Enjoy the Music.com March 2026 High-End Audio Review Magazine And Audiophile Hi-Fi Commentary

March 2026

Celebrating Our Spectacular 30th Anniversary!
Honoring Enjoy the Music.com's exceptional articles and reviews.
During 2026, Enjoy the Music.com will feature historic audio gear reviews and articles during our past 30 years. As always, in the end what really matters is that you... enjoy the music!

High-Performance Audio & Music Industry News
Essential high-end audio news you need to know.
Stay up-to-date on the latest audiophile and music industry news.

The Cost Of Truth In High-End Audio Journalism
How commercial pressure and access-driven incentives, and pay-for-play videos, hollow out independent audiophile criticism.
Editorial By Steven R. Rochlin
The hobby of high-end audio has always traded in reverence: for rare recordings, for the craft of cabinet makers and tube artisans, and for the slow, patient work of listening. That reverence can be a virtue, but it becomes a liability when it substitutes for rigorous, independent criticism. When reviewers conflate admiration with endorsement, the reader loses a reliable compass, and the market loses a healthy corrective. Commercial pressures are not hypothetical; brands pay YouTube influencers to feature their products. Not too long ago, a YouTuber coerced manufacturers into paying monthly to keep his YouTube videos of their products online. For those curious, we've never monetized any of our YouTube videos. Not even the massive effort to produce the Blue Masters At The Crossroads live stream. That was my free gift to longtime friend Chad Kassem and his mother, who for the first time could not attend the concert. We live streamed it to her... and the entire world using professional studio equipment at our expense of not just currency, in both far more valuable time and immense effort.
---> The Cost Of Truth In High-End Audio Journalism.

High Fidelity And The Difference Between Listening And Hearing
The real reason we have our high-fidelity music sound systems.
Editorial By Roger Skoff
What does "listening" mean to you? Is it something active or passive? Is sound – including music – just part of life's background, or is it something special, something that holds your attention and that you meet with intent and focus? Given the near-constant flow of noise in our lives – music in every imaginable form, from singing commercials to the music at work, in the office, or in a store (never meant to be listened to at all, but simply to create an upbeat mood), to "elevator" music, to the background music for movies or television, to the "bumper" music for news broadcasts – almost all of us are surrounded by sound nearly all the time, none of which we actively listen to and little of which we actually hear. Even in a seemingly "quiet" room at home, the measured background noise level will usually measure somewhere around 55 dB. What that means is that, for most of you reading Enjoy the Music.com, sound – any kind of sound, including music – is simply something that's there....
---> High Fidelity And The Difference Between Listening And Hearing.

UK Music Market 2025: Streaming Surges & Vinyl Resilience
BPI Annual Review: 210.3 billion streams, +4.3% album consumption, vinyl growth, and a breakout year for women artists.
Editorial By Alan Sircom
On the last day of every year, the BPI (the British Phonographic Industry) publishes its annual review. While it's often an exercise in finding the positive out of a thin gruel of negativity, this year's trends in music are all up, but perhaps not in the way we expect. The headline figure is that across sales and streaming in the UK, over 210.3 million albums were consumed last year; an increase of 4.3% on the previous year. Streaming now accounts for a whopping 89.3% of all music consumption, rising 5.5% year-on-year. That meant the UK market passed the 200 billion streams point for the first time, with 210.3 billion streams accumulated across 2025. Meanwhile, UK vinyl sales continue to increase, for the 18th consecutive year. However, the growth has slowed to just 1.4% over the previous year. This was also a big year for women in music... and not just Taylor Swift. Olivia Dean, Skye Newman, Lola Young and more have all scored chart success, and not just in the UK. British artists like Sleep Token have scored No 1 chart successes in the US and UK in 2025.
---> UK Music Market 2025: Streaming Surges & Vinyl Resilience.

Simply Better: AI Really Delivers
When we use AI to improve audio signals, it really delivers.
Editorial By J. Martins
Writing for this issue of audioXpress always happens when we are immersed in the incredible experience that is the most influential consumer electronics trade show in the world: CES. These days, CES is mostly about the consumer technology supply chain—technology providers and parts suppliers pushing the ODMs and the OEMs to embrace an idea and showcase the best and most cost-effective way to implement it on a real product and the fastest way to bring it to market successfully. When it comes to audio technology, CES allows seeing the most extreme of the equation, from sets of reference designs from where to start, all the way to projects in-the-works, with engineering and technology partners involved in a demonstration. As I often explain in my CES reports, most of the demos I attend are not of working products, but of loose parts of the technology ecosystem required to enable new product concepts and categories. And that can go from wireless speakers to home cinema systems, from gaming equipment to new headphones or hearables with cutting-edge features.
---> Simply Better: AI Really Delivers.

Florida International Audio Expo 2026 Show Report
The eighth annual Florida International Audio Expo (FIAE) 2026 returned to Tampa for a three-day high-end audio showcase from Friday, February 20 through Sunday, February 22 at the Sheraton Tampa Brandon. This premier audiophile show blends formal listening rooms with relaxed demo lounges, giving attendees the rare chance to compare loudspeakers, high-fidelity amplifiers, turntables, DACs, and immersive headphone systems under real-world conditions. Exhibitor turnout is strong again this year, with international manufacturers, boutique builders, and regional specialists filling well-appointed listening rooms. Enjoy the Music.com, which has reported on every FIAE since its debut, proudly continues our long-standing support as a show sponsor. Because FIAE is a family-friendly event attracting many young adults and children, Enjoy the Music.com is sponsoring the Passport To Sound booklet for younger audiophiles. Across the show, music lovers will find flagship components, innovative niche products, and enjoy direct access to designers and product experts.
---> Florida International Audio Expo 2026 Show Report.

North American Premiere Review!
Gryphon Antileon Revelation Amplifier Review — Dynamics, Detail, & Drive
Class A 160 Wpc power, purity, and the all-important real-world listening impressions.
Review By Tom Lyle
I read somewhere that I praise every audio component reviewed for Enjoy the Music.com; after three decades of listening and testing, I can understand why. Advances in engineering mean that many review samples—amplifiers, preamplifiers, and loudspeakers—now deliver exceptional sound quality plus fit and finish. Just taking one look at the new Gryphon Audio Designs' Antileon Revelation stereo/mono amplifier proves this point in 2026. That wasn't true when I began covering high-end audio in the late 1900s, and my blunt critiques back then sometimes led to awkward conversations with manufacturers and distributors. My aim remains to give clear, practical assessments of how gear performs in real rooms and systems so readers can decide whether it's the right match for their setup and budget. However, what matters more than whether I give a component or loudspeaker system a glowing review is whether it fits one's system, room, and budget. My job is to clearly describe equipment traits.
---> Gryphon Antileon Revelation Amplifier Review.

Sneak Peek World Premiere Review!
Audio Research I/70 Fully Loaded Integrated Vacuum Tube Amplifier Reviewed
In-depth review of Audio Research's fully-loaded I/70 integrated stereo unit including the optional Hi-Res Audio DAC and MM/MC phono stage: performance, design, and reference-level listening notes.
Review By Ron Nagle
I can trace my interest in high-end audio back to the 1970s, long before the internet, and the 1995 launch of Enjoy the Music.com. Before we discuss today's review of Audio Research's impressive I/70 vacuum tube integrated amplifier, let us step back to the very beginnings. My first serious Audio Research audio components, as back then, I recall vacuum tubes versus transistors controversy was still raging on. That was when some audio wags predicted the death of vacuum tube audio. I credit Audio Research and the late Harry Pearson as the two stalwarts that fended off the Japanese avalanche of cheaper transistor-powered audio components at the time. And that was the time when the shifting public interest was to transistor audio. Audio Research Corporation (ARC) was founded by William Zane Johnson in 1970 and was originally located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are one of the longest U.S. companies of vacuum tube-powered high-end audio equipment for audiophiles and music lovers still in operation.
---> Audio Research I/70 Fully Loaded Integrated Vacuum Tube Amplifier Reviewed.

World Premiere Review!
Furutech GTO-D3 NCF Power Distributor + Origin Power Cord Review — High-End Audiophile Power Solution
Clean, low-noise power delivery for hi-fi systems; NCF damping and precision-engineered Origin cord for ultimate clarity.
Review By Paul Schumann
One of the eternal struggles of audiophiles is getting clean power from their AC outlet. Many have gone to great extremes to get that pure AC sign wave. The most extreme example is the Japanese audiophile who installed their own power pole with a transformer in their front yard. At audio shows, I've been blown away by the size of some power conditioning units, which could easily be mistaken for power amplifiers. A few months ago, I reviewed an isolation transformer. It worked great, but it was large, heavy, and I had to take great pains to keep it out of my wife's line of sight. After that experience, I started looking for a more elegant solution to power distribution. That's when I landed on the Furutech gear. A few years ago, I reviewed the Furutech NCF Clear Line AC Power Line Optimizers within my system, and I was impressed by how seemingly simple devices could make such a difference in my system. I always wondered if I could unlock the full potential of those cool devices by pairing them with other Furutech gear instead of the generic power strip I've been using for years.
---> Furutech GTO-D3 NCF Power Distributor + Origin Power Cord Review.

Van den Hul Crimson Stradivarius MC Phono Cartridge Review
A truly fantastic high-precision phono cartridge.
Review By Tom Lyle
Perhaps it's a bit of love / hate thing? I have a love / hate relationship with phono cartridges. I assume I'm not the only audiophile who feels this way. As an audiophile, I love phono cartridges. The beautiful phono cartridge is an electro-mechanical device that converts the vibrational energy that it picks up from its stylus into an electrical signal – and this, my Enjoy the Music.com friends, is where it all begins for lovers of vinyl playback. This signal is then amplified by our phono preamps, either external or built-in to a receiver, preamp, or integrated amp, and then sent to the power amplifier. It is then converted, seemingly by magic, into music by our speakers. Sure, we all know that there are as many ways to store music. I have nothing against the digital methods that have come into being about 40 years ago, and quickly became not only audiophiles, but the general public's storage method of choice.
---> Van den Hul Crimson Stradivarius MC Phono Cartridge Review.

McIntosh Labs C2600 Vacuum Tube Stereo Preamplifier With DAC, Phono Stage, And Headphone Amplifier Review
A newfound family heirloom. For a lifetime... and longer.
Review By Tom Lyle
The McIntosh Labs name can bring up all sorts of memories, images, assumptions, and yes, yearning for many audiophiles and non-audiophiles alike. The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about McIntosh components is their history. One of the first pieces of high-end equipment I ever owned was a McIntosh Laboratories MC-30 monoblock, a pair of which powered loudspeakers within my basement system during the 1970s while I was still in high school. McIntosh has changed owners a few times, as reported here on Enjoy the Music.com's Industry News page over the years. et their products are still made in the USA – in Binghamton, New York. They were founded in 1949, moved into their Binghamton factory in 1956. McIntosh is the leading company in the McIntosh Group of audio companies, with all engineering, design, and production taking place in the Binghamton location. I could fill quite a few pages discussing McIntosh's history. I won't.
---> McIntosh Labs C2600 Vacuum Tube Stereo Preamplifier With DAC, Phono Stage, And Headphone Amplifier Review.

GREATech µVAC Stereo Vacuum Tube Amplifier Review
Color me amazed, enthralled, astonished, and stunned.
Review By Steven R. Rochlin
They say if an amplifier does not get the first watt right, then many more make no difference. It matters not if it is a 100 watt per channel unit or the single watt GREATech µVAC. Loyal readers know full well i am not of the 'bigger is better' camp. Huge coffin-sized loudspeakers that demand 1.21 Gijawatts of power need not attend my funeral. Give me that single tube, pure Class A triode amplifier and a pair of loudspeakers that present an easy load. High efficiency is, of course, a must. Perhaps those guys who like huge speakers and amplifier, like Fabio, are making up for other, eh hem, shortcomings? My first encounter with this amplifier was years ago at the High End Society show in Germany. It was in prototype form under the Kolibri nameplate. At the 2005 Munich show i once again saw the unit in production form by GREATech, and under the official name of µVac. Frankly, i have always had a soft spot in my heart for chachkies.
---> GREATech µVAC Stereo Vacuum Tube Amplifier Review.

The Art Of Listening – Music Documentary
An invitation for music fans to rediscover...
The Art of Listening is a documentary film about the journey music takes to reach a listener's ear, from the intent of an instrument maker and composer, to the producers and engineers who capture and preserve an artist's voice. This journey is narrated by intimate conversations with artists, engineers and producers about the philosophy of their work and the intent behind each musical note they create. This film is an invitation for music fans to rediscover the intricacies and details available in the sounds of their favorite recordings. The Art of Listening is the beginning of a conversation of how the quality of our listening experiences define the medium. The Art of Listening (Original Score Soundtrack) is a collection of 10 cinematic vignettes created to color the scenes of the feature music documentary The Art of Listening. As the film narrates the journey sound takes, from imagination and composition into a physical experience, the music embodies a sense of depth and reverence for the creative process.
---> The Art Of Listening – Music Documentary.

Musician Series Featuring Billy Drummond
Enjoy the Music.com's Musician Series focuses on legendary talents from around the world.
Video Hosted By Steven R. Rochlin
This edition of Enjoy the Music.com's special Musician Series, hosted by Creative Director Steven R. Rochlin, features Professor Billy Drummond. Year before being a Juilliard and NYU Professor, drummer and audiophile Billy Drummond first came to prominence in the late 1980s with his world-class musicianship joined by Horace Silver, J.J. Johnson, and Sonny Rollins. As one of the great drummers of his generation, Billy Drummond is in high demand and has performed on more than 300 albums! As an accomplished bandleader and purveyor of "fertile, exciting music" according to the New York Times, Billy also has several recordings under his own name - including Dubai that was voted as the very best within a Top Ten Best Jazz CDs of 1996. He currently leads his band, Freedom of Ideas, in New York. Born in Newport News, Virginia, Drummond grew up listening to his father's extensive jazz record collection that includes the likes of Max Roach, Miles Davis, James Moody, Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Rollins and The Three Sounds.
---> Musician Series Featuring Billy Drummond.

The Intro
Editorial By Art Dudley
Recently I received some new CD re-issues from JVC who have begun applying their very nice XRCD process to the RCA Victor catalog of classical recordings from the 1950s and 1960s. Among this batch was a personal favorite: Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony orchestra performing Beethoven's Symphony No.7. I enjoy this one the most of all the Sevenths in my collection, and the fact that my copy is a mono LP isn't something I ever gave all that much thought to. In fact, until someone corrected me on the point, I half assumed that LM-1991 might be one of those recordings in the RCA catalog that never came out in stereo in the first place. (I am not the sort of record collector who concerns himself with such details, although I am often thankful for the knowledge of those who are.) I also remember thinking that a stereo version of this LP, with that big, gaudy LIVING STEREO banner across the top, must surely suffer by comparison in terms of its cover art, which is Botticelli's La Primavera, reproduced on a sturdy fold-over sleeve the likes of which I haven't seen on any other record.
---> The Intro Editorial By Art Dudley.

Triode Connected Pentodes
Article By Herb Reichert of Eddy Electronic Inc.
Back in 1955, some of the big audio issues were: Which provides higher fidelity, triodes or pentodes? Feedback or no feedback? Active or passive? Solid core or stranded wire? Does this all sound familiar? It was in this climate that D.T. Williamson's amp arrived. The old guard believed that there was no substitute for 2A3s push-pull. But the hot issue in the audio mags was high power. High power back then was only 20-30 Watts, but it was thought that the extra headroom contributed to a sense of effortlessness. The Williamson amp tried to be both. Triode connected KT-66s gave this amp the low-distortion loadline of triodes with some of the gain and efficiency of beam power tubes. This circuit and its siblings became the most popular tube amps of all time. It also created the most popular tube modification of all time: triode connecting multi-grid power output tubes.
---> Triode Connected Pentodes.

Altec Alternatives
Article By Dan Schmalle
This month we hope to hear some vintage loudspeakers. Once again Eric will generously give us a glimpse and a listen from his fast growing collection. A pair of Altec -- Lansing A7 "Voice of the Theatre" loudspeakers and their domestic counterpart, the Altec Corona, will visit our listening room. As of this writing one crossover is misbehaving, so our demo may be mono, but interesting nonetheless. The A7 (pictured here) is the smallest of a line of loudspeakers Altec produced for use in theatres, auditoriums and studios. It consists of a low frequency driver, type 803A, coupled to a short horn and rear loaded to a "bass reflex" enclosure. This is crossed over through a type 800E 800Hz crossover to a type 802 high frequency driver connected to a type 811 B multi-cellular horn baffle, which spreads the high frequencies horizontally over a 120 degree arc (and about 40 degrees vertically). The high frequency driver sits on top of the dark gray bass enclosure.
---> Altec Alternatives Article By Dan Schmalle.

I Remember Tim de Paravicini
Remembering a colorful, and brilliant, audio electronics designer.
Article By Robert Jørgensen
I knew Tim de Paravicini for over 40 years. My last contact was in late November 2019 when he wrote to me that he wasn't doing so well and just a couple of weeks later, he was gone. As has been mentioned by others Tim was a larger-than-life character. He did not suffer fools (or those he considered so) gladly. In his defense on most subjects, he would express strong opinions he was well informed. From our perspective this of course was especially in all things connected with audio. But television technology, cars, airplanes, and what seems to be a host of other things he did have in-depth knowledge. I don't intend to repeat his biography, which has been ably told elsewhere but just tell a bit about my own experience and friendship with Tim de Paravicini.
---> I Remember Tim de Paravicini.

Q&A With Jim Anderson: Recording Engineer And Grammy Winner, Many Times Over
When Jim Anderson was a kid, his teacher told him to put down the records and focus on his studies. Luckily for the world of immersive audio, he didn't listen.
Article By Immersive Audio Album (IAA)
Jim Anderson's recordings have won a whopping 11 Grammy awards. His projects have been nominated for another 27, most recently for his role as the Surround Mix Engineer on Gisle Kverndokk: Symphonic Dances in 2020. Jim recently spoke with IAA about mixing this album, teaching at NYU, how he got into immersive music, and more. Added note by Enjoy the Music.com: Immersive audio is the three-dimensional approach to audio storytelling that is taking sound to new heights. While traditional "surround sound" exists in a horizontal plane around the listener, immersive sound refers to an expanded sonic field that quite literally immerses the listener in a multi-dimensional soundscape.
---> Q&A With Jim Anderson: Recording Engineer And Grammy Winner, Many Times Over.

World Premiere Review!
Aric Audio Custom 300B PSET Amplifier Review
A music lover's amplifier.
Review By Paul Schumann
I have something to admit. I am a music lover. No, it's worse than that, I'm a certifiable music junkie. I listen to music at home. I listen to music at work. I listen to it in the car. I even hear music in my head when no music is playing. I'm always looking for new music to feed my addiction. My wife complains that my Christmas list is boring because all I ask for is music. Well, I do throw in a request for a pair of Berning 845 Monoblocks, but that never happens. Oh yes, my wife is a music junkie, also. She's always on the prowl for new music to add to her collection. Our tradition on Saturday and Sunday mornings is to listen to an album all the way through while eating our breakfast. It may be something brand new, or an album we haven't listened to in a long time. Usually, after our meal, we'll share what we think about it. Yes, music runs through our veins.
---> Aric Audio Custom 300B PSET Amplifier Review.

LampizatOr Baltic 3 Hi-Res DAC Review
A new approach to Noval tube design from Poland.
Review By Greg Weaver
Founded near Warsaw Poland in 2010, while LampizatOr builds electronics and speakers, many are not aware of those offerings, as it was their exceptional tubed DACs that first put the company on the map. Owned and operated exclusively by its designer Łukasz Fikus, after hearing the disarming $17,250 Golden Gate DAC some seven years ago, then the even more engaging $27,000 Pacific DAC at a show during 2018, the reason for their success became apparent. Both these SET-based devices offered a conspicuous step closer to the undeniable naturalness, organic coherence, and space and dimensionality offered by the very best LP transcription systems. Łukasz and LampizatOr North America principal Fred Ainsley have recently announced the launch of the nearly $50,000 Horizon DAC, which I will get to hear at its official launch during the third Florida Audio Expo in mid-February of this year.
---> LampizatOr Baltic 3 Hi-Res DAC Review.

Occasional Column: The Musical Point Of View
Achieving the artist's intentions of their audio art.
Article By Jules Coleman
Within my previous article last month, I argued that modes of communication could themselves be sources or initiators of meaning. An example illustrates the point. An artist paints a portrait of a friend whom he knows well. Through a range of artistic choices – pose, color, background, composition, etc. – the artist hopes to capture aspects of his friend's character, personality, the life she's lived, and perhaps his friend's self-conception as well. The portrait may or may not do a good job of realizing the artist's intentions, or may succeed in the eyes of some, but not in the eyes of others. Whatever the artist's or the subject's intention or vision, once complete and available to an audience, viewers are likely to respond to the portrait in the light of their interests in it. Those interests may have little, if anything, in common with the artist's or the subject's goals for the painting.
---> Occasional Column: The Musical Point Of View.

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