2017

The year 2017 at Sonneteer was defined by reviews. Reviews of our product and our own reviews of some of our favourite reference recordings. These can be found on our Blog pages if you want to read more.

Tone Audio Magazine started with the Sonneteer Alabaster, a review:

Simply put, the Sonneteer Alabaster is a price-performance wonder… it delivers excellent sound. The Alabaster might not unseat single purpose amps and preamps several times its price…, the Alabaster’s sound is beguiling, and this integrated amp is piece of gear to be enjoyed for many years to come…I recommend it wholeheartedly, and it handily deserves a 2017 TONEAudio Exceptional Value Award…the Alabaster offers a higher level of sonic prowess; if you can get by with 55 watts per channel and have the need for an excellent MM phono stage, it’s one of the best (if not the best) choice you can make…What I’m the most excited about is the quality of the MM phonostage. Utilizing the new Gold Note Machiavelli high output MC (again, more expensive than the Alabaster) the level of refinement here is astounding, with a level of resolution I wasn’t prepared for.

Positive feedback Magazine then took to talking about the Sonneteer Orton. Here’s an extract:

Some well-known British companies (and a ton of American ones) make integrated amps that instantly impress you with the illusion of liveliness, but this is not the Orton’s forte. Writing about gear requires a lot of critical listening, and I’ve found that it’s not much fun to review products intent on making every song seem like an audiophile final exam. The Orton makes hearing the Live at the El Mocambo version of Elvis Costello’s “I Don’t Want to Go to Chelsea” a rollicking moped ride of New Wave rock ‘n roll. I didn’t feel shortchanged, and I felt just as satisfied listening to a better recorded tune like Stan Getz’s “Blood Count.” Sure, the Orton lives for a lovely jazz cut like this Getz classic, and there’s no doubt that this is an integrated for those who prefer Norah over Nugent, but the Sonneteer still has another card to play. One thing that makes the Sonneteer Orton stand out is its impressive linearity. You get quite a lot at low volume levels, but the amazing thing about the Orton is how music continues to be cohesive and undistorted very near full volume…Orton can teach plenty of amps of all sizes and at all price points a thing or two about the virtues of usable volume.

…In case you’re wondering when I’m going to roll out a suitcase of audio reviewer clichés to parse the Sonneteer Orton’s sound, you’ll be happy to know that it’s unnecessary. Other than the aforementioned linearity, the best part of the Orton’s overall sound is that it does everything very well. Soundstage, timing, tonal balance—none of it comes to mind during listening sessions because none of it calls attention to itself. Just music. The Orton is an extremely accomplished integrated, and should delight all who want to hear music, and not music gear.

Very positive feedback.

Downloads:

Alabaster TONE AUDIO May 2017

positive-feedback.com-Sonneteer Orton Integrated Amplifier 5-5-2017 (1)

We’ll be back in Heartbeat. Don’t go away.

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