Integrated Amp Reviews

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Art Dudley ListeningIntegrated Amp ReviewsAudacious Audio
Listening #78
Art Dudley  |  Jun 19, 2009  |  0 comments
A new integrated amplifier called the Lars Type 1, which made its debut at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, has given my notion of a dichotomy between mainstream audio and alternative audio a severe beating. In that sense, the Lars Type 1 has been a life-changing product, although the change took longer than expected for me to digest.
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Integrated Amp Reviews
Vincent TubeLine SV-236MK integrated amplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Apr 16, 2009  |  0 comments
If you ever find yourself in an audiophile-type argument and need proof that, in the 21st century, manufacturing high-performance audio gear to sell for a reasonable retail price is becoming an impossibility, point to Vincent T.A.C.'s TubeLine SV-236MK integrated amplifier, designed in Germany and built in China.
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Integrated Amp Reviews
Boulder 865 integrated amplifier
Wes Phillips  |  Apr 13, 2009  |  0 comments
After Fred Kaplan reviewed Boulder Amplifiers' 810 line preamplifier and 860 power amplifier for the December 2007 Stereophile, John Atkinson requested that I listen to the 860 in my own system for a while. Never having reviewed any Boulder kit, I was curious.
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Stand Loudspeaker ReviewsThe Fifth ElementBudget Component ReviewsIntegrated Amp Reviews
The Fifth Element #52
John Marks  |  Feb 24, 2009  |  0 comments
I've been chipping away for some time at the task of trying to put together a music lover's stereo system for about half the money of my last such effort: $2500 to $3750 now, vs around $7500 back in 2005. My timing was good: CD and DVD receivers are a hot product category, with several attractive new entries at various prices.
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Integrated Amp Reviews
Sugden A21ai Series 2 integrated amplifier
Art Dudley  |  Feb 18, 2009  |  0 comments
Winter has returned to Cherry Valley, New York, and I'm reminded of a bad habit that I used to conceal: On cold mornings I started my car well before driving off, then actually weighted down the accelerator pedal—with the heavy socket tray from my toolbox—in an effort to keep the idle high, and thus more quickly warm the windshield and the interior. Whether my lazy trick had the desired effect is a matter of some debate, but I wish now that I hadn't been so wasteful and so casually fouled the air.
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Budget Component ReviewsIntegrated Amp Reviews
NuForce Icon USB-input integrated amplifier
Wes Phillips  |  Jan 25, 2009  |  1 comments
In a world of me-too products, NuForce distinguishes itself from all those other components whose names begin with i by actually using a capital I. Actually, that statement is unkind, even unfair—unlike the myriads of products designed to capitalize on the Apple iPod's current sexiness, the NuForce Icon isn't designed to be portable (although NuForce does offer an Icon Mobile). What the Icon unquestionably is is a fine little piece of audio engineering, which most of those other i components are not.
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Budget Component ReviewsIntegrated Amp Reviews
Simaudio Moon i-1 integrated amplifier
Robert J. Reina  |  Dec 19, 2008  |  0 comments
Fearless leader called me and asked if I'd be interested in reviewing the Simaudio Moon i-1 ($1500), the entry-level integrated amplifier in Simaudio's Classic line. Hmmm. I'd been very impressed by all of the more expensive Simaudio products I'd heard at Stereophile's Home Entertainment shows over the years, and the 50Wpc Moon i-1 would be an interesting match for the affordable speakers I've had in-house lately. Send it on, JA!
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Budget Component ReviewsIntegrated Amp Reviews
Acurus DIA 100 integrated amplifier
Corey Greenberg  |  Jul 13, 2008  |  First Published: Nov 13, 1993  |  0 comments
Stereophile should start a "Personals" section in the back of the mag—maybe stick 'em in with the classifieds:
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Integrated Amp Reviews
Bel Canto e.One S300iu integrated amplifier
Wes Phillips  |  Jun 28, 2008  |  0 comments
After using Bel Canto's e.One DAC3 with the McIntosh Laboratory MS750 music server, I was so impressed that I wanted to hear Bel Canto's CD transports as well. But willing as Bel Canto president and CEO John Stronczer was to supply me with a CD-2, he suggested I audition the S300iu ($2195, footnote 1).
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Integrated Amp Reviews
Exposure 3010S integrated amplifier
Art Dudley  |  Jun 25, 2008  |  0 comments
Three years ago, the idea of a solid-state integrated amplifier that sold for only $1250 yet combined some of the best performance aspects of a Naim Nait and a Dynaco Stereo 70 seemed likely to resonate with consumers and critics alike. And it did: Introduced in early 2005, the British-built Exposure 2010S was an unequivocal hit on both sides of the Atlantic, and remains in Class A of Stereophile's "Recommended Components." Deservedly.
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Integrated Amp Reviews
Ensemble B-50 "Tiger" integrated amplifier
Guy Lemcoe  |  Jun 06, 2008  |  First Published: May 06, 1991  |  0 comments
Psst! Got a minute? I'd like to bend your ears a bit and tell you about a component that'll lift you from the doldrums of audio angst and transport you to the relaxing calm induced through the enjoyment of music. That's what it's done for me, and I'm so excited about it I can't wait to tell you.
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Budget Component ReviewsIntegrated Amp Reviews
Cayin A-50T integrated amplifier
Robert J. Reina  |  Mar 19, 2008  |  0 comments
Late in 2006, I was watching John Atkinson set up a pair of DPA cardioid microphones in front of the stage of New York City's Otto's Shrunken Head to record a performance of my jazz quartet, Attention Screen (footnote 1). Before the first set, Wes Phillips approached me. "Bob, I found a piece of equipment you must review—the Cayin A-50T integrated amp. It's only 1300 bucks and you'll love it!"
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CD Player/Transport ReviewsBudget Component ReviewsIntegrated Amp Reviews
Shanling MC-30 Music Center CD receiver
Art Dudley  |  Mar 18, 2008  |  0 comments
My first one-piece stereo—I think I paid $60 for it, including a pair of speakers with pegboard backs—gave me a lot of pleasure when I was young, and I loved it. Everything that came after has been better in every way but one: None has inspired that kind of love. And most have left me wondering if there might be something just a little bit better.
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Budget Component ReviewsIntegrated Amp Reviews
AMC CVT-3030 integrated amplifier
Jack English  |  Mar 07, 2008  |  First Published: Jun 07, 1993  |  0 comments
All right, class. Your assignment is to write a paper persuading people to do something good for themselves that they really don't want to do.
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Integrated Amp Reviews
Mastersound 300 B S.E. integrated amplifier
Art Dudley  |  Feb 22, 2008  |  0 comments
Although she'll deny it, my wife thinks ill of me because I've failed to buy her a new Mini Cooper. I can point to a number of things in my defense—especially the Mini's lack of all-wheel drive, which we need for climbing our quarter-mile driveway in bad weather, and its insufficient cargo and passenger space—all of which would constrain a Dudley-owned Mini Cooper to recreational use only. And a new round of car payments would be difficult to justify for those reasons: not because I'm cheap, and not because I'm too old to appreciate a car that's fun to drive.
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