HIFIMAN HE1000se Headphone $3,500 Review
October 28, 2019 Comments Off on HIFIMAN HE1000se Headphone $3,500 Review
“Featuring a planar-magnetic open-back configuration with a diaphragm listed as one nanometer thick, the HE1000se is equipped with HIFIMAN’s newest shaped-neodymium magnets which were developed to present a smaller surface area “dramatically reducing wave diffraction turbulence.” This, the company says, degrades the sound. The unique magnet-design implementation makes the drivers “faster and more dynamic than ever before, with even greater levels of detail and lower distortion than previous iterations. But perhaps most significantly, these powerful magnets also make the headphone much more efficient…” How much more efficient? The engineers managed to goose it from 91dB to 96dB, yet retain the same 35 Ohm impedance and 8Hz~65kHz frequency response of the award-winning HE 1000 V2 ($2,999 USD), which in the real world translates into making the 1000se reasonably mobile-friendly for those who would take it on the road.”
Primephonic: Classical Music Streaming Done Right
October 28, 2019 Comments Off on Primephonic: Classical Music Streaming Done Right
“Navigating Primephonic’s site, whether on my HP laptop or via the app on my iPhone Xs, has been relatively seamless — and, apparently, it’s a major step up from a previous, more unwieldy interface. While I do have many of my own preferences, I’m often drawn to the topline Editors’ Choice selections that rotate through the scroll at the top. A recent suggestion for German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter’s Hommage à Penderecki — a loving tribute to the noted Polish conductor/composer Krzysztof Penderecki, performed solo, pianoforte, and with the London Symphony Orchestra — was a most welcome experience for these ears, and I immediately added it to my Favorites.
Not only that, but the New Releases (curated by Maryna Boiko), Essential Playlists, Daily Recommendations, and Hidden Gems (major merci for leading me straight into the perils of “Death Valley Junction” by the Jasper String Quartet!) are more than enough to keep any classical listener, both neophyte and expert alike, satisfied for hours upon end. To me, the key to classical recommendations such as these is to both evoke an emotional response and invoke admiration for the level of musicianship, and Primephonic’s ace curators delivered on both fronts time and time again.”
Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII Floorstanding Loudspeaker $6,500 Review
October 28, 2019 Comments Off on Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII Floorstanding Loudspeaker $6,500 Review
“Sonus Faber markets the Sonetto VIII as a “budget” loudspeaker. While I can’t exactly call any floorstander with a $6,500 USD price a “bargain”, even the blindest of men amongst us can see the luthier-level of finish carpentry crafted into this speaker. The breathtaking walnut veneer and real leather top panels on my review samples garnered universal praise. Despite its imposing size, the Sonetto VIII has an extremely high WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor).
Many speakers in the Sonetto VIII’s price range claim to offer superb bass. Truthfully, far too many of these sonic pretenders emit lower frequency noises that sound like little more than drunken duck flatulence.
To achieve greater articulation and accuracy in the lower registers, this floorstander uses a downward firing reflex port and outriggers with conical spikes. The outriggers are bolted to the bottom of each speaker with eight screws. The uniformity of bass excursion created by this circular port makes speaker placement a cinch to dial-in.”
Martin Logan Motion 35XTi $1,300 Review
October 27, 2019 Comments Off on Martin Logan Motion 35XTi $1,300 Review
” The choir’s singing was quite lovely and ethereal, but, of course, that is mostly a matter of the original performance and also the sound engineering rather than the reproduction side of audio. However, the speakers were able to convey this intended sound and did nothing to inhibit the performance that I could detect. It sounded authentic. The 35XTi speakers made the choir sound like a collection of voices rather than a blob of vocal sound. The voices were unified when they needed to be and individually delineated when necessitated by the recording. Such gorgeous music given such a crystal clear rendition was very much an aural delight. Every music lover should check out the album ‘Mass Transmission,’ and when they do, they ought to listen to it a high-fidelity sound system on the level of the 35XTi speakers.”
Burmester 088/911 Mk 3 Review
October 27, 2019 Comments Off on Burmester 088/911 Mk 3 Review
“Take a look inside and you’ll find the circuits are beautifully laid out, and it’s obvious that the company takes a great deal of care in the quality of components used and in minimising unwanted interaction between them. There’s even a carbon fibre suspension system to reduce the amount of external vibration that enters the 088’s chassis. The aim of this isolation is to optimise clarity and reduce distortion.
The preamp’s connectivity is good. There are six line level inputs – all balanced XLRs – and the option of having a DAC, line, moving magnet or moving coil module. You get one of these modules as part of the price we’ve quoted, but if you want another it’ll cost a hefty £2,600. If any of your sources only have single-ended outputs, don’t worry, Burmester can supply RCA to XLR adaptors to make things work.”
Listening Room Equipment and Listening Session
October 27, 2019 Comments Off on Listening Room Equipment and Listening Session
Pro-Ject Audio Systems X1 Turntable Review
October 26, 2019 Comments Off on Pro-Ject Audio Systems X1 Turntable Review
“Classical music sounds best to me on vinyl, and the X1 reminded me why. The first movement of Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ Symphony [Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic; Deutsche Grammophon 2531106] was a joy. All the aforementioned attributes of the deck came together with surprisingly good midband detail retrieval to create a vivid and engaging performance. Instrumental timbre was impressive, with violins having a lustre that showed off both the basic rightness of the motor unit, and the tonearm’s fine tracking ability. Overall the deck delivered a tangible sense of a real orchestra playing in a concert hall, rather than it sounding like a facsimile. Dynamics were convincing, and the music rolled along with gusto.”
Aurender W20 Music Server $17,600 Review
October 26, 2019 Comments Off on Aurender W20 Music Server $17,600 Review
“The focus on ‘silent running’ sees in-house, bespoke-tailored circuitry designed to further provide “clean, noise-free power” to the RFI-shielded, dedicated USB Audio Class 2.0 output, and continues on to the fully-isolated and damped HDD/ SSD. Both the 12TB storage hard-disk drive and 240GB solid-state, playback-caching drive are suspended on floating brackets to minimize vibrations within their own machined-aluminum drive enclosures which Aurender refers to as “Fort Knox.” According to the company “…If a selected song or album is already cached to the solid-state drive, the hard drive will remain asleep. This minimizes wear and tear on the hard drive. By caching songs to the solid-state drive for playback, electrical and acoustic noise resulting from spinning disks, moving heads and motors are also completely eliminated.” Cool. I should add that the Aurender platform invisibly integrates any music stored on external USB drives or NAS.
Focal Spectral 40th Loudspeakers $9999 Review
October 26, 2019 Comments Off on Focal Spectral 40th Loudspeakers $9999 Review
“The Spectral 40th’s midrange and top end were the best I’ve heard in my room. Focal’s ad copy describes the speaker’s sound as “vibrant” and “expressive,” and I agree. The midrange was quite forward but also impossibly smooth, and oozing with detail. Voices leapt from mixes, but never sounded edgy or irritating. There was an organic, reach-out-and-touch-it quality to the midrange that, though it may not have been perfectly flat, was intoxicatingly beautiful. I’d never quite heard this level of realism in my room before. Images of voices effortlessly floated in space with eerie palpability, with no hint of strain or cabinet colorations to spoil the illusion. I was in love”
MAGICO A3 FLOORSTANDING LOUDSPEAKERS £11,998 REVIEW
October 25, 2019 Comments Off on MAGICO A3 FLOORSTANDING LOUDSPEAKERS £11,998 REVIEW
“The A3 is an important loudspeaker, and not just for Magico. In truth, the audio world already knows this… the lengthy hiatus between the A3’s launch and this, its first review in an English language high-end magazine, is simply down to the sheer number of A3s ordered every time they are demonstrated. There’s a reason for that. This isn’t ‘discount Magico’ or ‘Magico-lite’, and it isn’t even ‘Emporio Magico’: the A3 is a top-class Magico loudspeaker in its own right. It’s the one to beat at the price… and far beyond.”
Audiophilepure 
You must be logged in to post a comment.