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I Never Said This Before Imagine the first time your youthful lust for innocent attachment to a mate of some sort, form or beguiling presence clocked you upside the head. Or inside your throbbing noggin. Imagine that virginal moment of longing and suspension—you, the uncertain gangly animal you were, staring at a creature who (for... Read More »

Before I slip on the green eyeshade, I want to compliment the Ypsilon PST 100 Preamp on the sheer creature comfort of its musical presentation. I had almost forgotten such a thing existed in the land of Hi-Fi.  Wow! This preamp is pushing a lot of buttons. But it didn't start out that way. Before... Read More »

After reviewing several pieces of high-end audio gear lately that arrived at my house in plain cardboard boxes, marginally adequate packing materials that weren't designed or manufactured by professionals, wrapped in layers of cellophane wrap instead of being inserted into a custom made plastic bag, and arriving sans power cord and instruction manual, it was... Read More »

C1 Preamp/DAC "I know who that is—that's the trumpet/piano duo we heard at the Kitano Hotel that night." Spot on, George. The date was the release party for Only Many with Fred Hersch and Ralph Alessi (Cam Jazz CAM 5048). We both bought CDs, which they autographed for us. Now we were in my living room, listening... Read More »

TiGLON is not a household name here in the states but if Phillip Holmes has anything to say about it they will be before long. Phillip is the principle and owner of Mockingbird Distribution LLC who are the importers for TiGLON, Jasmine, Abis, Zorin, Jakutus, Mockingbird Speakers, Pyon and a few other items just for... Read More »

A legendary cartridge with a pedigree that spans three continents returns to the marketplace and to audiophiles everywhere, thanks to some fantastic entrepreneurs who believe in the LP! With the brilliant engineering efforts of Herman van den Dungen of PrimaLuna fame in the Netherlands, and the superb marketing and financial efforts of Kevin Deal of... Read More »

I've said it before and I'll say it again—you need a record cleaning machine if you're going to get serious about LPs. The tip of your stylus is not going to push the dust out of the way, as some famous people in our industry have claimed. Washing your LPs in the kitchen sink with... Read More »

English translation of original German text from HiFi Statement "Oh, those are cute!" I'm actually not used to hearing such statements from my better half; at least not regarding hi-fi. For me at least, the Chiara design actually seemed more like an american stealth jet. First impressions aside, this loudspeaker truly represents more than meets... Read More »

I live in Greenwich Village, New York City, within easy walking distance of two fine audio emporiums: Stereo Exchange and In Living Stereo. These vendors offer different gear and different purchasing experiences. Stereo Exchange, one of the oldest hi-fi shops in NYC, is outfitted with spacious, private listening rooms featuring such big audio players as... Read More »

The importance of resonance and vibration control in allowing a high end audio system to perform at its very best is beyond debate. There may some holdouts in the audiophile community, but there are more than a few credible studies on the effects of resonance on electronic equipment in critical applications. The aerospace, military, and... Read More »

This is a ground breaking review in more ways than one. To start with, this is the first Magico S5 speaker review using only analog recorded material. More to the point, it's my first review using the extraordinary VPI Classic Direct turntable and 12-inch 3D printed arm (geez reviewing might have been so much easier... Read More »

Thanks to the terrific exhibit called Headphonium at T.H.E. SHOW NEWPORT, I heard a remarkable pair of headphones that sounded and performed in all ways expensive and open-back, but was neither! I generally ignore cans priced at $599, but holy moly, these Alpha Dogs are impossible to ignore. One listen and you are done for.... Read More »

Plowing Back To Go Forward Long ago I spent considerable time with the Audience design team listening, on multiple occasions; to the development of a multi-driver speaker creation intended to take-no-prisoners and drops a proverbial wake-up bomb on the audiophile world. Those were whopping good sessions of superior fellow-feeling that allowed several chaps with disparate... Read More »

LampizatOr audio products are handmade in Poland and are the brain child of Lukasz Fikus. The LampizatOr website is interesting to say the least and it gives you an insight into the mind, philosophy, and sense of humor of Lukasz Fikus. I highly recommend cruising over to the LampizatOr website and reading up on Lukasz's philosophy of... Read More »

Here We Go Again Over many years I've endured hope and disappointment in the service of auditioning and evaluating loud speakers of virtually every sort. At a certain point one becomes braced for the worst or, at least, for the next version of "no cigar" in the process of countervailing but ongoing optimism once again. ... Read More »

"What's this?" I expected a power distributor, but this shipping box is large and heavy enough to mandate a luggage cart for haulage. Then I recalled Brian Ackerman, the importer of HB PowerSlave products, telling me that first look would be a shocker.  The HB PowerSlave Acrylic is one of those massively over-built products that... Read More »

Over the past 30 years, I have learned to tread carefully when exploring the world of tweaks. Experience has taught me that, with thorough due diligence, you can find tweaks that offer a significant degree of improvement in the sound quality of your audio system and in many cases they are keenly priced and offer... Read More »