I’m happy to report that good-sounding speakers outweighed not-so-good-sounding ones at this year’s CES, although judging their virtues and flaws was made more difficult by two relatively new wrinkles. First, though most rooms were equipped ...

Revel's Kevin Voecks with the Performa3 lineup The high end has never been about making earth shattering leaps into the future. So while the folks at the Convention Center were all agog staring at the ...

The new version of Alan Shaw’s Harbeth Monitor 30.1, which I am reviewing now, is the best compact two-way speaker system I have ever heard, regardless of design type, cost, or complexity. It’s an updated ...

Aesthetix Rhea/Rhea Signature $4500/$7000 With three inputs, variable cartridge-loading—adjustable at the listening chair via remote control—and a front-panel display of gain and loading, the Rhea is the Swiss Army Knife of phonostages. Although it has ...

Ortofon 2M Red $99 The swansong design of Ortofon’s former chief engineer Per Windfeld, the entry-level 2M Red uses a elliptical-tipped stylus. Though a little dry in the treble and lacking the Ortofon Black’s velvety ...

Some speakers sure know how to make an entrance. I know that’s how I felt when I crossed paths with the KEF LS50 a few months ago. I’m just wrapping up a full review of ...

What are your expectations for a $129/pair loudspeaker? Not all that high I would guess. At the very least, you’d expect it to work reliably, play reasonably loud, and not look too schlocky. But high-end ...

PSB Alpha B1 $300 One of the high end’s most venerated featherweights, the recently redesigned and curvaceous Alpha B1 combines mind-bending dynamics and rich mids in a speaker barely a foot tall. The 1" dome ...

Well, I’ve been listening to these tall, thin, exceptionally beautiful loudspeakers for several months now, and they’ve only continued to get better with settling-in time, break-in time, considerable tweaking of their position in my room, ...

Reflecting the versatility and exhilarating performance of its new S-Series of loudspeakers, Magico LLC announces its first center channel speaker, the SCC. The purpose-built SCC is designed to bring to the center channel of the ...

When my sister-in-law visited my wife and me a few months ago, she was captivated by the sound of my stereo. Like most people, Daryl had no idea that music could be reproduced with such ...

The KEF R Series is the British speaker-maker’s first collection of loudspeakers to integrate some of its most recent innovations, principally those in the ground- breaking $30,000 Blade (Issue 222). A family of nine transducers, ...

Frankly I was concerned how well RMAF would fare this year in the face of west coast competition like the high energy T.H.E. Show in Newport Beach but exhibitors tell me that RMAF continues to ...

Though well supported by the public and much (not all) of the industry, sonically the 2012 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest was one of the least memorable high-end shows I’ve ever attended. From lobby rooms to ...

October 15, 2012 – The Absolute Sound Guide to High-Performance Loudspeakers 2012 has been released for download via the new theabsolutesound.com website. The Absolute Sound Guide to High-Performance Loudspeakers 2012 is a comprehensive online buyer’s ...