@Featured

Retro is all the rage these days, and a number of companies have taken that mantle leaving the musty pawn shops and cluttered old record stores that sell 1970s gear and turned it into a modern audiophile sales boom. McIntosh… Read More »

Perhaps my favorite product category of the past five years has been wireless over-ear headphones. There’s been so much growth and improvement in this highly relevant space. The Sennheiser Momentum 4 are a next-generation offering in the category priced right… Read More »

One of the biggest audiophile fallacies is a pricier or more exclusive product is going to perform better than a more affordable or mass-market solution. Perhaps that was once the case, but new-school audiophiles are increasing supporting manufacturers who deliver… Read More »

If you have a pair of ears, or even only one functioning ear, it’s impossible to avoid the “I” word these days. Most of the inflation news today is bad, and that makes sense as bad news creates media-based user… Read More »

I was introduced to Trinnov more than a decade ago when the company’s Room Optimizer was demonstrated to me through a Sherwood R-972 receiver. Now, more than a decade and hundreds of product demonstrations later, I am still very impressed… Read More »

Recently, I’ve been asking audiophile industry executives what they think of Chi-Fi or “Chinese Hi-Fi (aka: audiophile components made in China, sold directly to  clients all over the world at often hard-to-conceive-of prices). It has been notable how many were… Read More »

The audiophile world is filled with wired headphones that can bring the excitement of live music straight to your head. They can deliver the dynamics of the studio experience without having to worry about the acoustics of the room or… Read More »

The Modi 3e 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 interface. This allows… Read More »

Some audiophiles read my articles and think I absolutely hate vinyl. I don’t at all. In fact, I have been thinking of adding a turntable to my ever-evolving living room music playback system.The issue with vinyl is that we… Read More »

The vinyl resurgence has music lovers everywhere clamoring for that magical analog sound. Needless to say, though, that sound starts at the source. The better the source, the better the sound. And while it’s possible these days to spend six… Read More »

Recently, my nephew and niece moved into a new home. As a housewarming gift, I decided to gift them a new stereo system. I gave them their first system when they moved into their first home. It was a pretty… Read More »

The time has come for change in the audiophile world. That’s why I’m launching a new publication called FutureAudiophile.com to deal with the problems at hand. My goal is simple to articulate but apparently not easy to pull off. I… Read More »

Most affordable Bluetooth or powered speakers simply don’t provide the musical experience that gives you the goosebumps. There is a point for many music fans who are looking for a more visceral audio experience when they need to upgrade to… Read More »

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 »

The Sennheiser HD600 headphone have been available to audiophiles for over 20 years. That type of longevity rarely exists in the fast-paced world of consumer electronics, where new products are released on a yearly, if not semiannual, basis. Because this headphone pair… Read More »

The SoundArtist LS3/5A loudspeaker is a modern version of a classic speaker design that has been available in one form or another since 1975, when the BBC developed it and licensed the speaker’s manufacture to several British audio companies. Today, there are… Read More »

Audioengine just announced the availability of DAC3, a portable, powerful headphone amplifier/DAC (digital-to-analog converter) that offers better-than-CD sound and compatibility with every major streaming format on the market.The Audioengine DAC3 ($149.00), which measures a 1.9 inches, relies on the low-power output of… Read More »

Bowers & Wilkins, the renowned British premium audio brand, has launched its new flagship wireless headphone, the Px8. The new model sets a new reference standard for the brand on sound, build and finish in the active noise cancelling wireless headphone… Read More »

There are a number of audiophile clichés and myths that I will never understand. One that thankfully seems to be going away in modern times is big, crazy-expensive, gigantic speakers are better for generating low bass than a good subwoofer… Read More »

Marantz’s TT-15S1 is a time-tested all-in-one turntable for listeners who don’t want to obsess over every component choice. For $1,799, you get your turntable, arm, and cartridge. While some purists may cringe at the thought of not spending innumerable hours… Read More »

The vast majority of headphones being purchased these days are wireless, which is what most people want for their cell phones and other portable devices and perhaps even their TVs. To this day, though, even the best forms of Bluetooth… Read More »

Think about the way record players work. They make sound by dragging a stylus through the grooves in a PVC/PVA polymer platter, the vibrations of which are turned into electrical impulses. As a result of the physical nature of all… Read More »

The Focal Sopra 2s I had in my last home were so sexy that the buyer made me include them in the sale of the home. Don’t write them off as a mere conversation piece, though. I would compare their… Read More »