Audiophile Digital Components Reviewed
WiiM Pro Plus Audiophile Endpoint/Streamer Reviewed
Even the audiophile elders admit that streaming provides the best performance and most cost-effective way to get CD- to HD-quality audio into your audiophile system. In 2022, only a tiny fraction of the record high sales for recorded music was… Read More »
More Audiophile Digital Components Reviewed
Sonos Port Audiophile Endpoint Reviewed
Do you wanna know when an AV company is the real deal? Some might say that it is when they are sold in Best Buy or Magnolia stores, and that’s a good standard. Before Sonos made that distribution leap, they… Read More »
Benchmark Media DAC3 B Digital to Analog Converter Reviewed
Audiophiles today have more and more digital music options available to them, thanks to the last of the spinning disc players and countless options in the streamer and/or endpoint market. Many of the above audiophile digital source components come with… Read More »
NAD CS-1 HD Audiophile Endpoint Reviewed
Why is Wall Street trying to get every classic rock-era artist to sell them their songwriting? Streaming is why. The music business is now the software business, and the software business is good and always has been. Just as you… Read More »
Bluesound Node Music Streamer Reviewed
The Bluesound Node music streamer (buy at Crutchfield), with its built-in DAC (digital to analog converter), provides a convenient way for consumers to access their preferred music streaming service from the Internet, or from digital music files stored on a… Read More »
Jay’s Audio CDT3 MK3 Compact Disc Transport Reviewed
Streaming music is all the rage for audiophile of all ages and at any level of progress in the hobby. Vinyl has had an unlikely comeback with today’s youth, perhaps as an anti-technology statement to their often-too-connected or too-much-blue-light world… Read More »
Bricasti Design M1 Series II DAC Reviewed
The $12,000 Bricasti Design M1 has been beating oligarch-level DACs exceeding $50,000 in performance since 2010. It has won numerous awards over its tenure and made it into the engineering studios of world-famous music halls and countess audiophile systems at… Read More »
Marantz SACD 30n CD/SACD Player Reviewed
Marantz’s SACD 30n SACD player (buy at Crutchfield), like the recently reviewed Model 30 integrated amplifier, has a blend of old-school features and design with modern technology. Marantz calls the SACD 30n a complete digital source player, and while it… Read More »
Bluesound Powernode Edge Streaming Amplifier Reviewed
When I first looked at the Bluesound Powernode Edge (buy at Crutchfield) streaming amplifier and noticed its retail price of $649, I was taken back to my younger self in the late 1980s when I purchased a Yamaha stereo receiver for, you… Read More »
Schiit Yggdrasil+ OG DAC Reviewed
The Schiit Yggdrasil+ OG (Yggdrasil+) is one of three currently available versions of the company’s flagship digital-to-analog converter. OG—in case you’re not familiar with early-1970s street slang or early-1990s hip-hop culture—stands for “Original Gangsta,” because it is the original version… Read More »
Music Hall CD25.3 CD Player Reviewed
Music Hall recently released its latest audiophile Compact Disc player, the CD25.3, a no-nonsense source component that is very competitively priced for an audiophile-grade disc spinner at $649. Music Hall is well-known for its high-value offerings in the audiophile world,… Read More »
Benchmark DAC3 HGC DAC Reviewed
The Benchmark DAC3 HGC (buy at Amazon) is one flavor of many in their DAC 3 line-up. The HGC model is a full-featured, mature DAC rocking the latest and greatest ESS ES9028PRO chipset. At 37 years strong, Benchmark has been making studio-grade electronics… Read More »
PS Audio DirectStream DAC MK2 Review
About eight years ago, PS Audio introduced the PerfectWave DirectStream DAC to quite a bit of audiophile fanfare. It immediately garnered significant acclaim and was praised for its sonic capabilities relative to its price. Introduced late in 2022 (but not… Read More »
Meitner MA3 DAC Reviewed
In the early days of digital audio, Ed Meitner was frequently asked about circuit design from industry people interested in his ideas. It was this recognition of an insight into digital audio that led to one of the most innovative… Read More »
T+A elektroakustik SD 3100 HV Streaming DAC Reviewed
By any reasonable measure, the T+A SD 3100 HV Streaming DAC is a world-class audiophile component with numerous features and a high degree of engineering excellence. Designed completely in house by a group of 12 full-time staff engineers and even two physicists,… Read More »
Bricasti M21 Platinum Series DAC Reviewed
Bricasti Design was founded in 2004 by two executives formerly associated with Lexicon. Bricasti’s initial focus was on the pro audio side, and the company immediately gained a solid reputation thanks to its M7 reverb unit. Before long, Bricasti turned… Read More »
NAD C 538 Compact Disc Player Reviewed
NAD is a company with a long-standing history (50 years, in fact) of making great products. The NAD C 538 (buy at Crutchfield) is a great example of what the company does so well, as it’s a straightforward entry-level Compact… Read More »
FiiO K9 Pro DAC/Preamplifier/Headphone Amplifier Reviewed
The first time I saw a FiiO audio component, the old nursery rhyme “fee, fi, fo, fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman” popped into my head. FiiO’s track record of commandeering the market share of their competitors from England (and… Read More »
iFi GO bar DAC/Headphone Amp Reviewed
The GO bar by iFi (buy at Crutchfield) is a $329, ultra-portable USB-based audiophile DAC and headphone amplifier. If you want to know what I mean by ultra-portable, it is approximately the size of my index finger (15/16 inch wide,… Read More »
NAD C 700 BluOS Streaming Amplifier Reviewed
NAD, an audio company well-known by enthusiasts worldwide for their high-value electronics, is part of the Lenbrook group, which also includes PSB speakers and Bluesound wireless streaming devices. The technology behind each brand is often shared within the family, as is the case with… Read More »
Grace Design m900 DAC Reviewed
A digital-to-analog converter (DAC) is a device that converts a digital signal into an analog waveform that your speakers can produces and your ears will ultimately understand. DACs are in everything these days. They are ubiquitous devices that perform to… Read More »
iFi xDSD Gryphon DAC/Headphone Amp Reviewed
The iFi xDSD Gryphon (buy at Crutchfield) is a portable balanced headphone amplifier and digital-to-analog converter from a company renowned for both its DACs and its HPAs. It will handle just about any connection you can throw at it, including… Read More »
Schiit Audio Modi 3e DAC Reviewed
The Modi 3e (buy at Amazon) is the latest update to Schiit Audio’s popular low-cost digital-to-analog converter line. The company calls this one a “do-all” DAC, because it accepts coaxial and optical digital inputs, but also Schiit’s own Unison USB… Read More »
Rotel CD11 Tribute CD Player Reviewed
While streaming is more and more likely to be the principal means by which you access your music these days, there are also millions of physical CDs floating around music collections just waiting to be played. The Rotel CD11 Tribute… Read More »
