What about reclocking switches? And what if you only need to connect two units—which could be connected with just a cable? Do reclocking switches offer any advantage?
That is one of several questions I set out to answer by…
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In the opinion of this hi-fi reviewer, the debate over the efficacy of audio-quality network switches should be over. As logic would dictate, when connections are made via a network switch, the quality of its inputs, outputs, oscillators (clocks), power supplies, and pathways affects the sound of everything downstream. It's clearly audible. Everything matters.
After ignominious dismissal from Metallica shortly before that band's debut recording, guitarist Dave Mustaine could have easily become a Greg Walls–esque footnote in metal history. But his seething anger, easily audible in his subsequent discography, led him to retaliate by forming Megadeth, which, if not as lucrative as Metallica, was just as influential.
Nearly 40 years after Megadeth's first release, Mustaine, who hits retirement age this fall while suffering from Dupuytren's contracture, has released his 17th and final album, titled, simply, Megadeth. This occasions a retrospective…
The Thursday after AXPONA, I planned to go to a listening party, sponsored by our town's library and held at a local art gallery. I thought that for once I would expand my horizons and spend time with others who love music instead of sitting alone in front of my hi-fi. I tempered my audiophile expectations, knowing it was more about music and togetherness than audiophilia. The library's monthly newsletter read, "Bring your favorite vinyl," so I packed up my third copy of Boston's debut album. Not my first or second copy, both Double Wallys (footnote 1), but the third, non–Double Wally, in…
At AXPONA 2026, Ex Machina Soundworks' Dev Avidon (seen above) and Danville Signal's Al Clark talk about the all-in-one Main Sequence System they demo’ed together at the show in an interview with Ken Micallef that's now posted on our YouTube channel.
Dev Avidon and Dan "Physics" Grochowski of Ex Machina Soundworks, joined by Al Clark of Danville Signal, presented a room demo at AXPONA 2026 based on their novel technology.
"The system you heard is the preview version of the Main Sequence System, a joint venture by Danville Signal and Ex Machina Soundworks,"…
At AXPONA 2026, Axiss Audio's Steve Huntley and Phasemation's Hideki Sato and Shigeki Momoto talk about all the gear shown in another one of the Axiss rooms at the show in an interview with Ken Micallef that's now posted on our YouTube channel..
The sound in this Axiss Audio room at AXPONA 2026, which was dominated by Phasemation amplification, was similar to the sound of the Phasemation room heard at High End Munich 2025.
Capitalizing on Phasemation's sleek, quiet, and pure sound, music played with faithfulness to the recorded event with excellent…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Denon DL-103o, Hana Umami Blue, Ortofon MC Quintet Mono phono cartridges.
Preamplifiers: Rogue Audio RP-7 (line); Tavish Audio Design Adagio, Manley Chinook (phono).
Integrated amplifier: Riviera Labs Levante.
Power amplifier: Rogue Audio Stereo 100.
Loudspeakers: Volti Audio Razz, Voxativ Ampeggio.
Cables: Interconnects: Agent Pur, AudioQuest Pegasus, Triode Wire Labs Spirit II (all RCA). Speaker: Auditorium 23. AC: AudioQuest NRG Z, Triode Wire Labs Obsession NCF.
Accessories: Pro-Ject VC-S2 ALU, Humminguru…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Audio-optimized, layer-2, seven-port unmanaged network switch. Includes nine independent "ultra-low noise" power supplies, eight-layer impedance-controlled printed circuit board, and two femtosecond temperature-compensated oscillators. Auto-negotiated and fixed Ethernet ports. Ports 1–5 are RJ45 1000BASE-T/100BASE-TX capable with auto-negotiation and auto-MDI/MDI-X support. Port 6 is RJ45 100BASE-TX capable with auto-negotiation and auto-MDI/MDI-X support. Port 7 is SFP 1000BASE-T and 1000BASE-X (LX/SX) capable. Connectors: 6× 8P8C (RJ45) and 1× SFP…
At AXPONA 2026, Advance Paris owner Dimitri Peucelle talks about the company's new Nova line of integrated amplifiers in an interview with Ken Micallef that's now posted on our YouTube channel.
Although time constraints prevented me from doing a proper listening evaluation of this Advance Paris system at AXPONA 2026, owner Dimitri Peucelle was able to walk me through all the merits of the company's new Nova line of integrated amplifiers.
Equipment list: Digital sources: Advance Paris Nova A-NTC network streaming cartridge ($599); Advance Paris…
From time to time in this column, I have alluded to what appears to be a loss of direction in high-end audio. It's not that the state of the audio art has stopped advancing; the technology is improving in many ways, as is obvious every time we listen to a new preamplifier or cartridge or loudspeaker that has better this, that, or the other thing than anything which has come before. The problem is that these improvements don't really seem to be getting us anywhere. And I believe the reason for this is that the audio community no longer agrees about where audio is supposed to be going in the…
The Eagles: One of These Nights (Deluxe Edition)
Asylum/Rhino R1-727158 (3 LPs). 1975/2026. Bill Szymczyk, Don Henley, prods.; Szymczyk, Allan Blazek, Rob Jacobs, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
Asylum/Rhino R1-727158 (3 LPs). 1975/2026. Bill Szymczyk, Don Henley, prods.; Szymczyk, Allan Blazek, Rob Jacobs, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
The Eagles entered 1975 with several Top 40 hits to their credit but broke into wide public consciousness with the release of their fourth album, One of These Nights. With its embossed, Grammy-nominated cover artwork by Gary Burden, it was their first to hit the top spot on the US Billboard 200 album chart, and the album spawned three Top Five singles: "One of These Nights," "Lyin…