ONKYO: Grand Integra M-508 power amplifier

J Gordon Holt writes … “Grand Integra” is the name Onkyo has given to its line of perfectionist-oriented audio products, and the M-508 is the cheaper of Onkyo’s two Grand Integra power amplifiers. (The flagship model is the $4200 M-510, reviewed by Larry Greenhill in Vol.8 No.8, featuring “high current capability,” and rated at 300W […]

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AUDIO INSIDER

Where’s the music supposed to be?

Visiting audio clubs, dealers, trade shows and people’s homes is illuminating to me. I am always learning. Recently I sat in front of a dealer’s high-end demo system and was amazed at how wrong the image was. The entire presentation of the music was between my seating position and the loudspeakers: a logical place for […]

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IMPEDANCE: Mix and match impedance

Popular audiophile lore has it that a mismatch in impedance between the preamp and amplifier will result in bass loss. Yup. If the amp’s input impedance is too low weaker bass will be the result. That’s true in the same way it’s important to pump the car’s accelerator before starting it. In the days of […]

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Quill

NOT BORING: Never let it be said that British hi-fi is boring, or British hi-fi manufacturers for that matter

David Julian price writes ….. Never let it be said that British hi-fi is boring, or British hi-fi manufacturers for that matter. UK audio products are always interesting, but some of the characters behind them never cease to amaze me. Take Timothy Jung of My Audio Design for example, whose company name forms an acronym […]

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AUDIO INSIDER

SILENCE: What is it about the sound of audiophile silence?

Yesterday’s post sparked a number of comments and observations and one that came to the forefront was the ability of the subwoofer to help with a sense of space – not just hitting lower bass notes.  We all recognize a sub’s ability to produce the lowest notes of a piano or organ, T-Rex stomping and […]

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Lux (Luxman) PD-300 turntable mini test review

Howard Popeck: Those of you of a certain age will remember I hope the magnificently engineered range of turntables, amps and tuners built by Luxman (formerly Lux) in the 1970s. They were one of the first, if not the first to introduce vacuum clamping for the record against the platter. This was via an inbuilt […]

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HEADROOM: The ins and outs of headroom

Recently we covered one of the advantages of the higher power supply voltages afforded by tube circuits: linearity.  Today we’ll jump into the second advantage of increased voltage, headroom in power amplifiers. Headroom is a funny thing.  If you take a SET amplifier of perhaps 18 watts and try and get 20 watts out of […]

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