Esoteric’s N-05XE and S-05XE combine flagship DAC, streaming, balanced preamp, serious headphone amp, and Class A power—but at $26,500, is this the most future-proof “affordable” reference system?

There are two salient facts about Class A amplifiers: they are inefficient; they give the best possible distortion performance. The quiescent dissipation of the classic Class A amplifier is equal to ...