Treehaus Audiolab The Preamplifier $24,000 Review
November 3, 2025 Comments Off on Treehaus Audiolab The Preamplifier $24,000 Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/treehaus-audiolab-preamplifier
My long-term reference Shindo Allegro preamplifier, one of Ken Shindo’s earliest creations, benefits from point-to-point wiring and separate chassis for left and right channels. It has the unmistakable Shindo sound and so provided an entirely different view into the music than the Treehaus did. The Shindo Allegro’s noisefloor was noticeably higher, and its presentation lacked the layering, separation, and transparent personality of the Treehaus. On the other side of the ledger, it manifested more physicality and more flesh-and-blood tonality and texture, both very well-known Shindo strengths. The Shindo plays records with stunning force and apparent realism. The Shindo’s soundstage is smaller than the Treehaus’s, but within that soundstage it rendered a sense of intimate closeness, searing viscosity, and bristling texture never equaled in my system

PS Audio PMG Signature Preamplifier $8999 Review
October 15, 2025 Comments Off on PS Audio PMG Signature Preamplifier $8999 Review
https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2025/8/19/ps-audio-pmg-signature-preamplifier
If this is the beginning of the new PS Audio PGM series, then I think they have already hit a home run with the PS Audio PMG Signature Preamplifier at USD 8999. I sense it will compete favorably and even beat many higher-priced preamplifiers. It is impeccably clean and quiet, but it retains its unique personality to my ears, which to me makes it special, just as the BHK Preamplifier did, but now at a new and higher level. And just like the BHK, which I kept for almost 10 years, I do think this is a keeper. I gambled, and I feel I won. No more to say. Very highly recommended.

SoulNote E-3 Phono Equalizer Amplifier Review
September 5, 2025 Comments Off on SoulNote E-3 Phono Equalizer Amplifier Review
Nagra HD Phono phono preamp Review
July 22, 2025 Comments Off on Nagra HD Phono phono preamp Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/nagra-hd-phono-phono-preamp
The fascia is effectively divided in two with the Modulometer [see PM’s Lab Report] indicating the output level in dB and with an adjacent toggle to adjust its brightness in five steps, this next to a mono cartridge LED and rotary for setting the input loading. In the centre a ±6dB gain toggle acts on both MM and MC inputs, and to the right is an EQ rotary, mute switch and, lastly, the rotary that takes the unit from standby and selects the inputs of MC1, MC2, MM and the optional custom input (if fitted).
Inside are six valves – four EF806S-Gold pentodes in the EQ section and two E88CC/6922 triodes for the ±6dB gain block. The circuitry is dual-mono and pure Class A, naturally. For MC duties, the HD Phono employs a new generation of custom-made input transformer from a lineage that includes the original VPS transformer, in turn based on the Nagra IV-S tape recorder’s microphone input transformers. Talk about a pedigree! In Nagra lore, then, the HD Phono’s transformers are fourth-generation designs, offering 26dB of gain. The hand-wound transformer’s core is made with cobalt ‘and is cryogenically treated over the course of several weeks to improve performance’.


Rhumba Extreme 1.4 linestage tube preamp review
July 1, 2025 Comments Off on Rhumba Extreme 1.4 linestage tube preamp review
FX-Audio L07 Integrated Amplifier and DS07 DAC/Preamplifier Review
June 23, 2025 Comments Off on FX-Audio L07 Integrated Amplifier and DS07 DAC/Preamplifier Review
I’ll be perfectly frank: I’m not a big fan of ESS Sabre delta-sigma DACs. That said, there are a number of aspects of DAC design that come into play in the overall sound quality of any given unit that can lift it above the constraints of a less-than-perfect chipset. And while I might have preferred to see an AKM, or perhaps a TI (Burr-Brown) chipset implemented in the DS07, there are plenty of high profile manufacturers at every demographic of the high end that are in love with ESS Sabre chipsets. In terms of audiophile acceptance, it’s the smart choice, and depending on the talent of the designer, ESS chips can obviously provide superb results. I can easily say that despite my reservations, the ESS 9068AS implementation used in FX-Audio’s DS07 is definitely among the very best I’ve ever heard. I didn’t know what to expect, but found the sound of this new DAC to be musical and accurate with a timbre that approached that of my own rig. That said, I’ve always been less than thrilled about digital volume control implementations in delta-sigma DACs, and with this one, there’s no clear way in the menu to defeat the volume control function. The best alternative is to simply turn the volume all the way up on the DAC, and control the output level from the L07 integrated amp. I heard no negatives in my listening through this approach.


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