CNN recently reported on the “death” of the home stereo system, and while that’s an exaggeration, few people — young or old — have “stereos” anymore. CNN was asleep at the wheel on this one; precious few folks have had stereos for decades. Music is now almost always consumed in cars, and over phones and …

Onkyo has a long history of making high-performance, budget-priced speakers. Even their home theater in a box speakers were a cut above the speakers Sony, Panasonic, Sharp, Yamaha, and so on were making, back when I was reviewing scads of HTIBs years ago. Then again, the Onkyo speakers were usually a good deal larger than the competition’s, and it didn’t …

In 1965 Ray Dolby founded Dolby Laboratories and pioneered the noise-reducing and surround-sound technologies used throughout the film and music recording industries. He died in San Francisco at 80 this past Thursday. Dolby perfectly fit the form of “American Inventor” — he was first and foremost a problem solver. Dolby introduced A-Type noise-reduction for professional analog tape recorders in 1965 …

Most “sound art” installations leave me cold, mostly because they rarely sound good, and a lot of tech-oriented “art” is more about tech than art. Not this time. When I attended the opening party for “The Forty Part Motet” at The Cloisters on Tuesday, the sound was truly glorious. The artist, Janet Cardiff, took full advantage of the acoustics of …

Magnepan makes flat speakers, and has been perfecting the technology for more than 40 years. How flat is flat? The Super MMG three-piece system I’m looking at today is a mere 1.25 inches thick! The Super MMG floor-standing speaker is 48 inches high and 14 inches wide; the DWM Bass Panel is 19.25 inches high, 22.5 wide, and, like the …

If you watch a lot of movies and can deal with the hassles of setting up five or more speakers, plus a subwoofer, go ahead and buy an AV receiver. We’ve reviewed a bunch of the latest models here on CNET, just pick the one that best suits your needs. Then again, if you listen to more music than watch …

Regular readers of this blog may have noticed I’m not a big fan of any type of wireless speaker, and more specifically I have no love for Bluetooth or AirPlay speakers. For me the sound compromises that come with compact size and wireless technology are hard to swallow. I have less of a grudge against the smaller, under-$200 models; they …

I never heard of Lepai until about a year ago, when Parts Express sent over a Lepai LP-2020A+ amplifier for review. Well, it didn’t take long to see it was a steal, and it has been my go-to amp for anyone on a super-tight budget, it’s just $25, and for that kind of money the sound is pretty special. The …

I’m always on the lookout for great sounding products in all price ranges, so when an Audiophiliac reader suggested the almost too good to be true JVC HA-RX700 full-size headphones, I pulled the trigger. I’m glad I did, first the HA-RX700 doesn’t look or feel like a cheap headphone. Better yet, it delivers a clear, highly articulate sound, with a …

Cassettes, like LPs are enjoying something of a “comeback,” but I can’t say I was ever a big fan of the format. Sure, with a great Nakamichi or high-end Pioneer cassette deck the sound of recordings made from LPs could be pretty decent, but the prerecorded cassettes put out by record companies were always iffy. The main advantages cassette had …