The Octave System

The signal path here is short and entirely deliberate. Linn's Selekt DSM Edition Hub handles streaming. Vinyl runs through Octave's own Phono EQ.2, which offers twelve input impedance settings between 62 and 1000 ohms — enough resolution that a moving coil cartridge can be properly matched rather than approximated. Either source feeds the Jubilee Preamp SE, a zero-feedback design pairing a tube balancing stage with a solid-state output stage low enough in impedance to drive any power amplifier in the room.

From there, a pair of Jubilee Mono Ultimate monoblocks, 78 kilograms each, into the Sasha V. Wilson's fifth-generation descendant of the original WATT/Puppy asks for a minimum of 50 watts and rewards a great deal more. It gets 440.