The Best Amplifiers [Editor’s note: Welcome to the Part-Time Audiophile Buyers Guide for Summer 2021! These are the best amplifiers that we, the PTA team, have heard.] Decware Zen Triode SE84UFO2 ($1,395 USD) There’s a […]
Here’s a little witticism for you all to ruminate upon before I dive into the Living Voice IBX-R3 (website) loudspeakers: “You can have it all, but just not at the same time.” My wife really […]
The Best Amplifiers [Editor’s note: Welcome to the Part-Time Audiophile Buyers Guide for 2021! This year we decided to mix it up a little by breaking up the Buyers Guide into sections, which makes it […]
This one is a bit of a convoluted story, let me tell ya. One sunny day in the early pre-COVID winter, Gary Dews, the head guy at BorderPatrol Audio (website), paid me a visit bearing gifts. […]
In recent years, it seems that a number of audio manufacturers have made the decision to expand their product lines well beyond whatever it was that put them on the map in the first place. […]
It’s good to be king, or so they say. For me, that’s precisely the vibe that exudes from the Bricasti M12 Platinum Edition Source Controller. With a name like that, this august device seems more than […]
Sometimes the timing of an audio review seems inadvertently auspicious. Such is the case of my latest project: the Daedalus Audio Apollo full-range speakers. I’ve had these lovely wooden wonders here in my home for […]
Looking at the Vitus Audio RS101 amplifier, or the matching Vitus Audio RL102 linestage (updates to the line that included the RS100 and RD100, which we reviewed a few years ago), it’s hard to dispute that […]
Better living through chemistry As a practicing chemist (or rather, “purveyor of chemical knowledge”), I’m quite keen on all things chemistry. My interest was piqued, therefore, several years ago when I first noticed the offerings […]
Nothing but the truth Should audio components always be 100% truthful to the source? Ahhh, that’s one of those questions that has resulted in untold audiophile angst, much like the supposed supremacy of analog over […]
Listening to a slew of high-efficiency Zu Audio speakers is nothing new to me, and doing so with Pass Labs amplification is also old-hat. Spending late nights at audio shows in the Zu Audio room […]
Skunkworks Legend To those who follow aviation history, Clarence “Kelly” Johnson is something of a legend. In case you are unfamiliar with the name, Johnson was a chief designer for Lockheed Martin who was the […]
Concurrent with my receipt of the amplifier up for review here, Linear Tube Audio’s (LTA) ZOTL 10 Mk.II, came another welcome piece of news: the well-regarded German jazz/classical label ECM had decided to release its […]
Everyone, or so it seems, digs the Zu Audio room. Why? Well, it may have to do with the fact that it’s the least audiophile-like room at any high-end show. It’s always a refreshing mix […]
by John Richardson I’ve been on something of a roll lately with amplifiers from Pass Labs. Readers might recall that I reviewed a monster of an amp, the Pass X250.8 a couple of years ago, […]
by John Richardson Sometimes just reading the news here at PTA gets me into trouble. Like last March, when I happened upon a blurb about Zu Audio’s Dirty Weekend event, where a stripped down version […]
by John Richardson Zu Audio, a small company based in Ogden, Utah, represents to me the absolute modern American success story. I love everything about it: the quest for audio perfection, the pursuit of a […]
by John Richardson A Clutch of Amplifiers Let’s start this review with a little chat about First Watt and its founder, Nelson Pass. As experienced audiophiles, I’m assuming we all are at least somewhat familiar […]
Over the last year, I seem to have become the designated hitter for the Zu Audio room. This is some kind of cruel joke on our readers, because I usually say the same thing. It’s […]
Is it ruining the suspense to say that the Zu Audio room at CAF received quite a few votes for Best-In-Show? Probably. But for those in attendance, it was hardly a surprise. It’s true, the rooms […]
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