Audiophilepure

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“Smartly designed, the Vincent SV-200 fits today’s digital and analog sources seamlessly. Its sound output is much bigger than I expected – rich and detailed with a touch of warmth, I especially like its design and small footprint. This little amp exceeded expectations for its price point in every way. If you’re in the market for well-priced, authentic high-end performance gear that’s easily portab”

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“My time spent with the Primare A35.2 amplifier reminded me that there still is no such thing as a perfect, one-size-fits-all amplifier. Some amps are stronger or more engaging than others. Some deliver exciting force, while others deliver subtle, enduring charms. Some, like the Primare A35.2, have high-toned manners, can dance the latest dance, and sometimes even order fine wine. Which reminds me: I never actually drank that Château Margaux. But I swear to you, the Primare amplifier looked expensive and sounded ooh la la! with the unopened bottle sitting next to it.”

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“Replacing Röst was always going to be an interesting act for Hegel. It broke new ground for the company, and with many ground-breaking products, that meant it didn’t sell quite as well as it deserved to. The H120 is different, as it retains everything good the Röst brought to the party and also continues and extends Hegel’s ‘giant-killer’ range of amps. This is the kind of amplifier that works well in context and can support some surprisingly high-end speakers. While that sounds like the stuff of absurd review kit-bashing, what it means in reality is you can build and upgrade a system around the H120 far further than usual at this price. You don’t have to use it with esoteric audio equipment, but it won’t mask their effects if you do. In short, it’s an all-round goody. ”

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“To answer my own question, would the new flagship Coda 16.0 Class-A amplifier outperform its wonderful, but less-expensive sibling, the No.8? Absolutely. Whatever, Coda discovered/created in their latest generation of equipment, starting with the No.8 amplifier and FET 07x preamplifier, they have brought it to their new flagship 16.0 Class-A amplifier. This amplifier offers boundless macro-dynamics/powerful control of low-end frequencies, gorgeous color/tonality, an overall grainless silky smooth presentation, and the ability to render lifelike spatial dimensions rarely found in solid-state amplifiers. Because of its ability to drop immense current (100 amperes) it will easily drive virtually any speaker on the market today yet retain a beautiful musicality that many “muscle” amplifiers on the market totally miss out on. When you figure in the 16.0 amplifier’s build quality, the quality of its internal components, that’s completely hand-built here in the US, and not inexpensively, but very competitively priced compared to other US-based high-end companies, the 16.0 amplifier is a great addition to the world of audiophile-level equipment. With all I shared in this review I don’t think it’s a surprise I’m figuring out a way to finance my purchase of the 16.0 amplifier because I don’t want it to leave my system. ”

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“Streaming hi-res music from Tidal and Qobuz produced the anticipated result: clean, defined, highly dynamic sound with plenty of punch. The 200 Integrated’s 110 watts per channel was something of an overkill for small two-ways at a 20-inch listening distance, but the effortless dynamics I heard confirmed my long-maintained belief that more power is always better than less power.”

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“While listening to the Benjamin Britten/Peter Pears/ London Symphony Orchestra version of Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius (2 LPs, London OSA 1293), something about the Jadis amp’s playback characteristics drew my attention to the harp, a key instrument in the work’s introduction. Each plucked note had pretty good—not top-shelf, but perfectly satisfying—physicality of attack, but even better decays: maybe a slight bit too much overhang, but in a pleasant, musically consonant way. And the physicality of those notes: Wow! Every one was gorgeous, every one a mini event.”

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“Initially, I didn’t even bother to check whether I was in Triode or Ultralinear mode, the power differences between the two never an issue for me as I’m no headbanger. I couldn’t wait to hear the thing but impatience is an ugly trait, and switch-on involved the usual waiting for the unit to settle down and come out of its mute condition. I was chomping at the bit. Those two minutes or so seemed an eternity…

It was worth it, for what issued forth was so extreme a jump in performance that I immediately thought about selling my wine cellar so I could acquire a REF160S of my own. As there had been so many changes to my system since I reviewed the monoblocks, I threw out the notion of using the same LPs and CDs in an attempt at repeating precisely the same test. Instead, I trusted my ears (and hundreds of hours with the rest of the system) to decipher the charms and merits of the REF160S. And it started with the bass.”

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“We haven’t compared the Soprano LE to the more commonplace non-LE version because the price differential between standard and LE is relatively slim, meaning there’s almost no point looking at the Soprano right now. Maybe when the 200 LE models are sold, we’ll revisit the Soprano in its standard guise; as it’s possible the great sound of the LE is built on the similarly great sounding foundation of the Soprano itself.

Regardless, the Synthesis Soprano SE is a lovely little amplifier in its own right, and those 200 owners will be getting something truly magical. If your speakers are sensitive souls, they will thank you for letting them work with so refined a Soprano. ”

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“The beating heart of any integrated is its amplification and the Expert Pro is no different. Devialet has been using a steadily software-refined form of what it calls ‘ADH’ amplification, or Analog Digital Hybrid, since the first D-Premier. The principle of ADH is a simple*, yet highly-effective one and offers a unique solution to heat generation and sound quality: an analog (Class-A) amp determines the load’s output voltage while passing off the associated current generation function to a Class-D (digital) switch amp. Having the Class-A ‘master amp’ entrusted with voltage/audio performance and the Class-D ‘slave’ amp with current/power requirements very nicely allows for the superior sonics of Class-A without the extreme heat generation associated with that type of amplification. Class-D runs cool in comparison and is how Devialet can stuff 220 watts into such a small enclosure and still have exquisite sound without burning your fingers off were you to touch the chassis”