In this hobby, nothing's for nothing. To get that gorgeous midrange, with its harmonic depth and inner detail, tube-amp enthusiasts are willing to give up some things in the bass. Tube folks put up with heat and occasional maintenance—routine or otherwise. To get the ideal middle, fans of single-ended triodes are even willing to shave off considerable dynamic range and settle for ultra-efficient speakers that often have limited response at the frequency extremes. Those who say nothing is lost by preferring tubes are in denial.

In this hobby, nothing's for nothing. To get that gorgeous midrange, with its harmonic depth and inner detail, tube-amp enthusiasts are willing to give up some things in the bass. Tube folks put up with heat and occasional maintenance—routine or otherwise. To get the ideal middle, fans of single-ended triodes are even willing to shave off considerable dynamic range and settle for ultra-efficient speakers that often have limited response at the frequency extremes. Those who say nothing is lost by preferring tubes are in denial.

In this hobby, nothing's for nothing. To get that gorgeous midrange, with its harmonic depth and inner detail, tube-amp enthusiasts are willing to give up some things in the bass. Tube folks put up with heat and occasional maintenance—routine or otherwise. To get the ideal middle, fans of single-ended triodes are even willing to shave off considerable dynamic range and settle for ultra-efficient speakers that often have limited response at the frequency extremes. Those who say nothing is lost by preferring tubes are in denial.

The original plan, back in mid-2004, was to audition an entire Ensemble system and then review the individual components over the next two years. Most audio companies produce lines of matching products, but Ensemble takes it a bit further, with a modular approach and extensive commonality of everything from chassis to circuit boards. They firmly believe that <I>everything</I> affects sonic performance, and their approach helps ensure a consistent sound throughout their line.

The original plan, back in mid-2004, was to audition an entire Ensemble system and then review the individual components over the next two years. Most audio companies produce lines of matching products, but Ensemble takes it a bit further, with a modular approach and extensive commonality of everything from chassis to circuit boards. They firmly believe that <I>everything</I> affects sonic performance, and their approach helps ensure a consistent sound throughout their line.

The original plan, back in mid-2004, was to audition an entire Ensemble system and then review the individual components over the next two years. Most audio companies produce lines of matching products, but Ensemble takes it a bit further, with a modular approach and extensive commonality of everything from chassis to circuit boards. They firmly believe that <I>everything</I> affects sonic performance, and their approach helps ensure a consistent sound throughout their line.

The original plan, back in mid-2004, was to audition an entire Ensemble system and then review the individual components over the next two years. Most audio companies produce lines of matching products, but Ensemble takes it a bit further, with a modular approach and extensive commonality of everything from chassis to circuit boards. They firmly believe that <I>everything</I> affects sonic performance, and their approach helps ensure a consistent sound throughout their line.

The original plan, back in mid-2004, was to audition an entire Ensemble system and then review the individual components over the next two years. Most audio companies produce lines of matching products, but Ensemble takes it a bit further, with a modular approach and extensive commonality of everything from chassis to circuit boards. They firmly believe that <I>everything</I> affects sonic performance, and their approach helps ensure a consistent sound throughout their line.

In his bimonthly column, "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement">The Fifth Element</A>," John Marks has tried to identify pro-audio components that would be of interest to audiophiles. In his <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement/605fifth">June 2005 episode</A>, John wrote about Grace Design's m902 D/A headphone amplifier ($1695), the Colorado company's replacement for the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement/802/index1.html">901</A&gt;, which had long been a favorite of his. Changes include: the handling of single-wire sample rates of up to 192kHz; unbalanced analog outputs, controlled by the front volume control, to allow the unit to be used as a preamplifier; a cross-feed processing circuit licensed from <A HREF="http://www.meier-audio.de">www.meier-audio.de</A&gt;; power-supply revisions; and the provision of a USB digital input, in addition to S/PDIF, AES/EBU, and TosLink.

In his bimonthly column, "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement">The Fifth Element</A>," John Marks has tried to identify pro-audio components that would be of interest to audiophiles. In his <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement/605fifth">June 2005 episode</A>, John wrote about Grace Design's m902 D/A headphone amplifier ($1695), the Colorado company's replacement for the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement/802/index1.html">901</A&gt;, which had long been a favorite of his. Changes include: the handling of single-wire sample rates of up to 192kHz; unbalanced analog outputs, controlled by the front volume control, to allow the unit to be used as a preamplifier; a cross-feed processing circuit licensed from <A HREF="http://www.meier-audio.de">www.meier-audio.de</A&gt;; power-supply revisions; and the provision of a USB digital input, in addition to S/PDIF, AES/EBU, and TosLink.