Audionet
 
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0 to 500.000Hz (-3dB).
The legendary Audionet flatline, built into each and every machine.
Audionet MAX TAS Editors Choice Award 2023Audionet Planck2
Audionet effortlessly bests them all!
G.W. - The Absolute Sound 10/20

Scientific magic.

Audionet. The reference reference.

Ne plus ultra. Quote.

”To this point in time, the Audionet STERN and HEISENBERG reference designs are the very best that I’ve ever heard in my listening room, top-to-bottom, front-to-back, and side-to-side.

Furthermore, if you take the STERN and go with two pairs of HEISENBERGs, four monoblocks, total, I can be categorical: That configuration is the best preamp/amplification that I’ve ever heard anywhere, anywhen, to this point in time, period.

Ne plus ultra.

If you’ve been reading my evaluations over the decades, you’ll know how rare (almost unknown) it is for me to say anything like this.

So, pay attention. This is the high-end audio mountaintop…for here, for now. Don’t miss it!

If you are operating in this budget range, then you simply must not purchase anything else until you listen to the STERN and HEISENBERGs in operation.

And that, amigos, is the name of that tune….”

Legendary audio critic Dr. David Robinson said this, on positivefeedback.com, and we feel obliged to say we love the man. Sincerely. From our heart. And feel honoured to be apparently loved back.

You know, unlike most companies on this planet in pursuit of the perfect tone, ours is not run by finance guys or marketing people. Or mutual funds. Audionet is the brain child of scientists and veritable German engineers.

Who first convened in a garage, of all places. Only it was the subterranean car park of famous German Bochum University. Where it was decided to attack all questions of high end musical reproduction at the deepest possible level. To see what cutting edge science could come up with in terms of audible wonder. These same scientists are still running the company, after 20 years. And since they’re scientists, they much prefer to leave the singing of praise to other professionals:

“It occurs to me the best narrative line to take in describing the sound of the Audionet components is to tell you what I wasn’t thinking about. Information retrieval, for one, was not on my mind. Tonal balance, frequency response, signal purity, noise level – all of these weren’t rumbling around inside my cranium.

That says a lot. It means that here was a pair of mid-level, relatively affordable, components able to scale up in these areas into the neighborhood of the Big Boys – to the highest level. I knew we were off to a merry start. As you’ll see, this will be the major theme of this review.

Now let’s talk about what I did take note of. Over the years, I’ve heard many audiophiles talk about the seeming impossibility of reproducing realistic transients. I have to agree. If you’ve ever been in close proximity to a live drum set, you’ll know what the issue is. The speed, the force, the aggression of a single cymbal strike is outrageous.

In this regard, Audionet is in a class by itself. From the very first note – you’re going to be caught off guard.

The transient hits hard, with blazing speed and a sharp edge. Audionet gear refuses to slow it down. Indeed, with one of the highest slew rates in the industry, the specs clearly reflect what I am hearing. Full orchestral blasts exert maximum pugilistic verve. Abetting the impact is a dark-hued tonal balance that doesn’t skimp on the lower frequencies and packs oodles of weight and heft.

Beyond the sheer power, there are two more things to note about that transient onslaught. First, the treble is not rolled off and is allowed to roam freely. Second, dynamic range is staggering: not only do big macros give no hint of compression, they travel to places previously unheard at Nack Labs. The Audionet thrust coefficient is something else!

Yet peak SPLs do not bite you. Nice! I don’t know how Audionet managed that. How do you pack power, speed and full treble extension without harming the sensitive cochlea of the listener? Certainly, I did not expect it at this price point.”

See? We couldn’t have said it better or more eloquently than Mr. Marshall Nack, and our heartfelt thanks for those wise words. Let us just quote our CEO, Dr. Stefan Schwehr, at this point: “There’s one thing above all. I want to hear the music breathe.”

We’re quite sure that is the exact reason why you’re here. You must have felt there’d be machines somewhere on this planet which can sound like these. Welcome home. We’ve been waiting for you.

News

THE ABSOLUTE SOUND: Five Audionet Amps among the best on the planet

TAS just published their official recommendations for 2023. They are the same as in 2022. We’re again listed with STERN, HEISENBERG, HUMBOLDT, PRE G2 und MAX (WATT and SAM SE haven’t been tested as of now) and like that very much. Thank you, guys!

 

Rave GAUSS review in Germany’s leading High End magazine

“Finally, a useful accessory that will blow your mind when you refine your hi-fi chain with it.” writes the head of HIFI SOUND&MUSIC and dedicates 8 pages to our invention. 5/5 *****

Check it out here: the “invention of the year”

 

New ART G5 and PLANCK2 are now available:

PLANCK2 and ART G5 are our final statement re. the classical compact disc. No other machine on the market plays with such utmost precision, formidable ease and deep-rooted musicality. Check them out now in the MACHINES section of this website.

 

French HAUTE FIDELITÉ loves SAM 20 SE:

“This precision also gives the voices a singular freedom, in their expression as well as in their placement, in accordance with the recording. Thus, great instrumental compositions benefit from being listened to again, because Audionet makes available to the ear an abundance of details. Finesse and harmonic refinement devoid of any aggressiveness.”

Read the french originale here:

Haute Fidelité on SAM 20 SE

 

 

New Reviews

HUMBOLDT
STEREO
10/20

Stereo Test Audionet Humboldt

“It was a shocking experience to see how effortlessly Humboldt devoured his opponents.”

HUMBOLDT in Stereo+

PRE 1 G3 und AMP 1 V2
Audiotest
05/20

AUDIOTEST PRE und AMP

“Probably the most natural representation of transients we have come across so far and really fantastic microdynamics…96/100 points!”

PRE und AMP in Audiotest

STERN und HEISENBERG
The Absolute Sound
7/20

THE ABSOLUTE SOUND Test STERN und HEISENBERG

“A degree of resolution and transparency I’ve yet to hear from any other set of electronics.”

Read the full review online…

SAM 20 SE
Stereo Video (Poland)

Stereo Video Magazine Test Audionet SAM 20 SE

 
“The basses are incredibly deep, while maintaining firm contours. The top of the band is finely detailed and clean. The Phono Entrance is great and is not just a cheap addition to the sixth entrance.”

Download the review as PDF…

WATT and PLANCK
Stereo 01/2017

Stereo 1/2017 Test WATT PLANCK english

 
“In the listening room the Berliners showed no mercy to either the connected loud speakers or with the various competitors we ranged against them. […] The conclusion is simple: Audionet equipment has never looked better – nor sounded better!!”

Sound Quality: 100%!

Read the review online…

STERN & HEISENBERG
hifi&records

hifi&records Test STERN HEISENBERG

 
“Unheard-of-supremacy… A new leaf in the book of ampbuilding… Soundwise, musically and aesthetically the three towers are performing in a different league, a new class that needs no other superlative.”

Download the review as PDF…

 

STERN & HEISENBERG
i-fidelity

i-fidelity Test STERN HEISENBERG

 
“With the Stern preamp and the Heisenberg mono blocks, Audionet chimes in a new chapter of amplifier building. In more than one respect this trio is blasting conventions; sound quality and price fall definitely within. The attractive … styling by Hartmut Esslinger and the extent of innovative hightech from Audionet’s R&D department form in this triumvirate a passionate symbiosis which brought me a true joy of heart. … the new i-fidelity.net references.”

Read the review online…
Download the review as PDF…

MAX & PRE G2
“The Absolute Sound”

Audionet MAX The Absolute Sound review 2018

 
“At this point in my audio journey, after some 45 years of beeing involved at virtually every level of high-end audio (I was selling stereo gear before I could legally drive a car), I find that this Audionet combination represents one of the highest ratios of performance to price I’ve yet encountered, exemplifying the role of the proverbial “Giant Killer”. If the ultimate goal in this industry is to create products capable of engaging the listener so completely that we become transfixed by an entirely fabricated deception, unaware that the time and space of the events unfolding before us are merely auditory illusions generated by a complex reconstruction engine, a conglomeration of electro-mechanical devices, then Audionet has earned its place among the handful of manufacturers pushing the limits. I urge you not to part with a dime until you seek out and hear what the PRE G2 and MAX can do.”

Read the review online…

STERN & HEISENBERG
AV Showrooms