Welcome to 2024’s Best Digital Playback for the Part-Time Audiophile Buyers Guide. We’re not saying that these are the “best” digital playback products or that these choices somehow overrule anyone else’s favorites. We’re saying that […]
The French are people of passion – their food, wine, art, and cars…okay, maybe not their cars. But the rest of it points to a culture of passion and artistry. So, when I had the […]
Back in 2018, when I first started working at Part-Time Audiophile on a permanent basis as the Managing Editor, I immediately started noticing a whole new group of audio manufacturers that made gear I really, […]
If you pay enough attention while moving through AXPONA, a brownish-gray character starts to become a familiar sight in many great sounding rooms, a character that peers out of the racks with its little red […]
Covering audio shows has always been a favorite part of doing Part-Time Audiophile. In a way, it’s kinda how we got our start. Way back in the day, most “audio destinations” largely ignored shows, and […]
The biggest surprise at the 2023 Florida Audio Expo shouldn’t have been a surprise at all. But the debut of the new flagship Acora Acoustics VRC-1 loudspeakers seemed to tower above all else at FLAX, […]
Oh no he didn’t. “Ratchets” by Hedegaard. With 121dB peaks. At an audio show. During listening hours. Folks, this just is not done. People were fleeing the area. Plaster was literally falling from the ceiling. And, […]
It’s time. After a long, cruel, and absolutely brutal winter in Northern Illinois, being back in Tampa is something of a relief. A life-saving retreat. I may be exaggerating. Northern Illinois winters are famous for […]
The first Pacific Audio Fest is over. To paraphrase Tom Waits, ain’t nothing wrong with it a $100 couldn’t fix. The problems are easy to overcome–make better signage, choose rooms that aren’t spread out all […]
Just because Lou Hinkley of Daedalus Audio was one of the show organizers for PAF 2022, along with Gary Gill, it doesn’t mean he’s going to get special treatment from me. Nope. There were two […]
At AXPONA 2022, I felt that the Acora Acoustics SRC-2 loudspeakers–winner of a rare PTA Summit Award–was hampered by one of those big, problematic downstairs ballrooms where all the huge systems are usually located. I […]
The Beatles were playing tambourine in my living room. I could have got out of my chair, walked over between the left speaker and center image and grabbed it – it was right frigging there! […]
It took a trip to North Carolina for me to understand the Von Schweikert Audio Endeavor E-3 Mk. II speakers. That might be an odd way to evaluate a speaker that had been in my […]
Regular readers will know by now that Dave McNair, myself and the rest of the PTA Team have an enormous amount of respect and appreciation for Acora Acoustics and founder Valerio Cora, who is perhaps […]
Welcome to the Best Digital Players section of the Part-Time Audiophile Buyers Guide for Summer 2022. The Guide is more than “We heartily endorse this [fill in the blank].” This collection represents our enthusiasm. Every […]
Welcome to the Best Phono Preamplifiers section of the Part-Time Audiophile Buyers Guide for Summer 2022. The Guide is more than “We heartily endorse this [fill in the blank].” This collection represents our enthusiasm. Every product […]
It’s been a while since I’ve had to assemble a “Best of Show” list at the end of a high-end audio show, and I was starting to have reservations about the process long before I […]
When I entered the Refined Audio room at AXPONA 2022, I was greeted by Cube Audio’s Nenuphar BASiS, a distinctive looking black speaker with a yellow driver ($26,900/pair). The sound of this intriguing system had […]
Usually when I visit the Linear Tube Audio room at a high-end audio show, their amplifiers are matched with Spatial Audio loudspeakers, which are a synergistic match. Or they’re paired with Fern & Roby speakers, […]
I am not in the budget for an ultra-fi system — and probably never will be. That fact, sad though it is, is true for most of us. HOWEVER, the point of the ultra-fi is […]
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