Segue lista dos equipamentos por nos representados e sugeridos pela prestigiada revista americana The Absolute Sound para o ano de 2019.
Bryston 7B³
This fully balanced, Class AB amplifier packs 600 watts (8 ohms) into a normal-sized, 42-pound single chassis per channel. The previous generation “squared” series improved output-stage performance whereas the newer “cubed” series improves the input stage. The result represents a more refined sound for Bryston overall. The 7B³’s bass extension and stability during demanding musical passages, coupled with relatively low noise, impart an admirable sense of ease to the presentation. Soundstage depth is in keeping with other solid-state amps at its price level, but width and height are exceptional. This mono amp offers a lot: tonal neutrality, dynamic control, expansive soundstaging, fine resolution, plenty of power reserves, and great musical expressiveness. It comes with a 20-year warranty, so music lovers can buy with confidence that their 7B³ amplifiers will provide years of enjoyment.
2019 High-End Audio Buyer’s Guide: DACs
Bryston BDA-3
The new Bryston BDA-3 enhances the functionality of the 2013 Product of the Year Award-winning BDA-2 by adding a second asynchronous USB input and four HDMI inputs. PCM sample rates up to 384kHz are now supported, as are DSD rates up to DSD256. Most significantly, not only can DSD signals be received by the BDA-3’s USB inputs, but also from suitably equipped HDMI sources. The evolutionary development of Bryston’s DACs from the original BDA-1 to the BDA-3 has been an object lesson in digital progress. Bryston’s BDA-3 DAC surpasses the high-value performance standard set by the BDA-2, enables inexpensive HDMI-equipped disc players to function as premium source components, and adds exceptionally engaging DSD playback to its potent mix of virtues.
2019 High-End Audio Buyer’s Guide: Turntables $10k and Under
Bryston BLP-1
Supplied with record weight, integral dust cover (three cheers!), and the company’s proprietary BTP-1 outboard pulse-width-modulation power supply, this belt-driven two-speed turntable boasts exceptional speed accuracy and spot-on rendition of pitch, timing, rhythm, and togetherness. Bass is deep and powerful with remarkable resistance to external disturbances despite its fixed plinth. All up and down the scale the BLP-1 provides a neutral platform of great composure, grip, and dynamic range with commendably quiet backgrounds. The tube of the nine-inch gimbal-bearing tonearm is constructed in seven segments of differing diameters the better to deal with unwanted resonances. The BLP-1 affords the pleasures of vinyl at a level of performance that gets you to the threshold of the so-called “super” turntables without the fussiness, the need for continual adjustment, and the sheer anxiety that all too often accompanies some esoteric setups.
2019 High-End Audio Buyer’s Guide: Floorstanding Loudspeakers $9,999 – $35,000
ATC SCM19-AT
The active, two-way, tower version of ATM’s compact, passive SCM19, the 19-AT equals or betters the stand-mounted version across virtually all sonic criteria. It has superior bass extension, although its greatly improved low-end control and pitch definition are what truly engage the listener. Images just lock in. Its comforting warmth in the lower mids and upper bass further adds to the impression of musical scale and substance. Also, the 19A has a little fuller midbass than you might expect from a two-way (piano aficionados should take note). Though this ATC may seem pricey at first glance, considering the amp-packs and precision electronics bundled in each speaker and the studio-grade performance, the SCM19-AT’s true value becomes more and more evident with every recording. Audiophiles might shrink from active loudspeakers, but the SCM19-AT makes the case for them, emphatically.
Manger Audio p1
The Manger p1 brings the bending-wave driver to life in this svelte floorstander. Manger’s wide-bandwidth, low-mass, flat-disc-diaphragm transducer creates an intimacy and immediacy that are almost eerie in their authenticity. Tonally, there’s a neutral weighting with warmish, saturated overtones and firm acoustic-suspension bass. Temperamentally not geared to knock fillings loose or propel images forward like a studio control monitor, the p1 offers instead musical naturalism without artifice and hype. With the normally distracting multi-driver discontinuities eliminated, the timbre of orchestral instruments remains true and realistic. There’s really nothing quite like the p1.
2019 High-End Audio Buyer’s Guide: Stand-Mounted Loudspeakers Under $10,000
ATC SCM19-V2
Not a brand to cater to the fashions of the marketplace, ATC has bolstered these stout, professional-grade monitors with bespoke drivers created to do a single job—accurate pro-caliber reproduction. Still, in spite of ATC’s stellar track record, NG never expected the new and aggressively priced SCM19 to be as good as it is. A superb and superbly defined midrange, overall tonal neutrality, broad-shouldered micro- and macro-dynamics are all in evidence. The surprise is the extent to which the SCM19 outshines its distinguished predecessors—particularly ATC’s other passive consumer speakers—in voicing and seamless inter-driver coherence. There are no discontinuities and/or vestigial box colorations, either. In addition there’s more air on top, likely attributable to the all-new, in-house-engineered-and-manufactured soft-dome tweeter, which is a real beaut. Simply one of the best compacts NG has heard to date.
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