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1 week ago | 
soundstageaccess.com | Dennis Burger
There are few things in life that I claim to know with absolute certainty, but one of them is this: if you present me with the packaging for an A/V receiver of unusual size (AVROUS?), I cannot resist the urge to stack it atop, under, or near the packaging for an AVR of more typical dimensions.
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3 weeks ago | 
soundstageaccess.com | Dennis Burger
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.
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3 weeks ago | 
soundstageaccess.com | Dennis Burger
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.
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1 month ago | 
soundstageaccess.com | Dennis Burger
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.
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1 month ago | 
soundstageaccess.com | Dennis Burger
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).
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1 month ago | 
soundstageaccess.com | Dennis Burger
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.
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2 months ago | 
soundstageaccess.com | Dennis Burger
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.
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2 months ago | 
soundstageaccess.com | Dennis Burger
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.
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2 months ago | 
soundstageaccess.com | Dennis Burger
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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Jan 14, 2025 | 
soundstageaccess.com | Dennis Burger
It isn’t often that I start an unboxing blog post with two un-unboxed boxes (say that three times quickly) unless the product is a pair of speakers, but here we are. This is a first in more ways than one. Because, as you may have gathered from the headline, this is as much an installation walkthrough as it is an unboxing. But we’ll get to that. Before we do, let’s start with the box on the bottom and the contents therein: NAD’s C 379 integrated amplifier ($1099, all prices USD).
