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 ...

When it comes to high-end audio, the integrated amplifier represents our strongest example of democracy in action. By combining the preamp and amp in a single chassis—itself a costly part of any component—and by paring ...

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 ...

Few components strike fear in an audiophile’s lumbar region like the heavyweight electronics from Krell. Its current lineup includes the Evolution series of electronics and LAT speakers. And no one will forget the Master Reference ...

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 ...

I don’t know audio history well enough to remember when the first tube/solid?state hybrids were introduced. But in the eighties I used to roll my own by using a Nova solid?state preamplifier (with apologies to ...

In recent years the sleepy CD-receiver market has not just regained its footing, it’s even, well, become kind of sexy. Like audio Swiss Army knives, the latest CD-receivers have added cool new tools to support ...

Durob Audio, the Dutch design and marketing team that has already brought us the well-known and hugely successful PrimaLuna brand, has expanded its product offering in 2007 with the Mystère line. Comprising two integrated tube ...

I’ve been listening to an exceptional pair of integrated amplifiers over the last few months and I thought I’d share a couple early impressions. The Marantz PM-11S2 and the ATC SIA2-150 are not small units. ...

In the past two decades, a slow evolution has taken place in audio, as top-notch designers come more and more to understand the nature of the beasts they are working with. Today it is not ...

Every now and then a product comes along that to see it is to want it. Sometimes it’s the “cute” factor—remember the diminutive Metronome 7 speaker with its designer grilles? Sometimes the “cool”—Henry Kloss’ nifty, ...

Music Hall in Great Neck, New York, has long been a source of musical, mostly twochannel audio equipment. The folks there are uncannily good at finding high-performance gear that won’t break the budget. I’m thinking ...

Have you ever met anyone who doesn’t admire and respect NAD electronics? For decades they’ve been the gold standard for “budget” high-end audio, combining brick-solid engineering, clean execution, and performance to burn. And therein lies ...

I was tickled pink by Cayin Audio’s A-88T all-tube integrated amplifier from the moment I began to unpack it. The inclusion of white gloves signaled an attention to detail in the presentation that puts to ...

Audio critics seem to forget that the people buying the stuff they write about are doing so for a pretty simple reason: to get musical pleasure. And while it is their job to convey how ...