Audion Silver Night 300B Special Edition Stereo Amplifier Review
December 8, 2015 Comments Off on Audion Silver Night 300B Special Edition Stereo Amplifier Review
” The Audion 300B Special Edition has a completely new driver section and redesigned output transformers that are the result of years of development. Audion has been making and winding their own audio transformers in house for nearly 8 years to exacting standards. So its no surprise this new design brings the most out of a 300B tube.”
PERLA AUDIO SIGNATURE 50 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER Review $9000
December 5, 2015 Comments Off on PERLA AUDIO SIGNATURE 50 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER Review $9000
” The S50 was capable of generating slightly warm, sweet, and liquid harmonic textures, though it could never be mistaken for a tube amp simply because of its superior transient speed and the lack of a euphonic harmonic signature. In this respect it bettered even the much more expensive Lamm Audio M1.2 Reference monoblocks. However, the voicing of these two amps was significantly different. While the M1.2 was a master of tonal neutrality, the S50 consistently dished out darkish harmonic hues. Consequently, harmonic colors appeared less saturated relative to the M1.2 and a tad paler than the real thing. I found the M1.2’s sunnier disposition much easier to live with over the long haul, though I suspect that a slightly bright speaker would provide the S50 with a perfect tonal antidote. In compensation for its closed-in treble range, the S50 served up amazing soundstage transparency and image resolution.
Pass Labs X250.8 Stereo Amplifier Reviewed
December 1, 2015 Comments Off on Pass Labs X250.8 Stereo Amplifier Reviewed
“Now that I have had the pleasure of having both the Pass Labs X and XA .8 Series amplifiers in my system, I have come to the conclusion that this generation of Nelson Pass designs is the best that Nelson and his team have created so far. I was expecting great sonic virtues from the X250.8 stereo amplifier, but I assumed that that the XA60.8 mono blocks would at least be slightly better in their overall performance than the single-chassis X250.8. This was based on two assumptions. First of all, mono blocks, because of their different chassis and power supplies, would create better soundstaging and space around individual players. Secondly, because the XA60.8 mono blocks are pure Class A, they would be somewhat warmer and more full-bodied and grainless compared with the X250.8. But in the area of tonality and overall warmth, I was unable to tell the difference between the two amplifiers.”
Simaudio 760A Power Amplifier Review
November 24, 2015 Comments Off on Simaudio 760A Power Amplifier Review
” Simaudio also touts the use of an “oversized power supply using a custom proprietary toroidal transformer design.” The 760A has both XLR and RCA inputs, with Simaudio preferring XLR for maximum performance. The 760A, interestingly, has an onboard self-diagnostic system to detect overheating or the presence of DC in the input signal. ”
EMM Labs MTRX monoblock amplifiers Review
November 22, 2015 Comments Off on EMM Labs MTRX monoblock amplifiers Review
” The last two selections, at least for that evening, were the Michael Tilson Thomas Mahler Symphony No. 4 and Honneger’s Symphony No. 2 on a London recording, both on vinyl. I am among a (probably) small minority of listeners that find the Tilson Thomas Mahler recordings to suffer from a bit of digititis; by this I mean a bleaching/diminution of harmonics and overtones in conjunction with a subtle hardening at some frequencies. With the EMM Labs MTRX, the upper strings could get a bit grainy when pushed and the lower strings lacked a bit of richness and warmth; however, the detail was phenomenal.:
Arcam FMJ P49 power amplifier review
November 21, 2015 Comments Off on Arcam FMJ P49 power amplifier review
” As the P49 has a class-G output stage, I monitored its output voltage during one of my listening sessions using the YGA speakers. At my usual listening levels, with Steely Dan’s Gaucho (24/96 ALAC files transcoded from FLAC, MCA B0000868-36/HDtracks) peaking at 90dB (Studio Six iPhone app, Fast, C-weighted reading), the RMS level never exceeded 7V, meaning that only transient waveform peaks were activating the voltage-rail lifters. The P49 behaved like a high-performance 50W/17dBW amp with 6dBW of dynamic headroom.”
Dan D’Agostino Momentum M400 power amplifier NEW
November 19, 2015 Comments Off on Dan D’Agostino Momentum M400 power amplifier NEW
“The Momentum M400 employs the same chassis with a small aesthetic design change to the copper feature on the faceplate sides. Additionally, the meter now displays a scale appropriate for the greater output. With the Momentum M400, Dan has once again elevated the state of the art in amplifier design. ”
Aries Cerat Collatio II OTL Amplifier
November 19, 2015 Comments Off on Aries Cerat Collatio II OTL Amplifier
” Driving 20 output tubes per channel at high frequency needs a lot of current, and the 814 tube has a lot to spare. The driver tube is chple loaded, and is DC coupled to the output stage,for supreme slew rate numbers and transparency. The driver stage power supply I s fed by separate transformers and is double filtered using chokes.”
Magnusaudio AMP REVIEW
November 18, 2015 Comments Off on Magnusaudio AMP REVIEW
” Comparing the two class A champs netted two quite distinct flavours. The Magnus played what seemed like a virtual stand-in for the EJ Sarmento-rebooted James Bongiorno Son of Ampzilla II. I obviously couldn’t isolate whether this was down to shared versus dissimilar transistors types. Here the play pen was about BJT versus Mosfet. Did this difference merely reiterate their core signatures which anyone intimately familiar with either device would recognize? Regardless, the MA-260 focused down on the more compact, with sharper crisper edging and a cooler more bluish colour temp. The XA30.8 was the spatially more expansive and generous, its focus not locked down as hard, its outlines softer and the overall hue more honey and warm. Purely by outcome, I thought of the Magnus as endowed with more 3rd-order THD than the Pass. Shifting harmonic distribution from 2nd to 3rd-order preponderance usually nets exactly this offset. Whether here it was the actual cause is wholly academic. The task is to describe sonic flavours in terms experienced listeners can relate to. If you’ve more versed in basic tube types, the MA-260 played to pentode-run EL84 precedents like Trafomatic Audio’s Kaivalya monos, the XA30.8 more to 845 triode specimens.”
Schiit Ragnarok stereo amplifier Audiophiliac Component of the Year
November 17, 2015 Comments Off on Schiit Ragnarok stereo amplifier Audiophiliac Component of the Year
” For my listening tests I first hooked up Ragnarok to my Magnepan .7 flat panel speakers, precisely because they are far and away the best speakers I’ve heard for the money, but they’re a brutal load for amplifiers, and most AV receivers and budget integrated amps never come close to making the .7 speakers sing. The Ragnarok fully exploited these speakers potential.”
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