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Choosing the right A/V receiver can be a real mission. They can be intimidating, with a range of confusing features, even on the most affordable models. That’s where we come in.

Audio companies are getting smarter. Virtually every piece of gear that crosses the threshold of our office is capable of connecting to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, handling hi-res audio,or adjusting the sound to fit our unique hearing profiles. Not Onkyo.

If you want an example of an arms race in the audio world, check out the drive to create the best wireless noise-canceling headphones. Now a new challenger has entered the race, in the form of the Elite 85H headphones from Jabra.

Quick question. How much color do you like in your music? Do you like your bass to be fat, your mids to be warm, your soundstage to be wide of the hills? Or do you prefer no color at all, with an aggressively analytical sound?

Schiit Audio—it’s pronounced exactly like you think it is—make some of the best and most affordable hi-fi gear you can buy. We go out of our way not to show favoritism on this site, but Schiit make it incredibly difficult.

Sometimes, you need to take a step back, look at how you’re listening to music, and improve it. Sometimes, you just need to break the bank.

KEF make some of the finest speakers in the world, as anyone who has heard the $30,000 Blades will attest to. But they also make much more affordable models that deliver killer sound without killing your wallet.

Smart soundbars make sense to us. After all, soundbars are meant to be an easier, more compact alternative to full home theater surround sound, and so adding smart voice control is just the next step.

Up until now, if we were to advise someone about the best true wireless earbuds (as in, earbuds that have no wires at all) we would have talked about Sony, Bose, Apple, maybe even Samsung. Now, we think we can add Cambridge Audio to that rarefied list.

It doesn't matter how large your TV screen is. If you don't have great sound, then you're only getting half the experience.

One of the most common questions we get here at The Master Switch is whether someone should buy an A/V receiver or an amplifier for their setup.

Convincing people to carry around a portable amplifier in addition to a phone is a bit like asking Usain Bolt to strap rockets to his feet. Yes, it will technically make him faster, but it’s also cumbersome and annoying, and will probably explode.

And now for one of the more interesting 2.1 systems we’ve had the pleasure to plug in: the Edifier S350DBs. The S350DBs are large and powerful bookshelf boomers that provide a whopping upgrade to your home entertainment or computer setup...

Audiophiles don't like listening to music wirelessly. Wires, they say, are the only way to guarantee pristine audio quality. They just haven't heard the Naim Uniti Atom yet.

Very few audio designers are as accomplished as Aaron Fournier. After stints at Tivoli Audio and V-Moda, the Boston-based engineer started his own company, Thinksound, with the goal of making environmentally-friendly headphones that sounded fantastic.