RECOMMENDED RC 2024 COMPONENTS

Every product listed here has been reviewed in Stereophile. Everything on the list, regardless of rating, is genuinely recommendable. Within each category, products are listed by class; within each class, they’re in alphabetical order, followed by their price, a review synopsis, and a note indicating the issues in which the review, and any subsequent follow-up reports, appeared. “Vol.46 No.7” indicates our July 2023 issue, for example. “WWW” means the review is also posted online.

Stereophile’s Recommended Components list is concerned mainly with products available in the US through hi-fi retail outlets. Companies that sell only through dealers must have well-established dealer networks. Products sold online also qualify, but companies that sell only online must demonstrate the capacity for satisfactory customer support, preferably here in the US. A no-risk at-home audition is strongly preferred whether it’s provided by an online or bricks’n’mortar dealer. Occasionally, we’ll list a product of exceptional value when a restocking fee is required for returns.

We recommend you read our Recommended Components synopses to decide which reviews to read, then read each product’s review carefully before seriously contemplating a purchase, as many salient characteristics, peculiarities, and caveats described in reviews cannot be covered in a circa 200-word synopsis.

Almost all reviews of current products are available online at stereophile.com. The editors regret that we cannot supply copies of individual reviews.

THE NUTS AND BOLTS

If you’ve read this far, please keep reading. Most of the questions we receive and see posted online are answered in this short essay. Reading it all the way through shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes.

This listing was compiled after consultation with Stereophile’s reviewing staff and editors—including, notably, Technical Editor John Atkinson. Our ratings take into account what we heard during the review period but also our continued experience with the product (if we’ve had any) since the review was published. Postreview experiences may cause a product to be downgraded or removed—or upgraded.

Class ratings are based on performance, including performance in the listening room and on the test bench. Products are downrated when, and to the extent that, their deficiencies interfere with the full realization of the musical performance and the pleasure of the listener (although obvious limitations, such as limited bass extension in a minimonitor, are understood and so not viewed as defects).

Measurements matter, but we do not expect every component to aspire to the best measurements possible; to do so would incentivize conformity, boredom, and metric-gaming, all of which we oppose. We do not expect our measurements of a traditional tube amplifier, for example, to closely resemble those of a perfectionist solid state design. In any case, the reviewer’s experience with real music is the most important factor in assigning ratings.

Class ratings are based on performance, but different reviewers value different aspects of performance, so it’s best not to expect thematic or methodological consistency. You’ll find hightech amplifiers with vanishingly low noise and distortion listed alongside old-school tube amps; what they share is a demonstrated ability to provoke musical bliss in their respective reviewers. Recommendations, then, are most useful to those who share, or at least are aware of, reviewers’ tastes and proclivities and the reviewing context.

The best use of this list, and of the reviews from which it is derived, is to help you decide what to audition. In today’s market, with fewer dealers (especially for high-end gear), you may need to travel to hear a component; that makes a resource like this more valuable than ever.

Never turn down an opportunity to audition a component, especially in your own system, because even the highest-quality component will not work optimally in every system and room. This is especially true of loudspeakers, but it’s true of other components, too.

The prices indicated were current when the listing was compiled (January 2024). Some prices may now be higher, others lower.

There is a near-universal consensus that

at some point in the upward climb of product prices, diminishing returns set in: Doubling the price may get you only a 10%—or 5%—improvement. Where we have found a product to perform much better than might be expected at its price, we have drawn attention to it with $$$ next to its listing. Otherwise, class ratings do not explicitly take price into account.

We believe that value in hi-fi is precisely that: a value. It’s personal. We can’t make that decision for you. Still, it’s fair to assume that every reviewer implicitly factors value into their opinions about the products they review.

Products discontinued by their manufacturer are removed from the list, as are those that have been revised in ways that could affect sonic performance. Such revisions often lead to a follow-up review, but not always. When a product is removed from the list, we endeavor to report why it was removed. Look for a Deletions listing at the end of each category.

Many products are deleted from the list while they’re still in production. That does not mean we’ve suddenly decided they’re unworthy or that they suddenly started sounding worse.

Most products remain listed for little more than three years, for two reasons. First, there’s only so much space in the magazine. The second, it’s impossible to compare a component to others when your memory of it is dim.

Products part of a reviewer’s “kit” may be kept on the list because they have been heard recently, but a product may remain on the list simply at the editor’s discretion. On this list, I’ve retained loudspeakers in Class A (Full-Range) simply because, as they lack the usual blurbs, those entries take up little space.

Reviewers are identified by initials:John Atkinson (JA), Jim Austin (JCA), Rogier van Bakel (RvB), Martin Colloms (MC), Brian Damkroger (BD), Jason Davis (JD), Robert Deutsch (RD), Art Dudley (AD), Tom Fine (TF), Michael Fremer (MF), Tom Gibbs (TG), Larry Greenhill (LG), Alex Halberstadt (AH), Jon Iverson (JI), Fred Kaplan (FK), Michael Lavorgna (ML), John Marks (JM), Sasha Matson (SM), Ken Micallef (KM), Julie Mullins (JMu), Thomas J. Norton (TJN), Herb Reichert (HR), Kalman Rubinson (KR), Rob Schryer (RS), Jason Victor Serinus (JVS), and Michael Trei (MT).—Jim Austin

TURNTABLES A+

J.SIKORA REFERENCE: $47,000 WITHOUT TONEARM This Polish company’s top-of-the-line turntable is a nonsuspended, high-mass design, weighing 253lb. The dynamically and statically balanced platter alone weighs 40lb! Drive is with four square belts spun by four Papst DC motors. MF found that the plinth was immune to knuckle raps and motor start-up noises and wrote that the Reference was very quiet. He decided that this J.Sikora ’table had been superbly tuned to extract deep, well-controlled bass free of overhang or excess. The measured speed accuracy was impressive, as was its isolation from the outside world. Using J.Sikora’s own KV12 VTA tonearm ($8995) as well as SAT and Kuzma tonearms, MF couldn’t find fault with any aspect of the Reference’s sonic performance or its machining and physical presentation. He summed up: “For those willing to make the expenditure, add the J.Sikora Reference to the list of great mass-loaded turntables at this price.”(Vol.45 No.7 WWW) OMA K3: $363,000 INCLUDING POWER SUPPLY AND K3 TONEARM

MF described this idiosyncratically styled, massive, and very expensive turntable as looking “somewhat like the Guggenheim Museum topped by a heliport and a construction crane.” Even so, he was impressed by its performance, with the 11.1" “aluminum girder” Schröder tonearm fitted with Ortofon Anna D, Lyra Etna λ Lambda SL, and Lyra Atlas λ Lambda SL phono cartridges. He described the K3’s sound as “fast, clean, detailed, highly resolving, super-transparent, effortlessly dynamic, and capable of producing unparalleled transient precision and depth-charge-deep bass ‘wallop’ that’s fully extended yet totally free from overhang.” He concluded, “As with any truly great audio product, regardless of price, the OMA K3 turntable speaks with a singular voice.” Offers 33 1/3, 45, and 78rpm speeds. Dedicated stand costs $40,000. (Vol.44 No.10 WWW)

SAT XD1: €200,000 WITHOUT TONEARM, €260,000 WITH CF1-09TI TONEARM

This extraordinary and extraordinarily expensive Swedish turntable begins life as a Technics SP-10R direct-drive motor system, which is stripped down to a handful of essential components, reimagined, reengineered, and rebuilt to much higher mechanical standards. Marc Gomez focused on isolation from external disturbances, speed stability, rigidity, and vacuum hold-down. There are “pods” for two armboards. The platter’s top layer is made from a “proprietary advanced technical polymer infused with carbon-fiber micro powder and UHM carbon nanotubes.” The XD1’s price includes a custom, low-profile, Minus K–based “negative stiffness” isolation platform, and the control electronics are housed in an outboard chassis machined from a single block of aluminum that sits on 10Hz-and-up isolation feet. The result, with SAT’s CF1-9Ti tonearm, was better than with MF’s long-term reference turntable, the Continuum Caliburn: “With the SAT ’table, every drum and bass element was in its place for the first time—ever. They were smaller, deeper, far more powerful, and controlled; the attack, sustain, and decay occurred on time. This allowed previously overwhelmed, blurred, and buried instruments to emerge in a clarified mix that produced greater musical excitement and zero listening fatigue.” MF concluded that the SAT XD1 with the CF1-09Ti tonearm (€76,000 when purchased with the turntable) was the best-sounding, bestengineered, best-built turntable he’s had in his system to date. (Vol.43 No.12 WWW)

SME MODEL 60: $74,900 INCLUDING THE SERIES VA TONEARM

This suspended, mass-loaded, belt-driven, flagship turntable comes preinstalled with SME’s Series VA tonearm, which is not available separately or on any other turntable. The Model 60’s price depends on the finish: A honeycomb finish adds $7000; a diamond-polished finish adds $14,000. The Model 60 offers 33 1/3 and 45rpm speeds only. “Intense dynamics and tight, powerful bass extension have long been hallmarks of SME turntables, and the Model 60 pushes that reputation

even further,” MT wrote, adding that the Model 60 “also offers a sense of ease and effortlessness.” He summed up the Model 60 writing “This turntable is capable of extracting an astonishing amount of music from the record groove. It should be considered the new real-world reference against which other turntables can be judged.” On Paul Miller’s test bench, the sintered bronze bearing, with its oil-damped ball, was so precisely machined and polished that both throughgroove and through-bearing rumble were truly state-ofthe-art. The tonearm, which has a cast-magnesium-alloy armtube, featured a “freedom from complex resonance, and general clutter [that] was quite remarkable,” PM concluded. (Vol.46 No.8 WWW)

TECHDAS AIR FORCE ZERO: $550,000 WITH TUNGSTEN PLATTER, $500,000 WITH TITANIUM PLATTER

TechDAS founder Hideaki Nishikawa’s ultimate analog statement, the Air Force Zero is limited to a production run of just 40 units. Weighing 725.5lb with its ultraheavy main subchassis assembly, it combines rebuilt, new-old-stock, high-torque Papst motors driving multiple massive platters with a customized air-bearing spindle and flywheel. LPs are held in place with a vacuum hold-down system. Using SAT and Graham tonearms and his reference phono cartridges from Lyra and X-quisite, MF found that the Zero “let through each cartridge’s timbral and dynamic character while imparting its own unique and immediately recognizable weight, sledgehammer ‘slam,’ ultragenerous sustain and decay, and the blackest backgrounds I’ve heard a turntable produce. … no other turntable, or none that I’ve yet reviewed, so effectively sinks unwanted and extraneous noise while passing the musical goods with effortless ease, often in the most subtle and nuanced ways.” (Vol.44 No.9 WWW)

A

ACOUSTIC SIGNATURE MONTANA NEO: $33,995 WITHOUT TONEARM

Nonsuspended, mass-loaded, triple-belt–driven turntable with a constrained-layer–damped, 55lb aluminum-alloy chassis sitting on height-adjustable, gel-damped feet. The outboard power supply features a vibration-canceling system that combines hardware and software to control the three 24-pole, two-coil AC motors. Offers 33 1/3 and 45rpm speeds. With the Montana NEO fitted with Acoustic Signature’s TA-7000 NEO 9" tonearm—see “Tonearms”—and an Ortofon A95 phono cartridge, MF found that with a 1980 orchestral LP, the timbral, spatial, and dynamic presentation was “warm and inviting and intensely three-dimensional.” He added that the “well-damped but not overdamped, fully controlled, supremely well-focused, rock-solid stable presentation produced a memorable 3D picture.” This was similar, he noted, to his impression of the A95’s sonic character; changing to an AudioQuest Etna λ Lambda SL produced “a more generous, rich, full midrange and midbass, a presentation that added spatial context and richness to vocals and acoustic instruments.” MF summed up the Montana NEO/ TA-7000 NEO combo as “a neutral and revealing carrier.” (Vol.45 No.1 WWW)

AMG GIRO MK II: $8500 WITHOUT TONEARM Significantly upgraded compared with the original Giro that HR favorably reviewed in 2017, the MK II features a thicker, 40% heavier platter, which gives it a substantial increase in mass and rotational inertia, hence improved speed stability. Drive for 33 1/3 and 45 is still via belt from a DC motor, with a switch-mode supply supplied as standard. (An outboard linear power supply is available as an optional upgrade for $1200.) Tonearm is still AMG’s 9W2—see Tonearms—with its wiring terminated in a DIN socket. The Giro doesn’t come with a standard tonearm cable; rather, AMG offers four levels made for them by Cardas: the Basic ($300), Standard ($600), Reference ($1500), and Turbo ($2250). The review sample came with the Reference cable. MT found setting up the Giro straightforward but noted that as the turntable doesn’t offer any isolation, care needs to be taken choosing where and on what to place it. Using a Benz SLR Gullwing phono cartridge, MT commented on the excellent retrieval of recorded detail offered by the AMG “without muddling the sound or glossing over details.” He was also impressed by the player’s speed stability, commenting that with a close-miked piano recording the Giro was “able to combine tonal richness with the solidity you get from piano chords when there’s no insecurity or waffling about pitch.” (Vol.45 No.12 WWW)

CLEARAUDIO REFERENCE JUBILEE: $30,000 INCL. TONEARM

A belt-drive design that uses a POM main platter sitting on a stainless steel subplatter flywheel, the boomerang-shaped Jubilee features a patented Ceramic Magnetic Bearing and a Panzerholz plinth. An updated 9" Clearaudio Universal tonearm is included in the price and features a carbon fiber armtube. Also included in the price are Clearaudio’s 1.6lb Statement Clamp, 1.5lb Outer Limit peripheral clamp and locator rim, and Professional Power 24V DC power supply. KM found that the turntable ran about 0.3% fast. He wrote that the Reference Jubilee’s sound combined vivid detail retrieval, forceful dynamics, a delicate, refined top end, and a translucent midrange. Levels of resolution, clarity, transparency, and trueness-to-source left him vinyl-shocked and thinking, “So that’s what’s on this recording?” He added that the Reference Jubilee, Universal Tonearm, and Jubilee MC cartridge “combined staggering detail, energy, and forwardflow allied to a 3D stage that was large, deep, and transparent. The music it made was profound and life-affirming.” (Vol.45 No.7 WWW)

DR. FEICKERT ANALOGUE BLACKBIRD: $7495 ★

The standard Feickert Blackbird is a belt-driven turntable in which a Delrin platter is propelled by two (!) high-torque AC motors, with provisions for mounting two tonearms. Its plinth is an aluminum-MDF-aluminum sandwich done up in a black Nextel finish. As reviewed by HR, fitted with Jelco’s knife-bearing TK-850L tonearm and optional DIN-to-RCA cable, and upgraded with eight inertia-enhancing brass platter weights and a glossy wood finish ($9345 total), the Blackbird ingratiated itself in no time: “I admired the Dr. Feickert Analogue Blackbird the minute I set it up. After a couple of weeks, I was ready to propose marriage.” As Herb describes it, “bass through the Feickert-Jelco combo was tighter and more vigorous” than with his AMG G9 player (see elsewhere in “Recommended Components”), and compared to even his Linn LP12, the Blackbird impressed him by re-creating musical momentum in a way that was “noticeably more visceral.” Five years after his original review, and having used the Blackbird with dozens of cartridges and three tonearms, HR commented that this turntable moved music forward with a force and momentum that he attributed to the “coercive pull” of the Blackbird’s belt-drive motors. He also noted that another contributor to the Blackbird’s quiet, solid sound was the way the platter mated the record. Promoted to Class A following Herb's long-term experience, in particular his revisit in Vol.46 No.11. (Vol.41 No.12, Vol.46 No.11 WWW)

GOLD NOTE MEDITERRANEO X: $12,999 W/B-7 CERAMIC X TONEARM

This elegant turntable combines traditional materials with touch-friendly digital technology in arresting fashion, wrote KM when he first encountered the Italian Mediterraneo X at a show. Unusually, the belt-drive turntable’s motor has two torque settings: high torque results in a performance reminiscent of direct drive; low torque is more in line with the sound of the belt drive. The B-7 Ceramic X tonearm uses a headshell made from 6000-series aluminum alloy for resonance control and a titanium wand, this stabilized with four high-precision ceramic ball bearings. A touchscreen controls power, torque, rotation speed, a cartridge timer, display brightness, and even cartridge selection. Once the Mediterraneo X was setbup in his system, using a VPI Shyla phono cartridge, KM noted that it was “one quiet record player. In my informal tests, tapping, poking, or rapping on its plinth during playback caused zero vibration/rumble/ noise to its cartridge/tonearm assembly.” He summed up his time with the turntable by writing “though smooth and quiet, it never strays into blandness or homogeneity. It boasts exceptional forward momentum and, with the right cartridge, faithful adherence to the recorded source. This Gold Note ’table delivers a consistent, flowing, nonmechanical musical experience.” (Vol.47 No.3 WWW)

LINN KLIMAX LP12: $30,970 INCL. TONEARM, MC PHONO CARTRIDGE, PHONO STAGE, &

POWER SUPPLY

The fully loaded review sample was fitted with the Karousel bearing, a NASA-grade Keel subchassis ($3705), and the optional fluted plinth ($220). Also included were Linn’s Ekstatik moving coil cartridge ($7150), Ekos Super Evolution (SE) tonearm ($5645), the machined-chassis version of the Radikal motor controller/power supply, and the Urika phono stage ($10,400 for both). HR found that the Klimax LP12 was dramatically better-sounding than his vintage Sondek. It offered “conspicuously quiet (deep black) backgrounds” and tempo, focus, and immediacy that were “near-laboratory quality.” His conclusion was that the Linn Klimax record player “looks like a piece of heirloom furniture, is built to a very high standard of fit’n’finish, and is eternally upgradeable. Its substantial dealer base makes it easily and expertly serviceable in a way few other turntable brands can match. These facts alone make the Klimax worth its price.” Also see the entry for the Linn LP12 system in Class B (Vol.45 No.6 WWW)

LUXMAN PD-151 MARK II: $5695 INCL. TONEARM This new version of a classic three-speed, belt-drive turntable from Luxman impressed MT with its speed stability: wow & flutter were both just 0.02%. This is achieved with a DC motor fed from a “sophisticated” pulse-width modulation power supply. Although there isn’t a suspension, when MT held a stethoscope against the top plate adjacent to the motor, he couldn’t tell whether the motor was on or off: “It’s that quiet.” An optional dustcover adds $795 to the price. The LTA-309 tonearm features knife-edge bearings and a H4 bayonet-mount universal headshell, and is sourced from Japanese manufacturer SAEC. MT used an Ortofon Cadenza Blue and Luxman’s own LMC-5 for his auditioning, and commented that with the Luxman cartridge a track from Willy DeVille’s solo album “sounded tonally vivid and threedimensional with a soundstage that was wide and deep but tidy.” He found that while the PD-151 couldn’t quite match the tautness and bottom-end slam of the “vastly more expensive” SME Model 30/2A, it more than held its own in most other areas. (Vol.46 No.3 WWW)

PURE FIDELITY HARMONY: $9995 INCL. TONEARM This Canadian turntable’s price includes the Conductor power supply, SS-10 Record Isolator clamp, three IsoAcoustics GAIA IV feet, and Origin Live Encounter tonearm. (This dual-pivot arm was reviewed by MF in July 2004.) The review sample's premium Quilted Maple finish adds $500. The 2", Ultra MDF plinth sits on a 19lb isolation platform formed from aluminum alloy and is said to be virtually resonancefree and completely neutral in sound. KM found that the Harmony fitted with the Origin Live tonearm and Pure Fidelity’s Stratos phono cartridge “took me on a joy ride, exuding all the liveliness and pace, rhythm, and timing of any wellmade low-mass 'table but with a neutral tonal balance and a vice-like low-end grip.” KM’s conclusion: “The Pure Fidelity Harmony brings a beautiful sonic signature to vinyl but with enough transparency to reveal the unique personality of each LP . . . The Pure Fidelity Harmony is one of the finest analog playback machines I’ve heard, worth every penny of its $9995 asking price.” (Vol.45 No.12 WWW)

TECHNICS SL-1200G: $4299.95 INCL. TONEARM Derived from Technics’s limited-edition SL-1200GAE, the three-speed, direct-drive SL-1200G bears little resemblance to the original ’1200 from the 1970s that had come to be a DJ favorite. It is an entirely new design “created for audiophiles.” The original SL-1200’s tonearm—“easily the chintziest thing about that turntable,” said AH—has been reimagined, with a new armtube made of cold-drawn magnesium. The arm’s gimbal bearings revealed zero wiggle or twist, noted AH, who also found that the turntable rotated at exactly 33 1/3 rpm with just 0.014% wow & flutter. AH installed a Dynavector Te Kaitora Rua cartridge in the tonearm’s detachable headshell and started listening. “In stock form, it sounded solid, agile, and impressively neutral, but

also noticeably smaller, grayer, and more mechanical—with shorter note decay—than my Garrard 301/Schick/Box Furniture Co. record player,” he wrote. After replacing the stock mat with a Trans-Fi Reso-Mat, “the Technics produced a far larger soundfield, with obviously greater resolution and instrument separation and less apparent noise.” Replacing the stock headshell with either the DS Audio HE-001 or Schick graphite headshells improved tracking with the Dynavector “and lent the music more solidity and color.” AH then switched the turntable’s torque control from automatic to manual and reduced the torque by about a third of a revolution. “The turntable sounded mostly the same,” he noted, “but its somewhat mechanical, uptight character was nearly gone; now the music flowed and shimmied more convincingly. I also heard improved sustain and decay.” Overall, he could think of few turntables that offer as much value as the SL-1200G, adding that the quality of its engineering and execution “makes typical audiophile products look slightly homemade.” (Vol.45 No.12 WWW)

THORENS TD 124 DD: $11,999 WITH TP 124 ARM

The original TD 124 turntable from Swiss manufacturer Thorens, with its innovative drive mechanism that utilized both a belt and an idler wheel, was introduced in 1957. It became a classic and examples in good condition are much sought after. The current Thorens company, owned by former Denon manager and ELAC CEO Gunter Kürten, is based in Germany. Rather than manufacture an authentic reproduction of the 1957 TD 124, the TD 124 DD, available in a limited run of 500 units, is intended to maintain as much of the original as possible while updating its function in key areas. The biggest change is the use of a 12-pole direct drive motor. The TP 124 tonearm is also new. It features an internally damped aluminum armtube with a heavy brass counterweight to balance the 30gm weight of the Ortofon SPU 124 cartridge used by KM in his auditioning. (A second, lighter counterweight is included, along with a headshell, for use with more typical cartridges.) KM liked what he heard: The TD 124 DD “excelled

at rhythmic punch and dynamics, producing music with vigor and drive. The ’table’s low noisefloor made for stark dynamic contrasts as music burst from the subtlest ppp to the boldest fff.” His conclusion? “The designers’ most heretical move—replacing the original 124’s peculiar drive system, which resulted in a turntable with fluidity and, well, drive—with direct drive has achieved an even more propulsive sound, with a somewhat larger soundstage and better dynamics.” (Vol.44 No.8 WWW)

TW-ACUSTIC RAVEN GT2: $12,500

AH described this German belt-drive turntable as “sternly functional … Everything about the ’table, which weighs 75lb and is made almost entirely of raven-black aluminum, appears thought out … The GT2 is so precisely machined that lowering the very heavy composite-and-bronze platter onto the upward-facing bearing shaft takes not seconds but minutes.” It took him several weeks to zero in on the Raven GT2’s sonic character: the “‘table did everything so well that I struggled to describe its sound. No single area of performance stood out or seemed overlooked,” he wrote. Overall, “on record after record, the German deck was able to excavate spatial and instrumental detail, and imbue recordings with depth and dimension, as well as any I’ve heard.” AH also noted that, unlike other belt-drive turntables, the Raven GT2 had a “nimble” way with rhythm and timing. (Vol.46 No.7 WWW)

VPI AVENGER DIRECT: $36,O00 WITH TONEARM

The review sample of this American turntable came with the 12" gimbaled version of the FatBoy tonearm ($4500 when purchased separately), the aluminum JMW Full VTA Base ($1500 separately), a direct drive assembly/motor, a machined aluminum platter, a vented chassis, a stainless steel Periphery Ring Clamp ($1300 separately), three air-suspension feet ($3450 separately), a VPI-branded alignment jig ($75 separately), a poly-weave platter mat, and a Signature record weight ($185 separately). With the Avenger/FatBoy combo fitted with an Ortofon Verismo

MC cartridge and playing Henry Mancini’s “The Days of Wine and Roses” (from Our Man in Hollywood), KM wrote that the Avenger Direct “mined all the musical detail, dimensionality, ambience, and opulence of the Mancini recording, but more importantly, it mined its emotions.” KM didn’t go into specifics regarding the player’s sonic character, writing instead that “I can’t help feeling it’s cheap to reduce the VPI’s performance to separate traits when its great strength is its presentation of such a unified, stirring whole.” His conclusion? “I don’t know what deed this Avenger is meant to avenge, but its place in the pantheon of great turntables is secure.” (Vol.46 No.6 WWW WAND 14-4: $7875 WITH WAND MASTER LITE 12" TONEARM; $5000 WITHOUT ARM

This New Zealand–made belt-drive turntable’s name comes from its platter: the larger size (14") increases rotational inertia without adding significant mass; the platter has four layers including an aluminum/acrylic/aluminum sandwich (for damping), plus an acrylic mat to interface with the record. The 14-4 comes with a switching power supply; a battery supply is available as an option. A speed sensor under the platter automatically adjusts the speed; MT found the speed was spot on at both 33 1/3 and 45rpm. He used the 12" Wand tonearm with the 14-4 and warned that the arm’s length means that the cartridge ends up hovering precariously close to the power and speed selector knob. “There are no compromises here, and few concessions to ease of setup and use,” MT concluded. “But if you’re willing to put in the work and deal with the setup anxiety, your patience will be rewarded with extraordinary performance. The Wand excels in areas I consider fundamental to musical enjoyment, such as tonal color and timing. There's nothing warm or sluggish sounding about The Wand, but because it’s able to resolve detail so well, it never sounds thin or anemic. ‘Vivid’ and ‘focused’ are the words that keep popping into my head.” (Vol.47 No.1 WWW)

B

LINN SONDEK LP12: $3060, TURNTABLE ONLY ★ Since 1972, Linn has devised and offered for their belt-drive, suspended-subchassis flagship all manner of upgrades; commendably, all have been retrofittable. Some standouts: The Lingo power-supply mod of 1990 minimizes the LP12’s propensity toward a slightly fat midbass and subjectively “adds an octave of low-bass extension,” according to JA. The Keel one-piece subchassis, tonearm board, and Linnspecific tonearm-mounting collar of 2006 makes “an unambiguous improvement in the LP12’s performance,” according to AD. And the Linn Radikal mod—a DC motor with an outboard switch-mode power supply—impressed Mr. D with “more force, more momentum, and a little more sheer grip on the notes.” At present, the least expensive LP12 package is the Majik LP12 ($4320): standard subchassis, wood-composite armboard, single-speed power supply, Pro-Ject 9cc tonearm, and a Linn Adikt moving magnet cartridge. Experience leads us to expect high Class B performance—superbly low measured rumble, excellent speed stability, and very good musical involvement—from an entry-level LP12, while incarnations of the full-monty LP12 have delivered true Class A sound: See the LP12 Klimax entry in Class A. (Vol.7 No.2, Vol.13 No.3, Vol.14 No.1, Vol.16 No.12, Vol.17 No.5, Vol.19 No.2, Vol.26 No.11, Vol.28 No.2, Vol.30 No.10, Vol.34 No.6, Vol.39 No.6 WWW)

MARK LEVINSON NO5105: $7500; WITH ORTOFON QUINTET BLACK PHONO CARTRIDGE: $8500 Designed in collaboration with and sourced from a German manufacturer, this elegant-looking, high-mass (75lb), beltdrive turntable comes complete with a 10" tonearm that features a rigid, glossy, carbon-fiber tube. Michael Fremer found the No5105 easy to set up and use and, with a fast, detailed cartridge like the Ortofon Quintet Black, it produced sound that was rich, relaxed, generous, and typical of higher mass, damped-style turntables. (Vol.44 No.4 WWW)

MOFI ELECTRONICS ULTRADECK: $2499 WITH TONEARM ★

Decades after the first Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab record comes the first MoFi record player—the UltraDeck turntable with Ultra tonearm, both made in the US and created with design input from Spiral Groove’s Allen Perkins. The UltraDeck’s sturdy plinth comprises three aluminum plates bonded to the top of an MDF core, and its belt-driven platter—machined from Delrin and weighing 6.8lb—rides on an inverted bearing. Four height-adjustable feet, designed in collaboration with Harmonic Resolution Systems (HRS), support the plinth. The Ultra tonearm has a 10" aluminum armtube, Cardas wiring, and a gimbaled bearing. According to HR, the UltraDeck, when used with MoFi’s top-of-the-line moving magnet cartridge, the MasterTracker (a $2198 package; the MasterTracker is sold separately for $699), didn’t provide the “deep ‘black’ backgrounds or enormous sound spaces” of the considerably more expensive AMG Giro G9 player, “but it did present me with an infectious, easy-flowing, liquid vitality.” According to Herb, the MoFi combo “had stronger energy, achieved bigger dynamic swings, and was more detailed than comparatively priced ’tables from VPI and Rega.” (Vol.41 No.2, Vol.45 No.12 WWW)

MUSIC HALL STEALTH: $1649 INCL. TONEARM AND CARTRIDGE

This three-speed, direct-drive deck comes fitted with an Ortofon 2M Blue phono cartridge. HR wrote that what he noticed most with the Stealth and 2M Blue was the “high level of tone correctness.” HR was also impressed by the tonearm, which he described as exceeding his expectations. “During use, it felt precise and well-sorted. Its bearings felt just-right tight, and its arm-lift mechanism served me with ... ease and assurance,” he wrote. Using Denon’s classic DL-103—see “Phono Cartridges”—he found that the Stealth played his 45s more enjoyably than the Feickert Blackbird or the Linn LP12 Valhalla. His conclusion? “I can think of no record player under $2000 that I’d rather use. Or recommend.” (Vol.45 No.10 WWW)

PTP AUDIO SOLID9: $4650 AS TESTED

The Solid9 ($2950 in basic form) is a restored, hot-rodded, replinthed Lenco idler drive design built in The Netherlands. A long, gently tapered, horizontally positioned motor shaft drives the bottom of the 8.8lb platter via a skinny, springtensioned vertical idler wheel. The Solid9 comes with a completely rebuilt Lenco motor and a restored drive mechanism attached to two thick, stainless steel plates that are flush-mounted in a Corian plinth. HR wrote that to his subconscious mind, “idler drive feels more solidly connected to the music’s forward momentum than direct drive does.” HR auditioned the Solid9 with PTP’s optional outboard Audio Power Controller ($1100), the Solid Bearing upgrade ($350), the optional SCC height-adjustable feet ($250), a Sorane SA-1 tonearm, and a Denon DL-103 phono cartridge. This record-playing system never distracted him from what was happening in the music, he concluded: “That’s as high praise as I can give.” (Vol.46 No.6 WWW)

REGA PLANAR 3 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION:

$1695 W/RB330 TONEARM, NEO PSU MK2

POWER SUPPLY & REGA EXACT PHONO CARTRIDGE $$$

Because the 50th Anniversary Planar 3 is shipped as a complete package, the setup process is very simple. The cartridge comes preinstalled, and because the Exact uses Rega’s proprietary three-point mounting, its position is fixed in Rega’s preferred alignment. MT found that the Planar 3’s running speed was “bang-on perfect.” Comparing the Anniversary player with an original Planar 3 fitted with an Audio Note cartridge, MT found that “just about every element of the sound has been improved . ... The new Planar just sounds better sorted and like a coherent whole, providing a clearer perspective on the music making. This turntable has a real knack for allowing you to forget about audiophile affectations like imaging and soundstaging so you can just kick back and enjoy your records.” Upgraded from Class C with the new version. (Vol.46 No.11 WWW)

SME MODEL 6: $8795 W/SME M2-9 TONEARM

SME MODEL 6 CLASSIC: $9795 WITH SME M2-9-R SME’s least expensive turntable uses an outboard power supply and a chassis CNC-machined from what the company says is a “unique polymer high-density resin material,” claimed to have “superb resonance absorption.” It sits on four elastomer feet made from a vibration-absorbing compound, but as these aren’t height-adjustable, the user needs to make sure the turntable support is level. The beltdriven, 4lb platter appears to be machined from Delrin. The M2-9 tonearm—an MF favorite—can accommodate cartridges weighing 5–12gm, and azimuth, VTA, and SRA are all adjustable. As with all SME turntables, there’s no dustcover. While MF didn’t like the screw-down three-piece record clamp, he appreciated how the Model 6 performed with Ortofon Cadenza Black and 2M Black LVB phono cartridges. “The more I used it, the more I enjoyed its open, airy sound and its solid bottom end,” he concluded. The Classic version substitutes the M2-9-R for the straight-pipe M2-9 provided with the original Model 6, which has a curved stainless steel pipe terminating in SME’s familiar locking collet. (A headshell is provided, as well as an extra counterweight that can be threaded onto the arm’s rear shaft if needed.) (Vol.44 No.5, Vol.45 No.4 WWW)

TECHNICS SL-1200GR2: $2199.99

See Ken Micallef’s review in this issue. (Vol.47 No.4) VERTERE DG-1S9: $4899–$6999 WITH TONEARM, DEPENDING ON OPTIONS

Designed by Roksan founder Touraj Moghaddam, the UKbuilt DG-1S, with its Groove Runner S tonearm, is available in three versions with varying combinations of cartridges and accessories, priced from $4899 to $6999. The review model came with the top Sabre package, which includes the Sabre moving-magnet cartridge, Redline interconnect cables, Techno Mat platter mat, three Iso Paw footers, plus an electronic stylus pressure gauge. The optional Challenger DC power supply ($675) can be used in place of the DG1S’s standard wall wart. MT was impressed by how easy the Vertere was to set up. He did find that the DG-1S ran about 0.4% fast, which he described as “not terrible but a little disappointing at the price, and not adjustable.” However, the peak wow and flutter reading was excellent, at around 0.18%.

“While the bass was fast and clear, it couldn’t quite match the power at the very bottom end that you can get from my big, much more costly reference turntables,” concluded MT. (Vol.46 No.10 WWW)

C

PRO-JECT DEBUT CARBON EVO: $599 WITH TONEARM & SUMIKO RAINIER CARTRIDGE $$$ This bargain-priced, belt-drive turntable comes complete with a carbon-fiber tonearm, a Sumiko Rainier moving magnet cartridge ($150 when sold separately), and a shielded, directional phono cable. The 3.75lb steel platter is damped along its outer edge with a strip of thermoplastic elastomer. AH found that the review sample, like Rega turntables, ran slightly fast, but also felt it didn’t release notes “with quite the screen-door-hitting-them-on-the-ass urgency of the [Rega] Planar 3 (which costs nearly twice as much without a cartridge).” He also found that the Pro-Ject and its cartridge made surface noise more intrusive than many other record players he’d heard. However, AH summed up his time with this turntable by saying “If there’s a design parameter more crucial than a hi-fi component’s ability to hold our attention and enable us to feel things, I don’t know what it is. The ProJect Debut Carbon EVO does this consistently, emphatically, at an attainable price.” (Vol.44 No.3 WWW)

PRO-JECT DEBUT PRO: $999 WITH TONEARM & SUMIKO RAINIER CARTRIDGE

Based on Pro-Ject’s Debut Carbon EVO turntable, the beltdrive, nonsuspended Debut PRO improves on earlier ProJect models with CNC-milled aluminum parts, an upgraded bearing and tonearm with a hybrid aluminum–carbon fiber armtube, and what KM described as “a few more subtle but still beneficial upgrades.” The price includes a Sumiko Oyster Rainier moving magnet cartridge. KM described the Debut PRO’s presentation as featuring fast transients, strong dynamics, and crisp highs. “The Debut PRO is a lively, fun, exhilarating turntable; it makes records—or rather music from records—jump, boogie, and sing. … I was consistently surprised at the Debut PRO’s ability to relay gobs of detail in a natural, compelling manner.” KM’s conclusion? “This ca $1000, handsome-but-unassuming record player proved to me what a manufacturer with decades of experience and expertise can do when designing an analog machine to a price point. The Debut PRO bowled me over with its dynamics, detail, soundstaging, spatial depth, and scale, especially with the more expensive [Sumiko] Wellfleet cartridge. The Debut PRO made the most of every style of music I put to it.” (Vol.45 No.1 WWW)

D DELETIONS

AMG Viella Forte Engraved, Clearaudio Concept AiR Active Wood, w/Satisfy Black tonearm & Concept MM cartridge, w/Satisfy Carbon Fiber tonearm & Concept MC cartridge, discontinued. Döhmann Audio Helix One Mk2, no longer in production, J.Sikora Initial, Kuzma Stabi R with one arm wing, Reed Muse 1C, Rega Planar 1, basic Rega Planar 3, not reviewed in a long time.

TONEARMS A+

SAT CF1-09TI: €90,000

SAT CF1-12TI: €94,000

These two cost-no-object tonearms appear outwardly identical to the Swedish manufacturer’s original CF1 arm. However, there is now a titanium tube running through the carbon-fiber armtube, and the CF1’s removable carbon-fiber headshell has been stiffened with a frame made from titanium. The 9" arm was auditioned, but the 12" arm should be just as good (but longer). Prices are when purchased separately; when the arms are purchased with the SAT XD-1 turntable (see “Turntables”), the prices are €50,000 (’9Ti) and €60,000 (’12Ti). (Vol.43 No.12 WWW)

A

ACOUSTIC SIGNATURE TA-7000 12" NEO: $17,995 9" NEO: $15,995

The TA-7000 uses a gimbaled ball/race bearing system and a damped carbon-fiber armtube. It is available with either an SME or Rega-type mount and in 9" and 12" versions. The model reviewed was the 9", which conforms to the standard Rega geometry. It pays to be cautious when adjusting arm height, advised MF, as the pillar goes, in a hair-turn of the grub screw, “from rock-solid secure to dropping like a pound and a half rock.” Repeatable azimuth adjustment is also tricky as there are no reference marks. Included with the arm are a rigid, precise alignment jig set to Löfgren A geometry and AudioQuest’s entry-level “Wildcat” DIN-to-RCA cable. With an Ortofon A95 phono cartridge, the lateral and vertical resonant frequencies both measured ideally, at approximately 10Hz. (Vol.45 No.1 WWW)

ACOUSTICAL SYSTEMS AXIOM REFERENCE: $24,995 IN BLACK FINISH

The gimbal bearing AXIOM is available in 10” or 12” versions and comes with various precision-machined-and-finished spacers of various heights. MF described the designer’s goal as being to produce an infinitely adjustable “universal” tonearm “capable of precisely adjusting every setup parameter you can think of and maybe a few you haven’t thought of and to place the settings where they are most effectively implemented.” Setup was straightforward, a precisely machined, smoothly operating VTA tower mechanism raising or lowering the arm 1mm with each full knob turn. Mounted on the AXIOM, the X-quisite cartridge delivered clean sibilants and the expected smooth, transparent, direct (if somewhat forward, but not bright) timbral balance. MF found that the AXIOM arm delivered microdynamic shifts that helped produce the appropriate, rolling, flowing feel of the classic Cowboy Junkies album. “If it doesn’t quite have the slam and excitement of the far-more-costly SAT CF1-09,” concluded MF, “it makes up for that with its smooth, refined, erudite, almost academic presentation.” (Vol.45 No.9 WWW)

AMG 9W2: $3800 ★

The German-made 9W2 tonearm from turntable specialists AMG combines a traditional horizontal bearing with a vertical bearing that is, according to AD, unique in its field: “an upright pair of 0.4mm spring-steel wires that are perfectly straight when the tonearm tube is balanced, yet flex in tandem and yield to the armtube’s mass when the counterweight is moved closer to the twin fulcrums.” The result, he reports, is a near-ideal combination of zero play and absence of friction. VTA and azimuth are easily adjusted, and a magnetic antiskating mechanism is included. AD found the 9W2, when used on his Linn LP12—for which it was apparently designed—to be “the first Linn-friendly arm I’ve heard that has made me stop sobbing about the demise of the Naim Aro: a considerable feat.” Also with reference to his past favorite tonearms, AD added: “None surpasses the 9W2 in sheer build quality.” HR enjoyed the 9W2 as part of AMG’s Giro G9 record player, and said of the arm’s vertical bearing, “to my reckoning, this is a simple and supremely effective innovation.” The 9W2 was supplied with the MK II version of AMG’s Giro turntable, which MT reviewed in December 2022. See Turntables. (Vol.37 No.10, Vol.40 No.10, Vol.45 No.12 WWW)

EMT 912: $6995 WITH FIXED WIRE & HEADSHELL, $7409 WITH DIN CONNECTOR

This banana-shaped 12" tonearm comes in two versions, one with a fixed headshell (“HI”), the other with a quickcoupling system that fits EMT’s Tondose four-pin diamond pattern (“Professional”); there’s a variant that fits Ortofon’s square pin-mounting pattern. There is no provision for G-style Ortofon cartridges; only the shorter, 32mm Astyle cartridges are compatible. A dial-operated magnetic antiskating mechanism allows the use of cartridges with a wide range of specifications, and there is a “beautifully machined” threaded ring for VTA adjustment. When HR set up the DIN-connected 912-HI with the EMT JSD 6 cartridge— see Phono Cartridges—on a Dr. Feickert Blackbird turntable, “every record sounded dramatically more exposed than

I remembered it, clearer and punchier. So much changed that I found it was exciting and unsettling. It took a couple of weeks—trying different phono stages, cartridge loadings, and step-up transformers—to settle in comfortably with the new EMT sound.” (Vol.46 No.11 WWW)

GRAHAM ENGINEERING PHANTOM ELITE: $17,500–$18,500 DEPENDING ON LENGTH ★ Outwardly similar to the standard Graham Phantom tonearm, the Phantom Elite is said to be made from more costly materials and incorporates new Litz wiring, a refined alignment gauge, and a thicker, more rigid version of the Phantom’s removable, damped titanium armtube. (The latter is available in three sizes, for effective lengths of 9", 10", and 12".) Retained from the original Phantom is Graham’s patented Magneglide system, in which magnets are used to stabilize the arm’s inverted-unipivot bearing. MF observed that, when used with the TechDAS Air Force Two turntable, the Phantom Elite had good texture but not the same degree of weight as the more expensive Swedish Audio Technologies arm. Like Graham’s standard Phantom, the Phantom Elite is available with a circular or an SME-style arm mount; MF suggests that the latter makes it easier to adjust spindle-topivot distance. (Vol.38 No.11, Vol.44 No.9 WWW)

J.SIKORA KV12 VTA: $8995

The oil-damped, unipivot KV12 VTA is the first tonearm to use an armtube made of Kevlar—“KV” stands for Kevlar— and features precision, on-the-fly VTA adjustment. MF noted that while the KV12’s bass reproduction was clean and tight, it couldn’t match the “prodigious-yet-honest bass” of the much-more-expensive SAT arm. MF concluded that while the KV12 hasn’t got the Kuzma 4 Point’s bottom-end “womp” and authority, its timbral balance and everything else about it produced nothing but sonic pleasure. (Vol.45 No.7 WWW)

KORF AUDIO TA-SF9: $2036 OR $2364

Two versions of this Austrian arm are available, the straight TA-SF9 with a fixed headshell ($2036) and the J-shaped TA-SF9R ($2364), which has a detachable H-4 bayonetmount headshell. Either Korf arm can be supplied with an SME-style mounting plate with adjustable sliding base, or with what they call a JIS/Linn/Jelco round mounting base. MT used the SME-style plate to mount the TA-SF9R on his SME Model 30 turntable. With its extra-stiff steel armtube, the Korf’s effective mass is a hefty 28gm, which MT thought might be marginal with his Zu Denon DL-103. However, he found that the Korf arm was extracting an unexpected level of performance from this cartridge. “Gone was the typical, slightly-soft-and-comforting Zu/DL-103 sound,” he wrote, “replaced by something significantly more nimble and lighter on its feet.” (Vol.46 No.12 WWW)

LINN EKOS SE: $5855 ★

Outwardly identical to the original Ekos in all but color, the Ekos SE is machined from a titanium tube in an effort to smooth out resonant peaks, while its stainless steel main pillar and bearing cradle work to maintain perfect bearing adjustment in the face of temperature extremes and user abuse. The “beautifully finished” SE comes packaged with a selection of tools, a Linn T-Kable interconnect, and a new iteration of Linn's cable clamp. With its strong, tight bass and solid aural images, the Ekos SE produced a “cleaner, more dramatic, and more enjoyable” listening experience, said AD. “Other, more exotic arms may give better results in some settings, but I cant think of a more consistent—and consistently recommendable—tonearm. It's a Martin D-28, a BMW 3-series, a bottle of Bombay Sapphire: It will please any sane, reasonable person,” he summed up. (Vol.30 No.10 WWW; also see HR’s Linn Klimax LP12 review in Vol.45 No.6 WWW)

SCHICK 12" TONEARM: $1995 ★

SCHICK 10.5" TONEARM: $1995

Made in Germany and now distributed in the United States by Mofi Distribution, the Thomas Schick 12" tonearm is intended to combine the greater-than-average length and mass of certain vintage models with the high-quality bearings of modern arms. It offers superb fit and finish, with a clean, spare bearing cradle and a smoothly solid pickuphead socket. Though lacking the spring-loaded downforce and other refinements of the EMT 997—and, thus, some measure of the more expensive arm’s performance—the Schick is characterized by a big, clean, substantial sound, with an especially colorful bottom end: “a superb performer,” per AD, who also verified the correctness of the Schick’s geometry with Keith Howard’s ArmGeometer freeware. According to Art, “The Schick tonearm is an outstanding value and easily the most accessible transcription-length arm on the market.” Thomas Schick has now added to his line a proprietary headshell ($295) machined from resinsoaked “technical” graphite, with a mass (15.2gm) that makes it more suitable than most for use with cartridges of low to moderate compliance. AD bought the new headshell for himself and reported that, compared to his wooden Yamamoto headshell, the Schick offered “far tighter, cleaner bass.” He was also impressed with how “cartridges mounted in the Schick suffer less breakup during heavily modulated passages.” Now with balanced cable. Reporting on the 10.5" arm, HR wrote that after hearing Schick’s arms in a variety of systems, he suspected that the medium-length version “might strike a good balance between the liveliness of the 9" and the greater mass and tracing accuracy of the 12" version.” He found it to be a good partner for his Dr. Feickert Blackbird turntable. (12": Vol.33 Nos.3 & 6, Vol.34 No.10, Vol.37 No.11; 10.5": Vol.44 No.1, WWW)

SORANE SA-1.2: $1900 $$$ ★

The Japan-made Sorane (originally called Abis) SA-1.2 is a high-mass 9" tonearm that began life as the Abis SA-1, famous for impressing AD and for having been withdrawn from an earlier edition of “Recommended Components,” by its importer, while undergoing revision. The new SA-1.2 reflects a number of refinements: improved bearings, greater effective length (9.4" vs 9"), and slightly higher offset angle. The arm’s basics remain: a precision-milled armtube of rectangular cross section, static downforce, and a removable headshell for easy cartridge changes. When he used the revised SA-1.2—also an HR favorite—with the perennially recommendable Denon DL-103 cartridge, the low compliance of which is well suited to such a high-mass arm, AD found it capable of pulling from his records “tremendous amounts of touch and force and impact.” The SA-1.2 was so good, he declared, that it made his Thorens TD 124 sound more like his Garrard 301. (This, he suggests, is good.) Speaking of which, AD cautions that, to make the Abis more compatible with the unusually low-slung platter of the TD 124, the user must make one or two adjustments. His conclusion: “I’d put the combination of Abis SA-1.2 and Denon DL-103 up against all but their priciest competitors.” In his June 2023 Gramophone Dreams, HR commented that he used the arm’s rear counterweight to set tracking force and the sliding midarm weight to adjust the SA-1.2’s effective mass. “This nifty trick, in concert with the use of lighter or heavier headshells,” he wrote, allows the SA-1.2 to adapt to a wide range of cartridge weights and compliances. “This adaptability, plus the satiny feel of its dual radial bearings, made the SA-1.2 my top choice for long-haul, daily driver use.” (Vol.37 No.3, Vol.38 No.11, Vol.39 No.4, Vol.46 No.6 WWW)

TW-ACUSTIC 12" RAVEN: $6500

AH was impressed by the functionality of this German arm when he used it with TW-Acustic’s Raven GT turntable. VTA is fine-tuned by turning a ring at the arm’s base. VTF is dialed in by rotating the ingenious counterweight, held in place by the friction of unevenly spaced threads. Antiskating is set with a magnetic screw. The integral headshell rotates to allow azimuth adjustments. And the housing of the fourpoint gimbal bearing has a dimple at its center, to anchor the point of a cartridge protractor and eliminate guesswork from finding the arm’s pivot point. Using a Dynavector Te Kaitora Rua cartridge, AH found that the Raven easily outclassed his Schick tonearm, sounding smoother, more harmonically developed, and propelling the music with a more natural sense of flow. (Vol.46 No.7 WWW)

VPI 12" FATBOY GIMBALED: $4500 ★

First reviewed by MF fitted to VPI’s 40th Anniversary turntable, the gimbaled FatBoy was fitted to VPI’s Avenger Direct turntable for KM’s review. (A unipivot version is also available.) The armwand is 3D-printed from liquid resin set

into a UV- and heat-resistant stainless steel tube and is supplied with an adjustable, 5/8"-thick, aluminum armboard. Although VPI founder Harry Weisfeld believes the FatBoy arm sounds best with no antiskate, KM experienced skipping. He eliminated this by looping the plastic wire that extends from the tonearm base over a metal peg on the small, V-shaped antiskate mechanism attached to the back of the VTA tower. (Vol.43 No.1, Vol.46 No.6 WWW)

WAND MASTER LITE 12": $3750

Setting up this unipivot tonearm with its fat carbon-fiber armtube, 7/8" in diameter, on the Wand 14-4 turntable—see Turntables—was a heart-pumping challenge, wrote MT, echoing what AD wrote about an earlier version in May 2019. But as AD found, the result was worth the effort. “The Wand will extract the most from your cartridge,” MT concluded, adding “Definitely recommended—as long as you understand what you’re getting into.” (Vol.47 No.1 WWW)

B

REGA RB330: $675 $$$ ★

Current version of Rega’s classic tonearm. See the Rega Planar 3 Anniversary entry in Turntables. (Vol.40 No.2, Vol.46 No.11 WWW)

DELETIONS

AMG 12JT, Kuzma 4Point, Reed 5T, Schröder Captive Bearing (CB) tonearm, not reviewed in a long time.

PHONO CARTRIDGES A

AIDAS AG-CU SERIES MALACHITE SILVER: $5850 AIDAS CU-SERIES DURAWOOD: $4595

These hand-built, low-output moving coil cartridges from Lithuania use the same basic generator, boron cantilever,

AlNiCo5 magnet, and nude MicroLine stylus, but differ in the wire used to wind the coils and the material used for the cartridge body. The Durawood uses copper wire and a body made from multilayered wood; the Malachite uses silver-plated copper wire and a heavier, green, Tru-Stone body. The first thing that struck MT about the Durawood was how quietly this cartridge sat in the groove. “Minimal groove noise is usually a good indicator of a well-aligned stylus, sitting square and true in the groove,” he wrote. On a track featuring John Coltrane playing soprano saxophone, the sound never devolved into screechiness: “It remained prominent but smooth.” Art Davis plays a bowed solo on the same track, “which demonstrated just how embodied and rich the Durawood’s bass can be when given the right material.” With the Malachite Silver, MT found that the sound remained similar in overall tonal flavor but with a noticeable improvement in microdynamics and power. “Both of these cartridges are easy to like, with a smooth, refined sound and gobs of detail and precision,” he concluded. “The Malachite Silver sounds similar to the Durawood but adds some dynamic impact and slam . ... If you can swing the additional $1255, the Malachite Silver is a clear step up.” (Vol.47 No.2 WWW)

ANALOG RELAX EX1000: $19,900

The top-of-the-line cartridge from Japanese company ZOOT Communication has a higher output voltage and a higher output impedance than typical moving coils. Nevertheless, not only did MF find that the Audio Relax was a superb tracker, but he also wrote that “Velvet Fog” Mel Tormé had never been better served on record than through the EX1000: “The sonically sensual vocal presentation oozes ‘velvet’ without sounding at all soft, warm, or muffled, nor does it sacrifice transient articulation. This cartridge gets more of that correct than any other cartridge I’ve heard.” (Vol.44 No.12 WWW)

DS AUDIO DS-W3: $15,000 (INCLUDES OPTICAL EQUALIZER)

See Michael Trei’s Spin Doctor column in this issue. (Vol.47 No.4)

DYNAVECTOR TE KAITORA RUA: $3650

AH described this low-output MC as “a superbly transparent transducer with a lovely extended top end, gobs of detail, outstanding speed and separation, and a huge, billowy soundstage … The Kaitora had a way of making every record—whether Brian Eno or Schubert or Godspeed You! Black Emperor—sound really good, and of cutting straight to its musical essence.” He described it as “more rhythmically propulsive” than the Miyajima Shilabe with which he compared it. (Vol.46 No.7 WWW)

EMT JSD NOVEL TITAN MC: $6995

This high-output (1mV at 5cm/s), low-compliance MC cartridge features silver coils and a diamond-plated titanium body, and has a relatively high 16 ohm internal impedance. MF noted the generous low-frequency transient textures combined with smoothness, refinement, good timbral balance, and commendable transparency. (Vol.45 No.5 WWW) GRADO LABS LINEAGE SERIES AEON3: $6000

This low-output (1mV) cartridge is housed in a broad cocobolo-wood body that, according to John Grado, allows more of the cartridge’s 12gm mass to be balanced around the stylus point, stabilizing the motions of the cantilever. HR was surprised that when the Aeon3 was mounted on the J.Sikora Initial turntable, it out-Koetsu-ed the psychedelic Koetsu Rosewood Signature. “The Koetsu sounded slightly brighter, punchier, and sprightlier—but not more full-power dynamic than the Aeon3,” he wrote, though he felt that the Grado was less corporeal than the Koetsu in the upper registers. After comparing the Aeon3 with other cartridges, both on the Initial and on the Dr. Feickert Blackbird turntable, HR decided that the Grado appeared to be “uncovering new, previously buried deposits of recorded microdata. That trait alone is making LPs extra-engaging and more pleasurable,” he concluded. (Vol.43 No.6 WWW)

HANA UMAMI RED: $3950

The Umami Red features a gloss-red Urushi-lacquered Duralumin body with an ebony wood inlay. Stylus is a nude Mi

croLine diamond mounted on a boron cantilever. High-purity copper coils are wrapped on a square permalloy armature centered in a magnetic circuit that combines a samarium/cobalt magnet and an iron pole piece. Loaded with 80 ohms, this low-output moving coil impressed HR with the intensity with which it endowed familiar recordings, as well as the enhanced intelligibility of vocals, “natural-feeling contrast levels, grainfree clarity, and lifelike solidity.” The Umami Red displayed sharper, more precisely focused images than the much less expensive Hana ML, he decided. (Vol.44 No.4 WWW) HANIWA HCTR-CO MARKII: $10,000 ★

The original version of this moving coil cartridge tracked everything cleanly at 1.2gm downforce, found MF. Used with the HCVC01 passive current-to-voltage converter (see “Phono Preamplifiers”), its presentation was on the cool side, though MF noted that “warm records did not lose their warmth altogether. The bottom end on everything I played, while not as prominent and rich-sounding as I’ve heard it, was taut, well-defined, and all there.” He described the combination’s presentation as “superfast, clean, transparent, and transient-precise” with excellent rhythm’n’pacing. Since that review was published, Haniwa’s Dr. Kubo came up with what he considered significant improvements that included higher compliance and a new damper. He felt that anyone who’d already spent $10,000 on the cartridge deserved the upgrade free of charge. Compared with the original, the CO Mk.II “delivered a texturally and timbrally enriched sonic performance and overall greater transient finesse and delicacy,” MF found. He concluded that when used with the HCVC01, the CO Mk.II offered “absolutely honest spectral balance and remarkable imaging solidity and stability, combined with “textural delicacy.” (Vol.42 No.10, Vol.43 No.7 WWW, original version; Vol.44 No.6 WWW)

HIFICTION X-QUISITE ST: $13,160

The high-mass, low-output X-quisite features a unique, patented “monobloc” transducer element consisting of a one-piece, high-strength ceramic cantilever and a square coil body that eliminates the joint almost always found in cartridges using aluminum, boron, sapphire, or diamond cantilevers. The stylus is an “X-diamond” MicroRidge, the armature is wound with silver wire, and the ST’s body is made from layers of titanium, aluminum, and wood. The manufacturer recommends loading the cartridge at 400– 800 ohms and setting the tracking force between 1.9gm and 2.1gm. Despite the usual low-frequency resonances having a higher Q than usual when the ST was mounted in a Kuzma 4Point arm—or maybe because of it—MF found that the X-quisite was the fastest, most direct and flat-out excitingsounding cartridge he’d heard, with among the most natural, open, silky-smooth upper octaves. “Its sound was free of artificial ingredients—no hyperdefined edges or peaky, tipped-up top end to produce fake excitement; no resonant tricks that create ‘sensuous warmth’ not found in actual music.” MF bought the review sample but the sound continued to change, finally settling in with a “shelved” quality in the upper octaves that worked for some recordings but not others. “The easily noticed character was disconcerting,” he wrote, but was minimized when he used the X-quisite with the matching SUT X-20 step-up transformer. (See “Phono Preamplifiers.”) (Vol.44 Nos.3 & 9 WWW)

KOETSU ROSEWOOD SIGNATURE PLATINUM: $8495★ Designed by Fumihiko Sugano, son of Koetsu founder Yoshiaki Sugano, the Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum exhibits moderately low output (0.3mV), moderately low resistance (5 ohms), expects a downforce of 1.8−2.0gm, and is priced more or less in the very middle of Koetsu’s product line. Of his time with the Rosewood Signature Platinum, HR wrote that “this Koetsu, with its lacquered rosewood body, silver-plated copper coils, quadrahedral stylus profile, boron cantilever, and platinum magnet, gave me a sixth-row seat for [a] longcherished recording.” When Herb loaded it with 100 ohms, “the result was an exceedingly rich and unaffected sound,” and the Koetsu “seemed engineered to do nothing but hold my attention—my pleasurable fascination—as it showed me the art behind the music.” Later comparing the Koetsu with a budget Audio-Technica moving magnet, HR wrote that he heard sublime ease and dramatic understatement: “Immediately, I grasped how unsubtle the VM95C was. I also received what felt like infinite amounts of micro-level information.” However, although he felt that he didn’t get closer to the living performers, as he had with the cheap cartridge, the Koetsu “did what it was designed to do: transform the quotidian into the marvelous.” (Vol.41 No.12, Vol.44 No.1 WWW) LINN EKSTATIK: $7295

Low-output moving coil. See Linn Klimax LP12 in Turntables. (Vol.45 No.6 WWW)

LUXMAN LMC-5: $2695

This low-output, aluminum-bodied MC cartridge uses a Shibata stylus and a samarium/cobalt-energized motor. Recommended downforce is 2.2gm and the specified dynamic compliance of 8×10–6cm/dyne means that the LMC-5 will work best with a tonearm of reasonably high mass. With the Luxman mounted in a Kuzma 4Point tonearm, KM noted that he was impressed by the rich tone and "pure, detailed, hugely illustrative sound ... right out of the box." Break-in made it better, he found: “Lovely clarity and openness in the upper midrange and treble resulted in textural shading, touch, and illumination of inner detail.” KM felt that the LMC5 “produced fewer thrills" than Pure Fidelity’s Stratos when mounted in an Encounter Live tonearm on the Pure Fidelity Harmony turntable. AH used the LMC-5 for his review of Luxman’s PD-151 Mark 2 turntable (see Turntables) and commented that the LMC-5 provided a richer sound and more relaxed presentation than the Ortofon Cadenza Blue. (Vol.45 Nos.8 & 12, Vol.46 No.3 WWW)

MIYAJIMA SHILABE: $3150 ★

The Shilabe is a low-output (0.23mV), low-compliance design with an unusually high recommended tracking force of 2.5–3.2gm. Its Shibata stylus is attached to a largediameter, old-fashioned–looking cantilever. The Shilabe uses a patented “cross-ring” construction that centers the

generator’s fulcrum within the coil. The Shilabe had a sound that was “full-bodied, deep, and extremely well-defined” and offered “superbly coherent transient and harmonic presentation from top to bottom,” MF wrote. AD also enjoyed the Shilabe’s “consistently present, colorful, and downright chunky” sound. “It was the closest I’ve heard a stereo cartridge come to delivering the meat, the force, the sheer solidity of mono,” he said. “After spending several weeks listening to the Shilabe, I had to admit that its tonal density, harmonic richness, and vivid textures made my beloved [Dynaudio Te Kaitora Rua], and frankly most other moving coils, sound a bit flat, bright, and electronic,” AH added later. “The Shilabe … played records with much of the body and presence of my favorite old-school conical-stylus cartridges like the [Ortofon SPU Classic G] but added scads more detail, extension, and refinement.” (Vol.32 No.9, Vol.33 No.10, Vol.46 No.7 WWW)

MY SONIC LAB ULTRA EMINENT EX: $6995 ★

Notably, the titanium-bodied Ultra Eminent Ex moving coil cartridge mates an output level that’s only moderately low (0.3mV) with an exceptionally low internal resistance (0.6 ohm). It does so thanks to the discovery by its maker, Yoshio Matsudaira, of a new magnetic material that allowed him to use fewer turns of coil wire—yielding lower moving mass, and the potential for greater detail retrieval—while maintaining a healthy output level. Recommended tracking force is 2gm. As HR wrote, “what struck me was how much the Ultra Eminent Ex’s presentation sounded like analog tape,” adding that the cartridge “excavated so much microlevel information that it seemed to reach some perceptual limit where recorded detail . . . begins to materialize into the person, instrument, or environment the information represents,” and in doing so sounded “less mechanical than any other MC I’ve experienced.” Part of HR's reviewing kit. (Vol.41 No.12 WWW)

ORTOFON MC WINDFELD TI: $5999 ★

Derived from the first Windfeld model—which was designed by Ortofon’s head of R&D, Leif Johannsen, and named for his predecessor in that position, Per Windfeld—the new Windfeld Ti MC cartridge differs from the original in its use of a titanium body core that flares at the top to form its mounting platform, which is drilled and tapped for cartridge bolts of the usual sort. (The Windfeld Ti’s outer body is made of stainless steel.) The Ti’s armature is also less magnetic than the first Windfeld’s: a windfall (sorry) of the new cartridge’s more sophisticated magnet structure. Other pertinent specs include an output of 0.2mV, an internal impedance of 7 ohms, and a specially polished, nude Replicant 100 stylus tip. According to MF, the Windfeld Ti, with which he used a vertical tracking force of 2.3gm, “retained all of the sweetness and lushness of the original Windfeld.” He added that “no one will be disappointed by the Windfeld Ti’s reproduction of space.” Mikey’s conclusion: “[$5459] buys you a piece of the highest echelon of cartridge performance for thousands fewer bucks.” In use by JCA. (Vol.40 No.8) ORTOFON MC XPRESSION: $6199 ★

A unique blend of new and old technologies, the Xpression derives from Ortofon’s cutting-edge MC A90, but is designed as a drop-in replacement for any G-style pickup head. It uses a Replicant 100 stylus, has a recommended downforce of 2.6gm, an impedance of 4 ohms, and a low (0.3mV) output. Compared to AD’s original Ortofon SPU, the Xpression sounded just as solid, colorful, and forceful, but was more detailed, open, tactile, and revealing of nuance and technique. “The difference was real: Love my older Ortofon though I do, the Xpression was clearly more dramatic, with no penalty in texture or color,” said Art. Not long after AD’s review, JCA tried an Xpression with his combination of vintage Thorens TD 124 turntable and Schick 12" tonearm; for various reasons—at the time he felt it “cost way too much for what it was”—he set it aside, returning to it only recently. Improvements, in the interim, to his system and a better listening room left JCA “better prepared to hear and describe” the Xpression, which he now believes is “clearly and significantly better” than his own Ortofon 90th Anniversary SPU, with “less SPU-ish coloration” and “none of the attenuation of high frequencies that I [hear] from classic SPUs, but no extra tizz, either.” Part of JCA's kit. (Vol.35 No.2, Vol.41 No.9 WWW)

ORTOFON VERISMO: $6999

Housed in a titanium body produced by Selective Laser Melting, the low-output Verismo moving coil features a diamond cantilever to which is attached a Swiss-manufactured Replicant 100 line-contact stylus shaped to resemble a cutting stylus as closely as possible. MF found the Verismo’s sound “fast,” with sharp, finely drawn high-frequency transients yet with a lush and generous midrange and a tight, nimble, well-controlled bottom end—“knit together into a coherent sonic package.” He found that the Verismo “deftly places well-focused, three-dimensional images in a natural-sounding space.” (Vol.45 No.1 WWW)

PHASEMATION PP-2000: $7999

This Japanese manufacturer’s top-of-the-line, low-output moving coil cartridge features an Ogura line-contact stylus mounted on a boron cantilever. The Duralumin body is attached to a stainless steel mounting base, both finished with a diamond-like carbon coating. MF wrote that “Even before break-in, the PP-2000 produced an expansive soundstage and a smooth spectral balance that was free of obvious defects or easy-to-hear limitations . ... Instrumental attack was not overly sharp, but neither was it soft.” MF found that electric bass sounded slightly soft, but the Phasemation did everything well enough to make it an easy and enthusiastic recommendation for classical and jazz lovers. Rock fans, he warned, are probably best off with a different cartridge. (Vol.44 No.2 WWW)

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AIDAS AUDIO GALA GOLD LE: $5000

This “midline” cartridge features coils wound with 99.5% pure gold wire. A Namiki MicroRidge stylus is attached to an “Adamant boron composite” cantilever. Recommended VTF is 1.9–2.1gm, and the suggested loading range is 100–1000 ohms. MF described the Aidas cartridge’s timbral balance as “neutral, particularly in the midbass and midrange, and well-extended from bottom to top with a subtle, slightly warm sonic signature (no lumps and/or bumps).” “It did everything well and nothing poorly,” he decided, noting that if rock is your main music, you might want something with a slightly harder edge. (Vol.44 No.1 WWW)

BENZ MICRO SLR GULLWING: $3930

MT used this cartridge for his favorable review of the AMG Giro MK II record player—see Turntables—noting that its highish 40 ohm source impedance was too high for his Sutherland Loco phono preamplifier’s current-drive input. HR wrote that this “fragile little beast that’s been around for a while, but it can reproduce recorded textures with an overtly tactile, right-there-in-front-of-me intensity that most other cartridges can’t match.” The Gullwing does need to be loaded with a relatively high impedance. HR again: “With a 550 ohms load, the Benz Micro delivered an exceedingly smooth and precise response that wasn’t just pretty and flat; it excelled at presenting the vigorous drive, lifelike tones, and extra-dense, in-my-room presence I crave from the best-engineered 1950s mono discs.” (Vol.45 No.12, Vol.46 No.9 WWW)

DS AUDIO DS003: $2500 PLUS PRICE OF EQUALIZER ($3500)

This “optical” cartridge operates by projecting light from an LED onto a tiny “shading plate” mounted at the center of the cantilever. As the stylus moves through the record grooves, the cantilever and shading plate move and varying amounts of light reach the photodetector, which generates an electric current in proportion to the amount of light it receives. All optical cartridges need to be used with an energizer; HR started his auditioning with the $1500 E1 energizer, then upped his game with the 003 energizer ($3500). With the E1, HR felt that the DS003 was quieter and more 3D-lucid than the DS-E1 cartridge with the same energizer. (MF reviewed the DS-E1 in Vol.44 No.2.) However, when HR connected the 003, he realized that the E1 sounded dry and slightly gray. HR concluded that the DS003 and the more expensive energizer “specialized in producing a vivid clarity framed in a beguiling chiaroscuro” coupled with “supersilky silences” and “taut, tuneful, textured bass.” (Vol.44 No.11 WWW)

DS AUDIO DS-E1 OPTICAL CARTRIDGE AND EQUALIZER: $2750

MF was not a fan of the original DS Audio optical cartridge, but he was impressed by this version. An elliptical stylus is attached to an aluminum cantilever, and the DS-E1 tracks between 1.6gm and 1.8gm. MF wrote that the earlier version’s “plasticky sound” was completely gone, and the low-frequency balance was “in the pocket”—not at all overemphasized. He added that even with its elliptical stylus, this optical cartridge was fast and remarkably transparent. The price includes the necessary equalizer module. (Vol.44 No.2 WWW)

DYLP AUDIO NATURE RUBY-1 MC FG II: $1200

The review sample of this MC cartridge comes fitted with a Swiss-made Gyger FG II elliptical stylus mounted on a ruby cantilever. MF found that the Ruby 1 MC tracked the Ortofon test record’s 70µm band without distortion, which he felt was acceptable trackability. He concluded that the combination of a stiff ruby cantilever, a Gyger stylus, and a wood body produced an attractive combination of warmth, detail, and speed. Images were nicely focused and the cartridge’s “satisfying attack and generous sustain and decay produced the kind of sonics that can keep you listening for hours.” (Vol.45 No.4 WWW).

DYNAVECTOR DV-20X2L: $1250 ★ $$$

HR’s search for a phono cartridge that would “dance on the roadhouse bar or burn rubber in the parking lot” led him to the Dynavector DV-20X2L, a low-output (0.3mV; a higher-output version, the DV-20X2H, is available), medium-high-compliance moving coil cartridge with a MicroRidge stylus. Says Herb, “I loved it right away—the DV-20X2L was everything the [Ortofon] 2M Black was not: fast, clear as water, and expressive.” His conclusion: “[I]t became my new budget reference phono cartridge.” Seven years later, HR returned to the DV-20X2, commenting that it plays the way he likes phono cartridges to play: “clear, fast, and insightfully. It’s got enough mojo-vivo to make high-energy recordings with sword-sharp transients sound gunshot explosive and utterly relaxed at the same time.” (Vol.39 No.6, Vol.46 No.3 WWW)

DYNAVECTOR XX-2 MKII: $2150

HR noted that at $2150, the XX-2 MKII low-output MC is probably the “sweet spot” in Dynavector’s cartridge lineup. It’s the lowest-priced Dynavector that uses a solid boron cantilever, tipped with a Pathfinder line-contact stylus. HR characterized Dynavector’s house sound as “Formula 1–fast with sticks-to-the-track handling, bright-eyed awake and superlucid, especially through the top octaves.” He wrote that the XX-2’s lively, easy-flowing free-spiritedness made him want to play records: “At the end of every side, I needed another.” Used with the Sutherland SUTZ headamp (with a shunt resistor load) and a Tavish Adagio phono preamp, HR’s perception that the XX-2 had a top-octaves emphasis was converted into a balanced, harmonically rich, quiet and smooth, 10-octave musical expanse: “Sparkle was retained, but glare was banished” (Vol.46 No.3 WWW)

EMT JSD 6: $3195

This low-output, aluminum-bodied MC cartridge uses a boron cantilever and a high-polish Super Fine Line (SFL) stylus. Weight is 10gm, compliance is a low12µm/mN, source impedance is 24 ohms, output voltage is 1.05mV at 5cm/s, and recommended tracking force is 2.4gm. HR used the JSD 6 in EMT’s 912-HI tonearm (see Tonearms) fitted to a Dr. Feickert Blackbird turntable (see Turntables) and noted a relaxed and naturally toned sound. “The more hours I put on it, the more it relaxed, opened up, and gained color,” he noted. HR concluded that “the EMT 912-HI arm and JSD 6 cartridge made every music genre seem like my latest favorite discovery, and that’s exactly the trait I’m looking for when auditioning source components.” (Vol.46 No.11 WWW) GOLDRING E3: $189 $$$

Goldring’s budget E series—“designed in the UK, made in Japan”—consists of three versions: the conical-tipped, carbon-cantilevered E1 ($100), the conical-tipped, aluminum-cantilevered E2 ($129), and the elliptical-tipped,

aluminum-cantilevered E3 ($169). When HR auditioned the E3, he commented that “It brought out every note with a precision I never imagined a moving magnet could muster.” He added that the E3 “played [music] with much of the realism and complexity it does with a Koetsu” and noted the cartridge’s superb PRaT (pace, rhythm, and timing). (Vol.44 No.1 WWW)

GOLDRING EROICA HX: $899

This high-output moving coil design weighs 5.5gm and uses a nude Gyger II stylus and 256 turns of fine enameled-copper wire wound over Goldring’s signature iron-cross armature. Comparing it with Grado’s Platinum3, HR noted how much brighter and more sharply focused the Eroica HX played, setting instruments farther back on the stage. He found the Goldring more detailed and sharply focused than the Ortofon 2M Black and concluded that the Eroica HX “generated its excitement via clarity, resolve, and balance.” (Vol.45 No.12 WWW)

GOLDRING ETHOS: $1599

See Herb Reichert’s Gramophone Dreams column in this issue. (Vol.47 No.4)

GRADO LABS PLATINUM3 LOW: $400 $$$

HR described this wood-bodied, low-compliance, moving iron cartridge, which weighs 9gm and is fitted with an elliptical stylus, as “a poor man’s Koetsu,” because it produces lush, spacious, color-saturated sound. Compared with Grado’s more expensive and controlled-sounding Aeon3, however, the Platinum3’s response sounded “slightly tipped up at the frequency extremes.” Even so, HR wrote that it reproduced opera and early classical music with “ease, elegance, and dramatic subtlety.” He concluded that “if your taste in music runs toward acoustic jazz, ambient, or classical, the Platinum3 could save you from spending $4000 on a fancypants MC. It’s that good.” (Vol.45 No.12 WWW)

GRADO LABS PLATINUM3 HIGH: $400 $$$

HR called the Grado Labs Platinum3 low-output moving iron cartridge—see above—“a poor man’s Koetsu” because it produced so much “lush, spacious, color-saturated sound,” and wondered if he’d lose any of that beauty or lushness using the 4mV high-output version. He found that he didn’t lose anything, and when he compared it with the Denon DL-103, he found the Grado the quieter, more transparent transducer. “The Platinum3 made all forms of orchestral music seem splendorous and showcased the 21st century virtues of remastered, reissued LPs,” he concluded. (Vol.46 No.9 WWW)

HANA EL MC: $475 $$$ ★

Commissioned by Sibatech Inc. and manufactured by Excel Sound, both of Japan, the Hana EL is a low-output (0.5mV) moving coil cartridge built with alnico magnets and fitted with an aluminum cantilever and elliptical stylus. (A higheroutput version, the Hana EH, is available for the same price but has not yet been tested.) Compliance is medium to medium-low—and thus well suited to the SME M2-9 tonearm used by HR, who declared that “the EL’s basic sonic character was highly musical and exceptionally nonmechanical.” He's still using it. (Vol.39 No.8 WWW)

HANA ML MC: $1200 $$$

Forget that the new Hana ML is the costliest Hana so far: This low-output (0.4mV) moving coil cartridge is nevertheless priced lower than the perfectionist-audio average. The Hana ML boasts a Delrin body topped with a brass cap, the latter with threaded inserts for the mounting bolts; an aluminum pipe cantilever; an alnico magnet; and a nude Microline stylus. Specs include a lowish compliance, a weight of 9.5gm, and an impedance of 8 ohms. HR heard from the ML a tendency to smooth out those natural textures that more expensive cartridges are paid to excavate, but it was also capable of letting music sound “brilliant and conspicuously in the room.” HR loved the Hana’s “beguiling, tubelike sound,” but he noted that it “could not out-rock or out-reggae the Zu/Denon [DL103].” His conclusion: “a stunning-sounding, artfully engineered phono invention that loves all music, and a fantastic bargain.” Part of KM's reviewing kit. (Vol.42 No.8 WWW) HANA SL: $750 $$$ ★

HR wrote about the Hana SL almost immediately after reviewing a slew of $5000+ cartridges and observed that switching to the $750 Hana “did not feel like a depressing step down.” At the business end of the Hana’s aluminum cantilever is a Shibata stylus—cause, HR says, for the user to give “more-than-usual care” to cartridge alignment and downforce and antiskating settings—and deep in the Hana SL’s plastic-bodied heart is an alnico magnet, to which Herb attributes the cartridge’s timbral realism and ability to make “singers and instruments sound denser and more real.” Pertinent specs include a low (0.5mV) output, a recommended downforce of 2gm, and a recommended load impedance of over 200 ohms. Like its stablemate, the Hana SL Mono, this moving coil cartridge impressed Herb with its “naturally supple viscosity and glowing vivid tone.” (Vol.41 No.10 WWW)

HANA SL MONO: $750 $$$ ★

Like the standard Hana SL, the Hana SL Mono is a low-output (0.5mV), highish-impedance (30 ohms) moving coil cartridge with an alnico magnet, an aluminum cantilever, and a nude Shibata stylus. That last bit surprised HR, most of whose favorite mono pickups have spherical styli—yet during an afternoon of playing 45s, he was won over by the SL Mono’s “unprecedented ability to hear everything that had never before been exposed by my spherical-tipped cartridges. Single after single, the Hana SL Mono made sound that was decidedly present, punchy, finely detailed, and liquid.” Unlike cartridges regarded by purists as true mono pickups—such as EMT’s discontinued OFD models–the Hana SL Mono does exhibit vertical compliance, and the output signal appears on both its pairs of output pins. (Vol.41 No.10 WWW) MIYAJIMA KOTETU MONO: $655

The Kotetu is a low-output moving coil cartridge with internal impedance of just 4 ohms. It’s a true, dedicated mono cartridge that’s impervious to the stylus’s vertical movement. MT found that this significantly reduced groove noise with his mono LPs; he was astonished by how quiet the surfaces sounded. He was also astonished by the Kotetu’s ability to play music with focus and clarity, concluding that “if you have a significant collection of mono records, this is something you need to check out.” (Vol.46 No.6 WWW) ORTOFON 2M BLACK LVB 250: $1099

Compared with the basic 2M Black, the LVB uses the lowmass boron cantilever/nude Shibata assembly found on Ortofon’s Cadenza Black. The new rubber suspension compound is based on a multiwall carbon nanotube nano filler compound for which Ortofon claims “desirable mechanical properties” as well as greater environmentally friendly production characteristics. Used with the SME Model 6 (see “Turntables”), the 2M Black LVB “sounded detailed, open, and extended on top,” wrote MF. (Vol.44 Nos.5 & 9 WWW) ORTOFON CADENZA BLACK: $3359

Playing a 1997 test pressing of Ahmad Jamal’s Alhambra, MF found that, with the Cadenza Black, SME’s Model 6 turntable “exploded to life.” It offered “drum slam, transparency, and bass finesse.” (Vol.44 No.5 WWW)

ORTOFON CADENZA BRONZE: $2689

This low-output moving coil is the second from the top in Ortofon’s Cadenza series. It features a stainless steel and aluminum body, an output of 0.4mV, and a lowish compliance of 12µm/mN. The tapered conical aluminum cantilever terminates in a nude Replicant stylus. AH was intrigued by the fact that the Bronze has a deliberately “flavored” tuning. According to Ortofon, the Bronze is claimed to offer “a touch of ‘romance and “warmth.” AH noted that the Cadenza Bronze’s “warm” tuning “proved admirably subtle, lending recordings body and presence while dialing down sizzle and hi-fi artifacts like ‘air.’” He was never aware of missing deleted highs or finding the bass overripe. To AH, the Ortofon simply sounded more natural than many moving coil cartridges and bested every cartridge he’d heard in one important respect: its ability to reject surface noise. (Vol.47 No.3 WWW)

PURE FIDELITY STRATOS: $1995

KM used this duralumin-bodied MC cartridge for his review of Pure Fidelity’s Harmony turntable—see “Turntables.” It looks like a rebranded Hana, but Pure Fidelity says that the Stratos is built to their specifications by Goldnote in Italy, using a cantilever and stylus sourced from a Japanese company. KM felt that the EMT TSD15 N cartridge provided more weight in bass lines than he heard with the Stratos, though the Stratos produced more thrills than the Luxman LMC-5 cartridge. (Vol.45 No.12 WWW)

SCULPTURE A.3L: $1955

Based on the venerable Denon DL-103 moving coil but “heavily modified,” this French cartridge features a body of vaporized and impregnated wood and a nude, line-contact III stylus attached to a boron cantilever. MF found that the Sculpture cartridge, used with the Sculpture A SUT (see “Phono Preamplifiers”), was “magic” on a Bill Henderson LP, commenting that with fairly dry, closely miked recordings with acoustic instruments, the listenability was off the charts. But he cautioned that with other kinds of recordings—hard rock and especially ambience-rich, distantly miked ones—the cartridge had a “wet kiss from your least favorite aunt” quality that, while still magically liquid, artifact-free, and you-are-there enticing, could swallow detail and transient information in a sea of warmth and atmosphere that was not, strictly speaking, on the record. HR agreed. (Vol.44 Nos.5 & 11 WWW)

SUMIKO SONGBIRD: $899, HIGH OR LOW OUTPUT With its aluminum cantilever and elliptical stylus, the highoutput Songbird moving magnet reminded HR of Sumiko’s famously high-value Blue Point that Stereophile favorably reviewed in 1993. “In lower-priced cartridges, I look for accurate tone and some type of natural vitality. Which is exactly what the mildly broken-in Songbird exhibited,” wrote HR, concluding that the Songbird, “with its sweet tone and subtle textures, is cut from the same sonic cloth as its Reference series sibling, the Starling.” (Vol.44 No.7 WWW) SUMIKO STARLING: $1799 (LOW OUTPUT)

Sumiko’s newest high-compliance (12 × 10–6 cm/dyne), lowoutput (0.5mV) moving coil is specified as having a 28 ohm internal impedance. It weighs 9.5gm and has a boron cantilever fitted with a MicroRidge stylus. Loaded at 200 ohms, the Starling’s sound was sweet and smooth. “Less obviously, it showed a quiet, grainless, highly spatial character that made it feel luxurious,” wrote HR, adding that “in my room, through my system, the Sumiko Starling played my records with a dark, nanodetailed refinement that elucidated whatever sophistications the recordings and the music had to offer.” (Vol.44 No.7 WWW)

SUMIKO WELLFLEET: $449

MF noted that this affordable MM cartridge’s most attractive qualities were “see-through transparency, transient clarity, and precision in the mid and upper frequencies” and found the sound “completely free of edgy artifacts, grain, and grit.” (Vol.45 No.8 WWW)

ZU/DENON DL-103 MK.II REV B: $791–$1319 ★

The Zu/DL-103 Mk.II cartridge replaced the original Zu Audio DL-103 (see Stereophile‘s October 2007 issue), itself the first modification of the classic Denon DL-103 to achieve widespread recognition and commercial success. For the Mk.II version, the basic formula remains—Zu strips away the Denon’s plastic housing and repackages its motor and output-pin block in a precision-machined aluminum body— but here the body has been reshaped to make better contact with the motor and better resist the buildup of sound-sullying resonances. Also new are an improved epoxy for holding the motor in place and a body shape that permits the use of the Denon cartridge’s original stylus guard. The Zu DL-103 Mk.II is available in three versions, the differences between them determined by the tolerances Zu observes while handselecting stock Denon cartridges: Grade 1 ($791), Grade 2 ($959), and Grade 2 Prime ($1319). AD, who regarded the original Zu Audio/Denon DL-103 as a giant-slayer of Homeric proportions, thought the Grade 2 Premium Zu DL-103 Mk.II went even further, offering fine musical timing and “an ocean of tone.” Compared with the original Mk.II, the Rev B generator was moved slightly farther forward in the body and a notch was added above the stylus position to make cueing easier. MT auditioned the Grade 2 Rev B, noting that with the cartridge mounted in the Korf tonearm (see Tonearms), “gone was the typical, slightly-soft-and-comforting Zu/DL-103 sound, replaced by something significantly more nimble and lighter on its feet.” (Vol.41 No.4 WWW, Vol.46 No.12 WWW)

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AUDIO-TECHNICA AT-VM95C, E, H, ML & SH: $39–$199 DEPENDING ON STYLUS $$$

A series of cartridges based on the no-longer-available Audio-Technica AT95E, the VMs all use the same body with a choice of interchangeable styli. Comparing the top model, the Shibata-tipped AT-VM95SH ($199), with his reference moving magnet, Ortofon’s 2M Black, HR felt the A-T had more push and bounce, keeping the beat and carrying the tune better than the Ortofon. Switching to the ellipticalstylus VM95E ($49), he wrote that “the sound had even more pulse, presence, and genuine reggae-music energy . ... It made the Shibata-tipped VM95 sound overly smooth and polite.” Changing to the conical-stylus AT-VM95C ($34), HR found that it sounded “cool, fast, and powerful but also detailed and invigorating.” He concluded that the cheapest A-T with its conical stylus was, music-pleasure–wise, the most satisfying cartridge of the family. (Vol.44 No.1 WWW) DENON DL-103: $349 $$$ ★

In production since 1962, the DL-103 is a resolutely oldfashioned cartridge with a two-piece plastic body. Its twopiece aluminum cantilever drives a cross-shaped armature wound with several turns of fine-gauge copper magnet wire. Its nude, square-shank diamond stylus is ground to a spherical tip. Though the Denon offered excellent bass depth and impact, with an overall exciting and “pleasantly forward” sound, its high-frequency response peak made bright recordings “a bit more forward than ideal.” Nonetheless, AD deemed it “a superb cartridge and a remarkable buy.” Compared to Denon’s DL-A100 100th Anniversary moving coil cartridge, AD’s old DL-103 was tubbier in the bass but just as dynamic and dramatic. Performance with the stock spherical stylus tip squeaks into low Class B, he adds, saying that, “apart from various Miyajimas and the always-recommendable Miyabi 47, it’s hard for me to think of another standard (non-pickup-head) type of cartridge that has this much impact and drama.” KM’s go-to cartridge. HR tried the DL-103 on Music Hall’s Stealth turntable, commenting that the DL-103 remains one of the most flat-out enjoyable-to-use cartridges he knows. It brings “vibrancy and spirited dynamics to every type of recording.” Borderline Class B. (Vol.3 No.9, Vol.30 Nos.10 & 12, Vol.34 No.12, Vol.39 No.9, Vol.45 No.10 WWW)

DYLP AUDIO WINDBELL MC100 MKII: $350

“Out of the box,” MF wrote, “this modestly priced cartridge, which outputs 0.3mV and tracks at 1.8gm, sounded lively and kept a firm, exciting grip on the music’s rhythmic thrust.” He concluded that “Even though it’s an MC, the sound reminded me of what MM lovers love and claim MCs don’t provide: linearity.” (Vol.45 No.4 WWW)

DYLP AUDIO WINDBELL MC100 MONO: $325

MF described this true mono cartridge, fitted with a spherical stylus, as the “home run” of the three DYLP cartridges he reviewed: “The MC100 Mono doesn’t come close to my mono reference $3475 Miyajima Labs Infinity’s nuanced sustain and generous decay, or to Ortofon’s $1379 Cadenza mono, but for $325 you can explore the joys of mono without breaking the bank.” (Vol.45 No.4 WWW)

LP GEAR CARBON FIDELITY CF3600LE: $49.98 $$$ Based on Audio-Technica’s universally heralded AT3600, the CF3600LE replaces the AT3600’s aluminum cantilever and conical diamond stylus with a carbon-fiber cantilever and an elliptical stylus and. HR found that this moving magnet initially failed to satisfy—but after 12 hours of continuous play, the CF3600LE sounded quiet, lushly detailed, and engaging, especially on female vocals. (Vol.44 No.1 WWW) ORTOFON 2M BLACK: $695 ★

Partnered with the budget-priced Audio-Technica AT-PEQ3 phono preamp, the “ridiculously good” Ortofon 2M Black produced a bright, open sound with “surprising heft and slam.” Because its Shibata stylus is sensitive to rake angle, the 2M Black should be used only with tonearms that permit adjustment of VTA and SRA, Mikey advised. HR used the Black on the Music Hall Stealth turntable, writing that compared with the Ortofon 2M Blue, “tone quality, and the illusion of force and forward momentum, were enhanced to a degree that made me think I could live happily forever with this setup.” (Vol.32 No.12, Vol.45 Nos.10, 11 & 12 WWW) ORTOFON 2M BLUE: $239 $$$ ★

Affordable moving magnet cartridge with user-replaceable elliptical diamond stylus. With the Blue mounted in a Music Hall Ikura turntable and arm, BJR found that “the transients and bloom of the string quartet were reproduced with no trace of coloration or smear. Superb transient articulation and dynamics. Competes with cartridges at double its price. Also an excellent match for both the Music Hall Ikura and VPI Nomad turntables.” HR auditioned the Blue on Music Hall’s Stealth turntable and noted that the 2M Blue was more passive than propulsive-sounding. “Its best trait was how it emphasized fine textures and the atmospheric aspects of recordings,” he concluded. (Vol.37 No.12, Vol.45 No.10 WWW)

D DELETIONS

Fuuga, Grado Epoch3, Lyra Atlas λ Lambda SL, Ortofon 2M Red, Ortofon MC A Mono, Tzar DST, Tzar DST (wood-bodied), not reviewed in a long time.

PHONO PREAMPS/MOVING COIL STEP-UP DEVICES A+

BOULDER AMPLIFIERS 2108: $62,000

When he reviewed Boulder’s flagship 2008 phono preamplifier in 2002, MF concluded that “it’s hard to believe that, for some time to come, any [phono preamp] will equal or surpass the monumental performance of Boulder’s 2008.”

Almost two decades later, the new two-box flagship replaces the 2008’s three power supplies with four: left, right, logic, and an independent standby supply. The through-hole components and boards have been replaced by surface-mount equivalents, and the circuitry features proprietary, housemade, “phono-specific,” 993S and 995S discretely implemented “op-amp” modules. There are now three equalization choices, as well as switchable high-pass filters at 10Hz and 20Hz. Gain is adjustable. With the MC input, the default loading impedance is 100 ohms, though resistors can be added to provide impedances from 50 ohms to 1000 ohms in 25 ohm increments. When set to MC, the third input offers a 1k ohm impedance. The MM input’s loading is also adjusted with resistors, from 1k ohm to 10k ohms, while the third input set to MM offers the usual 47k ohms. And the sound? “The 2108 produces both a sense of soaring exultation in the upper registers and gritty drama in the lowest one,” enthused MF, adding “Boulder detractors who think their products are too analytical, sounding dry and bleached, ought to give the 2108 a listen.” He concluded that the 2108 “is very musical, plus, like the original 2008, it is granite-like in the best possible sense.” JA was equally enthusiastic about the 2108’s measured performance: “the performance of the Boulder 2108 on the test bench reveals it to be an extraordinarily wellengineered (though expensive) phono preamplifier.” (Vol.43 Nos.8 & 10 WWW)

CH PRECISION P1 PHONO STAGE: $31,000–$90,850 Built with a sleek aluminum-alloy case with no screws visible on any of its surfaces, the Swiss-made CH Precision P1 is no less sophisticated inside. This solid state phono preamplifier offers multiple inputs, two of which address current-amplification circuits—an approach that, according to MF, produces “the best signal/noise ratios” and does not require cartridge loading to achieve flat response. For use with its voltage-amplification inputs, the P1 offers a menudriven “wizard” that analyzes the entire record-playing system and calculates and applies the optimal load. Beyond that, as MF points out, the user can manually test the P1’s entire loading range of 20 ohms to 100k ohms, selectable in 500 steps: “load fetishists, knock yourselves out!” Used with its optional X1 outboard power supply ($17,000), the P1 provided Mikey with tonal neutrality and an ultralow noisefloor: “Some products have me up all night, pulling out record after record; some don’t. The P1 did, and gave me an exciting and fully pleasurable sonic ride every time.” In the June 2017 Stereophile, MF refocused his attention on the X1 power supply, observing that, “with the X1 off, the P1’s image solidity and pile-driver–like rhythmic certainty … were somewhat diminished”—and noted that he’d purchased the CH Precision combo for his own enjoyment. In August 2018, MF wrote about his experiences with a double P1/X1 combo—something that seems to have been done by more than one hobbyist of immodest means. Thus connected, these four high-tech boxes know what has happened and behave accordingly—but while “the four-box version was even more dynamic” and possessed of “a more relaxed and supple midrange,” Mikey could not countenance a $96,000 phono preamp. In his July 2023 report, MT discussed his auditioning of the two-box P1/X1 combo, especially using its current-mode input. While noting that the P1 is supremely quiet with both current- and voltage-mode inputs, he wrote that the P1’s characteristic quality “was its uncanny ability to unravel densely packed music and present it with utter clarity.” It offers “resolution and transparency that belies its apparent complexity,” he concluded, though he warned that “it doesn’t offer a rose-tinted view of your record collection.” (Vol.40 Nos.4 & 6, Vol.41 No.8, Vol.46 No.7 WWW) CHANNEL D LINO C 3.3: $3799, BASIC MODEL; $7082 AS REVIEWED

This battery-powered, direct-coupled, wide-bandwidth, balanced, transimpedance phono preamplifier keeps the basic circuitry of the Lino 2.0 that was reviewed in Vol.42 No.6 but adds a high/low cartridge impedance damping switch that allows the use of cartridges with internal impedances up to 40 ohms even in current mode, as well as an impedance reduction by a factor of 3 of the RIAA network’s passive section. The “fully loaded” review sample was fitted with ultrahigh-precision RIAA certification, front-panel LED indicators, and a remote control. It also had the optional balanced or unbalanced moving magnet input and an optional voltage-based moving coil input, both with variable gain. As with the 2.0, if your tonearm cable isn't terminated with XLRs, you'll need RCA-to-XLR adapters—and pin 1 must not be internally connected to either pin 2 or 3. MF loved the sound of the Lino C 3.3, writing that it offered “ultratransparency; jet-black backgrounds; deep, tightly gripped, powerful bass; airy, fully extended highs free of etch, grain, or hardness.” He found the soundstage expansive with solid, 3D imaging and the sound was fast, responsive, effortless. “Macro- and microdynamics were impressive, producing forceful macro slam and subtle micro shifts when on the record,” he noted. JA was equally impressed with the 3.3’s measured performance, finding that it featured astonishingly accurate RIAA correction, extremely low noise, high overload margins, and vanishingly low distortion. “Channel D’s Lino C 3.3 is the best-measuring phono preamplifier I have encountered,” he concluded, adding “Wow!” (Vol.45 Nos.6 & 7 WWW)

MANLEY LABORATORIES STEELHEAD RC SPECIAL EDITION MK II: $10,899

The RC Special Edition Mk II is the result of a collaboration between Manley and Los Angeles–area audio retailer, tube dealer, and importer Upscale Audio. It differs from the original Steelhead, reviewed by PB and MF in 2001 and 2003, by offering different loading settings for the autoformer that also serves as the MC step-up, and two cryogenically treated 6922 tubes. The review sample substituted Tungsram PCC88s. (The other tubes are four American-made military-spec 7044 dual triodes.) It still has two inputs for MC cartridges, one input for MM cartridges, a volume control, a remote control, a tape loop, an outboard power supply, and buttons for muting, lowering the volume by 20dB, activating a line-level input, summing the channels for mono playback, and entering standby mode. Listening at length to a John Prine LP, AH wrote: “The Manley rendered the band in holographic high relief; Mike Leech’s electric bass sounded more thunderous and better defined than I’d heard it. Every wisp of reverb around Bobby Emmons’s organ became obvious. The tone colors of the band bloomed like wildflowers in an Appalachian meadow. But what captivated me most was how relentlessly the Manley zeroed in on the flow and emotional meaning of Prine’s songs.” He decided that the Manley phono stage “sounded more detailed, refined, and coherent than most of the step-up transformers I’ve heard, and more colorful, textured, and vivid than most of the solid state preamps.” (Vol.46 No.1 WWW)

A

AUDIO RESEARCH REFERENCE PHONO 3SE: $24,500 This revised version of the original Phono 3 features new internal components and a wiring change but still incorporates a FET input stage, six 6H30 tubes, and a hybrid tube/ solid state power supply. MF found that the original preamp, reviewed in January 2017, sounded slightly “bloomy and generous in the lower midrange/upper bass”; that coloration was eliminated from the 3SE, which produced a faster, cleaner, more transparent sound with greater midbass control. “For owners of the original 3, the $3000 upgrade is well worth doing,” he concluded. (Vol.44 No.2 WWW)

CHANNEL D SETA MODEL L: $5899 ★

Designed to take full advantage of the Pure Vinyl app’s digital RIAA correction, the beautifully built Seta Model L includes balanced and single-ended inputs, balanced unequalized outputs, variable gain, and a built-in, rechargeable battery power supply. Recordings made using the Seta Model L’s optional RIAA-equalized outputs were “models of clarity, definition, tonal accuracy, detail resolution, and spatial coherence,” wrote MF. “There is no doubt that the Seta Model L has been superbly engineered,” praised JA. Compared to the Liberty B2B-1, the Seta Model L lacked some midbass energy but did a better job of preserving recorded ambience, said JA, who also admired the Channel D’s superb measured performance. He subsequently purchased the review sample. An optional internal RIAA compensation module adds $1199. (Vol.33 No.8, Vol.36 No.12, Vol.43 No.11 WWW)

DSA PHONO III: $19,000

This incredibly versatile, remote-controlled, “Lab Grade,” solid state phono preamplifier impressed MF. EQ curves include, in addition to standard RIAA, pre-RIAA curves for Columbia and Decca/ffrr, including for 78s, all realized with passive, low-pass networks. The Phono II is supplied with four patent-pending “Critical Mass” isolation feet and titanium threaded adapters that screw into the chassis underside. The rear panel has three pairs of inputs with a choice of single-ended RCA and balanced XLR inputs and one set of outputs via single-ended and balanced connectors. There’s a rumble filter, a polarity inversion switch, variable loading, and gain can be set to 40dB, 46dB, 50dB, 56dB, 60dB, and 66dB. “If you are looking for a phono preamp with a timbral ‘personality,’ the Phono III might not be for you. It hasn’t got one, not that I could identify,” wrote MF. “But if you want a phono preamp that gets out of the way and lets your cartridge or cartridges express their timbral personalities, … the Phono III could be for you,” he summed up. (Vol.44 No.7 WWW)

EAR PHONO CLASSIC: $1695–$2395

Rating is for the MM section; rating including the internal SUT, for use with MC cartridges, is Class B. The biggest change over the late Tim de Paravicini’s EAR 834P preamplifier is the switch from 12AX7s to tubes with a slightly higher operating voltage, of which there is a more dependable supply. Available in three versions: MM-only for $1695; MM and MC with step-up transformers for $1895; and an MM/MC version with a heavy chrome front panel for $2395. HR reviewed the fully loaded version. He found the MC input “clear, easy on the ear, and cinematically detailed,” but compared with expensive SUTs, “kind of thin, flat, and low in contrast.” Feeding the EAR’s MM input with the Bob’s Devices Sky 20 SUT, HR heard that the bass was deeper and tighter, the midrange glowed, and the treble seemed extended. Overall, it took less than one side of one LP for HR to recognize the “fundamental truthiness” of the EAR’s way with records. Highly recommended for the MM section. (Vol.45 No.3 WWW)

EMIA PHONO STEP-UP TRANSFORMER, WITH COPPER WIRE: $3375 WITH COPPER WIRE, $6000 WITH SILVER WIRE ★

Dave Slagle, whose radically rebuilt Quad ESL loudspeakers have astounded more than a few listeners, winds his own step-up transformers and sells them under the brand name EMIA—a collaborative design and manufacturing effort with Jeffrey Jackson, who specializes in tube amplification and horn loudspeakers. The EMIA Phono transformer, which is housed in a steel box with solid walnut top and bottom plates, is unpotted and has a fairly large core with 80% nickel content. In addition to one pair each of RCA input and output jacks—multiple primary coils aren’t available— the EMIA Phono has a third pair of jacks, wired in parallel with the primary and intended for use with resistive plugs (supplied), for cartridges that might need such things. The EMIA is available with copper or silver windings; AD spent some quality time with a copper-wire version wound with a 15:1 ratio, for use with his EMT TSD 15 and Denon DL-103 cartridges. He described the EMIA as offering “an immense sense of drive” with his EMT, as well as “texture and tone in spades. In buckets. In tanker holds.” All in all, AD found the EMIA to sound “clean, clear, rich, detailed, and, above all, musically exciting—all for approximately half the price of the deservedly well-regarded Hommage T2,” the latter transformer being his longtime reference. HR found that the EMIA sounded delicious and played “butter-smooth” with his Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum. Although AH was not a fan of silver conductors, he found that the silver-wired EMIA sounded nothing like the silver wire he remembered. It provided “an addictively smooth, highly resolving facsimile of my music. While it wasn’t quite as punchy as the Auditorium 23, it produced a little more detail and a lot more space as well as deeper, more precise bass.” (Vol.40 No.8, Vol.44 No.11, Vol.45 No.11 WWW)

EMT 128: $12,830

The front panel of this slim, well-finished preamp features four toggle switches, one each for Off/On, Mono/Stereo, DIN 78/RIAA EQ, and Mute/Sound. The rear panel features

one pair each of single-ended (RCA) inputs and balanced (XLR) outputs, and the circuit uses NOS 5784WB tubes. Lundahl transformers are used for both inputs and outputs. Using EMT’s high-output JSD Novel Titan MC cartridge and the low-output Miyajima Labs Madake Snakewood MC cartridge, MF wrote that the 128 “produced that magic ether that only the best tube-based phono preamps produce, and it resolved and unraveled small details in the upper frequencies of many familiar recordings. Ether, yes, but without lower-midband timbral bloat or thickness, without midrange excess but with mesmerizing transparency and delicacy.” On the test bench, the EMT 128 offered superbly flat RIAA correction from 30Hz to 10kHz, primarily secondharmonic distortion, very good channel separation, and low noise. However, the overload margins were on the low side, which means it will work best set to its lower gain and with low-output MC cartridges like Ortofon’s Verismo rather than the high-output Novel Titan; low overhead margins lower rating from A+ to A. (Vol.45 No.5 WWW)

GOLD NOTE PH-1000: $11,999 AS REVIEWED

The programmable PH-1000 is “by a considerable margin the most sophisticated, most configurable phono preamplifier that any audio manufacturer has ever produced,” wrote MF, or at least that he’s aware of. It offers two single-ended (RCA) inputs and one balanced (XLR) input. It can also be fitted with two line inputs. Each phono input can be set to MC or MM, with gain adjustable from –9dB to +9dB in 3dB steps relative to the default 0dB setting. There are multiple choices for input impedance and adjustable input capacitance for both MC and MM modes. As well as RIAA deemphasis, there are 18 alternate EQ settings. As well as fixed output in Stage mode, a Preamplifier mode allows volume to be controlled. JA commented that “RIAA correction was superbly accurate,” adding that both distortion and noise were very low in level. He also noted that while the overload margin at the top of the audioband was relatively low, “this can be increased by increasing the phono stage’s gain without incurring any significant noise penalty.” MF described the Gold Note’s sound as “smooth, silky, sophisticated.” Though he found low frequencies somewhat polite, overall, he concluded that the PH-1000 “was quiet and both micro- and macrodynamically accomplished. Its transparency, clarity, and freedom from congestion in the midrange were notable.” (Vol.45 No.3 WWW)

KOETSU SUT: $4995

This transformer uses a shielded and vibration-isolated transformer with a permalloy core, offers 26dB gain, a 20Hz–50kHz (±3dB) bandwidth, and is intended to be used, naturally enough, with Koetsu phono cartridges. HR tried it with Koetsu’s Rosewood Signature Platinum and played the MoFi reissue of Miles Davis’s In a Silent Way—“The reverb was dramatically more intense. I repeat, dramatically more intense, with more force behind it than I normally experience,” he wrote. (Vol.44 No.11 WWW)

LEJONKLOU ENTITY: $2795

This utilitarian-looking, solid state MC-only design from Sweden uses transistors, wire, solder—even the washers used in the component’s casework—that have all been obsessively selected by designer Fredrik Lejonklou after hundreds of comparative listening tests. Out of the box, the Entity sounded bleached, felt AH, but after about 50 hours of use, the preamp “began to sing with its authentic voice,” sounding neutral, extended, transparent, fast, and resolving. AH found that the Entity was at its best with unbalanced Linn Silver interconnects ($452/1.2m pair), when it sounded more refined, dimensional, controlled, and tonally richer. In the test lab, the Lejonklou’s RIAA correction featured a very slight plateau in the midrange, coupled with excellent channel separation, low noise, and very low distortion. Overload margins were very good in the bass and midrange but less so at the top of the audioband, meaning that the Entity will be best used with lowoutput moving coil cartridges. (Vol.45 No.7 WWW) LUMINOUS AUDIO TECHNOLOGY ARION MK.II: $8000 The Arion Mk.II is identical to the original version of this phono preamp (reviewed by MF for AnalogPlanet.com) except that it eliminates the MM input and features highervoltage–rated dual-toroidal transformers and an upgraded MC input stage. MF echoed the manufacturer’s claims, writing that the Arion exhibited “a sense of purity and low-level detail resolution that [was] highly dynamic and musically involving.” With the Audio Relax EX1000 cartridge mounted on the Schröder arm on the OMA K3 turntable, feeding the Arion Mk.II loaded at 100 ohms, the combination produced a dazzling presentation; MF said it was “among the most enticing vinyl-playback combos I’ve yet heard.” He’s heard a lot. (Vol.44 No.12 WWW)

LUXMAN EQ-500: $6695 ★

Before he’d played a single note through the EQ-500—even before he’d plugged it into a wall outlet—this phono preamp had impressed AD by offering virtually every feature he’d ever wanted from such a product, and at least one he’d never imagined: adjustable gain, adjustable resistive loading, adjustable capacitive loading, switchable scratch filters and rumble filters, a mono switch, a phase switch, a very unexpected built-in cartridge demagnetizer . . . everything except a video camera for backing it out of the driveway. Best of all, the EQ-500, which uses a mix of ECC82 and ECC83 smallsignal tubes plus an EZ81 rectifier tube, sounded wonderful to AD, who observed that “the textures of the close-miked violin, cellos, and double bass in [the Electric Light Orchestra’s] “Queen of the Hours” were almost overwhelming—a very pleasant overdose.” Art’s conclusion: “If your budget can stretch this far, the Luxman EQ-500 is a must-hear.” KM liked it, too: It's part of his standard reviewing kit. (Vol.39 No.5 WWW)

MOBILE FIDELITY ELECTRONICS MASTERPHONO: $5998

The solid state MasterPhono’s front panel is dominated by a pair of VU meters, flanked by two knobs. One knob selects Gain: 40dB, 50dB, 60dB, or 70dB. The second knob chooses one of 10 MC cartridge loads: 15, 30, 50, 75, 100, 500, 1k, 10k, 47k ohm, or “OPT,” which allows the use of custom load values made via resistor-equipped RCA plugins. There is also a high-pass/subsonic filter button, a mono button, a knob for dimming the meter display, and a remote control. Hold the Meter button down for a few seconds, and MasterPhono offers two test modes that allow the meters to be calibrated and the cartridge’s azimuth setting to be optimized for maximum channel separation. There are three pairs of inputs: regular single-ended RCA; balanced XLR; and a current-drive input that gives users a choice of either single-ended or balanced connection. Like the tubed PrimaLuna EVO 100, HR found that it took three full days for the MasterPhono to lose the gray flatness it showed out of the box. It then never sounded “transistory" (hard, shallow, gray), instead walking a narrow line between hard and soft, dry and wet, warm and cool—leaning maybe 10% towards wet and warm on the most atmospheric recordings. “It did not attenuate reverberation or diminish atmosphere,” wrote HR, who never consciously wished for tube treats he wasn’t getting. Using a Dynavector XX2 moving coil, HR found the current-drive input eliminated a faint haze that he had noticed in the top octaves in voltage mode. “What was preserved, and perhaps even enhanced,” he decided, “was the XX2’s dynamics.” (Vol.47 No.1 WWW)

MOLA MOLA LUPE: $9850

This versatile solid state preamp has three pairs of inputs using single-ended RCA jacks and one with balanced XLRs, each with its own grounding post. There are single-ended and balanced outputs, which may be selected individually or together, and two entirely separate phono sections for MC and MM cartridges. Four front-panel buttons allow users to set each input, adjusting gain, input impedance, polarity, subsonic filter, stereo/mono, and equalization. For the last, the Lupe offers 72 permutations of its three basic EQ variables: bass turnover, rolloff, and low shelf. A downloadable app, Mola Mola Control, available for both iOS and Android, talks directly to the Lupe over Bluetooth, and provides access to all the preamp’s many adjustments. MT was concerned that all these bells and whistles might distract people from the Lupe’s main plus point: its extraordinary performance and its ability to breathe fresh life into pretty much every record he played through it. “This is not a warm, fuzzysounding phono stage,” he wrote, “but it is exceptional in its ability to take all the information a cartridge throws at it and sort it into a sound that’s coherent and detailed, and it never sounds bright or hard.” (Vol.47 No.3 WWW)

NOBALA STEP-UP TRANSFORMER: $8495

This violet anodized-aluminum SUT from Japanese company Murasakino is intended for use with MC cartridges with impedances of 5 ohms or lower. AH found that to be the case and noted that the Nobala reproduced more of his music than any other SUT, and possibly any phono device, he’d heard. “It simply let through more of everything: detail, texture, dynamics, even groove noise,” he wrote, though he commented that it didn’t sound quite as colorful as the Auditorium 23 or the EMIA. (Vol.45 No.11 WWW)

PARASOUND HALO JC 3+: $2499 $$$ ★

The Halo JC 3 is a true dual-mono design with a large R-core transformer power supply. Construction quality is first rate, top-shelf parts are used throughout, and the stout, heavy case is beautifully finished. Designer John Curl favored purity over adjustability, offering minimal loading options: 100 ohms or 47k ohms for moving coil cartridges and 47k ohms for moving magnet cartridges. Its fully direct-coupled RIAA equalization circuit is based on the circuit used in Curl’s famed Vendetta Research SCP-2, while the JC 3’s output stage is a true dual-differential, balanced design. In addition, the JC 3 has a built-in AC line conditioner, and its power supplies are modeled after those found in the extremely quiet Halo JC 2 line stage. Though it lacked the dynamics and transparency of either Pass Labs’ XP-25 or Ypsilon’s VPS100, the JC 3 combined superb musical grip and control with a timbrally and texturally ideal midrange. “The JC 3 represents the best current value in a phono preamp that I know of,” said MF. Though it also lacked the Sutherland 20/20’s tonal richness and punchy sense of pace and drive, the Halo JC 3 produced a detail-rich sound with tight, extended lows, a clean midrange, and carefully drawn images on a huge, open soundstage. “If your tastes run to purity, clarity, neutrality, and detail, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better phono stage for anywhere near $2350,” concluded BD, who recommended a Class A rating. The JC 3 sounded remarkably similar to BJR’s reference, the Vendetta SCP-2, but lacked some high-frequency purity and ambience recovery. JA noted superb measured performance. Of the Halo JC 3+, which adds variable cartridge loading for the MC input, HR wrote: “The John Curl–designed Halo JC 3+ is the best commercially available phono preamplifier I’ve used—period.” (Vol.34 Nos. 3 & 10, Vol.35 No.2, Vol.39 No.6 WWW) PRIMALUNA EVO 100: $3695

The EVO 100 features dual-mono 5AR4 tube rectification; dual-mono choke-input EL34-regulated power supplies; two 12AX7 twin triodes per channel for the RIAA stage; and one 6922 twin triode per channel for its moving coil input stage, which sits in its own shielded, cushioned box. The gain choices are 40dB for MM, 52, 56, and 60dB for MC, and there are five MC loading choices—50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 ohms. PrimaLuna distributor Kevin Deal warns that the EVO needs three days powered on to sound its best, following which HR commented that the PrimaLuna “completely eliminated the EMT JSD 6’s tendency to sound tight and analytical, giving me instead a cartridge–phono stage combination that was both lush and heart-pounding fun.” HR subsequently compared the EVO 100 with the MoFi MasterPhono, noting that with the PrimaLuna, he preferred the Denon DL-103 with a very heavy, 50 ohm load rather than the much higher impedances he liked with the MasterPhono. When AH auditioned the EVO 100, he found that it was the quietest one he’d heard, “ever.” Following 100 hours of warm-up, AH wrote that the music “pulsed and shimmered on a huge soundstage and had a liquid, luminous character I associate with great tube circuits.” He then replaced one pair of the 12AX7s with early-1960s RCAs and the stock 6922s with Amperex Bugle Boys. “While this substitution made the EVO 100 slightly noisier,” he wrote, “it also got rid of the glassiness and, tonally speaking, thickened the sauce.” (Vol.46 No.12, Vol.47 No.1 WWW)

PRO-JECT PHONO BOX RS2: $1999 IN BLACK OR SILVER $$$

The full-featured, fully balanced, dual-mono RS2 has unbalanced (RCA) and balanced (XLR) inputs and outputs.

Gain ranges from 40dB to 70dB in eight steps, four each for MM and MC. Resistive loading for MC cartridges is continuously variable from 10 to 1000 ohms, plus 47k ohms and variable capacitive loading for MM cartridges. There’s also a switchable rumble filter, RIAA and Decca/ffrr equalization, and a balance control. JMu auditioned the RS2 both with its standard switch-mode supply and with the optional Power Box RS Uni 4-Way linear power supply ($799). Her first impressions with the standard supply and a Clearaudio Talisman V2 MC were that the RS2 seemed neutral to slightly cool, detailed, and lively: “It sounded clean, almost pristine, on the lighter side in terms of body and heft.” With her MoFi UltraTracker MM, the sound was more midrangefocused, with good detail and musicality. Experimenting with resistive loading in MC mode, JMu found that with the optimal loading “the degree of detail seemed to increase, as did realism and clarity. The musicians’ placement seemed to grow more spacious and specific.” JMu felt that with the RS Uni supply, backgrounds became more silent and sustains and decays seemed to linger longer. Writing from his test lab, JA was impressed by the superbly accurate RIAA deemphasis, the extremely low distortion and noise, and the high overload margins. Peculiarly, he found that the RS2’s superb measured performance with the linear Power Box became even better when he substituted the standard switch-mode supply. Tom Fine echoed JMu’s recommendation and commented on how useful he found the RS2’s output-balance control and the options for adjusting capacitive and resistive loading. He concluded that while this preamp is the opposite of set-it-and-forget-it, “if you have a few cartridges in rotation and you want to spend some time dialing in a favorite sound profile, it’s a great option.” (Vol.44 No.9, Vol.45 No.3 WWW)

SUNVALLEY AUDIO SV-EQ1616D: $995

(KIT, WITHOUT TUBES), $1585 (ASSEMBLED WITHOUT TUBES)

Sunvalley’s SV-EQ1616D’s phono equalizer is available as a kit or fully assembled. It uses 12AX7 and 12AU7 tubes for MM gain with a FET-based input stage for MC cartridges. There is a choice of two filters for 78rpm enthusiasts, tailored to match either European or American standard preemphasis, as well as selectable EQ for pre-1956 microgroove pressings from Columbia (NAB) or Philips, Capital, etc. (AES). It also offers a high-frequency boost-or-cut adjustment, and the two pairs of outputs can be switched from stereo to mono. HR found that with his Hana, Koetsu, and My Sonic Lab moving coil cartridges, used with auxiliary step-up devices, the SV-EQ1616D “generated the most vivid and nuanced analog sound” he’d heard in his bunker. Trying the Koetsu into the Sunvalley’s MC input, HR was impressed by the preamplifier’s “ability to boogie [and] recover substantial 3D spaces” without shaming this venerable, much more expensive cartridge. (Vol.43 No.11 WWW)

SUTHERLAND ENGINEERING LITTLE LOCO MK2: $3800 ★

Although phono preamps that work on the current-amplification (as opposed to voltage-amplification) principle still account for a small minority of the market, that technology took a step forward in 2019 with the Sutherland Engineering Little Loco, itself a less expensive version of the company’s recent Phono Loco. The Little Loco, a solid state phono pre with 46dB of gain, is designed for moving coil cartridges only, and even then not every make or model of cartridge will lock in with it. But at its best in Brian Damkroger’s system, the “trivially easy to use” Little Loco provided “a completely new amount and level of detail,” and on the test bench it coaxed JA into declaring, “This is a very linear circuit.” Keep in mind that, as with all other current-amplification phono preamps, only cartridges with very low internal impedance are suitable, and one’s phono cable must be ungrounded and fitted with XLR plugs or adapters. The Mk.2 Little Loco, which HR reviewed in January 2022, has single-ended inputs—he found that with the <1 ohm Ultra Eminent Ex the Mk.2 made “the Ex’s quiet spaces quieter, its deep spaces deeper and easier to see into,” adding that the Ex–Loco combo emphasized the physical character of instruments, the materiality of wood and metal. “Rich inner details, like the tautness of drum-head skins or the decay of cymbals, are not submerged in the larger mass of orchestra and hall sounds.” (Vol.42 No.10, Vol.45 No.1 WWW)

SUTHERLAND ENGINEERING PHONO LOCO: $8200 ★ The imperative “use as directed” no longer applies solely to big pharma: In recent years it has become key to the enjoyment of that newest hi-fi category, the current-amplification phono preamp, which shines with moving coil cartridges of very low internal impedance yet fails with all others. So it is with the Phono Loco, the dearer of two current-amplification models from Sutherland Engineering. Like the more affordable Sutherland Little Loco ($3800), the Phono Loco offers user-adjustable gain; the more expensive model differs in its use of higher-quality parts and a more robust power supply. The Phono Loco rewarded MF with “finely focused, ... solidly three-dimensional images” and a good sense of immediacy. Timbral performance was “overall on the warm side,” although MF described note sustains as “stingy,” resulting in “a dry quality.” JCA also spent time with the Phono Loco, echoing MF’s thoughts on its “extremely quiet” performance and enjoyably “corporeal” images. (Vol.42 No.12, Vol.43 No.2 WWW) SUTHERLAND ENGINEERING SUTZ: $3800

The SUTZ looks exactly the same, inside and out, as Sutherland’s Little Loco. Inside, it sports the same three jumper-activated gain settings (to be upgraded in production to five). The SUTZ, though, lacks RIAA correction, instead using a transimpedance circuit with solid state devices to convert an MC’s output current to a sufficiently high voltage to feed a conventional phono preamp’s MM input. HR decided that the Sutherland’s current-drive input was passing on more information from Dynavector’s XX-2 MKII MC, with less noise and IM distortion, than other phono preamps. Using the SUTZ to feed a Tavish Adagio phono equalizer, he concluded

that Ron Sutherland’s headamp “let me add my own choice of tube glories to the quiet steadiness of virtual short loading.” (Vol.46 No.3 WWW)

SW1X LPU I SPECIAL SPX: $4375 AS REVIEWED

MF was impressed by this sweet-sounding, handmadein-England, vacuum tube–based moving magnet phono preamplifier. RIAA EQ is passive, an EF86 pentode tube is used for each channel’s input stage, a 6N6P dual triode for the output stage, and there’s no overall loop negative feedback. Basic price is $3150—the review sample featured 5Y3 rectification, Audio Note copper-foil-in-oil caps, M6 EI grain-oriented–core power transformers, and a chokefiltered power supply. MF summed up the LPU I by writing that it is “a high-value, smartly designed, classic, ‘purist,’ vacuum tube–based MM phono preamp that achieves all of the positive things such circuits can offer—especially timbral and textural generosity and transient delicacy—at a very reasonable price, while avoiding pitfalls such as noise, limited bandwidth, soggy bass, and constricted dynamic range; … great for jazz, classical, and acoustic music.” (Vol.44 No.6 WWW)

SW1X LPU III SPECIAL: $11,775

A MM preamp with an input pair of EF86 pentodes that drives an active RIAA equalization network. The output stage consists of a pair of triode-connected, choke-loaded 6S45P triodes. The balanced output is achieved with a transformer. (There are also single-ended outputs.) MF commented on the LPU III’s “airy and convincing spatial staging” that was matched by its delivery of well-saturated, natural instrumental timbres with rhythm’n’pacing and “punch” to spare. He concluded that while the SW1X LPU III is easy to recommend for classical and acoustic jazz, “rockers in need of full electric bass extension and transient grip should look elsewhere.” (Vol.45 No.8 WWW)

TRON ELECTRIC CONVERGENCE SIGNATURE: $4000 AH auditioned the moving coil version of this bare-bones preamp, which has single-ended inputs and outputs, a ground-lift switch, and 68dB of gain. Inside, a pair of potted step-up transformers precede three Russian tubes—a pair of 12AX7s and a 12AU7. “This British phono stage sounds clear, fast, and articulate,” he wrote, “never losing track of the music’s heartbeat.” “Fortunately,” he added “this burnished, rich sound doesn’t include bloated bass, slow transients, or the other sonically gooey artifacts associated with some vintage-style tube circuits.” Compared with the Manley Steelhead RC, the Tron produced richer, more colorful images and simply sounded more beautiful. But it omitted some of the ambient information and long decays that the considerably more expensive Manley extracted from AH’s records. (Vol.47 No.1 WWW)

X-QUISITE SUT X-20 STEP-UP TRANSFORMER: $13,000

A 4Ns silver-wire toroidal transformer with a low-loss alloy core developed for the X-quisite phono cartridge that’s said to match it “magnetically, electrically and mechanically” and to be optimized “regarding eddy current and hysteresis loss in order to provide the best properties to the unique ceramic transducer in combination with a tube preamplifier.” Gain is 26dB (1:20). MF found that the X-20 magnified everything about the X-quisite ST that he loved and eliminated the qualities that gave him pause. Used with the SUT, the Xquisite did a much better job with high-frequency sibilants, and it completely eliminated the upper-frequency ledge. In its place were impressive linearity and timbral neutrality. (Vol.44 No.9 WWW)

B

AUDITORIUM 23 STEP-UP TRANSFORMER FOR SPU, EMT, OR DL-103: $1295–$1495

The surprisingly heavy Auditorium 23 is about the size of a pack of cigarettes. AH’s sample was optimized for the Ortofon SPU—a different version is designed for the Denon DL-103. Nevertheless, using Ortofon MC Cadenza Bronze and Dynavector Te Kaitora Rua low-output cartridges, AH noted that this German SUT sounded tactile and vivid: “It made recordings tuneful and colorful, if a little warmer than real, and did the usual hi-fi things with aplomb.” With the Denon

version and Denon, Zu, EMT, and Benz cartridges, AD found the sound “dramatic without being brash, and consistently full-bodied and colorful.,”He found the Auditorium 23 “slightly coarser” than the Audio Note AN-S8, lacking some sweetness and color, but “a bargain” nevertheless. (Vol.45 No.11 WWW)

CYRUS AUDIO PHONO SIGNATURE: $2600 User-friendly, remote-controllable phono preamp with a front panel dominated by a green LCD screen. Seven buttons are for choosing the input, setting the rumble filter (labeled “Warp”), cartridge type (MM or MC), gain (40, 50, 60, or 70dB), resistive loading, capacitive loading, and saving the current settings. RCA inputs and output are tightly spaced, which might be an issue with some cables, but there is also a balanced output on XLRs. MF found that the Phono Signature started off warm-sounding and somewhat syrupy in the bottom octaves, but over time it brightened up and achieved a much better balance. Optional PSX-R2 power supply ($1199) produces a subtle but worthwhile sonic jolt that doesn’t significantly alter the Phono Signature’s reserved but well-organized Brit personality. (Vol.44 No.9 WWW)

ERHARD AUDIO/LUNDAHL SUT KITS: $535–$1930 Kits previously sold by K&K are now sold by Erhard Audio. This one is based on Lundahl LL1931 Ag transformers with amorphous cores and silver wiring. HR auditioned the K&K with Zu Audio’s Zu/DL-103 MkII moving coil and enthused over the combination’s clarity and the “goose-bumpiness” of its transient bite. “Bass reproduction could be thrilling,” he wrote, “just-right tight with genuine power.” The Lundahl transformer’s best, most obvious trait was “how specifically it rendered recorded information,” he concluded. Kits are available fully assembled for an extra charge. (Vol.44 No.11 WWW) KITSUNÉ LCR-1 MK5: $1498–$2298

The made-in-Korea, two-chassis, solid state KTE LCR-1 MK5 is unusual in that it uses inductors in its equalization networks. Four DIP switches allow users to set gain at any of 13 levels between 40dB and 72dB and resistive loading at any of 12 values from 14 ohms to 47k ohms. In his system, HR found that with various MC cartridges the KTE LCR-1 sounded its most polished and exciting when driven by high-quality step-up transformers. “On its own, with its 63.5dB gain, it did not sound as smooth, refined, or ‘correct’” as the twiceas-expensive Parasound Halo JC 3+ phono stage, he wrote, though he decided that “the LCR-1’s tone, solidity, and vigor” was preferable to the Musical Surroundings Nova III’s “more laid-back, slightly gray refinement.” “The Kitsuné KTE LCR-1 has become my daily-driver solid state phono equalizer,” concluded HR. He subsequently compared the Kitsuné with Music Hall’s Analogue A3 phono preamp, writing that the performers sounded farther from their microphones with the A3 and that its presentation “was less dramatically dynamic and less physical sounding” than that of the LCR-1. (Vol.44 No.7, Vol.45 No.10 WWW)

LOUNGE AUDIO LCR MK.III: $380 $$$ ★

LOUNGE AUDIO COPLA: $385 $$$ ★

LOUNGE AUDIO SILVER WIRE COPLA: $525 $$$ ★

The solid-state LCR Mk.III is named for the type of circuit chosen for its RIAA equalization stage: a zero-feedback inductor-capacitor-resistor (L-C-R) circuit. That stage is constructed with discrete components—remarkable for a US-made product selling for only $340—and combined with class-A biased op-amps for a total gain of 40dB. Power is supplied by an 18V wall wart. HR has logged literally hundreds of hours with his LCR Mk.III review sample, both on its own for use with MM cartridges, and, for MC cartridges, in tandem with Lounge Audio’s Copla, a JFET-powered step-up device that does the same job as a phono transformer, only electronically. In both setups, the Lounge rewarded HR with “full-bodied, accurately toned” sound, and enough emotional impact that a favorite Doc Watson song had him weeping. Referring to the $26,000, Class A rated Ypsilon VPS-100, HR wrote: “Could the Ypsilon make me cry 86.7 times easier? I doubt it.” HR returned to the Copla in March 2023, using Dynavector’s XX-2 MC and feeding the Copla to either SunValley or Tavish Adagio phono equalizers. “The Copla made recordings sound charged and vivid in the extreme but also lucid and relaxed,” he wrote, concluding that it “behaved like someone forgot a zero on its price tag.” Writing about the more expensive Silver Wire Copla, which looks exactly like the regular Copla, except on the bottom of the chassis, where Lounge Audio founder Robert Morin has tagged and signed it, HR said that the Silver Wire Copla intensifies energy delivery and texturizes harmonics to a degree that makes the extra $130 seem trivial. “Coupled to a Denon DL103, this is the highest-value phonography I know of,” he enthused. (Vol.41 No.2, Vol.46 Nos.3 & 9 WWW)

MUSIC HALL ANALOGUE A3: $1199

With its two caged 12AU7 dual-triode tubes sticking out from the top like ears and two outlined-in-red knobs, one for volume control, the A3 reminded HR of “cartoon cat eyes.” It offers both MM and MC inputs. While HR found that the A3’s MC input made a good match with Ortofon’s inexpensive 2M Blue cartridge, he felt it worked best with the expensive Koetsu MC cartridge when used with Koetsu’s SUT feeding the MM input. Compared to the Kitsuné LCR-1 MK5, which he described as “sometimes cool, hardpunching—dare I say masculine-sounding?” HR felt that the A3 presented itself “in a more feminine manner. The A3’s presentation was less dramatically dynamic and less physical sounding. But I think the A3 was playing closer to the truth.” He concluded that “fine tube sonics and a quality Alps volume control make Musical Hall’s Analogue A3 easy to recommend.” (Vol.45 No.10 WWW)

PARADOX PHONO 70 SIGNATURE: $3995

This hand-built, solid state phono preamplifier is designed exclusively for very low-output moving coil cartridges and offers 70dB of gain. Inputs and outputs are both single-ended, and an additional pair of RCA jacks is used for custom resistive loading. (The unloaded input impedance is a high 100k ohms.) RIAA equalization is passive. The Pi-filtered outboard 18VDC power supply uses wet silver-tantalum capacitors and expensive Audio Note silver-tantalum resistors, the same resistors used in the preamplifier circuitry. MF did most of his auditioning with Ortofon’s Verismo cartridge. Playing Sarah Vaughan’s Live at the Berlin Philharmonie 1969, he found that the Phono 70 Signature produced a “glistening, remarkably transparent, living rendering of Vaughan’s voice and hung it effortlessly and convincingly in 3D space between the speakers.” “If you crave warmth in a phono preamp, the Phono 70 Signature isn’t for you,” he concluded. “But if you want a neutral player that’s quiet, super-well-organized, and can plumb the depths and scale the peaks without adding colorations, the Phono 70 Signature is well worth considering.” On the test bench, the Paradox offered a low level of predominantly second-harmonic distortion, low noise, and high channel separation. However, overload margins were too low to work well with MC cartridges with a nominal output any higher than that of the Verismo’s 200µV. The relatively high output impedance will require careful matching with line preamplifiers if the lows are not to sound lightweight. (Vol.45 Nos.3 & 5 WWW)

QHW AUDIO THE VINYL: $825 (PLUS SHIPPING) $$$ Budget-priced solid state design from Spain offers independent MM and MC inputs. A recording of a double bass sounded natural and well-controlled, felt MF, while drums were immediate and natural-sounding—particularly the cymbals and rim shots. “Add a transparent, generously sized soundstage presentation that had width, height and especially depth, … and you have … a ridiculously good phono preamplifier that I think you could insert into your system and fool the most demanding audio fanatic into thinking it cost 10 times what it actually costs. And it’s quiet.” (Vol.44 No.9 WWW)

SCULPTURE A MINI NANO TRANSFORMER: $990

Two (stereo) toroidal step-up transformers with nanocrystal cores and 99.99% copper coils. Available with 1:10 (20dB), 1:20 (26dB), and other gains. HR auditioned the Mini Nano with Sculpture A’s A.3l cartridge, with its bronze and wood body—see “Phono Cartridges”—and felt the combination “excavated myriad details and dense textures but ran a bit dark and wet.” However, with the aluminum-bodied Zu/ DL-103 Mk.II, “the sun came out and scintillating transients returned.” With the Mini Nano and Zu/DL-103, image size,

brightness, and raw presence increased, as did the intensity of reverb on Miles Davis recordings, he concluded. (Vol.44 Nos.5 & 11 WWW)

TAVISH DESIGN ADAGIO: $2290 ★

Among the handmade electronics offered by Westchester County, New York–based Tavish Design is the Adagio phono preamp, a two-box design with audio circuitry in one enclosure and a power supply in the other. The Adagio’s gain and EQ circuitry—the latter a mix of active and passive—is implemented with a total of six small-signal tubes, while power-supply rectification and regulation are solid state. Switch-selectable inputs for moving magnet and moving coil cartridges add to the product’s flexibility, as do separate six-position rotary switches for adjusting load resistance and capacitance. MM inputs offer 44dB of gain, MC inputs 64dB, the extra 20dB provided by a stereo pair of Jensen step-up transformers. AD found the Adagio’s MM circuit to be “beautifully, prettily clear, in a pleasantly liquid sort of way,” with “exceptional” detail and openness. The MC circuitry was also impressive, especially with a Shindo-rebuilt Ortofon SPU cartridge, although the Jensen transformers appeared not to provide the same sense of drama, force, and bass weight as (far more expensive) outboard transformers. Still, as AD observed, “the comparatively inexpensive Tavish Adagio punched above its weight.” In his Follow-Up in the March 2018 Stereophile, HR wrote that the Adagio is “a cool, quiet, neutral-sounding phono preamplifier, and it’s a joy to use: I know of no better for under $3000.” Compared with the EAR Phono Classic with a favorite John Lee Hooker LP, HR described the Tavish as reproducing the room Hooker was playing in as “much bigger and emptier,” adding that the window he was gazing through “seemed squeakier-clean than it did with the Phono Classic.” (Vol.39 No.6, Vol.41 No.3, Vol.45 No.3 WWW)

DELETIONS

Musical Surroundings Nova III, discontinued. Channel D Lino C 2.0, Consolidated Audio “Monster Can", Haniwa HCVC01, van den Hul The Grail SE+, not reviewed in a long time.

DISC & FILE PLAYERS A+

ANTIPODES K50: $19,000

The made-in-New Zealand K50 works with Roon as both server and player, Roon as a server with Squeezelite or HQ Player as the player, or Squeeze as a server and Squeezelite as the player. It offers Ethernet, USB, I2S, AES3, and S/ PDIF outputs, though the manufacturer doesn’t recommend using USB. JVS found that the Squeeze server and Squeezelite apps were not as user-friendly as Roon, but using them to transmit the audio data via single AES3 to the dCS Rossini DAC “delivered the most transparent, detailed, color-saturated, vivid, midrange- and bass-rich sound of all options available to me.” He also noted that playing files stored on the K50’s optional SSD (sizes up to 24TB are available) sounded “a mite better—the extra transparency was noticeable”—than playing the same files sourced from his NAS, or from Tidal and Qobuz. “Class A+ all the way,” he concluded. Now comes with updated power supply. (Vol.44 No.10 WWW)

ANTIPODES OLADRA SERVER/STREAMER: $29,000

This expensive server/streamer/reclocker from New Zealand is designed for precise clocking, low noise, and high bandwidth. The Oladra can serve as a Roon Core and can be operated with Roon or with another player app like HQPlayer, MPD with MinimServer, or “Squeeze,” Antipodes’ own, customized version of the Logitech Media Server. The Oladra can access audio files stored remotely on a NAS and stream music from Qobuz, Tidal, and other streaming services. Users can also add up to 24TB of internal storage— Antipodes recommends Samsung PM893 cards—by sliding up to three cards into the storage slots on the rear panel. In order of decreasing sound quality (according to Antipodes),

data outputs are I2S on HDMI or RJ45, AES3, S/PDIF (BNC and RCA), and USB 2. There is also “Direct Stream Ethernet,” when the data emerges direct from the Server engine, out to a streaming DAC, bypassing the Player and Reclocker. Using a dCS Vivaldi Apex DAC (which doesn’t have an I2S input), JVS found that music sounded best when he used Squeeze as both server and player and AES3 or S/ PDIF (BNC) for the Oladra’s output. Switching outputs from AES3 to USB, which bypasses the Oladra’s reclocker, he noted that the sound wasn’t quite as warm, color-saturated, or transparent. Overall, Antipodes Audio’s top-line Oladra “is among the finest-sounding music servers I’ve had in my system,” he concluded. On Paul Miller’s testbench, the Oladra’s output produced significantly less jitter than his desktop PC driving USB-connected AudioQuest DragonFly and iFi Audio NEO iDSD DACs, but offered little improvement with Mytek Brooklyn and dCS Vivaldi One Apex DACs. (Vol.46 No.7 WWW)

BURMESTER MUSICCENTER 151 MK2: $27,500

The 151 MK2 is a music server/network streamer with an internal DAC, a 2TB internal SSD, and a volume control. Operations are controlled with an iPad/iPhone app via Wi-Fi. There are analog inputs, and files can be played from USB sticks and external drives, or NAS drives; internet radio and music can be streamed from Tidal, Qobuz, and Idagio via Ethernet or Wi-Fi; and a CD drive allows silver discs both to be played and to be ripped to the internal SSD. The Musiccenter’s DAC automatically upsamples/resamples lower-rez music to 24/96 or 24/192 and DSD up to DSD256 and DXD to 24/192 or 24/96. JVS enjoyed his time with the Burmester, concluding that “Music lovers who retain their love for silver discs will find them sounding even better when ripped to the unit’s 2TB SSD, and those accustomed to file playback and streaming will find the Musiccenter’s multifunction, multipurpose excellence a one-stop avenue to bliss. Through the 151 MK2 Musiccenter, music sings supreme.” JA found that the CD transport offered superb error correction/concealment, which he felt was appropriate for ripping CDs. He concluded that the Burmester 151’s performance on the test bench indicated excellent audio engineering in both the digital and analog domains. “It gets a clean bill of health from this measurer.” (Vol.45 No.5 WWW)

CH PRECISION D1.5 SACD/CD PLAYER/TRANSPORT: FROM $41,000; AS REVIEWED $46,000

Base price is for the SACD/CD transport, which has TosLink, AES3, and CH’s proprietary high-rez CH Link HD; two MQA-capable mono DAC cards add $5000. Control is via two coaxial knobs on the front panel or with an app for Android devices. When it’s used as a player, all data are upsampled to DXD (24/384), and the analog output is processed with a reconstruction filter optimized for the time domain. Playing CDs, JCA reported that low frequencies had “seismic weight” and that stereo imaging precision and soundstage depth were excellent. He also noticed how good the D1.5 sounded at low volume. With the MQA-CD of Patricia Barber’s Clique, JCA wrote that Barber’s voice had a lovely, creamy texture, though as the music got louder, he detected some congestion. In level-matched comparisons of the SACD version of this album, he didn’t hear as much creaminess on the vocals, though the presentation was not congested at high levels. JCA concluded that after several months with the D1.5 he never got bored; the music kept surprising him. In the test lab, JA found that with CD data this filter rolled-off frequencies above 15kHz because the review sample’s firmware had selected an incorrect filter; JCA updated the firmware and reported on the behavior with the correct filter in the May 2022 issue. He wrote that with the new firmware, the transformation in the sound of the D1.5, when playing CDs, was qualitative. It “wasn’t necessarily—wasn’t immediately—a giant leap forward in absolute sonic quality. It was, rather, simply a major change in sonic character.” Other than the frequency response with CDs now extending to –3dB at 20kHz, the primary measurable difference was the change from a relatively long, minimum-phase impulse response to an extremely short impulse response. (Vol.45 Nos.3 & 5 WWW)

DCS ROSSINI SACD TRANSPORT: $26,500 ★

Unlike the earlier Rossini Player, which only played CDs, the

Rossini Transport uses a new mechanism from Denon that plays both SACDs and CDs. The Transport outputs audio data on twin AES/EBU links, to allow it to send native DSD data and CD data upsampled to DXD, DSD, or double DSD (these both encrypted) to a dCS DAC. JA used the Transport with a Rossini DAC and was mightily impressed by what he heard. He consistently preferred the sound of SACDs played on the Transport compared with the same data sent to the Rossini DAC over his network, feeling that the low frequencies sounded more robust. “Once these words have been laid out on the pages of this issue,” JA concluded, “I’ll have to return [the Rossini Transport] to dCS. It breaks my heart.” In use by JVS. (Vol.42 No.5 WWW)

EXASOUND DELTA SERVER MARK II: $2999 PLUS COST OF INTERNAL STORAGE AND LCD DISPLAY Powered by an Intel i9-9900, this passively cooled music server runs exaSound’s custom Linux operating system and a Roon Core, these stored on an SSD. An optional second SSD can be used for file storage. KR found the Delta to be more powerful than either a Roon Nucleus+ or a Baetis X4i, better coping with demanding DSP operations with multichannel and DSD files. “The Delta Music Server is the most capable server I have used, but it is far from the most expensive,” he concluded, adding that the Delta is, in his opinion, what a Roon server should be. (Vol.44 No.4 WWW)

GRIMM MU1 MUSIC STREAMER: $12,500 PLUS COST OF INTERNAL STORAGE (EX VAT)

The MU1 is based on an Intel twin-core i3 processor running a Linux-based operating system. It incorporates a Roon Core and is fully integrated with the Roon Server app. It can be controlled by rotating and pressing a topmounted, bronze-colored disc. (A high-precision digital volume control and other functions can be selected with this control.) While its Ethernet and USB ports can be used to send audio data from the Intel board to a DAC, the MU1 upsamples PCM data and downsamples DSD data sourced from its AES/EBU outputs, using what Grimm calls a “Pure Nyquist” decimation filter hosted in a Xilinx FPGA. (Measurement revealed that this is an ultra–fast-rolloff filter, reaching full stop-band attenuation at half the original PCM data’s sample rate.) JA very much preferred the sound from the AES/EBU outputs, finding that the upsampling of CDresolution data reduced congestion, added depth to the soundstage, and increased the separation among acoustic objects in that soundstage. JA recommended the MU1 highly as a streamer, writing that it can also operate as a network bridge with legacy D/A processors that don’t have USB or Ethernet ports, and that it can be used as the sole source component with active speakers that have digital inputs. A 1TB SSD adds $225; 2TB SSD adds $430; 4TB SSD adds $805. An FM tuner function is promised. (Vol.44 No.3 WWW)

INNUOS STATEMENT NG: $18,900 AND UP DEPENDING ON STORAGE

JVS reviewed the original two-box Statement from Portuguese company Innuos in Vol.43 No.4. This server included a drive for ripping CDs and featured eight separate power supplies: three for each voltage of the motherboard; one for the CPU; one for the SSD storage device; one for the Ethernet Reclocker board; one for the USB Reclocker Board; and one for the USB clock. Comparing the Statement with a Nucleus+ using USB connections to his dCS Rossini D/A processor, JVS found that the Innuos server’s treble seemed slightly rounded, the presentation “a touch warmer . ... The Statement warmed the piano and smoothed out the top in a manner that some would call analoglike or tubelike.” JVS concluded that “In its flagship Statement music server, Innuos has created a transparent instrument that scores big in soundstage size and depth, dynamics, and bass reach.” In a Follow-Up, JA found almost no measurable differences in a PS Audio DirectStream’s analog output whether it received data from the Nucleus+ or Statement via USB or from the Nucleus+ via Ethernet. In a series of listening tests, JA found differences between the Innuos and Roon servers difficult to hear with many recordings but ultimately agreed with JVS that via USB connections, the Nucleus’s low frequencies were outclassed by the Statement’s. Not by much, I admit,”

he wrote, “but enough to matter; ... the bass line had a touch more drive with Statement sending data to the PS Audio.” The Statement was replaced by the Statement NG, which featured the upgraded Next-Gen linear power supply and the latest InnuOS software. JVS wrote that the NG sounded superior both to the original Statement and to the current Roon Nucleus+. He also noted that the latest InnuOS Web app offered major advances over earlier versions. (Statement, Vol.43 Nos.4 & 5 WWW; Statement NG, Vol.46 No.11 WWW) JAY’S AUDIO CDT3 MK3: $4998

The massively constructed CDT3 MK3 CD transport—it weighs 50lb—uses Philips’s top-of-the-line CD-Pro2LF drive. Although this was discontinued in 2013, Jay’s says they have stockpiled a substantial inventory of these drives and is confident they have plenty on hand to cover potential future service issues. Digital outputs are AES3 (XLR), S/PDIF (BNC and RCA), and I2S on RJ45 and HDMI. (The latter follows the connection protocol established by PS Audio.) Using the I2S over HDMI output with a Denafrips Terminator II D/A converter, MT felt that the CDT3 offered a clear improvement in resolution resulting in a better defined and more spacious soundstage compared with his Audio Note transport. The Jay’s transport features switchable 4× oversampling. MT found that this enhanced the presentation of the soundstage and fleshed out the harmonic tonal colors of double bass and piano. “Jay’s upsampler seems to offer a genuine improvement,” he concluded, adding that the CDT3-MK3 is “a truly exceptional way to play your CD collection.” In the test lab, JA found that the CDT3 offered excellent error correction and low transmitted jitter. Peculiarly, however, while the oversampled outputs featured accurate 16-bit data, the nonoversampled outputs were limited to 15-bit resolution due to the presence of LSB-level random noise. (It turned out to be due to the upsampling chip dithering its output, even when set not to upsample.) In his own audition, JA found that the JCalya’srupssaDmUpElTedaodu_tHpoutrwizoorknetdawl.epll th1e Mo9jo/M20y/st2iq3ue SE NOS DAC. (Vol.46 No.5 WWW)

MBL NOBLE LINE N31: $18,500; OPTIONAL ROON READY MODULE IS $1480 ★

Designed to play “Red Book” CDs and, via its USB and other digital inputs, music files up to 24/192 and DSD64 (DoP), the Noble Line N31 is less a digital-audio Swiss Army knife than a luxuriantly attractive, 40lb monument to the idea of perfecting the playback of audiophilia’s bestloved digital formats. Built around the ESS Sabre 9018 DAC, the N31 offers a full-color 5" TFT display—the MBL player recognizes CD text and displays title information— and features an SD card slot for firmware updates, a choice of three playback filters, and a remote handset that lights up before the person reaching for it has even touched it. Listening to CDs and even a CD-R through the N13, JA was impressed by the “sheer tangibility” of the MBL’s sound, noting that, with its Min filter engaged, the N31 “gracefully reproduced” one “overcooked” track, and that the differences among its three filters were “greater in degree than with other DACs.” Through the MBL’s USB inputs, even iPhones and iPads, their own volume controls disarmed by the MBL’s USB input, offered “excellent” sound quality. JA originally raised an eyebrow at the lack of a network port and the fact that the player’s filters can’t be selected via the remote handset, but both of these issues have been addressed in 2020 production with the optional Roon Ready Input Module. As with USB, the networked MBL rendered music with an excellent sense of overall drive and low-frequency impact, JA found, with low-level recorded detail well-resolved. JA concluded his original review by saying that digital sound “doesn’t get any better” than what he heard from the N31. He also noted that the MBL offered 21 bits of resolution—the current state of the art of digital audio. This prompted JA the measurer to agree with JA the listener: “Digital audio engineering doesn’t get any better.” Price is with factory-installed Roon Ready

module. Price without module is $15,400. (Vol.41 No.2, Vol.43 No.12 WWW)

PINK FAUN 2.16X MUSIC STREAMER: $25,000 AS REVIEWED, WITH S/PDIF AND USB I/O CARDS Storage for music files is optional with this expensive, deadsilent streamer from Holland, and it has no built-in DAC. As a streamer, though, it’s an all-out effort. “Its huge size and weight and [custom] Lamborghini Orange front panel shout that out loud,” KR wrote. The CPU on the motherboard is liquid-cooled by copper tubes coupling it to a large heatsink on one side of the chassis. The heatsink on the other side cools five large power transistors. Proprietary, sealed Oven Controlled Crystal (Xtal) Oscillators (OCXOs), available in standard or Ultra versions, are used for the system clock, the motherboard, and each of the I/O cards. The “headless” Pink Faun is controlled by the Roon app, which can run on a tablet or laptop. KR was impressed by this streamer’s performance with both stereo and multichannel files, writing that it was sufficiently transparent to permit him to hear differences among DACs and reconstruction filters. “The Pink Faun 2.16x Streamer is, sonically, as perfect a stereo source component as I have used,” he concluded. (Vol.43 No.12 WWW)

ROON LABS NUCLEUS+: $2559 WITHOUT AUDIO FILE STORAGE ★

The first hardware product from software specialist Roon Labs, the Nucleus+ combines an Intel i7 processor/NUC board with 8GB of RAM and a 64GB SSD solid state drive, the latter hosting the Linux-based Roon Optimized Core Kit (ROCK) operating system and Roon server software. Also provided are a single gigabit Ethernet port, USB 3.0 ports for conversing with external drives and/or USB DACs, a multichannel-friendly HDMI port, a Thunderbolt 3 port, and an internal bay for an HDD or SSD drive. Use of the Nucleus+ requires a Roon subscription ($9.99/month, $699.99/lifetime). When JA tried the Nucleus+, he found he had “nothing specific to say about the sound other than that it was always excellent.” KR described his efforts at pressing the Nucleus+ into service as a multichannel server. His results

were encouraging, although DSP execution was a mixed bag, depending on sample rate, the operation desired, and the strain they put on processing power. Upsampling in particular “seemed to drain the tank.” In a 2020 follow-up, JA found that the sonic differences between the Nucleus+ and the considerably more expensive Innuos Statement server were small. (Vol.41 No.8, Vol.42 No.3, Vol.43 Nos.4 & 5 WWW) TOTALDAC D1-STREAMER-SUBLIME MUSIC SERVER: €9100

This French streamer/server offers a network input and digital outputs and functions as a Roon endpoint. It tops out at 24/192, and it passes DSD via DoP. AH used the d1-streamer sublime to audition Totaldac’s d1-unity—see Digital Processors. When he replaced it with his usual combination of Sonore ultraRendu and Denafrips Iris digital-to-digital converter, the sound was possibly a hair more forceful but also audibly less refined and purposeful. “The meaning of the music was less obvious, and everything sounded just a bit more mechanical,” he wrote. (Vol.46 No.12 WWW)

A

HEGEL VIKING: $5000

This slot-loading player uses the well-regarded AKM4493SEQ DAC chip and doesn’t have any digital inputs. It just plays CDs. It does, however, have a coaxial S/PDIF digital output, which JA found featured very low jitter. HR played CDs and was impressed by what he heard. “CDs exhibited more crystallized forms than similar recordings played back from Tidal at CD resolution. The Viking projected images with more-distinct outlines than Tidal’s 16/44.1 tracks. Those more-distinct forms felt more relaxed and less edge-sharpened than similar recordings of the same program at higher sampling rates on Qobuz,” he wrote. HR concluded that the Viking “presented every CD with enough verve, transparency, and natural detail to make each disc sound distinctly different, which shows that the player’s sound was not swamping the disc’s sound. This ability to disappear and put the character and vital energies of recordings up front made the Viking exciting to use, and that is my highest compliment.” (Vol.46 No.12 WWW)

MELCO N50 DIGITAL MUSIC LIBRARY: $5499 WITH 3.84TB STORAGE

The slim, Roon Ready N50 includes internal storage and has two Ethernet ports and four USB 3.0 ports, one of which is optimized for sending audio data to a USB-connected DAC. KR found that the front-panel controls and the small alphanumeric display worked fine for setup and basic music selection, but quickly realized that the Melco Music App running on an iPad—there’s no Android support—was essential for selecting music and making the Melco enjoyable to use. Once the N50 was connected to KR’s local network, the app’s “Library” choices included every audio file on every device on his LAN. He summed up that the Melco “lets you engage with the music and does nothing to intrude on that engagement. That’s its role, and it performs it well. Crucially, it does nothing to degrade sound quality. Especially when playing from its internal storage, the N50 is responsive.” Best thought of, JCA says, as a top-quality, audiophile network-attached storage device with musicserver features. (Vol.45 No.6 WWW)

MYTEK BROOKLYN BRIDGE II ROON CORE: $4995 AND UP DEPENDING ON STORAGE

The small Brooklyn Bridge II streaming D/A preamplifier offers digital and analog inputs, including an MC/MM phono input, balanced and single-ended analog and headphone outputs, and incorporates a Roon core. All its owner needs to add to create a complete system are some file storage, a power amplifier, and a pair of loudspeakers. TF found the touchscreen too small for easy use, instead controlling the BBII functions with the Roon app. (Roon identified the Brooklyn Bridge II as a full MQA decoder and renderer.) He found that the single-ended outputs picked up some hash from his Mesh Wi-Fi network, though JCA and JA didn’t encounter any Wi-Fi–related problems in their own systems. In the test lab, JA noted that the Mytek runs very hot. The DAC circuit offers between 18 and 19 bits’ worth of resolution, he found, and commented that the analog output stage coped well with punishing loads. He was less impressed with the phono input, finding that even in MM mode, the noisefloor suffered from supply-related spuriae, these presumably radiated from the power transformer packed into the small chassis. The levels of these spuriae were unacceptably high in MC mode, decided JA—who however only heard broadband noise in MM mode. TF was also bothered by the Mytek’s phono input, finding that even in MM mode, “there was enough hiss and hum to be audible at the listening position, through all outputs: balanced, unbalanced, headphone.” Hum aside, however, he wrote that LPs “sounded vivid, the tonal balance was right, there was plenty of headroom.” Playing back files from his NAS drive, TF wrote that “the BBII sounds damn good … Its character was uncolored and revealing … the BBII is a fine DAC, in the top tier of its price range.” (Vol.46 No.9 WWW)

ROTEL DIAMOND SERIES DT-6000 CD TRANSPORT/ DAC: $2299.99

As well as playing CDs, the DT-6000 has three digital inputs (coaxial and optical, these accepting PCM data up to 24/192), and a Class 2.0 USB input that will accept PCM data up to 32/384, DSD data, and MQA data up to 24/384. However, despite being called a “Transport,” the DT-6000 doesn’t have a digital output. It uses the well-regarded ESS9028PRO DAC chip. HR wrote that with CD data his more expensive R-2R DACs “did not better the DT-6000’s beat-keeping and boogiestomping.” Streaming well-recorded piano, the Rotel offered “clean, fast, well-sculpted authority,” HR decided, and while he felt streaming was clearer, smoother, and more open than CD playback, contrasts weren’t as sharp, the presentation less physical. “Music from CDs sounded denser and more fortified than music from Qobuz and Tidal,” he concluded. (In the test lab, JA found that while jitter was nonexistent with CD playback, it was high in level with streaming audio via USB. He also noted that the Rotel’s error correction playing CDs was superb.) Overall, HR described the DT-6000 as a “well-built, great-sounding, reasonably priced CD player.” (Vol.46 Nos.2 & 3 WWW)

B

CYRUS CDI-XR: $3300

KM found that this diminutive, well-finished CD player from the UK offered greater weight and punch than the same music when streamed via a Denfrips Ares II D/A processor. However, on some recordings he wrote, “this manifested as tonal thickness and a loss of transparency. Streaming tended to excel at treble, detail, and upper register air but often gave up some presence and weight.” The CDi-XR is “a good CD player and a solid value,” he concluded. In the test lab, JA found that the Cyrus inverted absolute polarity and that its error correction was not as good as that of the best players or transports he has measured in recent years. (Vol.45 No.4 WWW)

DELETIONS

Bryston BDP-3 (LG no longer reviews), T+A MP 3100 HD SACD/CD player, Wolf Systems Alpha 3 SX server, not reviewed in a long time.

DIGITAL PROCESSORS A+

BEL CANTO E1X: $6800

The Roon Ready e1X DAC/Control Preamplifier offers AES3, coaxial and optical S/PDIF, digital inputs, and USB and UPnP/DLNA-compatible Ethernet ports. (The USB and Ethernet ports support MQA-encoded data and DSD data in the DoP format.) There are also line-level and MC/ MM phono analog inputs, these converted to digital so that they can be adjusted with the DSP-domain Tilt, Bass EQ, and volume controls. The e1X features line outputs, a headphone output—the Tilt and BassEQ controls are not operative with this output—and a subwoofer output. Bel Canto’s free Seek app (iOS only) allows the e1X to stream audio from Qobuz, Tidal, Spotify, and vTuner internet radio and to play files from DropBox, OneDrive, and iCloud folders, or from a drive plugged into the DAC’s USB-A port. Like all of Bel Canto's digital products the e1X uses a Texas Instruments PCM1792A DAC chip, which may be a 20-year-old design, but, as JA’s measurements revealed, is still capable of very high resolution and low linearity error. In his critical listening sessions, JA found it difficult to ascribe an identifiable tonal character to the Bel Canto. He noted that low frequencies were well-defined with good weight, high frequencies were neither exaggerated nor rolled off, and the midrange sounded natural, but the thing that did strike him was how clear a view into recorded soundstages he was experiencing. “Transparency to the source combined with low-frequency articulation and weight was the e1X DAC's calling card,” he concluded about the e1X’s performance as a DAC. JA found that even though the line and phono analog inputs offered excellent measured performance, the presentation was slightly darker with analog sources, “as if the analog input had placed a finely woven scrim between me and the recorded soundstages.” The Tilt and Bass EQ controls proved useful in minimizing this character. (Vol.45 Nos.10 & 11 WWW) BENCHMARK DAC3 HGC: $2399 (INCLUDES REMOTE) $$$ ★

BENCHMARK DAC3 B: $1899 $$$

Benchmark’s DAC3 HGC—the last three letters designate this as the audiophile version, with a headphone amp and two analog inputs—supports files up to 24/192 and DSD64, the latter as DoP (via USB). Bearing in mind the manufacturer's suggestion that there should be no audible difference between their DAC1 and DAC3, JCA wrote, “In fact, I found the sounds of the two DACs quite different. The DAC1 was brighter; … the DAC3 was all about depths, in several respects … I heard deeper into the music.” The concise conclusion to JA's Measurements sidebar: “All I can say is ‘Wow!’” In a Follow-Up, JCA wrote of using the Benchmark processor with the same company’s AHB2 power amp—a combination of high source output voltage and modest amplifier gain that he describes as “optimal for minimizing noise and distortion”—and reported hearing “richer and more interesting” reproduction of very subtle details. The DAC3 B is a stripped- down, lower-priced version of the DAC3 HGC, which omits the headphone amplifier, balanced and unbalanced analog inputs, volume, mute, and polarity controls, and the remote control. It has a fixed output level of 12.3V, which is about 10dB too high to be optimal with a typical domestic audio system. The DAC3 B retains the HGC’s high-resolution ES9028PRO DAC chips, and when he auditioned it using the USB input JA found it offered a fatigue-free, musically involving wealth of recorded detail. “An audiophile bargain,” he concluded. (Vol.40 No.11, Vol.41 No.10; HGC version WWW; Vol.46 No.3, B version WWW)

BRICASTI M1SE: $10,000 ★

With first-class fit’n’finish, the dual-mono M1 DAC offers five digital inputs (USB, S/PDIF, AES3, BNC, optical—an Ethernet module is available), a volume control, measures a rack-friendly 17" W × 2" H × 12" D, and weighs 12lb. “The best digital playback I have heard,” concluded JM of the original version, who also wrote that “the fact that Bricasti’s M1 can play DSD and DXD files is less important than the fact that its playback of plain old ‘Red Book’ 16-bit/44.1kHz audio is so compelling that I, for one, don’t feel shortchanged when a good recording is not ‘high-resolution.’” JA also praised the M1’s state-of-the-art measured behavior as well as its sound quality. SM auditioned the current Special Edition (SE) version, with the MDx upgrade. (The factory-installed MDx upgrade from earlier M1s costs $1000.) The SE adds point-to-point wiring, capacitor upgrades, and a variety of new software features. It also includes Stillpoints feet, which, with their vibration-absorbing abilities, are said to provide “a more transparent sonic presentation.” The MDx upgrade to the digital circuit includes improved clocking, a later-generation Analog Devices DSP chip, a choice of 15 upsampled reconstruction filters—Minimum Phase filter 2 was SM’s favorite—and allows the USB input to operate at higher sample rates. SM noted that he “heard some subtle but important differences from what I had experienced prior to the upgrade,” including an increased sense of “details

of timbre and soundstage exactitude but without any increased brittleness or etching. Bass seemed firmer, and the clarity of musical transients improved.” (Vol.34 No.8, Vol.35 Nos. 2, 3, & 9, Vol.36 No.7, Vol.37 No.12, original version; Vol.44 No.7 WWW)

CH PRECISION C1.2 DAC/CONTROLLER: FROM $36,000; AS REVIEWED $43,500

In standard form, priced at $36,000, this modular Swiss processor offers AES3 and coaxial and optical S/PDIF digital inputs. Optional inputs are asynchronous USB ($3000), Ethernet ($6000), and an analog input board, with one balanced and one unbalanced input ($2500). An optional clock synchronization board costs $1500, while it can be used with an external power supply ($20,500) and clock ($24,500). The C1.2 incorporates a volume control and uses four 24-bit PCM1704 chips per channel. With the exception of the USB input, it upsamples the input data to 705.6kHz or 768kHz. It will also accept MQA data, and DSD data via DoP. JCA wrote that with classical recordings, what he heard with the C1.2 “is what acoustical instruments sound like, precisely rendered in space. The sense of that space, and of the sounds flowing through it, is expansive and relaxed; ... it simply sounded right.” On the test bench, its measurements indicated that the C1.2’s reconstruction filter is a linear-phase type optimized for time-domain performance. Noise, jitter, and distortion were extremely low and resolution was high, between 19 and 20 bits. However, it appeared that the LSB with 24-bit data was being truncated. Nevertheless, the C1.2, both with and without its external clock and power supply, produced the best sound JCA had heard from a digital source. (Vol.46 No.2 WWW)

DCS BARTÓK APEX: $20,950, $22,950 WITH HEADPHONE AMP

The result of extensive changes to dCS’s Ring DAC hardware and an improved power supply, among other changes, the APEX version of HR’s daily-driver D/A headphone amplifier produced musical sounds that were more fantastically appealing than the ones generated by the original Bartók or any other DAC he’d reviewed. Using the dCS Mosaic app, DXD upsampling, Filter 3, and Map 1, HE wrote that “the Bartók APEX has a wet feel to its clarity. The original leaned toward transistor-dry … [The APEX] mixed an R-2R naturalness … with a muscular, free-flowing dynamic that kept my attention focused on musical content.” (Vol.46 No.8 WWW)

DCS ROSSINI APEX: $32,800 ★

The successor to the English company’s well-regarded Rossini, the APEX edition is based on a reconfigured Ring DAC circuit board with an all-new analog output stage. (Earlier Rossinis can be upgraded for $9000.) Using his preferred settings—Filter 5 for Red Book, F3 for 24/88.2 up to 24/192, F6 for higher PCM resolutions, F1DSD for DSD, and M1 for MQA, DXD upsampling, and Ring DAC Map 1—JVS compared the APEX with the earlier 2.0 version with an album of Ravel piano concertos and immediately noted that with the APEX there was “a deeper silence between notes, a greater sense of grace, flow, and warmth from string instruments, and a beautiful finish to the sound that epitomized fin de siècle elegance.” With a Talk Talk track, he felt that the Rossini 2.0 “sounded thinner than the APEX, with less substance. Everything seemed diminished and less involving. There was less there.” JVS concluded that the Rossini APEX DAC was “more than another upgrade; it’s a major advance in digital sound reproduction, one that elevates an already excellent DAC to a much higher level.” While noting that the six choices of reconstruction filter behaved identically to those of the earlier Rossini and dCS Vivaldi processors, JA commented that overall, “the dCS Rossini APEX’s measured performance was beyond reproach.” (Vol.40 No.1, Vol.41 No.5, Vol.42 No.5, original version; Vol.42 No.6, 2.0 version; Vol.45 No.10 APEX version WWW)

DCS VIVALDI APEX: $46,500

DCS VIVALDI MASTER CLOCK: $21,000

DCS VIVALDI UPSAMPLER: $27,000

The result of the same painstaking development process that produced the dCS Rossini APEX, the Vivaldi APEX features the same analog board and the same choice of coefficient mapping for its Ring DAC and reconstruction filters as the Rossini. However, its larger chassis allows for allows greater flexibility in transformer positioning, component isolation, and what can be done with I/O and the control board. According to dCS, “Vivaldi’s hardware represents a much more ambitious approach to D/A conversion than the Rossini’s digital processing platform.” As the Vivaldi APEX doesn’t have the upsampling options offered by the singlebox Rossini, JVS auditioned the Vivaldi APEX with the Vivaldi Upsampler Plus ($25,500 with Ethernet network port), as well as with the Vivaldi Master Clock ($19,500). Compared with the superb-sounding Rossini APEX and its matching Clock, JVS found the midrange richer and the highs a mite less bright. The Rossini APEX’s depiction “seemed lighter and less substantial, with smaller images,” he wrote. In the test lab, the Vivaldi APEX offered superb measured performance, with very high resolution and channel separation, and extremely low noise and jitter. JVS summed up his experience of the Vivaldi APEX by writing “It is rare, in a home listening room, to experience anew the full impact of great orchestral music heard in a concert hall. But the Vivaldi APEX DAC, Vivaldi Upsampler Plus, and Vivaldi Master Clock together have made that possible, repeatedly.” Upgrades for the earlier Vivaldi DAC and Vivaldi One cost $9000. (Vol.46 No.3 WWW)

EMM LABS DV2: $30,000 ★

EMM Labs’ newest product is the first D/A processor to make use of the company’s new VControl, a high-resolution volume-control system. Of its seven digital inputs, the DV2’s USB Type B input is its most versatile, enabling PCM conversion up to DXD, DSD up to DSD128, and full MQA unfolding. Also provided are two coaxial (RCA) S/PDIF inputs, two optical (TosLink) S/PDIF inputs, one AES/EBU (XLR) input, and one proprietary EMM Optilink for SACD and CD playback. In his listening tests, JVS tried using the DV2 in a variety of configurations; he noted that by the time he’d done so, “it had become clear that the DV2 is one of the finest-sounding DACs with volume control that I’ve ever heard in my reference system.” Indeed, Jason praised the DV2 for delivering, compared to other processors he’s enjoyed in that setting, “the smoothest, most naturally warm, most consistently engaging and non-fatiguing reproduction of music.” Writing from his test bench, JA noted that the DV2 offers resolution that’s “close to the state of the art.” Check the EMM Labs website to see if your version needs the no-cost volume-control update. One of JVS’s reference DACs. (Vol.42 No.3 WWW) EXASOUND S88 MARK II: $7599

KR was impressed by this network-connected 8-channel D/A processor, writing that “the s88 sounded just right from the first notes, and that impression endured as I immersed myself in a wide range of music over several weeks. .... [I]n fact, it exceeds the performance of any DAC that I have used. I would describe its sound as transparent rather than detailed, dynamically responsive rather than lively, and honest in how it presents voices.” On the test bench, the s88 offered a resolution of 21 bits, which is among the highest the magazine has found. The default reconstruction filter is a minimum-phase type and harmonic distortion, intermodulation distortion, and noise levels were all extremely low. KR concluded: “For some who are already committed to multichannel, the s88, with its superb DAC, convenient streaming and that oh-so-welcome volume control, may be the realization of their dreams. It is of mine.” KR has since obtained the Mark II upgrade, which has no discernible effect on sonics. (Vol.44 No.4 WWW)

FERRUM WANDLA: $2795

This slim, MQA-capable D/A processor from Poland can be used with its line-wart supply or with Ferrum’s HYPSOS external supply ($1195). Digital inputs include AES3; optical and electrical S/PDIF; USB-C (PCM up to 32/768, DSD up to DSD 256); and HDMI ARC. There is also a single-ended analog input as well as balanced and unbalanced analog outputs. The Wandla offers three of the reconstruction filters incorporated in its ESS Sabre ES-9038PRO DAC chip plus two “HQ” filters created for Ferrum by Signalyst, known for their work on the HQPlayer app. (HR preferred the default HQ Apodizing filter.) With the Wandla’s standard supply, HR felt that “melodies felt inhibited, and there was a subtle but distinct metallic hardness that infused the body of every note. Reverb tails were shortened.” Adding the HYPSOS supply set to 22V “made menu-surfing a pleasure,” commented HR, adding that hardness was relieved. “Martha Argerich’s Winter Music became supple and distinctly more three-dimensional with clear, vibrating open spaces between notes.” He wished that this power supply upgrade was something every audiophile could experience. The improvement was not subtle, “and it leaves no doubt about how much a component’s source of energy affects the flow, luster, and body of reproduced music.” HR concluded that the Wandla-HYPSOS combo “is a thoroughly, wisely engineered converter that made me look forward to using it and made me smile every time I did. At its best with the HYPSOS, the Wandla danced in the same ballroom as DACs costing over $10,000.” On the test bench, the Wandla performed supremely well with both analog and digital inputs, even without the HYPSOS supply. “It boasts very high resolution, very low distortion and noise, and a bombproof output stage,” wrote JA. (Vol.47 No.2 WWW)

HOLOAUDIO MAY KTE (LEVEL 3):

$5598 AS REVIEWED

This well-constructed, hot-running, R-2R ladder DAC–based, two-box processor costs $3798–$4998 depending on options. It offers seven digital inputs—two coaxial, one optical, an AES/EBU, a USB, and two I2S over HDMI—and balanced (XLR) and single-ended (RCA) analog outputs. The input stage uses op-amps, the output stage discrete transistors biased into class-A. It can be operated as a NOS (NonOverSampling) DAC or in three different oversampling (OS) modes. (The DSD mode reduces the output level by 6dB.) When HR auditioned the top-of-the-line Level 3 version of the May in NOS mode, the very first album he played “sounded more fundamentally right than any digital reproduction I have experienced in my little bunker,” he wrote. “Better than any DAC I know, the May recovers the natural pressure behind musical flow.” He found that PCM oversampling added a harsh glare and muddled image specificity, and while the sound was clear with CD data and DSD oversampling, with a nice flow and fine musical textures, the bass was softer and soundstages less precisely drawn. “The May’s true-to-life demeanor made recorded music seem infinite and beautiful,” he concluded. JA was equally impressed by the transparency and neutrality of the May, though he found that the excellent soundstage depth and sense of musical “drive” in NOS mode had to be set against this mode’s tendency to make pianos sound too “clangy.” Piano in OS DSD mode remained clean and closer to the true sound of the instrument, he decided. In addition, densely scored climaxes “clogged up” a little in NOS mode while remaining clean in DSD mode. On the test bench, the May offered superb measured performance, including 22-bit resolution, greater even than that offered by the overperforming Weiss DAC502! (Vol.43 Nos.8 & 9 WWW) MERGING+HAPI MKII: $8411 WITH 2 DA8P D/A CARDS

In its base configuration, this slim processor supports eight channels of input or output via AES3, ADAT, or stereo S/ PDIF. Expansion slots allow up to two plugin cards to be added, each of which can support eight channels of D/A, A/D, or two-way A/D/A. KR auditioned the Hapi with the DA8P board, which provides eight balanced analog output channels on a DB-25 connector. There are also headphone outputs. As well as front-panel controls, the Hapi can be controlled by a local webpage. Multichannel data is sourced from the user’s network using the RAVENNA/AES67 protocol. “It did not take symphonic power, multiple channels, or even a recent recording to demonstrate the Hapi’s complete competence,” wrote KR. He found differences between the Hapi and his reference exaSound s88 and Okto DAC8 Pro processors to be elusive in level-matched A/B comparisons, but he tended to choose the Hapi over the others due to his growing expectation of consistency and equanimity across the range of recordings that he played. “I was drawn to the Hapi MkII because of its support for 16 channels in high-resolution PCM and DSD and its high output voltage capability,” he noted. Adding that he harbored the hope that it would sound as good

as or better than what he already owned, “it has met all these expectations and enhanced the joy and satisfaction I get from my music system beyond my expectations.” JA was equally impressed. “With its superbly high resolution, vanishingly low levels of noise and distortion, and superb jitter rejection, Merging’s Hapi MkII offers state-of-the-digital-art measured performance,” he wrote. (Vol.47 No.1 WWW)

MOLA MOLA TAMBAQUI: $13,500

This Bruno Putzeys–designed, Roon Ready D/A processor uses a proprietary digital filter/DAC stage and can be controlled with a smartphone app or an Apple Remote. No MQA capability, but the Tambaqui decodes DSD natively. Digital inputs include USB, TosLink and coaxial S/PDIF, AES3, Ethernet, and I2S over HDMI. Analog outputs are balanced on XLR and headphone on 1/4" and four-pin XLR jacks, both with a volume control and a choice of maximum output level. HR loved what he heard, writing that “the Mola Mola’s most conspicuous sonic trait was a bright, evenly illumined clarity”; he added that “Mola Mola’s Tambaqui did not whisper—it declared loudly: ‘See! The truth is more beautiful than you thought it would be!’” In his follow-up review, KM agreed with HR: “The Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC is easily the finest digital-to-analog converter I’ve heard in my reference system, provoking fresh epiphanies with well-known music. Its beautiful remote control and its ability to function as a preamp adds more value to this expensive machine.” JA found that the Tambaqui offered almost 22 bits of resolution, one of the highest he had encountered, and declared that his testing revealed state-ofthe-digital-art measured performance. (Vol.44 No.12, Vol.45 Nos.1 & 6 WWW)

OKTO DAC8 STEREO: €1289 (€1378 WITH STREAMING OPTION) $$$

Almost identical to the multichannel dac8 PRO in appearance, the dac8 Stereo features a 1/4" headphone jack, two pairs of balanced-output XLR jacks, and a plethora of inputs: one AES/EBU (XLR); four S/PDIF (two coaxial RCA, two TosLink optical); USB Type B; two USB Type A; and Ethernet (RJ45). The ESS Sabre DAC chips offer a choice of seven reconstruction filters for PCM data and two ultrasonic lowpass filters for DSD data. Despite its affordable price, the dac8 Stereo was one of the highest-resolution D/A processors JA had experienced—21 bits, rivaled only by the HoloAudio May, the MBL N31, the Weiss DAC502, and the Mola Mola Tambaqui. The USB input offers lower jitter than the S/ PDIF and AES/EBU inputs, he found, and so is preferred. The dac8 Stereo “opened a transparent window into recorded soundstages, unaccompanied by any feeling of fatigue or undue tonal emphasis,” JA wrote, adding that he continued to be impressed throughout his auditioning by the Okto processor’s combination of upper-bass weight and leading-edge definition. “Not only does the Okto dac8 Stereo offer superb sound quality and state-of-the-art measured performance; its price is a fraction of what you’d pay for competing products,” he concluded. Listed price includes a Raspberry Pi 4–based streaming module (€89 when bought separately) and an Apple remote control (€25 when bought separately). (Vol.44 No.2 WWW)

STORMAUDIO ISP EVO IMMERSIVE SOUND PREAMP/ PROCESSOR: $17,999–$21,999 DEPENDING ON CHANNEL COUNT AND DIGITAL FORMAT

While this multichannel preamp/processor offers a few “legacy” analog inputs, it is for the most part all-digital, input to output, including network connections on both ends. Since it is “AoIP (AES67/Ravenna) Dante Compatible,” it can communicate directly to network-enabled loudspeakers, DACs, amplifiers, etc. KR used Merging’s MAD ASIO driver package installed on his PC server and was then able to send the Evo’s output to the network input of his Ravenna-compliant Hapi II multichannel DAC. The central graphical display on the front panel indicates input choice, source format, overall volume, and an active level display of the individual channels. Menu access is accomplished with the Up, Down, and Home buttons to the left of the display and the large multifunction knob to the right. There is also a remote control and a Web app, both of which KR preferred. The Evo incorporates Dirac Live Active Room Treatment (ART), which utilizes the low-frequency output of all the speakers and subs (each within its own useful to control the room by sending out antisignals to cancel low-frequency resonances, taking into consideration the in-room acoustical interaction of all the speakers and subs up to 150Hz. While the ISP Evo limits its output sample rate to 48kHz while applying its digital signal processing, KR found that the sound with the ISP Evo was remarkably clear and undistorted, fully capable of distinguishing between lossy sources and higher-resolution, discrete, lossless sources, as well as between lossy streamed Atmos and Atmos TrueHD. KR concluded that he was confident that the ISP Evo, as a purely digital processer, did not impose significant, audible coloration on the sound. “What’s more, the sophisticated yet lucid configuration procedures and the smooth integration of functions and controls are up to the standard that one expects from a high-end product. In particular, the ISP Evo offers the most integrated and effective implementation of Dirac Live I’ve ever used.” (Vol.47 No.3 WWW)

TOTALDAC D1-UNITY: €11,500

Listening to a 16/44.1 stream of the soundtrack to Todd Haynes’s 2007 film I’m Not There, AH commented that the body of Salvador Duran’s Martin acoustic guitar “sounded rich, dense, and distinctly solid, as it does through a good record player and on stage. Hearing it hanging between my speakers produced what my brain had assumed was a distinctly analog thrill. The French DAC was allowing me to revel in one of the most fun illusions of reproduced music—the realistic presence of voices and instruments—using a digital signal.” AH concluded that the Totaldac made music sound more unrestrained and physically believable than any digital front-end he’d heard (Vol.46 No.12 WWW)

WEISS ENGINEERING DAC502: $10,995

The earlier Weiss D/A processors reviewed in Stereophile offered astonishing resolution coupled with sound quality “to die for.” The Roon Ready DAC502 more than equals its predecessors in both aspects of performance and adds an Ethernet port, balanced and single-ended headphone outputs, a volume control, a choice of maximum output levels, and several DSP functions including parametric equalization, room correction, binaural-to-loudspeaker processing, vinyl emulation, loudness normalization, and de-essing. The DAC502’s low frequencies “combined clarity with an excellent sense of what the late Art Dudley used to call ‘force’,” wrote JA, adding that he had never heard the layering of recorded soundstages so clearly delineated as with the DAC502. “The Weiss DAC502 retrieves more information from the digits than any other DAC I have auditioned, with the possible exceptions of the Chord DAVE and dCS Vivaldi,” he concluded. JVS was equally impressed: “Would I recommend the Weiss DAC502? In a heartbeat. It doesn’t merely sound clear, alive, full, and supremely musical; it also offers a headphone jack and a host of DSP options that can address issues in many rooms, speakers, and equipment configurations; ... if I were willing to forgo MQA playback (whose sound I love), I would be more than content to live with the DAC502 for many years to come.” If you don’t need the balanced headphone output, the smaller DAC501 offers the same performance and feature set as the DAC502. (Vol.43 Nos.8 & 10 WWW)

WEISS ENGINEERING HELIOS: $21,995

The Roon Ready Helios superficially looks identical to the DAC502 that JA reviewed in August 2022, but it uses a new output stage that can drive headphones directly (headphone adapter cables cost $495). While the Helios uses the same ESS Sabre ES9038PRO HyperStream II DAC chip, four of the DAC channels are operated in parallel for each analog output compared with the DAC502’s two. The Helios offers the same DSP functions as the earlier processor—Room EQ, Creative (parametric) EQ, DeEsser, Dynamic Adaptation, Vinyl Emulation, and Crosstalk Cancellation—and there are now a large number of equalization presets available for headphones. In the test lab, the Weiss Helios featured a resolution between 21 and 22 bits, which is the highest JA had encountered, greater even than that of the DAC502. The Helios also offered very low levels of harmonic and intermodulation distortion and excellent rejection of word-clock jitter. JA wrote of the DAC502 that it retrieved more information from the digits than any other DAC he had auditioned.

With both loudspeakers and headphones, he found that the Helios echoed the DAC502’s extraordinary clarity, “but with an enhanced sense of involvement with the music.” JA concluded that three decades ago, choosing a product that favored “accuracy” or “musicality” may have been necessary, but today that isn’t the case. “The Weiss Helios shows you can have both.” (Vol.47 No.3 WWW)

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ACCUPHASE DG-68 DIGITAL VOICING EQUALIZER: $18,950

The fifth iteration of a unique Japanese product that made its debut in 1997, the DG-68 offers high-resolution, DSPbased multiband equalization and versatile room-acoustic correction abilities (a microphone is included), coupled with a 35-band spectrum analyzer and, according to JA’s measurements, state-of-the-art digital/analog conversion. The DG-68 has both analog and digital inputs and outputs. Using the analog inputs and outputs and experimenting with the DG-68’s settings to optimize the sound of his reference system in his room, JVS found that with VC/EQ active, “guitar strums sounded more realistic, bass was fuller. … Tonality was superb, and the slightest change in dynamics or emphasis was easy to hear and savor.” He concluded that Accuphase’s Digital Voicing Equalizer enriched his experience of reproduced music far more than he could have imagined. “It is transformational and performs flawlessly, to oft-astounding effect. For those who can afford it, its rich musical dividends may prove essential.” JVS subsequently repeated his auditioning using the DG-68’s digital inputs and outputs. He found that the sound was “more substantial in the best ways possible without, to these ears, any loss in transparency, color, [or] depth. … The DG-68’s digital in/out operation enhanced my listening experience in every imaginable way short of transporting me to the actual recording venue.” (Vol.44 Nos.8 & 12 WWW)

AUDIO-GD R7HE MK2: $4990 IN SILVER OR BLACK Designed and developed under the leadership of Mr. He Qinghua, the “First Prize Winner” of the National Semiconductor (USA) Audio Design Contest, the R7HE MK2 features the Chinese manufacturer’s current-domain topology. This two-channel processor features eight sets of fully discrete R–2R DAC modules for decoding PCM data and four sets of discrete DSD hardware decoders. There are six digital inputs—USB, I2S (over RCA and BNC), TosLink, AES3, and HDMI—and both balanced and single-ended analog outputs. It offers 2×, 4×, and 8× oversampling modes, as well as a NOS mode. While HR found the R7HE’s 8× oversampling mode pristine, pure, tight, and clear in a manner he was sure many audiophiles will find compelling, overall he thought oversampling “felt awkward and emotionally detached. It did not express recordings with as much beauty or feeling as NOS.” HR concluded that what was unique and special about the Audio-GD R7HE MK2 in NOS mode was “how it renders recordings in a heightened state of naturally lit beauty and how clearly it conveys the force and drive behind recorded sounds. The R7HE delivered the dynamism and clarity of the Mola Mola Tambaqui coupled with the triode-like splendor of the HoloAudio May and Denafrips’s Terminator Plus.” (Vol.45 No.11 WWW)

GEERFAB AUDIO D.BOB (DIGITAL BREAKOUT BOX): $999

“This unique device is a solution to a problem that previously couldn't be solved,” wrote KR. The GeerFab D.BOB digital breakout box takes a universal player’s HDMI output and with SACDs, extracts two-channel DSD data from the HDMI audio stream, and outputs DoP (DSD-over-PCM) via RCA and TosLink S/PDIF connectors. GeerFab assures users that this implementation is both legal and compatible with HDMI 1.4b and HDCP 1.4. JA’s measurements confirmed that the D.BOB’s output was bit-perfect—ie, the bits it outputs via S/PDIF are the same as those sent to it via HDMI. (Vol.43 No.5 WWW)

HIFI ROSE RS250A: $2695

The original version of the Roon Ready RS250 offered every feature a downsizing audiophile would need other than a power amplifier and loudspeakers: network, FM radio, digibandwidth)

tal, and line-level analog audio inputs; video, digital, and analog outputs, including a headphone jack; and a four-color touchscreen that, as well as controlling the RS250, displays streamed videos. The RS250 can also be controlled with the RoseConnect Premium app for iOS and Android. Optional accessories include an internal SSD for music-data storage and a CD drive. Of several filters on offer, JA preferred the apodizing “Corrected minimum phase Fast Roll-off” filter, which he felt offered maximum transparency to recorded detail. Upsampling, he found, slightly softened the highs. The only measured shortfall was higher-than-usual jitter from the internal DAC, which might have been associated with a slight lack of low-frequency clarity. The RS250A replaced the RS250’s ESS ES9038Q2M two-channel DAC chip with the higher-performance ESS ES9028PRO and supports PCM data formats up to 32/768 and DSD formats up to DSD512. JA concluded his review of the original RS250 by writing, “the sound quality of the HiFi Rose RS250 suggests that nothing had been compromised in packing so many features into its small chassis.” JA repeats that conclusion for the new RS250A, adding that “it is an elegant-looking, well-engineered, multipurpose component.” (RS250, Vol.44 No.12 WWW; RS250A, Vol.46 No.10 WWW) HOLOAUDIO SPRING 3: $3098

The original nonoversampling (NOS) Spring, which HR and AD reviewed in Vol.41 Nos.5 & 7, was HR’s reference DAC for two years. The Spring 3 is available in thee versions; the sample reviewed was the top-of-the-line KTE Level 3, which sports a flat-wire-wound O-core power transformer, high-purity 1.5mm OCC silver wiring, R-2R DAC modules hand-selected based on measured performance, and the “enhanced” USB module found only in the Level 2 and KTE versions of HoloAudio’s May. HR found that the Spring 3 sounded more like the May than the original Spring but noted that it brought “something uniquely its own to the HoloAudio experience, something lively and bright and rosycheeked alluring.” One might almost say “springlike.” He summed his time with the Spring 3 by writing that in terms of build quality, engineering intelligence, and the ebullient character of its solid, stirringly vital sound, the HoloAudio Spring 3 is equal to or better than any DAC he’d used. (Vol.45 No.5 WWW)

IFI AUDIO NEO STREAM: $1299 $$$

As the name suggests, this is a streaming D/A processor. It offers a choice of four digital reconstruction filters, including iFi’s “Bit Perfect” type, and features full MQA decoding. There is an RJ45 Ethernet input, an optical M12 Ethernet input, two USB Type-A jacks (both input and output), a USB-C connection for system updates, a Wi-Fi antenna, and I2S on HDMI, TosLink, coax S/PDIF, and AES3 digital outputs. There are balanced (on a 4.4mm “Pentacon” jack) and single-ended (RCA) analog outputs. A small “OptiBox” transceiver, which converts an electrical Ethernet signal to optical, is included, this powered by a supplied AC-to-USB-C adapter and using a short “SC” optical interconnect (supplied). SM streamed MQA-encoded music from Tidal Connect using Roon, the “Stream-iFi” app, and the galvanically isolated Ethernet connection. “Something just felt ‘right’ about the sonic product MQA achieves,” he wrote. Using both the iFi’s own DACs and separate DACs driven by the NEO Stream’s AES3 digital output, SM concluded that the NEO Stream’s sound quality was beyond reproach, its versatility impressive. “It’s particularly well-suited to those who are happy with their traditional hi-fi rigs and are looking to add state-of-the-art streaming to the mix.” JA was impressed by the NEO Stream’s measured performance, though he did note that the analog output’s resolution is limited to 17–18 bits. (Vol.46 No.8 WWW)

IFI AUDIO ZEN DAC SIGNATURE V2: $599 WITH ZEN CAN $$$

Packaged with the iFi ZEN CAN Signature headphone amplifier—see Headphones & Headphone Accessories—the MQAcapable ZEN DAC Signature V2 offers a single USB 3.0 input and both single-ended and balanced outputs, the latter on a 4.4mm Pentaconn connector. (The package includes a balanced 4.4mm-to-4.4mm Pentaconn cable.) Both outputs can be operated in fixed- or variable-level modes. JMu found that in fixed mode the ZEN DAC’s maximum output level was little too high with the ZEN CAN driving her usual headphones—she used iFi’s iEMatch balanced attenuating cable ($49). (Peculiarly, with the ZEN DAC’s fixed level set to its lowest, JCA didn’t find the attenuator cable necessary with the ZEN CAN and the same headphones.) Using the DAC in her main system, and using its volume control, JMu said its sonics exceeded her expectations: “Detail was maintained and the sound was robust, full, and clear. Backgrounds remained quiet.” JA found that the ZEN DAC Signature v2 had 19 bits’ worth of resolution and very low levels of harmonic distortion. Excellent performance for the price. (Vol.45 Nos.1 & 3 WWW)

IDEON AUDIO AYAZI MK2: $4000

IDEON AUDIO 3R MASTER TIME BLACK STAR CLOCK: $4000

Reviewed as a system, this pairing from Greece offers coaxial S/PDIF and asynchronous USB inputs and one pair of single-ended outputs. The Ayazi processor uses the wellregarded ESS DAC chips. Without the Master Time Black Star Clock, AH found that the Ayazi reproduced music with less resolution and timbral accuracy and created a spatially smaller, less lifelike sound. “Music sounded duller and less compelling,” he wrote. With the external clock, nothing was exaggerated or missing, including deep bass and the high highs, and nothing sounded strident or splashy. This sense of order was heightened by profoundly silent backgrounds and remarkable resolution. “With a combined price of [$7900], it is by no means inexpensive,” AH concluded, “but it provides good value for the refined musical spectacle it creates.” JA noted that the Ayazi did well on the test bench, but he didn’t find any difference in its measured performance when fed USB data via the 3R Master Time Black Star Clock. Still, based on AH’s subjective evaluation, the A rating is only when used with the 3R Master Time Black Star Clock; without the clock, this is a class B DAC. (Vol.45 No.8 WWW) JADIS JS1 MKV: $21,900

A two-chassis processor with fully balanced circuitry, the Jadis uses tubes for its balanced and single-ended outputs. “Despite its majestic weight, size, and price, the JS1 offers few concessions to modernity or convenience: no volume control, no network connection, no selectable filters, no MQA, no wireless anything,” AH wrote. It does have a USB input that accepts and converts PCM data up to 24/384, as well as DSD. AH “strongly” preferred the sound with USB data, which was corroborated by JA’s measurements. The Jadis had an expansive, easy-to-listen-to, celebratory personality, AH wrote: “It allowed the music to flow with not a trace of the edginess, glassiness, and grayness that plagues some digital components.” He felt that the RS1 MkV excelled in two areas: It created a vast, shimmering soundstage, and it portrayed instruments and voices with more tonal richness and more vivid colors than he imagined a digital component could. Summing up, AH wrote, “I can confidently say that the Jadis JS1 offers something that, if not unique, is at least highly distinctive: a digital source that uses tubes to offer a rich, colorful, tactile, propulsive sound, state-of-the-art soundstaging, complete freedom from digital artifacts, and an ability to breathe life into just about any recording.” JA summed up the Jadis JS1 MkV’s measured performance as “dominated by the behavior of the tubed analog stage. To the presumably clean output of the AKM4497EQ DAC chip, it adds low-order harmonic distortion and a random noisefloor that increases in level at low frequencies. In other words: tube sound.” (Vol.45 No.1 WWW)

LUMIN P1: $10,000

The elegant-looking, Roon Ready P1 offers a complete set of digital inputs—AES3, S/PDIF (coaxial and TosLink), USB, Ethernet (electrical and optical), with full MQA decoding—as well as balanced and unbalanced analog inputs, one HDMI 2.0 input, and three ARC-enabled HDMI 2.0 outputs with 4K video passthrough. There are balanced and single-ended analog outputs and S/PDIF (BNC) and USB digital outputs, and the digital volume control is based on Leedh processing, which minimizes the number of additional bits introduced in mathematical operations in order to reduce or eliminate truncation-related loss of information. JA auditioned the P1 with Lumin’s L1 network-attached UPnP server ($1400 for the 5TB version; a 2TB version is also available), using both Roon and Lumin’s app. He was surprised to find that bass guitar had a better sense of drive when played from the L1 with the Lumin app than when he used Roon to play the file from the Roon Nucleus’s internal storage. JA concluded that the P1 was a superb-sounding D/A processor and “its transparent-sounding analog inputs and full video functionality are a welcome bonus.” On the test bench, the P1 offered high resolution and low noise and distortion. The analog inputs had a low input impedance, which might be a problem with source components having tubed output stages. (Vol.45 No.4 WWW)

MEITNER MA3 INTEGRATED: $10,500

Trickled down from EMM’s DV2, the MA3 uses the same fully discrete, one-bit DAC circuit, with an internal conversion rate of DSD1024. The digital-domain volume control is said to preserve resolution at low settings and, unlike the DV2, the Roon Ready, MQA-capable MA3 can stream music from a network-attached storage device (NAS) or from streaming services via its Ethernet and USB ports. Using either Roon or the free MConnect app, JVS noted that “the MA3’s soundstage was impressively wide, its bass was quite strong, and its colors were true.” His conclusion? “The MA3 doesn’t just take you from Point A to Point B; it makes every journey a joy. Anyone in the market for a versatile one-piece, Roon Ready, MQA-capable streaming DAC with volume control that is capable of high-resolution PCM and DSD playback will be all the richer for taking it for a spin.” In the test lab, the MA3 offered somewhat different measured behavior depending on whether it was decoding impulse-like data or continuous waveform data, this typical of Ed Meitner’s DAC designs for 30 years. But with both kinds of data, the MA3’s measurements were excellent, with high resolution and low noise and distortion. (Vol.45 No.6 WWW)

PS AUDIO PERFECTWAVE DIRECTSTREAM MK2: $7999

The same size as its well-regarded predecessor, the MK2 processor replaces the rectangular, four-color touchscreen with a smaller display with a Mute/Menu button to its left and a blue-illuminated five-button controller to its right. However, it still upsamples PCM data to 30-bit words, now sampled at 2× the original’s 28.224MHz, and these still processed by a digital-domain volume control before being resampled to single-bit, quad-rate DSD, and converted to analog with a low-pass filter. Though there is no Ethernet port, the MK2 has seven digital inputs: two AES3, optical and coaxial S/PDIF (one each), asynchronous USB Type B, and two I2S over HDMI. (The last two can be used with PS Audio PerfectWave transports.) Each digital input can be galvanically isolated to eliminate noise on shared grounds. There are unbalanced and balanced analog outputs. (The latter’s XLR jacks don’t have the usual locking mechanism; JA found that the weight of the AudioQuest interconnects he initially used kept pulling the plugs out.) Overall, JA enjoyed how the DirectStream MK2 played music, commenting that while its low frequencies don’t have quite the drive he appreciates with the Benchmark and MBL processors, “it betters its predecessor in this respect and sounds more open in the highs.” But he was bothered by the high levels of random noise in the MK2’s output, this mostly ultrasonic but in-band, too, and some 20× higher than its predecessor’s. In theory, this noise will compromise the processor’s low-level resolution. While his auditioning suggested that the DirectStream MK2’s retrieval of recorded detail was not in the same class as the high-resolution overachievers that the magazine has reviewed, his enjoyment of the music was not unduly impaired. (Vol.46 No.6 WWW)

SONNET AUDIO MORPHEUS MKII: $3170

As well as the usual S/PDIF and AES3 inputs, this 24-bit, non-oversampling D/A processor offers a choice of USB or I2S input ports. Both balanced and single-ended outputs are offered, and, usefully, the Morpheus features a volume control. It doesn’t decode DSD data. AH found that the USB input didn’t sound as vivid as the AES3 input, but the I2S input was his favorite. Compared with AES3, “instruments became less homogenized, each sounding more distinct and colorful, and everything in the soundfield grew more prea

cise, solid, and well-organized,” he wrote. JA found that the S/PDIF and AES3 inputs had relatively high levels of jitter, though he was impressed by the 20-bit resolution offered by the Morpheus’s R-2R ladder-DAC topology. AH summed up his time with the Morpheus, writing that “this thoughtfully designed Dutch DAC … resolved massive amounts of information while reproducing my favorite music in a natural, embodied manner that never sounded strident. It made listening to even early or poor recordings musically meaningful and fun.” The optional MQA card adds $199, though AH couldn’t get this to work with I2S data, just AES3. MKII upgrade is said to be trivial: a substitute chip in the volume control, which AH didn't audition. (Vol.44 No.11 WWW)

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DENAFRIPS ENYO: $850 $$$

This recently renamed, affordable D/A processor retained all of the pricier Denafrips Terminator’s features, and in OS Slow mode, “a majority portion of the flagship’s engaging character,” HR wrote, “but the sounds it projected seemed smaller and denser and tighter,” while “the sound in OS-Fast was kind of forward, rough, and ringy, with sharpish, sometimes glaring highs.” In NOS mode, the Ares II “was relaxed and musical but exhibited a slight diffusion and grainy flatness,” he found. HR summed up his time with the Ares II by writing that it “recovered more ambient/reverberant information and generated larger, more precisely mapped soundstages than any DAC I’ve encountered under $1698 . ... I see the Denafrips Ares II as a working person’s superDAC.” JA’s measurements found that the OS filter modes overloaded with full-scale high-frequency signals, and that there was a peculiar modulation of the ladder DAC’s linearity error with signal level. Otherwise, this inexpensive DAC offers often-superb measured performance, he concluded. (Vol.43 Nos.9 & 11 WWW) LEJONKLOU KÄLLA: $8495

Audiophiles turn up their noses at the lossy compression used by the Spotify streaming service. But to his amazement, AH found that with this bare-bones Swedish DAC—it is limited to 16/44.1 resolution and the manufacturer says it’s designed to work best with AirPlay—“Spotify drew me into my music in a way I hadn’t experienced previously with digital. It did away with the invisible glass wall digital often places between the music and the listener more thoroughly than any device I’ve heard.” Compared with lossless audio streamed to the Källa from Qobuz, AH found that while he heard slightly more solidity, more incisive detail, and maybe a bit more tone color with Qobuz, with Spotify “the music simply soared and jumped, while with Qobuz it kind of sat there, glowering.” (Vol.46 No.3 WWW)

MOJO AUDIO MYSTIQUE X SE: $6999

The New Mexican Mystique X offers AES3, coaxial S/PDIF, and USB digital inputs, single-ended analog outputs, and features a pair of vintage 20-bit Analog Devices AD1862 ladder-DAC chips. The SE version that HR reviewed adds ultrafast, ultralow-noise, zero-recovery SiC Schottky rectification diodes, ups the capacitance of the four-pole Mundorf capacitors to 22,000µF, and employs a “massive” power supply with Lundahl amorphous-core chokes. HR liked what he heard: “The Mojo’s extremely natural, easyflowing sound trumped every inclination I had to do comparisons with some other digital source,” he wrote, and complimented the Mystique’s presentation of low-level detail: “The Mojo DAC made piano tones glow and whisper, how all the little quiet notes—ones I don’t usually hear— got through, letting me enjoy their unique expressiveness and admire them individually.” Overall, the Mystique X SE “produced a unique, sophisticated listening experience that presented digital recordings as beautiful, probing, and engaging.” JA was less impressed with how the Mojo DAC measured. The Mystique’s real-world resolution “was about 16 bits below 1kHz and 17 bits above about 4kHz,” he wrote, and found that while low-level information was boosted in level, the background noise levels were both high and different in the two channels. He felt that the limited resolution and high positive linearity error at low levels were matters for concern, though he did note that these problems will be least audible with 16/44.1 data. In his own auditioning, JA also noted the enhancement of low-level detail but despite the disappointing measured behavior he didn’t immediately notice anything questionable about the Mystique’s sound quality with 16/44.1 USB data; the tonal balance was warm, and there was nothing fatiguing about the treble. Hi-rez audio didn’t offer the expected improvement, however. The Mojo DAC, he found, formed a synergistic partnership with the Jay’s Audio upsampling CD transport. (Vol.46 Nos.4 & 5 WWW)

TOPPING DM7 8-CHANNEL D/A PROCESSOR: $599 $$$

This eight-channel processor from China has just one digital input, USB, and the balanced analog outputs are on TRS jacks rather than XLRs. It includes a master volume control and individual channel gain controls, all with 0.5dB resolution. (Level adjustments for individual channels can be made with the supplied remote control.) A front-panel display shows volume, whether the audio data are PCM or DSD, and bit depth/sample rate. Like other processors that use the ES9038PRO DAC chip, the DM7 offers a choice of seven PCM reconstruction filters and four DSD filters. There are also two choices for maximum output levels—4V, the default, and 5V—and fixed or variable volume. KR was able to use both Roon and JRiver with the Topping and commented on impressive dynamic range, both in stereo and multichannel playback, a believable soundstage, and “striking purity.” KR decided that the DM7 “offers the hard-to-beat combination of simple operation, low cost, and excellent sound.” In the test lab, the DM7 offered a high resolution of 19 bits, with low linearity error and very low levels of distortion, random noise, and jitter. “The Topping DM7’s measured performance is superb, even without taking its affordable price into account,” wrote JA. Still, absurdly high value for money. High Class B. (Vol.46 No.1 WWW)

C

WIIM MINI: $99

This tiny, unbelievably affordable, Wi-Fi–capable network bridge also has an analog input and output with A/D and D/A converters and a volume control. The analog input is limited to 16/48 but via Wi-Fi, the Mini will accept hi-rez data up to 24/192 and output those data from its TosLink S/PDIF port. It will also decode hi-rez data to analog, though the sample rate is limited to 96kHz. WiiM’s Home app allows hi-rez audio to be streamed from Qobuz, and the Mini can also receive normal-resolution data sent via Wi-Fi using AirPlay 2 and Roon. Multiple Minis can be operated simultaneously for multiroom use—a built-in microphone allows each Mini’s latency to be calibrated to ensure that they are synchronized. JA commented that the Mini’s analog input and output are serviceable, but it was its ability to output hi-rez audio data from its TosLink output that got this bargain-priced product a recommendation. While preparing the review in April 2022, JA occasionally had problems with word-length truncation when streaming 24-bit data from Qobuz or from files on his iPhone when he changed the maximum TosLink sample rate with the Home app. These problems could be resolved with a reboot, and a firmware update dated July 1, 2022, solved it completely. Rating is for DAC performance; Class A as a network bridge. (Vol.45 No.8 WWW)

DELETIONS

Verity DAC, Gold Note DS-10 EVO, not reviewed in a long time.

PREAMPLIFIERS A

AUDIO-GD VACUUM HE1 XLR: $3999

This large, heavy, Chinese-made, tubed, all-balanced preamplifier doesn’t have a phono input, but it offers three balanced (XLR) and two single-ended (RCA) line inputs, balanced and single-ended outputs, and comes with a remote control. Tube complement is six 6H2N-EB twin triodes and four 6U4N-EB rectifiers, all Russian-made. Compared with the Lab 12 HR, the Vacuum HE1 played slightly richer and thicker with more obvious three-dimensionality. Compared with the PrimaLuna EVO 100, the Vacuum HE1 XLR distinguished itself with quicker, sharper transients, more thoroughly exposed detail, harder-punching bass, and stronger pace, rhythm, and timing, HR noted. “Audio-GD’s Vacuum HE1 XLR line-level preamp allowed diverse audio sources to sound maximally diverse—and that, folks, is transparency,” HR concluded. In the test lab, JA found that the preamplifier’s top-octave output varied with the setting of the volume control. With it set to the maximum, the response was down by 5.5dB at 20kHz. With it set to “60,” the 20kHz output was down by 0.9dB. Harmonic distortion was fairly low and was dominated by the second and third harmonics. JA warned that the HE-1 shouldn’t be used with power amplifiers that have an input impedance of 10k ohms or lower. (Vol.46 No.10 WWW)

AUDIO RESEARCH REFERENCE 6SE: $19,500

An updated version of the discontinued REF 6, with changes in capacitors and wiring, the fully balanced, tubed 6SE impressed JVS, who noted that when he installed the REF 6SE in his system, his speakers “poured forth some of the most polished, transparent, and arresting sound” he’d heard from his system. Longer-term listening, however, indicated that the Audio Research preamplifier was sensitive to setup issues. Once he had optimized everything else in his system—cables, footers, stands, AC supply—JVS could report that the REF 6SE’s “warmth and vibrancy of color, prominent midrange, and seemingly more dramatic dynamic contrasts made me want to listen more and deeper.” In a Follow-Up, JA felt the REF 6SE’s sonic signature, with its slightly softened highs but superb resolution of recorded detail, would work best with systems that are a little laid-back in the upper midrange and that don’t have underdamped or poorly defined low frequencies. (Vol.43 No.11, Vol.44 No.8, Vol.45 No.10 WWW)

BENCHMARK LA4: $2950 WITHOUT REMOTE, $3050 WITH REMOTE $$$

Benchmark’s usual approach to design is to out-spec the competition, and so it is here. Like other Benchmark equipment he has tested, the affordable LA4 challenged the resolution of JA’s test instruments, with “superb” channel separation, “extremely low noise, and virtually no powersupply-related spuriae.” Restricting his measurement to the audio band, JA found an “astonishing” S/N ratio of 105.5dB for both channels; it remained extremely low across the audioband. He summed up: “Benchmark’s LA4 is the widestbandwidth, widest-dynamic-range, lowest-noise, lowestdistortion preamplifier I have encountered.” In his listening room, KR compared the LA4 to a cable—and couldn’t hear any difference. He concludes, “the LA4 is probably the most transparent and revealing audio component I’ve ever used. It does not seem to leave any fingerprints on the sound.” See also HR’s review of Benchmark’s similar HPA4 headphone amplifier (see “Headphones”). JA found that the LA4 had a more upfront presentation than the MBL N11 or Pass Labs XP-32, with less soundstage depth apparent on his own recordings. (Vol.43 Nos.1 & 11, Vol.44 No.3 WWW)

DAN D’AGOSTINO MOMENTUM HD: $42,500

The two-piece Momentum HD—its power supply is contained within its stand—is an all-balanced, fully discrete, line-level preamplifier with six inputs and two outputs, all via XLR connectors. As with the original Momentum, the HD’s aesthetics keep pace with the designs of other D’Agostino creations: Here, the dial at the center of the front panel is a green-lit volume meter, its bezel the volume “knob.” Once installed in JVS’s system, the Momentum HD brought to a favorite recording of the Shostakovich Symphony No.11 “deeper and more resonant bass and an all-enveloping three-dimensional soundstage that was as thrilling as it was terrifying.” He added, “with the Momentum HD, a new window opened, and every recording became a source of wonder.” Writing from his test bench, JA noted that the Momentum HD fell slightly short of its predecessor in a few aspects of measured performance yet distinguished itself as “a well-engineered preamplifier.” (Vol.43 No.2 WWW) DARTZEEL NHB-18NS MKII: $62,545 ★

The “stunningly transparent” darTZeel NHB-18NS of 2007 offered spectacular transient speed, resolution, and decay, while providing an overall coherence that “made recorded music, analog or digital, sound much closer to live,” according to MF, who added that, with its warm, vivid combination of red case and dark-gold front and rear panels, the NHB18NS “looks like it sounds.” As of the summer of 2008— by which time he’d bought one for himself—MF felt that the battery-powered NHB-18NS matched the resolution and transparency of MBL’s 6010 D preamp while managing to sound less mechanical. The NHB-18NS of 2017 is a complete redesign of the Swiss company’s preamp, but it still offers both line and phono stages—the latter, per MF, being “sonically far superior to the original” and more adjustable than many outboard phono preamps of his experience. MF also hailed the new model’s digitally displayed volume-control calibration and the fact that, unlike those of its predecessor, the new model’s batteries “have never run out of juice during a listening session.” According to Mikey, the new darTZeel’s phono section sounds “neither as transparent nor as dynamic” as the CH Precision P1 phono preamp ($31,000 without additional power supply) or Ypsilon VPS-100 Silver Edition ($65,000). Yet, with the “tube-like richness and generous flow” it inherited from its forebear, the 18NS “will more than satisfy casual vinyl listeners.” The major difference between the original NHB-18NS and the new version was the replacement of the transformercoupled balanced inputs and outputs with a direct-coupled topology. JA found that the balanced output impedance was usefully much lower than the original version’s. While distortion was very low, the noisefloor was higher than JA expected, and there was an odd rise in the noisefloor in the mid-treble. The MC input offers adjustable gain and input impedance, an optional subsonic filter, and so-called Neumann 4th pole equalization. JA recommends the latter be switched off—without it the RIAA deemphasis is superbly accurate. (Vol.30 No.6, Vol.31 No.10, Vol.33 Nos.5 & 10, Vol.40 No.6, Vol.45 No.2 WWW)

EMIA AUTOFORMER: $4875 IN COPPER, $7525 WOUND AND WIRED WITH 0.999 SILVER.

See Alex Halberstadt’s Brilliant Corners column in this issue. (Vol.47 No.4)

ENGSTRÖM MONICA MK3: $60,000

This very expensive, two-chassis, tubed line preamplifier from Sweden houses the transformer-coupled analog circuitry with its 48-step volume control in one chassis, the power supply, display, and control circuitry in the other. The review sample’s preamp chassis used four NOS 5687WB small-signal tubes; the power supply used one ECC83 tube and one 6080WC tube. There is no remote control; the preamp can be controlled by Engström’s iPhone/iPad app. JVS wrote that the Engström’s tonal saturation and completeness sounded 100% right” and concluded that the Monica Mk3 preamplifier “is as complete a musical instrument as I’ve ever welcomed to my music room. It doesn’t hit you over the head with its strengths; rather, it unfailingly seduces with the inherent rightness of its sound and presentation.” With the preamp on the test bench, JA wrote that the Engström Monica Mk3’s measured performance is dominated by the designer’s decision not to use negative feedback, which gave rise to modest amounts of mainly low-order harmonic distortion. He was impressed by the fact that the preamplifier was not fazed by driving low impedances, but was puzzled by the Engström’s boosted response at ultrasonic frequencies, which could mean that the preamplifier might be susceptible to picking up RF interference. (Vol.45 No.4 WWW) ESOTERIC GRANDIOSO C1X: $46,000

When tastefully illumined by the adjustable blue LED lighting of its separate power supply, the dual-mono, fully balanced Grandioso C1X line preamp “looks like a million dollars— which, given its healthy price tag, it should,” wrote JVS. But even if Esoteric’s attention to detail had not convinced him that the C1X was a class act, its sound would have, and did. “The C1X delivered bass every bit as mouthwatering and thrilling as I’ve come to expect from my system,” he wrote. Overall, the Grandioso C1X “could very well be the keeper, the component that delivers a lifetime of joy and pleasure,” he concluded. “It is one of those rare products whose excellence is proclaimed with every note. It is more than an object of beauty; it reaches into the emotional core of musical experience and opens a window onto ultimate truth.” JA was similarly impressed when he got this Japanese preamplifier in his test lab, writing “Esoteric’s Grandioso C1X offered superb measured behavior. Its extraordinarily low levels of distortion and noise rival the performance of contenders from Benchmark, MBL, and Pass Labs.” Asked for his rating, JVS says, “If there’s an A+ category, it belongs there.” There isn’t.(Vol.44 No.7 WWW)

GRYPHON COMMANDER: $67,000

This unusually large, heavy, expensive, two-chassis, dual-mono, solid state line-level preamp features a 4.3” proximity-sensing TFT touch screen that controls all of its functionality, including an 85-step, microprocessorcontrolled volume control. (There is also a remote control.) The Commander has four pairs each of balanced and singleended inputs and two pairs of balanced (XLR) outputs and one single-ended output pair—plus another stereo output pair labeled “TAPE.” After the preamp had been run in for six days, MF felt its sound was precise, pleasingly taut, and well-focused, with immediately impressive image threedimensionality. “Vital” was the one-word description that came to his mind. “Even for this seasoned veteran,” MF concluded, “every listen demonstrated that the Commander did as promised, allowing (rather than producing) exceptionally transparent, fast, natural, open sound from all source components. It was as close to a neutral-sounding audio component as I’ve had in my system.” The Commander also excelled on the test bench, offering very low noise and very low levels of low-order distortion. (Vol.45 No.7 WWW) HOLOAUDIO SERENE KTE: $3098

HR found that this “supertransparent” solid state line preamp enhanced the sound quality with every source he tried: “The Serene gave the May a dose of sunlight and a shot of

adrenalin. [It added] grace and liquidity to the sound of the Mola Mola Tambaqui and punch and bass authority to the Denafrips Terminator Plus.” He also noted that it enhanced the spatial presentation of Sutherland Engineering’s Little Loco phono stage—“adding force and rhythmic nuance while peeling away a layer of shadow that had previously obscured the perimeters of the Loco’s projected soundscape.” (Vol.45 No.6 WWW)

LAB12 PRE1: $2290

This line stage from Greece uses a single high-transconductance, twin-triode, E88CC tube per channel without any loop feedback to give a high maximum gain of 21dB. It offers five line-level (RCA) inputs and two outputs: one RCA, the other XLR. HR found that compared to PrimaLuna’s tube-rectified EVO 400, the Pre1 sounded turbocharged. “Could this be the difference between solid state and tube rectifiers?” he wondered. Compared with HoloAudio’s higher-priced KTE Serene, HR noted that the Pre1’s clarity/transparency/invisibility was equal to that of the Serene but the Pre1’s transparency was less stark than the Serene’s, “breathier and more vibrant with a slight, just-right aura of tube radiance.” He also found that the Pre1 couldn’t match the Serene “for low-end gut-punch, upper-bass detail, or dynamic swagger.” However, using the Pre1 to drive Genelec’s G Three active loudspeakers, HR realized that he was experiencing “a more refined, grainless, ‘invisible’ preamplifier than any I could recall using.” (Vol.46 No.1 WWW)

MBL NOBLE SERIES N11: $17,700

This beautiful, multiple-input, multiple-output line preamplifier can be used in its Unity Gain mode for maximum sound quality or with a higher-gain setting. JVS found that the N11 in its higher-gain mode “brought out the warm core of every note,” adding that it enabled him to hear “the subtle differences of interpretation, dynamics, and color that are the portals to the truth behind the notes.” He found that Unity Gain moved the soundstage farther back in his system with his D/A processors. While perspective was clarified, this mode made the sound less open with slightly reduced transparency and bass. Ultimately, he felt that the N11’s Unity Gain “toned down the noisy top ends of some recordings, making for easier listening.” The N11’s measurements revealed extraordinarily low noise and distortion, especially in Unity Gain mode. However, the CD input’s unbalanced impedance of 2.3k ohms will tax sources with a tubed output stage. Those can be used with the balanced inputs or the unbalanced Aux inputs, which have impedances of 10k ohms and 47k ohms, respectively. To his surprise, JA found that inserting the N11 between his DAC and power amplifiers resulted in a more palpable presentation, with a deeper soundstage. (Vol.43 Nos.7, 11, & 12, Vol.44 No.3 WWW)

MCINTOSH C12000: $16,000

This massive, two-box preamplifier features separate tubed and solid state output stages. The signal circuitry is housed in one chassis; the control circuitry and power supply are in the second chassis. Tubes are 12AX7As and 12AT7s. There are six pairs of balanced line inputs, four pairs of single-ended line inputs, and two pairs of single-ended phono inputs, each of which can be set independently to moving magnet or moving coil. (The phono stage is tubed.) There is a headphone output as well as balanced and single-ended outputs. SM went back and forth between the tubed and solid state outputs, but listened mostly with tubes. However, listening to a percussive and impactful recording of Chabrier’s España, he “got a huge kick in the pants from the solid state presentation; the dynamics were more impressive compared to the tubed output.” SM decided that the genre of the music and the type of the recording will influence the choice between tubes and solid state. “It’s good to have access to both,” he concluded, adding that with the Decca 2022 reissue of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, “the quantity of musical information being launched at me was almost overwhelming.” The C12000 turned in an impressive performance on JA’s test bench, offering very low distortion and noise with both line and phono inputs and from both tubed and solid state outputs. “The McIntosh C12000’s measured performance is among the best I have encountered from a preamplifier,” he wrote. (Vol.46 No.11 WWW)

NAIM NSC 222: $8999

This full-function streaming preamplifier can be used with its internal power supply or with Naim’s NPX 300 external supply ($8999). “The fully loaded NSC 222 packs quite a punch in terms of facilities and features,” commented MC, because as well as unbalanced line inputs, it includes a medium-sensitivity moving magnet phono preamplifier, a comprehensive streamer/DAC that can be controlled with the matching Naim app (for Android or iOS), and a dedicated headphone amplifier. Listening to the digital inputs, MC found that the NSC 222 showed high resolving power, revealing quite subtle differences between 16/44.1, 24/96, and 24/176.4 WAV files—and finally DSD64. The last was his favorite, revealing a marked degree of crisp precision and musical communication. While MC and his team of listeners liked what they’d heard with the internal supply, the sound was obviously better, in almost all aspects of sound quality, including the headphone output, with the NPX 300. MC summed up the NSC 222 by writing “All operational modes, analog disc, digital audio streaming and decoding, plus headphone and loudspeaker drive were consistent, distinguished by an innate sense of energy, imbued with transparency and microdetail. There was also a significantly open, wide-band character, somewhat different from the mildly ‘contained’ sense of some previous Naim iterations. And it is that satisfying, involving rhythmic quality that continues to entertain.” JA commented that Naim’s NSC 222 offered generally excellent measured performance via its digital inputs, with about 18-bit resolution and low jitter, and via its line and phono analog inputs. He did note that the ultrasonic response rolled off by 3dB at 41kHz with all these inputs, but this won’t have subjective consequences. (Vol.47 No.1 WWW)

PASS LABS XP-32: $18,375

Replacing the well-regarded XP-30, the three-box XP-32 looks almost identical. To minimize noise, each channel’s audio circuitry is housed in a separate chassis with the “dirty” control and power-supply circuitry in a third. Internal improvements include new transformers and DC-coupling of the balanced and single-ended inputs. The output stage runs a higher class-A bias with lower output impedance than the XP-30, and the volume control now operates in 0.5dB steps rather the earlier preamp’s 1dB steps. JA was enthralled by the XP-32’s transparency, hearing small details in his own recordings that he had not been fully aware of before. “A great preamplifier will allow through so much information, so much of the music, that the shortcomings of lesser speakers and amplifiers can be forgotten. The Pass Labs XP-32 satisfies that definition,” he concluded. In a followup, JCA compared the XP-32 with the two-chassis XP-22. He was impressed with what he heard: “The XP-32 was just slightly more explicit than the XP-22. It was immediately noticeable on any music I played,” he wrote, concluding that he “thought the XP-22 preamplifier let through all the music, or all that mattered, but I guess it didn’t, because the XP-32 lets through just a little bit more.” (Vol.44 No.3, Vol.45 Nos.4 & 6 WWW)

PRIMALUNA EVO 400: $5295

PrimaLuna’s brand-new flagship line-level preamp—it replaces the company’s DiaLogue Premium—the EVO 400 uses tubes for rectification as well as for gain and buffering and includes input and output transformers that allow balanced operation. Noting that its extraordinary weight (52.8lb) comes not from its steel chassis but from its abundance of power-supply transformers and chokes, HR praised the EVO 400’s very high parts quality and lavished similar praise on its “scintillating” presentation and ability to portray vivid, well-saturated musical colors while nevertheless being “more concise-sounding” than its predecessor in the PrimaLuna line. “It generated clearer, more muscular presentations with sharper focus and more distinctly punctuated momentums.” Reporting from his test bench, JA noted that “the EVO 400 measures well for a tubed design.” (Vol.46 No.1 WWW)

PRIMARE PRE35 PRISMA: $5000 AS REVIEWED

The basic PRE35 Prisma preamplifier lists for $3900. The DM35 DAC module adds $500, and the SM35 Prisma network module adds $600—put it all together and you have the Primare PRE35 Prisma, which has both balanced and single-ended analog line inputs. Digital inputs include four TosLink, two S/PDIF on RCA, one USB-A, one USB-B, one LAN/Ethernet, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennae. There are two balanced and two unbalanced outputs, one digital output (S/PDIF on RCA), and a LAN output. The DAC chip is a premium AKM AK4497EQ. The PRE35 can be controlled with the multiroom Primare Prisma app, which is available for iOS and Android. The app facilitates component setup, integrates internet radio, allows access to music files stored on your local network, and provides links allowing you to access local streaming services via Chromecast, AirPlay, Bluetooth, and Spotify Connect. Qobuz and Tidal integration were imminent at the time of the review. On first listen, SM felt that the sound of the PRE35 Prisma was very close to that of his reference Audio Research REF6SE preamplifier, though “deep lows were more forward on the PRE35, the highest highs audible to me a little brighter—in other words, voiced a little differently at the extremes.” Overall, after extended listening SM was impressed, concluding “The Primare PRE35 Prisma is a finely honed, well-made, and—considering the state-of-the-art technologies it incorporates—fairly priced streaming preamplifier. Its simple Scandinavian aesthetic belies its rich functionality and flexibility.” JA was equally impressed by the PRE35 Prisma’s measured performance, offering very low distortion and noise for both analog and digital input signals. (Vol.46 No.4 WWW)

ROGUE RP-7: $4995 ★

This line-level preamplifier uses four 12AU7 dual-triode tubes and contains 17 (!) separate power supplies, including an individual regulated filament supply for each tube. Its military-spec circuit board is endowed with heavy copper traces and graced with an abundance of Vishay HEXFRED diodes, Vishay resistors, and Mundorf oil-caps. The Rogue’s rear panel is itself abundant with connectors: three unbalanced (RCA) line-level inputs, two balanced (XLR) line-level inputs, and two each unbalanced and balanced outputs, following the same connector conventions. The front panel is notable for more than just its single 1/4” headphone jack and its old-school volume knob: It also includes a Balance knob, which HR loved. Used in conjunction with HR’s First Watt SIT-3 solid state amplifier, the Rogue preamp delivered “a superbly balanced and invigorating—nay, intoxicating— system that didn’t sound like tubes or solid state. But it did reproduce, with extraordinary weight and saturated tones, my latest favorite piano album.” Herb’s conclusion: “My new reference.” In measuring the RP-7, JA found that, “as long as it’s driving a power amplifier with a high input impedance, Rogue’s RP-7 offers generally respectable measured performance.” (Vol.42 No.3 WWW)

SCHIIT FREYA+: $849 W/O TUBES, $1049 WITH 6SN7 OR LISST, $899 WITH NOS 6N8S $$$

This compact line stage uses four Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB tubes and offers two pairs of balanced XLR inputs, three pairs of unbalanced RCA inputs, one pair of XLR outputs, and two pairs of RCA outputs, as well as a remote control. There are three operating modes: solid state buffered; passive; and tubed active, which offers 12dB of gain. KR found that the SS buffer gave enhanced soundstage depth compared with passive mode, where the music was marginally drier and smaller. Tubed active mode in general sounded a little warm, rich, and forgiving—all attributes sought by many. “The bass was rich and weighty, which I found quite enjoyable for passive listening,” wrote KR, “but I preferred the solid state buffer mode for its uncolored directness.” His conclusion? “The Freya + delivers high-quality sound and reliable operation at a very friendly price. Each of the Freya’s modes will appeal to specific listeners, but, very likely, many will enjoy having all the options.” JA was impressed, writing, “With its very low levels of both noise and distortion, even with the tube stage active, the Schiit Freya + preamplifier’s measured performance is superb, matching or better than the specifications listed on Schiit’s website.” His only caution was that the high output impedance at low frequencies from all the outputs will result in a lightweight balance with power amplifiers that have an input impedance much below 10k ohms. After a brief trial at home (which he has not yet

written up), JCA is tempted to downgrade the Freya+ due to nonsonic factors, in particular excess heat and mediocre, difficult-to-interpret front-panel controls. Almost, but not quite. (Vol.45 No.4 WWW)

SUGDEN MASTERCLASS LA-4: $4650 ★

Sugden’s solid state, line-level-only Masterclass LA-4 offers four single-ended (RCA) inputs and one balanced (XLR) input, with outputs of both of those types. (The circuitry is fully balanced overall.) Gain is generous—JA would measure ca 20dB, single-ended or balanced—with signal attenuation courtesy of an old-school volume control. With the Sugden in his system, JCA noted “more ambiance with good recordings” than through his reference PS Audio preamp, but also “a touch less body.” Overall, the Masterclass LA-4 “subtly illuminated the music” and “preserved subtle soundstage cues.” JA’s measurements uncovered lower-than-specified output impedance, thus indicating good compatibility with a variety of power amps, but a “disappointing” wideband S/N ratio. (Vol.42 No.4 WWW)

TOPPING PRE90: $599 PLUS $249 FOR THE EXT90 INPUT EXTENDER $$$

This affordable solid state preamplifier comes with a remote control and one pair each of balanced and unbalanced inputs and outputs. The optional $249 Ext90 adds one RCA and three XLR input pairs. Circuitry is all balanced. There’s no balance control, but the volume control operates in relay-controlled 0.5dB steps. “A transparent, noise-free sound,” decided KR, who described the Pre90 as “a great bargain.” JA warned that the balanced input has very low impedance—1000 ohms—which will give a basslight balance with source components that have a tubed output stage. But with its extraordinarily low levels of noise and distortion and very high channel separation, he concluded “the fact that that performance can be achieved in such a small chassis and for such a low price suggests that Topping has some serious audio engineering talent inhouse.” (Vol.45 No.2 WWW)

WOO AUDIO 3ES: $8999 (STANDARD VERSION)

See “Headphones & Headphone Accessories.” (Vol.45 No.1 WWW)

ZESTO LETO ULTRA II: $11,900

This well-engineered, tubed line preamplifier offers singleended, transformer-coupled balanced inputs and outputs. A unique “Presence” control knob applies high-frequency rolloff with five choices of corner frequency. KM liked what he heard, writing that the Leto Ultra II was one of very few preamplifiers he’s had in house that in some ways equaled his long-term reference Shindo preamplifier. “Record after record, the Leto Ultra II’s neutrality, transparency, and recovery of the last iota of sustain gave fresh insight into familiar recordings,” he wrote, concluding that “Superbly clean and transparent, the Leto Ultra II’s midrange-to–upper treble focus and lucidity was off the charts, giving fresh insight to familiar LPs. Silky and smooth, its tone was also good.” In a Follow-Up, JCA explored the effect of the Presence control and found that the top three settings, which progressively roll off the top octave, were beneficial with recordings that had highs that had been balanced on the hot side. JCA was also impressed by the Leto’s overall performance, writing: “This is a preamp that wears its tubed nature lightly, imparting a slight creaminess on the sound while giving up little in the way of transparency. Instrumental timbres remained natural and soundstage depth was preserved.” (Vol.44 Nos.2 & 9 WWW)

B

FERRUM OOR: $1995

See “Headphones & Headphone Accessories.” (Vol.45 No.2 WWW)

DELETIONS

Bryston BP-173, discontinued. Luxman CL-1000, not reviewed in a long time.

POWER AMPLIFIERS A (SOLID STATE)

ACCUPHASE A-300 MONOBLOCK: $51,900/PAIR “The more I listened to the A-300 monoblocks, the more I wanted to listen,” wrote JVS about his time with a pair of these powerful amplifiers. (It is specified as delivering 125W into 8 ohms, 250W into 4 ohms, 500W into 2 ohms, and 1000W into 1 ohm.) The MOSFET output operates in classA up to 125W into 8 ohms, 62.5W into 4 ohms, and 31.25W into 2 ohms. The A-300 has both balanced and unbalanced inputs; the gain and XLR polarity can be adjusted; and an operation-mode switch facilitates bridging and biamping. “As revealing and full range as the sound was,” wrote JVS, “these amplifiers emphasized midrange warmth over top-end brilliance.” He summed up the A-300 by writing “as much as the Accuphase A-300 Monophonic Power Amplifier deserves a Class A rating on our Recommended Components list, that classification only begins to capture how wonderful it sounds.” On the test bench, the A-300 exceeded its specified powers, clipping at 210W into 8 ohms, 385W into 4 ohms, and 610W into 2 ohms. JA’s conclusion: “The Accuphase A-300’s measured performance indicates that it has no problem driving low impedances, and it offers very low distortion, especially into 8 ohms. It is also a very quiet amplifier, even at the highest gain setting.” (Vol.46 No.12 WWW)

AYRE VX-8: $6800

The modest-sized, solid state VX-8 is specified as delivering up to 100Wpc into 8 ohms or 170Wpc into 4 ohms; JA measured clipping powers of 110Wpc into 8 ohms and 176Wpc into 4 ohms. It offers both balanced and single-ended inputs; in addition to the usual speaker outputs, which use Cardas binding posts, there are balanced and unbalanced subwoofer outputs. KM liked what he heard from the Ayre amplifier: “The VX-8 made familiar records new again. It wasn’t so

much casting recordings in a new light as digging deeper to reveal more of a recording’s sonic architecture; a different kind of light induces a different reflection. What’s more, the VX-8 made all the vinyl records I played sound more listenable, regardless of era or genre.” KM’s conclusion was that the VX-8 “commendably reproduces music of all genres while asserting its singular, special sound, as unique today, under the guiding hand of Ariel Brown, as with its originator, Charley Hansen.” He gave it a “heartfelt, shout-it-from-therooftops recommendation.” Both KM and JA commented that the VX-8 ran hot; JA warned that the amplifier’s heatsinks’ thermal capacity was only just sufficient for its power capability. (Vol.46 No.10 WWW)

BENCHMARK AHB2: $3499 $$$ ★

Named for the late Allen H. Burdick, the engineer whose work formed the basis for its design, Benchmark’s AHB2 makes use of THX Corporation’s Achromatic Audio Amplifier (AAA) technology, in which a low-power feed-forward amplifier drives a low-bias class-AB output section. In his listening tests, KR discovered “much more apparent lowlevel detail in already-familiar recordings”—a characteristic he credited to the Benchmark’s evident noiselessness—and a tonal balance that “sounded more ‘right’ than any of [the other amps on hand].” In measuring the AHB2 and attempting to confirm its specified (very) high signal/noise ratio, JA observed nonlinearities in his testing equipment that “haven’t affected the measured performance of other amplifiers I’ve tested, but they were detectable with the AHB2’s very low intrinsic distortion and noise.” His conclusion: “an extraordinary amplifier.” In his Follow-Up report, JCA compared the AHB2 to his reference amp: “Although I preferred the AHB2’s denser presentation of certain details, it’s not clear to me which is truer to the source.” One of Kal Rubinson’s reference amplifiers. JA compared the AHB2 with a pair of Schiit Tyr monoblocks, writing that the Benchmark sounded a tad lighter-balanced—“clean, clear, transparent, yes, with terrific soundstage depth, but lighter.” He also found the AHB2 to be a synergistic partner for Benchmark’s high-resolution DAC3 B. (Vol.38 No.11, Vol.41 No.10, Vol.46 Nos.1 & 3 WWW)

BURMESTER 216 STEREO/MONOBLOCK: $35,000 EACH, $70,000/PAIR

This elegantly styled German amplifier uses internal heatpipes to optimize cooling and can be operated in conventional stereo mode or as a bridged monoblock. JCA found that as a two-channel amp the Burmester lacked any hint of “electrical” sonic character. “Piano notes sounded weighty, full, dense,” he wrote, adding that the leading-edge transient “was fully there, to a degree I found quite natural, but the emphasis was on the rich core of the notes.” But with two amplifiers in mono mode, the music “spread out more and seemed more relaxed. It didn’t seem as loud. The difference wasn’t subtle. Listening with two amplifiers was a more satisfying experience.” JCA concluded that this may be the most self-effacing amplifier he’s reviewed. “Its utter lack of electronic character is a huge plus. It’s a musical chameleon.” On the test bench, the 216 exceeded its specified power in stereo mode of 100Wpc into 8 ohms and 165Wpc into 4 ohms. In mono mode, the Burmester clipped at 330Wpc into 8 ohms and 500Wpc into 4 ohms. “The Burmester 216 offers very low distortion and noise and won’t be fazed by having to drive low impedances,” concluded JA. (Vol.47 No.1 WWW)

CH PRECISION M1.1 REFERENCE: $54,000, INCLUDING TWO INPUT CARDS ($2000 EACH); $108,000/PAIR ★

The Swiss-made CH Precision M1.1 is a modular solid state amp—the user can configure the amp for stereo or mono use, as well as for a choice of output-power-delivery modes—with a JFET front end and a class-AB output stage. A robust power supply built around a massive 2200VA transformer helps account for the M1.1’s extraordinary (165lb) weight. MF, who found the amp’s timbral balance to be very slightly on the warm side of neutral, was taken with a pair of M1.1s configured for mono, noting that their richness did not come with the penalty of softened transients and praising the amps’ combination of bass depth and bass kick. In measuring the M1.1, JA observed that its performance on the bench was dependent upon the amount of global negative feedback dialed in (MF preferred the sound at 20%) and noted the amp’s preference for loads higher than 2 ohms. In his Follow-Up of a single amplifier in stereo mode, JCA agreed with MF that the M1.1 has “powerful bass grip and remarkable slam.” However, while he settled at 10% negative feedback, he was equally happy with no feedback. In contrast to Mikey’s experience, JCA didn’t find the bass soggy even with feedback set to zero. He also noted a remarkable sense of openness with this amplifier. “Well-separated instruments were laid out in an otherwise empty, blank space,” he wrote, adding that the M1.1 sounded “powerful, muscular, [with] plenty of grunt, clear, open, spacious, relaxed.” JCA’s conclusion? “Highly recommended if you’ve got the cash. I wish I did.” (Vol.42 No.7 WWW; Vol.47 No.3 WWW)

DAN D’AGOSTINO MOMENTUM M400 MxV MONOBLOCK: $79,500/PAIR

The M400 MxV Mono is the latest iteration of Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems’ debut amplifier of 2011, the Momentum Mono. Featuring circuitry and active devices trickled down from the company’s cost-no-object and weight-noobject Relentless amplifier, the MxV is specified as offering output powers of 400W into 8 ohms, 800W into 4 ohms, and 1600W into 2 ohms. (JA measured clipping powers of 442W into 8 ohms, 778W into 4 ohms, and 1050W into 2 ohms, though his wall voltage had dropped significantly at the latter two powers.) JVS exclaimed that with the monoblocks driving his Wilson Alexia V speakers, “the strength and quality of bass with the M400 MxV blew me away.” The MxV’s magic, however, was not limited to its bass, he commented. “Above its fine, true midrange, treble sounded less bright and forward on the M400 MxV than with the Progression M550.” Overall, he wrote, the clarity and ease with which the MxV handles even the most challenging recordings is remarkable. “It is one of the most musical, truthful, satisfying amplifiers I’ve ever heard in my system and one of the most striking aesthetically.” (Vol.46 No.6 WWW)

DAN D’AGOSTINO PROGRESSION M550 MONOBLOCK: $47,500/PAIR

This massive monoblock has balanced inputs only and requires a power cord fitted with a 20A IEC connector. JVS was impressed: “In addition to their far blacker space between notes, greater resolution of small details, and natural-sounding illumination, the Progression M550s consistently wowed me with their dynamic mastery.” The latter is what one should expect from such a powerful amplifier: the M550 is specified as offering maximum powers of 550W into 8 ohms, 1100W into 4 ohms, and 2200W into 2 ohms. JA found that the amplifier met its specified power into 8 ohms, though the inevitable droop in his AC wall voltage meant that the M550 offered less power than promised into the lower impedances. JA was concerned by higher levels of distortion than he was expecting at moderate powers, which he ascribed to underbiasing of the 48 output-stage devices in the sample he was sent. Nevertheless, JVS concluded of his samples, which had had their output stage bias currents checked, that “For anyone who values colorful and glowing amplification that brings natural timbre and the subtlest of details and dynamic shifts to the fore while supplying a breathtakingly full measure of big-picture dynamics, slam, and top-to-bottom frequency response, the Progression M610s must be heard.” (Vol.44 No.11 WWW)

DARTZEEL NHB-108 MODEL TWO: $53,000

This dual-mono, solid state power amplifier offers balanced and single-ended inputs plus the Swiss manufacturer’s impedance-matched Zeel inputs. Nominal output power is 150Wpc into 8 ohms and 225Wpc into 4 ohms, which was confirmed by JA’s measurements. No global negative feedback means that the distortion level is a little high, at 0.1%, but not only is the distortion signature predominantly the subjectively innocuous second harmonic, notably the level of the distortion doesn’t change with frequency or power (up to actual waveform clipping). “Detail was remarkable,” noted JVS, remarking, “Welcome to the rare amp that manages to reveal the smallest details without sounding etched, hyperdetailed, or unnatural. Ever.” He felt that the only thing lacking was stronger and tighter bass compared to his reference D’Agostino monoblocks. Still, JVS wrote, the darTZeel was among the most satisfyingly musical amplifiers ever to sing in his system, concluding, “There is an inherently nonmechanical, organic flow to the NHB-108 model two’s golden sound that will keep enticing many a music lover back for more.” (Vol.45 No.3 WWW)

ELECTROCOMPANIET AW 800 M STEREO/ MONOBLOCK: $22,500 EACH, $45,000/PAIR

The AW 800 M is a hefty class-AB design that can be operated as a conventional stereo amplifier or as a monoblock. Specified maximum power in stereo mode is 300Wpc into 8 ohms and 600Wpc into 4 ohms. In mono mode, it is 800W into 8 ohms, 1500W into 4 ohms, and 2200W into 2 ohms. The output stage bias is set so that approximately the first 10W into 8 ohms operates in class-A. JVS’s notes after auditioning a pair as monoblocks mentioned “seductively veiled sound, midrange warmth, a sense of power and rock-solid and marvelously strong bass.” In the test lab, the AW 800 M, in stereo mode with both channels driven, didn’t quite meet its specified powers, clipping at 290Wpc into 8 ohms and 460Wpc into 4 ohms. In mono mode, however, the Electrocompaniet clipped at a massive 1kW into 8 ohms. “With its very low levels of noise and distortion and its very high powers, the Electrocompaniet AW 800 M is a veritable paradigm of modern solid state amplifier design,” JA summed up. (Vol.46 No.10 WWW)

EMM LABS MTRS: $65,000

See Jason Victor Serinus's review in this issue. (Vol.47 No.4) ESOTERIC GRANDIOSO M1X: $71,000/PAIR

This massive Japanese class-AB solid state amplifier has single-ended, balanced, and Esoteric’s proprietary ESL-A inputs and offers specified maximum powers of 300W into 8 ohms and 600W into 4 ohms. It exceeded those powers in the test lab, JA measuring 340W into 8 ohms and 620W into 4 ohms. JVS found that the M1X requires a very long warmup period, but at the end of that time he commented that the sound was natural, relaxed, alive, and convincing. “Percussion had gratifying presence on a wide soundstage,” he wrote, “and was correctly colored.” Bass was “prodigiously powerful,” the midrange “smooth, captivating,” and fatigue free. “Its burnished sound flows effortlessly even through complex passages, and its somewhat laid-back presentation, from top to bottom, helps expose fine detail,” he concluded. (Vol.46 No.4 WWW)

GRYPHON APEX STEREO: $103,500

A massive (445lb), dual-mono solid state amplifier that has an output stage that can be biased into class-A operation up to high powers. MF found that with his Wilson XVX speakers, the Apex Stereo’s ease of presentation was immediately obvious. He commented on the amplifier’s overall, top-to-bottom speaker grip: “Everything in familiar music appeared better organized, timed, and settled, without restricting the musical flow . ... The Apex takes grip and musical flow to a higher level, particularly in the upper bass through the lower midrange.” JA found that the Apex Stereo exceeded its specified powers of 210Wpc into 8 ohms and 420Wpc into 4 ohms, clipping at 240Wpc into 8 ohms and 450Wpc into 4 ohms. Even though the left channel was slightly noisier than the right and offered higher, though still low, levels of distortion, the Gryphon Apex “offers high power coupled with a wide bandwidth and primarily low levels of low-order distortion,” he concluded. (Vol.45 No.9 WWW) GRYPHON ESSENCE MONO MONOBLOCK: $46,400/PAIR

This massive solid state amplifier from Denmark has an output stage that can be operated in class-A or class-AB. JVS very much preferred the sound in class-A, writing that with the Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Wigmore Hall recital album, “Words cannot describe the alchemical transformation wrought by the Gryphon Essences on this remarkably air-filled recording.” Even so, he did use words to sum up his time with the Gryphon Monos: “Although fully capable of conveying the entire frequency range, even through speakers that bring some modestly powered amplifiers to their knees, they cannot convey the huge dynamic swings and

minute details that some more powerful beasts command. But on music that touches the heart, they can transport to a realm where few components know to go.” Specified maximum power is 55W into 8 ohms, 110W into 4 ohms, and 220W into 2 ohms. JA found a small shortfall in clipping power, but the Essence Mono’s distortion was very low at typical output powers. (Vol.43 No.12 WWW)

JMF AUDIO HQS 7001 MONOBLOCK: $77,000/PAIR After this powerful French amplifier—specified power is 300W into 8 ohms, 500W into 4 ohms, and 850W into 2 ohms—had warmed up, JVS found it offered “extremely colorful and neutral sound” that made him want to listen more and more. The JMF Audio HQS 7001 “is especially adept at putting music front and center without injecting commentary,” he concluded, adding that the HQS 7001 “is a bit like the fine wine whose bouquet you can’t describe other than to say that your meal was divine in part because you sipped it.” In the test lab, the JMF amplifier slightly exceeded its specified powers and offered measured performance that was typical of a high-power, solid state design with a classAB output stage. Distortion will be lowest into 8 ohms, noted JA, who also warned that this amplifier’s heatsink only has just enough thermal capacity for its rated power. (Vol.47 No.2 WWW)

KARAN ACOUSTICS POWERA MONO: $106,000/PAIR Weighing an extreme 231lb, each Serbian POWERa Mono contains two 2700VA toroidal transformers, a 210,000µF bank of custom capacitors, and requires two power cables. Though the amplifier is specified as outputting 2.1kW into 8 ohms, 3.6kW into 4 ohms, and 6kW into 2 ohms, this won’t be achievable with US household power, even if each of the two power cords is on its own circuit. JA measured clipping powers of 1.85kW into 8 ohms and 2.5kW into 4 ohms, both powers lower than the specified figures, as his wall voltage had dropped by several volts with the amplifier clipping. The Karan’s output stages operate in sliding-bias class-A; as a result the amplifier runs relatively cool. The Karan Mono incorporates switchable DC power filtering—JVS preferred the performance with this engaged: “the sound was even smoother, the noisefloor lower, the top-to-bottom focus tighter. The POWERa’s internal power conditioning allowed the inner glow of instruments and voices to emerge with no sense of dynamic constraint.” Overall, JVS concluded that “For visceral impact, swiftness of attack, and sheer, apparent accuracy, the POWERa monoblocks top every other monoblock, stereo amp, or integrated I’ve reviewed. Ditto for color saturation, shading, dynamics, and the ability to portray the most complex passages without a hint of compression.” (Vol.46 No.5 WWW)

KRELL KMA-I800 MONOBLOCK: $73,000/PAIR Specified as outputting 800W into 8 ohms, 1600W into 4 ohms, and 3200W into 2 ohms, the KMA-i800 uses a proprietary output stage bias technology, called iBias, which is said to provide class-A operation without the usual heat penalty. JVS found that the amplifiers ran cool and sounded noticeably warm, full, and well-controlled. While he doubted he used more than a fraction of the KMA-i800s’ specified power into 4 ohms, they delivered sound “whose fullness, dynamic range, speed, clarity, and resolution rivaled that of the finest amplifiers I’ve been privileged to review. Without question, they are a top-rank product.” JA found that the big Krell clipped at 930W into 8 ohms and 1500W into 4 ohms and that it offered very low levels both of noise and of primary third-harmonic distortion. (Krell’s Sym-Max technology is applied throughout the amplifier to reduce second-order harmonic distortion at every stage.) (Vol.47 No.3 WWW) LKV PWR-3: $3350 $$$

With a specified output of 175Wpc into 8 ohms, 360Wpc into 4 ohms, and 220Wpc into 2 ohms, this discreet-looking amplifier combines proprietary, zero-feedback voltage-gain circuitry with Purifi Audio’s 1ET400A class-D output modules and a switching power supply. KM wrote that the PWR-3 produced “a spooky quiet, which can probably be attributed to low distortion and noise, in the audible range at least. (Both were confirmed by JA in the test lab.) The PWR-3 “presented a deep soundstage with luxurious spaciousness,” found KM, adding that “a walloping, tight low end was balanced by clean mids and a clear, silken treble.” His conclusion? “It’s a sweet-sounding amplifier with a penchant for making instruments sing.” JA noted that the LKV amplifier exceeded its specified powers. He concluded that the PWR-3 offer high power coupled with very low noise and primarily low-order distortion and that its linearity was independent of load impedance, commenting that this was both unusual and commendable. (Vol.45 No.9 WWW)

LKV RESEARCH VEROS PWR+: $10,000

This surprisingly massive, American-made amplifier powers its Purifi class-D output stage modules with a hefty linear power supply utilizing a hefty 1kVA toroidal transformer and two smaller transformers. Front-end and driver circuitry is based on paralleled discrete devices biased into class-A. HR wrote that “the class-D LKV amp played equally rich and atmosphere-soaked through the entire audio band. It did atmospheric dreamy like class-A does atmospheric dreamy.” He found that every recording he played with the Veros PWR+ sounded “richer and wetter (atmospherically) than class-D is supposed to.” In the test lab, the LKV amplifier exceeded its specified power of 200W into 8 ohms, clipping at 221Wpc with both channels driven, while it delivered the specified 400Wpc into 4 ohms. With one channel driven, the clipping power into 2 ohms was 505W. Noise and distortion levels were both very low, and the distortion signature was almost pure third-harmonic in nature. (Vol.43 No.9 WWW) LUXMAN M-10X: $19,995

JA found that this elegant-looking amplifier exceeded its specified power, clipping at 202Wpc into 8 ohms and at 350Wpc into 4 ohms. Noise, interchannel crosstalk, and all types of distortion were very low. He was also impressed by its sound quality, though he noted that he found it difficult to discern an identifiable character that the amplifier was imposing on the music. “With all types of music,” he wrote, “the midrange was clean, uncolored, and detailed. The highs were also clean, with no emphasis or sibilance on the sound of cymbals. Low frequencies were articulate, and—I have to return to this word—clean.” He summed up the month he spent with the M-10X by writing that it got very close to the late Peter Walker’s definition of the role of a perfect power amplifier as being “a straight wire with gain,” neither subtracting from the signal it was amplifying nor adding to it. (Vol.45 No.5 WWW)

MCINTOSH MC462: $10,000 ★

As of this writing the most powerful stereo amplifier in the McIntosh line, the solid state MC462 is rated at 450Wpc into 2, 4, or 8 ohms, and weighs a floorbending 115lb. The output section is class-AB, designed so that each individual phase of the signal waveform is amplified by a complete push-pull output section; there are two complete push-pull amps in each channel, their outputs combined—using autoformers— in what McIntosh refers to as a Quad Balanced architecture. SM praised the Mac for delivering, without strain, a piano sound faithful to the original, for portraying brass instruments, drums, and other instruments with appropriate force, impact, and, when called for, swing. As for value, SM opined that “$9000 is more than fair for the excellence delivered.” Reporting from his lab, JA declared that the MC462 is “an extraordinarily well-engineered, exceptionally powerful amplifier.” SM bought the review sample. (Vol.42 No.5 WWW) NAD C 298: $2399 $$$

An affordably priced, powerful—185Wpc into 8 ohms. 340Wpc into 4 ohms—utilitarian-looking, class-D stereo amplifier based on the Purifi-Eigentakt output modules used in NAD’s more expensive M33 and M28. The C 298 features balanced and single-ended inputs, variable gain, and can also be operated in bridged-mono mode. KR found that a pair of bridged-mono NADs offered explosive dynamics without breaking a sweat—JA measured the clipping power into 8 ohms in this mode as 980W! “The NAD C 298 is a transparent, uncolored, powerful stereo power amplifier,” concluded KR, adding that even in stereo mode it can easily drive most speakers “to levels that exceed domestic tranquility.” Measuring man JA commented that the C 298 continues NAD’s tradition for conservative and competent engineering but “sets a new standard for combining very high power with supremely low distortion.” (Vol.44 No.6 WWW)

NAIM CLASSIC 200 SERIES NAP 250: $8999

The latest version of the English manufacturer’s groundbreaking power amplifier now has true balanced inputs as well as the older amplifier’s unbalanced inputs and offers more power, at 100Wpc into 8 ohms and 190Wpc into 4 ohm, both with both channels driven. (JA measured clipping powers of 110Wpc into 8 ohms and 195Wpc into 4 ohms.) Compared with the older NAP 250 DR, MC was shocked and even confused by the latest iteration. “This was so obviously a new sound, fresh and open, clear and transparent, in the low bass and the upper frequencies,” he wrote. “There was now an extra clarity to the soundstage, increased depth and width, but also a sense of enhanced spatiality . ... The virtual soundstage was significantly enlarged, with more stability and solidity and crisper focus than before. There were also obvious gains in ambience and image depth.” MC concluded that the NAP 250 “is loudspeaker-load tolerant and offers unusually high electrical efficiency. It is undoubtedly a front-line performer.” JA concluded that “Naim’s NAP 250 offers relatively high power with low noise and very low, predominantly second-harmonic distortion in a modest-sized chassis. But it needs to be well ventilated.” (Vol.46 No.11 WWW)

PARASOUND A 21+ HALO: $3999

The successor to the Parasound A 21, the new A 21+ offers 300Wpc into 8 ohms, compared with its predecessor’s 250Wpc—and the new model, which operates in class-AB, can be bridged to serve as a 1000W monoblock. Other refinements include a gruntier power transformer, brawnier speaker connectors, an increase in power-supply filter capacitance, and other niceties. Balanced (XLR) and unbalanced (RCA) inputs are both provided, as are dual-mono level controls. According to KR, “listening to the A 21+ was eminently delightful and satisfying from the first note,” and he pointed to the new amp’s “transparency without highlighting or emphasis” and the manner in which it handled dynamic challenges in orchestral music “without stress.” Technical Editor JA found that the A 21+ exceeded its power specs, delivering a full 400Wpc into 8 ohms, and noted that the amp “isn’t fazed by impedances as low as 2 ohms.” HR’s reference solid state amplifier. (Vol.43 No.3 WWW) PARASOUND JC 1+ HALO: $19,998/PAIR

A replacement for the long-term “Recommended Components” resident, the original Halo JC 1, the 1+ represents designer John Curl’s further thoughts on this powerful solid state monster. While more expensive in real terms than its predecessor, the Halo JC 1+ is 30% heavier, still heavily biased into class-A, and offers slightly more power than the original amplifier: 450W into 8 ohms, 850W into 4 ohms, and 1300W into 2 ohms. Bass guitar and kickdrum were reproduced with appropriate force and definition, felt JA, exclaiming, “Low-frequency power and delicacy!” JA was also impressed by the pair of monoblocks’ ability to differentiate soundstage depth and described the Parasound’s high frequencies as sounding “more like what I experience from a good tube amplifier.” “This is a superb-sounding amplifier that will get the best from every loudspeaker with which it is partnered,” JA concluded, adding “Well done, Mr. Curl.” On the test bench, the Halo JC 1+ exceeded its specified power into 8 ohms, clipping at 500W. It didn’t quite meet its specified power into lower impedances, clipping at 830W into 4 ohms and at 1200W into 2 ohms, though JA did note that the slight shortfall was due to him not holding the AC wall voltage constant in the testing. Commendably, the JC 1+’s distortion was predominantly the subjectively innocuous second harmonic, though at a very low level. (Vol.43 Nos.6 & 7 WWW)

PASS LABORATORIES XA25: $5150 ★

The lowest-priced amplifier in Pass Laboratories’ XA series, the XA25 strips away all inessentials—front-panel meters, balanced inputs, excessive output power—and provides the listener with a three-stage amplifier in which output power is generated by a single pair of transistors per channel, operating in push-pull class-A. Output is specified as 25Wpc into 8 ohms or 50Wpc into 4 ohms. HR tried the Pass with a great variety of speakers, starting with a rebuilt pair of original Quad ESL electrostatics: “Through the Quads, the XA25 radically improved the tactile presence of music and musicians,

their voices and instruments,” he wrote. “It made the Quad’s legendary midrange more solid, dynamic, and well defined than I’d ever thought possible.” Another, very different panel speaker came next: “Driven by the Pass Labs XA25, the Magnepan .7s did real-life natural with ease and élan.” Additionally, HR found, “bass weight and organ power were well reproduced by a speaker not famous for these traits.” But even that pales in comparison to Herb’s adventures using the Pass amp to drive his DeVore Orangutan O/93s: “I began to realize that the XA25 is the most transparent amplifier I’ve ever heard.” His verdict: “reasonably priced, strong beyond its power rating, and positively revelatory.” Writing from his laboratory, JA noted that the Pass far exceeded its rated power output, concluding that “the XA25 performed well on the test bench, as I’ve come to expect from Pass Labs.” (Vol.41 No.2 WWW)

PASS LABORATORIES XA60.8 MONOBLOCK: $14,250/PAIR ★

In reviewing Pass Laboratories’ solid state XA60.8 monoblock amplifier, JCA echoed JA’s earlier published response to the amp’s predecessor, the XA.60.5: “the best amplifier I’ve heard.” Each 88lb XA60.8 operates in pure classA, made possible in part by the amp’s massive aluminum heatsinks and no-less-massive steel mains transformers. (Indeed, the most obvious change from XA60.5 to XA60.8 is a weight increase of 22lb—per channel.) Output is specified as 60W into 8 ohms, doubling to 120W into 4 ohms. JCA thought the Passes sounded “sweeter, warmer, more delicate” than the more expensive monoblocks that preceded them in his system but reserved his greatest praise for their spatial prowess: “I’d never heard an amplifier make such an obvious difference. … To walk into this room while a good recording was playing was to enter an immersive aural space.” JA, now acting as measurer rather than reviewer, wrote from his test bench that the “well-engineered” XA60.8 “considerably exceeded” its rated output power, delivering 150W into 8 ohms at 1% THD, and he praised its A-weighted signal/ noise ratio of 93.6dB: “This is a quiet amplifier.” JCA’s conclusion: “I am smitten.” (Vol.40 No.12 WWW)

PRIMARE A35.2: $3900

This hefty Danish amplifier uses what Primare calls their “proprietary UFPD2 analogue class-D amplification technology” to deliver 200Wpc into 8 ohms. According to the manufacturer, UFPD2 integrates the class-D output stage and the necessary low-pass filter, “making control with feedback much more immediate and accurate.” HR found that with his Magnepan .7 speakers, the A35.2 sounded very similar to the slightly more expensive Bel Canto REF600M class-D monoblocks. He wrote that the A35.2 “gripped the Magnepans’ diaphragms with greater control and force than either the class-A Pass Labs XA25 ($4900) or the $3495 all-tube, class-AB Rogue Stereo 100 (in Ultralinear mode). This control delivered a tauter, more rhythmic bass.” With Harbeth M30.2 speakers, HR found that the Primare’s high frequencies were “crisp and super-clear—but not luxuriant and engaging.” On the test bench, the Primare exceeded its specified powers, clipping at 225Wpc into 8 ohms and at 460Wpc into 4 ohms. One of Herb’s references. (Vol.43 No.5 WWW)

PS AUDIO STELLAR M1200 MONOBLOCK: $6998/PAIR

This slim, powerful amplifier—specified power is 600W into 8 ohms, 1200W into 4 ohms—combines a gain stage that uses a single Psvane 12AU7-TII tube with an output stage based on a class-D output module from ICEpower. MF was impressed by what he heard, writing, “It’s no surprise that this superquiet class-D amplifier excels on bottom. Bass is what class-D was originally built for . ... The M1200’s ability to couple with, control, and drive the woofers of my Wilson Alexx loudspeakers matched that of any amplifier I’ve had here.” The M1200 was as fast, precise, and clean from the mids on up as it was in the bottom octaves, he decided, adding that this “helps ensure a bottom-to-top rhythmic coherence and transparency that lets you ‘see’ into the farthest reaches of the soundstage.” Compared with his cost-no-object reference darTZeel amplifiers, he noted a lack of microdynamic delicacy, and timbral verisimilitude was dependent on the recording being played. Summing up, MF wrote: “Maybe the M1200s were just too fast for their own good. After the superclean attack, they went right for the too-fast decay and missed the sustain. While that often leads to ‘skeletal’ sound, the M1200s never delivered bones, because the transients were never edgy or nasty. They were natural and just right.” On the test bench, the M1200 offered low levels of primarily third-harmonic distortion and met its specified output power. (Vol.44 No.1 WWW)

ROTEL MICHI M8: $15,999.98/PAIR

The massive Michi M8 monoblock weighs 130.3lb. “I should have known that a class-AB amplifier said to deliver 1080W into 8 ohms and 1800W into 4 ohms would be heavy,“wrote MF. Designed by an engineering team with members based both in Japan and in the UK, the superbly well-made M8 is manufactured in China. Mikey didn’t just like it, Mikey loved it: “The M8 doesn’t sacrifice transparency or well-articulated transients to achieve a sweet disposition.” On the test bench, the M8 offered excellent measured performance, though both its balanced and unbalanced inputs inverted absolute polarity. Oh, and that enormous rated power? JA measured clipping powers of 1020W into 8 ohms and 1500W into 4 ohms, which should be more than enough for even the lowest-sensitivity speakers. (Vol.44 No.7 WWW)

ROTEL MICHI S5: $7999.99

A relatively affordable, fan-cooled, dual-mono, class-AB amplifier that weighs 132lb and is specified as offering a maximum continuous power output of 500Wpc into 8 ohms and 800Wpc into 4 ohms. JVS commented on the Michi S5’s “absolute authority, natural timbres, and ability to convey acoustic space realistically.” Compared with his six-times-the-price monoblocks, JVS decided that the S5’s soundstage was narrower and slightly less deep, the bass was less strong and controlled, and the treble was less extended. However, the S5 sounded “more transparent, with blacker blacks.” In sum, JVS wrote that the S5 deserves a Class A listing in Recommended Components with $$$ (for value) beside its $7499.99 price. “It’s that good.” In the test lab, the S5 exceeded its specified power, clipping at 570Wpc into 8 ohms and 940Wpc into 4 ohms. “The Rotel Michi S5 combines high power with a wide bandwidth, low noise, and very low, primarily even-order distortion,” summed up JA. (Vol.45 No.7 WWW)

SCHIIT AUDIO TYR: $3198/PAIR

Instead of the ubiquitous high-value capacitors, the USmade Tyr monoblock amplifier uses a hefty inductor or choke to smooth its power supply’s rectified DC voltages. The Tyr’s output stage features a constant-transconductance topology called “Continuity,” which Schiit says offers the benefits of class-A biasing for the 24 bipolar output devices but with greater efficiency than class-A. JA found that the Tyr offered grain-free highs and an excellent sense of low-frequency drive and weight, if not quite up to the level of the much-more-expensive Parasound monoblocks. Compared with the Benchmark AHB2, the Schiit monoblocks had better low-frequency clarity, though he also noted that while the pair of Tyrs excelled at reproducing recorded space, they were slightly less transparent, with a little less soundstage depth. In the test lab, the Tyr exceeded its specified power, clipping at 252W into 8 ohms and 360W into 4 ohms. JA concluded that the Tyr is a perfect example of a thoroughly modern solid state amplifier: “It offers high power, is not fazed by low impedances, sounded superb with the three pairs of loudspeakers that I used for this review, and is competitively priced. Strongly recommended!” (Vol.46 No.1 WWW)

A (TUBE)

DOSHI AUDIO EVO MONOBLOCK: $43,995/PAIR

The EVO (for “Evolution”) replaces Doshi’s Monoblock V3.0 that JVS reviewed in Vol.41 No.11 and that had been in production for seven years. The amplifier still employs a pair of Tung-Sol KT150 output tubes for each channel, but changes include a machined-aluminum, constrained-layer top panel, a stiffer chassis, passive power correction, improved capacitor and resistor quality, and “slight” circuit changes to increase the amplifier’s small-signal bandwidth. With a violin recording and at 170mV bias, the EVO monos driving Wilson Alexia 2 loudspeakers “beautifully conveyed the violin’s intermingling of horsehair, resin, and steel,” but the recommended bias of 190mV “rendered the sound too warm and pleasant.” The class-AB EVO is specified as outputting up to 160Wpc into 4 ohms, the first 120Wpc in classA. At the amplifier’s recommended bias setting of 190mV, JA measured 107W into 8 ohms and 127W into 4 ohms from the single output transformer tap at 1% THD+N, though relaxing the clipping criterion to 3% THD+N increased the maximum power into 4 ohms to 153W. The output impedance was commendably low for a tube design—0.54 ohm at low and middle frequencies and still 0.67 ohm at the top of the audioband. “The Evolution Monoblock power amplifier’s measured performance indicates conservative audio engineering, a superb output transformer, and the ability to deliver high powers into relatively low impedances,” JA concluded. An NOS Tube Upgrade package, which JVS recommends, adds $500 to the price. (Vol.44 No.5 WWW)

FELIKS AUDIO ARIOSO: $7495

When HR replaced his reference solid state amplifier, the high-power Parasound Halo A 21+, with the Feliks Arioso, which offers 8Wpc with its Electro-Harmonix EH Gold 300B output tubes, he shook his head in disbelief at how radically different a track from old-time country blues singer Turner Junior Johnson sounded. What really got him, with the Arioso’s 8 ohm taps driving Falcon’s 15 ohm “Gold Badge” LS3/5as, was how Turner appeared to be directly there in front of him “with a definite tangible humanness” that he had not noticed with the Parasound. “The Arioso appeared to recover some extra amount of low-level information,” he felt, though he added that the Feliks did not sound warmer, fuzzier, blurrier, more distorted, or more euphonic than the Parasound. “It did not emphasize the midrange or roll off the frequency extremes. It was simply more transparent,” he decided. With the 10 ohm DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93s driven by the Arioso’s 8 ohm output taps, he felt that the sound was not as rich of timbre or as bitingly textured as he thought it should sound. But when he connected the DeVores to the Arioso’s 4 ohm taps, “the sound displayed a more grain-free clarity. Colors became more saturated. The sound felt more correct.” HR summed up this experience: “The lesson here is: If you have a tube amp that offers multiple output taps, never assume 8 ohms to be 8 ohms, or 4 ohms to be 4 ohms. Try them all and choose the one that pleases you most.” Replacing the stock Electro-Harmonix 300Bs with the new Western Electric 300Bs, the Feliks Arioso’s 50Hz–1kHz octaves were more brilliantly lit and refraction-free than with the stock tubes, and the bass with the WEs was more tightly damped than with other 300Bs. (Vol.44 No.8 WWW)

MANLEY LABORATORIES MAHI MONOBLOCK: $6599/PAIR

This unusually styled push-pull monoblock uses four EL84 tubes, which can be operated in pentode mode, offering 40W into 8 ohms, or triode mode, offering 20W into 8 ohms. AH noted that triode mode increased the clarity (though not the colorfulness) of the already very clear-sounding Mahi, but he kept returning to the pentode setting “for a little more grunt and, more importantly, fun.” AH felt that the robustness and speed of the power supply harnesses the EL84’s “perky, friendly, approachable sound” to create an amplifier with all the musical awesomeness of tubes but very little flavor of their own. Three levels of global negative feedback are available. With the pair of Mahis connected to Klipsch La Scalas, AH found that while increasing the amount of feedback firmed up the bass response and beefed up power output, this was at the expense of liveliness and color. He much preferred the minimum setting of 3dB of negative feedback, which allowed for the most vivid sound and explicit emotional connection while keeping a firm hand on the bass. He summed up the Mahis by writing “if your speakers and room can make a big noise with 40 watts, then these petite but never petite-sounding amplifiers will probably delight you, doing justice to all but the most ambitious systems.” (Vol.46 No.10 WWW)

OCTAVE JUBILEE MONO SE: $80,000/PAIR

The German manufacturer’s flagship amplifier weighs 145.5lb. It uses three ECC82 small-signal tubes and eight

KT-120 output tubes operated in pentode mode, each of which can be biased individually. The single output transformer tap is said to be optimized for loads averaging between 3 and 12 ohms. JVS found that with the output tube bias set to “1125,” “the background was dead silent, an absolutely blank canvas from which colors blossomed forth like flowers in springtime. The sound had irresistible natural warmth—that thrilling, indefinable liquidity that makes audiophiles melt.” Low frequencies sounded tight and convincing but not quite equal in impact with his challenging Wilson Alexia 2 speakers as with the solid state D’Agostino Progression M550s. With the bias set to “1250,” the Jubilee Monos produced a huge soundstage. JVS concluded that “most music lovers will find its bass convincingly complete and natural, its midrange marvelously full and smooth, its highs heavenly. Unique among tube amplifiers in size, topology, stunning silence, and durability, the Mono SE will beckon to those who can afford it.” On the test bench, the Octave amplifier’s source impedance was a relatively high 2–4.5 ohms and the Jubilee Mono didn’t quite meet its specified power of 400W into 4 ohms, clipping (3% THD+N) at 380W into that load. JA commended the Jubilee Mono for its low levels of distortion at moderate powers into higher impedances, coupled with its benign distortion signature and its low levels of noise. However, he doesn’t recommend the Octave for use with loudspeakers whose impedance drops below 4 ohms. (Vol.45 No.9 WWW)

B

ELAC ALCHEMY DPA-2: $1749.98

A skinny, 14lb device from the Americas division of ELAC Germany, the DPA-2 was designed by veteran engineer Peter Madnick. Its output stage uses Hypex UCD class-D modules, which Madnick prefers to the more recent PurifiEigentakt modules. Balanced and single-ended inputs are available, and the gain can be increased by 6dB. Although the Alchemy DPA-2 is a stereo amplifier, JVS auditioned it as a pair of bridged monoblocks, commenting that in this mode they were “the finest low-priced power amplifiers I’ve encountered.” “What caught me off guard, and pleasantly, was the wide range of color I heard from these inherently musical amps,” he added, concluding that “Peter Madnick has exceeded his goal ‘to provide the kind of real-life transparency and clarity that you would not expect at this price point.’” Maximum power is specified as 325Wpc into 4 ohms in stereo mode—JA measured 339W into 4 ohms and 202W into 8 ohms at 1% THD+N. As a bridged monoblock, the “powerhouse” DPA-2 delivered 590W into 8 ohms and 550W into 4 ohms. (Vol.44 No.6 WWW)

ELEKIT TU-8600RS: $2080 AS REVIEWED

($1695 BASIC VERSION)

As the name suggests, the EleKit TU-8600R is a build-ityourself power amp, a single-ended design that uses one 300B directly heated output tube per side for a specified output of 9.2Wpc at 10% THD. (A preassembled version is available at extra cost.) Prices start at $1185 without tubes and top out at a $2985 version that includes Lundahl output transformers and deluxe German-made Elrog 300B tubes. HR tried a variety of 300Bs in his Lundahl-equipped review sample and praised the EleKit for sounding not warm and soft but “fast and vigorous, as transparent as any amplifier, and extremely captivating,” with a sonic character that’s “clean, neutral, and precise.” HR’s conclusion: “This is what I call value for money.” Other kits are available, but availability is sporadic. In his May and August 2021 Gramophone Dreams, HR used the Elekit TU-8600S as a platform for comparing different 12AX7s and 300Bs. He later compared the Elekit fitted with Linlai Cossor WE300B tubes to the EL34-fitted Lab12 Mighty with a Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau LP. HR noted that the Mighty emphasized the immediacy and raw texture of the upper octaves, while the Elekit directed his attention to beauties in the baritone’s mid and lower octaves. (Vol.42 No.4, Vol.44 Nos.5 & 8, Vol.46 No.1 WWW)

LAB12 MIGHTY: $2290

This Greek amplifier uses just two tubes per channel: a 6N1P dual triode feeding a Russia-made Electro-Harmonix EL34 power tube operating at fixed bias. The Mighty’s output transformer has separate taps for driving 8 or 4 ohm speakers, and the single EL34 can be operated in either triode or Ultralinear modes. Power is specified as 8–9W depending on tube, with 10%–15% more power available in Ultralinear mode. HR commented that the Ultralinear Mighty “played waltzes and reggae with Leica-lens focus and a thinner-thanwater flow” and noted the sound’s “surprising physicality.” In triode mode, the presentation “became more pure by several notches—and also more color-saturated.” Compared with the 300B-fitted Elekit TU-8600S, the EL34 Mighty in both UL and triode modes “played with crisper, more conspicuously detailed clarity, which distributed charged energy across a well-constructed, shallower sound matrix.” “The Mighty is an exciting-to-use, paradigm-shifting treat,” concluded HR. (Vol.46 No.1 WWW)

LSA DISCOVERY WARP 1: $1499

This small design features a class-D output stage based on Texas Instruments TPA3255 chip. An “over-specified” switch-mode supply supplies the power. Though both singleended and balanced inputs are provided, balanced operation is preferred. Internal DIP switches allows the driver-stage gain to be optimized for a specific system. The switches are labeled “0dB,” “6dB,” 14dB,” and “20dB,” with “6dB” the default setting. TF ended up with “0dB,” when the amplifier offers 20dB of voltage gain, because he likes to use his Benchmark LA4 preamplifier with less attenuation. Driving TF’s big B&W 808 speakers, which don’t need a ton of amplifier power, but do need an amplifier that can push the power through with speed and authority, the Warp 1 delivered the goods. “My favorite rock, soul, blues, and funk tunes took on full-bodied punch that made the beat stand out and got feet tapping,” he wrote. In the test lab, though the Warp 1 offered respectable measured performance, it didn’t quite meet its specified output power of 150Wpc into 8 ohms and 250W into 4 ohms. With both channels driven and with clipping defined as when THD+noise reaches 1%, JA measured clipping powers of 110Wpc into 8 ohms 165Wpc into 4 ohms. (Vol.46 No.7 WWW)

MYTEK BROOKLYN AMP+: $2495

A change in the facility that manufactures Mytek products led to the company’s entire component lineup being revised. The Brooklyn AMP+ is the first of the new-generation products to be reviewed, replacing the AMP that KM reviewed in Vol.41 No.9. Compared with the original amplifier, the AMP+’s clarity “facilitated better microdynamics, those small dynamic shifts that make reproduced sound more lively and more live,” noted KM, adding that the AMP+ dispenses with the AMP’s overt midrange lushness. “The AMP+’s upper midrange and treble were decidedly cleaner while maintaining just a touch of richness.” Compared with the Parasound Hint 6 Halo, the Parasound presented an even deeper and more layered soundstage than the Mytek. On the other hand, the AMP+ sounded more sensuous with more low-end force. The AMP+’s class-D output stage is based on modules from Danish company Pascal and offers specified maximum powers of 250Wpc into 8 ohms, 300Wpc into 4 ohms, and 400Wpc into 2 ohms. JA found that the clipping power with both channels driven was 265W into 8 ohms. However, the Mytek went into protection mode when he tried to measure the maximum power into lower impedances. Nevertheless, he concluded that, like its predecessor, “Mytek’s Brooklyn AMP+ is indeed a tiny powerhouse.” (Vol.44 No.5 WWW) PLINIUS REFERENCE A-150 STEREO/MONOBLOCK: $14,995 EACH, $29,990/PAIR

This solid state amplifier from New Zealand can be operated in stereo mode, when it offers 150Wpc into 8 ohms and 250Wpc into 4 ohms, or in bridged-mono mode, when it offers 450Wpc into 8 ohms and 600Wpc into 4 ohms. A button on the front panel allows you to switch between “class-AB” and “class-A” output stage bias. In the test lab, JA found that class-A operation was optimal, where the A-150 offers high power (exceeding its specified powers) with low distortion, especially in bridged-mono mode. However, he also noted that this amplifier will perform best in both stereo and mono modes with loudspeakers whose impedance remains at or above 4 ohms. Nevertheless, JVS found that the stereo Plinius worked well with his low-impedance Wilson speakers.

He much preferred class-A operation, which he wrote was “the path forward for focused listening that puts a premium on sparkle, life, and fine detail.” And with two monoblocks the sound was even smoother, warmer in the midrange, and more alive. “A pair of RA-150s delivered abundant midrange warmth, fine bass, true timbres, and emotionally compelling sound,” he wrote. (Vol.47 No.1 WWW)

PRIMARE A35.8: $5500

This eight-channel colleague of the Swedish manufacturer’s stereo A35.2 uses the reliable and powerful Hypex NC500 class-D module, with some modifications. The amplifier features a switch-mode power supply, with its two outputs each feeding four amplifier stages. Pairs of outputs can be run as bridged mono amplifiers. KR auditioned the Primare with three bridged pairs to run his Left-Center-Right speakers and the remaining two channels to run his two surround-channel speakers. While he did try the amplifier in eight-channel mode, KR found that bridging transformed the A35.8 “into a much more exciting amplifier” with a better bass balance and superbly stable imaging, even in stereo. He noted that there was never any evidence of the “gray” treble he had experienced with earlier Ncore-based amplifiers: “In my preferred five-channel configuration, the A35.8 equaled other good amplifiers in the treble.” Comparing the Primare with his reference Benchmark AHB2, he felt that the Primare sounded “more convincingly live” than the Benchmark. On the test bench, the A35.8 exceeded its specified power of 150Wpc with two channels driven into 8 ohms, clipping at 200Wpc, and met its 300Wpc specification with two channels driven into 4 ohms. JA’s conclusion was that the Primare A35.8 offers high power, especially in bridged mode, with very low levels of distortion and audioband noise. KR suggests A–; too bad there's no such rating. (Vol.45 No.11 WWW)

ROGUE AUDIO DRAGON MONOBLOCK: $5996/PAIR The DragoN uses a tubed input stage and Hypex’s NCore MOSFET class-D module in the output stage. Rogue says that a global feedback circuit that includes the front-end’s ECC802S tube forces the class-D output to behave (and sound) like a tube circuit. There are balanced and singleended inputs. The specified power is 325W into 8 ohms and 525W into 4 ohms. JD used a pair of Rogue DragoNs to power his ESS hybrid-electrostatic loudspeakers and concluded that the monoblocks unveiled new takes on his favorite recordings. “The class-D power and dynamics spoke to the younger me, who craves those overwhelming sensations that result, above all, from loudness, and the today me who appreciates the DragoNs’ excellence at bringing less dynamic music to life at lower volumes, offering me considerable pleasure within the constraints of everyday real life.” On the test bench, the DragoN clipped at 127W into 8 ohms and 226W into 4 ohms, both powers lower than specified, though the amplifier exceeded the specified powers if the clipping definition was relaxed from 1% to 3%. Distortion was relatively high in level, even at moderate powers, but fortunately, the distortion signature was predominantly the subjectively innocuous second harmonic. JA concluded that the Rogue DragoN’s measured performance is dominated by the use of a tube in the input stage. “This amplifier offers high power,” he wrote, “but with high levels of secondharmonic distortion.” (Vol.47 No.3 WWW)

ZESTO BIA 200 SELECT: $15,900

This elegant-looking, zero-loop–feedback, tubed design from California comes fitted with push-pull pairs of KT150 output tubes operated in Ultralinear mode, but can also use K120s or KT88s. Output tube bias is adjustable on the fly for KT150s (three settings) and KT120s (two settings). There are balanced and single-ended inputs and 4, 8, and 16 ohm output transformer taps. KM used both KT150s and KT88s. With the latter tubes, KM noted that the Bia 200 Select sounded “laid-back, a bit slumber-toned, and easy on the ears . ... Smoothness and textural sweetness were its strongest points.” With KT150s at the same low bias he had used for the KT88s, the Zesto sounded entirely different, “like a transparent membrane, now pulled tighter.” Moving up to the middle bias setting, and then to the highest, KM commented that “music swelled with more intensity and force in the low

end and better articulation and more immediacy, overall.” He concluded that the Bia 200 “is transparent, powerful, resolving, fun. Maybe it’s the top end that seems to go out for miles, or the sonorous bass, or how it steps out of the way of recordings and lets them shine on their own terms.” On the test bench, the Zesto featured extremely high source impedances from all three of its output taps, conforming to classic telecommunications practice in which making the source impedance the same as that of the load impedance maximizes power transfer. However, this means that the amplifier will sound different with every loudspeaker with which it is used. Of greater concern was that the Bia 200 only met its specified powers at relatively high levels of harmonic distortion, along with the fact that the distortion was higher at low frequencies than it was in the midrange and that the distortion and noise were different in the two channels. JA found that this behavior was due to mismatched output tubes—Zesto recommends that the tubes have at least 50 hours of use to sound their best, but the review sample’s tubes had more than 500 hours of use, with corresponding deteriorations in their operating parameters. The paradox, therefore, is that the longer the tubes are used the better the amplifier will sound but the worse it will measure. JCA says that B rating is tentative pending a follow-up review of a new sample with fresh tubes. (Vol.46 No.3 WWW)

DELETIONS

Simaudio Moon 860A v2, discontinued. Bel Canto E1X, Classé Delta monos, PS Audio BHK 300, VAC Statement 452 IQ not reviewed in a long time.

INTEGRATED AMPLIFIERS & RECEIVERS A

AMPSANDSOUND BIGGER BEN: $5600

This single-input, single-ended, triode-wired, no-negativefeedback tube amplifier drives both loudspeakers and headphones. It offers approximately 8Wpc into 8 ohms and 5Wpc into 32 ohms (when equipped with a solid state rectifier and KT88 output tubes). With 6L6GC output tubes, when it maxes out at 3Wpc, the Bigger Ben powered Zu Soul Supreme speakers “to greater levels of transient and timbral exactitude … than most any other amp I’ve tried,” wrote HR. With DeVore Orangutan O/93s, HR found the Ben every bit as natural and engaging as the First Watt F8 and Elekit TU8600. Driving HiFiMan’s hard-to-drive Susvara headphones, HR described the Bigger Ben as having a radiant quality— “as if the sound were illuminated from within.” Rated A+ as a headphone amp. (Vol.44 No.4 WWW)

ANTHEM STR INTEGRATED: $4999 $$$ ★

Anthem’s solid state STR integrated amp offers 200Wpc (into 8 ohms) of class-AB power, along with seven analog inputs—one balanced, four single-ended, and two phono (one MM, one MC). It also offers a 32-bit/192kHz D/A processor with six digital inputs—four S/PDIF (two RCA, two TosLink), one AES/EBU (XLR), and one USB. A subwoofer output is provided, but, curiously, there’s no headphone output. Of interest to users with problematic listening rooms is the STR’s built-in Anthem Room Correction (ARC) processor: using the supplied microphone, ARC can be set up using a PC that’s been configured with the appropriate (downloadable) software and connected to the Anthem’s miniUSB or Ethernet jack. (The latter has no other function: the STR is not Wi-Fi capable.) Even before setting up and trying ARC, TJN enjoyed the Anthem STR for sounding, with one recording in particular, “punchy and likely true to the source, with excellent detail and an open midrange.” With ARC engaged, TJN heard differences that “ranged from subtle to striking . . . and were only rarely inconsequential.” Benefits included a “cleaned up” double-bass sound on one CD, greater upper-bass precision in the sounds of massed voices on another. His conclusion: “a watershed product worth serious consideration.” Writing of his experiences in measuring the Anthem STR, JA called it “a well-engineered amplifier offering high powers and respectable measured performance.” (Vol.41 No.7 WWW)

ARCAM RADIA A25: $1499 $$$

See Herb Reichert’s review in this issue. (Vol.47 No.4) AUDIO NOTE MEISHU PHONO 300B TONMEISTER (STANDARD VERSION): $15,7400

This class-A, zero negative feedback, single-ended-triode integrated’s power supply uses a 5U4G tube rectifier, with each channel’s line input using a Psvane Hifi Series 12AU7/ ECC82 and a NOS Philips ECG 5687WB to drive an interstage transformer. Each phono input channel uses a Psvane Hifi Series 12AX7/ECC83 and either a Sovtek/Electro Harmonix 6922 or a Russian ECC88. A single Psvane Standard Hifi Series 300B tube provides the output power, specified as 8Wpc into 8 or 4 ohms from the appropriate transformer tap. KM found this plenty enough power for his high-sensitivity DeVore Fidelity O/96 speakers. Playing LPs, he wrote that the Audio Note’s performance “was whole cloth, transparent, with superquiet, black backgrounds. It was texturally and tonally beautiful. Mesmerizing, providing new insight into familiar recordings, resolving previously unheard details.” “Words fail to express the satisfaction I derived listening to music through this expensive Audio Note integrated amplifier,” KM concluded. In the test lab, JA concluded that the Meishu Phono Tonmeister’s measured performance was what he would expect from an amplifier with a single-ended output stage that uses a single 300B tube for each channel. It featured a high source impedance and high levels of predominantly second-harmonic distortion, even at low powers. While noting the measured performance characteristic of its type, Editor JCA awards Class A for exceptional musicality. (Vol.46 No.2 WWW)

AUDIO RESEARCH I/50: $6900

This tidy-looking all-tube amplifier uses two matched pairs of 6550WE output tubes and three 6922 small-signal tubes. There are balanced and single-ended line inputs, a headphone output, and 4 and 8 ohm speaker outputs. Two optional modules are available: a DAC ($1000) and an MM phono ($750)—these were not fitted to JA’s review sample. JA was impressed by the ergonomically friendly control offered by both the remote and the top-panel buttons and knobs: the I/50 “is a combination of classic tube amplifier design with 21st century microprocessor-controlled functionality,” he wrote. Even though neither speaker is a particularly demanding load, JA found that the 4 ohm outputs worked best with his KEF and GoldenEar minimonitors, the amplifier’s midrange smooth- and natural-sounding. With the 8 ohm outputs, the balance was somewhat forwardsounding with a touch of glare in the midrange, he noted. The balanced input’s gain was 6dB lower than the unbalanced, which might mean that the Audio Research may not play loud enough in a room larger than his or with insensitive loudspeakers, unless used with a single-ended source. In JA’s test lab, the I/50 met its specified maximum power of 50Wpc from the 8 ohm tap into 8 ohms at 3% THD+N but was 0.5dB short of the specified figure from the 4 ohm tap. He summed up the Audio Research’s measured performance by writing that the amplifier is happiest when it is driving a higher impedance than the nominal values of the output transformer taps. “While the distortion signature is primarily the subjectively benign second harmonic, the I/50 offers better linearity from its 4 ohm tap,” he wrote, concluding that the I/50 has a touch of that “tube magic,” “but without going whole hog, as so many of the current crop of tubed amplifiers do.” JA subsequently installed, auditioned, and measured the DC1 DAC module. Listening to CD data, he found that the tonal balance was a little darker than he was used to with the I/50 handling analog data. However, the sound of the I/50’s digital inputs had sufficient weight on solo piano recordings, he noted. On the test bench, the DC1 offered low levels of distortion and a resolution close to 18 bits. JA summed up by writing that the module’s sound quality didn’t leave him feeling he was missing anything with CD data, and it sounded respectably satisfying with hi-rez files. “The DAC module adds value to what is already a relatively high-value tubed integrated amplifier,” he concluded. (Vol.46 No.9, Vol.47 No.2 WWW)

AVM OVATION A 6.2 ME: $9995

Full-featured, German-made integrated includes balanced and single-ended inputs, all with adjustable sensitivity, a high-resolution “digital” volume control, tone controls, and a discrete headphone output. Runs hot due to the MOSFET output stage being heavily biased into partial class-A operation. HR felt that the A 6.2 ME “imparted a sense of polish, or ‘wetness’” to the “almost-dry-but-not-dry sound” of the Falcon “Gold Badge” LS3/5a’s. Compared with his long-term reference, the Rogue Sphinx V3, HR commented that the AVM “lit up the music, making it brighter, more vivacious, more right there in front of me, more pacey, and—I think— more meaningful.” AVM specifies the A 6.2 ME’s maximum output power as 180Wpc into 8 ohms and 300Wpc into 4 ohms. With both channels driven the Ovation delivered 190Wpc into 8 ohms and 315Wpc into 4 ohms. HR liked the sound of the headphone amplifier with sensitive headphones but found that it struggled to deliver undistorted power into the HiFiMan Susvara’s difficult load. JA’s measurements confirmed that the headphone output clipped at a relatively low voltage, but he wondered if this problem was specific to the review sample. (Vol.44 No.6 WWW)

AYRE ACOUSTICS EX-8 2.0 INTEGRATED HUB: $8000–$11,100

JA reviewed the original version of this integrated amplifier, which had an onboard D/A processor and a Roon-Ready Ethernet port, in the February and April 2019 issues of Stereophile. The 2.0 version’s 100Wpc output section still features Ayre’s feedback-free Diamond circuit, but it doubles the number of output devices, allowing it to drive more difficult loads and increasing its power output into 2 and 4 ohm loads. (JA measured clipping powers of 107Wpc into 8 ohms and the specified 170Wpc into 4 ohms, compared with the original EX-8’s 125Wpc into this load.) Listening to LPs with an external Tavish phono preamp feeding the Ayre’s line inputs, KM wrote that the EX-8 2.0 is “one sweet honey of an integrated amplifier. … Its outstanding sonic trait is its focused, pristine clarity, a gently scrubbed vision that frames music with refinement, richness, and lucidity.” Turning to digital, he wrote that “the trademark Ayre sweetness imbued deep organ notes and electric bass with lushness. An uppermidrange-to-treble crispness aided vocals and guitars, with excellent sustain.” He did note that the EX-8 2.0 had a “first row” perspective but concluded that “with its pure treble, clear and rich midrange, ample low end, and coherence, the Ayre is the finest solid state integrated I’ve had in my house.” Analog-only price is $6450; S/PDIF and AES3 inputs add $1000; USB input adds another $500; Ethernet port adds $1700 to base price; fully loaded version costs $8350. (Original version, Vol.42 Nos.2 & 4, WWW; 2.0 version, Vol.44 Nos.11 & 12 WWW)

BALANCED AUDIO TECHNOLOGY VK-80I: $12,000

The fully balanced, hot-running, push-pull VK-80i produces 55 triode watts per channel from two pairs of 6C33C-B output tubes auto-biased into class-AB while relying on a very restrained 3dB of global negative feedback. Four 6SN7 tubes perform line-level input duties. AH was struck by the vigor, scale, and dimensionality the BAT brought to an LP by Angolan singer Waldemar Bastos. “The sometimes startling dynamics of Bastos’s singing were conveyed with beauty and bracing force and without a hint of strain, breakup, or distortion,” he wrote, adding that the BAT’s knack for transparency was aided by its very low noisefloor. AH’s conclusion? “It will not produce the most ravishing sound you can hear—clearly being the work of an engineer rather than a poet—but it will extract plenty of meaning and emotion from your favorite recordings.” (Vol.47 No.3 WWW)

BOULDER 866: $15,500; $17,0O0 WITH STREAMING DAC

This beautiful-looking, made-in-America, powerful integrated amplifier features a class-AB output stage that is heavily biased into partial class-A operation. As a result, it runs very hot and needs to be given adequate ventilation. Analog inputs are all balanced; the optional digital-input module adds Ethernet, USB, AES3, optical S/PDIF, and Wi-Fi. JVS was impressed by the 866’s analog inputs. While the 866 couldn’t produce a soundstage as wide as his big monoblocks do, its

bass wasn’t as firm as that of more powerful, more expensive amplifiers, and it couldn’t deliver ultimate transparency, “the music’s essential color palette, and its message, were as captivating as they are with any equipment. … I felt I could trust the Boulder 866 to be there for me, time after time, delivering sonic truth.” Playing music with the Boulder’s Ethernet input and Roon, JVS felt that the 866 sounded far better than he expected a $1500 DAC to sound, with a wider soundstage than he was anticipating. He concluded that “the quality of its optional DAC blew me away.” Measured performance with the analog inputs was superb, with excellent channel separation, very low noise, and low, predominantly third-harmonic distortion. With both channels driven, the 866 exceeded its specified maximum power into 8 ohms of 200Wpc, clipping at 1% THD+noise at 210Wpc. As is often the case with integrated amplifiers the 866’s digital inputs had too much gain, but offer just above 18 bits’ of resolution. Class A rating applies to use with analog inputs only. (Vol.44 No.9 WWW)

CH PRECISION I1 UNIVERSAL INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER: FROM $38,000; AS REVIEWED $48,500 ★

CH Precision’s decidedly modular I1 Universal integrated amp–D/A processor can be had with a variety of extra-cost options, including a USB digital-input board, an Ethernetinput streaming board, an MC phono-input board (with more EQ curves than just RIAA), and a clock-synchronization board that permits the use of an outboard digital clock. In its base form ($38,000), the I1 provides one pair each of balanced (XLR) and unbalanced (RCA) analog inputs, plus an S/PDIF digital-input board and two balanced (XLR) stereo outputs. Echoing the future-proof design of the amp itself is the I1’s D/A processor, which is coded into a field-programmable gate array (FPGA); this upsamples 16-bit/44.1kHz PCM and its multiples to 24/352, and 16/48 PCM to 24/384. The I1 handles up to DSD2565 and converts all DSD data to 24/352.8 before playback. Its class-AB output section can provide up to 100Wpc into 8 ohms. Notwithstanding some setup complexities, JVS was able to get from the I1 “some mighty impressive sound,” and to the extent it fell short of his own (costlier) reference gear, those were “sins of omission rather than of commission.” JVS found the CH Precision’s sound to be “clean, strong, and direct,” yet it did not “filter out those intangibles that allow the music to elicit a powerfully emotional response.” His verdict: “one of the most complete, most neutral sounding, most carefully conceived components I’ve reviewed.” Writing from his test bench, JA praised the I1’s “excellent measured performance,” and in his own auditioning of a sample with updated, Roon Ready firmware, found that 40% overall negative feedback gave the optimal balance between low-frequency definition and the unfatiguing presentation of high-frequency detail. (JVS preferred 0% feedback.) JA was impressed by the DAC performance, writing that imaging was precise, the soundstage deep when appropriate, and the midrange uncolored. “Low-level recorded detail was present in abundance but without the feeling that it was being unnaturally emphasized,” he concluded. (Vol.42 No.2, Vol.46 No.8 WWW)

DECWARE ZEN TRIODE AMPLIFIER, MODEL NO. SE84UF0: $1195 $$$

DECWARE 25TH ANNIVERSARY ZEN TRIODE AMPLIFIER, MODEL NO. SE84UF0 25: $2995 WITHOUT TUBES; $3395 WITH “CURATED” TUBESET The 2.3Wpc Zen Triode is a class-A, zero-feedback, singleended stereo tube amplifier that uses just two resistors and one Jupiter Beeswax film capacitor in its signal path. The output tube is a triode-wired, self-biasing, self-balancing 6N15N (equivalent to a 6BQ5/EL84). The voltage amplification tube is a 6H1N/6N1P dual triode (equivalent to a 6922/6DJ8). With the Denafrips Ares II DAC and Klipsch RP-600M loudspeakers, HR noted a “conspicuous purity of sound” resulting in one of his “most thought- and pleasure-filled musical moments of 2020.” “With the Zen’s bias switch on High,” he added, “music from the RP-600Ms was reproduced with a level of overt vividosity that I had not experienced previously.” The considerably more expensive 25th Anniversary Zen Triode Amplifier features an African Padauk hardwood plinth, gold-plated switches, super-duty gold-plated tube sockets, NOS Western Electric Milliamp meters, a choice of knobs for the dual-mono volume controls, and three independent, tube-regulated power supplies, one for each tube. “Without 100dB/W/m horns, the Zen Triode will not crush rocks or destroy planets,” HR wrote. “But driving the modest Zu Audio Soul Supremes, it will play Mahler’s Symphony No.5 as performed by the Berlin Philharmoniker under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle ... with dark, moody vigor and delicious, microdetailed insights.” (Vol.44 No.3 WWW)

ELEKIT TU-8900: FROM $1495 WITHOUT TUBES

HR was impressed by this relatively inexpensive, heavily parts-curated, made-in-Japan, tubed kit amplifier. (It can be purchased preassembled for a $375 premium. A clear top plate is included in this cost and is a $35 kit option.) Lundahl amorphous-core output transformers are combined with 12BH7A small-signal tubes and 300B or 2A3 output tubes, both wired without cathode feedback but with 8dB of loop negative feedback. (This can be switched out.) Specified output power is 8Wpc with 300Bs, 3.5Wpc with 2A3s, both at 10% THD. The review sample was fitted with the Audio Note Silver upgrade ($960), which adds Audio Note 0.1µF silver-foil coupling capacitors, 46 tantalum signal path resistors, two Amtrans AMRG resistors, and four Takman carbon resistors. The Elekit’s four tube-set options begin at $365, for two Cossor/LinLai Delux 2A3s and two Sylvania 12BH7As, and top out at $1525 with a matched pair of Western Electric WE300Bs (with a 5-year warranty) and two US-manufactured Sylvania 12BH7As. After much experimentation using multiple speakers, HR decided that he preferred the TU-8900’s presentation without loop negative feedback: “Everything felt more impactful, more emotionally fleshed out. Every Elekit 300B virtue was enhanced, especially texture and transparency.” “This kit delivered the nuance, intensity, and dramatic transparency of big-name 300B amplifiers costing many times its price,” he wrote. HR was also impressed by the TU-8900’s headphone output. Driving low-impedance HiFiMan Audivina closed-backs, he found that the Elekit sounded authoritative, though he felt that it got a bit tense and dulled trying to drive HiFiMan’s less-sensitive Susvaras. (Vol.46 No.7 WWW),

EUROPEAN AUDIO TEAM E-GLO I: $12,999 AND UP, DEPENDING ON TUBE COMPLEMENT

This elegant-looking integrated amplifier uses a 12AX7 and a 12AT7 signal tube and a pair of KT88 tubes for each channel. There are two output transformer taps, optimized for 4 or 8 ohm loudspeakers. Specified maximum power is 35Wpc into 4–8 ohms in Ultralinear mode or 18Wpc into 4–8 ohms in triode mode, which JA’s measurements confirmed, though at a slightly higher level of THD+noise than the Stereophilestandard 1%. With his DeVore O/93 speakers driven from the 8 ohm outputs, KM wrote that the E-Glo I’s sound was “vivid, fast, forceful, clean, very open, spacious, transparent, dynamic, resolving, and full-bodied—even full-blooded. It served up good helpings of what Art Dudley called ‘drive.’” KM preferred triode mode, finding that while Ultralinear made the sound more immediate and upfront, there was “a smidgen’s loss of delicacy.” Summing up, he wrote that “In its ability to create a supercharged musical presentation within a large soundstage populated by big images, allied to superb definition and resolution, with good tone, the E.A.T. E-Glo I gets so many things right in such a balanced, forceful presentation that I’d say it’s worth its asking price.” (Vol.43 No.12 WWW)

GRANDINOTE SHINAI: $15,000

Echoing tube-amplifier topologies, the Italian, dual-mono, fully balanced Shinai features two single-ended, class-A, solid state output stages in a push-pull arrangement for each channel, with no loop negative feedback. “As long as I am Grandinote boss,” designer Massimiliano Magri told RS, “feedback will be prohibited like sincerity in politics.” RS liked what he heard from this unique amplifier: “The Shinai made aural space microscopically tangible,” he wrote, adding that the amplifier has “a knack for detail retrieval” and “gave notes and musical lines enough space to stretch out and seamlessly transition into the next notes and musical lines.” This transparency was achieved without the presentation sounding clinical or etched: “The Shinai has the spirit of a revealer. It speaks the truth—not ruthlessly, but honestly.” In the test lab, the Shinai almost met its specified maximum power of 37Wpc into 8 ohms at 3% THD+N, though JA warned against using the Grandinote with speakers whose impedance dropped below 4 ohms. JA summed up the measured performance by saying that it “is dominated by the designer’s decision not to use negative feedback. I would expect the Shinai’s sonic character therefore to be similar to that of a typical tube amplifier.” However, RS concluded that the Shinai “did some things better than my tube gear—definition, detail, space, scale, touch.” Two months after he submitted his review, RS was astonished to find that the Shinai’s sound exploded: “It blew open musically. As good as it was already, the sound went from here up to there, overnight.” An enigma, but lengthy listening sessions confirmed his impression. He concluded that the Shinai sounded “rich and bloomy but with a sense that you’re hearing the true, original thing and not a recording.” (Vol.43 No.11, Vol.44 No.4 WWW) LINEAR TUBE AUDIO Z10E: $6950

See “Headphones & Headphone Accessories.” (Vol.43 No.5, Vol.44 No.2, Vol.45 Nos.1 & 3 WWW)

LUXMAN L-509Z: $12,495

Luxman’s new flagship solid state integrated has the same thick aluminum top plate and steel casework as the L-509X that KM favorably reviewed in 2018 and, other than a Pentaconn headphone jack on its front panel, looks identical. However, it replaces the older amplifier’s op-amp chips with discrete circuitry and incorporates Luxman’s new LIFES feedback system, which is said to lower noise and distortion and reduce the unwanted effects of using negative feedback. There are balanced and single-ended line inputs and an MC/MM phono input. Specified power is 120Wpc into 8 ohms and 220Wpc into 4 ohms, which was confirmed by JA. The amplifier offers treble, midrange, and bass controls; these are bypassed in “Line Straight” mode and KM found that this mode “made music sound cleaner, better focused, well organized, and orderly but perhaps a little rigid.” After a lengthy break-in, the L-509Z’s pure sonorities in the upper mids through the treble captured KM’s ears. “This is an amp of brilliant purity and fluid communication," he wrote. “Its squeegee-clean top end allowed cymbals, guitars, pianos, and percussion to resonate and communicate direct to my gut.” He commented that the L-509Z had no obvious signature. “It was largely music and equipment agnostic,” he concluded. “Its message is clarity, balance, coherence, seamlessness, quietude, and a certain invisibility.” JA added that “Overall, Luxman’s L-509Z offers excellent measured performance, especially its low-noise, low-distortion, overload-proof phono input.” (Vol.47 No.2 WWW)

MARANTZ MODEL 30: $2999 $$$

This elegant-looking amplifier’s output stage uses Hypex NC500 class-D modules and is specified at 100Wpc into 8 ohms or 200Wpc into 4 ohms. JA’s measurements indicated the Model 30 significantly exceeded those powers, clipping at 165Wpc into 8 ohms and 240Wpc into 4 ohms. Not always a fan of class-D amplifiers, HR wrote that “the Marantz version of class-D clarity brought greater transparency to the upper five octaves, in a way I have not previously experienced with any class-D module.” Compared with the more expensive Yamaha A-S3200, HR felt that while the Yamaha represented “bright-n-ready, old-school, class-AB vivo,” the Marantz sounded darker, less extraverted, with “more silence in the silences and more space in the soundspaces.” He also found that the Marantz partnered well with Magnepan .7 speakers, pulling out “shovelsful of previously hidden subtleties.” The Model 30’s headphone output will work better with high-impedance ’phones. No digital inputs, but the Marantz has a versatile, low-noise, low-distortion phono stage that offers a moving magnet mode and three moving coil modes, labeled MC Low, MC Mid, and MC High, and different combinations of gain and resistive loading. (Marantz also offers a matching SACD player/streaming DAC, the SACD 30n.) HR summed up his auditioning, “The Marantz Model 30 integrated suits my taste for simple sophistication. Its phono stage is ... versatile and musically effective. ... Best of all, this stylish new Marantz is a well-tuned, supertransparent, superdetailed class-D amplifier that powered

diverse loudspeakers with a captivating élan worthy of its ‘Model 30’ heritage.” (Vol.44 No.1 WWW)

MUSICAL FIDELITY NU-VISTA 800.2: $10,999

This updated version of Musical Fidelity’s original Nu-Vista 800 still uses nuvistor tubes for its small-signal circuitry, coupled with a solid state, class-AB, bipolar output stage that is specified as delivering 330Wpc into 8 ohms, 500Wpc into 4 ohms, and 1000W peak into 2 ohms. (In the test lab, the Nu-Vista 800.2 didn’t quite meet its specified output powers, clipping at 290Wpc into 8 ohms and 470Wpc into 4 ohms.) Inputs are one balanced line-level pair and four single-ended line-level pairs. JA found that the Musical Fidelity exerted superb low-frequency control, with an optimal combination of weight and articulation. He noted that the manner in which this amplifier retrieved a recording’s low-level detail was addictive. That, coupled with its tight grip on the speakers’ woofers, its sense of almost unlimited power, its superb soundstage definition, and a sense of ease to its presentation, won the Nu-Vista 800.2 an unreserved recommendation. (Vol.46 No.12 WWW)

MCINTOSH MAC7200: $8000

This classic stereo receiver may well be the most expensive model currently available, but LG was mightily impressed by what it offers. In addition to McIntosh’s traditional blue level meters and an excellent FM stage, it offers S/PDIF and USB digital inputs, line and MC/MM phono analog inputs, and a headphone output. (JA’s measurements suggest that the latter will work best with high-impedance cans.) The transformer-coupled, solid state output stage offers a maximum power of “at least” 200Wpc into 2, 4, or 8 ohms; JA measured 255Wpc into 8 ohms, 235Wpc into 4 ohms, and 283W into 2 ohms from the respective output-transformer taps. LG found that the MAC7200’s tuner equaled his Day Sequerra FM Reference’s ability to generate a jet-black background and render broadcast music punchy, dynamic, and involving, although it lacked the FM Reference’s transparency and selectable bandwidth filters. “The FM tuner is this product’s jewel,” he wrote, adding, “its sensitivity, selectivity, and ability to quiet with an FM signal equaled and in many cases bettered my FM Reference tuner.” Auditioning the MC phono input, LG noted that it rendered a favorite LP with stunning transients, wide soundstage, and incredible detail, easily besting the CD version of the same work. He also liked what he heard from the Mac’s digital inputs, commenting that they matched his reference Bryston DAC’s dynamics, background quietness, and depiction of the soundstage. Summing up, LG wrote that the MAC7200’s power, resolution, dynamics, and transparency are among the best he has heard: “If you have the sturdy shelf space for its large, heavy chassis, are a fan of FM radio, and are looking for one unit to handle many different two-channel tasks, the MAC7200 should be on your short list.” (Vol.44 No.1 WWW)

MOONRIVER 404 REFERENCE: $5995

As supplied for review, this Swedish amplifier included optional digital and MM/MC phono analog inputs. The digital module, though, was based on an AKM DAC chip that is no longer available following the disastrous fire at the Japanese manufacturer’s factory, so the review didn’t discuss the digital input. But with the single-ended line inputs, JVS wrote that while the sense of air wasn’t as breathtaking as through his expensive reference amplifier, “the music sounded airier and more colorful and seemed to emerge from a quieter background” than what he’d recently heard through the two more expensive integrateds. “Plenty of bass showed that the low-powered Moonriver 404 Reference has what it takes to drive the challenging Wilson Alexia 2’s,” he added. Summing up, JVS wrote that the Moonriver 404 Reference “does justice to complex and demanding recordings. It sounds tonally spot on, well balanced, clear, and musical.” Although the 404 Reference uses an output stage based on Texas Instruments’ LM3886 chip, which is specified as being able to deliver 50W into 8 ohms and 70W into 4 ohms, JA found that the Moonriver clipped at 39.5Wpc into 8 ohms and 60W into 4 ohms. Although the Moonriver has single-ended preamplifier outputs, JVS found that these “buzzed” with his reference monoblocks, and JA found that there was a high level of ultrasonic noise on the preamplifier outputs. (This may have been a sample fault.) In his measurements, JA also noted low-level power-supply spuriae and that the distortion signature was primarily the subjectively benign second harmonic. Intermodulation distortion was not excessive. (Vol.44 No.2 WWW)

NAD MASTERS SERIES M33: $4999

This extraordinarily versatile amplifier incorporates a fully integrated BluOS streaming platform, sophisticated control options, Dirac room correction, analog line and MM/ MC phono inputs, digital inputs, a headphone output, and an output stage based on the Purifi Eigentakt class-D technology developed by Bruno Putzeys. KR was impressed. Listening to a brass band recording, he found the M33’s sound notably transparent. “There was a satisfying balance between the drum and tuba at the low end, the brashness of the upper brass, and the filigree of winds in between,” he wrote, going on to say that “the soundstage was full and wide, and there was the impression of significant weight and body.” “The M33, in one well-integrated and handsome box, replaces all the traditional components and can be operated from a smartphone or a tablet,” concluded KR, adding “Keep your beloved speakers and let the NAD M33 do everything else. It will do it all superbly.” On the test bench the M33 exceeded its specified continuous output power of 210Wpc into 8 ohms and delivered 460Wpc into 4 ohms. JA was impressed by the “excellent” phono stage and concluded that “NAD’s M33 packs a lot of well-engineered performance into its relatively small chassis.” The M33 was both Stereophile’s Amplification Component of 2020 and the magazine’s overall Product of 2020. (Vol.43 No.10 WWW)

PASS LABORATORIES INT-25: $7600 $$$ ★

To HR, who prefers integrateds over separates yet wouldn’t even consider buying an amp with a built-in DAC—“Why would I pollute a fine audio component with a non-upgradable and possibly third-rate ancillary?”—the Pass INT-25 emerged as an ideal component. The remarkably heavy (51lb) INT-25 is essentially a Pass XA25 power amp—classA push-pull without degenerative feedback and offering 25Wpc—wedded to a minimalist line-level preamp. Used with his DeVore O/93 speakers and playing Erich Leinsdorf’s recording of Wagner’s Die Walküre, Herb found that “the INT-25 let the O/93s make that Die Walküre into something so beautiful I just laid back and basked in it.” He also felt the INT-25 is capable of putting across “a subtle radiance” that eludes other solid state electronics. With the amp on his test bench, JA found “much to admire in the Pass Labs INT-25’s measured performance.” HR’s last word: “my new solid state reference.” (Vol.43 No.2 WWW)

RIVIERA AUDIO LABORATORIES LEVANTE: $21,995 This hybrid, analog-input-only, Italian design features tubed front-end circuitry and a MOSFET output stage that can be operated in class-A, in which it offers a maximum power of 30Wpc into 8 ohms, or class-AB, in which it offers 120Wpc into 8 ohms. (JA had to relax our definition of clipping to 3% THD+noise for the Levante to meet its specified powers.) There is no global loop negative feedback because the designer believes this causes the distortion signature to mimic that of human hearing. JA found that distortion at moderate powers was close to 0.5%, though this was almost entirely the subjectively innocuous second harmonic. HR’s first impression was that the Levante, fitted with vintage Mullard input tubes, sounded “Too lush. Too big. Too densely atmospheric.” The review sample was supplied with modern JJ inputs as well as the Mullards. Changing to the stock JJ tubes produced a sound that was more overtly direct, less misty, and possessed of a more sharply focused, less-granular clarity than with the Mullards. Other than the increase in power, HR didn’t notice much difference between class-A and class-AB operation. The Levante’s headphone output had a moderately low source impedance of 18 ohms. While HR found the low-sensitivity, 60 ohm HiFiMan Susvaras sounded slightly rounded off, the sound with the sensitive, 300 ohm ZMF Vérité closed-backs was “unusually precise and vibrant.” “I never imagined there’d be an integrated amplifier with a headphone amplifier of this caliber,” he concluded. (Vol.45 No.2 WWW)

ROKSAN ATTESSA STREAMING AMPLIFIER: $3399 This British class-AB amplifier incorporates line and MM phono analog inputs, coaxial and optical S/PDIF digital inputs, and will also decode audio data via Bluetooth, USB, and Ethernet. (It will decode MQA data with the last two inputs.) Roon recognized the amplifier as an AirPlay device, but at the time of JA’s review, the Attessa had not yet been certified by Roon. However, after being set up with the MaestroUnite app, it could play audio streamed with BluOS. JA used the Roksan with Mission 770 and GoldenEar BRX speakers and noted that the amplifier kept tight control over both speakers’ woofers. He compared the Attessa’s S/PDIF inputs with the same data fed to the Ethernet port with BluOS and decided that there was a better sense of palpability and greater subjective low-frequency extension with network data. Using both loudspeakers and headphones, JA noted natural-sounding midrange and highs and an excellent sense of drive in the bass. On the test bench, the Attessa met its specified powers of 80Wpc into 8 ohms and 130Wpc into 4 ohms, with very low distortion at lower powers. The onboard DAC offered around 18 bits of resolution. The phono stage also measured well, with low noise, superbly high overload margins, and accurate RIAA EQ. (Vol.45 No.12 WWW)

ROTEL DIAMOND SERIES RA-6000: $4499.99

Solid state, class-AB amplifier with balanced and unbalanced line analog inputs, an MM phono input, coaxial and TosLink S/PDIF digital inputs, and Bluetooth, USB, and Ethernet connectivity. Specified power is 200Wpc into 8 ohms and 350Wpc into 4 ohms, both confirmed by JA’s measurements. DAC chip is a Texas Instruments PCM5242, which decodes PCM data up to 24/192 but not DSD data. Playing CDs with Rotel’s DT-6000, HR felt that the Rotel excelled at the volume, force, and time-passage parts but fell a breath short on recovering a full harmonic spectrum of tone. With LPs, however, the RA-6000 let recordings sound like themselves, open and clear with no issues to distract listeners. “It was a joy,” he wrote, adding that in his system, “the RA6000 played LPs even better than CDs—and that’s saying a lot.” The Rotel’s own digital inputs sounded much dryer and pared down compared with the DT-6000. “On stringed instruments,” HR wrote, “the beauties of texture and harmonics were presented less richly. Nevertheless, performances moved along and presented themselves in a bright, lively way that kept me listening contentedly.” On the test bench, the Rotel offered low noise and distortion and high power, though JA noted that the headphone output’s very high source impedance won’t be optimal for low-impedance headphones. The D/A section had limited resolution, between 17 and 18 bits, and while the phono stage measured well, he conjectured that its rising ultrasonic output might slightly emphasize the audibility of record clicks. (Vol.46 No.2 WWW)

T+A PA 3100 HV: $24,800

This powerful solid state integrated amplifier offers up to 300Wpc into 8 ohms and 500Wpc into 4 ohms;JA measured clipping powers of 318Wpc/8 ohms and 525Wpc/4 ohms. JA also noted that while distortion was not especially low—though it remained below 0.1% at high powers into loads >2 ohms—it was commendably consistent with frequency and consisted primarily of the subjectively innocuous second harmonic. The T+A PA 3100 HV has both balanced and unbalanced inputs and preamplifier and headphone outputs—the latter best suited for highimpedance headphones—as well as the usual loudspeaker outputs. The review sample was not fitted with the optional Tone Control/Room Correction or MM/MC phono input modules, nor was it supplied with T+A’s PS 3000 external power supply. Nevertheless, JVS found that this amplifier’s “consistently musical presentation” emphasized “smoothness and ease over strong contrasts and abrupt shifts” and described it as “a powerful transmitter of musical truth.” He summed up the PA 3100 HV as “an excellent, meticulously engineered, beautifully made integrated amplifier.” (Vol.44 No.4 WWW)

TECHNICS SU-R1000: $9999.95

This groundbreaking “digital” amplifier offers MM and MC phono, line-level, and digital inputs and maximum powers of

150Wpc into 8 ohms and 300Wpc into 4 ohms. (JA’s measurements indicated slightly higher clipping powers into both loads.) The SU-R1000 makes extensive use of DSP: “JENO” (Jitter Elimination and Noise-shaping Optimization) eliminates jitter during the conversion of all signal to high–sample-rate PWM to drive the output transistors; “Load Adaptive Phase Calibration” measures the output gain and impedance phase characteristics of the amplifier and speaker to create an ideal impulse response; “Active Distortion Cancellation Technology” compensates for the back electromotive force produced by speakers; and “Intelligent Phono EQ,” which optimizes the RIAA equalization and channel separation. (A test LP is included to allow this last feature to be implemented for the user’s specific phono cartridge. JA found that even without the Intelligent Phono EQ, the SU-R1000’s RIAA correction was extraordinarily accurate—one of the best he has ever measured.) “The Technics SU-R1000 is not a class-D amp ‘on steroids,’ and it’s not a solid state amp emulating a tube amp,” wrote KM. “It’s unlike any amplifier I’ve heard. The SU-R1000 achieved levels of performance and sound quality I’ve not previously heard from any amplifier, except in terms of tone and texture.” (KM preferred his reference tube amplifiers for these qualities.) “The SU-R1000 may be technically complex, but its sound was simple, whole, and true with exceptional transparency, flow, and imaging … warm and a touch rich,” he decided. JA concluded that the Technics SU-R1000 line-level analog inputs, phono inputs, and digital inputs all offered excellent measured performance. (Vol.44 No.12, Vol.45 No.1 WWW)

THÖRESS EHT MKII: $10,995

This hybrid tube-input/MOSFET-output amplifier offers up to 20Wpc into 6 ohms. A toggle switch allows the user to choose flat (the middle position) or either of two bass-boost settings, B1 or B2. When HR first tried B1, he thought it was a trick—that the setting was rolling off the treble to bring the bass and midrange up. “But as I listened more carefully,” he wrote, “alternating between B1 and flat, I found that the slight swell, maybe 5dB around 80–90Hz, was adding length and fullness to reverb sounds.” Overall, however, he preferred the flat setting, when the EHT “portrayed reverb in a manner so natural (energy- and focus-wise), it was hard to remember to listen for it.” HR used this amplifier to drive DeVore O/93, Falcon Gold Badge, and Heretic AD614 speakers and commented that the EHT “specializes in naturally rendered contrasts, a rare virtue.” He summed up his time with it by writing, “The Thöress EHT was created to deliver high-toned elegance, conspicuous musicality, and gratifying precision to easy-to-drive speakers like the ones I used it with. That’s its raison d’être and the reason I recommend it.” (Vol.46 No.10 WWW)

YAMAHA A-S3200: $7999.95

The styling of this well-finished, hot-running integrated amplifier evokes memories of the Japanese company’s “Natural Sound” receivers from the 1970s. The A-S3200 offers both balanced and singled-ended line inputs, headphone, preamplifier, and loudspeaker outputs, and tone controls. JVS liked the headphone outputs, commenting that “the welcome smoothness and beauty of the presentation, and … the excellent left-right soundstaging, earn the headphone amp a big thumbs up.” However, he was less happy with the A-S3200 driving his Wilson Alexia 2 loudspeakers, writing that while “air and depth were pretty good, the soundstage was as wide as I’ve come to expect from other integrated amplifiers I’ve evaluated, and musicality was a constant,” what stood out most was “a predominant midrange whose color palette, compared to my reference, seemed somewhat restricted.” JVS suspected that the Yamaha was not an optimal match for his current-hungry Wilson speakers, mandating a follow-up with higher-impedance loudspeakers. In that follow-up, HR found that the A-S3200 played more dramatically into Harbeth 30.2 speakers than his reference Pass Labs INT-25 had. “Bass had more force and bite,” he wrote and concluded that “this luminous, retro-looking integrated is more than a babyboomer nostalgia toy. It is a serious, high-value music-playing machine.” On the test bench, the A-S3200 exceeded its specified maximum continuous power of 100Wpc into 8 ohms and 150Wpc into 4 ohms, clipping at 110Wpc and 168Wpc, respectively. Line-input gain was on the high side, though the MMand MC-capable phono input offered appropriate gains for both types of cartridge. (Low-output MC types will probably better match this input.) RIAA equalization featured slight boosts in the treble and midbass regions; the phono input’s distortion and noise were very low. HR’s follow-up included an audition of the A-S3200’s phono stage. Using a Koetsu cartridge loaded at 50 ohms, the Yamaha “played instruments with exceptionally tight bass and a detail-packed midrange.” HR concluded that “Overall, the Yamaha’s phono stage far exceeded my expectations,” though he warned that those who utilize the A-S3200’s phono stage will need to choose MC cartridges with care. Even so, he added that he was certain that no one would be disappointed with the moving magnet input. (Vol.43 Nos.9 & 11 WWW)

B

AVM INSPIRATION CS 2.3: $6995

A small integrated amplifier with a class-D output stage that integrates a CD drive, offers Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity and has coaxial S/PDIF, HDMI, and USB-A digital inputs, two sets of single-ended, line-level analog inputs and one MM/MC phono input with loading plugs. (The analog inputs are not converted to digital.) There are two TosLink digital outputs; analog preamplifier and subwoofer outputs; a headphone jack, and a pair of small binding posts for loudspeakers. Control can be with the front panel control buttons or AVM’s iOS and Android RC X apps. SM found the app intuitive and a pleasure to use: “Navigating menus and submenus felt logical and appropriate.” He concluded that while the C S2.3 is not inexpensive, “when you price out everything it does—DAC, streamer, CD player, line and phono preamp, amplifier, headphone amp—and how well it does it, the smallness of that number starts to impress.” In the test lab, JA found that the AVM met its specified power of 140Wpc into 4 ohms, the CD transport featured superb error correction, the DAC offered high resolution and a choice of reconstruction filters, and the phono input had superbly accurate RIAA correction and low noise and distortion. He did comment, however, that the amplifier will probably work best with speakers that have an impedance greater than 4 ohms. (Vol.46 No.6 WWW)

CAMBRIDGE AUDIO CXA81: $999 $$$

The CXA81 is a versatile, solid state integrated amplifier with analog and digital inputs, headphone, preamplifier, and subwoofer outputs, and the usual loudspeaker outputs. JA found that the Cambridge slightly exceeded its rated power of 80Wpc into 8 ohms and 120Wpc into 4 ohms. Using its line inputs, the CXA81 had KM muttering “wow” (several times) at its transparency to the sound of upstream electronics and recordings. Using both Polk and Quad loudspeakers, the amplifier “consistently created a large, atmospheric soundstage with solid images.” The Cambridge’s digital inputs were consistently satisfying, though not in the class of KM’s reference BorderPatrol DAC, which costs 50% more than this DAC-equipped integrated amp. Compared with the more expensive, “fully loaded” Schiit Ragnarok 2, the CXA81 had better top-end air, a slightly wider and deeper soundstage, and a more laid-back presentation; the Schiit amp offered better tone, slightly better drive, and more intimacy. The CXA81 helped KM realize “how much music can be had for such a low price. It knocked me flat with its ability to sound good in so many ways.” (Vol.44 No.1 WWW) CAMBRIDGE AUDIO EVO 150: $2999

The Roon-Ready, “all-in-one” EVO 150 has digital, line, and MM phono inputs, can stream audio via a network or Bluetooth connection, and can unfold MQA-encoded data. It “continues Cambridge’s tradition of offering near-cutting-edge products that don’t break the bank,” RS wrote. He was impressed by what he heard, finding that the Cambridge sounded “fresh-faced and convivial, with a dynamic spring in its step. There was a confident, unforced quality that let the music unfold gracefully,” adding that the amplifier maintained its composure at high volume. JA found that the class-D EVO 150 met its specified maximum power into 8 ohms (150Wpc) and delivered 280Wpc into 4 ohms before clipping. “With the exception of the higher-than-expected levels of noise in its headphone output, the Cambridge EVO 150’s measured performance reveals excellent audio engineering,” JA summed up. RS was equally impressed, concluding that everything about the EVO 150—its ergonomics, features, streaming app, remote, and, most essentially, sound quality—operated at a high standard. (Vol.44 No.10 WWW)

FEZZ AUDIO SILVER LUNA PRESTIGE: $2995

A push-pull, class-AB1 auto-bias, tubed stereo integrated amplifier using EL34 output tubes that can be operated in tetrode or pentode modes. The input tubes are either 6N2Ps or 12AX7s. AH preferred the 12AX7s, which produced a larger, meatier sound than the 6N2Ps. He also preferred listening in pentode mode, which offered a fuller-bodied and more extended sound. AH’s initial impression wasn’t positive, as with his high-sensitivity Klipsch La Scalas, the Fezz amp emitted a steady hum. He found that this hum wasn’t noticeable playing back music, and ended up finding that the EL34 push-pull circuit produced a well-balanced, punchy, and generally pleasing sound—“these amps tend to be as familiar and comforting as an old flannel shirt.” The Silver Luna “sounded like it was putting a slight emphasis on the upper bass, which made its rendering of the electric bass notes sound scary good,” he wrote, adding that the Polish amp showed a remarkable affinity for the human voice, “which it reproduced with eerie presence.” While AH cautioned that listeners of primarily classical or jazz will probably feel happier with a more pellucid-sounding, better-mannered amplifier, he wholeheartedly recommended the Silver Luna for those who subsist on a musical diet heavy on pop, rock, country, reggae, Afropop, metal, or R&B. In the test lab, the Fezz amplifier’s measured performance was a mixed bag. The cleanly extended high frequencies and excellent squarewave performance had to be put against the high source impedance and the relatively high level of second-harmonic distortion, which suggest that the amplifier will sound different with every loudspeaker with which it is paired. And the amplifier only met its specified 35W output power at 10% THD+N, and then only in pentode mode. (Vol.46 No.8 WWW)

HIFI ROSE RA180: $6995

JMu fell in love with the appearance of this steampunkstyled, class-D integrated amplifier from Korea when she first saw it at the 2022 AXPONA. She was equally impressed by its sound quality when she installed the RA-180 in her system. It offers a plethora of features—level meters, a phono MC/MM stage, two rows of speaker outputs to allow operation with two pairs of full-range speakers (two channels or four channels), and switchable channel bridging for greater power—and controls for volume, bass, treble, balance, tone control bypass, biamping crossover frequency and high-frequency gain (to drive a supertweeter), and a choice of five phono EQ settings in addition to RIAA. The RA180 can be controlled with its remote or with HiFi Rose’s RoseAMPConnect app for Android or iOS. (The RA180 only recognizes 2.4GHz Wi-Fi networks.) Using her reference MBL 120 loudspeakers, JMu noted that images were realistic, natural in scale: “The presentation felt grounded. Textures were tactile.” Changing to bridged output mode, the MBLs’ presentation seemed less cohesive, however. JMu tried the RA180's biamping function with the three-way, Triangle Antal 40th Anniversary Edition speakers. Listening to Andrew Bird’s Inside Problems on vinyl and 24/96 download, JMu noted that regardless of format, “the presentation was smooth, natural, liquid. Bass lines were clean, easy to follow. Recording-venue acoustics cues, such as slight echo on ‘Atomized,’ were easy to hear—more so than usual.” On the test bench, the RA180 with two channels driven in normal mode exceeded its specified power of 200Wpc, clipping at 290Wpc into 8 ohms and 400Wpc into 4 ohms. More power was available in bridged mode, though the amplifier’s protection circuitry operated below the actual clipping power. The phono stage was relatively quiet, with accurate RIAA EQ, but the overload margin at the top of the audioband was limited. JMu concluded that “The HiFi Rose RA180 is big on speed, energy, clarity, and detail. You get plenty of power in a single chassis.”JCA notes that while the RA180 is unquestionably cool, some of its features, like the built-in crossover