Recommended Reference Component: NAD Masters M66 Streaming Preamplifier
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- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 15 September 2024 15 September 2024
Last month, Roger Kanno’s review of the NAD Masters M66 streaming preamplifier appeared on this site. In his review, Roger notes that the M66 was meant to be a companion to the Masters 23 stereo/mono amplifier, which he reviewed in March of last year, pointing out that it complements the M23 in both aesthetics and performance. The M66 and M23 are respectively priced at $5499 and $3749 (all prices in USD).
Recommended Reference Component: Lyngdorf Audio MXA-8400 Multichannel Amplifier
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- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 15 August 2024 15 August 2024
Most reviews on the SoundStage! Network concern two-channel components. From time to time, however, multichannel components of outstanding overall design and sound quality draw our attention, and we don’t shy away. Case in point: the Lyngdorf Audio MXA-8400 multichannel amplifier, which Roger Kanno reviewed on this site in June 2024. In the US, it sells for $8999.
Recommended Reference Component: Marantz Model 40n Streaming Integrated Amplifier
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- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 15 July 2024 15 July 2024
In August 2022, Dennis Burger reviewed the Marantz Model 40n for SoundStage! Access. It was an enthusiastic review that earned the 40n a Reviewers’ Choice award. This amplifier has since continued to prove its excellence and versatility and has continued to garner critical praise.
Recommended Reference Component: DALI Epikore 11 Loudspeaker
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- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 15 June 2024 15 June 2024
During a visit to loudspeaker manufacturer DALI (Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries) in 2022, Jason Thorpe had the opportunity to listen to the brand’s flagship model, the Kore. Deeply impressed with its sound, Jason was tempted to request a pair for review, but scrubbed the idea as a nonstarter at the thought of trying to get this 350-pound behemoth—two of them—into his basement-floor listening room.
Recommended Reference Component: GoldenEar T66 Loudspeaker
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- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 15 May 2024 15 May 2024
“Sometimes the speaker marketplace seems a tad crowded, with too many models that seem like mere variations on a theme,” Philip Beaudette writes in the conclusion to his review of the GoldenEar T66 loudspeaker (published on May 1 on this site). “GoldenEar is legitimately doing something that most of its competitors aren’t, and built-in powered subs are what the brand has become synonymous with.” GoldenEar, which was founded in 2010 by Sandy Gross and Don Givogue, was sold in 2020 to The Quest Group, parent company of AudioQuest, primarily a cable brand. The T66 is the first loudspeaker released after this acquisition, and it carries on GoldenEar’s tradition of incorporating a self-powered bass section into each tower.
Recommended Reference Component: Hegel Music Systems H30A Stereo/Mono Amplifier
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- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 15 April 2024 15 April 2024
Hegel Music Systems is best known for its highly regarded integrated amplifiers. The company’s flagship model in this category, the H600, was the subject of a review on this site by Philip Beaudette in September, 2023, which earned it a Reviewers’ Choice award and Recommended Reference Component honors. Five months before the H600 review—in fact, exactly one year ago today—Jason Thorpe reviewed Hegel’s H30A stereo/mono power amplifier, also on this site, declaring in conclusion, “I can’t really find anything about this amplifier that’s even remotely unsatisfactory. This doesn’t happen very often.”
Recommended Reference Component: Rotel Diamond Series DT-6000 CD Player–DAC
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- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 15 March 2024 15 March 2024
Rotel’s Diamond Series components—the RA‑6000 integrated amplifier–DAC ($4499, all prices in USD), reviewed by Roger Kanno last February, and the DT‑6000 CD player–DAC ($2299), reviewed by Roger last April—are touted as “celebrating 60 years of performance synonymous with the brand’s Japanese heritage.” In the case of the DT‑6000, this catchline seems particularly apt.
Recommended Reference Component: Rotel Michi X5 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier–DAC
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- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 15 February 2024 15 February 2024
In 1993, Rotel released a series of flagship products under the sub-brand Michi: the RHB-10 power amplifier, RHC-10 passive preamplifier, and RHQ-10 equalizer. Although the Michi components were well received, Rotel did not pursue further developments for the Michi line and let it go dormant. Unexpectedly, in 2019, the company revived Michi with a new series of integrated amplifiers, power amplifiers, and preamplifiers. In 2023, three decades after the original Michi launch, Rotel upgraded the Michi line to Series 2 status.
Recommended Reference Component: Simaudio Moon 791 Streaming Preamplifier
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- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 15 January 2024 15 January 2024
In his review of the Simaudio Moon 791 streaming preamplifier, published on this site on December 1, 2023, Doug Schneider describes the 791 as a feature-rich successor to the company’s 740P preamplifier, released more than ten years ago. “The 740P was strictly a line-stage preamplifier [that] provided input switching for balanced and single-ended analog sources, gain for all incoming signals, and volume control,” Doug writes in his review. The 791 still provides these functions, but it also incorporates a phono stage that’s compatible with moving-magnet (MM) and moving-coil (MC) cartridges, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that supports nearly all of today’s music file formats, and Roon Ready streaming, wired or wireless (Wi-Fi or Bluetooth), via Simaudio’s MiND 2 platform. These additional capabilities partly account for the 791’s much higher price: $16,000, compared to $9500 for the 740P (both USD).
Recommended Reference Component: T+A Elektroakustik Solitaire S 530 Loudspeaker
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- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 15 November 2023 15 November 2023
In May, SoundStage! Ultra featured Hans Wetzel’s review of the T+A Solitaire Elektroakustic S 530 loudspeaker. Priced at $44,900 a pair (all prices in USD), the S 530 is the mid-level offering in the German brand’s Solitaire line, above the S 430 ($29,900/pair) and below the S 540 ($54,900/pair).
