Erratum: Giveaway occurs on January 30, 2026

When we reviewed the new Onkyo M-80 power amp and P-80 streaming preamp, Onkyo kindly sent us a TX-RZ30 receiver to offer to our viewers as a giveaway. We didn’t want to interrupt the review video excessively, yet we thought there might be viewers interested in the giveaway who hadn’t seen the review. So, we made this brief Giveaway announcement.

January 30, 2026 Viewer Giveaway of an Onkyo 9.2 channel Atmos receiver; details after the break and here: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/give...

QR Code Link for $1 subscription offer: https://theabsolutesound.secure.darwin.cx/J25YTS5A

Onkyo P-80 preamp and M-80 amp Review: https://youtu.be/NMcIE3K2bD8?si=pLFAz30kRb6KH9ET

Newsletter: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter

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What Is The Absolute Sound?

The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles.

#hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound

There's a lot of nostalgia out there for the 1980s, and when British speaker maker Monitor Audio looked back at that decade, it discovered gold in the form of its studio 15 speaker. And so, inspired by the creativity and individuality of the 1980s, monitors set out to create the studio 89. So are these $2,750 per pair speakers totally awesome or just bogus? Let's find out!

This video is sponsored by: https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/he1000-unveiled.html?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20953209524&gbraid=0AAAAACkVu54tFgOM8QBnVRrsJIzTJpilW&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsNPKBhCqARIsACm01fSUNf7KaVH-yUHcTuJoHzJc0e1fp-wEC6HMoJiL9syFDWCu1AzKJCMaAoepEALw_wcB

00:00 Monitor Audio Studio 89

01:09 Overview

03:48 Set Up

05:47 Sound Quality

09:44 Tradeoffs

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Substack: https://www.theabsolutesound.substack.com

What Is The Absolute Sound?

The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles.

#hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound

Orchard Audio is a US manufacturer of amplifiers, headphone amplifiers and now streamer/DACs in the case of the product we’re reviewing here, the Pecan Pi+ Premium. The company believes strongly in engineering and is particularly sensitive to leveraging appropriate parts. We’ve reviewed their Starkrimson GANFET amplifer previously. With the Pecan Pi, we were particularly attracted by the incorporation of top, and relatively rare, AKM Velvet Sound filter/modulator and DAC chips. But there is more to the design. Let’s take a look.

This video is sponsored by: https://fidelityimports.com/pages/opera-loudspeakers

Starkrimson Power Amplifier Review: https://youtu.be/WjkFLlQmB_k?si=lai-6vjAVT0r29du

00:00 Orchard Audio Pecan Pi+

01:34 Key Features

07:48 Sound Quality

10:44 Value?

Details of the Viewer Giveaway of an Onkyo 9.2 channel Atmos receiver are after the break.

Every once in a while, reviewers get products to evaluate that just doesn’t conform to the standard or to their expectations. That has certainly been the case with the new Onkyo M-80 amp and P-80 preamp. Let’s take a look, because the way this pairing deviates from normal might be very interesting to you.

This video is sponsored by: theabsolutesound.com/newsletter

00:00 M-80 amplifier and P-80 streaming preamp

01:05 Giveaway

02:09 Features & Design

06:55 Sound Quality

14:20 Summary

14:58 Comparative Coda

Newsletter: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theabsolutesound

Substack: https://www.theabsolutesound.substack.com

Tom's reference system:

Aurender N20 Streamer/Server

Roon Nucleus server

Mac Mini (M2) server

Wiim Pro server/DAC

Bluesound Node server/DAC

Topping D70 Pro DAC

dCS Lina DAC/Master clock

Berkeley Alpha DAC Reference Series 3P with Alpha USB Reference input module

MSB Premier DAC

J Sikora Initial Max turntable

Technics SL-1210G turntable

Kuzma 4Point 9” arm

J Sikora KV12 tone arm

DS Audio 003 cartridge

Benz Gullwing SLR cartridge

Hana Umami Blue cartridge

Hegel V10 phono preamp

Musical Surroundings Phonomena III phono preamp

DS Audio 003 optical cartridge energizer

Soulution 326 preamp

Wattson Madison power amp

Hegel H20 power amp

MBL N51 integrated amp

Magico A5 speakers

Perlisten S7t speakers

Wireworld Platinum Electra Series 10 speaker and line cables

Shunyata Omega digital cables

Shunyata Venom power cables and director

Audioquest Niagara 3000 power conditioner (for analog)

Audioquest Niagra 7000 power conditioning

Aavik Ethernet Switch

Rediacoustic diffusers and absorbers

Rediacoustic bass traps

PSI Audio AVAA active traps

Salamander racks

Solidsteel Turntable rack

What Is The Absolute Sound?

The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles.

#hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound

That said, for those of you who have a budget that could accommodate the JCAT XACT S1 Evo Server at $18,600 US or for those of you who are genuinely curious about the state-of-the-art in audio streaming, you’re gonna wanna stick around while I share what I heard when listening to this refined bit of kit.

This video is sponsored by: https://www.devialet.com/en-us/amplifiers/?srsltid=AfmBOopMaf_et8mOEEL6rCtYelUeonyPqFg9RVuBdr2cWi96HSBd3fMv

00:00 JCAT XACT S1 Evo

01:18 Overview

04:09 Specs & Design

07:39 Sound Quality

12:15 Conclusion

Newsletter: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theabsolutesound

Substack: https://www.theabsolutesound.substack.com

What Is The Absolute Sound?

The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles.

#hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound

Last year I built a new listening room. From the ground up. In part, this is the story of that process, but much more I have tried here to organize what I learned so that it is also instructive for music lovers and audiophiles who want to get more out of their current rooms. So, you don’t have to build a new room or complete a new building like I did to get a lot of value from this. I hope.

This is a long one. Acoustics is a complex subject. Per our usual practice, I’ve tried to simplify but not dumb down. Anyway, if you hate complexity, hit the eject button now.

This video is sponsored by: http://theabsolutesound.com/newsletter

Robert Harley's Room Tour: https://youtu.be/OtUcfiaN6CY?si=GW7B9L13ZMlHpw0P

REDI Acoustics: https://rediacoustics.com/

Fundamentals of Residential Wiring: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/fundamentals-of-residential-ac-wiring-to-improve-high-end-audio-system-performance/

00:00 Tom Martin’s Listening Room

01:28 Overview

03:37 Goals: What Are We Doing?

06:18 Building Steps

37:10 Sound Quality

39:41 DIY Budget Approach

43:17 More Approaches for a Tighter Budget

Newsletter: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theabsolutesound

Substack: https://www.theabsolutesound.substack.com

Tom's reference system:

Aurender N20 Streamer/Server

Roon Nucleus server

Mac Mini (M2) server

Wiim Pro server/DAC

Bluesound Node server/DAC

Topping D70 Pro DAC

dCS Lina DAC/Master clock

Berkeley Alpha DAC Reference Series 3P with Alpha USB Reference input module

MSB Premier DAC

J Sikora Initial Max turntable

Technics SL-1210G turntable

Kuzma 4Point 9” arm

J Sikora KV12 tone arm

DS Audio 003 cartridge

Benz Gullwing SLR cartridge

Hana Umami Blue cartridge

Hegel V10 phono preamp

Musical Surroundings Phonomena III phono preamp

DS Audio 003 optical cartridge energizer

Block Line and Power Block SE preamp

Block Mono power amps

Hegel H20 power amps

MBL N51 integrated amp

Magico A5 speakers

Perlisten S7t speakers

Wireworld Platinum Electra Series 10 speaker and line cables

Shunyata Omega digital cables

Shunyata Venom power cables and director

Audioquest Niagara 3000 power conditioner (for analog)

Audioquest Niagra 7000 power conditioning

Aavik Ethernet Switch

Rediacoustic diffusers and absorbers

Rediacoustic bass traps

PSI Audio AVAA active traps

Salamander racks

Solidsteel Turntable rack

What Is The Absolute Sound?

The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles.

#hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound

If there's one job for soundbars, it's to deliver deep bass. That's the Achille's Heel of every single big screen TV. In that sense the Devialet Dione does its job admirably, but it does much more than that, delivering a musicality that most other manufacturers surely are envious of... tune in to learn more!

00:00 Devialet Dione

00:57 Overview

02:11 Specs & Design

04:58 Sound Quality

10:59 Dolby Atmos

13:21 Summary

This video is sponsored by: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter

Newsletter: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theabsolutesound

Substack: https://www.theabsolutesound.substack.com

What Is The Absolute Sound?

The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles.

#hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound

The Boulder 1162 is an amplifier at a price point where you would expect excellence, and indeed you get it. Also, at this price point details matter because there are other excellent amps both below and above this segment of the market. Let’s take a look.

This video i sponsored by: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/the-absolute-sounds-review-methodology-first-principles/

00:00 Boulder 1162

01:29 Overview

04:45 Sound Quality

13:07 Balance Test

15:32 Summary

Newsletter: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theabsolutesound

Substack: https://www.theabsolutesound.substack.com

Tom's reference system:

Aurender N20 Streamer/Server

Roon Nucleus server

Mac Mini (M2) server

Wiim Pro server/DAC

Bluesound Node server/DAC

Topping D70 Pro DAC

dCS Lina DAC/Master clock

Berkeley Alpha DAC Reference Series 3 with Alpha USB Series 2 input module

MSB Premier DAC

J Sikora Initial Max turntable

Technics SL-1210G turntable

Kuzma 4Point 9” arm

J Sikora KV12 tone arm

DS Audio 003 cartridge

Benz Gullwing SLR cartridge

Hana Umami Blue cartridge

Hegel V10 phono preamp

Musical Surroundings Phonomena III phono preamp

DS Audio 003 optical cartridge energizer

PS Audio BHK 600 mono power amps

MBL N51 integrated amp

Audio Research 160S power amp

Magico A5 speakers

Perlisten S7t speakers

Wireworld Platinum Electra speaker and line cables

Shunyata Omega digital cables

Shunyata Venom power cables and director

Audioquest Niagara 3000 power conditioner (for analog)

Audioquest Niagra 7000 power conditioning

Rediacoustic diffusers and absorbers

Rediacoustic bass traps

PSI Audio AVAA active traps

Salamander racks

Solidsteel Turntable rack

What Is The Absolute Sound?

The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles.

#hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound

Being one of the long established companies in specialist high-end, Audio Research has enjoyed quite a reputation for tube equipment since its founding in 1970. Only a fraction of the models they have produced over the years have been solid-state, though half of the 6 new model introductions are this year. How does the I/70 stack up compared to their other tried-and-true amplifiers? Tune in to find out...

This video is sponsored by: https://wireworldcable.com/?srsltid=AfmBOorKXd8MSoC_SaZQrrpO_ZpjZZXMDsVgFZEcqjp_T3leeCyFrqvH

00:00 I/70 Integrated Amplifier

01:10 Overview

3:03 Key Features

4:19 Sound Quality

10:45 Summary

Newsletter: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theabsolutesound

Substack: https://www.theabsolutesound.substack.com

What Is The Absolute Sound?

The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles.

#hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound

Anyone that’s been to an audio show in the last five years has likely run across a system from Audio Group Denmark, the Scandinavian company founded by former Raidho designers Lars Kristensen and Michael Børresen that is a union of four hifi brands: Ansuz, Aavik, Børresen and Axxess. Audio Group Denmark have marketed themselves heavily as being at the cutting edge of technology across amplification, speaker design, and accessories such as cables and noise control devices. This forward-thinking mindset has led them to the realm of universal streaming amplifiers, of which the Aavik U-288 is one of the latest iterations of. At $30,000 it is priced in the aspirational luxury end of the segment, promising to be that destination at the end of your HiFi journey. Can Aavik deliver on that promise? Stay tuned to find out.

This video is sponsored by: https://rel.net/collections/serie-ht?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21634201662&gbraid=0AAAAADNXZ2xgcsTTJZrWVKTUJNk5UBhQc&gclid=Cj0KCQiAubrJBhCbARIsAHIdxD--TQtvCmYP-5EZzP7iGeIYgRQLwIqOQuOBbhKOx1illvwsnT188AEaArDIEALw_wcB

00:00 Aavik U-288 "Unity"

01:34 Overview

04:27 Specs & Design

08:49 Set Up

09:58 Sound Quality

15:13 Compare & Contrast

18:40 Summary

Newsletter: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theabsolutesound

Substack: https://www.theabsolutesound.substack.com

What Is The Absolute Sound?

The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles.

#hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound