Review: Ken Kessler

Review: Ken Kessler, Lab: Paul Miller | Sep 04, 2023 | 0 comments

DeVore's 'Orangutan' loudspeaker range now has a funky sibling – the aptly-named O/baby that extends the brand's high sensitivity DNA into a very compact cabinet

Even the name sounds like a clarion call: 'O/baby!', straight out of Austin Powers. It resides 'one from the bottom' in DeVore Fidelity's Orangutan range, with only the minuscule, 25x25x25cm micr/O sealed cube below it. But the O/baby is the one that screams 'Buy me!' at this jaded hack. How so? This trickle-down gem from DeVore, smaller than the O/93 [HFN Mar '23], just may be the answer to my bucket list dreams. Or would be, had I the £6298 for a pair. And £1398 more for the stands.

Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

Döhmann Helix Two Mk3 Turntable

Review: Ken Kessler, Review and Lab: Paul Miller | Aug 03, 2023 | 0 comments

From the man behind the iconic Continuum turntable comes this next-generation range, under his own brand, incorporating a 'negative-stiffness mechanism' suspension

Australia is not only home to some of the world's most fascinating animals but it's also the stomping ground of high-end heavyweights Halcro [HFN May '23] and Döhmann Audio, the latter responsible for the finely-engineered, and robustly elegant, turntable that graces the pages of this month's feature review. For Mark Döhmann, Director of Design, the 'Two' – one of a pair of decks in the Helix range, now in Mk3 guise – represents his latest thinking on the art and science of vinyl replay.

Pre/Power Amplifiers

D'Agostino Progression S350 Power Amplifier

Review: Ken Kessler, Lab: Paul Miller | Jul 17, 2023 | 0 comments

Taking inspiration from the industrial design and key circuit features of D'Agostino's Momentum series, this second-gen Progression amplifier may upset its own applecart

It struck me, around halfway through the first track, that designer/CEO Dan D'Agostino was emulating the way supercar companies delineate their model ranges. Hey, I needed something to explain why the new Progression S350 Stereo power amplifier at £34,998 costs just over half that of the Momentum S250 MxV's £54,998, and yet it is over two times the size and rated at 100W more per channel: 350W vs 250W. Also, at 454x230x584mm (whd) against a Momentum's 318x133x546mm, the Progression S350 dwarfs the dearer unit. It was like the comedy Twins, with Schwarzenegger standing next to DeVito.

Phono Preamplifiers

PrimaLuna EVO 100 Tube Phono Preamplifier

Review: Ken Kessler, Lab: Paul Miller | Jun 12, 2023 | 0 comments

Dutch tube aficionado, PrimaLuna, has offered an optional solid-state phono module with its amps for years, but now comes its first standalone, all-tube MM/MC preamp

With vinyl sales now surpassing CD, the revival is back with such force that the flood of phono stages and decks will surely continue unabated. More than that, it's enough for PrimaLuna to show its confidence in analogue to bring out its first EVO phono amp, the EVO 100 Tube Phono Preamplifier at £3398.

Pre/Power Amplifiers

Manley Jumbo Shrimp/Mahi Preamp & Monoblocks

Review: Ken Kessler, Lab: Paul Miller | May 22, 2023 | 0 comments

'Tubes Rule' is the Manley Labs mantra as we catch up with an aquatically-inspired pre/ monoblock combo that have been at the core of its range for the best part of 20 years

Timely or what? When editor PM pointed out that the Manley Jumbo Shrimp Line Preamplifier (£5849) and Mahi Monoblock Amplifier (a stereo pair at £7599 making up Mahi-Mahi – geddit?) had been in the catalogue for ages, I learned from company president EveAnna Manley that it was exactly 20 years to the day of their debut that I was auditioning the latter.

Loudspeakers

DeVore Fidelity O/93 Loudspeaker

Review: Ken Kessler, Lab: Paul Miller | Apr 20, 2023 | 0 comments

The smaller of DeVore's 'Orangutan' loudspeakers still achieves that elusive goal of offering high sensitivity and an amp-friendly load, but without full-fledged horn-loading

Here's a platitude which should adorn a t-shirt made mandatory attire for all audiophiles: 'It's OK To Like More Than One Thing'. In my view, hi-fi is no more cut-and-dried than wine, cars or shoes. Components are not mutually exclusive. With speakers in particular, there are more competing, different-sounding technologies than just about any other part of the chain. And what DeVore Fidelity has in its £9998-per-pair Orangutan O/93 is a design which ticks numerous boxes, all the better to alleviate any guilt about loyalty to a single topology.

Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

Lyra Kleos SL Cartridge

Review: Ken Kessler, Lab: Paul Miller | Mar 20, 2023 | 0 comments

Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the company's founding, Lyra introduces a refinement to the popular Kleos moving-coil cartridge – the SL with, yes, lower output

Has it really been 40 years since Jonathan Carr and Stig Bjørge founded what would become Lyra? Did I really play with a (Scan Tech) Tsurugi, launched in 1986 and which I still have, when Maggie was PM? As I have enjoyed Lyra cartridges for over half my life, including many happy hours with the mono Kleos, the £3095 Kleos SL arrived with positive anticipation.

Integrated Amplifiers

Western Electric Type 91E Integrated Amplifier

Review and Lab: Paul Miller, Review: Ken Kessler | Mar 02, 2023 | 0 comments

If you're a fan of the legendary 300B triode, who better to produce an application for that valve? Western Electric's 91E integrated amplifier may be your dream come true

Pedigree? You want pedigree? How about the inventor of the 300B triode? Western Electric's provenance beats all comers, the company dating back to 1869, which kinda trumps any other manufacturer's claims for longevity. Here it is 154 years on with the Type 91E integrated amplifier to dazzle those wedded to single-ended triodes (SETs), yet with enough modern details, both sonic and functional, to ensure it is regarded as a 21st century tube amplifier.

Integrated Amplifiers

Icon Audio ST40 MkIV 6L6 Integrated Amplifier

Review: Ken Kessler, Lab: Paul Miller | Feb 16, 2023 | 0 comments

Designer David Shaw has stripped the best-selling Stereo 40 tube amp back to its basics and replaced its KT88s with 6L6/KT66s for a less 'power hungry' musical experience

Who'd have believed that the world would be awash with affordable valve amps in the 2020s? Certainly not those who recall the desperation of trying to source fresh tubes during the era when solid-state ruled and valves were yet to make a comeback. But now the choice is so vast that you can look beyond nursing vintage Leaks or Quads, with the risks that entails. Arguably the doyen of affordable valve amps is Icon Audio, its latest the absurdly cost-effective integrated Stereo (ST) 40 MkIV 6L6, starting at £2200.

Loudspeakers

Wilson Audio Alexia V Loudspeaker

Review: Ken Kessler, Lab: Paul Miller | Feb 02, 2023 | 0 comments

It's V for Victory as Wilson's Alexia loudspeaker is more than simply 'tickled-up' with a host of detailed revisions

Ah, the sweet spot! Positioned in the exact middle of a seven-model range of Wilson Audio floorstanders, between the Sasha DAW [HFN Mar '19] and Alexx V [HFN Jan '22], the new Alexia V – by accident or design – now occupies that most coveted of spaces. One of hi-fi's inexplicable phenomena, a 'sweet spot' seems to exist in pretty much every hi-fi model range, from turntables to amps to speakers, when a stand-out in performance relative to size and cost just happens. Yes, the new Alexia V is that special.

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Review: Ken Kessler

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