Never underestimate the modest two-way loudspeaker. For decades it has embodied the high-end credo that less is more—that design minimalism, impeccably executed, can draw a listener ever closer to musical reality. Even in an era ...

Each loudspeaker I hear introduces me to a new experience with music I know well, which in turn often leads me into entirely new music with refreshed, reeducated ears. In today’s high end, you can ...

Although my parents were musicians, they were totally uninterested in the technology of music reproduction. But even as a child I was obsessed with audio, and I would not take no for an answer over ...

For as long as I can remember serious music lovers have been fascinated with electrostatic speakers. The reasons are obvious— instead of woofers and tweeters, electrostatic speakers use a light, responsive, super-thin electrically conductive diaphragm ...

NAD C372 The $999 C372 is the most powerful integrated amplifier in NAD’s “Hi- Fi” Series, and as with every NAD amp built from Day One, the C372’s power capabilities are conservatively rated. Though it ...

Loudspeakers have steadily improved over the past 20 years, particularly those costing less than $1000. A number of factors have contributed to this welcome trend: Designers have ready access to sophisticated computer-based measurement tools; materials ...

How high should our expectations be for a $279 speaker? Most of us would say, “Not very.” However, when it’s a ground-up redesign of the venerable PSB Alpha, one of the high-end’s featherweight darlings, expectations ...

The Ascendo M-S MKII loudspeaker from German y is one of the most unlikely sucess stories in high -end audio. When I first heard the M-S at last year’s CES I was impressed enough to ...

A friend recently complained that I get so excited about every new component to come along that it’s almost as if I’ve never heard a decent stereo before. My first thought was to suggest that ...

I’ve recently found a number of moderately priced loudspeakers that qualify as bargains—ones that allow you to grow a system around them, upgrading other components before you reach the speakers’ limits. The reference in my ...

In the months following my review of the Triangle Esprit Altea Es (Issue 156), Triangle Electroacoustique announced some key revisions to its popular mid-line offering. Given that the Altea was already very good, I seized ...

“Wow, those things realy sound rich. What are they?”—my wife Daniele upon hearing Stirling Broadcast’s revival of the clasic BBC LS3/5a minimonitor. Danielle’s no audiophile, but she knows what she likes. As her reaction to ...

Paradigm enjoys a solid reputation for building modestly priced loudspeakers that deliver strong performance for the money, but that fact raises an important question. What would happen if a traditionally value-oriented, price-conscious firm such as ...

Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, the MartinLogan Curvilinear Line Source (CLS) full-range electrostatic was my reference loudspeaker, and although I’ve since gone on to other things, the CLS remains one of the purest ...

I first heard Alon Wolf ’s ground-breaking two-way standmounted loudspeaker, the Magico Mini, at the January 2006 CES, where it made a sensational impression on Robert Harley, Wayne Garica, Harry Pearson, and me. I rave-reviewed ...