Ken Micallef

6 days ago | stereophile.com | Ken Micallef

John DeVore brings more than music to his rooms: he brings thoughtfulness, a sense of discovery, and superbly curated recordings. At AXPONA 2025, DeVore’s system featured a Well Tempered Lab Kauri Mk II MC cartridge ($2000), mounted to the integrated tonearm of a Well Tempered Lab Versalex turntable ($4850). A Grimm Audio MU2 streaming DAC/preamplifier ($17,500) handled digital.

6 days ago | stereophile.com | Ken Micallef

Jeffrey Catalano’s Show-Stopping System: DaVa Soul, Fuuga, Red Sparrow, Miyajima, TW-Acustic, Alieno, Cessaro, Stein, Codia, Silent Running, Shun Mook, ADD-Powr High Water Sound’s Jeffrey Catalano could give a master class in room setup. A veteran of hundreds of audio shows, he not only presents exceptional-sounding rooms but also curates adventurous vinyl selections. I invariably leave his room with music titles scribbled in my notebook, like recipes for marvelous dishes.

3 weeks ago | stereophile.com | Ken Micallef

In his review of the J.Sikora Initial turntable, Stereophile's resident artist/sage Herb Reichert wrote, "Extended bathing, lighting candles, making tea, and preparing food are ritual work forms that prepare my senses to accept both pleasure and illumination."When it comes to playing records, I too have a ritual. It involves carefully cleaning the vinyl, first on a Pro-Ject VC-33, followed by immersion in a HumminGuru Ultrasonic vinyl cleaner.

3 weeks ago | stereophile.com | Ken Micallef

Linn & Nordost Unite: Lorenzo Pacitti’s High-End Audio Showcase Linn brand ambassador Lorenzo Pacitti earnestly offered demos in Room 481, and I happily obliged. Lorenzo’s assemblage included the classic Linn Klimax LP12 turntable ($32,880) and Linn Klimax DSM ($45,500)—an all-in-one preamp/streamer featuring Linn’s Organik DAC. Also on hand was the new Linn Klimax Solo 800 power amp ($90,000/pair), which delivers 800W into 8 ohms (and up to 1.2kW into 2 ohms).

3 weeks ago | stereophile.com | Ken Micallef

Supreme Acoustic Systems: Soulnote, AirTight, BennyAudio, Albedo, AudioQuest, and Cardas It’s 3am on a Sunday morning. I must complete my tasks before Mark Henninger is awake. There are a handful of rooms left to write up, beginning with Room 265, where Supreme Acoustic Systems brought on Soulnote and others. A Soulnote D-3 DAC ($22,900), with a Soulnote X-3 Clock Generator ($5495), sent signal to a Soulnote P3 Preamplifier ($22,900), followed by Soulnote M3 monoblocks ($21,900/pair).