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Merging Technologies NADAC Multichannel-8: $11,500
Among pro-audio companies that have set their sights on the domestic market, the Swiss manufacturer Merging Technologies is noted for its experience with high-resolution networked-audio interfaces. Their NADAC Multichannel-8 (its first name stands for Network Attached Digital to Analogue Converter) is intended for use with network-based file players, and is compatible with the audio-specific Ravenna protocol. Via Ethernet, the Multichannel-8 supports…

Editor's Note: Apart from the CAT, Shindo, and Placette, all the Class A preamplifiers offer balanced inputs and outputs. And unless noted, the preamplifiers listed do not have phono stages.

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Audio Research SP20: $9000
ARC's first full-function, line-plus-phono preamp in ages—and their first-ever preamp to offer a headphone output—the new SP20 is a pure class-A, fully balanced, hybrid design. Its 19"-wide chassis blends styling cues from ARC's early days with a modern touchscreen, and the SP20's similarly modern remote handset provides control over…

Editor's Note: Because of the disparity between typical tube and solid-state "sounds," we have split Class A for separate power amplifiers into two subclasses. Nevertheless, even within each subclass, Class A amplifiers differ sufficiently in character that each will shine in an appropriate system. Careful auditioning with your own loudspeakers is therefore essential. Except where stated, output powers are not the specified powers but rather those we measured into an 8 ohm resistive load. All amplifiers are stereo models, except where designated.

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Ayre Acoustics AX-5 Twenty: $12,950
In 2013, AD described the original Ayre AX-5—a $9950 integrated amplifier built around a recently rediscovered configuration of bipolar transistors known as the "diamond" circuit—as "one of the three best, most musical, most human-sounding solid-state amps I've ever heard." Then, in 2015, Ayre debuted a new version, the AX-5 Twenty—a nod to the company's 20th anniversary—promising even better sound. The AX-5 Twenty is built into the same foursquare aluminum case as the AX-5, and is controlled by…

Editor's Note: Class A "Loudspeakers" are sufficiently idiosyncratic and differ enough from one another that prospective customers should read Stereophile's original reviews in their entirety for descriptions of the sounds. I have therefore just listed every system or combination that at least one of Stereophile's reviewers feels, as a result of his or her experience, approaches the current state of the art in loudspeaker design. (Note that, to be eligible for inclusion in Class A, the system must be full-range—ie, feature bass extension to 20Hz. It must also be…

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B&W DB1: $4500 ★
The DB1 is a powered subwoofer in a handsome sealed enclosure measuring 19.3" H by 18.1" W by 16.2" D and weighing 97 lbs. Its solid construction includes: two mechanically opposed 12" woofers separated by a partially open internal partition, 1"-thick walls of MDF with 3/4"-thick bracing panels to minimize vibrations, digital signal-processing circuits to run its menu-based control system, home automation capability, and a 1000W switching amplifier equalized to produce linear output. Also included are a calibration…

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Audeze LCD-4 headphones: $3995
For their new LCD-4 headphones, Audeze uses a variation on their tried-and-true planar-magnetic technology, with a vanishingly thin diaphragm of aluminized film suspended between a push-pull array of Double Fluxor magnets (flux density: 1.5 teslas) and impedance-matching Fazor waveguides on the outer surfaces of the earcups. The…

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C. Crane FM Reflect Antenna: $34.95
The CCrane FM Reflect Antenna is a thick T-run of twin copper wires terminated by a 75 ohm connector. ST arranged it discreetly behind a closed window curtain, and used it to pull in all of his favorite HD Radio stations, including those his Sony XDR-F1HD tuner couldn't otherwise retrieve. "This is, by far, the best indoor FM antenna I have used, with or without HD Radio, and I am buying two more," he said. (Vol.32 No.4)

DaySequerra FM Reference Signature Modification: $3200 (+ cost of tuner) !s
David Day's…

APC AV S15BLK: $730 w/battery backup ★
The S15BLK is a comprehensive power source, conditioner, and controller that features extensible external power and isolated EMI/RFI filtration for each of its outlet banks. Voltage regulation is accomplished electronically and without the hysteresis or rebound problems of slower, motor-driven compensation. Protected even the heaviest of KR's loads while also eliminating gray colorations and intermittent chassis vibration. "The S15 made the bridged eVo6 into an even better power amplifier—a super amp." (Vol.28 No.9 WWW)…

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DEQX PreMate D/A preamplifier/equalizer: $4995
In a field where, as KR puts it, "all automatic EQ systems conflate speaker correction with room correction," the DEQX PreMate stands out: In use, this DSP engine begins by measuring and analyzing the speakers—in exclusion of the listening room, to the greatest extent possible—then generates filters to correct frequency response, optimize time alignment, and, if desired, create a customized active crossover for that speaker. After that, the user can, if he or she wishes, completely discard the speakers'…