CES 2018 • Hot Product

Vandersteen debuted another pair of mono amplifiers for use with the company's speakers with powered bass sections. The M5-HPA (estimated $15,000 per pair) are high-pass solid-state monoblocks designed for Vandersteen powered speakers below the flagship Model Seven. While the amps for use with those speakers, the M7-HPA, have a fixed 100Hz high-pass point, the M5-HPA can be set to any of five different values: 20Hz, 40Hz, 80Hz, 100Hz and 200Hz.

The M5-HPA produces 150 watts into 8 ohms and 300 watts into 4 ohms. It uses bipolar transistors, has ten separate power supplies and features a minimal signal path. Its circuit uses no feedback.

Paired with the Vandersteen Quatro Wood CT speakers ($14,600/pair), the new amps sounded big -- filling the front end of the room into the corners -- and created a full-range, fully powered Vandersteen speaker system for around $30,000.