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Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 15 November 2024

It’s that time of year when introspective folks start looking back over their year, and when I do that with regard to my work here at SoundStage! Access, I see a few unintentional trends. Early in the year, my efforts were focused heavily on integrated amps. To be fair, that’s sort of my beat and not out of the ordinary. The middle of the year was dominated by a long run of vinyl coverage. And lately, for whatever reason, I find myself reviewing more speakers than usual. This month’s offering is the Dynaudio Emit 30, a slim, petite two-and-a-half-way tower speaker that sells for just $1699/pair (USD).

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

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) recently released its mid-year report on the state of the music business, and if you’re a fan of disc-shaped receptacles of recorded sound, the news isn’t all bad. In the first half of 2024, physical media brought in an appreciable $994 million for the American music industry, versus $882 million in the first half of 2023 and $840 million in the first half of 2022.

Read more: Are CDs Making a Comeback?

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 15 October 2024

It’s time for a confession. While I still get excited about unboxing any piece of gear that has crossed my threshold for review—I get to play with toys for a living, after all—when it comes to electronics, that excitement normally centers on ergonomics, design, vibes, that sort of thing. With speakers, though, there’s a bit of anxiety involved. Surprises can be either a good or bad thing depending on my mood, and electronics don’t have much in the way of surprises when it comes to performance. Speakers, on the other hand—well, they all sound a bit different, don’t they? Some more different than others.

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

I really didn’t plan on writing yet another vinyl-related editorial this month. I promise, I didn’t. But as I said in my recent review of the Record Doctor X record-cleaning machine, I still have a lot to learn about the format, and I’m struggling with finding good sources of information beyond my own compatriots here on the SoundStage! Network, who—despite their knowledge and wisdom—are finite in number and experience and can’t possibly have tried it all. But so far, most advice I’ve gotten from people outside our group has turned out to be quite bad. Live and learn, right?

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

The original headline for this article was going to be a bit more vanilla—something along the lines of “Needs vs. Wants in Hi-Fi.” It was inspired by two conversations: one between me and SoundStage! founder Doug Schneider, another with my buddy Steven Guttenberg, the Audiophiliac, whose YouTube channel boasts an impressive 255,000 subscribers as I write this.

Read more: Is Hi-Fi a Kink or a Fetish?

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 15 August 2024

As I said in my August editorial, one of the most surprising things that I’ve discovered since adding vinyl playback to my reference system is that I really love the process of wet-cleaning LPs. Weird, I know. But it’s sort of half the fun of the hobby for me right now, whether I’m using my Big Fudge–branded Spin-Clean rip-off or the Record Doctor VI that will only really be mine once I’m finished making the $22/month loan payments to Affirm.

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

Let me make this clear from the start: I have not been caught in a sex scandal, my taxes are all paid up, and I’m not embezzling money from anybody. All of which I feel compelled to lay out, because those always seem to be the precursors to any conversion story. Which is why everyone hates such stories. But in a sense, it’s a conversion story that I’m writing here, much as I hate reading them myself.

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 15 July 2024

Introduced back in 2022, Peachtree Audio’s Carina was a hell of an integrated amplifier that packed cutting-edge digital tech into an analog-looking wood cabinet that housed way more Hypex NCore amplification than nearly anybody needs. And it sold for a mere $1999 (all prices USD). So, in a sense, it’s somewhat surprising that the company has already introduced a successor—three of them, in fact: the $2999 Carina GaN, the $1499 Carina 150, and the bad boy we’re unboxing today, the $1999 Carina 300.

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

What do you do when you’re shopping for a product in a category you know nearly nothing about? It’s a question I’ve spent most of my career in hi-fi journalism attempting to answer, and it’s my hope that readers perceive me not as someone who tells them what to buy, but who helps them figure out how to decide what to buy.

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 15 June 2024

In recent articles here on SoundStage! Access, I’ve made a couple of references to procuring an NAD C 3050 as my new reference integrated amplifier. I’ve had more than a few people ask me about the differences between the regular production model and the Limited Edition release I reviewed a little over a year ago.