There’s a mystique in audiophile circles about tube amplifiers. They can have a very nice sound which is attributed to their even-harmonic distortion, but they are often portrayed as requiring rare ...

It was with considerable interest last month that I set out to track down where in the world there are still factories making tubes. My research found them in Slovakia, Russia, and China, and it’s ...

So you've decided that you'd like to pick up a headphone amplifier. Like many things in the world of audio, deciding which to buy can be a rabbit hole of different designs, types, and price points. We ...

Audio Note ignores trends again. The Oto SE 35 brings new transformers and PSU to the cult EL84 amp. Low power, big attitude. Hear it at AXPONA 2026.

So you’ve made the decision to buy an external headphone amplifier for your desktop setup. Awesome. It’s an easy way to make your nice pair of wired headphones sound better (because your computer’s ...

Having built a number of vacuum tube output transformer-less (OTL) amplifiers in recent years, it seemed as though it might be a good idea to try combining older with newer technology and using both ...

IN THE AGE OFwireless speakers and Bluetooth streaming, vacuum-tube amplifiers may seem antiquated, but you don’t have to be an audio nerd to appreciate their appeal. Designed to power traditional ...

The Cayin A-50T vacuum tube amplifier, at least for you guys out there, sounds so good it's like Viagra for your ears! Ex-movie theater projectionist Steve Guttenberg has also worked as a high-end ...

Ex-movie theater projectionist Steve Guttenberg has also worked as a high-end audio salesman, and as a record producer. Steve reviewed audio products for CNET and worked as a freelance writer for ...

Smooth treble and warm midrange. Good bass output for power rating. Solid build quality, heavy. At maximum output, sound is still tolerable. All of the sonic advantages of tubes. AV123 is of a new ...

Audio-Technica is introducing the NARUKAMI HPA-KG NARU Tube Headphone Amplifier and ATH-AWKG Closed-Back Dynamic Wooden Headphones at CanJam NYC 2024. The Audio-Technica combo consists of the NARUKAMI ...

If you’ve ever glanced at the specifications sheet for an amplifier, one of the things you may have noticed is the amplifier’s class. Typically denoted by a letter or two, the most common amplifier ...