Vandersteen Audio Introduces the Next GREAT Amplifier at CES 2018

January 5, 2018 Editorial Staff Announcements, CES 4

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Vandersteen Audio has plenty of us hyped for CES 2018 this year in Las Vegas. Just last year at the LA Audio Show (article here) our own John Stancavage was enchanted by Vandersteen’s well regarded M7-HPA (High-Pass Amplifier) monoblocks ($57,200 pr USD).

Richard Vandersteen now brings the essence of that design and technology down to more real world friendly prices with the CES 2018 debut of his pre-production M5-HPA.

From Press Release (below)

Venetian Suite 29-203

Vandersteen Audio shook up the audio world with its liquid-cooled M7-HPA monoblocks, a radical advance in power amplifier design and loudspeaker performance that is Stereophile Class-A rated as a true reference. Vandersteen is doing it again at CES 2018 in Las Vegas, where you can get the first look and listen at a pre-production pair of the upcoming M5-HPA (High-Pass Amplifier) monoblocks!

The M5-HPA is a solid-state design descended directly from the flagship monoblocks. It will be substantially less expensive, but will offer an astonishing amount of the flagship’s sonic magic. While the M7-HPA is designed specifically for Vandersteen’s Model Seven Mk II speakers, the M5-HPA will work with a much wider variety of loudspeakers and Vandersteen powered subwoofers. To accomplish this goal, while the M7-HPA’s high-pass is fixed at 100Hz, the M5-HPA’s internal high-pass filtering is adjustable to any of the following five settings: 20Hz, 40Hz, 80Hz, 100Hz, 200Hz.


Vandersteen for years has employed high-pass filtering with powered subwoofers for the ultimate in powered-bass performance.  When paired with a Vandersteen powered-bass speaker like the Quatro Wood CT the M5-HPA forms a complete powered-bass speaker system in which the amplification is perfectly optimized over the entire frequency range.

Richard Vandersteen is responsible for the M5-HPA’s overall design and architecture; the amplifier was developed and is built in partnership between Vandersteen Audio and Dean Klinefelter, a talented designer and engineer in his own right. Vandersteen powered-bass speaker systems are the ultimate expression of Richard Vandersteen’s philosophies on design and performance, formed over decades of industry-leading design & research & innovation.
M5-HPA’s technical attributes:
  • Zero-Feedback Solid-State Design With Dual Single-Ended Circuits Connected By The Speaker Load 
  • All Signal Transistors N-Channel Bipolars
  • No Emitter Resistors
  • Minimal Circuit Path- Only 5 Parts In Signal Path Per Phase
  • 10 Separate Power Supplies
  • Adjustable High-Pass Filter (20Hz, 40Hz, 80Hz, 100Hz, 200Hz)
  • 300-Watts Into 4 Ohms / 150-Watts Into 8 Ohms
  • Made In The USA









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4 Comments

  1. thanks for reporting with enthusiasm. real world pricing in high end still means that if you have to complain about it then you have to read in a different subject. i cant afford most of this stuff but reading about it in PTAudiophile is no less fun, and it still gives me useful info about maximizing wat (more broadly affordable gear) i do have and plan to eventually acquire. much success to PTA: CHEERS!!!😊

  2. Right on, man. This “hi-fi” “high-end” industry has to be up there with the holiest of all rip-offs. Who’s worse?

  3. ‘Real world prices’ BUT YOU NEVER TELL US THE PRICE. This article is less than useless. Oh, and that is with no doubt the ugliest amplifier I’ve ever seen. When will the Hi-Fi media start calling out this ridiculously over priced stuff???

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