Cary Audio Design has slowly evolved from a company that mainly focused on exotic, single-ended tube gear to one that focuses on exotic, single-ended tube gear and a growing range of other, not-so exotic components. ...

Spending more on cabling than one might spend on good electronics, a high-quality analog rig, or even reference loudspeakers hasn't ever made sense to me. Given that there is so much "other" wire in every ...

Never underestimate the power of a first impression. With a killer instinct for trends, the A/V industry knows that it's the buttons, lighted dials, and marquee-style displays that net more impulsive creditcard swipes than any ...

Few loudspeaker companies are more intimately connected with high-end audio than Italy’s Sonus faber. Its aristocratic designs evoke the craftsmanship and the culture of the legendary Cremonese violin makers and a taste of la dolce ...

“Holy Cow!” I exclaimed out loud while opening the outer shipping box. (Actually, what I said was more like a holy expletive for manure, but I’m not supposed to write that.) And no wonder the ...

I can sum up my reaction to hearing an LP played back via a beam of light by quoting the eminently quotable Dr. Samuel Johnson, who, when told that a Quaker woman (heavens!) was heard ...

Sonance is highly regarded not only for its extensive line of inwall and on-wall loudspeakers and home automation offerings, but also its outdoor products. Recently, the firm completely revised its eight-model Mariner range of outdoor ...

Once I watched an Olympic play-off between two spectacular gymnasts. They were both superb—skilled, swift, lithe. Mastery of form and flesh fairly radiated from both. In that scenario, one had to win. In the play-off ...

British companies like Meridian and Arcam have used their extensive experience in highperformance audio to springboard into leadership positions in home theater electronics—a transition tougher to pull off than one might think. Whereas it is ...

Big-ticket controllers project power. They bristle with command and control modules while deploying the most advanced audio decoding, video switching, and transcoding enhancements. They are a virtual launching pad—the A/V counterparts to a modern aircraft ...

Is there any home-theater component sexier than a big flat-panel HD monitor? According to industry analysts and my own unofficial polling (friends, family, and other lovable eccentrics) the answer is a flat N-O! And this ...

Bluenote is an Italian highend company that makes a sleek-looking and complete line of components, from turntables, arms, and cartridges to speaker systems. The company was born in 1985 as a consortium of musicians, engineers, ...

The PrimaLuna Prologue Three preamp and Five power amp are at the top of my list: good sound, good value, simplicity. They are also good fun, if you like playing with tubes (the power amp ...

KEF has been around for over fifty years and some audiophiles may need to be reminded just how good many of its speakers are. In the 1960s and 70s, KEF was among a small group ...

Finding the audio-video receiver (AVR) that meets every requirement is a little like going to a restaurant and having to choose a combo platter from either Column A, Column B, or Column C—inevitably each mouthful ...