Over the years we have gained a national reputation as a leader in high end audio and audio/video systems. With New England's largest, most advanced auditioning facility and a tradition of personalized attention spanning 30 years, we believe that you'll find your visit here both informative and enjoyable!

Goodwin's High End will be closed on Saturday, July 4th. We will reopen on Tuesday, July 7th as usual.

News                            

See our new Music and Format section—including sources for the new high-resolution audio files!

Our New Website. Later this year (2009) our new website will be on-line. Tip: In the meantime our present website is best viewed at a screen width of about 1024 pixels. more info

Home Theater Magazine.

An article about a room that we designed and for which we provided the acoustic treatment was featured in the Design section of the May 2009 issue. What you can't see in the above photo is that the door on the far wall opens into a second smaller room wherein the Spectral-based high end audio system is housed in a rack. In addition that same room contains a nice library of albums and CD's on custom-sized shelves. The article spans pages 41-45. The closing sentence reads, "The best part of all for the homeowner is when life gets hectic and he needs time to relax and slow down, he escapes inside the enchanting sounds of Monteverdi, Bartok, or Mahler, in the music room of his dreams." If you'd like a beautiful room designed and acoustically treated you're welcome to call us to discuss your project.

Ultra Audio. We were given very high praise from Ultra Audio in a March 1, 2009 feature article entitled "Goodwin's High End — A Wonderland". Here is a brief excerpt, "...the acoustic nature of the listening room was simply extraordinary. As far as I’m concerned, this facility is the place to audition high-end audio gear."  To read the article in its entirety please click here.

Boston Home Magazine: Best of Boston Home 2009!

In the Winter 2009 issue we were named as the winner in the Audio-Visual Equipment category. See page 73 for the full write-up on us! Also on their website they have a mini-review of us here.

The Absolute Sound magazine. See the February 2009 issue of The Absolute Sound for an in-depth Spectral system review plus an extensive interview with chief engineer Keith Johnson and company President Rick Fryer. For those of you that don't know, we are the oldest Spectral dealer in the US, having recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of our long partnership with them. And Spectral is our most popular line as not only as it not only delivers world class sound quality, but it is also, in our view, the best value in high end audio componentry available today.

The Absolute Sound magazine. For quite a while we have assiduously been working behind the scenes to promote the idea of computer/music server-based high resolution audio files. And lately the world has started to take notice. In the January 2009 issue there is a review of the new HRx files from Reference Recordings which were played on a silent music server co-designed by Goodwin's High End—along with another review of the Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC. We have been selling Reference Recordings in their various formats for many years, and the new HRx files at 176.4/24 are the best format ever!  In addition we have been a dealer for the Berkeley Alpha DAC from the day it was introduced. (It was actually beta tested here in the summer of 2007 before it was officially released in early 2008.) 

If you read the review you will see that Robert Harley, the editor of The Absolute Sound, was rather impressed with the sound quality from the music server that we designed! So much so that after he completed the review, rather than return the music server that we had loaned to him for those reviews, he said that he wanted to purchase it for himself. The stated reason being that he didn't wish to do future component reviews without it as it was the best source he had ever heard! 

You're invited to call for more detailed information about this exciting new development. And if you're in the area please stop by and hear it for yourself, as hearing is believing.

Design New England Magazine.

The July/August 2008 issue has a four page article which details a very high end custom acoustical room treatment which was designed and installed by us. In addition we installed a high end stereo/home theater system with Crestron control for the system—as well as for the Imagecrafters lighting system with energy efficient and very quiet LED lighting which we also provided. See the link here and then click "Pages" and see pages 48-51. Here are some more photos of this custom room:  Photo No.1  No.2  No.3  No.4  No.5

Home Theater installation.

Here are some snapshots of a home theater installation that we completed in 2008. This theater is equipped with a Runco 1080P 3-chip DLP projector situated in a separate projection room featuring a projection port of special cinema-grade optical glass of which you can see some details of in Photos 2&3:  HT-1 HT-2 HT-3 HT-4

Forbes Magazine. Once again we were acknowledged as being a leader in our field. I guess if you've been passionately involved with high end audio for over 30 years, always striving to take things to a higher level, it helps! 

The December 24, 2007 issue features an article on high end music servers based upon another extensive interview with Alan Goodwin and a listening session here. Again we are prominently featured—plus they spelled our name correctly multiple times! You can see a link here or a pdf of the article here.

Status Magazine. The Fall 2007 issue features a rather extensive article based upon a few hours of their reporter interviewing us about various aspects of putting together a really high end home theater. The four page article which is entitled "Best Seat in the House" quotes us extensively and starts on page 90. It features top products from Magico, Runco, Theta, Kaleidescape, Crestron, etc.

Forbes Magazine. A few months ago a reporter from Forbes magazine spent several hours interviewing us and listening to three different turntable setups here. An article published in the June 4, 2007 issue (starting on page 64), talks about high end turntables and Goodwin's High End is prominently featured throughout. In it we are recognized as "one of the nation's foremost retailers of top-end audio gear". Although of course we have enjoyed an excellent and longstanding reputation in audiophile circles, it is always gratifying for us to be so acknowledged in the general press! Here is a link.

2007 New York Home Entertainment Show. We premiered two brand new speakers in our room at the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan May 11-13th. Both the new Magico V3 and the Mini2 speakers greatly impressed the many attendees!

The Absolute Sound.

In an article in the March 2006 issue, the Magico Ultimate speakers were featured in a custom acoustic room that we designed and installed in a client's home in San Francisco. The article spans pages 82-91 and you can see pictures of the Ultimates installed in our custom acoustic room. Here is a photo: Magico Ultimate II in our custom acoustic room

A Unique Opportunity!  At the request of one of our clients, in January 2007 we made special arrangements to bring in some new and highly touted top-end speakers for audition. So along with our usual array of fine loudspeakers including the Wilson X-2, we gathered together the Magico Model 6, the Rockport Altair, and the Verity Lohengrin II here in the store. At that time this was the only place in the US that this array could be heard all in one room—and no one has done it since either!  If you'd like to arrange your own listening to our current crop of top-end speakers you're invited to call us for an appointment.

New England Home Magazine. For the December 2006 issue, Alan Goodwin was interviewed rather extensively on his thoughts regarding music for the home. In the article he was quoted a number of times on a variety of aspects in his field of expertise, specifically on quality residential audio systems and room acoustics.

Architectural Digest. One of the systems we installed in Boston was photographed for an article in the November 2006 issue.

  The living room system of this fabulous Back Bay condo features a Spectral Reference system driving X-2's—and the Family Room utilizes another separate Spectral Reference system. In addition, among other things, this home also features a home theater, a roof deck system, and a video screen behind a mirror in the guest bathroom—all controlled by a Crestron system with customized programming.

Here are some more snapshots:  Main Room , Main Rack

This Old House on PBS!  We are very pleased to have been selected as the audio, video, and automation specialist for the This Old House project in Cambridge, MA.

The contemporary home features an extensive audio system with speakers in most rooms and high-end Dynaudio Confidence C2 speakers in the living room. Behind the speakers, stealthy CinemaTech Acoustic Room Systems fabric walls tame the lively acoustics. Between the speakers a trick Auton lift lowers a portion of a wooden wall (right; click picture to enlarge) into the basement (!) to reveal a glorious 61" Runco plasma. A REL Studio subwoofer will supply "ample" bass. Here are 3 photos showing how the plasma is automatically hidden by a motorized portion of the wall when not being watched: Living Room front wall open ,  wall half-closed , wall fully closed

In the reading nook, Crestron controlled background music is available at the touch of a key.

In the master bedroom, a 43" Runco plasma rises from a custom cabinet. With 8 color touchpanels, 22 keypads, 4 video cameras, 8 Crestron-controlled thermostats, nearly 80 Crestron-controlled lighting loads, 3 miles of audio, video, and control wiring, and a huge 10kVA Equi=Tech balanced power conditioner, this is the most extensive and comprehensive automation package ever installed in a This Old House project. It even has a superb turntable for you vinyl lovers: Clearaudio Ambient with an Audio Research PH5 phono section!

The three episodes premiered in January and February 2006 on PBS as well as on the Create channel.

Also here is a link to the ASC website that explains how the walls were built with Iso-Wall.

Plasma's superiority verified. An independent IDC report shows that plasma televisions are superior to the competing LCD and DLP rear projection television and that concerns about burn-in, lifespan, viewing angle, brightness, black level, and color accuracy are unfounded. Full report.

Videophiles and other consumers who value a high-quality image should really appreciate these results [of superior plasma video performance]. ©2005

Inside This Old House. Early in 2004, a This Old House camera crew visited our showroom. Show host Kevin O'Connor chatted with us about video display devices and room acoustics, including Goodwin's High End's own acoustic baffle system.

We enjoyed the experience and found the cast, crew, and director a pleasure to work with. It was fascinating to see how unscripted, improvised educational programming is shot and produced. Watch for re-runs on A&E!

2004 - Ning An classical piano CD released. In July 2003, Alan Goodwin recorded Ning An playing Haydn, Mendelssohn, Berg, and Rachmaninoff at Jordan Hall in Boston. Here is a link with a bit more info.

Please note: though the link indicates the recording was done at 96kHz—it is actually a 24 bit recording done at 176.4kHz. The reason this is important is that 176.4kHz decimates perfectly to 44.1 kHz which is the sampling rate used for the CD release—and that is important for sound quality reasons. Simply put, 176.4 kHz divided by 4 exactly equals 44.1 kHz which is perfect decimation.

An HDCD CD of this recording session is now available—and if you would like to obtain a CD of this performance just give us a call.

Even More! To see even more of what has been written about us please click here.

Promotions & Specials

Our New Website - Premiering Soon. Presently we are hard at work redesigning our website which first went live at the beginning of 1998. (That was less than half a year after Google went online—so we were online relatively early!) It is hard to believe that our website is 11 years old already―certainly it is time for revamp! Over the past few months we've been working on updating and expanding the content on our current website. Expect to see our revised site with a fresh new look and even more expanded content go live later in 2009!

Tip: In the meantime our old website (that you're now on) is best viewed at a screen width of about 1024 pixels. If your screen resolution is wider you could simply reduce the width of your browser window in which you view our present site—and that way the pages will format better. The reason for this is that because our site was designed long ago, the website building tools that we used at that time did not have all of the modern features. Rest assured that our new site will format the pages better in the various modern browsers and screen resolutions that are in use today!

New Arrivals

Magico V2 is here! When you look at the V2 you will see that the tweeter is blended into the faceplate in order to enhance the visual aesthetic appeal as well as for performance reasons. The graceful curvature of the faceplate is also a pleasing touch—such that the speaker is as harmonious to the eye as it is to the ear. To sum up, this new speaker is beautiful and sounds wonderful! You're welcome to experience it for yourself in one of our high end soundrooms. Details are here.

Spectral Audio DMA-360 Series 2. This just arrived and it is a really impressive amplifier!  The bass performance of this amplifier is exemplary—tight, fast, and powerful. The ability to hear into the soundstage is akin to an open window on the performance. Much effort was put into making this the most refined Spectral power amp ever, and it really shows when you hear it. Bring your favorite music and hear for yourself!  Here is a link to learn more.

Nagra BPS Phono Preamp..This little phono preamp has immediately become very popular because it is so good sounding, and especially so considering how reasonably priced it is. Remove the lid and you see bipolar transistors driven by battery power, allowing complete separation of your highly sensitive phono preamplification from the dirty power grid. The result is vast, black silences between ultra-well-defined notes. And of course you have a choice between the new BPS and the VPS—which is their vacuum tube unit. You can see the inside of the VPS here. Stop by and you can see and hear them both for yourself!

Wolf Cinema DCX-500i. After a tremendous amount of research wherein we looked in-depth at all of the contenders, we have selected this as our reference video projector for our top high end home theater showroom. The picture quality from the best Bluray discs with this projector and our reference Stewart screen is really quite incredible. Seeing is believing, and you're invited to see for yourself!  Here is some more info.

Spectral DMC-15SS. This brand new preamp just arrived and it has got to be the best value in high end audio preamps today.

Wonderful sound at a relative bargain price-wise!  If you value pure performance over features such as remote control then this is the preamp for you. Alternatively if you need remote control Spectral has their DMC-30SS reference preamp—it is always nice to have such great choices to choose between!  For more info here is a link.

Silent Music Servers. If you would like to be able to play the new high resolution files that everyone is so excited about, exemplified by the stunning HRx files from Reference Recordings, you need a music server that is properly designed in order to do so. You can now get a computer-based completely silent music server just like the one that we are using here for demo. These computers are unlike anything you have ever seen, or in this case, heard. That is because they are built utilizing a special heatpipe-equipped chassis and use Solid State Drives which make them completely silent. No fan noise and no hard-drive spinning or clicking—no moving parts at all. That way they don't have to be hidden away in a separate room but can be right next to your D-A converter. Along with your collection of high resolution files, your entire CD library can be ported as well so all of your digital music can be played from this server. Click HERE for more details.

Berkeley Audio Alpha DAC. We now have this on display and it has immediately proven to be very popular. Driven by either a music server and/or a CD drive, this automatically switches between the various PCM sampling rates—thus making it very easy to switch between CD (Red Book) and high resolution files such as 192/24 or 176.4/24. For more detailed information on the Alpha DAC click here. For info on choosing a Music Server or configuring a computer to use as an ad hoc music server, here is a Link.

Spectral SDR-4000S Pro CD Player. If you want to know how good CD's can really sound then you owe it to yourself to hear Spectral's sonic wonder. Simply put, this is a tour de force of engineering and it shows when you push "play" and the music pours forth in such a convincing manner. Regardless of what kind of high end stereo system you have, a better source is always a better source. And if you have a CD collection this is a true reference player. Click Here for more information. UPDATE:  For more information see the Feb 09 issue of Absolute Sound which includes an in-depth look at this fabulous CD player. You're welcome to stop by anytime for your own personal audition.

Magico Model 6. The revised Model 6's are now here and they are awesome! With new nanotech midrange drivers and a new crossover, the bar has been raised in terms of loudspeaker performance. They are a massive 650lbs or so each, but still not overpoweringly big so they won't totally dominate a room visually speaking. Put your favorite record on or some HRx files and close your eyes and see if you aren't transported. Truly if you are interested in state-of-the-art loudspeakers you owe it to yourself to stop by and hear them for yourself. We think you'll be stunned—in a good way of course!  Click Here for more info.

Performance Acoustics Labs:  Modular Acoustic Room Treatment for the discerning music or home theater lover.

Your room can sound great and look beautiful too!

With a nice selection of attractive acoustic room treatment modules in different finishes available, a PAL room can be tailored to both your acoustic and aesthetic sensibilities. One of the outstanding benefits of this approach is the ability to fine tune the bass characteristics of the room acoustically in situ.

Here are photo1 , photo2 , photo3 & photo4 so you can see what a room treated this way looks like. Click here for more info. Then here for more details.

Naim Nait 5i-2. Introducing the Naim Series 5 components — including the acclaimed Nait 5i-2 which was recently honored in TAS. Robert Harley states, “What makes the 5i-2 so special is the amplifier’s ability to engage the listener musically.” We wholeheartedly agree with this quote as well as, “If there is a better value in high end audio than the Naim Nait 5i-2, I have yet to discover it”. What more can you ask for!

Basis Debut Diamond Signature Vacuum.

This is the latest incarnation of this wonderful turntable. Available either in clear or in black, it is beautiful to see, touch, and hear. We have this on display with the new Vector 4 tonearm. Definitely a must hear for the vinyl lover!

Rockport Aquila. Rockport Technologies’ Andrew Payor has always been known for his beautifully crafted designs. From conception to execution, the focus is always on the goal of faithful reproduction of the musical experience, and the Aquila is another example of this practice. Superb cabinet design and construction, coupled with custom designed carbon fiber sandwich cones, a Scanspeak D30 tweeter and an refined crossover work to bring startling dynamic contrasts, a profound foundation, a midband that has to be heard to be believed and an extended high end. If you love music, come in and audition Rockport’s latest work of art!

Magico V3. Simply put this is a stunning speaker!  It is very transparent and pure with incredible resolution—like an open window on what the musicians were playing. If you are looking for a floor-standing speaker the V3 should definitely be on your short list. A warning though—once you hear it it may be difficult to leave without placing an order!

  Spectral DMC-30SS preamp. This is Spectral's new reference preamp and it is a true step forward. Technically there is a lot that could be said about its new power supply design and volume control. However of more immediate interest to most music lovers is that it simply brings you closer to what the musicians played on the recording. You're welcome to come in and hear it for yourself—just bring your favorite music and enjoy! Link

Magico Mini 2. This is a revised version of the Mini (see below) which has just been released. We have now received our demo pair—and we can say for sure that this is a wonderful speaker! Coupled with its dedicated stand this is a truly stunning—and stunning-looking speaker. Akin to the original Ford Model T, you can have it in any finish that you want as long as it looks identical to the one in the picture. A larger photo link is here so you can see for yourself:  Mini2 

Rockport Mira. A beautiful sounding floor-standing speaker. Available in a variety of different paint colors to match your decor this has proven to be very popular. Given its high level of performance coupled with its stunning industrial design and finish quality, this beauty is a relative bargain compared to other high end speakers.

Harmonic Resolution Systems resonance control products now grace our reference room. The folks at HRS have brought their wealth of knowledge gathered throughout years of work in the commercial and government aerospace industries. They offer products ranging from damping plates to isolation shelves and full racks. They are the best that we have seen or heard in 30+ years.

Linn Sondek LP12 SE Transcription Turntable. Since the 1973 introduction of the original Sondek LP12, Linn’s goal has been to deliver us from the evils of bad sound. With a triumvirate of just-released upgrades, a new level of performance obliterates former perceived limitations of this amazing design. The new Trampolin base, the Keel subchassis/armboard and the Ekos SE tonearm seem to be the exact upgrades this ‘table wanted.      

DeVore Fidelity The Nines. So you want to make music in your room — music like you’ve heard from the acclaimed Silverback Reference, but in a smaller package so as not to upset that delicate “domestic balance”. We have found  The Nines to be such a product. No need to break the bank, and as with all the DeVore products, a speaker that allows your electronics (tube or solid state) to be the very best they can be. It’s a “relax and listen” type of thing.                     

Crestron TPS-6X touchscreen is the latest from Crestron and they definitely have a winner here! Whether you wish to control a home theater or a whole house system, it can handle it all.

DeVore Fidelity has been quietly developing some very musical loudspeakers, culminating in the well-received Silverback Reference. We now have a total of four models from them available for demo. Please come by for a listen and see why so many are acclaiming them as being such good values in the vast sea of speakerdom. After you hear them for yourself we think you will understand why!

Quad 2805 electrostatic speaker. We now have a pair of Quad's latest creation, the 2805. Augmenting the existing Quad 988 and 989 electrostatic speakers, the new 2805 features a stiffer frame, complete with in integral rear brace. This makes them seem a bit more dynamic. Quad also offers the larger 2905 for those that want more air-moving capability in the bass. Visually, the 2805 and 2905 appear more modern. Starting at $9,500/pair.

Coming Soon

Look for some exciting new products to come later in 2009―hopefully including more advanced music servers with vast storage capacity for huge libraries of music coupled with outboard D-A converters for high resolution audio files! 

At the January 2009 CES show Spectral showed a prototype of their forthcoming SDR-5000 D-A converter. Check this space for more details as they become available. Although no shipping date has been announced, we're hoping to see it in production in 2010. However no matter how long it takes, it promises to be worth waiting for!

In late 2009 Spectral will be introducing the new DMA-200S Universal stereo power amplifier. Stay tuned for details.

Rockport will be shipping their new Center channel shortly. This innovative design will have a dedicated Center woofer which also serves as a stand for the Center channel. Put the two together and you have a full-range floor-standing Center speaker for your home theater or surround sound system. Of course it will be optimally paired with Rockport front and rear speakers!

The new Wisdom Sage speakers have arrived and should be set-up mid-July 2009. These are designed to be high performance in-wall or on-wall speakers and have a lot of adjustability so they can be tuned to different room environments. Once we get them optimized in our middle home theater you'll be able to see and hear them for yourself!

Audio Research has just released the new REF5 preamp as well as the new REF Phono2 which is shown below.

In 2009 Magico will be shipping the new M5. We should have a pair here in July!

Stay tuned for more details!