Icon Audio Stereo 40 MkIV Review
November 26, 2019 Comments Off on Icon Audio Stereo 40 MkIV Review
https://www.hifichoicemag.com/content/icon-audio-stereo-40-mkiv
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Rhythmically it’s good too – living up to all the predictable, time-honoured clichés about ‘the magic of valves’. Music just chugs along in a carefree way and there’s no sense of it sounding forced or mechanical. Instead, you’re struck by the sense of musical occasion; Rush’s Lakeside Park is a simple late-seventies rock recording, but the Icon Audio makes it sing. It’s not famously open or dynamic, yet this amplifier just gets into the groove and lets the music’s natural rhythm flood out. Your mind wanders from considerations of hi-fi and instead gets preoccupied with the music itself – which is just as it should be. It’s odd in a way because it doesn’t sound especially fast – it’s not as if you’re wowed by its transient speed – and yet you still feel yourself getting pulled into the groove.”
Von Schweikert Audio Ultra 9 Loudspeaker $200,000 Review
November 25, 2019 Comments Off on Von Schweikert Audio Ultra 9 Loudspeaker $200,000 Review
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/von-schweikert-audio-ultra-9-loudspeaker/
“As music lovers and audiophiles, we live in an astonishingly exciting time. Today we are able to select from so many truly affordable speakers, electronics, and source products, all capable of producing more accurate and engaging sound than was possible from even the very best and most costly products in the early 1970s—the period that marks the start of what has become the high-end audio world we know today, as well as the start of my own audiophile quest. In addition to the number and excellence of affordable products, there have never before been so many luxury-class products capable of expanding the boundaries of what can be accomplished in the reconstruction of a live performance.
The trailblazing work that VSA is doing under the direction of its current chief designer, Leif Swanson, and CEO Damon Von Schweikert, building upon the groundbreaking work of the company founder, Albert Von Schweikert, epitomizes what can be done to recreate an authentic musical experience in the home. A product like the Ultra 9 elevates listening to music to the level of an enormously enjoyable event. At every turn, from its remarkably inert and voiceless enclosure, to its fabulously coherent drivers, to its distinct, serene, and transparent dividing network, to its extraordinary ambience, and speaker array with its unparalleled room-integration capabilities, we see how the Ultra 9 can deliver this exceptional musical expressiveness, with such heightened transparency and vanishingly low self-generated noise.”
Easy does it room treatment ideas for audiophiles
November 25, 2019 Comments Off on Easy does it room treatment ideas for audiophiles
MRSPEAKERS VOCE ELECTROSTATIC HEADPHONES $2,999 Review
November 24, 2019 Comments Off on MRSPEAKERS VOCE ELECTROSTATIC HEADPHONES $2,999 Review
http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/mrspeakers-voce-electrostatic-headphones/
“From the moment I connected the VOCE to my electrostatic energiser (that is stat-speak for an electrostatic headphone amplifier), I was struck by the sheer transparency and lucidity of its sound and by the incredible amount of musical information it was able to extract from favourite recordings. Even more impressive was the manner in which it managed to combine breath-taking clarity with exemplary smoothness and control. Some electrostatic headphones exhibit heightened levels of treble sheen, overshoot, or glare, but the VOCE exhibited none of these typical electrostatic flaws. “
$329,000 Loudspeakers – How Do They Sound?
November 24, 2019 Comments Off on $329,000 Loudspeakers – How Do They Sound?
https://audiobacon.net/2019/11/16/how-do-329000-speakers-sound-like/
- “As far as dynamics, the Chronosonic XVX is deeply scary. Especially when it comes to orchestral pieces. It has no issues with the simultaneous mixing of calm of woodwinds and the aggression of percussions. It’s able to soothe and punch without a hint of confusion or strain. “Lesser” speakers are more disjoint and could do one or the other – but rarely at the same time. Especially at this magnitude.
- In regards to the Chronosonic XVX, the careful distribution of power with the music is simply astounding. Instruments are distinct and modular in how they extrude and breathe. They carry the appropriate amount of weight, air, and presence. In contrast, relatively inexpensive speakers allocate a generic amount of density across the recording.”
Magico s7 Speakers
November 23, 2019 Comments Off on Magico s7 Speakers
Bowers and Wilkins PX7 ACTIVE Noise Cancelling Headphone – REVIEW
November 23, 2019 Comments Off on Bowers and Wilkins PX7 ACTIVE Noise Cancelling Headphone – REVIEW
Aurender W20 Music Server Review
November 23, 2019 Comments Off on Aurender W20 Music Server Review
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It is within one of these internal sections that the W20 houses Aurender’s unique battery power-supply configuration. The system is designed to keep delicate internal audio circuitry fed off-grid via three banks of LiFePO4 (LFP) batteries that switch between themselves to continuously supply stable power while the other banks concurrently recharge. This means the W20 is completely isolated from electrical ground noise, jitter and distortion that Aurender says can be incurred during conversion of AC to DC. The batteries are also configured as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to ensure all circuitry is protected from sudden power outages. Should one occur, the W20 will soft-shutdown automatically. Aurender utilizes a fanless Switching Mode Power Supply (SMPS) enclosed in a separate compartment to deliver power to non-audio components.”
Anthem STR Preamplifier and STR Power Amplifier $5999 Review
November 22, 2019 Comments Off on Anthem STR Preamplifier and STR Power Amplifier $5999 Review
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/anthem-str-preamplifier-and-str-power-amplifier/
heir next journey.
“The two components were in my system from mid-March to mid-May, which happens to be the busiest time every year for me to take in classical concerts. In that span, I saw two operas, and attended two orchestral concerts, two chamber music recitals, plus a couple of piano performances. Normally, I have a hard time listening to recordings for a period of time after enjoying the live experience, maybe for a day or so. Yes, it’s probably setting an unnecessarily high bar but I guess I’m looking for the sort of emotional connection I get from flesh-and-blood musicians in an acoustically favorable venue when I sit down in front of my audio system. I got more than a little of that when listening to canned music with Anthem’s STR electronics—it seemed that I wasn’t nearly as refractory to the appeal of my favorite recordings. That’s a distinction, for sure.”
Audiophilepure 
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