Description: Hybrid solid state/tubed class-AB power amplifier. Tube complement: 8 EL34/6CA7 (4 per channel). Analog inputs: One pair single-ended on RCA, one pair balanced on XLR, through a buffer. Outputs: L/R loudspeaker binding posts, optimized for a 5 ohm load. Frequency range: 20Hz–40kHz. Output power: 65Wpc into 5 ohms (16.1dBW). Input impedance: 30k ohms. Output impedance: <1 ohm. Voltage gain: 30dB. S/N ratio: 65dB. Power consumption: 130W.
Dimensions: 18" (457mm) W × 20" (508mm) D × 8" (203mm) H. Weight: 65lb (29.5kg).
Finishes: Aluminum,…
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Sidebar 1: Specifications
Billy Hart: Multidirectional
Hart, drums; Mark Turner, tenor saxophone; Ethan Iverson, piano; Ben Street, bass
Smoke Sessions SSR-2505 (CD; available as LP). 2025. Paul Stache, prod.; Stache, Richard Bernard, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****
Hart, drums; Mark Turner, tenor saxophone; Ethan Iverson, piano; Ben Street, bass
Smoke Sessions SSR-2505 (CD; available as LP). 2025. Paul Stache, prod.; Stache, Richard Bernard, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****
Billy Hart's quartet started in 2004. In 20+ years, it has quietly become one of the best small ensembles in jazz. It has taken Hart almost all his 85 years to be recognized as a national treasure. He is a master of a drum language he invented, one that knows a thousand ways to swing.
An unusual aspect of this quartet is…
Recently, my good friend Bryan invited himself over for a "critical listening session" at my place. This was out of character. Typically our listening sessions are not of the "critical" variety. They take place late at night after several cocktails, neat bourbon in hand. Volume knobs are torqued. The choice of recorded material tends toward early Lynyrd Skynyrd (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd), that one Hank Williams Jr. album that doesn't suck (The Almeria Club Recordings), and one of two Def Leppard albums (Pyromania or (Hysteria). A certain Jerry Jeff Walker album (Viva Terlingua) was…
The Audio Concepts staff, L–R: Jorge-Anthony Polo, Landon Swindoll, Brandon Bartee, Jeff White.
In these days of industry transformation, acquiring a brick-and-mortar hi-fi store is not for the faint of heart. That's just what 41-year-old Brandon Bartee did in August 2025. Bartee acquired Audio Concepts from Mark Ashworth, who was celebrating the store's 40th anniversary, all 40 years under his ownership. Ashworth has been consulting for the store since the acquisition and will continue to do so for another few more months.
Audio Concepts has been in the same location in North…
John Vanore & Abstract Truth: Easter Island Suite
Vanore, trumpet, flugelhorn, compositions, arrangements; 27 others
Acoustical Concepts AC-160 (CD). 1989, 2012, 2024/2026. Vanore, prod.; Terry Hoffman, Richard King, John Senior, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****
Vanore, trumpet, flugelhorn, compositions, arrangements; 27 others
Acoustical Concepts AC-160 (CD). 1989, 2012, 2024/2026. Vanore, prod.; Terry Hoffman, Richard King, John Senior, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****
Large-ensemble jazz was once the dominant format in the art form. Today it is a niche. Big jazz bands now survive mostly as labors of love. Current examples of beloved big bands include the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, and Ryan Truesdell's Gil Evans Project. There is another…
Photo by Light By Dawn Studios.
Legendary Stax guitarist/producer Steve Cropper hated when deejays talked over song intros. He decided to do something about it for the countless hit singles cut at the label's Memphis studio in the 1960s. As a result of his efforts, Cropper—who passed away on December 3, 2025, at age 84—became known as "The Intro Guy," a sobriquet he was proud to honor. "I got to hang out at a lot of radio stations, but I never really wanted to be a disc jockey,"
Cropper told me from his Nashville home during a phone interview in May 2018. "The work they did…
I find myself appreciating more and more the way perfectionist audio—a peculiar mix of art, craft, and engineering—tends to attract idealists. Temperamentally, hi-fi people tend to be unlike people involved in the manufacture of ring-joint gaskets or digital kitchen timers—activities that, without a doubt, have their own scales of excellence. But those who labor at hi-fi believe in the possibility of creating a musical experience that can change your life—or at least beautify it in matterful ways—and are willing to invest nontrivial amounts of time and money on this conviction. I confess I…
International audio shows are a white-knuckle thrill ride for those who report on turntables, amplifiers, and loudspeakers. The moment I first entered one of the four colossal, cathedral-like "Halles" of High End Munich 2024, my brain short-circuited. The floor plan was useless. Coffee and choco-filled pastries were powerless. There was nothing to do but hurl myself headlong into the chaos.
Among the products that gripped my senses that weekend, the Brutalist allure of the BennyAudio Odyssey Turntable ($45,000) spoke to me loudest. This was a brand I'd never heard of, and it was making…
One of my favorite things about this pastime is the modesty of its aims. Despite the sometimes-astronomical sums spent on gear, and the small handful of drama queens who populate various corners of this hobby, all we're doing is trying to enjoy recorded music at home. No one here is reversing planetary warming or solving the Riemann hypothesis. The sole purpose of the pursuit we write about in these pages is to please, enlighten, and entertain. I like that about it.
This means that aesthetics matter. During a recent trip to Japan, I found myself marveling at the many vintage audio…
Here's what real influencers do: If you're Carl Perkins, every song on your first LP was covered by Beatles, either together or as solo artists. If you're Muddy Waters, the Rolling Stones named their band after one of your songs and covered the first song on your first LP on their first album. If you're Chuck Berry, you influenced anyone who has ever considered themselves rock'n'rollers. And if you're Johnny Cash, you were the original Outlaw Country artist, and you invented the country-rock nexus. Oh, and your first LP was also your label's first long-player.
Key early albums from these…