Anthem MCA 225 Gen 2 Stereo Power Amplifier
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- Written by Philip Beaudette Philip Beaudette
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 October 2025 01 October 2025
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
The recent heavy tariffs imposed on Canada by its neighbor to the south and the provocative rhetoric (annexation? seriously?) have sparked a surge of patriotic fervor among Canadians, many of whom now feel duty-bound to buy Canadian when possible. For those in the market for a power amplifier, Anthem’s MCA 225 Gen 2 (US$2299.99, CA$2699.99, £2295, €2550), which is designed and manufactured entirely in Canada, is an appealing choice.
Cambridge Audio EXA100 Integrated Amplifier–DAC
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- Written by Roger Kanno Roger Kanno
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 September 2025 01 September 2025
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
Cambridge Audio’s product offerings are diverse and extensive, encompassing nearly every type of audio product, including home-theater components, speakers (from in-ceiling speakers and subwoofers to an all-in-one, wireless streaming speaker), turntables, phono preamps, and headphones. When looking at the company’s integrated amplifiers, one finds a surprising disparity in both price and specified performance between the Edge- and CX-series amps. With the recent release of the EXA100 integrated amplifier, Cambridge Audio has bridged this gap, providing a high-quality, high-power integrated amplifier at a moderate price.
Anthem P2 Stereo Amplifier
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 August 2025 01 August 2025
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
The Anthem P2 stereo amplifier is not a new product, nor is this the first time we’ve reviewed it. Launched in 2005 as the Statement P2 stereo amplifier, it was reviewed by Jason Thorpe, who praised its sonic transparency. At that time, the amplifier retailed for a very reasonable $2500 in the United States, and Jason bought the review sample and used it for several years. Now, 20 years later, we’re reviewing the Anthem P2 again.
Dynaudio Confidence 20A Active Loudspeaker System
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- Written by George de Sa George de Sa
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 July 2025 01 July 2025
Most audiophiles want to assemble their systems themselves, to match components in the hope of maximizing performance. Since a system built around passive loudspeakers requires an amplifier, hi-fi enthusiasts have traditionally favored passive loudspeakers over active models, which have built-in amplifiers.
Hegel Music Systems D50 Digital-to-Analog Converter
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- Written by George de Sa George de Sa
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 June 2025 01 June 2025
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
With its midnight-black plumage, the raven is a bird that evokes a sense of seriousness. It’s been associated with prophecy and mysticism, and the intelligence of real-world ravens is well documented. In Norse mythology, two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, served Odin by traveling the earth and bringing back knowledge and insight. Tying into this mythology, Norway-based Hegel Music Systems has nicknamed its latest and greatest DAC, the D50 ($4900, CA$5900, £4250, €4895), “the Raven.”
Bryston Bi-200 Integrated Amplifier
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- Written by Philip Beaudette Philip Beaudette
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 May 2025 01 May 2025
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
If you’ve followed my work on SoundStage! Network, you probably know that I’ve been using Bryston amplifiers for many years—18 to be exact. My hi-fi journey began in 2002 with a Yamaha home-theater receiver. When I realized I would never use four of its six channels, I replaced it with an NAD integrated amplifier. In 2007 I upgraded to a Bryston B100 SST integrated, and in 2013 I purchased the B100’s successor, the B135 SST2, which I’ve used ever since. The B135 SST2 was succeeded by the B1353 integrated amplifier, which I reviewed in 2021. Although I slightly preferred the sound of the B1353 over that of my B135 SST2 and found the new amp to be quieter, the difference was not enough to justify upgrading. Suffice it to say, I’ve become quite familiar with Bryston components.
SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle Loudspeaker
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- Written by Philip Beaudette Philip Beaudette
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 April 2025 15 April 2025
Note: measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada’s National Research Council can be found through this link.
When I moved from my one-bedroom apartment in Ottawa, Canada, to a detached house in the suburbs of Toronto several years ago, I was excited by the prospect of having a large unfinished basement where I could set up my stereo system. I figured I’d be able to enjoy bigger sound, which I could crank up from time to time without irritating my neighbors. That first part didn’t go quite as planned. As fellow SoundStager Jason Thorpe once told me, it can be difficult to fill a large room with sound, and that’s exactly what I found.
Hegel Music Systems H190v Streaming Integrated Amplifier
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- Written by Matt Bonaccio Matt Bonaccio
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 April 2025 01 April 2025
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
It’s well known by now that trends, philosophies, and designs are often recycled in hi-fi. Déjà vu is common; what was once old is new again. Hadn’t you seen that speaker or amp before, years ago? You’d be no guiltier than me for thinking this way about the Hegel H190v integrated amplifier. It looks much the same as its father product, the H190, and indeed, much like all of Hegel’s other offerings. In many regards, it is the same as the H190. But as the saying goes, it’s what’s inside that counts, and that little “v” hanging off the end of the model number denotes some very significant goings-on under the hood.
Radiant Acoustics Clarity 6.2 Loudspeaker
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- Written by George de Sa George de Sa
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 15 March 2025 15 March 2025
Note: measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada’s National Research Council can be found through this link.
In the realm of vocal performance, good things often do come in small packages. Think Lady Gaga (5′1″), Emilia Clarke (5′2″), Reese Witherspoon (5′3″)—huge talents, diminutive statures. Surprisingly often, this maxim holds in the realm of loudspeakers, too, where the sound performance of some standmount designs—like the vocal performance of some singers—is so alluring that one’s listening pleasure can quickly develop into full-fledged infatuation.
Focal Theva N°2 Loudspeaker
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- Written by Matt Bonaccio Matt Bonaccio
- Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews
- Created: 01 March 2025 01 March 2025
Note: measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada’s National Research Council can be found through this link.
When striving to comprehend and assess abstruse things, we tend to resort to simplifications. Our general view of a company and its products, for instance, is often based on our impression of some representative sample from its offerings: a favorite crossover SUV from a car manufacturer, the flagship cellphone or TV from an electronics manufacturer. Likewise, we often perceive the top model from a loudspeaker manufacturer as indicative of the kind of quality that can be expected from other models from that brand and form our view of it accordingly. But an entry-level floorstander can also be a measure of a speaker maker’s competence. The Theva N°2 loudspeaker ($899 each; all prices in USD), from the French hi-fi audio equipment manufacturer Focal, a highly respected brand, exemplifies this correspondence perfectly.
