Merason Reuss DAC The name of Merason’s mid price DAC is pronounced royce I am told, but that takes some remembering. I have enjoyed both iterations of the Merason DAC1 which sits at the top of the range, especially the original with its stainless steel and acrylic casework, and the UK distributor is of the […]
Lampizator Baltic 4 valve DAC I have been using solid-state electronics for years but have always been intrigued by valve or tube based components. The Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista products, which were very impressive when I reviewed them for The Ear qualify as hybrid tube products, but the Nuvistor tubes used in them are a niche […]
Leema Neutron & Graviton pre & power amplifiers Leema Acoustics launched its Quantum range of entry level electronics late last year, the first to come our way are the Neutron, an analogue and digital preamplifier bristling with input options and boasting onboard DAC and MM/MC phono stage, and the matching Graviton is a 150 Watt […]
Daniel Hertz Maria 350 integrated amplifier Mark Levinson has sold his name more than once so in the last few decades has created other brands for his creations, Cello and Red Rose come to mind, and now we have Daniel Hertz which is apparently a family name. The Daniel Hertz Maria 350 integrated amplifier is […]
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 […]