Displaying items by tag: preamplifier - StereoLife Magazine

Naim Audio launched in 1973 with a simple aim - to experience music replayed in its truest and purest possible form. That meant pushing the boundaries of what is viable, applying an obsessive attention to detail in the pursuit of musical authenticity. Half a century on, its end goal still starts with the music that moves us; an unwavering line from the first Naim products to the creation of the New Classic range: the NSC 222 streaming pre-amplifier; an allnew iteration of the iconic NAP 250 power amplifier; the NPX 300 power supply upgrade. Each boasts more features - including balanced connections - without sacrificing sound quality. Designed and engineered by specialists in England, the New Classic range is handcrafted with care and built to last. Sophisticated yet simple to use, these timeless products aim to bring you years of listening pleasure. There are also a range of ways to integrate these new products with existing Naim models.

The P30A preamplifier and the H30A power amplifier replace the P30 and H30 reference amplifiers that have been on the market since 2011. "For several years we have known that the P30 and H30 amplifiers were living on borrowed time because the extremely good transistors they used were being discontinued. This was a problem because they were so good that finding something that could even come close proved to be very hard. So, for years we have been looking for replacements that could not only match but also improve upon the performance of our amplifiers. We have been testing and listening and testing again, and finally, we are able to launch our new reference products." - the Norwegians say, commenting on their new flagship pre/power combo.

Gryphon Audio Designs announced its most advanced preamplifier available. Since Gryphon's founding nearly 40 years ago, our philosophy has remained constant - the relentless pursuit of sonic perfection without commercial compromises in design, construction, or cost. All Gryphon products have been conceived in this same perfectionist spirit: uncompromising engineering in the service of music, impeccable build quality complemented by our original, "Nordic Noir" aesthetic sensibility and simplicity of use. The culmination of Gryphon's four decades of philosophies, design goals, and engineering expertise are fully realized in Commander.

Bryston is one of the companies that use a very logical naming scheme for their products. Thus, amplifier symbols usually contain the letter "B", DACs start with "BDA", network players - "BDP", home theater processors - "SP" and preamplifiers - "BP". They are supplemented with numbers, which may indicate their output power (the B135² integrated amplifier delivers 135W per channel into 8 ohms) or inform us which generation of a given model we are dealing with (the BHA-1 is the first headphone amplifier from the Canadian factory, and the BDP-3 already had two predecessors - BDP-1 and BDP-2). Devices that cannot be assigned to any of the existing categories are scarce. So when Bryston decided to break the current pattern and release a preamplifier that should have been called the BP-18³ (because it is the successor to the BP-17³) but was given the BR-20 symbol, it was clear that this was no accident. The reason for this sudden change turned out to be, unfortunately, very sad. The Canadians wanted to honor their colleague and long-time company president, Brian Russel, who died in his sleep of a heart attack last year. At the time, Bryston's team was putting the finishing touches on the device, which was to be named BP-18³. Members of the design team and executives knew that this model could be a real revelation to many audiophiles - even those using very elaborate, expensive stereo systems. Thus, at the end of 2020, Bryston revealed the new two-channel preamplifier - BR-20.

Bryston has unveiled the BR-20 preamplifier, which combines a brand-new analog preamplifier with the company's flagship digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) platform and a high-performance streaming music player.

McIntosh announced its new preamplifier ready to serve in a home audio system for many years - even decades - all while delivering unmatched audio quality. Following the digital audio precedent set in McIntosh's current line of solid-state integrated amplifiers, the C53 stereo preamplifier features an upgradeable digital audio module. But unlike their integrated amplifiers that use the DA1 Digital Audio Module, the C53 is the first product to use McIntosh's new, more advanced DA2 Digital Audio Module.

Audio Analogue celebrated its twentieth birthday by launching a line of bang-up-to-date 'Anniversary' editions of the company's earlier classic amplifiers. Now, the Puccini and Maestro integrated models are joined by the new Bellini preamplifier and Donizetti power amplifier. Audio Analogue's original Bellini and Donizetti amplifiers were two of the brand's early classics, first launched at the turn of the millennium. The new 'Anniversary' editions may share a name with these originals, but in every other respect, they are originals in their own right, featuring completely new designs and technologies.

With its 30th-anniversary year fast approaching, Chord Electronics has launched Ultima, a new state-of-the-art flagship amplifier featuring John Franks' latest circuit topology, the first all-new design in three decades. Ultima is the Ultimate expression of the finest high-performance, ultra-fast, ultra-high-power amplifier technology available today. Comprising a reference-quality preamp and two mono power amplifiers, Ultima is Chord Electronics' most accomplished amplifier in its 30-year history and one that draws on the company's three decades of research, design and engineering in Great Britain. The Ultima mono power amplifiers have been designed and engineered for the very finest hi-fi systems, those which by their very nature, have the most demanding and difficult-to-drive speakers.

When Audiolab launched the iconic 8000A in 1983, it swiftly became Britain's favourite 'step-up' from the budget amps of the time. Its crisp ergonomics, high-quality engineering, useful range of facilities and excellent all-round sound won it a legion of fans, cementing its place as one of the British hi-fi scene's most significant products. 25 years on and the company is set to repeat the feat: the new 6000A is the ideal amp for modern music lovers seeking premium-level performance, build quality and facilities at an affordable price.

As highly regarded as it was (and it was), the MCX series had just one potential drawback - it was massive. Which wasn't a problem in the days of 'bigger is better' but lately our living spaces are becoming more compact and we're living an increasingly mobile lifestyle. During 2016 and 2017 Exposure introduced its innovative XM series of hi-fi components, each of which sports an impressive complement of high quality features in a neat, half-width size. So, having perfected the art of packing a great deal of high-performing technology into a smaller space, the company then turned its attention to revisiting the top end of its offering and the question of how to create its finest combination of amplifiers yet at a fraction of the physical size. The result is the brand new 5010 series which features two products - a preamplifier and a pair of mono power amplifiers.