Mono
Renato da Silva – DIY Audio & Tools (September 2022)
“I listened to many songs; details, and nuances are revealed in such a natural way that it literally made me enchanted. Absurd bass, crystal clear high frequencies.”
Steven Ciofalo – Z Reviews (July 2022)
It is safe to say Steven loved the amps. Watch the video, not safe for work.
Dick Olsher – The Absolute Sound (January 2022)
Budget Product of the Year Award
“I know that Starkrimson is supposed to be a pear, but to my mind it is a peach of an amplifier, sweet and dynamic, at a delicious price point. To my ears, it sounds like a high-definition Class A amplifier and surely offers a glimpse into the future of Class D amplification. An absolute must-audition.” and “The Starkrimson performed flawlessly with excellent bass impact, transient clarity, and purity of tone.”
David Price – Hi-Fi Choice (June 2021 Issue)
Hi-Fi Choice Recommended Rating
“This design has a really pleasing tonality, one that renders the natural timbre of the instruments being played in a surprisingly natural way” and “…this pair of Starkrimson monoblocks offers seriously good value for the money – especially if you’re all about getting the best sound per pound”
Stuart Yaniger – AudioXpress (September 2020)
“At 1 W into an 8 Ω load, the amp’s distortion is below the Audio Precision analyzer’s measurement capabilities.” and “No matter what sort of music I played from acoustic jazz to Americana-folk to electronic progressive rock, whether my own minimally miked uncompressed recording or highly produced loud studio rock the amplifiers did exactly what they were supposed to, noiselessly, without stress or strain, and in a perfectly transparent way.”
Ron Nagle – Enjoy the Music (August 2020)
“The Orchard amplifiers at $1499.99 set a new benchmark for value, laser-like clarity, and inner detail at this price range. Highly recommended.” and “Power on and my very first impression was clean and clear music overlapping what was a very dead black background.”
Ross Wagner – Stereo Times (June 2020)
“Leo’s little guys, boasting the newest GaN (gallium nitride) transistors and modestly priced at $1500 for the pair, lit up the music room.” and “…dynamic, well defined deep bass, excellent staging, imaging and resolution throughout. All this was maintained through demanding crescendos, with airy upper ranges, while conserving the subtleties of decay- especially welcomed on pizzicato and percussion segments.”
Thomas – Thomas & Stereo (May 2020)
“The top end, there is a lot of clarity.” and “When it comes to instrument separation, it is fantastic.”
Adam LaBarge – The Audio Beatnik
“I wanted to stop my heart so I could hear the music better. I was being sucked in, pushed out, and unable to focus on anything else but the music. There were all the little bird-like chimes, dancing between clicks and pings and bongs of xylophone harmonics with dry reed raspy sounds zooming in and out, floating on top of deep rolling strings and organ-like bass. I didn’t want to miss a moment of it.”
Jack Roberts – The Audio Beatnik
“I found them very dynamic, very musical, and beautifully detailed in the top end. The tone was better than in many transistor amps. The same could be said about emotional involvement. Listenability was very good with a relaxed and detailed sound. The soundstage and imaging were also very good.”
Paul Rigby – The Audiophile Man
“I immediately noticed a major drop in high frequency noise and a swathe of new air and space within the midrange which pushed open the soundstage, expanding it left and right. All of the reconstruction work of the soundstage created a new level of clarity and transparency.” and “Sound quality is quite sublime for the price, detail, character, clarity, it’s all there. A fascinating power amplifier and definitely one to investigate.”
Stereo Ultra
David Cutter – My Own Devices (coming soon)
Matt Coykendall Hi-Fi Reviews (coming soon)
Gene Hopstetter – Home Theater HiFi (July 2022)
Thumbs Up Award 2022
“…the most transparent amplifier I’ve ever had in my system.” and “There is a whole world of undiscovered microdetail waiting for you in your recordings.”
Tom Martin – The Absolute Sound (July 2022)
“It is very very close to a straight wire with gain.” and “It is an exceptionally clear amplifier”
Stuart Yaniger – AudioXpress (May 2022)
“Both in use and on the bench, the Ultra was an exemplar of modern audio power amplifier technology, and could easily be an endgame for upgraders.”
and “Lots of superbly distortion-free power in a tiny, cool, and customizable package or prepackaged in an unobtrusive stereo amp. How can you go wrong?”
Nick Wilbur – Toids DIY Audio (March 2022)
“I was amazed, it was a complete transformation of those speakers… they sounded significantly better than they have ever sounded before” and “I was really impressed with the service I got… Leo was very responsive to any questions that I had”
Ryan Herrera – RH Audio Reviews (March 2022)
“No matter what I listened to, whether it be Jazz, Classical, Folk, Rock, R&B, and so on the amp never missed a beat. And while doing so, it ran silent, as well as cool to the touch, both of which I highly value in an amp.” and “If you are looking for a true Audiophile Powerhouse, the Starkrimson Ultra is it!”
Jon Mamonski – The Wizard of Oz. Tech (February 2022)
“…you get an incredible amount of detail that you’ve not heard before” and “…the decays are superb, they are long, they’re detailed and an absolute joy to listen to.”
Marc Mamiye – HighStrungAudio (December 2021)
I was so impressed with the performance that I purchased this review unit for myself” and “…instruments and vocals are so pristine that the music is as close to a live performance as I have ever heard”
Streamer Ultra
David Snyder – Dagogo (October 2021)
“…the background does not get any blacker than this.” and “There was no hint of overload or distortion, and the echo trails and hall reverberation went on and on, extending further into the soundstage than I thought possible…” and “What amazes me is how the Starkrimson Streamer Ultra can deliver such excellent results with minimum fuss.”
David Eccles – Small Room Audio (August 2021)
“In its own truth, it has beauty, particularly when we talk about the top end” and “A one-box solution that is very straightforward, and really sounds great” and “You’ve got to take your hat off to Orchard Audio, what they’ve done here is really rather good”