BEST AUDIOPHILE AMPLIFIERS of 2023!

The best, most inspired integrated, pre- and power amplifiers I reviewed this year on the Audiophiliac!
Speakers of the Year! • BEST AUDIOPHILE SPEAKE...
Schiit Vidar 2 • We compare the NEW Sch...
Decware Sarah 300B Part One • To Boldly Go! DECWARE ...
Part Two • DECWARE Sarah 300B, wo...
Heaven 11 Billie • Heaven 11 Billie ampli...
Gato PWR-222 • GATO PWR-222 Monoblock...
Musical Fidelity A1 • Musical Fidelity A1 Am...
LTA MicroZOTL Ultralinear+ • Why AUDIOPHILES JUMP f...
Thanks for watching, this channel can be supported through Patreon: / audiophiliac
0:00 What a year it was!
1:11 Schiit Vidar 2
2:57 Decware Sarah 300B
6:02 Heaven 11 Billie
7:53 Gato PWR-222
10:26 Musical Fidelity A1
12:33 LTA MicroZOTL and Ultralinear+
15:47 Audiophiliac Viewer System of the Day
16:45 Outro
Twitter: @AudiophiliacMan
Instagram: / steve.guttenberg
#Schiit #Decware #hifi

[@reestyfarts]

Thank you for everything you have taught me this year Steve. Enjoy your holiday.

[@GeirRssaak]

Dear Steve! Allways enjoy your reviews! You have opened my eys and ears to new products. Wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new hifi year!

[@alastairmackay4589]

Another great year Steve. You are one of the hardest working YTers out there, and your advice is so thorough. See you on the other side! 🌲

[@zounds13]

You helped me decide to get a Vidar 2 earlier this year. And I love it, so thank you.

[@equilibrium2147]

I’ve been waiting for this Steve! Have a wonderful holidays🙏🏼

[@zenguitar65]

I've been saving for the Billie. Glad to see it made it on your Best of 2023 list! ;)

[@riccitone]

Thank you for another year of excellent reviews and music to check out. And Happy Holidays to you too Steve! 🙏🏼🎉

[@dannybourne_]

*Steve, Merry Christmas from the UK. Thank you for great review as always.*

[@jhschmidMD4]

Great info Steve! I've been drooling over several of these products since seeing your excellent reviews on them. Happy holidays to you!

[@axelwunsch2366]

Thank you for the always exciting videos, which are also very meaningful and where there are always new things to discover. Have a wonderful Christmas time and warm greetings from Germany.

[@patrickgeorge141]

Nice list of amplifiers. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

[@JJ-no2ob]

Yeah Steve - I dig your gig on his channel ! All the best to you and yours for the New Year Happy & healthy holiday wishes

[@knowname23]

You’re the best Steve, thanks for sharing this

[@superdougie10]

Steve, you're the best. I listen to your channel working from home and really enjoy having our hobby being so wonderfully covered by you and Jay and Darko and Zero, and God knows how many others.....lol you're the best!

[@mediascapes2011]

agreed, the best HIFI salesman in the country, we should hand him collective award, the best!

[@TheRockerxx69]

Thanks and a Happy Xmas and a Fab new year!

[@ericelmore887]

Looking forward to your Diptyque review. I really enjoyed the sound at CAF.

[@jeffsloane8628]

Merry Christmas Steve! Love what you do.

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

Thanks Jeff!

[@CUBICUB]

Happy Holidays, Steve and family.

[@carrion_man3700]

Never been a better time to be an 'audiophile,' from a products perspective. More options than ever at more price points than ever, it seems. And at a quality that is pretty amazing. Thanks, Steve!

[@jasonclydereed8500]

It's a new golden age of hi fi for sure.

[@mediascapes2011]

yes a sales and gear paradise@@jasonclydereed8500

[@jackstraw1756]

Can’t wait to see your Schiit Tyr review, hope you do one.

[@davidatrakchi2707]

Merry Xristmas and best new 2024, thanks

[@daviddowns3154]

I'm nearing the end of the waitlist for my Decware Zen amp ... can't wait to bring that sound to my listening space!

[@robtbomba3491]

Be patient ... you'll be pleased

[@johnvincent4048]

I've owned a Decware Zen since 2016. Amazing what 2.3watts can do!

[@mikeinmontana8875]

Just received our Zen about a week ago. Absolutely unreal 💥👌

[@_fakeklg]

Excited for you! Really want to get on as well.

[@thomass.9167]

Well Steve, I am officially naming you the best audiophile of 2023!

[@TriAmpHiFi]

2nd the Motion. Reggae, Funk & Brass 🔈🔉🔊

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

Thank you Thomas, I am honored!

[@keplermission]

Yeah, Steve reckons the original Musical Fidelity A1 was special and to explain it had a huge sound stage between speakers placed ... only about 4ft apart using British small bookshelf like the Celestion Ditton 100 made by Rank with the Wharfedale Diamond Mk.3 used with big beefy New York harman/kardon, also with speakers 4ft apart. Yeah but the secret was that speakers were 4ft apart and if you want you know stunning A1 sound? Everybody uses small speakers, maybe 3ft or less apart.

[@stevewhitehead7171]

Hello steve could you do a segma on Bob carvers amps

[@lwdp74]

You review reminded of a Futterman amplifier that I had rebuilt. My customer was driving it with huge horned speakers. I had tested the speakers on my own system before returning them and they were amazing but different than anything I’d used before, even with the high feedback levels to lower their output impedance.

[@mikeinmontana8875]

Just received our Zen about a week ago. Absolutely unreal 💥👌

[@JaradPetroske]

Happy holidays Steve. Santa's bringing me new Sennheiser cans. Can't wait!

[@allandresner]

Thank you Steve 🎉have a great 24

[@tombillard5264]

Gato, simple yet stunning. I need them lol

[@blackgold7416]

Looking forward to lots more content next year!. ✌️

[@tommorrison9724]

Excellent video and recommendations, as always! If you haven’t heard the GanFet amps from Orchard Audio, you should give a listen to the Starkrimson Ultra. Your take on the Gato reminds me of what I took away from an extended audition of the Orchard Audio Starkrimson.

[@thomasmcmillan5095]

Having been through the "audio laboratory" phase, I am leaning toward an Accuphase stack. Man, those components look nice.

[@hifijunkieTX]

Thanks for this! Have you reviewed any amplifiers/pre-amplifiers from Aric Audio or Triode Lab?

[@sevestan]

Thanks Steve....I am gonna buy all six amps!

[@richardelliott8352]

once again, a very nice report. The preamp must really be good, to knock off the long contested champ, and I wonder how it would mate with two bridged Schitt Vidar 2 amp, because my speakers are power hungry , yet my budget, and interest, requires very judicious selections.

[@robertburton295]

I love your channel I love the content you put out I just ordered a pair of GR research XL encores and I was wondering I hate to ask this question what amplifier would work well with those speakers I like the look of the heaven 11 Billie

[@jeffgoldstein2564]

Great review. Thanks Steve.! I think I am going to but the Vidar 2 amp and an Audiolab 6000 CDT. I also like the Iota VX amp. I currently have a vintage system. A Pioneer SX 1250 receiver and a Thorens TD 125 turntable.

[@paulwisconsin456]

Happy Holidays !

[@vinyl1Earthlink]

I recently purchased a Van Alstine DVA SET 500 amplifier, price $2799. It's a new model this year, and I highly recommend it.

[@craigroeser181]

I hope you and your lovely wife have a wonderful Holiday season!

[@Christywac]

Great work. Thank you Steve, could you please share the detail information of your hifi toning boards on your wall? I would love to have those in my rooms too!

[@MikeK6046]

There is SO MUCH GREAT equipment out there to choose from it can make a person's head swim in deciding what's best for them. Also, "for sure" in 1 to 2 years from now, there will be "newer equipment" that will cause some of this Best for 2023 to be forgotten/ thing of the past (even though its still good).

[@razzman2987]

Because of youre review i bought the A1 . I could not be more happy . I cant stop listening it is so beautifull👍

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

Thanks for sharing, have a great new year.

[@hammalammadingdong6244]

Hi there. Can I ask how you are enjoying the amp and what speakers you are driving with it? It's on my shortlist, and I am looking for opinions. Thanks!

[@razzman2987]

@@hammalammadingdong6244 The amp is amazing its sounds so clean and warm buy also very musical ..i drive Martin logans 40 i Speakers with the amp . Iam really happy with the overall sound

[@gimmeroc7172]

Maybe the Janzen Nine.Five? Love the reviews and your song selections.

[@bengleason508]

Steve, reviewing some Class D power amps with your LTA preamp would be interesting.

[@DAlan0909]

I have the Vidar 2, Freya +, Lokius and Polk r200 with two subs. First purchase of audio equipment in over 20 years. Extremely happy.

[@zounds13]

I went full batschiit this year. Gumby, Mani, Lokius, Freya N, Vidar 2. Completely satisfied.

[@tobiastrumpp2346]

Hi Steve do you have a good recommendation for an integrated amplifier for the Elac Concentro S507? I listen to 90% quiet music, which is why the amplifier should sound good here. Merry Xmas 😊

[@petervlaminck2960]

Great shirt again Steve 🙌!

[@_fakeklg]

Dude has a fashion sense like no other.

[@jpmerrick8886]

Steve is valuable to the industry he knows his stuff I know car audio amplifiers in the same way

[@juanluiszarzuela314]

I just buy the Musical Fidelity A1 amplifier…. Thank you for your independent opinions. Merry Christmas to all!!

[@vincepack5213]

Hi Steve, I’m curious to know if you had an opportunity to pair the Schiit Vidar 2 with the Magnepan LRS+ you also reviewed this year. I have the Maggies, and I’m considering a pair of Vidars to replace my current Pro-Ject DS2 Amp Box/RS Power Box to both increase power and maybe get a bump in overall performance. Thoughts?

[@JasperUhlenbusch]

How would the Billy amp compare to the Musical Fidelity A1?

[@stephenkelly9586]

Hi Steve this is Steve from Manchester UK I love your videos my setup is kef r700 I love it........have a great Christmas

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

Thanks Stephen!

[@darrellross8609]

Steve, I pre-amp my Fosi V3, through my Jotunheim. Yeah I went there, yeah it's great. Best, D.

[@psysword]

Me too

[@psysword]

Fosi v3 and smsl A300 kick ass and my audiophile hobby just got a shot of life. Buy expensive speakers but Chinese amps and dacs. Expensive amps are a fool's gold now.

[@joenovak6393]

Ordered the DECWARE SARAH 300B Jan 2023 and this will be a Long-awaited retirement gift to myself one day/year...🤣🤣

[@ericelmore887]

I would love to see a review of the AGD class D amps.

[@SathishKumar-tk4qx]

Hi 👋 Sir , Wow fantastic video review with so much knowledge i listened in your review. Really very good information it was. I just wanted to buy a good Tube valve pre amplifier with two pre out, one for Parasound power amplifier A21+ & one for my BangOlufsen Beo lab 9 please advise good Chinese brand. I am reiterating next year. I can’t buy USA make or European make. It’s very expensive. Thanks 🙏. Wait for your reply.

[@mjjm6220]

Steve, have you heard the Burson amps? They are designed in Australia, they’re quite small but also quite a bunch of power. I have a preamp and two mono power amps.

[@larryharry7221]

What are your thoughts on the Rogue Pharoah? Thanks

[@BostonMike68]

I love audio i design building speakers. I would love to drop off a pair for you to listen to something that would be so awesome 👍. Great video

[@HamBoneElectrics]

Would love to know where the viewer’s system of the day owner got his audio rack from! Thank you!

[@contemporaryartist6542]

Thanks for a wonderful year Steve! Any comparative thoughts on the A1 v Firstwatt J2 (I own)? Much appreciated

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

Thanks for watching, the A1 is fleshier/sweeter, but the J2 is all around much better. More transparent, lively, more spacious, better bass.

[@contemporaryartist6542]

That is very helpful. Thank you!

[@hammalammadingdong6244]

OK, Steve, I'm looking for a good pairing with my ZU DW6 superflys (which I absolutely LOVE). On the short list is the Billie mkII and the Musical Fidelity A1. I like a full sound but with detail, not too strident, and with bass weight, depth and texture. I don't listen at crazy loud levels. Can I ask you thoughts about these 2 options?

[@iikatinggangsengii2471]

the gr do better at details and effects, anv best at easily wow people

[@iikatinggangsengii2471]

as for their potentials i cant predict, i havent heard the dx9 combos, although the cayin should be the best sq

[@weeverob]

Schitt sandwich, good one!

[@scatter33]

Just watched the two best of 2023 videos and the Gift video. I've been following you for decades, in fact we lived in parallel universes, we are about the same age and I grew up in Queens, there is no doubt we were at the same concerts at various times, Fillmore East, Singer Bowl the Beacon and etc.. You are far and away the best and most trusted reviewer I have ever encountered. Of course I respect the fact that you are entitled to your opinions, but a while back you mentioned the subject of 'Snake Oil' in regards to wires and cables and such and said folks could spend their hard earned cash on whatever they wanted but you were not going to get involved. So I was greatly disappointed to hear you pushing speaker wires that cost $1,000. I have 12 foot bi-wire speaker wires, top shelf locking bananas and spades from Blue Jeans Cables for about $150 and I will and have, matched them against very expensive others and none were better. So you kind of rocked my confidence in you, especially since I know you know better. I'm not ready to flee your channel over this but I have to squint a little when I tune in. Please remain Steve Guttenburg.

[@tee-jaythestereo-bargainph2120]

Thanks Steve ! I actually gave out my 1st award on my channel for the vidar 2 (Tree trophy lol) for pricepoint it's a Very clean sounding amp and doesn't have the grittyness I got from the original I reviewed awhile back ' Would love to hear your take on the Galion TS 120se tube intg ' with my Dynes the pairing is Heaven ! Si detailed and airy with crazy bass impact !! Thanks again Steve

[@jimsregaturntableshifijukebox]

Nice plug for your great channel Tee-Jay, I like your style young man. You're comment here gets a like from me 👍😉 Jim🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🙂

[@dab9742]

I would have liked to see a small Luxman like the L590AXII in this review ! 😉

[@jackfalco5351]

I have both the musical fidelity A1 which I just received and the heaven 11 Billie. The Billie is far superior in another league.

[@psysword]

Really? In power or spl? Or warmth? I'm also thinking between the two. Thanks so much

[@tango_gru]

Hi Steve , Can you make a video on Amplifiers of the Decade ???

[@alexpal1495]

Which is the cheapest on from the the list?

[@fredflintstone8048]

So many tube amps don't have voltage regulator circuits. That is a sever design flaw. As a sound signal varies, especially down into the bass frequencies the load on the power supply changes causing the voltage supplied to the plates to vary and this distorts the signal. Establishing a rock solid voltage supply will lower the THD.

[@tarrasacid1612]

The voltage drop from 20 watts is minimal. They have their own dedicated heater circuit as well.

[@toai2]

Hi Steve, I’ve got an Onkyo AVR capable of delivering 100w/ch. I am satisfied with it but since a lot of reviews like this one get me curious to try out an amp like the Vidar you were mentioning here. What’s your advice for me?

[@trauma50disaster1]

best I can tell, one bit of advice I've heard researching this is the amp would be the last piece to upgrade as it will be the least noticable tech. So speakers would be where you will notice the most difference fastest. The avr prob gives that 100 watts in 2 channel mode not surround or more channels powered.

[@peterlarkin762]

Musical Fidelity has been Austrian owned since 2018 (same owner as Pro-ject).

[@xstensl8823]

hi Steve i just got the new Rega Elex mk4, have you heard it?

[@rapier5]

Just throwing this out there. Bruno Putzeys in his interview with Harley Lovegrove mentioned that his main motivation for working with class D amps is their efficiency. I think that's a noble motivation, wrapped up in an engineering challenge. That's all.

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

Not sound quality? Interesting

[@NeoDiNardo]

Looking at the Nad M66 at the moment.

[@HevyGee]

Were you ever left wanting for qualitative "room-fillability" with the Decware/Zu combination?

[@sbowyer525]

Consider the Orchard Audio Starkrimson Ultra for 2024. USA made in NJ !

[@steveo8015]

Nobody reviews Made in USA Belles (Power Modules) brand products. I would love to hear your take on this brand and how it compares to the competition.

[@marinocamarasa6627]

Well the new version of the Audioanalyse A9 is pure class A

[@Johnny-Too-Bad]

Hey Steve, what tubes are you using on the MicroZOTL?

[@WS-gs6sf]

My new(er) MicroZOTL came with one GE NOS & one Sylvania NOS for the 12SN7 output tubes and CEI ECC81 phase splitters (low mu dual triode). I have an original MicroZOTL that uses 6SN7s and have run NOS GE, RCA, Sylvania, and JAN tubes.

[@thomaskandersen7250]

Steve...u own yourself to hear a Lavardin amp. Start with the (now), legendary Lavardin IT, but chosse their ann. model (IT15/20). Then, tell me what u think about that "musicbox"? Me myself.....it´s still the best amp i ever heard, when it comes to "play" music, without any excuse. Just music that flows, with a touch of that Lavardin magic. Cheers fromn Denmark.

[@mathtrixmusiclix4248]

I have an original A1. Nothing touches it. Hope I can find Ed an authorized repair depot that can upgrade it to current spec.

[@timleelim9930]

What, no Naim Nait 50? Curious ...

[@thespotlightkid1011]

From all I've known, heard about & seen screen pic's (inside & out) of any DecWare amp, i kinda want one now, esp' after ..must be nr' 47'yrs now, of owning at 1 time or another.. (from 18'yrs old, [new official O.A.P. here]) near all the household Brit' vintage stereo or mono-amps in pairs, made from shortly b4 the 1960's & upto (I'm guessing) the mid or late 1970's before an obvious valve revival in a then fast growing u.k. hi-fi scene & market happened & that quickly zoomed up the prices of those older vintage valve amps, & vastly so, as a side effect. Even tho the new valve revival amps were made with.. (far ..no, extremely) ..cheaper to make solid- state power supplies (inferior in my tech' & personal opinion) the vintage valve amps i'd buy for circa £10, £25 or 30'ish tops (but £45/week was a younger person's best wage wether in careers or hard labour) The (few) 70's to the (much less few) '80s hi-fi mag's, esp' their growing plethora of hi-fi amp adverts saw very many sell music lovers sell their old large dust-collecting too-heavy wide & tall (mm'lovely) vintage amps in local paper ad's, news-agent's window card-ad's & i'd grab Radford's STA25's & 15's, Leak's TL25, a TL50 & < watt'd el84'd models, Quad 11's, some euro jobs & even - b.i.o.not. - a massive 2'ch 2'chasis job made by 'Hawker Sidely' aircraft Co' of the 'Harrier jump-jet' fame, a then unique jet also sold in numbers to U.S. Airforce, i later discovereda grease proof paper 'wallet' taped to an inside chasis wall with a 'Williams Design' of signal circuit and mains & O.P. tyranny winding ratio diagrams inside the output chasis, developed from v.early to past mid 1960's, they made many of these amps used for playing loud white, pink & tonal noises to excite cockpit resonances to locate & cure on those 'planes developed from early to mid 60's, I digress. I found i'd prefer all those vintage valve amps to any & all new top-brand Japanese & Brit s/state amps, even tho some preferred s/state amps of 70's & 80's & +... (all s/h bought, as always 'till post 2000) took up-to a week of eve' listening sessions to realise I prefefed wotever vintage valve amp. I've always had valves but now I'm running valves in just a pre-amp & phono stage, but i'd pick my speakers to suit the DecWare amp instead of my normal visa-vera method

[@crazyprayingmantis5596]

Did you start talking another language at some point there?

[@musicready-ot9gg]

Hi Steve what to choose between aiyima t9 and fosi audio v3? Please help

[@psysword]

Ha ha

[@Larry21924]

I'm struck by the creativity and depth of this content. A similar book I read prompted a significant evolution in my mindset. "The Art of Meaningful Relationships in the 21st Century" by Leo Flint

[@gtrguyinaz]

Steve, the Schiit amp run as mono blocks has lots of power but…. Low damping of only 100 ? Is this the only failing of this amp… ?.. Dynaudio speakers need big damping to control the bottom end..

[@johnvincent4048]

The Schiit Aegir is an unusual amplifier. If you like your music clipping at about 85dB.

[@jonathandavis9507]

Depends on speaker sensitivity. You may need two for less sensitive speakers.

[@johnvincent4048]

@@jonathandavis9507 Klipsch Forte ii @ 98db sensitivity.

[@dab9742]

11:18 The big advantage of the Musical Fidelity was that you could grill steaks, eggs and pancakes, because it was so hot... Is this still the case today, and is it reliable too, because back then, it often grilled... 😵‍💫

[@mikestrowbridge6015]

I have some very expensive amplifiers. I got them as a gift. Have you ever heard of classe. I haven't hooked them up yet

[@Temmple]

Do you have a preference between the Billie and the A1?

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

I don't, but there is a huge difference in the power output, 25 W versus 120. So that would make a difference to some buyers.

[@Temmple]

@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac one more question. By memory do you feel one was warmer sounding than the other?

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

A1 is warmer sounding

[@keplermission]

@@Temmple Original MF A1 was more than warm ... there was a huge, bold sound stage but remember Ditton 100 were only ... 92Hz in low frequency so as not to drain a 25 watt amplifier. Now Big Beefy harman kardon from the year of the Wharfedale Diamond Mk.3 were you know ... may 80 watts hi-current (Class G as Lo-D called it). Now ... what was better you'd ask the A1 system or the Wharfedale Diamond one? Well ... as Steve says the A1 was warmer but the harman/kardon one was awesome, it was so impressive.

[@MistrX44444]

Have you evaluated Nagra?

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

No

[@jonathanmoore8886]

Will there be a source of the year?

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

Sorry no

[@anthonydavella8350]

If you were going on vacation, would you take a Schiit?

[@mrpmj00]

As much as I love my Parasound 2125v2 for my GoldenEar BRX, I've upgraded to the NAD C298 (similar to NAD M23). My Parasound will be moved to powering the surround L/R speakers in a mixed use music/movies 7.4.4 setup. My requirements (

[@MrDaveaccord]

Where's the Carver Ram 285? Absolute state of the art from Bob Carver.

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

I didn't review it this year, but i will review it in 2024

[@ryanschipp8513]

Bob's website isn't state of the art...it's gone.

[@stuartmacleod8669]

"knob feel"... best new audiophile criteria of 2023...

[@DNW2868]

How about best CD player under $2,000

[@jean-paulschweitzer6211]

Reminds me the best guitarist list from the Rolling Stones! How could you affirm that, do you hear every new 2023 amplifier?