Audiophilepure

https://www.hifinews.com/content/paravicini-312-preamp-and-m100a-monoblocks

Hand on heart, I have to say that the departure of the 312 – which I adored to pieces – caused me a greater sense of loss than the M100As, but their absence, too, causes a lingering wistfulness. Quite what has happened, I don’t know. I suspect it’s like being reminded of one’s youth as one enters one’s decline; the temptation is quite clearly the hi-fi equivalent of those sad fiftysomethings who run out and buy Harley-Davidsons or Ducatis the instant they realise that they can no longer keep it up all night without the aid of scaffolding.

So maybe the 312/M100A is a young man’s plaything, because it is most surely an invitation to bang your head, listen loud, and leave the session drenched in sweat. This is the most butch combination I’ve heard in a long, long time. Alanis Morissette fans need not apply.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/gryphon-apex-stereo-power-amplifier

I don’t think I’ve ever used the old audiophile acronym PRaT (pace, rhythm, and timing), so I’ll use it now, in my final Stereophile review: The Apex Stereo amp has PRaT, but the Apex–Commander combo has it in spades. The Apex Stereo amp, alone and combined with the Commander preamp, seems to up the pace of everything, as if your turntable is running fast, while simultaneously digging further down into each musical instant, making each gesture live longer, with precise attack, generous sustain, and long decay. The amp simultaneously speeds things up and slows things down. A neat trick. That’s the long and the short of it.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/dagostino-m400mxv-power-amplifier

Recorded in 1956, Josh White Comes A-Visitin’ [Livingston Master Tape Treasury T-1085] captured the folk-blues legend with a small group in one of those early stereo situations where multi-tracking and too many microphones were yet to infect the industry. The sound wasn’t merely captivating or convincing. It was mesmerising, the experience all the more noteworthy because my fellow listener was an ex-BBC engineer with a golden ear and four decades’ worth of pedigree.

We both agreed: a new level had been reached in realism, authenticity and sheer transparency. Truly dumbstruck at the recreation of the studio space, the harmonic overtones on the acoustic instruments, and the reproduction of White’s voice… I am humbled.

Switching to a fairly new pair of PMC twenty5.26i loudspeakers which have a lower sensitivity than the 802s but offer an easier load the sound initially seemed a little dry from a tonal perspective. After a few tunes this characteristic took a back seat to the spectacular combination of timing and muscle on offer from the M8xi, with track after track offering up oodles of detail in a very coherent and engaging manner. Even an orchestral Schubert piece was delivered with the tempo in full effect, this didn’t take precedence over the dynamics however which were delivered with gusto yet without any discomfort in crescendos. All that power really counts when you are trying to reproduce a ‘big band’ with real world loudspeakers, and it matters with smaller stuff too. Somewhat controversially I put on Nils Lofgren’s rather overplayed dem favourite ‘Keith Don’t Go’, just for old times sake you understand, and heard a fabulous acoustic guitar, a croaky voice and the energy of a live event in surprisingly convincing virtual reality.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/mcintosh-ma9500-integrated-amplifier

The MA9500 is a memorable all-round package, one that’s distinctively and originally styled, highly versatile and hugely powerful too. Most importantly, it is engaging across a wide range of musical genres while its three output taps invite subtle sound tuning. Best partnered with smooth, warmish-sounding speakers, this mammoth Mac should make many prospective purchasers very happy indeed.

https://www.the-ear.net/review-hardware/peachtree-audio-predac-and-gan400-preamplifierdac-power-amplifier

Regular Class D amplifiers generally offer a lot of power for the money. The GaN400 does too, but adds to it a level of sonic sophistication that left this Class D sceptic thoughtful and marginally disorientated. Driven by the accompanying Peachtree pre-amp the GaN400 gave a better, more rounded and believable musical performance than I associate with even the best of MOSFET Class D amplification. 

When the Icon4 Pro passive line stage was used in place of the preDAC the GaN400 revealed itself to be capable of better still performance, with generous servings of the immediacy, dynamic expression, timing acuity and spatial detail that we expect as audiophiles. I have no hesitation in observing that thus paired, the GaN400 is truly competitive with Class AB stereo power amplifiers at a similar price point or higher and is therefore well-deserving of consideration. Audiophile Class D may be truly coming of age.