Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Krell KSA-250 power amplifier

Lewis Lipnick, Various Sep 02, 2007 First Published: Jan 02, 1991

I still have fond memories of my first Krell amplifier, a KSA-50. Back in those days (date purposely omitted), my principal source of audio equipment reviews, aside from Stereophile and The Absolute Sound, was Hi-Fi News & Record Review, which I read voraciously from cover to cover every month. One fateful day while sitting by our community swimming pool, I happened upon an enlightening review of the KSA-50 written by none other than our own John Atkinson, editor of HFN/RR at">http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/352">at the time. His words describing "the steamroller-like inevitability of the bass with this amplifier" haunted me for weeks, until I got up the nerve to audition, and ultimately purchase, my first Krell product.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Mark Levinson No.23.5 power amplifier

John Atkinson Aug 26, 2007 First Published: Sep 26, 1991

"A high-quality amplifier must be capable of passing rigid laboratory measurements, meet all listening requirements, and be simple and straightforward in design in the interest of minimizing performance degradation..."—Cdr. Charles W. Harrison Jr., Audio, January 1956 (footnote 1)

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Conrad-Johnson MF2500 power amplifier

Martin Colloms Jun 03, 2007 First Published: Dec 03, 1999

Rumor had it that if the MF2500 amplifier had gotten any better in development, Conrad-Johnson would have had to include it in their "Premier" series. However, C-J's intention was to hold to the lower price of their established MF series, and so they have. Rated at 240Wpc and retailing for $3495, the '2500 is the core model of Conrad-Johnson's current range of "MF" power amplifiers. Its companion MF2250 offers 120Wpc, while the MF5600 delivers 120Wx5 for multichannel home-theater applications.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews Subwoofer Reviews Music in the Round

Music in the Round #24

Kalman Rubinson May 27, 2007 First Published: May 27, 2007

Good things come in threes, they say. Well, three-channel power amps suit me just fine. My main component rack is at the back of the room, so I split power duties between a two-channel amp under the rack to drive my rear-channel B&W 804S speakers and, way at the front, either three monoblocks or a three-channel amp for the front three B&W">http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/1205bw">B&W 802Ds. I do this to ensure that the timbre of the front three channels is consistent. The outstanding performance of the Simaudio">http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/306sim">Simaudio Moon W-8 dual-mono power amp (Stereophile, March 2006) almost tempted me to go with a stereo amp and a monoblock, but voicing and balancing a multichannel system with equanimity makes me want as much simplicity as possible. I guess manufacturers and users see it the same way; many new three-channel amps are coming on the market.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Bryston 4B power amplifier

Larry Greenhill May 06, 2007 First Published: May 06, 1992

On January 1, 1990, Canadian electronics manufacturer Bryston instituted a remarkable warranty program that covered each of their products for a full 20 years. This warranty includes all audio products ever manufactured and sold under the Bryston name. Besides covering parts and labor costs, the company will also pay shipping costs one way. This is all the more significant for their 4B NRB amplifier, which has been in production since 1976. The amp's $2k price, while not cheap, is at the lower end of what well-heeled audiophiles typically pay for amplifiers.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Counterpoint SA-100 power amplifier

Corey Greenberg May 06, 2007 First Published: Apr 06, 1991

The $1200 Counterpoint SA-100 amplifier came up to bat fourth in my listening sessions, behind (in order of appearance) the Adcom">http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/678">Adcom GFA-555 II (not reviewed here, but sent along by JA for comparison purposes), the VTL">http://www.stereophile.com/tubepoweramps/491vtl">VTL Tiny Triode monoblocks, and the Muse">http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/491muse">Muse Model One Hundred. Thus, my progression went from bipolar solid-state to tube to MOSFET, with a wide spread of sonic characteristics between them: stygian bass from the Adcom; uncanny spatial presentation and vocal reproduction from the VTLs; and an overall superior sound from the Muse. I was therefore eager to see where the tube/MOSFET hybrid Counterpoint would fall in this group of very different-sounding amplifiers.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Sumo Polaris II power amplifier

Corey Greenberg May 06, 2007 First Published: Apr 06, 1991

What's in a name? Quite a bit, when you stop and think about it. Would you rather have prostate surgery by Dr. Steadyhand or Dr. Whoops? Names imply a lot, even if we don't consciously make the connection; that's why your Polo shirt was made by Ralph Lauren instead of Ralph Lipshitz.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Ayre MX-R monoblock power amplifier

Wes Phillips Apr 15, 2007 First Published: Apr 15, 2007

Recently, on the Stereophile Web">http://forum.stereophile.com/forum/ubbthreads.php">Web forum, reader Natal commented on Robert J. Reina's review of the Creek">http://www.stereophile.com/integratedamps/107creek">Creek Audio Destiny integrated amplifier in the January 2007 issue: "Maybe it's just me but I've never found any piece of electronic equipment sexy."

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Accuphase M-2000 monoblock power amplifier

Jonathan Scull Apr 08, 2007 First Published: Feb 08, 2000

Just after I agreed to review the Accuphase M-2000 monoblocks, importer Arturo Manzano began urging me to take the Accuphase PS-1200 Clean Power Supply as well.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Muse Model One Hundred power amplifier

Corey Greenberg Apr 08, 2007 First Published: Apr 08, 1991

"I've know I've seen this amp before," I thought to myself when I lifted the $1200 Muse Model One Hundred out of the box, and I wasn't thinking of Robert Harley's review of the identical-looking Muse Model One Hundred Fifty reviewed in January 1990, either. No, I'd seen this amp before, somewhere else, in some other magazine, but with a different manufacturer's name.