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HumminGuru? Just another Tik-Tok #influencer, you'd think? No, it turns out HumminGuru is a Hong Kong-based firm focused on accessories for vinyl enthusiasts, from LP inner sleeves to ultrasonic record cleaning machines. Two actually, both functionally similar to the high-end audiophile approved $4-6K machines, but currently going for as little as $379 and $699. Not... Read More »

One approaches writing cable reviews with a bit of trepidation, especially about digital cables, and doubly so for those circling around the kilobuck range (as the Audience AV cables under consideration here do). After all, cheapo generic—even freebie—digital cables either work…or they don't, so you just toss 'em, right? We've all heard the bits-is-bits arguments.... Read More »

Back in February's Issue 132 (HERE) I wrote about the remarkable improvement in my system from replacing a couple pricey audiophile fuses with first one, and then two Swiss Digital Fuse Boxes. At that time there remained a couple of unresolved issues—first was the impending arrival of a rhodium-plated tellurium copper "Super-Duper-Sluggo" (the actual metal... Read More »

A Swiss Digital Fuse Box (SDFB for short) is a $395 device that replaces the generic $2 power fuse in high performance audio gear. Yes, you read that right. It is also potentially the most disruptive audiophile add-on since…what?…the subwoofer?… the power conditioner? Sorry, but your THC gummies don't qualify. So let us first consider... Read More »

About a year ago I put together a selection of analog tweaks under $50 (HERE)—a mix of DIY, off-label use of non-audio thingamajigs, and commercial offerings. Among the latter was Origin Live's cool little Cartridge Enabler. I described it as a gateway drug for the firm's spindle weight and platter mat (which uses the same... Read More »

Analog is resurgent, what with newbies discovering turntables and seasoned audiophiles revisiting reissued vinyl from their ill-spent youth. Digital music is a much more convenient background for other activities, but playing records better rewards attention with involvement; bitsy will just never replace groovy in the listener's lexicon. Blame the pandemic: one can read similar stories... Read More »

So why all the Etc's? Because, while nominally an affordable MM/MC phono stage, the Parks Audio Puffin incorporates a flock of features and functions simply unavailable in phono stages commanding ten times the asking price ($489 to $639 depending on options). OK, not at any price. But for starters, the Puffin does do the phono... Read More »

My last foray in the fiefdom of iFi focused on fixing a pair of power problems that plague too many audio setups: ground loops and DC offset. The diminutive GND Defender and DC Blocker elegantly address that annoying rattle and hum—and at the most un-audio-extortionate prices. As I mentioned in that review HERE, the two... Read More »

I've long been a fan of those wizards at iFi, especially the wonky folks tasked with widget warfare on hi-fi noise pollution. Although perhaps best known for their cost-effective DAC/Headphone amps, iFi has also issued a stream of USB and AC power iPurifiers and iDefenders to address audio problems both common and not so. Of... Read More »

Hey Kids! It's 2021, and with no more pressure to have the US BeBest, let's all go play with the USBe Perfect! When the call came in, Georgia area code—caller unknown, I let it go straight to voicemail. Finally weeding out spam calls, I found—tucked between a Police Defense Fund plea and a faux breast... Read More »

Yes, I know. It's traditional to cite recordings used in an equipment review (and illustrate them with the cover art), but featuring even some of the music that used to evaluate four very different USB cables meant the review would run far too long. Ultimately, I had to cut all the window dressing. You can... Read More »

Seriously? A review of four idiosyncratic USB cables? Didn't some sage audio scribe opine back in the MP-3 days that USB meant "Usually Sounds Bad"? Well, audiophiles have since embraced first High-Res downloads, and then streaming services like Tidal and Qobuz. With the result that getting the best sound from file-based audio often depends on... Read More »

Go back some 50 years, and the American audio scene involved an assortment of acronyms from around New England: off the top of my head, AR, ADS, APT, CSW, DBX, EAW, EPI, KLH, and NEAR come to mind, with the BAS (Boston Audio Society) and MIT providing cross-pollination. Oh, and there was one nasty four... Read More »

You don't have to be an economist to appreciate that much of Western Civilization is the result of the perennial tug-of-war between progress and profit, the towline under tension too often being…quality. The once well-beaten path to Emerson's maker-of-a-better-mousetrap has long since grown over, the production of an adequate device for the purpose of trapping... Read More »

OK. Given a world-wide pandemic, why are we reading (and writing) audio reviews? First, as Congreve pointed out, "musick hath charms to sooth a savage breast." Second, it's what we do, especially with time on our hands. Up until a few years ago, I was active buying / selling vintage and audiophile LPs on eBay.... Read More »

Just a mere month ago, Audio Tourism looked like the next new thing. Given the continuing demise of brick-and-mortar retail salons, regional, national, and international audio shows were popping up all over—how brilliant was having a show in Florida in February, not in Miami, not in Orlando, and not during school vacation week? But then,... Read More »

So this is the time of year for returning unwanted gifts, breaking resolutions, and picking up a few Steel Band CDs in the Caribbean. It's also a time to reflect on past accomplishments and give credit where credit is due. I'm a very part-time reviewer here, and didn't offer up any PF Writers Choice awards... Read More »

Yes, V-TEE-I. That is not a typo. VTI is not from New Jersey; they don't make turntables (although they support them nicely); as far as I know, the initials stand for something other than Virgo Taurus Industries. Actually, I had never heard of them until recently, myself. I was mulling the prospect of replacing my... Read More »

I don't trust loudspeaker reviews. OK, you do realize you can't trust what you read in the paper, see in an advertisement, watch on cable news, hear on talk radio, or click on Facebook? Or anything on the Internet at all? Unless, a priori, you agree with the content, the trolls, or the known bias?... Read More »