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Reviews of Attainable Hi-Fi & Home-Theater Equipment

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Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 October 2024

Recently, my wife asked me what I was working on at the moment, and I froze for a second. I should have answered, “A review of TEAC’s VRDS-701T CD transport” ($2699.99, all prices USD). What actually came out of my mouth was, “That raises an interesting question: Do you, as a normie, have any clue what a CD transport is? As opposed to a CD player?”

Read more: TEAC VRDS-701T CD Transport

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 September 2024

Note: measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.

Reviewers' Choice What could anyone possibly expect from a pair of bookshelf speakers that you can buy on sale for a mere $69.98 per pair (all prices in USD)? “Not much,” you’re probably thinking. After spending time with a pair of Dayton Audio Classic B65 bookshelf speakers, I’d have to disagree.

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 September 2024

Of all the uncertainties that plagued this total vinyl newb when I finally got around to buying my first proper grown-up turntable, the one I struggled with most was how to deal with the onslaught of old vinyl devotees telling me that if I didn’t follow this, that, or the other rule precisely, I might as well not even bother. Getting a turntable that won’t let me set vertical tracking angle? Absolutely scandalous! And replace that felt platter mat immediately! With cork. No, wait, acrylic. No, wait, rubber. No, wait, leather. No, wait . . . kozo washi! Truth be told, I’m glad I ignored most of the mandates and explored all of these things in my own way and on my own time. But I must admit, I wish I’d listened to the people who told me that there’s simply no substitute for a good wet-cleaning system. It doesn’t necessarily have to be something like the Record Doctor X ($599.95, all prices USD). But it has to be something.

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 August 2024

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.

My toxic trait: I hate pandering except when it’s aimed at me. So much so that I sometimes see pandering where there obviously isn’t any. Case in point: I’ve written a lot here lately about solved problems in hi-fi and how I think audio manufacturers should stop trying to reinvent the wheel when the wheel works just fine, but rather focus their R&D dollars on ergonomics, styling, and technologies that still have plenty of room for improvement. So I can’t help looking at a company like Peachtree Audio—and a product like its new Carina 300 integrated amplifier ($1999, all prices USD)—and think that somebody there is listening.

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 July 2024

Reviewers' Choice Pro-Ject Audio Systems claims to be the world’s largest manufacturer of audio turntables by far, and I have no reason to doubt that claim. In addition to offering a comprehensive lineup of turntables under its own brand, Pro-Ject manufactures ’tables for other brands as well. Their products receive near-unanimous praise for their engineering, materials, and sonic performance.

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 July 2024

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.

As I’ve said any number of times, you’ll never find a completely unbiased audio reviewer. We’re human. We have our preferences. We like what we like. As such, it’s a personal policy of mine to bold, italicize, and underline any inherent bias when I sit down to write a product review. And that’s the only way I can think of to introduce a review of any piece of Arcam gear. The name “Arcam” alone gets me a bit excited, mostly because of my experiences with the company’s higher-end A/V receivers, but that excitement also spills over into two-channel products, such as the new Radia-series A25 integrated amplifier ($1499, all prices USD).

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 June 2024

Many of today’s best-known audio manufacturers have histories that date back to the beginnings of high-fidelity reproduction. Brands such as McIntosh (1949), Marantz (1952), and Thorens (1957 for their first turntable) have had long runs. Another company that dates back to the middle of the last century is TEAC, which was founded in 1953 in Tokyo. For the first few decades of its existence, the firm was noted for its excellent reel-to-reel tape recorders, and later, some very fine cassette decks.

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 June 2024

Yamaha’s R-N1000A Network Receiver ($1799.95, all prices USD), as I said in my unboxing blog post, represents a trend in audio that I absolutely adore. It is, in a sense, a two-channel A/V receiver, what with its HDMI ARC connection, YPAO room correction, and subwoofer output with legitimate bass management, but it doesn’t compromise on pure two-channel performance to make such accommodations (well, for the most part—more on that in a bit).

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 May 2024

Vera-Fi Audio isn’t well known to most audiophiles, but the company sells an interesting range of products, some of them designed in-house, others sourced from outside vendors. A few of these products border on the bizarre. For example, there’s the Meow ($165, all prices in USD) from Tombo Audio in Thailand. The Meow looks like a cartoonish sculpture of a cat. Put a Meow on top of a component, and it “will omni-directionally reflect the sound in good order,” Vera-Fi says on its website. “After the noise is cleared, the frequency bandwidth is easily separated. The micro-detail and harmonic could be instantly perceived.”

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 May 2024

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.

Reviewers' Choice I promise I’m here to review Marantz’s latest integrated amplifier, the Model 50, and not to relitigate a previous review. Before I get into the specifics of this evaluation, though, let me paint you a picture of what went through my head as I sat down to start writing it. A few years back, when my review of Marantz’s Model 40n network integrated amplifier–DAC went live, someone posted a link to it on Reddit, prompting a response from a Redditor named /u/mourning_wood_again, who thought he caught me slipping: