Moon is a Canadian audio manufacturer based in Quebec. I had the opportunity to visit Moon twice, in 2010 and 2013. Their factory spans over 41,000 square feet. For a high-end audio company, Moon’s facility is genuinely large. Beyond its size, their level of self-sufficiency is remarkably high; almost everything they can manufacture themselves is…
Before delving into the Coltrane Quintet SE, let’s take a brief look back at Marten’s history. Founded in Sweden in 1998 by Leif Mårten Olofsson, the Olofsson family has long-standing ties to music. His grandfather, Josef Olofsson, was a violin maker aspiring to craft instruments like those of Stradivari, while his maternal grandfather was a…
When it comes to the principles of CD playback, achieving great sound primarily boils down to three key elements: the disc transport mechanism, the reading architecture, and the digital output circuitry. If these aspects are well-designed and high-quality components are used, you can largely achieve a satisfactory sound-to-price ratio. Streaming playback, however, is a different…
There are few things more frustrating in the world of home entertainment than investing time and money into a high-fidelity audio system, only to sit down, press play, and hear a persistent, low-frequency drone. That annoying “buzzzzz” or “hummmmm” that persists even when the music is paused can ruin the immersive experience of a movie…
There is a specific kind of magic that occurs when modern home theater technology works exactly as intended. You pick up a single remote, press the power button, and watch as your television, soundbar, and streaming device all spring to life in a synchronized dance. The TV audio automatically routes to the soundbar, the volume…
There is a specific kind of anticipation that comes with upgrading your computer audio setup. You unbox a sleek, new USB Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC), imagining the pristine, high-fidelity sound that is about to replace the muddy audio from your laptop’s headphone jack. You plug it in, put on your headphones, press play, and… silence. Or…
We live in an era where our audio equipment is evolving constantly. Gone are the days when a speaker was simply a wooden box with a magnet and a cone. Today, modern HiFi speakers, soundbars, and network players are sophisticated computers dedicated to audio reproduction. They rely on complex software to manage connectivity, digital signal…
There is nothing quite as frustrating as settling into your favorite listening chair, pressing play on a high-fidelity track, and being greeted by silence or, perhaps worse, a song that skips and stutters like a scratched CD. In the digital age, we have traded physical scratches for network congestion. As high-resolution audio streaming services like…
We have all been there. You plug your phone into your car stereo, or your headphones into your laptop, and are greeted not by your favorite song, but by a deafening static crackle. Maybe the vocals sound distant, or perhaps the sound only comes out of the left speaker unless you twist the cable into…
In today’s market, the hottest audio product is undeniably the Bluetooth earphone or headphone. Whether you’re an audiophile or just someone who enjoys music, it seems everyone has a pair, allowing them to immerse themselves in their personal music world anytime, anywhere. As Bluetooth technology has evolved to version 5.0 and beyond, the issues…
This year, renowned Austrian headphone manufacturer AKG unveiled its brand-new N5 true wireless earbuds. Besides standard Bluetooth connectivity, the standout feature is the inclusion of a miniature USB Type-C Dongle wireless receiver. This small USB-C connector, when plugged into a phone or laptop, transmits audio wirelessly to the earbuds using a 2.4GHz frequency. Connectivity Options…
Kali Audio, a brand less frequently featured on this site in the past, was established in Burbank, California, in 2018. The company specializes in producing studio monitor speakers. Located in a renowned music creation hub, with close proximity to Hollywood studios and numerous professional recording facilities, Kali Audio benefits greatly from this strategic location, enabling…
We have all been there: you are standing in your kitchen, hands covered in flour, and you need to set a timer. You call out to your smart speaker, “Hey, set a timer for ten minutes.” Silence. You try again, louder this time. Still nothing. By the third attempt, you are shouting at a plastic…
Imagine this scenario: You are hosting a dinner party. You have curated the perfect playlist, and you have set up your multi-room audio system to fill the entire house with ambient jazz. As you walk from the kitchen to the living room with a tray of appetizers, you suddenly feel disoriented. The saxophone solo playing…
There are few moments in modern life more frustrating than settling in for a movie night or a relaxing listening session, pressing play, and being greeted by absolute silence. The lights are on, the display is glowing, and the timer on the track is moving, but your speakers remain dead silent. It is a sinking…
We have all been there: you are in the middle of your favorite playlist, or perhaps hosting friends for a dinner party, and the music suddenly cuts out. A few seconds later, it stutters back to life, only to drop again moments later. This frustrating cycle of wireless speaker disconnection is the bane of modern…
There is perhaps no moment more frustrating for a home theater enthusiast than the sudden silence that interrupts the climax of a movie. The screen goes black, the speakers cut out, and your AV receiver, the heart of your entertainment system, sits unresponsive with a flashing red light on its display. This phenomenon, known as…
While condenser microphones often steal the spotlight when it comes to professional recording, the market offers a plethora of high-quality dynamic microphones capable of delivering equally outstanding audio capture. These mics are not only convenient to connect and intuitive to use, but crucially, they come at a more accessible price point compared to condenser…