Description: Solid state mono power amplifier. Output power (IEC60065): 300W into 8 ohms (24.77dBW), 530W into 4 ohms (24.23dBW) at 1% THD. Damping factor: 600 at 1kHz assuming an 8 ohm load. THD+N, unloaded: <0.05%, 20Hz–20kHz at 30V output. Intermodulation distortion (SMPTE), unloaded: <0.05% noisefloor, analog input terminated with RCA shorting caps, unloaded: <3µV, 20Hz–20kHz. Gain: 35dB. Max input level before clipping: Analog input: 1V; digital input: –6dBFS. Max output level before clipping, 1% THD, unloaded: 170V peak–peak. Dynamic range, 22kHz…
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Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way bass-reflex floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive units: 1" (25.4mm) Convergent Synergy Carbon doped silk fabric-dome tweeter in sealed carbon-fiber enclosure, one 7" (178mm) QuadraMag paper pulp composite cone midrange unit in rear-slotted enclosure, one 8" (203mm) paper pulp composite cone woofer in rear-ported X-, V-, & H-Materials enclosure. Frequency response: 27Hz–24kHz, ±3dB average response in-room. Sensitivity: 87dB/W/1m @ 1kHz. Impedance: 4 ohms nominal, 2.23 ohms minimum @ 121Hz. Minimum recommended amplifier power: 50Wpc.
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: SME Model 35 turntable; Ortofon Verismo, Lyra Etna λ Lambda phono cartridges.
Digital sources: Innuos ZENith Next-Gen server-streamer, CH Precision C1.2 D/A processor.
Preamplifiers: Pass Laboratories XP-32 (line); Pass Laboratories XP-27 phono.
Power amplifiers: Pass Laboratories XA60.8 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx V; Marten Mingus Septet.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Carbon, Cinnamon, & Coffee USB; CAD USB; Wireworld Platinum Starlight 8 Ethernet. Interconnect: Jorma Statement, AudioQuest…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: VPI HW-40 turntable, VPI 12" Fatboy tonearm, Pro-Ject Classic EVO turntable, Lyra Etna λ Lambda, Ortofon Bronze Cadenza cartridge, Sumiko Amethyst cartridge.
Digital sources: MacBook Air running Tidal, Roon, Qobuz. Bricasti M21 DAC, Musical Fidelity M1 CDT and Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T transports.
Preamplifier: McIntosh C12000.
Power amplifiers: McIntosh MC462 stereo.
Integrated amplifier: McIntosh MA252.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties The WATT/Puppy, Harbeth P3ESR.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Diamond AES, Coffee…
Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment
Vinyl playback: Technics SL-1200mkV with KAB 3-speed mod, fluid damping and tonearm wiring; Ortofon 2M Blue, Audio-Technica AT-VM95E, Hana SL MKII cartridges.
Phono preamplifier: Pro-Ject Phono Box RS2.
Preamplifier: Benchmark LA-4.
Power amplifier: Benchmark AHB2.
Loudspeakers: Bowers & Wilkins 808.
Accessories: Butcherblock Acoustics equipment rack, SME turntable cable, various cables and connectors made by Belden, Canare, Mogami, Switchcraft, ITT Cannon, Neutrik, etc.—Tom Fine
Shortly after the Berlin wall came down and the Japanese stock market crashed, my day job was to demonstrate expensive audio products at hi-fi shows all over Europe and America. That entailed surviving on espresso and Toblerone while driving a vintage Mercedes at high speeds 12 hours per day. After four hours of sleep, I was doing 12-hour days of DJ work that entailed choosing the next perfect recording to keep the audience facing forward, mesmerized—a borderline impossible task. To avoid shame and rejection, I always kept a few 7" 45s by groups like The Chambers Brothers or Booker T. and the…
MT's Brinkmann LaGrange turntable sits on the Seismion Reactio 2 isolation platform
Renowned British turntable manufacturer Rega once defined a turntable as a vibration-measuring machine; that definition became the title of a coffee table book tracing the company's history and design philosophy (footnote 1). To me that title perfectly captures what a turntable does: measure the microscopic undulations pressed into the record groove by using a phono cartridge to convert them into an electrical signal that feeds the rest of the system. The more accurately the turntable can measure those…
A January 2026 Follow-Up
Rogier van Bakel reviewed the T+A Symphonia ($10,990) in last November's issue, covering its aesthetics, streaming capabilities, and sound qualities through speakers and headphones. Editor Jim Austin asked me to spend some time with it, focusing on the Symphonia's analog capabilities, including its built-in phono preamplifier.
Unpacking the Symphonia invoked flashbacks to the larger, similarly versatile T+A R 2500 R, which I reviewed in 2024. The Symphonia's visual aesthetic is quite different from that of the R 2500 R, yet its front-panel…
The biggest difference between the HoloAudio May and the Denafrips Terminator was that the Terminator felt slightly more vigorous. The sense of a "whole solid piano" was more obvious with the Denafrips. The May DAC, on the other hand, gained an emotional edge with a more distinct rendering of the piano's pitch, temper, and chromatics (especially in OS-DSD—oversampling DSD—mode). The Terminator emphasized a note's shape and body, while the May directed my attention to tone, texture, pedaling, sustain, and the live energy surrounding the instrument. The two DACs were equally forthright and…
John Atkinson (left) and Larry Archibald (right) remininisce about JA joining Stereophile in 1986. (Photo: Larry Greenhill)
It was the summer of 1976. My career as a professional musician was not panning out as I had hoped. I'd played bass guitar on quite a few singles and three albums, and toured with erstwhile teen singing sensation Helen Shapiro—but I was better at playing than I was at getting paid. My then wife, Maree, showed me a classified ad in the British newspaper The Guardian: the magazine Hi-Fi News & Record Review was looking for an assistant editor.
It was the summer of 1976. My career as a professional musician was not panning out as I had hoped. I'd played bass guitar on quite a few singles and three albums, and toured with erstwhile teen singing sensation Helen Shapiro—but I was better at playing than I was at getting paid. My then wife, Maree, showed me a classified ad in the British newspaper The Guardian: the magazine Hi-Fi News & Record Review was looking for an assistant editor.
"You read Hi-Fi…