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Reviews of Attainable Hi-Fi & Home-Theater Equipment

Most Popular Equipment

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 March 2025

Reviewers' Choice Founded in 1906, Goldring is possibly the oldest extant manufacturer of phono cartridges in the world. Although they were established in Berlin, they moved to the UK in 1933. Today, Goldring manufactures two lines of moving-magnet cartridges—the entry-level E series and the step-up 1000 series—plus six moving-coil units. They’re part of the Armour Home organization, whose other products include Q Acoustics speakers and QED cables, among others.

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 March 2025

Reviewers' Choice As I write this, the 2025 International CES has just wrapped in Las Vegas. Perhaps the biggest news of the show for hi-fi enthusiasts was the fact that Onkyo is back, with a trio of stereo audiophile components coming later this year that evoke memories of the brand’s glory days. I’m here to tell you, though, that Onkyo is already back in a big way—at least with regard to home-theater gear—as evidenced by the newest addition to its RZ Series lineup, the TX-RZ30 ($1199, all prices USD).

Read more: Onkyo TX-RZ30 A/V Receiver

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 February 2025

Reviewers' Choice I have, on at least a few occasions, referred to my reference integrated amplifier, the NAD C 3050, as the Workingman’s Integrated Amp. But I think it’s time for me to reframe that sentiment. I’m actually starting to think of NAD as a company with something resembling real class consciousness, because the new C 379 ($1099 stock; $1499 as reviewed, with the MDC2 BluOS-D expansion module—all prices USD) is every bit as much a working-class product, but for wholly different reasons.

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 January 2025

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.

This piece could be called A Tale of Two Amplifiers: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . .” Actually, times were pretty good, as this review would be my first chance to directly compare two amplifiers since acquiring a Neohipo ET30 amplifier-speaker switching unit from Amazon ($159.95; all prices in USD). The two units were the Dayton Audio A400 power amplifier ($899), the subject of this review, and my own NAD C 275BEE (discontinued, $1495 when available). I was looking forward to this.

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 February 2025

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.

Reviewers' Choice Advance Paris is a fairly new entrant into the North American audio market, but it has been in business overseas for 30 years. The company started in France in 1995 as a speaker manufacturer, Advance Audio, then moved into electronics in the 2010s, changed its name to Advance Paris, and began exporting to North America in 2021. However, only in the last year or so have its products gained significant distribution on this side of the pond.

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 January 2025

Reviewers' Choice In my unboxing blog post for the KEF Q3 Meta bookshelf speaker ($799.99/pair, all prices in USD), I said it felt like a palate cleanser to me in many respects, but here’s a spoiler for you: I wrote those words before I ever cracked the carton and pulled the speakers from their protective packaging. That notion was based purely on my impressions of the company’s speakers, formed mostly at trade shows and based on objective data.

Read more: KEF Q3 Meta Loudspeaker

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 December 2024

Canada’s Totem Acoustic describes its Kin line as “a companion brand . . . born from a desire to engage a wider audience by offering affordable solutions to today’s audio-capable devices.” I think they’ve succeeded with their Kin One music system. Priced at $1199 (all prices in USD), the Kin One system consists of the Kin Amp and a pair of Kin One bookshelf loudspeakers. The amp, a class-D design with built-in phono stage and Bluetooth connectivity, is available separately for $799. The speakers can be purchased separately for $599/pair, so purchasers save $199 by buying the system as a package.

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 December 2024

Whether or not you’ve ever sat down in front of a pair of Dynaudio speakers, you’ve likely been exposed to the brand’s influence. If you found yourself sitting in a Volvo with the premium sound option in the aughts, you were listening to Dynaudio speakers. Ditto Volkswagens a few years later. More recently, the freaking Bugatti Veyron boasts a Dynaudio sound system (although I’m guessing not a lot of Access readers are riding around in Bugattis on the reg). The company also used to sell its drivers to DIY speaker builders, though those days are long gone. But still, it points to the fact that this is one of the few speaker brands out there making its own drivers. And many of the world’s top recording studios, including the Hit Factory, rely on Dynaudio professional monitors. All of which means that a little entry-level floorstanding tower speaker such as the Dynaudio Emit 30 ($849.50 each, all prices USD) has a heck of a lot of pedigree behind it.

Read more: Dynaudio Emit 30 Loudspeaker

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 November 2024

Since its founding in 1996, the primary business of German audio company Reloop has been supplying equipment for club DJs. But not long ago, they brought out a line of turntables designed for the home-audio market under the name Reloop HiFi. I reviewed their entry-level unit, the Turn 2, in November 2023, and I thought it was a fine value.

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 November 2024

In a recent episode of Audio Unleashed, my cohost Brent Butterworth—friend of the SoundStage! Network and former SoundStage! Solo editor—said something that’s been living rent-free in my head ever since: “Audio reviewers, you and I included, have egos, and . . . as much as you and I try to resist this, we . . . often try to confirm our existing beliefs.” The reason I’m bringing this up is that, unbeknownst to Brent, he uttered those words when I was smack-dab in the middle of writing a review of Totem’s new Loon Monitor standmount loudspeaker ($1299/pair, all prices USD) and struggling with it to a degree. Because the Loon seems to intentionally rebel against a lot of what I look for in a speaker, and I’ve been grappling for weeks with how best to communicate my honest feelings about how this speaker does sound, detached from all the baggage related to my thoughts on how speakers should sound.