Tom Lyle Has posted a review of the Sutherland 20/20 phono preamp ($2,199) at Positive Feedback Online. His conclusions: There is no question that the top-notch Sutherland 20/20 will find a happy home in many systems. For audiophiles currently thinking of upgrading from a decent sub-$1500 model, buyer's regret is hardly an imaginable outcome—and...
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Marshall Nack has posted a review of the Abbingdon Music Research PH-77 Phono Preamplifier ($11,995) at Positive Feedback Online. His conclusions: If music is your pleasure, you will find the new tube hybrid AMR PH-77 Reference Class Phono Equalizer an excellent communicator. Its strongest suit is clarity. Not the clarity of a component designed...
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Howard Kneller has posted a review of the Bryston BP26 DA preamplifier and MPS2 power supply at Soundtage! Hi-Fi. Here is a preview: The front panel of the BP26 DA has three rotary knobs (Source, Volume, Balance), four toggle switches (Polarity/Invert, Mute/Normal, Tape/Source, DAC 1/DAC 2), a headphone jack, an LED that glows green...
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Michael Fremer has posted his somewhat controversial review of the Vitus Audio MP-P201 Masterpiece Series phono preamplifier at Stereophile/ His conclusions: The Vitus MP-P201's speed, transparency, three-dimensionality, frequency extension, rhythmic ability, musical grip, and any other parameter you could name—with the exception of what only tubes can do—took the overall sound to a new,...
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Tom Martin has posted a review of the NuForce Icon HDP Headphone Amp/DAC/Preamp ($449) at Playback Magazine. His conclusions: As always, we should remind our gentle readers of the standard caveat that value is a function of your budget and your needs. That said, it is hard to imagine a logic that would find...
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Frank Alles has posted a review of the Ray Samuels F-117 Nighthawk Phono Stage ($795) at Stereo Times. His conclusion: The Ray Samuels F-117 Nighthawk phono stage is quite an impressive component. It features long battery life with fast recharging, front-panel rotary knobs for making gain and loading adjustments, and fantastic low-noise performance. Yes,...
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Chris Martens has posted a review of the Fosgate Signature Phonostage ($2,500) and Fozgometer azimuth range meter ($250) at The Absolute Sound: His conclusions: Like many of you, I’m intrigued by the idea—first put forward by our own Jonathan Valin—of using a “truth-to-beauty” continuum to characterize the personalities of fine audio components. Where does...
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Jack Roberts has posted a review of the Allnice L-3000 linstage preamplifier ($9,900) at Dagogo. Here are his conclusions: There’s no way I could write this review and not talk about how the Allnic L-3000 and H-3000 sounds compared to my new reference, the Shindo Giscours preamp. In my review of the H-3000 comparing...
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Wojciech Pacuła has posted a review of the Convergent Audio Technology SL1 Legend preamplifier on the Polish audiophile websit High Fidelity. Although English is not the author’s first language, the review is very informative and has the added bonus of lots of close-up photographs. Here is a preview: The inside of the device is...
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Dick Olsher has posted a review of YS Audio’s budget-priced Audio Experience A2-SE balanced preamplifier ($1650). His conclusions are as follows: It should be clear by now that the Audio Experience A2-SE requires careful system matching for optimum performance. It can lock-in on a Goldilocks — just right tonal balance — or at the...
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Marc Mickelson has posted a review of the Allnic Audio H-3000 phono stage ($10,900) at The Audio Beat. His conclusions: Audiophiles and members of the audio press alike can become easily smitten with novel solutions to supposed issues of sonic reproduction, believing that pure reason always leads to better musical reproduction. Products like the...
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Jonathan Valin has just posted impressions of the Audio Research Anniversary Reference 400 preamplifier to his blog. Some highlights: The Anniversary Edition Reference preamp is fundamentally different-sounding—not just than the Reference 3 or 5 but than any preamp, tube or solid-state, I’ve heard. The Anniversary Edition Preamp is also more realistic than any preamp...
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Jonathan Valin has posted a review of the Audio Research Corporation Reference 5 linestage preamplifier ($12,000) at The Absolute Sound. His conclusions: To sum up, the Reference 5 is a lower-noise, higher-resolution, higher-energy, altogether more discerning preamp than the Reference 3. A great soundstager like all ARC Reference preamps, it now brings sterling neutrality,...
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Garrett Hongo has posted a review of the VAC Renaissance Mk III preamplifier at Ultra Audio. His conclusions: Whether as a $9900 line stage or as an $11,900 full-function preamp — both luxury prices — the VAC Renaissance Mk.3 nevertheless provides great value in terms of superb quality of sound, exceptional build quality, and...
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Graham Abbott has published a review of the Nagra VPS Phono Stage at Soundstage! His conclusion: The VPS delivers what Nagra’s promotional literature describes as a “sumptuous” sound. If you like your records to sound like the analog recordings they are, with a rich, deep tonal palette and soundstaging that delivers the original recording...
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John E. Johnson, Jr. has posted a not surprising rave review of the Lamm LL1 Signature preamplifier ($42,690) at Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, along with a full suite of measurements. He concluded: I am not sure how to impart my true feelings about this product. It is difficult to do this...
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John E. Johnson, Jr. has posted a review of the Lamm LL2.1 preamplifer ($5,990), along with a full suite of measurements, at Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity. His conclusions: In absolute terms, $6,000 for a preamplifier seems like a lot of money, and it is. But, I paid almost $3 for a...
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