If you’ve been hunting for a new AV receiver lately, you’ve probably seen the Onkyo TX-SR494 popping up again in 2025 clearance sales, open-box deals, and YouTube discussions. This once-overlooked receiver has suddenly become a hot topic, and for good reason: it promises a full, earth-shaking Dolby Atmos home theater experience for the price of…
When you think of Wharfedale, most audiophiles immediately picture the long-running, budget-friendly Diamond series. The Diamonds have dominated the entry-level and midrange speaker market for decades, offering exceptional value. But Wharfedale is far more than just affordable bookshelf speakers. Their new Evo series, and specifically the Evo 4.4, is proof that the brand can compete…
The American brand Martin Logan’s Motion 35XTi bookshelf speakers have always interested me because I wanted to know what would happen if I essentially sawed their floorstanding models in half. I have already listened to the floorstanders from this Motion series: the flagship 60XTi and the 40i, which were more suitable for my room. Those…
When I first unboxed the DALI Oberon 1 C, I didn’t expect much more than another wireless bookshelf speaker. But within minutes of listening, it was clear that this Danish-made beauty offers something rare: the kind of effortless musicality that makes you forget about the technology behind it. This compact active stereo speaker system sits…
The Danish company DALI (Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries) is known for offering a wide range of speakers, each refined, updated, and tuned to perfection. What makes DALI unique is its ability to maintain a consistent sound signature and excellent price-to-performance ratio across all models.For many audiophiles, the Rubicon series is where the pursuit of perfection…
Fyne Audio may be a fledgling Scottish company, but its leadership team is a supergroup of industry veterans, boasting over two hundred years of collective experience. This depth of knowledge is immediately apparent in their products. We’ve already been deeply impressed by their superlative F501 speakers, so our anticipation for their entry-level F302 floorstanders was…
For years, I thought my hi-fi journey had reached its end. My system felt completely balanced, expressive, and capable of everything I asked from it. Then, I met the Klipsch Heresy IV. What began as curiosity quickly turned into revelation. Few loudspeakers manage to rekindle the excitement of first discovering high-fidelity sound; the Heresy IV…
The Sony NW-A306 continues the legendary Walkman heritage with a modern twist. Compact, beautifully engineered, and packed with premium audio technology, it aims to deliver genuine hi-res performance on the go. Despite its minimalist size, this digital audio player (DAP) combines refined design with Sony’s advanced processing to create a listening experience that feels more…
The Q Acoustics 3030i stands as the most powerful and substantial of the three stand-mount models in the 3000i range. With its smaller siblings already earning glowing reviews, the 3030i had a lot to live up to, and it does so brilliantly. Give these speakers a few days to settle, and they reveal a sound…
When the smaller Epos ES-7N first arrived at my door in Victoria, I couldn’t help but feel a flicker of nostalgia. Years ago, I’d spent countless hours listening to its larger sibling, the ES-14N, a speaker that had reminded me of everything the original Epos line stood for: purity, musicality, and balance. So, when Karl-Heinz…
