Amplifier of the year...hmmmAVA is amplifer of the decades then, for much less, no cool blue meters though, just sonic excellence. http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/inside/83.asp 
We proved last night, it's NOT the greatest audio company, they make good stuff, but AVA does is for less, and does it BETTER. Mortals are saved at AVA, and Legacy speakers complete the system. http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/inside/default.asp
www.avahifi.com
www.legacyaudio.com
I was on two separate quests to find (1) an easy and high quality way to archive my vinyl to my hard drive and (2) a way to correct the "thin" sound I was getting from my turntable. When I asked questions about this in the forum, a certain piece of equipment came up in each: the Bellari VP-530. Well, the VP-130 (previously the 129) came up, but that doesn't have a USB output. The VP-530 seems to be essentially the same preamp with an added USB out, and RIAA/flat EQ curve toggle (i.e., the option to turn the RIAA curve off). I had found reviews of the VP-129/130, but none for the VP-530.
We get suggestions all the time for products you'd like us to cover, but is there a particular product that <I>Stereophile</I> should <I>not</I> review?
McIntosh loses AVA wins!!! Using 2 P500 AVA OmegaStar EX (1400W+ in mono) amplifiers to two McIntosh MC5501 500 watters, AVA does it better, for less. Big time better. AVA knows ckts. No magic wires needed. Better bass detail, mids better, AVA, better ckts, means better sound. For less cash, cus' the sound is in teh ckt designs, and componets inside, not the magic cases or wires. If it's sound ya want and money left over Legacy/AVA, sonic bliss. Fun day at the sonic shootout....I love it when I'm RIGHT!!!! Those Whispers sounded Fantastic!!!
From the front page--Oi!
"Perhaps the most surprising was from McIntosh, released in celebration of the company's impending 60th Anniversary. Would you believe a mini-system from McIntosh? Well, it looks like a McIntosh but look at it. It consists of a two-channel preamp/amp (75wpc) with a prominent tube stage and characteristic McIntosh power transformer. Docked underneath is an SACD/CD player, and a pair of speakers complete the ensemble. Price is expected to be in the $6000
Jimmy Hamilton was a featured clarinetist with Duke Ellington for nearly 20 years and is probably not well known by a lot of people. He is not a bold musician and on this CD plays both the Clarinet and Sax. This album recorded by Rudy Van Gelder in 1961 however is a treasure of pure jazz. Playing with Tommy Flanagan and Wendell Marshall this CD is a pleasure to listen to with some great blues and other bopping trends. The audio recording is everything you would expect from a Rudy Van Gelder recording and sounds great on hi-fi.
So, I recently purchased an Onkyo tx-sr705 home theater receiver and I'm looking for a speaker solution to accompany it. I have no more than $500 I can spend on the speakers (excluding subwoofer I suppose). I was originally considering the Yambeka 5.0 system but now it seems like that may be a little too large for the space I have. Overkill and all that. Other options I've looked at are the budget athena series, the jbl venue series, and the harmon kardon hkts-18.