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Dean Waters with Cigar:  a Portrait. (Photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson.) The Merrill Audio ELEMENT 110 Monoblock Amplifier (image by Dean Waters) As we continue our never-ending journey towards audio bliss, one of the things we look for is transparency. That is to say, music presented without colorization or modification by the... Read More »

McIntosh MC830 Solid-State Amplifier (courtesy of McIntosh) McIntosh amplifiers are the type of ultra high-end audio components that cause fist fights at estate hearings. When the opportunity to review a pair of McIntosh's MC830 solid-state amplifiers, ($8000 per pair) arose, I was quite excited to begin listening. Product Description Each MC830 single channel amplifier is... Read More »

Dean Waters with Cigar:  a study. 2023 Pacific Audio Fest, Seatac, WA (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) Throughout our lives we encounter special moments that are so transformative that we know that we will always remember exactly where we were and what we were doing the moment they occur. If you're old enough,... Read More »

Dean Waters with cigar at the Pacific Audio Fest 2023: a portrait. (Photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) I recently submitted an article reviewing the Alberto Guerra Designs (AGD) Duet monoblock amplifiers (HERE). They are in a word, wonderful. Since then, I've been reviewing the Duet's big brothers, the AGD Solo Limited Edition... Read More »

Dean Waters: portrait with a cigar. SeaTac, WA, Pacific Audio Fest, 2023 For the last few months, I've been listening to and delighting in a pair of AGD Duet monoblock amplifiers. These are the newest addition to the AGD product line, and are rated for a very solid 150W @ 8 Ohms (300W @ 4... Read More »

Fifty years ago SAE hit the market with its first amplifier, the venerable MK 1. A 60-watt per channel affair that stunned the audio world and received rave reviews by none other than J. Gordon Holt when he stated that under most conditions it was the best sounding solid-state gear he had ever heard. Big... Read More »

Dean Waters at Pacific Audio Fest 2023: A Portrait with a Cigar. (Photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson)  About four months ago I received a Mola-Mola Tambaqui DAC and a Mola-Mola Perca stereo amplifier from Bill Parish at GTT Audio, and I've been using them as my daily-driver since then with much glee... Read More »

Bella Sound is the brain child of Michael Vice. Educated at UC Berkeley and Stanford in Physics and Electrical Engineering, Mike has poured his decades of experience and over 40 patents into his unique designs. Bella Sound's products include amplifiers, a power conditioner, and power cords, all based on Mike's conceptually novel approach, and married... Read More »

Audio by Van Alstine ("AVA") is a familiar name to long toothed audiophiles, but maybe not so much for newer audiophiles. Fifty plus years ago Frank Van Alstine founded AVA, building a reputation for good sounding, high value products. AVA started selling direct to consumers when that was called "mail order." I thought to describe... Read More »

It's not often that I get the opportunity to review an amplifier that harkens back to the days of yore—big, heavy, power hungry. It's a fun exercise to cleanse ones palate, so to speak, of all of the Class D amps I've been using lately. There was a period of time where I didn't enjoy... Read More »

Some 20 plus years ago, as a fledgling cub reporter for a local HiFi group, I was attending CES and the high-end show at the Alexis Park. That's when I had my first encounter with the Von Gaylord Legend speaker. I wandered into their room and waited for the next demo session. I took my... Read More »

Power to Drive Virtually Any Loudspeaker with Incredible Performance at a Ridiculously Low Price   I have a fairly constant presence on social media, particularly Facebook, and I belong to a number of audio-related groups there. So when I saw a post in one of them announcing the new Vera-Fi Audio Vera-Link Bluetooth Wireless Stereo... Read More »

Dean Waters on the hardware:  First contact with the KECES S300+ Stereo Amplifier I've been given the wonderful opportunity to listen to and evaluate the KECES S300+ dual-channel Class A / Class AB hybrid amplifier. What a marvelous experience! First time I've had goosebumps listening to recorded music since I can't remember how long. This... Read More »

Sometimes you listen to a piece of equipment, and its performance gives you pause. Sometimes that pause is a good thing because what you're listening to is performing better then you expect. Unfortunately, sometimes it's a bad thing, candidly most of the time it is a bad thing. However, this review is about one of... Read More »

The Parasound JC 5 stereo amplifier has been in continuous production since 2018 and has been reviewed many times over the years including reviews in Positive Feedback. I want to be upfront that I purchased the JC 5 prior to writing this review. I made the leap of faith based on the reputation of the... Read More »

Founded in 1964, and for 59 years now, Mactone has continuously manufactured high-fidelity vacuum tube audio components, longer than any other company in Japan. Steve Mishoe (In Living Stereo) started importing Mactone audio components to North America in late 2018, after visiting the Matsumoto family—who owns and operates Mactone—in Japan. Steve recently contacted me and... Read More »

This article by Ed Morawski originally ran in Issue 6, April/May 2003, so while we call this section "New Old Stock - Articles from Our Days in Print" you are also going to see some articles from our early days of going online. E.A.R. 864 Although I was very pleased with my Plinius CD-LAD preamp,... Read More »

Classy Operation A class-D amplifier, or switching amplifier, all too often mistakenly referred to as a "digital" amplifier, differs from the much more traditional and popular linear amplifier classes. In a switching amplifier, its transistors, usually MOSFETs (Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors), rather than directly providing gain to the sourced signal, operate as electronic switches. The audio... Read More »

A Breakthrough Amplifier Design A pair of the Zesto Audio Eros 500 Select Monoblock Amps (image courtesy of Zesto Audio) The more I immerse myself in this hobby since I retired from the entertainment industry in 2008, the more certain I have become that the amplifier is the most important and telling piece of equipment in... Read More »