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Audiophile Archives

The Latest, Dave’s Faves, and the AE Newsletter all in one:



Dave’s Faves – Bryston BR-20 Preamp / DAC

Bryston BR-20 Preamp/DAC $6800 (4.5h, 17w, 13.5d) Bryston’s new state of the art preamp/DAC has been dubbed “BR” to honor Bryston’s Brian Russell, who died in 2020. Brian was Bryston’s outgoing national sales manager for 45+ years. Bryston honors Brian with this designation. All Bryston preamps up to now have been dubbed BP. The $6800 price tag DOES include Bryston’s new BR-20i…

03.2021

Falcon Ram 20 $2700 Per Pair (17h, 9w, 10.47d) Falcon Acoustics of England makes speakers that pretty well hit the stereotype of what we expect from English speakers. There’s nothin’ wrong with that! In England, people generally don’t have large rooms. I have visited vendors there and it’s amazing how over a thousand people can live in an apartment building the size…

02.2021

Hot off the presses from Sweden are the gorgeous sounding Moon River Integrated amps.

Dave’s Faves – Bryston BHA-1 Headphone Amp

Bryston BHA-1 Headphone Amp $2695 (2.75h, 17w, 12.25d, black or silver) Bryston’s BHA-1 does for headphones, what huge, Bryston monoblock amps do for speakers. Not only is BHA-1 stone cold quiet, but it makes any headphones start and stop like lightning. The speed and control of BHA-1 is as good as it gets. What you’ll find is, even modest headphones benefit from…

01.2021

McIntosh XR-100 Speakers, $10,000 Per Pair (Red Walnut Gloss, Piano Black Gloss, Pear Maple: 51h, 8w, 18.5d, 69 lbs, 87dB SPL) McIntosh is known first and foremost for its world class power amps. They make so many variations that even we dealers can’t keep them all straight! Next in line, Mac is known for magnificent matching preamps, integrated amps and CD players/transports….

12.2020

Leak Audio Leak is an iconic British brand of audio gear, founded 1934. Leak has introduced a short line of modern gear, in vintage clothing. You can use Leak with its lovely real walnut cabinet. Or, remove the cabinet for a classic STEEL look. Either way, you’re back in the 70s with contemporary performance! We get calls every week looking for vintage…

11.2020

NAD M-33 $5000: 200×2 Integrated Amp With Built In Streamer NAD has been touting its new M-33 Integrated Amp. It’s now here and I can tell you it DOES live up to NAD’s BODACIOUS claims! M-33 can be the heart of an elaborate system, it can also be a “just add speakers” system- because of its on board streamer. The streamer is…

10.2020

NAD C-298 Power Amp: $2000 (185×2 or 620w monoblock) NAD has launched a new power amp with updated technology. NAD’s Hybrid Digital amps have been better than other D designs for a host of reasons, not the least of which is its use of an analog power supply. C-298 is a cut above in that it will use NAD’s new Purifi Eigentakt…

09.2020

Hegel H95 Integrated Amp $2000 (60×2) (3.94h, 16.93w, 13.78d) Hegel Music Systems will be shipping its new entry level integrated any day. Employing Hegel’s SoundEngine 2 circuitry, H95 will be able to drive the vast majority of speakers out there. While I haven’t heard H95 yet, the amp section is an upgrade to H90, its predecessor. That means H95 will be a…

Dave’s Faves – Bryston Mini A

Bryston Mini A, $1665 Per Pair 15.5h, 8.5w, 8.25d, 12 lbs, 87dB, 4 ohms To get more background on Bryston speakers please take a minute to read “Bryston Speakers”. The background story and speaker technology is described there. This entry is specific to the Mini A. The warranty on all Bryston speakers is 20 years! Mini A: 3-Way Design Bryston’s Mini A…

08.2020

Wharfedale Elysian 4 Speakers $9995 Per Pair Luscious Walnut, Piano Black, Piano White (46.8h, 15.8w, 17d, 100 lbs ea, 92 dB SPL) Wharfedale is about to ship its stunningly gorgeous flagship speaker- Elysian 4. Elysian means blissful. It’s gotta be great- right?! E-4 is a beautiful BATTLESHIP that provides an enormously lifelike size & quality image. Built like a musical instrument instead…

07.2020

Wharfedale Diamond 11.4 Promo $1000 Per Pair, Black Regular Price $1200 Per Pair (39.4h, 8.84w, 12.8d, 54 lbs ea, 91 dB SPL) Wharfedale has just shipped its fanny kicking, affordable tower. With promo price of $1000 per pair, Diamond 11.4 offers more than just thunder. For openers, D 11.4 is a legit 3-way. There are sneaky guys out there who shove three…

06.2020

Hegel H-590 Integrated Amp $11,000 (301×2) (6.75h, 17w, 17.6d, 50 lbs) Good gravy, is this integrated a STAR or what?! Rated at 301×2 into 8 ohms, double into 4, and double that into 2, H-590 has a frighteningly fine & powerful amplifier section. 300/600/1200! You also get a state of the art DAC and preamp in the same box. It has Ethernet…

05.2020

Welcome Audiolab! Audiolab’s new 6000 Series features a dynamite Integrated Amp, CD Transport & Streamer. The sonic performance matches the brand’s elegant build quality. Available in black or silver, the fit and finish of Audiolab would make you think it’s twice as expensive as it is! Visit the tab near the bottom of our home page for greater detail. Here’s your appetizer….

04.2020

CV It’s unfathomable that when I was writing the March newsletter about Bryston speakers and Rega turntables, CV was barely on our radar. As I’m writing this newsletter in late March, CV is dominating our lives. We will have a Coronavirus statement at the top of our LATEST page. Keep up to speed with us there. It will be updated as needed….

Bryston A-2 Boston Cherry

03.2020

Bryston A2 Loudspeakers $3810 Per Pair (39.5h, 9.25w, 17d, 62 lbs!) Just in is the latest version of the mighty Bryston A2 speakers. For openers, A2 is made in Canada. Here’s a warning though, the warranty is only 20 years. A2 has been a DYNAMITE speaker since its inception not quite a decade ago. Using DUAL sets of tweets/mids/woofs, A2 is a…