Co-hosting all these Brit-fi podcasts with Brian Hunter on The Occasional Podcast has certainly whetted my appetite for BBC monitors. Lately we’ve been fixating primarily on the LS3/5a, but I can’t tell you how excited […]
The Naim SuperNAIT 3 integrated amplifier, above all, is about trying to reconnect with my past—at least a little bit. Back in December I traveled down to Los Angeles for the first time in at […]
The Koetsu Urushi Black phono cartridge reminds me that in my more pretentious moments as a journeyman audiophile, I referred to myself as a “Koetsu Guy.” This was after decades of less expensive and mostly […]
Welcome to the Best Turntables section of the Part-Time Audiophile Buyers Guide for 2022. The Guide is more than “We heartily endorse this [fill in the blank ].” This collection represents our enthusiasm. Every product […]
Last year I reviewed the Audio Hungary (website) Qualiton APX-200 power amp (review linked here), which was 100 watts per channel of pure vacuum tube goodness. It was, and still is, a tremendous sounding power […]
This isn’t the first time in the last few months where I had to explain my reasoning behind reviewing a certain component. Take this new Sumiko Amethyst cartridge, a moving-magnet cartridge that retails for a […]
Why do a comparison between the Technics SL-1210GAE and SL-1200G? Everybody “knows” the Technics SL-1210GAE Anniversary turntable, which was just released last year, is better than the Technics SL-1200G. Why? Well, the classic Technics […]
The Best Turntables [Editor’s note: Welcome to the Part-Time Audiophile Buyers Guide for Summer 2021! These are the best turntables that we, the PTA team, have heard.] Fluance Reference FT-85 (from $499 USD) This Canadian […]
Maybe you’ve started to notice a certain theme in many of my reviews, so it won’t surprise you to hear that the LSA T-3 turntable (website) and I also go way back. We’re talking […]
The LFD NCSE Mk. 3 integrated amplifier (website) has no remote control. Nor does it have XLR inputs or outputs, a home theater bypass switch, 12V trigger operation, a built-in DAC, a wide range of […]
I do have a couple of my patented old audio guy stories about George Merrill, the legendary turntable designer who now makes the GEM Dandy PolyTable Signature turntable. (Website here.) The first isn’t really a […]
For a lot of folks, McIntosh Labs gear (website) is the stuff that audiophile dreams are made of. The idea of actually owning and using this gear, especially something as impressive as their new McIntosh […]
The Best Turntables [Editor’s note: Welcome to the Part-Time Audiophile Buyers Guide for 2021! This year we decided to mix it up a little by breaking up the Buyers Guide into sections, which makes it […]
Debutantes Wear White Pro-Ject’s Debut Carbon EVO landed on my doorstep in what seemed like mere minutes after I’d been asking Managing Editor Eric Franklin Shook, “They want me to do a turntable review? But […]
Which Thorens turntable is your favorite? The idler-driven TD-124, a sixty-year-old design that can compete with today’s finest? The TD-125 for its superb mechanical design and its extraordinary reliability? The TD-160 for bringing […]
I wasn’t supposed to review the Goldring Ethos phono cartridge. It merely hitched a ride with the Thorens TD-1601 turntable and arm combo that I have in for review. Anthony Chiarella, who represents both companies, […]
See if this takes you back. There’s a device you can buy that you can plug into any AC outlet in a room, and it transforms the sound of your hi-fi system. Sound familiar? There […]
Is the absence of any coloration its own signature coloration? During my time with the TIDAL Audio Prisma preamplifier, I found myself asking that very question. People like me who listen to music for a […]
When Mark Sossa of Well Pleased AV called about dropping off a pair of the excellent QLN Prestige Three speakers for me to review a few months back, he casually mentioned he might also bring […]
The Fluance RT85 Reference turntable retails for $500. That’s very important to me from a historical standpoint, so allow me to elaborate. I came up with the $500 Rule for turntables back in 1998, during […]
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