor
"Red is Norwegian singer Randi Tytingvåg’s third full-length disc (her discography also includes an EP, Beyond Surface). Her dramatic music owes as much to the European cabaret tradition as it does to jazz, which is probably where her discs would be filed in a music store."

Monthly music feature - 2010/02
Five new reviews by various contributors
Tina Brooks: True Blue | Missy Andersen: Missy Andersen | Iver Kleive: Organ Music from Troubled Water | Various Artists: Joyful Noise | Jethro Tull: Their Fully Authorised Story

2009 Products of the Year

Anthem Integrated 225 Integrated Amplifier
Category: electronics
Reviewed by Philip Beaudette
Originally published March 2009

Dynaudio Excite X12 Loudspeakers
Category: loudspeakers
Reviewed by Doug Schneider
Originally published July 2009
DH Labs Silver Sonic White Lightning Interconnects
Category: cables and accessories
Reviewed by Jarrett Dixon
Originally published August 2009

Monthly editorial - 2010/01
If It Ain't Broke . . . by Colin Smith
"Last October I wrote "An Open Letter to a Tweakaholic," a tongue-in-cheek "intervention" that some read as a slagging-off of tweaks in general. It wasn’t, and to prove it, in future columns I’ll highlight some tweaks that I know work."

Equipment review - 2010/01
Audience Conductor-e Interconnects by Jarrett Dixon
"In every test I threw at it, Audience’s Conductor-e interconnect greatly impressed me by producing clean, well-defined sound, and by being particularly effective at accentuating the mid to high ranges. The Conductor-e’s ability to convey the natural tones of instruments and voices provided me with listening experiences that truly evoked my emotions."

See the "Archives" for past equipment reviews, music reviews and feature articles.