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Ever since the first moving-coil phonograph cartridge was developed in 1948 by Holger Christian Arenstein (the Ortofon Mono-A), phono cartridge designers have been working at maximizing & refining the performance of moving-coil cartridges by trying various topologies & materials combinations for the stylus, cantilever, coil wire, suspension, magnets, pole pieces, internal wiring, cartridge housings, cartridge pins, and... Read More »

For many years my music has been enjoyed through small, two-way stand mounted speakers. Although ones listening room usually dictates the size of the speaker they purchase, my 12X20 foot den can accommodate speakers bigger than a stand mount monitor. And it has. My current speakers are floor standers and fit quite nicely in that... Read More »

One Monday night at Carnegie Hall, we found ourselves in the second row orchestra, way over on the right, in front of and looking up at the double basses (our eyes were level with the stage). When you purchase discount tickets, you take what they give you and don't complain. Obviously, the sound was problematic.... Read More »

The years 2015 and 2016 was a major transition for my family. A promotion for my wife resulted in the remodeling and eventual sale of our home on the East side of Washington state, which had been our home base for over 15 years. In my audio room, I had put together several excellent systems,... Read More »

Back in the olden days, I owned an Ortofon MC30 Cartridge. It had output to low for my ARC SP3 to handle so I went looking for a step up transformer. I acquired the cool looking and flexible Ortofon T30 that did quite well. At $400 it was expensive as gear in 1977 goes, but... Read More »

Released in 2015, Campfire Audio headed by Ken ball has emerged as a successful in-ear monitor (IEM) company across the audiophile community. Having released in excess of 5 earphones in the past 18 months, the company are a boutique brand aiming to deliver hi-fidelity sound quality in a durable form factor. Campfire Audio's Andromeda was... Read More »

Please be patient as I step you through some backstory. I reviewed the Synergistic Research PowerCell 10 UEF power conditioner back in October 2014. It made a tremendous impact on the overall sound of my system—all for the good! Other than a change in speakers, maybe more of an impact than any other single component at that point... Read More »

It is high time an American company—with manufacturing in Brooklyn, New York since 1953—should develop and build a state of the art challenger for the best open air headphones in the world. The PS1000e headphones were universally well regarded and became my reference for dynamic cans. These are still about as neutral as any pro music... Read More »

Synergistic Research (SR) is at it again. Like Michael Corleone in Godfather III, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!" I am always on the lookout for something better. These days, with the quality of product available at all price points, there is a myriad of impressive options out there... Read More »

I've had my fair chance at messing with all sorts of amplifier technologies, from Class A, to AB, D, even T—you name it, and each one carries their own sonic signature. To this day, I still have a soft spot for Class A/B designs, only due to their sonic signature and efficiency. Class A is... Read More »

Fiio have been well-regarded as an audio company for their budget to mid-priced offerings. The original Fiio X5 DAP captivated audiences worldwide but with a keen attention to detail and reception for critical feedback, Fiio have consequently released generational devices which have improved upon and refined their original vision.   Enter, the Fiio X5 3rd... Read More »

Albert Porter owns www.porterhouseaudio.com and features products from Allnic Audio, Stahl~Tek, Purist Audio Design, Koetsu cartridges, Airtight cartridges, Porter Ports, Stillpoints, and custom Custom Analog/Digital components. He does not represent any turntable arms or turntables. I've owned a turntable in one form or another since my preteen years. I clearly remember the excitement of picking out... Read More »

With technical contributions by Jürgen Saile. While working on Einstein's complete audio system with its laudable analogue source, in Part 1 of this review (which you can find HERE) we had traveled from cartridge to tone arm, and from there to phono stage and preamp. Following up on that we will now take care of power... Read More »

Anyone who has ever looked into the hi-fi world in a little bit more intensive way knows that the arbitrary combination of well-reputed audio components does not necessarily lead to a guaranteed musical enjoyment. In the field of high-end audio, only very few manufacturers offer complete solutions—mainly those featuring a digital source. To my knowledge,... Read More »

From time to time, an item is plucked from the mildewed bins of analog history by one of the reissue houses. Occasionally the dredging action strikes gold; most of the time it would have been best to leave the slumber undisturbed. A recently unearthed item is Once In Every Life featuring Johnny Hartman accompanied by... Read More »

A few times I've been lucky enough to review a product before the rest of the audio-press get their red-hot hands on it, but mostly I've been Gary-come-lately to the audio-party. I'm grateful of course, for opportunities to be the first to review a new offering; but while plotting how to get ahead of the... Read More »

The Audia Flight Strumento n°1 mk2 Preamp Many audiophiles believe that they can get along without any preamplifier in these digital times. However, I do not share this point of view: To me a preamplifier is an indispensable partner that, by the way, also should have sufficient balanced inputs. Yet, the Audia Flight does not... Read More »

I'll save you the trouble and time of skipping the discussion and jumping directly to the conclusions for the low down on the van den Hul Colibri Stradivarius XGW Stradivarius cartridge. For the record, A.J. (short for Aalt Jouk) van den Hul's latest creation is hands down one of the finest transducers to pass through... Read More »

Jack Bybee's iQSE or internal Quantum Signal Enhancer (iQSE) differs from the AC Purifiers I wrote about last month. As you'd expect the signal from your component runs through the AC Purifiers. It is with some bother I note no signal passes through the iQSE, it neither plugs into anything nor does anything plug into... Read More »