Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800.2 integrated amplifier & Nu-Vista DAC As an audiophile who got his introduction to this hobby, or perhaps obsession is a better word, in the late eighties, the Musical Fidelity brand had a big impact on me. I remember hearing their Tim de Paravincini designed Class A, A1 model for the first […]
Benchmark DAC3 HGC DAC/pre and AHB2 stereo power amp I suppose it’s having grown-up with it, as it were, in my early BBC days but I just love the look, feel and operation of professional audio equipment. When the chance presented itself to try some Benchmark electronics from the US, I just could not resist. […]
Holoaudio Cyan 2 digital to analogue converter When Holoaudio’s European distributor, Magna Hifi, asked me to review Cyan 2, my excitement over being one of the first to hear Jeff Zhu’s redesigned, entry-level R2R digital-to-analogue converter was dampened a little by the realisation that this rather than the May DAC would be the next Holoaudio […]
Denafrips Iris 12th DDC and Ares 12th-1 DAC Although this is the first time The Ear has published a review of one of the brand’s products, Denafrips has been making news amongst the audiophile community over the last few years. Technology such as R2R DACs and I2S connections have become synonymous with the brand, whose […]
Auralic Vega G2.2 DAC The Vega G2.2 is currently the only digital to analogue converter in Auralic’s seven strong range of streaming oriented electronics, the Vega G1 never made it to G1.1 status so at present there is a hole at that entry point for the brand. They do however make an Altair G1.1 which […]
Bricasti Design M19 SACD/CD transport, M1 Series II DAC, M20 preamplifier and M25 power amplifier Bricasti products reveal their heritage in the casework design, a style that comes from company founders Brian Zolner and Casey Dowdell whose backgrounds were with Lexicon and who work closely with former Madrigal Labs engineers. The latter manufactured Mark Levinson […]
Merason DAC1 MkII digital to analogue converter When I reviewed the original Merason DAC1 a nearly three years ago what struck me about it was its speed and agility, it sounded like a Rega turntable or more obscurely a DNM preamplifier. Which in my book is a good thing, it means that music sounds less […]
AVM Ovation CS 8.3 Black Edition AVM Ovation CS 8.3 Black Edition is a long name for any piece of kit but this particular piece is both multifunctional and sits at the top of the tree in AVM’s streaming amplifier tree, so it has earned the moniker. AVM make more streaming amplifiers than most, it […]
Zorloo ZuperDAC Max USB-DAC High Quality portable listening solutions like the ZuperDAC Max are arguably more important to the hi-fi industry than many of us appreciate. The industry needs to convert a certain percentage of young music lovers, who often start listening via YouTube or Spotify, into future buyers of pricier equipment. My day job […]
Rega Elex Mk4 integrated amplifier Rega Elex Mk4 is the latest and arguably the best value amplifier the company has made. Is there another independent British brand that has been making hi-fi for as long as Rega? I can think of a couple but none which have been making such a wide range of products […]
Kii Three BXT active digital loudspeakers The phrase ‘game changing’ is bandied around a little too liberally, but every now and then a piece of kit comes along that most definitely warrants that definition. The Kii Three BXT active DSP loudspeaker system is such a product. When I reviewed the Kii Three standmount four years […]
Lumin P1 streamer preamplifier A glance at the Lumin range of network players is initially confusing, why is the Lumin P1 bigger than the more expensive X1 range topper? A quick comparison of the two back panels reveals the reason, the P1 is a streamer, a DAC and an analogue and digital preamplifier whereas the […]