Audio Research Reference CD7 CD Player Reviewed

A product of outstanding performance is often labeled as "reference," meaning that it is used as a measuring stick for other products.  Unfortunately, however, the term "reference" has been abused so much that few people take it seriously any more. ......Read More

Avid Acutus Reference Turntable Reviewed

Vinyl has made a huge splash in the audiophile news lately. Many think the media is making a comeback, but for some of us, vinyl never went away. The sound of purely analog reproduction has a texture to it only......Read More

Ayre QB-9 USB DAC Reviewed

Charles Hanson of Ayre has never offered an external DAC in his company's sixteen-year history. Now, however, he decides to unveil a USB-only DAC for PC audio systems. What gives? Well, if you are so inclined, you can spend some......Read More

Benchmark DAC 1 HDR Reviewed

While analog reproduction of audio is all the rage these days, most, if not all of us have our music in some digital form. Be it on a hard drive, iPod, Compact Disc or server, we all need high quality......Read More

Cambridge Audio DacMagic D/A Converter Reviewed

Cambridge Audio is a British company well known in audio circles for providing high-quality products at reasonable prices. While I was at CES 2009, I had a chance to peruse their products and their diminutive DacMagic caught my eye. This......Read More

Cary Audio Xciter DAC Reviewed

Many believe that the age of the compact disc has come and gone. Looking at all the iPods hardwired to kids and grown-ups alike, it's difficult to argue this fact. We are quickly becoming a society with musical libraries that......Read More

Classe CDP-502 Reference Disc Player

Nobody does high end AV industrial design better than Classe these days and at the top of any Classe rack - along with a brand-spanking-new Classe SSP-800 AV preamp - should be a Classe CDP-502 Reference Disc Player. The machine's......Read More

Denon DVD-5910CI DVD Player Reviewed

Denon has a long history in high-end audio. They have stayed highly relevant in the marketplace for decades, for very good reason.  Denon offers something for everyone, at every price point.  For those who will settle for nothing but the......Read More

EMM Labs TSD1 CD Transport and DAC2

While vinyl keeps popping up in the audiophile news, compact disc is the most common way audio enthusiasts are enjoying music today. When it comes to digital audio, few names command as much respect as EMM Labs and their designer......Read More

Halcro EC800 Universal Disc Player Reviewed

Halcro is best known for their reference series amplifiers, which start at $20,000 and are regarded by many reviewers to be among the finest amplifiers in the world. Halcro then branched out into multi-channel audio with their SSP line of......Read More

High Resolution Technologies Music Streamer DAC

The Music Streamer from High Resolution Technologies (HRT) is an external D/A converter that connects between a computer and an audio system. This $99 device overrides the digital to analog (D/A) converter that's built into the computer, to provide improved......Read More

Home Theater Review 2009 Best of Awards

For the first time, Home Theater Review com's editors have picked a select list of the best gear from many of our AV equipment categories. The winners are picked subjectively by our staff. In today's economy, value matters - this......Read More

Jolida JD100A & Talk Saxon CD700 MK2 SE CD Players Reviewed

Unusually for me, this is a head-to-head review of two components. It's not that I have a problem with such face-offs. It's just that one has to be a winner and the other a loser. I'd rather write about any......Read More

Krell Evolution 505 CD/SACD Player Reviewed

Krell is as about as lofty an audiophile brand as there is in the market today. With the creativity and design sense of creator Dan D'agostino, Krell makes some of the single most important AV components on the market today......Read More

Marantz SA-KI-Pearl SACD Player Reviewed

Marantz is well known for its high quality, mass market product lines. These lines have long had a reputation of placing sound quality above the inclusion of every bell and whistle. Marantz's reference line is not nearly as well known......Read More

Marantz TT15SI Reference Series Turntable Reviewed

Marantz has been one of the most lauded brands in audio history. Therefore, it's nice to see them stepping back into the resurgent world of vinyl and selling a turntable.  The TT15 is designed to be an all-in-one package. Just......Read More

Mark Levinson No 512 CD/SACD Player Reviewed

Mark Levinson is likely best known for their power amps or perhaps their JC-1 preamp from back in the day, but since the days of the No 30 and No 31 - Mark Levinson has been making one fine source......Read More

Meridian 800 Reference DVD-Video, CD and DVD-Audio Player Reviewed

For the true music enthusiast, the Meridian 800 can be configured to be a very capable DVD-Audio player, an ultra-audiophile CD player and a very good preamp all in one unit. For full Meridian digital theaters (or audio-only Meridian all-digital......Read More

Meridian G98 CD, DVD, DVD-Audio Transport Reviewed

Meridian has long sat atop the digital food chain in the world of audiophile and home theater gear, for very good reason. Being one of the first companies to make an audiophile CD player and offering a true upgrade......Read More

NAD C 565BEE CD Player Reviewed

With so much to-do about Blu-ray and the impending onslaught of 3D TVs that will also be vying for our collective attention, what is the Managing Editor of one of the largest home theater publications doing talking about a CD......Read More

NAD C545BEE CD Player Reviewed

For those who have a pile of compact discs and think the idea of listening to MP3 files is somehow high-definition, NAD has made the highly affordable C545BEE disc player. The $499 NAD C545BEE occupies a slot one notch below......Read More

NEPTUNE AUDIO neptuneEQ Reviewed

The topic of room tuning or digital equalization has never been a more relevant topic in the world of consumer electronics with seemingly every feature laden receiver and most new AV preamps boasting some form of room correction software under......Read More

Pathos Endorphin CD Player Reviewed

In the pantheon of truly stupid product names comes a new contender to rival 'Nimbly' and 'Glowy': the Pathos Endorphin. It's bad enough that the company's name - which my dictionary defines as 'the quality that raises pity' - is......Read More

Quad Super System Reviewed

Quad has done an incredible job in progressing from the original ESL57 via the ESL63 and its 988/989 descendants to the current ESL-2905, with but one exception: it's larger than Peter Walker himself felt necessary. Unconvinced by the desire......Read More

Shanling Audio 1500 CD Player Reviewed

If it's possible to love something for the wrong reasons, well, so be it: the very instant I took the top layer of packaging off the Shanling's CD-T1500 valve CD player, I fell in love with it. Then again, I've......Read More

Source Component Reviews & "Wiki" Information

For decades, the best content a movie buff or audiophile could find has come from a disc of some sort. Many of these disc players and alternative sources are still in use today, even if they aren't at the bleeding edge of AV technology, the way HD media center PCs or profile 2.0 Blu-ray players are....Read More

Teac Esoteric DV-60 Universal Player Reviewed

With all the new formats of late, it is tough to find anyone who has them all, outside of a few hardcore fans and of course, us reviewers.  The cost of adding a new player for each format is unheard......Read More

V.Y.G.E.R. Baltic M Turntable Reviewed

After a few years tailing V.Y.G.E.R.s at various hi-fi shows, I noted with great relief the recent arrival of the company's "sane" offerings. Probably named after the plot maguffin in the first Star Trek movie, something which should be held......Read More