I’m very excited about our new business partner, Atoll Electronique, from France. Atoll makes a fantastic, innovative line of gear that carries a 3 year warranty. And yes, the gear is MADE in France. For openers, I’m happy to be able to offer affordable electronics that aren’t made in China. I am fed up with Asian job houses punching out IC laden,…

Exquisite, Affordable Electronics From France! Atoll Electronique was founded in 1997 by brothers Stephane and Emmanuel Dubreuil. Their laudable goal was to create a line of great sounding electronics at fair price points, actually made in France, instead of China! The warranty is three years. Atoll procures over 80% of their components from France. Most of the rest they get from the…

Let me make clear that the following RANT is based on economics and ethics, not race. The world has changed since Covid hit us in March of 2020. Our biz hasn’t been the same since. The audio industry has gone largely cookie cutter in the last few years. Company after company is hiring the same Chinese OEM vendors to make gear for…

Bryston Meets Axiom In 2010 James Tanner (Bryston CEO) designed a loudspeaker for Bryston to use as a tool to evaluate its electronics. James wasn’t happy with commercially available speakers by the big names due to limited bass, dynamic range and sound stage. So he created his own! Bryston hired a friendly Canadian company down the road a piece, Axiom, to build…

What are the boys are writing about this month? The Dec issue is often fun because it has their Product of the Year (POY) winners. Let’s see what’s up. Speaker Measurements JA says that to measure a speaker accurately without an anechoic chamber is impossible. He has tried to do so outdoors with no wind or traffic to try to get an…

Had I known back then what I know today — I would have bought this amplifier years ago and been more than satisfied for the long-term.

McIntosh MA8950 Integrated Amp: 200×2 McIntosh won’t let dealers post pricing on their higher end gear. That’s their rule and we have to comply. How many players are in the field on a baseball team? Mac is still made in Binghamton, NY, with luscious blue meters. It’s the coolest looking and most reliable gear in our business. Have you heard… we don’t…

The analog signal path is a fully balanced design, using an array of very tightly matched components and a compact circuit design to achieve the lowest possible noise and superior common mode rejection. With the new balanced inputs/outputs of the BP-19, we have been able to make significant improvements in performance.

Grado RS 1x Headphones $750 Grado’s new RX 1x headphones offer a host of technological innovations to deliver conspicuously warmer, more musical sound than mass oriented brands. They are distinctly less bright and zingy than highly advertised brands that don’t use Grado’s TLC. It starts with Grado’s 50mm X series diaphragm. The diaphragm is twelve percent larger and more responsive than that…

New Bryston’s have arrived at Audio Emporium!

I was feeling nostalgic today so I thought I would put together some of my early first memories of this long Bryston journey.

Rega Turntables Of England Rega was started by Roy Gandy in England in 1973. He and his wife still run the company! Audio Emporium has sold Rega since we opened in 1977. Rega’s niche has always been to make great sounding, affordable tables. In the early years, Rega made the turntables, but bought tonearms and carts from other sources to round them…

Mytek Liberty 2 DAC $1500 (1.74h, 5.5w, 8.8d) Mytek Liberty 2 is so good, and so fairly priced, that a good argument can be made for not having to spend a penny more, or less, in a great DAC. First of all, there’s no reason to buy an outboard DAC unless it whups what’s in your CD player or streamer. I’m telling…

The audio industry has gone largely cookie cutter in the last few years. Company after company is hiring the same handful of Chinese OEM vendors to make gear for them. They’re doing it with speakers and electronics. The market has become FLOODED with badged mediocrity. For not a lot more money, you can do much better. But first, let’s analyze how we…

Nobody has a perfect listening room. With virtually every visitor I meet, one of their first comments is, the audio system has to work around the living room, not vice versa. “I have a weird room.” Practically every living room is comprised of hard surfaces on the walls and ceiling. Most likely the floor is carpeted, or has a large rug. With…

Rogue Audio of Pennsylvania makes some of the finest tube audio gear on the market. The musical performance challenges the most pricey gear out there. Owner/operator Mark O’Brien is a bit of a throw back to the good old days where the owner/designer ran the show. With almost everyone else these days, the brand name has been sold to a hedge fund…