Sometimes it’s just so much fun to test new products, that you blow completely in all the shortcomings they may have. Then it is not important with specifications, it is mostly about just enjoying the moment. That’s the way it is with the McIntosh MA352. Just watch it heat up. Where the LEDs change from …
Naim is not like other hi-f manufacturers. The discreet products look harmless, and the amplifiers here have a very moderately stated effect on the paper. You are therefore excused if you dismiss it as arch-conservative British hi-fi: “Good sound, but lacks power, control and fun”. That is, until you hear it. If you have first …
Not only was the Röst Hegel’s first white amplifier and the first to be remotely controlled via the network, it was also the first integrated amplifier for under 2000 £ that had SoundEngine2. SoundEngine2 being the latest version of Hegel’s technology that significantly reduces music signal noise. According to Hegel, you can think of SoundEngine …
Hi-fi has a (not entirely undeserved) reputation for being an expensive hobby for middle aged males to squander insane sums on gear in an obsessive quest to perfect the final, miniscule details. This demographic is hardly the one Argon Audio is aiming for with this integrated SA1 amplifier. Rather, their aim is to attract new …
Strap yourself in the armrest, because this amplifier happily blows you out of the sofa, and it does so in style. As McIntosh amplifiers are used to doing. The MA7200 is a bit overshadowed by the powerful flagship amplifier MA9000, which with its 300 W power can revive the dead, and kickstart a 747 at …
What are the characteristics of the perfect hi-fi equipment? When we test products at the highest level of the scale, ostentatious design usually goes hand in hand with impressive sound. And usually also price. But not everyone is equally lavish. The Lyngdorf TDAI 3400 almost looks like a piece of laboratory equipment designed by Philippe …
NAD’s Masters series are the products where engineers are given free rein to make the best equipment they can. We have tested a number of products from the series, among them the integrated amplifier M32 and the media server M50.2. The newest member of the family, the NAD M10, does not look like his older …
Italian Gold Note is a brand that we have not tested before, but we have seen them at hi-fi fairs, where they piqued our curiosity. The company is based in Florence, and the people behind it have been designing hi-fi for 25 years. In the first years as an OEM supplier to other brands, but …
NAD has an almost cult-like status when it comes to hi-fi equipment at reasonable prices. Just about everyone in a design that would make a sparrow look boastful. The NAD C338 is the smallest in the company’s New Classic series of amplifiers. As you would expect from a device called “Classic”, there is a full …
American SVS is primarily known for its subwoofers, which quite literally deliver impact for the money in the home theater. However, the company also makes equipment for stereo use. Prime Wireless Soundbase is a compact integrated amplifier with all analog and digital inputs. It’s a little bigger than Sonos and Bluesound, but still not bigger …
The sound from my records sounded freshly washed and revitalized. It did not matter which pickup I used. An affordable Audio-Technica delivered sound quality I associate with more expensive pickups, and with an expensive Rega pickup it opened up even more, and a Ortofon pickup kicked open the door to a higher analog sky. All …
In the space of just a few years, French manufacturer Devialet has gone from being an obscure producer to being a name on all hi-fi enthusiasts’ lips. As a sort of hi-fi answer to Tesla, they’ve challenged accepted truths and sought new, intelligent ways of making great hi-fi. Their advanced SAM technique that adapts the …
When the green light came on, I knew music was coming out of the radio. Then the pipes behind the fabric grille were warm and the radio filled the living room with sound. Warm, soft and comfortable sound. My parents’ tube-based radio receiver was later replaced with a Japanese transistor receiver, which, even with two …
Over ten years ago, Sonos came on the scene with user-friendly, wireless speakers that provided sound in every room. It was super easy, and changed the hi-fi market forever. After getting the taste of user-friendly multi-room, it is probably difficult to persuade people to return to traditional stereo. But what if you can get both? …
Let’s just admit it: even for an (experienced) old stereo fan, there is not always time and desire to make a ritual out of listening to music. Sometimes you just want to press a button and move on with what you are doing. The answer to that question is usually a multi-room speaker. Put it …