Audio Equipment Reviews – Preamplifiers (Tube and Solid State)
Click on ‘READ MORE’ text to go to full review.
Lyngdorf TDAi 2170 Review
Amplifier? Preamp? Dac? what exactly is the Lyngdorf TDAi 2170? I suppose the easiest classification would be an...
Altec Lansing Valencia 846b Crossovers / Lyngdorf TDAi 2170 (Page 4)
This is part 4 of a series focused on improving the performance of a pair of Altec Lansing Valencia 846b speakers....
AMR AM-777 SE Integrated Amplifier
I should probably file the following under 'Housekeeping'. I received an email the other day from a visitor to this...
Emotive Audio Epifania Preamp Review
If you learn more about the Epifania, the design considerations and the evolution from its stablemate the Sira, via the Sira-LE, you’ll come to know that Epifania designer Fred Voltz genuinely felt that there wasn’t a great deal of opportunity available to improve upon the performance of the Sira-LE. At least not without….
Emotive Audio Sira LE
Emotive Audio Sira LE - Listening Impressions I've owned a couple of preamps that I would consider to be stand-out,...
Devialet Expert Pro 220 CI – Review
This is a short review of the much-heralded Devialet Expert Pro 220 CI. I've been wanting to get my hands on one of...
iPhono 3 Review
ifi iPhono3 "Black Label" Phonostage Review The iPhono3 "Black Label" is the latest phonostage from AMR owned ifi...
Allnic Audio L5000 DHT Preamplifier – First Look.
We're all familiar with the law of diminishing returns and we all have our own perception of where the line can be...
SAS Audio Labs 10A / 11A Preamp
The NE WI Audio Society (www.newaudiosociety.com) were happy to host Steve from SAS Audio Labs at our March meeting in...
Aesthetix Calypso Preamp
What to do when you don’t want to use a preamp….
IRD Purist Preamp
I brought the IRD Audio Purist preamp to a listening session with some fellow music lovers whom I had never met...
Recent Reviews & Posts
Sonus Faber Cremona M Floor-Stander Speakers – Sneak Peek.
Review of the Sonus Faber Cremona M in stunning graphite finish – best speakers in the world?
Lyngdorf TDAi 2170 Review
Amplifier? Preamp? Dac? what exactly is the Lyngdorf TDAi 2170? I suppose the easiest classification would be an integrated amp, with an inbuilt DAC. But it doesn't really have a DAC, even though it converts bits into an analog output. If you mention "DAC" to the...
Aperion Audio Dual Firing AMT Ribbon Super Tweeter Review
Around a decade or so ago I used super tweeters on a stacked Oris 150 horn system with good results. The speaker system came to me with the Fostex T900A tweeters already installed, so I had nothing to do other than enjoy the benefits of their extended HF output. Over...
Robyatt Audio Room at Capital Audiofest 2022
Robyatt Room at Capital Audiofest 2022 featured the Robyatt Custom turntable ($18,500) which is based on a VPI HW-40 Direct Drive platform, with a Wyatt slate/Baltic ply plinthwith, a Thai-Scandinavian Engineering Bird of Prey Tonearm ($10,500) and The Bird Tonearm...
Songer Audio S1 / Whammerdyne DGA at Capital Audiofest 2022
The Songer Audio S1 driven by the Whammerdyne DGA-Ultra delivered what I thought was possibly the best sound of CAF 2022
VPI Turntables At Capital Audiofest 2022
As with Capital Audiofest 2019, VPI Turntables were ubiquitous at the 2022 show, with many dealers and manufacturers choosing to set up their systems with a VPI analog front-end. VPI themselves hosted several rooms, (Jefferson, Adams, Frederick, Truman, & 625)...
Pure Audio Project Speaker Review And Discussion With Ze’ev At Capital Audiofest 2022
So I stopped by the Pure Audio Project room on Saturday at Capitol Audio Fest and got a good presentation from the owner of PAP, Ze'ev. I really enjoy their speakers and think they sound fantastic. I asked Ze'ev what he thought of passive crossovers versus active...
Capital Audiofest 2022 – Odyssey Audio / Symphonic Line
A quick show update from Capital Audiofest 2022 - One of the best sounding rooms on Day 1 was Odyssey Audio - featuring electronics from Symphonic Line, Klaus's Odyssey Liquid speakers, and more. I'll update this page with more info once I get back from the show. In...
Altec Lansing VOTT A7 Vintage Horn Speaker Review.
OK, this isn't necessarily a review of the Altec Lansing VOTT A7 speakers, it's more of an introduction to these classics and the opportunity to share some thoughts and impressions on how they sound and what it's like living with these behemoths in a fairly modestly...
Decware Zen Master Open Baffle Clone – Lii Audio F-15 Full-range Driver
I'm a big fan of boxless speakers. Over the years I've owned no-box speakers from Apogee, Magnepan, Carver, Spatial Audio, and now - a Decware Clone born in the style of the Decware Model ZF15M (let's call these new speakers "OBs", for the sake of clarity and...
VPI TNT MK I with Eminent Technology ET2 Air Tangent Tonearm
The next project on the bench is the VPI TNT MK I with Eminent Technology ET2 Air Tangent Tonearm. I picked this up a couple of weeks back as a project table, something to strip down, clean up, replace any worn parts and get it back to something like its former glory....
Altec Lansing Valencia 846b Crossovers / Lyngdorf TDAi 2170 (Page 4)
This is part 4 of a series focused on improving the performance of a pair of Altec Lansing Valencia 846b speakers. Here's what you've missed so far: Part One - Altec Lansing Valencia 846b Review Part Two - Adding Aperion Audio Supertweeters to Altec Lansing Valencia...
Dampening Altec Valencia 846b Horns (Altec 811-B)
There are varying degrees to which horn owners will go to dampen the 'ringing' from horns. I've read about people painting the horns with bitumen and even baking the coated horn in the oven to get the tar to set. There's some debate over whether or not the process of...
Altec Lansing Valencia 846b / Aperion Audio AMT Ribbon Super Tweeters (page 2)
Continued from this page. If you landed here directly, please use the link above to get to the first page of this review of the Altec Lansing Valencia 846b. To quickly summarize where I'm at - I bought a pair of Altec Lansing Valencia 846b in fairly decent shape....
Yet Another Audio-Technica VM95 Cartridge Review
Recently, the launch of Audio-Technica’s affordable VM95 moving magnet cartridges have piqued the interest of customers and reviewers alike. In this article, I take a close look at A-T’s upper-end models sporting advanced styli. All six models incorporate the same...
Ultrasonic Record Cleaning
Here's my two penneth on recent vinyl washing experiences, with a bit of context. I've around 3000 LPs, perhaps two-thirds or more are still in a storage unit in Wisconsin waiting for me to get back there from VA to pick them up. There's a lot of other audio stuff in...
Basis Audio Debut Gold Standard Turntable Review
I've gone through a few different turntables in the past year or two, including two different Dr. Feickert Volares, an Origin Live Resolution, a Dr. Feickert Woodpecker, a Wilson Benesch Full Circle, and now, the Basis Audio Debut Gold Standard. The Basis Audio...
First Watt J2 Review – Early Listening Impressions
The First Watt series amps have been on my radar for a few years. So when a First Watt J2 appeared locally, I decided to hop in the car and take a drive across the border into North Carolina to pick it up. I justified the purchase loosely on the basis of it being a...
Altec Lansing Valencia 846B Restoration Project And Review
This is part one of a series of 4 posts covering my journey with the Altec Lansing Valencia 846b. You can jump between posts using the following links: Adding Aperion Audio AMT Super Tweeters to the Altec Valencia Dampening the Valencias horns Trying a Lyngdorf TDAi...
Quad ESL 57 Speaker Review [Retro]
Quad ESL57 speaker review looks at the feasibility of living with Quad 57s and using them as daily drivers, plus, how good is that Quad midrange? Let’s find out here….
Dr. Feickert Woodpecker / Kuzma Stogi S 12VTA Review
Review of the Dr. Feickert Woodpecker with Kuzma arm and a Benz Micro LP-S Cartridge….this review turned out badly, find out why….
Synergistic Research Power Filter and Tweak Demo – 2022 Florida Audio Expo
Guest Post by Jeff provides a show report from Florida Expo 2022 of a demonstration conducted by Synergistic Research owner highlighting their upscale power-line filter, grounding device, and ‘magic dots’…
AMR AM-777 SE Integrated Amplifier
I should probably file the following under 'Housekeeping'. I received an email the other day from a visitor to this website. He'd noticed a blurb on our homepage almost a year ago announcing an upcoming review of the Abingdon Music Research AMR AM-777 SE Integrated...
Small Green Computer SonicTransporter i5 and Sonore UltraDigital Update
A follow-up review of the Sonic Transporter i5…how has it performed in my system? A keeper, or not?…
Piega C40 Speaker Review [Retro]
If you’re new to this website you may wonder why I’m writing about a speaker whose production was terminated before the internet became popular. Yes, the Piega C40 is that old, but is it still relevant in 2022?….