May - June 2026
Audio Discourse
The Coat Hanger Argument: Anatomy of a Concession Disguised as...
This article is drawn from an ongoing series of public discussions on electromagnetic field theory and audio cable design, conducted on my personal...
Gentrification of Audio or Development in Three Stages
Editorial, April 2026 from High Fidelity The audio industry is a battleground where views, opinions, and various solutions clash, all aiming to lead us...
The Electromagnetic Environment Your Music Lives in and Why 2026...
This article is part of an ongoing series examining electromagnetic field theory and its application to high-fidelity audio reproduction. The...
Hardware Reviews
It’s A Whole New Ball Game - The Synergistic Research Quark...
During my visit to AXPONA 2026, there were several outstanding new products that made my show highlight list. One of the most impressive was the...
The Origin Live Strata – A Platter Mat That Matters
Seriously, what has our audiophile’s world come to? Back in “normal” times, getting better sound was straightforward: spend some money, and...
Rick Schultz Audio™ Emersion A/C power cord
Once in a Tahitian blue moon, an A/C power cord is unleashed that’s so insanely over-engineered that it (almost) defies description. After looking at...
A True Standout And An Amazing Value In The Wild Wild West Of...
It’s been quite some time since I have reviewed a Synergistic Research product. Over the last few years, I have experimented with several...
MoFi Electronics UltraPhono Pro Phono Stage – Redefining...
Creating A New Contender While the obvious goal of attending a world-class Audio Show like this past April's AXPONA, or this June's inaugural High End...
Audeze LCD-5s Headphones
I want to start out by stating I have never been disappointed by any of Dr. Drag Colich's creations. This award winning genius who invented the planar...
Analog Relax EX500 Moving Coil Cartridge: Easy on the Eyes and...
Every once in a while, one encounters a high-end audio product where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Performance that punches far above...
Harbeth Super HL5plus XD2 Loudspeakers
Harbeth Audio Ltd. is a British company founded in 1977 by the former head of the BBC's research department, Dudley Harwood. In the early 1970s, while...
Onix Zenith XST20 SACD/CD Transport: Impressive Build Quality, a...
Flashback to October 1982: the Compact Disc had just been unveiled in Japan to great fanfare, and the era of Perfect Sound Forever was suddenly upon...
Music Reviews
…and Steve says...Listening to All My Records, Part 8
For those readers new to this column, please read the introductory comments in Part one here. I’ve known a lot of audiophiles and music lovers who...
Jimi Hendrix's 'Axis: Bold as Love' Shines on Acoustic Sounds...
"Jimi was like aliens had landed. No kidding," said Toto guitarist, Steve Lukather, who recorded with a who's who of artists like Michael Jackson,...
Can It Get Any Better? Three Superb Reissues from Uncle Tupelo,...
Uncle Tupelo, Anodyne. Rhino High Fidelity (33 RPM LP) Anodyne was Uncle Tupelo's swansong album and was released in 1993 on the Reprise label....
…and Steve says...Listening to All My Records, Part 7
For those readers new to this column, please read the introductory comments in Part one HERE. Since such a large part of my record collection was...
MoFi 45 rpm "No Secrets" by Carly Simon
I was twelve when Carly Simon released her third album "No Secrets." Even at that age, I was not into commercial pop music much, so I never owned this...
Ólafur Arnalds, Sunrise Session III
Ólafur Arnalds, Sunrise Session III. Olafur Arnalds, composer and pianist; Sandrayati, RAKEL, Salóme Katrín, vocals; with string quartet. Universal...
Red And Ernie
Recently, while doing some research, I discovered the existence of an album that in all my decades of obsessive record collecting I had never seen nor...
Acoustic Sounds' Organ Grinder: The Incredible Jimmy Smith...
James Oscar Smith was an American jazz icon who helped popularize the Hammond B-3 organ, forging a link between jazz and 1960s Soul—or the...
MoFi's The Butterfield Blues Band - East West
This was the line-up who was the first to play "electric" at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. This caused quite a disturbance from the folk-purists...
Recent Finds No. 72 NativeDSD Shows Again Why Not To Allow...
I so often bring to you music in ultra-high resolution, but there are so many wonderful recordings not originally recorded in DXD or DSD256. I listen...
Our Friend the Audio Analyst
E266: MoFi Electronics UltraPhono Pro Phonostage
Today we’ll have a closer look at the new MoFi Electronics’ UltraPhono Pro phonostage, the latest entry in their phono preamplifier stable. This is...
E265: The Børresen M8 & Aavik M-880 Experience
This week, I share the more refined and revealing experience of listening to the premiere of the Børresen M8 Gold Signature loudspeakers, driven by.... . . Read More »
E264: Two AXPONA-Adjacent Product Launch Events
Today, we take a behind-the-scenes look at two loudspeaker launches, both held during AXPONA, but off-site. The Von Schweikert Audio Mercury launch at.... . . Read More »
E263: Game-Changing Arrivals from Kronos and Kubala-Sosna
Today, given the sea-change advances in performance that two recent arrivals have brought to my reference system, I’m pushing other AXPONA and.... . . Read More »
E259: 2026 Florida International Audio Expo Highlights with...
Today, I join my friend and colleague Maurice Jeffries in his “New Apartment Lounge” in Orlando. We share our thoughts on some of the highlights.... . . Read More »
Our Friends at High Fidelity
Siltech Master Crown Interconnects and Speaker Cables
The Dutch Siltech company is one of the leading cable manufacturers. With its Triple Crown series, it has been setting high-end market standards for...
R.E.D. A Few Words About How Audio is Changing
We deeply believe in "development" and "progress." Especially in audio. On the other hand, we know that newer is not always better and that old...
Spendor A4.2 Loudspeakers
Spendor is an English company specializing in the production of loudspeakers, founded in 1968 by Spencer Hughes Its first product designed for...
Show Reports
AXPONA 2026: Rooms with Aural Views: Here's My Favorite Eight!
Black velvet, acoustic-dampening curtains cover the surrounding walls of the darkened 12' x 15 'x 8' Chesky Audio hotel room packed with guests seated...
AXPONA 2026
AXPONA! The trade show where all the sounds and other spectaculars of the high-end audio community come together to listen, listen, and then listen...
