Stereophile Recommended Components 2024

[VientoB]

Subjectivist’s rant debunked

Best to have something neutral and uncoloured to start with, then you can add colour or flavour to taste. But if you've found you like a certain flavouring across everything you listen to then you can buy the product that produces that flavour, with no need to fiddle with it. It's already "to...

www.audiosciencereview.com

The speaker under discussion in that part of the thread would never get a recommendation here, yet it has been responsible for a great many satisfied audiophiles, it was introduced in 2011 and has remained that manufacturers most popular loudspeaker, still difficult to keep up with the demand, and seems to have one of the highest resale values on the market.

I’d love to own a pair, but the form factor wouldn’t work for my room.

So what is the speaker and where is the ASR review?

 

[MattHooper]

So what is the speaker and where is the ASR review?

The speaker that I was referencing is the Devore Fidelity O/96. No Devore speaker has been formally reviewed by Amir, but the brand has been discussed a fair amount on this site. Based upon the design and measurements of that speaker and other Devore loudspeakers, ASR members have almost invariably been critical.

I didn’t really wanna get into it again as I’ve been round and round on those loudspeakers before.

 

[VientoB]

The speaker that I was referencing is the Devore Fidelity O/96. No Devore speaker has been formally reviewed by Amir, but the brand has been discussed a fair amount on this site. Based upon the design and measurements of that speaker and other Devore loudspeakers, ASR members have almost invariably been critical.

I didn’t really wanna get into it again as I’ve been round and round on those loudspeakers before.

ok. They're very expensive. I would expect them to measure well for that price.

 

[MattHooper]

ok. They're very expensive. I would expect them to measure well for that price.

That’s certainly the ASR mindset.

But if they measured how you wanted them to measure, they wouldn’t sound like they do.
And the manufacture was going for certain sonic characteristics that he values, which he feels his design achieved. And it turned out there was a strong market comprised of audiophiles who were looking for the same type of sound and aesthetics.

I compared them to plenty of “ better measuring” loudspeakers (Revel and others) and I found them to be different sounding and very compelling.

 

[Mr. Widget]

I will say that as a long time reader of Stereophile, in the pre Internet days to the present, I have never found a Class A product to sound bad.

I get the whole concept of $50,000 cables and $100,000 speakers to be more about wealth signaling than performance* but I see this as part of the baby/bath water analogy because if you picked the cheapest things on the list, you would end up with a good system.

I agree.

My take is that there are many here who are evangelical in their need to spread "the word" that audio bling is against "science" and they can get quite animated if anything other than this gospel is offered as an alternative.

 

[TimF]

There are those who think the bible is factual. That kind of puts them in a different universe than that of a nonbeliever.

 

[MattHooper]

There are those who think the bible is factual. That kind of puts them in a different universe than that of a nonbeliever.

That’s a fine analogy if you are simply evaluating factual claims.

But often enough people here take the broadbrush approach of dismissing everything found outside of ASR practises, for instance, magazines like Stereophile, as all mere fantasy and fairytales. As well as decrying the type of gear often found in those pages and sought among other audiophiles as essentially falling off the virtuous path of accuracy and audio best practices.

Some people can seem to forget when they are talking about their own opinions versus fact.

 

[VientoB]

That’s certainly the ASR mindset.

But if they measured how you wanted them to measure, they wouldn’t sound like they do.
And the manufacture was going for certain sonic characteristics that he values, which he feels his design achieved. And it turned out there was a strong market comprised of audiophiles who were looking for the same type of sound and aesthetics.

I compared them to plenty of “ better measuring” loudspeakers (Revel and others) and I found them to be different sounding and very compelling.

ok, it's not hi-fi though is it? Where's the fidelity?

 

[MattHooper]

I actually sometimes find myself getting angry at some high-end audio prices. Sometimes just looking at the prices and claims made on behalf of cables can make my blood boil. And I’d like nothing better than many of those high-end cable companies to be exposed.

That’s why one of my favourite types of Amir reviews have to do with exposing that type of nonsense.

I also find myself getting pissed off at other high-priced gear, whether it be ultra expensive music servers, speakers or anything else - when I see what seems to be such stratospheric pricing that it’s hard to not see it as pure cynicism on behalf of the manufacturer. Like “ come on you can’t be serious here.” Some of it feels like an actual dare from the manufacturer “ I dare you to pay the price we are asking for this!”

On the other hand, I have to recognize that I don’t have some principled cut off point that I can point to in determining a price at which I should be pissed off. There’s plenty of overpriced stuff that I look at and say “ OK that’s high price but that’s pretty cool and I wouldn’t mind owning it.”
And some of my gear could fit into the “ stupid cost” level by the lights of another audiophile.

 

[egellings]

It seems that many of Stereophile's loyal readers might prefer reading fictional accounts of hi-fi equipment performance over factual ones. It gives one a nice, warm feeling in one's loins, does it not? Especially when considering where to squirt one's next $100,000.

I read the high end reviews just for entertainment, with no intent of ever buying any of the stuff.

 

[egellings]

It seems that many of Stereophile's loyal readers might prefer reading fictional accounts of hi-fi equipment performance over factual ones. It gives one a nice, warm feeling in one's loins, does it not? Especially when considering where to squirt one's next $100,000.

...thy loins...

 

[Platypus20]

I read both Stereophile and The Absolutely Sound every month, it’s a like like TV, you ignore the stuff that does not interest you, it lets you know what’s out there, especially important if you like in an audio wasteland, with no physical access stores for equipment or accessories. Sometimes the music reviews are helpful, then some of the content is pure fantasy, its up to the reader to separate the wheat from the chaff.

 

[GXAlan]

ok, it's not hi-fi though is it? Where's the fidelity?

This is part of the opinion vs fact.

Fans of tubes, where the difference is arguably at the threshold of audibility, will not claim that it’s more truthful to the recording. The perspective is that the fidelity is toward the emotion of the original experience.

Again, I say this as a big proponent of measurements and eliminating snake oil from the hobby. However, “hi-fi” as a hobby should include fans of lp vinyl and tubes and gate keeping what hifi means is a bit rigid

 

[jsrtheta]

Here we go: The annual Stereophile recommended components chum, tossed into the ASR shark tank.

As usual, there will be plenty of overpriced stuff to lambaste.

I like to keep in mind that Stereophile has a different approach to audio gear.

ASR takes a single criteria based approach on which to rate gear essentially “ good or bad.” (as in: here is a suite of measurements that would indicate best practises. To the degree gear deviates from this it is a bad design)

Stereophile takes the view that there are legitimate different approaches to designing equipment and different sonic profiles, and they don’t rate them “ good or bad” but rather to tell you how they sound. And then the consumer can decide whether that sounds interesting or not to pursue.

Of course, these annual recommended components do attempt a rating of one sort, but their approach is going to mean that, for instance, speakers that would be dismissed on ASR can be rated highly in Stereophile.

There’s obvious liabilities in Stereophile’s approach that everyone here recognizes.

But I’m glad both approaches exist as I can get something out of each.

Still strange, though, how the "differences" vanish when the makers' names are unseen.

 

[MattHooper]

Still strange, though, how the "differences" vanish when the makers' names are unseen.

For some stuff maybe, not for others.

“ stop the slaughter of babies being thrown out with bathtubs…”.

 

[NoMoFoNo]

I agree.

My take is that there are many here who are evangelical in their need to spread "the word" that audio bling is against "science" and they can get quite animated if anything other than this gospel is offered as an alternative.

I see what you did there.

 

[NoMoFoNo]

I read both Stereophile and The Absolutely Sound every month, it’s a like like TV, you ignore the stuff that does not interest you, it lets you know what’s out there, especially important if you like in an audio wasteland, with no physical access stores for equipment or accessories. Sometimes the music reviews are helpful, then some of the content is pure fantasy, its up to the reader to separate the wheat from the chaff.

You mean, like, paper copies?

 

[Blake Klondike]

In my opinion, this 2024 Stereophile Recommended components list smacks of advertising under the guise of "Recommended Components". I wouldn't be surprised if great components that didn't place an ad were ignored. I don't even see the RME ADI-2 DAC FS listed and it's the best component I have used for maximizing performance and getting my system to sound just the way I want at any volume level.

Anybody that thinks this list is important can part with their wallet now. Only fools will see this as their audio Bible.

Indeed, the first time I heard Dutch 8C's, I understood how a speaker could approach neutrality. By that point, I had owned some okay speakers over the years from well-regarded mfrs, and I was running Linkwitz Orions, which imaged beautifully but almost certainly were not tonally neutral. But hearing a demonstrably neutral speaker spoiled me for anything designed by "speaker designers" who just push and pull shapes and configurations for the sake of novelty.

what are some examples of neutral speakers?

 

[pablolie]

I have said that I really enjoyed certain loudspeakers (to the point of almost buying them) that were dismissed here as an overpriced disgrace in terms of engineering and measurements, and even that my expressed enthusiasm was tantamount to
“ promoting snake oil.”

It can get harsh around here sometimes ;-)

I actually laughed hard when several in here on ASR were enthusiastically echoing approval of a very marginal improvement of a popular speaker even when the measured differences were minimally apart... the only big difference was the final (inconsistent) personal recommendation. Several "Audio Science“ stalwarts claimed to hear clear differences and some even claimed the barely different measuring older model was suddenly unlistenable. Herd mentality is powerful. ASR can sometimes be just as subjectively ridiculous ("but our ability to discern a 1dB difference is based on measurements!") as any other audio site... but as a rule it is not, which I love and that's why I am still here.

 

[pablolie]

The speaker that I was referencing is the Devore Fidelity O/96. No Devore speaker has been formally reviewed by Amir, but the brand has been discussed a fair amount on this site. Based upon the design and measurements of that speaker and other Devore loudspeakers, ASR members have almost invariably been critical.

I didn’t really wanna get into it again as I’ve been round and round on those loudspeakers before.

One of my best friends owns Devore speakers. They would never rank anywhere near my personal choice... but they work stunningly well for the music he loves and has tuned his system to deliver. They are colored as hell, but play Chopin through them and your heart and breathing will beat in tune. There is all sorts of embellishment going on, but it is amazing I can't bring myself to condemn it. And I doubt any true music lover would.