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The phono input
I auditioned the ARCAM's moving magnet–only phono input with three well-known, well-respected cartridges, two moving magnets—Ortofon's $695 2M Black and Audio-Technica's $69 AT-VM95E—and Grado Labs' $400 Platinum3 High Output moving iron.

I started with the Ortofon because I wanted to see how refined the A25's phono stage could sound. The 2M Black uses a nude Shibata stylus to scrape disc grooves clean and make listeners feel like they are getting all the micro-information they paid extra for. Ortofon's 2M Black is the smoothest, quietest, best-tracking, most-…

Description: Solid state, class-G stereo integrated amplifier outputting up to 100Wpc into 8 ohms (20dBW), 165Wpc into 4 ohms (19.2dBW). Analog inputs: 3 single-ended, one MM phono, all on RCA. Digital inputs: 2 S/PDIF coaxial, 1 TosLink, and 1 USB-C. The DAC is based on a ES9280A PRO chip with three user-selectable filters, supporting PCM sampling rates up to 384kHz and DSD up to DSD1024. Bluetooth including Qualcomm AptX Adaptive, AAC, and SBC. Analog outputs: loudspeaker, variable pre-out (RCA), and (1/8" 3mm) front panel headphone jack.
Dimensions: 17" (…

Analog sources: Dr. Feickert Analog Blackbird turntable with a Sorane SA1.2 tonearm with the Ortofon 2M Black and Audio-Technica AT-VM95E moving magnet cartridges plus Grado Labs's High Output Platinum3 moving iron cartridge feeding PrimaLuna's EVO 100 phono stage.
Digital sources: Roon Nucleus+ music server; Denafrips Terminator Plus and Ares II DACs; Onkyo C-7030 CD player.
Integrated amplifier: Rogue Sphinx V3.
Headphone amplifiers: LTA Z10e, Feliks Envy, dCS Lina.
Headphones: Grado Prestige SR325X, Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro, AKG K812, Meze…

I performed a full set of measurements on the ARCAM A25 using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system. The amplifier is specified as having a maximum output power of 100Wpc into 8 ohms; I preconditioned the A25 before the measurements by following the CEA's recommendation of running it at one-eighth that power into 8 ohms for 30 minutes. Following that period, the top panel was warm, at 98.4°F (36.9°C), and the grilles over the internal heatsinks warmer, at 102.8°F (39.3°C).

Looking first at the A25's unbalanced line inputs, the amplifier preserved absolute…

The ARCAM's digital inputs preserved absolute polarity from all the outputs. With the volume control set to the maximum, the A25's output level into 8 ohms at the speaker outputs with a 1kHz tone at –25dBFS was 19.…

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Jim Snidero is a veteran of the jazz wars. Arriving in New York in 1981, at age 23, he was a sideman in important bands and produced 26 recordings as a leader. But until For All We Know, he had never made a saxophone trio album. That's surprising given that Snidero is known as both a master and a scholar of the alto saxophone. No format can shine a light on the instrument like a…

Tonally, the Firebird had a pleasing neutrality, and excelled in the midrange, which was particularly rich and full bodied. High- and low-frequency extension were very good, but in my opinion, well-damped metal platters produce more crystalline, more precisely drawn highs, and a more concentrated and impactful bottom end, with decays that plunge faster into…