Twittering Machines

In Barn for Review: Riviera Audio Laboratories LEVANTE Integrated Amplifier

January 12, 2021 Michael Lavorgna

It’s as if the fine folks from Italy-based Riviera Audio Laboratories were speaking to me when they wrote: An audio amplifier must reproduce a signal with the highest fidelity… for the human ear, not for instruments.

Mola Mola Goes All-In-One With the Kula Integrated Amplifier

January 12, 2021 Michael Lavorgna

Oh boy Oh boy. Imagine taking Mola Mola’s separate tech and wrapping it up in one small chassis? Meet Kula.

Looking Ahead From The Red Chair

January 9, 2021 Michael Lavorgna

A new year stretches out beyond our view yet I see a path filled with hope, music, and gear.

#NewMusicFriday: January 8, 2021

January 8, 2021 Stephen Mejias

Each Friday, Stephen Mejias, AudioQuest’s Director of Communications and former Stereophile and Audiostream columnist, will browse through the many exciting albums released that day and select 15 worth a closer listen.

Album of the Week: Steve Earle & The Dukes | J.T.

January 8, 2021 Michael Lavorgna

There are people who take grief and pain and, through the creative process, transform it into something beautiful. Imagine what the world would look like if everyone embraced such a process.

Hegel V10: The Phono Preamplifier

January 7, 2021 Michael Lavorgna

Never say never.

Ensemble Solo B-50 “Tiger” Hybrid Integrated Amplifier: Silk and Style

January 5, 2021 Michael Lavorgna

Do integrated amplifiers ever go out of style?

#NewMusicFriday: A Year In New Music

January 1, 2021 Stephen Mejias

Here are 120-something albums released in 2020 that made the unusually challenging year more bearable.

Happy New Year!

December 31, 2020 Michael Lavorgna

“A rich man is nothing but a poor man with money.” W. C. Fields

Classic Albums: Girl at Her Volcano by Rickie Lee Jones

December 29, 2020 Michael Lavorgna

Is there anything cornier than sharing the fact that certain music makes us cry?

The Twittering Machines Folk Singer Mug

December 28, 2020 Michael Lavorgna

Its here!

2020: The Year In Rear-view

December 24, 2020 Michael Lavorgna

Live in the moment. Be kind. Sometimes the simplest of notions are the most difficult to maintain and 2020 was a stress test for every caring human being.

In For Review: Helm Audio’s $99 Bolt Dongle DAC/Headphone Amp

December 23, 2020 Michael Lavorgna

The $99.99 Bolt DAC/Headphone Amp from Helm Audio is certainly the slimmest dongle DAC to arrive in-Barn of late, giving it the appearance of a dongle without a DAC!

Kii THREE and BXT: Breaking All The Rules

December 22, 2020 FIDELITY International

Kii Audio defies the laws of physics. The active monitor speaker THREE sounds so clean, linear, and lively in any room it feels like the walls have disappeared. The BXT Bass Extender lends the system even more versatility.

In Barn for Review: Clones Audio 25iRX Integrated Amplifier

December 21, 2020 Michael Lavorgna

I included a ruler in the picture of the Clones Audio 25iRX Integrated Amplifier ($1975) so you can appreciate its atypical size and lovely proportions.