NAD M23 Power Amp $3500 (200 w/ch or 700w mono) (5 1/4h, 17 1/8w, 15 5/8d, 22 lbs) NAD has just hit the bullseye on its new Masters Series power amp! It is priced quite reasonably and competes with any amp on the planet. It’s due to ship any day. How do I know how it sounds already? M23 is the power…

Amphion Helium 520 Towers $3200 Per Pair White or Black ($3500 in Walnut) (42 1/4h, 6 1/4w, 8 1/2d, 90 dB SPL, 35 lbs) Amphion has introduced a remarkably clean, stylish, super skinny tower. It is barely over 6” wide! Helium 520 is first and foremost, a delightful open/airy sounding speaker. It creates a broad and deep soundstage. While its bass isn’t…

A lot of us entrenched in the audio hobby aren’t young any more. I guess that’s an understatement. Many of us just don’t need a system to blast our brains out and assault our core. I’m finding more and more that my customers appreciate a speaker system that sounds magnificent at a moderate level. Amphion (Finland) with its Wave Guide Titanium Tweeter…

The marvelous Brazilian pianist, Nelson Freire, has died. He has been among the most admired pianists on the planet for 60 years. I own a handful of his discs and consider them must haves of the repertoire. It starts with Brahms OP5, the magnificent sonata #3. Nelson’s recording in 2017 on Decca has outstanding sound and his interpretation rivals any recorded. Next…

Visitors stop in to discuss and audition our products. That’s great! We invite you to do so. We are not aggressive car salesmen trying to CLOSE YOU. We love the hobby as much as you do and feel the most informed customer is our best client and future advertisement. We hope you’ll buy from us. We won’t try to strong arm you…

Some of my old, excuse me, veteran, customers have been noticing that Audio Emporium is literally bursting at the seams with inventory these days. As they have visited they’ve commented on how rare it is to see TONS of nice audio gear in stock and on display to audition. They keep telling me to brag up the assortment and even list, by…

Magnepan MG .7, $2000 Per Pair Black Cloth/Natural Oak Wood Magnepan’s beloved MG .7 has been unavailable for a year! Due to Covid 19 and the distressed supply chain, Magnepan has been unable to get the parts to build it. Magnepan predicted it could be as late as summer of 2022 before the MG .7 would become availability. All of us dealers…

Your speaker’s impedance matters!! A very low impedance presents a very difficult, even dangerous task for your amp to drive. We’re always encouraging amps, like NADs at reasonable pricing, that are able to drive low impedances. With an NAD you can buy whatever speakers you like the sound of, with no worry as to their impedance. But NAD is unusually OUTSTANDING at…

Isotek Syncro Active $2200 Isotek has created a sine wave rebalancer to rid your system of transformer hum and electronic backwash. Syncro Active is ideal for the customer who is also getting an Aquarius or Sigmas line conditioner. Dave’s Fave’s Syncro Peachtree Separates Peachtree’s range of electronics is made in North Carolina. How nice to have very well built and price competitive…

When people buy new streaming products like NAD’s M33, C658, C700 or a Bluesound Node, we often get calls related to the streaming feature. The problems are almost never with the new products. The problems relate to DETAILS pertaining to your Internet provider and to a greater extent, your home’s network system. Streaming audio puts much more demand on your network than…

The resurgence of vinyl is sure fun to see for us old goats, excuse me, veteran audiophiles. Young folks can hardly believe that LPs were our only format of quality up until 1982 when CDs made their mark. Yes we had pre-recorded cassettes & 8-Tracks, but I’ll stand my sentence #2. While the wave is riding high for vinyl, let’s look at…

MoFi MasterTracker MM Cartridge $800 One of the best phono cartridges on the market doesn’t get much attention. That would be MoFi’s MasterTracker. MasterTracker sounds smooth instead of biting. Yet it has outstanding definition and plenty of output to run into your MM phono preamp. If you love the piano without sibilance, please consider the MasterTracker cartridge. The name MasterTracker is derived…

MoFi UltraPhono $500 MoFi’s UltraPhono is the first phono preamp out there that deserves to be in an UltraSerious record playing system. There are many respectable phono preamps, but few cut the mustard in terms of MC performance/noise floor in particular. MoFi’s UltraPhono DOES, and for a very reasonable price. I’m recommending you run the UltraPhono and put the lion’s share of…

NAD M33 Integrated Amp $5000 (200×2) NAD’s M33 is perhaps THE BEST BUY in a high end integrated amp for a pile of reasons. $5k is a steal for this magnificent integrated amp/streamer. That’s right, it has an on board MQA streamer! NAD’s M33 is among the first products in the world to use the innovative Eigentakt amplifier circuit design. In short,…

How Did He Make It As A Professional Classical Pianist? Vikingur Olafsson is a professional classical pianist. He’s 37 and at the top of his game. It took him a while to get there. It’s an interesting path. If you’re a great pro athlete, stats usually make it clear that you’re a stand out. At 18 Bryce Harper hit 22 homeruns and…

You know I love to chide the rags. Stereophile’s Oct 2021 issue lists 478 recommended products. Yowza! Most of these are indeed fine products. Here’s a word of warning though. Please be sure you read this while lying down in bed. If not, you’ll likely fall over and sustain a concussion as you read some of the ridiculous pricing and foolish rankings/omissions….