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2016 Recommended Components Integrated Amps & Receivers
Integrated Amplifiers & Receivers
April Music Aura Note v.2: $2500
See AD's review in this issue.
Ayre Acoustics AX-5 Twenty: $12,950 "In 2013, AD described the original Ayre AX-5—a $9950 integrated amplifier built around a recently rediscovered configuration of bipolar transistors known as the "diamond" circuit—as "one of the three best, most musical, most human-sounding solid-state amps I've ever heard." Then, in 2015, Ayre debuted a new version, the AX-5 Twenty—a nod to the company's 20th anniversary—promising even better sound. The AX-5 Twenty is built into the same foursquare aluminum case as the AX-5, and is controlled by the same performance-optimizing Variable Gain Transconductance (VGT) volume-control system—but the Twenty incorporates Ayre's new Double Diamond output, claimed to run cooler (which AD verified) and to offer slightly more power (though the 125Wpc rating remains). This time out, AD got a little pissy about Ayre's user manual and the amp's "pointlessly complex" setup procedure, but was otherwise smitten: He delighted in a sound that was "slightly sweeter" than the original AX-5's. Stringed instruments, he said, were "reproduced with color, body, scale, melodic and rhythmic drive, and believable spatial presence." AD concluded that "the AX-5 Twenty is inarguably .ˇ.ˇ. more compelling than its predecessor." Although he raised an eyebrow at the 30% ($3000) price increase over the original, AD commended Ayre for allowing AX-5 owners to have their amps upgraded to Twenty status for the same price. (Vol.38 No.8 WWW)
Ayre Acoustics AX-7e: $3950 ★
The success of this 60Wpc, solid-state, two-channel, fully balanced, integrated amplifier depended on the associated sources. Used from balanced output to balanced input, "It was brilliant. Amazing. Stirring, even," said AD. However, used as an unbalanced amp, "The AX-7 still sounded good, but its musical performance lacked momentum and, ultimately, excitement." Overall, the Ayre was "colorful, clear, well-textured, and spatially convincing." It seemed sensitive to the type and length of speaker cable AD used, and seemed more sensitive to AC power quality than average. "I strongly recommend the Ayre AX-7 for use [only] in an all-balanced system." The ?7e's power supply now includes greater filtering of the AC mains, increased peak current delivery, and filtering of the rectifier switching noise. In addition, the AX-7e's gain stages now use two-stage voltage regulators in place of the earlier version's single-stage regulators. The sound now combined classic Brit-style pacing and tunefulness with near-SET levels of presence and a fine sense of musical flow, a combination that allowed AD to become emotionally involved in the music. "The AX-7e is the best integrated I've ever heard," endorsed WP. "One heck of an involving amplifier," he summed up. Compared to the Luxman MQ-88 power amplifier, the Ayre offered greater bass extension and soundstage control but lacked the Luxman's beguiling midrange, said JM. Original AX-7s can be fully upgraded for $250–$350, depending on the age of the unit. (Vol.26 No.10 AX-7; Vol.29 No.1, Vol.31 No.3, AX-7e WWW; see also "The Fifth Element" in Vol.34 No.2 and Vol.35 No.4 WWW)
Bel Canto Design Black amplification system: $50,000 "Tempting though such a classification may be, the Bel Canto Black is more than just an integrated amplifier. This three-box system comprises a sort-of preamplifier (the ASC1) and a pair of sort-of monoblock amplifiers (the MPS1), the latter operating in class-D, for 300Wpc into 8 ohms or 1200Wpc into 2 ohms. The Ethernet-ready ASC1 can be controlled with an iPhone app; it provides a brace of digital inputs, and via ST-optical connections feeds the MPS1s digital signals at their native resolutions, up to 24-bit/192kHz and DSD64. The ASC1's single pair of analog inputs (RCA) address an internal 24/192 DAC: Everything that goes through the ASC1 does so as a digital stream, eligible for tailoring by a variety of user-selectable digital filters. (The MPS1s also offer analog inputs.) In his listening tests, MF found the Bel Canto Black to offer "the most compelling digital sound yet," and to embody the best-yet implementation of class-D technology: "[H]ere, finally, is a class-D product that, though sounding definitely different from the older technologies, makes a strong case for equality." JA declared that he was "very impressed by the Bel Canto Black, especially with its behavior as a D/A converter that is effectively capable of driving loudspeakers." From his own listening tests, described in a Follow-Up, JA noted the Black's ability to present spatial and sonic detail. Comparing the Bel Canto to the recently reviewed Ayre Acoustics KX-R Twenty preamp and MX-R Twenty mono amplifiers, JA wrote: "If the Ayre system was more simpatico with the heart, the Bel Canto Black appealed more to the head." (Vol.38 Nos. 7 & 10 WWW)
Jadis I-35: $7495
Made in France, the beautiful I-35 is a tubed, integrated amplifier with five line-level inputs. Though rated to deliver 35Wpc into 1–16 ohms, the I-35 produced just 17W into 8 ohms at 1% THD. It uses five small-signal tubes (three 12AU7s and a pair of 12AX7s) and two pairs of KT120 output tubes run in autobias mode in an Ultralinear circuit, with plates and screen grids for each channel tied to the split-coil primaries of transformers expertly designed and made in-house. Build quality and cosmetics were outstanding, inside and out. Though it lacked the fullness and richness of Art's Shindo separates, the Jadis produced a natural and engaging overall sound, with an excellent sense of momentum and a very good sense of the spatial relationships between different sounds in a stereo recording, said AD. "This is a damn good amp for getting to the essence of music," he concluded. (Vol.37 No.1 WWW)
Kondo Overture: $26,900 ★ "Made in Japan, the 32Wpc Overture uses a class-A, Ultralinear output circuit with minimal (3dB) global feedback, executed with split-primary output transformers custom-wound by Tango. It uses two Electro-Harmonix EL34 output pentodes, one 6072, and one 12BH7 per channel. Build quality was exceptional and marked by silver wiring, handmade capacitors, bespoke resistors, a solid-copper ground plane, and a tuned chassis made from a combination of steel, brass, and aluminum. The Overture has no balance control, remote control, mono switch, headphone amplifier, or phono stage, but does provide four pairs of line-level inputs and a choice of 4- or 8-ohm output sockets. Though it was slightly lean and not quite as colorful as AD's Shindo separates, the Overture produced a natural, compelling overall sound with a well-extended treble and exceptional senses of drive and scale. (Vol.36 No.11 WWW)
LFD LE V: $4495
Dr. Richard Bews, proprietor of England's LFD electronics, has once again upgraded his and Dr. Malcolm O. Hawksford's original integrated amplifier, the 65Wpc LE (née Mistral): a perennial ST favorite, owing to its complete lack of convenience or "luxury" features that degrade sound and add expense. To those ends, all iterations of LFD's solid-state amp have lacked balance and tone controls, headphone jacks, extra sets of speaker outputs, digital displays, and, especially, remote controls. The LE, which Dr. Bews builds in small batches, provides five line-level inputs (but no phono section), and is made with only the highest-quality parts, some vintage (NOS), some custom-made. According to ST, the new LE V—whose improvements all seem to arise from a combination of sturdier casework and more refined parts—"is a showstopper. I mean that literally. I didn't want to write; I wanted to listen." Compared to the LE IV, which ST owns and loves, the LE V represents "a substantial improvement. Everything just fit into place: harmonics, timing, resolution." Quoth he: "Buy your LFD LE V today." (Vol.37 No.7)
LFD NCSE: $6795
A bigger and more powerful version of LFD's excellent Mk.IV LE, the NCSE Mk.II measures 17.2" W by 3.25" H by 15.7" D, and is rated to deliver 70Wpc. The basic circuit remains the same, with a pair of MOSFET output transformers for each channel. The NCSE Mk.II retained the smaller model's speed, transparency, harmonic accuracy, and illuminated-from-within quality, but added improved bass and dynamics, said ST. "If you like the Mk.IV LE but feel you're running out of power, the NCSE Mk.II would be the better choice, particularly if you're driving bigger speakers in a bigger room," he advised. (Vol.36 No.11)
Line Magnetic LM-518IA: $4450
An original design from a Chinese company that also re-creates classic Western Electric audio gear, the all-tube Line Magnetic LM-518IA is the rare modern integrated amplifier that combines a single-ended output stage with thoriated-tungsten (ie, bright-emitter) output tubes and a tube-rectified voltage rail. The LM-518IA provides three line-level inputs (all RCA) and produces up to 22Wpc into 8 ohms. Tube bias is user-adjustable—but, to HR's disappointment, there is no balance control or mono switch. That said, the amp's "vital energy," among other qualities, has earned it an especially hallowed place in his system: "It is musically alive and vigorous. It plays music with rare charm and sensitivity." Even the SET-skeptical JA was charmed: "For such a design, it offers high power." (Vol.38 No.10 WWW)
Mark Levinson No.585: $12,000 "With twice the output power, twice the number of digital inputs for its built-in DAC, and a price tag that's twice as high, the Mark Levinson No.585 integrated amplifier handily exceeds its predecessor, the No.383. (Perhaps they should have called it the No.766?) The class-AB No.585 is advertised as delivering 200Wpc into 8 ohms, and its DAC, which offers resolution up to DSD256, includes an asynchronous USB input alongside two (S/PDIF) RCA inputs, two TosLink inputs, and a balanced XLR jack for AES/EBU. Of its four line-level inputs, one is balanced (XLR). Driving LG's Quad ESL-989 electrostatic loudspeakers—and, via its line-level output, a Tannoy TS2.12 subwoofer—the No.585 impressed him with its "sonic purity and ergonomics." LG declared that, while listening to a recent recording of Beethoven's Symphony 7, "I was reminded of being surrounded by the music, the clearly defined sounds of the instruments, and the ambience of Avery Fisher Hall." Noting, among other things, that the No.585 exceeded its manufacturer's power specs, managing 250Wpc at 8 ohms and 390Wpc at 4 ohms, JA stated that it "offers impressive measured performance." (Vol.38 No.12 WWW)
Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800: $12,999 "The latest in a line of Musical Fidelity products distinguished by their use of nuvistors—miniature small-signal vacuum tubes of such extreme durability that they're often hardwired into circuits—the Nu-Vista 800 is a solid-state integrated amp in which thermionic devices influence both sound and vibe. (The Nu-Vista 800's four nuvistors are illuminated from below and visible from above.) This 330Wpc powerhouse has five pairs of bipolar transistors per channel and provides five line-level inputs, one of them balanced. In addition to describing it as Musical Fidelity's "best-looking product, ever," MF praised the Nu-Vista 800 for its "wholeness and consistency of sound" and for being "relaxed and suave, but not at all soggy or gauzy." And while noting that the amp didn't extract from his recordings the last drop of crispness or detail, MF praised its consistently beautiful sound: "The Nu-Vista 800 drew me in." In measuring the Nu-Vista 800, JA discovered a signal/noise ratio that was "a little disappointing," and very slightly less power output (310Wpc into 8 ohms) than is specified, but was otherwise impressed. (Vol.38 No.11 WWW)
Parasound Halo Integrated: $2495
Parasound's Halo offers 160Wpc from its bipolar output section—JFETs and MOSFETs are pressed into service elsewhere in the amp—plus a list of convenience features that includes: a dedicated subwoofer output with its own variable high- and low-pass crossover filters and front-panel level control; a 32-bit DAC with USB, coaxial, and optical inputs; a discrete headphone amplifier; an MM/MC phono stage; and six line inputs (one balanced, five unbalanced). HR particularly praised the "easy, intimate realism" of the Halo's phono stage, as well as the "great boogie" factor of its DAC and the amp's overall "easy flowing, mostly smooth, and decidedly mellow" personality. This was not to take away from the Parasound's musical incisiveness: "The Halo played tunes and sang songs as if they mattered," wrote Herb. JA wrapped up his measurements by observing that the Halo Integrated "is a well-engineered, well-performing product." (Vol.38 No.11 WWW)
PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premium HP: $4399
PrimaLuna's DiaLogue Premium HP employs a total of eight power tubes—EL34s are standard, although the user can substitute a variety of other power pentodes—to produce 40Wpc in triode mode or 70Wpc in Ultralinear mode. (On-the-fly switching between modes can be performed with the DiaLogue Premium HP's remote handset.) Additional features include a newly designed, six-tube front end; the "highest-end" implementation yet of PrimaLuna's Adaptive AutoBias circuit; and an all-tube headphone amp. RD, a fan of the company's earlier ProLogue Premium, found that the new amp provided higher power with no loss of finesse, and declared, "PrimaLuna had taken a major step forward in amplifier performance." JA's measurements indicated that "PrimaLuna's output transformers are of excellent quality." Distortion wasn't the lowest JA has seen, but, "fortunately, the distortion is heavily second-harmonic in nature in both modes, even at low frequencies." He concluded that, "overall, the PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premium HP measures well for a design using push-pull pairs of EL34 tubes." RD summed up: "$4199 for an integrated amp of the DiaLogue Premium HP's level of performance represents excellent value." (Vol.37 No.12 WWW)
PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premium: $3399
PrimaLuna's top-of-the-line integrated amplifier is rated to deliver 36Wpc with its stock EL34 output tubes or 43Wpc with optional KT120s. It uses PrimaLuna's Adaptive AutoBias feature for easy swapping of output tubes, and has a bad-tube indicator, power-transformer protection, and output-transformer protection circuitry. The DiaLogue Premium was extremely quiet and sounded bigger than its power rating suggested, with a rich midrange and an excellent sense of timing, said ST. "The DiaLogue Premium will be a dream come true for anyone who has a closetful of output tubes," he concluded. (Vol.36 No.6)
PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium: $2399 $$$ ★
Designed in Holland and made in China, the solidly built ProLogue Premium is rated to deliver 35Wpc with EL34 tubes or 40Wpc with KT88s. It has a heavy-gauge, ventilated case with a lustrous five-coat finish, features point-to-point wiring, and offers five pairs of RCA input jacks, a Home Theater bypass, and connections for speaker loads of 4 and 8 ohms. Though it lacked the three-dimensional imaging, detailed highs, and extended bass of more expensive amplifiers, the ProLogue Premium produced a natural, inviting midrange and performed well with a wide variety of speakers. "The PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium offers outstanding sound quality at a very reasonable price," said RD. JA noted respectable measured performance for a classic tube design. (Vol.35 No.6 WWW)
Simaudio Moon Evolution 700i: $14,000 ★ "Robustly built of thick, ultrarigid aluminum, the 700i is a fully differential dual-mono design rated to deliver 175Wpc (190Wpc at actual clipping), running in class-A up to 5W and in class-A/B thereafter. Its output stages are powered by six bipolar transistors per channel for a wide bandwidth and low noise floor, while its "zero global feedback" design works to boost the speed of the signal response and eliminate intermodulation distortion. Though it couldn't match the Krell FBI's transient speed or deep-bass extension, the 700i had a full-blooded, dynamic, seamless sound marked by vivid tonal colors, harmonic integrity, and a strong sense of rhythm. With the 700i, "I found myself drawn deeper into the music," said FK. (Vol.34 No.3 WWW; see also FK's Moon Evolution 860A review in Vol.38 No.8 WWW)
Simaudio Moon Neo 340i: $5800
The 100Wpc Moon Neo 340i is among the growing number of integrated amplifiers that can be upgraded with a plug-in DSD-ready DAC ($900), a plug-in phono stage with MM and MC inputs ($400), and true-balanced XLR inputs ($350). You can get all those options at the start by buying the version Simaudio calls the D3PX ($5800). HR reviewed the latter and especially enjoyed the amp's performance with his Magnepan .7 speakers: "The Simaudio's apparent speed and transparency tamed the Magnepans' inherent sweetness to the point where the .7s began to sound like the high-resolution transducers they are." HR also singled-out for praise the "ridiculously good" performance of the Neo 340i's MC phono inputs, loading characteristics of which are user-adjustable by means of internal jumper blocks, although he noted that his Zu Denon DL-103 cartridge "plays more naturally and in a more relaxed manner into 470 or 1000 ohms than into either of the 340i's choices of 100 ohms or 47k ohms." Reporting from his test bench, JA discovered lowish unbalanced line-level input impedance (7200 ohms at 20Hz and 1kHz), and heatsinking that "isn't adequate for sustained use at high powers"—but otherwise gave this Moon a clean bill of health. (Vol.39 No.3 WWW)
T+A Power Plant Balanced: $3300 ★
The 140Wpc Power Plant looks almost identical to T+A's Music Player, and the two comprise a fully functional audio system in a single stack. Connection via a supplied RJ-12 cable coordinates the functions of the MP and PP, and allows the pair to be operated by a single remote. The PP's switch-mode output stages were developed in-house, and combine MOSFET transistors with high-energy driver modules. JI noted a "dynamic-sounding amplifier section that exhibited ample and well-controlled bass along with a smooth, detailed top end." Surprisingly robust and detailed sounding amp for such a small cool-running package, he concludes. (Vol.32 No.8, Vol.35 No.9 WWW)
Unison Research S6: $5600
Each channel of the Italian-made S6 uses three EL34 power pentode tubes in a class-A, single-ended, triple-parallel configuration to deliver 35Wpc into 8 ohms. Its distinctive chassis is longitudinally divided into three portions: a central raised center that houses the iron-core transformers is flanked by identical lower sections that hold the tube sockets, bias meters, and bias-adjustment controls. Compared with the Ars-Sonum Filarmon°a SE, the S6 was more forceful but gave up nothing in finesse; when partnered with the Opera Callas loudspeakers, the S6 was fatigue-free, with surprising dynamics and bass, said JM. (Vol.36 No.8 WWW)
Vinnie Rossi LIO: $7750 as tested
Vinnie Rossi, of Red Wine Audio, designed the LIO integrated amplifier around his unconventional PURE DC-4-EVR power-supply technology, which powers the electronics using two rows of series-wired ultracapacitors: one provides pure DC while the other is being charged, those roles alternating every few minutes. The LIO is modular: The buyer adds to the combination of case and power supply—a $1995 product that, by itself, cannot pass a music signal—his or her choice of volume-control module, input-selection module, line stage, phono stage, D/A converter, headphone amp, and power amp, prices and options for which are too numerous to list here. HR was charmed: "Right out of the box, the Vinnie Rossi LIO played music that flowed smoothly and silkily." He noted in particular the amp's "detail, drive, and forward momentum." HR's verdict: "If there is a more innovative and musically satisfying integrated amplifier than the Vinnie Rossi LIO, I have yet to experience it." JA's measurements revealed "good to excellent" performance from the LIO's volume-control, phono-preamp, and digital-audio modules, but uncovered problems such as low-level spuriae at 60Hz, unexpected bumps in the noise floor, power output into 8 ohms that failed to reach the 25Wpc spec by 8W, and too high a level of second-harmonic distortion for his comfort. (Vol.38 No.9 WWW)
Allnic T-1800: $6900
From Korean manufacturer Allnic, known in audiophile circles for their single-ended-triode (SET) power amplifiers, comes this push-pull pentode integrated amp. The T-1800 has two EL34 output tubes per side, operated in Ultralinear mode to produce 40Wpc. The T-1800's line stage is passive—still, AD described the amp's overall gain as "abundant"—and offers as inputs four pairs of RCA jacks and one pair of XLR sockets. Source selection is by means of electronic switching, the volume control is a 41-step silver-contact attenuator switch, and the output section is autobias. AD thought that the T-1800 delivered tight, well-controlled bass—if with less "power and gravitas" than his Shindo EL34 monoblocks—and generous treble extension without sounding "bright or even bright-ish." He was dismayed by the sound's relative smallness of scale, which he attributed to the amp's use of global feedback, but said that "the T-1800's flaws are more than merely outweighed by its strengths: They are overwhelmed." Those strengths are good drive, color, texture, and openness of sound. (Vol.38 No.11 WWW)
Cambridge Audio Azur 851A: $1999
First cousin to the Cambridge Azur 851D DAC, the Azur 851A integrated amplifier provides 120Wpc into 8 ohms, two balanced inputs (XLR), eight unbalanced line-level inputs (RCA), and the rare luxury of bass and treble tone controls. HR wrote that he could best describe the sound of the Azur 851A as "relaxed and enjoyably colorful, in a class-A triode sort of way. It sounded more naturally toned and weighty than my Creek 3330 or my Line Magnetic LM-518IA, and showed none of that off-putting grayness or brittleness often heard in low-priced, high-powered amps." In his measurements, JA discovered that the amp's right-channel performance was not in keeping with that of the left channel—although he suggested that the right channel's relative shortcomings were inaudible. His conclusion: "Assuming that the less-good performance of its right channel was a sample-specific fault, Cambridge Audio's Azur 851A is a well-built amplifier that offers a lot of power with very low distortion at an affordable price." HR's last word: "a versatile and extraordinarily musical cornerstone on which to build a truly enjoyable high-end system that can play all types of music with righteous aplomb for little cost." (Vol.38 No.2 WWW)
Creek Audio Evolution 100A: $2195
The top-of-the-line amp from UK-based Creek, the new Evolution 100A integrated operates in class-G: A pair of Sanken Darlington transistors, biased for class-A/B, do the honors up to 25Wpc, beyond which an additional pair of transistors kicks in, for 110Wpc total into 8 ohms. Of its five line-level inputs (RCA), one can also be addressed as balanced (XLR), while any of the remaining four can be upgraded with plug-in DAC, AM/FM tuner, and phono-stage modules. HR enjoyed using the Creek's Ambit tuner ($250), and praised the "clean, open, extended highs" of the amp's optional Ruby DAC module ($599), which handles 24-bit/192kHz inputs via its coax and TosLink S/PDIF inputs, and 24/96 via USB—though he felt the merely "good" Sequel Mk.2 moving-magnet phono-stage module ($200) wasn't up to the DAC's level of quality. Considering the 100A's amplification talents, HR praised it for playing a great variety of music in a "straightforward, exciting, satisfying way." Apart from some front-panel control glitches that might have been specific to "this well-traveled review sample," JA found that the Evolution 100A "measured quite well." (Vol.38 No.7 WWW)
Creek Evolution 50A: $1195 $$$
Creek's new entry-level model is a class-A/B design claimed to deliver 55Wpc into 8 ohms. It offers four single-ended and one balanced input, one of which can accommodate one of three MM or MC plug-in phono boards. The clean front panel has input-selector and Volume knobs, Balance and Tone controls, and a large display. The Creek produced an uncolored midrange, impressive bass impact, and excellent resolution of high-frequency detail, delicacy, and air, said BJR. "An involving, flexible, and good-sounding piece of electronics," he concluded, adding that it "sounds more powerful than its rating would imply." "Considering its affordable price, Creek's Evolution 50A measures fundamentally well," said JA, though he points out that its output stage is underbiased. (Vol.36 No.8 WWW)
Croft Phono Integrated: $1895 $$$
Croft's 45Wpc Phono Integrated combines in a single package the company's Micro 25 preamplifier and Series 7 power amplifier to create a hybrid integrated in which line- and moving-magnet–compatible phono-stage gain is provided by ECC83 vacuum tubes, output power by transistors. In addition to its phono input, the Croft has three analog line inputs, but offers no remote control, digital inputs, headphone jack, or upgrade paths for USB connectivity. Apart from a small circuit board containing the bipolar timer and relays, the Phono Integrated is hand-wired, point to point, with neatly made solder joins and Bakelite terminal strips. AD liked the Croft's dual-mono volume controls, SM not so much. They agreed, however, that the Croft's sound was extraordinary: smooth, coherent, open, naturally detailed, forceful, physical, and dynamic, with a great sense of space and an expert ability to drive a beat forward. "If I were a designer or builder, this is how I would do the thing. If I were buying in this price range, this is the one I'd choose," raved AD. On JA's test bench, however, the Croft exhibited a nonflat RIAA response and high levels of harmonic and intermodulation distortion. According to ST, "the sound of the Phono Integrated was musical in a way that very few hi-fi components are." Apart from noting this model's 1970s-style cosmetics ("A pox on cosmetics!"), minimalist conveniences ("A pox on convenience!"), and slightly plump bass, ST declared the Croft "one of the best integrated amplifiers I have ever heard." (Vol.36 No.10, Vol.37 No.5 WWW)
Hegel Music Systems H160: $3500
The Norwegian-made Hegel H160 swims against technology's tide with an output section based on discrete bipolar transistors operated in class-A/B, rather than the increasingly common class-D devices. The H160 is specified as offering 150Wpc into 8 ohms, and its features include a front-mounted 6.3mm headphone jack—a first on a Hegel amp—plus USB, coaxial, optical, and Ethernet digital inputs, these addressing an internal DAC whose measured performance JA described as "workmanlike." Despite his disappointment that the H160 offered only a single unbalanced analog input alongside its single balanced input, HR warmed to its "ardent and visceral" sound, and praised its playback of recorded voices as being "striking in its naturalness." JA's measurements included the observation that thermal stressing brought about a temporary increase in distortion in this otherwise "well-engineered powerhouse": "this is not an amplifier suitable for sustained high-power use." (Vol.38 No.6 WWW)
Jadis Orchestra Reference Mk.II: $4795
The latest version of an integrated amp that has been a Jadis mainstay since the late 1990s, the Orchestra Reference Mk.II uses two Russian-made EL34 pentode tubes per channel to produce its specified 40Wpc; phase inversion and buffering come courtesy of one 12AX7 dual-triode tube per channel, while input gain is provided by bipolar transistors. The line-only, nonbalanced amp has five inputs, and is available with a remote handset for an extra $350. AD described the "beautifully built" Jadis as having "a full but reasonably explicit bottom, a richly colorful midrange, and a sense of grand spatial scale." More to the point, he praised the amp's talent for melodic, dynamic, and temporal nuance, and declared that the Jadis is "extremely unlikely to disappoint the music-loving, tone-loving audiophile" who owns efficient speakers. JA joined AD in grousing that bias adjustments on the semi-impenetrable Jadis are difficult to effect, and raised an eyebrow at the amp's not-unexpected higher distortion into loads of relatively low impedance—but noted, "the Jadis Orchestra performed well . . . given its circuit topology." (Vol.38 No.12 WWW)
Naim NAIT 5si: $1995
Introduced 30 years after Naim Audio's original Nait, the new Nait 5si is a 60Wpc (into 8 ohms) integrated amp with a built-in headphone amp, and with inputs for four line-level sources—but no phono preamp. Inputs are selected with soft-touch buttons, and all are addressed with RCA plugs, while two of those are also equipped with DIN inputs: Naim's traditional preference. HR enjoyed the Nait 5si for tracking complex rhythms with perfection, and for keeping even the most microscopic pitch intervals "in good focus." The Nait 5si lacked color and spaciousness compared to HR's more expensive tubed integrated, but "made it easy to hear—watch—[the music's] rhythms. Forward momentum was spellbinding: The Nait directed my attention toward how the players attacked their instruments." Apart from inverted signal polarity on the headphone output, JA found nothing untoward in his measurements—noting, in fact, that the Nait developed more output power than specified. HR summed up: "The Nait 5si is a world-class integrated amplifier that delivers more audio precision and musical enjoyment than any self-respecting anti-imperialist should ever need." (Vol.37 No.10 WWW)
Octave Audio V 40 SE: $4500
The entry-level V40 SE Line, from Germany's Octave Audio, is an integrated amplifier with an active line-only preamp section and—despite its model designation—a push-pull output section, using two KT88 pentode tubes per side to produce 40Wpc. (A wide variety of similar pentodes can be used instead, but not all will produce the same amount of power.) The output tubes are operated as true pentodes, and the design entails 10dB of global feedback; output-tube bias is user-adjustable via system of which AD remarked, "I have never encountered a surer, safer, less ambiguous, or altogether better means of checking and adjusting tube bias." He was similarly impressed by the Octave's musical performance, describing its ability to portray musical timing and momentum as "superb." AD also enjoyed the V40 SE's "up-front" sound and "better-than-average sense of scale," also noting that while it didn't sound bright, it had sufficiently extended trebles that "reasonable care should be taken in the setup and adjusting of partnering gear." An easy-to-install power-supply enhancement, the Octave Black Box ($1200), made an audible improvement, but shouldn't be considered mandatory. JA noted that the V40 SE "measured as I would expect from a traditional design that uses a pair of KT88 output tubes for each channel," and praised the amp's "impressively high standard" of construction. (Vol.37 No.8 WWW)
Peachtree Audio nova125SE: $1199
The handsome, remote-controlled nova125 combines a 125Wpc amplifier, preamplifier with tubed buffer stage, headphone amp, and asynchronous USB DAC capable of handling resolutions up to 24-bit/192kHz. It offers three S/PDIF inputs, one analog input, and a preamp output. Though it lacked some resolution, the Peachtree had a slightly warm and soft overall sound, with excellent tonality, well-defined bass, and smooth highs, said ST. "Peachtree Audio has delivered a plum," he concluded. Add $100 for Cherry or Rosewood finish. (Vol.36 No.1 WWW)
Rogers High Fidelity EHF-100: $7000
Made in the US by former NASA engineer Roger Gibboni, the EHF-100 is rated to deliver 65Wpc (JA measured 35Wpc) into 8 ohms; offers four pairs of line-level inputs; and uses two EF86 miniature pentode, two 12AX7 triode, and four KT88 power tubes. Fit and finish were excellent. Though not as nuanced, colorful, or dramatic as AD's reference Shindo separates, the EHF-100 distinguished itself as a tight, punchy-sounding amplifier with loads of natural detail, a very good sense of momentum, and an excellent sense of space. Despite differences in the noise floor between its two channels, the EHF-100 measured well "for a classic design," said JA. (Vol.35 No.11 WWW)
Rogue Sphinx: $1295 $$$
The Sphinx is that rarity in contemporary audio: a US-made integrated amplifier with a tubed (12AU7) line stage, a MM-appropriate phono stage, and a headphone jack, all for less than the price of a round-trip ticket to Paris—and Rogue Audio doesn't even make you buy their remote handset ($100). Using Bruno Putzeys's Hypex class-D power modules in tandem with a nonswitching power supply, this hybrid integrated delivers 100Wpc into 8 ohms or 200Wpc into 4 ohms. HR enjoyed his time with the Sphinx, noting its "greater scale and bass force" than his Creek 4330 integrated, and praising its line stage as perhaps "the best of [its] many good features: Everything I played was enjoyably detailed, transparent, and spacious." HR's verdict: "Judging by my experiences with the Sphinx, Rogue's owner and designer, Mark O'Brien, has taken this stigmatized, lower-class mode of operation to a new, more refined level." According to JA, apart from a bit of ultrasonic noise in its output, the Sphinx's amplifier section avoided most of the usual class-D pitfalls, and he particularly praised the MM phono section. (Vol.37 No.8 WWW)
Roksan Kandy K2 BT: $1900
This solid-state integrated amp, descended from the original Roksan Kandy K2 (reviewed by AD in Vol.33 No.5), is notable for offering both an MM phono stage and a Bluetooth input alongside its three line-level inputs. The Kandy K2 BT, which also provides a pair of preamp-out jacks and a bypass input for AV fans, delivers 140Wpc into 8 ohms and 250Wpc into 4 ohms. In HR's system, "The K2 BT showed consistently good tone and scale, but music often felt a tad soft and round—especially at the edges of string plucks and keystrokes." That said, HR declared that "[the Roksan's] phono stage was the best I've heard in a moderately priced integrated—it played LPs in living color." As for Bluetooth, HR was underwhelmed, noting that "the detail, life and naturalness exceeded my expectations but I was disappointed by the amount of low-level fuzz and blur I was noticing." He found that Bluetooth music sounded best when playback levels were kept in check. In his measurements, JA echoed that last sentiment—"if you use the Roksan's BT input, keep your source's volume control down"—and commented that the K2 BT's frequency response "depends to a larger extent than usual on its volume-control setting." (Vol.37 No.11 WWW)
Unison Research Simply Italy: $3000 ★
The solidly built Simply Italy uses an ECC82 driver tube and an EL34B output tube to deliver 12Wpc. It measures just 10" W by 7.5" H by 15.5" D and offers four line-level inputs, a tape loop, and a single set of outputs optimized for 4–8 ohm speakers. Solid-wood inlays around the hefty, stainless-steel volume and selector knobs help damp vibrations. Fit and finish were outstanding. Though it lacked the dimensionality and expansiveness of larger Unison Research amplifiers, the Simply Italy had a confident, solid sound with surprisingly tight bass, said ST. "My little bambino." He sums up. "Clear, crisp sound, tight bass for all of its 12 watts." ST thinks there may be no better amp for small-group jazz. The Simply Italy was an especially good partner for DeVore Fidelity's Orangutan O/93 loudspeakers, said ST. Replacing the amp's stock EL34Bs with Genelex KT77 output tubes resulted in an airier sound with less robust bass and improved top-end extension. (Vol.35 No.8; Vol.37 No.1)
Arcam FMJ A19: $999 $$$
Rated to deliver 50Wpc into 8 ohms, the FMJ A19 is Arcam's most affordable integrated amplifier. It provides six line-level inputs, tape and preamplifier outputs, a moving-magnet phono stage, and two front-panel mini-jacks: one for driving headphones, the other for connecting an iPod. While the A19 gets its power from a hefty toroidal transformer, a second internal power supply can deliver a direct, isolated, and regulated 6V to two of Arcam's r-series products, such as the rBlink Bluetooth DAC that ST enjoyed. Build quality was excellent, setup simple, operation flawless. Though it lacked some smoothness and drama, the A19 combined a sweet treble, a clean midrange, and well-defined bass for a sound that was fun, involving, and never fatiguing, said SM. JA noted excellent measured performance, but warned that the A19 shouldn't be used to drive at high levels loads much below 6 ohms. Borderline Class B. (Vol.37 No.1 WWW)
Music Hall a15.3: $549
Rated at 50Wpc into 8 ohms or 75Wpc into 4 ohms, the Music Hall a15.3 is a full-size (16.9" W by 3.1" H by 13.2" D) integrated amplifier that includes a MM phono input, mini-jack and RCA line-level inputs, and a front-panel headphone jack. SM admired the a15.3's "high level of fit and finish," adding that the amp performed without flaw in his system. Using the a15.3 with Music Hall's companion c15.3 CD player–DAC and comparing it with NAD's C 515BEE CD player and C 316BEE integrated amplifier, SM found that the a15.3 sounded "more open and airy, and produced a wider, deeper soundstage with beautifully focused images," although it "lacked the NADs' intangible smoothness and musical flow." Among the inputs offered, none impressed SM more than the a15.3's phono stage, which "sounded superb—quiet, dynamic, and emotionally compelling." (Vol.37 No.6 WWW)
NAD D 3020: $499 $$$
Launched to celebrate NAD's 40th anniversary, the 30Wpc D 3020 takes only its name from the company's iconic 3020 integrated amplifier; every other aspect of the design has been thoroughly modernized. It uses a switch-mode power supply, lacks a phono stage, and has only a single analog input, but includes a front-panel headphone minijack; an optional 6dB bass boost; a subwoofer output; coaxial, optical, and 24-bit/96kHz-capable asynchronous USB inputs; and uses an audio-optimized aptX codec for Bluetooth streaming. Weighing just 3 lbs and measuring an unusual 7 3/8" H by 2 5/16" W by 8 5/8" D, the D 3020 can be placed horizontally, like a traditional component, or stood upright, like a modem or hard drive. Uncommonly sensual for a hi-fi product, it has a large, textured volume knob; soft, smooth side panels; and a touchscreen that occupies its entire front panel and extends through one entire side panel. The sound from every input was warm, present, and naturally detailed; even low-quality MP3s streamed wirelessly via Bluetooth were engaging, said SM. "Right now, NAD's D 3020 is the best bargain in all of hi-fi," added ST. Borderline Class B. (Vol.36 Nos. 11 & 12, Vol.38 No.5 WWW)
NAD C 316BEE: $379 $$$ ★
Descendant of NAD's famed 3020 integrated amplifier, the 40Wpc C 316BEE uses a new variant of the PowerDrive technology found in NAD's Master Series components, said to maximize the short-term dynamic power sent to loudspeakers. It has five inputs, a single set of user-friendly binding posts for easy connections, defeatable tone controls, a headphone jack, and an iPod minijack. The NAD matched power with grace, providing a rich, forceful overall presentation and an impressive ability to follow complex musical passages and make clear, truthful distinctions among musical instruments. Compared to the JoLida FX 10, the NAD produced a far more compelling listening experience, with faster attacks, longer decays, and a wider soundstage, said SM. (Vol.34 No.7 WWW)
PS Audio Sprout: $499 $$$
Designed in Colorado, and built in China, the PS Audio Sprout is a compact (6" W by 1.75" H by 8" D) integrated amplifier with built-in MM phono preamp, 24-bit/192kHz USB D/A converter, and Bluetooth receiver. The Sprout's class-D power amp can deliver up to 33Wpc across an 8-ohm load, and its front panel incorporates a 1/4" headphone jack, use of which automatically mutes the loudspeaker output. In his review, HR observed that the Sprout occasionally lent the sound "a trace of darkness—not grayness or lack of color," but he found that the little Sprout consistently "demonstrated an ability to engage my attention and keep it locked on the space, character, and artistry of the music being played." HR also felt that the Sprout's Bluetooth wireless performance was "richer, more detailed, less hollow and vapid than any Bluetooth sound I've tried so far," though he found the Sprout's sound through headphones less rich than through speakers. Apart from a response-curve bump centered at 67Hz, JA's measurements uncovered nothing untoward. HR's conclusion: "The Sprout specialized in the beguiling reproduction of every kind of music I sent through its four inputs." The price dropped from $799 to $499 in September 2015. (Vol.38 No.5 WWW)
Lepai LP7498E: $99.90
Rated to deliver 100Wpc via its TriPath class-D output stage, the Lepai is a small (4.5" W by 1.25" H by 7" D) integrated amplifier with one pair of RCA inputs, two pairs of speaker binding posts, and a dedicated 36V DC power supply. It uses STMicroelectronics' TDA7498 class-D module and supports Bluetooth streaming but not aptX. CDs played through the Lepai's RCA input sounded big, bold, and emotionally compelling, with a natural midrange, sweet highs, good bass weight, and well-focused images, but digital files streamed via Bluetooth sounded gritty, compressed, and murky, said SM. Sold by Parts Express with a 45-day money-back guarantee and lifetime service warranty. (Vol.37 No.2 WWW)
Schiit Ragnorak.
Deletions
Bel Canto C7R discontinued; Harman/Kardon HK 990, Manley Labs Stingray iTube and Stingray II, Pass Labs INT-150, all not auditioned in a long time.
Complete Audio Systems
Eclipse TD-M1: $999
The TD-M1 system comprises a pair of desktop loudspeakers, each of which has a single 3" full-range driver in a reflex-loaded and vaguely egg-shaped enclosure, the latter made with an alloy frame and a molded exoskeleton. Of each TD-M1 pair, one enclosure also contains a 20Wpc digital amplifier and a 24-bit/192kHz USB D/A converter, the latter equipped for wireless streaming via Apple AirPlay. Aside from grousing about high-tech user controls that were slightly too obscure, AD had fun with the easy-to-install TD-M1 system, enjoying in particular its very accessible WiFi function. All in all, AD's time with the Eclipse system left him giddy: "I had a great time with this system whenever I used it—and it was always easy." (Vol.38 No.5 WWW)
Bluesound Vault, Powernode, Node, Pulse, Duo: $449–$999 "Bluesound is a new line of whole-house sound products from the Lenbrook Group, owners of NAD and PSB. The Bluesound Vault ($999), which requires an Ethernet connection to the Internet, is an 11.5" W by 9.3" H by 8.1" D box containing an optical drive, a 24-bit/192kHz Cirrus-Logic sigma-delta DAC, and 1TB of storage. Inputs are Ethernet, WiFi, USB Type A, and, by means of an optional dongle, Bluetooth. Outputs include an analog RCA pair and digital TosLink capable of passing up to 24/192 data to an external DAC. The Bluesound Powernode ($699), which looks identical to the Vault but is slightly smaller, is a network player with a 24/192 DAC. The Powernode has the same complement of inputs as the Vault, while its outputs are a subwoofer-out jack (RCA) and two pairs of binding posts for speakers. The Powernode can operate with or without the Vault; in the latter case, the Powernode will access music files from the user's NAS. The Bluesound Node ($449) is—get ready for it—rather like the Powernode, but without (output) power. The Bluestone Duo ($899) is, in the words of ML, "a straightforward satellite-and-(self-powered)-subwoofer loudspeaker system designed by Paul Barton of PSB Speakers [and] meant to be powered by the Powernode." And the Bluesound Pulse ($699) is a 13.4-lb "network-ready boom box" that runs on AC wall current. With Bluesound products scattered throughout his home and with the system as a whole accessing files on his QNAP NAS, ML found the sound of the Bluesound "ecology" to be pleasantly rich and full, if, in some instances, a bit dark; with regard to the latter quality, inclusion of the Auralic Vega DAC restored the missing sparkle. "I enjoyed my time with the Bluesound components," ML stated, noting that the Pulse was perhaps the pleasantest surprise of the lot. Current v2 versions are cosmetically differwent from those reviewed but otherwise identical. (Vol.37 No.7 WWW)
NEXT: Loudspeakers »
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Disc Players, Transports & Media Players
Surround-Sound Components
Integrated Amps & Receivers
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Powerline Accessories
Submitted by Staxguy on March 22, 2016 - 6:52pm
Audeze LCD-X: Why would you consider the Audeze LCD-X over the Audeze LCD-3? The Audeze LCD-3, though veiled, "digital" (too few bits of detail), and non-liquid, at least presents music as beautiful.
Not only this, but it (3) is a personal luxury product, with a gorgeous headband, ear-pads, and wood ear-cups.
There also is the issue of it (3) having phenomenal bass, on the non-Fazor version.
The LCD-X? It sounds like absolutely nothing. By nothing, one means about $600.
Audender Flow
Giving that you are Stereophile, this would be great in the Class C department. It has DSD, etc. and decent specs, but no balanced out, so no headphone enthusiast would consider using it.
Chord Mojo: A great DAC/amp. Great that you have it in Class A.
Sennheiser 650/600: certainly very comfortable, but no match for the 580. ;) While neither sounds like shit (the 600 is more natural), they lack any detail and air, although their true comfort makes them fantastic computer speakers. Still, Class C.
HiFiMan 400i: Shouldn't it be the HE-6? Where is the HE 1000? This is Class A guys.
Sennheiser IE 800: Where is this? Perhaps more detailed and fast than the HD-800 and only $1000. ($800 US). Obviously, no imaging like the HD. What an amazing headphone, the HD 800.
Omissions: Shouldn't the class A be the Stax 009 and perhaps some excessive (read: expensive) headphone amplifiers? Om.
Apogee Groove. Ok. Great. A pro-audio device.
Audeze EL-8: What? Ok. This one sounds like shit. Ok, have only heard the closed. Great cheap price ($699) and design job by BMW, but terrible sound an not even a part of the LCD-2. What a looser.
Audioquest Nighthawlk: Huh? Wah.
B&W P3: Why the P3 and not the P5 or P7? Isn't the quality of the P3 pathetic? Sound, gentlemen, sound.
CEEntrence DACPort: Ok. Great device. How about more CEntrance. Great specs.!
Master & Dynamic MD40: Is this a poor men's clothing magazine?
PSB M4U: Shouldn't this be Class E?
Class C:
Audioengine D3: for $149 a great made device with great components. However, the sound is worse than the stock Intel audio chip you'll have in your PC. Does have less hum and noise than an-in PC chip, though.
Overall: Where are the audiophile components?
Sorry to be a party-pooper.
Mostly agree. Headphones don
Submitted by dalethorn on March 23, 2016 - 3:09pm
Mostly agree. Headphones don't seem as accurately covered here as the big stuff. Maybe the headphones and other portable gear should be covered entirely by Innerfidelity, in Stereophile Recommended Components.
Party pooper?
Submitted by Glotz on March 23, 2016 - 2:44pm
Naw, just haughty, arrogant and disrespectful.
They reviewed various products for the magazine, and this is the list they came up with. The classes are explained in full, in relation to the other products's performance that have made the list. Older products, sometimes equally capable as current products listed, are removed due to age. Lastly, most reviewers have their own benchmarks and their own opinions about component performance, hence their choice of placement in the classes.
You can disagree all you want man, just do it with a modicum of respect. If you want to start your own magazine, go for it dude.
Technics SB-C700e
Submitted by K.Reid on March 24, 2016 - 5:57pm
Glad to see this mighty monitor included in Class A restricted low frequency. Very well deserved and impeccably engineered at a fair price. Most importantly it sounds great. An excellent effort by the folks at Technics. It's obvious they care about and love music by making a product like this.
Arcam A18 (Extrapolate to A19)
Submitted by Anon2 on March 26, 2016 - 8:17am
I read JA's assessment of the Arcam A19 regarding its ability to handle low impedance, high volume listening.
I wanted to add my own, perhaps less scientific assessment of the Arcam A18 predecessor model.
I have my Arcam A18 integrated connected to Canton Ergo 32DC speakers whose impedance range is listed as 4...8 Ohm, 87 dB by the manufacturer. The owner's manual for my speakers, of about year 2000 vintage, states that the speakers can be "unhesitatingly operated with any standard amplifier" (with some small qualifications later in the manual).
Stereophile's tests of other Canton speakers show that the speakers tend to operate more towards the 4, rather than the 8 Ohm range of input impedance.
I have used my Canton speakers with my demo model Arcam A18 for several years now. I am not a loud volume listener, but I like room filling sound. For a benchmark of my listening, I will say that audio show rooms, for example, are, for the most part, way too loud.
I did a test this morning. On the integrated's volume range of 1 to 99, I did some listening around 38 on the volume scale. I listened to a Chandos recording of Bryden Thomson's LSO recording of Vaughn Willams's 8th Symphony and assorted string works (Chandos 8828, a great audiophile recording still in circulation). This volume is adequate to fill the room amply with sound. Vaughn Williams works will require a bit more gas-pedal than other orchestral works.
Then, for some higher octane listening, but with the volume set at the same 38 position, I did another test. I listened to the great recording of Don Juan, with the Cleveland Orchestra, and the late great Lorin Maazel (CBS Masterworks MDK 44909). If I had finicky neighbors adjacent to my listening room for this session, they might have complained over the volume in some sections of this work.
After listening to these CD tracks, I put my hand over the unobstructed top ventilation grate on the Arcam A18. After feeling the heat, which was almost imperceptible, I then put my hand to my cheek. After 5 seconds the heat from my cheek was noticeably warmer.
I'd guess that John's assessment would apply particularly--without mentioning brands--to low efficiency low impedance speakers, of the 84-85 dB and/or 4 Ohms nominal varieties. But for my speakers the Arcam never seems over-taxed, and certainly never clips with the music and volume settings that I employ.
If you are a moderate-to-room filling volume listener, have stand-mount speakers of 87-88 dB, and 8 Ohm nominal impedance, and love peerless sound, I'd say buy the Arcam A19 without hesitation. I'm not a dealer or a professional, but that's my assessment. A reader wrote in the Stereophile review of the A19 that he found the A19 to be a big improvement from the A18. My dealer says that if you have an A18, you can probably live with it without going to the A19.
Other publications, that score products in their reviews, show the Arcam A18/A19 models garnering the highest scores of the Arcam integrated amp line-up.
Those are my two cents on the Arcam A19.
Submitted by makarisma on April 6, 2016 - 2:56am
What about products from companies such as T+A, YBA, Linn, McIntosh, etc., all of which also have outstanding models in the listed catagories?
based on the reviews, it
Submitted by pablolie on April 28, 2016 - 9:30am
based on the reviews, it seems to defy logic you give the Benchmark AHB2 a class A rating, and the NAD M22 a class B. to quote your own review, the AHB2 "failed to be as lively or exciting as the NAD". oddly enough, the word "loss" is not mentioned anywhere in the M22's review, so it surprises me it shows up in the recommended equipment guide.
NAD Masters Series M22
Submitted by TG04 on December 3, 2018 - 8:21am
I noticed that discrepancy also, strange indeed. Might lead a reader to think that there's a bias against NAD --- but then the M27 which uses the same audio circuitry (?) in a 7-channel box is "A" rated. What gives?
raven audio
Submitted by sharethemusic on June 16, 2016 - 8:22am
i am the proud owner of raven audio amplification. "THE RAVEN" a 3oob tube based integrated amplifier. There can be no better amplification in the world. You see right thru the music. Your are drawn into it. All the details of the recording are there.Is there colorization by the tubes? Not sure.i can only tell you the music sounds exactly as intended and as natural and neutral as can be.it is rated at 15 watts per channel..Some may not understand. Raven audios 10 watts,is another tube companies 40 watts and solid states 80 watts. It is in the power supply and voltage regulation that all the power of god on earth is unleashed. the power is more than enough to fill my 20x 20 room with blasting clear,warm glorious sound. i have owned mcintosh,krell ,NAD AND MARK LEVINSON. There really isnt anything but maybe my old mac that sounds even close to the raven. andy rothman sharethemusic@aol.com
Auditorium cables
Submitted by Ladokguy1 on June 21, 2016 - 4:22pm
I know Art Dudley has used Auditorium cables as a reference for several years, any reason they are not listed in Recommended Components?
No Dynaudio?
Submitted by AndySingh on July 21, 2016 - 7:25am
I went to my local store - Overture Audio, and auditioned the GoldenEar Aon 2 and Dynaudio Emit M10.
Listening to the M10's, I am surprised they (or other Dynaudio products) have never been reviewed on your site.
Is there a Dynaudio review on the horizon?
Submitted by Glideyork on August 9, 2016 - 2:31pm
I bought the Dynaudio m20 few weeks ago. I'm not really expert, but I think my amp (yamaha r-n500) is not enough powerful for these speakers. If you make some emit reviews, could you give us some advices about the good amps to associate with :/
Thanks for all the other really interesting articles.
Amplifier Recommendation for Emit M20
Submitted by AndySingh on August 9, 2016 - 3:56pm
Speaking to Northwoods AV of Grand Rapids, MI, I was told that Yamaha Aventage 750/760 would be a good choice for 4 ohm speakers such as Dynaudio Emit M20.
The dealer claimed he was running Magnepans off of these. For a stereo setup, this receiver would do, however they probably only support 4 ohm impedance for front left and right.
The power output would not be a concern for a stereo setup.
I use the Marantz PM8005 and
Submitted by gasolin on September 17, 2016 - 5:54am
I use the Marantz PM8005 and that is the smallest amp i would recommend for the Dynaudio emit m10's
Esoteric components conspicuous by their absence....
Submitted by z24069 on September 11, 2016 - 1:54pm
There are some fine choices on the Transports, Digital Processors, Preamp and Amp listings. I am puzzled however at the total lack of mention of any Esoteric Audio product. They are current products well known for their performance and musicality. What criteria being utilized could yield a recommended components lists where at least one of their products (or more) would not make it into the results?
Submitted by Waves200 on March 29, 2017 - 7:31am
Oh to live in a country with a reasonable rate of exchange! Our local Velodyne distributors have the DD+ 15-inch sub listed at the equivalent of almost $2000 more than the listed RRP is in the US. By the time that customs and excise is added to the cost, and the retailers have added their markup, you would be paying almost as much for the 15 inch model as you would for a new family car!
Recommended Components: Fall 2018 Edition
2016 Recommended Components
2015 Recommended Components Fall Edition
Recommended Components: the Stars
Stereophile 2013 Recommended Components iPad App Now Available for Free Download
Recommended Components #1
Vanatoo Transparent One Encore powered loudspeaker system


text:
Going To "Rock My RV" On Travel Channel With Bret Michaels
Posted on 29 July 2013 at 14:45
Bret Michaels is one busy man. He is one of Rock and Roll's most iconic frontmen, one of television's most beloved reality personalities with VH1's "Rock of Love" and NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice", the face and founder of the Life Rocks Foundation, and a successful entrepreneur across various genres. Now, with his new awesome show on Travel Channel, "Rock My RV With Bret Michaels" debuting Sunday May 26th at 9pm, Bret is diving into people's lives and changing them one family at a time by taking their dilapidated RV's and turning them into palaces on wheels. Here is a great synopsis from TravelChannel.com:
"Fans of Michaels know him as a long-time RV devotee, and now Travel Channel is revealing, for the first time, just how deep his RV passions run. Michaels, a hands-on enthusiast, leads a team of skilled, custom RV designers and fabricators who transform travelers' ordinary RVs into the most outrageous, badass, hooked-up mobile mansions on the road.
"For the past 25 years, Bret Michaels has spent at least 9 months out of the year in a tour bus that he personally designs from top to bottom," said Andy Singer, Travel Channel GM. "We couldn't think of a better front man than Bret for the series. He lives and breathes life on the road, and undoubtedly, holds the record for the most hours logged in a custom coach. Bret jumped at the chance to share his passion for travel and the RV experience through the fascinating, obsessive world of customizing RVs."
"Between touring and traveling, I spend a lot of time on the road, and my tricked-out, custom coach is my home away from home," says "Rock My RV" host Bret Michaels. "I crisscross the country and live in my tour bus, and I know how to take an RV from ordinary to extraordinary. I can't wait to put my expertise to use and show people how to make their RVs rock."
Here "The King Of Kamelot" sits down #InTheLab with the incredible Bret Michaels to talk about his inspirational and fun new show on the Travel Channel "Rock My RV With Bret Michaels", his iconic career and moments in rock and television, the wonderful work that he does for diabetes with his Life Rocks Foundation, reinventing himself for 3 generations of fans, his new album featuring Jimmy Buffet, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ace Frehley, and more, his pet clothing line "Pet Rocks" at PetSmart, and so much more! It's humbling to see someone who has packed stadiums and entertained millions remain so humble and grounded, but this is the appeal that has made Bret Michaels so popular to millions of loyal fans around the world.
#rose
#nbc
#rocks
#poison
#travel_channel
#bret_michaels
#vh1
#ace_frehley
#celebrity_apprentice
#jimmy_buffet
#lynyrd_skynyrd
#pet_rocks
#petsmart
#rv
#every
#its
#thorn
InTheLab
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AROMA NICE COFFEE SDN BHD
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CAROMA CAFE FOOD (M) SDN BHD
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CALL 603-6272 5229 EMAIL info@caromacafe.com WEBSITE www.caromacafe.com
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Here at St. Ives, we believe that glow starts from within, and spreads to the skin! Your skincare routine is only as strong as your self-care- that's why we created St. Ives face mists with fragrances designed to provide mood-boosting benefits! Spritz a little OHMMM… with St. Ives face spray, made with 100% natural hydrators (We know, right?!). How do you want to feel today? Zen'd out! Clear away stress with a spritz of this hydrating face mist, with notes of lavender. Why we <3 lavender: rumor has it that you can enjoy lavender forever-ever by drying it out – #LTR! Go from "OH NO" to "OHMMM…" with one spritz! Whether you need a moment of relaxation at work, in class, before bed, or during spa night, St. Ives face mist will give you that zen moment you crave. How to use? Close your eyes and mist 10-12 inches away from skin, before or after make-up for hydrated, glowing skin (think face setting spray!). Spray throughout the day while on the go. This hydrating face mist is the perfect pick me up for your skin and your mood (like a hydrating face toner!). Plus, it's paraben-free & dermatologist tested!
Try this new hydrating facial mist to give you an instant feeling of relaxation.
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By Hareshwar Roy March 22, 2019
Charles Dickens is the representative novelist. He represents the tendencies, manners, vices and virtues of his age. For the first time he introduced the poor and the oppressed. He felt the suffering of the poor and depicted pictures of their lives in his novels. He aroused the conscience of the people. He is considered to be the greatest creative genius of England. He is among the greatest humorists of the world. For Sheer variety and abundance of invention he has no equal.
Realism: Dickens is the pioneer of realism. His keen observation makes him a realist of high order. As a realist he centred his eyes on London and low life. To him London was the epitome of contemporary English life. He knew London thoroughly. Thus he was the first genuine storyteller of London life. His best characters belong to the lower class. In his novel we find workhouses, slums, prisons, cruel laws and poverty. As a realist, he exposes the various evils of Industrial Revolution. He describes vividly the terrors and tortures suffered by children. The sufferings of David in David Copperfield are the sufferings of many Victorian children. The sordid condition of English prison is also brought to light in this novel. Here he is sharply critical of poor laws and the working of the workhouses.
Humanitarianism: As a pioneer of humanitarianism Dickens criticised all institutions, churches, offices, laws, reformatories and aristocratic system. According to him they all are barriers in the way of natural human development. Thus humanitarianism is the keynote of his work. He is rightly called a great social reformer. He shows his sympathy for the out cast, the poor, the downtrodden, the exploited and all victims of society. In his novels children are presented as victims of society. David is one of them.
Characterisation: Dickens deals with characters, not with character. He does not analyse the individual but he portrays numerous kinds of human beings. He presents every detail of manners, appearance, dress etc. of his characters. It is said that his characters are not individual but types. His characters do not react upon each other. They do not act at all. They only behave and show off their unlikeness. In short, Dickens' characterisation is his notable contribution to the English novel.
Humour and Pathos: Dickens is one of the greatest humorists. In this context he can be compared with Shakespeare. Humour is the soul of his writings. The keynote of his humour is tolerance. It arises from the heart and not from the lips. His humour is broad, humane and creative, free and vivacious. He is par-excellence in creating humorous characters - Mr. Pickwick, Mrs. Gamp, Mr. Micawber, and Sam Weller. The admixture of humour, satire and farce is an important characteristic of Dickens as a novelist. Pickwick Papers is a veritable storehouse of humour and farce. His humour takes a satiric turn when he exposes the evils of his age. His satire covers a great part of English life. His humour and pathos can be sharply differentiated. The characters of David, Pip and Paul are fine mixture of humour and pathos. Thus we find artistic fusion of humour and pathos in Dickens' novel.
Plot Construction: It is said that Dickens's novels have no organic unity. They are full of detachable episodes. Characters serve no purpose in furthering the plot. His early novels are usually simple in structure. There he followed the picaresque tradition. In David Copperfield some efforts in made towards greater unification. In his later books he gained the power of constructing elaborate plots. Thus the novels of Dickens are remembered not for the plot but for the characters.
Thus Dickens is the most original novelist of England. He is one of the masters of prose. His style is often too much mannered. His style is the style of the working Journalist. Dickens has left us a rich and varied inheritance. His characters are a memorable contribution to the English novel.


It's hard to believe this is a real photo, but apparently it is. Some people were sailing off the coast of South Africa, doing some whale-watching. A nearby boater caught the ordeal on camera. Unbelievably, no one was injured in the incident, including the whale.
Here's a full article on the story.


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KICKSTARTER: ESC-Toy introduces Hotline Miami's Biker
ESC-Toy has returned with a new Kickstarter project featuring another character from the hit video game Hotline Miami. Following up on their recently shipped Jacket figure, Biker is the next character who will hopefully be transformed into 1/6th scale.
Biker receives similar phone calls and incentives as Jacket, but things go awry when he tries to pull out of the group. After initially joining 50 Blessings out of boredom, Biker has no issues with killing mobsters, but wants out when he begins searching for the truth behind the hit group. Armed with a cleaver and throwing knives, Biker gets involved in a confrontation with Jacket, forcing Jacket to take him down or risk getting killed himself.
The figure stands 12-inches tall and comes with two removable heads (Biker helmet and unmasked Biker), two removable vests, a pair of jeans, removable boots, a meat cleaver, a set of three throwing knives, and a signature Hotline Miami doll stand. The figure is available beginning at the $80.00 funding level. Also, there are several other limited edition colorways available beginning at the $175.00 level.
If the first figure is any indication of this one, you'll want to be a part of it. This project will only be funded if at least $55,000 is pledged by Sunday, August 23rd 2015 at 2:54PM ET .
ESC-Toy, Kickstarter
POP! Movies: The Fifth ElementPOP! Movies: T…Hot Toys' 1/6th scale An…Hot Toys'…


From The Sun's LinkedIn page: The Sun, a nonprofit, ad-free magazine in its forty-first year of publication, is looking for an Associate Editor. Duties include editing — substantial, hands-on, roll-up-the-sleeves editing — as well as soliciting writing, evaluating submissions, and working closely with authors to develop and revise their work. This full-time position is based in our Chapel Hill, North Carolina, office. Visit thesunmagazine.org for details.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized on February 11, 2015 by Laine Cunningham.


¶ Isolated boulder fields attributed to the last glacial maximum (LGM) contain boulders with corners rounded off by tumbling that are many boulders deep, pointing to a catastrophic origin in discrete debris flows. Moreover, many of the boulders exhibit deeply-incised surface features, such as cup marks and striations, that appear to have formed by abrasive scouring, similar to sand blasting, which points to a high-velocity catastrophic origin. These discrete, isolated boulder fields are suggested here to have the same catastrophic origin as Carolina bays, designated, Younger Dryas (YD) impact boulder fields.
¶ Carolina bays and YD impact boulder fields are suggested to be secondary impacts of fragments of Laurentide ice sheet launched into multi-thousand kilometer ballistic trajectories by a primary YD bolide impact on the Laurentide ice sheet in the Great Lakes region, circa 12,900 B.P.
¶ An Younger Dryas (YD) impact or airburst, circa 12,900 B.P., has been all but proved with the discovery of a platinum spike in the Greenland ice sheet, with only the size and location of the bolide impact or impacts open to question. Additionally, a thin layer of magnetic grains, microspherules, nanodiamonds, and glass-like carbon have been unearthed at various locations across North America, Europe and beyond, generally overlain by a 'black mat', with a high carbon content. The black mat is nearly coincident with megafauna extinction in North America and the disappearance of the Clovis civilization (Firestone et al., 2007; Firestone, 2011).
¶ An impact hypothesis for large, shallow oval depressions, known as Carolina bays, originated in the 1940s. Carolina bays are a series of 500,000 oval depressions that range in size from 50 m to 10 km in length that are concentrated along the Atlantic seaboard and the coastal plain of the Gulf of Mexico. An alternative secondary impact theory was advanced in the 21st century, suggesting a secondary impact origin. The long axes of the Carolina bays point back to a suggested primary bolide impact on the former Laurentide ice sheet in the Great Lakes region that apparently lofted giant chunks of ice sheet (icebergs) into ballistic trajectories of 1000s of kilometers to form elongated secondary-impact craters, when and where they landed on soft waterlogged soil, most prominently along the coastal planes.
¶ If iceberg trajectories were at all isotropic in orientation, then the inland was similarly impacted as the coastline, but apparently with less long-lasting effect. Iceberg impacts on the thin soil of upland terrain may have brecciated a layer of bedrock, but without sufficient energy to sculpt the resulting boulders into an elongated Carolina bay-like craters with raised rims. Then 13,000 years of sedimentation over in situ bedrock brecciation may have more or less visually obscured the damage.
¶ The outcome may have been different on sloped ground, however, where gravity could concentrate brecciated boulders in a dynamic debris flow into a discrete, impact boulder field, downhill from the iceberg impact.
¶ Isolated Pennsylvania boulder fields are classically attributed to a periglacial freeze-thaw process during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), where frost action fractured bedrock and the boulders gradually creeped downhill by 'solifluction', where frozen subsoil acted as a barrier to the percolation of water, creating a wet surface over a frozen subsurface during thaw cycles.
¶ Solifluction describes a permafrost setting in which subsoil remains permanently frozen, creating a barrier to the downward percolation of surface water into the water table. Thus surface moisture saturates the thawed topsoil, creating a greasy lubricant over a slippery frozen subsurface for sliding boulders downhill. And periglacial freeze-thaw cycles are presumed to promote the fracturing solid bedrock into mobile boulders by the expansive force of freezing water, where refreezing after thawing has the effect on rock of hammering on a log-splitting wedge into a log.
¶ Alternatively, a catastrophic impact debris-flow origin makes different predictions. Catastrophic impact fracturing should differ from the types of joints (fractures) that appear naturally by physical weathering; however, this level of discrimination would require an advanced understanding of rock fracturing mechanics far beyond the scope of this write-up. Additionally, a catastrophic debris-flow concentration of boulders can better explain corner rounding of boulders during to tumbling, compared to gradual sliding during solifluction conditions. And a rapid debris flow can better explain the jumbling of boulders into deep boulder fields, many boulders deep. Finally, a super-high velocity ice impact sufficient to fracture bedrock would be expected to create characteristic surficial damage on impact-fractured boulders, telegraphing their catastrophic origin.
Next we examine several discrete boulder fields in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
¶ The smaller and less well known of the two Ringing Rocks boulder fields is in Pottstown, PA (40.270647, -75.605616), which exhibits larger diabase boulders with sharper subchoroidal fractured corners, with less corner rounding due to less tumbling. The larger Ringing Rocks boulder field is in Lower Black Eddy, PA (40.562546, -75.129578).
¶ Triassic diabase of the Central Atlantic magmatic province (CAMP) provided a particularly tough target rock to secondary iceberg impacts, with many boulders exhibiting sharp subconchoidal fractures. Heavily-weathered diabase boulders outside these discrete boulder fields typically exhibit rounded surfaces, caused by slow spheroidal exfoliation, with less-rounded joints between adjacent boulders that have 'recently' split, and have not yet had time to undergo spheroidal exfoliation. Devil's Den in Gettysburg, PA is characteristic of in situ physical and chemical weathering of a diabase seam that's more resistant to erosion than the surrounding terrain, causing the diabase to stand out in relief as an exposed ridge. While porous sandstone should be far-more susceptible to freeze-thaw cracking than tough non-porous diabase, the very toughness of diabase results in exposed diabase ridges, which would have been more exposed to freeze-thaw cracking than adjacent subsurface bedrock that likely would have remained frozen year round, so periglacial brecciation can not be dismissed out of hand, but Ringing Rocks boulders exhibit two unusual properties that are more easily explained in a catastrophic context, namely a 'ringing' quality and deeply-incised surface features.
¶ The diabase boulders within the two Ringing Rocks boulder fields exhibit an unusual acoustic property, where many boulders ring like a bell when struck sharply with a hammer or other hard object, hence the name, 'Ringing Rocks'. Diabase boulders outside these two discrete boulder fields do not exhibit this acoustic property. Presumably super-high pressures to which the boulders were subjected prestressed the surfaces, imparting capacity to resonant.
¶ Diabase weathers slowly and predictably, first attaining a rust-like patina, followed by forming a brown-orange rind, which ultimately exfoliates to expose unweathered rock underneath. And like granite, diabase tends to undergo spherical exfoliation to form rounded boulders. In the two Ringing Rocks diabase boulder fields, weathering has barely progressed beyond forming a rust-like patina on the exposed boulders, and indeed the Ringing Rocks boulder field in Lower Black Eddy, PA is recognized to date to around the Last Glacial Maxima, therefore deeply incised surface features, discussed in the following section, can not be dismissed as Holocene weathering and are strong evidence of a catastrophic origin.
¶ The pink boulders of the Hickory Run boulder field are presumably Devonian sandstone from the Catskill Fm, Duncannon Member. The sandstone sand-grain size appears to be inversely related to boulder size, which suggests that in the upward-fining cycle, fine-grained sandstone was at the surface, which was brecciated into smaller boulders than the underlying sandstone with coarser sand-grain size. While finer-grained sandstone will naturally take a higher polish than coarser-grained sandstone from tumbling, the difference in roughness between large and small boulders seems exaggerated, with many of the smooth smaller boulders appearing to have a chemically indurated surface. In vibration or tumbling, larger objects rise to the surface, such that the larger boulders rode over the smaller boulders underneath causing the smaller boulders to receive more abrasion. Then, perhaps, the muddy matrix indurated the surfaces of the smaller boulders in the form of crystallization from saturated mineral species. Finally, the sandy-muddy matrix washed away through the porous French drain of the boulder field, revealing the polished and indurated smaller boulders.
¶ Curiously, the terminal moraine of the Wisconsin glaciation appears to surround the Hickory Run boulder field in a semicircular ring of more than 180° from west-southwest to due east.
¶ Hickory Run boulder field is much larger than either of the two Ringing Rocks boulder fields, and consequently its boulders are considerably more rounded due to a greater degree of tumbling, and perhaps also partly due to sandstone being a brittler composition than diabase.
¶ Hickory Run boulders also exhibit deeply-incised surface features, but the tougher, less tumbled Ringing Rocks boulder fields more faithfully preserved the features.
¶ An official signpost at the Blue Rock boulder field attributes its formation to periglacial mechanisms. If the heavily weathered Tuscarora quartzite boulders of Blue Rock boulder field (40.592022, -75915160) at Hawk Mountain, PA received deeply-incised surface features similar to the Ringing Rocks and Hickory Run boulders, these surface features have apparently eroded away.
¶ The Blue Rock boulder spills down the south southeast side of Hawk Mountain, which means that a ballistic iceberg impact from the the west-northwest (Great Lakes region) impacted the surface at a particularly oblique angle, such that its downhill momentum likely contributed materially to creating a debris flow. So while a ballistic iceberg is less likely to impact on the far side of a hill or mountain, a consequent far side impact may have been much more likely to create the debris flow necessary to form a boulder field.
¶ Discrete YD impact boulder fields that are relatively-free of vegetation are conspicuous on Google Maps, satellite mode, but they should not be confused with talus slopes below steep terrain that form by gradualism.
¶ Boulder fields are relatively rare compared to the 500,000 Carolina bays, such that highly-prominent boulder fields must be only the tip of the iceberg.
¶ Three of the four Boulder field boulders examined exhibit a high incidence of incised surface features, which were presumably caused by abrasive scouring by super-high-velocity water or steam, from ballistic iceberg ice, flash melted and vaporized upon impact. The incised surface features typically take the form of pock marks or pits (elsewhere called 'cup marks'), as well as linear striations and pot holes, where pot holes are defined here as deep pits, often with flat bottoms shaped like a pan, with associated 'handle' striations.
¶ Ballistic icebergs impacted at several kilometers per second with a seismic impulse that cracked the target bedrock, like slamming a flagstone with a sledge hammer. Additionally, the ice flash melted into water, scouring out surface features of exposed bedrock and forcing open preexisting cracks and crevices, like pounding a splitting wedge into a log.
¶ 'Cup marks' on boulders and exposed bedrock are well known in Europe, where they're presumed to be a form of prehistoric art. Indeed, some cup marks are circumscribed by concentric rings that are very evidently man made, although the original cup marks could still be natural secondary-impact products. By comparison, incised surface features on boulder field boulders in North America are ignored by both geologists and archeologists.
¶ Ring art around what could be naturally-incised cup marks in this IMAGE from Fowberry Cairn, UK.
¶ Presumably only the cup-marked top portion of the rock was exposed above the soil line at the time of a local iceberg impact, in this IMAGE from Farnhill Moor, UK.
¶ Note the distinct pitting in the largest cup mark on the right side of the image, composed of different diameter pits. Perhaps this pitting could be fabricated by hammering on various-sized star drills and chisels, but in combination with the smaller cup marks and meandering striations, the total effect appears to be more random than artistic.
¶ Dark-brown, nodular, ferromagnetic rock scale on bedrock, cobbles and boulders is suggested here to be (YD) 'impact spatter', when iron ore is not locally present, although ideally, rocks with dark-brown nodular rock scale would be discovered on stones at the bottom of well-dated black mats. Black mats, however, formed in submerged low lying areas that concentrated extraterrestrial material terrestrial charcoal by run off, whereas bedrocks, cobbles and boulders coated with impact splatter from a nearby iceberg impact would be unlikely to find their way into the future black mats. Suggested impact splatter has not been found on boulders within any of the four suggested impact boulder fields, where perhaps adhered extraterrestrial material would tend to have been 'steam cleaned' off the boulders by super-high pressure and velocity steam and water.
¶ Impact spatter presumes high velocity coating of target rocks by 'sticky' extraterrestrial material that remains adhered to the surfaces after almost 13,000 years. Presumably extraterrestrial material arrived by way of ballistic iceberg, whereupon tertiary spattering could have covered a vastly larger footprint than the iceberg impact footprint itself. Considering the (500,000) Carolina bay density, perhaps nowhere within several thousand kilometers of the primary impact on the Laurentide ice sheet near the Great Lakes was safe from tertiary splattering.
¶ This type of nodular impact splatter is conspicuously present on 'one side only' of boulders and cobbles, apparently coating only the side of the rock exposed to the incoming (tertiary) impact splatter.
¶ The following two images show nodular rock scale on Devonian conglomerate and sandstone on Stony Mountain, north of Fort Indiantown Gap, PA. Stony Mountain is covered with boulders, giving the mountain its name, suggesting the possibility of the mountain being ground zero of a large secondary impact that did not create a discrete boulder field.
¶ The greywacke 'shoe stone' from the Susquehanna River, Millersburg, PA exhibits millimeter-scale nodules on one side only (left side and bottom). One small area on the sole, circled in red, exhibits apparent human modification, presumably to more closely resemble a human shoe or moccasin. If the nodular rock scale is indeed YD impact splatter, then its presence at the surface 12,900 years ago raises the probability that the sole modification was Clovis, perhaps as a child-sized moccasin last, or as a child's plaything.
(Clovis?) shoe stone from Susquehanna River, Millersburg, PA, bottom side with minimal nodular rock scale. The area circled in red has faint chip marks, presumably indicating human modification.
¶ Firestone et al. (2006) discovered magnetic spherules embedded in Clovis chert flakes, apparently caused by high-velocity spherule impacts, with attendant particle tracks. Similarly, magnetic spherules with entrance wounds were found in Pleistocene tusk and bone. Since then, these claims have been officially abandoned due to the lack of a realistic origin story for high-velocity ground-level magnetic spherules, and due to early (33 ka) dates for mammoth tusks with embedded spherules, which greatly predate the Younger Dryas.
¶ While a date long before the Younger Dryas can be defended by evoking repeated passage of Earth through the Taurid meteor stream, YD impact skeptics have gleefully ridiculed the suggestion of high-velocity ground-level magnetic spherules, as in the contrarian paper, The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis: A requiem (Nicholas Pinter et al., 2011). And by abandoning this high-energy evidence, YD impact proponents must parry any number of mundane low-energy alternatives for exotic material in black-mats.
¶ But the fact that microspherules can not maintain high velocity in their passage through the atmosphere does not preclude their receiving a fortuitous high-velocity kick near ground level from a sonic-boom shock wave of a bolide meteor passing overhead, or from a local secondary impact of a ballistic iceberg. The sonic-boom shock wave of a super sonic bolide passing would rapidly accelerate and then decelerate particles small enough to be entrained by the shock wave compression. So extraterrestrial microspherules from the Taurid meteor stream freefalling through the atmosphere at a leisurely pace of several km/hr in the immediate vicinity (circa within several meters) of a wooly mammoth might be rapidly accelerated by a powerful sonic boom to speeds approaching that of the Mach 1 shock wave itself, enabling locally-accelerated spherules to penetrate hide, tusk, bone, or even silicates.
¶ An impact origin for Carolina bays requires equivalent inland impacts, which appear to fit with discrete boulder fields composed of well tumbled boulders stacked deep into discrete boulder fields formed by rapid debris flows, which are difficult to explain by a periglacial, freeze-thaw, solifluction gradualism model.
¶ Deeply-incised surface features, such as cup marks and striations are difficult to impossible to explain away in the context of young boulder fields from the last glacial maximum by the gradualism model, where there's been insufficient time to blame the effects on weathering. Alternatively, deeply-incised surface features appear to support a ballistic iceberg impact, with surficial scouring by super-high velocity fluids.
¶ The resonant quality of Ringing Rocks diabase boulders can not be explained by the gradualism model, whereas brief exposure to super-high pressures of an impacting ballistic iceberg that prestress diabase boulder surfaces may neatly explain their acoustic properties.
¶ Next, dark-brown, nodular, ferromagnetic rock scale as secondary or tertiary extraterrestrial material splatter from ballistic icebergs contaminated with primary bolide material has no comprehensive alternative explanation.
¶ Finally, microspherules embedded in bone, tusks and archeological chert appear to require a high-energy sonic boom to accelerate exotic magnetic spherules up to penetration velocity, and an extraterrestrial impact could create the necessary sonic boom, as well as exotic magnetic spherules to be accelerated.
I am interested in your position on the Nastapoka Arc as impact site. I have compiled an article on the same subject from material on the Web. If you are interested I could E-mail it to you.