Arcam Solo Integrated Amp and CD Player Reviewed

Before walking into the Arcam room at the January Consumer Electronics Show, I had been primed to expect that 'something awesome' awaited. This in itself raised a smile because I have never heard the words 'Arcam' and 'awesome' in the......Read More

PrimaLuna 3 and 4 Tube Power Amp

Sneaking admiration is something I'm more than willing to offer the wily Herman van den Dungen. The crafty old dog has finessed the PrimaLuna ProLogue line into a comprehensive seven-model range using just one main circuit and the same......Read More

ROTEL RB-1092 Amplifier Reviewed

One hesitates to apply the word 'revolutionary' to a piece of hi-fi equipment because it implies that the product is the first/best/biggest/cheapest/whatever of its type. In the case of Rotel's RB-1092 stereo amplifier, it may or may not be the......Read More

Classe Audio CA-M400 Mono Amplifier Reviewed

In the past decade-plus of reviewing topnotch audiophile and home theater gear, I can think of few products that have caught my attention more than the Classe' Audio CA-M400 monoblock amps. Priced at $5,000 each or, as reviewed, $10,000 per......Read More

Parasound Halo JC 1 Monaural Amplifier Reviewed

When Parasound announced it was releasing a line of products with legendary designer John Curl under the moniker Halo, the press release alone was spank material. At the top of the product line sat the JC1 monaural amplifier, named after......Read More

McIntosh MC501 Monaural Power Amplifier Reviewed

Customer devotion, brand loyalty, cult following, whatever term you choose to describe it - few companies can compare when it comes to the passion exhibited by McIntosh clientele for the firm's products.  Many customers simply will not even consider......Read More

Mark Levinson No. 53 Monaural Power Amp Reviewed

You know how I know that the Mark Levinson No. 53 power amplifiers are really, really good? No, it's not that they have the Mark Levinson brand on their faceplates or that they cost a whopping $50,000 a pair or......Read More

Ayre Acoustics MX-R Monaural Power Amplifier Reviewed

Ayre Acoustics are out with new reference monoblock amplifiers that are simply drop-dead gorgeous, competing in the upper echelon of audiophile amplifiers.  The $16,500 per pair MX-Rs do not look like your typical audiophile amplifiers.  First of all, they......Read More

Stereo Amplifier Reviews & "Wiki" Information

Most amplifiers are stereo amps thus can boost the amplitude of a stereo audio signal. Mono or monoblock amps are one channel amplifiers and are found mostly on the high end of the amplifier food chain....Read More

NuForce Icon / S1 Amplifier Reviewed

NuForce has made a name for itself over the past couple of years by producing switched power supply amplifiers that have been getting rave reviews. One of the benefits of a switched power supply amplifier is that it can......Read More

Krell KAV-400xi Integrated Amplifier Reviewed

Krell is well known for making what many consider to be among the finest amplifiers in the world.  Krell has, for several years, been making two lines of products, the comparatively large and expensive standard line and the relatively......Read More

Krell FBI Integrated Amplifier Reviewed

Krell, the iconic amplifier manufacturer, has recently introduced their no-holds-barred integrated amplifier, the Fully Balanced Integrated Amplifier (commonly referred to simply as "FBI"). The FBI is designed to be a serious world-class audiophile piece. One look at this $16,500,......Read More

Audio Research REF 110 Power Amplifier

If any series of products has served up with impeccable consistency the sort of behavior that leaves you awestruck, it's the Reference family from Audio Research. It possesses the kind of track record you associate with Porsche, Leica and......Read More

Classe' Audio CA-M400 Mono Amplifier Reviewed

In the past decade-plus of reviewing topnotch audiophile and home theater gear, I can think of few products that have caught my attention more than the Classe' Audio CA-M400 monoblock amps. Priced at $5,000 each or, as reviewed, $10,000 per......Read More

Bryston 2B SST Stereo Amplifier Reviewed

The Bryston 2B is a true audiophile classic. First released to the public in 1979, the Bryston 2B is an absolute workhorse of a stereo power amplifier that has successfully powered many of the most demanding speakers ever designed. Today's......Read More

NuForce Reference 9 V2 Special Edition Monoblock Amplifiers Reviewed

Typically, when audio enthusiasts hear the term "monoblock amplifiers," they immediately think of massive, heat-sink-laden behemoths that require a few strong friends to position.  Lights flicker when they are powered on and they produce enough heat to turn your......Read More

Melody SP3 Amplifier Reviewed

In a world awash with sub-$2000 Chinese-made tube amps, it takes a lot to make one that stands out from the crowd. Some champions have already emerged, especially the PrimaLunas, but there's an overwhelming sense of "so what?" to the......Read More

Krell Evolution 600 Mono Power Amplifier Reviewed

Although it took a decade too long, at last there's a major backlash against the three-watt brigade. Those benighted fools, who think that a single-figure-wattage 300B into some absurd high-sensitivity horn is a substitute for real-world power, have been purveying......Read More

Musical Fidelity Supercharger 550k

For some years, Musical Fidelity's Antony Michaelson has been banging on about the need for more power than has been considered necessary by the audio community. It wasn't just the single-ended triode brigade that incensed him, with claims for the......Read More

Copland CTA405 Integrated Amplifier Reviewed

Copland products are easy to love. Especially if you've had it up to your eyebrows with poorly-made components, absurd ergonomics and a sense that your pocket has been picked. But Copland rests in an arena of its own, for their......Read More

Quad II-eighty Tube Amplifier Reviewed

While Quad's Peter Walker is up there sparring with SME's Alastair Robertson-Aikman, arguing about how AR-A modified all of the various ESLs, there's another battle going on that might have PJW shaking his head. As far as my knowledge of......Read More

NAD C315BEE Stereo Integrated Amplifier Reviewed

Numbers show that the NAD 3020 may be the best-selling integrated amplifier in hi-fi history. NAD's founder, Marty Borish, believes they sold 1.3 million units; of those, 500,000 were sold in Great Britain alone. Certainly it was the most successful......Read More

Mark Levinson No. 436 Monaural Amplifier Reviewed

In the history of high-end audio, few brands stand above the crowd like Mark Levinson. Today, famed as the high-end car audio system inside of Lexus, Mark Levinson is still the gem of the Harman Specialty Group brand lineup. Despite......Read More

Krell Evolution 900 Monaural Power Amplifiers Reviewed

Dan D'agostino in an extremist be it his love for cars, fine wine and especially when it come to ultra-off-the-charts, high-end audiophile equipment. And never before has he offered an amp with more extreme performance to the worldwide marketplace than......Read More

Halcro dm38 Stereo Power Amplifier Reviewed

Halcro, a relatively new name to American audiophiles, first became known through their reference series of amplifiers. The dm38 at $20,000 is the lowest price amplifier in the series. The series begins with the dm38 180 Watt per channel, stereo......Read More