Conventional wisdom amongst audiophile beginners is that the biggest improvement you could make to the sound of your home stereo is with good speakers connected to an amplifier by even better connecting cables that could equal the price of the speakers. Testing this wisdom on my headphone micro system demonstrated that the headphones/speakers made a […]
An amplifier just increases the volume and does not affect the quality of the sound coming out of your speakers or headphones, right? That is what I used to think, but that is WRONG! The thought that headphone amp is not a sound neutral device was one of those things that were so contrary to […]
Throw away your earbuds! The single most important thing you can do to improve the quality of your digital sound is to buy a pair of good headphones. The variety of headphones to choose from in every price range is daunting to a first time buyer. Where do you start? The first thing to decide […]
While the prices of high end connector cables often exceed the price of the high end components they are attached to, the cables that carry the analog signal noticeably improves the sound quality of your system. Just like adding a good power cord, a high end connecting cable for the analog signal makes an improvement […]
Whether you should buy a power conditioner or a good surge protector depends on how bad the line power is that feeds your audio system. However, if you have thrown away the power cords that came with your audio components and replaced them with good power cords, you are going to want to put good […]
Want better sound quality? Throw away any power cord that comes in the box with your audio components and invest in a quality power cord! A good power cord used on a music component improves the sound quality dramatically. To my ear there is no question about it and this test of power cords on […]
Unless an alien spacecraft lands secretly somewhere near Cupertino, California between now and the end of the year to give new technology to the computer industry, the Meridian Explorer DAC is this year’s miracle audio product. After you replace your earbuds with good headphones, the second most dramatic improvement you can make to the quality […]
No cell phone has a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) that is very good. To get any good sound out of a cell phone or an iPad you need a third-party DAC. The Chord Hugo 2, like the original Hugo and the Mojo is a DAC and a headphone amplifier. Chord Electronics made the first […]
A good power cord makes a big difference in sound quality, but how good is good enough? Once I picked the Audience Power Cord E for my HiFiMan EF5 amplifier and my HiFiman HE-500 headphone microsystem, I was ready to see whether a more expensive power cord means better improvement in the sound quality. I […]
