The Audiophile’s Guide

Imagine building or improving your home stereo system in a way that makes your music come alive—like the performers are right in front of you—even on a budget. It’s easier than you think.

In The Audiophile’s Guide book and its companion reference music tracks, I walk beginners and veterans alike through this easy-to-follow step-by-step collection of secrets for creating amazing 3D sound from two speakers.

Whether you’re new to high-end audio or a lifelong veteran, there’s something for everyone in this book and reference audio disc.

To get a system to make sonic magic it’s a given you need good equipment, but the real secret to making the speakers disappear and achieving 3-D sound lies almost entirely in setup.

Setup is a skill that can be mastered by anyone. You just need a guide.

The Audiophile’s Guide system is unique. It’s not a textbook, lecture, or How-To book that leaves you scratching your head or wondering how you did. Instead, the Guide is an easy to follow step-by-step process based on simple instructions and musical examples. Follow each step and then play the appropriate track of music on the companion Reference Music Tracks. The Guide tells you what to expect when playing each track and how to tweak the system to get it right.

The Audiophile’s Guide book and companion SACD (playable on any CD or DVD player) can, with a few hours of effort, make the biggest difference you’ve yet experienced in music’s enjoyment.

Get the book and the Audiophile’s Reference Music Tracks (or download) bundle and transform your system—or just tune it up.

This is one pair of products every audiophile should have in their library.

(The book and reference SACD/download are available from PS Audio. If you prefer the electronic Kindle version of just the book, you can visit Amazon. The Reference Music Disc is available exclusively on PS Audio’s Octave Records)

M1200 Stereophile review

If you ever lusted after a pair of monoblock amplifiers, we might just have what you’re looking for in the M1200.

“The M1200’s ability to couple with, control, and drive the woofers of my Wilson Alexx loudspeakers matched that of any amplifier I’ve had here, including my reference darTZeel NHB-468 and Boulder’s 2150, both of which are way more costly. I’m not suggesting the bottom end produced by the M1200 is identical to those; I’ve not had the Boulder here in years, and the darTZeel’s bass, while not as grippy on bottom, has a more supple attack and a more generous sustain that works better on acoustic double bass.

But not on electric bass, where the M1200 is a monster. The 2150’s and M1200’s bottom-end performance are more similar to one another than either is to the darTZeel’s.

The lightning-fast, clean transients, top to bottom, were consistently exciting and produced spectacular detail resolution. I remember one evening playing Eno’s high-energy, high-speed “Third Uncle” from Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) (Island UK ILPS 9309), an album I’ve been playing since 1974. About a quarter of the way in, I just started laughing. So much detail was unraveled and revealed. “