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When I examined the Ayre Acoustics EX-8 2.0's performance on the test bench, to accompany Ken Micallef's review in the November 2021 issue, the two channels behaved somewhat differently. The right channel's output impedance was higher than that of the left—0.525 ohm vs 0.35 ohm, which resulted in a level imbalance of 0.2dB into 8 ohms—and while the distortion was predominantly third-harmonic in the left channel, it was predominantly second-harmonic in the right channel.

Ayre Vice President & CTO Ariel…

There was nothing equivocal in my August 2021 review of the Accuphase DG-68 Digital Voicing Equalizer ($24,000). Calling it "among the most enlightening and consequential" audio products I've spent time with, I affirmed that it "enriched my experience of reproduced music far more than I could have imagined." I found it a transformational product that performed "flawlessly, to oft-astounding effect."

For better or worse, forces cosmic and otherwise left insufficient time to explore all the DG-68's…

When I measured the sample of the Ayre EX-…

The brochure asks, "Have you heard of YAKUSUGI Cedar?" No. I had never heard of Analog Relax, either. If you have heard of it, you're at least one step ahead of me.

Analog Relax, the brochure says, is produced by ZOOT Communication (footnote 1). On the company's website I learned that in Japanese "zoot" means "always." ZOOT Communication President Yasushi Yurugi is also a big Zoot Sims fan. He…

The Audio Relax EX1000 (on the Schröder arm, with the OMA K3 arm/turntable) feeding the Arion Mk.II—even loaded at 100 ohms (the cartridge's 15 ohm internal impedance would suggest at least a 150 ohm load)—produced a dazzling presentation that enhanced and intensified the best qualities of both to produce among the most enticing vinyl-…

In the early 1970s, my hometown—Chicago—was a hotbed of blues. I discovered the blues in high school via the Rolling Stones, and I began to frequent the city's blues clubs as a college student, at first while still underage. From Theresa's, the South Side tavern where Junior Wells performed, I progressed to the West Side, where on weekends I would head down Madison Street to see Howlin' Wolf at Big Duke's Blue Flame Lounge.

Crudely drawn erotic silhouettes adorned the walls of the Blue Flame,…

"Herbie! Have you tried the Mola Mola? Come on man, what's taking you so long? Is Putzeys's DAC better than my MSB? Or the dCS Bartók? Or the HoloAudio May?"

I don't mind—I like it when people pester me about products they're excited about. That type of revved-up, need-to-know anticipation is what…

Curious to experience an even bigger, more direct and forceful presentation and a little more Mola Mola bass, I replaced the Falcons with Harbeth's M30.2 monitors and played my favorite fun soundtrack, Alexander Desplat's Isle of Dogs (16/44.1 FLAC, ABKCO/Qobuz). That led quickly to a moment where I kicked myself for not playing the Harbeth speakers more than I do. Driven by…

In the 1970s, analog-centric audiophiles particularly praised the Technics SP-10, the world's first direct drive turntable. Created by Matsushita engineer Shuichi Obata in 1969, the SP-10 and its successors became the standard in vinyl playback for American radio stations during that heyday of broadcast radio. Because of its powerful motor, the SL-1200 became the spinner/scratcher of choice among hip hop DJs soon after…

"Response Optimizer," the site continued, "measures the frequency characteristics of the…