Steve Guttenberg/CNET Last month, I asked my readers to submit essays for my ” You can be the Audiophiliac for a day” contest. I received a lot of thought-provoking pieces, and I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to write. You guys are a smart bunch, but there can be only one winner, …

Sony I have to hand it to Sony — the PHA-2 is far and away the best-looking portable headphone amplifier/digital converter I’ve seen. Its sleek extruded metal casework feels like it can take a beating, and the front “handles” don’t just look cool — they protect the volume knob and headphone cable from accidental bumps. It’s smaller than most competing …

Spendor SP2/3R2 speakers (left), Stein Music Stateline Amp2 (right) Steve Guttenberg/CNET You don’t see a lot of big bookshelf speakers anymore, and that’s a shame. Granted, they’re nowhere as fashionable as skinny towers or pint-size mini-speakers, but big speakers deliver a scale and power that more stylish contenders fail to muster. That’s what crossed my mind as I checked out …

Andrew Jones with the new Pioneer SP-EFS73 tower speakers Steve Guttenberg/CNET I was taken aback by Dolby’s recent announcement that Atmos sound will be “coming soon to a home theater near you,” because as far as I can tell most consumers want fewer, not more home theater speakers. Atmos adds height speaker channels to existing 5.1- and 7.1-channel home theater …

Genelec G One and F One Genelec I love desktop speakers — correction — I love great-sounding desktop speakers. Decent ones start around $200 a pair, and my reference Adam Audio F5s run $500 for a pair. Desktop speakers are designed to be listened to from three to six feet away, and when you’re that close, you hear more of …

Steve Guttenberg/CNET Led Zeppelin changed the sound of rock music in 1969, and that turned me into an audiophile. Sure, it was the music that first sucked me in, but the “Led Zeppelin” and “Led Zeppelin II” albums were so much heavier than anything I’d heard before. The records of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and Cream were great, …

Steve Guttenberg/CNET The Audiophiliac is almost seven years old, and it hardly seems possible, but I’ve written over 1,100 posts. Last July, I asked my readers to spout a bit of their own wisdom and be an Audiophiliac for a day. It’s time we try this again: just write a “think piece” about analog, digital, your first hi-fi, low- or …

Martin Logan speakers Martin Logan High-end audio prices have never been higher, but that’s true for high-end everything these days. So maybe a better way to look at high-end audio is to consider the value high-end audio offers compared with other high-end products and services. I’m not talking about diamond encrusted Beats or iPhones — the prices of the best …

This is my first review of a JL Audio subwoofer, which is odd because the brand’s subs have received raves from the audiophile press for 10 years. The wait was absolutely worth it! I have their new 10-inch E-Sub e110 here, but there’s also a larger 12-inch e112 sub; those two are the least expensive models offered by the company. …

Blue Note Records was founded in 1939, and the label went on to record some of the greatest jazz albums of the 20th century. The roster ranges from legends like John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, and Miles Davis, to in our time Norah Jones, Rosanne Cash, Amos Lee, and my favorite jazz guitarist, Charlie Hunter. Blue Note at its …