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…

Bryston A110: $2300 For An Amazing Speaker Array! Two grand is a popular price point in the speaker market. What’s the best value for about $2k? Let’s up the ante a little bit because $2300 gets you into a WHOLE NEW WORLD for just a little more money. The majority of offerings in this range are Chinese imports. Most are flimsy, booming…

Rega Planar 2 Turntable $895 Price includes Ortofon Red MM Cartridge If you’ve done some home work on record playing machines I’m betting the name Rega isn’t new to you. Rega is a family owned company that still makes its turntables in the UK. There are distinct advantages to giving a rip about how you make mechanical devices. That… is what separates…

When I read hi-fi magazines I usually blow right past reviews of uber expensive equipment. I don’t really care what’s going on with gear that nobody can afford. I made an exception this weekend when the beautiful Sonus Faber Amati G 5 was reviewed in the Brit Hi-Fi News (Aug ‘23). Amati G5 at $36k per pair is gorgeous. I don’t sell…

Bryston: Accuracy Over Preference