Most music lovers first got acquainted with digital audio in 1982, the year the CD came out. TV remained 100 percent analog from the very earliest broadcasts right up through 1997 when the DVD debuted, and analog over-the-air broadcasts in the US only started to be phased out in 2009. That’s not so long ago, …

Detroit-based Shinola has made a splash with its stylish watches, bicycles and bags, but I wasn’t expecting them to produce a high-end turntable, and certainly not one as beautiful as the Runwell. I listened and played it at Shinola’s NYC store and trust me on this, the Runwell looks even better in real life. It’s a stunning piece of industrial …

I reviewed the Bowers & Wilkins 805 D3 speakers earlier this year, and now that I’ve spent more time with them, my appreciation has only deepened. The sound is rich, complex and loaded with palpable texture. That extra texture supplies a sense of realism that I just don’t get from lesser speakers. This speaker regularly delivers transcendent moments where you …

The best speakers tend to be expensive, but you can save a bundle by buying used ones. Of course, before buying any speaker, new or used, it’s a good idea to listen to them, for a number of reasons, starting with “do you like the sound?” Enlarge Image KEF LS50 speakers KEF When shopping in person for used speakers, start …

Do you remember those bygone days when the iPod was Apple‘s pride and joy, and the little white player changed the way we listened to music on the go? I do, and trust me on this, the iPod was a really big deal. But once the iPhone debuted in 2007, the iPod’s luster faded fast. Enlarge Image iPhone 6S and …

Last year I heard a pre-production sample of Sennheiser’s ultimate headphone, the HE 1 (then called the Orpheus), and loved the sound. A couple of weeks ago when I had a chance to spend more time with a production HE 1 at Sennheiser’s pop up New York City store I was eager to take another listen. This beautifully designed store …

Now playing: Watch this: Sennheiser HD 202 II closed-back headphones have universal… 1:46 I review a lot of very expensive headphones, and not so expensive ones too. This time I wanted to look at a set of very affordable headphones, so I went for the Sennheiser HD 202 II headphones that cost $24.50 on Amazon in the US and £20 …

I never got over my first encounter with a big horn speaker in an audio store in the late 1970s, it was a Klipsch La Scala. A salesman was sitting alone playing the Rolling Stones “Exile on Main Street” album at insanely loud volume, and the music sounded more vibrantly alive than any other speaker in the store. Over the …

I’ve always loved listening to music, on the teensy transistor radios I had as a kid, and later with the audio gear I’ve owned over the years. I learned that with the best gear musical pleasures run deeper. When that happens you want to listen more, you’re more engaged, so it’s harder to stop listening and do something else. Enlarge …

I reviewed the original FiiO X1 music player in late 2014, but so much as changed in the intervening couple of years, the new X1 2nd Gen now boasts Bluetooth 4.0 wireless tech and a more responsive touch wheel user-interface into a handsome design. Build quality feels more robust, all in all not bad for a $99.99/£99 high-resolution portable music …