What’s a great full range speaker system for $2090? They’re made in N America, not China. They’re made in their own house, not by a job house half way around the world. They’re made with drivers made by themselves, they’re not buying drivers from a vendor. The speakers I’m describing are Bryston Tiny A stand mount speakers, augmented by a JL Audio…

Evgeni Kissin, Piano Beethoven wrote prolifically for the piano. His sonatas are multi-movement works that are simply unsurpassed. They’re the true red meat of piano music. Here’s a chance to hear one of the best pianists in the world, playing in some of the best recording halls in the world – on pianos that have been scrupulously prepared for the recording. This…

JL Audio Double Subs Most hi-fi guys know that it’s very tough to get tower speakers to produce bass as deep and powerful as a good subwoofer. Much less TWO good subwoofers. Bryston is among the very few speaker companies who can give you such prodigiously deep bass in a tower that you might think- well, I really don’t need a sub….

In an earlier post I guesstimated there must be 500 or more speaker makers out there. As I’ve done more research, I’m going to double that guesstimate! “Companies” range from a one man band in a basement or industrial park space to very sophisticated industrial operations. With a thousand or so entities to consider, how do you pick the one that’s right…

Bryston A1s vs Kef Reference 5 Meta Kef brags on its site, “The flagship model that all other high performance loudspeakers compare themselves against.” OK. Let’s compare. Kef Reference 5 Meta $22k Per Pair Built in UK, 5 year warranty 55.2h, 12.7w, 18.4d, 133 lbs, 4 ohms 1” Aluminum tweet, 5” Aluminum mid, Four 6.5” Aluminum woofs 40-35k +/- 3dB, SPL 88d…

Stereophile is the ugliest audio mag out there. But I still enjoy reading it for CONTENT. There are things to learn every month if you fight through the fine print. By ugly I mean, it always has tiny pictures and even tinier captions. I don’t need glasses to read. But with Stereophile, it’s GETTING CLOSE! Sometimes it’s hard to even be sure…

Bryston Active Impresses!

Tubes! Rogue Sphinx V3 Integrated Amp $1700 With Remote (5h, 17w, 15.5d, 25 lbs, 100×2 into 8 ohms. 200X2 into 4 ohms) One of my favorite integrated amps on the planet is the tube driven Rogue Sphinx V3 (Version 3). When Rogue went from V2 to V3, it incorporated some important changes that made it a much better performer. Rogue insists that…

Further Thoughts Regular readers of our site know that I’m an avid silver disc fan. If you want to stream or play vinyl, that’s fine with me too. But you likely have a collection of silver discs that you haven’t heard to their finest. First of all, what a concept! Buy a disc. Put it in a machine and hit play. It…

Perhaps the toughest task when producing an affordable loudspeaker is to achieve great BALANCE. Achieving warm, full bass at a reasonable price point ain’t easy! High Frequency Response It’s easy to get the high freq balance you want by using any number of tweeter designs- along with employing a plethora of crossover tools. Attaining great speed and transparency is challenging. But choosing…

Mains Conditioner: A Vital Component! (7-20-23) I’ve been in the audio hobby since 1970. I’ve had my own audio store since 1975. It’s only been in the last decade that Mains Conditioners have not only gotten better, but become indispensable components in a highly resolving music system. If you don’t clean up the line hash coming from your wall, the resolution of…

I stared reading The Absolute Sound with issue #1 in 1973. It was a wonderful addition to the hi-fi rags of the day as HP and his helpers introduced us to the sound of products well beyond the range of our local stores. Our locals were either poorly capitalized efforts by well meaning hobbyists or chains just interested in “shifting boxes.” In…

Bryston A1: $4990 Per Pair {47.5h, 9.25w, 17d, 71 lbs, 88 dB SPL, 4 ohms} They’re baaaaack! My fave sub $5k speakers are at long last back in the house. Covid 19 put Bryston behind the 8 ball as much as any company out there. After three long years of being at least 6 months behind on product delivery, Bryston is catching…

(13.5h, 8.5w, 8.25d, 90dB SPL, 8 ohms) To get more background on Bryston speakers please take a minute to read “Bryston Speakers”. The background story and speaker technology is described there. This entry is specific to the Tiny A. The warranty on all Bryston speakers is 20 years! Tiny A: Hot Off The Presses! Up until now, Bryston has only made 3-way…

More Bryston Speakers!

(3.325h, 17 or 19w, 11.53d, 10 lbs, Available in Black or Silver) I’m a huge CD fan. It’s still my favorite way to listen to music. You put the CD in the tray, hit play, and listen to music. It’s simple. It sounds great. No clicks and pops. There’s no time wasted with maintenance. I play albums all the way through. I’m…