Stereophile Amplification Product of the Year

[fpitas]

The high cost here comes from complete over-engineering with expensive, discrete, hand-worked parts combined with British labor costs. Why use a DAC chip when you can use hundreds of hand-soldered and hand-wound, silver and gold plated components. Their 'power supplies' have multiple expensive, hand-wound transformers inside. The case-work isn't even fancy, by audiophile standards, which often is the part that drives up costs needlessly.

Not defending they're stuff. It is silly. But they employ quite a few folks building complex/over-engineered equipment very slowly. That drives up the cost. And the audiophools it it up...

There must be better ways to keep miscreants off the streets

 

[computer-audiophile]

Also there was a cheap shot at Bauhaus design. This is more Brutalist
than Bauhaus.

Also maybe: Form follows function?
I admit that I have seen nicer looking 300B amplifiers.

 

[CapMan]

The high cost here comes from complete over-engineering with expensive, discrete, hand-worked parts combined with British labor costs. Why use a DAC chip when you can use hundreds of hand-soldered and hand-wound, silver and gold plated components. Their 'power supplies' have multiple expensive, hand-wound transformers inside. The case-work isn't even fancy, by audiophile standards, which often is the part that drives up costs needlessly.

Not defending they're stuff. It is silly. But they employ quite a few folks building complex/over-engineered equipment very slowly. That drives up the cost. And the audiophools it it up...

I am simply overwhelmed by expectation bias. Will go for a lie down in a dark room.

 

[DonH56]

"Tonmeister" instead of "Tonemeister"? Ton of something, I suppose...

 

[fpitas]

So, what would be the motivation for making this a product of the year? Even among single-ended tube amps (which is a pretty constraining envelope) it's not that great a performer. Who would this serve? The owner of a full-range horn speaker sitting two feet away?

Rick "high distortion but at least its has low power" Denney

That is the elephant in this room. Audiophiles gobble up SETs, no matter how bad, but why would Stereophile choose this?

 

[Skeeter]

No, it's got to be more than that. There's some sort of deep self-delusion happening there. (Quoting from memory so probably wrong...) "If there's a better integrated amp out there, I haven't heard it..." Seriously? About the best compliment JA could come with was "marginal". Clearly, the reviewer has trained his ears to prefer high levels of (at least) second-harmonic distortion, and probably also thinks the high background noise is recorded room ambience or something.

If an amp with exactly the same performance was produced by, say, Topping, it would be derided by all at S'phile as the height of incompetence and it would be scorned by all and sundry.

Frankly, it's an insult to the folks at Benchmark who have to share the stage with this.

And then there are the comments from the host of the similarly deluded who pile onto to the guy who simply (and correctly, no matter what one's preferences) commented that the measurements were poor. They say things like those who haven't heard it shouldn't comment, and all that usual bunkum. I'll bet most of those commenters haven't heard it either. And NONE of them have heard it without prior knowledge of what it was and how much it cost.

At least one guy acknowledged that it was an "effects box", and then proceeded to defend effects boxes. Ooookay.

They are making a very small and very elitist club for themselves that absolutely makes regular people roll their eyes and run from the room.

Rick "distortion-trained, apparently" Denney

Great summary

 

[Skeeter]

That is the elephant in this room. Audiophiles gobble up SETs, no matter how bad, but why would Stereophile choose this?

Because they get advertising revenue.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I suspect it will but if you read the subjective review (someone has to) Audionote are quite clear that they design for accuracy:

'I asked Qvortrup about the manufacturing philosophy behind Audio Note products.

"We strive for our equipment to have no sound at all but the sound of the recording itself," he continued. "We use an evaluation method we call 'comparison by contrast.' When we audition new equipment, we do not use known recordings. We pick five or ten recordings at random, listen to each of them, and then make a judgment as to whether one or the other piece of equipment individualizes the sound of each recording, and the one that does can then be considered to add/subtract the least from the recording."'

Not surprised brain damaged methodology results in a brain damaged design.

 

[egellings]

I design amplifiers and preamps. I agonise over .003% distortion and mains noise peaks at -115 dBr and here these guys are at 5% distortion and 10 Watts and they ask $15000.

Is price inversely proportional to performance? It does seem so in the ‘high end’.

You should then sell your preamps & amplifiers for pennies on the dollar, using that criterion, hey?

 

[fpitas]

Because they get advertising revenue.

No doubt. But you'd think the money return was better with something more expensive and less wonky.

 

[Skeeter]

Qvortrup is the guy who put up one of those ‘feedback is bad’ articles on his website that was riddled with errors. Another Martin Collums acolyte with ‘feedback goes around and around’ and it ‘destroys the music’.

All of it utter rubbish.

 

[fpitas]

All of it utter rubbish.

And impossible to explain to non-mathematicians. Prime snake oil territory.

 

[computer-audiophile]

Just as another design study, I would like to post a picture of a more modern designed 300B amp that Jacek Grodecki is building with his company. I know Jacek personally from a DIY scene meeting in Belgium and have fond memories of our conversations and listening sessions. https://www.closeracoustics.com/electronics/300b-provocateur

 

[teched58]

Qvortrup is the guy who put up one of those ‘feedback is bad’ articles on his website that was riddled with errors. Another Martin Collums acolyte with ‘feedback goes around and around’ and it ‘destroys the music’.

All of it utter rubbish.

And Nyquist is just a "theory." (Like evolution.) Because stairsteps.

 

[MEGB1262]

Hello there,
the debate between the supporter of this faction here and the supporter of the golden ears faction of https://www.stereophile.com/ is astonishing for me
i like most these two complete opposite comments (copy & paste from here https://www.stereophile.com/content/audio-note-meishu-tonmeister-phono-integrated-amplifier-page-2):

Submitted by Bonsai on January 26, 2023 - 3:13pm
An embarrassing set of measurements. This is an effects box, nothing more. It’s audio alchemy, not audio engineering.

Submitted by johnnythunder1 on January 28, 2023 - 4:32pm
Buy your astoundingly accurate, measurement perfect but ugly and dry sounding and oh so boring Benchmark or Topping crap. Enjoy using your radio shack lamp cord speaker wire with them too.

 

[DonR]

And Nyquist is just a "theory." (Like evolution.) Because stairsteps.

Actually a theorem. It can be mathematically proven. I made the same mistake and was kindly corrected by our host, @amirm

 

[Purité Audio]

The high cost here comes from complete over-engineering with expensive, discrete, hand-worked parts combined with British labor costs. Why use a DAC chip when you can use hundreds of hand-soldered and hand-wound, silver and gold plated components. Their 'power supplies' have multiple expensive, hand-wound transformers inside. The case-work isn't even fancy, by audiophile standards, which often is the part that drives up costs needlessly.

Not defending they're stuff. It is silly. But they employ quite a few folks building complex/over-engineered equipment very slowly. That drives up the cost. And the audiophools eat it it up...

How can they be ‘over-engineered ‘ when they measure so badly, what you mean is that Quotrop specifies expensive ‘boutique’ components to justify the exorbitant prices , silver wired transformers , exotic core materials etc etc lots of kitchen table valve amp manufacturers use the exact same ploy .
Keith

 

[MoreWatts]

How can they be ‘over-engineered ‘ when they measure so badly

They are over-engineered because they could use 1/5th as many parts to accomplish those poor results.

 

[mhardy6647]

A audiophile life without a 300B amplifier and horn speakers is possible, but meaningless.

I think that's covered in Ecclesiastes.

 

[teched58]

Actually a theorem. It can be mathematically proven. I made the same mistake and was kindly corrected by our host, @amirm

̶T̶o̶u̶c̶h̶y̶ Touché