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Friday, September 04, 2026

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This new site was launched in July 2010. Visit the older site to access previous articles by clicking above.

Ultra Audio's site platform was changed in August 2010. For equipment reviews previous to that, use this link to transfer to the old site.

: Written by: Jason Thorpe; Created: 01 September 2026

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

My father used to quote that line from Hamlet on the regular. It’s a useful phrase to have at the ready, even if the “Horatio” part takes away some of the gravitas. I remember using it while on a mid-’80s New Year’s Eve bus trip to Montreal with some of my hard-rocking, Coors Light–drinking buddies. We had slid in with a bunch of university students, and one of the girls mentioned the group the Smiths. My rocker friends were more Aerosmith and Led Zep, and rocker-buddy Louie responded that he hadn’t heard of them. The university girl was shocked. “You haven’t? Don’t you go out?” she said, her voice wet with scorn.

: Written by: Jonathan Gorse; Created: 15 August 2026

Reviewers' Choice Do you remember your first proper turntable or hi‑fi source? I do. My family had one of those huge teak radiograms full of glowing valves that crackled and seemed to emit a faint whiff of menace. Inside the doors of the enormous cabinet was a radio tuner with mysterious names on it like Hilversum, Sundsvall, Moscow, and Vienna. There was a hint of cold-war intrigue about the whole thing, but it was exciting turning the dial and hearing strange whistles and crackles until a station would gradually emerge from the static. The turntable was one where you could load it up with a stack of 45s and it would gradually play through them, but the sound was thick and woolly, with very little detail. One day while my father was using it there was a sudden flash, and my poor dad received an electric shock. Mindful of posing undue risk to the children in the house, the following weekend he bundled us into the car and whisked us off to the local hi‑fi emporium. I remember being enthralled by the huge wall of speakers and the way you could select each pair in turn using a huge comparator unit. We came home with a Technics separates system, festooned with impressive flashing LEDs, VU meters, and more buttons than the jumbo jets he worked on.

: Written by: Jonathan Gorse; Created: 01 August 2026

Reviewers' Choice This is one of those reviews that has needed a little time to come together. Etsuro Urushi is an elite cartridge line produced by Japan’s Excel Sound Corporation. Excel is probably better known for its Hana range of cartridges, but a large part of its business is manufacturing cartridges for third-party firms. It is one of the world’s most respected cartridge manufacturers. Having already reviewed the Hana Umami Red, I was naturally keen to see how Excel’s more exotic offerings perform. In the UK, where I live, the Etsuro line is distributed by Unique Audio, which is headed up by Mik Bhavnani, who has been involved in high-end audio for 40 years.

: Written by: Phil Gold; Created: 01 July 2026

I’m not a doctor, but I do know and appreciate one of the principles of the Hippocratic oath: “First, do no harm.”

: Written by: Jason Thorpe; Created: 01 June 2026

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.

Who doesn’t love a tube amp? Okay, okay; I know there’s a large contingent of audiophiles who actively don’t like them, but those people are missing an important part of their souls. Tube amplifiers check many of the boxes that define archetypal human satisfaction. Think about it—tube amps provide warmth and light. They rely on similar principles to the lightning in the sky—which we used to think was the work of the gods.

: Written by: Phil Gold; Created: 15 May 2026

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.

The late Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, famously declared, “You can never be too rich or too thin.” French manufacturer Devialet appears to have taken the latter half of this maxim to heart in the design of their amplifiers. Their first product, the D‑Premier integrated amp (2010), stood just 1.7″ high and marked a striking departure from conventional amplifier design. It caused a sensation at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where it was shown with its innards exposed, underscoring its unconventional engineering approach.

: Written by: Jason Thorpe; Created: 01 May 2026

Reviewers' Choice It seems these days I begin my reviews with an account of how the component arrived in my living room. I won’t do that here. Instead, I’ll refer you to (a) my March 2026 editorial, where I explain why I’m sitting in my neighbor’s house listening to the PMC MB2 SE speakers, and (b) the My Audiophile Neighborhood episode detailing how we set up these monstrous, wonderful speakers, and how the review came about. Just for good measure, here’s a link to my account of my first mind-blowing exposure to PMC’s sound-reinforcement demonstration over on Soundstage! Global.

: Written by: Jason Thorpe; Created: 01 April 2026

I’m not often surprised at hi‑fi shows. I hear so much equipment, in so many different combinations, throughout so many different rooms that I find myself becoming jaded. It takes something truly unique to jolt me out of my comfort zone.

: Written by: Jason Thorpe; Created: 15 March 2026

Note: measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.

Truly new concepts are extremely rare in audio. Generally, new ideas aren’t welcome, unless they manage to develop some sort of inorganic viral buzz. And wildly different topologies are looked on with active suspicion. I wish this weren’t the case, but audiophiles tend to be a stodgy lot.

: Written by: Jonathan Gorse; Created: 01 March 2026

J.A. Michell Engineering is one of England’s most respected turntable manufacturers. Thankfully, Michell has remained a family-owned concern that doesn’t need to answer to overseas conglomerates, venture capitalists, or outside investors. The managing director, Jonathan Nye, is married to the granddaughter of founder John Michell. Recently, the company has rebranded and released a swathe of new products, including the all-new Gyro and Revolv turntables, plus the exquisite Apollo phono preamplifier I reviewed for this site in January.