Mytek Digital is based in Brooklyn, N.Y., not far from where I live. Mytek has been around since 1992, and its consumer and professional audio products are conceived and at least in part designed by Mytek’s founder, Michal Jurewicz. The man is one of the happiest engineers I’ve met, and if you ask Jurewicz a …
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I’ve favorably reviewed a bunch of Noble Audio headphones over the years, including some really expensive ones, so when I heard the company’s most affordable model — the Massdrop x Noble X — I wanted to try a pair ASAP. The best part? For a limited time these audiophile-grade in-ear headphones are half price at $250. That price converts to …
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I have a long history with Focal speakers. I spent years selling them when I was an audio salesman in the 1990s, and I owned a pair of their Mini Utopia speakers at the time. Still, it’s been ages since I reviewed a Focal, so it’s about time I get reacquainted with their speakers, starting with their Sopra No. 1. …
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Last Friday morning I had the distinct pleasure of hearing the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” sound better than ever. That might not seem possible, but to celebrate the iconic album’s 50th anniversary on June 1, a brand new version of the album will be released. Giles Martin, son of the late Beatles producer George Martin, and engineer …
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The Luxman LX-380 is a vacuum tube integrated stereo amplifier with a long history, it’s the 12th-generation model, which originated with the SQ38 amp that debuted in 1963. Luxman was founded in Japan in 1925. I went to Adirondack Audio’s New York City showroom to check out the amp. Even before I listened I noted the exquisite tactile feel of …
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The Samsung HW-K950 and Sonos Playbase are two of the finest sound systems I’ve heard in ages. The HW-K950 is a four-piece sound bar-wireless subwoofer-wireless surround speaker system with a $1,299/£1,299/AU$1,999 price tag, and the PlayBase is a $699/£699/AU$999 sound base. Both were favorably reviewed by Ty Pendlebury here on CNET, and those reviews have in-depth information about the products. …
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When the Sennheiser HD 414 debuted in 1968, all other hi-fi headphones were big, heavy and painfully uncomfortable. Not only that, they were all closed-back designs, HD 414 was the world’s first open-back design, Sennheiser dubbed it “Open Aire.” The HD 414 looked, felt and sounded like nothing else, and it forecast the future direction of headphone sound. The first …
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It’s starting to feel like the bulk of home-theater buyers have determined the optimum number of speakers is one: a single sound bar. The classic, five-speaker home-theater setup, with three front speakers — left, center, and right, plus two surround speakers, and a subwoofer — is fading fast. Yet most of the AV receivers on the market are 7.1-channel designs. …
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Audiophiliac readers might have noticed I don’t cover Bluetooth headphones, mostly because I feel the sound compromises, compared with similarly priced wired headphones, are too great. Sure, I’ve heard a few passable BT headphones, but the appeal of wireless audio is lost on me. So while the wireless headphone market is booming I haven’t been tempted to review a BT …
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I get this question all the time: “Hey, Steve, do you have anything for me that’s affordable, small and sounds great?” Now that I’ve spent some quality time with this little Emotiva amp, it’ll be the one I’ll start with. The BasX A-100 stereo integrated amp is built like no other $229 amp I’ve ever seen. It delivers 50 watts …
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