The Absolute Sound

The Absolute Sound is the world’s preeminent source of expert reviews, features, and commentary on high-performance audio and music.

The Absolute Sound

Letters

An Uncompromising Ethos

FUTURE TAS

Is Atmos for Audiophiles? • No—But It Could Be

The 2024 Florida International Audio Exposition • A Family Affair

ALAN TAFFEL'S BEST OF SHOW

ANDREW QUINT'S BEST OF SHOW

Gold Note PH-1000 Phonostage • Flexibility and Performance

Audio Tools • WallySkater and WallyTractor Universal, Hagerman FryCorder2 and FryBaby3, Riverstone Audio Record-Level Turntable Stylus Tracking Force Gauge/Scale

J.Sikora Reference Turntable and KV12 Max Zirconium Series Tonearm • A Reference For Less

WestminsterLab Rei Monoblock Power Amplifiers • Not Your Father's Class A Amplifier

Class A Amplifiers Explained

Zesto Audio Eros 500 Select Monaural Power Amplifier • Swept Away

Hegel H600 Streaming Integrated Amplifier • Master of All Trades

VIVE LA FRANCE! • Over the years I've heard and reviewed many fine solid-state amplifiers from the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Switzerland, Germany, The Netherlands, Scandinavia, various Eastern European countries, and Japan. What I haven't yet heard or reviewed is a solid-state amplifier from France.

LA SOUPE À L'ALPHABET

SPECS & PRICING

Acora Acoustics VRC Loudspeaker • Monumental

Aqua Acoustic Quality LinQ Network Interface, La Diva M2 CD Transport, and Formula xHD Rev.2 DAC • The Purist Approach to Digital

Specs & Pricing

R/R2 Ladder DACs—How They Work • The following text in quotes is excerpted from my book The Complete Guide to High-End Audio, sixth edition.

R/2R Ladder DACs: The Single-Ended Triodes of Digital Conversion

Removing the Digital Filter

dCS Lina Master Clock • Timing is Everything

Specs & Pricing

Gauder Akustik DARC 250 Mk II Loudspeaker • Dynamic, Articulate, Resolving, and Coherent

Specs & Pricing

Silent Angel Bonn NX Pro Ethernet Switch and Genesis GX Word Clock • The Final Frontier

Manufacturer Comments

Female Jazz Vocalists of Note • Impressive New Recordings by Must-Hear Singers

Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings • Sonny Rollins Shines on Previously Unreleased Live Dates

Fauré: Complete Music for Solo Piano • Exploring Light and Shade with a Unique Instrument

When Fred Flange Begat Matt Monro • Pop Crooning on an Elevated Plane

Daniel Bachman's Homemade Musical Experiments • Merging Handcrafted Instruments and Electronics

R.E.M.'s Up Turns 25 • New Deluxe Edition Spotlights a Period of Transition

ROCK ETC

JAZZ

CLASSICAL

Q&A • Shane Buettner MIBS Distro, Intervention Records