Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Adcom GFA-7805 five-channel power amplifier

Kalman Rubinson Mar 28, 2004 First Published: Mar 01, 2004

For me, the iconic Adcom power amplifier was the GFA-555. As an aspiring audiophile, I was deeply impressed with Tony">http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/678">Tony Cordesman's review in Stereophile in 1985 (Vol.8 No.4). That did it! After years of kit-building and doing it myself, the '555 was the first factory-built amp that I wanted and could afford. Over the years, I changed speakers several times, and even added a fully regulated power supply to the '555, but it never balked. At the end of its tenure at my house, it had been demoted to my third-string backup; today it's making someone else tap his toes.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Hovland Radia power amplifier

Paul Bolin Mar 21, 2004 First Published: Mar 01, 2004

For better or for worse, appearances can make a profound first impression. Think of the bold, muscular curves of an Audi TT coupe, the planes and facets of a Lamborghini Murcielago, the sleek lines of a Gulfstream jet. In these vehicles, function and art are combined with smooth facility and perfect aesthetic balance.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Theta Digital Enterprise monoblock power amplifier

Michael Fremer Mar 21, 2004 First Published: Mar 01, 2004

Monoblock power amplifiers seem to be moving in and out of my listening room faster than green-onion salsa from Chi-Chi's. Over the past six months I've had the Parasound">http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/774">Parasound Halo JC-1, the Halcro dm68, the Pass">http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/1103pass">Pass XA-160, the Musical">http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/104mf">Musical Fidelity kW, and now these 300W (into 8 ohms), $4500-each beauties from Theta Digital. All of these amps sounded as different as they looked, which was no surprise; too bad the "measures the same, sounds the same" dogmatists remain open for business.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews Tube Preamp Reviews

Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista kWP preamplifier & Tri-Vista kW Monobloc power amplifier

Michael Fremer Feb 01, 2004 First Published: Jan 01, 2004

Thoughts of power, domination, and audio road-rage enter one's mind when contemplating Musical Fidelity's SUV-like, limited-edition, 20th-anniversary offerings (footnote 1). (Only 75 sets of kWPs and kWs will be made.) The gleaming, brushed-aluminum, two-box, oversized, overweight Tri-Vista kWP preamp is fortress-like—the "kWP" looks as if chiseled into the faceplate by grimy, sweaty hands. Each of its boxes weighs almost 56 lbs. The unit's milled-aluminum remote control, the size of a Volkswagen Microbus and looking like something Fred Flintstone might wield, must weigh over 5 lbs. The kWP outputs more juice than many power amps: 55V, with 20 amps of peak-peak instantaneous current!

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Pass Labs XA160 monoblock power amplifier

Michael Fremer Nov 30, 2003 First Published: Nov 01, 2003

Before the advent of big-screen projection televisions, manhood was measured more conventionally: by the size of one's crate-sized, boat-anchor-heavy, brushed-aluminum-fronted power amplifiers. Those days are long gone.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews The Fifth Element Music and Recording Features

The Fifth Element #19

John Marks Sep 28, 2003 First Published: Sep 28, 2003

Let's start with some music—three discs I recently have been using to evaluate equipment as well as listen to for enjoyment. They are as contrasting in style as one could hope for, but all on an enviably high musical plane. (Space considerations compel brevity approaching that necessary to sell screenplays to producers at cocktail parties, footnote 1)

Solid State Power Amp Reviews Solid State Preamp Reviews Music in the Round

Music in the Round #2

Kalman Rubinson Sep 21, 2003 First Published: Sep 21, 2003

It doesn't take much to read between the lines of Sony's discontinuation of the TA-P9000ES">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/700/">TA-P9000ES analog preamplifier and their introduction of the SCD-XA9000ES SACD player with IEEE1394 digital output at Home">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11662/">Home Entertainment 2003. (A similar feature from the DVD-Audio camp has been promised.) Surely, we will at long last be able to have external digital processing and DACs in our preamp or control units. In addition to the freedom to mix and match components, this opens the door to having a single digital component manage bass and channel balance for all sources, and room/speaker correction without redundant redigitization.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Mark Levinson No.436 monoblock power amplifier

Larry Greenhill Aug 24, 2003 First Published: Aug 24, 2003

All high-end audio companies turn over their product lines periodically. Even those amplifiers I have depended on as references go out of production. Although my reference amplifier can remain a part of the reviewing sequence, readers won't be able to purchase a discontinued model and get the results I describe. Thus I am compelled to get a review sample of a new amplifier or speaker, and hope for the best.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Classé Omega monoblock power amplifier

Brian Damkroger Jul 13, 2003 First Published: Jul 13, 2003

Have you ever had one of those conversations with your Significant Other that begins "But I thought you said..." and goes downhill from there? The Other's tone is condescending, and the body language—hands on hips, head slightly tilted—lets you know you're in big trouble.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Lamm Industries M2.1 monoblock power amplifier

Paul Bolin Apr 13, 2003 First Published: Apr 13, 2003

How did Michael Jordan, talented as he was at the peak of his powers, always manage to impose his will on his teammates to push them to victory when it counted most? What made Sandy Koufax able to elevate his pitching to a superhuman level when the stakes were highest? A knowledgeable, hardcore sports fan can watch the performance of two players with nearly identical statistics and, after not too long, tell you which one is merely very good and which one is great. What makes a star are intangibles—those qualities you can't quantify or analyze, but can't help but recognize when you're in their presence.