It was clear from the moment I knew I would receive Kondo OnGaku amplifier for a review that I would also want to listen to it together with my friends from Krakow Sonic Society. These meetings give us not only a chance to meet, talk and listen to some music together but most of all to... Read More »
I have been very excited about this review since the opportunity was presented late in 2016. The T+A PA 3000 HV integrated amplifier and PDP 3000 HV SACD/CD/DAC have both received many rave reviews over the last two years. The descriptive "rave" would be quite an understatement. Some of my audio buds with ears that... Read More »
The Esoteric K-01X SACD/CD player that I recently reviewed was an amazing performer. It was my first experience with an Esoteric product and I found it to be extremely impressive—one of the most impressive components that I spent time with in 2016. In support of my extensive series on integrated amplifiers, I was also given... Read More »
I have always been a fan of Ayon products. While many of their offerings are not for the faint of heart from a cost perspective you can generally count on the company to produce some of the finest gear around and you could spend a lifetime listening to an Ayon based system without complaint for... Read More »
Funjoe, the owner of CLONES audio, left his well paid job of a graphic designer to take on his life's true passion—audio. He is not the first as there were others before him like Silvio Pereira of Audiopax to name one, and he won't be the last, but surely he is among few who made such... Read More »
I'll elaborate on that later but let me start with information that products by Slovenian company Audio Alto are custom made—to be exact they are made to satisfy first of all needs and expectations of their designer, who says that "they reflect my [sound] philosophy". It's not only about perfect reproduction of the sound that preserves... Read More »
Gilbert Yeung, the owner and proprietor of Blue Circle, is an engineer and an artist. He is one of the most brilliant audio designers working today. But he could not care less about marketing. He does not advertise very much and does not openly solicit product reviews, preferring to keep the scale of his operations... Read More »
It so coincidentally happened that me and Wojtek, both love Japanese audio products. I admittedly prefer devices with tubes on board, but am also capable of appreciating solid-state devices manufactured in this country. It seems to me that almost every Japanese product apart from certain technologies, solutions, and so on, carries one more element that... Read More »
As I already mentioned once (in the review of Wow Audio Lab L1/M1 amplifier), Audio Show in Warsaw is a place for me to collect information. Not necessarily about the sound but rather about brands, products and people. But I always welcome a nice surprise, I mean a really good sounding system. Such a system,... Read More »
Over the past several years, one of the big topics in field of high end or perfectionist audio has been how to get new people, and especially younger people, to participate. That means not just getting a new generation to both appreciate better sound and gear, but more importantly, getting them to actually buy better... Read More »
While tracing the development of the Accuphase company for the last several years, I underestimated its approach to designing audio equipment for a long time, which was in evident contrast with my respect for the products themselves. They have always been and undoubtedly will continue to be a model as regards the quality of workmanship,... Read More »
It's hard to take eyes off new iFi products. This British company using logos, letters and design that all look like taken from Luxman, Leak, or Richard Allan products from 60ties or 70 ties, or from present production of Leben, entered a new (for them) niche part of a market usually called "vintage" (if you... Read More »
If you are a devotee of EL84 Pentode Tubes, or you require an integrated amplifier that kisses the music with power and elegance, E.A.R. presents the V12 Integrated Amplifier. From the soldering pen of Tim de Paravicini comes a product that majestically maximizes the venerable EL84 Pentode, for the first time in my memory illustrating... Read More »
I've been trying to remember how long have we known each other with Mr Eugeniusz Czyżewski and I've realized it's been 12 years already. The Pracownia Elektroniki Przemysłowej ORLIK, as Mr Czyżewski's company was called back then when we met, was just about to change its name to Argos and it was Argos IA-45 Integra,... Read More »
New audio brands emerging on the market have become an everyday experience. Each year I come across new brands, names and designs, the same with new ideas for a product. Less often, one can say scarcely, I come across new business ideas. The transition from a "device" (speakers, accessories, cables etc.) to a product is... Read More »
Four years ago, when some folks were worrying about WikiLeaks and toot-tooting their vuvuzelas, I spent two thoroughly enjoyable months listening to the Peachtree Audio iDecco integrated amplifier. At the time, I declared that the iDecco was the hands-down, no foolin', best option for anyone desiring a fast, thoroughly modern musical integrated for less than... Read More »
The Sophia Electric Family Sophia Electric is a family owned and operated enthusiast audio company located in Vienna, Virginia, that designs & builds premium vacuum tubes, vintage-inspired Hi-Fi amplifiers & preamplifiers, and low-powered amplification simpatico loudspeakers, all of which are intended titillate the fancy of high-performance audio devotees & music lovers. Sophia Electric also designs and builds various transformers, chokes, capacitors, and slow... Read More »
In 2013, tempted by the siren call of a full-range floor standing speaker, I sold my longtime reference, the sweet sounding single driver Omega Super Hemp Alnico, and moved to the multiple drivers of the Von Schweikert VR35 Export Deluxe. My current amp stable serves the music admirably, yet there is no question that the VR35s benefit from... Read More »