Enjoy the Music.com October 2025 High-End Audio Equipment Review Magazine, High-Performance Audiophile Hi-Fi, Luxury Premium High Fidelity, Stereo Sound System, And Immersivephile

October 2025

Celebrating Our Spectacular 30th Anniversary!
Honoring Enjoy the Music.com's exceptional articles and reviews.
During 2025, 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.

Not Even The (Audiophile) Earth Is Flat
The myth of 'Flat Frequency Response'.
Article By Roger Skoff
Back well over half a century ago, that's 50 years, when I was a kid Hi-Fi Crazy, I had no money (kids never do), but I had been bitten badly by the High-Fidelity Audio (Hi-FI) bug, and – if I couldn't buy all of the toys and goodies that I so thoroughly lusted after, I could at least learn about them. So, like, I suspect, so many of us, I read everything I could find about Hi-Fi and Hi-Fi gear and started collecting (Yes, and even memorizing) "spec" sheets. Most manufacturers don't provide them nowadays but, back then, everybody, and I and all my young Hi-Fi Crazy friends put together our own libraries of spec sheets and product literature, and would sit around listening to our used, hand-me-down, DIY, or kluged together "systems" and learnedly discuss the wonders and glories of all the stuff we couldn't afford. In the beginning (just to let you know how far back this was), everything was mono(phonic), but as time went on, it all – especially after 1957, when stereo LPs first came out – became stereo gear that we would dream of and pontificate about.
---> Not Even The (Audiophile) Earth Is Flat.

Editorial: Best Of 2025 Blue Note Equipment Awards
Celebrating the best high fidelity / high-end audiophile gear of 2025!
High-End Audio Awards By Enjoy the Music.com
Enjoy the Music.com's Best Of 2025 Blue Note Awards celebrates the many great achievements by audiophile manufacturers within the high-end audio and Hi-Res Audio industry. Our 2025 Blue Note Awards is a three decade culmination of reviewing luxurious high-end audio equipment and carefully choosing what products have earned special recognition for our annual awards. Our Best Of 2025 Blue Note Award celebrates the finest products we have reviewed during the previous 12 months. Recipients have been carefully chosen after much debate and consideration by our staff of reviewers. With each passing year our industry has experienced great advancements in technology including analog circuitry, vinyl LP and analog playback, digital-to-analog converters (DACs), loudspeaker design, personal media players, and more. While there are many great pieces of premium high fidelity audio equipment now available within the marketplace, Enjoy the Music.com's Best Of 2025 Blue Note Awards is compiled from products we have reviewed within the past 12 months that have earned extra special attention.
---> Editorial: Best Of 2025 Blue Note Equipment Awards.

Flashback: The Mechanism Of CD Rot
Article By Mark P. Fishman
The BAS Speaker Volume 31 No. 3
Having read Brad Meyer's concerns about deterioration of CD-Rs (BASS V31 No2), specifically rising error rates with both radius and age, I think some explanation of mechanism is in order. For much of what I write below, credit should go to Mike Richter, who has been at this far longer than I, has had access to better tools, and has burned many more CDs. There are a couple of points of interest in Meyer's story. One is related to aging of CD players, which are not just electromechanical devices with special-purpose embedded computers, but are, crucially, electro-optical solid-state devices. When transistors were introduced, one of their selling points was that they aged far more slowly than vacuum tubes, and failed far less often. In marketing-speak (NB: a pejorative term), they last forever. The lasers used in CD players (and other optical-media devices) are laser diodes, not the gas or crystal lasers used in science fiction as death rays or cutting tools.
---> Flashback: The Mechanism Of CD Rot.

Making Great Strides In Audio Equipment
New technology requires a deeper explanation.
Editorial By Alan Sircom
Audio may be the most mature consumer electronics field, but that doesn't mean if's stagnant. Development in audio has been continual, with improvements in all aspects of performance. Even the most cursory overview of the audio world shows why this should be the case. If you compare a modern low-power solid-state integrated amplifier with one sold even at the turn of the century, the level of precision in circuit design, component integrity and reliability is considerably better. That's just the start, however. While there are many companies that tread a successful path free from innovation, others consider each new project a chance to start afresh, creating a synthesis of existing technologies and new concepts to add to the canon of audio engineering. We've made – and continue to make great strides in all branches of audio, and not simply by pushing the price-point envelope. The difficulty, however, often comes down to imparting that new technology. Reviewers have a range of skills, but one thing most of us are extremely capable of is reducing a concept down too far. Again, this is understandable for the sake of brevity and delivering information to the widest number of people.
---> Making Great Strides In Audio Equipment.

The Appealing Promise Of Tiny MEMS Speakers
Thinking of the analogy between the CV equation and the inherent merits of MEMS.
Editorial By J. Martins
audioXpress has been reporting on the promise of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) speakers for nearly 10 years. Mike Klasco first gave a talk about MEMS loudspeakers at the ALMA Symposium and Expo event, preceding CES 2015, and wrote regularly about MEMS speakers' evolution. A decade later, we are seeing some actual progress, and products are available in the market. But MEMS speaker drivers are far from their original promise of disrupting the industry or even rivaling established technologies. Which raises questions until we dive into the details to understand that there's very little in common among all the MEMS transducers products that have been launched and promoted in the microspeaker class. The main thing in common is that MEMS typically include "microscale" mechanical structures (such as movable parts) and microelectronics all embedded on a silicon substrate. Other than the foundational technology, multiple MEMS devices share the same manufacturing processes derived from semiconductor fabrication. As we stand in 2025, the pioneering companies that have entered the industry with "MEMS speakers" have done so with completely different approaches. And some very interesting original concepts have not yet even made it to market.
---> The Appealing Promise Of Tiny MEMS Speakers.

World Premiere Review!
The Amazing Audionet Mach Linestage And Schrödinger Monoblock Amplifier Review
A more affordable slice of World-Class performance.
Review By Senior Editor Greg Weaver
If you are unfamiliar with the brand Audionet, one of today's premier audio electronics manufacturers located in Berlin, Germany, it's time to correct that oversight. Founded in 1994, after nearly a decade of developing sensors and measurement electronics, all of which produced extraordinarily weak signals, and the essential need to build highly reliable, high-resolution analog amplifiers for this entirely new breed of measurement electronics at Ruhr University in Bochum, western Germany, that same research team, who were also music lovers, created what would become Audionet. Armed with the invaluable experience gained building these low-noise, highly resolving amplifiers, they began building some of the most refined and precise audio electronics available, and now, more than thirty years later, they have grown to offer a full line of some of the finest linestages, stereo, mono, and integrated amplifiers.
---> The Amazing Audionet Mach Linestage And Schrödinger Monoblock Amplifier Review.

World Premiere Review!
Genesis Advanced Technologies Premium Platinum Phono Preamplifier Review
Immersing yourself within the sensational sound of spectacular music.
Review By Senior Editor Tom Lyle
Within the July 2025 issue of Enjoy the Music.com's Review Magazine, I reviewed the Genesis Advanced Technologies G7 Samba floorstanding loudspeakers. Even though my reference speakers were priced considerably higher than the Sambas, it was relatively easy to overlook this fact due to the Genesis' outstanding sound quality, not to mention their good looks. After this Genesis speaker's review was published, I had a chat with Genesis dealer Larry Borden of Distinctive Stereo when he came over to pick up the speakers. We didn't discuss the speakers as much as we talked about high-end audio in general, and of course, music. This led us to the topic of analog reproduction, and it was then that he mentioned the Genesis Premium Platinum phono preamp. This caught me off guard. I had always thought that Genesis only designed and manufactured loudspeakers. When I was speaking with Genesis's Chief Designer and CEO Gary Koh he shared with me some specifics about the various phono preamplifiers he owned over the years, but had never been wholly satisfied with.
---> Genesis Advanced Technologies Premium Platinum Phono Preamplifier Review.

World Premiere Review!
Big Sound, Small Size: Voxativ Hagen2 Tower Loudspeaker Review
Performing the most musical magical trick!
Review By Paul Schumann
Growing up, I had a neighborhood friend who did magic. He was always working on new illusions to incorporate into his act. Sometimes he had to build an apparatus, and others were sleight of hand. To start, he would practice the new illusion for endless hours in front of the mirror. Once the kinks were worked out, he would try it out in front of some of his neighborhood friends. When he did this, he added an extra layer of challenge for himself. He would show us how the trick worked before he performed it. That way, we knew what to look for. He knew he had mastered the illusion if he could still fool us. He was a master of his craft, and he still does magic shows for fun. Our audio systems, as ardent readers of Enjoy the Music.com know, can perform magic tricks. They take music that has been recorded in some medium, convert it to electrical signals, and turn those signals into vibrations that we perceive as music.
---> Big Sound, Small Size: Voxativ Hagen2 Tower Loudspeaker Review.

World Premiere Review!
Greater Emotional Connection: Audience FrontRow Reserve PowerChords Review
Going deeper into the inner details of the music you love.
Review By Rick Becker
The invitation for Enjoy the Music.com to review a new Audience Front Row Reserve powerChord from John McDonald, President of Audience AV, came as a complete surprise offer out of the blue. At $7500 each (1.5-meter), they would be two levels above the $2500 Synergistic Research power cords that grace most of my components. It would be an adventure into uncharted territory for me, were it not for the Furutech Project V1 Power Cable at $10,000, which came bundled with their excellent Furutech NCF Power Vault power conditioner I had recently reviewed. I accepted John's offer reluctantly because I wasn't convinced that power cords of that price would make a commensurate improvement. I also wasn't sure a single power cord would enable me to reach a valid conclusion. In the past, Synergistic Research had supplied enough power cords to feed my system from source to power amp. In the lower to moderate price ranges, the improvements were easily recognized and justified the increased costs.
---> Greater Emotional Connection: Audience FrontRow Reserve PowerChords Review.

The Ultimate Music Majesty: Lindemann Woodnote SOLO Network Player / DAC Review
A glorious reach out and touch sound that invites you to listen more.
Review By Tom Lyle
Lindemann Audio is a German high-end audio company that has been in operation for over thirty years, just as the 30th anniversary of Enjoy the Music.com is being celebrated in 2025! In that time, Lindemann became known for being an innovative company that designed and manufactured excellent-sounding and well-built digital and other audio products at a reasonable price. Lindemann produces three series of products, three of which are digital components, and the other are loudspeakers. Lindemann's Woodnote series offers two compact-sized components, both of which are minimalist in design: the SOLO and the COMBO. The SOLO is a streamer / DAC, the COMBO is also a steamer / DAC, but also contains an internal amplifier in its similarly sized cabinet. I chose to review Lindemann's Woodnote SOLO rather than their COMBO because the SOLO will appeal more to audiophiles looking to integrate an extremely well-built and cleverly designed streamer / DAC into their system.
---> The Ultimate Music Majesty: Lindemann Woodnote SOLO Network Player / DAC Review.

FiiO's Fantastic CP13 Cassette Player, RR11 Radio, And SA1 Desktop Speakers Review
Three musical treats for the road less traveled.
Review By Paul Schumann
When I started grad school, I had to make the trek from Austin, TX, to Knoxville, TN, in my 1980 Toyota Celica. Since space would be limited, I had to figure out how to bring some of my music with me so I could retain my sanity during my first semester of graduate studies. That's when I decided to plunge into portable audio and bought my first Walkman. I already had most of my albums recorded on tape, so I wouldn't be missing out on much. Plus, this Walkman included a tuner, so I could listen to anything new coming out. Sure, the sound wasn't the best, but I had music until I could haul my system and records later on. The flaw in my plan was that I didn't anticipate how quickly that little Walkman ate batteries. I was a poor grad student, so I used the Sears card my parents gave me "for emergencies" and bought a couple of sets of rechargeables. After that, I was set. That old Walkman and those tapes are long gone, but I have fond memories of how that technological marvel provided me with music during those stressful times.
---> FiiO's Fantastic CP13 Cassette Player, RR11 Radio, And SA1 Desktop Speakers Review.

Make Your Listening Room A Listening Room
Roger Skoff writes about how to enjoy your music more without spending a lot more money.
Article By Roger Skoff
Many years ago, a wealthy friend asked me for advice on spending the $100,000 he had budgeted for a new stereo system. After going through all of the usual questions with him, like "What kind of music do you like?"; "How loud do you like to play it?"; "How big is your listening room?"; "When you're listening to music, what do you listen for?"; and so on, I told him something like: "If I had a hundred thousand to spend on a system, I'd spend thirty thousand on all of the component, including the record player (turntable, arm, and cartridge), the CD player, the speakers – remember that this was a lot of years ago, and that a really great speaker system at the time, the Avalon Ascent, for example, was only about $15,000 – plus all of the electronics, and all of the cables. Then I would spend twenty thousand on creating and furnishing an acoustically as-near-perfect-as-possible listening room. And, finally, I would keep the remaining fifty grand for use toward my (then of the appropriate age) daughter's college education."
---> Read Make Your Listening Room A Listening Room.

Bayz Audio Courante 2.0 Loudspeaker Review
A new and innovative design in speaker technology.
Review By Dr. Matthew Clott
You might have to stand on your head for this review because Zoltán Bay turned the concept of speaker production upside down and inside out when he created the Bay Radial Speaker (BRS) Tweeter. And when you see the absolutely unique and creative Bayz Audio Courante 2.0 speaker design ($60,000), you're not going to be able to figure out how to stand, so just have a seat and enjoy the read. Maybe have the computer or tablet read it to you while you listen to your favorite composition in the background.... Be sure to grab your favorite beverage and have that cute dog (or cat) of yours sit in your lap and snuggle in; this is gonna be good! Decades of research, and over 35 years in the industry, led Mr. Bay to a unique radial sound projection system. In essence, it is a cylindrical membrane surface capable of changing its diameter. As with a more standard speaker cone, the pulsations of the cylinder create sound in the direction of radiation but in a perfect 360 degree omni-directional wavefront.
---> Bayz Audio Courante 2.0 Loudspeaker Review.

Pass Labs XP-17 Phono Preamp &
Pass Labs X250.8 Power Amplifier Review
Impressive sound quality that we've come to expect from Pass Labs.
Review By Tom Lyle
For quite some time I've been using a Pass Laboratories power amplifier, phono stage, and headphone amplifier as references in my listening room. There were times I thought that some might think I was a spokesperson for this brand of equipment! I could see how some might get that idea, because not only do I use three Pass Labs components in my system, I also will tell anyone who will listen that I consider Pass Laboratories' high-end audio components the best in their respective price classes. Then again, those who have read my reviews of other brands of audio equipment will be able to tell that I approach each review with an open mind. I attempt to be as objective as possible, and other than the fact that I happen to have three Pass Labs components as references, I've never shown a hint of favoritism towards any component or brand of component in any of my reviews. It is quite obvious that I consider music more important than whatever audio equipment that might be in my system at the time.
---> Pass Labs XP-17 Phono Preamp & X250.8 Power Amplifier Review.

Listener Magazine 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.
---> Listener Magazine The Intro.

Monsieur Rankin's Euro Selection
Yet more pro bono work from the explorateur at Wavelength Audio
Article By Gordon Rankin Of Wavelength Audio
For a DIY project I recommend making speakers that are foolproof. Keep it simple, like a two-way with an 8" and a 1" dome tweeter. There are a few interesting Cabasse drivers that look good on paper, specifically the DOM4 tweeter at 96dB/W/m and the 21M18 Woofer at 93dB/W/m sensitivity. The woofer is good out to 5 or 6 kHz. Zalytron offers some kits using these drivers. Unfortunately the crossovers are hogs, but you can buy the drive units and cabinets and work on the x-over yourself. I personally don't like the sound of D'Appolito configurations or multiple driver arrays. Like I said, keep it simple. Aside from the obvious requirement for reasonable sensitivity, speakers that work well with low power triodes usually have a well tempered (untemperamental) impedance curve.
---> Monsieur Rankin's Euro Selection.

Altec Loudspeaker 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 Loudspeaker Alternatives.

Rogue Audio Stereo 100 'Dark' Vacuum Tube Amplifier Review
Musical purity and natural ease bring out the very best in your loudspeakers.
Review By Ric Mancuso
Rogue Audio's designer Mark O'Brien has been on a tear lately with updated and new models that are setting the bar higher for the competition. I recently wrote about the new Rogue Audio Pharaoh II and the Sphinx Model 3 before the Stereo 100 Dark as reviewed here. You might say, they all came first under the checkered flag. Mark is a high-performance car and motorbike enthusiast, along with being driven — no pun intended — by his passion for premium audio high-end sound. I guess you could call him a gearhead. Hey, aren't we all at some level? Funny, how speedy motorbikes are a thing with other audio designers in the industry. To name a few, EveAnna Manley of Manley Audio, Sean Casey of Zu Audio, and Mark O'Brien of Rogue Audio. I have an exercise bike.
---> Rogue Audio Stereo 100 'Dark' Vacuum Tube Amplifier Review.

High-End Audio Sound? Audiophile Music? Both? What?
Some basic questions about our hobby.
Article By Roger Skoff
I first wrote about how music and sound interrelate to enhance each other years ago within my 2018 article Coming At It From Both Directions ). At that time, I looked at it – even after more than half a century as a music lover and audiophile – more from point of view of an audiophile drawn to great music and cultural expansion by a love of great sound than as a music lover carried inexorably in the other direction by a search for greater involvement in and enjoyment of one of humanity's greatest arts. Now, like Joni Mitchell, I'm seeing things from both sides. Here are my latest thoughts on the subject. They say that the difference between audiophiles and music lovers is that music lovers buy a system to listen to their music and audiophiles (I and my friends call ourselves "Hi-Fi Crazies") buy music to listen to their system.
---> High-End Audio Sound? Audiophile Music? Both? What?

High Style In High-End Audio
You don't need to be an Audiophile OG to chill with a sense of style.
Editorial By Steven R. Rochlin
Have been taking photos of audiophile gear for many decades, and am always impressed by the creative flow of many designs. Below are a very small sampling of the incredibly talented engineering and design by a variety of high-end audio manufacturers. Please note that photo descriptions are also vintage, so some products may not be available and / or pricing has changed. Enjoy! Oh by Tutondo had perhaps the most stylish purpose-built listening chair as a pair of their dual cone round loudspeakers are placed right and left of the listener at precise placement as acoustic foam wraps around the remaining section behind the listener. Perhaps it is another offshoot of headphone listening? A small subwoofer on the floor assists in producing the lowermost frequencies. Alas, it is not for sale but the total price is about €1000 for the chair and €1300 according to the loudspeaker representative. So here is a hint to anyone reading this. You have a photo and basic design idea, now get to building it and you're welcome.
---> High Style In High-End Audio.

Sonus faber Olympica @ World Of McIntosh NYC
A good high-end system is akin to a time machine.
Review By Tom Lyle
Last year I took a tour of World Of McIntosh, a very impressive five-story luxury townhouse in the Soho neighborhood of downtown New York City. World Of McIntosh is an amazing place, packed with working audio systems featuring gear from McIntosh, Sonus faber, Pro-Ject Audio Systems, Audio Research, and more. This luxurious space is used as an event space, for invitation only audio tours, and for anything else one who wants to use a space "where music and design are merged in a way that's striking, memorable, and undeniably enjoyable". While I was there last year I didn't take a dip in their heated indoor swimming pool, which is one of only 11 privately owned pools located in NYC, or watch any films on their 160" projection screen, but I did hear some great music on a number of audio systems, and even had time for a latte in their custom-built fully functioning kitchen. Last month I was again invited to World Of McIntosh townhouse, this month to hear the newest Sonus faber product line, their Olympica Nova, which, according to Sonus faber updates their older models with new crossovers and drivers, new cabinet structures, and internal volume tuning.
---> Sonus faber Olympica @ World Of McIntosh NYC.

World Premiere Review!
Art Audio Opus 4 And Carissa Vacuum Tube Amplifier Review
Two amps from Art Audio and two pairs of speakers from Quad determine ideal combinations.
Review By Bob Grossman
My musical listening times have been quite active and busy over the past couple of months as I have mixed and matched various combinations of two vintage Quad speaker models along with two new beautiful amplifiers from Art Audio based in Nottingham, U.K. I have been on a year-long listening and learning pilgrimage revisiting memories and prior experiences from hearing Quads decades ago. I acquired restored Quad 57 and 63 speakers from the renowned specialist Sheldon Stokes of SDS Labs in New Hampshire, USA as the starting point for understanding and hearing both electrostatic models designed by Peter Walker. The focus of this review project is the Art Audio Carissa stereo amplifier and the Art Audio Opus 4 monoblock amplifier pair. Both amplifiers were used in rotation for both pairs of speakers.
---> Art Audio Opus 4 And Carissa Vacuum Tube Amplifier Review.

World Premiere Review!
Margules Audio U-280SC 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Vacuum Tube Amplifier Review
Realistic sound with extended frequency extension... plus tube rollers can rejoice too!
Review By Tom Lyle
Margules Audio is a high-end audio company that produces a full line of components. It is headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico, and although the Margules Audio U-280SC 30th Anniversary Limited Edition vacuum tube stereo amplifier review you're about to read is brand new, the company has been in business since the early 1980s. The Margules family – now including third and fourth-generation members – has been involved in audio in one way or another since the early part of the twentieth century, when Mr. Jacob Margules, a European engineer. He also contributed to the building of radio stations and electrification in Mexico as they manufactured wind-up gramophones, followed by tube radios, plus they distributed industrial parts too.
---> Margules Audio U-280SC 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Vacuum Tube Amplifier Review.

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