Floor Loudspeaker Reviews

When Stereophile publishes a followup review in the print magazine, we add it as a "child page" to the website reprint of the original coverage. We have recently done so with three significant products: the Magico M2 loudspeaker, the Linear Tube Audio Z10e tubed headphone amplifier/integrated amplifier, and the Okto Research dac8 PRO multichannel D/A processor.

I was mightily impressed by the Magico M2 ($63,600/pair with non-optional MPod stands) when I reviewed it in February 2020 and it was subsequently voted the magazine's 2020 Loudspeaker of the Year. In the March 2021 issue, having lived with the M2s for a year, Jim Austin followed up my review with a detailed examination. In a thorough essay worthy of being published in The New Yorker, Jim discussed the M2's treble balance, low-frequency clarity, evenness of timbre, and the accuracy, tangibility, and stability of its imaging. He concluded: "There are many very good loudspeakers out there, all capable of communicating music effectively and delivering profound pleasure. Only a few aspire to get all the details right and even fewer succeed. Magico's M2 is on that short list."

In his original report on the Linear Tube Audio Z10e ($6950), while Herb Reichert was impressed by how well this 10Wpc/8 ohms amplifier drove not just headphones but also his high-sensitivity Zu and DeVore loudspeakers. However, it didn't fare as well with the current-hungry HiFiMan Susvara headphones. Following publication of Herb's findings in May 2020, LTA reworked the Z10e's headphone outputs to be more powerful. Herb compared the revised Z10e with the original version in the February 2021 issue. "The LTA Z10e-Susvara combo," he wrote, "missed no beats, showed no weaknesses, and kept my head bopping," adding that there was "no hesitations, dullness, or clipping; no smoke from the tires, no engine stalling—only full-traction, high-torque engagement."

In December 2020, Kal Rubinson was so impressed by the inexpensive, high-performance Okto dac8 PRO multichannel processor from the Czech Republic (€989, equivalent to $1198) that he bought the review sample, but not before he sent it to me for measurement. My test results were published in the February 2021 issue. "The dac8 PRO's measured performance indicates that almost no compromises were made to squeeze eight D/A channels into its slim chassis," I concluded.

Follow the links to read the complete followups: Magico M2; Linear Tube Audio Z10e; and Okto Research dac8 PRO.