Articles and Reviews – page 4

The segment of relatively affordable bookshelf loudspeakers is currently developing the fastest - with new acoustics hitting the market almost every week. We have carefully studied the state of affairs and selected for you ten of the most impressive loudspeakers that fall into the Hi-Fi and Top Hi-Fi segments. This means that you can assemble a system with impressive sound without the expense of the "audio equipment for the price of a car" series - this is exactly what a buyer's guide in this market sector looks like at the beginning of 2025.

Many music lovers and audiophiles are wondering what the future holds for the high-quality audio market? Will the trend for analog formats continue, what transformation will streaming undergo, what will happen to loudspeakers, amplifiers and sources? Well, our editorial forecast for the development of the Hi-Fi and High-End industry for the coming year is as follows - the ten points outlined below can significantly influence the market and change the balance of power in it.

The manufacturer itself calls the universal disc player Kalista Dreamplay XC a combination of all the best digital capabilities. In addition to playing CDs and SACDs, the device can work with a network stream (full functionality of a streamer), has a luxurious digital-to-analog converter and even provides preamplifier functions (although, also in digital form). The French company tried to make Kalista Dreamplay XC impressive in every sense - both in terms of characteristics, and in terms of ultimate sound quality, and in appearance. So, we are testing Kalista Dreamplay XC.

Modern High-End offers a lot of more compact and flexible solutions - among which, of course, it is worth noting traditional wired over-ear headphones. We have studied the market of this class of equipment in detail as of the beginning of 2025 and selected in this buyer's guide ten of the most impressive and striking models of extra-cash headphones that meet the most demanding views on sound quality and offer a genuine synthesis of modern technologies.

Often, it is the tonearm that becomes the weak link in a high-end vinyl analog audio system – so it will never be superfluous to pay attention to this class of components. Our new expert editorial rating contains five of the most impressive High End tonearms for vinyl turntables.

Analog technology has successfully secured its place at the top of the sound quality sky – but choosing a cartridge for the High End analog equipment is fraught with many nuances. The new editorial rating has collected six of the most impressive vinyl cartridges that you can choose in 2025.

It is digital audio technology that is developing at the fastest pace, so even a savvy audiophile can easily get lost in the sea of ​​offers. Want to understand which newest digital-to-analog converter deserves attention if you are really sensitive to sound quality? Our buyer's guide to DACs of the beginning of 2025 will help.

Roon Labs recently introduced the Roon Ready Relay technology, which is strikingly different from previously known (such as the RAAT protocol, for example). Roon Ready Relay is designed to connect all external audio sources, from CD and SACD players to FM tuners, cassette decks and vinyl players. Sounds tempting? Let's figure out what this technology is and how it can be useful for an audiophile.

The compact disc has retained its place in the sun - sales of disc media are quite stable, new CD players are released with enviable regularity. In general, we can state that even high-resolution music streaming has not “killed” the compact disc - the sound quality of discs on good equipment turns out to be extraordinary, and the accumulated collections allow us to look to the future with confidence. The editors have compiled a rating of the most impressive new High End players that are worth paying attention to in early 2025.

he Hifiverse editorial team has prepared an expert rating of the best 2025 phono preamplifiers for vinyl lovers - the costs of equipment of this class seem justified if we are talking about audiophile-class sound. Our rating includes five of the latest phonostages that can turn the heads of even connoisseurs of this audio sector.

The inability of the amplifier to control the speakers is a fatal and most common mistake when composing and installing audio systems. Insufficient drive of the speaker systems can cross out all the rest of the work on selecting components - and the money will be literally wasted. Well, in this "how to" guide, we will consider the most important points that allow you to get the most out of the loudspeakers and give step-by-step instructions for assessing the compatibility of components.

Choosing an integrated amplifier of both Hi-Fi and High End class can be a simple matter with our new article-rating of the best modern devices in this category. The future-proof engineering solutions and outstanding sound are achievable today in different price segments.

Primare SC15 Prisma MK2 from the famous Swedish company combines several devices at once - a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), a streamer (network player), and a preamplifier. "Swiss knife" solutions for sound are not always ideal - well, let's check the talents of this universal component during testing.

The outgoing year turned out to be one of the record-breaking in terms of the number of new products on the high-quality audio market - which makes the expert rating of the best loudspeakers of the 2024 season even more interesting. Our guide may well help in choosing speakers of any price category, from relatively affordable Hi-Fi to very expensive High End class.

Choosing an audiophile turntable is no easy task. There are so many devices on the market now that even experienced fans of good sound are spoiled for choice. The editorial team have prepared a guide, rating-article of the most impressive new turntables – these five models really grab the stars from the sky in terms of sound quality.

Dividing amplification circuits into a preamplifier and a power amplifier is one of the main cornerstones of High End audio. Such installations offer the highest possible quality due to the isolation of critical signal transmission circuits and the use of independent power supplies - but they also conceal a lot of pitfalls and possible errors in the pairing of components. In this article, we will try to highlight the main critical points of such a selection of equipment and highlight the most important specifications of amplification equipment that you should pay attention to when choosing.

CH Precision is a bright star in the firmament of modern High End, but the company's top 10th series is designed to reconsider the boundaries of what is possible from equipment of any class. Today we are testing the two-block power amplifier CH Precision M10 Stereo - a device that flaunts innovative circuit solutions and offers mind-blowing sound quality.

Testing upper echelon of High End equipment is not an easy task. Equipment of this level demands maximum opportunities from the entire audio system, can bring out the shortcomings of well-known music recordings and spoil further impressions of components of a more modest price range. However, it is equipment of this class that gives us starting points for evaluating the entire range of products presented on the market - it sets standards and establishes reference points for the entire industry. The CH Precision P10 phono preamplifier is one of them - and today we are testing this wonderful device.

The Audio Research I/50 integrated amplifier is the brand's least expensive, and the only integrated amplifier the company produces today. Weighing 18.1 kg, the construction is exceptionally high quality, and the time-tested push-pull tube circuitry is presented here.

The new integrated amplifier Audio Analogue AACento, as is typical for High End audio solutions, will not offer you a built-in digital-to-analog converter (DAC) or streamer. But, the device has a high-quality phono preamplifier and headphone amplifier, and the commutation set will satisfy almost every audiophile. However, the main thing here is, of course, the sound – and we will focus on it.