AMPS: TOPAZ 211A - TOPAZ 572B - TOPAZ 572M - ONYX - SAPPHIRE
PREAMPS: OPAL - JADE - CORAL - PEARL
TOPAZ 211A amplifier
The Inner Ear Report - Volume 9, # 1 (1996)
"... represents a masterpiece of classic vacuum tube design ..." - Ernie Fisher
Please note that this link is no longer valid due to the ownership change in the magazine and their new website no longer has it posted for retrieval Audio - March 1999 issue
Bascom H. King does a Playback mini-review of the Topaz 211A, using the Tannoy Churchill speakers, and gives the Topaz a grade of A+.
The Audiophile Voice - Volume 4, Issue 1
Peter Breuninger compares the Topaz against the Cary 805-C, using a Yin and Yang of description both amplifiers.
SoundStage! - home audio equipment review by Doug Schneider - Feb. 2000.
Doug does comparisons between the Topaz 211 and the Blue Circle BC2 amplifier and likes the way the Topaz plays music with an almost uncanny sense of realism.
TOPAZ 572B amplifier
SoundStage - July 2003 review by Marc Mickelson
The Inner Ear Report - Volume 13, # 2 (2001)
"...the Topaz's bass resolution is comparable to the best solid state devices currently on the market..." - Ernie Fisher
The Absolute Sound - reviewed by Scot Markwell, issue 129 (April/May 2001)
Scot sums up the review by proclaiming the topaz to be the best in its class of Single-Ended Triode amplification, and proclaiming it "King of the Hill".
Download this review from The Absolute Sound at AVguide.com (free registration required)
TOPAZ 572M monoblock amplifiers
The Inner Ear Report - Volume 12, # 2 (2000)
"...the Topaz amps are closer to the 'real thing', the music, than any other amplifiers we have auditioned..." - Ernie Fisher
ONYX monoblock amplifiers
Positive Feedback - Online Issue 21
"...At first I was concerned that the Onyx's 13 watts would have a hard time driving my Dali Euphonia MS-4s. but .. In fact, these amplifiers rocked, and rocked hard! ..... they sound anything but small...".... Francisco Duran
Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity - December 2004
"... the monotone coloration I once suffered through while auditioning $18,000 single-ended triodes [ which SET amp ? - see review ] was thankfully nowhere in evidence....."... Jason Victor Serinus
The Absolute Sound - reviewed by Dan Davis, issue 132 (Oct/Nov 2001).
"...defies expectations."
"... exhibits far more muscle than others of its breed..."
Download this review from The Absolute Sound at AVguide.com (free registration required)
The Inner Ear Report - Volume 13, # 4 (2001)
"The amplifiers dynamics are not good, not even very good, they are excellent." - Ernie Fisher
SoundStage! - home audio equipment review by John Potis - September 2001.
"No matter what I threw at the Onyx amplifiers, they almost always sounded robust and in total control."
SAPPHIRE 300B monoblock amplifiers
sixmoons.com - Sept 2004
"...the real beauty of their designs goes far beyond surface considerations."
"...Forget everything you think you know about 300Bs"
Recipient of the Blue Moon Award for " Genre-Defying Articulation, Linearity & Musical Honesty" in the SET 300B amplifier category
The Inner Ear Report - Volume 16, # 2 (2004)
"... Unlike most 300B..amplifiers, ... bass finished with authority and muscle... As expected, the highs were ...: smooth, harmonious, lush and exquisitely textured... "...Ernie Fisher
The Absolute Sound - - Issue 159 (Page 99, February 2006)
Sapphire 300B receives the GOLDEN EAR AWARD from Harry Pearson's WORKSHOP
"...The star performer so far, and one of the best sounding amplifier of any tubed provenance, is the Wyetech, which has a simply phenomenal bottom end--taut, articulate and dynamic ...--and an airy,uncolored top octave..."
Scroll down to page 10 on this link or click on the html file at the top of the link page if you have the Adobe Acrobat reader and scroll to page 99 for full color with pictures for the full article from The Absolute Sound at 2005 Golden Ear Awards
OPAL preamplifier
The Absolute Sound - issue 143 (August/September 2003).
HP'S Super Components List Part II included the Opal in its list.
"...The Opal is one of those audio fascinations that come down the turnpike every few years. It sounds quite unlike any of the other the line stages I rounded up for that massive comparison."
The Inner Ear Report - Volume 10, # 2 (1997)
"...this preamp simply provides better sound than any other units we have auditioned – bar none..." - Ernie Fisher
The Absolute Sound - reviewed by Dan Davis, issue 127 (Dec 2000).
Reading this review leaves no doubt that Dan was deeply impressed with the Opal's admirable sound qualities. We are proud to say that Dan whispered to us that a gang of Mounties couldn't pull the Opal away from his grasp, and that he preferred to buy it from us than give it back.
Purchase this review from The Absolute Sound at AVguide.com
The Absolute Sound - reviewed by Harry Pearson, issue 137 (August/September 2002).
HP's WORKSHOP - HP defines line-stage preamplifcation, and discusses his five choices for top honours– Hovland HP 100; Edge Signature; Aesthetix Callisto; Wyetech Opal & Conrad-Johnson Anniversary Reference Triode. HP has some choice words for the OPAL:
"Masterpiece ... uncannily transparent... lowest distortion... purity... extremely subtle... neutral ... cool... downright supernatural!"
Purchase this review from The Absolute Sound at AVguide.com
JADE preamplifier
6moons! -
Srajan Ebaen reviews the recently acquired JADE line stage - July. 2006.
Srajan states " ..... let's be content to say that preceding the Yamamoto with the Jade seems to benefit dynamic range as well "
The Inner Ear Report - Volume 12, # 1 (1999)
"...the makeup of the Jade closely resembles that of the Opal in all attributes..." - Ernie Fisher
SoundStage! - home audio equipment review by Jeff Fritz - Nov. 1999.
Jeff found a lot to like about the jade and concluded it to be well executed in all areas and a contender for all systems and was especially surprised at the low noise level.
The Absolute Sound - reviewed by Scot Markwell on the AVGuide website in April, 2002.
Scot thought the Jade to be one of the finest line stages he has ever heard in his system. he assessed it as being ultra quiet, extremely dynamic and uncompromised in presentation giving a clean and neutral tonal balance.
Download this review from The AVguide link
AVguide.com ( TO DOWNLOAD you must register for free membership by entering your email address)CORAL preamplifier
sixmoons.com - July 2004 ) reviewed by Srajan Ebaen
"....Even in its high-gain setting, the Coral via my 103dB Avantgardes was very quiet.... "
"....Everything about Wyetech screams value and rock-solid engineering...."
"....surround the Coral with transistors fore and aft and you might be in heaven.... "
"....There is no $2,000 preamp on the market I'm familiar with that comes even close to matching its mindboggling bandwidth.... "
The Inner Ear Report - Volume 15, # 3 (2003)
"....Highs are sweet, transparent and unimpeded...."
"....Midrange information is clear of sonic impurities and allows listeners to hear musical subtleties, delicate inner detail and resolution. ...."
"....The Coral offers tight, fast and resolute bass.... It's powerful, full-bodied ...."
"....we feel that the Coral will function quite satisfactorily with high-end systems, ...without imposing its own signature...the price/performance ratio is exceptionally high...."
Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, February 2004
"It is liquid, smooth, and consistently musical."
PEARL preamplifier
The Inner Ear - Volume 16, # 4 (2005)
"...the Pearl/Sapphire system left all of our listening panel in awe ............[ Pearl ] exhibits an almost identical sonic signature to the Opal ..." - Ernie Fisher
6moons.com, November 2004
"... Anyone can hear this concretization of space or dimensional holography that differentiates the tubed Pearl ...space becomes audible and as such, enters into the aural equation in a way that was unequivocally missing before...." by Srajan Ebaen
Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, June 2004
"My initial reaction to the Pearl mirrors what I felt when I first heard the Opal. What a beautiful sound this line stage has."
Positive Feedback Online --PFO-- Decamber 20, 2004
Gives WRITERS CHOICE AWARD for the Pearl line stage preamp Positive Feedback - Online Issue 21
The Wyetech Pearl - a search for the "right" preamplifier, Part 2
by Brad Morrical