Magnepan LRS Loudspeaker $650 Review
October 19, 2020 Comments Off on Magnepan LRS Loudspeaker $650 Review
“Scrolling through Qobuz to find some tasty tunes to stream, I settled on the famous 1961 live Bill Evans Trio recording from the Village Vanguard jazz club in New York City. Right out of the gate I heard many similar qualities between the Magnepans and the Quad ESL-57 speakers I use every day, with LRS delivering high levels of transparency and coherency. The volume of air in this tiny club, one I’m familiar with, was instantly recognizable, with every murmur from the audience or clink of glasses on the bar plainly audible. The sound of Evans’ piano had the percussive attack of the real thing, while Paul Motian’s cymbals sizzled. But the real star of this recording is young bassist Scott LaFaro, whose blazing virtuosity was cut short by a car accident just days later. LaFaro’s fingering and speed were startlingly clear through the LRS, and while the panel didn’t deliver the deep thunder of his instrument, I didn’t really feel like I was being short-changed.”
Naim Audio Supernait 3 Integrated Amplifier $4990 Review
October 19, 2020 Comments Off on Naim Audio Supernait 3 Integrated Amplifier $4990 Review
“The Naim put on full display the great sound of Lady Gaga’s Chromatica (24/48 FLAC, Interscope/Qobuz). This wonderful album is personal and cathartic, but is nonetheless upbeat and punchy. The Supernait 3 had no trouble keeping up with the album’s immense and pulsing dance beats. The album’s sweeping electronic flourishes highlighted a huge soundstage, the Naim assertively positioning deep, well-defined synth notes between the speakers in a dense and dizzying wall of EDM sound. But even as the dance beats pounded through hectic electronica, the voices were still clear — when Elton John enters 1:42 into “Sine from Above,” I was caught entirely off guard by how present his voice was. The slight processing on his voice didn’t keep the Supernait 3 from presenting it with an arrestingly crystalline quality that was vivid and commanding in the best possible way.
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The Supernait 3’s headphone output was also extremely satisfying. The many-layered vocals in Sting’s “Desert Rose” were well defined, and benefited from a bit of warmth that made this recording sound big and inviting through my Sennheiser HD 580 headphones. Although the sound wasn’t quite as clear as through the headphone output of my Oppo UDP-205 — my reference for built-in headphone amps — small details were still audible, and there was a touch more bass. And despite the signal having to travel through a pair of Nordost Quattro Fil interconnects to get to the Naim from the Oppo, the sound from the Naim’s headphone output was always clean and authoritative. I suggest that, unless they’re very serious about their headphone listening, those considering buying a Supernait 3 think twice before spending more on an external headphone amp.
WILSON AUDIO ALEXANDRIA XLF AND CH PRECISION
October 19, 2020 Comments Off on WILSON AUDIO ALEXANDRIA XLF AND CH PRECISION
Joseph Audio Pulsar2 Graphene Loudspeakers $8995 REVIEW
October 18, 2020 Comments Off on Joseph Audio Pulsar2 Graphene Loudspeakers $8995 REVIEW
“Audiophiles, of course, cannot live by deep bass alone—at least the experienced ones. Those frequencies should provide a foundation for everything else that happens. I’ve mentioned this before, but Bob Clarke of Profundo loves to evaluate high-end audio systems with recordings of grand pianos—as opposed to female voice. That prompted a listen to Australian pianist/composer Alister Spence’s album, Whirlpool, a two-disc set that’s his first solo album in three decades.
Spence is a pianist who spends a lot of time on the left half of the keyboard, so to speak, and most of these improvisations focus on deep water—its power, its persistence, its expansiveness. The Joseph Audio Pulsar2 loudspeakers were so adept at drawing out that aquatic vastness that I could easily hear the inspiration from Debussy’s La Mer, that sublime and humbling rise and fall of ocean waves, without any hint from the liner notes.”
Emotiva XPA HC-1 Power Amplifier Review
October 18, 2020 Comments Off on Emotiva XPA HC-1 Power Amplifier Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/emotiva-xpa-hc-1-power-amplifier
Still, it’s the ability to impart bass weight and slam that marks the XPA HC1 out from less powerful amplification, and this encouraged me to frequently step upwards on the XSP-1’s volume ladder. There’s tangible power here and you’ll want to use it, because at lower listening levels the XPA HC-1s’ star attractions – their dynamism and scale – are dimmed. ‘Too Young To Know’ by UFO [Phenomenon; Chrysalis 50999 5 04440 2 1] bounced along amiably enough at a family-friendly volume, but gained a fizzing energy and midrange crunch when the amps were given a push.
Happily, these amplifiers are just as adept with music that seeks to stir emotions through orchestral swells and charismatic crescendos. John Williams’ ‘Theme From Jurassic Park’ [Tidal Hi-Fi] may have no driving rhythm behind it, but its melody hit like a tidal wave made from string, brass and wind instruments, while the soaring violins and diving cello of Max Richter’s ‘On The Nature Of Daylight’ [The Blue Notebooks; 130701, CD13-04] had me breaking out in goosebumps. Value these amplifiers for their muscularity, but don’t discount their musicality too
Sonus faber Lumina III Loudspeakers Review
October 17, 2020 Comments Off on Sonus faber Lumina III Loudspeakers Review
The Sonus faber Lumina III is a fairly petite floorstanding speaker, not heavy at all at 35 pounds per, which suggests another reason why these speakers are so affordable (MInimalism!) The ply on the baffle can be covered with wenge or walnut, or in gloss black. I was immediately interested in the wenge from the press photos but I got walnut, which is still gorgeous. You can also get them in matte with maple inlays, which sounds like something I’d dig. And, of course, the rest of the enclosure is covered in that “iconic” leather. (LUxury!)
The Lumina line borrows plenty of technologies from the more expensive lines, another reason for the affordable MSRPs. The tweeters are the same DAD (damped apex dome) models used in the Sonetto series, as are the 5” midrange drivers. The 5” paper cone woofers are new, designed to match well with the mids. The Sonus faber Lumina III is a three-way, four-driver design with a sensitivity of 89 dB and a 4-ohm impedance and a frequency response that goes down to about 40 Hz.
NAD Masters M33 Integrated Amplifier-DAC $4999 Review
October 17, 2020 Comments Off on NAD Masters M33 Integrated Amplifier-DAC $4999 Review
“NAD’ s Masters M33 is an incredible achievement for a leading-edge integrated amplifier. As Doug Schneider predicted, NAD’s implementation of their Hybrid Digital version of Purifi Audio’s Eigentakt amplifier has resulted in excellent sound — and the M33 does so much more. It has nearly every option you could want in an integrated amp, including Dirac Live’s top-flight room correction and a highly capable streaming platform. Whether you prefer its neutral and confident sound over that of other integrateds of similar prices and features will be a matter of personal taste. I was never disappointed in the M33, even when I compared it to my far costlier separates, and I enjoyed the convenience of streaming and controlling it with its BluOS app. The Masters M33’s combination of sound quality and features makes it the current front-runner in the extremely competitive market of $5000 integrated amplifiers.”
SHOZY FORM 1.4 REVIEW
October 16, 2020 Comments Off on SHOZY FORM 1.4 REVIEW
“The sound of the Shozy Form 1.4 is on the warm side with an apparent and definitive midbass. The Form 1.1 was a bit v-shaped overall, but its bigger brother is more balanced although preserving some of its traits.
All in all the IEM sounds full-bodied, warm, organic, and musical. While doing that, it offers good technical qualities for its price range, once again proving Shozy’s abilities to put up an IEM that is certainly impressive for the money.”
Audiophilepure 
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