Outlaw Audio has introduced two new high power multichannel amplifiers featuring fully balanced differential topology for improved performance. The five-channel Model 7500 and seven-channel Model 7700 each deliver 200 Watts per channel into 8-Ohms, and 300 Watts into 4 Ohms (20 Hz – 20kHz, all channels driven) with a total harmonic distortion of less than 0.03%.

In a world that is dominated by the ever-increasing popularity of HDTVs and a wide variety of multi-channel surround sound systems, it is nice to know that 2-channel audiophiles can still find new high-end stereo products. In a break with the consumer electronics industry's long-standing infatuation with multi-channel audio, Onkyo has introduced a high-end two-channel digital integrated amplifier and a CD player.

New Autobiased Signature MB-450 Power Amplifier and TP6.5 Phono Preamplifier, plus an upgrade for the Reference TL-7.5 Linestage Preamplifier. VTL has upgraded their TL-7.5 Reference Linestage Preamplifier. Four years after introducing the TL-7.5, VTL has revised it for an even better performance. The new design, known as the TL-7.5 Series II, adapts current gain technology developed for the new TP-6.5 Signature Phono Stage. The upgrade results in a lower overall gain (20dB-balanced, 14dB single ended), as well as a lower noise floor. During the R&D of the TP-6.5 phono stage we developed a high current circuit to resolve with very low background noise the small distances that a phono cartridge travels, and we have applied this thinking to the TL-7.5 Series II, said Luke Manley, President of VTL. This circuit delivers a wider frequency response, while maintaining the neutrality that the ...

Recently, I visited one of the industry’s most famous and outspoken icons, Mark Levinson, at his New York loft, home to Red Rose Music and, as I was to learn, quite a few new projects. The one that was most compelling to me is Levinson’s Burwen Bobcat, which is a software and/or hardware solution to fixing the sound of sources that don’t sound as musical as we might expect from analog sources or, even better, the live event. One of Levinson’s long standing arguments is that digital music in a variety of forms is unnatural-sounding and even possibly has ill effects on your health. His software sets out to correct some of that and makes your music sound better, too.

NAD is introducing a whole new line of components called the Masters Series – the first four components to be released in November are the M15 Surround Sound Processor ($2,999), the M25 Seven-Channel Power Amplifier ($2,999), the M3 Dual Mono Integrated Amplifier ($2,799) and the M55 Universal DVD Player ($1,799). The design of the Masters Series has a strong industrial influence, the chassis with its two millimeter thick panels and extruded aluminum and die cast zinc parts forms a solid foundation to reduce air and structure born vibration from reaching any sensitive electronic components within. Glass epoxy circuit boards with thick OFC copper traces and extensive ground planes are used to keep low impedance operating condition. Discreet devices from top manufacturers are used in the high power stages while surface mount devices and large scale integrated circuits are used on multi-layer PCBs. NAD wants the Masters Series to set the benchmark for high-end audio with its ...