January
2026

Celebrating
Our Spectacular 30th Anniversary!
Honoring Enjoy the Music.com's
exceptional articles and reviews.
During 2026, Enjoy the Music.com
will feature historic audio gear reviews and articles during our past 30
years. As always, in the end what really matters is that
you... enjoy the music!
High-Performance
Audio & Music Industry News
Essential high-end audio news you need to know.
Stay up-to-date on the latest audiophile and music industry news.
Get Ready Audiophiles And Music
Lovers, It's Coming!
Hmmmm... what we can expect from 2026?
Editorial (Mainly) By Roger Skoff, With Slight Additions By Steven R. Rochlin
Happy New Year from all of us here at Enjoy the
Music.com!
This is going to be a great year! After a fitful 2025 now in the rearview
mirror, both the music industry and our own luxurious high-fidelity audio
industry—the companies and people who bring us the audiophile gear we use to
enjoy the music—are poised to reach new highs and to reach more people than
at any recent time! We live in interesting times, CDs are back, reel-to-reel
tape thriving, vinyl LPs... and an abundance of true lossless Hi-Res Music
(20-bit/88kHz and higher) digital streaming to everyone in the world. Change is in the air. Can you hear
it? The music business enters 2026 with a kind of renewed energy
it hasn't felt in a long while. Streaming is still the engine, but it's no
longer the only story. When it comes to profits, physical media and merch
provide an excellent return on investment. Subscription numbers for streaming
services continue to climb, and even the ad-supported side—after uncertainty
through much of 2025—seems to have found its rhythm again.
--->
Get Ready Audiophiles And Music Lovers, It's Coming!

Passport To Sound: An Invitation To What The Audio Show Can Become
Bringing fun and education to young music lovers and future audiophiles.
Editorial By May Anwar
Every Saturday morning of my childhood began with Beethoven.
The Appassionata Sonata or Symphony No. 5 spilled from my father's turntable at
a volume that stirred my heart before I was fully awake. The turntable sat on a
heavy wooden credenza, its glass lid closed like a museum case. We children
could admire the record collection stored inside but were never allowed to touch
the equipment itself. The system was sacred. Surrounded by music, I assumed I understood it. Years later, I
realized I had only been granted access to listen but had never truly learned
what made a system sound good. When I received my first cassette player as a teenager eager
for independence, I traded quality for freedom and never looked back. By
college, I had forgotten what music was meant to sound like. I listened to
compressed, flattened tracks through cassette players, then MP3 players, and
eventually voice-activated devices that made listening even more casual.
--->
Passport To Sound: An Invitation To What The Audio Show Can Become.
The Sound Of A Milestone As hi-fi+ Achieves 250 Issues
The ever-evolving landscape of high-end home audio gear as we enter 2026.
Editorial By Alan Sircom
We made it! 250 issues of hi-fi+. And the stars aligned to make this celebratory issue our annual Awards... just in time for Christmas, too. It
doesn't get much better. OK, so perhaps the free Rolls-Royce with a glove-box filled with Patek Philippe watches for every reader we were hoping to give away this issue might have been a little better, but only a
little! Keen calculating types might point out that 250 monthly issues would put the first issue of
hi-fi+ back in February 2005, and yet the magazine was launched back in 1999. So what
happened? For the first ten years of the magazine, hi-fi+ was a true periodical. The magazine was a quarterly at first, then moved to a bi-monthly, and only became a monthly magazine in January
2013. From the outset, the magazine set a high standard. We maintain that audio is a luxury product and, if you are reading about it, then
it's best to do so in something that looks and feels luxurious. Alongside the high design values, by-product of high-quality paper gave us the reputation of being
'the best smelling magazine in the audio business.' Sadly, some of the olfactory boons of the past have stayed in the past, as print stocks change over time, but we have tried as much as possible to keep the luxury
touches.
---> The Sound Of A Milestone As hi-fi+ Achieves 250
Issues.
You Had One Job
Consumer electronics show promoters should look at trends carefully.
Editorial By J. Martins
The audio industry events calendar is looking busier than ever for 2026. At the time of writing for this issue of
audioXpress, we are looking at a busy CES and NAMM Show, even with clouds of uncertainty hovering above both events. The surprising part is that, even with Trump tariffs and the erratic US administration policies, China is returning to CES in force. The Las Vegas Convention Center
(LVCC) will reopen its doors in full after extensive multiyear renovations, and remarkably, the South Hall ground level is already fully booked by manufacturing and design suppliers from China. The South Hall upper level will not be used for this edition, but CES exhibit numbers are still impressive considering the economic and political
climate. The LVCC North Hall is again a vibrant space for connected, smart devices, AI, language translation, mobility, and sustainability. The Central Hall will return to the traditional Gaming and Audio and Video hub, with China taking over 50% of the area, replacing the dominant position once held by Japanese and Korean
brands.
---> You Had One Job.
Inside Capital Audiofest 2025: Exclusive Show
Report & Latest Gear
New high-end audio trends, top hi-fi gear, plus audiophile insights and
cutting-edge innovations.
Welcome to
Enjoy the Music.com's comprehensive Capital Audiofest 2025 show report. Capital Audiofest (CAF) 2025
took place from November 14th to 16th at the Hilton Rockville in Maryland, continuing its legacy as the East Coast's largest and most beloved high-end audio show. The event
was open for all music lovers from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, offering three full days of immersive listening experiences, gear demos, and community engagement. Founded in 2010 by Gary Gill, CAF
continues to grow from a grassroots gathering into a cornerstone of the North American audiophile calendar, drawing enthusiasts, engineers, and manufacturers from across the
globe. Our Capital Audiofest 2025 show reports are now online and being
updated through December. Be sure to read our exciting, exclusive,
and expanded coverage of CAF 2025!
---> Inside Capital Audiofest 2025: Exclusive Show Report & Latest
Gear.
Must See Best Hi-Fi — Best Of Capital Audiofest 2025 Blue Note Award Winners
Capital Audiofest 2025 Part 3 showcases the finest luxury home audio gear, plus notable honorable mentions.
Capital Audiofest 2025 Show Report By Rick Becker
Enjoy the Music.com's highly desirable Best Of
Capital Audiofest 2025 Award is not a race, with first, second, and third
place finishers, but rather a celebration of the heights achieved by the
industry at a given show. Shows are a place to improve your listening skills and
learn what products and tweaks push the envelope of what is possible at many
price points. Moreover, since your own listening room at home does not likely
resemble the rooms at a hotel, you have to translate what you've heard at a
show to fit your own room and the lifestyle implications for your particular
situation. I reviewed my findings from almost all the rooms at the show
and made a list of 44 impressive rooms I considered contenders. That's over a
third of all the rooms and a good reason to celebrate the vitality of the
industry. Hopefully, the economy will reward the efforts of so many
manufacturers, distributors, and retailers in the coming year.
---> Best Of Capital Audiofest 2025 Blue Note Award
Winners.

Vitus Audio SIA-025 Mk.II Luxury Hi-Fi Int. Amp — The Definitive Review
A masterful and musically satisfying experience that had me magically mesmerized.
Review By Dr. Matthew Clott
Caveat: Yes, the Vitus Audio
SIA-025 Mk.II solid-state integrated amplifier, as reviewed here, has
been out for many years. So why review it now? Well, for starters, wouldn't you
say yes if you were asked to review it?!? Secondly, I think that with the
introduction of some new similarly-priced integrated amplifiers and a new interest in
truly reference high-end audio performance at this level, it would be irresponsible of us here
at Enjoy the Music.com not to remind you that the new stuff is not always
the best. Sometimes we must look to the established to reinforce what our
references actually are. Thirdly, sometimes a review after a unit has been out
for some time helps to re-evaluate its place in the market as its price matures
with the flow that has represented the high-end audio world in recent years. Vitus Audio's founder, Hans-ole Vitus, fell in love with music
at the ripe old age of 12. That passion developed into a lifelong obsession with
audio perfection as he matured.
--->
Vitus Audio SIA-025 Mk.II Luxury Hi-Fi Int. Amp — The Definitive
Review.
World Premiere Review!
Reaching Into The Life Of Music: Esoteric K-01XD SE SACD / CD Player &
DAC Review
In service to music, and to experiencing a life fully lived.
Review By Dr. Michael Bump
"Practice makes perfect." As with
performing music, audiophilia is a practiced art, defining a very personal
journey through a sequence of inspired choices and construction. Perhaps better
stated, "Practice develops awareness." It is why musicians and audiophiles make
for natural bedfellows. The art of reproducing recorded music at the highest
levels is every bit a practice, fluid through expanding awareness and knowledge,
at once governed by the absolutes of science, yet is subjective to artistic
freedoms and interpretations. Many audiophiles ascribe to a practice of
recreating the live musical moment as faithfully as possible, while others favor
a specific aural character that defines a personal aesthetic. Ultimately, the
jury lies not with the court of public opinion, but with those personal values
honed through enlightenment, education, experience, and preference.
--->
Reaching Into The Life Of Music: Esoteric K-01XD SE SACD / CD Player & DAC
Review.
Pure Power, Pure Pleasure — Pass Laboratories X600.8 Mono Amplifier Review
Quietly powerful, exquisitely precise sound that delivers recording-studio clarity.
Review By Tom Lyle
The Pass Laboratories
X600.8 monoblocks did not simply arrive — they announced themselves. Two Pass Laboratories X600.8
monoblocks for review here at Enjoy the Music.com, each a 123-pound monument of metal and circuitry, crossed my threshold and turned the upstairs listening room into a battleground for gravity. Their bulk filled the doorway, their presence
and proportions, and for a moment the house felt like it had been claimed by something far more serious than furniture.
Furthermore, I needed a little help getting them into
position within my listening room. Besides being quite heavy and quite large (19" x
21.5" x 11" WxDxH), my listening
room is on the top floor of our home. On their website, Pass Labs says that the Pass Laboratories
X600s can "...effortlessly drive the most demanding loudspeakers to musical
nirvana." With 600 Watts under the hood, it should be obvious that these
monoblocks can drive just about any pair of speakers one can think of....
--->
Pure Power, Pure Pleasure — Pass Laboratories X600.8 Mono Amplifier Review.
SVS' SB-5000 R|Evolution Will Not Be Televised — It
Will Be Felt!
Deep bass with exceptional musicality, bass speed, and a potent 2000 Watts!
SVS SB-5000 R|Evolution Subwoofer Review By Rick LaFaver
If Santa missed the mark on giving you the gift of deep, room-shaking bass this
year, meet the SVS 5000 R|Evolution SB-5000 sealed subwoofer — the sub that
transforms your music listening experience (it's not only for movie explosions).
Within this review, Enjoy the Music.com tests the SVS SB-5000 active
subwoofer with 2000 Watts from a real-world stereo perspective, showing how a
high-performance subwoofer can do more than boost LFE at 80Hz: it fills the gap
where your speakers naturally roll off, adds authoritative low-end detail, and
restores the rhythm, weight, and physical deep bass connection to your favorite
tracks that have been missing… until now. The SVS subwoofer was tested alongside my reference Vapor
Audio Cirrus loudspeakers and go-to Arte Forma amplifier, aiming for a musical,
real-world setup. I tried the preamplifier output so the SVS could receive
a full stereo analog feed and make the most of its 295 Hz Analog Devices DSP and
the SVS app's fine-tuning.
--->
SVS SB-5000 R|Evolution Active DSP Subwoofer Review.
World Premiere Review!
Stunning Design And Mind-Blowing Bass: MC Audiotech TL-8 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review
This sculptural speaker is a must-hear conversation starter for true music lovers.
Review By Bob Grossman
I have had the MC Audiotech TL-8 floorstanding loudspeakers within my home for the
past two months, allowing me to experience them thoroughly, given my experience
with many recordings in a variety of genres, as well as comparisons between CD
and LP sources. As I sat in my living room writing for Enjoy the Music.com,
I felt like I was out on the lawn enjoying a concert under the stars in Saratoga
Springs, the Mann Music Center, or Bravo Vail outdoor theaters. Few people look
for speakers that capture the unique sound of an outdoor performance. But my
brother Michael pointed out that the Grateful Dead hated studio recording and
rarely did it, instead preferring that fans enjoy live outdoor performances. Then Michael was captivated by the sound of the TL-8s speakers
and said he felt transported back to San Francisco in the 1970s.
--->
MC Audiotech TL-8 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review.

Nirvana Audio Chronos Optimizer Review: Big Sound In A Small Package
If you value sensational sound, the Chronos delivers delightful audio.
Review By Rick Becker
One
of the reasons I like to visit every room at audio shows is the possibility of
discovering a truly outstanding new product. That's exactly what happened when
I ventured into the Nirvana Audio room on the 5th Floor at AXPONA
2025 this year.
Here is what I wrote in Part 7 of my show
report: The name Nirvana struck a chord because of the American rock
band, but I couldn't picture any audio components with that brand name. When I
entered the room and saw some familiar gear hosted by a pair of Asian gentlemen,
I still could not connect the dots. As I took a seat during my show report for Enjoy
the Music.com, among the others in the room, it became apparent that the
room was dedicated to a comparison listening test. But what? Eventually, I realized the little dark item on the counter at
the right edge of the photo was the Chronos Optimizer pictured on the scrim in front of
the window.
--->
Nirvana Audio Chronos Optimizer Review.

Luxury Sound That Won't Break the Bank: Hegel H150 Streaming Amplifier Review
A great value for audiophiles and a smart buy for music lovers.
Review By Paul Schumann
Last
year, I was lucky enough to review the Hegel H400 Streamliner, an integrated
amplifier with a built-in streamer. It was a well-designed piece of equipment
that sounded great. When I was offered to review its smaller sibling, it was an
easy yes for me. The H150 Streaming Amplifier is Hegel's newest integrated
amplifier on loan here at Enjoy the Music.com. The very clever engineers
nicknamed it "The Prodigy" because, while being an entry-level product, it is
loaded with features normally found on more expensive units. Hegel's H150 Streaming Amplifier is quite a
bit smaller than their H400, with a footprint of only 17" x 13.8" and weighing in
at 21.4 lbs. This meant it easily fit within my stereo cabinet, and I didn't have to
bust a gut to get it there. An added plus! It has the same elegant design as the H400, and the
fit and finish are superb.
--->
Hegel H150 Streaming Amplifier Review.
Our Verdict Is In: IsoAcoustics GAIA I Neo Series Isolation Feet Review
An evolutionary product that has been gaining traction over the years.
Review By Rick Becker
In a time long ago, well, it was the early 1990s, and audiophiles in greater
numbers were accepting that cables and power conditioners could really make an
improvement to sound quality. "Perfect sound forever" was coming to the
realization that even with digital music, improvement was necessary, giving
birth to the stand-alone DAC. Reviews on tweaks like the IsoAcoustics GAIA I Neo
isolation feet / footers and such were rare, though now here on Enjoy the
Music.com. And back then, Tiptoes were the solution to improving the
resolution of components, while floorstanding loudspeakers had spikes to keep them
anchored in the floor and drain vibrations from the cabinets while limiting
vibrations coming up from the floor... or so the story went. After a decade of being a novice audiophile, covering the
Montreal shows from the mid-1990s on, and finally becoming a valuable product....
--->
IsoAcoustics GAIA I Neo Series Isolation Feet Review.


How A Vinyl LP Record Is Made
We tour Quality Record Pressings / Acoustic Sounds vinyl LP pressing
plant.
Vinyl LP Pressing Plant Tour By Steven R. Rochlin
Enjoy
the Music.com and Enjoy the
Music.TV invite you behind the scenes for an exclusive tour of the Quality Record Pressings (Acoustic Sounds) vinyl LP pressing plant. This special presentation takes you into the heart of a facility dedicated to preserving the art and craft of analog sound, showing how passion and precision come together to make the records collectors and audiophiles
cherish. On the factory floor we join plant manager Gary and owner Chad Kassem as they walk us through each stage of production. From the initial mastering and lacquer cutting to the creation of metal stampers and the actual pressing of vinyl, they explain the purpose of every step and the reasons each detail matters. Their hands-on approach and decades of experience make the technical process accessible and
fascinating. Guiding the tour is Steven R. Rochlin, Creative Director of
Enjoy the Music.com, whose commentary ties the factory's methods to the listening experience. He highlights how choices made during production—materials, temperature control, and quality checks—directly influence the final sound.
--->
How A Vinyl LP Record Is Made.
Tube-Powered Perfection: Nagra Tube DAC + Classic PSU
Review
Nagra's vacuum tube DAC & Classic PSU = Luxury listening & modern music magic!
Review By
Tom Lyle
Nagra
is a Swiss audio equipment manufacturer that has been in business for over 65
years. Their professional portable tape recorders were an industry standard for
many decades, even appearing as props in many films and television shows. Their
reputation was rock-solid even before they started manufacturing high-end audio
equipment in the 21st Century. Because of this, and because of the fine high-end audio
components they've been designing and manufacturing since 2012, I suppose there
are many audiophiles, and plenty of non-audiophile, who might add the Nagra Tube
DAC and its matching Classic PSU power supply to their systems without an
audition, or without reading reviews on the subject. They might not even discuss
this purchase with anyone else, other than perhaps their significant other. Less than two years ago I reviewed Nagra's most current
linestage, the Enjoy
The Music Legendary Performance award-winning Nagra Classic Preamp.
--->
Tube-Powered Perfection: Nagra Tube DAC + Classic PSU Power Supply Review.
Unleashed! Audio MusiKraft Polished Lithium Nitro 2 Cartridge Review
Discovering the joys of a new realm in listening enjoyment.
Review By Bob Grossman
Audio
MusiKraft's polished Lithium Nitro 2 cartridge with Ipe wood inserts is a
dramatic enhancement of the classic Denon 103 that performs in a nuanced,
balanced, lively, engaging, musically satisfying way with having a stunning
bejeweled shell. While the cost is way beyond that of the basic 103
cartridge, so is the performance! The MusiKraft cartridge will be
appealing to the most discerning and demanding audiophile and can be the
ultimate tunable piece of equipment for bringing listening enjoyment. Deciding upon a cartridge can be a complex and difficult
challenge for any audiophile. Cartridges are not usually an item that can be
borrowed to easily install at home for a demo evaluation. One beneficial
advantage of this cartridge is the ability to be adjustable to any system,
which was evident after listening to this innovative tunable cartridge for
nearly a year on various pieces of equipment. Audio MusiKraft Lithium Nitro 2
cartridge, as reviewed here, is gorgeous looking in the metal shell and interior wood
casing.
--->
Unleashed! Audio MusiKraft Polished Lithium Nitro 2 Cartridge Review.

Glowin' n' Groovin': DS Audio DS-E1 Optical Phono Cartridge + ION 001 Vinyl Ionizer Review
If you crave sonic purity, silky textures, and
jaw-dropping dynamic scaling, the DS-E1 delivers!
Review By Maurice Jeffries
My first
encounter with DS Audio's fascinating line of optical cartridges and matching
phono energizers (the term that DS Audio uses to describe the outboard power
supply/phono equalization units supplied with each cartridge) occurred at the
2020 Florida Audio Expo Show, held last February in sunny Tampa, Florida.
Musical Surroundings distributes DS Audio's growing line of products here in
the United States. In the Musical Surroundings suite, company head honcho Garth
Leerer and his team put together a swell little system headlined by the
affordable and overachieving Maggie .7 speakers, a stem-to-stern suite of Rogue
electronics, Wire World cables, an eye-catching cobalt blue AMG Giro turntable,
and matching arm, this fronted by an entry-level DS Audio DS-E1 optical
cartridge and matching phono energizer. Although there wasn't much bass on
offer (the little .7s only dip down to about 50Hz or so), where this impressive
system played, it played with a conviction, resolve, and momentum that commanded
my undivided attention.
--->
Glowin' n' Groovin': DS Audio DS-E1 Optical Phono Cartridge + ION 001 Vinyl Ionizer Review.


The Intro
Editorial By Art Dudley
Passions run high among music lovers. We vilify "bad" musicians (the ones we dislike), and we elevate marginally functional savants with a couple of 2-minute singles and some album filler under their belts. When it comes to more unique and productive figures like Phil Spector, Jimi Hendrix, Wilhelm Furtwängler, John Cage, or [insert your own heroes and villains here], music fans either revere them as gods or dismiss them as meaningless. Sometimes there are shades in between, but perspective is at a premium. This tendency to paint things black or white spills over to the equipment we use to play back our favorite recordings. I've seen the cognoscenti dismiss people on the basis of no more information than their choice of power amp, though I suspect few of us are quite so one-dimensional in truth. Anyone with an internet connection can publish broadsides proclaiming their love for equipment and music and aim verbal barrages at their musical "enemies." Why is this so? Where's the root of this passion for these sounds and this gear?
---> Art Dudley's Intro Article
From Listener.

Try A Screen Driven Driver Stage
Article By Rikard Berglund
Some output tubes (211 and 845) need a very high drive voltage with low distortion. Some tube freaks have used the 300B tube as a driver but it is very expensive. Others have tried to use a triode connected EL34 but it is not linear enough. A pentode driven on the screen grid is very linear. I have tried this concept in a new driver stage, as shown on the accompanying schematic. The first two tubes V1 and V2 form an asymmetrical mu-follower. V3 is a screen grid driven pentode. Adjust the potentiometer R9 to 350V DC at the plate of V3. You can use many different tubes for V3. I made distortion measurements for some different tube types with the results given in table 2. EL36 and 5881 are the two best tubes. The linearity of these two tubes in this "enhanced" mode is even better than for a 300B tube used as a driver. The sensitivity of this driver stage is so high that it can be used direct with a CD player. Use an 100k ohm pot as volume
control.
---> Try A Screen Driven Driver Stage.

Rare
Birds
Listening impressions of some collectible equipment.
From VALVE Volume 2 Number
6 June 1995
There, I hope that helps keep anyone from getting to upset, because I'm going to be honest about what I thought of some very highly touted equipment. Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to audition a Marantz 7 preamp and 8 power amp which were consigned to me. Both pieces were in excellent electronic shape and very good to excellent cosmetic shape. The preamp had been checked out and a new filter cap installed by Audio Classics, the guys in New York who sell all the Mac stuff for huge prices. Both units had been freshly re-tubed with ARS tubes, and were driven daily by their owner, a high end audio dealer. The output tubes in the amp appeared to be relabeled GE 6CA7s, but I won't commit to that. So I got the stuff home and listened to it. I used the Magnepans so as not to taint my impression with my yet to be debugged. Both Ways speaks. Sources were a Kenwood L-07T tuner, a cheap Technics CD, and a Thorens TD160 with Grado MC+ moving
coil....
---> Rare Birds From VALVE
Magazine.


North America Premiere Review!
Bowers & Wilkins 603 S3 Floorstanding Loudspeaker
Review
The truth, and nothing else but the truth.
Review By Ron Nagle
Like the ravens at the White
Tower, I cannot think of a more iconic audiophile symbol of England than Bowers
and Wilkins. That's of course if you happen to look at the world through audiophile
eyes. John Bowers and Roy Wilkins met during World War II while both of them
were serving in the Royal Signal Corps. They began business as a radio and
electronics retail shop located in the town of Worthing England. Bowers &
Wilkins was founded in 1966 in Worthing, West Sussex, England. John Bowers
started the business we now know as Bowers & Wilkins. At that time he was no
longer involved with the retail shop. The first speaker production line was
established in the retail shop's backyard. In 1970 Bowers decided to develop a loudspeaker wholly built
in-house. The sizeable DM70 from 1970 combined electrostatics mid-and-high range
drivers on top of a traditional bass unit. The distinct shape of the loudspeaker
won a British Industrial Design Award. Good press reviews allowed the company to
prosper.
--->
Bowers & Wilkins 603 S3 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review.

World Premiere Review!
Finalé Audio F-6 Hommage EF86 Edition Vacuum
Tube Integrated Amplifier Review
How low can you go?
Review By Paul Schumann
Sometime
in the mid-1990s, I was in a music store and noticed an audio magazine on the
rack I had never seen before. It was Issue 12 of Sound Practices. I
flipped through it and was fascinated by its retro take on audio, so I made the
purchase. I read every article, but Herb Reichert's Causal Reactions
column struck me to the core. This was back during a time when Herb Reichert was
an arts school teacher and his vacuum tube efforts were dedicated towards DIY. His basic
argument was this: the best way to evaluate an audio system is how it allows you
to feel the emotions in your music. All other criteria are secondary. I know I've reduced a beautifully written article
into a simple statement. But this statement leads the reader to the next
question: What kind of system allows you to do this?
--->
Finalé Audio F-6 Hommage EF86 Edition Review.
AGD Productions SOLO Limited Edition GaN-Power Monoblock Amplifiers And Andante Mk II Preamplifier / DAC / Phonostage / Music Streamer Review
The apex of musical reproduction in ways no other Class D design has yet achieved.
Review By Dr. Michael Bump
As a classically
trained percussionist / composer whose forte gravitates towards modern chamber
music, I naturally seek out and explore the most current of musical ideas –
Those that delve into sonic territory yet undiscovered. Contemporary percussion
recognizes the fundamental responsibility of the percussionist-as-inventor.
Indeed, we percussionists are creatures donning many hats, an amalgam of
scientists, naturalists, engineers, archeologists, et al, compelled to follow
the sonic siren of our artistic goals, unconventional or otherwise, that
ultimately shapes our art. We are musicians in search of a sound, whose
obsession it is to seek the source and its means of actuation (Yes, in the right
hands, everything is a potential musical instrument!).
--->
AGD Productions SOLO Limited Edition GaN-Power Monoblock Amplifiers And Andante Mk II Preamplifier / DAC / Phonostage / Music Streamer
Review.
World Premiere Review!
Wells Audio Innamorata III Stereo Power Amplifier Review
Incredible voicing, seductive soundscape, and high-performance musical pleasures.
Review By Ron Nagle
As an audio manufacturer and owner of Audible Arts,
Jeff Wells is at the very foundation of what drives high-end, high-performance
luxury audio. Need proof? Then read the below review of the Wells Audio
Innamorata III power amplifier to truly grasp the outstanding nature of this
product's design and engineering. Jeff Wells is an old-school entrepreneur who
founded a family business in 2014 with only $2600 of spare parts and a great
idea. There would be no high-quality audio today without small startups and
visionaries who are willing to take great risks. And I say thanks to that group
of audio entrepreneurs whose innovations are the lifeblood of our hobby! Let's
take a look at the new Wells Audio Innamorata power amplifier.
--->
Wells Audio Innamorata III Stereo Power Amplifier Review.
A Musical Joy To The World
Ways to spread holiday cheer to music lovers.
Article
By Roger Skoff
Christmas,
Chanukah (or Hanukkah), and Kwanzaa plus other celebrations are fast approaching and, if you
haven't already decided who on your holiday gift list gets what, from where, this year, try giving
music. Everybody loves to hearken to the herald angels singing and, if the stories are true, old Wenceslas really was a pretty good king. We also love to hear about merry gentlemen resting without dismay; about how Jimmy Dodd saw his mommy kissing Sana Clause; and how, even despite the
Grinch's efforts in a different story, the light from Rudolf's nose saved Christmas
eve. Some of us even like to remember that old dreidel we made out of
clay... or new fuses for our audio gear.
---> A Musical Joy To The
World.
Enjoy the Music.com Exclusive!
Métronome Technologie Launches Their World-Class Kalista
Mantax DAC
Musical revelations in Vienna!
Coverage By Greg Weaver
Thursday morning, November 16th (2023) found myself on an
airplane bound for Vienna, Austria. I had been invited to the private launch
event for the new flagship Kalista Mantax DAC, to be held at the Adagio Vienna
City Hotel on Saturday, November 18th. The Adagio Vienna City sits just south of the
Donaukanal, an
arm of the nearby Danube River, and just immediately west of where the Wiental
Kanal flows into it, bordering Vienna's city center. This places it just inside what is known as "The Ring," the
popular name given to a series of wide tree-lined boulevards that encircle
nearly the entire center of the city. "The Ring" is about six and a half
kilometers long (~ four miles) and arguably offers more historical sights lining
its edges than any other road in the world.
--->
Métronome Technologie Launches Their World-Class Kalista Mantax DAC.
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