EN 
FR -
After testing 16 interconnects, Jonson Lee concludes that cables over $100 can offer real gains, price doesn’t predict performance, cleaning contacts boosts clarity, and a cable’s sonic character stays consistent across gear.
-
Three high-end speaker cables—Audience Studio ONE, AudioQuest Robin Hood ZERO, and Kimber Kable Monocle XL—showcase different flavors of excellence: the Studio ONE’s lush warmth, Robin Hood’s soundstage depth, and Monocle XL’s bold, detailed realism.
-
Mike Vosse helped spark one of rock’s greatest musical intersections: Elton John’s rise in America, Leon Russell’s breakout, and the moment they collided at the Troubadour—fueling a creative surge that would echo for decades.
-
For the first entry in our “Best $20,000 System” series, Art et Son’s Rob Sutcliffe and Antonello deliver a warm, sweet, and tactile sound built around Harbeth, Moonriver, Chord, and Melco—plus smart upgrade paths for vinyl lovers.
-
In his latest interconnect roundup, the Guru pits Audience, Kimber Kable, and AudioQuest against each other—finding all three excellent, but each with a unique sonic flavor and value proposition worth testing in your own system.
-
Jazz pianist Jean-Michel Pilc, once a devoted audiophile with Linn and Naim gear, now favors simpler setups and live recordings, believing music—not the gear—should move us, whether it’s Mingus or McCartney.
-
Claude Lemaire’s sprawling DIY vinyl system may look eccentric, but its rich, soulful sound proves his unorthodox tweaks and vintage gear choices are far from frivolous.
-
Jonson Lee argues that no gear upgrade rivals a clear mind—distraction and interpretation, he writes, add more “noise and distortion” to the listening experience than any component ever could.
-
Fleeing taxes and chaos, the Rolling Stones holed up in a French villa and conjured “Exile on Main St.” — a murky, magnificent sprawl of blues, gospel, and rock’n’roll defiance that still resonates 50 years on.
-
Reporting from High End Munich 2022, Gilles Laferrière reflects on dream systems, surprising entry-level performance, and passionate interviews—while urging exhibitors to ditch the arrogance and set up their rooms right.
-
Three SPDIF cables from AudioQuest, Kimber, and Audience face off—each delivering distinct sonic strengths—while the old-school Auric Illuminator CD treatment surprisingly proves its worth, boosting clarity, ambiance, and realism across multiple discs.
-
Rotel’s A12MKII integrated amp-DAC impresses with refined power, a premium DAC, and warm, balanced sound. While lacking AAC Bluetooth support, it shines with dynamic range, rich midrange, and build quality that outclasses rivals.
-
Braving the brisk Montreal weather, Mike Harkins attends the 2022 Montréal Audiofest, where standout systems from Focal, Muraudio, PS Audio, and more share the spotlight with jazz sets, Dolby Atmos demos, and rooftop ducks.
-
Luthier Okkyum Kim and reviewer Robert Schryer audition Audio Element’s $10K Krypton system in Pasadena and are stunned by its deep, articulate bass and musical realism—qualities that rival systems many times its price.
-
In Part 4 of this series, Gilles Laferrière defends high-end audio cabling against skeptics, citing top studios and engineers—like Bob Ludwig and Kevin Gray—who rely on premium cables to achieve superior sound quality.