Audiophilepure

https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/features-menu/for-the-record/1315-an-ortofon-vertical-tasting-ending-with-the-mc-90x

Via the MC 90X, the 45‑rpm DMM pressing of Abacab (Atlantic / Analogue Productions APA 042‑45) had me shaking my fist at the sky. This is a wonderful slice of early ’80s prog rock. And the MC 90X sure can rock. Despite being an “audiophile” cartridge, this Ortofon has an incredible ability to swagger, to grip the start and end of notes. Phil Collins’s crisp, crackling snare drum on the title track jumped forward in the mix, dynamically assured, with an aggressive leading edge and a rolling, detailed tail. Keeping on with the bombastic prog, Earth, Wind & Fire’s horn section on “No Reply at All” was brassy and rich, again with an excellent sense of snap on the upshot.

All of these traits—the silky, extended treble, the extreme refinement, the startling dynamics—went notably above and beyond the abilities of the Cadenza Black, and that’s as expected given the price, right? But it was the midrange where the MC 90X took my breath away. Returning to perhaps my most-played record, I sat through both sides of Astor Piazzolla’s Tango: Zero Hour (Pangea PAN‑42138) and then flipped the record back and did it again. On the best track of this best album ever, “Milonga del ángel,” all of the magic happens in the midrange, with a wet-sounding violin doing a back-and-forth with Piazzolla’s bandoneon, along with a piano leaning in from the side.

https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2026/6/28/the-wiim-ultra-music-streamer

When the performance ended, I realized that something far more significant had happened. Up until that point, I had still been thinking of the WiiM Ultra primarily as an exceptionally capable streamer. After hearing Rutter’s Requiem, I found myself thinking of it differently. This was no longer a convenient way to audition music or explore unfamiliar recordings. It had become a source component in every sense of the word—one capable of delivering the musical involvement, emotional communication, and complete sense of immersion that I had always associated with a truly exceptional analog front end.

I also realized that my desire to continue searching for the vinyl pressing had quietly disappeared. Streaming hadn’t replaced my love of records. It had simply allowed me to experience an extraordinary performance so completely that owning a physical copy no longer felt essential.

One final discovery brought everything together.

When I attended the Florida Audio Expo, I repeatedly heard exhibitors demonstrating their systems with Marcin’s remarkable interpretation of “Kashmir”. I already knew Led Zeppelin’s original recording, but this performance was something entirely different. After hearing it in several rooms, I did w

As a review tool, the XS Pre is without peer. It is effortless in its delivery and consistent in sound quality, providing a similar sonic picture with balanced or single ended connections. Even if you don’t review hifi gear, this kind of flexibility offers a much wider range of options as your system and tastes change. With the XS Pre offering such a neutral rendition, it is a perfect system anchor, letting you mix, match and experiment elsewhere.

Because the XS Pre doesn’t manipulate or alter the tonal character of the music it delivers, the usual list of tracks to describe bass, treble, and imaging are almost irrelevant. Laurie Anderson once said, “Paradise is exactly like where you are right now, only much, much better.” That’s the XS Pre. It’s much, much better. Add the concept of never having to retube, along with the headache that a new set of tubes can cause, makes it a component you can just leave powered up and forget about it. Matter of fact, there is no power switch

https://www.headfonia.com/audioquest-dragonfly-copper-review

The left-right balance and stereo imaging are very nice, as is the overall timbre. The Copper DF is a very musically tuned DAC/AMP. It’s rich sounding, and the presentation is on the smoother side. The DF Copper will never sound aggressive or sharp, it’s all about effortlessness, musical enjoyment and easiness to the ear.

To me the DragonFly Copper performance wise mostly shines in the mids section, with a nice airy presentation, excellent separation and – again – a lovely timbre/tonality. Vocals sound natural and blend in perfectly and realistically.  Nothing here feels pushed or moved to the front and you get a natural presentation.

Bass is quite present and sounds full and weighty. Bass has a good punch and the impact is impressive; its speed isn’t the highlight, however. Bass layering is quite good, especially if your ear and -headphones are up to the task (try the UM Multiverse Mentor). If you like a lighter kind of bass presentation, the Copper might be a bit more challenging for longer sessions, but for most listeners and especially the “regular consumer”, bass will be spot on and to me a second highlight of the DF Copper’s tuning.

https://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/0726/Merrill_Audio_Element_116MX_Review.htm

If one is considering these $30,000 Merrill Audio MX116MX monoblocks, one should obviously discuss spending this kind of cash with one’s partner. I also suggest, depending on where one lives, auditioning them. I also encourage that both of you read about these monoblocks on Merrill Audio’s excellent website.

As a bonus to the extraordinary sound quality of the Merrill Audio Element 116MX monoblocks is their stunning exterior. If one does not have a dedicated listening room, anyone considering their appropriateness to one’s home decor can rest easy. They will suit even the most extravagantly designed homes.

The phase tells the same story of agreement. It holds at zero through the bass and lower midband, the region where the magnitude is flat, and turns upward only as the roll-off engages through the treble, the two captures advancing along the same trajectory to the edge of the plotted band.

Two points deserve to be drawn out. First, the phase of the 192 kHz and 384 kHz measurements coincides as independent confirmation of the magnitude result: not merely the amplitude but the full audio-band transfer function is the same at both rates. Second, a word of caution about how to read the steep phase rise toward the top of the band. It is tempting to treat that large rotation as the converter’s own behavior, but it is not: where the magnitude is still flat, a well-behaved reconstruction filter contributes almost no phase, so the bulk of what climbs here is the residual time reference of the impulse-response measurement rather than a property of the DAC. The filter’s genuine in-band phase is small, and it tracks the magnitude roll-off as it should.