SoundStage! Ultra | SoundStageUltra.com
Network Hub Buying Guides Newsletter Signup Advertisers' Index
Shunyata Research
Shunyata Research
Thursday, September 18, 2025
  • Equipment
  • Features
      • Back
      • Opinion
      • For the Record
      • In Good Company
      • Recording of the Month
      • General Interest & Interviews
      • Off the Cuff
      • Richard Freed's Keepers
          • Back
          • UltraAudio.com Articles (Archived)
          • SoundStageHiFi.com (Current)
  • TWBAS
  • Videos
  • Our Sites
      • Back
      • SoundStage! Network (portal)
      • SoundStage! Access
      • SoundStage! Australia
      • SoundStage! Global
      • SoundStage! Hi-Fi
      • SoundStage! Life (podcast)
      • SoundStage! Simplifi
      • SoundStage! Solo
      • SoundStage! TV
      • SoundStage! Ultra (here)
      • SoundStage! Xperience
Vitus Audio
Vinnie Rossi Brama
Bryston BP-19
Hegel

Legacy link:
legacy_200w
This new site was launched in July 2010. Visit the older site to access previous articles by clicking above.

Vinnie Rossi Brama
Gryphon Audio Essence
Wilson
Gryphon Audio StandArt
Wilson

Equipment Reviews

Ultra Audio's site platform was changed in August 2010. For equipment reviews previous to that, use this link to transfer to the old site.

PBN Audio Scan-Speak B741 Loudspeakers

Written by: Tim Shea
Created: 01 January 2013

PBN Audio Scan-Speak B741I was originally slated to review PBN Audio’s InnerChoice Lucy minimonitor, and was very much looking forward to it, given my relatively recent interest in higher-quality stand-mounted monitors. I was also looking forward to hearing the Lucys because they would give me a glimpse -- albeit a small one -- into the mind of Peter B. Noerbaek (hence PBN), who has designed some very highly regarded speakers and electronics. Did you know that PBN even offers turntables? Me neither, until I perused their website. In fact, Noerbaek e-mailed me a photo of a $100,000 ’table he’d just sent to a customer in New York. It was a stunner. Anyway, due to other production demands, it was going to take a while to get me a pair of Lucys, so PBN asked if I’d be interested in reviewing one of their latest design projects instead.

The Scan-Speak B741 is a fairly good-sized, three-way floorstander incorporating some very high-end components. Twist my arm -- an even bigger glimpse into the mind of PBN. Maybe we’ll see ya later, Lucy.

Read more …

Blue Circle Audio BC109 Preamplifier

Written by: Michael Wright
Created: 15 December 2012

Blue Circle Audio BC109I’ve long been a fan of preamplifiers from Blue Circle Audio. From their early, surprisingly affordable, tube-driven models to the hybrid and solid-state preamps available today, Blue Circle has provided something for everyone. The sounds of their preamps have never been etched, or so overburdened with detail that you could hear a fly crawling on the recording-studio wall. Nor did they sound too tubey. Blue Circle preamps have always served the music, and the upgrade program instituted by founder-designer Gilbert Yeung has made it possible to begin relatively inexpensively, then upgrade to exceedingly good sound.

Read more …

Dynaudio Confidence C2 Signature Loudspeakers

Written by: Jeff Fritz
Created: 01 December 2012

Dynaudio Confidence C2One of the questions readers often ask is how I choose what to review. My answers vary: What’s new that readers might be interested in? What products are creating buzz in the audiophile community? What looks promising in terms of sound? Over the years, I’ve gotten a pretty good handle on what products will ultimately lead to reviews -- positive or negative or somewhere in between -- that lots of folks will want to read, and that knowledge informs my decisions. A Dynaudio speaker is always a good bet for review, and the reasons are as clear as day.

Some companies can be counted on, and Dynaudio is one of them. This Danish manufacturer produces high-performing loudspeakers in a wide range of prices, and has a devoted following built up through years of success. From examining acoustical measurements, both our own and those of other magazines, I know that Dynaudio speakers are technically excellent, as they should be -- the company is one of the few speaker manufacturers to have its own anechoic chamber. They also make all their own drivers. Also, I’ve rarely heard a Dynaudio speaker, at an audio show or elsewhere, sound anything less than very good, and more often than not it sounds better than that. All of this is to say that I felt that Dynaudio’s Confidence C2 Signature ($15,000 USD per pair) would be a good candidate for a review: something that would be likely to perform well, and that readers would thus be interested in.

Read more …

First Watt J2 Stereo Amplifier

Written by: Vade Forrester
Created: 15 November 2012

First Watt J2Pass Labs amplifiers have inspired more than a few moments of lust in the hearts of veteran audiophiles. Big, beautiful, powerful, and expensive, their sound, according to some, has advanced the state of the art. But audiophiles may not know about designer Nelson Pass’s second company, First Watt, which produces a line of electronics smaller, cheaper, but possibly even more innovative than the mighty Pass Labs models. The First Watt amps give Nelson Pass an opportunity to try new circuit-design technology on a limited scale. The first FW products were unusual amplifiers designed to work well with single-cone drivers such as the legendary Lowthers, but over the years the line has been expanded to include preamps and crossovers.

Read more …

Simaudio Moon Evolution 810LP Phono Stage

Written by: Graham Abbott
Created: 01 November 2012

Illusion is the first of all pleasures.
-- Oscar Wilde

Moon 810LPSelect ComponentReference. The word has been trotted out and flounced so shamelessly by so many audio manufacturers and appended to the names of so many products that, as with cat dander and country music, I’ve managed to build up an immunity to it. However, with the right associations the word still carries impact -- as, for instance, when an industry name as well respected as Simaudio produces an “R”-word product like the Moon Evolution 810LP dual-mono reference phono preamplifier, which the manufacturer describes as “an all-out assault on phono preamplification” engineered and built without consideration of cost. As you might expect, the 810LP is a serious piece of kit in terms of engineering, build quality, and, alas, price. At $12,000 USD, it’s not for the faint of heart or wallet, though by high-end standards $12k is by no means stratospheric. Still, I shy away from calling it a “bargain.”

Read more …

Boulder Amplifiers 1060 Stereo Amplifier

Written by: Ryan Coleman
Created: 15 October 2012

Boulder 1060Boulder has been making amplifiers since 1984, and the model 1060 stereo amplifier, the subject of this review, has been in continuous production since 1999 -- in stark contrast to the upgrade cycle of three to four years that some manufacturers have made part of their business strategy. While the name Boulder comes from the company’s site of operations, in Colorado, I think most folks would assume it reflects their products’ weight -- the 1060 closes in on 140 pounds (with no handles to assist in positioning it . . . ugh!). 

Read more …

SMc Audio VRE-1C Reference Preamplifier

Written by: Ryan Coleman
Created: 01 October 2012

SMc Audio VRE-1C ReferenceThe high-end audio industry is a niche market; always has been, and I suspect it always will be. Annual production runs for kilobuck CD players can be measured in dozens of units, in stark contrast to the thousands or tens of thousands made by a Sony or a Bose. But those industry monsters have marketing departments and distribution systems that span the globe. Contrast that with high-end audio, where many products are the results of efforts by a single driven person.

Read more …

Blue Circle Audio NSL Stereo Amplifier

Written by: Michael Wright
Created: 15 September 2012

Select ComponentLast fall, I was talking to Gilbert Yeung, Blue Circle Audio’s founder and chief designer, about an amplifier he was working on. He felt it was something special. He told me he’d soon be in my area, and asked if I’d like to hear it.

Blue Circle Audio NSLYeung came by with an unnamed prototype. When he told me that it generated only 18-20Wpc, I told him I didn’t believe it, and that even if it were true, I didn’t want to damage the amp by overdriving it. He invited me to give it my best shot. I smirked and thought, So be it.

Read more …

Audio Research Reference 250 Mono Amplifiers

Written by: Peter Roth
Created: 01 September 2012

Select ComponentIt’s said that a boy does not truly become a man until his father dies. I can’t confirm the truth of that adage -- my own father is alive and well -- but I’ve found that certain life-altering experiences have triggered new levels of responsibility, capability, and growth. I felt more a man after marrying my wife 15 years ago, and even more when my children were born. I suspect that when my parents shuffle off this mortal coil, another era of manhood will begin for me. 

ARC Reference 250Having been imbued with a set of core characteristics by founder William Zane Johnson, Audio Research Corporation was raised well, and was ready to live on its own when its progenitor approached his end. Many hi-fi manufacturers -- even some industry stalwarts -- begin, thrive, and ultimately die while still riding on the shoulders of their founders. Not so ARC. Few companies in high-performance audio have a longer history or a greater pedigree. Johnson retired in 2008, handed over the reins, and set ARC free. He died in late 2011.

Read more …

Von Schweikert Audio VR-35 Export Deluxe Loudspeakers

Written by: Uday Reddy
Created: 15 August 2012

Select ComponentVSA VR-35I’m the envy of all my audiophile/home-theater buddies because I have my own dedicated sound room. It may not reach the heights of Jeff Fritz’s Music Vault, but it’s a great-sounding room and I don’t have to share it with anyone. Most audiophiles have to deal with the Wife Acceptance Factor (sorry, ladies, but almost all of us are guys), or settle for a system that does both audio and home-theater duties. Unless you have built-in, wall-mounted speakers, there’s going to have to be some compromise with speaker placement in the name of marital harmony. While Albert Von Schweikert may not have had the WAF primarily in mind, he did bring all his technical expertise to bear on the issue of a less obtrusive, against-the-wall type of speaker that would satisfy audiophile and spouse.

Read more …

  1. Vitus Audio Signature SM-010 Mono Amplifiers
  2. YG Acoustics Kipod II Signature Loudspeakers
  3. Vandersteen Audio Treo Loudspeakers
  4. Magico Q1 Loudspeakers
  5. Hemingway Audio Prime Reference Mk.II Speaker Cables, Interconnects, and Power Cords
  6. Synergistic Research Element Copper, Tungsten, and Copper-Tungsten-Silver Interconnects and Speaker Cables
  7. Crystal Cable Arabesque Mini Loudspeakers
  8. EgglestonWorks Fontaine Signature Loudspeakers
  9. AudioQuest Diamond and Carbon FireWire 800 Cables
  10. Artos Audio Sunrise Loudspeakers
  11. Esoteric I-03 Integrated Amplifier
  12. NuForce DAC-9 Digital-to-Analog Converter
  13. Audience adeptResponse aR6-TS Power Conditioner
  14. EAR MC 4 Step-Up Transformer
  15. PBN Audio Montana InnerChoic Liberty Loudspeakers
  16. Simple Design Sonore Music Server
  17. Herron Audio VTSP-3A Preamplifier
  18. Copland CDA825 CD Player
  19. TW-Acustic Raven 10.5 Tonearm
  20. Artisan Silver MC Phono Stage
  21. MSB Technology Universal Media Transport
  22. Well Tempered Lab Amadeus Turntable
  23. Purity Audio Design Purity Reference Preamplifier
  24. Silverline Audio Sonatina Mk.IV Loudspeakers
  25. Ayre Acoustics DX-5 Universal A/V Engine
  26. Coda Technologies 15.0 Stereo Amplifier
  27. LessLoss Firewall Power Conditioner and DFPC Signature Power Cable
  28. Miyajima Laboratory Premium BE Mono Cartridge
  29. Magnum Dynalab MD 309 Integrated Amplifier
  30. Audio Research Reference 5 Preamplifier
  31. VAC Phi 200 Stereo Amplifier
  32. Ortofon Cadenza Mono Phono Cartridge
  33. Ultrasone Edition 8 Headphones
  34. YG Acoustics Carmel Loudspeakers
  35. Atma-Sphere Music Amplifier M-60 Mk.3.1 Mono Amplifiers
  36. AudioPrism Ground Control Grounding Cables
  37. Nordost Norse Frey Interconnects and Speaker Cables
  38. Ayre Acoustics KX-R Preamplifier and MX-R Mono Amplifiers
  39. Raysonic SP-300 Integrated Amplifier
  40. Synergistic Research Galileo Universal Interconnect and Speaker Cells, and Mini Power Couplers
  41. VAC Renaissance Mk.3 Preamplifier
  42. Accustic Arts Reference Tube-DAC II SE DAC and Reference Drive II CD Transport
  43. Silent Running Audio VR fp isoBASE Equipment Platforms
  44. EAR 890 Stereo Amplifier

Page 29 of 34

  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
210x600 T+A R Criterion S (20240601)
Dynaudio Contour 20BE
Simaudio
Electrocompaniet AW 300M
Vitus Audio
Vitus Audio

SoundStage! Ultra is part of
SoundStage!

All contents available on this website are copyrighted by SoundStage!® and Schneider Publishing Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

This site was designed by Rocket Theme, Karen Fanas, and The SoundStage! Network.
To contact us, please e-mail info@soundstagenetwork.com

To Top