Is a noisy electrical ground bottlenecking your entire stereo system? In Part 2 of our Synergy series, Synergistic Research founder Ted Denney explains how appliances, Wi-Fi routers, and dimmers pollute your electrical ground. Discover why ground is the absolute ceiling for your noise floor, what components you should never ground, and how stabilizing your zero reference point can make your existing amplifier sound brand new.
Streamline your Hi-Fi stack without compromising performance. Discover 5 exceptional preamplifiers featuring built-in DACs and MM/MC phono stages—from accessible powerhouses like the Rotel RC-1572 MkII to flagship designs from McIntosh and Unison Research. Simplify your setup and elevate your sound.
Are you connecting your high-end components with a mix-and-match "cable stew" of different brands? In this installment of our Synergy series, Synergistic Research founder Ted Denney explains why cables are actually waveguides for electromagnetic fields, not passive pipes for electrons. Discover how digital noise from behind your rack bleeds into your speaker lines, and why a unified cable loom unlocks true system coherence.
The integrated amplifier has never been more compelling. We look at five standout models under $10,000 for 2026 that offer the power, authority, and musicality of high-end separates in a single chassis. Featuring gear from Yamaha, Rotel Michi, Soulnote, and ModWright.
Have you hit an invisible performance ceiling with your stereo system? In Part 1 of our Synergy series, Synergistic Research founder Ted Denney explains why your amplifier is only as good as the AC power feeding it. Discover how modern household noise corrupts your grid, why traditional power filters choke dynamic transient life, and why the humble fuse is the most overlooked bottleneck in your entire component rack.
Streaming was supposed to kill the compact disc. It didn’t. Instead, new players are being engineered with more care and intention than anything released during the format's commercial peak. From accessible entry-level transports to uncompromising, hand-built reference machines, here are five CD players and transports worth your attention in 2026. Your collection has been waiting.
Class A, Class A/B, hybrid, or all-tube, compelling new amplifier designs are taking over high-end audio. We’re breaking down five incredible standouts from Pass Labs, Rotel Michi, McIntosh, ModWright, and Gryphon that deserve your attention. Find out which one is the perfect match for your speakers, your room, and your music.
"Twenty-six years ago, I set out to build audio products that I would want to own myself." Join ModWright founder Dan Wright as he takes us on a journey through more than two decades of amplifier design, listening, and refinement—culminating in the powerhouse KWA 300 Reference Power Amplifier.
Amplifier technology has never stopped evolving. But experienced listeners keep coming back to well-executed Class A/B designs — not out of nostalgia, but because of what they do for music that other topologies haven't consistently replicated. ModWright founder Dan Wright explains the philosophy behind twenty-six years of amplifier design and why the goal has always been the same: the shortest path between the listener and the music.
