Even after several decades of reviewing, I am still struck by the fact so many different approaches to speaker design can produce outstanding sound quality. The choice between dynamic, ribbon, and electrostatic speakers is as ...

In one sense, this review is easy to write. The Venture Grand Ultimate is a superb speaker system that does everything extremely well. At another level, however, it presents a major challenge: The Grand Ultimate ...

Let me begin with the punch line. The Olive O6HD offers very high sound quality, a simple way of storing large amounts of music, and ergonomics which may take a day or so of getting ...

The Octave Jubilee Mono monoblock power amplifiers are an assault on the state of the art by a German firm and its lead designer, Andreas Hoffman. They are tall, superbly styled tube amplifiers that that ...

Normally, I try to avoid dragging readers through the problems I have in obtaining equipment and making it function. In this case, however, I would do a distinct disservice to any audiophile looking for a ...

There are times when I think this strange hobby of ours borders on the insane. I feel this way every time I read an ad that promises miracles from an accessory that clearly defies the ...

Digital sound now suffers from an embarrassment of riches. In addition to my casual listening to new products, I have had the opportunity to explore in depth four ambitious efforts during the last few months. ...

This review began with my search for a speaker system to help turn my office into a new listening room. It gradually transformed, however, into a search for a system that was more musical or ...

This is Part 2 of Anthony H. Cordesman's Review of the Quad system. You can read Part 1 here. Quad 99 Stereo Preamplifier If you are a true high-end puritan, you are going to be ...

There is always a danger in talking about a “revolution” in high-end audio. I’m sitting near my turntable as I write this, and listening to an LP dating back to the 1960s. I’m also listening ...

It is hard to put this review in perspective. It covers two very different components—an extremely sophisticated digital unit, the Behold Gentle G192 media player, and a more conventional loudspeaker, the Ascendo C8. Both stand ...

I tend to be cautious in praising a cartridge. I used to do pickup surveys in the era when the LP dominated high-end listening, and it was all too apparent that the best moving coils ...

I can’t say that the Boulder 1021 is the best CD player in the world. I haven’t heard them all, and I have not had the opportunity to audition top competitors from Accuphase, Meridian, and ...

Most American audiophiles are probably too young to remember the time when small European firms like Tandberg and Electrocompaniet were familiar names in the high end. At least some, however, will remember that Electrocompaniet was ...

Even in the best of times emotion plays a major part in five-figure buying decisions; in today’s economy passion ultimately has to rule. If you are a genuine audiophile, you buy because what you buy ...