Nordost Valhalla 2 Reference cables
July 4, 2016 Comments Off on Nordost Valhalla 2 Reference cables
” My first impressions of the Valhalla 2 References, which remained unchanged throughout my listening, were of how smoothly the music flowed from note to note; of a very natural warmth and tonal richness of the sounds of instruments; and of how solid, dimensional, and tangible images and soundstages seemed. That’s where my analysis would begin.”
Audeze EL-8 Review
July 4, 2016 Comments Off on Audeze EL-8 Review
“So if you’ve been reading the Audiophiliac blog for a while, and waiting till something strikes your fancy, the latest EL-8 might be the one. After all, reading about great sound is all well and good, but in the end you have to hear it for yourself, with music you know on a deep level, and then digest what a great headphone like this can reveal. The music has been there all along, but you never heard it like this before”
Astell&Kern AK70 Player
July 3, 2016 Comments Off on Astell&Kern AK70 Player
” Unlike the AK Jr., the AK70 puts a 2.5mm balanced socket next to its standard 3.5mm socket. This brings output power up to 2.3Vrms – the same as the top of the line AK380. The internal DAC chip is a Cirrus Logic CS4398. That’s the same silicon as seen in the AK100 II but not in the AK300. However, you might not be using it”
Kii III loudspeaker and AURALiC – Video
July 3, 2016 Comments Off on Kii III loudspeaker and AURALiC – Video
Paradigm Prestige 2000SW Powered 15-Inch Subwoofer
July 3, 2016 Comments Off on Paradigm Prestige 2000SW Powered 15-Inch Subwoofer
” For those who like to maintain brand consistency, the Prestige 2000SW is a perfect, low-frequency mate to the various standalone speakers in the aforementioned Prestige line. The black piano lacquer finished version sent to me was gorgeous, and is sure to match whatever speakers you mate to it. Overall, Paradigm’s Prestige 2000SW is an awe-inducing, powered subwoofer that can handle the depths of most any movie sound effect, but it is also equally adept at transmitting the proper bass frequencies from your favorite hi-res music. From Rock to Classical to bombastic action flicks, I do not see how you could do any better in the bass department. An Everything Audio Network Stellar Sound Award for the Paradigm Prestige 2000SW.”
fo.Q Modrate HEM-25 Pure Note Insulators Review
July 3, 2016 Comments Off on fo.Q Modrate HEM-25 Pure Note Insulators Review
“The hi-rez files I have, such as Charles Mingus’s The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (24/96 FLAC, Impulse!), had a special kind of clarity that was tactile, organic, and startling, with more natural timing and a tonal richness without opacity. “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes,” from John Coltrane’s Coltrane’s Sound (24/96 FLAC, Atlantic/Rhino), was presented much more cleanly. Coltrane’s tenor sax was more penetrating; Elvin Jones’s drumming was snappier, his cymbal work more sparkling, his kick drum thunkier and deeper; and, with McCoy Tyner’s piano and Steve Davis’s bass, there were more textural contrasts among all four instruments. It all made for a far richer, more complex listening experience than I’d had before adding the fo.Q footers.”
DITA Review
July 3, 2016 Comments Off on DITA Review
“Operating under the philosophy that the cabinet has the greatest effect on overall sound quality, in order to control unwanted resonances (what they refer to as “box colorations”) the chassis is “meticulously milled and turned on modern multi-axis CNC machines from a solid block of 6061-T6 aluminum.” As to driver technology, they have chosen to use a single dynamic transducer, adopting the principle that the best way to maintain phase coherency and to eliminate crossover distortion is to use a single full range driver. Once again to quote DITA “To fully exploit our ultra rigid chassis, we needed to design a state-of-the-art driver that is ultra-lightweight, ultra-fast and rigid driver. The combination of both lightness and rigidity gives us a smooth and wide bandwidth response curve, along with stunningly quick impulse response.” But DITA doesn’t stop at the chassis and driver, they consider the cable to be a major factor in the sound and have taken great pains in the design and manufacture of their cables down to the use of Van den Hul silver solder and the non-magnetic carbon fiber TRS connector.”
Bowers & Wilkins 804 D3 Floorstanding Speakers Reviewed
July 2, 2016 Comments Off on Bowers & Wilkins 804 D3 Floorstanding Speakers Reviewed
” Comparisons with the Revel Performa3 F206 that I use as a reference speaker showed the few places where the 804 D3 might be faulted. It doesn’t sound quite as open as the F206; the dispersion doesn’t seem quite as broad; then again, few conventional cones’n’domes speakers can match the Performa3 tower speakers in this regard. Yet I heard no cupped-hands coloration with the 804 D3, and the sound was still plenty spacious.”
Interview With Miles Showell Of Abbey road
July 2, 2016 Comments Off on Interview With Miles Showell Of Abbey road
” Miles Showell: Universal own Abbey Road as it was one of the assets they acquired when they bought EMI. I am freelance here but shortly after I started I was able to persuade the management that half-speed mastering was worth the investment. Initial feedback from my early clients was so good that it was the management who approached Universal and said you have a fabulous library of recordings and we have a world expert on half-speed mastering in the team. There is resurgence in vinyl sales and a demand for good quality pressings. Therefore why do we not get together and create the highest quality vinyl records possible by pooling our resources and playing to all of our strengths. Thankfully, Universal thought it was an excellent idea. ”
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