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McIntosh MQ112 Environmental Equalizer Reviewed
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 the Review »
SPL Elector Stereo Preamp Reviewed
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 the Review »
Learning To Love Listening in Your Imperfect Audiophile Listening Room
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 the Review »
GIK Acoustics Turbo Trap Pro Reviewed
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 the Review »
Orchard Audio Starkrimson Mono Ultra Premium Amps Reviewed
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 the Review »
Will Bose Make Their McIntosh Money Back Just From Sonus faber Automotive Licensing
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 the Review »
Totem KIN Play Tower II Powered Floorstanding Speakers
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 the Review »
LEAK Sandwich 150 Bookshelf Speakers Reviewed
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 the Review »
There Are Young, Potential Audiophiles Everywhere – You Just Have to Look and Engage
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 the Review »
There Has Never Been a Better Time to be an Audiophile Than Right Now
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 the Review »
REL Classic 99 Subwoofer Reviewed
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 the Review »
Argent Pur GaN Monobloc Amplifiers Reviewed
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 the Review »
Paradigm Founder 80F Floorstanding Speakers Reviewed
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 the Review »
What Is An Audiophile?
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 the Review »
ELAC Solano 2.0 BS283 Bookshelf Speakers Reviewed
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 the Review »
How a Silicon Valley Icon Once Bought the B&W Brand to Make It Into a 4K Video Sonos Competitor
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 the Review »
FutureAudiophile.com 2024 Gear of the Year Awards
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 the Review »
IsoTek V5 Sigmas Power Conditioner Reviewed
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 the Review »
Three Affordable Digital Upgrades That Are Cheap, Easy and Work
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 the Review »
Piega Ace 30 Wireless Bookshelf Speakers Reviewed
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 the Review »
Why It Can Be Difficult to Explain the Audiophile Hobby to Non-Audiophiles
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 the Review »
HiFi Rose RA280 Integrated Amplifier Reviewed
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 the Review »
Bose Purchases McIntosh Group Inc. in a Curious Move
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 the Review »
Benchmark Media LA4 Preamplifier Reviewed
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 the Review »
Why is the Audiophile Hobby Better Than Home Theater?
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 the Review »
PS Audio BHK Mono 600 Amplifiers Reviewed
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 the Review »
Estelon AURA Floorstanding Loudspeakers Reviewed
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 the Review »
McIntosh’s House of Sound is a Super Cool Experience in NYC and You Are Invited
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 the Review »
T+A A 200 Amplifier Reviewed
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 the Review »
Alta Audio Alec Speakers Reviewed
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 the Review »
Rotel Michi P5 Series 2 Preamplifier Reviewed
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 the Review »
How To Realistically Listen to Music at an Audiophile Show
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 the Review »
Rockport Avior II Loudspeakers Reviewed
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 the Review »
Kanto TUK Premium Powered Speakers Reviewed
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 the Review »
More Creative Ways to Save Money to Buy More Audiophile Gear
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 the Review »
McIntosh Labs MT5 Precision Turntable Reviewed
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 the Review »
Boulder 508 Phono Preamplifier Reviewed
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 the Review »
MartinLogan Motion XT B100 Bookshelf Speakers Reviewed
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 the Review »
An Audiophile’s Guide To Avoiding Tinnitus
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 the Review »
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