Category: Preamps
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The Mighty Parasound NewClassic 200 Integrated Amp & DAC In The House! First Impressions And Unboxing Pics!
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My first experience with the $1195 Parasound NewClassic 200 Integrated Amp & DAC was eye-opening. It was part of an impressive display at this year’s RMAF, where it was matched up with a massive pair of $4500 Tekton MOAB speakers. It was a combination so successful; I felt it was possibly the best-sounding rig at the…
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A Thrilling Hi-Fi Home Stereo System For $500? Here You Go!
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(Editor’s Note: Looks like they may have sold out of units at the sale price….but this system is still a great deal at the regular price! Check it out!) Think you can’t get an enchanting Hi-Fi stereo system, source and all, for $500? Well, think again, because I got one right here. It’s called the…
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HeadAmp Gilmore Lite Mk2 Class-A Headphone Amp Review: Silky Smooth Power!!
Many moons ago, when I first learned about dedicated headphone amplifiers, there was one company that every headphone enthusiast talked about. That company was HeadAmp, a venture dedicated to building and selling clean sounding amps for headphones. That was back in the early 2000s. Since then, they have expanded their operation to selling high-end headphones,…
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Rocky Mountain Audio Fest Report Part 5: The Show In Pictures-Room Highlights!
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So this is the wrap-up of my Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2019 coverage, and basically, I wanted to post some pics of the rooms I dug but haven’t posted yet. Zu Audio’s room was pretty cool with the Druid 6 and Omen Dirty Weekend paired with Pass Labs/Holo Audio gear, the newly launched Sonus Faber Olympica…
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Rocky Mountain Audio Fest Report Part 3: Affordable Hi Fi Roundup, Including A Sneak Peek At The New Elac Debut Reference!
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in Budget, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, MQA, Music, News, Power Amps, Preamps, Reviews, Shows, Speakers, Streaming, WirelessHifitrends.com is all about low-cost, high-performance audio gear, so it was great to see so much affordable hi-fi at the show! First of all, RMAF 2019 had three rooms dedicated to “entry-level” gear, and while that designation irks me (maybe I’ll write a post on that someday), I love the idea behind it. Rooms were divided…
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Rocky Mountain Audio Fest Report: Cambridge Audio Intros New CX Series Integrated Amps
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in Budget, DACs, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, Music, News, Power Amps, Preamps, ShowsI always make it a point to stop at the Cambridge Audio room when I hit a show and even more so this time because I hoped to hear both the relatively new AX Series budget amps and the brand new CX Series 2 Integrated Amps. Dubbed the CXA81 ($1299) and CXA61 ($999), they offer…
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Triangle AIO 3 Multiroom Speaker and AIO C Music Streamer Review: Check These Out Before You Buy Sonos…
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in Bluetooth, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Music, Preamps, Software, Speakers, Streaming, WirelessSONOS changed the game when it comes to multiroom audio. When I sold hi-fi gear in the 90s, putting together a multiroom audio system with speakers throughout the house was onerous. It required a lot of boxes, wires, and know-how to do it right. Usually, only people with deep pockets attempted it in earnest. But,…
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Audiolab 6000A Integrated Amplifier Review: Class-Leading Sound And Construction
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As I said in my first impressions/unboxing post, Audiolab shook things up 35 years ago with their 8000A Integrated Amp, a product still revered today for its bulletproof build quality and high-end sound. The $950 6000A Integrated Amplifier I’m looking at today is the cornerstone of the UK company’s new and more affordable 6000 series,…
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Tranya T3 True Wireless Earbuds Review: The Best Earphones You’ve Never Heard Of!
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It seems like it wasn’t that long ago when True Wireless Earbuds were hard to use, didn’t sound all that great, and cost a ton of money. Now if you do a search on Amazon for True Wireless Earphones, it seems like there are a million models from a million different companies, with many costing…
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Emotiva TA-100 Integrated Amplifier Review: A Pleasure To Use
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Emotiva is a cool U.S. company based in Tennessee, which engineers the heck out of their audio products and then sells them directly to the consumer (they only sell on their website or Amazon) for meager prices. This commendable business model has allowed them to create their high-value, high-performance Bas-X line, which I’ve been admiring for…
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HeadAmp Gilmore Lite Mk2 Headphone Amp In The House! First Impressions And Unboxing Pics
I first heard the $499 HeadAmp Gilmore Lite Mk2 headphone amplifier at AXPONA this year. I was so impressed with how it drove a pair of Meze’s Flagship Empyrean headphones that I had to reach out to the company for a unit to put through the paces at the crib. Thankfully, HeadAmp obliged and sent a…
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PS Audio Sprout100 Integrated Amplifier Review: Simple And Elegant Hi Fi
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PS Audio is known as much for its personable co-founder and CEO Paul McGowan as it is for its relatively value priced high-end audio separates. But a few years ago, Paul’s son Scott decided they needed to create a compact integrated amplifier that fit the needs of younger and most likely space deprived audiophiles. He…
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Audiolab 6000A In The House: A Truly Versatile Integrated Amplifier
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35 years ago, Audiolab shook things up with their 8000A Integrated Amp, a product still revered today for its bulletproof build quality and high-end sound. Now they have distilled the essence of the 8000 series down (along with adding digital capabilities!) into the more affordable 6000 series, and the $899 6000A Integrated Amplifier is the cornerstone.…
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PS Audio Sprout100 Integrated Amplifier In The House!
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Ever since the first version of PS Audio’s Sprout Integrated Amplifier was announced back in 2015, I was intrigued by its promise. PS Audio was a well-respected high-end audio company, with renown driven not only by great sounding gear but also by the personality of its founder Paul McGowan. Before Sprout, all of their gear…
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Watch: AXPONA 2019-Master Designer Andrew Jones Talks About His Newest Audiophile Speakers
I suck at making videos, but Joe N Tell is really, really good at it. Check out this vid from the AXPONA 2019 show where he talks to master speaker designer Andrew Jones of ELAC about his latest passive and powered speakers. His rooms are always amongst the most popular at the show, and in the…
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AXPONA 2019 Show Report: Budget/Affordable Audiophile Speakers And Electronics
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in Budget, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Integrated Amps, Music, News, Power Amps, Preamps, Speakers, Streaming, WirelessBe sure to check out our other AXPONA Posts: Hands-On With The Best Audiophile Headphones Part 1 Hands-On With The Best Audiophile Headphones Part 2 High End Audio In Pictures Since I usually cover affordable or budget audiophile gear on a daily basis, I tried to keep an eye out for some of the low-cost,…
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10 Building Blocks for Your Budget/Affordable 2-Channel Audiophile System! (2019)
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(Check out our new post on this topic: How To Build A Mind-Blowing Affordable Hifi System In 5 Steps!) While I spend a lot of time covering headphones, earphones, and headphone DAC/Amps, 2-channel audio systems are my first love. While headphones can create a wonderful listening experience, they can’t re-create the sound of a well-matched…
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Cambridge Audio CXA60 Integrated Amplifier Review
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Class-leading sound in the sub-$1000 price range. I purchased a Cambridge Audio Azur 540a V2 integrated in the early 2000s because I was impressed with its robust design. The thick metal faceplate and big toroidal transformer told me this amp meant business, It also didn’t hurt that it cost less than $500 at the time.…
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AXPONA 2018: Some More Cool Stuff From The Show! (Cambridge Audio, Monitor Audio, Schiit, PS Audio)
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One of my missions during this year’s AXPONA was to finally get to hear Cambridge Audio’s new high-end Edge line, so it was the second room I hit once I got there. First was Andrew Jones’ Debut 2.0 demo room which I couldn’t resist since there was such a buzz around it. First thing I…
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Cambridge Audio Celebrates 50 Years With “Cost No Object” Edge Series
A little over a month ago, at a Cambridge Audio demo in Chicago, I heard about their new “cost no object” 50th Anniversary line that would be on display at the AXPONA show in April. So when they started teasing it last week on the Cambridge Audio USA Twitter account, I knew what they were…