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 ...

I spend a lot of time cheerleading for integrated amplifiers. I like their spacesaving footprint. I like eliminating the interconnect and with it the ancillary circuitry required for preamp and amp to shake hands electrically. ...

Naim Audio has been quietly but effectively gaining strength in the American market. Not that this British audio stalwart has been exactly “under the radar” during its three decades on the U.S. scene. But there’s ...

Last issue, in my review of the excellent Focal/JMlab Electra 1007Be mini-monitor, I laid out the case for the superiority of two-way dynamic loudspeakers, which mostly amounts to the fact that they disappear more completely ...

As I scanned the market for music servers to review for this special feature, the Qsonix Q100 stood out from the crowd. When it comes to music servers, the user interface is paramount, and Qsonix ...

The best technology-based products hide enormous complexity and sophistication behind a simple façade. The product does exactly what the user wants it to do— and nothing more—with the magic that makes this happen remaining transparent. ...

Transfiguration Phoenix Wouldn’t you know it? No sooner had I enthusiastically recommended Transfiguration’s new Phoenix moving-coil cartridge in Issue 175’s Editors’ Choice list—calling it “the Shelter 90X of its day, i.e., the ‘hot’ bargain in ...

NAD C372 The $999 C372 is the most powerful integrated amplifier in NAD’s “Hi- Fi” Series, and as with every NAD amp built from Day One, the C372’s power capabilities are conservatively rated. Though it ...

Let's get straight to the point: B&W's 685 is a terrific little loudspeaker. It has impressive tonal balance, tremendous rhythmic authority, conjures a nice, open soundstage, has impressive if not super-extended bass response, a singing ...

With its ProLogue series of tube electronics, PrimaLuna burst onto the audio scene a few years ago and established itself as a serious contender in the value-priced sweepstakes. Designed in the Netherlands, built to high ...

It’s a friendly rivalry that goes back to the very beginnings of the high end. Small speaker versus big speaker—the stand-mounted two-way pitted against the multi-driver floorstander. The argument goes that nothing captures the speed, ...

I like this product’s name, and not just because of its promise of reaching beyond the common range of perception. It’s the version number—the Eight—that really piqued my interest, suggesting a mature product evolved through ...

The new Cambridge Audio 840C CD player left me shaking my head in wonderment at how Cambridge can sell this much CD player for $1499. The 840C is packed with advanced features, sophisticated technologies, and ...

I’ve tried, really I have, but I honestly can’t think of another loudspeaker manufacturer creating models as purely beautiful sounding as those made by Italy’s Sonus faber.With each passing year, Franco Serblin and the team ...