Audiophilepure

I found these to be well-made and thoughtfully designed loudspeakers with a unique approach to their development and implementation. The result is a relatively expensive pair of large tower speakers that can command a big room, but will also play with subtlety and nuance when called upon. And, unlike many complex speaker designs, these babies have a high degree of boogie factor.

I did feel that at times the music didn’t always sound as if cut from whole cloth as one might say. However, that small bit of criticism did not detract from my overall enjoyment throughout a lengthy audition period. A great analogy is as if you were observing the galaxy with a small refractor telescope and then switching to looking through the James Webb Telescope. All of a sudden, you can see all the stars in all the colors and it can be so clear. That’s how I will compare the Alta Audio Aphrodite Titaniums to the majority of their competition. Heartily recommended.

A few insights from the world premiere of the TIDAL Audio AP1 amplified speakers at Lotus HiFi. This is the very first pair delivered from the Tidal factory in Köln, Germany, and it was personally inaugurated by Tidal Audio’s managing director Jörn Janczak.

https://pt.audio/2025/02/07/ampsandsound-stereo-17-power-amplifier-review/

Even the latest digital release of Abbey Road felt pretty natural through the system. This high resolution recording super deluxe edition isn’t exactly an information monster with this redone, reupped release. But listening to “Golden Slumbers” felt soulful with Paul’s prominent bass and intense vocals. The cricket sounds in the intro of “Sun King” appear with startling realism and an almost distant, but accurate placement in the sonic field. I hesitate to use the word “big” when describing a hip-height two-way, but the addition of the ampsandsound Stereo 17 definitely made the experience feel bigger and more emotionally impactful with the Beatles recordings. 

The other arena that often needs to be addressed with tube amplifiers is the bass. While some tube amplifiers can struggle with bass reproduction, the Stereo 17 handled it with aplomb. The bass was tight, controlled, and impactful, providing a solid foundation for the rest of the music. It never overpowered the other frequencies, instead offering a balanced and cohesive sound that was both engaging and satisfying. Some tube amps have a tendency to fiddle with the frequency response for whatever effect the design had intended. The balanced from the Stereo 17 showed real class and professionalism, providing a heavily accurate reproduction for a tube amp from the lows all the way through the upper mids. The power was more than enough for the rig building exercise with the DeVore O/96.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-audio-specialties-wattpuppy-loudspeaker

As before, this latest WATT/Puppy remains a 4 ohm rated amplifier load and will draw significant power from matching amplifiers. (Wilson notes a worst-case load in the upper bass of 2.87 ohms at 86Hz, if over a short frequency range.) Most modern higher-output current solid state amplifiers will be untroubled by this, but with tubed amplifiers the 4 ohm output transformer tap is advised (to maintain best control of the speaker’s impedance). However, experimenting with both 4 and 8 ohm amplifier connections is always worth trying, listening for both bass quality and available loudness. And mitigating the demanding impedance, the specifications also claim a well-above-average voltage sensitivity of 89dB/2.83V/1m, with a suggested minimum amplifier rating of 25Wpc. (As we shall find, there is an additional sensitivity bonus.) In typical rooms of 2800ft³, amplifiers up to 200Wpc into 8 ohms will provide substantial and realistically loud soundfields of some 110dBA from a stereo pair.