Equipment Reports
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Sonus faber Liuto Monitor (TAS 214)
|Our sonic expectations for compact loudspeakers have risen dramatically in recent years. Every aspect of small speaker performance has benefited from advancements in materials technology and analysis, and computer-aided design. Output has increased; driver and ...read more -
Esoteric K-03 (TAS 213)
|The Esoteric K-03 is not your usual CD/SACD player. Its designers have innovatively combined a highly refined CD/SACD transport and a full-function DAC within the same luscious chassis. Although on the surface that doesn’t seem ...read more -
Perreaux Audiant 80i Integrated Amplifier (TAS 213)
|Perreaux electronics sightings in North America have been infrequent in recent years. A sign of the times to be sure. But as Dylan sang, the times they are a changin’. Perreaux, based in New Zealand, ...read more -
Denon ASD-51W iPod Dock (TAS 213)
|A reader recently wrote in to complain that TAS reviews overuse the phrase, “(Component X) performs like units costing many times its price.” Whether you agree with that sentiment or not, I can assure you ...read more -
Technical Brain TBP-Zero EX Amp & TBC-Zero EX Preamp (TAS 213)
|Over the last few years I’ve reviewed some truly great solid-state amplifiers and preamplifiers from MBL, BAlabo, and Soulution and heard a goodly number of other top contenders from Spectral, Boulder, Krell, Burmester, Pass Labs, ...read more -
The Absolute Sound Card Survey (TAS 213)
|I beg your indulgence for a moment, as I step into the Way-Back Machine, and emerge on a quiet afternoon in the spring of 1986. I am working at a high-end audio store, and on ...read more -
Vienna Acoustics Mozart Concert Grand SE (TAS 213)
|Some loudspeakers are simply born to dance. It’s part of their bloodline. They reproduce music with a distinctly light, nimble touch in much the same way Fred and Ginger seemed to defy the laws of ...read more -
Mark Levinson Nº53 Monoblock Power Amplifier (TAS 213)
|Amplifiers with switching output stages have not enjoyed much success in the high end. Although these so-called Class D amplifiers are revolutionizing mainstream audio because of their small size, cool operation, light weight, and high ...read more -
Cary Audio Classic CD 303T SACD Professional Version SACD Player (TAS 213)
|One thing you have to love about our audiophile community is the way we passionately embrace and hold on to technologies that the rest of the planet either views as outmoded or, in some cases, ...read more -
Octave Jubilee Mono Monoblock Amplifier & Preamplifier (TAS 212)
|The Octave Jubilee Mono monoblock power amplifiers are an assault on the state of the art by a German firm and its lead designer, Andreas Hoffman. They are tall, superbly styled tube amplifiers that that ...read more -
JR Transrotor Dark Star Turntable (TAS 212)
|JR Transrotor of Germany produces a vast array of analog playback components. They run the gamut from a stable of turntables—from noble to immodest—to motors, tonearms, and various and sundry accessories. For example, there’s the ...read more -
From the TAS Vault: MBL 101 X-Treme Omnidirectional Loudspeaker (TAS 189)
|(Editorial Note: This review posting was modified on 4/11/11 to insert a small correction explaining the origins of the MBL acronym and to provide updated contact information for the manufacturer). Over the years I’ve reviewed ...read more -
HP's Workshop: Maggie 3.7 Speaker System (TAS 212)
|Two Magneplanar panels, the spanking new and sexy-looking 3.7s, arrived just after noon this day. And just as the FedEx guy was pulling away, who should arrive but Wendell Diller of Magnepan in the flesh—fresh, ...read more -
Definitive Technology BP 8060 ST Loudspeaker (TAS 212)
|The BP 8060 ST is a slim, medium-height, cloth-covered tower speaker with outrigger stabilizer feet. You could say that it is probably designed for a “lifestyle” aesthetic, while still delivering real sonic value. It would ...read more -
PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium Integrated Amplifier (TAS 212)
|The ProLogue Premium Series is the latest collection of tube electronics from PrimaLuna. The lineup includes an integrated amplifier—the subject of this review—also a preamp, a stereo amplifier, and a 70W monoblock. Like all PrimaLuna ...read more