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Recommended Reference Component: Lyngdorf Audio MXA-8400 Multichannel Amplifier
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- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 15 August 2024 15 August 2024
Most reviews on the SoundStage! Network concern two-channel components. From time to time, however, multichannel components of outstanding overall design and sound quality draw our attention, and we don’t shy away. Case in point: the Lyngdorf Audio MXA-8400 multichannel amplifier, which Roger Kanno reviewed on this site in June 2024. In the US, it sells for $8999.
In Defense of Doing Things the Wrong Way
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- Written by Matt Bonaccio Matt Bonaccio
- Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column
- Created: 01 August 2024 01 August 2024
In case you need more reasons to start following the SoundStage! YouTube channel, know that, occasionally, some of the vlog-type videos posted there can get pretty spicy. No, I don’t mean X-rated stuff; I’m talking about SoundStage! founder and publisher Doug Schneider’s July 8 Real Hi-Fi video in which he discusses the shortcomings of single-driver speakers. Putting it plainly, “they’re crap,” he says. To my amazement, of the 40 or 50 comment chains on that video (as of this writing), only 11 of them are people letting Doug know he’s an idiot and wrong about everything. Of those, I think only two used profanity, and no one used the caps-lock key. Bravo, internet! Faith in humanity restored!
The Bison Twin Tower in White: Totem Acoustic’s Best-Sounding and Most-Beautiful Speaker Yet?
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: System One System One
- Created: 01 August 2024 01 August 2024
Note: measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.
Whenever I review a product, I try to not only understand the product itself but also the company that makes it. If it’s a good product from a reputable company whose products have historically been well received, I want to know what the story is behind the company, what makes it tick.
Orchard Audio Starkrimson Mono Premium Amplifier
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- Written by Matt Bonaccio Matt Bonaccio
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 August 2024 01 August 2024
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
Serious question for you: what do you think of when you hear the term “class D”? Does it conjure associations of a sense of cleanliness, of meticulously delineated detail, of an impersonal coldness, or of a true-to-life representation of a musical event? The wise audiophile knows by now that becoming embroiled in a debate about cables or tube amplification is a potential threat to one’s sanity, but the subject of class-D versus class-A or class-AB operation remains a worthwhile discussion, by my reckoning. The reason is that we’re at kind of a watershed moment for class-D technology, though many haven’t realized it yet—and there are significant implications for the future of audio.
Chord Electronics Ultima Integrated Amplifier
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- Written by George de Sa George de Sa
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 July 2024 15 July 2024
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
The British audio manufacturer Chord Electronics Ltd. produces some of the most distinctive-looking audio products on the market today. Chord has imbued its products with a unique aesthetic—a fusion of nautical, steampunk, and classic sci-fi themes, wrapped in organic stylism. The design elements of their products include rounded eye-like buttons, colored lights, porthole windows, domes, and gentle contours, which together deliver visual impact and generate curiosity. Chord’s new Ultima Integrated is a ground-up design that continues in this tradition.
Recommended Reference Component: Marantz Model 40n Streaming Integrated Amplifier
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- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 15 July 2024 15 July 2024
In August 2022, Dennis Burger reviewed the Marantz Model 40n for SoundStage! Access. It was an enthusiastic review that earned the 40n a Reviewers’ Choice award. This amplifier has since continued to prove its excellence and versatility and has continued to garner critical praise.
The Loudspeaker Class of ’74: A Canadian Reunion
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column
- Created: 01 July 2024 01 July 2024
I don’t think anyone in the world could have predicted that a 1974 meeting between Paul Barton, founder of PSB speakers, and Dr. Floyd Toole, a research scientist at Canada’s National Research Council, would change the way loudspeakers, headphones, and soundbars are designed—not just in Canada but globally.
iFi Audio iDSD Diablo 2 DAC–Headphone Amplifier
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- Written by Killain Jones Killain Jones
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 July 2024 01 July 2024
During the pandemic, I became enthusiastic about brewing my own coffee at home. I’d twist myself into knots trying to figure out which brewing method suited me best and what all the flavor profiles on packaging and in reviews meant. Terms such as “acidic,” “sweet,” and “full-bodied” sounded descriptive enough—but acidic, or sweet, or full-bodied compared to what, I wondered. Then there were admonitions to use light roast for this, medium roast for that, and dark roast for something else. With experience, I have found that espresso is my preferred brewing method, and learned that there is no such thing as an espresso bean.
Lyngdorf Audio MXA-8400 Multichannel Amplifier
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- Written by Roger Kanno Roger Kanno
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 June 2024 15 June 2024
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
In the last few years I have reviewed the two integrated amplifiers currently on offer from Lyngdorf Audio: the TDAI-3400 and TDAI-1120. I have always admired Lyngdorf’s integrated amplifiers for their fantastic sound and excellent user interface, and these two amps were no exception: they performed wonderfully in my system. I was especially impressed by the room-correction system built into these amps, Lyngdorf’s proprietary RoomPerfect software.
Recommended Reference Component: DALI Epikore 11 Loudspeaker
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- Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors
- Category: Components Components
- Created: 15 June 2024 15 June 2024
During a visit to loudspeaker manufacturer DALI (Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries) in 2022, Jason Thorpe had the opportunity to listen to the brand’s flagship model, the Kore. Deeply impressed with its sound, Jason was tempted to request a pair for review, but scrubbed the idea as a nonstarter at the thought of trying to get this 350-pound behemoth—two of them—into his basement-floor listening room.
