To me, a preamp is like a traffic cop. It routes signals and keeps everything moving smoothly. When source components began offering their own volume controls, it felt not just reasonable but principled to plug them directly into the power amplifier. By the mid-2010s, this was…
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I view preamplifiers the way my dog views vacuum cleaners: warily and a bit mystified by their existence. The less-is-more, straight-wire-with-gain approach has always seemed the correct one to me. The preamps I own (footnote 1) often sit forlornly in my gear closet until I am in temporary need of their services.
"Is the Meitner MA3i integrated DAC ($11,500, footnote 1) sufficiently different from its predecessor to warrant a full review?" That's the question Editor Jim Austin posed as he contemplated the alternative: a shorter follow-up to my 2022 review of the now discontinued MA3 ($10,500) that would omit an extensive interview and measurements.
After electrical engineer–in-training Amadeus "Deus" Meitner, son of digital pioneer and EMM Labs/Meitner Audio founder Ed Meitner, informed us that "almost everything in the MA3i is new," we opted for a full review. After spending many weeks with both…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Meitner MA3i Integrated with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system, repeating some tests with the magazine's higher-resolution APx555 system. I performed the testing using the AES3 and coaxial and TosLink S/PDIF inputs, all of which accepted data sampled at all rates up to 192kHz, as well as via the USB and network ports. Apple's AudioMIDI utility revealed that the MA3i's USB port accepted 16- and 24-bit integer data sampled at all rates from 44.1kHz to 384kHz. Apple's USB Prober app identified the Meitner as "MA-3i DAC with MQA Decoder" from "EMM Labs…
In a deal news reports value between $6 and $7 billion, BMG Rights Management GmbH, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann Group, will merge with Concord Music Group, paying Concord's current owner Great Mountain Partners $1.16 billion and leaving them with 33% of the resulting entity. BMG will own 67%. The deal is expected to close later this year.
According to a BMG press release, Concord CEO Bob Valentine will serve as CEO, and BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld will serve as chairman of the combined company, with global headquarters in Nashville (where Concord is currently based) and European…
In a large but low-slung space on the 15th floor of the Schaumburg Renaissance, Magico premiered its S7 speakers at AXPONA 2026, the culminating statement in the company's S Series.
Weighing 384 pounds and standing nearly 4'8" tall, each S7 boasts a three-way, five-driver design with a 1.1" diamond-coated pure-beryllium tweeter drawn from Magico's M Series flagship line; a 6" Nano-Tec Gen 8 midrange driver with a 3" titanium voice coil; and three 10" Nano-Tec Gen 8 woofers.
Magico says the woofers' vertical spacing is borrowed from the M Project speaker, engineered to…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: dCS Varèse five-piece music system, Meitner MA3 Integrated DAC; EMM DA2i/DV2i. Innuos Nazaré Music Server and PhoenixNET network switch; Small Green Computer Sonore opticalModule Deluxe (2); Broadcom/Avago AFBR-5718PZ 1GB SX-SFP, Gen 5 Fiber Optic modules (2); Nordost QSource linear power supply (2); Sonore Audiophile Linear Power Supply; Synology 5-bay 1019+ NAS with Ferrum Hypsos linear/switching hybrid power supply; ASUS AX6000 and RT-AX88U Pro mesh routers, Netgear Nighthawk modem; Apple 2023 iPad Pro and 2025 MacBook Air.
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Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Fully discrete, single-bit upconverting two-channel D/A converter with volume control and remote. Inputs: AES3 (XLR), coax (S/PDIF RCA), TosLink optical, USB Audio, USB Media (2) Type A, Network/Ethernet interface (RJ45), and RS-232 for Remote and Service. Performs 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz, and DSD conversion through all digital inputs. Converts 352 DXD, 384 DXD, 2×DSD, and full MQA decoding via USB Audio and network interface (RJ45) only. Outputs: Balanced (XLR) and Unbalanced (RCA). Roon-certified, with streaming from Tidal…
At AXPONA 2026, Western HiFi's Mike Stephens talks about the gear shown in the company's room at the show in an interview with Ken Micallef that's now posted on our YouTube channel.
Never mind the true tonality, spectacular dynamics, and rhythmic urgency of this small Consonance system in Western HiFi's room at AXPONA 2026. Its overwhelming impression is one of incredible scale—a vast soundstage reaching equally deep and high populated by dense, physical images that impact the brain like characters on a tremendous stage.
It's sleight of hand of the…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Computers: Lenovo ThinkCentre, circa 2014; ASUS VivoBook, circa 2025.
Smartphone: Apple iPhone 15, Creative Labs BT-W6 USB-C Bluetooth dongle.
DAC/headphone amp: Grace m900.
Headphones: Neumann NDH 30.—Tom Fine
Photo: Carl Zapp
Jonathan Tinn of Blue Light Audio, importer of darTZeel electronics and a partner in Playback Designs with DSD expert Andreas Koch, loves vinyl (footnote 1). He approached Wave Kinetics' Matt Schuster and proposed that they together produce a turntable. Schuster is a Stanford grad whose background is in applied mathematics and engineering. After getting Tinn's requirements, he set about assembling a team to aid in the design—which, he says, involved measurements and a lot of listening.
What Matt Schuster came up with is the Wave Kinetics NVS Reference turntable ($…