A lot of audiophiles love tube amplifiers, and I've owned my share, but I don't currently have tubes in my main hi-fi system. I instantly remembered what I was missing when I hooked up the Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum integrated amplifier with my KEF LS50 speakers. They're good together.

Before founding Rogue Audio in 1996, Mark O'Brien worked for Bell Labs and other companies doing electronics development, lasers, and transformer design. Like so many audio designers I've met over the years, O'Brien started building amplifiers when he was a little kid. Audio is a … Read more

Samsung has absolutely stuffed its Galaxy S4's 13-megapixel camera with settings and modes, but none of that matters if the phone's image quality can't stand up to the hype.

And so, here is a smartphone shootout between the Galaxy S4's top Android rival, the HTC One, and another beacon of smartphone photographic excellence, the iPhone 5.

One important thing to note is that all three phones have very different sensors. The Galaxy S4 hosts a 13-megapixel camera, and the iPhone 5 has an 8-megapixel shooter. For its part, the HTC One has what it calls an … Read more

The development of new chips that deliver zippier performance, smoother gaming, faster Web surfing, and longer-lasting battery life will soon make their way into new Android tablets. While the chips themselves -- and the high-end tablets that will house them -- have yet to be released, we have it on good authority that they'll deliver on their promise.

Gaming is an increasingly popular way tablet owners are spending time with their devices, and chip makers are paying attention. The gaming experience on Android tablets has improved in just the last year, and it's bound to only get faster, … Read more

Like most superhero fanboys, I'm pretty jazzed about "Iron Man 3," which opens one week from tomorrow.

And like most superhero movies of late, this one has an official game to accompany it. Gameloft's Iron Man 3 just landed for Android and iOS. And it's probably not what you'd expect.

Indeed, based on Gameloft's last movie tie-in, the Amazing Spider-Man game, you might envision something similar here: a running, jumping, and flying Tony Stark, with a mixture of ground- and air-based combat.

But this game takes its cues from Temple Run and throws … Read more

Out of steam? Can't bring yourself to finish that last mile? Maybe a zombie horde breathing down your neck will give you the adrenaline boost you need.

That's the idea behind Zombies, Run! 2 (Android|iOS), which bills itself as an "immersive running game and audio adventure" for your smartphone.

It works like this: Before you start your run, you load the app, choose a mission, put in your earbuds, and then hit the road. Along the way, you're treated to audio segments that gradually reveal the story of Abel Township and the zombie apocalypse … Read more

After reviewing a handful of the latest and greatest smartwatches, I discovered something shocking. Out of my old electronics drawer I pulled out my iPod Nano, the 2011 clip-on MP3 player that's no longer even sold by Apple. It's attached to a Hex Nano metal watchband. I wore this for over a year, and was so in love with the idea of an Apple smartwatch that I was willing to forgive its limitations -- and that it wasn't really all that smart.

All of these smartwatches have arrived, and I've worn them. Yet, when I slip … Read more

The next generation of Android phones is coming, and you can't ignore the HTC One with its beautiful design that makes Apple fanboys drool. So we're taking the two of the best designed phones on the market and throwing them inside the Prizefight ring!

Does the iPhone 5 still have enough in the tank before its next refresh to hold off the hard-charging HTC One?

Or will the next generation of Android phones and HTC's cleaned-up Sense UI reign supreme in 2013?

Which is your Prizefight King of the Ring?

I heard through the grapevine that the Mal Valve Head Amp Three takes headphone sound to the next level, so I had to check it out for myself. I brought two of my best headphones to the Audioarts NYC showroom to audition the amp, and it really was an ear opener. "Space" was the first thing I noticed, the Mal Valve decodes spatial cues in recordings better than any amp I've heard to date; and the resolution, clarity, and purity of the sound were all superlative via my Audeze LCD 3 headphones. The Mal Valve frees up … Read more

Here's a common scenario: You're looking for new frames at your optometrist or local sunglasses shop, and you realize you don't like anything in stock. You could look through their additional catalogs, but you're wary of ordering anything that's not in front of you.

You could also sign up for those try-at-home sites that send sample frames to you, like Warby Parker. But with all that back-and-forth, getting a new frame might take a while. And, you know, "seeing things" is sort of a priority.

To solve this problem, Jonathan Coon -- CEO … Read more