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Most power line conditioners are passive, meaning the components that are doing the conditioning are in parallel to the power cord. This is done so that the conditioning components do not interfere with the instantaneous demand for power that happens with amplifiers when the music goes from very soft to very loud in a few... Read More »

The Krell legacy via designer Dan D'Agostino is well known and respected if not revered. Thirty plus years ago I remember my first experience with the legendary KSA-50 amplifier. Along with the Mark Levinson ML-2, the KSA-50 was one of the first in the industry to lay the ground work for today's strong and continuing... Read More »

The Jazz Mecca At one time, you could club hop along 52nd street in New York City and hear the likes of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, et al., jamming until the wee hours of the morning. More than thirty clubs ranged along the street known as Jazz Alley, at a time when NYC... Read More »

Globalization has definitely made it easier for people to have a chance to show what they can do. When my "o fearless editor" suggested that I review a new cable coming from Indonesia I was honestly surprised by the country of origin. I could not pass up the opportunity to give it a shot and... Read More »

Some products are disarmingly ingratiating. It's possible that attraction can be subversive, so pleasing that you let your guard drop, and thus allow potential issues to slip by undetected. That's certainly an apt description of the product at hand, for the K&K Audio Premium Maxxed-Out Phono Preamp is nothing if not a sweet talker.  ... Read More »

So much for the Japanese tradition of honoring your ancestors! The simply stunning looking and even better sounding blue stone body Azule Platinum moving coil cartridge bears little or no resemblance to the Koetsu cartridge your father owned. Moreso, any sonic similarity—or even familial resemblance—between the current Azule Platinum and the Koetsu Rosewood Signature cartridge... Read More »

Certainly 2014 stood out at chez K, for it was the year that I reviewed not one, not two, but three full range, quasi statement speakers (systems) and to be honest, I don't think that will happen again anytime soon. First, it's a pain in the you-know-what to deal with all the logistics relevant to such an... Read More »

So the call came out from PF: Who wants to review a pair of expensive speaker cables made in Italy? I raised my hand, er, I mean I responded to the email and said "I do." The most expensive speaker cables I have ever personally owned was a 10' bi-wire pair of MIT cables that... Read More »

Dogma is defined in the dictionary as, "A belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted." For some audiophiles—and everyone has an audiobuddy or two or three that fits this description—that dogma could be solid-state vs. tube electronics, planar vs. dynamic speaker, analog vs.... Read More »

'twas the year of our Lord twothousandandfive, when I had the very first opportunity to audition and opine about Zu's Druid loudspeakers following a local tube show in the valley of the angels. Many a historic composite has been penned about Zu; suffice is to say that back then—if you could make such bold historic... Read More »

Quietude… That isn't a word you hear too often when describing high-end audio! But, what is most important with high fidelity LP playback? I believe that the first priority should be a system that just gets out of the way, that extracts pure music out of the grooves. That isn't an easy thing to do;... Read More »

Watching the Kronos Audio Products Sparta Turntable being assembled on my rack, it's clear that this is not your father's turntable. Visually, the Sparta is unlike any vinyl spinner I've encountered—the same goes for the accompanying Helena tonearm.   Without a doubt, it's that second, counter-rotating platter that catches your eye and wants explaining. Why... Read More »

INEX Innovation, Inc. is a small audio company that was founded in 2004 by a group of audiophiles with strong engineering backgrounds in fiber optics and telecommunications. Over the last decade they have developed a digital amplifier that has been well received as have been their pre amplifier and CD Player.(1) Fiber optics has a... Read More »

I've never really been into headphones or personal listening, I usually enjoy an engaging experience with a normal 2 channel system where the dynamics are also felt as well as heard. That is one of the biggest things one gives up when going to headphones, as the sound is directed right at the ears rather... Read More »

I have owned several iterations of REL subwoofers over the years. Either as a single unit or in pairs. My first was the Stentor III at 133 lbs, 300 RMS per channel, a single 10 inch downward firing woofer and a MSRP of $5K. I then upgraded to the Studio III which was the top... Read More »

Alexia. Everyone wants to know Alexia. Everyone wants to have Alexia. She's the femme fatale who has you wrapped up in dreams of being James Bond on a super secret mission to save the world. She's the supercar that turns on a dime, that lurches forward with every step on the gas pedal; she jumps... Read More »

Audience has made a name for itself over the years by producing very fine interconnect cables, phono cables, speakers, and power chords well as the Teflon Aura-TO (Teflon) capacitors. The star of their product line, which has always received rave reviews, has been their power line conditioners.(1) The Audience power line conditioners are not inexpensive.... Read More »

Cable reviews are always fun. They can be challenging, too as you're really trying to focus on the nuances and draw a positive experience. Sometimes that just doesn't happen with cables, and unfortunately those don't get much press in PFO as we try to focus on the positive aspect of high-end gear. Several sets have... Read More »

Audioengine, based in the USA, is one of those companies that has worked to bring music into just about any environment, and at affordable prices. This is opposed to music lovers buying playback gear that they must somehow adapt their environment to. Speaking of affordable, most Audioengine gear is less expensive than just about any... Read More »