Reviews of hi-fi stereo equipment, typically examining the design, engineering, and what I like and dislike about hi-fi equipment.
The Accuphase C-202 class A preamplifier is an extraordinary piece of hi-fi gear. Come along as I service and review this great preamp. The Accuphase C-202 is a line-level, class A, fully balanced preamplifier. It also features a dedicated CD buffer circuit, with very little in the signal path. By any measure, it is a […]
This lovely Denon SL-7D direct drive turntable needed a thorough service in order to play records nicely again. I figured it was a great opportunity to review this classic deck. I’ve written about the Denon SL-7D previously, they are good, honest turntables and I enjoy working on them. The SL-7D definitely isn’t a super-deck, but
Every so often, I work on a piece of hi-fi gear that makes me smile, and the Marantz Model 6300 direct drive turntable is one of them. One look at a Marantz Model 6300 and you’ll reach an inevitable conclusion: you want and need to find one to add to your collection! That’s exactly what
The Technics SL-10 direct-drive turntable continues Technics’ tradition of innovation and beautiful design. Find out why the SL-10 is one of the best vintage turntable buys today. The Technics SL-10 direct-drive turntable represented the pinnacle of design, engineering and product marketing when it arrived to market in 1979. It truly re-defined what could be done
Record clamps are an important part of a good vinyl replay system, most commonly in the form of center or spindle clamps. I wanted to find an affordable peripheral clamp I could recommend, however. I may have… Searching online for a peripheral or ring-type record clamp to review, I stumbled across Sound Foundations, operating out
The Pioneer PL-514 belt-drive turntable is an absolute classic. Let’s find out why. The Pioneer PL-514 is a high-quality, great-sounding belt-drive deck from one of the big Japanese manufacturers. In terms of build and performance, like so much other Japanese gear, it puts many other belt-drive decks to shame. The motor alone is far better
In this second of my Quad 405 series, I review the legendary Quad 405-2. Find out why there is so much love for these amazing little amplifiers and why you should buy one. The Quad 405 and Quad 405-2 are incredible amplifiers, even now, some 40+ years after they were introduced to the world. This
I just serviced this lovely Denon DP-30L direct-drive turntable and want to spread the word about this great deck. The Denon DP-30L is an excellent turntable with a good feature set, quality motor, solid chassis and excellent speed control circuitry. The DP-30L weighs in at just under 10kg, much more than today’s lightweight decks. This
The Technics SL-23 is an affordable, loveable belt-drive turntable that I highly recommend to anyone looking for their first ‘proper’ deck. Updated March 2024! Technics is perhaps best known for the SL-1200 series of direct-drive turntables and the lovely SL-10 linear tracker. They manufactured a huge range of machines at varying price points, many of
The legendary Yamaha NS-1000M loudspeaker is an iconic design that, in many ways has almost no peers even today, 50 years on. Yamaha’s NS-1000M is lauded by those who have heard them and loved by many thousands of owners, who, like me, appreciate their unique attributes. I own the pair of NS-1000s featured in this article,
Legendary Yamaha NS-1000M Loudspeaker Review & Upgrades Read More »
