
Improving sound quality requires prioritizing fixes based on their impactโwhat Kevin Fielding dubs “sonic triage.” Speaker placement, time alignment, and managing reflections top the “emergency” list, while bass management and fine-tuning DSP take precedence later. Read on for the full breakdown.

Signal loss impacts imaging, clarity, and bassโbut itโs fixable. Discover 10 yearsโ worth of tips for unlocking your systemโs potential.

Itโs Awards Season! HF&MS celebrates the yearโs finest in HiFi, from groundbreaking speakers to game-changing amplifiers and DACs.

Is it magic, or is it science? The SonoSphere traps your music in a private bubble, yet the “Phantom Sound Effect” tricks others nearby into thinking they hear itโwhich they donโt. Really.

Shanling revives CD culture with a full lineupโfrom ripping-ready CR60 to SACD showstopper SCD1.3โblending vintage charm with cutting-edge audio tech.

Welcome to the November Vinyl Beat! This month at Casa Rudy weโre enjoying a couple of Doobies, being overrun by Rhinos, wearing aย Tutu, adding some salsa to lifeโs recipe, and operating under an assumed identity.

The Mojo Audio Mystique Y DAC appears to have most if not all the sound quality of the established Mystique X model; Howard Milstein gives it an in-depth review.

In Part 2, writer Mike Harkins talks to audio manufacturers about DSP’s future, and boldly predicts it will revolutionize sound quality in ways we’ve never experienced before.

Mike Harkins explores the rise of DSP in high-end audio, questioning its role in shaping the future as more audiophile brands adopt it to optimize room acoustics and enhance sound reproduction.

Forget speakersโtrue audiophiles know the chair is king. The Perfect Listening Chairโข cancels body noise, massages with soundwaves, and, in its PLC-X form, lets you live, move, and dominateโall without ever standing up.

The Vinyl Beat digs up notable vinyl nuggets like INXS’s โKickโ 45 RPM reissue, Sheila E’s salsa debut, and Rachel Z’s introspective jazz trio recording.

Kevin Fielding explores three subwoofer connection methods and five crossover strategies, ultimately finding that full-range mains with carefully overlapped subs yield the most natural, musically satisfying bass integration in a stereo system.

PS Audio’s Paul McGowan offers a brief history of the evolution of loudspeakers.

After measuring and diagnosing a room with problematic bass response and decay times, this detailed report shows how bass traps, diffusion, and FIR filters dramatically improved symmetry, reduced error rates, and tightened bassโall confirmed by ear.

The Vinyl Beat is a new column that will dig up notable vinyl nuggets, past and present.
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