Receiver & Amplifier Reviews

Creating a short list of the better audio-video receivers (AVR) requires gathering a great deal of information and specifications. (TPV has your back here.) But it also involves knowing a little something about your own nature. Is yours a cutting-edge,...

3 expert reviews

While specialist manufacturers can still make a good case that their separates maintain an edge in sound quality, the gap separating them from the best receivers is not nearly as big as it was in the early days of the still-young home theater market....

3 expert reviews

After making and refining tube amps for several years, Stronczer began to explore the possibility of making a solid-state model. After examining and discarding conventional solid-state designs, Stronzer learned about a new circuit: the Tripath...

3 expert reviews

This receiver's front panel is black but sets itself apart with a high-gloss finish and Pioneer's traditional (and rather attractive) amber display. It doesn't depend excessively on the jog dial. To the left, above the jog dial, are buttons labeled...

2 expert reviews

For $3,400 you can acquire a beautiful, 68-pound music machine decked out in a rosewood-looking base, chrome top and front plates, and accents to complement the big-ass tranny covers. Like the Diavolo, it's a zero-feedback design but does not offer an...

2 expert reviews

The Dreadnaught (reviewed in our Oct-ober 2000 issue) was the first power amplifier from Theta Digital, a company previously known for its D/A converters, CD and DVD transports, and surround processors. But it wasn't to be the last.

2 expert reviews

No matter the dollar amount involved, it happens to everyone: You get locked on to something new, you watch the glowing reviews and awards pile up, and you consider pulling the trigger when either financial reality or conservatism kicks in. You...

4 expert reviews

The Parasound Halo C 2 is a 7.5-channel controller offering coonventional 7.1-channels output needed for the latest soundtrack formats, plus four user programmable auxiliary channels. Two of the auxiliary channels are intended as subwoofer outputs (one...

4 expert reviews

The Denon AVR-5800 offers the home-theater buff an impressive package. It has an excellent power-amp section, all the current processing modes one would likely need, and a good user interface that includes the AKTIS RC-8000 LCD touchscreen remote...

4 expert reviews

It's funny to me that so many people try to convince you that the high end is a relatively insignificant factor in the grand scheme of all things audio. Admittedly, if you put the sales figures of one large, mass-market manufacturer next to those of...

3 expert reviews

You can't please everybody, especially in the home theater world. Lexicon came close in 2000 with the release of the MC-12, an end-all pre/pro that carried on the company's tradition of performance but also addressed the few issues that people had with...

3 expert reviews

André takes a slow, methodical approach to audio design, making sure to get it right before a product is released to the public; as a result, YBA products remain available a long time. (The Integré integrated amplifier, which I reviewed in the June...

3 expert reviews

Reach for the Sky The first feature of the Outlaw 950 pre-pro that you'll appreciate is its understated front panel. I normally cringe when confronted with the 101 similarly sized buttons crammed onto typical mass-market receivers, "secret" drop-down...

3 expert reviews

While it may always get second billing in the parade of human emotions, don't forget about anticipation's potent influence. This is the force that has been linked to Parasound's Halo C1 pre/pro ever since its trade-show debut a few years back, and it...

3 expert reviews

NVIDIA are worried. If anything their obviously desperate paper launch of the GeForce 9800 GTX+ should be proof of that. And they are right to be worried. Even the cheap HD 4850 is sniffing at the tail of the more expensive 9800GTX and even if NVIDIA...

4 expert reviews

Fortunately, the AV8 and P7 won't cost you a million bucks. The retail price of the combo is $9500 ($5000 for the AV8, $4500 for the P7). So, Arcam spent a lot of money. The question is did they get what they paid for? And more importantly, will you,...

4 expert reviews

The new flagship from the creators of the form. Where's the first place you look when you saddle up to the bar at your favorite watering hole? Some may say the waitress station or the sorority party in the back room; but, when it's time for business,...

2 expert reviews

Ultimate Choice Premier Choice Budget Choice Reviews Recently Added Video Displays Video Projectors Flat Panel Displays Rear Projection TVs CRT Displays Speakers Speaker Systems Subwoofers Sources DVD Players/Recorders HD Disc Players/Recorders...

2 expert reviews

Fast forward to Marantz' new SR8200 audio/video receiver, where users will find not only analog pass-through and tone-control-defeat buttons but also a ''Video Off'' mode to bypass video circuitry in the event that video is being routed around the 8200...

3 expert reviews

Despite its conservative McIntosh combo is one hell-raising stack of gear.

3 expert reviews

Introduction Rotel is a company long known for low frills, high quality, budget-priced audio equipment. Their new $699 RA-1060 integrated amplifier continues in this tradition. The RA-1060 is a 60-watt-per-channel stereo integrated amplifier and has...

2 expert reviews

Halo is a new brand from Parasound intended as a step up in aesthetic design and performance from its traditional line, now called "Parasound Classic." A combination review with the P3 Preamplifier.

2 expert reviews

Twin Towers is the first amplifier in the world to adopt exclusive INPOL circuitry. The absence of feedback induced the designer to use vacuum tubes with the double intention of obtaining a sound typical of tubes and, from a technical point of view, of...

2 expert reviews

Introduction Ahh, power amplifiers. Aside from loudspeakers, they are often the most touted products in the consumer electronics industry, and for good reason. Without them, there would be no music. They are charged with a great deal of responsibility...

2 expert reviews

Introduction A fact of life in the high-end world is that amplifiers are heavy, obtrusive square chassis with massive heat sinks. However, that is about to change with the release of Sharp's SM-SX100 1-bit amplifier. The stylish silver chassis with...

2 expert reviews