Future Audiophile

Reading Time: 11 minutesI continue my digital music journey and remain optimistic about where things are headed as recording quality, high-definition music source options, and the playback gear continue to improve.  I love the high-def streaming services, with Qobuz being my personal favorite for sound quality. Between quality streaming and roughly six terabytes of local music, I have managed to build Read More »

Reading Time: 7 minutesiFi Audio is a British company that was founded in 2012 as a subsidiary of Abbingdon Music Research (AMR). While AMR focuses on higher-end audio, iFi Audio was brought to market to appeal to younger audiophiles. The Zen series itself was launched in 2019 with the Zen DAC, Zen Blue (for Bluetooth streaming) and the original Read More »

Reading Time: 9 minutesLast year, when I reviewed the NAD M23 (read my review), the stereo power amplifier in NAD’s top-of-the-line Masters Series, I enjoyed its smooth and transparent sound. Now, NAD has released an update, the NAD M23 V2 ($4,999; buy at Crutchfield). When I asked NAD what has changed, they told me: “The primary update … is the upgrade from the Read More »

Reading Time: 2 minutesFamed audiophile loudspeaker manufacturer, Dynaudio, will announce tomorrow that they are pulling out of the United States market. This news has been confirmed, first hand, by an executive with direct knowledge of the situation at Dynaudio North America.  Factors such as import tariffs and inflation are main drivers of the decision. Poor marketing, focused on older Read More »

Reading Time: 2 minutesAudioDeskSysteme Gläss GmbH is best known for nearly two decades of manufacturing “the original” Vinyl Cleaner, the first fully automatic ultrasonic record cleaning machine that has been considered the benchmark in its product category ever since being introduced in 2009. Over the past seventeen years of manufacturing, the Vinyl Cleaner has evolved in terms of Read More »

Reading Time: 7 minutesIn 1987, Arnie Nudell, Cary Christie, John Ulrick and Bill Watkins, the legendary designers of Infinity Systems, introduced the Infinity Reference Standard, or IRS, speaker system. This was by far the most ambitious speaker design of its day. And even by today’s standards, few speaker systems are as complicated and take up as much space Read More »