Audiophilepure

The term I would use is stoic. Don’t expect audio fireworks or a warm hug kind of sound. Yet the Parasound JC 1+ does all the things you’d expect an amp of this caliber to do. There was no major sense of lack of color or excitement, they simply tell a speaker to move like the music moves, just not in quite the same way that those ultra-mega-buck vacuum tube or solid state amps do. Now that I’ve gotten used to a high level of performance in my system, I find color to be very overrated. Yes, I still love the listening experience I get with vinyl and tubes. However, even in that area my taste has evolved to the cleanest sounding of tubes and record playing devices and similarly with solid state gear. But I’m very picky about the exact kind of clean.

On my wish list for the Parasound JC 1+ would be a very slightly bloomier low end along with a smidgen of extra juice to the mids. No, the amps never sounded thin, but for me most stuff I played didn’t quite have the harmonic juice and sense of thickness and density that I hear in most tube amps and many ultra pricy solid state amps.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/nad-c-700-streaming-amplifier

A genuine one-box hi-fi solution, NAD’s C 700 bundles wired and wireless connectivity, slick app-based operation and punchy amplification into a pleasingly small enclosure. In that sense it’s very much a junior version of the M10, and those who can live without touchscreen control and Dirac Live room correction should grab a listen. There’s energy and detail here aplenty. Call it ‘the little amp that could

https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2021/10/26/s7x2fq5u8t3vnm5tv63vz200n8kniz

The magnificent ESOTERIC Japan remastering of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen (14 SACDs—selling for up to 5K on Ebay!) was a perfect foil for the Denafrips, Das Rheingold, especially. As the opening musical description of the River Rhine (a never ending low Eb on 4 string basses) continues, the Apollo was able to separate the cellos from distinct timbre of the basses—Wagner changes the orchestral voicing to represent the rise of the Rhienmaidens from the bottom of the river. This is a tough test for any amplifier. Pass.

As for the comparative testing, the Rowland was 10K and my MBL runs $17,600. Both should be a step up in refinement. Examples from Boulder and Dagostino Master Systems, two of the top solid staters in the business, run into the post $50K price range. So, the Apollo matching the more expensive tube Allnic or even approaching the Rowland sound for only $3700 makes it a stonking high end bargain.

https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2022/3/11/denafrips-hyperion-amplifier

The Hyperion doesn’t jump out and assert itself in an immediate way. When it does make itself known it does so in a dignified manner. For context, it’s presentation sat right in between the two other amps I had on hand for comparison. Compared to the Cambridge EVO 150, rated at almost double the wattage, the Hyperion sounded similar at low or moderate volume. At higher volumes the Denafrips was a touch warmer in the bass, smoother in the midrange and silkier in the highs. This occasionally came at the expense of some soundstage dimensionality. My Parasound HCA-750A brought plenty of that old school Class A/B grit and liveliness but couldn’t compete with the Hyperion in terms of micro details. This becomes a matter of taste and equipment matching which leads me to thoughts on the speaker pairings I had available.

The soundstaging ability of the Focal Aria K2 936 kept things three dimensional when driven by the Hyperion. The tight bass response also proved a good match. The Aria’s gnarly impedance curve was no sweat for the Hyperion. With my Wharfedale Diamonds I preferred the more balanced Cambridge EVO 150, but this is because the Diamonds are a little loose in the midbass but more importantly, the Hyperion deserves higher-end company. Don’t rely on its sticker price as a benchmark. This is an amp meant to play with big league speakers. Just look for speakers with clean, responsive bass and avoid overly

https://www.hifinews.com/content/copland-csa70-integrated-amplifier

As one who has yet to be disappointed by anything from Copland, I’m pleased to say the run continues. Though known for a tube bias, I’d happily live with the CSA70 if I required a compact, comprehensive, affordable integrated amp that sacrifices very little. It’s a joy to use, styled as gorgeously as everything Copland makes, and it delivers the sound of a thoroughbred. With LS3/5As? It’s a wee miracle.

That consistency is the joy of this amplifier. If you have a yearning for Big Boy Audio Research, but don’t want or need the additional power and the increased size, space, heat and price tag that top-end amplification requires, the Reference 80S is perfect. Making a bigger amp smaller is often a path to being disgruntled, or at least puts you some way from being ‘gruntled’. This is the first step on the Audio Research Reference power amplifier ladder, and I can’t help but feel that while it is for many the only step they’ll ever need to take, for others the excellent Reference 80S will be the first step into a world of the highest in high-end audio

If it excels at the big and complex, then it is equally impressive on the seemingly simple. ‘Wayfaring Stranger’, the classic American folk tune from Grateful Dawg [Acoustic Disc] by David Grisman and the late Gerry Garcia is a simply arranged live recording with a couple of gloriously out of tune vocals that is so compelling because of its sheer reality and straightforward instrumentation. It could hardly be more different from Bill Laswell’s Divine Light but it is no less compelling. The Constellation shows what a charmingly intimate amplifier it can be. It even makes a banjo sound good and that will do for me. The song is from Grateful Dawg which is not an offering that has undergone much in the way of studio mastery or post-production enhancement, I would think. But it’s the straight-up charm and, of course, the quality of the playing from the guys and their bluegrass sidekicks which make it so real and so interesting. The Inspiration Integrated 1.0 just lets it all through. Atmosphere all the way but very different indeed from another largely acoustic album that has charmed me. Julian Lage is, I believe, one of the finest guitarists on the planet at the moment, electric or acoustic, and I am particularly fond of his collaborations with Chris Eldridge. On Avalon from 2014 [Modern Lore] they use a simply recorded, dry acoustic space to demonstrate some stellar musicianship and show just how expressive, versatile and real this classic format can be. The Constellation showcases the wealth of tonal shading, stunning clarity and texture that these two embellish through thicker, wound strings to breathe life and touch-ability to the music. The speed and eloquent note control plays right into the amplifier’s considerable strengths and illustrates exactly how to tell a story through an instrument. I’ve never heard it sound better.

https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2021/10/26/6difo4beq7hy6zrt1kyjbzb1nfk45a

As you can see from the promotional images above, the integre4 is a good looking integrated amplifier. It has excellent sound and is very easy to use. It will grace any listening space. It’s not especially ‘tubey’, but does present as typically pentode. However, lovers of tube designs will enjoy the emotion the integre4 bestows on the music. And if swapping tubes is how you roll, the integre4 is your guy.

Lab 12 is now 10 years old, and, as they transition into their next generation, you can be sure you are getting quality production and fine design from a Greek audiophile with his listening ears on. Highly recommended.