Astell&Kern SP4000T $3,300 Review

September 18, 2026 § Leave a comment

https://www.headfonia.com/astell-kern-sp4000t-review

Over the past weeks, I used the Astell&Kern SP4000T almost exclusively on commute and at home or the office. Most of my ear-time went into the FIR Audio Radon 6 and Redux 6 (review soon!), the Volk Audio Étoile, the LUXEAR Valor and the 64 Audio A18s. At home, I also used the Austrian Audio The Arranger as well as the HiFiMAN Arya Unveiled and Nur Harmonia headphones, which were easily driven by the AK. None of my IEMs showed any signs of hiss.

I will describe in the following paragraphs how it sounds with DAR off and hybrid amp mode. We will quickly go over the changes in sound when cycling through specific modes at the end of this chapter.

Grimm Audio Joins JPLAY Certified

September 18, 2026 § Leave a comment

JPLAY app offers seamless integration with Qobuz, Tidal, HIGHRESAUDIO, HQPlayer and local files (UPnP servers), allowing users to combine all their music in a single library or access each music server and streaming service separately. With lightning-fast context search and an intelligent radio feature, JPLAY app makes it easy to discover new music and check which songs have grabbed your attention.

The most significant advantage of JPLAY app is its extreme optimization and native iOS programming, which guarantees exceptional speed and responsiveness, unlike other hi-fi apps. JPLAY minimizes network traffic between the app and the audio endpoint, significantly reducing network noise and improving sound quality. With JPLAY, you can enjoy the purest sound possible, without unwanted noise.

Marantz MCR 60n vs MODEL M1

September 18, 2026 § Leave a comment

Audeze LCD-5s Open-Back Planar Magnetic Headphone $4500 Review

September 17, 2026 § Leave a comment

The above list goes on and on. You don’t need all that noise; you’ve enough of that already. Audeze’s latest headphone does not disappoint. The luxury planar magnetic headphone is a handsome beast. A refined one too. A beast that delivers all-day comfort. A voice built from the bottom up. When the recording provides, the stage is bedrock, revealing its delicious combination of speed and control. This is an irresistible combination of agility, control, resolution, and color. If you are considering a luxury planar magnetic headphone, please do wrap your ears in the LCD-5s for a time.

Qobuz Unveils a New Player and Real-Time Lyrics

September 17, 2026 § Leave a comment

Real-time synchronized lyrics

The highly anticipated synchronized lyrics feature has finally arrived on the app. They scroll line by line in real-time, alongside their translations. It’s a new way to follow a track, to better grasp the lyrics and the intention behind them, or simply to rediscover a favorite song.

A new “Explore” section

With this update, the player also becomes a hub for discovery. The new “Explore” section offers similar albums and artists, radio stations, and playlists, alongside content linked to the label or musical genre. Qobuz’s editorial content, including reviews, artist interviews and long-form features, is now accessible directly from the player, allowing the user to extend their listening experience without ever leaving the universe of the current track.

More comprehensive credits

The credits layout has also been redesigned, with more accessible information about the works and artists. It’s also possible to follow an artist or label directly from the player.

 ALSOZONE GaN Mono Amplifier 300W $140

September 17, 2026 § Leave a comment

Gershman Symphonia Loudspeaker $70,000 Review

September 16, 2026 § Leave a comment

https://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/0926/Gershman_Symphonia_Loudspeaker_Review.htm

The first album selected was Pink Floyd’s The Wall. I tried to keep the mix of my albums different from the three reviews that were being done this month. However, Pink Floyd represents my favorite material. Their songs are fantastic because each one is a challenge for any system to reproduce. The rock opera’s peaks and valleys blend into themselves long before you even start to worry about the detail you never knew you missed.

First impressions are always the most lasting. Mine was that The Wall seemed to come alive when I heard the album start to play, even from the beginning, with the Symphonia speakers. It started with a soundstage that could only be described as a tapestry, an impeccable blend of layers of music and vocals set within the perfect framework. This framework is a creation of no small feat.

The framework for The Wall’s soundstage reproduction required no small amount of finesse. The Symphonia floorstanders accomplished this task exceptionally well. Their ability to exude a sense of depth was uncanny. Once you added a sense of width, you could imagine a sense of the world you were hearing the material within. It was impressive. The individual layers of vocals and instrumentals were no less detailed or focused on their presentation. The ability to capture the pristine beauty of each layer and render it became apparent the longer you listened. They drew you in with beauty and kept you there with intricacy. It made everything seem so incredibly immediate and alive. The way one layer wove into another was artistry in the making, and it unfolded before your eyes and in your ears.

Métronome DSAS streamer-server Review

September 16, 2026 § Leave a comment

https://www.stereophile.com/content/m%C3%A9tronome-dsas-streamer-server

The Audirvāna team continues to improve the platform. Just since the launch of Studio v3, updates have improved the Remote app, and DSP supports both SoX and r8brain upsampling algorithms to higher-rate PCM and to DSD. The latest Audirvāna also supports plug-ins, but the Audirvāna in the DSAS can’t use them because the relevant plug-ins cannot be used “headless”—that is, without a display.What other Audirvāna features are unsupported on the DSAS? Just one: metadata editing, which is currently supported on desktop platforms only, not on the Remote app. Damien told me, however, that app-based metadata editing will be added with an update later this year.

Eversolo T10 Streaming Transport Review

September 16, 2026 § Leave a comment

Magnepan MG2.7i loudspeaker Review

September 15, 2026 § Leave a comment

https://www.hifinews.com/content/magnepan-mg27i-loudspeaker

Despite the on-tap power from the Gryphon and Constellation amps, I would still have liked the speaker to leap more decisively into some music. Drums could at times enjoy more thrust and impact, just as the gorgeous instrumentation on The Beach Boys’ ‘Sail On Sailor’ [Holland, Capitol Records; 192kHz/24-bit] came across as slightly held back.

Other times, though, the MG2.7i left nothing to be desired. Henry Jackman’s ‘Kong The Destroyer’ theme, from monster movie Kong: Skull Island [WaterTower Music 39884] moved from dramatic low-strings and brass to softer woodwind motifs, and the speakers fully captured the scale of the performance, notes decaying beautifully. In the ‘The Battle Of Skull Island’, the roar of the horns was a standout, as was the handling of its fast, snappy string rhythms. With music such as this, and given the breathing room and amplification to succeed, Magnepan’s MG2.7i is a sonic star.