Digital Reviews
Review: The THX Onyx Portable DAC’s Got Game
Portable dongle DACs are experiencing a renaissance for the first time.
HiFi Reviews
Amplifier Reviews
Thrax Ares: the Sum of Its Parts
High end also refers to the impressive artistry of interplay. So why not house all the equipment involved under one roof?
HiFi Reviews
Review: GoldenEar Triton Reference Towers – Big, Bold, and Beautiful
Full range. There are an abundance of words and phrases used to describe aspects of the reproduction of music, but few are as meaningful and without controversy as full range. In an ideal world, who wouldn’t want full range?
Digital Reviews
Review: Roon Nucleus Plus or Why Roon Is An Audiophile Essential
If you are looking for a plug and play Roon server solution that’s nicely made, good looking, and price falls in line after these considerations, a Roon Nucleus is for you.
Digital Reviews
Review: Denafrips IRIS USB Digital To Digital Converter
All USB audio sources are not created equal, and all USB DACs are not created equal. This makes making any kind of sweeping generalizations about the effectiveness of things that sit between point A, the USB audio source, e.g. a Raspberry Pi, and Point B, […]
Digital Reviews
Review: PS Audio PerfectWave SACD Transport: A Different Story
There are days when I feel sorry for people who believe that all digital sounds the same.
Digital Reviews
Review: Cambridge Audio CXC CD Transport: The Sound and The Music
“My God! What has sound got to do with music?” ― Charles Ives “Whether I make them or not, there are always sounds to be heard and all of them are excellent.” ― John Cage
Amplifier Reviews
Review: Cambridge Audio Edge A Integrated Amplifier: A Complete Package
The package. Does it make sense to get excited about a product that offers the complete package? The whole enchilada? The kit and caboodle?
HiFi Reviews
FinkTeam Kim: Size Isn’t Everything
FinkTeam has designed a loudspeaker jam-packed full of sophisticated visual and technical features and has left us all scratching our head with its quirky name.
Digital Reviews
Review: Denafrips ARES II DAC: Out Standing In A Field
When listening to music on the hifi, I want to feel as if I’m in a void with just me and my music. No distractions, no thoughts of social media, likes, visits, or comments. Just me and my music.
Amplifier Reviews
Aavik U-380: Danish Holy Trinity
One of Belgian artist René Magritte’s most famous paintings shows a pipe with words underneath that read: Ceci n’est pas une pipe. This is not a pipe. Of course, we all know it’s a pipe. So what’s the artist trying to say?
Amplifier Reviews
Review: The Jadis DA50S Tube Integrated Amplifier: Stiff & Sweet
The classic Rob Roy cocktail is made from whisky and sweet vermouth; stiff and sweet. Lovers of 19th cocktails also know that a Rob Roy can be made “dry” or “perfect”, the former using dry vermouth, while the “perfect” contains both dry and sweet.
Digital Reviews
Review: Raspberry Pi 4: A $70 Roon Ready Streamer
Legacy USB DACs. There I said it. These days, DACs without streamers are beginning to feel like relics.
Amplifier Reviews
Review: Riviera Audio Laboratories Levante: Measured Riches
Two of the principals of Riviera Audio Labs, Luca Chiomenti (audio designer and engineer) and Silvio Delfino (sales and marketing) spent a few decades talking about the kind of amplifier they’d like to make, if they ever decided to make one. Five years ago, on […]
HiFi Reviews
Avantgarde Acoustic UNO XD: Faultless Furnishing
The time between the test lab and the living room was only supposed to be a short breather for the sweet little Avantgarde Acoustic. But “short and sweet” just wasn’t possible: During its layover with us, the UNO XD cast such a spell over everyone […]