Cowon Plenue D2 Review
June 21, 2019 Comments Off on Cowon Plenue D2 Review
“Previously, sensitive earphones were real buggers to pair with the D. They hissed. Really sensitive ones might even render audible screen interface calls. The D2 so shields all that from the signal that all is black and quiet. Yes, that includes earphones like Shure’s SE846, which hiss even when plugged into the vacuum of space.
All is not perfect, though. Under extreme load at max volume, jitter jumps way up over unloaded targets, and otherwise pristine signals suck to extreme separation at 2k and 5k with a small mountain of minor joined stereo between them. Can you hear this? I doubt it. Will you be listening to similar loads (Earsonics SM2) at such volumes? No. But when pushed beyond reason, the D2’s output fails there.”
T+A elektroakustik Talis S 300 Loudspeaker Review $13,900
June 21, 2019 Comments Off on T+A elektroakustik Talis S 300 Loudspeaker Review $13,900
“I do want to emphasize that the qualities described above were not evident when the S 300s were freshly unpacked—they needed 150–200 hours of playing music to come into their own. Before that, the speakers were quite “accurate” with loads of detail, yet provided only a very ordinary listening experience. With time, the preternatural clarity remained, joined by an organic ease and naturalness surely related to the tonal verisimilitude noted above. Loudspeakers under $20,000 are the class of products I cover at shows, and I’ve not heard ones better than the S 300s. Sonically, they hold their own with competing models from Wilson and Magico that cost thousands more, despite having to cross an ocean to get here, and the T+As will likely get higher marks for appearance than products from those other two fine manufacturers. Most importantly, the Talis S 300 can make you forget that you are listening to a recording. And that’s what it’s all about, right?”
FiiO FH7 Hybrid IEMs Z Review Video
June 21, 2019 Comments Off on FiiO FH7 Hybrid IEMs Z Review Video
PHOBOS ORTHODYNAMIC $2,199 REVIEW
June 20, 2019 Comments Off on PHOBOS ORTHODYNAMIC $2,199 REVIEW
“Those looking for thunderous bass like the Sony MDR-Z1R flagship headphones, better look elsewhere. What you will get here is wonderfully textured and defined bass that only gives you what the recording engineer wanted you to hear. Cymbal detail and shimmer was almost perfect. Extended, detailed while never sounding strident is the best description I can give. Simply put a very balanced overall tonality that should make any listener smile; regardless of the genre of music that you throw at them. Finally, I want to mention that this session was conducted with the flagship DAC Chord Electronics DAVE and boy did these headphones scale with the improved upstream gear! Everything just sounded better across the board and really let me hear the differences between the Hugo2 and DAVE”
Audio Research Reference 6 Preamplifier $15,000 Review
June 20, 2019 Comments Off on Audio Research Reference 6 Preamplifier $15,000 Review
“In my time with it, I quickly learned that Audio Research’s Reference 6 preamplifier is one of those rare products capable of producing a quality of sound greater than might be suggested by the sum of its parts. The Ref 6 also offers outstanding build quality, instinctual ergonomics, and sexy appearance, all for only $2005 more than the cost of its predecessor — a 15% premium. Moreover, it’s the first tubed preamplifier I’ve heard that can match and in some ways exceed the performance of my reference, the solid-state Simaudio Moon Evolution P-8. This tells me three things: 1) some seriously astute engineering is going on under the Ref 6’s hood; 2) even at $15,000, the Ref 6 is a heck of a value; and 3) I’d be an idiot to return the review sample. Audio Research’s Reference 6 has just become my new reference preamplifier. Wholeheartedly recommended.”
Hifiman Ananda Planar Magnetic Headphone Overview
June 20, 2019 Comments Off on Hifiman Ananda Planar Magnetic Headphone Overview
McIntosh MC611 Amplifier $15,000 Review
June 19, 2019 Comments Off on McIntosh MC611 Amplifier $15,000 Review
“What then do we have with McIntosh’s latest series of big-power amps? To me, these amplifiers demonstrate firstly that you can have high-output power in a musical sounding package. No matter what genre, source, vinyl or otherwise, I threw at these amps, the transformative nature of each cut – when called for – was heard clearly and undeniably. There are amps that make music sound more or less similar; there are amps that contour music emotionally; there are amps that reveal the last bit of detail, ambience and microscopic inflections of each note played. There are very few amps however, that manage to package all these attributes into one design that does it all generally equally well. That breed of amplifiers is rare indeed – yet, McIntosh somehow managed to do just that at a price point that in today’s terms is downright affordable. Add to that genuine high-end support, an honest Made in America badge, and knowledge that these amplifiers will sound as good in twenty year’s time as they do the day you bought them and you have yourself a winner. I was prepared to spend considerably more for a high output solidstate amp; that the MC611 won me over and left money in my pocket was a genuine surprise that I didn’t see coming. Well done and most definitely worth an audition. Highly recommended, A++++.”
Apple iTunes is dead: Should Audiophiles Care?
June 19, 2019 Comments Off on Apple iTunes is dead: Should Audiophiles Care?
“With Monday’s formal announcement from Tim Cook at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote speech in San Jose that the company was knifing iTunes and slicing it into three separate applications, many users of the dated service breathed a sigh of relief.
Perhaps some of them were even binary-centric audiophiles; although I don’t know any who use the app for playback anymore – at least not in the past three or four years – as streaming services with names like Spotify, TIDAL and Qobuz became part of the hi-fi lexicon for digital-music playback.
Audiophilepure 
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