Designer Vladimir Lamm, who is equally at home with tube as well as solid-state circuitry, has refreshed the LL2 design, LAMM’s long-standing entry-level tube linestage preamp. The LL2.1 is a direct replacement for the LL2. ...

When you think about it, “elicit” is a pretty nifty name for an audio component. After all, the verb not only rolls nicely off the tongue, it describes what we’d like our playback systems to ...

In his excellent biography of the Swiss-born sculptor and painter Alberto Giacometti, James Lord relates a charming story from a difficult time. It was 1939, the Germans had just invaded Czechoslovakia, and the Swiss government ...

“Wow, this baby’s loaded,” I muttered to myself as I scanned the back panel of the Simaudio Moon i3.3 and its sister, the CD3.3, which was idling nearby. I do my own fair share of ...

Most American audiophiles are probably too young to remember the time when small European firms like Tandberg and Electrocompaniet were familiar names in the high end. At least some, however, will remember that Electrocompaniet was ...

The term “digital” is often erroneously applied to amplifiers with Class D (switching) output stages, but in the case of NAD’s new M2 Direct Digital Amplifier that word is appropriate. In fact, the M2 represents ...

Affordable excellence. Funny how sensible, refreshing, and downright sane that phrase seems these days. Don’t get me wrong: For those who can afford it, which more or less excludes most of us, owning the finest ...

While most high-end audio firms are small artisan-minded affairs that were founded by guys whose passions border on or exceed the obsessive, most of the design and production facilities I’ve visited appear to be anything ...

(NOTE: This is the technical sidebar that will appear with my review of the PrimaLuna Seven in TAS #199. While there are undoubtedly valid reasons to refrain from posting the sidebar in advance of the ...

It has long been an article of faith among audio “objectivists” that passive components—wire, resistors, capacitors, and inductors—have no effect on the sound of the product in which those components are used. That is, two ...

Technology Preview: NAD M2 Direct Digital Amplifier Is This The Future of Audio Amplification? Robert Harley Note: The full review of the M2, including a detailed description of its sound quality, will appear in the ...

It is impossible to review Vacuum Tube Logic’s MB?450 Series II amplifier as if it were a single amplifier because it is at least two quite different sounding amplifiers in one chassis. And depending on ...

My beat at the sixth annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest was upper-end preamplifiers and power amplifiers. This show started out as a showcase for ultra-expensive exotic gear, but as it shifted toward the mainstream, the ...

Greatest Bargain at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest Frank Van Alstine has been making super-affordable high-performance gear for decades, but he might have outdone himself with the UltraValve, a 30Wpc stereo all-tube amplifier for just $1695. ...

At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show Rotel debuted the 15 Series, an impressive range of components encompassing most segments of the audio, A/V, and custom-installation markets. Beyond its eye-catching appearance and upgraded internals the 15 ...