Where hi-fi enthusiasts long ago swore to separate devices for each and every part of the signal chain – and of course could not live with an integrated amplifier, because that job had to be distributed on preamplifiers and power amplifiers – in recent years integrated amplifiers have obtained the respect they deserve. Hi-fi manufacturers …
I thought I knew what I was going for. First a physical effort, as always with McIntosh amplifiers, followed by a fast-paced and engaging break-in period. So I had learned after years of easing and testing McIntosh products. But this time I was not prepared. That is, with a weight close to 50 kilos, the …
That someone dares to think a little outside the box is liberating and exciting at the same time. This all-in-one facility goes its own way, with a clever solution we have never seen in such a system. Taiwanese EchoWell, is far from being as well known as Pure Audio, Tivoli Audio or Sony. They have …
Bluesound is a sister company to NAD, and their streaming receiver, Bluesound Node, has just come out in a new edition. It is the fourth incarnation, but since Bluesound has stopped numbering the generations, it has been given the prosaic surname N130. Like its predecessor – and like the Bluesound Powernode – the new Node …
An amplifier does not have to be huge to sound good. As we saw when we tested networked stereo amplifiers two years ago. Now Bluesound Powernode, which participated at the time, has come in a new and revised edition. Since Bluesound has meanwhile stopped naming each model generation, it has been given the anonymous surname …
Few others stock as many amplifiers as McIntosh. Among the power amplifiers alone, we find seven multi-channel amplifiers, four valve amplifiers, eight transistor amplifiers, and a hybrid valve/transistor amplifier. Then it is perhaps not so strange that one of them, MC312, easily disappears in the crowd. The 2 x 300 W powerful transistor amplifier may …
The answers will be different, depending on who you ask. I know, for example, there are many people who claim that the most important component in a system is the speakers. Hi-fi agnostics argue that the room itself is all-important, and then there are those who believe that the sound source – where it all …
The differences are more than subtle, but for many they are not big enough to be worth the extra expense. Because while Yamaha’s integrated A-S2200 is one of the best and most exciting amplifier purchases in its class, the more expensive flagship A-S3200 is in a completely different division. The two amplifiers share the same …
Streaming is fantastic: You have access to – more or less – all music, anywhere and anytime. And even if you have a well-grown music collection and enjoy the feeling of being able to hold an album in your hand, it is faster to find a specific piece of music with your mobile, than it …
– My God, it is so incredibly lovely! These were the words of my wife when I came home with Lemus Home Artistic. A piece of stereo furniture that can best be explained as a cross between a traditional stereo system and a modern soundbar – with all the relevant inputs and power options. Takes …
Hi-fi is usually an expensive hobby. A fact that we are painfully aware of at LB Tech, where the majority of the editorial staff themselves are hi-fi nerds. But occasionally, products emerge that break with the costly norm. Tangent Ampster BT II comes from Danish Tangent Audio, and as the name suggests, it is an …
All amplifiers are basically the same. A signal enters at one end, amplifies and is output at the other end. If a turntable is connected, it also needs an equalisation, and if the signal is digital, a conversion. This applies regardless of whether the amplifier is full of glowing valves or transistors, or both for …
McIntosh, like so many others, started with valve amplifiers, but like most at the time, they eventually made more transistor amplifiers than valve amplifiers. That was not so strange. The new technology that transistors were in the late 60s and early 70s, was easier to implement, did not get as hot and one could build …
The new McIntosh preamplifier is not really brand new. We’ve seen it before, but back then it was called C70, and came dressed in black to fit McIntosh’s 70th anniversary ball in 2019. This version is called the C22 Mark V, and under the hood it is similar to the C70, but here the black …
Although they have only made one turntable, Electrocompaniet has a long tradition of phono steps, or RIAA steps. At the same time as they launched their first turntable, ECG-1 in 2015, they also launched ECP-2, a phono stage for Moving Magnet and Moving Coil pickups, which really impressed in our test that year. Electrocompaniet has …