Atoll of France makes my favorite affordable integrated amps and separates. They make them in France, not China, with a three year warranty! This entry is to highlight two class shattering components, the Atoll PR200 preamp and AM200 power amp. I’ll also bring in a matching CD player with accessible DAC to round out the system package. These components are built to…

Bryston makes our favorite tower speakers. They’re ESPECIALLY SOLID at the popular price points of $2-5k per pair. They’re made in Canada, not China. They have a 20 year warranty. Nobody else is close. Not China! There are many well known brands that make towers in this price range. In the price range of $2-5k, almost everything is made in China, even…

Most of our friends and family turn on political TV at night and get angry. Fortunately WE in the audio hobby, have music in our lives and THAT can be the evening’s entertainment. Last night I wanted to hear something soul searching and beautiful. In my world, that has to be acoustic. Further, I prefer music that is a bit sparse so…

The Bryston Bi-200 integrated amp arrived late yesterday. Plugged in and playing! I cannot begin to tell you how large the grin is on my face. This has replaced a very capable 50-watt per side amp. The difference in terms of driving my speakers is staggering, especially at lower volume. It’s like the house has come to life for the very first time! I have been covering the industry for 25 years and this is the first amp that has generated such an immediate emotional experience in me!

Stereophile arrived the other day. It was fat, 204 pages, 116 of which are advertisements. Sounds like companies are lining up to spend money with them. What about the content of the mag? I was a bit disappointed to see some B&Ws and SVS’s on review- that were just in British hi-fi news recently. They are sister mags and unfortunately for those…

I did something and I’m really happy with it! Bi-Amping my Bryston Trim T10 speakers with a Bryston 4B3 on the Bass and a 3B3 on the Mid/Tweets One of the advantages of our new crossover in all our T10 speakers is you can use 1 or 2 or 3 amps or go ‘Active’ at any time simply by swapping out the crossover module…

What do you get for your money? Let’s take a look. Atoll of France spends its money where it really matters- in DUAL large transformers and a big load of filter capacitance. By spending money on the heart of the amplifier Atoll delivers a more weighty, muscular and dynamic sound! Further, Atoll runs MATCHED MOSFET output transistors which sound smoother than unmatched…

The ONE BOX solution can be appealing. That would be… a streaming integrated amp. Let’s take a look at the best candidates. We recommend Atoll from France. These boys deliver much more hearty sound than their wattage ratings would indicate due to massive DUAL transformers and high value power supply caps. The sound is super smooth due to MATCHED output transistors. You…

I had a demo of a BR-20/4B3 combination with Sonus Faber speakers with a pal today. We were both absolutely amazed to hear CD quality recordings that actually sounded better than vinyl in an A/B comparison. The salesman quickly noticed on to how impressed we were so I got the full Glen Garry/ Glenn Ross SMS sales bombarment after the demo. The Dutchies know how to close a deal!I think I probably will buy one and the leave the old record collection as a room decoration…

Hi-Fi+ is a fun English audio mag to read. They cover Euro gear much more closely than we do so there are many “cottage industry” companies to follow. In the Dec 2021 issue they handed out some awards. Let’s go! Disc Players They like the Gryphon Ethos for a mere $41k. They like the Accuphase for $14k. They’re both beautiful, and I’m…

Atoll SDA300 Streaming Integrated Amp $5500 (150×2) (3.75h, 17.32w, 12d, 42 lbs) Made in France! With 3 Year Warranty Our best selling integrated amp in 2024 is a no contest, slam dunk winner- Atoll IN300. It runs $4500, has an on board DAC and competes head to head with Macs, Brystons and other top brands for double the price. SDA300 is exactly…

There’s something missing… I received my Bryston BR20 preamp and have to inform you there’s something missing. The grunge in between notes (all I hear in between in silence). My Goodness! What a wonderful preamp. Kudos to you and the team…

Bryston Model Trim T-10, $8000 Per Pair (60h, 10w, 16d, 83lbs, 4 ohms, 91 dB SPL) Just in are Bryston’s gorgeous Trim T-10s in a stunning Boston Cherry (Rosewood-ish) finish. The Trim T-10s use the same BAM module as the Model T-10s ($20k per pair bigger brother). Hence the precision midrange clarity and imaging is the same. The BAM (Bryston Audio Module)…

A subwoofer can be a secret weapon. That’s IF you get one that’s NOT too big, fat and boomy. You want one that’s stealth. You don’t want to hear it all the time. It shouldn’t encroach on your R&L main speakers. It just needs to help down low. It needs to be ready to pounce when called upon, but otherwise not be…

The topic of DACs is always interesting. Whether stand alone, or built into an integrated amp or preamp, DACs have a lot of influence on the sound of your music and TV. To get cut above performance, you can’t beat beefy, linear power supplies. The DAC chip you use is just the start. It’s actually more important to make sure your DAC…

This fully balanced, Class AB amplifier packs 600 watts (8 ohms) into a normal-sized, 42-pound single chassis per hannel.
The previous generation “squared” series improved output-stage performance hereas the newer “cubed” series improves the input stage. The result represents a more refined sound for Bryston overall. The Bryston 7B³’s bass extension and stability during demanding musical passages, coupled with relatively low noise, impart an admirable sense of ease to the presentation. Soundstage depth is in keeping with other solid-state amps at its price level, but width and height are really exceptional…