Amplifiers

Sony TA-F35 Review

Page after page of criticism and opinion – sometimes dressed up as fact, sometimes not – on how bad Japanese amplifiers were in 1980 could be found in any British hi-fi journal. They claimed this was especially true in the inexpensive sector, where all of their “frills” meant money wasn’t spent on items that would …

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Sony TA-F55 Review

Sony amplifiers had abandoned their unique but unstable V-FET output transistors by 1979, and were inventing in new ways – the goal was to bring an interesting twist to a standard design. As a result, Sony engineers placed the power transistors on the main circuit board from the center of the new TA-F range upwards …

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NAD 3155 Review

When the 3155 was introduced in January 1985, NAD touted it as “two products in one.” “As a preamplifier, it rivals the sound characteristics of most discrete audiophile preamps while outperforming them in terms of operating versatility.” It pushes even problematic loudspeakers to shockingly high volume levels with clean, substantial, full-bodied musical sound that is …

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Naim NAP 135 Review

Some may dismiss this as merely another of the many power amplifiers made by the Salisbury solid-state specialists over the years, but I believe it has something unique to offer in the grand scheme of things. Naim Audio rose to prominence with the NAC 32 and NAP 250, despite not being the company’s first preamp/power …

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Naim NAP 250 Review

It’s been a long time since Naim Audio Ltd. initially opened its doors in a Wiltshire backstreet in 1973, and since then, the company has grown in popularity and reputation. Julian Vereker, the firm’s founder, once stated that he started the company to manufacture hi-fi equipment that he and his friends would enjoy listening to. …

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Oppo HA-1 Review

Who would have guessed? Oppo Digital Inc., a California-based spin-off of an obscure Chinese optical disc player firm, launches a high-end hi-fi product line. It’s not your normal hi-fi success story, but with each new product launch, the tale becomes more credible. The business now has its own matching DAC/preamp/headphone amp – in the very …

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