Tube Power Amp Reviews

To audition the Baron, I used B&W Silver Signature loudspeakers. Preamplifier was a Mark Levinson No.38S, with a Mod Squad Phono Drive EPS used to amplify LP signals from a Linn Sondek/Cirkus/Trampolin/Lingo/Ekos/Arkiv setup on an ArchiDee table. Digital sources were Mark Levinson No.30.5 HDCD and Parts Connection Assemblage DAC-2 D/A processors driven by a Mark Levinson No.31 transport, a Nagra-D open-reel digital recorder, and a Panasonic SV-3700 DAT recorder via Madrigal and Illuminati AES/EBU cables and Meridian 518 or Genesis Digital Lens jitter-reduction units (No.31, DAT) or Sonic Frontiers UltraJitterbug (Assemblage, Nagra). I also used the impressive Sonic Frontiers SFCD-1 CD player. Interconnects used were AudioQuest's balanced AudioTruth Lapis X3, unbalanced with an adaptor at the amplifier end. All source components and preamps were plugged-in to a Power Wedge 116 Mk.II, itself plugged-in to a dedicated AC circuit and fitted with the Power Enhancer option.—John Atkinson