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Dean Waters at the Pacific Audio Fest, 2023: a portrait with cigar (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) The Tambaqui from Mola Mola represents the finest in high end DACs available for the serious audiophile who's looking for a no-compromise solution for digital-to-analog bliss. I've been listening to the Tambaqui for the last... Read More »

PREMIERE Fezz Audio is a company specializing in tube amplifiers. It is the audiophile branch of toroidal transformer manufacturer, Toriody.pl, also for audio applications. Fezz Audio was founded in 2014, and its first product was the Laura integrated amplifier. We are testing its Equinox digital-to-analog converter. This is its first test in the world. The... Read More »

Mid last year, I reviewed the Topping E70 Velvet DAC, which is a Delta-Sigma design that in my view offered astounding performance at a surprisingly low price point. Most of my love of the E70 Velvet revolved around its very cool implementation of the recent new production AKM chipsets, and its use of AKM's Velvet... Read More »

Digital playback technology is now commonly viewed as a mature field, where groundbreaking discoveries have already occurred, and the consumer can expect a higher level of performance, more features, and a lower price tag as the industry moves forward. After all, the first digital PCM recording was created in 1971 by NHK, and Sony and... Read More »

Totaldac is a French audio manufacturer, founded in 2010 by Vincent Brient. Its headquarters are located near Mont Saint-Michel, a rocky island in the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, in the English Channel. The company specializes in digital-to-analog converters and audio file players. It also offers a range of amplifiers, speakers and accessories to improve digital signal... Read More »

"As good as it gets?" I dunno know anymore. Every time we get something here to listen to, and possibly review, we sit there and think just that. Which of course, we thought that the last time… that it was as good as it could get, but now, this time, it is better than that,... Read More »

Greeting friends, I hope you are doing well! This article is about the Audio Note (UK) CD 5.1x Red Book CD player ($30,850 USD), a CD player that rewrites what kind of performance I thought was possible from CD players and the Red Book CD format.  A unicorn is a mythical creature of ancient lore:... Read More »

PREMIERE Ferrum is a Polish audio brand of the company HEM, one of the most experienced companies in this industry, designing and manufacturing devices for Mytek for 20 years before it went to their own. The first Ferrum product was the HYPSOS power supply. The second project was the OOR balanced headphone amplifier, the third... Read More »

The iFi Neo Stream network audio streamer is a sterling representation of smart audio design, boasting an open, musical delivery from a simple and compact chassis sporting clean angular lines and functional features. As such, it's a gleaming 21st Century take on form meets function, melding well with the natural and industrial elements of a... Read More »

Back in February, I received a series of unsettling emails from Dalibor Kasac, my contact at Euphony Audio in Croatia, telling me about a discovery they'd made concerning how ESS Pro delta-sigma DAC chips process native DSD. And that Euphony had gotten a couple of the new Topping E70 Velvet DACs that incorporated the newest... Read More »

The Grace m900 USB DAC Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923) was an Italian civil engineer, sociologist, and economist. Pareto was primarily responsible for shifting the focus of economics from theories of "moral philosophy" to being a data-driven social science. Pareto was the first to use the term "elite" in economic and social analysis and criticism. Vilfredo Pareto... Read More »

dCS is a British company based in Cambridge focused on development of digital audio sources—D/A converters, SACD and files players. It made its debut in 1987 in the military industry (radar). The first A/D converter, model 950, from 1989 was intended for recording studios, and only after some time they also designed versions for home... Read More »

Dialing in this DAC conjures an enchanted eye exam—however, instead of an optometrist switching lenses in a phoropter and asking, "Better or worse?", you swap 12AU7 tubes and focus on how they affect your music experience. As with eyeglasses, the optimal fit varies with each individual. It depends on a variety of factors—the room's acoustics,... Read More »

It used to be that when traveling out of state, I would tell people I was from Chicago. But in reality, it couldn't be further from the truth. I live in a suburb more than an hour north of Chicago and largely avoid going into the city. Lately, I have begun to be more truthful,... Read More »

Weiss was founded in 1985 in Uster, Switzerland by Daniel Weiss, previously an employee at STUDER, where he specialized in designing frequency converters used in its digital recorders. Until 2000, he specialized in digital devices for mastering studios, and later he proposed D/A converters for audiophiles. We are testing its top D/A Converter designed for... Read More »

One of the more commercially successful combinations in the audiophile sphere, over the past decade, has been the amplifier/digital to analog converter combo. You can now choose this combo component from dozens of brands from prices that vary very widely from a few hundred dollars for a basic, no-frills component, to models like the Boulder... Read More »

We started our downsizing journey four years ago. I've written about that journey in four parts beginning HERE. I thought that after four years of experience with our all-digital, headphones-only listening system, an update might be worth sharing. As we headed into the realm of digital-files-only listening, my heels were dug firmly into the dirt trying... Read More »

The world of digital audio progresses through a perpetual cycle of change, with a continual improvement process occurring that allows a listener to experience a degree of sonic excellence that was only hinted at when the compact disc was first introduced. In some cases these changes are driven by increasing sophistication of chip sets or... Read More »

Together in Bits and Pieces. First Bit. The least expensive way to get great sound out of your system is to "cheat." Don't buy new gear, buy really well recorded music. The sound your system exhibited with pedestrian recordings will now sound much better, because the source is literally better. This is no joke. Sure,... Read More »