Streaming Radio: So Smart It’s Painful
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Opinion
I’m likely late to this type of complaint. Up to last year, I’d never really used a streaming service. Oh, sure, I’ve subscribed to Tidal since 2018, but it’s always been integrated into my Logitech Media Server software. I rarely listen to online music while I’m outside the house—I rely on local FM stations in the car and a bunch of downloaded favorites when I’m riding my motorcycle.
Engström Arne Integrated Amplifier
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
Who doesn’t love a tube amp? Okay, okay; I know there’s a large contingent of audiophiles who actively don’t like them, but those people are missing an important part of their souls. Tube amplifiers check many of the boxes that define archetypal human satisfaction. Think about it—tube amps provide warmth and light. They rely on similar principles to the lightning in the sky—which we used to think was the work of the gods.
Devialet Astra Streaming Integrated Amplifier
- Written by: Phil Gold
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
Please note: the Devialet Astra is still being tested in our lab, so check back for the measurements.
The late Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, famously declared, “You can never be too rich or too thin.” French manufacturer Devialet appears to have taken the latter half of this maxim to heart in the design of their amplifiers. Their first product, the D‑Premier integrated amp (2010), stood just 1.7″ high and marked a striking departure from conventional amplifier design. It caused a sensation at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where it was shown with its innards exposed, underscoring its unconventional engineering approach.
Digital Vampires: What Have I Invited Into My House?
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Opinion
Some changes to my audiophile mindset have long been brewing. Since I started headlining SoundStage! Ultra, I’ve been slowly, slowly learning that (a) expensive doesn’t necessarily translate to better, and (b) much, if not most, accepted audiophile lore is categorically bullshit.
PMC MB2 SE Loudspeaker
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
It seems these days I begin my reviews with an account of how the component arrived in my living room. I won’t do that here. Instead, I’ll refer you to (a) my March 2026 editorial, where I explain why I’m sitting in my neighbor’s house listening to the PMC MB2 SE speakers, and (b) the My Audiophile Neighborhood episode detailing how we set up these monstrous, wonderful speakers, and how the review came about. Just for good measure, here’s a link to my account of my first mind-blowing exposure to PMC’s sound-reinforcement demonstration over on Soundstage! Global.
Talking Talk Talk
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: For the Record
I have an admission to make. I am useless at games like Scrabble. I like to think I have a way with words, and I have made a career out of placing them in a pleasing order. But I’m unable to take out-of-context letters and form words from them. Wordle, Boggle, Scrabble—I just can’t make my mind work that way.
Engström—Super-Sexy Tube Amps from Sweden
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Opinion
I’ve had a short but intense love affair with Engström amplifiers. I’d been unaware of this Swedish brand prior to the High End 2023 show in Munich, Germany, but my first experience in their room, featuring Marten speakers and Jorma cables, turned me right around. The same thing happened two years later, at High End 2025, where Engström teamed up with Kroma Atelier to produce the best sound I encountered at that massive event.
IsoAcoustics Gaia III Neo Loudspeaker Isolation Footer
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
I’m not often surprised at hi‑fi shows. I hear so much equipment, in so many different combinations, throughout so many different rooms that I find myself becoming jaded. It takes something truly unique to jolt me out of my comfort zone.
Sphinx Element 3 Loudspeaker
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
Note: measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.
Truly new concepts are extremely rare in audio. Generally, new ideas aren’t welcome, unless they manage to develop some sort of inorganic viral buzz. And wildly different topologies are looked on with active suspicion. I wish this weren’t the case, but audiophiles tend to be a stodgy lot.
Ultra Invades the Neighborhood
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Opinion
I have a problem with dimensions, with how the actual size of an object never matches up to its image in my mind’s eye. My most recent example of this kind of failure is the safe that’s taking up far too much room in my garage.
- Michell Cusis M Moving-Coil Phono Cartridge
- Burmester 232 Integrated Amplifier
- Stepping Up to the Ortofon Cadenza Black
- The WiiM Amp Ultra—What’s Happened to Me?
- Townshend Audio Allegri Reference Preamplifier
- Audio Research D-80 Stereo Amplifier
- Boutique Audio Gallery and the Zellaton Statement Ultra
- Michell Apollo Phono Preamplifier and Muse Power Supply
- My Ten Best—The Wrap-Up
- Warsaw Wrap-up and the Hunt for Value
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