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I examined the measured behavior of Manley Labs' Stingray iTube using mainly Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It" and www.ap.com); for some tests, I also used my vintage Audio Precision System One Dual Domain.

I was at first confused by the fact that the iTube was on when all its lights were off, and in Standby when its front-panel blue light was on. Carefully reading the excellent manual sorted that out for me, and I began the testing by checking the bias of the eight EL84…

Manley Labs' Stingray II integrated retails for $3000, vs $3400 for the Stingray iTube. The difference is the iPod dock. Ditch dock, save $400. In the Stingray II, a plate covers the hole where the dock would otherwise be . . . docked.

Erich Lichte first latched on to this, and beat me to the punch with his review of the Stingray iTube in the March 2010 Stereophile. Technically, however, I'm the first at Stereophile to review the Stingray II. Some of the "genius bar" gurus at my local Apple Store know all…

And that fixed 5-ohm transformer tap? "We have always designed the transformers with a single secondary fixed setting. As the feedback includes the entire output transformer, everything is optimized around that one wind. Five ohms has been our standard forever. We can recalculate and provide 4 or 8 [ohms] or any other optimized impedance tranny on request…

One could argue that, with the Uniti, this veteran audio manufacturer has set its sights on someone…

The booklet does, however, contain one indispensable…

As for the main event: After being run in for about a week (before which it sounded flat and thin), the Uniti was astonishingly good: tight,…

Description: Solid-state integrated amplifier with built-in CD player, FM/DAB tuner, iPod interface, USB memory-stick interface, iRadio/UPnP interface. Line-level analog inputs: 5. S/PDIF digital inputs: 5. Digital formats supported: MP3, AAC, Apple Lossless, WAV, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, WMA, MP3. CD formats supported: "Red Book," CD-R. Output power: 50Wpc into 8 ohms (17dBW), 90Wpc into 4 ohms (16.5dBW). Frequency range: 20Hz–50kHz. Signal/noise: 80dB. Analog input overload: 27dBV. Preamp output impedance: 600 ohms (10k ohm minimum load recommended).
Dimensions:…

Analog Sources: Thorens TD-124 Mk.II turntable; EMT 997, Schick tonearms; Bauer/Ayre DPS turntable & tonearm; Shindo SPU, Ortofon SPU 90th Anniversary, EMT OFD 25, Edison Spirit 78, Miyabi 47, Grace F9E cartridges.
Digital Sources: HRT Music Streamer, HRT Music Streamer+, Ayre QB-9 USB DACs (with Apple iMac).
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Hommage T1 step-up transformer, Ayre P-5x phono preamplifier, Shindo Masseto preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Shindo Haut-Brion & Corton-Charlemagne, Quad II.
Loudspeakers: Audio Note AN-E/SPe HE,…

I examined the Naim Uniti's measured behavior using mainly Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It" and www.ap.com); for some tests, I also used my vintage Audio Precision System One Dual Domain. To test the digital playback performance, I played WAV files on an iPod Touch, the same files loaded onto a USB flash drive or burned to CD-R, or fed to one of the Uniti's optical S/PDIF inputs from the RME soundcard in one of my test-lab PCs. All tests of the Uniti's digital section were taken…

Review samples, once received, often wait days or even weeks before I can find the time to install them. But turntables and tonearms tend not to gather much dust. Tonearms, in particular, get the fast track.

So it was with the Schick tonearm, made in Germany by Thomas Schick and imported by Oswalds Mill Audio, in rural Lehigh County, Pennsylvania (footnote 1). In recent months I've exchanged some e-mails with OMA's Jonathan Weiss, a nice fellow who seems active in various different artistic pursuits.…