@Featured

In the world of very high-end audiophile speakers, there are plenty of options for the well-heeled audiophile buyer. The Dali EPIKORE 9 speakers are the third from the top in the Dali loudspeaker product line. It is a four-way floorstanding… Read More »

Goodwill isn’t always just a place that you take your old Armani pants to donate and get a write-off for your tax returns. Goodwill can be a line item on the Purchase and Sale Agreement when you sell a business… Read More »

Under its parent company Lenbrook, the Bluesound Node streamer/DAC product line has been a frequent favorite on the pages of Future Audiophile.com, with solid audio performance, an industry-leading operating system with BluOS, its companion music app, and sometimes competitive pricing. I say… Read More »

Alta Audio’s Alyssa stand-mount loudspeaker is a two-way design with a dynamic midrange/woofer and ribbon tweeter. At first blush, that sounds like a pretty typical setup for a stand-mount speaker. But there is so much more going on here: a… Read More »

SVS once again turned the audiophile and home theater worlds upside down in 2024 with the introduction of the Ultra Evolution line of speakers, which includes the Pinnacle ($5,000 per pair), Titan ($4,000 per pair), Tower ($3,000 per pair) and Ultra Bookshelf ($1,200 per pair).… Read More »

Rarely, if ever, do I mention that I live in Pacific Palisades, California in my reviews or opinion pieces. If it is ever relevant in an article or social media post, I say that I live in Los Angeles, which… Read More »

When I initially received the latest component for review from German manufacturer T+A, I was both very intrigued and pleasantly surprised. Right out of the box, the T+A R 2500 R exuded an overall feeling of quality. It is aesthetically… Read More »

In recent years, Pro-Ject have established themselves as one of the biggest players in the affordable vinyl space for audiophiles. Not only do they make high-quality turntables at varying reasonable price points, but they also have a range of phono… Read More »

Anyone who has had even a minimum exposure to the audiophile hobby knows how expensive it can be. Let’s face it, the gross majority of non-audio hobbyists would think anyone who would spend over one million dollars on a stereo… Read More »

HIFIMAN, founded in China in 2007 by Dr. Fang Bian, has made quite a splash among audiophiles since its establishment. The company’s signature development has been high-quality planar magnetic headphones, which provide an open, detailed sound. Like planar magnetic speakers,… Read More »

Today’s audiophile gear has gotten so good and so affordable that it is amazing. We talk a lot about Chi-Fi, but that is far from the end of the volume of top-performing audiophile gear in the market today. There are all sorts of… Read More »

European Audio Team, better known by the acronym E.A.T., is spearheaded by Ms. Jozefina Lichtenegger (herself married to Pro-Ject executive Heinz Lichtenegger), and principally builds turntables, tonearms, a tube-type amplifier and four different tubed phono preamplifiers. E.A.T. also markets three… Read More »

Much like the FutureAudiophile.com crew, Linear Tube Audio’s team tends to attend the best regional audiophile shows all over the continent. Nicholas and his team are a fun-loving group of guys, and their audiophile-grade hotel room demos always sound notably… Read More »

Infigo Audio is an exciting new player in the red-hot world of uber-high-end audiophile electronics. The Canada-based company has a long history in the audiophile industry, and it is coming to market with a full suite of electronics and cables… Read More »

For audiophiles, driving with music blasting from the speakers in our car audio system is a ritual that makes long commutes bearable and road trips legendary. Installed premium car audio systems have evolved significantly over the years, with upgraded components… Read More »

Herford, Germany’s high-performance audio manufacturer T+A predominately operates under one guiding principle – “the appliance of science.” In fact, the T+A corporate name is an acronym for what the company enthusiastically describes as “theory and application.” With a staff of… Read More »

WiiM, part of Linkplay Technology, which started in 2014 with experience in streaming audio software and hardware to major audio companies like Harman, JBL, Yamaha, to name a few, has for a few years developed its product line of streaming… Read More »

A phono preamplifier is a great and often inexpensive way to improve the sound of your vinyl. While many integrated amplifiers and preamplifiers include a phono stage, they often struggle to match the sound of separated components for many reasons, but I suspect the biggest reason… Read More »

Anyone who has seen the 1997 feature film Boogie Nights (or lived through that times as an adult) knows that, for an American man in the 1970s, your masculinity was often significantly defined most by what car you drove. Muscle… Read More »

PSB is a high-quality, high-value audiophile loudspeaker manufacturer that recently celebrated its 50-year anniversary. Named after its founder, Paul Barton, PSB subscribes to the belief that speakers should look good, sound even better, and withstand the test of time. But… Read More »

I have enjoyed tubed audiophile preamplifiers for decades, but had never spent any time with gear from Vincent Audio until just recently, when my publisher asked me if I would be interested in reviewing a tubed preamplifier from Vincent Audio. I quickly… Read More »

Cambridge Audio is an audiophile electronics manufacturer with a lineage that dates back to the late 1960s. Cambridge Audio’s products today are as relevant as ever, including some really slick designs such as their sexy-as-hell, DeLorean-themed integrated amplifier. The Cambridge Audio… Read More »

British HiFi company Wharfedale has earned a strong reputation in the audiophile world since its inception in 1932, particularly for its innovation in loudspeaker design. Recently, the company has been revisiting some of its classic speaker designs, giving them modern… Read More »

It was pre-pandemic and I got an unexpected call from audiophile icon Dan D’Agostino, the founder of Krell and the impresario behind his namesake brand of uber-high-performance audiophile gear. He wanted to know if I still owned my 1997 Porsche… Read More »

A trusted source with inside information into the inner-workings of Best Buy and more specifically, Magnolia, has told FutureAudiophile.com that McIntosh electronics will no longer be sold in the national chain. Initially we learned that this more would not be an… Read More »

Infigo Audio is a relatively new, very high-end audiophile electronics manufacturer based in British Columbia, Canada. Hans Looman is the founder and head designer of Infigo products. He has ties that run back to Resonessence Labs, which was an offshoot… Read More »

Acoustique Quality is an Eastern European loudspeaker manufacturer known for its wide range of speakers, from the trapezoidal $1,200 Acoustique Quality Labrador 39 Bookshelf Speakers (read my review), to the hyper-futuristic flagship Passion Loudspeakers, priced at $22,000 per pair. While not yet a… Read More »

The audiophile hobby is on the verge of its first major demographic change since its inception back in the early 1960s. That might not be a popular or uplifting topic with some of the OG audiophiles, but it is a… Read More »

Few audiophile companies are as prolific today with the building of turntables as Pro-Ject. On their website, they list a staggering 13 different lines of turntables. That isn’t 13 different turntables – it’s 13 different product categories for the brand. This turntable… Read More »

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, and perhaps for five plus years before, there has been an unforeseen rise in the availability of uber-high-end audiophile equipment. By this, I mean really big, really powerful, really exotic and really expensive components, often costing… Read More »

Not many of us saw Bose buying McIntosh and Sonus faber (read about it here), but that recently happened, with the pundits saying it was a way for Bose to get further into the automotive space. That’s all well and good, but… Read More »

The idea that a really cool television shouldn’t be part of your stereo system is one of the worst cliches of the audiophile hobby. Let me get this right … I am supposed to not hang a gorgeous 65-inch UHD… Read More »

SPL is a German designer and manufacturer of professional recording and consumer high-end audio electronics, which caught the eye of our editor, Jerry Del Colliano, in his reviews of the SPLPerformer s1200 (read it here) stereo amplifier and Director MKII DAC/Preamp. Based in Niederkrüchten, Germany,… Read More »

Schiit Audio has long been a value leader in the world of audiophile equipment, known for offering high-quality gear at very approachable price points. Founded in 2010 by Jason Stoddard and Mike Moffat, the company quickly carved out a niche… Read More »

Our chosen hobby essentially consists of two ways to listen to the music our carefully curated systems produce. We listen in two basic ways – firstly, for simple pleasure, and secondly, for sonic examination and evaluation. Everyone does the former;… Read More »

It is not every day, or even every year, that Bowers & Wilkins launches a new Signature line. I remember going into audio stores in the early 1990s and seeing the unique-looking Silver Signature speakers, with their crossed silver bars… Read More »

Audiophiles will debate all sorts of topics with enthusiast passion, but one thing that most of us agree on is that your listening room is the most important component of your system. Some audiophile systems are lucky enough to be… Read More »

In the 10 years since I designed our basement audio room, the space has seen numerous components come and go, including stereo preamps, audiophile power amps, music streamers, DACs, equalizers, and subwoofers. What came and didn’t go is a pair… Read More »

HiFi Rose, a newer company in the high-end audio community but with 50 years of experience in touchscreen interfaces, has quickly become a leader in digital music players, and Class-D GaN FET amplifier design. HiFi Rose uses the term “network transport” when referring… Read More »

No one brand has impacted more audiophiles in their early years than NAD. For my fourteenth birthday, my Dad generously bought me a Nakamichi Music Bank CD changer, a pretty sweet NAD receiver, a pair of Polk floorstanding speakers, and some classic… Read More »

Most commonly, emails and notices start well before the show actually begins. Websites allow interested visitors to see what brands exhibitors demoing products will showcase. These same exhibitor lists allow consumers to expeditiously map out their favorite rooms and the… Read More »

MartinLogan gets more editorial and consumer attention for its hybrid electrostatic loudspeakers than it does for its subwoofers, which is a bit of a shame. The design resources that MartinLogan and its sibling brand, Paradigm, have available to them in… Read More »

Bryston Ltd. is a well-known and very well-respected Canadian audiophile electronics company based in Dwight, Ontario, a region of Canada far more famous for a relaxing summer life and great ice cream than a place that you might expect to… Read More »

Few audio companies have been around as long as ELAC, which has been manufacturing audio equipment for almost 100 years, and audiophile loudspeakers for over 40. Perhaps best known for their revolutionary JET folded ribbon tweeter, now on its sixth iteration, ELAC… Read More »

When the desire to upgrade a component becomes reality, audiophiles are faced with the burdening decision of how best to resolve the used component that the new joyous purchase will replace. One option is to simply trade it into the… Read More »

I remember my first trip to purchase my own stereo speakers like it was yesterday. It was 1989, and I had just passed my driver’s test. My Dad had won some points in a sales contest and allowed me to… Read More »

Bryston Ltd is a Canadian electronics firm that has been designing and manufacturing consumer and professional audio for the last 35 years, and is based out of the small town of Dwight, Ontario, here in Canada.  In their 35 years, Bryston… Read More »

There were two goals that I took on professionally in 2024 and, in an unprecedented outcome, I think that I have achieved them both as we come to the close of the year. The first one was to elevate my… Read More »

Let’s not fool ourselves … there are sadly very few women involved in the audiophile hobby. I would be shocked, if we did a study of 1,000 people who attended one of the growing number of regional audiophile shows, we… Read More »

I bought my first stereo system in my early teens. It was a Vector Research system that my friend Keith Marshall hooked me up with, and one of the things I remember about it was being enthralled by the graphic… Read More »

By the time that this stereo preamp review goes live, you will likely have seen that its close relative, the SPL Director MK2 DAC Preamp for $3,699 (read the review), has won our 2024 Gear We Love Component of the… Read More »

Simply put, no one factor impacts the sound of your audiophile system more than the acoustics of your listening room. Some audiophiles are blessed to have a dedicated listening environment where they can address their acoustical issues without much push-back or spousal approval.… Read More »

There is no better way to improve your audiophile system than to address the physical acoustical issues found in your listening room. And do you have them? Yes, my friend, you do. So do I. In fact, my room is… Read More »

Now in my audio system are two low, unassuming black boxes, one by each speaker. I’d venture that Orchard Audio’s Starkrimson Mono Ultra Premium Amplifiers ($4,999 per pair), with their sloped front panels and generally restrained looks, won’t win any… Read More »

Audiophiles were shocked when the well-hated but billion-dollar consumer electronics brand, Bose, bought McIntosh (read our coverage here) from its most recent investment group owners. What shocked me, as an industry insider, was that they didn’t look to cherry-pick some… Read More »

Piecing together an amazing audio system is often a lifelong pursuit for audiophiles. Start with a nice set of audiophile speakers and an entry-level power amp, and build up from there. Sell or trade pieces of gear to incrementally improve your setup until you… Read More »

If you are not familiar with LEAK Audio, the company was started in 1934 in London and specialized in designing and manufacturing high-quality audiophile components. By the 1950s, their TL/12 tube amplifier was widely used in nearly all BBC studios… Read More »

As I sit here typing, we are a few days away from my wife and kids moving back into the house after a pretty major kitchen cabinet upgrade in our home. A few years ago, I had purchased some good… Read More »

One of the founding principles in the Mission Statement of FutureAudiophile.com was to take on the challenge of finding newer, younger and more diverse audiophiles for our hobby. This is no small feat, as I have learned over the past roughly two… Read More »

REL is a well-known name in the world of audiophile subwoofers with a reputation for making musical subwoofers. The feature that sets REL apart from other manufacturers is their unique connection method, which utilizes the amplifier outputs. Most of the… Read More »

Argent Pur is best known as an audiophile cable company that specializes in pure silver cables. Silver cables (including power cables) have a cult following because of their detailed sound. Few, if any, companies that make silver audiophile cables have… Read More »

Paradigm has spent more than 40 years building quality speakers. The Founder 80F typically retails for around $3,600 per pair, which sits them at a price where you typically start to find good speakers from many of the top manufacturers… Read More »

Defining an audiophile is a very interesting question and one with any number of reasonably correct answers. Speaking strictly, and in accordance with the English language’s derivation from Latin, the first part of the term, “audio,” relates to anything we… Read More »

For frequent FutureAudiophile.com readers, my fondness for ELAC speakers is no secret. My personal set of ELAC Debut Reference 6.2s remain the daily drivers in my setup, serving as pretty much the benchmark for what a $700 speaker can achieve. Naturally, when… Read More »

There are a lot of back stories that don’t get told in the audiophile press for mainstream consumers. Often, these stories are pretty incredible. The back story of how Krell was almost sold is a recent one that ended in… Read More »

It is awards time again. FutureAudiophile.com has been cranking out more, highly sought-after audiophile component reviews than any other online publication, print magazine, “influencer” or YouTube “expert.” You’ve told us you want lots of reviews of the absolute best gear… Read More »

My relationship with power conditioning products has always been a complex one. Over the years I’ve tried several from very respected brands, but not IsoTek. Most provided some sort of sonic improvement to my system, while others seemed to do… Read More »

There are a lot of tweaks that you can make to an audiophile turntable. Many of them make big differences, as the analog nature of spinning vinyl discs benefits from having excellent setup. The reality for nearly every audiophile today is… Read More »

Every few decades, a technological innovation transforms the audiophile world. The 1980s introduced the Compact Disc, standardizing audio fidelity. The 1990s saw the rise of MP3s and file-sharing, filling hard drives with music for the first time. In the 2000s,… Read More »

At its lowest common denominator, involving oneself in the practice of the audio arts, what we practitioners known as the audiophile hobby, is quite simple to understand. Audiophiles want, demand, and are always in search of an immersive, dynamic and… Read More »

Few brands have caught my eye over the last 12 months as much as has HiFi Rose. They are among the few companies in the audiophile market that look like they are making some changes in their products. We see… Read More »

Mainstream loudspeaker company, Bose, announced today that they are purchasing Upstate New York based, McIntosh. McIntosh is one of the most iconic brands in the history of audio and bring a respected electronics brand to pair with Bose. Italian loudspeaker manufacturer, Sonus faber,… Read More »

Benchmark Media Systems made its reputation in both pro audio and audiophile circles by designing gear with extraordinarily low noise and distortion, and selling it at reasonable prices. When I reviewed Benchmark’s AHB2 stereo power amp (read my review), I was so… Read More »

When you think about it, audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts should really have a lot in common. Any good home theater starts with great sound reproduction, and audiophile gear is all about producing studio-quality audio. The surround sound part of… Read More »

PS Audio has evolved over its 50-plus years of business and now manufactures a complete line of high-performance audiophile products designed to reproduce music from digital sources to speakers and everything in between. Their product line starts at the middle… Read More »

One of the best things about the audiophile hobby is the diversity of designers and equipment manufacturers. Having owned a major home theater publication in my somewhat recent past, I can tell you that only a few companies make a… Read More »

For the past 31 years, I have lived in Los Angeles. However, I grew up in Philadelphia, which can be a pretty strange place on any number of levels. Despite its proximity to New York, which is a simple, one-hour… Read More »

This is the last in a series of T+A reviews in which we already looked at their MP 200 music player and DAC 200 Preamplifier/DAC (read my reviews).  The A 200 Amplifier we discuss below may be the most flexible in that, while it is… Read More »

The Alec loudspeaker, by boutique audiophile speaker company Alta Audio, is a two-way floorstanding model with rather unique technology incorporated. If you haven’t heard of Alta Audio before, you are like me. Our publisher, Jerry Del Colliano, sent me some information about the… Read More »

It is always exciting when a brand like Rotel sends you a component from their flagship lineup. Rotel, a blue-chip, value-based brand, is known for making quality audiophile-grade components. The P5 Series 2 from Rotel’s Michi line is a preamplifier… Read More »

It is no secret that I am a fan of many of the growing number of regional audiophile shows. Do they have their issues? Sure, they do, but where is there a better place for audiophiles to experience some of… Read More »

Rockport Technologies is a company with origins that date back to 1990, when they released their first audiophile component, a reference phonograph named the Sirius. Phonographs live and die by how well the designer can isolate and control vibration to… Read More »

The first time I heard Kanto speakers was in 2018 at the Axpona audiophile show in the suburbs of Chicago. The Canadian lifestyle consumer electronics brand had a modest setup in the convention’s lower marketplace area (typically reserved for smaller… Read More »

The first installment of this How to Creatively Save Money to Buy Audiophile Gear (read it here) was quite popular, so we are back with some more ideas on how to stash some dough away for that new streamer, turntable,… Read More »

Ask any audiophile who has been in the hobby for a decade or more to identify a legacy brand, and the name McIntosh will almost certainly be mentioned. Founded by Frank McIntosh and residing in Binghamton, New York since 1952,… Read More »

Mention Boulder Amplifiers to almost any audiophile and the resulting comments will almost certainly be much the same. These opinions may include world-class performance, impeccable quality, best of the best, big, heavy and, of course, very expensive. None of these… Read More »

MartinLogan, renowned for its high-end floorstanding speakers (often electrostatic), aims to bring the performance of those speakers to a different market. They’ve done this by completely reimagining their Motion Series catalog of floorstanding and audiophile bookshelf speakers, and putting the speakers through a… Read More »

Ask almost anyone, audiophile or not, if they’ve ever experienced ringing in their ears, and the answer will likely be yes. For about 10 percent of the U.S. population, however, this persistent ringing is more than just a fleeting experience… Read More »

Cambridge Audio has a 50-year legacy of designing and producing high-performance audio components with a high-value proposition over 10 years in music streaming electronics. It has become quite popular in recent years. To keep up with a vast amount of… Read More »

The Anthem STR (buy at Crutchfield) is a midrange option in the world of audiophile integrated amplifiers with a price tag of $4,999. Anthem has chosen to take a very audiophile route with this integrated amplifier. What I mean by this is that, instead of… Read More »

One of our favorite ultra-high-end audiophile dealers and one of the publication’s best industry friends, Sunil Merchant, and his Sunny Components in Covina, California, was recently robbed on Father’s Day 2024. The robbers were “pros” on one level, in that… Read More »

One of the most affordable and, in this case, powerful ways to rock your audiophile system is to look for a high-end integrated amp for your power needs. The Pass Labs INT-250 is one of many strong options in the $10,000-plus price… Read More »

Perhaps no single brand in the history of audio defines the high end of the hobby more than McIntosh. The marquee’s legacy dates back before the boom in popularity of music, as well as audio, in the late 1960s. In… Read More »

Last week, I spoke with one of my high-end audio dealer friends, as he was in need of rightfully venting a little bit after a highly organized client demonstration of some ultra-expensive audiophile electronics ended up in an unsalvageable situation.… Read More »

For years, the audio world acknowledged one main contender (at least at sub-five-figure pricing) for the quietest, cleanest, most neutral power amplifier around. That was the Benchmark AHB2 ($3,499 – buy at Amazon), whose specifications are still, for all practical… Read More »

If there is anything that seems patently obvious about Nelson Pass, it may be reasonably said he loves designing audiophile amplifiers. Additionally, his company has one of the best reputations in the industry of doing so with magnificent results. Whereas many… Read More »

One of the fastest-growing categories in the audiophile hobby today is streaming. There are many mainstream music streamers that offer pretty fantastic connectivity and Apple-like ease-of-use, stunning graphical user interfaces and whole-home connectivity. With less than nine percent of all… Read More »

When I brought my first audio system home from the store, way back in 1973, I was so very excited. At the time, I had no music, because it then took every penny to my name to purchase the system… Read More »

The Cambridge EVO 150 DeLorean Edition marks a refreshingly unique marketing choice by the folks at Cambridge Audio. They have taken their EVO 150 product which comes with the same built-in steaming features, 150 Watts of class D power into… Read More »