Do you really care about the higher capability of your audio gear? What do you seek in your purchases? Be honest!

I’d like to think that I could’ve been friends with the late Hideo Matsushita, founder of Japanese Hi-Fi powerhouse Audio-Technica. If I could, I’d travel back in time to 1960’s Tokyo, where a young Matsushita curated “vinyl listening sessions” at the Bridgestone Museum of Arts, exposing visitors to the sounds and possibilities of high end audio and the warmth of vinyl records. I imagine sitting with him in a mod coffee shop, listening to the stories of what he witnessed in those sessions, the conversations he had with visitors, and what ultimately motivated him to head back to his small apartment above a ramen restaurant and start an audio company of his own. In the histories I’ve read regarding AT’s humble beginnings, Matsushita’s motives seem clear. Produce high end audio at affordable prices, bringing audio excellence into spaces and to customers that simply didn’t have access to it before. His first two products, the AT-1 and AT-3 phono cartridges did exactly that, and...

I made the decision to take advantage of the $600. price on the HiFiMan Arya Stealth, here pictured with the Meze 109 Pro. I think 2025 is going to be a really uneventful year so far as new purchases. I've also upgraded my Fiio BTR7 to the newly released BTR17 and I purchased the Earmen stack which consists of Amplifier, Linear PS, DAC & Streamer.

I made the decision to take advantage of the $600. price on the HiFiMan Arya Stealth, here pictured with the Meze 109 Pro. I think 2025 is going to be a really uneventful year so far as new purchases. I've also upgraded my Fiio BTR7 to the newly released BTR17 and I purchased the Earmen stack which consists of Amplifier, Linear PS, DAC & Streamer.