Paradigm’s Persona B $7,000 Review
January 6, 2019 Comments Off on Paradigm’s Persona B $7,000 Review
“As we did with the top of the range Persona 9H, the Persona B is more than worthy of our last Exceptional Value Award for 2018. Perhaps even more, because so many more people can budget $7,000 for a pair of speakers than those that can spend $35,000. Everything comes together to perfection here: sound quality, ease of use and finish are all world class. Because Paradigm has such a significant scale of economy, you can have a $30,000 pair of speakers for $7,000. Very highly recommended.”
Cambridge Audio CXN (V2) Network Streamer $899 Review
January 6, 2019 Comments Off on Cambridge Audio CXN (V2) Network Streamer $899 Review
“The biggest problem with Internet Radio is what psychologists call the paradox of choice: there are too many options. Organization of the thousands of channels available becomes critical. With the CXN (V2), stations can be searched for by stream name/call letter, or browsed by Location or Genre. “Location” means country of origin, and with more than 10,000 results for the US alone, subdivision by state and city would have been nice. Helpfully, you can drill down using combinations of genre, subgenre, and location — for example, Music, then Classical, then Opera, then Italy produced a more manageable list of Italian stations broadcasting opera. Nonetheless, I found it easier to identify streams on the web or using TuneIn, then search for the stream by name on the CXN (V2).
Having found a station, the CXN (V2) presents a list of streams, typically variable in quality, from which to select. Rather than go through the process every time, the CXN (V2) lets you store up to 20 presets, the first eight of which can be accessed with a single button press on the remote control. During playback, the display shows stream name, track name, bitrate, format, and, depending on the provider, station art and other metadata. While the streams of most Internet Radio stations have low bitrates, there are some better options including Linn Classical, Hi On Line Radio, and The New England Jazz Express. These stations are very listenable; I’ve taken to using Linn Classical’s 320kbps MP3 stream for background ambiance. Within the limitations of MP3, the Avison Ensemble’s rendition of Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto in E Major, Spring, from The Four Seasons, with Pavlo Beznosiuk as soloist and conductor (Linn CKD 365, Linn Classical Radio), was spacious and pleasant, with a good balance of instrument sounds.”
Boulder 1100 Series Preamplifier $21,000 and Power Amplifier $28,000 Review
January 5, 2019 Comments Off on Boulder 1100 Series Preamplifier $21,000 and Power Amplifier $28,000 Review
“As best I tried, no matter which musical genre I played, I couldn’t detect a “signature” Boulder sound; put succinctly, this combo is about as neutral as it gets. Good recordings sounded good; great recordings sounded great; crappy recordings sounded, well, crappy. Therein lies the audiophile’s conundrum: be careful what you wish for. A fundamentally neutral sounding combination like the Boulder duo will give you exactly what’s on the recording, not more, not less. Your only choice to tune the sound more or less to your liking is to play with cables, different analog decks and cartridge combos, that’s about it. The preamplifier and power amplifier do what they ought to in first place: get out of the sound.”
Paradigm’s Newest Atom $298 Review
January 5, 2019 Comments Off on Paradigm’s Newest Atom $298 Review
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Just as Paradigm set the high-end world on its ear two years ago with their Persona speakers, delivering six figure sound for about $30k a pair, they return to their roots with the Monitor SE Atom. I’ve heard a lot of budget speakers and most of them are rubbish. These little Paradigms are high quality compact speakers. I dare you to find better. This is truly one of the most exciting products I’ve had the pleasure to review. Well done, Paradigm!”
World Premiere Review! Wells Audio Milo Headphone Amplifier $1699 Review
January 5, 2019 Comments Off on World Premiere Review! Wells Audio Milo Headphone Amplifier $1699 Review
“At $1699, I don’t think I have ever encountered an amplifier boasting the level of performance offered by the Milo. In fact, I’m fairly certain one would have to climb up into the neighborhood of $2500 to $3000 to get an amplifier with similar levels of sonic prowess. For owners of hard-to-drive planars like the HE1000, LCD-4 and especially the Abyss AB-1266, the Milo will help you tap into the deep levels of musical dynamism hiding beneath the surface in your flagship orthos. I certainly have not come across a similarly priced option that can unleash the beast within the Abyss quite like the Milo can. What’s more, the Milo will help you discover previously unknown levels of performance from mid-priced orthos. Really, do yourself a favor and pick up a used HiFiMAN HE400 for $200 bucks, plug it into the Milo and see what happens. Or break out that old HE500 or LCD-2 that has been sitting in your closet. The Milo will reward you handsomely with better sound than you ever knew your old headphones were capable of.
In terms of value, this is unquestionably one of the very best dollar-for-dollar bargains in all of high-end audio today. The amp just rocks, no two ways about it. If you have hard-to-drive headphones, are looking for a solid state amplifier and it is within range of your budget, the Wells Milo is an easy recommendation.”
AudioStream Editor’s Choice Components from $500 to $2,500
January 4, 2019 Comments Off on AudioStream Editor’s Choice Components from $500 to $2,500
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“As I’ve said before, not everyone will agree with the picks and many will bemoan something not included on this list, but since this is subjective in its very nature, I can only write about what I’ve heard, not what you’ve heard. Regardless, variety is the spice of life and I hope you find either joy, interest or enlightenment in these, my humble choices.
Anthem AVM60 11.2CH Atmos Processor Review
January 4, 2019 Comments Off on Anthem AVM60 11.2CH Atmos Processor Review
Audio Technica ATH-ADX5000 headphones Review
January 4, 2019 Comments Off on Audio Technica ATH-ADX5000 headphones Review
“And, when it comes to hi-fi, these are also supremely revealing, delivering Twin Shadow’s Caer with superb tonal accuracy and a real sense of timing, drawing you effortlessly into the music.
As an open-back design, noise leakage is very high, and pricey cans warrant a decent amplifier behind them, but these have appeal in abundance. If you do a lot of listening via headphones, the ADX5000s are a highly capable addition to the high-end ranks.
Noble Audio Khan $2399 Review
January 3, 2019 Comments Off on Noble Audio Khan $2399 Review
“And now we have our first tri-level hybrid universal monitor in the office and the first of many for 2019 I suspect. If the quality on initial impression is this good then it is going to be a very exciting year. Stay tuned for our main review in the coming weeks where I hope I can get some more in-depth analysis on the sound that the Khan delivers with a few different sources, cables and of course some comparisons.”
VPI Prime Signature Turntable $6000 Review
January 3, 2019 Comments Off on VPI Prime Signature Turntable $6000 Review
“I’m a little in awe of VPI’s Prime Signature. Each time I approach it, I see it again as if for the first time and give a little start. It’s not the most beautiful turntable out there. It’s not the biggest, and it’s certainly not the most complicated. But all that said, the Prime Signature radiates competence. Although it’s just this side of being overbuilt, there’s nothing extraneous — no frippery, nothing that doesn’t need to be there. Instead, it’s well engineered and practical in every aspect of its design and functionality. At $6000, it’s also a bargain.
My own Pro-Ject RPM 10 Carbon, descended from a long line of other RPMs before it, is also a bargain ($3499). Here in my room I have two smoking-deal turntables at two different price points. They’re so wildly different in construction, form, and design that it’s nearly impossible to find similarities between the two. The Pro-Ject radiates elegance and slickness of manufacture. In contrast to the VPI’s brute-force approach, it’s better finished, and packed full of technical innovation. That said, the JMW 10 3D tonearm is, far and away, superior to my RPM 10 Carbon’s 10cc Evolution tonearm in its adjustability.”
Audiophilepure 
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