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I came upon Paradox Pulse quite by accident while pursuing eBay looking at some used amplifiers. What first caught my attention, and the reason for my contacting them, was the rebodied and retipped Denon 103 R cartridges they were offering. Officially known as a the Paradox Pulse Guard3 R SMR. That will be the subject... Read More »

This is the second of the new Sumiko Oyster series of cartridges. A few months ago I reviewed the Moonstone, the unit directly up the line form the Olympia (HERE). I found the Moonstone to be an exceptional bargain at the $299 price point. My expectations of the Olympia were to follow suit. So what... Read More »

The Constellation Audio Inspiration 1.0 Linestage and pair of 1.0 Stereo amplifiers, driving the GamuT Flagship Zodiac Loudspeakers. From the Beginning For a company that just recently celebrated only its 8th birthday, Constellation Audio has proven itself virtually unparalleled in both accomplishment and acceptance. My first take was at their 2010 CES introduction, where I... Read More »

I was recently introduced to Mytek, a company out of Brooklyn, NY that specializes in digital electronics. Not being known for being the go-to guy for digital I thought the opportunity to try something completely different was something I could not pass up. Suffice it to say right up front that I am glad that... Read More »

"I feel the need—the need for speed!" (Peter "Maverick" Mitchell, Top Gun). Speed control that is! Whether it's jets or a turntable's speed... it all matters. We've all heard the chipmunk like squeals of a 33 1/3 rpm LP mistakenly played at 45 rpm, or the unholy dirge of a 45 played at 33 1/3.... Read More »

I know George Cardas through his charming daughter, Mary Cardas. Angela, his other daughter, skillfully grows the company while George continues to do what he loves best:  explore, invent, and improve the ways we audiophiles may more fully enjoy our grand hobby. Though I have never owned any products made by Cardas Audio, I have been... Read More »

Congratulations to Fedor Rudin! The Vienna State Opera has appointed him to fill one of their vacant co-concertmaster positions. I am tempted to say "Even better" that in parallel with that, he will be on probation for two years as an (I assume co-) concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic. (So, yes, I have a slight bias... Read More »

Wolfgang Kemper, guest contributor from HiFi Statement The Boaacoustic cables' colorful unique design quickly catches your eye. This is an advantage when you want to stand out in the wide selection of cables on the market. Just what qualities are hidden beneath the colorful exteriors? Oh no! No more cables! That was my first reaction as... Read More »

Courtesy www.maritasolberg.com; photo credit Felix Broede. Marita Sølberg: Opera Arias. Opera arias by Catalani, Mozart, Gounod, Bizet, Leoncavallo, Puccini, Bellini, Rachmaninoff, Dvořák, Verdi, and R. Strauss. Norwegian National Opera Orchestra. John Fiore, conductor. CD Simax Classics PSC1336 Say "Hello" to Marita Sølberg! Marita Sølberg's name was unknown to me when I stumbled upon her upcoming new release (which came out in 2016, which... Read More »

PS Audio has been steadily developing as a high-end manufacturer since 1974, despite the trading of leadership on various occasions. Paul McGowan, the "P," and Stan Warren, the "S," were the founding partners. Stan left in the early 80s to found Superfon. Paul would leave in the 90s to join Arnie Nudel, having a hand... Read More »

Boulder electronics, out of Louisville, Colorado, has been diligently creating some of the finest audio components in the world since 1983. Founded by Jeff Nelson, Boulder's vision has largely been aimed at the state of the art, and those with deep pockets. For instance, the 3050 monoblock amplifiers will rip $245,000 from your accountants bare... Read More »

Ortofon is a Danish company celebrating 100 years of commitment to excellence in the manufacture of audio related products, best known for its Analog Cartridges. Included in the extensive cartridge line up are tone arms, step up transformers, DJ related gear, and a host of micro manufacturing capabilities spanning many different industries.  In the beginning... Read More »

Hey Positive People! The last time we spoke, I was in the midst of bouncing between two rigs set up in my basement—one using several on-loan items:  the Modwright PH150 with the surrounding components that completed it (PS150 power supply; VPI Prime Scout; LTA Ultralinear amplifier and Microzotl amp; Daedalus Audio Athena v.2 loudspeakers; and... Read More »

"Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building!" Perhaps an odd opening title bar anywhere but here in Las Vegas. For the last 20 years I have attended CES almost every year save for a couple of misses along the way. In all those years it was a struggle to get out of work to... Read More »

Or how to set up speakers Did you ever experience a situation where the loudspeakers that sounded so great in distributor's showroom after you bought them and placed them in your room sounded as if they were broken? If you did, almost certainly the reason for that was the acoustics of your listening room, and... Read More »

My relationship with box sets? Well, you might say its complicated. I recently reached the 100 mark with box sets in my collection, a bit of a milestone for me. This seemed like a great time to share some of my observations about collecting them, potential issues, the hurdles I've encountered and the solutions I've... Read More »

The JBL L100 Classic are new JBL loudspeakers that allude to the iconic JBL L100 speakers from years ago. The original JBL L100 were introduced in 1970 and it was a consumer version of the popular JBL 4310 Pro Studio monitor. Over time, this model has become the best-selling JBL loudspeaker of all time (source:... Read More »

I am hearing through the grapevine from high-end in-ear monitor users that finally, a manufacturer has produced a model so extremely detailed and comfortable, you are not still hungry for more after using them. That it has totally achieved the important criteria of true continuity of frequency response from 20-20,000Hz, definition at all frequencies equivalent to state... Read More »

Time was (and largely still is) when the use of subwoofers in a two channel, high end audio system was considered at the very least controversial, and heresy to the more vehement opponents of the idea. Having subscribed to this purist view myself, I didn't bother much with them over the years and as a... Read More »