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 ...

Back in the late 90s I reviewed the Simaudio Celeste PW- 5000 integrated amplifier. It was my first experience with a component from Simaudio, the Canadian firm established in 1980. It was a terrific little ...

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 ...

John Ulrick, the founder and designer of Spectron, has a wealth of switching amplifier experience that few in the industry can match. In the late 1960s he was a co-founder of Infinity (with Arnie Nudell), ...

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 ...

I love a product that goes against the conventional grain. Crystal Cable is one such line. Rather than resembling various species of large rain forest snakes or wearing the garish livery of a jockey at ...

If Rodney Dangerfield had been an audiophile, he might have joked that tuners “just don’t get no respect.” But they should. Tuners are tasked with responsibilities greater than typical source components. They are a sophisticated ...

A few weeks ago I spent an afternoon with engineers Bill Schnee and Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab, Sax's 5.1-channel facility in Ojai, California. I was there ostensibly to listen and to offer feedback ...

Back in the late 90s I reviewed the Simaudio Celeste PW- 5000 integrated amplifier. It was my first experience with a component from Simaudio, the Canadian firm established in 1980. It was a terrific little ...

The way I see it AC line conditioning is a key building block for any high-end audio system. However, it would likely be the last item on my checklist of purchases—not because it matters least, ...

The Gem2 is Revel’s Ultima2 “flex” speaker. Whereas most loudspeakers are designed for a single use, the compact Revel Gem2 can play many roles. Like Transformers for audiophiles, just tell it what you want it ...

In our Class D amplifier survey in Issue 166, some of my colleagues were unconvinced that the current crop of Class D was ready to take on the Class AB Old Guard in a head-tohead. ...

The C-100 control amplifier is part of PS Audio’s Trio line of small-footprint electronics, which also includes the P-200 preamplifier and the A-100, a Class D amplifier that Barry Willis praised in Issue 170. A ...

A couple months ago a press announcement was circulated that sent a collective shudder through the loudspeaker segment of the high-end industry. Flop sweat began beading up on the brows of audio engineers and acousticians. ...

During a recent factory tour, Ted Denney, founder and chief designer of Synergistic Research, demonstrated the inspiration behind his new Tesla cable line. In a small “treatment” room off the factory floor, Denney unveiled a ...