Reviews

The Heretic A614 Speakers A perfect blend of new and legacy
Warning, these speakers tend to keep you cemented in your listening chair. The Heretics are “album side” speakers if that makes sense. Read More

The LSA Signature 50 Speakers Quietly Outstanding
In just over four decades of evaluating speakers, the most memorable ones always pull you in with an ease that may not always be as visceral and exciting as some of the flashier “best” speakers out there, but they’ve got staying power. Read More

The Harbeth 40.3 XD Speakers Paradoxically Great!
Enjoying music and audio is almost a spiritual journey. Some will even tell you it is. Your musical taste, hearing, budget, and where you are on your journey will determine how you will voice your system, and what components you will most likely gravitate to. Read More

The PrimaLuna EVO 300/Floyd Design Integrated All Together Now
The new PrimaLuna EVO 300/Floyd integrated amplifier begins its journey here with a PrimaLuna EVO 400 power amplifier (loaded with KT150 tubes) beside it on the rack. Read More

The SVS PB-1000 Pro and SB-1000 Pro Subwoofers Huge Audio Fun!
Here’s a twist for you. Normally, I’m always comparing cars to hifi gear. But not this time. There’s a great burger place in my neighborhood called Killer Burger, that plays metal music most of the time and their burgers all have great names. Read More

The EJ Jordan Marlow Speakers An Interesting Variation on the Small Box Theme
Listening to Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” is increasing the gravitational pull of the couch the minute I hit the play button. Read More

REL T/9x Subwoofer A New Standard
REL, often gets tagged on social media and mentioned in other platforms for their massive six-pack arrays, which are unquestionably awesome. Read More

The Parasound JC 1+ Monoblocks Real World Reference
Eyes closed, listening to The Allman Brothers Live at the Fillmore East, at close to concert hall levels for a few minutes (gotta watch the OSHA regs…) if someone whispered in my ear and said, “you’re listening to a six-figure pair of amplifiers,” I would believe them. Read More

The Vitus Audio SIA-25 Integrated The 25 Biggest Watts of All
Listening to John Hiatt’s Little Village collaboration, the delicacy presented is otherworldly good. The bass line in “Inside Job” is tight, controlled, defined and powerful. Read More

The Luxman L-590AXII In three acts
Not only did Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock’s “It Takes Two” make hip-hop history, the 1988 smash and pop-culture staple espoused a philosophy that mirrors a long-held high-end audio doctrine: Separate components (two) reign superior over their integrated brethren (one), unless the latter commands a far, far higher price tag than the comparable pieces. Read More

The Manley Snapper Monoblocks American Muscle and Finesse
Spinning Paul Weller’s “Beyond Sunset” just feels right through the Manley Snappers. Founder EveAnna Manley is currently a Southern California being, and these amplifiers instantly bring up that easy beach feeling. Read More

The Rega P10 Turntable and Apheta 3 Cartridge A Long Journey
Rega’s top table, the P10 is new again. Not new new, but Rega new, which means It’s been subtly updated in nearly every aspect. This warrants a two-tier review. Read More

The Manley Mahi Monoblocks A Quick Re-visit
Manley has not changed the circuit of their smallest monoblocks, the Mahi’s, but since this review came out in 2007, manufacturing costs and a crazy world economy has brought the price to nearly double what they were in 2006 when we first wrote this review. Read More

REVIEW: The Thrax Yatrus Turntable A New King
With turntables spiraling out of control, price-wise, a $100k turntable is no longer the talk of a madman that it once was. That said, I submit that a well sorted $20k-ish table/arm/cartridge combination is all you need. Read More

REVIEW: The Naim Uniti Star Everything you Need in a Single Chassis
Naim’s audio gear legacy extends a half-century, starting with their original amplifier design. From those humble beginnings, they’ve continued to create durable and great-sounding components. Read More

REVIEW – The FinkTeam Kim Speakers Small and Special
With all the internet banter about speaker “break-in,” (and, yes we do believe in it) you know a speaker is special when it sounds fantastic right out of the box. Read More

REVIEW – The Rega Kyte Speakers A Somewhat Different Box
The team at Rega Research is famous for somewhat out of the box solutions to engineering problems. In the case of their newest Kyte speakers, they take this to heart, using a phenolic resin material to mould the speaker enclosure rather than make it out of MDF. Read More

REVIEW – The LSA Warp 1 Power Amplifier Class D Redefined
We’ve been having a great time here at TONE with the new LSA products that Mark Schifter has been sending us. For those of you that don’t remember, he was one of the principals in Audio Alchemy and remains the king of high value/high performance audio. Read More

REVIEW: Naim ND555DAC and PS555 Power Supply A supreme DAC/Streaming option for your digital files
If you are considering adding Naim’s top digital streaming DAC to your system, and if by some chance you are not fully integrated into the Naim way of doing things, please read the instructions first. Read More

REVIEW: Eggleston Nico EVO Overachievers!
Tracking through the Supreme Beings of Leisure’s 11i, it’s impressive at how much low bass these small monitors can muster. Read More

The ZuAudio Omen Dirty Weekend You Really Need a Pair
So, it’s time to shop for new speakers. You set up your wish list of characteristics; Something that can sound great at both high and low volumes, Crystal clear high’s, solid low end, midrange with excellent clarity and accuracy, something that images like crazy, build quality that can last a lifetime, no sun fade, a speaker that can rock out for any party, a speaker that will let high rez files shine through for critical listening and, oh yes, your budget tops out at around $1,000, maybe a little more. Read More

The Stenheim Alumine 2 Speakers An Alternate Outlook
The guy that used to work on my Alfa Romeos in Scottsdale had a sign up behind his desk that said, “We appreciate perfection, as long as it’s real good. Read More

REVIEW: Canton Chrono SL586.2DC A Tough Name to Remember
Sometimes, I’m not sure what’s worse, products named after the designers child, or an obtuse numbering sequence? Oh well, look at what Elon Musk named his kid. Read More

REVIEW: The CAP An Analog Must Have
Listening to Jon Astley’s “Jane’s Getting Serious” (from his Everyone Likes the Pilot album) the Denon 103 fitted to a bone stock, vintage Technics SL-1200 sounds much better than this combination ever has. Read More

REVIEW: The LSA T-1 Turntable Ten Minutes From Box to Fun!
If you’re a beginning vinyl enthusiast, there are a lot of great turntables to choose from in the $500-$1,000 range. There really aren’t any bad choices, especially if you’re sticking with the majors. Read More

REVIEW: Harbeth C7ES-3 XD Further On Down The Road
Listening to the gentle interplay of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway on their classic track, “Where is the Love?” its panoramic presentation plays to the strength of Harbeth’s latest version of their ever popular Compact 7 monitor. Read More
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