The Heed Quasar, with its discrete conception and wide range of features, represents a unique bargain at this price level. The Quasar is built in dual-mono configuration from the power supply upwards. There are two separate amplifier stages for MM and MC cartridges, both being fed from their own regulated power supply arrangement. Optimum adjustments to the cartridge in use can be applied for sensitivity and load by various settings of the jumpers on the PCB. The two separate outputs with different sensitivities make it possible for preamps or recorders to be fed via 'Low Out', while its 'High Out' can drive power amps directly.

The output stage has huge headroom at extremely low noise levels and, due to its low output impedance and high current delivery, can drive long interconnect cables without any sonic degradation. The enhanced power supply of the Quasar is based around a 60 VA toroidal transformer with low-density magnetic field and very little dispersion. This power, together with 40,000 µF filtering, can feed the circuit with the kind of super-clean current usually delivered only by battery-based supplies, even with extreme dynamic swings. The entirely discrete conception, as well as the short signal paths of the Quasar, combine the best audiophile tradition with innovative circuit design.

By introducing The WAVE we celebrate 25 years of GreenCare; van den Hul’s own green program that warrants that from the first till the last day of existence, each cable will not harm the environment at all. This has been one of our important design criteria in the past quarter of a century.


The WAVE is a coaxial, triple shielded interconnect designed to simply outperform its price class with superior qualities. Being not just any other "coax cable", The WAVE's finely balanced design and materials inside comprise more than 25 years of experience and material knowledge, resulting into impeccable transmission quality. Another strong aspect of The WAVE is that its high natural bandwidth and excellent noise rejection properties make it applicable in a wide variation of audio as well as 75 Ohm video interconnect situations.
The WAVE features:

• A robust and massive 0.9 mm Ø central conductor made of dense silver coated, high purity, matched crystal oxygen free copper provides optimal signal transparency and fidelity.
• A specially foamed dielectric insulation material minimizes high frequency signal attenuation.
• Not less than three shielding layers: With the outer and inner layer made of the same high quality conductor material as the central conductor, this unique combination achieves first-rate interference suppression and highly linear conductance. Often overlooked is the fact that a coaxial cable shield needs to both carry the return signal as well as to keep noise out. The Wave's triple shield design separates these functions, yielding great gain in performance.
• Its HULLIFLEX ® cable jacket provides maximum ruggedness and optimal lifespan protection.
• All materials are environmentally friendly and contain no halogens.
  

The Canary is a completely new design based on the latest innovations developed by AJ van den Hul featuring matched crystal pure 24 Carat gold coils and a healthy output of .55mV. A strong Alnico magnet produces the very clean sound that is the trademark of van den Hul’s renowned Colibri and Condor cartridges. The Canary’s nylon body and open design are key advantages which effectively minimize harmful resonance and produce an extremely neutral sound, with a precisely focused sound stage. This spectacular ‘little bird’ is less sensitive to load variation then most of the other van den Hul cartridges making it easier to match to different phono stages and step-up transformers. Its front pole also protects the cantilever from most small handling mistakes. With exceptionally good price to performance and placed one step above our renowned The FROG ®, this cartridge sets new standards in replay precision and fidelity.

"I asked Hannes Frick of WLM how he rated the piece in the grander scheme of what he's heard, owned and sold over the past few decades. "How many fingers have you got?" he asked. "That's how much more I'd pay to get this performance - if I had to."
Srajan Ebaen, 6Moons

The Almarro A318B ($2220 msrp) has been a hot commodity ever since the 6moons review was published last summer. The A318B has a tube compliment of 2 x 6C33C, 1 x 6SL7 & 1 x 6SN7. Inside it's all point to point wiring and has three inputs, four ohm and eight ohm speaker taps and a choice of White Ash, Cherry or matte Black finishes. There is currently a four month backorder on the A318B integrated from the factory, due in large part to its vast popularity in Europe. The next available A318B will be arriving in mid July.

The Almarro A205A Mk. II ($960 msrp) is a 4.7 wpc Single-Ended Pentode design. Powered by a pair of EL84's and a single 12AX7, the A205A is a serious music maker when partnered with reasonably efficient speakers. The mini-stereo headphone output is taken from the speaker terminals and is well-known as a top-notch headphone amp. It's our entry level tube amp of choice and its sound can't be beat for the price. All Almarro products come with a 5 year warranty. The next available A205A Mk. II will be arriving in mid July.

Almarro Products recently had a 20% price increase, which is effective immediately.