Copper


From the listening chair


VAC’s Statement 452iQ Musicbloc Power Amplifier

Issue 203From The LIstening Chair

I don’t have a photography studio and it likely shows. Still, I don’t like taking what I consider to be serious photos of audio gear in the field. Instead, I...

Linn Makes Majik

Issue 189From The Listening Chair

It’s never easy to photograph something that’s black and shiny. Linn’s Majik DSM streaming integrated amplifier with built-in digital-to-analog converter (from $4,185) is no exception to that rule. It’s a...

An Amp for the Eons: Tsakiridis Devices’ Aeolos...

Issue 188From The Listening Chair

I make frequent trips to the retailer HiFi Loft, located in Manhattan’s Times Square. While I was on the way out of that establishment during a visit last year, I...

Waversa Systems’ WBridge Standard: A Different ...

Issue 187From the LIstening Chair

The WBridge Standard ($6,600) from South Korea's Waversa Systems is an interesting digital hub and signal converter that offers a choice of seven types of inputs and outputs including Ethernet, coaxial,...

xDuoo's Versatile TA-30 Headphone Amp/DAC

Issue 186From the Listening Chair

You might have seen the term “Chi-Fi” lately. It’s a mashup of "Chinese" and "high-fidelity,” and I suggest that the term can refer to bargain-priced, often tube-based electronics from China...

Bache Audio’s Elegant Sonata EX2 Speakers

Issue 184From the Listening Chair

Greg Belman of Brooklyn, New York’s Bache Audio recently dropped off a pair of his rear-ported Sonata EX2 speakers ($2,780 per pair). Rated at 91 dB sensitivity, this speaker features a 3-inch bamboo cone...

A HiFi Rose in Bloom

Issue 183From the Listening Chair

With its enormous 14.9-inch, high-def color touchscreen, top-notch performance, ability to output video as well as audio, and gorgeously overbuilt chassis, no product has seemingly come from the blue to...

Connecting With Hemingway Audio’s Z-Core Power ...

Issue 182From the Listening Chair

For the most part, I won’t participate in social media arguments concerning the efficacy of audiophile signal cables and power cords. Even when considering a binge-watching session of Keeping Up...

Spending Time With the Esoteric Grandioso G1X M...

Issue 181From the Listening Chair

Word clocks are common in high-end and professional and some high-end digital systems. They are used to synchronize devices that connect via digital audio signals. Would audiophiles be interested in...

Checking Out xDuoo's Affordable MT-604 Headphon...

Issue 180From the Listening Chair

Earlier this year, I received a sample of xDuoo’s MT-604 fully-balanced tube headphone amplifier from online retailer Apos Audio. At an asking price of $169, it offers more sexiness per...

Allnic Audio's Striking H-5500 Phono Stage

Issue 179From the Listening Chair

Founded by Kang Su (“KS”) Park, Allnic Audio is based Sungnam City, South Korea. In the early 1990s, Park started Silvaweld, known mostly in Asia and Europe for its single-ended...

Audio Up Close: the Magico A3 Loudspeaker

Issue 178From the Listening Chair

“From the Listening Chair” is a new column that will focus on picturing current audio components and loudspeakers, as opposed to the vintage photography that Howard contributes to “Audio Anthropology.”...