You know, 6Moons wouldn't be the same if it stopped reviewing exotic tube equipment from manufacturers with names you can never pronounce correctly. Is it Jas or J. A. S.? Is it Cay-in or Kai-een? Is it AudioTropic or...

As you guessed, the creatures on display are the JAS 2.1 (pictured), Cayin A-88t and the AudioTropic Music Machine. Prices are CDN$3599, US$1895 and $3000 respectively. JAS hails from Hong Kong, Cayin is a German brand made in the PRC and AudioTropic is all about Hawaiian hi-fi.

The bizarre banana of the bunch is not the Hawaiian piece, actually, but the Cayin. Cayin has a whole line of components is beautiful packages (pictured immediately below) but with sonics imitating classic amps. The A-88t is designed to mimmic the McIntosh MC-275 tube amps of yore. They can also impersonate classic Harmon/Kardon and Marantz amps if you're into that stuff. Not sure how I feel about all this "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" business. On the one hand, I feel defensive for the old school gramps. Then again, it's putting classic sound out there for the new gen. And yet, if I'm buying an amp, I don't want it to sound decades old. Then again, the gleaming chassis has a greater chance of impressing the chicks and, truthfully, that's the single most important factor whenever I consider a new piece of equipment...and you're a filthy liar if you're single and say you are any different.