Displaying items by tag: analog - StereoLife Magazine

During one of the few press conferences organized recently as a classic live meeting, not a video chat, I was particularly interested in a presentation of MoFi Electronics - manufacturer of turntables and accessories related to vinyl records playback, which stormed onto the market a few years ago, almost immediately winning many important awards. For many music lovers, this equipment is already well known but the history of its creation and the people responsible for it are not. I quickly concluded that a meeting in the real world is a perfect opportunity to find out all about it. Steve Shade, the representative of the American company, shared many interesting facts with me during a short conversation over coffee. It was not only a story of MoFi Electronics. During this meeting, I felt like I was listening to the latest news from a world that included other well-known brands - Balanced Audio Technology, Spiral Groove, EAR Yoshino, Harmonic Resolution Systems, and Fender. And that was just the beginning.

In 2020 DS Audio launched its new flagship Grand Master phono cartridge, the first model in the company's "third generation of optical cartridges". Now, the brand new DS003 draws on innovations from the Grand Master to update the existing DS 002 model, extending 'third generation' technology to a more affordable price point. Like the Grand Master, the new DS003 features a comprehensively re-designed optical system. Its independent LEDs and photo-detectors for the left and right channels deliver a significant increase in the cartridge's output voltage, from 40 mV to 70 mV.

Dual is one of the brands most respected by audiophiles. It has produced so many great turntables that it's hard to count them all and a well-preserved Dual turntable, especially if we are talking about high-end models, is an excellent investment. After a restoration, such a source can be connected to any stereo system, even an expensive one, without complexes. Not only will it look great, but with the correct cartridge, it should also sound so good that owners of new turntables will feel embarrassed. Until recently, Dual's turntables could only be purchased on the second-hand market, but fortunately, the company has risen like a phoenix from the ashes, releasing several interesting and affordable turntables. I was most interested in the CS 418, a classic manual turntable with a built-in phono stage, belt drive, easy-to-use tonearm, and Ortofon 2M Red cartridge. And the price - €499 for a brand new Dual? I had to see what's what.

The new Luxman L-595A Special Edition is a premium Class A integrated amplifier built to commemorate Luxman's 95th anniversary. The unique industrial design reimagines the highly regarded L-570 series inaugurated in 1989. "Not many consumer electronics companies can point to a 95-year heritage. The Luxman L-595ASE validates our ongoing commitment to sonic excellence, superb build quality, and timeless design." - said Jeff Sigmund, president of Luxman America.

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.

The history of Norma Audio began in 1987 in Cremona - the hometown of famous composers, such as Ponchielli and Monteverdi, and great violin masters - Stradivari, Amati, and Guarneri. It was a man with an equally Italian-sounding name - Enrico Rossi - who created the apparatus on which you can listen to such wonderful music in the comfort of your living room. The first device manufactured under the Norma Audio brand was the NS 123 amplifier. It was not a spectacular commercial success, but nobody expected that. A completely new chapter in the company's history began when it was acquired by Opal Electronics, a manufacturer of electronic measuring devices. In 1991, Norma's owner started a research project to understand how audio equipment can degrade sound and how this can be avoided. Seven years later, he found what he was looking for. It was certainly not one brilliant solution but rather a collection of rules and general guidelines. Unlike manufacturers who have built their reputation on a particular technical solution, Norma doesn't base its entire business on a single patent. But if you would like to know what you can expect from this gear, Enrico Rossi makes it clear - the sound should be natural, dynamic, and succinct with a very realistic midrange.

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, the world's largest guitar manufacturer, and foremost audio technology company, Mobile Fidelity Electronics, announced today a partnership to develop, produce, and release Fender's first-ever turntable. The Fender x MoFi PrecisionDeck, is a high-performance turntable in every way, with gorgeous looks that resonate with decades of music history. With a shape designed by Principal Master Builder Yuriy Shishkov of the Fender Custom Shop (FCS), the PrecisionDeck utilizes the same wood, swamp ash, as the famed Fender Precision Bass guitar.

Chord Electronics has launched its first-ever small desktop integrated amplifier, Anni. Capable of driving both headphones and compact loudspeakers, the Qutest-sized Anni benefits from the company's proprietary Ultima circuit topology and is perfectly positioned to exploit the full potential of today's high-performance headphones, desktop monitors, and high-resolution audio sources. The new Anni desktop integrated amplifier forms part of the Qutest range and seamlessly complements the resolving abilities of the multi-award-winning Qutest standalone DAC and Huei phono stage. As a system, the Qutest components provide an unrivaled desktop audio solution, offering class-leading digital and analog technologies for the modern music lover. The company's compact QSS (Qutest Stand System) modular equipment rack provides the perfect support, too.

Vinyl lovers can now finally enjoy the full Naim Audio experience with the launch of Solstice, the first turntable in the British brand's almost 50-year history. It comes partnered with a next-generation version of the iconic Naim Aro tonearm, an Equinox MC cartridge, Solstice Series Phono Stage, Power Supply, and bespoke accessories set. Naim will create just 500 units of this Solstice Special Edition package. "Solstice Special Edition offers an exceptional all-around experience. If you love the organic, authenticity of vinyl, now you can enjoy it with the musical purity and passion only a Naim system can deliver." - says Naim Audio Research & Development Director, Paul Neville.

McIntosh announces MHA200 vacuum tube headphone amplifier, designed for discerning headphone enthusiasts who demand the most from their headphones. Its versatile set of connectivity options, including balanced inputs and outputs, allows for nearly all headphone types to be connected to enjoy an extraordinary personal listening experience. A pair of 12AT7 and 12BH7A dual triode vacuum tubes power the compact MHA200. The 12AT7 vacuum tubes amplify the incoming audio signal while the 12BH7A tubes provide the power to drive the output to the headphones with low distortion. The MHA200 uses a pair of McIntosh's Unity Coupled Circuit output transformers to deliver pristine audio. The Unity Coupled Circuit is the same technology McIntosh was founded on in 1949 and is still used in their vaunted full-size home audio vacuum tube amplifiers such as the timeless MC275 and the more recent MC1502. Indeed, the MHA200 shares many physical design traits with the aforementioned vacuum tube amplifiers.