An Audio Blog by Walden

Ideas & Insights on Audio & Good Sound

JD 25/08/2026 JD 25/08/2026

Aurorasound’s New HFSA-02. An Amplifier Outside the Ordinary

When I was looking for a new phono amplifier some years ago, before Walden High-End Audio, I came across Aurorasound. I had never heard of the brand, but when listening to the VIDA MKII phono amplifier, I discovered a sound that immediately drew me in: the expressiveness and fluidity one associates with a good tube amplifier, combined with a sense of scale and energy.

JD 21/08/2026 JD 21/08/2026

LUXMAN D-100 CENTENNIAL

If you have a weakness for Japanese technology at its very best, it is difficult to ignore LUXMAN. Few names in high-end audio can draw upon a history as long and as rich. The story began in 1925, and over the course of a century LUXMAN has lived through virtually every major transition in audio: from radio to hi-fi, from valves to transistors, from analogue to digital, and from the Compact Disc to SACD and high-resolution music.

JD 12/03/2026 JD 12/03/2026

Tube Soul, Transistor Muscle: The Appeal of Hybrid Amplifiers

Among audiophiles, the question of amplification often leads to a familiar debate: tube or solid-state? Both technologies have shaped high-fidelity audio for decades, each with its own strengths. Yet a third category has attracted increasing attention... hybrid amplifiers, designs that combine elements of both approaches.

Jan Dhont 14/02/2026 Jan Dhont 14/02/2026

The EL84. Gracious Sound from a Small Tube.

Very often, it can be difficult to predict how an amplifier will sound. We assume that by reading enough reviews and analyzing technical specifications, we understand how a piece of audio equipment will perform. Given how significant the investment can be, the risk of a wrong choice is considerable. Yet somehow, that risk feels smaller when it comes to an EL84 amplifier.

Jan Dhont 08/12/2025 Jan Dhont 08/12/2025

Field Coil Speakers

If you’re looking for loudspeakers that let you connect with music on the deepest emotional level, you simply can’t ignore field-coil designs. Field-coil drivers don’t use permanent magnets but electromagnets - a technology found in early cinema loudspeakers from companies like Western Electric and Klangfilm.