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High-Performance
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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.
---> Best Of 2025 Blue Note Equipment Awards.
Lossy
24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC Arrives For Spotify Premium
Spotify has begun rolling out better quality, though still lossy
digital audio, to Premium subscribers in select markets, marking a big
missed opportunity launch. Since virtually the beginning of digital recording for the compact disc format in the 1980s, Soundstream's 20-bit/48kHz digital recorder or DAT-like formats were the minimum, with
rates of
24-bit/96kHz and higher for modern re-mastering of analog magnetic tape and top-level recording
studios as offered on music services such as Qobuz. Spotify's Premium users will receive an in-app notification when
their so-called "Lossless" (according to Spotify) becomes available, unlocking streaming in up to
the 1990's digital audio standard of 24-bit and 1980's standard of 44.1kHz for nearly every track in their catalog. Whether diving into new releases or rediscovering old favorites, listeners can experience a bit higher quality of recorded music's depth, clarity, and nuance across their
playlists than Spotify offered previously. With French company
Qobuz music streaming service offering up to 24-bit/192kHz FLAC, obviously those desiring the very
best immersive Hi-Res Music experience will seek out high-quality online music
services.
---> Lossy 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC Arrives For Spotify Premium Users. 
Revox Group & National Audio Company
Cassette Production
U.S.-based National Audio Company Inc. and Swiss Revox Group have joined forces to relaunch high-end audio cassette production in Villingen, Germany. Under the partnership, National Audio will install its original cassette tape production line at the Revox Manufacture, enabling on-site fabrication of both blank and pre-recorded cassettes. This facility aims to deliver studio-quality analog playback and recording for music enthusiasts worldwide. By combining National
Audio's decades of expertise in professional tape manufacturing with Revox's legacy in premium audio systems and master tapes, the alliance will position Revox as
Europe's market leader in empty and music cassettes. The Villingen plant is set to become one of the
continent's largest magnetic tape within cassette casing production sites, offering three distinct
formulations—including a Type II chrome-compatible version—and bespoke European-made cassette housings to ensure the highest analog
fidelity.
---> Revox Group & National Audio Company Audio Cassette Production. 
Edinburgh Hi-AV Show 2025 In November
Edinburgh's premier destination for audiophiles and AV enthusiasts returns this autumn with the second edition of the Edinburgh HI-AV Show, taking place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Edinburgh Airport on Saturday, November 8 and Sunday, November 9, 2025. Organized by the family-run Chester Group—whose pedigree includes popular events across England—the show makes its comeback after a 17-year hiatus, building on the success of last
year's relaunch. The airport-side venue offers seamless access via Ingliston Park and Ride and two tram stops, ensuring visitors from across Scotland and beyond can arrive relaxed and ready to immerse themselves in cutting-edge audio experiences. Attendees can expect an expanded footprint this year, with dedicated demonstration zones showcasing a spectrum of high-performance systems—from the refined warmth of
vacuum tube amplification to the precision of Hi-Res Audio DACs and room correction
devices.
---> Edinburgh Hi-AV Show 2025 In November. 
SoundExchange
Appeals $400M Underpayment By SiriusXM
SoundExchange filed a notice of appeal in September, asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to overturn an August decision that dismissed its lawsuit against SiriusXM. In the original ruling, Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of the Southern District of New York concluded that Congress never granted SoundExchange the authority to litigate royalty disputes on behalf of recording artists and labels, effectively barring the performance rights organization from enforcing its
members' claims in court. In its appeal, SoundExchange argues that the dismissal rests on a
"flawed interpretation" of the Digital Performance in Sound Recordings Act of 1995 and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. The organization insists that Congress intended the statutory
license's enforcement power to include litigation when digital music services underpay artists and rights
holders.
---> SoundExchange Appeals $400M Underpayment By SiriusXM. 
BPI News About UK-US Trade And Tariffs
The BPI (British Phonographic Industry), a representative voice for the
UK's record companies, music business, and label businesses to champion British music, has released details about U.S.
tariffs. The U.S. introduced new tariffs on imported physical goods on April 5th (2025) to
incentives on-shore manufacturing, and address "unfair" trade practices. Most UK exports now face a 10% baseline tariff in addition to existing duties, while countries deemed "worst offenders" encounter higher reciprocal rates—EU-origin goods, for example, are hit with 15%, with the Swiss experiencing a crushing 39% import duty. However, U.S. Customs and Border Protection carved out an exemption for "informational materials," including phonograph
records (vinyl LPs), CDs (compact discs), audio cassette tapes, and similar items under Exception 9903.01.31. Despite this, music-industry members report that merchandise and recording-equipment shipments have sometimes been wrongly classified and taxed, reflecting inconsistent application of the
exemption.
---> BPI News About UK-US Trade And Tariffs.
Raidho X2.6 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review
Unlocking the enchanting potential of sonic art.
Review By Tom Lyle
The subject of this review, the Raidho X2.6
floorstanding loudspeaker, is from their newer "X" Series. In its
literature, Raidho states that the "X" in this series moniker denotes
"eXtreme performance for the price." Yes, their X series features four
models that, on average, are priced lower than most of Raidho's other models.
Even though these four models in Raidho's X series speakers might have been
built to a price point, I couldn't find anything about their X.2 — including
their level of technological precision, fit and finish, not to mention their
sound quality — that would indicate any cost-cutting measures. On their website, Raidho mentions that the goals of the X2.6
are the same as those of all their loudspeakers, which include low noise and
coloration, a "dramatic, energetic" sound with a "vast
soundstage," and a detailed sound that doesn't induce fatigue, among other
traits. $21,000 might be a low price for a pair of Raidho speakers, but still, any audiophile who spends this amount of money should demand a certain level of quality.
--->
Raidho X2.6 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review.
Rogue Audio Sphinx V3 Magnum Hybrid Stereo Integrated Amplifier
Review
Back to the future.
Review By Ric Mancuso / Bargain Audiophile
The
Rogue Audio Sphinx was first introduced sometime around late 2013. I purchased
the original Sphinx from Rogue Audio upon a recommendation from a friend.
Imagine an integrated hybrid tube and solid-state stereo amplifier with 100
Watts output at 8 Ohms (200W @ 4 Ohms), with vacuum tubes in the front end! I
later came to find that it was the perfect unit to power my classic Martin Logan
SL3 electrostatic hybrid loudspeakers. Turns out that Mark O'Brien of Rogue
Audio told me that Rogue Audio had displayed with Martin Logan at audio shows,
and it was a superb match-up. I still own the original Sphinx which is still
pushing Watts through the SL 3's in our upstairs entertainment system. I reviewed the Rogue Audio Sphinx V2 and V3 subsequent
versions over the years.
--->
Rogue Audio Sphinx V3 Magnum Hybrid Stereo Integrated Amplifier Review.
600 Watts Of Musical Bliss: Rotel Michi X5 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier Review
A modern Swiss Army Knife stereo integrated amplifier for music lovers.
Review By Brett Rudolph
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of attending the Florida International Audio
Expo 2025. It was an incredible show, and the week I got home, I got even better
news. My editor had arranged for me to review the new Rotel Michi X5 Series 2
solid-state stereo integrated amplifier with phono stage and Hi-Res Audio DAC
here at Enjoy the Music.com. Michi is a designation that represents a
flagship series of components within Rotel's family of products. Originally
introduced to the market in 1993, it showcased all the best that Rotel had to
offer. However, the components as we know them today were reintroduced to the
market in 2019. These latest incarcerations continue to showcase the best Rotel
has to offer while keeping audiophile values alive. Of course, all the labels aside, the thought of getting an
integrated amplifier excited me personally.
--->
600 Watts Of Musical Bliss: Rotel Michi X5 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier
Review.
Synergistic Research PowerCell 14 Power Conditioner Review
Raising the performance of audiophile gear you plug into it.
Review By Rick Becker
The naysayers on internet forums will have
a "hey"-day with this review. They complain about reviewers who proclaim that
each new product they review is better than the last one. Well, I'm here to
plead "guilty" as this is the third power conditioner I've reviewed in the past
seven months, along with an incredible 650 photos and 59,000 words in the
reviews of the Toronto Audiofest 2024 and Capital Audiofest 2024. Each power
conditioner was better than the last, as well as significantly more expensive.
Let me give you an overview in case you haven't been following along. My longstanding power conditioner, since July 2017 when the
review was published by Enjoy the Music.com, had been the Synergistic PowerCell 8 UEF SE with an
Atmosphere Level 2 power cord, a unit that sold for about $2000 at the time.
--->
Synergistic Research PowerCell 14 Power Conditioner Review.
More reviews & articles within our Review Magazine.
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