Amplifier Reviews

The AVM Ovation A 8.3 Integrated Amplifier is a hybrid design, featuring a pair of AVM-branded ‘803 T’ dual triodes in the preamp married to a Class A/AB high current MOSFET output offering 200 Watts of power into 8 Ohms and 330 into 4.

Power. Sweet, sweet power. I suppose there’s such a thing as too much power when it comes to hifi, but I think it’s actually bad sounding power we’re talking about as opposed to too much.

Few amplifier topologies in and of themselves conjure blissful thoughts and of those rare birds that do, perhaps none bring to mind more vivid imaginings than the single-ended 300B. It is the stuff of audio legend.

How? That was the word and question that nagged at me all the while the LSA VT-70 amp was lighting up the Barn. How can you get so much for so little?

You can’t argue with the numbers. Or so the saying goes.

If I could sing, I’d sing the praises I’m going to lavish on the NAD M10 V2 because it is many good things in one, and with the right speakers, you could easily be done.

Back in my early Bennington College days, a local bar just across the Vermont border in NY State decided to make Thursdays dance night. They were clearly trying to attract a Bennington crowd and it worked.

Have you ever had a day where you feel as if every move you make is in sync with movements greater than you? As if you’re in step with something larger than the span of a step or day or lifetime?

Technics and I could have known each other in high school seeing as the company was born in 1965 (if only the Japanese brand was also from New Jersey). It has been the job of the people behind the products at Technics to make things […]

The Bel Canto E1X is what I like to call a full-function integrated amplifier as it includes streaming and phono capabilities along with a host of sophisticated signal processing meant to make our music sound virtually untouched.

Some hifi companies have name-magic. As if just saying the name conveys meaning, to those in the know. Audio Note is one such company that seems to have a near mystical quality to it, conveying a deep connection to the inner workings of music reproduction. […]

The Schiit Ragnarok Nexus Integrated Amplifier can come with a MM phono stage and DAC built in. That’s how the review sample is outfitted because that’s how I like to roll.

High end also refers to the impressive artistry of interplay. So why not house all the equipment involved under one roof?

The package. Does it make sense to get excited about a product that offers the complete package? The whole enchilada? The kit and caboodle?

One of Belgian artist René Magritte’s most famous paintings shows a pipe with words underneath that read: Ceci n’est pas une pipe. This is not a pipe. Of course, we all know it’s a pipe. So what’s the artist trying to say?