amplifiers Archives - Positive Feedback

Matrix Audio MP1 and MA1

John Hoffman — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 16:10:34 +0000

"Keep your voices down a little bit" is faintly heard in the background. This phrase is incredibly difficult to decipher in many systems, as it is located deeply in the background of the recording. "Then, a band member says"Oh I will tell you everything," and while it cannot be documented it is likely Christine McVie... Read More »

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Parasound's JCA100 Tribute Amplifiers

Greg Weaver — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 22:52:06 +0000

I first heard the now-acclaimed Parasound Halo JC1 amplifier during the January 2002 CES, though this soon-to-be-acclaimed amplifier was not officially available for purchase until March of 2003. But on that January day, the late Bob Crump had used four pre-production JC1s, a soon-to-be-acknowledged overachieving amplifier from renowned electronics designer John Curl, to drive a... Read More »

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Pass Labs X350.8 Amplifier

Pete Davey — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 16:55:28 +0000

After living with a handful of Class D amps over the past few years, it's been a real joy to get back into a serious Class AB amplifier. The Pass Labs X350.8 has reminded me why these big, heavy beasts are still so special. There's simply more weight, more authority, more current on tap, and... Read More »

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Starkrimson Mono Ultra Premium Amplifiers from Orchard Audio

John Hoffman — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 15:42:58 +0000

Rarely does technology trickle up into the high-end realm of two-channel audio playback. Yet, in the case of Class D amplification, this has indeed happened. The Class D circuit was invented in the mid-1950s by Alec Reeves, and the first commercial product was released by Sinclair Radionics in 1964. A bit further down the road,... Read More »

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EAR 890 Amplifier

Editors at Positive Feedback — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 16:07:33 +0000

This article by Robert Levi originally ran in 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. I've always liked tube amps. That said, there are a lot of things about tube... Read More »

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Air Tight ATM-211 Amplifiers

Editors at Positive Feedback — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 16:20:17 +0000

This article by Marshall Nack originally ran in 2006, 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. A Quiet Company While everybody's heard of Air Tight and their products are well respected,... Read More »

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Atma-Sphere Class D Amplifiers

Tim Aucremann — Wed, 21 May 2025 16:19:08 +0000

Preparing for this review I asked Ralph Karsten, principal at Atma-Sphere, if he planned to make a Class D preamplifier. He responded "There's not much point in a Class D preamp since you don't get the same advantages that you do in a power amp." The obvious question becomes: what are the advantages of a... Read More »

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Parasound Halo JC1+ Mono Amplifiers

Mark Pearson — Sat, 05 Apr 2025 18:07:19 +0000

As an owner of the Parasound JC5 stereo amplifier, I was intrigued to review the mighty JC1+ mono amplifiers in my system. As many of you know, the JC5 was John Curl's attempt to distill as much of the JC1 amplifiers into a single stereo chassis as he could. As good as the JC5 stereo... Read More »

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Karan Acoustics Master Collection POWERa Stereo Amplifier

Key Kim — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 15:51:58 +0000

The Karan Acoustics Master Collection POWERa Stereo amplifier is Milan Karan's new masterpiece stereo amplifier. The Master Collection is Karan's accumulation of over 30 years of audio engineering and design experience, replacing the entire previous product line. He began designing his Master Collection 10 years ago. Karan's goal was to make the best sounding amplifier... Read More »

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A Pippen of a Component - the Pass Labs X150.8 Stereo Amplifier

Juan C. Ayllon — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 23:28:55 +0000

The Pass Labs X150.8 Stereo Amplifier, seen up front atop a 1/4" steel plate on A/V RoomService EVP Equipment Vibration Protectors. In the back to the left is one of my reference Usher Audio ML-802 Loudspeakers. As a longtime Chicagoland resident and audio enthusiast, the Pass Labs X150.8 conjures Scottie Pippen's impact on the 1991-1998... Read More »

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Waters on the Hardware: The Merrill Audio ELEMENT 110 Monoblock Amplifiers

Dean Waters — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 18:59:44 +0000

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 »

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McIntosh MC830 Solid-State Monoblock Amplifiers

Douglas Seth Brown — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 15:44:10 +0000

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 »

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Waters on the Hardware: A Life-Changing Visit to GTT Audio

Dean Waters — Sat, 21 Sep 2024 23:06:45 +0000

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 »

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Waters on the Hardware: Alberto Guerra Designs (AGD) Solo Monoblock Amps

Dean Waters — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 20:34:37 +0000

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 »

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Waters on the Hardware: The Alberto Guerra Design (AGD) Duet Monoblock Amplifier

Dean Waters — Sat, 01 Jun 2024 16:48:36 +0000

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 »

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SAE HP2-D Amplifier and MK One Preamplifier

Gary Lea — Thu, 02 May 2024 17:29:59 +0000

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 »

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Waters on the Hardware: Mola Mola's Perca Stereo Amplifier, with the Tambaqui DAC to come

Dean Waters — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 00:27:14 +0000

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 »

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Bella Sound Kahili Amplifier

Will Wright — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 18:34:51 +0000

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 »

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Audio by Van Alstine M750 Mono Amplifiers

Larry Cox — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 21:18:18 +0000

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 »

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PS Audio BHK 600 Mono Amplifiers

Pete Davey — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 23:50:31 +0000

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 »

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Von Gaylord Audio – A Great Integrated System

Gary Lea — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 19:43:51 +0000

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 »

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Vera-Fi Audio Vera-Link Bluetooth Wireless Stereo Streaming Amplifiers

Tom Gibbs — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 18:57:58 +0000

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 »

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KECES S300+ Stereo Amplifier

Dean Waters — Sat, 05 Aug 2023 20:40:35 +0000

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 »

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The Analog Ethos Legendarium 2a3 Stereo Amplifier

Sam Rosen — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 17:49:53 +0000

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 »

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Parasound HALO JC 5 Amplifier

Mark Pearson — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 19:03:59 +0000

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 »

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