Lehmannaudio Decade Jubilee Phono Preamplifier
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- Written by Matt Bonaccio Matt Bonaccio
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 March 2023 15 March 2023
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.
It was very late on a cold, rainy January night in 1975 when The Köln Concert was recorded. Everything went wrong. Instead of the Bösendorfer 290 Imperial concert grand piano ordered by the show’s promoters, a mix-up led to the concert hall’s poorly maintained baby grand being brought out on the stage. Technicians slaved for hours tuning the instrument to get it into a playable condition; the sustain pedals were beyond repair and thus would be useless. The performer, Keith Jarrett, had spent five hours riding in a small, rickety French economy car from his previous concert in Switzerland. Dinner was served late, too late for a full meal before showtime. And Jarrett had been battling severe back pain and sleep deprivation for days leading up to the concert.
NAD Masters M23 Stereo/Mono Amplifier
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- Written by Roger Kanno Roger Kanno
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 March 2023 01 March 2023
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.
Purifi’s Eigentakt class-D amplification technology first came to our attention when SoundStage! Network founder and publisher Doug Schneider raved about the performance of an engineering evaluation sample utilizing the company’s OEM modules. We subsequently reviewed several Eigentakt-based products from NAD, including the C 298 stereo amplifier, the M28 multichannel amplifier, and the M33 integrated amplifier-DAC. I personally reviewed the latter two, and all three products received SoundStage! Network Reviewers’ Choice awards when they were published. The C 298 and M33 went on to win SoundStage! Network Product of the Year awards.
Thorens TD 1500 Turntable with Ortofon 2M Bronze Cartridge
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- Written by Philip Beaudette Philip Beaudette
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 February 2023 15 February 2023
The year 2022 marked significant anniversaries for several prominent loudspeaker manufacturers, all of which we’ve covered on the SoundStage Network. In England, Monitor Audio and KEF celebrated their 50th and 60th birthdays, respectively, while here in Canada PSB also turned 50. Each of these brands released one or more products to celebrate the milestones, and justifiably so. Surviving, let alone thriving for half a century or more in an industry that sometimes seems like a revolving door of companies is no mean feat, and deserves to be feted. In a marketplace that often feels crowded, these brands have succeeded where others have not, and they merit credit.
Rotel Diamond Series RA-6000 Integrated Amplifier-DAC
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- Written by Roger Kanno Roger Kanno
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 February 2023 01 February 2023
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.
Rotel has introduced a number of integrated amplifiers in the past couple of years, a few of which have been reviewed here on the SoundStage! Network; from the very high-end Michi X5 ($7499, all prices in USD) to the entry-level A11 Tribute ($799.99) and several in between. Aside from the Michi range, the company is known as a manufacturer of cost-effective, high-value products. However, to celebrate its 60th anniversary, Rotel has introduced two premium Diamond Series components: the RA-6000 integrated amplifier-DAC ($4499), the subject of this review, and the DT-6000 CD player–DAC ($2299, review forthcoming).
RME ADI-2 DAC FS Digital-to-Analog Converter
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- Written by Matt Bonaccio Matt Bonaccio
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 January 2023 15 January 2023
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.
Breaking into the audiophile sphere can be profoundly difficult for a professional audio company. Audio professionals and stereo enthusiasts tend to hold wildly divergent values regarding the gear they use, and at times, they seem to speak different languages altogether. So when a company introduces a product that crosses over from one of these worlds into the other, at best, it may be regarded as being a bit out of touch. At worst, it will garner little more than caustic derision. Hi-fi companies with pro audio roots tend to avoid revealing too much about their history for this reason. Given the circumstances, it’s a bit unusual that German audio company RME isn’t shy about disclosing its professional-grade background. In fact, they seem kind of proud of it.
Hegel Music Systems P30A Preamplifier
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- Written by Jason Thorpe Jason Thorpe
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 January 2023 01 January 2023
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.
On the plane back to Toronto from Warsaw, Poland, at the close of Audio Video Show 2022, I watched—for the third time—Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino. As I age, I find myself having more in common with Clint’s character, Walt, than with his fickle and ever-suffering children, or the neighbors with whom he bonds. I’m becoming that crusty, insular curmudgeon who’s resistant to new ideas.
Pro-Ject Audio Systems X2 B Turntable with Ortofon Quintet Red Cartridge
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- Written by Philip Beaudette Philip Beaudette
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 December 2022 01 December 2022
The Great Recession of 2008 was the worst global economic downturn since the Great Depression of the early 20th century. In North America, the big-three car manufacturers (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler) suddenly found themselves in trouble as increasing fuel costs meant that consumers could no longer justify their love affair with the gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks these companies had focused their marketing and manufacturing on. With SUVs sitting on dealer lots across the continent and few buyers to be found, governments in both Canada and the US intervened to bail out GM and Chrysler with massive loans. Taxpayers were told the failure of these automotive behemoths would have meant further economic hardship for the rest of us. So much for the laissez-faire economics of capitalism.
Shunyata Research Venom-X Speaker Cable
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- Written by Roger Kanno Roger Kanno
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 November 2022 01 November 2022
Shunyata Research has been manufacturing its highly regarded power products for over 20 years. And while the Poulsbo, Washington, company is known for its power cords and Hydra power distributors, it also manufactures a full suite of cables and accessories. Shunyata’s products are not cheap: the entry-level Venom line of audio cables has prices starting at $450 and ranging up to $1000 (all prices in USD). However, all of its products utilize some or all of Shunyata’s many proprietary technologies and are assembled by hand at the company’s facility in Poulsbo.
Atohm GT1-HD Loudspeaker
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- Written by Dan Kong Dan Kong
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 October 2022 15 October 2022
Note: measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.
I got into this hobby as a teenager in the mid-1990s. Back then, I enjoyed the listening experience and loved the gear, but I also appreciated the industry itself. I seem to think the industry was broader and more vibrant than it is today—there were so many independent manufacturers serving the entire budget spectrum. Even the mainstream brands like Sony, Onkyo, and Pioneer had high-end product lines (ES, Integra, and Elite, respectively).
EMM Labs DS-EQ1 Optical Phono Preamplifier
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- Written by Jason Thorpe Jason Thorpe
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 October 2022 01 October 2022
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.
“I’ll never make a phono stage,” Ed Meitner told me with flat finality. The fact that I was in the midst of a Skype call with Ed and his son, Amadeus, to discuss EMM Labs’ DS-EQ1 optical phono preamplifier was packed with an irony we were all studiously ignoring.
