Bluetooth speakers may be good enough for the masses, but if you crave better sound, the Onkyo A-9010 integrated stereo amp (US $300, UK, £199, Australia AU$549) would be a great place to start. Paired with Pioneer’s terrific SP-FS52 tower speakers, you’ll enjoy superb sound for not a lot of money, and if you’re into …

The Audiophiliac’s ancient Yamaha cassette deck. Steve Guttenberg/CNET Over lunch the other day one of my audio pals mentioned cassette decks are going for next to nothing on eBay. “Really?” I said. “That sounds like something I should check into.” He was more right than I imagined. The first thing I noticed was prices were dirt-cheap, lots of choices for …

Pioneer LP-30-K turntable Pioneer The ongoing surge in LP sales shows no signs of slowing down, but not everybody gets “it” — they don’t understand what the fuss is all about. Why has this ancient format not only stuck around long after digital should have buried it? What the hell is going on? The answer is simply this: at its …

Nordost flat Red Dawn speaker cables Simon Marsh It’s a safe bet that your speaker cables don’t look like Nordost’s ultra-flat cables. Founded in 1991, Nordost is a high-technology cable manufacturer using conductor technology that was initially developed for the aerospace industry. Nordost designs and builds all of its audio, digital and video cables in its facilities in Holliston, Massachusetts. …

Here’s a 24-year-old JVC PC-X100 boom box sitting atop a brand-new Aiwa EXOS-9 Bluetooth speaker. Steve Guttenberg/CNET How do the latest Bluetooth speakers compare with the sound of boom boxes made a quarter of a century ago? Has progress been made, has technology and digital signal processing made for better sound or are today’s wireless speakers a step backward? A …

Grado Labs Heritage Series GH1 headphones Jonathan Grado Grado Labs has a new headphone model, the Heritage Series GH1. While the company has offered a range of headphones with mahogany earcups for years, all of the GH1s will be made from just a single maple tree from the Sunset Park neighborhood in Brooklyn where Grado Labs has been based for …

The Davone Ray-S speakers. Davone Most of my favorite floor-standing high-end speakers are big and tall, but the Davone Ray-S sits low to the floor — it’s a mere 29 inches high mounted on its steel stand. The Ray-S is a thoroughly modern, truly elegant design. This wide stance beauty is handcrafted in Denmark; it’s a three-way design with an …

Steve Guttenberg/CNET I’d love to hear from folks who bought USB turntables specifically to make digital files from their LPs. I know it seems like a great idea if you have a lot of LPs you never play — you get a USB turntable to transfer the music to your computer, and then make files you can play on your …

The Chord 2Qute digital converter Steve Guttenberg/CNET Late last year I had the distinct pleasure of reviewing the Chord Hugo portable headphone amp/digital converter, it was the best on-the-go rig I’ve ever heard. Audiophiles worldwide are going ga-ga over the Hugo; this time I’m looking over a Chord‘s new 2Qute, a stay-at-home digital audio converter. The 2Qute lets you hear …

Here’s one way to get better sound from your speakers that won’t cost you a penny, get closer to them. The logic is easy to grasp, the closer you are to the speakers the more direct sound you’ll hear. Close up listening minimizes the destructive effects of room reflections and reverberation that interfere with the sound. That’s why sitting closer …