Customers review

Only when an amplifier makes our soul resonate...

Octave devices do exactly that. They captivate us from the very first moment. To ensure their finely tuned sound balance—striking the delicate balance between high naturalness, dynamic energy, and the necessary touch of tube warmth—reaches the listener unfiltered, Octave tube amplifiers from Karlsbad deserve to be paired with matching speakers. After some experimentation and various listening sessions, we’ve discovered two fascinating combinations that we’d like to explore further here.

The Burmester B38 Speakers

Let’s start with the Burmester B38 speakers. These are a modern, room-friendly 3-way design in a slim form. The B38 impressively reproduces all kinds of music with spatial depth. Its substantial bass potential may not be immediately obvious, yet it surprises with an exquisitely smooth musical presentation, even when things get intense. In short, the sound reproduction of the Burmester speakers has size, authority, and a lot of space, with just the right level of refinement, ensuring that not only audiophile software is enjoyable.

The Perfect Amplification: HP 700 SE / MRE 220 SE

To maintain their captivating properties, they require suitable amplification—and here comes the combination of HP 700 SE / MRE 220 SE into play! The new Octave tube monos have enormous power and control, making them a perfect match for the Burmester speakers. This is particularly evident in the deep-reaching bass, as the B38 builds a soundstage with enormous spatial presence. What’s also noticeable: With the MRE 220 SE monos, the Burmester column shines with an incredibly plastic stereo image.

Power and Dynamics

With an impressive continuous output of 220 tube watts and a peak power of up to 300 watts, Octave's power amplifiers are among the most powerful tube amplifiers ever. However, despite their power, the MRE 220 SEs remain relaxed and dynamically loose—a further feature that perfectly complements the German luxury speakers with AMT tweeters. You can feel the powerful drive of the Octave monos in the background—like a high-performance combustion engine with plenty of displacement.

Variable Feedback and Super Black Box

A permanent grin in response to the spatial reproduction of the MRE 220 SE / B38 pairing is practically guaranteed! The variable feedback—a unique feature!—also allows for sensitive adjustments to any other speaker. Furthermore, with the optional "Super Black Box," you can expand the power supply of the MRE units, further increasing the sovereignty and emotionality of the sound reproduction.

KT 88 and KT 120 Tubes

Equipped with KT 88 tubes as standard, the KT 120 tubes achieve a particularly harmonious sound balance when paired with the B38. Thanks to an LED display and external controls, precise bias adjustment is a breeze and guarantees optimal tube performance at all times.

HP 700 SE as the Perfect Partner

Once again, the modular HP 700 SE tube preamp proves to be a perfect partner for the MRE 220 SE power amps. It is the sonically and technically optimized evolution of the HP 700 introduced in 2014. With an improved Class-A output stage, it offers an even more natural midrange and additional XLR outputs for flexible amplifier setups.

Perfect Harmony

Its highly natural midrange reproduction makes the tube preamp another perfect match for the B38 speakers, as the capital city speakers play tonally very balanced and homogeneous, starting with the AMT tweeter. By the way, audiophile purists can replace the volume control of the HP 700 SE with a mechanical stepped attenuator. This guarantees excellent channel balance thanks to fixed resistors. The B38 also benefits from this, as it shines with high left-right balance as a highly selective stereo pair.

A True Dream Team

This is how a true dream team harmonizes, we believe.