Astell&Kern announces KANN CUBE $1499
April 27, 2019 Comments Off on Astell&Kern announces KANN CUBE $1499
“The KANN CUBE is a chunkier affair with sharper corners than the original KANN. Its reworked amplifier design offers more output power too: 12Vrms, up from 7Vrms. Three gain modes allow users to tailor the KANN CUBE’s 3.5mm single ended or 2.5mm balanced output to the headphone in play. “For connection to 2-channel home systems”, THE KANN CUBE’s 5-pin mini-XLR socket is a fresh feature.”
Panamax MR4000 power line conditioner and surge protector
April 27, 2019 Comments Off on Panamax MR4000 power line conditioner and surge protector
XTZ DIVINE DELTA STAND-MOUNT LOUDSPEAKER REVIEW
April 26, 2019 Comments Off on XTZ DIVINE DELTA STAND-MOUNT LOUDSPEAKER REVIEW
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It’s not a completely clean bill of health, though. Those overproduced albums of the 1980s and early 1990s always sound syrupy, but can sound almost edgy here. James Taylor’s ‘That’s Why I’m Here’ from the album of the same name [Columbia] is a perfect example, as it’s all Yamaha DX7 synths backing an over-ripened James Taylor vocal. This particular recording might have been one of the progenitors of MP3, but the full 16/44 CD recording can easily show any brightness to the sound or spitchiness to the vocals, and both were displayed here. In truth, the vocal ‘spitch’ sound was minimal, and as much a function of the recording itself, but even with the treble set at -3dB, it never quite tamed that slight zing to the top end. I tried not to let the price get in the way of the review, but it’s here the price becomes an issue, in a good way. That zing would be unacceptable in many of those classic high-end designs that also sport Accutons, but here it’s just a function of a good middle-priced loudspeaker trying to make a well-balanced sound. It’s also the kind of zing that is only really noticeable if you have logged lots of hours with the more upmarket competition. Many will never notice. ”
ISOTEK EVO3 NOVA POWER CONDITIONER REVIEW
April 26, 2019 Comments Off on ISOTEK EVO3 NOVA POWER CONDITIONER REVIEW
“The big question is would you buy the EVO3 Nova if your system was never going to require more than an EVO3 Sigmas, and I think the honest answer is ‘probably not’. There are some improvements to be had, but the jump in performance brought about by the EVO3 Sigmas is fairly substantial in its own right. The Nova isn’t quite gilding the lily, but the jump in price between the two is more justified if you are edging toward running out of sockets. With a relatively humble high-end system now comprising a streamer and a server alongside a turntable, preamp, phono stage, DAC, power amplifier or amps, and potentially a reel-to-reel and CD player, the Sigmas fast runs out of road next to the EVO3 Nova.
And that’s the reason why the IsoTek EVO3 Nova will, I believe, prove as popular as the EVO3 Sigmas does. We quickly run out of power conditioner in modern systems. Even excluding more computer-side products like the network switch or a NAS drive elsewhere on the system, the number of products in a system soon adds up, and something as versatile as the EVO3 Sigmas begins to look as if it has some shortcomings. The EVO3 Nova takes on the task for today’s bigger systems, with all the capacity and heavy-lifting needed to drive all except the most vast of amplifiers. ”
PrimaLuna EVO 100 Tube DAC – Premier Review
April 25, 2019 Comments Off on PrimaLuna EVO 100 Tube DAC – Premier Review
“You never know what you are missing. After about thirty minutes of listening with the PrimaLuna EVO 100 Tube DAC, I was so immersed in the luxurious tonality of the reference system performance and the actual performance itself, I forgot about any comparisons. It was only much later when replacing my reference DAC, I heard the added definition and image layering. You would expect more for triple the cost. Nevertheless, the PrimaLuna EVO 100 Tube DAC is fully satisfying to me, and is the first ever really musical DAC to come in under the $5000 price point in my audio”
AUDIO RESEARCH REFERENCE 10 LINE PREAMPLIFIER REVIEW
April 25, 2019 Comments Off on AUDIO RESEARCH REFERENCE 10 LINE PREAMPLIFIER REVIEW
“This isn’t just about hearing more from your recordings, although that is what first attracts you to the Reference 10’s performance. It’s like a reset button on your music. Tracks you know so well aren’t just replayed as if it were the first time you heard them; they are rebuilt note-by-note in front of you, opening up that music in ways you can’t anticipate until you experience them. Yes this is about detail, space, and dynamic range – Bernard Purdie’s drum pedal on ‘Memphis Soul Stew’ [KIng Curtis Live at Filmore West, ATCO] has a squeak that really high-resolution systems can resolve. Many of those are brutally analytical rendering the track hard to hear because of that ever-present squeak, but the Reference 10 forces you beyond that, to a point where it is just a part of the musical whole again. It’s just this time, there are so many more parts to that whole. Let’s put it this way; anyone who was actually at that concert almost 50 years ago might have heard that squeaky drum pedal, and I guarantee not one person walked out of the concert because of that squeak. That’s how the Reference 10 pushes ahead of the competition. That’s not to say the preamplifier is forgiving, but instead is so informative that detail alone isn’t enough; it’s like you get a new set of ears with the Reference 10 and they take everything in! Going back to more real world preamps is an exercise in disappointment.”
McIntosh Laboratory MC462 power amplifier $9000 Review
April 24, 2019 Comments Off on McIntosh Laboratory MC462 power amplifier $9000 Review
‘My own No.1 priority in the reproduction of music is the living, breathing re-creation of the harmonic series. That is the “nature” in music, the vibration of the spheres. You’ll want to be thoughtful in choosing what to pair the MC462 with, upstream and down—this amp interrogates whatever it comes in contact with with such authority that it could veer to the analytical side of the sonic spectrum. With a simpatico system the McIntosh MC462 will bring the breath of life to your music.
The McIntosh MC462 Quad Balanced power amplifier sits today on the bottom shelf of my rack like a stocky Buddha, calmly radiating energy as the forest creatures—eg, the red squirrels that winter inside the walls of our old Victorian—gather ’round, smile, and nod their heads. One thing they all agree on is the price—$9000 is more than fair for the excellence delivered, given the inflationary forces wafting through the High End. The senses of ease and literally quiet power created by the MC462 are palpable and most welcome. A first-round vote pick for induction in Class A of the next edition of our “Recommended Components.” Highly recommended—insisted on, even.”
Audiophilepure 
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