Featured Articles

Bowers & Wilkins 683 Floorstanding Loudspeakers

Bowers & Wilkins 683 Floorstanding Loudspeakers

It is a sad state of affairs, but there are fewer and fewer high...

Belles Soloist 1 Integrated Amplifier

Belles Soloist 1 Integrated Amplifier

I have noticed Belles preamplifiers and amplifiers at most of the shows I have...

Focal Chorus 807W Prestige Loudspeakers

Focal Chorus 807W Prestige Loudspeakers

After having initially reviewed a small bookshelf speaker (the Living Sound Audio LSA.5 ($799),...

AXPONA 2012 Coverage

AXPONA 2012 Coverage

Read on for my coverage of AXPONA 2012 held in Jacksonville, March 9-11, 2012....

Cambridge Audio Azur 751BD Universal Blu-ray Player

Cambridge Audio Azur 751BD Universal Blu-ray Player

Regular readers will know that I advocate keeping a CD or SACD player in...

Daily News and Reviews

Dolby TrueHD with Advanced 96k Apodizing Upsampling

May 17, 2012
Dolby TrueHD with Advanced 96k Apodizing Upsampling

“Dolby Laboratories, Inc. today announced the ability for studios, authoring houses, and mastering facilities to unlock the full sonic potential of television, movie, and music content, further elevating playback performance of lossless audio on Blu-ray Disc(TM). Blu-ray Discs premastered using Dolby(R) TrueHD with advanced 96k upsampling can now deliver to consumers a full-range high-definition...
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Octave MRE-220 Integrated Amplifier

May 17, 2012
Octave MRE-220 Integrated Amplifier

“Taking advantage of the high-power KT120, these German push/pull pentode mono amps based on the firm’s existing MRE-130 scale up the latter’s power supply and output transformer to increase power from 130 watts to 220 watts RMS into 4 ohms. Peak impulse power is 300 watts. Power bandwidth at full output is 20Hz –...
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Capitol Audiofest – July 13-15, 2012

May 17, 2012
Capitol Audiofest – July 13-15, 2012

“The 2012 CAF is again at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Rockville, MD just minutes north of Washington DC. Our 2011 event had lots of traffic from our regional audiophile friends so must have done something right! The rooms of this venue are oriented well for most any audio system and will accomodate intimate...
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Goldmund Partners with Triode Corporation in Japan

May 17, 2012
Goldmund Partners with Triode Corporation in Japan

“Goldmund announces the creation of its new distribution center in Asia “created in collaboration with Mr. Junichi Yamazaki, president of Triode Corporation who has lifelong experience of the high-end industry. It will promote Goldmund with an entirely new approach through the introduction of products that are completely original and with technologies developed by Goldmund...
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KingRex USB Cable

May 17, 2012
KingRex USB Cable

“The company’s new 2m ‘power-separated’ Unanimous uArt USB cable runs the power and signal lines on physically separated double-shielded legs like Acoustic Revive and applies cryogenic treatment to their silver-plated oxygen-free copper conductors sourced from WireWorld. The plugs sport full aluminum shells and 24K gold-plated copper-alloy contacts. The cable geometry supports 480MBps in full...
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Audio Electronics Introduces Nighthawk Headphone Amplifier

May 17, 2012
Audio Electronics Introduces Nighthawk Headphone Amplifier

The Nighthawk is an all-new design, featuring top quality parts mounted on a thick gauge fiberglass circuit board. A power transformer, rated at three times what is required for the amplifier’s design, feeds a fully regulated discrete power supply for the best sound quality. Operating in Class A throughout, the Nighthawk’s front end is...
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Naim Announces Major Updates for All Server Products

May 17, 2012
Naim Announces Major Updates for All Server Products

Naim have announced three updates for their HDX, UnitiServe, and NaimNet hard disc player/server products at the Munich High-End show: a new 2 TB hard drive is now standard on all non-SSD models, the n-Serve control app has been updated to allow for metadata manipulation, and there is a new software version available for...
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Naim Debuts New NaimUniti 2

May 17, 2012
Naim Debuts New NaimUniti 2

Naim unveiled the next iteration of their original award-winning all-in-one player, the NaimUniti 2, in Munich last week. The new model includes all of the features of the original NaimUniti, but with several key updates and improvements. Product Overview The NaimUniti was the original Naim all-in-one player, with CD playback, USB, streaming, and internet...
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Synergistic Research Tesla Series Power Conditioner

May 17, 2012
Synergistic Research Tesla Series Power Conditioner

Jude Galvin has posted a review of the Synergistic Research Tesla Series power conditioner and accessories ($399-$1250) at Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity. His conclusions: “Remember the Enigma bullets? They are sitting in the same drawer I placed them in months and months ago—there was nothing about the sound I wanted to...
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Von Schwiekert VR-35 Export Deluxe Loudspeakers

May 17, 2012
Von Schwiekert VR-35 Export Deluxe Loudspeakers

Greg Borrowman has posted a review of the Von Schwiekert VR-35 Export Deluxe loudspeakers ($7995/pair) at AVHub. His conclusions: “And indeed once I became accustomed to the sound of the VR-35s my overarching impression was of a large and majestic sound field that delivered impressively room-filling sound, a bit like Phil Spector’s ‘wall of...
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Teresonic Silver EXP Interconnects and Speaker Cables

May 16, 2012
Teresonic Silver EXP Interconnects and Speaker Cables

Jack Roberts has posted a review of the Teresonic Silver EXP interconnects ($1485) and speaker cables ($4485) at Dagogo. His conclusions: “The Teresonic Silver EXP cables are surely in the very top echelon of audio cables. No, the Silver EXPs aren’t quite as good as Teresonic’s own Gold interconnects, but at the price of...
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Denon Announces Trio of New Audio Video Receivers

May 16, 2012
Denon Announces Trio of New Audio Video Receivers

Denon Electronics announced three mid-range IN-Command Series of network-capable, home theater receivers featuring a streamlined new design, built-in AirPlay and 4K video capability. The new models, include the 7.2-channel AVR-3313CI, AVR-2313CI, and 7.1-channel AVR-2113CI (photo top), which replace last year’s AVR-2112CI, AVR-2312CI, and AVR-3312CI receivers. The new line adds a robust new content services...
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Optoma Launches 1080p 3D Wireless HDMI System

May 16, 2012
Optoma Launches 1080p 3D Wireless HDMI System

Optoma, worldwide digital projector designers and manufacturers announce the WHD100, a 1080p 3D Wireless Projection system for streaming video content wirelessly from HDMI equipped sources to any HDMI equipped Optoma projector. The WHD100 is fully HDMI 1.4a compatible and is therefore capable of streaming 1080p formats including 60Hz up to 7m in any room....
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M2Tech Releases New Statement DAC

May 16, 2012
M2Tech Releases New Statement DAC

“M2Tech’s new statement converter is a 32/384 async USB unit with a plethora of socketry including word clock, ST glass fiber, 2 x coax, 2 x BNC, 2 x AES/EBU, 2 x Toslink, I-squared-S on Ethernet and USB. Outputs are 6.3mm headphone and RCA/XLR. Conversion is via eight DACs (four per channel in...
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Simple Design Sonore/exD DSD DAC

May 15, 2012
Simple Design Sonore/exD DSD DAC

Product Description The Sonore/exD DSD DAC is an asynchronous USB digital to analog converter capable of native DSD and standard PCM playback. Note: Not all DAC chips are created equally and some actually convert DSD data to PCM internally. The Sonore/exD DAC chip receives DSD data and does not convert it to PCM internally....
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47 Labs Model 4733 Midnight Blue USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier

May 15, 2012
47 Labs Model 4733 Midnight Blue USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier

Jack Roberts has posted a review of the 47 Labs Model 4733 Midnight Blue USB DAC, analog preamplifier and headphone amplifier ($2000) at Dagogo. His conclusions: “The Midnight Blue 4733 is quintessential 47 Labs in the best sense of the word. That is musical, emotionally involving; and at the same time clear, transparent, and...
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Bryston BDP-1 Digital Player and BDA-1 DAC

May 15, 2012
Bryston BDP-1 Digital Player and BDA-1 DAC

Suave Kajko has posted a review of the Bryston BDP-1 digital player ($) and BDA-1 DAC ($) at Canada Hi-Fi. His conclusions: “Having spent a few months in my equipment rack, I can truthfully say that the Bryston BDP-1 digital player and BDA-1 DAC make one heck of a powerful team. In combination with...
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Cambridge Audio Azur DacMagic Plus DAC

May 15, 2012
Cambridge Audio Azur DacMagic Plus DAC

Vince Hanada has posted a review of the Cambridge Audio Azur DacMagic Plus ($650) at GoodSound! His conclusions: “Cambridge Audio’s Azur DacMagic Plus is a fantastic audio component and an even more phenomenal value for the money. For only $650 you get a digital preamp, a headphone amp, and a truly excellent DAC —...
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Synergistic Research Element Copper, Tungsten, and Copper-Tungsten-Silver Interconnects and Speaker Cables

May 15, 2012
Synergistic Research Element Copper, Tungsten, and Copper-Tungsten-Silver Interconnects and Speaker Cables

Howard Kneller has posted a review of the Synergistic Research Element Copper, Tungsten, and Copper-Tungsten-Silver interconnects and speaker cables ($1200-$7500) at UltraAudio. His conclusions: “Incredibly, with the new Element cables, Ted Denney III has pulled another rabbit out of his hat. Compared to the Tesla line, the Elements offer not only greater simplicity and...
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MartinLogan Ethos Electrostatic Loudspeakers

May 15, 2012
MartinLogan Ethos Electrostatic Loudspeakers

Edgar Kramer has posted a review of the MartinLogan Ethos electrostatic loudspeakers ($6495/pair) at AVHub. His conclusions: “MartinLogan’s concerted efforts in introducing novel technologies have paid off in terms of addressing the electrostatic design’s various inherent Achilles’ heels. For starters, the speaker certainly excels at explosive bass crescendos; the ample in-built power and high-quality...
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