Stereophile | Midrange Magic 2023 | The Art et Son Room by Robert Schryer
“Are you sure there are no tubes in the chain?” I asked On a Higher Note’s Philip O’Hanlon, North American distributor of the BBC-inspired Graham Audio speaker line, in Montreal retailer Art et Son’s room. Philip was sitting with me listening to an LP of Belgian singer Mélanie De Biasio. He responded to my question with a grin and a chin-jab toward the amplifier in use, a 50Wpc solid state MoonRiver 404 Reference integrated, a modular design that includes such luxuries as a balance control and a stereo/mono switch and can accommodate an MM or MM/MC phono stage and a asynchronous-USB DAC.
I asked because it was hard to believe that the sound I was hearing—intimate, focused, introspective, seamless, super tactile, and vividly colorful—was coming from a solid state amplifier and not, say, a SET amp. This system delivered sound so pure and inviting, I felt helplessly compelled to hang on to every detail. It sucked me in as way few systems can.”