Headquartered in Kanagawa, Japan, Soulnote has created a trio of product ranges in just ten years. Its mid-range Series 2 comprises a phono stage, DAC and the A-2 integrated
Soulnote’s A-2, available for £6300 in silver or black, is an integrated amplifier with an air of the ‘old skool’ about it. No network or digital connectivity, just analogue all the way, and only line-level too, as the Japanese manufacturer prefers to keep its phono stages separate. There’s no form of system control (ie, 12V triggers), and the user experience is very much plug-in-and-play, aided by an elegant remote and even simpler front-panel display.
Long anticipated, Constellation’s series two amplifiers witness the transition from huge
linear supplies to custom switchmode PSUs. Weight is slashed, and performance boosted
Californian amplifier specialist Constellation Audio isn’t one to regularly refresh its product catalogue, so when – after years of maintaining the same models – it begins a complete overhaul of its entire range, audiophile ears prick up. First to hit the market are the new Inspiration 2 and Revelation 2 series, with the latter’s stereo pre/power system being debuted at the UK Hi-Fi Show Live 2024. These will be followed by the Performance 2 and Reference 2, with the lineup then topped off by the flagship Statement amps first ‘teased’ in 2023 at the Munich High End show.
Leveraging key know-how from its flagship Apex amplifiers, and replacing the original Diablo integrated, the Diablo 333 is more powerful, more flexible and yet more devilish!
Integrated amplifiers are ten a penny, but not when you get into five figures. Often, at this point, consumers and manufacturers pivot toward pre/power systems, pursuing gains in performance and functionality in favour of the simplicity that comes from a one-box design. Yet high-end integrateds do exist, as illustrated by the Diablo 333, starting at £24,500, from Denmark-based Gryphon Audio.
The final piece in PS Audio's quartet of innovative planar magnetic loudspeakers has arrived and it's quite the cutest of the range, but is it a wolf in sheep's clothing?
Even if the title isn't familiar, you'll know The March Of Progress by Rudolph Zallinger. Published in a 1965 volume of Life Nature Library and depicting 25 million years of human evolution as a series of side-on illustrations, from the ape-like Pliopithecus to modern man, it popped into my mind when I unboxed PS Audio's Aspen FR5.
Leveraging tech developed for Sonus faber’s flagship Suprema, its second-gen Sonetto V is all the more fragrant
Sonus faber has shown signs of branching out since its acquisition by North American company Fine Sounds - also the owner of McIntosh Group - in 2016. First, in 2019, came its Palladio architectural speakers destined to partner McIntosh custom install hardware, followed in 2022 by the Omnia all-in-one desktop speaker and the Duetto active stereo wireless models in 2023. It then kicked off 2024 with the £695,000 Suprema 2.2-channel system.
First debuted in 2017, B&W's 705 standmount has been through three major iterations with both 2020's Series 2 and the current Series 3 being offered in 'Signature' guise
Loudspeaker brand B&W launched its first Signature model in 1991, in the shape of the (founder) John Bowers Silver Signature, and has intermittently released further Signature editions in the 30-plus years since. Well, I say intermittently - while only four more Signature speakers came in the next two decades, the 700 S3 Signature range, which also includes the 702 S3 Signature floorstander , comes hot on
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.
German marque’s flagship B series floorstander offers smart bass-tuning potential. Is this the speaker for every room?
Although the largest and most expensive member of Burmester’s B series loudspeakers (which are ranged below its BA and BC models), the £22,700 B38 doesn’t – when viewed front on at least – look quite like the all-singing, all-dancing range-topper you might expect. Yes, it’s marginally taller than the step-down B28 (£17,600), at 1165mm versus 1144mm, but it’s also slimmer, its 210mm width shaving off 13mm. And then there are the drivers, with the B28 having four cascading down its front baffle, while the B38 features just two…
After a period of uncertainty, Rotel’s destiny is firmly back in its own hands with new distribution partners in the EU, US and now the UK, courtesy of SME-owner Cadence
The resurrection of Rotel’s Michi series, previously delighting audiophiles in the 1990s, was a hi-fi highlight of 2019. The Japanese manufacturer again created a strand of components (stereo and mono power amps, a preamp and two integrated models) with a focus on both high-end performance and aesthetics, even going so far as to drop the Rotel name from the branding. Then, in 2023, it announced it was revisiting three models in the lineup, making changes inside rather than out.