Halcro's MC series amplifiers come in two, three, five and seven channel configurations (designated the MC20, MC30, MC50, and MC70). The MC70 lists for $7,000, but compared to the Halcro Reference DM88 monoblocks, which will set you back more than $40,000 per pair, the MC70 is quite the bargain. So what kind of amp do you get for a kilobuck per channel?

Sometimes a disappointing start can lead to a glorious finish. Such has been my experience with Eggleston Works’ The Nine, a beautiful loudspeaker that more than deserves the copious amounts of praise it is receiving here and abroad. I have spent a long time – far too long, with The Nines. I have done so for purely selfish reasons. I have grown quite fond of these babies, and will be sad to see them go. But other speakers are on their way, and there’s only so much room at the Inn.

The mStation 2.1 tower is an all in one solution for taking your iPod music out of your ears and into your room. The tower consists of one down firing 5.25” woofer, and two speaker modules with 2 – 2” midrange and 1 – 1” tweeter per speaker. There is a docking station a USB port and a 1/8” (3.5mm) stereo miniplug jack. All in a four foot tall, 14" wide aluminum tower.

“Seriously, thanks.  I haven't had anything this refreshing from audio equipment since a long, long time.  This is the kind of $#^+ that makes me want to believe again. As sincerely as a junkie can get."

For a player as expensive as it is, the Classé CDP-502 could stand for some improvement in its core video performance.  Its de-interlacer performance is very good though, and the National Semiconductor AVC 2510 chip set handles most material very well, as there were really only a few minor hiccups it experienced in our DVD Player Benchmark™ tests. It would be hard for me to recommend this DVD player based on its video performance alone, but people in the market for a player in this price class will undoubtedly be looking at it for its ultra high-end audio performance. That, combined with a robust video feature set and the ability to up-convert any material to various HD resolutions through HDMI, makes the CDP-502 an impressive offering overall.  

The Integra DTR 7.8 seven-channel A/V receiver has cutting edge features such as HDMI 1.3a, and internal processing of the latest hi-resolution audio codecs. It offers THX Ultra2 certification at an amazingly low price, and most importantly, produces the clean, neutral sound that we’ve come to expect from Integra products. Integra has produced another winner here.

Bigger is still better, period - at least when it comes to two-channel systems. Believe me I’ve heard many fine sounding monitors (with and without a separate subwoofer) auditioned at shows and in my own listening room.  Several reviewed I’ve purchased or wanted to badly, yet like the preverbal big fish I throw them back to wait for the one that’s just too amazing to return. Read our review of the KEF 205/2 floor-standers. They would fit anyone's needs.

Denon's new AVR-4308CI is one heck of a receiver, with 7 x 140 watts and HDMI 1.3 connections, along with Wi-Fi and Ethernet capability. See our review to find out the details.

Vinyl is back!!! If you get a new turntable, you will likely need a nice phono stage to connect the cartridge to your preamplifier. PS Audio has a good one. Read our review to see what we found. Note that this will work to make excellent music files for your portable music player.

********  BENCH TEST RESULTS HAVE BEEN ADDED 3/17/08 ******** Von Schweikert's new VisiUN center channel speaker is nirvana, with its detailed, powerful sound that does not diminish for off-axis listeners. Expensive? Yes, and worth every penny. For those of you who want the ultra-cool, it's got the same paint finish as the USA Stealth Bomber. Read this exclusive review to find out why.

My initial review of the DAC1 Digital-to-Analog Converter appeared in these pages toward the end of 2003. As I wrote at that time, Allen Burdick of Benchmark Media explained that the DAC1, then retailing for $850, was designed with the recording engineer in mind. Since then, the DAC1 has continued to make waves in the audiophile community. Benchmark Media has responded accordingly, embracing the home entertainment market by significantly upgrading the unit’s performance while keeping the cost of the basic unit under $1000.

The Panasonic PT-AX200U is a three-panel LCD projector with 720p resolution, priced at $1,999, and you can get it for a lot less at ProjectorPeople.com. Although 720p is not as high a resolution as 1080i (converts to 1080p by the projector), the difference is minimal depending on how large your screen is and how far away you sit. So, if you can't afford to go all the way to a native 1920x1080 projector, this is a good choice.