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In many ways, the ATC SCM100ASLT is like the Bentley Continental GT of loudspeakers. It’s big, it’s very powerful, it’s luxuriously finished, it sounds like nothing else, and it’s very, very British. The ATC SCM100ASLT is an active British studio monitor in the most classic sense. Its transparency, range, and dynamic capabilities conspire to bring some of that large-scale in-studio magic to your listening room. ConclusionsThe ATC SCM100ASLT is essentially a classic active studio monitor, dressed up in the most sophisticated tailored suit. I am constantly flummoxed when I remember that they are..

An analogous truism is that you can’t know what you’re missing if you’ve never had it. A case in point: soon after I began my audition of Hegel Music Systems’ H600, their new flagship integrated amplifier-DAC ($12,500, all prices in USD), I came to realize what the missing element in my system had been. It was an epiphany. ConclusionThe Hegel H600 is an exceptional integrated amplifier. Using the Bryston BDA-2 DAC I was able to compare the H600 and B135 strictly as integrated amplifiers and found the former superior—effortless and pristine at any volume. Remarkably, Hegel includes with this ou..

Aesthetically, the M3 exudes character. Its wide-baffled, rectilinear aspect isn't just timeless. It's iconic. I felt that on first sight, at the 2022 Montréal Audiofest. Despite being short—technically, it's a bookshelf speaker—it radiates stoic strength. Back-tilted on a black, powder-coated, 14-gauge riser base, its square-jawed chin juts out defiantly. It's like the face of an Eastwood Western character, except that, instead of a cigar, there's a flap at the bottom to pull off the magnetically attached fabric grille. As tempted as I was initially to yank those flaps—I have a great distaste..

The 7000A arrives on the market with one of the most thorough and comprehensive feature sets on the market and balances this with truly outstanding performance. It's not the best Audiolab amp but it is the best value. The matching CDT offers a genuinely pleasurable user experience that will work superbly in a variety of setups.ConclusionSo as to stave off any doubt, the 7000A is not better than the 9000A. That is a formidable bit of kit that justifies its asking price and every piece of effusive prose here doesn’t change that. This truth doesn’t alter the fact that, at nine hundred pounds less..

Celebrating a legacy that stretches back 50 years, the Norwegian brand stamps its authority with the heavyweight AW 800 M flagship amplifier – a solid cube of power!Glorious powerPush the limits of the amp with the dramatic ‘A Call To Arms’, which opens the James Horner score for the 1989 film Glory [La-La Land Records; LLLCD 1560], and it pulls together the angelic high trebles of The Boys Choir of Harlem and the room-shaking bass of the orchestration to spine-tingling effect. The consistent sense of effortless power that just keeps on giving is undiminished by playing this demanding track at..

EISA High-End Streaming Amplifier 2023-24 Hegel H600Benefiting from an upgraded digital stage built around a new DAC chip and network board, Hegel’s H600 is a worthy successor to the spectacular H590 streaming amplifier. The company’s bespoke SoundEngine 2 error-cancelling technology is on hand to deliver a sound with abundant detail and control, aided by a comprehensively redesigned preamp stage that guarantees an organic, honest and compelling performance. All flavours of loudspeaker are welcome, thanks to the H600’s hugely powerful ‘2x303W’ output. Generous connectivity, in addition to its ..

For a company well-known for its luxurious and award-winning isodynamic headphones, the 109 PRO is something of a departure for Meze, being an open-back design with 50mm dynamic drivers. Yet its performance proves the manufacturer’s adaptability: with its alluring combination of expansive, detailed soundstaging and tight, controlled bass, the 109 PRO is a superior headphone suited to all types of music. It triumphs in the looks department too, its acoustically smart design built around opulent black walnut housings and a slender, lightweight frame. And thanks to its elegant self-adjusting head..

EISA Premium Floorstanding Loudspeaker 2023-2024 Perlisten R7tAlthough the junior model to Perlisten’s flagship S7t, this floorstander inherits so much of its sibling’s design and engineering DNA that its premium status is assured. The company’s patented DPC (Directivity Pattern Control) array takes centre stage, its carefully optimised trio of mid and tweeter units flanked by bass/mid and bass drivers in a four-way design offering the option of both vented and sealed operation. In full flight, the R7t creates a largescale and evocative sound built on a foundation of deep and tightly controlle..