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.
Most speaker companies will tell you their products are built to last. Legacy Audio will show you. We toured their Springfield, Illinois, factory with Jay McArdle, and what we found wasn't a slick modern facility. It was a craft shop full of people who hand-wind crossovers, inspect every veneer, and listen to every single speaker before it ships. There's also a studio story in here that most Legacy customers have never heard.
There is a moment every audiophile looks for: when the gear recedes and the music takes over. For our latest review, that moment happened during Roger Waters' Dark Side of the Moon Redux. By swapping a mix of high-end cables for a full Synergistic Research Foundation XL loom, we heard bass extension and soundstage scale that we didn't think our speakers were capable of. Here is why "speaking the same language" across your entire cable chain changes everything.
Think of your audio system as a chain where the signal is most vulnerable at the start. In this guide, we explore why the power cable to your source is the most critical upgrade you can make and how following a sequential "Wall Forward" path leads to a more authoritative, detailed, and coherent musical presentation.
Streamers occupy a strange middle ground in audio—the differences are real, but they’re easy to oversell. In this review of the Innuos Stream3, we strip away the marketing to answer one question: at what point does spending more actually matter? From the "dark" backgrounds of reclocking to the emotional resonance of a perfectly timed recording, here is the honest truth about the Innuos lineup.
Most audiophiles treat their streamer as an afterthought, but it’s the foundation of your signal chain. Whether you are just starting with a Bluesound Node or reaching the "destination" with an Innuos Statement, your system is only as good as its source. Discover the 7 stages of streamer upgrades and find out which one your system is actually ready to hear.
