Audiophilepure

The first option impacts the performance and it as such is called the Performance pack. It sets you back €500 Euro and in exchange you get upgraded 300b tubes (Full Music) and UPOCC (single crystal copper) signal wiring. Our review sample has the performance pack. The second option is all about the looks: Oak wood is included and American walnut (our version) is €200 Euro extra. That brings the price of our review sample to €7.199 Euro. If you want another special type of wood, it’ll set you back another €400. Other customisations are possible, just ask Feliks Audio about them. In example your own laser engraving, custom internal components or multiple inputs and outputs for maximum functionality. Everything goes.

To perform my listening tests of the LSA VT-70 Tube Integrated Stereo Amplifier/Headphone Amplifier I used my Audio-gd R2R-1 DAC as source, powered by a Core Power Technologies A/V Equi=Core 1000, and for cabling Cardas Iridium single-ended RCA interconnects, Cardas Iridium power cords, and a Cardas Clear USB cable. LSA recommends letting the amplifier warm up for about half an hour before listening for best results. This may seem like a long time, but truth is solid-state amps can take several days to reach full operating temp, for this reason, the amplifier that is now running my AV system has only been powered off during the last 40 years, for moves, system changes, and power outages. One further step I went through before doing any serious listening was to re-bias the tubes. While strictly not necessary as this was done at the factory, tubes can change over time, and environmental factors, as well as the effects of shipping, can cause this to change. As it turned out, the bias was a little high, not critically so, but worth noting. Due to space considerations, I set up the VT-70 on the far side of my desk facing away from me, so the remote control came in real handy.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/chord-anni-desktop-amplifier

Is it a mini-amp with a fine headphone output, or a ‘head-fi’ design also capable of driving small speakers convincingly? However you look at it, Chord’s Anni is a great choice for desktop audio with a sound tailored to flatter partnering equipment. It’ll drive bigger, sensitive speakers at a push, but that’s not its role – the Anni ‘is what it is’, to quote an overused cliché, and looks and sounds well-judged for its tasks.

https://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0322/Ampsandsound_Kenzie_OG_Rev2_Headamp_Review.htm

As with the original Kenzie, the OG Rev 2 is for the audiophile who wants to wring the full potential out of their headphones and simply listen to the best-sounding music available. Listening to music on the Kenzie was so involving that it was difficult to concentrate on the job at hand and pick out the different characteristics of the sound, and even more difficult to stop and change headphones.

Lastly, being the entry-level product for ampsandsound the Kenzie is a fantastic value. If you have a budget of around $3000 this is the amplifier to buy, if you are a music lover this is the amplifier to buy, if you are a solid-state fan and don’t get what tubes are all about, this is the amplifier to listen to, it will change your mind, just be ready to cough up $2500 because you will not be satisfied with solid-state afterwards. Thanks, Justin for once again reaffirming my love of tube amps and justifying my love for ampsandsound!

Headphone Amplifier coupled with the Wells Audio Cipher Level I DAC is the second most expensive Headphone Amplifier / DAC combination I have had on my desk, the legendary Questyle “Gold Stack” still reigning at $12,500, and things have progressed a lot since then and on almost every front the Wells Audio system offered superior and more musical performance. That is to say, though this is a high budget reference-quality proposition, if you have the resources it is well worth the expense. Music lovers, especially those with hard to drive headphones like the HE6se or the Abyss AB-1266, or as it turns out if you are an especial fan of Focal headphones, are going to want to give the Dragon a listen, and if you want to get the most out of your Dragon you’ll want a Cipher to go with it.