Esoteric A-02Price: $17,600

Website: www.esoteric.teac.com

Howard said: The A-02 has brawn, tough-to-beat sound, museum-quality looks, and Esoteric’s reputation for rock-solid reliability. You don’t typically find all of those qualities in one amplifier. If your system would benefit from high power and is good enough to reveal what the Esoteric A-02 can do, look no further.

Reviewers' Choice

Read the SoundStage! Hi-Fi review.

The gist: Expensive beauty and brawn from Esoteric.