Category: News
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AXPONA 2018: Checking Out The Big Show In Chicago (Elac, Hsu Research, Vanatoo)
The Audio Expo North America, better known as AXPONA, kicked off this past weekend in its new digs at the Renaissance Hotel & Convention Center in Schaumburg Illinois. The organizers moved it to a new location this year because it was getting kinda cramped over at the Westin in Rosemont, and the Renaissance with its many…
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Portable Hi-Res: MQA Streaming With Tidal Masters On the LG V30!
In January, I wrote a post called “LG V30: The Ultimate Hi-Fi Audiophile Review”, and in that post, I talked about MQA (Click here if you don’t know what it is), and how the V30 was the first smartphone to support that hi-res format. I fully understand that MQA, like hi-res music playback as a…
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Cambridge Audio Celebrates 50 Years With “Cost No Object” Edge Series
A little over a month ago, at a Cambridge Audio demo in Chicago, I heard about their new “cost no object” 50th Anniversary line that would be on display at the AXPONA show in April. So when they started teasing it last week on the Cambridge Audio USA Twitter account, I knew what they were…
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Updated: Elac Announces Sequel to Popular Speaker Line, Debut 2.0
Today Elac announced via their social media accounts a sequel to their popular Debut speaker line, the Debut 2.0. The original Debut line, designed by acclaimed speaker architect Andrew Jones, was his first project for Elac, and it garnered almost universal praise regarding the sound quality they achieved for a very low cost. The Debut…
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Cambridge Audio @ Saturday Audio Exchange in Chicago
Budget, DACs, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, Music, News, Power Amps, Speakers, Streaming, WirelessFor some reason I have a strange affinity for Cambridge Audio products. Due to their limited distribution in the U.S., I haven’t heard a whole lot of their newer stuff, save a short audition at last year’s AXPONA, and for those who have been to an audio show, you know the hectic atmosphere often limits…
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Monitor Audio Announces New “Studio” Bookshelf Speaker
Britain’s Monitor Audio has been releasing products this year at a fast and furious pace, and the flurry of new speakers continues with their announcement of a new Bookshelf, simply called “Studio”. The speakers seems to follow a similar design DNA to the Silver series, and that is a good thing, because this new speaker…
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Optoma NuForce and Massdrop Release New 3 Driver IEM for $99
The price of multi-driver IEMs continue to fall into budget territory, as Optoma NuForce and Massdrop collaborate on a new earphone with 3 balanced armature drivers for $99. Dubbed the EDC 3, it is an upgraded version of their Massdrop X NuForce EDC IEM, which is equipped with a single dynamic driver. What follows is…
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Watch It Wednesday: Introducing Nucleus By Roon
Last May, Roon Labs announced they would be releasing a Intel NUC based Music Server called Nucleus for their Roon Music management software, and it seems like they are beginning to ship to US Dealers. It also looks like Roon is promoting the newly available Nucleus by Roon with this flashy vid showing off the…
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AKG Now Accepting Pre-Orders on its $1000 5-Driver Earphone, Ships Mar. 4th
AKG‘s new “Reference-Class” Earphone, the N5005, is now available for pre-orders on the AKG website for $999.95, with free 2nd-Day shipping. Announced at CES 2018, the N5005, features a complement of 4 Balanced-Armature and 1 Hybrid drivers, along with exchangeable Sound Filters, and three different types of cables, including a Bluetooth adapter cable for wireless…
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Music Monday: Check out the 2018 Grammy Winning Jazz Albums!
Jazz Grammy winners don’t get enough love in my opinion, so I would like to give a shout out to all the Grammy winning Jazz albums! Here is a list of all the winners this year along with a Tidal Playlist dedicated to them! Congrats to the winners as well as the nominees! Best Jazz…
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Onkyo’s New PD-S10 DAP offers MQA, DSD and Tidal Compatibility at $499
Onkyo’s latest entry in the competitive luxury DAP market , the PD-S10, offers quite a bit for a sub $500 music player, including dual ESS Sabre DACs, MQA and Native DSD playback along with support for Tidal. It also has one piece aluminum construction, balanced headphone out, and 16 GB of internal storage expandable to…
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Behold the Kef LS50 Black Edition…
Pretty much anyone I know who has listened to the Kef LS50 mini-monitor for any amount of time, usually ends up with their jaw dropped to the floor as they encounter sound the magnitude of which they cannot fathom is coming from such a small speaker. The only complaint I have heard from some folks…
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Monitor Audio Takes the Wraps Off New Monitor Series
British Hi-Fi firm Monitor Audio, announced a new addition to their numerous speaker product ranges, this one simply called the Monitor Series. The line utilizes the same C-CAM dome tweeter from their entry-level Bronze Series speaker, and combines that with orange translucent MMP II (Metal Matrix Polymer) driver cones to handle the mid and lower…
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Klipsch’s New Reference Premiere Speaker Features Upgraded Design & Tweeter
Klipsch’s Reference Premiere speaker, which falls in the middle of their current speaker line between the standard Reference and Heritage Classic lines, is getting some cosmetic and technical upgrades for 2018. On the cosmetic side, there are new copper trim rings around the patented Tractrix horn, and Cerametallic Woofers, along with a new satin baffle,…
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ICYMI: Great Hi-Fi Content From Around The Web
This past week I read and watched quite a bit of interesting hi-fi stuff….check it out: Here’s a nice feature from What Hi-Fi breaking down what Hi-Res Music is, and how to integrate it into your listening room… https://www.whathifi.com/advice/high-resolution-audio-everything-you-need-to-know This is a well-written story from the New Yorker that actually came out a couple of…
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Watch It Wednesday: Chord Electronics Hugo 2 – The Legend Remastered
Chord Electronics posted a cool new video on their YouTube channel yesterday promoting the highly regarded Hugo 2 DAC, the upgraded version of the original Hugo DAC, which was already considered to be one of the best portable DAC’s ever made. The vid breaks down the internal and external features of the new HUGO, and…
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Arcam Releases 2 New Integrated Amps + SACD/CD Network Streamer
Arcam makes some of the best audio gear out there, so i’m excited to hear about their new HDA range they are showing at CES this year. The line is made up of 2 new integrated amps, both with digital inputs, ESS DAC chips, and learning back-lighted remotes. Along with the 2 amps, they also…
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NAD Enhances Its Best-Selling Digital Amplifier, The D 3020
Today, NAD Electronics released an upgraded version of their popular digital amplifier, the D3020. The new model, the D3020 V2, sports a new front panel, as well as a new Moving Magnet Phono Stage, which was not included on the older model. Along with the upgrades, the D3020 V2 also has a lower list price…
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Audio-Technica Debuts Advanced-Technology QuietPoint® Wireless Noise-Cancelling Headphones, In-Ear Headphones with Pure Digital Drive, Top of the Line Turntable and More
What follows is a press release from Audio-Technica: STOW, Ohio, Jan. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — At CES 2018 Audio-Technica is premiering a host of products including the ATH-ANC700BT QuietPoint over-ear wireless active noise-cancelling headphones, the ATH-DSR5BT, Audio-Technica’s first wireless in-ear headphones to feature exclusive Pure Digital Drive audio technology, the new top of the line AT-LP7 turntable and more. “At…
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5 Hi-Fi Writers You Should Follow Right Now
If you are the type that eats, sleeps, and breathes audio…here are 5 writers that will help feed your Hi-Fi addiction… 1. Steve Guttenberg @AudiophiliacMan – If you’ve been into hi-fi for any amount of time, then you’ve probably read something by this man. He posts daily thoughts about the hi-fi hobby that always get…
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