Manufacturers of mains conditioners have been pushing their products for years. There has been no question that we have needed some level of protection from all the brown outs we get, whether caused by belches from the power companies, or thunder storms. It used to be, after a weekend of storms, we’d get half a dozen calls saying my gear has locked…

We just heard from a vendor who had a pallet full of gear stolen at a recent trade show. The vendor won’t allow us to publish who they are. You’ll see why. This gear is popping up for sale on various web sites, as demos, used, or even factory sealed gear. The thieves probably don’t know, or care, that the vendor keeps…

Bluesound Node 2024, $700 {8.7 x 1.8 x 5.7 in, 2.5lbs} Streaming music is massive fun! You can listen to almost anything you want in very high quality. Please start your streaming life with a Bluesound Node. The latest Node is called Node 2024. I’ll just call it Node for the rest of this piece. Bluesound is made by NAD. Bluesound is…

How much pepper do you like in your chili recipe? Do you like just enough to give it taste? Or do you want it burn a bit? That brings me to the topic of speakers, and audio gear in general. A speaker, for this discussion, will be the result of the “chef” or designer who created it. Just as we have different…

Hi-Fi mags are fun to read. The reviewers have access to far more gear than you or I can ever see. Magazines have traditionally helped us vet what might cut the mustard. I’m sorry to say, these folks are absolutely lost in space these days. They are of very little help to shoppers because of their ridiculous perspective on the hobby. Journalism?…

I received them Friday the thirteenth (I know, if I was superstitious, I wouldn’t do anything until Saturday, however I couldn’t wait), took tons of pictures of the unboxing and set up, once I had them in place and ready to go, I turned on my stereo system and away we went…

Hardly any other amplifier can look back to such a long product history as the Bryston 4B amplifier, which was introduced in 1976. Let’s repeat it again, yes in 1976! Only its little sister the Bryston 3B, which has been available even longer, and the likewise legendary Naim NAP 250 can look back at a similarly long family tree…

These speakers have excellent imaging and the sound stage is both wide and deep.The bass is very detailed with no boomy sound. They seem to be very tolerant to speaker location not having a major impact on sound quality…

Rega Planar 1 Turntable $595, Price Includes Rega Carbon MM Cartridge If you are diving into vinyl for the first time, or diving BACK into vinyl, and you don’t want to dive in tooooo deep, please consider Rega’s new Planar One! We know how excited people get at collecting records. The hunt is a huge part of the hobby. But please don’t…

A couple of weeks ago I bought myself a used Bryston DAC to pair with my new Merdian Media Core 200 and my well used Sugden Masterclass IA4 amp with Harbeth Monitor 30 speakers – yes, I live in England, a stone’s throw away from where the Beatles came from. I would say that your DAC is truly fantastic snd blends beautifully with my system…

Rega Planar 3 Turntable ($1125)Ortofon 2MR Blue Cartridge, $189This $1314 investment is a great point of diminishing returns, analog VALUE! We’re starting with the new Planar 3 table. Rega has improved its venerable Planar 3 to sound better than ever. Here are a few details that make Rega the class of its price range. *Belt drive (a must!) *Lightweight/rigid plinth, using a…

Bryston 4BSST-3 $7500, 300×2 Stereo Power Amp Bryston’s 4B-SST-3, dubbed “4B Cubed” is the latest rendition of this most famous of amplifiers. Bryston has made a Model Four since the 70s. Of course it has been updated about every five years along the way. It continues to be among the best amplifier values on the market. Why? First of all, the performance…

You’ve heard about tube based products. The proponents are ardent. They say you’re a fool to consider anything BUT. So you’d like to dive in. What makes sense? Rogue Rogue Audio is designed and built in Pa. Rogue makes fantastic integrated amps that those of us who work for a living… can actually afford. Before I go on to the specifics about…

Isotek is an English company, specializing in Power Conditioners and Power Cables that they manufacture in Europe. The goal of Isotek is not to just provide surge protection, but to provide IMPROVED SOUND for your hi-fi or AV system. There are two main sources of noise that muddle up your AC. Differential Mains noise is debris caused by all electronic appliances connected…

Bryston A2 Speakers, $3990 per pair Before reading about A2 here, please take a minute to read “Bryston Speakers”. I cover important information there and won’t repeat it all here. Now that you’ve suffered through my treatise on Bryston Speakers, let’s dive into A2. Bryston’s A2 at under $4k per pair is among the finest speaker values in our biz! It offers…

Neil Gader: “Former TAD helmer Andrew Jones, now with Elac, not only wowed audiences at Newport with the impossibly cheap ($229pr) compact Debut B5, but returned to RMAF with its big brother, the F5- a powerhouse 3-way floorstander at a ludicrously paltry $559pr… even jaded audio critics could be seen shaking their heads in disbelief.” “The Elac F5 go beyond just being…