Regardless of what the internet pundits say, your AC outlets are full of noise from various sources.

Your gear picks this up, and whatever its power supply doesn’t filter out, gets amplified by your amplification chain. You might not hear it specifically, but it manifests itself in a loss of dynamics and a lack of image focus in the music.

You will notice it once it’s gone though. That’s where the Snub Station Zero from Vera-Fi comes in. There are some great power conditioners that cost crazy money, but the SSZ gets the job done on modest power gear for un-crazy money. Before you spend more of your hard-earned cash on cables and vibration reducing devices, try one of these.

With a 10-amp maximum, the Snub Station Zero has three outlets, which should only have a single device plugged in. (no power strips, please) Along with the DC blocking circuitry and a heavy duty EMI filter, the third outlet also offers a soft start circuit. This is particularly helpful with lower priced gear and especially vintage gear, that does not offer this kind of protection. The power spike that occurs when you hit the power button can do a lot of long term damage.

I’m definitely buying a couple of these for my vintage hifi collection. Full review to follow. For now, #toneaudioapproved.

$695 (now on sale for $595)

Verafiaudiollc.com

The DWX Supreme is a high-sensitivity, high-fun-factor speaker – in every way.

If you’ve ever been to a Zu Audio room at a hifi show, you know they always have one of the most engaging rooms in the house. Sean Casey, Zu’s founder, and his crew serve up great music and put together systems that engage and offer high value.

And for the current future, with all the tariff monkey business in place, they are an even better, shall we say, supreme value – being all American-made? Zu says the DWX has “the same driver and guts” as the DW-6 floor-standing speaker. Thanks to the small size and front port, they can take advantage of room gain because they can be placed closer to the walls and room corners.

Everything centers around Zu’s own 10-inch Zu260 full-range driver, which extends up to 12 kHz; the rest is handled by their super tweeter. Nothing else sounds like a Zu, and that’s a great thing. With a 95dB/1-watt sensitivity rating, you can easily make use of a 9wpc SET amplifier or your favorite low-powered tube amplifier! Pass Labs First Watt amps crush it with Zu speakers, and if you have a vintage, low-power solid-state receiver (like a Marantz 2215 or a Pioneer SX-424/434), you’ll be blown into the weeds at how great this combo is as well.

The DWX is dynamic and articulate, featuring a front-firing port that makes setup as easy as it gets. The sound is unique – nothing else sounds quite like a Zu. And that’s a great thing, by the way. Our old pal Art Dudley often talked about audio gear being able to get (and keep) the groove. While this is somewhat ambiguous, Zu speakers do an excellent job of capturing the tonal contrasts and variations within a performance. They offer up a slightly saturated presentation – and that’s a great thing without being slow or soft in response. Actually, it’s quite the opposite.

The highest compliment we can pay Zu Audio is that no one is ever having a bad time in one of their rooms, and rarely, if ever, will you hear people blathering on and on about specs and such. If you love music – you’ll love owning a pair of these.

The full review is almost done. However, we suggest pushing the buy button on a pair of these. The only remaining questions are what color, and what upgrades? (Again, we suggest the Supreme version!)

$1,500 – $2,700/pair (finish and upgrade dependent)

zuaudio.com

Whether you stay in the family forever or not, a Rega turntable truly has to be part of your audiophile journey if you enjoy analog.

For over 40 years now, they’ve been quietly going about the business of making turntables that deliver class-leading performance at a price that music lovers can afford. They have offered their own line of MM and MC cartridges for a long time, and thanks to their three-hole alignment on the cartridge and headshell – setting a Rega table up with a Rega cartridge is the easiest in the vinyl world.

The release of their new ND3, ND5, and ND7 MM cartridges, which utilize neodymium magnet assemblies, has brought their in-house sound to a new stratosphere. The updates made to the P2 show just how serious Rega is when it comes to delivering a favorable price-to-performance ratio.

A direct comparison of the current P2 with the ND3 cartridge to a ten-year-old P3 with Rega’s former competitor, the Elys 2, reveals that the new combination delivers even more musical information. The bass is deeper with more definition, the highs are more accurately rendered, and there’s more texture in the midrange as well. The new P3 with ND3 has also been equally improved, but that’s another story.

Rega’s US Importer, The Sound Organisation, has held the line on pricing and is keeping this $795 combo aggressively priced, though this may change slightly in the months to come. Our advice: buy it now. Why would you not?

The P2 is easy to use, requiring almost no setup. Now, with the ND3 MM cartridge, you’ll swear you spent a lot more on a turntable. What’s not to love? It’s time to start your Rega journey.

You can read our full ND3/ND5 comparison here:

https://tonepublications2.com/project/regas-new-nd3-and-nd5-moving-magnet-cartridges/

$795

soundorg.com (US dist.)
rega.co.uk  (factory)

This is the third product we’ve reviewed from Java HiFi, and we are definitely looking at three for three in terms of sound quality, build quality, and stylish excellence.

Matching the casework of their other designs, this solid-state preamplifier’s uniqueness comes from the LDR attenuator. Nearly all other preamplifiers use either a stepped attenuator with fixed resistors at each point or a very high-quality potentiometer.

The LDR circuit actually uses the volume control on the front panel to vary the light intensity of an LED striking a light-dependent resistor (hence the name) that changes value with the amount of light cast upon it. There are no mechanical parts to add noise or degrade over time.

Designer Martin Bell says it’s the quietest way to handle this function. Though we don’t have a non-LDR version of his preamplifier to compare, it is damn quiet. Like their power and integrated we reviewed, the Java pre features a neutral tonal balance, with smooth, grain-free high frequency response. Bass is tight and powerful.

Beyond the great sound, this preamplifier is tremendously flexible. With seven pairs of XLR inputs and three pairs of XLR outputs (two variable, one fixed), you can connect multiple power amplifiers, a powered sub, or even a tape deck! How great is that? However, there are no RCA inputs or outputs, so it will need to be in an all-balanced system. Finally, there is an onboard headphone amplifier that worked well with all of the phones we had at our disposal.

It looks super stylish. It has several different faceplate and casework options, so it should look great in any décor.

From $5995 (finish dependant)

Please click here to read our in-depth review for those wanting more info.

You can visit the Java HiFi site by clicking here.

Now that it’s official that the CD is making a bit of a comeback, TMR has an incredible selection of slightly used players from OPPO (!!) under a thousand bucks, all the way to some more serious hardware like an EMM Labs player around $12k.

If you still have a collection of SACDs and DVD-a discs, this player is the droid you need. Not only does it sound fantastic, it plays all shiny disc formats. There are still some decent titles out there on DVD-a to be found and usually at a reasonable price, with so few players left in the field. This one of my personal favorites – and you can pick it up for a fraction of it’s original price. TMR has gone over it (as they do everything) to be sure all is right functionally.

This one has a few little scrapes, hence the great price. With balanced XLR and RCA outputs, you can put it in any system, and there is a digital output as well – it’s a very versatile performer. A recent call to Ayre confirms that they can still service this one down the road. Good to know on a digital player.

Please click HERE to purchase.

Here’s your chance to get a huge helping of what the big Focal Utopias deliver at a fraction of the price.

With price increases over the last couple years and the tariffs looming, this is your chance to get a gently used pair of Sopra 3’s for a fraction of a new pair. And they are red. Remember, Sammy Hagar said “Green ain’t me compared to red.”

The Sopra no.3 takes full advantage of Utopia technology in a more modest sized cabinet (though still about 150 lb. each!) These sexy French floorstanders go all the way down to 26Hz – more than enough to capture the lowest bass notes, regardless of your musical tastes, thanks to a pair of 8-inch woofers and a floor-facing vent. This also makes the Sopra no.3 that much easier to place in your listening environment.

These speakers feature a 91.5 sensitivity rating, so anything above 35 watts per channel will drive them, and from hands-on experience, they are very tube friendly.

A bit of time at a friends’ house listening to the Sopra no. 3 for the better part of a day led me to revisit my review, written some time ago, when the bright orange Sopra no.3 graced our cover, and became my personal reference for a few years. Staffer Earle Blanton still uses his Sopra no.3’s as his reference, along with a pair of REL 212SX subwoofers. A formidable combination.

Here’s a link to our updated review:

https://tonepublications2.com/project/revisiting-the-focal-sopra-no-3/