Best Hi-Fi of 2022
The best of the best that we have reviewed on the Ear over the last 12 months
Integrated Amplifier
Lindemann MusicBook Combo
From its headquarters west of Munich, Lindeman has become a leading international audio brand, not least for its streaming technology. The man behind the company is founder Norbert Lindemann; he’s already received countless awards for his various designs over some thirty years, and has now launched something that many of us have been waiting for. […]
Marantz SACD 30n & Model 30: budget deluxe
Marantz SACD 30n & Model 30 With the Marantz SACD 30n this classic brand has its eyes firmly set on the quality conscious consumer, the people who are prepared to pay more for things that are well built and well designed. We’re talking upper end BMWs and Audis, Apple products and Santa Cruz mountain bikes […]
Cambridge Audio CXA61
Just how much do we need to spend to acquire a decent integrated amplifier? A budget of, say £1,000, will net a large number of candidates. But if we also want bona-fide high-end sonic credentials, then the number of options becomes markedly smaller. Readers who have read my short bio here on The Ear will already be […]
Rega Elicit Mk5 has got the power
Rega Elicit Mk5 Long before the Elicit Mk5 I was running an all Rega system at home, and was very happy with it indeed. At its heart was the Brio-R integrated amplifier, which offered, if I recall correctly, 50 watts of output into an eight Ohm load, and which sounded fine in our modest 14’x12’ […]
Primaluna EVO 300 Hybrid
Back in January 2021 our esteemed editor reviewed the Primaluna EVO400 integrated amplifier, which is currently the largest of the the Dutch brand’s all valve (or tube, depending on your locale) amplifiers. He was most complimentary about it and gave it our five star award. I had also had a chance to review the next […]
CAAS Audio Elysian Pre-amplifier II, Elysian 100 Mono-blocks
Built by brothers Carl and Neil Broomfield in Yorkshire the CAAS Audio electronics are pretty ambitious bits of kit by British standards. There aren’t many small companies making components with casework that’s milled from a single aluminium billet in these isles and even fewer who have developed their own amplification and volume control circuits. CAAS […]
Atoll SDA200 Signature
I have always enjoyed French electronics so, when news broke that the Atoll range was available in the UK, I jumped at the chance to take a listen to the company’s SDA200 Signature, an all-in-one streamer, DAC and integrated amplifier. It’s a concept I have grown very fond of over the years, so much so […]
NAD C 700
Back in September 2020 we published a shootout review between three one-box amplifier/streamers: the Naim Uniti Atom, Lyngdorf TDAI3400 and the NAD M10 Master. More than a year later the opportunity arose for me to spend some time with the M10’s more affordable sibling, the NAD C 700, which I was very pleased to do. All I […]
Mastersound Compact 845
Cesare Sanavio founded Mastersound in 1994 with his two sons, Lorenzo and Luciano, channelling five decades’ experience building output transformers for other companies into the design of his own tube amplifiers. With Luciano Sanavio now at the helm, their portfolio has expanded and comprises three preamps, three power amps and no fewer than nine integrated […]
Moon 340i D3PX
Even if we like to style ourselves as purists, and in the main regard audio separates as the only way, there is still a lot to be said for the well-conceived all-in-one box. Take the Moon 340i D3PX for example. No, the product name doesn’t trip off of the tongue very elegantly, but this integrated amplifier […]
M2Tech Nash
Every once in a while Lady Luck dressed in DHL courier garb brings a particularly notable product to the front door. I had no intention of evaluating the Nash phono preamplifier by Italian design house M2Tech until our Editor Jason Kennedy invited me to take a look at the sample he had received. He’d visited M2Tech in […]