September 2025

World Premiere Review!
The Amazing Audionet Mach Linestage And Schrödinger Monoblock Amplifier Review
A more affordable slice of World-Class performance.
Review By Senior Editor Greg Weaver

From The Beginning
If you are unfamiliar with the brand Audionet, one of today's premier audio electronics manufacturers located in Berlin, Germany, it's time to correct that oversight.

Founded in 1994, after nearly a decade of developing sensors and measurement electronics, all of which produced extraordinarily weak signals, and the essential need to build highly reliable, high-resolution analog amplifiers for this entirely new breed of measurement electronics at Ruhr University in Bochum, western Germany, that same research team, who were also music lovers, created what would become Audionet.

Armed with the invaluable experience gained building these low-noise, highly resolving amplifiers, they began building some of the most refined and precise audio electronics available, and now, more than thirty years later, they have grown to offer a full line of some of the finest linestages, stereo, mono, and integrated amplifiers.

I have had the distinct pleasure and have enjoyed the sonic benefits of living with the superb Audionet PRE G2 linestage and MAX monoblocks as a reference for more than eight years now, since I was first introduced to them by U.S. Importer, Bill Parish, of GTT Audio in Long Valley, New Jersey. It was not only a remarkable experience, one that resulted in my first full review of Audionet gear in December of 2017, but it reset my expectations for reference electronics in that class for some time to come.

Further, I have had extensive experience listening to the Audionet flagship Scientist Series of electronics, their statement Stern linestage and Heisenberg monoblocks, both as an early beta tester, then delivering the first review of them in August of 2020. With dozens of further listening opportunities since their formal introduction, they have set another bar for me. In fact, they are the machines I would choose as my reference if they were within my means.

So perhaps you may begin to understand the stir of excitement I felt when Bill called to share the news that Audionet had announced the plan to introduce new models in the Scientist Series line of products. The new Mach linestage and Schrödinger monoblocks would, essentially, be scaled-down versions of the statement Stern and Heisenberg's, allowing them to fill the pricing gulf between the overachieving PRE G2/MAX combo and the statement models. For those with a further interest in Audionet's history, I would direct you to my coverage of both the PRE G2/MAX and Stern/Heisenberg reviews at the Absolute Sound, both linked in today's description, which covers their founding and accomplishments to that time.

Though Audionet showed prototypes of these new models at High End Munich 2024, I have since covered the official Mach and Schrödinger launch experience with Episode 212 of my YouTube channel, from February 2nd of this year. Further, I was joined in a conversation about these remarkable new products by Dr. Stefan Schwehr, CEO, and Finn Engelmann, lead engineer, of Audionet, at this year's final High End show held in Munich. That conversation may be seen in Episode 227 on my YouTube channel, from May 25th of this year, as well.

While it should come as no surprise that these new machines closely match the benchmark-setting specifications of the statement models, it is because they were intentionally designed to match as closely as possible the unrivaled performance the Stern and Heisenberg pairing delivers, yet to be more accessible. Spoiler alert…they've succeeded!

Measuring Up
Following the design aesthetic renowned industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger established with the Stern and Heisenberg, the newly developed Mach linestage stands eight and a half inches tall, some seventeen and a half inches wide, with a depth of nineteen and a quarter inches, tipping the scales at forty-four pounds. As such, at about two-thirds of Stern's height and just over half its weight, it delivers a nearly identical set of features and performance, for two-thirds the price.

Visually, it bears the striking aesthetic of the Stern, incorporating the floating pane approach, using resonance-optimized pads on an aluminum frame, affording both optimal resistance against microphonic effects and exceptional thermal stability.

Its dual mono circuit and power supply layout assures channel-to-channel isolation, employs the shortest possible signal paths, and is executed using magnetically and capacitively optimized circuitry, with no ferro-magnetic materials used anywhere. With 22,000 µF silk dielectric main power supply capacitors, optimized for extremely low impedance, it is a DC-coupled design to avoid further signal degradation.

The input and output sections, and the volume control, are implemented using the enhanced, discrete Audionet operational amplifier modules, the same as those used in the Stern, built with state-of-the-art mica capacitors. And just as with the Stern, it offers user-definable naming and input levels, as well as an option to remove DC levels from signal sources for each input.

And get this, the Mach's bandwidth is from DC, or zero Hertz, to two million, two-hundred thousand Hertz, or two-point two Megahertz! Did you get that? That is a greater bandpass range than either of the flagship linestages from either of the two most famous Swiss manufacturers, and more than double that of one of them, a highly regarded, two-chassis model that sells for twice as much!

Moving to the Schrödinger amplifier, at fourteen inches tall, ten and a half inches wide, and seventeen and three-quarters inches deep, it weighs a robust one hundred twelve pounds. But at two-thirds the height and three-quarters of the weight, it delivers three-quarters of the power, some four hundred Watts into eight Ohms, or seven hundred fifty Watts into four, all for two-thirds the price of the statement Heisenberg!

Here, the floating panel chassis design allows for maximum air flow, offering abundant cooling for the circuit boards and establishing stable air currents throughout. It also employs magnetically and capacitively optimized circuitry, using no ferro-magnetic materials, and implements galvanic isolation by using optical coupling.

The Schrödinger uses the Audionet Ultra Linear Amplifier technology to manage real-time linearization of distortions, is DC coupled, and its massive, gold-plated copper rails deliver the signal to the speaker terminals without loss. It uses two separate power supplies, one for device control and detection, and a second to monitor zero-crossing of mains power, the crucial point where the mains power alternating current signal transitions through the zero voltage level, from positive to negative or vice versa.

My intent with the previous few paragraphs was simply to shine a spotlight on some of the more significant design and feature accomplishments of these exemplary new machines. To fully appreciate all their achievements, dig into their respective detail pages at the Audionet website. And as important as these details are, it is their unwavering proficiency at recreating the musical gestalt of a recording that matters most!

Sounding Off
Much in the same manner as their larger siblings, these new Scientist Series products made an immediate and powerful statement by presenting everything from a fundamental stillness, a vivid blackness, a sheer silence from which all other sonic information may emanate. This underpinning of deep tranquility fosters a sense of rich blackness, a profound silence from which relevant sonic detail and nuance can emerge. This extraordinary milieu of quietness, a near faultless backdrop for all other sounds to originate from, serves to contribute to virtually every other positive attribute these new electronics have to offer.

The all-important region of musical foundation, the lowest three octaves, from the subbass into the midbass, is created with delicate detail and meticulous definition, conveyed with world-class control, speed, and precision. The degree of authority and dominion they exhibit in this region, their ability to express dynamic scaling and nuance, was astonishing.

The vital midrange region is blustering with the lifelike portrayal of tone, texture, and physical dimensionality. While I'll address their spatial proficiencies soon enough, the way that these machines render this region, including the human voice, strings, piano, or guitar, with rich detail, and full of harmonic bloom, delivered with natural timbre, accurately reflecting their inherent characteristics, is seductive. They deliver the musical message expressed with a warmth, coherence, dimensionality, presence, texture, and an immediacy that is so evocative of the live event that more than one visitor to my music room during their tenure asked if tubes were implemented anywhere in the chain.

Treble performance is focused and detailed, crisp, clear, and extended, remaining smooth and articulate, with no hint of etched sterility or hardness. They convey an unbelievably open and spectacularly airy top end, delivering that sense of utter effortlessness and limitless extension. Hearing reproduced ride cymbals from jazz or blues combos, or triangles buried deeply within complex classical arrangements, and you are treated to pure and uncongested detail, with vivid attack and seemingly interminable ambient decay, recording permitting.

As with their grander siblings, the dynamism they bring to bear, their ability to deliver the visceral attack, the impact and punch you experience from a well-recorded drum or tympani strike, is so visceral and lifelike, it will cause you to flinch. Their ability to recreate not only the sounds, but to regenerate that sense of compression, the pressurization of the air felt in the presence of a large pipe organ playing the lowest of stops, gave me goosebumps. Given their pedigree and current capability, this came as no surprise.

Add to that their exceptional ability to resolve low-level spatial cues and their markedly broadband coherence, and it should come as no surprise that they present a degree of soundstage layering and image specificity, size, and shape that is extraordinary. This proficiency at delivering accuracy of depth, honest image size, instrumental location, and a visceral sense of instruments' physical interrelationships is virtually faultless. Their ability to extricate and unravel complicated layering, to convey the sense of air and space around and between highly individualized voices throughout a complex and congested stage is remarkable, especially for solid state electronics.

And while we are on the subject, while many music lovers lean into the world of valve electronics in search of body, texture, and bloom that is often deemed missing, or at least, more reticent with electronics from the solid-state camp, this is one area where the entire Audionet product lineup simply excels. And this new Mach linestage and Schrödinger monoblocks knock it out of the park.

Overall, this new Scientist Series of machines from Audionet has simply captivated me. I was routinely caught up by their alluring accuracy of pitch. Their ability to imbue drums with a fundamental authenticity of both sound and wallop, and to capture the texture and tone of the skin itself, is simply world-class. And their undeniably faithful ability to replicate the essence of hammered strings of well-recorded piano left no question that it is both a percussion and a stringed instrument. Over my time with them, this attribute became only more enchanting. No matter what I listened to, their authentic sense of timbre and correctness of tone was irresistible.

Redefining Excellence
Often, when a design team sets out to create a scaled-down version of a statement product, the concessions they are forced to make to realize their original goals are significant and may often lead to unacceptably compromised performance in the name of meeting specific design parameters or a targeted price point.

What Audionet has accomplished with the introduction of the Mach linestage and Schrödinger monoblock amplifier experience is notable, and for a number of reasons. Not only do they so very closely rival the overall performance of the statement Stern and Heisenberg electronics, but they also accomplish that lion's share of the exceptional performance of the Stern linestage and Heisenberg amplifiers at just two-thirds of their cost.

In truth, their remarkably distinguished accomplishment so closely mimics that of the benchmark-setting performance of the Stern and Heisenberg's, it is likely that even the most demanding of music lovers may be unable to differentiate between them. And more to the point, many may not even find their performance differences significant enough to warrant consideration. They provide access to world-class performance at a more accessible price. As such, this new troika, the Mach linestage and pair of Schrödinger mono amplifiers, is the very definition of value. Most enthusiastically recommended.

Specifications
Audionet Mach Linestage
Frequency Range: 0 Hmz to 22 kHz (- 3dB)
SNR: > 123 dB
THD + N: < -116 dB for 1 kHz (df: 0 - 20 kHz)
Output Impedance: 22 Ohms
Output Current: 60 mA maximum
Dimensions: 8.5” x 19.25” x 17.5 (WxDxH) 
Weight: 44 pounds
Price: $37,060

Audionet Schrödinger Monoblocks
Power Output: 400 Watts @ 8 Ohms (750 @ 4 Ohms, 1,200W @ 2 Ohms)
Frequency Response: 0 Hz to 60 kHz (-3 dB)
Damping Factor: > 2.000 @ 10 kHz, > 10,000 @ 100 Hz
THD + N: < -106 dB at 1 kHz, 25 Watts to 750 Watts @ 4 Ohms
SNR: > 128 dB
Input Impedance: RCA: 50 K Ohms, 100 pF
XLR: 7 K Ohms, 100 pF
Dimensions: 10.5” x 17.75” x 14” (WxDxH)
Weight: 112 pounds
Price: $108,100/pair

Manufacturer
Audionet GmbH
Brunsbütteler Damm 140 B
13581 Berlin, Germany

Voice: +49 (0) 30 2332 421 0
E-mail: kontakt@audionet.de 
Website: Audionet.de

GTT Audio & Video – US Importers
356 Naughright Road
Long Valley, NJ 07853

Voice: (908) 850-3092
E-mail: av@gttaudio.com 
Website: GTTaudio.com