Audiophilepure

The Tessidera is probably the closest ZMF has come to date in terms of their classic smooth and spacious house sound from a high-end planar-driver headphone. 

If the Caldera Open is their most technically resolving planar, the Tessidera is their most emotionally engaging.You do not need an OTL high-voltage bias tube amplifier to experience this tuning. You can run the Tessidera off a quality desktop, solid-state, tube, or portable amp. So long as the output power is decent, you will hear that presentation fairly consistently. This is not a ‘better’ Ori 3.0; the Tessidera is less bombastic and less V-shaped. It is more coherent and smoother-sounding, offering a consistently weighted and euphonic tonal quality throughout.

If you are looking for a kindred soul, then the Atrium’s tone is a safer bet, but with additional planar traits, including speed, linear bass, and superior low-end weight.

https://pt.audio/2026/06/05/teac-reference-500-series-review

The PE-505 unlocked much of that potential. The moving magnet performance in particular sounded exceptionally natural and musically convincing. The component maintained the same low-fatigue, balanced presentation characterizing the rest of the TEAC Reference 500 Series while adding impressive flexibility. Moving coil performance was similar sonically with perhaps a touch more upper treble energy, but tonal neutrality. The flexibility of having both adjustable resistance and capacitance was phenomenal as a reviewer’s tool and for those with multiple cartridges and tone arms.

Once again I asked Jo Yoshida of TEAC about the design goals behind the PE-505: I really like the features and flexibility of the PE-505. Were there any special design goals TEAC was targeting for this model? The price seems high compared to the rest of the 500 series products, so there must be a reason? Is there a 507 version planned in the future?

https://www.stereophile.com/content/eversolo-dmp-a6-master-edition-gen2-streaming-da-processor

Footnote 5: If I initiated a search for an artist, album, or track while playing from the DMP-A6 library (which feeds files from my NAS), the sound could become irregular or simply stop. I suspect that the DMP-A6’s 4GB RAM is too small to manage both functions simultaneously given the large size of my library. Eversolo says that for “very large music libraries based in NAS, search operations and metadata indexing during playback will consume more system resources, which could affect the stability. Adding internal SSD will be helpful to reduce the system load and improve the performance to speed up library operations.”

The bass frequencies have good note distinction and ability to reproduce bass notes, but the power output is not enough in some cases, and is unable to produce any noticeable weight and punch.

The bass seems capped off at 20Hz since I tested a few IEMs that I’m sure are capable of performing as low as 12Hz, and once they reached 20Hz, they suddenly stopped producing bass with this dongle.

I would have incorporated a subsonic filter in this device myself, since it helps in conserving output power reserves, and is something beneficial for this device.

The midrange is expansive but focused, and forward, but not too vigorous. They sound assertive with a boundless character that can paint a bold midrange sound.

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/yg-acoustic-carmel-3-loudspeaker

The Carmel 3 is the smallest and, at $29,800 per pair, the least expensive loudspeaker in the Reference range. This slender 2-way floorstander was first introduced in 2010, with an updated version following in 2015. The Carmel 3 made its North American debut at Capital AudioFest in November 2023. As with all Reference Series speakers, its enclosure is constructed entirely with an aluminum alloy, the 48 parts of the cabinet produced in Arvada, Colorado, by YGs eight hard-working CNC machines. (The Peaks range products have an aluminum front baffle but the remainder of the enclosure is fabricated from a dense resin material sourced in Europe.) The Carmel 3 stands 41″ tall with a gently sloping front baffle. Although it weighs in at a solid 85 pounds, it has a relatively small footprint, and YG has incorporated a substantial weighted base plate that helps prevent the speaker from being knocked over. In addition to providing mechanical stability during “real-world usage”—i.e., kids and pets invading the listening space—the plate also has a damping function and contributes to the tuning of the internal volume

When is a DAC more than the sum of its parts? When it delivers music at the most steady, fatigue-free rate, while embodying a unified, not divided, innate ability to communicate with the music.

I can only express my deepest respect and appreciation for such a thoughtfully conceived and exquisitely refined high-end audio product – one that exudes quality in every detail and evokes a fascination similar to my fondness for haute horology and haute automotive design. It is one of those rare pieces of electronics that, in the absence of mechanical and electronic distractions, disappears to become a musical storyteller. And what a storyteller Varèse is!

In conclusion, this was a demanding task and endeavor, but what a sonic ride. It was a pleasure and a privilege to test Varèse, dCS’s top-tier music system – a preeminent DAC that radiates poise and aural proportions previously unheard – an ultra-musical DAC with one-of-a-kind, ultra-level spatial fidelity.

When you know, you know – and apparently dCS knows. By bridging technology and musical storytelling in a one-of-a-kind way, Varèse is more than worthy of receiving the first ever combined Mono & Stereo Editor’s Choice and Uber Audio award.