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Nobody Warned Me Vinyl Would Turn Into a DIY Hobby

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 April 2025

Imagine this scenario: You’ve been following along with my vinyl journey for the past few years, from uninterested commentator to curious outsider looking in to recent convert to burgeoning enthusiast, and you happen to have a time machine. You decide to take a trip back and visit a previous Dennis, tell him that one day soon he’ll actually have a modest but precious record collection, and ask him, “When all is said and done, even after you develop a love for vinyl, what will your least favorite aspect of the hobby be?”

Kanto Audio Ren Powered Loudspeaker System

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 April 2025

Kanto isn’t messing around when it comes to broadcasting exactly who and what its latest powered speaker system, the Ren ($599.99, all prices USD), is designed for. Although the packaging and official nomenclature refer to it as simply a powered speaker system, a quick DuckDuckGo search reveals the SEO description for the system to be “REN Powered Speaker System with HDMI for Home Theater.”

Goldring E4 Moving-Magnet Phono Cartridge

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 March 2025

Reviewers' Choice Founded in 1906, Goldring is possibly the oldest extant manufacturer of phono cartridges in the world. Although they were established in Berlin, they moved to the UK in 1933. Today, Goldring manufactures two lines of moving-magnet cartridges—the entry-level E series and the step-up 1000 series—plus six moving-coil units. They’re part of the Armour Home organization, whose other products include Q Acoustics speakers and QED cables, among others.

Unboxing the Kanto Audio Ren Powered Loudspeaker System

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 15 March 2025

As I said in an editorial a few months back, it’s becoming increasingly clear to me that normies, insofar as they’re buying audio gear, are buying powered, self-contained systems—be they powered or active stereo speakers or all-in-one/just-add-speakers components—and as such, I’m going to do my best to work such products into my review calendar. So don’t be shocked if you see me bringing in more products like the Kanto Ren for review going forward, because when I interrogate people at my local record shop about what they’re doing to get sound into the room, it’s products like this that dominate the conversation.

Would You Pay $300 for a Truly Magical Component? What If It Were Software?

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 March 2025

To me, some of the most interesting stories come from one specific form of conflict: when a character’s ideology clashes with his or her principles. I’m writing such a story right this very now. I am that character. And if you’ve read my review of the Onkyo TX-RZ30 A/V receiver, you might already have a sense of why.

Onkyo TX-RZ30 A/V Receiver

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 March 2025

Reviewers' Choice As I write this, the 2025 International CES has just wrapped in Las Vegas. Perhaps the biggest news of the show for hi-fi enthusiasts was the fact that Onkyo is back, with a trio of stereo audiophile components coming later this year that evoke memories of the brand’s glory days. I’m here to tell you, though, that Onkyo is already back in a big way—at least with regard to home-theater gear—as evidenced by the newest addition to its RZ Series lineup, the TX-RZ30 ($1199, all prices USD).

Advance Paris X-i75 Integrated Amplifier

Details: Written by: Thom Moon; Created: 15 February 2025

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

Reviewers' Choice Advance Paris is a fairly new entrant into the North American audio market, but it has been in business overseas for 30 years. The company started in France in 1995 as a speaker manufacturer, Advance Audio, then moved into electronics in the 2010s, changed its name to Advance Paris, and began exporting to North America in 2021. However, only in the last year or so have its products gained significant distribution on this side of the pond.

Onkyo TX-RZ30 A/V Receiver Unboxing

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 15 February 2025

It’s been a while since I brought an A/V receiver in for review here on Access, and to be frank with you, I didn’t actually request Onkyo’s new TX-RZ30 ($1199, all prices USD) for such purposes. I asked for a sample as a matter of due diligence, so I could include it in the latest round of testing for my updated Wirecutter guide to the category. But a few things made me realize quite quickly that it was worthy of individual attention and deeper scrutiny. And a clue to those things can be found amongst the alphabet soup of logos on the outer packaging.

A Year(ish) into My Vinyl Journey: What Would I Do Differently?

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 February 2025

The more pedantically minded among you who regularly read my work will no doubt look at the headline of this story and think, “Wait, has it really been a year since Dennis got his first proper grown-up turntable?” It has not. In fact, it’s only been about eight months.

NAD C 379 Integrated Amplifier

Details: Written by: Dennis Burger; Created: 01 February 2025

Reviewers' Choice I have, on at least a few occasions, referred to my reference integrated amplifier, the NAD C 3050, as the Workingman’s Integrated Amp. But I think it’s time for me to reframe that sentiment. I’m actually starting to think of NAD as a company with something resembling real class consciousness, because the new C 379 ($1099 stock; $1499 as reviewed, with the MDC2 BluOS-D expansion module—all prices USD) is every bit as much a working-class product, but for wholly different reasons.

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