High-End Audio

Audiophiliac readers have strong opinions about the gear I cover in this blog, so last month I asked for Readers' Choice nominations in a variety of categories, including headphones, speakers, receivers, etc.. I've sorted through all the comments, and here's what I found: there's a wide range of gear you love, but it was in the headphone category where the clearest winners stood out.

The Klipsch Image S4 in-ear headphones were the single most popular product in the survey, you people really love 'em! Grado SR60, SR80, and SR225 full-size headphones also drew raves, and Koss' PortaPro … Read more

I've known about Adam Audio for a long time, but for one reason or another I never reviewed one of its speakers. Adam (Advanced Dynamic Audio Monitors) may have started as a pro sound company, but it now also makes audiophile speakers. To get a handle on their sound I started with Adam's least expensive model, the ARTist 3, a compact desktop monitor. The company was founded by physicist Klaus Heinz and electrical engineer Roland Stenz, in Berlin in 1999.

It was in the early 1980s when Heinz met Oskar Heil, a decade after the good doctor caused … Read more

I heard about the Wadia 151PowerDAC from my friends at Magnepan, who make some of my favorite flat-panel speakers. They loved the way the 151 brought their fourteen-inch tall Mini Maggie speakers to life. That's great news, because when I auditioned the Minis at the factory last year (before they tried the 151) the speakers were hooked up to a massive Threshold stereo power amp. The Threshold/Maggie system was, by a large margin, the best-sounding desktop system I ever heard. Using a monster amp like that wasn't a practical solution for most buyers, but now with the … Read more

Red Wine Audio makes some of my all-time favorite headphone amplifiers, but they're pretty expensive. The Isabellina HPA LFP-V Edition, for example, runs $2,500; it was designed and built in Vinnie Rossi's small factory in Durham, Conn. The Isabellina is more than just a headphone amp, it features a spectacularly good digital-to-analog converter and a hybrid transistor/vacuum tube audio amplifier. While the amp can be run off an AC power outlet, it sounds best powered by its built-in 25.6 volt Lithium Iron Phosphate battery pack. The battery can play for up to 10 hours, and … Read more

Salamander Designs offers a vast range of quality audio-video entertainment furniture, and has recently expanded its Chameleon Collection of corner-style and extrawide cabinets.

Salamander's four-door Quad cabinets are designed to accommodate today's large flat-panel TVs, both visually and structurally. New product offerings include contemporary and traditional styles.

The corner cabinets are available in nine different styles, including 20-inch- and 30-inch-high versions and a 30-inch-high version with grillework designed to conceal a center-channel speaker. Salamander AV cabinets are available in a vast array of woods and configurations. The cabinets are built with premium-grade materials and construction techniques. Salamander's … Read more

Sjofn Hi Fi of Seattle, Wash., makes an amazing little speaker, the Clue. When I heard it at the New York Audio & AV Show last week I could not believe that something that small could sound that big.

The Clue has a proprietary, made-in-Denmark 5.5-inch woofer and an 0.8-inch silk dome tweeter. The heavily braced, medium-density fiberboard cabinet is beautifully finished in real maple, cherry or piano black. The cabinet is made in China, but the rest of the speaker is assembled in Sjofn Hi Fi's garage in Seattle. The Clue measures a tidy 14 by … Read more

The New York Audio & AV Show at the legendary Waldorf-Astoria Hotel is hosting the biggest collection of high-end audio products the city has seen in many years. Audiophiles and curious New Yorkers are crowding the halls and rooms, eager to see and hear some of the world's best audio products.

Audiophiliac readers have strong opinions about the gear I write about every day; now it's your turn to spread the word about your favorite audio products. Nominate your picks for best speakers, in as many categories as you want: iPod speakers, sound bars, desktop, bookshelf, tower, high-end, subwoofers, home theater, etc.

I'm also seeking nominations for headphones of all types: universal-fit in-ears, custom-molded in-ears, DJ, Bluetooth, full-size on- and over-the-ear headphones, studio headphones, noise-canceling headphones. How about receivers? Stereo and home theater receivers, or integrated amplifiers, as well as turntables, CD players, iPods, and other types of music … Read more

The New York Audio & AV Show starts today at 3 p.m. and runs through Sunday at the legendary Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in midtown Manhattan.

Sony isn't a company I normally associate with high-end audio, but it will be at the show demonstrating its award-winning SS-AR1 speaker. VPI turntables will be giving away a Scout turntable worth $1,800, with a handmade Soundsmith phono cartridge. Local dealers Audio Doctor, Sound by Singer, and Innovative Audio/Video will be on hand and they are promising lots of new gear presentations.

There will also be a full slate of seminars, including &… Read more