Reviews of Attainable Hi-Fi & Home-Theater Equipment

Most Popular Equipment

Details: Written by Thom Moon; Created: 15 May 2023

The number of turntables on the market has increased massively since 2010, and the number of phono preamplifiers there are to choose from has grown along with it. You need a phono preamp if your amplifier or receiver doesn’t have its own integral phono stage. Among the scores of outboard phono stages available today, you’re unlikely to find one like the Music Hall PA2.2, which is priced at $449.99 (all prices in USD). That’s because of its secret ingredient: an analog-to-digital converter (ADC).

Details: Written by Dennis Burger; Created: 01 May 2023

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.

I love it when I can look at a product’s designation and tell what it is and what it does without having to dig much deeper. Denon is really great about this with its A/V receivers, breaking the family into the S Series, X Series, and A Series, and keeping the incremental numbering consistent from year to year, so I can come pretty close to guessing a unit’s price and features just by ogling a string of letters and numbers such as “AVR-X3800H.” That sort of consistency isn’t unheard of in the two-channel world, of course, but we definitely need more of it. And based on the new MaiA DS3 ($1599, all prices USD), I’m guessing Pro-Ject Audio Systems agrees.

Details: Written by Thom Moon; Created: 15 April 2023

It’s been nearly 30 years since automatic turntables were widely available. In the intervening years, I can remember only a few that were in general distribution. But it seems that automatic turntables have suddenly risen from the dead, just like vinyl. Why? Because they’re perfect for the casual vinyl listener who wants a no-fuss record player. Recently, I had the pleasure of reviewing four automatic turntables: the Andover SpinDeck Max; the Dual CS 429 and its less expensive companion, the CS 329; and the Thorens TD 102 A.

Details: Written by Dennis Burger; Created: 01 April 2023

Note: measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.

If you want a stereo system capable of delivering truly deep, penetrating bass near the bottom end of the audible spectrum, you generally have two options: get yourself a pair of beefy tower speakers—ideally hybrid ones with powered bass sections—or opt for a 2.1-channel system with a subwoofer or two. But what if neither of those options works for you? What if your room requires something a bit more compact, and you either hate the look of subwoofers or you just don’t have the floorspace? That’s where something like Atlantic Technology’s AT-3 ($3298 per pair from authorized dealers or $3629 per pair via the company’s website, all prices USD) promises to be your best friend.

Details: Written by Thom Moon; Created: 15 March 2023

Reviewers' Choice This is my third review of a U-Turn Audio Orbit turntable. The first was in 2014, when I reviewed one of their early offerings, the budget-priced Orbit Plus. I reviewed the second in 2021, when I had the chance to audition their then-newest product, the mid-priced Orbit Special, which included a built-in phono preamplifier. I thought both were quite good, and they were both fine values at their respective prices.

Details: Written by Dennis Burger; Created: 01 March 2023

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.

Reviewers' Choice I wanted to start this review with a joke. Something to the effect of “What’s the exact opposite of a mullet?” And in case you’re not familiar with that particularly atrocious hairstyle and the humor surrounding it, the response would have been some ham-fisted attempt to describe NAD’s new C 3050 LE Stereophonic Amplifier (also referred to as a “HybridDigital DAC Amplifier”) as a party up front and all business in the back. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t make it work. But take a look at this thing, and you start to get a sense of why I was drawn to this unsuccessful dad joke.

Details: Written by Thom Moon; Created: 01 February 2023

Reviewers' Choice My first experience with the Fluance brand was some years ago when I reviewed their then-top-of-the-line XL7F floorstanding loudspeaker (now discontinued), which I found to be an amazing value. While the firm still makes several speakers for home audio/video applications, they’ve become just as well known for a line of turntables that retail for eye-openingly low prices. In keeping with this trend, the RT83, the subject of this review, sits squarely in the middle of their offerings but sells for a reasonable $349.99 (all prices in USD).

Details: Written by Dennis Burger; Created: 15 January 2023

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.

It’s not my intention to go full-blown “get off my lawn” on you here. But when I was growing up, it wasn’t difficult to know what to call a component with volume control, source selection, and built-in amplification. Did it have an AM/FM tuner built in? It was a receiver. Did it not? It was an integrated amp. That’s hardly helpful with a product like the new SVS Prime Wireless Pro SoundBase ($699.99, all prices USD), though. It lacks a radio tuner, sure. But it has so many other features that “integrated amp” hardly cuts it. SVS calls it a “smart integrated amplifier,” and I reckon that works.

Details: Written by Thom Moon; Created: 01 January 2023

Since my early days of audio madness, I’ve relied on Dual turntables, most of them automatic. Automatics are turntables that independently lift the arm and set it down on the lead-in groove, pick the arm up at the end of the side, return it to its rest position, and shut off the motor when done. So I was pleased to see that Dual had added a new automatic model to its lineup, the CS 329 ($499.99, all prices USD), a little brother to the more sophisticated CS 429 ($799.99) I reviewed back in October.

Details: Written by Dennis Burger; Created: 01 December 2022

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.

In a recent editorial about the appeal of vintage audio, I said, and I quote, “Build me a $1500 stereo receiver or integrated amp that looks anything like [the $9500 Technics SU-R1000 stereo integrated amplifier], and I think I could turn a lot more uninitiated music lovers into high-performance audio enthusiasts.” Needless to say, at $2699.99 (all prices USD), the Technics Grand Class SU-G700M2 integrated amplifier isn’t precisely that amp. Still, this new offering promises to be a much more value-oriented alternative to the company’s big-boy flagship, at a price that places it reasonably within the spectrum of attainability for many people, even if they’re not hardcore.