Audiophilepure

https://www.stereophile.com/content/stereophiles-products-2020

The finalists in the Overall category included that Sonus Faber speaker and the Jeff Rowland Design Group Consummate preamplifier, which cost just shy of $9000. (The Levinson DAC was the overall winner.) Those were the most expensive products to win a category in 1992. The least expensive was the $499 Audio Power Industries Power Wedge, which won in the budget category. (This year’s Budget winner cost $100 less.) The average price of 1992’s winners—excluding the budget category—was $6259.

http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/gold-note-ds10-streaming-dac-preamp-and-pa10-power-amplifiers/

In a way, I’d argue that the DS‑10/stereo PA‑10 combination is more of a stepping-stone to the mono amps than a solution in its own right. In part, this is because for just a few hundred pounds more, Gold Note’s own IS-1000 integrated amplifier offers a lot of the same performance and sound quality standards, line inputs, and a more powerful amplifier stage. This isn’t a trouncing, as the DS‑10’s standalone DAC performance edges past that of the IS‑1000, the IS-1000 lacks a headphone amp and the PA‑10 is a slightly more graceful sounding amplifier than the integrated. Also, if you are performing a ‘bitza’ upgrade from existing equipment, then the DS‑10 is an obvious digital hub add-in to a system, but in the main if you are set on the Gold Note sound and it’s a choice between the DS‑10/stereo PA‑10 (with no future mono upgrade in the pipeline) or the IS-1000, I think most will go for the IS-1000. Adding in the second PA‑10, however, changes things dramatically. That extra dimensionality to the soundstage, the even greater control over the loudspeakers and its concomitant ‘grip’ on the bass, and the fluidity of midrange simply make so much more sense. All those elements are there in the PA‑10 (and, for that matter, the IS-1000), but they are more brightly lit when you go mono. And there’s even a PSU10 power supply for the DAC, so that should improve performance still further.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/audioquest-niagara-3000-ac-power-conditioner

Upon connecting the XPA-1L’s to the Niagara 3000, I was struck by an improved level of clarity and authority and perhaps a touch of previously unheard sweetness; listening through them suddenly became a more engaging musical experience. I’d been using recent SACD acquisition, the Shostakovich Symphonies Nos. 1 and 15 (SACD, BIS 7318599916439) with Mark Wigglesworth and the Netherlands RPO, as a demo disc for friends with the Bel Canto e1X and the Maggie LRS loudspeakers. With the Niagara 3000 in place, it was now possible to experience the delicacies and dynamics of this music to a degree previously unheard.

I played a few LPs with the PrimaLuna EVO 300 integrated amp connected to the Zu Omens, among them, the new Craft Recordings vinyl reissue of Collective Soul’s eponymous second album (Craft Recordings CR00290). The opening track, “Simple,” is powerful and dynamic, easily the best song on the album. With the Niagara 3000 in the loop, analog playback was the best I’d ever heard here. Even though the Musical Surroundings Phonomena II+ phono pre has a dedicated linear power supply, plugging it into one of the 3000’s source receptacles vanquished the touch of electronic haze that normally appeared in my system around the midpoint of the volume dial. That haze is now gone, at all volume levels.

https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/997-audio-research-reference-160s-stereo-amplifier#most-read-equipment-reviews

It’s at the extremes of the audioband that tube amps in general have gotten a bad rap, and some of them have deserved it. So I next dug into the highs, to hear what the Ref 160S could do with the upper registers. I played the Clarinet Concerto No.1 in B-flat Major (“Sant’ Angelo”) — Andreas N. Tarkmann’s arrangement for solo clarinet and chamber orchestra of arias from Vivaldi’s operas and oratorios, and performed by soloist Martin Fröst and Concerto Köln (24/96 FLAC, Sony Classical/Qobuz). The sound of Fröst’s clarinet remained composed and fluid, sounding splendidly continuous and dense through the Ref 160S. The strings were delicate and easy to listen to, never grating or harsh, neither forced nor lacking in detail. It was all so easy to enjoy — and I did.

Next I cranked it up with some Lady Gaga: her hit single “Rain On Me,” from Chromatica (24/48 FLAC, Interscope/Qobuz). This duet with Ariana Grande has a strong pop beat that, to sound right, demands a system that can deliver good midbass punch. The combination of the ARC Ref 160S and Vimberg Tonda speakers reproduced this track at peaks in excess of 90dB at my listening position, sounding terrific all the while. I heard no limitations in dynamics, and the midbass in particular had solid weight — I could feel the punch in my body — while Gaga’s and Grande’s voices sounded full, and filled my room. I wasn’t overdriving the system — I didn’t want to push the limits of amp and speakers far enough to actually damage them — but at 90dB the sound was effortless, with still more headroom than I could use. We’ve all heard that this sort of effortless quality inspires confidence in the ability of the components of a system. That’s what I felt.

I think the only thing the Marantz SACD 30n lacks is surround playback of SACDs. About half of the SACDs released had surround tracks. It’s a crime I can’t play them back. For my money, they could kill some of the streaming stuff and give me analog surround outputs. I’m sure those discs would sound great through that Marantz Musical Mastering technology.

Still, I give this player high marks. The build quality is impeccable. It looks modern, yet it honors the Marantz designs of the past. There are esoteric CD/SACD players that touch $20,000. I’ve heard a few of them a long time ago, and my memory is not perfect, but I’ll bet this Marantz would challenge the best of them. To sum up, the Marantz SACD 30n accomplishes what it set out to do, which is play physical discs as well as they can be played. Its sound quality and styling are both superb.

Are the Vimberg Ameas the best two-way stand-mounted loudspeakers I’ve heard? Maybe. I’m not sure I’ve heard them all yet. Plus, the very idea that there’s a Vimberg Amea out there with the optional diamond tweeter makes me a little crazy. I need to hear that soon. I need to know how much better it can possibly get.

Once again, please don’t ask me how the Vimberg Amea compares to another two-way monitors out there. This is a beautifully made and meticulously engineered loudspeaker that needs to be evaluated and classified by one important criterion: sound quality. Is the price of this speaker justified by the sound quality? Big time. Do you need a big massive tower with a 12” woofer array to experience full-range sound in your listening room? I don’t. I can’t imagine needing anything that these “2-way bookshelf monitors” can’t supply.