@Featured

This is FutureAudiophile.com’s Featured Review page

It is hard not to be impressed with the big LED screen on the HiFi Rose RS520 integrated amp

Featured @Featured

HiFi Rose RS520 Network Streamer and Integrated Amplifier Reviewed

The RS520 from Korean brand HiFi Rose is a what the company calls a “All-In-One Network Streamer.” In this case, all-in-one means it has a built-in network player, DAC and amplifier, and I can tell you that is just scratching… Read the Review »



Read More @Featured

RBH's SFTR DSP powered speakers bring much of what their SVTR speakers for at $40,000 for well less than half of the retail price.

RBH Sound SFTR Partially Active Modular Speaker System

Last year, I reviewed RBH Sound’s SVTR fully active speaker system. They are a monster in terms of performance, size and is pretty expensive at approximately $40,000 per pair, depending on configuration. While I was working on that review, I… Read the Review »


The NAD CS-1 is a very capable, audiophile grade endpoint that connects to your network and system

What’s the Difference Between an Audiophile Endpoint and a Music Streamer?

Don’t feel bad if you can’t tell me the unique differences between an audiophile endpoint and a music streamer. It is a bold new world where streaming music services have delivered basically full access to damn close to every album… Read the Review »


The SVS Ultra Evolution Bookshelf speakers at Eric Forst's audiophile listening room.

SVS Ultra Evolution Bookshelf Speakers Reviewed

The newly-released SVS Ultra Evolution line consists of floorstanding speakers, satellite speakers, height channel speakers, a three-way center channel speaker and bookshelves. I had the opportunity to review the latter. The SVS Ultra Evolution Bookshelf speakers (buy at Crutchfield) are… Read the Review »


WiiM Pro Plus audiophile endpoint installed and ready to rock

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 the Review »


The Anthem STR is a Stereo Preamp with a 32 bit DAC, room correction and more.

Should You Consolidate Your Stereo Preamp With Other Audiophile Components? 

Conventional wisdom and, frankly, common sense tells us the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. If you wanted to travel from one city to another several hundred miles away, you’d simply look at the map and pick… Read the Review »


JBL's Classic looking but modern design. L52 loudspeakers.

JBL L52 Classic Bookshelf Loudspeakers Reviewed 

JBL is a name that resonates with anyone who’s had even a fleeting interest in high-quality audio. From their humble beginnings in the 1940s, JBL has been synonymous with pushing the boundaries of high-quality sound reproduction. Enter the JBL L52… Read the Review »


The Sonos Port is a gateway to a whole-home audio system as well as an endpoint. How will audiophile like streaming on Sonos?

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 the Review »


Benchmark Media's DAC3 B is a hand-rack width, professional audio DAC that audiophiles also love

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 the Review »


The PS Audio Sprout 100 is one of our favorite small audiophile components.

Should More Audiophile Companies Standardize the Size of Their Gear? 

By Jerry Del Colliano You’ve seen the film This Is Spinal Tap!, right? Even if you haven’t, the chances that you don’t know the joke that goes “but this one goes to 11” are pretty slim, unless you’ve been living… Read the Review »


The NAD CS-1 is an endpoint more than a streamer and can bring music via the streaming company's app to your system at a very low cost.

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 the Review »


Vinyl's revival didn't revive the music business did but doing away with discs sure did.

Music Revenue Is Booming But Physical Media Sales Are Dead

You know when Wall Street is buying up all of the music catalogs that there is something good going on in the music industry. What’s good is that, according to the RIAA in 2022, gross combined revenue (including all sources)… Read the Review »


The MoFi UltraDeck turntable with its distinctive yellow belt

MoFi Electronics UltraDeck Turntable Reviewed

Having spent many years producing high-quality remastered LPs, when the newly-established electronics division of Mobile Fidelity decided to manufacture a turntable, a natural segue from recording to source component was born. MoFi Electronics was formed, and today produces turntables, cartridges,… Read the Review »


The Clarus Power Sextet in Michael Zisserson's audiophile system

Clarus Sextet Power Conditioner Reviewed

The Clarus Sextet is a six-outlet power conditioner with advanced surge protection. The Sextet’s smaller sibling, the Duet, has been a staple in my system for nearly five years. At the time, the Clarus Duet was the first power conditioning … Read the Review »


Saving money for your audiophile system is a creative process

How to Creatively Save Money for Audiophile Gear

Unless you are into sports like golf or polo as your pastime, the audiophile hobby is one of the more expensive ways that you can spend your discretionary dollars. While audiophiles like you and I are always looking for those… Read the Review »


Sonus faber Sonetto V speakers in the walnut finish as reviewed by Jerry Del Colliano in his media room

Sonus faber Sonetto V Floorstanding Loudspeakers Reviewed

Thirty years ago was the first time that I saw a Sonus faber bookshelf speaker. I was working in very high-end audio sales at Mark Levinson’s Cello Music and Film boutique, nestled in the Hollywood Hills right above Geffen Records,… Read the Review »


Victrola Hi-Res Carbon turntable is a modern statement from perhaps the oldest audiophile company on the planet

Victrola Hi-Res Carbon Turntable Reviewed

The Victrola Hi-Res Carbon (buy at Crutchfield) is the latest turntable from the Victrola brand of turntables. While this brand was once thought of as a maker of phonographs, it is now making products like the Hi-Res Carbon, which has… Read the Review »


Three popular hearing products designed to improve or protect

Three Ear Health Products That Can Save Your Hearing – But Do They Work?

I’ve said it before and I will say it again – the single most important component in any audiophile system are your ears. Surprisingly, this is an often-overlooked topic of conversation among audiophiles, who are (given their age and male-dominated… Read the Review »


This looks more like a $1,400 amp - not a $400 one...

Monolith by Monoprice M2100X Stereo Amplifier Reviewed

Few mainstream electronics brands offer such a vast array of products and yet still manage to maintain a reputation for quality, customer service, and value as the California-based Monoprice. Looking for a couple THX-certified dual 15-inch 2000-watt subwoofers for your… Read the Review »


Orchard Audio Starkrimson Mono Amps are small physically but pack 150 watts per channel of class D GaN power

Orchard Audio Starkrimson Mono Block Amplifier Reviewed

Orchard Audio is a six-year-old audiophile electronics company that is the brainchild of an electronics engineer named Leo Ayzenshtat. Leo has earned his stripes by designing digital electronics for satellites. Yes, the ones that orbit the Earth and cost more… Read the Review »


When and exactly how to upgrade your audiophile system is a big part of the hobby

When To Make an Audiophile Upgrade and When To Not Upgrade

Upgrading our audiophile system is a big part of the fun in this hobby. Maybe we want to simply heighten our musical enjoyment by improving the configuration of our audio system. Perhaps recent listening experiences at an audiophile dealer, an… Read the Review »


The Bluesound Node installed in a small audiophile system.

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 the Review »


The Pro-Ject X1 B turntable comes in a real walnut wood veneer as well as hand-done high gloss white or black paint.

Pro-Ject X1 B Turntable Reviewed

The Pro-Ject X1 B (buy at Crutchfield) is a $1,299 mid-range, belt-driven audiophile turntable that is a clear step above the plethora of $350 to $500 more entry-level players flooding the market today. The Pro-Ject X1B turntable features 33, 45, and 78 RPM… Read the Review »


Audiophile speakers in an audiophile showroom

Exactly How Your Standard 20 Percent Discount Is Likely Putting Your Local Dealer Out of Business

By Jerry Del Colliano  Anybody who’s been in the audiophile hobby, even for a little while, knows that when they enter the realm of the audio salon or stereo store, they can pretty easily ask for (and get) a 20-percent-off… Read the Review »


The Mobile Fidelity Master Phono is designed by industry legend, Peter Madnick.

MoFi Masterphono Phonostage Reviewed

Founded in 1977, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, better known today as MoFi, has been a leader in producing high quality, remastered, specially plated and pressed versions of previously released LPs. In the late 1980s, they added uniquely remastered Compact Discs… Read the Review »


RBH's 61-SF is their $1,600 per pair audiophile bookshelf speakers

RBH 61-SF Bookshelf Speakers Reviewed

RBH’s latest offering, the 61-SF from their Signature Series of audiophile products, sets a compelling standard in the realm of bookshelf speakers. At a glance, this smaller audiophile speaker boasts an unassuming yet sleek design, but it is what lies… Read the Review »


For many watch enthusiasts, a Patek Phillipe is the holy grail of timepieces

Limited Edition Gear Will Bring Urgency and Collectability to the Audiophile Hobby 

It is hard to feel bad for that guy who just spent $275,000 on that new V8 Ferrari, but how do you tell him that no matter how little he drives his Prancing Horse from Maranello, Italy, and no matter… Read the Review »


Totem's Bison Floorstanding speaker installed in an artful audiophile listening room.

Totem Bison Tower Floorstanding Speakers Reviewed

The market for floorstanding audiophile speakers in the $2,000 dollar range is incredibly diverse, and quite competitive. You can find a pair of speakers in nearly any color, as well as many different shapes and sizes, at this price range.… Read the Review »


Today's automotive and aviation SIMs are nothing short of amazing toys for big boys with a lot of money to spend

The Next Generation of Audiophiles Are Spending Big Bucks (and Time) Gaming

Have you ever eaten at Din Tai Fung? It is a Taiwanese soup dumpling restaurant that is the only “chain” to have earned a Michelin Star, which is about as lofty a culinary goal as there is in the world of fine… Read the Review »


MartinLogan's Motion Foundation F2 Speakers in their three finish options.

MartinLogan Motion Foundation F2 Floorstanding Speakers Reviewed

$2,000 for a pair of floorstanding speakers might be the most competitive price point in all of the audiophile market. $400 wireless Bluetooth headphones can give this two-grand speaker category a run for the money for a brutally competitive audiophile… Read the Review »


Adcom GFP-915 stereo preamp taking photos on Eric Forst's fireplace outside of Chicago

Adcom GFP-915 Stereo Preamplifier Reviewed

I recently had the opportunity to review Adcom’s latest update on the Nelson Pass-designed Class-AB $1,395 GFA-555ms power amplifier, and walked away quite impressed by its combination of ample and clean power, retro appeal and astonishing value. As is the story with… Read the Review »


Jay's Audio CDT-3 MK3 CD Transport is a top-loading unit like the old Mark Levinson No. 31

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 the Review »


ROBLOX is the right language to reach today's Gen Alpha kids.

NHL and Gibson Guitars Teach Audiophiles That Finding Younger Enthusiasts Is Possible Today

If you want to get the attention of my 11-year-old Vincenzo (Enzo, for short), you would be well-served hitting him up on ROBLOX. This seemingly low-resolution video game in the metaverse has him and every boy (and many a girl) every… Read the Review »


STAX Edifier Spirit S3 Wireless Bluetooth Headphones on a mixing console with the Edifier App in play

Edifier STAX Spirit S3 Wireless Headphones Reviewed

STAX is one of the longest-standing, most trusted headphone brands in the audiophile world. Their amazingly open-sounding, often tube-powered, electrostatic headphones are not just high-performance, but today are actually collectable. The highest end of the STAX lineup is the STAX… Read the Review »


Every audiophile is looking for the Nth degree of performance but how much does one need to spend to get there?

Do You Have to Spend a Fortune in order to Own a Truly Serious Audiophile System?

There are those outside our beloved hobby who might claim audiophilia is little more than a collection of technological snobs. Others may feel audiophiles are certifiably crazy. They point to the lunacy of the cost of upper level audio systems… Read the Review »


The Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 speakers are used at both Abbey Road Studios and Skywalker Ranch on the pro side of things.

Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 Loudspeakers Reviewed

The Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 is the latest version of the British audiophile speaker company’s top-of-the-line stand mounted, two-way, front-ported loudspeaker, priced at $8,500 per pair. Two-way stand mount monitors have an audiophile fanbase since they benefit from diminutive… Read the Review »


The Peachtree Audio GaN 1 is an amp designed for streamers who want that Class-A or "tube-like" sound without all of the grief/heat that comes with tubes and/or Class-A amps.

Peachtree Audio GaN 1 Gallium Nitride Power Amp Reviewed

I have been fortunate enough to experience GaN amplification since it first dropped into the audiophile world about five years ago. I have even replaced a trusty Parasound A21+ amplifier) that was  in my audiophile gear collection for over a… Read the Review »


Getting a receipt from the actual shipper is key to "tendering" your shipment.

What To Do With Your Audiophile Boxes (Revisited) 

In a perfect world, no right-minded audiophile would ever throw away his or her equipment boxes. None of us live in a perfect world and, for many of us, storage space comes at a tremendous premium. How to manage your… Read the Review »


FIIO R7 stereo preamp for $699 has a very out-of-the-box, tall form factor unlike many other audiophile components

FIIO R7 Stereo Preamplifier Reviewed

Let’s start with the fact that FIIO is a Chinese company. I’m not sure I’m ready to call the R7 Chi-Fi, however. I’m not sure we have an Oxford definition of the term Chi-Fi, but to me that term is… Read the Review »


The Edifier S1000W powered speakers can be used in a desktop OR audiophile configuration

Edifier S1000W Powered Speakers Reviewed

In a perfect world, we would all have a workspace that is perfectly positioned in front of our best small audiophile loudspeakers. In the real world, we tend to be tethered to our devices, our laptop or, in my case, a… Read the Review »


Click to See All 469 Reviews
THE BEST @Featured FROM THE GEAR WE LOVE AWARDS