The best gear of the year, as picked by the editors of Home Entertainment.

Premium Blend

The NaimUniti combines all your stereo favorites in to one unifying package.

Mix together one part amp and one part DAC and you get Hegel's H100 Integrated Amp.

I am loving the influx of high-end audio gear that plays nice with computers.

It's taken long enough, but it seems like the audiophile companies are embracing computer-based digital audio for the future that it is.
    
Whch brings us to this, the Hegel H100 Integrated Amp.

The 60th Anniversary Limited Edition C22 Tube Preamplifier and MC75 Tube Monoblock Power Amplifier aren't exact replicas of the originals—they're better!

McIntosh is commemorating its 60th anniversary with 120 sets of its legendary C22 stereo preamplifier and MC75 monoblock power amplifiers for the U.S. market. Like the re-born, retro-styled, Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger, these components look the part and seduce the eye with classic styling, but inside, they feature modern design touches.

Marantz goes for truth in nomenclature with their new Reference series

The Reference Series is Marantz's no-holds-barred line of audio components, which includes several amps, preamps, integrated amps, control amps and disc players. 

The flagship components in my review system are two MA-9S2 monaural power amplifiers, the SC-7S2 Control Amplifier and the SA-7S1 CD/SACD player.

When Digital Met Analog

Ditch the transistors and go tubing with old-fashioned, oh-so-analog vacuum tube audio gear from Peachtree Audio and Fatman.

The Light Fantastic

“See me, touch me, hear me!” Those would be the Solista MkII's first words, if it could talk.

The amplifier's flowing lines and voluptuous shape couldn't be from anywhere but Italy. And it is, entirely hand-crafted in Vicenza. The chassis' undulating curves and exquisitely machined knobs show this is no ordinary high-end amplifier. Listen to your favorite tunes and it becomes clear the Solista MkII was designed to preserve, above all else, the essence of the music.

Sonic Solutions

I’m just guessing, but Bel Canto’s founder and CEO John Stronczer must be a contrarian. Don’t get the wrong idea, he’s a perfectly nice guy; it’s just that Bel Canto’s compact, lightweight, cool running e.One Series components use just a tiny fraction of the AC power consumed by their hotter-running, bigger and heftier competition.

Bel Canto does things differently.

All ears!

Lucky me, I recently reviewed three of the world's very best headphones, the Audio Technica ATH-W5000, Denon AH-D7000 and Sennheiser HD 800 for Home Entertainment, due in the September issue.

But the advancement of high-end headphones doesn't stand still and now I've heard something even better: The WooAudio WES headphone amplifier and Stax SR-007 Mk2 headphone.

Truth and Soul

I’ll never forget the very first time I heard a Burmester amplifier. It was 20-something years ago, and the rather svelte Burmester Model 878 was being compared with a muscle bound, high-end American amp.

The American amp sounded like a really good hi-fi, and it was more powerful, but the Burmester sounded more musical. It had more soul; the music was simply more alive and realistic sounding over the Burmester.

I’ve heard other Burmesters over the years at various shows and high-end stores, but I never had one at home, until now.