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This is the third in my series of reviews on the Devialet product line. Please see my commentary on the Devialet Expert 400 and Devialet Expert 800 by just clicking on the model number. Devialet has now introduced their latest generation of product called the Devialet Expert Pro series that will replace the Expert series.... Read More »

The world of high-end audio is wondrous, but can easily reach the realm of unrealistic indulgence for all but the very wealthy. I have been fortunate to hear two channel audio systems with price tags well into the six-figure range (plus custom or acoustically treated listening rooms) and have wonderful sonic imprints of the experiences.... Read More »

Ever been burned by an audio purchase? Yep, me too. Although a lifetime of short-term gratification ensures that I'll never have to worry about blowing big money on audio, I have learned on thing: While flash-in-the-pan audio baubles hog all the press, the wise money goes to companies that deliver high quality over time. For... Read More »

The Israel-based company Teddy Pardo, which shares its founder's name, has accomplished quite a feat. It has birthed the Teddy Pardo MB100, a 100-watt monoblock amplifier amid a sea of competition in the $2500USD price bracket, with very compelling reasons to be considered. The foremost being a proprietary power supply that helps the MB100 deliver... Read More »

No. Not the streaming media service. Turns out, there's a major high-end audio company in Germany, TIDAL Audio, which is joining the ranks of world-class audio design. In fact, TIDAL Audio, founded in 1999 by Jorn Janczk with the stated intent of building the finest audio systems on the planet, has been around years longer... Read More »

There are tube electronics and then, there are tube electronics. In the wonderful world of tubes, the most popular, reliable and successful amplifier designs nowadays are dominated by push-pull, OTL, triode and pentode circuitry. When it comes today to preamplifiers—and in particular phonostages—hybrid circuits more often than not today rule the roost. Sure push-pull amplifier... Read More »

Mola-Mola Kaluga circuit board Some of you may recall when Class D amplification began to appear in high-end journals. There were birthing pangs, to put it mildly. Granted it was quiet, linear, and powerful; on the other hand, it was often dry and brittle. The treble, in particular, was nasty. At the time, around 2006,... Read More »

Defying Expectations   For some time now, I have hinted that the Bryston Limited 4B³ Stereo Power Amplifier (pronounced "Four Bee Cubed") is not your father's Bryston (to wit, neutral, quiet, and highly linear, but also somewhat lacking in air, instrumental body and overall transparency). In my 2016 AXPONA show report, I described the updated... Read More »

"When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, it seems like two minutes. When you sit on a hot stove for two minutes, it seems like two hours. That's relativity." - Albert Einstein I have auditioned, reviewed, and owned several products from Pass Labs over the years and this quote from Mr. Einstein... Read More »

Headed by Fried Reim, Violectric specialises in a wide number of reputable amplifiers which have caught the attention of many in the avid world of personal audio such as the Violectric V281 Amp under review here. Being the trademark and product line of German firm Lake People, the company develops and manufactures products for exhibition,... Read More »

"On a cost vs. sound quality basis (alone), Digital Amplifier Company DAC DAC may be the best digital to analog converter to come along in 3 decades; all the way back to the extremely costly & extraordinary $12,000 Stax DAC-X1t Vacuum Tube Output Reference D/A Processor (1989)!" Introduction There are an extremely wide range of choices... Read More »

There's been a long, and I think unfortunate trend in the upper reaches of high-end audio over the last fifteen years or so. It is the moving of high end audio from an endeavor based on making gear whose principle raison d'être is to sound really good and to honor the music we listen to,... Read More »

The Ayon Audio Scorpio is a heavy, Class A integrated amplifier made of high grade aluminum and powered by gleaming KT88 and 12AU7 tubes. One look and listen, and you know it's textbook audio, the perfect answer to your friends when they say, "So how's a high end amplifier any different from my Yamaha?" Like... Read More »

So back on track here… got the Aurender review (a truly wonderful product—read that HERE) done and so on to another product that I loved so much, I ended up buying the review sample… the PS Audio BHK Signature 250 Stereo Power Amplifier. Bought it? What about the legendary Clayton M200 amplifiers? Are you selling... Read More »

I'm not going to tell you what I did on my summer vacation. (Maui) I'm not going to tell you what I got for Christmas. (Schiit Audio Vali 2). I am going to get right to the crux of the matter and tell you about the Wells Audio Majestic integrated amplifier. A few audio shows back,... Read More »

It so happened that together with some friends we delivered the Audio Tekne system I reviewed before directly to the  Audio Video Show 2015. As soon as we finished carrying all those damn heavy devices to the exhibition room Hari (from Natural Sound) told us the good news—next we would get the top Audio System... Read More »

My recent review of the Devialet 400 Integrated Amplifier was quite an eye opener for me and apparently many of our readers. Please see the review HERE. Many folks agreed with my findings and others provided some very interesting (but respectful) feedback. You gotta love this hobby! The entire exercise reminded me again and again... Read More »

Not sure how this came about, but man do I have a lot of stuff here to review… the PS Audio BHK250 amplifier and their AC12 and AC5 power cables, the Aurender N100H streamer, the Entreq Poseidon Grounding box and cables, several items from Synergistic Research (Black Box, Atmosphere, MiG, and HFT), iFi Audio's new... Read More »

This is one of those tests I've been wanting to do for a few years; but it kept being postponed and at one stage it seemed like it would never happen. In the meantime ownership of the company changed, the Model 88 I was originally planning to test has been eclipsed by the Maggiore ("reference")... Read More »