Audiophile News, Opinion and Insights

The year was 2007, and Tam Carlson was a man on a mission. Tam wanted to build a cost-no-object listening room seating 20, in which every last detail would exist only to serve the playback of great music from an… Read the Review »

The upcoming AXPONA audiophile consumer show will return for the 12th edition, April 14-16. Audiophiles, music lovers, musicians and collectors will unite at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center to experience a record breaking show featuring 500 exhibitors and… Read the Review »

Spin-Clean International, creators of the award-winning Spin-Clean Record Washer (read the review here), just launched the industry’s first education program specifically designed to inform young vinyl music enthusiasts about the importance of cleaning and maintaining their record collections. The announcement… Read the Review »

There are tens of thousands of audiophile components on the market today from hundreds of well-known and well-respected brands. Many of them have very specific naming conventions that are the handiwork of experienced marketing executives, Madison Avenue PR firms, enthusiastic… Read the Review »

“This is a transformational period in digital audio, and the new D-07X digital player is at the cutting edge,” said Jeff Sigmund, president of Luxman America. The player supports MQA-CDs, MQA files, 32-bit/768 kHz PCM, 22.4 MHz DSD, conventional USB… Read the Review »

In 2019, Silent Angel, designer of High End digital components, introduced the Rhein Z1, which was immediately hailed as a new standard in high value audiophile music servers. Now, Silent Angel proudly debuts Rhein Z1 Plus: an all-new design whose… Read the Review »

NAD Electronics just announced the retail availability of the NAD CS1 Endpoint Network Streamer (read the review here) , a minimal, high-performance streaming component that equips any existing stereo or home-theatre system with networked music streaming capability. With support for… Read the Review »

Campfire Audio has announced the launch of the next generation of its most iconic hand-crafted audiophile IEMs. Andromeda ‘Emerald Sea’ and Solaris ‘Stellar Horizon’ reimagine the boutique manufacturer’s flagship models with improved shell designs, re-engineered acoustic chambers, and the latest in… Read the Review »

Andover is now shipping the Andover Audio SpinDeck 2 ($299 – read the review), the latest addition to its Spin Collection, striking the ideal balance between value performance and convenience for vinyl fans. Featuring high-quality materials, precision-engineered parts and plug-and-play design, SpinDeck… Read the Review »

It doesn’t take a lot of investigation to determine that audiophile equipment prices can get very expensive. In our beloved industry, we see floorstanding speakers, audiophile subwoofers, power amps, stereo preamps, and beyond that cost well into the five-figure range—and… Read the Review »

AXPONA is known for featuring world-renowned brands and manufacturers, showcasing the most innovative products and services in the high-end audio industry.  The following is a summary of first-time exhibitors that will be at AXPONA 2023, representing a number of product… Read the Review »

Qobuz, the music lovers’ high quality music streaming and download service, is launching a new community platform designed to connect audiophiles and music lovers around the world: Qobuz Club. The interactive forum will allow Qobuz users to convene with like-minded… Read the Review »

Historically, audiophile-grade amplifiers hold their value over time. So do good stereo preamps. The best audiophile floorstanding loudspeakers also hold their value in most cases over a reasonable amount of time. Solidly built audiophile turntables don’t tend to lose their… Read the Review »

SVS, leading manufacturer of high-performance speakers, subwoofers, wireless audio, and accessories, proudly announces the new 3000 In-Wall Subwoofer, a breakout first offering in the architectural subwoofer category from one of the fastest growing audio brands in the world. SVS spared no expense… Read the Review »

My audiophile publishing comeback wasn’t supposed to ever happen. When I sold HomeTheaterReview.com and AudiophileReview.com back in late December 2019, I told anybody that would listen that I was pretty much done. I was looking for some new challenges and… Read the Review »

HIFIMAN just announced a new closed-back headphone designed for professionals and hobbyists who demand detailed, accurate representations of their music, podcasts, and other sound recordings. The new HIFIMAN AUDIVINA (SRP: $1,999) is a closed-back planar headphone that relies on HIFIMAN’s Stealth Magnets to… Read the Review »

Early in his tenure as Parasound’s new owner, David Sheriff made a commitment to the company’s legendary designer, John Curl, to  bring more of his new ideas to the fore. To accelerate this process, Sheriff has hired Darren Myers as… Read the Review »

PSB Speakers, together with hearables start-up Sonical and audio specialists MQA, announced a partnership that will attempt to define a new category of high-resolution audio headphones. The product combines high resolution wireless transmission, proven high-fidelity design, and Sonical’s CosmOS platform.… Read the Review »

So there you are, all primed and ready for a true audiophile experience with your bad-to-the-bone stereo system – the one you’ve spent months/years/decades researching, curating, purchasing, and setting up. You select the music, press play, and wow, doesn’t it… Read the Review »

Much lip service has been given to the failing health of the audiophile hobby, and with the demographics looking about as close as you can get to 100 percent male and a median age of well over 55, who could… Read the Review »

AXPONA attendees year after year look forward to the live concert series on Friday and Saturday evenings. This year, AXPONA will welcome Anne Bisson, Canadian Jazz Singer-Songwriter who will be taking the stage to close the first day of AXPONA, bringing with… Read the Review »

Call me what you want… publisher, editor, entrepreneur, schmuck or just Hey You and I likely will respond quickly and with a smile. Despite running my own publishing business for nearly all of 25 years, I still pretty much consider… Read the Review »

MartinLogan, the leader in high-performance loudspeakers, is excited to announce the release of not one but two new product lines, the Motion and the Motion XT. This premium collection of loudspeakers has been completely reimagined with a fresh attitude, sleek… Read the Review »

Watching the Internet come to life as a commercial entity in the 1990s, when I was in music/business school, was most eye opening. From the time that I got to South Central Los Angeles to celebrate the pending West Coast… Read the Review »

Employing audiophile-grade components, the NAD CS1 (read the review) can play high-resolution audio up to 24-bit/192kHz. It features Bluetooth, Ethernet, dual-band Wi-Fi and supports the most popular streaming and casting protocols, including Apple AirPlay 2, GoogleCast, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect… Read the Review »

BluOS, the premium multi-room music management platform by Lenbrook International, announces a new and improved BluOS 4.0 update to its mobile application platform. A preview demonstration of BluOS 4.0 will take place at the Integrated Systems Europe conference in Barcelona,… Read the Review »

Two weeks ago, I was on the phone with a public relations executive I hadn’t spoken with in a few years. Frank currently represents PS Audio, Audio-Technica and a few other audiophile brands and he was confirming that he had… Read the Review »

Ansuz has made quantum leaps in the development and design of innovative and unconventional audio technologies that have revolutionized the quality standards of high-end music reproduction. High time, then, to integrate all these groundbreaking advances into a new series of … Read the Review »

Things have changed quite a bit in the audiophile world as compared with just a few years ago when I left the business to try my hand at being an executive at a publicly traded Fortune 500 company. The pink… Read the Review »

The Florida International Audio Expo takes place Friday–Sunday, February 17–19, at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore. The sold-out show will be the biggest yet, with more than 77 exhibit spaces delivering plenty of action—several exhibitors will unveil new… Read the Review »

Greensboro is much like any other mid-sized, sleepy college town in the Southeast. Home to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), part of a statewide system that quite surprisingly encompasses 17 colleges, universities, and institutions of higher learning,… Read the Review »

PS Audio is now shipping its PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream DAC MK2 (read the review), successor to the acclaimed original version. The DirectStream DAC MK2 incorporates a host of newly-developed PS Audio technologies to deliver a new level of sonic performance in digital… Read the Review »

Bricasti Design just launched  the newly engineered Bricasti M1 Series II (read the review) dual mono digital to analog converter.  Bricasti M1 v2 DAC dressed in silver The M1 Series II introduces a new look and feel to the M1 series… Read the Review »

Naim is out with their New Classic range of electronics including the NSC 222 streaming pre-amplifier; an all-new iteration of the iconic NAP 250 power amplifier; and the NPX 300 power supply upgrade. Each boasts more features – including balanced… Read the Review »

When I was 19 years old, I remember literally begging my boss, Christopher Hansen, to go to CES in early 1994. I was off from college, and back then the show was the Super Bowl of all things audio. What… Read the Review »

Acoustician Bob Hodas, who has tuned and pretty much every good recording studio—from Sony Music and Electric Lady Studios to Van Halen’s 5150 and so many more—also works with enlightened audiophiles seeking real-world, non-voodoo tuning of their rooms. This can mean… Read the Review »

One of the advantages of living in a big city is all of the access to various services, products, and experiences. Being a resident of a major metropolis gives you access to cultural, medical, culinary, and—in the case of the… Read the Review »

Richard Schram, who founded the audio equipment brand Parasound in 1981, has announced his retirement and the sale of his company to David Sheriff, an entrepreneur active in product growth and supply-chain management. Parasound manufactures audiophile-grade amplifiers and other components… Read the Review »

One of my stated goals as a consumer is to support local retailers. Sure, I buy my fair share of crap from Amazon.com just like everybody else but when possible, I try to shop local. One store that I used… Read the Review »