XDUOO TA-30 REVIEW
August 12, 2020 Comments Off on XDUOO TA-30 REVIEW
“– an Xmos XU208 for USB. A multi-core chip, fully compliant with USB 2.0 specification, and advertised as a “major upscale” from the previous U8.
Moreover, the xDuoo TA-30 now gets an FPGA chip, provided by Altera, to reduce the jitter and a dual active low phase noise crystal oscillator. That, and no less than 7 PCM filter + 1 DSD filters to adapt the DAC, to your taste”
Volti Audio Razz loudspeaker $5999 Review
August 11, 2020 Comments Off on Volti Audio Razz loudspeaker $5999 Review
“The ability of Volti Audio’s Razz to portray music of any genre with scale, realism, and thrilling dynamics is unmatched by any loudspeaker I’ve had in my system. The Razzes demonstrate a lovely midrange liquidity, but there’s no sacrifice of detail. The type of amplification—tubed or solid-state—made some difference in the Razz’s sonic presentation, but the result was never less than musical. The Razz is also beautifully constructed; the level of craftsmanship and quality is remarkable for a loudspeaker at this price. If you’re shopping for a serious, horn-based, high-sensitivity design in this price range, you should add the Volti Audio Razz to your short list.”
PS AUDIO STELLAR GAINCELL PREAMP/DAC $1,699 REVIEW
August 11, 2020 Comments Off on PS AUDIO STELLAR GAINCELL PREAMP/DAC $1,699 REVIEW
“The PS Audio GainCell preamp/DAC is a winner in every respect. It is an excellently built versatile preamplifier that can handle both the analog and digital signal switching equally well. Not only that, but it can also serve as a very capable headphone amplifier. Its audiophile quality is obvious in every aspect of its sonic performance. Transparent, great tonal balance, and good dynamics are some of the nice traits of the sonic characteristics of the GCD. As a DAC, it is capable of handling both PCM and DSD high-resolution music signals, which adds to its repertoire of capabilities. Considering that this versatile great-sounding product can be had for only $1699, the GainCell preamp/DAC truly represents a great bargain in the hi-fi world. Moreover, with 30 days home-trial offer and generous trade-in policy, this is a must audition product for someone looking for modern affordable preamp/DAC. The GCD easily earns my highest recommendation!”
Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro $149 Review
August 11, 2020 Comments Off on Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro $149 Review
“The inclusion of stabilizing ear wings that slips right onto the nozzle housing does help a lot with keeping the large Liberty 2 securely in place.
The ear wing initially looks like it is part of the driver itself but in actual fact, it is a slip-on rubber ring that is shaped to mimic the contour of the Liberty 2 body. That keeps it low-profile and prevents it from creating fitting and stability issues.”
Chord Ultima Pre 2/Ultima 2 Pre/Power Amplifier Review
August 10, 2020 Comments Off on Chord Ultima Pre 2/Ultima 2 Pre/Power Amplifier Review
“If the Ultima flagship is a costly ‘technology demonstrator’ then these Ultima 2 offsprings are a textbook illustration of trickledown in action. Frankly, if you were enthralled by the debut Ultimas and have been saving ever since then cash in your chips now, buy the Ultima 2s instead and spend the excess £40k on new floorstanders and music. Yes, the Ultima Pre 2 and Ultima 2 really are that good.”
SMSL M300 MKII REVIEW
August 10, 2020 Comments Off on SMSL M300 MKII REVIEW
“The M300mkII has the AKM4497EQ’s characteristics. It sounds quite balanced across the spectrum. It has this effortless character, where everything happens to fall in its place. Coherency is the real key behind this tuning. Well done. While nailing this, the M300mkII also manages to maintain good control. Sub and bass regions are very tight and punchy. The midrange is very sweet. It has a semi-bold note weight and there’s definitely not lacking any body there. Upper mids are vivid with a pinch of sparkle. The high region however, is gentle. Brilliant clarity and spaciousness helps the dispersion of the high treble very well in the stage. I said gentle but think of it as Astell&Kern kind of gentle, definitely not rolled off kind. PRaT-wise it is also very competent. It can handle fast tracks very well when combined with an equally capable amp. As for the sound stage, you get a wide but not very deep stage. The distinction between the instruments is very clear. There is enough space between them so you can track them with ease. To sum it all up, I really like how the M300mkII is tuned.”
Gold Note DS-10 D/A processor Review
August 10, 2020 Comments Off on Gold Note DS-10 D/A processor Review
“For comparisons, I planned to use the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ ($2195) and dCS Rossini DAC/Clock ($31,499 total plus three additional cables). While the Brooklyn DAC+ contains a headphone amp, which I compared to the DS-10’s, it does not accept Ethernet—for that, you need the Brooklyn Bridge streaming DAC ($2995), which I do not have here. Hence all comparisons between these two units were performed using the USB input on the two DACs. I also connected them to the MBL N11 preamp ($14,600) and attempted to answer the questions: (a) Does this preamp noticeably improve the sound of the DS-10, and (b) does its addition make more or less difference to the sound of the DS-10 than it does to the far more expensive dCS Rossini DAC/Clock combo? I also compared the DS-10/PSU-10 EVO to the Rossini DAC/Clock, both with and without the N11 preamp in the chain.”
EMPIRE EARS ODIN REVIEW
August 9, 2020 Comments Off on EMPIRE EARS ODIN REVIEW
“Odin is Empire’s latest tri-brid monitor. It uses a set of two Weapon IX+ dynamic drivers. These are developed in house and feature a front and back-firing vent design. This is a common technique from two-channel HiFi, but hasn’t been done much in our parts. The Weapon IX+ drivers are a new version of their W9 drivers. The difference being that the W9+ is 1.2mm bigger in diameter, making them 10.2mm in size. One W9+ driver takes care of sub-bass while the second handles bass. The Odin uses five proprietary balanced armatures for low-mids (two), dual mids and a single high mid BA. On top of that they opted for a quad electrostatic/electet driver. This quad set uses a single transformer, as they are easier to push. The four estat/electet drivers take care of highs and super highs.
With a head-scratching low impedance of just three Ohms and a sensitivity of 108dB per mW, the Odin is very easy to drive. Unlike Wraith or Phantom, it isn’t very hiss-sensitive though. One thing I noticed with the Odin is its dependency of sources. It does certainly like ultra-low impedance sources such as the Hugo2. Which also is the confirmed device that EE uses to tune their monitors.
McIntosh Laboratory C1100 Preamplifier $14,000 Review
August 9, 2020 Comments Off on McIntosh Laboratory C1100 Preamplifier $14,000 Review
“McIntosh Laboratory’s C1100 is a captivating-sounding preamplifier, and a worthy successor to the C500 and C1000. Designed to be the center of any high-quality audio rig, the C1100 offers myriad analog and control connections, MC and MM phono stages, exemplary build quality, luxurious yet intuitive ergonomics, and a rich, inviting sound. Moreover, the C1100 is very competitively priced; at $14,000, it costs $3000 less than the C1000, and to get the same level of functionality from other preamplifiers of this ilk, you’d likely have to pay more. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the C1100; it spoiled me every time I touched it, and captivated me every time I listened to it. Highly recommended.”
KEF KF92 REVIEW
August 9, 2020 Comments Off on KEF KF92 REVIEW
“The correct position of the Crossover Mode switch will depend on where you are sourcing the audio signal you’re using to drive the KF92. If it’s from a component that is supplying an audio signal that has already been through a low-pass filter (such as the LFE output of an AV receiver, for example) you’d set this control to ‘External’. If you’re sourcing from an ordinary line-level or speaker-level output, you’d set it to ‘Internal’, and then set the low-pass (crossover) rotary control to the appropriate frequency.
KEF’s equalisation mode control is fascinating. I don’t think I’ve seen its like before. Yes, I’ve seen EQ mode controls that offer two or three modes, (usually ‘Off’, ‘Wall’ and ‘Corner’) but I have never seen one that offers five modes… and I had absolutely no idea what the ‘Apartment’ mode might be used for – indeed I had to consult KEF’s Owners’ Manual to find out.”
Audiophilepure 
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