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I placed a pair of Signal Guard closed-cell foam stands, one right behind the other, on the floor behind the hulking Forsell Statement amp and dropped the Cary Audio CAD-280SA V12 directly onto them without using any footers. The Signal Guards are very good at taking a "set" from heavy components sitting on them for a few hours, and proved excellent at isolating the Cary, especially given tubes' inherent tendency to microphony. I didn't tweak the amp in any other way.

Nor did I introduce the V12 to the Mark Levinson No.32 Reference preamplifier. Although I'm…

Analog source: Forsell Air Force One turntable/tonearm, van den Hul Grasshopper IV GLA cartridge.
Digital: Accuphase DP-100 and DC-101 SACD transport and processor, Linn Sondek CD12 CD player, dCS 972 and Purcell D/D converters, dCS Elgar Plus D/A processor.
Preamplification: Lamm L2, BAT VK-50SE, Conrad-Johnson Premier 16LS preamplifiers; BAT VK-P10 phono preamplifier.
Power amplifiers: Krell FPB 350MC and Linn Klimax Solo 500 monoblocks, Forsell Statement.
Loudspeakers: JMlab Utopia.
Cables: Interconnect: Synergistic Research Designer's…

As Jonathan Scull noted, with its 12 EL34 output tubes, the Cary CAD-280SA V12 sure do run hot. I let it warm up (literally) for an hour after installing the tubes, then adjusted the output-stage bias for each channel via the convenient rear-panel phone jacks. The trimpots' action is rather coarse—even an imperceptible twist with a screwdriver changed the bias current by tens of milliamps. The closest I could get to the recommended 275mA was 278mA in the right channel, 283mA in the left.

The Cary amplifier didn't invert absolute polarity. The signal/noise…

"You did not need my urgency," sang Bruce Springsteen in "For You." In the past few years, more than a few alt-rock fans have had the same feeling about the moody, groomed mope rock coming out of the UK. We didn't need their earnestness. We needed their angst even less.

But in 2002, English bands like the Doves…

Then again, after installing and using the Cyrus 6vs, which is no larger than a box of cookies, there was no doubt that this integrated amp is a product of modern thinking. It has a standby switch on the front panel, so…

Description: Solid-state integrated amplifier with 7 line-level inputs. Input impedance: 50k ohms. Input sensitivity: 179mV. Voltage gain: 40dB. Frequency response: 0.2Hz–85kHz –3dB. Output power: 40Wpc into 8 ohms (16dBW), 50Wpc into 4 ohms (14dBW).
Dimensions: 8.4" (215mm) W by 2.8" (73mm) H by 14.1" (360mm) D. Weight: 8.1 lbs (3.7kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed: CNNS0089/177898.
Price: $1095. Approximate number of dealers: 8.
Manufacturer: Cyrus Audio, Ltd., Spitfire Close, Ermine Business Park, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE29 6XY, England, UK…

Analog Sources: Linn LP12 turntable with Linn Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Akiva cartridge; Rega Planar 9 turntable with Lyra Helikon Mono, Benz Micro ACE Mono cartridges.
Digital Sources: Naim CD5x CD player, Linn Unidisk SC universal player.
Preamplification: Linn Linto phono preamp, Fi preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: EAR 890, Lamm ML2.1 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Quad ESL-989, Lowther PM6A Ticonals in modified Medallion horns.
Cables: Interconnect: Audio Note AN-Vx, Nordost Valhalla. Speaker: Audio Note AN-SPx, Nordost…

The diecast chassis of the nicely finished Cyrus 6vs was very hot at the end of the 60-minute preconditioning period, running at one-third power into 8 ohms with both channels driven. The integral heatsinks were just too hot to keep my hand on, implying a temperature of around 65ºC. However, the distortion present in the amplifier's output didn't rise by any significant amount when the amplifier was hot.

The maximum voltage gain into 8 ohms was 40dB measured at the speaker output terminals, 6dB at the Preamp Out jacks, and the output was in correct,…

It was a physician from New York City—Queens, I think—visiting Stereophile's Hi-Fi '94 High-End Show, in Miami.

"Oh?"

"It's wonderful. Mind-boggling. Highly efficient. It can be driven with almost no power at all."

"What are you driving it with?"

"A Rotel integrated."

Aha—another amateur speaker-maker, I thought.

"Do you want to come hear it?" the physician asked.

"Not especially," I said. "I've been on wild goose chases before."

"What does it take to get it reviewed?" he…

This was a salesman friend of mine, ten years or so ago.

"What is it, Dean?"

"They're a great pair of little speakers. The Euphonic Audio Nymphs, made in New Egypt, New Jersey."

"You're putting me on. Nymphs from New Egypt, New Jersey?"

He wasn't kidding.

Thiel CS1.5
Only last week, my Russki friend Val—the madman from Minsk—phoned me in breathless enthusiasm.

"I've just traded in my CLSes." He'd only had them a few weeks.

"What have you bought now?"

"- - - - - - - speakers.…