Audiophilepure

https://www.stereophile.com/content/zesto-bia-200-select-power-amplifier

The Haut Brion—both versions—is a wonderful, expressive amplifier. But it has nowhere near the sparkle, precision, resolution, or extension of the Bia 200. It also lacks the Bia 200’s tight, well-controlled, tuneful low end. It compensates by seeming more immediate, organic, and natural than the Bia 200. Both exist to serve the music, but they do it in different ways. The Bia 200 is transparent, powerful, resolving, fun. Maybe it’s the top end that seems to go out for miles, or the sonorous bass, or how it steps out of the way of recordings and lets them shine on their own terms.

Different people expect to hear different things from their hi-fi—different versions of transparency, as Herb Reichert would say—even as they seek musical truth. We’re all wired for the particular sounds that make our particular hearts sing. The Bia 200 is wired in a way that, for the right person, can make that happen.

And, putting a $2,500-$3,000 amplifier in the context of the $7,500 to $15k system it is more than likely going to end up in will leave you thrilled with the purchase. If you’ve been dreaming of investigating a tube amplifier, I can think of no better place to start your journey. Perhaps at some point, we will commandeer a second one to investigate how these perform as monoblocks. For now, staffer Jerold O’Brien will be using this one on a daily. His daughter took the VT-70, so how can you argue with that?

https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/1760-nad-masters-m23-stereo-mono-amplifier

I’ve had the privilege of hearing a lot of truly excellent amplifiers in my system over the past few years, and the NAD Masters M23 is one of the very best. In fact, it compares very well to my Anthem M1 monoblocks and the Bryston 4B³—my two favorite amps in the upper four-figure price range. While I still prefer the sound of my Anthems, I don’t consider the Bryston or the M1s to be substantially better in any area of performance. And since the M23 is roughly half the cost of those two other amps, it is a screaming bargain, and a great-looking one at that.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/western-electric-type-91e-integrated-amplifier

On the title track, as he trades lines with Dianne Reeves, the listener is drawn into a duet that provides both harmonising and contrast. The listener who is most captivated by the emotional elements of a performance will revel in the way that the two singers’ peerless powers of expression are presented against a backdrop of rich textures and tones, especially the piano, dominant from the outset. It’s as if one has recreated a smoky nightclub in one’s listening room. It almost begs the audience to dress for the occasion.

As voluble as I am most of the time, I find myself at a loss to convey just how marvellous is this amplifier though I will repeat to the point of tattooing it on my forehead that it must be matched to speakers of high sensitivity. I can only dream about how it will sound with Quad ESL 57s, which were never designed to demand bags of power though, to be fair, plenty of users will still pair the 91E with traditional horns. But the experience with DeVore’s O/93s? It’s a marriage to join Krell/Apogee and Audio Research/Magnepan in the annals of high-end audio.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/jadis-jps8-and-ja50

Logic suggests that, should you be so enamoured of bass that you need something ‘more’, you look either to transistors, or to the JA50’s bigger brothers. But then there’s the treble, that zone where aggravation can be an issue, where softness can lead to disappointment. It’s here that we start talking tubeware, an area where solid-state doesn’t get a look-in, and it’s why valves continue to exist in the 21st century.

The extreme treble is silky or diaphanous as required, yet pin-sharp and precise, too. I’m currently undergoing a Clapton jag and the Jadis amps handled both his liquid electric guitar playing and his gutbucket acoustic blues with finesse and grace, such that I sat through three discs in a row.

The JPS8 and JA50 combination is one of the most musical and satisfying pairings I’ve ever heard, vying with the all-Nagra package, mint Radfords, Marantz’s Project T-1 and original Futtermans. Heady company, which almost makes the prices – £5900 for the JPS8 and £5890 for a pair of JA50s – sensible. But I’d feel a helluva lot better if they were made in the UK or USA.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/musical-fidelity-m6x-2507-multichannel-power-amp

The amp responded well to the shifting dynamics, showcasing a welcome nimbleness that belied its bulky appearance, something it did again with The Rolling Stones’ ‘Midnight Rambler’, recorded live in New York City in 2003 [Licked Live In NYC; Rolling Stones Records MSDD553838]. This gains an intro section that helps drag the tune out to around 13 minutes, the band members improvising bluesy licks, and it thrilled via the M6x 250.7, with rich piano playing off against honking harmonica and astonishingly weighty drum rolls.

When Keith laid down his riff and the song proper began, it was ramshackle and chaotic, but also joyous to listen to. This extended take on the Let It Bleed classic sounds little like the original, but the amp’s performance guaranteed I listened in rapt attention to the whole piece. Above all, it sounded live; detailed but gritty, with a sharp edge to Jagger’s screams and the gut-punching dynamics.