Sync Sounds

I don't drive big cars. Hate them. In my book, if a car's going to weigh 4,300 pounds it better have a second car sitting on top of it.

And despite all that, I was sad to see the MKS go. It's a fantastic ride, mostly due to the THX sound system and, gasp, Microsoft's Sync.

Serving Up Higher-Fi

The vast majority of the 4HD is the same as the 4 we reviewed last month.

But that's not to say all. The 4HD lives up to its moniker by offering storage and playback of high-resolution audio files, up to 24-bit/192Khz on its 2 terabyte hard drive. More bits are always good. As are a few cool new features.

The best gear of the year, as picked by the editors of Home Entertainment.

The Long Run

Have you ever heard a live band off in the distance and instantly knew it was the real thing? I can't tell you why, but there's something about the sound of live music that recordings always miss. So hi-fis, even the best ones, never sound realistic, but they can get close.

Audio Research's CD8 Reference player does just that. It's one of the least "digital" sounding CD players I've ever used.

Premium Blend

The NaimUniti combines all your stereo favorites in to one unifying package.

Free your iPod

The W2 is a wireless adapter that clicks into the bottom of your iPod.

The audio is sent wirelessly to the receiver unit, which plugs into an AC outlet and your receiver, or anything with a mini-jack or RCA inputs.

Presto! Wireless iPod audio.

Olive You So Much: A romance in two parts between a girl and the Olive 4, a sexy young multi-room music server.

At the risk of sounding clichéd, I’ve discovered there is such a thing as love at first sight.

Marantz goes for truth in nomenclature with their new Reference series

The Reference Series is Marantz's no-holds-barred line of audio components, which includes several amps, preamps, integrated amps, control amps and disc players. 

The flagship components in my review system are two MA-9S2 monaural power amplifiers, the SC-7S2 Control Amplifier and the SA-7S1 CD/SACD player.

Groove Master

VPI currently offers seven turntable models, but the Cliffwood, New Jersey, company didn't start out with turntables. They initially made record cleaning machines that literally sucked dirt out of the grooves. The cleaning machines are still a significant part of VPI's business. It's a fact: Spotlessly clean records sound better. They just do.

After 30 years in the business, VPI is celebrating with the aptly named 30th Anniversary Classic Turntable.

When Digital Met Analog

Ditch the transistors and go tubing with old-fashioned, oh-so-analog vacuum tube audio gear from Peachtree Audio and Fatman.