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Like many of you, I don’t have a perfect listening room, so having room correction built into a preamplifier can be a game changer. The Anthem STR preamplifier (buy at Crutchfield) has Anthem’s ARC GENESIS room correction, bass management for… Read the Review »

It should be obvious that a clean record makes for a better listening experience. There are a multiplicity of ways to clean your records. When you pull a rock through a canyon (which is what a record player does) it… Read the Review »

Small subwoofers make the audio world a better place. I am not sure how the audiophile community once missed out on this news story, but with a modest sub, any music lover can add the entire lower octave of music… Read the Review »

Given that many of today’s audiophile DACs, phono stages, and even many modern audiophile amplifiers have their own internal volume controls, it may not be clear why you would ever want to integrate a preamplifier into your modern audiophile music… Read the Review »

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 the Review »

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 (buy at Crutchfield) are a next-generation offering in the… Read the Review »

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 the Review »

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 the Review »

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 the Review »

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 the Review »

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 the Review »

The Schiit 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… Read the Review »

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 the Review »

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 the Review »

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

Updated Summer 2025 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… Read the Review »

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 the Review »

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 the Review »

The Sennheiser HD600 (buy at Crutchfield) audiophile headphones have been available to music lovers and audio professionals for over 20 years. That type of longevity rarely exists in the fast-paced world of consumer electronics, where new products are released on… Read the Review »

The SoundArtist LS3/5A bookshelf audiophile 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… Read the Review »

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 (buy at Crutchfield – $149.00), which measures a 1.9 inches, relies on… Read the Review »

Bowers & Wilkins, the renowned British premium audio brand, has launched its new flagship wireless headphone, the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 (read the review). The new model sets a new reference standard for the brand on sound, build and finish in… Read the Review »

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 the Review »

Marantz’s TT-15S1 turntable (buy at Amazon) 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 audiophile turntable, arm, and cartridge. While some purists may cringe at the thought… Read the Review »

The vast majority of wired audiophile 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… Read the Review »

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 the Review »

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 the Review »

When AudioQuest decided to expand beyond cables, power products were a natural choice. The company hired drummer, percussionist, and noted electronics and AC power expert Garth Powell to create an innovative power conditioner for the audiophile market. After considerable investment… Read the Review »

If your first thought when you hear about in-ceiling speakers involves elevators or grocery stores, the S80 in-ceiling subwoofer from Gray Sound will make you rethink that stereotype. But before I explain why, let me back up a bit. I… Read the Review »

If I were to invite you to my home to hear my main audio system, you wouldn’t see any audio gear. My electronics are professionally installed in Middle Atlantic equipment racks that are stashed away in a mechanical closet. I’ve… Read the Review »

“This stuff is the Schiit…” That is how the story started for Schiit Audio in 2010 when Jason Stoddard and Mike Moffett decided to combine their years of industry experience into something new. The USA-made Mani 2 is a phono… Read the Review »

Bowers & Wilkins 803 D4 speakers are close but not at the top of the food chain for this lauded, audiophile loudspeaker brand. While the 802s (slightly bigger) and 801s (much larger and nearly $37,000 per pair) are above the 803s, these slim, sexy  speakers are the first to come to market since B&W was purchased by Sound United. Read the Review »

Mark Levinson is a name synonymous with high-end luxury audio components for your home, as well as upmarket Lexus automobiles. The company’s long history dates back to 1972, when they released the first ultra-high-performance preamplifier, the JC-1. Since then, Mark… Read the Review »

Cabasse, a French Audiophile speaker company, is out with a very slick, all-in-one audiophile speaker system called The Pearl Keshi. For $3,000, you get a complete audio system, including two small round speakers that fit nicely on a desktop or… Read the Review »

When I think of Apple AirPods (buy at Amazon), I think of thoe small, straw-like earbuds that are so popular these days. The AirPods Max is nothing like the in-ear monitors after which it’s named. Rather, it’s a very sophisticated… Read the Review »

A subwoofer, as its name implies, is a loudspeaker built to handle the lowest frequencies. Usually, a subwoofer can produce sounds below 120 Hz. Some can even go as low as 20 Hz in your room, if properly set up.… Read the Review »

Future audiophiles don’t hold the same grudge against Bose that longtime audiophiles sometimes do. Perhaps that’s because they know Bose for the thing the company does best: headphones. More specifically, noise-canceling headphones like the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 (buy… Read the Review »

There have been a lot of changes at legendary speaker company Bowers & Wilkins over the past few years. Longtime owner Equity International sold the brand to a Silicon Valley tech company run by an NFL-team-owning multi-billionaire—who tried to transform the company… Read the Review »

For the G1 MKII reference edition subwoofer, REL capitalized on technology derived and invented for the best of their best Model 25. What results is a subwoofer with intense power and authority, fantastic build quality and good looks. While all… Read the Review »