The Munich show has become the “must-visit” show on of the year for manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and journalists. One American manufacturer told me that if you’re not exhibiting in Munich, you’ll never break into the ...

The 32-year-old Canadian firm Simaudio is one of those few companies with a decades-long track record of marketing nothing but great-sounding and beautifully made products at competitive prices. Although Simaudio isn't an entry-level brand by ...

The highest praise I can give the Lamm ML2.2 is that it doesn’t sound like a single-ended-triode amplifier. That may seem like an odd way to start what you’ll soon see is a rave review ...

The Chicago AXPONA show was a bit of a gamble—as is any first show in a city—but this is one gamble that paid off. The Doubletree Hotel at O’Hare airport featured many fine-sounding exhibits, excellent ...

Although the Q7’s woofers, midrange driver, and tweeter look identical to those of the Q5 (except that the woofers are bigger and there are more of them) the Q7’s drivers are actually quite a bit ...

The term “USB DAC” is starting to become redundant the way “cell phone,” “digital camera,” and “flat-panel television” are anachronisms to one generation and “ink pen” is to those of us two (or more) generations ...

Cambridge Audio’s Azur 840C CD player made quite a splash back in 2007. In my review of that device (Issue 174, September, 2007) I was shocked not only by the advanced technologies and build-quality of ...

The Jeff Rowland Corus linestage and 725 power amplifiers are the most beautiful, and beautifully made, electronics I’ve had in my home. They are visually stunning, with a unique diamond-cut front- panel adorning a chassis ...

Last year’s CES brought us a slew of new turntables, many of them priced below $3000. Although there were some moderately priced turntables and cartridges introduced at this year’s show, CES 2013 was notable for ...

A reader letter suggested that the photography of the Magico Q7 in the January issue of The Absolute Sound was too stylized and didn’t convey what the speaker actually looked like, particularly in a real ...

It’s an easy decision to call dCS’ new Vivaldi the most ambitious digital playback system ever created. This four-box player (transport, DAC, upsampler, clock) is a no-holds barred upgrade of dCS’ Scarlatti, which itself had ...

Loudspeaker designers constantly strive for lower and lower moving mass in their cones and panels, but what would a driver sound like if it had no moving mass—or no moving parts at all? The massless ...

When my sister-in-law visited my wife and me a few months ago, she was captivated by the sound of my stereo. Like most people, Daryl had no idea that music could be reproduced with such ...

I traveled last August to Istanbul, Turkey, to attend the annual dealer, distributor, and press event hosted by high-end manufacturer Absolare. The company wanted to demonstrate its products and communicate its technical and aesthetic thinking ...

I don’t usually cover entry-level and mid-priced loudspeakers at shows, but I’m glad I did at this Denver show. I discovered quite a few worthy contenders and found a couple of real gems. Here are ...