Receiver & Amplifier Reviews

Two's Company..

2 expert reviews

Pass Laboratories exhibited its high-end XP-10 and XP-20 2-channel preamplifiers which feature Pass Labs signature beveled billet aluminum front panels.

2 expert reviews

This pairing rocked in it's original guise, and now they're both even better, the amp especially. As a team I have no idea what you might prefer in their price bracket - they just seem ridiculously competent.

2 expert reviews

Parasound has introduced a $2000 audio only preamp designed for soundpurists seeking superior low-noise performance from classic stereo sources aswell as multichannel music and movies from Blu-ray, DVD-Audio,and SACD players. It will be marketed in the...

2 expert reviews

For some years, Musical Fidelity's Antony Michaelson has been banging on about the need for more power than has been considered necessary by the audio community. It wasn't just the single-ended triode brigade that incensed him, with claims for the......

2 expert reviews

2 expert reviews

While many new technologies have been incorporated into A/V receivers over the last few years, perhaps the biggest change we've seen in these traditionally audio-based components is the inclusion of advanced video processing. Just a few years ago,...

2 expert reviews

Introduction There are some products and/or brands that seemingly need no introduction. McIntosh is at the top of the list. Throughout the 1970s, McIntosh was the iconic symbol of all things good and high-end when it came to two-channel music. Today,...

2 expert reviews

The Pioneer Susano SC-LX90 home theatre amplifier is simply excellent in just about every way. Unless you simply, absolutely, must have radio, you're unlikely to be disappointed. Except, now that I think about it, can you still purchase a separate...

2 expert reviews

Eric Dolphy is still playing off the thumb drive as I finish this piece. Oh, right, that's why I got into this business.

2 expert reviews

Never has the field been so full of top-quality A/V Receivers and the competition is fierce among the top manufacturers for these types of components. It used to be that low-end models kept costs down by eliminating features and seriously compromising...

2 expert reviews

Keep on with the good work.

2 expert reviews

In the past two decades, a slow evolution has taken place in audio, as top-notch designers come more and more to understand the nature of the beasts they are working with. Today it is not hard to put together a system that is clean and musical, and...

2 expert reviews

Jungson's JA-88D looks like a power amplifier but it's not. It appears that Jungson was caught out by a high consumer demand for integrated amplifiers at a time when it was primarily producing separate pre and power amplifiers. The company judged that...

3 expert reviews

Despite minor shortcomings, an amp that can be a very rewarding listen

3 expert reviews

The CA-M400 is primarily about control, something it exerts in a remarkably calm yet revealing fashion. Some will feel that this sounds like a lack of dynamics but in truth it means that the amp can deliver all the required power without having to...

3 expert reviews

It starts with the box. These components are packaged in boxes that appear to be built with greater precision and care than most of the mainstream home theater electronics you're likely to encounter. A miniature homeless person's mansion, I imagined,...

4 expert reviews

The Tuatoro is one of the more “tweakable” of the high-end preamps I've auditioned. This could be viewed as extraneous, but I did not find that to be the case. It allows any user to experiment and tune the Tautoro for his own system and personal...

2 expert reviews

$1,999 125-Watts x 7 into 8 ohms Processing Modes: DD, DD-EX, ProLogicIIx, DTS, DTS-ES/Discrete/Matrix/Neo: 6, DTS 24/96, SRS Circle Surround II, HDCD decoding Features We Like: THX Select2-Certified, Four HDMI 1.2 inputs and two outputs with video...

3 expert reviews

Products engineered in Germany have always held a fascination for me. Whether it's the quirky styling of a German motorcycle...

2 expert reviews

Grander than ever. While Sunfire's Bob Carver isn't quite the household name that Apple's Steve Jobs is, he absolutely qualifies as a bona fide audio legend. Carver's greatest hits range from his early high-power amplifier, the 350-watt-per-channel...

3 expert reviews

$2,000 170-Watts x 7 into 8 ohms Processing Modes: DD, DD-EX, ProLogicIIx, Dolby Virtual Speaker, Dolby Headphone, DTS, DTS-ES/Discrete/Matrix/Neo: 6, DTS 24/96 Features We Like: HDMI, component and i.LINK switching, transcoding of analog video to...

2 expert reviews

Adcom has long been a value/performance leader and the GFR-700HD controller looks to continue that fine tradition. At just $2,899 this controller has a wealth of features that are typically the p[rovince of much more expensive products, including HDMI...

2 expert reviews

The VSi55, ARC's lowest priced tube amp/preamp combo at $2995, demonstrates that high-priced technology can trickle down to a more affordable price point in the hands of a manufacturer who really cares.

4 expert reviews

Integrating iPod and XM support is a natural extension of the AVR paradigm, as is HDMI switching. Add i.LINK connectivity and effective automatic setup, and you’ve got a blockbuster that’s hard to beat at this—or even a much higher—price.

4 expert reviews