Nakamichi PA-7 Amplifier
Nakamichi is synonymous with high-performance cassette decks, but not everyone is as familiar with the rest of its electronics. The company’s first attempts at amplifier and preamplifier design, the 400 and 600 series, were nonetheless popular as they followed the tenets of the day with excellent measured ability albeit somewhat compromised sound.
ALO Audio Studio Six Headphone Amplifier
Let’s get right to the point, Motown style, and put the hit on the first track. The Studio Six from ALO Audio redefines what headphones are capable of delivering, from the least expensive to the most exotic cans in your collection.
PS Audio Power Plant P300
During high-end audio’s early days, power from AC lines was never suspected of gremlins. But like every other aspect of music reproduction, it, too, came under scrutiny.
Revox A77 and B77
Along with the boom in killer headphones and headphone amps, the past few years have turned up another unexpected revival. It was clear to all – upon hearing the insultingly poor ear-buds supplied with iPods – that there was an opportunity to revitalize a moribund audio sub-genre.
Pass Labs Aleph 5
The Aleph 5 amplifier probably won’t win any beauty contests. It’s a basic black cube surrounded by heat sinks, and the only indication that it’s operating (aside from its temperature after it’s been on for a while) is a single blue LED.
Quad ESL Loudspeakers
Expectations have changed over the decades. In the 21st century, we demand amplifiers that deliver copious amounts of power with ease. Loudspeakers? We insist on dynamic range unimagined in the 1950s—beyond even what the horns of the day could deliver.
First Watt J2 Power Amplifier Pure and Easy
The First Watt J2 is an absolute honey of an amp. Hooked up to my Zu Essence speakers, the sound isn’t merely spectacular; it regularly keeps me up long after I should have gone to bed.
Decware Zen Head headphone amplifier and Phiaton MS400 headphones
Decware, Decware. Aren’t those the guys who make the Zen tube triode SET amplifiers? Yes, they are. But what are they doing creating something like this slick little package? According to chief designer Steve Deckert, they wanted to make a great-sounding small headphone amplifier that had the same kind of voicing as their tube amps.
Peachtree Audio novaPre and Peachtree220 Compact, Elegant, Affordable
Peachtree Audio burst on the scene in 2007 with its Decco integrated amplifier with built-in DAC and onboard USB input, which was somewhat of a novelty at the time but has since become ubiquitous.
Robert Koda Takumi K-10 Preamplifier
My favorite way to initially experience any audio component is to listen to a record I’ve heard hundreds of times, regardless of fidelity. A recording you intimately know serves you well when trying to get a read on the sound of something new.
VPI Traveler Turntable
My analog journey has encountered numerous VPI turntables through the years, and they have always provided satisfying sounds and steadfast mechanical reliability, beginning with the HW-19, now out of production.
McIntosh McAire Binghamton meets Cupertino
As I unbox the new McAire wireless music system, from that other apple of my eye—the one in Binghamton, N.Y.—the similarities between it and something from the Apple of Cupertino, Calif.
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