Recommended Reference Component: Eversolo Audio DMP-A8 Streaming Preamplifier
- Details
- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 15 November 2024 15 November 2024
When assessing a product for SoundStage! Simplifi, our reviewers consider more than just sound quality: convenience, features, and ease of use all play a role as such qualities are important to Simplifi’s readers. In contrast, reviewers assessing components for our other sites focus, sometimes almost exclusively, on sound quality. Not surprisingly, shortcomings in one or more aspects of a component’s usability are often identified—few products can tick every box.
Recommended Reference Component: Simaudio Moon 891 Streaming Preamplifier
- Details
- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 15 October 2024 15 October 2024
In May 2023, Simaudio released its Moon North Collection, comprising the 641 integrated amplifier, 681 streaming digital-to-analog converter (DAC), 761 and 861 power amplifiers, and 791 and 891 streaming preamplifiers. In December 2023, Doug Schneider reviewed the 791 on this site, highlighting the preamp’s DAC, streaming functionality, and MM/MC phono stage, and concluded that it should “appeal to the discerning audiophile who wants an uncompromised preamplifier that could easily handle today’s playback needs and those in years to come.”
Recommended Reference Component: NAD Masters M66 Streaming Preamplifier
- Details
- 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
- Details
- 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
- Details
- 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
- Details
- 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
- Details
- 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
- Details
- 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
- Details
- 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
- Details
- 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.
