Powerful, but trading subtlety and musical sensitivity over brute force, Ed Meitner’s flagship MTRS stereo power amplifier finds its perfect partner in the all-analogue PRE
The promotional literature for EMM Labs’ MTRS stereo power amplifier is so sure of its designer’s cachet within the audiophile community that it simply refers to him as Ed. For those not in the know, Ed is Ed Meitner, founder of Canada’s EMM Labs, and – back in the day – the engineer tasked by Sony and Philips to help with the development of SACD. The company that bears his initials operates in the high-end (there’s a more ‘accessible’ Meitner Audio brand) and maintains a boutique separates catalogue.
Ohio-based SVS throws all its speaker know-how into a high-value concave cabinet bristling with custom drivers
Between 2017 and 2022, SVS comprehensively overhauled its range of subwoofers, introducing models from the 80kg PB16-Ultra to the compact 3000 Micro. A quiet spell followed as SVS tackled a new project – an all-new flagship loudspeaker series, topped by the model on test here.
This month we review: Orch National de France/MAcelaru, Sol Gabetta/Bertrand Chamayou, Michael Spyres, Les Talens Lyriques/Christophe Rousset, and Stéphany, Spence, Foster-Williams, Gabrieli Consort et al/McCreesh
.
Now remastered several times, Britten’s War Requiem was recorded by the composer in 1963. Christopher Breunig recalls its Coventry premiere and, later, his cheeky cub reviewer’s account
Reissued last November on vinyl and in digital formats, Benjamin Britten’s Decca recording of his War Requiem was produced at Kingsway Hall by John Culshaw, and engineered by Kenneth Wilkinson, in January 1963 – eight months after its Coventry Cathedral UK premiere.
With programme notes now written and translated by chatbots, and record covers created by image generators, can the first classical AI recording be far behind? Peter Quantrill thinks not
It was the word homotonal that caught my eye. Surely no one writes like that in 2024, I wondered to myself. I read on. ‘Similar to Plato’s ideas of the imprint of moral virtues onto the human soul through music…’ – eh? Bear in mind I was reading a booklet note to accompany a new album of Mozart’s piano sonatas. I flipped the page to look for the author’s credit. No name given.
Jim Lesurf remembers a former HFN stalwart as he battles with the poor ergonomics and insufficient printed manual of a new audio purchase – before sending it back for a refund.
Many years ago I saw a poster which showed a young woman in a wheelchair at the top of a flight of stairs that led down to a public washroom. The point being made was simple: she wasn’t disabled by being unable to walk. The problem was that whoever installed the facility had ignored the existence of people who found the stairs a barrier.
Powerful, but trading subtlety and musical sensitivity over brute force, Ed Meitner’s flagship MTRS stereo power amplifier finds its perfect partner in the all-analogue PRE
© 2025 Hi-Fi News
