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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.

A+

Bel Canto e1X: $6800
See John Atkinson's review elsewhere in this issue. (Vol.45 No.10)

Bricasti M1SE: $10,000 ★
With first-class…

B

Sonus Faber Omnia: $1999
RvB was impressed by the sound of this single-box, Bluetooth- and Wi-Fi–enabled, DSP-optimized, active stereo loudspeaker system. It uses a single 6.5" woofer, two 0.75" silk-dome tweeters, a pair of 3" midrange drivers, and two 1.75" drivers that fire to the sides to widen the soundstage. The Omnia includes an analog line input, a MM-compatible phono input, an HDMI ARC input, and an Ethernet port. While there is a remote control, the Omnia can also be controlled by a web page or by Roon. As you might expect from a 6.5"…

A

exaSound s88: $7599 ★
See "Digital Processors."

exaSound Sigma Streamer: $750
To those who already own an exaSound DAC, the exaSound Sigma Streamer offers an affordable and tidy alternative to the company's PlayPoint digital-source components. The simple Sigma, which streams via wired or wireless LAN, is a Roon-ready endpoint, can function as an HQPlayer network audio adapter, and is compatible with UPnP, OpenHome, and AirPlay protocols. It supports PCM to 32/384, DSD to DSD256, and MQA (full unfold). KR found the Sigma to be "easy to…

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

A

Audio Research Reference 6SE: $18,000
An updated version of the discontinued Ref 6, with changes in capacitors and wiring, the fully balanced, tubed '6SE impressed JVS, who noted that when he installed the Ref 6SE in his system, his speakers "poured forth some of the most polished, transparent, and arresting sound" he'd heard from his system. Longer-…

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

ampsandsound Bigger Ben: $5600
This single-input, single-ended, triode-wired, no-negative-feedback tube amplifier drives both loudspeakers and headphones. It offers approximately 8Wpc into 8 ohms and 5Wpc into 32 ohms (when equipped with a solid state rectifier and KT88 output tubes). With 6L6GC output tubes, when it maxes out at 3Wpc, the Bigger Ben powered Zu Soul Supreme speakers "to greater levels of transient and timbral exactitude . . . than most any other amp I've tried," wrote HR. With DeVore Orangutan O/93s, HR found the Ben…

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. We 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…

A

JL Audio CR-1: $3500 ★
The CR-1 crossover has continuously variable high- and low-pass filters built around two banks of precision Linkwitz-Riley filters that can be set for 12 or 24dB/octave via. Front panel switch. Upon encountering the CR-1, LG "wondered where it had been all [his] life;" he's been using it ever since. "It's beautifully made, sonically transparent, performs a critical role in the optimal setup of subwoofers, and has ergonomic bypass and mute functions that let you immediately hear the sonic improvements of good bass…

A+

ampsandsound Bigger Ben: $5600
See "Integrated Amplifiers."

Dan Clark Audio Stealth: $4000
The Stealth weighs 415gm and presents a low (23 ohm) impedance and a low (86–87dB/mW) sensitivity. HR was impressed by these closed-back, planar-magnetic headphones, which feature a patent-pending Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System (AMTS)—an intricately formed, waferlike partition situated between the driver diaphragm—and the deeper-than-average ear cavity. He wrote that the Stealth's sound was "clear, finely detailed, and…

AC Nexus Advanced Power Distribution & Ground Enhancement System: $20,000 ★
Steve McCormack, once the proprietor of The Mod Squad, is the man who introduced the concept of accessory isolation feet—his Tiptoes were aluminum cones with flat tops and sharply pointed feet. Now he's brought to market this passive AC-power filter, whose Panzerholz enclosure contains two fist-sized silver-conductor capacitors from Duelund. The IEC AC inlet is a Bocchino Audio Marriner10 and the AC outlets are four Furutech Nano Crystal Formula duplexes. Four Cardas ground posts…