Audiophilepure

https://www.hifinews.com/content/aurender-n50-streamermusic-librry

These experiments nailed the capabilities of the Aurender N50 as a top-class music source. If you want to hear streams, downloads and even your CD rips at their best, and really can’t stretch to a quarter of a million (!) for the dCS Varèse, the N50 feeding a decent DAC would do very nicely indeed.

Hi-Fi News VerdictThree boxes just to drive digits into a DAC? Yes, and it works brilliantly. Combining Aurender’s super-slick operating system and app, the N50 has the capacity to compel a vivid, dynamic and thrilling sound from your choice of outboard converter. Just make sure to budget the extra for internal storage, and you won’t go wrong with what is an excellent keystone for a state-of-the-art digital music system.

Once again Noble has simply dominated their market segment with the Noble Audio Osprey TWS IEM. To be honest, it sounds better than most wired IEMs I have heard in its price range. Now it does suffer some of the shortcomings of lower-priced TWS: the ANC is noisier than the other FoKus models, offering a slight hiss for ANC, and a much louder his for Ambient mode, but that is a quibble as the noise levels that would necessitate the use of ANC are much greater than that hiss. The tonal balance, speed, soundstage, timbre of instruments, dynamic range, and most especially musicality raise the Osprey to a whole other category of sound from your average TWS regardless of price.

While the Noble FoKus Prestige still holds a special place in my heart due to its gorgeous wood and enamel finish on the charge case and matching pattern on the earpieces themselves, and the FoKus Rex dominates sonically,  I think due to its extreme value the Osprey has displaced them as my favorite TWS IEM.

The Level 1 arrives in Jade Audio’s kraft-style outer box, with the Jade Audio brand name embossed on the top face and Hi-Res Audio certification stamps printed beneath.The interior is organized: the amplifier sits in shaped foam, and a secondary cardboard tray below holds the accessories in a tidy, well-protected arrangement.Included in the box are the amplifier, the 48V/5A/240W Merryking power supply, and a power chord.

Sound Impressions

The following impressions were formed using a pair of vintage Wharfedale Diamond III bookshelf speakers, driven directly from the Level 1 via banana plugs.I also did some tests with a powered subwoofer connected to the Level 1. Sources included a macOS via USB-C, a CD transport via coaxial, a Technics SL Q303 turntable connected to an SMSL PH-1 phono pre-amp, and a smartphone via LDAC Bluetooth. Both flat and PEQ-corrected listening sessions were conducted.The Jade Audio Level 1 presents a fundamentally transparent and controlled sound, with a tight low end and an overall tonality that reveals any track’s sonic character with little to no coloration.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/wharfedale-heritage-series-super-linton-loudspeaker

For speakers that failed to impress out of the box, the Super Lintons eventually sang their hearts out. In the initial setup, with higher-end amplification, the scale was immense, and I heard endless airy detail, but it came at the price of occasional harshness. In a second setup—with, incidentally, less-expensive amplification—I heard the Super Lintons at their best, producing engaging sound that soulfully charmed and captured this music lover’s heart.Speakers competitive in price with the Super Lintons include the JBL L100 Classic MkII, the Focal Aria Evo X No.2, the MartinLogan XT F100, and the B&W 706 S3. These are fine, sophisticated speakers, with plenty to say about your music, but I doubt any of them would play it back with the naturalism, lifelike color, emotional truthfulness, and tonal rigor of the Wharfedale Super Linton.