Solid State Preamp Reviews

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Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 10, 1995  |  First Published: Sep 10, 1994  | 
Until just recently, only companies known primarily for their surround-sound processors were producing the most advanced—and most expensive—Home Theater products. No longer. It was inevitable that traditional high-end audio manufacturers would begin producing equipment for this fast-growing market.
Lewis Lipnick  |  Aug 20, 1995  |  First Published: Aug 20, 1991  | 
About three weeks ago, while perusing the gear in a local audio retail establishment, I overheard a salesman, who could well have been selling used cars, giving a classic spiel to an obviously confused customer. "You see, sir, all preamplifiers basically sound alike, especially with line-level inputs. The only differences are in the number of features." He went on to tell his prey that spending big bucks for high-end products such as Krell or Mark Levinson (neither of which he sold) would be a big mistake. I choked back my automatic response of a certain bovine term, but thought it better to continue my fly-on-the-wall masquerade.
John Atkinson  |  Jul 30, 1995  |  First Published: Jul 30, 1994  | 
A truly great preamplifier lets everything through, both music and distortion, but with such generosity that neither...is cramped and narrow.Larry Archibald (footnote 1)
John Atkinson  |  Jul 24, 1995  |  First Published: Jul 24, 1994  | 
A truly great preamplifier lets everything through, both music and distortion, but with such generosity that neither...is cramped and narrow.Larry Archibald(footnote 1)
John Atkinson  |  May 23, 1995  |  First Published: May 23, 1988  | 
I must admit, right from the outset, that I find reviewing electronic components harder than reviewing loudspeakers; the faults are less immediately obvious. No preamplifier, for example, suffers from the frequency-response problems endemic to even good loudspeakers. And power amplifiers? If you were to believe the older generation of engineers—which includes some quite young people!—then we reached a plateau of perfection in amplifier design some time after the Scopes Monkey Trial but well before embarking on the rich and exciting lifestyles afforded us by Reaganomics. (In the UK, it is generally felt by these people that the date coincided with the introduction of Quad's first current-dumping amplifier, the 405, in 1976.)
John Atkinson  |  Jan 08, 1995  |  First Published: Jan 08, 1994  | 
"Uhh! What is it?" I was being prodded on the arm. Admittedly it was gentle, almost polite prodding, but prodding it still was, a rude disturbance of the cocoon I had woven around myself in seat 31J of the American Airlines MD-11 winging its way across the North Atlantic. I pushed Pause on the Discman, insensitively not waiting for an opportune cadence in the Brahms Piano Quintet that had been my erstwhile virtual reality.

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