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That was through the super-transparent Voxativs. Now seemed like a good time to try the Fezz through my forever reference Falcon Gold Badges. Every time I go back to these speakers, it feels more like a marriage, with decades of memories to use as comparison fodder.

I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole
You can blame it on the sound quality of the Fezz Equinox or the persuasiveness of Alex Halberstadt—take your pick—but during this review period I climbed off my high horse and accepted Merle Haggard as my three-in-the-morning savior. Alex helped me recognize…

Description: Two-channel D/A processor using a Burr Brown PCM1794 converter chip with a 12AU7 output tube and no oversampling. Digital inputs: One USB Type B, one coaxial S/ PDIF RCA, two optical (TosLink). Analog outputs: stereo pair single-ended (RCA). S/ PDIF receiver: AKM4118 PCM. Sampling rates: 32kHz–192kHz, 16–24 bit, USB up to 384kHz, 32-bit. THD: <0.05%. Power consumption: 10W.
Dimensions: 14" (355mm) × 15" (380mm) × 3.9" (100mm). Weight: 19.8lb (9kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed: 0074531F. Designed and built in Poland.
Price: $2995.…

Digital sources: Denafrips Terminator Plus DAC, HoloAudio May Level 3 and Spring 3 KTE DACs, dCS Lina DAC with Master Clock; TEAC VRDS-701T CD transport.
Preamplifier: HoloAudio Serene line.
Power amplifiers: Elekit TU-8900 with Brimar 6067/ECC82 and Psvane T Series MKII 300B tubes; First Watt SIT-4.
Headphone amplifiers: dCS Lina, Linear Tube Audio Z10e.
Loudspeakers: Falcon Acoustics Gold Badge LS3/5a, Voxativ Hagen2 Monitor.
Headphones: Audeze CRBN.
Cables: Digital: Kimber Kable D60 coaxial, AudioQuest Cinnamon USB. Interconnect:…

After making sure the single Electro-Harmonix 12AU7/ECC82 dual-triode tube was firmly plugged into its socket under the top-panel window, I used my Audio Precision SYS2722 system to perform a full set of measurements on the Fezz Equinox. I then repeated some of the tests with the magazine's APx555 analyzer. (The results with the two systems were consistent.) As HR had told me he used the Equinox's USB and coaxial S/PDIF inputs for his auditioning, I used those inputs for the testing. I didn't use the two TosLink inputs, as these only worked with data sampled at 44.…

The DAC X includes a new physical volume dial, IR remote control, support for high-resolution streaming via Qobuz Connect, the option to connect CD/SACD transports, and a larger, standard-width chassis machined from solid billet aluminum. For those who prefer the appearance of the original Lina three-box DAC, headphone amplifier, and Master Clock, the…

The big news in the Constellation room was not the Revelation 2 Series, complete with its special Constellation Switch-Mode Power Supply (C-SMPS)—we’ve reported on it previously, including at AXPONA 2025. Rather, it was the chance to glimpse prototypes of the higher-level Performance 2 stereo amplifier and preamplifier, both due later this year.

As Irv Gross, Constellation's VP of Sales, spun silver platters, I spoke with co-founder and CEO Murali Murugasu. He discussed how the original Constellation design team has continued its work even after the deaths of celebrated…

"Our new Octave Jubilee class-A mono amplifier has a slightly different sound than the Jubilee Mono SEs you reviewed three years ago," said Andreas Hofmann. Hoffman is the founder and chief engineer of Germany’s Octave Audio, and he was talking about his forthcoming push-pull monoblock, noting that the amp outputs 160W in class-A lower-power mode and 280W in class-AB high-power mode. The Octave Jubilee’s projected price is $85,000/pair without potential tariff hikes.

“I was looking for a smoother yet natural sound,” Hofmann said. “A bit like an old red wine. I wanted it smooth but…

Göbel didn't debut a new speaker at High End Munich. In a totally selfless world, I would have bypassed the room for another with something new. But I'm an audiophile, and audiophiles have needs. Not having heard a Göbel speaker for a long time, I strolled into the room for a listen.

Company founder Oliver Göbel had cued up the same recording of the Calmus Ensemble's "Dindirindin" that I'd heard on the huge, over $2 million Magico / D'Agostino / Wadax / Antipodes / Telos system at AXPONA. From smaller speakers and lower-level front-end equipment, the impact was different, but the…

Three years after finalizing the design of their HQS G 7001 monoblocks, brothers Arnaud and Laurent Fusilier of French company JMF Audio completed the design of the JMF Audio HQS G3 9001 amplifiers ($164,000/pair). Alongside other JMF Audio products, the 9001s debuted at the ancillary HiFi Deluxe show in the Munich Marriott, offering a similar sonic signature as their smaller cousins.

The new monoblocks use the same transformers and capacitors as the 7001s, but with different internal wiring, schematic layout, materials, and power supplies. Like their predecessors, they…

Cary Audio’s Billy Wright, with his characteristic Southern charm, introduced a pair of new offerings at High End Munich: the Cary Audio SLP-300 preamplifier and the Cary Audio DMS-300A streaming integrated. Prices are yet to be announced.

The SLP-300 is a fully balanced tube preamplifier with an onboard phono stage and headphone amp. It runs in class-A via four 12AX7 tubes, and includes two RCA single-ended inputs, two XLR balanced inputs, one XLR balanced output per channel, two RCA single-ended outputs per channel, a stepped volume control, and a remote and trigger control.