Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Classé Audio Fifteen power amplifier

Larry Greenhill Mar 26, 2008 First Published: Nov 26, 1994

I think every audio reviewer hopes for a surprise—when a good, but not outstanding, product is refined by the manufacturer into something special. The review then becomes an exciting discovery, reaffirming the pleasure one takes in good audio, and in listening to music being reproduced as it should be. It makes the listening exciting and the writing easier. The Classé Fifteen solid-state stereo amplifier is just such a surprise.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Bryston 28B-SST monoblock power amplifier

Larry Greenhill Jan 31, 2008 First Published: Jan 31, 2008

It was a hot, humid, New York City evening in early August, and I was thankful to be sitting in the air-conditioned dark of Avery Fisher Hall, up in the Second Tier, for a Mostly Mozart concert. Listening to cello soloist Alisa Weilerstein in Osvaldo Golijov's hypnotic Azul, I was suddenly jolted by an explosive mix of primitive cello sonorities, accordion, and staccato riffs on ethnic percussion instruments. My thoughts turned to the importance in music of both power and delicacy, and of how Bryston Ltd.'s 28B-SST, a 1000W monoblock power amplifier, was designed to address both.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Threshold Stasis SA/12e power amplifier

Thomas J. Norton Oct 07, 2007 First Published: Dec 07, 1990

"Tomorrow we'll go over to Larry">http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/593">Larry Archibald's house and pick up the Threshold amplifiers."

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Krell KSA-100S power amplifier

Robert Deutsch Sep 30, 2007 First Published: Sep 30, 1994

The Federal Express delivery man was having a hard time carrying the box containing the Krell KSA-100S up the front steps.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Musical Fidelity 550K Supercharger monoblock power amplifier

Michael Fremer Sep 16, 2007 First Published: Sep 16, 2007

How much amplifier power do you need? Most audiophiles figure a maximum of a few hundred watts per channel—beyond that, you're wasting your money or showing off. Others think that anything more than a few watts will mess up an amplifier's musical coherence or "purity," so they stop there and find uncommonly sensitive speakers, usually compression horns with cone woofers.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Krell KSA-200S power amplifier

Martin Colloms Sep 09, 2007 First Published: Jun 09, 1994

There's always a certain amount of jockeying for position at the very top of the High End. Every few months, a new star burns brightly, getting all the attention. While the constant turnover at the cutting edge helps to define the state of the art, audiophiles should keep their eyes on the longer term. It's a company's track record—examined over a period of years—which defines its position in the market and the credibility of its products.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Krell KSA-50 power amplifier

Anthony H. Cordesman, John Atkinson Sep 09, 2007 First Published: Sep 09, 1985

Some readers may feel that it is pushing poetic license beyond reasonable limits to call the Krell KSA-50 a "new-wave" amplifier. It has, after all, been around for several years. The Krell KSA-50 is new-wave enough, however, to be an incredibly stiff class-A design, rather than a pseudo–class-A circuit, and its 50 watts per channel are supported by enough of a power supply to drive an arc welder. You get about 70 watts of RMS power with 8 ohms, 150 watts with 4 ohms, and sufficient watts into 2 ohms to threaten my load resistors. There is almost enough power to drive a pair of Apogee Scintillas at their ohm setting—though I'd prefer at least the Krell KSA-100.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Krell KSA-250 power amplifier

Lewis Lipnick, Various Sep 02, 2007 First Published: Jan 02, 1991

I still have fond memories of my first Krell amplifier, a KSA-50. Back in those days (date purposely omitted), my principal source of audio equipment reviews, aside from Stereophile and The Absolute Sound, was Hi-Fi News & Record Review, which I read voraciously from cover to cover every month. One fateful day while sitting by our community swimming pool, I happened upon an enlightening review of the KSA-50 written by none other than our own John Atkinson, editor of HFN/RR at">http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/352">at the time. His words describing "the steamroller-like inevitability of the bass with this amplifier" haunted me for weeks, until I got up the nerve to audition, and ultimately purchase, my first Krell product.

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Mark Levinson No.23.5 power amplifier

John Atkinson Aug 26, 2007 First Published: Sep 26, 1991

"A high-quality amplifier must be capable of passing rigid laboratory measurements, meet all listening requirements, and be simple and straightforward in design in the interest of minimizing performance degradation..."—Cdr. Charles W. Harrison Jr., Audio, January 1956 (footnote 1)

Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Conrad-Johnson MF2500 power amplifier

Martin Colloms Jun 03, 2007 First Published: Dec 03, 1999

Rumor had it that if the MF2500 amplifier had gotten any better in development, Conrad-Johnson would have had to include it in their "Premier" series. However, C-J's intention was to hold to the lower price of their established MF series, and so they have. Rated at 240Wpc and retailing for $3495, the '2500 is the core model of Conrad-Johnson's current range of "MF" power amplifiers. Its companion MF2250 offers 120Wpc, while the MF5600 delivers 120Wx5 for multichannel home-theater applications.