Premiere Design

Founded in 1925, Luxman is one of Japan's oldest and most respected audio companies whose products are distributed in the US by On a Higher Note. Submitted for your consideration here is the mighty B-1000f monoblock, Luxman's flagship amp developed over 15 years for the company's 80th anniversary in 2005.

Carbon fiber seems to be the cabinet material of choice for many speaker makers these days, including Austrian Carboton, whose designs are described as "a sensual experience for your eyes, too."

Theta Digital is one of the most venerable companies in high-end audio, offering many well-regarded products over 25 years. Even more impressive, many of those products are still available after years of upgrades and refinements. Take, for example, the Casablanca preamp/processor, which was first introduced 15 years ago. Its latest incarnation, the Casablanca III HD, adds HDMI 1.4 I/O and the ability to decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.

Last week, I profiled the first power amp from Marten, which was introduced at CES in January. This Swedish maker is otherwise known for its high-end speakers, including the new Coltrane 2 that was also unveiled this year in Vegas.

When you think about home-theater gear, what usually comes to mind are things like displays, source devices, processors, amplifiers, and speakers. But these are nothing more than very expensive boat anchors without AC power—and that power had better be clean if they are going to perform at their best. This is where PS Audio comes in with its new PerfectWave Power Plant 5 and 10 AC Power Regenerators.

Based in Berkeley, California, Magico made a splash at CES with its new Q3 speaker, which is a slightly scaled-down version of the well-established—and more expensive—Q5. But what makes the Q5 so special?