SoundStage! Simplifi | SoundStageSimplifi.com

: Written by: Gordon Brockhouse; Created: 15 February 2024

Every hobby has its killjoys—and audio has more than its share. I’m thinking of purists who insist that there’s only one right way to listen to reproduced music: with your head locked in the sweet spot between a pair of speakers. Members of this party’s fanatical wing may have other bugaboos, too. DSP—not allowed! Lossy compression—intolerable! Listen through a Bluetooth speaker out on the patio? Anathema! Listen through a smart speaker while you prepare dinner? Sacrilege!

: Written by: Gordon Brockhouse; Created: 01 February 2024

Reviewers' Choice In 2023, Denmark’s Buchardt Audio celebrated its tenth anniversary. To mark the occasion, the company released a new active speaker, the Anniversary 10 (A10), which is the subject of this review. In October 2020, I reviewed Buchardt’s A500 active speaker and was wowed by it. The A500 received a Reviewers’ Choice award and then won a 2020 SoundStage! Network Product of the Year award for Innovation in Design. So when Buchardt Audio announced the A10 last summer, I immediately emailed CEO and founder Mads Buchardt to request a pair for review.

: Written by: Kurt Wetzel; Created: 15 January 2024

Reviewers' Choice Back in January 2017, in the first review ever published on SoundStage! Simplifi, Al Griffin wrote, “What makes me think the wireless category has finally, truly arrived are new options from companies such as Dynaudio and Devialet—wireless, powered speakers that provide high-performance alternatives to traditional wired hi-fi systems.” Al was evaluating the Bang & Olufsen Beosound 2 in that review, and he wrote it with serious listeners in mind for whom the sound system—its performance and its continual refinement—is an important part of the experience.

: Written by: Todd Whitesel; Created: 01 January 2024

Kanto Audio is a Canadian-based consumer electronics company, with headquarters near Vancouver, British Columbia. Its offerings include powered and passive desktop and bookshelf speakers, a powered subwoofer, and three types of speaker stands. For this review, Kanto sent me its latest offering, the ORA Reference desktop speaker system ($349.99, all prices in USD), along with its SUB8 powered subwoofer ($269.99) and two pairs of desktop speaker stands, the S2 and SE2 ($29.99 and $39.99).

: Written by: Gordon Brockhouse; Created: 15 November 2023

When I first got into this hobby, a half-century ago, a common entry point was a starter system comprising a base-model stereo receiver, a basic turntable, and a pair of bookshelf speakers. For a system with junky house-brand speakers, you’d pay $250 to $300 (all prices in USD except where noted), or $400-plus for a system with name-brand speakers—say, a pair of Dynaco A25s or EPI 100s.

: Written by: Roger Kanno; Created: 15 October 2023

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.

Reviewers' Choice It’s been a couple of years since Bluesound introduced the latest iteration of the company’s award-winning Node streaming device. After being favorably reviewed by Gordon Brockhouse in 2021, it received a SoundStage! Network Product of the Year award in the Exceptional Value category. The Node ($599, all prices USD) is widely considered one of the most fully featured music streamers available at anywhere near its price point. For the brand’s 10th anniversary, Bluesound decided to release a special edition of the Node. Priced at $749, the Node X isn’t meant to replace the current generation of the Node. It will be available for a limited but unspecified period.

: Written by: Gordon Brockhouse; Created: 01 October 2023

I bet there are loads of people who would love to have a good audio system in a room where it’s impractical to deploy a pair of freestanding loudspeakers. I also bet there are many others whose living space can accommodate freestanding speakers but whose significant other won’t.

: Written by: Todd Whitesel; Created: 15 September 2023

Based in Florence, Italy, Volumio is best known for its open-source music-management software, which has become very popular with DIYers looking to build a headless music streamer on the cheap. But Volumio also offers three domestically manufactured streaming products: the Rivo streamer, Primo streaming DAC, and Integro streaming integrated amplifier, the subject of this review. With a streamer, a DAC, and an amplifier combined in a single elegant chassis, the Integro needs just a pair of speakers, and it’s ready to play.

: Written by: Gordon Brockhouse; Created: 01 September 2023

Did this heading just make you do a double take? I wouldn’t be surprised if it did because Wi-Fi and turntable are two words you don’t expect to see back-to-back. Indeed, Pro-Ject Audio Systems’ T2 W ($1199; all prices in USD unless noted otherwise) is the first product of its kind: a turntable that can stream audio over a home network to multiple devices.

: Written by: Gordon Brockhouse; Created: 01 August 2023

I think marketing geniuses can sometimes be too smart for the good of the companies they’re trying to promote. Consider the slogan that Klipsch Audio Technologies came up with in 2021 to celebrate the brand’s 75th anniversary: “Pissing off the neighbors since 1946.” The company even created a “Pissing Off the Neighbors” edition of its RB-81 MkII bookshelf loudspeaker (now discontinued).

: Written by: Todd Whitesel; Created: 01 July 2023

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.

From the perspective of a pre-teen in the late 1970s, it seemed as if hi-fi was everywhere, and separate components ruled. In our living room, we had shag-white carpet, a Dual turntable, and a Marantz cassette deck and receiver. I remember the receiver’s gorgeous blue front lighting and joy-to-use Gyro Wheel tuner. A pair of Pioneer speakers with lustrous woodgrain cabinets rounded out the system. But I envied neighbors who had flashier systems from JVC, Sansui, and Technics. One friend had a complete silver Pioneer system at home, including the stunning CT-F1000 cassette deck, which I lusted after but couldn’t possibly afford. So, I compromised. I saved $200 from my allowance and summer jobs and bought a Panasonic all-in-one, which included a turntable, receiver, cassette deck, and matching speakers—my first stereo system.