A wider view of audio gear
What reviewers agree on.
Where they disagree. What matters to you.
The long-awaited 'HD 600 with real bass', from a speaker maker's first dynamic driver — the tuning wins almost everyone; the headband, the treble on some heads and the price do not.
The open-back gamers called a wall hack: wide, light and bass-shy — and argued over on nearly everything else.
64 Audio put a commodity planar driver in a $1,399 shell and engineered its worst habit away — and the argument about whether that's worth fourteen Chi-Fi planars has never stopped.
Klipsch's all-in-one turntable-and-TV pair: big, lively and easy to love — if its amplifier stays quiet and alive.
The press called it the best-value Bluetooth DAC going; its owners mostly agree — once they've survived the firmware, the app and the battery.
The cheapest way into real per-note expression, laid out so chords fall under your fingers — and the keys that make it affordable are exactly what reviewers argue about.
The dictionary
A boost in the bass and lower mids that gives music a rich, cozy, easy-on-the-ears character.
The perceived three-dimensional space of a recording — how wide, deep, and tall the sound appears.
An emphasis on the upper midrange and treble — vivid, clear, and sometimes sharp.
An even-handed sound with no part of the spectrum pushed forward or held back — balanced and reference-like.
