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![](\"\/images\/111522-JacobGeorge_JustinWeber-600.jpg\")
\nRethm’s Jacob George (left) and Ampsandsound’s Justin Weber (right)
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\n![](\"\/images\/111522-Ampsandsound-600.jpg\")
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\n“The Black Pearl is a CAF debut,” Weber told me over email. “It’s a 300B dual-mono power amp. 8Wpc channel into 4\/8 ohms, WE 300Bs, dual 5U4 rectifiers, and a single 5751 input. XLR and RCA. Black Pearl is all built on turrets, like it was in the 1950s. No feedback, 100% custom transformers. 10 transformers in the amp. It’s really dual-mono.”
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\nThe Preamp features include 12dB of gain; an MM phono stage with 54dB of gain; three inputs, two line-level with RCAs, MM on RCAs; two 2 outputs via RCAs. “The Preamp is smallish in form factor meant to integrate onto a desktop setup with ease. Dimensions are 8″ wide × 6″ deep × 3″ tall.”
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\nAlso in service, Auralic’s Altair Digital Audio Streamer G2.1 ($5699), a Core Power Equi=Core 1800Mk2 line conditioner ($1800), and copious Cardas Audio products from their Clear Beyond series.
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\n![](\"\/images\/111522-Rethm_Maarga-600.jpg\")
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\nAs Art Dudley noted in his 2020 review—”Hi-fi is like cake. Most people enjoy listening to music, and most people like cake”—the Maarga consists of a “single horn-loaded full-range driver and a pair of powered, isobaric-loaded woofers. Drive units consist of an 8″ twin-cone driver with 25mm-diameter voice coil and high-compliance surround; two 6″ × 9″ paper-cone woofers. Frequency range is 28Hz–20kHz, sensitivity: 98dB\/W\/m at nominal 8 ohms impedance.”
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\nAnd while I’m quoting Art, here’s some of what he wrote: “The Rethm Maargas are musically light on their feet, offer good—and easily adjustable—bass extension, and look like nothing else on the market. For the low-power amp devotee who wants something out of the ordinary for a less-than-painful price, the Maargas very much deserve an audition.”
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\nArt was playing vinyl, not streaming. Hearing the CAF Rethm\/Ampsandsound\/Auralic system doing the latter, playing music heavy on ambience and small percussion, I heard copious gobs of air, lush highs, a deeply resonant midrange, and respectable layering. Music had a burnished quality that made it easy to forget I was working. I didn’t hear the system playing rock, but Miles Davis’ Relaxin’<\/I> was all air and texture, sunlight streaking, and senses touched.
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