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 ...

Sony Electronics’ ES (Elevated Standard) products are the crème de la crème of its line—a showcase for high-quality construction, premium parts, and Sony’s razzle-dazzle features and technologies. Sharing space at the summit of the ES ...

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 ...

Clearaudio Nano Phono, Musical Surroundings Phonomena II, Graham Slee Era Gold MK V and Era Gold Reflex and Elevator EXP The three phonostages represented in this survey cover a range of reasonable price points. They ...

The smallest entry in PMC’s eight model i Series, the two-way DB1i is also affectionately known as the “dinky box”. I’ve heard a great many petite speakers over the years from the original Proac Tablettes, ...

Perspective can be a rare commodity in a world where the latest “next best thing” always seems to grab the headlines. I wrote about the Synergistic Research Tesla Cables back in Issue 171 and was ...

Getting started in the high end means making some tough decisions. And they don’t come any tougher than choosing between a compact and a floorstanding speaker in the $1k range. There was a day when ...

Integrated amplifiers continue to surprise and inspire me. Just when I think I’ve heard pretty much all there is to hear from this segment, along comes the Muse Model Two Hundred. And to look at ...

Part I & II described how the Smyth Realiser system works but the acid test is, of course in the listening. Here’s where the strange magic of the A-8 asserts itself. To begin, I sat ...

The Esoteric X-05 is a CD/SACD player that makes you want to gather every compact disc in your collection and give it another spin. And all the more so if you’re still listening to vinyl. ...

The Smyth Realiser arrives as a bundle that includes the A-8, headtracker modules, Stax SR-202 headphones and driver unit and the necessary connectors and cabling. So what’s the difference between the Realiser and the Dolby ...

The Music Hall Maven is a stylish updating of one of audio’s most enduring components, the stereo receiver—the one-chassis solution that integrates the preamp and amp stages with an AM/FM tuner. Classic, sensible, understated. Dig ...

A couple of days ago I drove out to a modest industrial park in Camarillo, California where I was to meet with Lorr Kramer of Smyth Research. The purpose was to receive a full-on, no-holds-barred ...

At first glance it’s easy to mistake Imagine—PSB’s newest midline collection of loudspeakers—for its more costly premium line, Synchrony. I did. After all, both are visually arresting—curvaceous and seamless. And they represent a fashion shift ...

The “S” Series of Benz Micro cartridges made its debut in 2008. Its innovations are embodied in revamped versions of the Wood Body, Glider, ACE, as well as a new version of the LP and ...