Each listing-in alphabetical order within classes-is followed by a brief description of the product's sonic characteristics and a code indicating the Stereophile Volume and Issue in which that product's report appeared. Thus the September 2013 issue is indicated as "Vol.36 No.9."
Some products listed have not yet been reported on; these…
The classes each cover a wide range of performance. Carefully read our descriptions here, the original reviews, and (heaven forbid) reviews in other magazines to put together a short list of components to choose from. Evaluate your room, your source material and front-end(s), your speakers, and your tastes. With luck, you may come up with a selection to audition at your favorite dealer(s). "Recommended Components" will not tell you what to buy any more than Consumer Reports would presume to tell you whom to marry!
Class A: Best attainable sound…
Editor's Note: We strongly recommend those interested in LP playback visit our sister website, www.AnalogPlanet.com, which is edited by Michael Fremer.
A+
Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn: $200,000 with tonearm and stand ✩
"Part New Jersey diner, part Wurlitzer jukebox," the 160-lb Caliburn is the brainchild of Mark Doehmann, whose clever, purposeful design is based on rigorous scientific methodology using finite-element analysis computer programs. While the only serious competition for the Caliburn is the Rockport System III Sirius, MF decided, "The…
Editor's Note: SACD, DVD-A, and media player ratings are based on how they sound with their respective hi-rez media, not CD.
A+
Bryston BDP-2: $2995
Essentially a beefed-up BDP-1, the BDP-2 replaces the original's 0.5GHz processor with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N450 and upgrades its single-amp linear power supply with a larger toroidal transformer specced to provide 10 amps of peak current. In addition, the BDP-2 has two Ethernet connectors (instead of the BDP-1's one), six USB ports (instead of four), a new…
Editor's Note: The sound of any particular CD transport/digital processor combination will be dependent on the datalink used-see "Bits is Bits?" by Christopher Dunn and Malcolm Omar Hawksford, Stereophile, March 1996, Vol.19 No.3 (WWW). Unless mentioned, processors are limited to 32/44.1/48kHz sample rates. To be included in Class A+, a digital processor must be capable of handling DSD or 24/96 LPCM data.
We strongly recommend those interested in using a computer as a true high-end digital audio source visit our sister website, www.AudioStream.com, which is…
A
Anthem Statement D2v 3D: $9499 ✩
The latest enhancement of the Statement D2 audio/video processor is the Anthem Room Correction kit (ARC), which includes a calibration microphone and stand and all necessary software and cables. Its versatile controls allow the user to modify the recommended crossovers, insert a variable room-gain bump, and set the upper-frequency limit for corrections. With the ARC's settings in place, soundstages were wider and more open. "Using the optimized ARC Advanced settings…
Editor's Note: Apart from the CAT, Fi, Shindos, and Placette, all the Class A preamplifiers offer balanced inputs and outputs. And unless noted, the preamplifiers listed do not have phono stages.
A
Aesthetix Saturn Calypso Signature: $6999 ✩
Aesthetix Saturn Calypso: $4999 ✩
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"A beautifully built, smartly designed, crisply functioning, versatile, and sonically brilliant preamplifier," the Saturn Calypso is a single-box, tubed unit that borrows technology from the more expensive, two-box Jupiter Callisto to offer "an attractive…
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.
A (…
A
Allnic T-1500 300B: $6900
Made in South Korea and imported by Hammertone Audio, the 12.5Wpc T-1500 boasts exquisite industrial design: polycarbonate chimneys showcase, protect, and ventilate the tubes, while attractively molded handles make for easy lifting. It uses two PCL86 driver tubes, two choke-regulated 300Bs with user-adjustable fixed bias, and output transformers wound around a nickel-permalloy core. Though it lacked bottom-end extension, the T-1500 delivered harmonic richness, excellent transparency, and natural tonal colors, said ST…
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…