Posts with tag "Ranking"

A ranking of legendary reel-to-reel tape machines: Studer A820, Ampex ATR-102, Technics RS-1500, Revox B77 MkII, etc. Verified specifications and secondary-market prices.

The subwoofer in a two-channel system is a perennial talking point that has seen many a lance broken. While the debate rages on, the market for these devices keeps growing - and a consensus is gradually taking hold that the modest low end of bookshelf or slim floorstanding speakers can well be extended with a dedicated bass module. Modern subwoofers integrate into a system beautifully and guarantee seamless sound with far greater scale and sense of air. We have prepared a ranking of the best music subwoofers as of August 2026. As usual, the article starts with the affordable models and ends with the flagships - so you can pick a unit for any taste and budget.

If you want large-scale sound and a wider choice of amplification, all roads lead to floorstanding speakers. Oddly enough, the sensitivity of such loudspeakers is usually higher than that of bookshelf models - which means you can save on electronics. And the sound will be more expansive too. So if your listening room allows it, the choice is obvious. Here is our expert ranking of the most impressive floorstanders of summer 2026. As usual, the list is sorted in order of increasing price.

Bookshelf speakers are arguably the hottest product today. Their dimensions allow them to fit even into small spaces, their sound quality is almost on par with their larger floorstanding counterparts, and the number of new models is skyrocketing every month. To help you navigate the sea of ​​new products, we've prepared a fresh guide to compact speakers as of July 2026. As usual, the rankings start with affordable speakers and end with high-end models, so you can find speakers to suit every taste and budget.

Tube amplifiers are becoming a cult again - their not-too-high power is offset by a warm sound, while a certain right kind of nonlinearity, with its emphasis on even harmonics, guarantees a magical delivery that is very pleasant to the ear. With the right choice of speakers, a tube amplifier with an output of 2 x 8 W easily runs rings around 200 W of digital amplification, and that is no joke, which is why the segment keeps growing year after year and new brands keep appearing. In our new expert ranking we have gathered seven of the most interesting modern tube amplifiers priced up to twenty thousand euros.

Just ten years ago planar headphone technology was an exotic luxury available only in the High-End segment. Today the ice has broken - the pioneers of the field, together with a host of new names, have cut the price of a planar headphone almost tenfold and brought such models into full competition with dynamic-driver headphones. This is exactly the kind of technical progress we value: HiFiMan developed StealthMagnet and the Asymmetric Magnetic Circuit, Audeze created Fluxor, Dan Clark Audio gave us AMTS and V-Planar, and together all of this solved most of the problems of planars and made the technology truly mainstream. Today the entry ticket into the segment costs from EUR 129 - not bad, right? So let us get down to studying the lay of the land in the planar headphone market in 2026.

In our new expert feature we have studied MC cartridges - the most precise and audiophile type of all - but limited the contenders to a price range of €500 to €1,150. This is not yet High-End, but it is the sweet spot, where you get truly luxurious sound at a price far below true high-end territory.

R2R (resistor-ladder) conversion in modern DACs is experiencing a renaissance. At the dawn of the digital era, the technology dominated the market (TDA1541A from Philips, Burr-Brown PCM63 and PCM1704 in implementations by Sony, Wadia, and Mark Levinson), but was subsequently supplanted by delta-sigma architecture. Since 2015, an R2R renaissance has begun – modern SMD resistors with 0.01% tolerance have become available, FPGAs have become powerful enough to replace ASIC architecture within the chip, and a clear demand has emerged from audiophiles for analog sound over digital, a field in which R2R has been and remains very strong. In this article, we'll explore the optimal, affordable solutions and mid-range DACs using R2R technology these are available on the market today.

Why need a separate streamer when there are integrated streaming amplifiers? Here we enter the segment of higher-quality component systems that allow flexible upgrades and significantly improve sound by isolating separate power circuits and shielding the digital portion.

Therefore, the elegant solution of an integrated amplifier with a built-in DAC and streamer (to which you only need to add a couple of speakers) has become a true industry standard. The sound quality of the latest streaming amplifiers has leaped forward - a true revolution has occurred in the segment over the past ten years. So now this class of equipment no longer seems like a compromise between price, convenience, and quality.

Meanwhile, the functions of a phono preamp (amplifying the signal from the cartridge, restoring the frequency response through equalization) are performed with an extremely low-level signal - highly sensitive to interference and crosstalk. Even minimal correction errors are subsequently multiplied at a much higher signal level in the amplifier circuit. In this article, we've compiled seven of the most impressive phono preamplifiers, sorted in ascending order of price. Looking to upgrade your entry-level hi-fi system? This article is for you. Thinking about upgrading your high-end vinyl audio system? This ranking will point you in the right direction.

Last year, vinyl record sales in the US surpassed $1 billion for the first time since 1983 - and as a result, the market is now flooded not only with LPs but also with turntables. While the high-end segment remains fairly conservative, the budget turntable sector is absolutely bursting with options. Even a savvy audiophile could get lost in this abundance - but the good news is that for under $500 you can now find a unit that would have cost twice as much five years ago in terms of sound quality. Our editorial team has separated the wheat from the chaff and selected the best affordable turntables on the market today. That's right - years of refinement from brands like Rega, Pro-Ject, Audio-Technica, and U-Turn have paid off.

Engineers from Denmark (Purifi), the Netherlands (Hypex), and the USA (Orchard Audio, AGD Productions) have solved Class D's main problems - high-frequency distortion, heavy dependence on speaker impedance, and synthetic-sounding reproduction. In this analytical article, we break down the principles of digital amplification, describe the major modern Class D modules, and select the best among digital amplifiers priced from $89 to $6,500.

Even though 2026 is still young, the integrated amplifier market has already seen a notable refresh. In our latest expert ranking, we sorted through the newest releases to find those truly worth your attention - and picked the very best among them. What's especially encouraging is how many models landed in the affordable segment - great sound is becoming more accessible.

Our ranking of the most expensive high-end cartridges for vinyl is truly definitive. There are no one-off cartridges here – all models are mass-produced as of early 2026. Only the cream of the audiophile crown, only genuine gold for your ears.

Headphones have also entered the Ultra High-End range, making our new ranking of the most expensive "portable headphone speakers" quite interesting. As usual, the list doesn't include discontinued models or one-off diamond-studded headphones – it features only mass-produced, yet extraordinary examples.

Our ranking of Ultra High-End audio equipment continues – next up is a look at the most expensive and impressive preamplifiers. The models below are mass-produced; the list does not include long-discontinued units or one-off components. And believe us, each of these preamps is capable of surprising even seasoned audiophiles with their sound quality.

Ultra-high-end is sweeping the globe – and engineers, unencumbered by cost constraints, are creating true masterpieces. Our new top-tier list of the most impressive audio components is comprised of ultra-expensive power amplifiers – ones that will surprise even seasoned audiophiles. As usual, the ranking is based on current production models – you won't find any concept amplifiers, one-offs, or long-discontinued components here.

Over the past 20 years, the field of high-end audio equipment and systems has seen tectonic shifts. Innovative driver designs, special cabinet materials, and revolutionary crossovers have all pushed the boundaries of our perception, regardless of price. Our new hit parade compiles the most impressive and most expensive speakers in the world as of 2026. And unlike many other rankings, this list doesn't include speakers released as a one-off in 2008 or long since discontinued. Only production models, only renowned brands—and only Ultra High-End.

Ultra high-end equipment never ceases to amaze with both its sound quality and the engineering ingenuity of its designers. Our new selection features eight of the most modern and very expensive turntables – a ranking of stunning turntables is here for you.