The question is actually a very simple one: Are you an audiophile whose ears are attuned to the sound of live, unamplified acoustic music performed in a natural setting—traditionally defined in these pages as “the ...

The K-03X is Esoteric’s penultimate CD/SACD player. Similar in appearance to the significantly more costly Esoteric flagship K-01X, the K-03X represents a commanding presence. Built to a standard of quality and luxury that few players ...

Equipped with remote control, phonostage, four unbalanced RCA inputs, microprocessor control, and even a trendy front-panel headphone output, the Rogue Audio RP-5 is a handsome, full-featured preamplifier that’s thoroughly modern in every sense of the ...

Everyone hates to admit it, but first impressions count. So, call me superficial, but I became an admirer of the Spendor D7 straight out of the box. Here was a neo-classic 38" tower that was ...

Morrow Audio is a relative newcomer to the high-end cable segment. Founded in 2006 and based in Independence, Kentucky, the company currently manufactures both a pro line as well as a comprehensive consumer line that ...

What ignited your passion for the high end? Did it come from the music or the electronics side? Definitely from the music side. I discovered music in a big way when I was a pre-teen. ...

Last year I had the good fortune to attend a launch event for the Dali Rubicon Series loudspeakers thrown by Dali and its North American distributor, Dallas-based The Sound Organisation. Dali’s latest line includes five ...

Introduction Funny thing about the high end and how quickly one technology is jilted for another. I’m referring of course to the venerable compact disc player—a source component that has never performed as strongly as ...

One of the great stories in the high end for 2015 is the resurgence of the venerable German loudspeaker company Elac, and its hiring of one the industry’s top designer/engineers Andrew Jones. Jones, formerly of ...

NAD electronics has been marching down audio’s red carpet for years, picking up awards and accolades from high-end journalists and customers alike. Its classic BEE line—all buttons and knobs, and blue collar to the core—is ...

There’s an old saying that more or less goes, “Never judge a book or an amp by its cover.” Exhibit One: the Creek Evolution 100A—outwardly an exemplar of modesty—the quintessential stealth integrated amplifier. With its ...

In a newspaper article published a few months ago, a survey of Millennials had automakers worrying. Apparently car ownership was not nearly as important to this group as it was to previous generations. However, what ...

What ignited your passion for the high end? Did it come from the music side or the electronics side? My passion was ignited when, during my first year at university in 1972, I started working ...

Capturing a live concert is one of audio’s most difficult balancing acts—like taking a snapshot from two perspectives simultaneously. A rare exception is this Analogue Productions release, which captures an impassioned performance with much-better-than-expected sonics. ...

When I reviewed it some years ago, the TAD Compact Reference or CR1 was the best stand-mount loudspeaker I’d ever heard in my room—or anyone else’s for that matter. Today it continues to represent state-of-the-art ...