Audiophilepure

https://www.hifinews.com/content/techdas-air-force-ivreed-1h-turntablearm

This is a singer who has rock ‘n’ roll in his veins, and the live performances of rock standards like ‘Susie Q’ and an early cover of The Beatles’ ‘I’ll Cry Instead’ were delivered with such impact that the surface noise disappeared like tinnitus in a hurricane. There was something about the playback that enabled you to listen through the detritus. In addition to the sounds of the venue, Rivers’ distinctive vocals, with his mix of textures and a hint of nasality, were as perfectly reproduced as I have heard… and I am a Rivers devotee.

Toying with a worn-out LP is hardly an ideal way to assess a piece of equipment, but it does educe the belief that a fine system can work wonders with a less-than-wonderful recording, or in this case an LP in not-so-pristine condition. With the sonic spectacular that is Hall & Oates’ H2O [RCA RCALP6056], a mint original, the bottom end heard on ‘Maneater’ made me question what was alleged to be the logical sonic sacrifice of the Air Force IV versus the Air Force III. Surely the overall mass of the III, the vastly heavier platter, would lead to greater impact and weight? At no point did it sound like the IV was losing anything to the beefier III.

https://www.whathifi.com/speakers/hi-fi-speakers/marten-parker-duo-diamond-edition

Unusually for such revealing and analytical performers, these Marten speakers won’t go out of their way to highlight those flaws. You can hear the shortcomings easily, of course, but they remain in proportion, and the good parts of the recording will still shine.

However, feed these speakers a diet of great recordings – classics such as Miles Davis’ Kind Of Blue or Take Five by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, for example – and they will turn in a performance full of subtlety, dynamics and cohesion that’s almost eerily convincing.

That the Marten Parker Duo Diamond Edition are capable of a high level of resolution should not be a surprise. Such qualities should be a given at this level. However, what sets them apart from most rivals is the degree to which they step beyond the mechanics of hi-fi – you know, a cone moving backs and forward, crossover components and enclosure resonances – to put the music front and centre.

These speakers sound impressively natural regardless of whether we are talking about rendering instrumental textures in classic jazz recordings or the nuances of Billie Eilish and Khalid’s vocals on the wonderful song, Lovely.

With its $1,599 MSRP, the Onkyo A-50 Network Integrated Amplifier is essentially a streaming computer built around a very good integrated amplifier with a built-in DAC and phono stage. You can build a very feature-rich system by simply adding a pair of speakers and streaming all of your music to it, and you can add a turntable or CD player to it later if you’re into physical media.

https://www.headfonia.com/sendy-audio-kylin-review/#google_vignette

So, I had to take my most insensitive headphones to perform the listening testing. The Sennheiser HD6XX was also fine, as it’s high impedance and the noise couldn’t come through. And the thing is, once you have the right headphones connected, the Sendy Kylin is pretty excellent. Maybe they only used their own planars to test it and nothing easier to drive?

So, with my heavier loads, the Sendy Kylin exhibited a very mature and sophisticated sound signature. Not too warm and not cold in the least, despite using an ESS chip. Together with the Questyle Sigma Pro, it’s one of the more organic-sounding implementations of an ESS converter that I’ve heard. Long-term listenability is great, provided you have the right headphones.

In terms of technicalities, the Sendy Kylin is also one of the more impressive all-in-ones I’ve heard. There’s a very believable transmission of timbre and overall recording venue ambiance. I had to use my Moondrop Skyland to really explore the depths of it all. Macro dynamics here are stronger than minute shifts, likely because of the relatively high noise floor.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/techdas-air-force-ivreed-1h-turntablearm

I am not going to say it was as night-and-day as comparing tubes with transistors, but careful, intense and even frustrating listening allowed me to differentiate between the two, the vast cost disparity notwithstanding. That in itself makes all of this moot. But I was able to tell which was which thanks to my old faves, the J. Geils Band.

‘Did You No Wrong’ from Ladies Invited [Atlantic SD 7286] features each of the band’s members displaying virtuoso talents on guitar, harmonica, drums and assorted keyboards. Both decks allowed the listener to zoom in on each, or simply sit back and savour the experience. Where the two differed was in presentation. The Air Force III was more revealing, more analytical, with the kind of grip and command which places great demands on the rest of the system.