Pro-Ject Audio Systems XA B Turntable and Pick it Pro Balanced Cartridge
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- Written by Philip Beaudette Philip Beaudette
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 November 2024 15 November 2024
Two years after I began writing for SoundStage!, I decided to get a turntable. I wasn’t interested in using it to review other turntables; I simply wanted another option for enjoying music, especially because I was seeing a growing number of LPs in the music stores I frequented. Most importantly, though I grew up listening to cassettes before graduating to CDs, my parents always had a record player in the house—from my earliest memories, vinyl was always around.
Orchard Audio PecanPi+ Streamer Premium DAC
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- Written by Matt Bonaccio Matt Bonaccio
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 October 2024 15 October 2024
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
“Simplify, then add lightness,” British inventor and Lotus founder Colin Chapman once said. New Jersey-based Orchard Audio may not have attained the renown for iconic designs that Lotus has nor quite the status of an exemplar of American hi-fi as Naim or Harbeth have of British hi-fi. But it does seem to have followed Chapman’s paradigm, handcrafting relatively small, light components with a clear focus on simplicity and performance, eschewing nonessential connections and features. The PecanPi+ Streamer Premium, which retails for $1500 (prices in USD), is a prime example of this paradigm. You won’t find advanced functionality on this streamer, the sort of features found on “full-service streamers,” but you will find that the functions it offers, it executes extremely well.
Bryston Model T10 Loudspeaker
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- Written by Philip Beaudette Philip Beaudette
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 October 2024 01 October 2024
Canadian hi-fi stalwart Bryston doesn’t sit still. Known for decades as a manufacturer of robust analog amplification, they got into digital audio approximately 20 years ago, eventually offering a full suite of digital front-end gear. Soon they had launched their first loudspeaker, the Model T, which Aron Garrecht reviewed for SoundStage! Hi-Fi in 2013. Within three years, Bryston had added a turntable to their catalog (sourced from Italy’s Gold Note, and since withdrawn) to complement their upgraded phono stages. Presently, they’re on the cusp of introducing a line of digital amplifiers.
Monitor Audio Gold 300 6G Loudspeaker
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- Written by George de Sa George de Sa
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 September 2024 15 September 2024
Note: measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.
From modest beginnings in 1972, loudspeaker manufacturer Monitor Audio, founded in Teversham, England, by Mo Iqbal, has grown immensely in size and technical expertise. In 2023, on the heels of the company’s 50th anniversary, Monitor Audio launched a no-holds-barred, ultra-high-end loudspeaker, the Hyphn, describing it as “the most creatively ambitious, technically advanced, and powerful loudspeaker in the company’s history.” Of course, loudspeakers like the Hyphn are unattainable for most and are not expected to be runaway commercial successes. But they do showcase the technological capability of a brand, and the technology incorporated in them tends to percolate down in time to the brand’s more mainstream offerings.
NAD Masters M66 Streaming Preamplifier
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- Written by Roger Kanno Roger Kanno
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 September 2024 01 September 2024
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
Since its inception in 2005, the NAD Masters Series range has been populated with the company’s finest audio components at relatively reasonable prices. The latest amplifiers in the series all utilize Purifi Audio’s Eigentakt technology and are widely considered some of the best performing amps for the price. The new Masters M66 streaming preamplifier is designed to complement NAD’s top-of-the-line stereo power amplifier, the M23, in both aesthetics and performance. It offers a scope of features rarely seen in this type of component at any price.
Hegel Music Systems H400 Streaming Integrated Amplifier
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- Written by Philip Beaudette Philip Beaudette
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 August 2024 15 August 2024
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
Last August, when I auditioned the Hegel H600 integrated amplifier, the Norwegian brand’s flagship model ($12,500, all prices in USD), I was in for a surprise. Over my 17 years as a SoundStage! reviewer, I’ve spent considerable time with solid-state class-AB integrated amplifiers and have formed some notions about their sound. I therefore approached the H600 with certain expectations. It didn’t take long for it to compel me to revise those notions and expectations. What set the H600 apart from other integrated amplifiers I had heard was the sheer effortlessness of its presentation, especially at high volumes. I normally listen to music at what I consider moderate volume; with the H600, because it was so easy on my ears, I found myself playing at higher and higher volume levels. It was a revelatory experience for me to hear what my system can sound like with the H600 as its backbone.
Orchard Audio Starkrimson Mono Premium Amplifier
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- Written by Matt Bonaccio Matt Bonaccio
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 August 2024 01 August 2024
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
Serious question for you: what do you think of when you hear the term “class D”? Does it conjure associations of a sense of cleanliness, of meticulously delineated detail, of an impersonal coldness, or of a true-to-life representation of a musical event? The wise audiophile knows by now that becoming embroiled in a debate about cables or tube amplification is a potential threat to one’s sanity, but the subject of class-D versus class-A or class-AB operation remains a worthwhile discussion, by my reckoning. The reason is that we’re at kind of a watershed moment for class-D technology, though many haven’t realized it yet—and there are significant implications for the future of audio.
Chord Electronics Ultima Integrated Amplifier
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- Written by George de Sa George de Sa
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 July 2024 15 July 2024
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
The British audio manufacturer Chord Electronics Ltd. produces some of the most distinctive-looking audio products on the market today. Chord has imbued its products with a unique aesthetic—a fusion of nautical, steampunk, and classic sci-fi themes, wrapped in organic stylism. The design elements of their products include rounded eye-like buttons, colored lights, porthole windows, domes, and gentle contours, which together deliver visual impact and generate curiosity. Chord’s new Ultima Integrated is a ground-up design that continues in this tradition.
iFi Audio iDSD Diablo 2 DAC–Headphone Amplifier
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- Written by Killain Jones Killain Jones
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 July 2024 01 July 2024
During the pandemic, I became enthusiastic about brewing my own coffee at home. I’d twist myself into knots trying to figure out which brewing method suited me best and what all the flavor profiles on packaging and in reviews meant. Terms such as “acidic,” “sweet,” and “full-bodied” sounded descriptive enough—but acidic, or sweet, or full-bodied compared to what, I wondered. Then there were admonitions to use light roast for this, medium roast for that, and dark roast for something else. With experience, I have found that espresso is my preferred brewing method, and learned that there is no such thing as an espresso bean.
Lyngdorf Audio MXA-8400 Multichannel Amplifier
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- Written by Roger Kanno Roger Kanno
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 June 2024 15 June 2024
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
In the last few years I have reviewed the two integrated amplifiers currently on offer from Lyngdorf Audio: the TDAI-3400 and TDAI-1120. I have always admired Lyngdorf’s integrated amplifiers for their fantastic sound and excellent user interface, and these two amps were no exception: they performed wonderfully in my system. I was especially impressed by the room-correction system built into these amps, Lyngdorf’s proprietary RoomPerfect software.
