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Reviews of Attainable Hi-Fi & Home-Theater Equipment

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Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 October 2026

Reviewers' Choice Working with Jorden Guth to produce the newest season of the SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast has got me thinking a lot lately about not merely the future of hi‑fi, but also its science-fiction present. Sci‑fi from the perspective of my old ass, that is. I just can’t help but look at something like PSB’s new iQ2 streaming active speaker system (US$1399, CA$1699, £1199, €1299 for standard finishes or US$1499, CA$1849, £1299, €1499 for the premium walnut veneer) and imagine how much it would have blown my teenage mind if I could plop the speakers (and accompanying network infrastructure) in a time machine and teleport them back to the 1980s, when my passion for hi‑fi began.

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 September 2026

Reloop is a German firm best known for producing equipment for dance clubs. In the not-too-distant past, it added a line of home turntables under the Reloop HiFi label. Priced at US$849.99, CA$1199, £759, or €799.99 as of early September 2026, the Turn 5 is third-up in that line, and includes a premounted Ortofon 2M Red cartridge.

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 September 2026

They say you can tell a lot about a person based on their favorite joke, although I hope that’s not the case, because mine goes a little something like this:

A guy dies and opens his eyes to find himself sitting in a circle of people in folding chairs, surrounded by flames. A red dude with horns and hooves steps into the circle and says, “Hi, I’m the Devil, and just to let you know, things here in Hell don’t work quite the way you might have assumed they would.”

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 September 2026

One of the phenomena that most fascinates me is the weird dissonance that results from a significant disconnect between perception and reality. For most areas of interest or influence, it’s easy enough to chalk it up to cultural hegemony, but when it happens in the domain of A/V, I’m not sure what to call it. Whatever the cause, though, there’s this perception that home theater is dead and dying harder every day—that A/V receivers like Denon’s new AVR‑X2900H (US$1349, CA$1799, £899, €1000) are a relic of the past and just barely hanging on. That pretty soon you just won’t be able to buy a mass-market one at all.

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 August 2026

To celebrate Record Store Day 2026, Victrola and Jack White’s Third Man Records collaborated on a limited-edition Third Man Records version of Victrola’s Wave turntable and Tempo powered speaker system. The bookshelf speaker system features Third Man’s striking yellow-and-black color scheme. The turntable is mostly black, but has the Victrola and Third Man logos emblazoned in yellow on the front of the plinth, and includes a felt mat that sports the Third Man logo. The turntable sells for US$499.99 and the Tempo speakers for US$249.99, but Victrola also sells the combination for US$649.98, a US$100 discount.

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 August 2026

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.

Reviewers' Choice As Geoffrey Morrison recently pointed out in an editorial for SoundStage! Solo, everyone is biased. I’m biased. You’re biased. There’s no escaping it. So when I find myself in a position where my biases might influence my impressions, I try to spell those biases out. So let me just say this from the giddy-up: I dig Emotiva. And yeah, I’ve had issues with the HDMI boards in some of its home-theater products, just like everyone else. But for solid, affordable, no-nonsense stereo gear that’s got a bit of personality, a distinctive aesthetic, and a put-up-or-shut-up approach to performance, it’s hard to beat the Tennessee-based brand’s offerings, such as the new BasX TA2+ stereo receiver/preamp/DAC/tuner (US$1299, CA$1750, £1099, €1248).

Details: Written by: Al Griffin; Created: 15 July 2026

This is my first turntable review for the SoundStage! Network, but I’m no vinyl newbie. My collection includes the many records I bought as a kid and teen before CDs took over, and I’ve steadily added to it over the years, even after streaming became my default method for music playback.

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 July 2026

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m getting to the age where repeating myself is just a byproduct of continued existence, so bear with me. A few years ago, I put together a document for new SoundStage! Network writers titled “The Unassailable, Unimpeachable Guide to Writing the Perfect SoundStage! Review (in my opinion, man),” created with the goal of walking newbies through the inner workings of my twisted mind when I’m reviewing a piece of gear.

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 June 2026

The vast majority of turntables available today are operated manually—you move the tonearm to the lead-in groove to begin playing a record and lift it off at the end of the side. There are a few models that automatically stop the motor at the end of a side, fewer still that lift the tonearm off the record as well, and a very few that automatically return the tonearm to its rest position. Rarer still are fully automatic ’tables that will automatically move the arm into position and drop the needle to start playing, then retrieve it when the record finishes.

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 June 2026

I was frankly perplexed when Onkyo announced its new Muse Series integrated amplifiers earlier this year, including the Y‑40 (US$999.99, CA$1499, £849, €899). After all, the ink was barely dry on the company’s recently released Icon Series products, including the A‑50 (US$1599.99, CA$2599.99, £1199, €1299), itself a network integrated amplifier. One can’t help wondering if Onkyo is getting out over its skis a little with its big comeback in the stereo domain.