Archives: Reviews – Amplifiers

When a company’s catalogue includes – typically – a £16,000 pre-amp and a £9000 CD player, well…is it any surprise that the brand is perceived as ‘expensive’? Jadis, the legendary French valvistes, have been fighting this image, the past few … Continue reading →

  We all have favourites, even those of us who are supposed to be utterly impartial. Being only human (or so I’m told), I’m not going to hide my affection for GRAAF, a brand yet to disappoint and one of … Continue reading →

  There are two piles of magazines, some 57in tall, sitting in my lounge. They consist mainly of hi-fi magazines I can’t read until they’re ‘out of date’. Why? Because I don’t want to be influenced by the reviews, and … Continue reading →

VACUUM PACKED Few specialist Japanese valve amplifiers ever leave Honshu; we try the long-awaited Air Tight. Never, if you value your sanity, thumb through a Japanese hi-fi magazine. If you’re an inveterate hi-fi casualty, the pictures you’ll see will haunt … Continue reading →

CROSS-BRED BRIT A new valve/MOSFET hybrid amplifier has just been released by a – surprise, surprise – UK manufacturer. Ken Kessler examines the cross-fertilisation. Valve scarcity and solid-state progress have almost forced valve amp manufacturers to blend the two technologies. … Continue reading →

Anthony Michaelson knows how to push the right buttons. All he had to say was the word ‘nuvistor’, and every tube crazy worth his weight in anode plates was clamouring for a listen. After all, wasn’t the nuvistor the last-ever, … Continue reading →

“Small but beautiful.” Gawd, do I love it when those words can be applied to hi-fi equipment. Hey, I’m trying to sympathise with real people, OK? It’s not like reviewers have to justify to their spouses why the house is … Continue reading →

Clichés abound when it comes to German manufacturing, and they’re clichés because they’re true. From Braun shavers to Leica cameras, there’s a consistency, durability and desirability which maybe only the Swiss can match. (Hell, they don’t call the Swiss “mountain … Continue reading →

Like too few others, McIntosh isn’t afraid to keep a model in its line-up for more than a season or two. I’ve been using the C2200 pre-amplifier ever since it was launched some six years ago – the longest I’ve … Continue reading →