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As one of Munich’s most prestigious distributors, Mansour Mamaghani’s Audio Reference again pulled out all the stops in a huge, glass enclosed central Atrium space that showcased more brands than there is space to list.

One of the highlights of their mobbed, standing-room-only press event was a presentation in which Impex Records’ Abby Fon shared the company’s new, 1STEP, all-analog pressing of the best-selling Getz/Gilberto with jazz saxophonist Stan Getz’s son, Nick Getz. Standing as I was at a terrible angle, way to the left of the soundstage, I scribbled some notes while…

I don't know why I was chosen as the lucky recipient, but after stammering half a dozen thank-yous, I suddenly owned about 150 fine wines. A few carried four-figure price tags.

Reliably telling a Pinot Grigio from a Chardonnay isn't part of my skill set. Grape varieties, terroir, vintages? You might as well ask a toddler to become…

Screen graphics and more
The A8's touchscreen is tastefully designed, not garish. It does look a little less contrasty than the swish, enormous screen on the HiFi Rose RS520. On the A8 home screen, a row of five colored digital tiles fills most of the area. They are, from left to right: Music (where you can create a library); Streaming (including Tidal, Qobuz, HighResAudio, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Deezer, and—unusually—Soundcloud); Files (where things like Alarms and Audiobooks are stored), Source, and Settings.

Firing up the unit for the first time produces an animated…

Description: Music streamer, DAC, preamp with 6" LCD touchscreen, onboard parametric EQ, virtual VU meters, dedicated control app, AK4191EQ delta-sigma modulator, AK4499EX D/A converter, and the XMOS XU316 audio processor. Capable of decoding up to stereo DSD512, 32/768 PCM data, which can be accepted by USB, Ethernet, or Wi-Fi. S/PDIF and HDMI ARC inputs support stereo PCM up to 24/192 and DoP64. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz (±0.25dB). Output level: 4.2V XLR, 2.1V RCA. Dynamic range: 128dB XLR, 125dB RCA. THD+N: 120dB XLR, 119dB RCA, unweighted. Crosstalk: –…

Digital sources: Eversolo A6 Master Edition. Aurender A20 streamer and DAC controlled with Conductor 4 iOS app. HiFi Rose RS520. 16" MacBook Pro M1 Max running Roon 2.0. Roon ROCK running on a Lenovo ThinkCentre.
Preamplifiers: Benchmark HPA4, BAT VK-90.
Power amplifier: Krell FPB 200c (recapped).
Integrated amplifiers: Anthem STR, PrimaLuna EVO 400.
Loudspeakers: Focal Utopia Scala Evo, Tekton Moab Be, Piega Coax 811.
Cables: Speaker: AudioQuest Thunderbird Zero. Power: AudioQuest, RSX, Clarus. Interconnect: AudioQuest, Clarus.
…

I measured a different sample of the Eversolo DMP-A8 from that auditioned by RvB. The serial number was 800A805CC764, and my sample was fitted with the v1.2.80 firmware.

Looking first at the line-input performance with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system, the DMP-A8 preserved absolute polarity (ie, was noninverting) with both balanced and unbalanced inputs and outputs. With the volume control set to "0dB," the gain was –0.06dB from the balanced inputs to balanced outputs and from the unbalanced inputs to the unbalanced outputs. Setting the volume…

My reference preamp of the past few years, the D’Agostino Momentum HD, is ceding to the new D’Agostino Momentum model, to be called the C2 preamp. Termed “a complete departure from the HD,” the C2 derives from the superb, top-line D’Agostino Relentless preamp (review forthcoming).

Among the C2’s many new features: power travels from the power supply into the preamp via interlocking 20A connectors in the preamp’s feet, eliminating all external umbilical cords. Both the remote and the power supply include numerical readouts of volume. Another first for D’Agostino: a headphone…

Western Electric owner Charles Whitener and Sales Director Trent Suggs together gave us a first look at Western Electric’s upcoming products. Dumb me failed to turn on my video until late in the presentation, but below you can catch a bit of Suggs’ presentation.

WE’s reference-level Series 100 will include a range of products. Pictured here is the first of the lot, the Type 100M monoblock, which is almost 14" tall and is expected to sell for $120,000. By email, Suggs touted pure class-A2/SET technology and zero negative feedback. Using ECC81, 300B, and 308B tubes—the towering…

VTL and Wilson have delivered great sound at previous shows, and they did so again here in a set-up of which Peter McGrath, Brand Ambassador for Wilson Audio, was especially proud: VTL’s MB-450 III Signature monoblocks, TL7.5 III Reference preamplifier, and TP6.5 II.

A Signature phono preamplifier joined a dCS Rossini Apex DAC and Rossini clock, Wilson Sasha V loudspeakers, VPI Avenger turntable, and Nordost cabling. To get an idea of the size of Audio Reference’s space, note that this was but one of at least six listening areas in the room.