Reviews

No matter what I threw at the Onyx amplifiers, they almost always sounded robust and in total control.

The Wyetech Onyx amplifiers do not exhibit any euphonic colorations classically attributed to tubes and at the same time possess some of the more positive attributes of the best solid-state amplifiers that I’ve heard.

The Onyx monoblocks are capable of high resolution and impressive dynamics. They sound like solid-state amplifiers with tube virtues. They are fast and detailed, yet they display dimensionality and beautiful harmonics. If you get to chance to listen to them, you might feel as lucky as I did.

Whether I was listening to string quartets or piano sonatas, there was a specialness to the midrange too rarely experienced from high-end amplifiers. 

There is an uncommon feathery delicacy to the Onyx’s midrange and upper bass that makes for a special listening experience. Mated with speakers of sufficient efficiency, the Onyx monoblocks are sure to win new converts to the world of single-ended triode amplification.

The amplifiers dynamics are not good, not even very good, they are excellent.

…defies expectations.

… exhibits far more muscle than others of its breed...

The best single-ended amplifier in my experience. More punch than its puny 18-watt rating would suggest, with less of the harmonic coloration that some, including me, find so colored, in the sound in other SET designs. Used with a relatively sensitive speaker, which I would urge you to do if possible, it is a revelation, and at both frequency extremes, and as they say, utterly natural in between.

The Sapphire 300B monoblock amplifier has been awarded a Golden Ear Award from Harry Pearson at The Absolute Sound, as part of their 2005 Golden Ear Awards.

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 (even on low-sensitivity designs)—and an airy, uncolored top octave…

The Sapphire 300B received the Blue Moon Award for "Genre-Defying Articulation, Linearity & Musical Honesty" in the SET 300B amplifier category.

…the real beauty of their designs goes far beyond surface considerations.

…Forget everything you think you know about 300Bs.

Unlike most 300B-based amplifiers, however, bass finished with authority and muscle, rounding up harmonics not heard with other amplifiers. As expected, the highs were nothing short of fascinating: smooth, harmonious, lush and exquisitely textured. 

…the Sapphire amps asserted their presence with a liquidly smooth, full-range sound that can be described as seductive.

The Ruby P-1 phono stage was reviewed in The Audio Beat along with the Ruby STD line stage.

very clean, spooky quiet, and transparent… but not sterile

…it did full justice to whatever was on the record.

Although I’ve certainly not come close to auditioning every phono stage available, the Ruby P-1 is the finest I've heard in my system.

The Wyetech Ruby is the finest solid-state phono stage I have ever heard and it is also the most versatile…

The Ruby's sonic performance is easy to describe: It is very fast, detailed, clean, quiet and neutral. 

The Ruby is also the most flexible phono stage I've yet experienced; in gain, loading and filtering, and it is user friendly in all those areas.

Peter Breuninger released a four part review, including an interview with Wyetech Labs founder and designer Roger Hebert, on YouTube.

Designer Roger Hebert has created what may be the world’s finest phono stage for low output moving coils. 

The hallmark of the Ruby is its low noise floor, it is DEAD quiet. 

The 3D effect is extraordinary with this unit- almost tube like without the noise and with the frequency response that only SS can provide. It’s the best phono stage at this price point I’ve yet to experience.

Peter Breuninger of AV Showroms awarded the Wyetech Labs Ruby P-1 phono stage preamplifier a Gold Sound Award  for 'Outstanding Achievement'

The Gold Award is given once a year to the best products in its category (price vs performance).

The Wyetech Ruby STD is a hidden treasure for the analog music lover.

The preamp is a breathtaking example of simple-yet-elegant audio engineering and the sonic results will make you believe in the magic of audio reproduction.

The Ruby STD is a serious contender that any analog aficionado with blood in their veins and music in their heart should experience.

The Ruby STD received a TONE Audio 2015 Publishers Choice Award

…this one is as natural as they come with that ever so slight bit of tonal saturation that tubes bring to the table.

The longer you listen, the longer you will love it; the Wyetech Ruby is as honest as it gets.

This is a very special preamplifier, offering performance rivaling the world's finest…

In the context of the four different systems at my disposal… the main characteristics of the Ruby that came through loud and clear… were this preamplifiers spectacular bass drive, extension and control along with an incredibly deep soundstage…

…of the preamplifiers in my collection, I`d compare it the most closely to the $33,000 Koda K-10, with an almost absence of `sound` but with a few drops more of tonal saturation…

The Ruby STD line stage was reviewed in The Audio Beat along with the Ruby P-1 phono stage.

…the Ruby STD presented music with complete and complex tonal and harmonic structures, and an organic (i.e., non mechanical) sense of flow…

The sound was anything but retro, though, being characterized by tremendous clarity, speed, and detail accompanied by an almost total absence of a noise floor…

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.

the makeup of the Jade closely resembles that of the Opal in all attributes…

Srajan states:

… let's be content to say that preceding the Yamamoto with the Jade seems to benefit dynamic range as well…

Martin G. DeWulf compares three preamplifiers

I believe this preamp's greatest and most formidable asset may be its ability to portray the aural contexts of a performance, especially live performances, at arm's length; all without sacrificing the emotive mix required to mesh music with realism.

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 Jade is the quietest tube line stage I’ve heard…

The Wyetech Jade successfully combines sonic excellence with sound design and build integrity.

I’d be hard-pressed to recommend a better-sounding line stage.

…represents a masterpiece of classic vacuum tube design…"

Ernie Fisher

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.

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+.

In an article titled “In an article titled Two Paths to the Way Of the Supreme Source”, Peter Breuninger compares the Topaz against the Cary 805-C, using a Yin and Yang description of both amplifiers.

"It is liquid, smooth, and consistently musical."

…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…

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…

…the price/performance ratio is exceptionally high…

…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…

…the Pearl/Sapphire system left all of our listening panel in awe…

…the Pearl exhibits an almost identical sonic signature to the Opal…

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…

Positive Feedback's Srajan Ebaen gave the Pearl linestage a Writer's Choice Award for 2004.

Because of superior S/N, you get speed and resolution the equal of the best transistorized units. But then you get something no transistor unit I know of can match - layered, three-dimensionally sculpted dimensionality in the soundstage and micro-dynamic jump factor and expressiveness. 

The 3 x 6SN7-powered Wyetech Labs Pearl is the hammer and most highly recommended.

My initial reaction to the Pearl mirrors what I felt when I first heard the Opal. What a beautiful sound this line stage has.

…the Topaz completes frequency extremes—the highs and the lows—with unwavering firmness, but without diminishing the all-round musical glow.

…this new Topaz offers that crucial musical quality that touches the soul and pro­vides listeners with a truly outstanding sonic experience.

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.

HP'S Choice: Line Stages included the Opal in its list.

…I did not anticipate that the two-piece Opal would be the masterpiece it is.

…uncannily transparent… downright supernatural… seductive to listen to…

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.

There aren't many products that can transform an audio system. The Wyetech Opal line-stage preamplifier is one of them.

…my experience with the Opal proves it by far the best preamplifier I've ever had in my system.

The Opal brought a new airiness and ease to large-scale music even at lease-breaking volumes…

I was also left convinced that the Opal is an extraordinary instrument, one to set among the best High End components.

…this preamp simply provides better sound than any other units we have auditioned – bar none…

If you're a fan of vocal music, you will likely fall hard for the Topaz 572B… (it) portrayed vocal performances with presence that is unmatched by any amplifier I've heard.

…the Topaz 572B is one of very few SET amps that seemingly has power to spare.

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”.

…the Topaz's bass resolution is comparable to the best solid state devices currently on the market.

…the Topaz amps are closer to the “real thing”, the music, than any other amplifiers we have auditioned…