Best Headphone Amps & DACs To Buy In 2019
January 17, 2019 Comments Off on Best Headphone Amps & DACs To Buy In 2019
Acoustic Preference Gracioso 1.0 LE/ST speakers review
January 16, 2019 Comments Off on Acoustic Preference Gracioso 1.0 LE/ST speakers review
“For the sonic velocity they’re able to project they cannot be taken lightly, considering the cabinet’s size. The solid wood and segmental structure place them on a completely different map than most of the speakers on the market. And the value for the price cannot be overlooked by any measures. You’ll have a tough time finding fully solid wood speakers nowhere near the price, even without the stands that have the identical structure!. ”
Monoprice’s Monolith Liquid Spark
January 15, 2019 Comments Off on Monoprice’s Monolith Liquid Spark
“The amp’s front panel is straightforward, from left to right there’s a power button, 6.3mm headphone jack, a second four-pin stereo XLR balanced headphone jack, volume control knob and a tiny button that switches between the balanced XLR and single-ended RCA inputs. There’s also stereo RCA outputs. That’s it, the Liquid Platinum is an analog-only device, there are no digital inputs. What we get instead are two tubes poking through the top panel, they’re Electro Harmonix 6DJ8 tubes. The Liquid Platinum’s all-metal chassis feels solidly put together.”
Voxativ 9.87 Loudspeaker $49,990 Review
January 15, 2019 Comments Off on Voxativ 9.87 Loudspeaker $49,990 Review
“Now you might think this frequency/horn glitch would be a disqualifying flaw. But it isn’t. The problem simply isn’t large enough or pervasive enough to matter that much. (And I’ve discovered that it vanishes almost completely with Voxativ’s own 805 integrated amp, which has been voiced expressly for the 9.87.) Compared to what I’ve heard from every other horn speaker, this is a smooth, neutral driver in a superior horn enclosure. Moreover, the Voxativ’s smidgeon of cupped-hands coloration in the upper mids is more than counterbalanced (as already noted) by the terrific dynamic energy and astonishingly high resolution of detail the speaker brings to every kind of acoustic music. The 9.87 makes instrumentalists (including Chet Baker, whom the Voxativ—and the Voxativ alone—tells me was recorded by a separate mic on vocals) sound so alive and present, so “there,” that I’m perfectly willing to forgive it its slight touch of, uh, horniness.”
MAGNEPAN 30.7 FOUR-PANEL DIPOLAR PLANAR LOUDSPEAKER $30,000/pair SYSTEM
January 14, 2019 Comments Off on MAGNEPAN 30.7 FOUR-PANEL DIPOLAR PLANAR LOUDSPEAKER $30,000/pair SYSTEM
“Are there caveats? Well, two would be the speaker’s size and price, both of which may prove daunting to would-be owners. Another involves seating positions relative to the speaker array. Because the 30.7 is very wide, you may find that if you sit too close to the speaker you eventually begin to hear the individual driver panels rather than a seamless, cohesive whole, which of course means that imaging and soundstaging won’t quite snap into focus as they should. So, bear in mind that set-up is partly about fitting the speaker into your room, but part is also about finding an optimal position for you relative to the speaker array. Finally, it pays to remember that this speaker requires powerful but also extremely high-quality amplification (such as permeates this issue – I’m specifically thinking of the Hegel H590 integrated amplifier tested on page 16) to give of its best.”
VanL Speakerworks Silhouette speaker $3,995 Review
January 14, 2019 Comments Off on VanL Speakerworks Silhouette speaker $3,995 Review
“That, however, is the only big caveat of the Silhouette. As a genteel speaker its voicing is delicious. I was taken aback at how thoroughly the Silhouette convinced that it was an elitist product. I normally do not like small towers, but I really like this one! No doubt the minimalist crossover, consisting of one resistor and one cap on the tweeter, is part of the appeal. John indicates that it is a unique series x-over that is very phase coherent. Also drawing my praise is the ultra low slope filter for the soft dome tweeter. Rising at only 3dB per octave, the tweeter is utterly indistinguishable from the wooden mid-bass driver. The resultant coherence both in terms of driver sets and the images on the soundstage is exemplary.
A surprise to me was my acceptance of the sound even though the speaker is short. Normally I chafe at the dwarfed scale of the presentation as offered by smallish towers, but in this case I had no impulse to jack up the front end and tilt the baffle backwards to elevate the soundstage. Even with the PureAudioProject Trio15 Voxativ I felt compelled to raise the front end using rubber hockey pucks to get the most out of the drivers. Do that to the Silhouette? No, sir! It’s just fine!”
Audiophilepure 
You must be logged in to post a comment.