Audiophilepure

HIFIMAN has made me appreciate what headphones can do for an audiophile. While this system was not quite the performer of my reference two-channel system, it was a lot better than I thought one could get for the money. The Isvarna headphones delivered deep bass with ease. It’s not the bass one feels as one does with a powerful subwoofer, but the bass was deep and tuneful. I never found it overwhelming at any level nor on any track. When bass was there, those little subwoofers brought it quickly and left as quickly as it arrived.

The planar driver that handled music above 300 Hz was crystal clear with amazing pitch and timing. Everything about these ‘cans’ says ‘quality.’ I loved my time with HIFIMAN’s Isvarna headphones and learned that headphones can be fun. This was a great learning experience combined with a review.

If you want an alternative in terms of getting extremely high-quality music without spending north of $50,000, HIFIMAN has a system (with an assist from Naim) for $7,700 retail that just might be the answer to your dreams. This headphone system is highly recommended.

https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/1314-clarus-concerto-mkii-power-conditioner

For my listening tests, I used a Roon Nucleus One server (US$599.99) to stream from Qobuz, controlling playback via the Roon app on my iPhone. The other digital source was an EMM Labs XDS1 Reference CD/SACD player (discontinued, US$25,000 when available). My DAC-preamp was an EMM Labs DV2i (US$35,000). The power amp was a Soulution 511 stereo power amp (US$59,975) driving YG Acoustics Hailey 2.2 speakers (discontinued, US$55,800/pair when available). All cabling was Nordost Valhalla 2, apart from the Clarus power cable from the wall outlet to the power conditioner, and an EMM Labs OptiLink cable connecting the XDS1 to the DV2i.

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/soulines-tt23-turntable-0

The Soulines tt23 turntable as fitted with the Dynavector Te Kaitora Rua cartridge sang with color, weight, and a soundstage that breathed. Smooth without being sleepy and unfussy without losing personality, this table handled hip-hop, jazz, and electronic music with equal aplomb. It offered a big stage, an easy groove, and zero drama.

At $6,006, it faces serious heat from the comparably priced Technics SL-1210GME, VPI Prime 21, MoFi MasterDeck, Clearaudio Performance DC, and Rega Planar 10 — but it more than holds its own. Having spent time with all of those tables, I’d call the Soulines tt23 the most atmospheric of the bunch. It’s gentler, equally colorful, and possessed of its own quiet authority. Match the Soulines tt23 with a strong cartridge and a sympathetic phono stage, and you’ll find that this thing flies. I give it a high recommendation in a crowded field.

Since February 2026, Qobuz has also overhauled its Apple CarPlay experience, offering smoother navigation and a suite of new features: shuffle playback, direct access to albums and artists while listening, editorial recommendations, DailyQ and WeeklyQ playlists, genre filtering, quick-add to favorites, and alphabetical sorting for your library.

Additionally, Siri integration enables voice-controlled playback, whether you’re using CarPlay or the mobile app.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/ampsandsound-yellowstone-preamplifier

Ampsandsound’s Justin Weber is a rare breed, a Zen master of audio design whose components somehow carry the DNA of the man himself: humane, fair, quietly extraordinary. Heavy words to hang on a preamplifier, I know, but my time with the Yellowstone earned every one of them. It may be the finest preamplifier I have ever had the privilege of living with. Its onboard phono stage alone justifies serious attention. You can stack that on top of a tonal palette of impressive beauty, a soundstage the size of a small continent, dynamics that snap and breathe like live music, and a rightness and wholeness that makes you forget the gear and listen.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/technics-sl-1200gmesl-1210gme-turntable

I spent an afternoon playing a handful of familiar tracks with a variety of cartridges, including the relatively new Nagaoka MP-700 (review coming soon). As is the case with my other Technics turntables, swapping cartridges is easy: Just set the antiskate to 0, adjust the counterweight to 0 (meaning the cartridge is floating with the tonearm parallel to the platter), then dial in the recommended tracking weight and set the antiskate accordingly (footnote 7). (The tonearm height may need to be adjusted so that the arm is parallel to the record surface while playing a disc; this process is clearly explained in the user manual.) I confirmed the accuracy of the Technics counterweight dial with my digital scale.