Amplifiers

Mark Michelson has posted a review of the Ayre MX-R monoblock amplifiers ($18,500) at The Audio Beat. His conclusions: The MX-Rs' combination of unrivaled transient fidelity, acute rendering of space, extreme quietness, and treble sweetness made for sound that was truly compelling — the kind that will urge you to rediscover your music collection....
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Steven R. Rochlin has posted a review of the Audio Note UK Ongaku integrated amplifier ($95,000) at Superior Audio. His conclusions: In this world you have Linnies, Quad, Naim (which makes the Bentley audio system by the way), Full Range Single Driver club and numerous others. They each are a unique bunch with a...
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Dick Olsher has posted a review of the Pass Labs XA30.5 stereo power amplifier ($5500) at Superior Audio. His conclusions: For me, in addition to tonal weight, major realism triggers are timbre accuracy, textural purity, low distortion and unbridled musical drama. The Pass amp scored high in each of these categories. Distortion products were...
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Dick Olsher has reviewed the Electrocompaniet AW180 monoblock power amplifiers ($9600/pair) at Superior Audio. His conclusions: With the AW180 you firmly cross the Rubicon into muscle amp territory. An American automotive analogy would be a sleek, racy, Corvette. Think mind-blowing dynamic headroom. But this is no ordinary muscle amplifier. Its sound is also pure,...
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Anthony Nicosia has posted a review of the PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium monoblock amplifiers ($4399/pair) at Superior Audio. His conclusions: Factory equipped with EL34 power tubes the PrimaLuna ProLogue Premiums were able to provide music with a more than adequate lower end weight to it, while inserting KT88 tubes pulled out just a bit more...
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Dick Olsher has posted a review of the deHavilland Audio KE-50A monoblock power amplifiers ($9995/pair) at Superior Audio. His conclusions: What blows my mind is that this Fisher circuit is some 60 years old. Yet the wisdom of those original Fisher engineers shines through the mists of time. Refined and updated by Kara Chafee,...
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Ryan Coleman has posted a review of the Pass Labs XA60.5 Monoblock Power Amplifiers ($11,000/pair) at Positive Feedback Online. His conclusions: ets sum up. These amps are not perfect. No amps are. But their flaws are so trivial in the grand scheme of things, and their strengths so considerable in all the ways that...
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Teresa Goodwin has post a review of the LA Audio A-60R Integrated Amplifier ($2500) at Positive Feedback Online. Her conclusions: The amp has a sweet and lovely sound, however on really dynamic material such as big orchestral SACDs, it sounds a little compressed. With most of the program material I played it never sounded...
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Jeff Dorgay has posted a review of the Audio Research Reference 2 phono preamplifier ($11,995) in the latest issue of TONEAudio. His conclusions: The ARC REF Phono 2 has renewed my love for analog, plain and simple. It has all the qualities I value in a phono preamp: a stunningly low noise floor, massive...
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AVHub has posted Greg Borrowman’s review of the Gryphon Atilla integrated amplifier (£6,995.00) from Australian Hi-Fi Magazine. His conclusions: Gryphon’s new Atilla allowed me to tick all the boxes on my personal amplifier buyer’s checklist. First and foremost, it’s powerful enough for all audiophile applications. Ditto its ability to deliver vanishingly low levels of...
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Jeff Dorgay has posted a review of the Vitus Audio SS -050 integrated amplifier ($26,500) at TONEAudio. His conclusions: The highest strength of the SS-050 is the inner detail and lack of grain it presents. While some might prefer the somewhat dreamier, more romantic presentation of the SS-010 monoblocks, they are only 25 watts...
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Erick Lichte has posted a review of the Simaudio Moon i3.3 integrated amplifier ($3300) at Stereophile. His conclusions: Ultimately, I found that the Simaudio's balanced inputs brought out the best from this amp; its digital inputs left me a bit cold. I think it's great that Simaudio gives listeners the choice, letting them save...
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Robert S. Youman has posted a review of the Pass Labs X350.5 stereo power amplifier ($11,550) at Positive Feedback Online. His conclusions: The Pass Labs X350.5 amplifier is an extraordinary achievement for both sound and execution. When properly matched with speakers that have synergistic voltage, current and power requirements, it can compete well with...
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Michael Wright has posted a review of the Karan Acoustics KA I 180 integrated amplifier ($10,500) at Soundstage! Hi-Fi. Some of his observations: The sound of the KA I 180 was robust and powerful — a pleasant surprise for an integrated amplifier. My previous experiences with integrateds were that they sounded pleasant, but lacked...
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Jeff Stockton has posted a review of the Raysonic SP-300 tube integrated amplifier ($2690) at UltraAudio. His conclusions: Many fine integrated amplifiers are available today for under $3000, and a few of the more respectable models — such as my NAD C 325BEE — cost as little as one-sixth the Raysonic SP-300’s price. But...
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S. Andrea Sundaram has posted a review of the Audio Research VSi60 integrated amplifier ($3999) at Soundstage! His conclusions: The Audio Research VSi60 is not inexpensive at $3995, but its sound and build qualities are commensurate with its price. When you consider that it’s designed and built in the US by a company with...
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Ray Seda has posted a review of the Conrad Johnson ET250S Enhanced Triode Amplifier ($8000) at Dagogo. His conclusions: In summarizing my experiences with this amplifier, it was clearly evident that the sonic signature of the Conrad Johnson ET-250S I was hearing while powering the full-range electrostatic speakers tended to the classic “old school”...
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Steven Hornbrook has posted a review of the Wyred4Sound SX-1000 monoblock amplifiers ($2399/pair) at Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity. His conclusions: Small and light, cool running, dead quiet, tons of immediate power able to drive pretty much any home speaker manufactured today, and impeccable sound quality should make anyone in search of...
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Todd Whitesel has posted a review of the Pathos Logos integrated amplifier at Audio Video Revolution. His conclusions: Across dozens of discs, LPs and different cabling the Logos provided a very pleasurable listening experience. I had the good fortune to audition the amp for 3 months – about twice as long as most components...
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Andre Marc has posted a review of the Manley Neo-Classic SE/PP 300B monoblock amplifier ($7200/pair) at Audio Video Revolution, together with an interview of Chris Dauray of Manley Labs. His conclusions: Manley is one of the American champions of tubed hifi components. They make excellent sounding, ruggedly built, and fairly priced gear. I have...
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Garrett Hongo has posted a review of Tim de Paravicini’s EAR 890 stereo amplifier ($7595) at UltraAudio. His conclusions: At $7250/pair, my reference deHavilland KE50A monoblocks are nearly the same price as the EAR 890 at $7595, and their 40k ohm input impedance is comparable to the EAR’s 50k ohms. In terms of output,...
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