Aries Cerat Diana Forte Stereo Power Amplifier $27,500 Review
April 11, 2017 Comments Off on Aries Cerat Diana Forte Stereo Power Amplifier $27,500 Review
“I was excited to have the opportunity to review the Aries Cerat Diana Forte power amplifier. Yet, at the same time, I wasn’t very excited about it. My main speakers are certainly not the type that welcome relatively low-powered tube amps, even if this amp might the highest-powered stereo SET amp on the market. I’ll remind readers that I said I would nominate both Aries Cerat owner/engineer Stravos Danos and Aries Cerat’s US distributor Believe High Fidelity’s Joshua Masongsong for a Nobel Prize if the Diana Forte amp sounded as good as Joshua said it would though my large electrostatic speakers.”
Emotiva BasX A-100 stereo integrated amp Review $229
April 10, 2017 Comments Off on Emotiva BasX A-100 stereo integrated amp Review $229
“I was eager to try a few headphones with the BasX A-100, and started with my Audeze Sines. I usually listen to the Sines plugged into my iPhone 6S, but here with the BasX A-100 the Sine’s soundstage bloomed, and dynamic punch much improved. I experienced similar epiphanies with my Grado SR325e headphones. The BasX A-100 is one heck of a good-sounding $229 headphone amp.”
AURALiC POLARIS Wireless Streaming Amplifier $3799 Review
April 6, 2017 Comments Off on AURALiC POLARIS Wireless Streaming Amplifier $3799 Review
“After two months of regular use, I have concluded that POLARIS the integrated is destined to become a classic. POLARIS bundled with Tidal HiFi, though, is a lifestyle changer. “Can someone else pick up the kids?”, “Can someone else prepare dinner?”, “Can someone else get the groceries?” were the most common responses to requests from my wife which may have greater implications down the line. A follow up is justifiably in order.”
PS Audio BHK Signature 300 Mono Amplifiers $14,998 Review
April 3, 2017 Comments Off on PS Audio BHK Signature 300 Mono Amplifiers $14,998 Review
“he 300 Monos’ sound was wonderfully neutral — from the lowest bass through the highest highs, no part of the audioband was too pronounced or relaxed. The music I listened to was reproduced exactly as I believe it was recorded. “Mein Teil,” from Rammstein’s Reise, Reise (16/44.1 AIFF, Island), is as forward a recording as you’d expect from a German heavy-metal band that uses copious amounts of fire and explosions in their shows. Richard Z. Kruspe’s progressions of short, rapid, distorted chords on strident lead guitar were pushy and in my face, and the 300s held none of that back. Lead singer Till Lindemann’s deep, guttural voice reached across the room to assertively articulate precisely what he had to say. ”
ATI AT527NC and AT524NC Amplifiers $3,695 Review
April 2, 2017 Comments Off on ATI AT527NC and AT524NC Amplifiers $3,695 Review
“The same could be said of the amp’s performance on the title track from Janis Ian’s Grammy-nominated Breaking Silence. The FLAC file has a very analog vibe to it, even though it was sourced from a CD. I love using it to test dynamics and imaging. The song opens with a quiet solo-voice section that draws you in before the close-miked percussion and acoustic guitar enter. With highquality equipment, you can actually hear the fingers moving over the guitar strings, and that’s exactly what you get with the ATI: unabashed transparency. The amp doesn’t color the sound in any perceptible way, which is how I like it and how it should be.
Gryphon Audio Designs Antileon Evo Stereo Amplifier Review
March 27, 2017 Comments Off on Gryphon Audio Designs Antileon Evo Stereo Amplifier Review
” It’s not quite as quiet as either of the earlier amps, though so close that in listening it made no difference. After all, we don’t listen with an ear pressed against a tweeter, which was the only time I could hear any noise from the Evo. Although I’m now relying only on my memories of the sounds of those older amps, I can say that the Evo’s soundstaging was just a touch bigger than the Colosseum’s, and virtually matched the Mephisto’s. I also think the Evo sounded more, um, analog than the Mephisto or Colosseum. By which I mean not that its sound was “slower” or less resolving, but that it was so cohesive — entirely of a piece — and easygoing. Though the Antileon Evo has impressive resolving capabilities and admirable speed and agility, those traits didn’t stand out and call attention to themselves; instead, I simply appreciated how natural the Evo sounded with any music I threw at it.”
2017 Editors’ Choice: Power Amplifiers $1,000 – $3,000
March 27, 2017 Comments Off on 2017 Editors’ Choice: Power Amplifiers $1,000 – $3,000
“This 140-watt-per-channel amplifier—the latest refinement of Quad’s innovative, patented, award-winning “current dumping” technology—is, in PS’ opinion, the finest amplifier the company has ever made by a good margin, and unquestionably the most uncompromised implementation of Walker’s current-dumping circuit.”
GamuT Di150 LE integrated amplifier Review
March 26, 2017 Comments Off on GamuT Di150 LE integrated amplifier Review
“Its price of $12,990 pits the GamuT Di150 LE against some serious integrated amplifiers, including the Mark Levinson No.585 ($12,000), the Ayre Acoustics AX-5 Twenty ($12,950), and the Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800 ($12,999)—all of which are listed in Class A of Stereophile’s “Recommended Components.” I’ve never heard in my system another amplifier, tubed or solid-state, that provided such enormous images or such speed, dynamics, and pure force. Emanating from “black” backgrounds of noiseless space, notes flew from the Di150 LE with purpose and punch, whether from LP or CD.”
TRAFOMATIC AUDIO ELYSIUM POWER AMPLIFIER REVIEW
March 24, 2017 Comments Off on TRAFOMATIC AUDIO ELYSIUM POWER AMPLIFIER REVIEW
“It was hard to escape the sheer impact of balanced harmonic richness even from the first notes strike. There was something utterly different in the way that Elysium managed to portray the notes. With complexity and in absence of unwanted sonic artifacts cluttering.”
GamuT Audio D-200i Stereo Power Amplifier $13,990 Review
March 21, 2017 Comments Off on GamuT Audio D-200i Stereo Power Amplifier $13,990 Review
” As I mentioned previously, there are different classes of amplifiers by design but I’m referring here to the different classes in terms of performance. The GamuT D-200i is a high-performance piece of kit that belongs in the upper echelon of high-end gear [and so good, I purchased the review unit]. It’s fair to say that the D-200i shares the GamuT house sound which is characterized by an open, airy sound with very good detail. It’s well balanced from the treble to the bass. It has an uncanny tube-like ability to present an almost holographic sound stage without edge or glare.
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