The boys went to the Vienna hi-fi show. The industry’s best show has been in Munich for well over a decade. It has moved to Vienna. Let’s see what they discovered.

The first writer was wowed by Wadax (Spain) who introduced its LOWER PRICED DAC for $43k and a transport for $40k. Hmmmmm. I’ll bet if we compared this combo to the stellar Atoll CD400 ($8900, CD Player with on board DAC which is accessible to other sources)- he couldn’t tell the difference.

Atoll uses a state of the art Teac transport with its own recipe of electronics made in their own house in France. For $74,100 less I’m betting the Atoll is sonically apples to apples. It does look less like jewelry but… you can live without that.

He liked a new Moon power amp (150×2) for $5k Now we’re talking about a range a working man might actually be able to afford. I’ll bet the Moon sounds good, but they’re bragging up a new Hybrid (switching) power supply. Yuk. That means it will use small transformers, caps and an unspecified number of bipolar transistors.

I’m much happier with the Atoll AM300 power amp ($4200) that has the same wattage rating but with full linear power supplies made in its own house in France. The Moon doesn’t use large toroidal transformers as AM300 does. AM300 runs a PAIR of 440VA transformers that they design and have custom made for them in Spain. Moon is pitching two smallish boxes inside its chassis as hybrid models- with SMPS supplies. The Moon weighs 22 pounds. AM300 weighs 36 pounds. AM300 has 83,600uF filter caps and six MATCHED MOSFET output transistors per channel.

I give Moon credit for taking the time to match its bipolar transistors. AM300 is sometimes sold in pairs and is nothing short of DYNAMITE as 500w MONOBLOCKS. Hence ya get 500×2 of blood and guts Atoll for $8400. These boys will run head to head with, and have more power, than amps like the outstanding Pass monoblocks for $30k.

He liked a new PHONO PREAMP from Constellation, $54k

He liked a new Gryphon preamp, $50k with recommended PS.

He liked a new Gryphon power amp, $80k, and points out ya might want a pair for $160k.

He liked a new D’Agostino preamp for $25k, same price for matching amp.

Jeeze, these D’aggies are bargain basement for this category!

I’ll reiterate, the Atoll AM300 is a great performer at a wonderful price.

Atoll also offers the outstanding PR300 Preamp for $3800

Or, please consider the route I recommend- buy an Atoll integrated amp.

IN300 $4700, is basically PR300 with AM300!

IN400 $8200, is basically the new PR400 preamp and AM400 power amp.

These are prices you would expect from Chinese built gear like Musical Fidelity and NAD.

Please remember, Atoll is built with TLC in its own house in France.

Streamers

The mag writers are more and more saying, if you want a streamer to sound good, you’ve got to filter out line debris with a product called a SWITCH. Because… after all, you’re streaming this music from a zillion miles away off some public cloud with amps, switcher, connectors, buffers and more in the road. These SWITCH products run $5-15k at the snap of your fingers.

I’m recommending… DON’T expect the world from your streamer. They sound “good.” They’re fun. Get an Atoll MS120 if you want excellent sound. Get a Chinese streamer for $250-350 if you just wanna be in the ball game.

The real answer to exquisite sound without noise and line hash is to buy an Atoll CD player with your own discs. That CD in your hand is a digital file. You play it in a closed system without a world of outside interference, when you put in in the tray and hit play. The music will sound cleaner and more true when playing the CD than streaming music from a cloud. Use the cloud for fun and new music. Buy CDs for music close to your heart like Chopin Ballades!

Vinyl

The mag writers are telling you, if you want top level vinyl playing, you need to get some new, state of the art cleaner for $4k. Then, you should also buy a $700 brush with carbon fiber and goat hair. The guy says it smokes the VPI cleaner he was recommending yesterday.

And, if you don’t use a passel of Wally Tools for fancy money, there’s no way you can properly even set up your table/arm/cart accurately.

Please let me remind you that the vast majority of LPs you buy are cut from digital files. I recommend you just buy that file (a CD disc) and play it- through a wonderful CD player like an Atoll. Most audiophiles have never heard a great, smooth sounding CD player like an Atoll. Most of the Sonys, Denons etc, are built in China to hit cheap price points.

Atolls run reasonable money. You won’t need a PHD to set it up. You don’t need maniacal maintenance to have a chance to sound good. It’s the smartest way to get a great sounding source for music that will run on pitch, with no rumble- and not drive you insane. We piano lovers have been driven crazy by vinyl with clicks/pops/rumble/warbling cantilevers and wow & flutter speed variances.

Oh, and the guy really likes the new CH Precision phono preamp for $76k. Its sound has “a fuller sound, but also a subjectively wider and deeper sound-stage that creates a greater sense of musical realism.” So yup, if you want this level of performance from records… you need the new $76k phono preamp instead of last year’s $73k model. He says you can’t miss the improvement.

Speakers

There are new models from Fyne and Audiovector they like- starting at $25k per pair. I’m sure they’re nice. They are the CHEAP speakers in his survey!

I suggest, you might just consider some of the phenomenal speakers we sell.

How about the Atohm GT-3, $14,500 pr, or GT-2, $8500 pr. Or, if you like a heavier hammer, you might consider the Bryston Middle T for $8600 per pair, or Bryston A2 for $4000 per pair.

Or, for even less money, among the best bargains out there is the Axiom M100, $3000 per pair.

Atohm is made in France. Bryston is made in Canada. Both lines are great performers at affordable price points. These guys charging you $25k are pricing in a fair amount of magic when you evaluate what’s actually IN THE SPEAKERS.