Note: This review was originally published in The Absolute Sound issue 194 in conjunction with Editor Robert Harley's interview with Meridian Audo co-founder Bob Stuart. To read that interview in its entirety, click here. __________ ...

It’s been more than a couple years since I unboxed a Simaudio integrated amp. WG recently did their latest entry level i-1 gear and loved it and truth be told I kind of felt a ...

For those of us living with limited shelf space and ever-tightening budgets there is no more egalitarian audio component than the DVD/CD receiver. It offers a multitude of features, sufficient power, and construction quality consistent ...

The Italian high-end audio manufacturer Goldenote is based in Florence, perhaps the world’s most beautiful city as well as the birthplace of the Renaissance. That beauty and history is reflected in the company’s S-1 Signature ...

Sony Electronics’ ES (Elevated Standard) products are the crème de la crème of its line—a showcase for high-quality construction, premium parts, and Sony’s razzle-dazzle features and technologies. Sharing space at the summit of the ES ...

In a world of transformative technologies, no recent development has been as rewarding to me as the synergistic combination of high-definition video, satellite television, and the digital video recorder (DVR). Those technologies by themselves are ...

It’s been a while since I’ve laid my hands on some new Rotel products. Fact is, I was beginning to wonder what was up since the line was getting a little long in the tooth ...

The Esoteric X-05 is a CD/SACD player that makes you want to gather every compact disc in your collection and give it another spin. And all the more so if you’re still listening to vinyl. ...

For those of us who enjoy concert performances on video, Blu-ray Disc is a revelation. The format delivers lossless high-resolution multichannel audio, which in itself is cause for celebration after more than ten years of ...

I first encountered the Benchmark DAC1 digital-to-analog converter two years ago at an audio show. The exhibit was in an area of the show that did not allow playback via speakers. But Benchmark had some ...

The Music Hall Maven is a stylish updating of one of audio’s most enduring components, the stereo receiver—the one-chassis solution that integrates the preamp and amp stages with an AM/FM tuner. Classic, sensible, understated. Dig ...

Dutch-based PrimaLuna has in recent years garnered much critical acclaim for the phenomenal price-to-performance ratio of its line of tube gear. The business model of European designs manufactured in China is not new per se, ...

As great a product as the iPod is—and it is truly spectacular—it has an Achilles’ heel for discriminating listeners: its digital-to-analog converter and analog output stage. The iPod’s D/A converter and output amplifier are by ...

The $2000 CD Made from Glass Robert Harley Japanese CD manufacturer Memory-Tech is offering to replicate CDs made from glass rather than the conventional polycarbonate. The rationale? Glass CDs sound better. Memory-Tech calls the discs ...

Do Hard-Disk Drives Sound Better than CDs? Robert Harley A reader's post of an interesting and relevant question regarding the sound quality of hard-disk-based music servers versus CD (http://www.avguide.com/forums/cd-player-vs-computerserver-system) prompted me to post my experience ...