Wilson Sabrina Review
December 25, 2017 Comments Off on Wilson Sabrina Review
“Everyone knows that tubes have their special way with voices and midrange in general and I have my fair share of experience in this field too, but I really did not expect this. Apparently this is one of those rare occasions where a magical match is made. After 20 minutes of playing time (the amp was brand new) involvement was raised to the point where it became hard to walk away. In spite of the low absolute power, the sound was incredibly captivating and dynamics were now seemingly more expansive than with either of the big transistor amps as well as the Ref 75. I couldn’t suppress a smile while I cued some vicious Madonna tracks while cranking up the volume. Smooth as smooth can be but boy now the Sabrinas sure rocked! So is this supposed power hungry aspect nonsense? Well, yes and no. If you play truly dynamic music such as classical pieces very loudly, the peaks could come out more compressed than with the Ayre and the Bryston. During my normal listening sessions playing (much more compressed-) soul, funk, jazz and electronic I did not become aware of any limitations of power, unless really pushing it to levels where the neighbours might come knocking on my door. I can imagine that a super amp such as a Soulution 511 or even 711 might extract the maximum dynamic performance from the Sabrinas but this is speculation.”
Acoustic Research AR H1 Planar Magnetic Headphones – Video
December 24, 2017 Comments Off on Acoustic Research AR H1 Planar Magnetic Headphones – Video
Synergistic Research UEF Demo, Tranquility Bases, Atmosphere, Power Cell 12 SE – Video
December 24, 2017 Comments Off on Synergistic Research UEF Demo, Tranquility Bases, Atmosphere, Power Cell 12 SE – Video
German Physiks HRS-130 Loudspeaker $18,775 Review
December 24, 2017 Comments Off on German Physiks HRS-130 Loudspeaker $18,775 Review
“What you get here is a world-class wide-range driver that is exceptionally well engineered and superbly integrated into a speaker that is almost perfect for a small-to-medium-sized room. In my estimation, the carbon-fiber DDD is one of the top five driver innovations of the past 40 years, delivering the coherent phase and uniform power response first envisioned by Lincoln Walsh. Given the right amplifier and room setup, the HRS-130 ticks all the important sonic boxes and clearly edges out the competition when it comes to palpable imaging. No wonder the German Physiks HRS-130 is currently my favorite speaker under $25k.”
Magico M6 $172,000 REVIEW
December 23, 2017 Comments Off on Magico M6 $172,000 REVIEW
“Having just come off the mind-boggling experience that is the Magnepan MG30.7, I wasn’t sure how I was going to react to yet another dynamic speaker in a cabinet. Once heard, the big Maggie’s boxless, “freed-up” presentation—with its lightning transient response, sensational resolution of musical detail, and uncannily natural tone color—is indelible. But the M6 matches it, strength for strength. Indeed, it exceeds it in the treble and the power range and the bass, where, as superb as they are, the MG30.7’s true ribbon and huge twin bass drivers are comparatively limited in power-handling and dynamic range (due to driver-excursion limits). While it is true that the M6 does not have quite the same lifelike size as the 30.7s on really big instruments (such as Clifford Curzon’s concert grand on the great Decca recording of the Brahms First Piano Concerto with Szell and the LSO [ORG]), it has much fuller low end and power-range color and impact (startling impact on tuttis). Moreover, unlike the Maggies, the M6 doesn’t make smaller instruments or voices sound outsize or bring them forward in the mix or add excessive sting (once again due to excurision limits) to high-pitched instruments played very loudly. In sum, it is far more naturally robust and faithful-to-sources and, ultimately, realistic.”
Cayin i5 Review
December 23, 2017 Comments Off on Cayin i5 Review
“Cayin i5: The i5 user interface looks a lot like that of the N5ii but that last one has some more option. Versatility and user wise these DAPs are very much alike but the new N5ii is the easiest to use. Its jacket fits better, the volume dial is smoother and the smaller and lighter N5ii just is easier to work in your hand. The screen on the i5 is somewhat nicer though as the N5ii’s screen has a more blue color. Sound wise I find the i5 to have a noisier background but the i5 still sounds really good. To me the N5ii and i5 are very close to each other and the biggest different is in the mids (layering) and the vocals. The voices are a tad softer from the N5ii where they have a sharper edge from the i5, making them sound more forward. In general I also find the N5ii is the better balanced one, where the i5 has the tendency to put the upper mids and treble more upfront. But these are very close to each other, there’s no night and day difference.”
Monoprice’s new M300 in-ear headphones $150 Review
December 23, 2017 Comments Off on Monoprice’s new M300 in-ear headphones $150 Review
“The iSine10 and iSine20 were game changers when they were introduced back in 2016. Audeze was the first to release what looks like an on-ear headphone, but one with an extension nozzle that directs the sound into your ear canals, the way in-ear headphones do. But unlike other in-ears Audeze’s were “open-back,” so they don’t isolate the user from the environment. Neither does the M300.”
Chord Dave Ultimate Reference DAC Review
December 21, 2017 Comments Off on Chord Dave Ultimate Reference DAC Review
“With Hifiman’s flagship planar magnetic headphone, the Susvara, I heard all that’s great about Dave’s sound: Jaw dropping transparency, big as the outdoors stereo imaging, and pristine highs. Still, the Susvara is a power hog, and Dave didn’t quite have enough juice to push the Susvara to very loud levels. At saner volume Dave and Susvara made beautiful music together.”
Fiio F9 Pro $100 Review
December 21, 2017 Comments Off on Fiio F9 Pro $100 Review
“Due to a multitude of vents on the inner face of each earpiece, the F9 Pro provides just average levels of isolation, just sufficient for public transport but they’ll get drowned out in louder environments. They are relatively low-profile and can be slept in comfortably, they also produce average amounts of wind noise despite their rippled texture. The F9 Pro wears comfortably, with a minor ache forming at the rear of my ears after several hours due to their slightly larger dimensions.”
Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee Headphones – Video
December 21, 2017 Comments Off on Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee Headphones – Video
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