Solid State Power Amp Reviews

As with all the Real World gear I review, I listened to both amps in my Real World system, which is affordable, and my He-Man rig, which is not. The He-Man rig tells me exactly what the gear under review is doing, while the Real World system tells me how much of that info is transportable to a system that's more like the one the gear is likely to be mated with.

My Real World system featured, at one time or another: Sumiko Project One turntable and Oyster cartridge (reviews comin' up); JVC XL-Z1050 CD player; Rotel RCD-955AX CD player; NAD 502 CD player (also to be reviewed soon); Cobalt by Theta 307 digital processor; Conrad-Johnson PV10A tube preamp; Adcom GFP-565 preamp; McCormack Line Drive passive preamp; Acurus DIA-100 integrated amp; Vandersteen 1B speakers; Spica Angelus speakers; NHT Super Zero satellite speakers and SW2P active subwoofer (more reviews, oy vey); Kimber PBJ interconnect; and 10' pairs of either Kimber 4TC or AudioQuest Type 4 speaker cables.

The He-Man rig featured: Well-Tempered Record Player and Sumiko Blue Point Special cartridge; Theta Gen.III and Data II digital combo; Exposure XVII for the phono stage; Aunt Corey's Buffered Passive Preamp for the line-stage; NHT 3.3 oui! oui! oui! loudspeakers; Kimber PBJ and KCAG interconnects; and a 4' bi-wire set of Kimber 4AG speaker cable. Everything, including both the Adcom and Rotel amps, was plugged into the latest Power Wedge AC line-conditioners. My usual Aragon Mk.II 200W solid-state muscle amp served as duh He-Man reference for duh two girlie amps.—Corey Greenberg