FOCAL ELEGIA CLOSED‑BACK HEADPHONES REVIEW
March 26, 2020 Comments Off on FOCAL ELEGIA CLOSED‑BACK HEADPHONES REVIEW
“Although the Elegia uses a closed enclosure, it has two vents; one is part of the driver itself while the second vent is actually built into the logo design in the centre of the earcup. The entire earcup design has been optimised to an ideal volume for optimal decompression and damping. It uses both internal diffusers as well as EVA foam to break up any standing waves and spread the energy evenly throughout the enclosure. According to Focal, “The main objective here being at all costs to prevent the energy emitted by the back wave from returning to the speaker driver cone and thus turning into an additional unwanted sound signal.” Even Elegia’s microfiber earpads got a redesign so as to optimize their isolating abilities while enhancing their comfort and preserving Elegia’s high acoustic impedance.”
MARK LEVINSON NO. 5805 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
March 25, 2020 Comments Off on MARK LEVINSON NO. 5805 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/mark-levinson-no-5805-integrated-amplifier/?page=3
Perhaps the acid test of the No. 5805 came when casually listening to a series of YouTube clips through the optical input, being fed from my TV. I had a few friends come round, and I’m not ashaimed to say we all got a bit ‘refreshed’ and had given up on regular music and video entertainment and engaged in a spot of random YouTube clip watching instead. Over the course of the evening, we churned through everything from Frankie Boyle insulting his audience, through the ‘let’s play the most obscure piece of music you can find’ game, and eventually to essentially giggling at silly memes and Mitchell & Webb clips. Eventually, we gave up when trying to count just how many SS soldiers Clint Eastwood shot up in each clip of Where Eagles Dare, and carriages (well, Ubers) awaited the revellers. Then it struck me. I had managed to turn on, use, enjoy, and turn off, a high-end audio system – while drunk and in the company of fellow members of the ‘inebriati’ – switch it to play from TOSlink, play it loud and enjoyable enough to shout down ‘The Knights Tippler’ and nothing went ‘bang!’, nothing required adult supervision, and fun was had. In contrast, had I been using a more conventional high-end system, I’d have never even thrown the first switch!”
FINKTEAM BORG FLOORSTANDING LOUDSPEAKER €25,000/pair REVIEW
March 25, 2020 Comments Off on FINKTEAM BORG FLOORSTANDING LOUDSPEAKER €25,000/pair REVIEW
http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/finkteam-borg-floorstanding-loudspeaker/
I tried some of the adjustments on the back and got the sort of results that are predicted in the manual; increasing Presence makes the balance a bit fruity and increasing the Mid setting makes the midrange a little bit exposed for my room/system/ears. However, it’s great to have these options which can be used like sophisticated image and tone controls, albeit without bass adjustment, which is often necessary to compensate for room vagaries. I preferred them flat especially where drums are involved, here the dynamics and speed of the bass, in particular, comes into its own — revealing everything that’s going on in the mix with phenomenal timing accuracy. “
Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2 Review
March 24, 2020 Comments Off on Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2 Review
https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/elac-debut-20-b62
“This is an open and well-balanced frequency range, free to reach high into the treble and deliver ample bass without forcing any more than is comfortable. If you want more low-end, you’ll need a bigger cabinet; these Elacs aren’t going to pretend they’re bigger than they actually are, at the expense of transparency.
It’s a similar story with pretty much every aspect of their presentation. This is a punchy and rhythmic performance, for example, but with nothing thrown forward in the mix to suggest false enthusiasm. The Debut 2.0 B6.2s will track everything your amplifier throws at them with quick and agile feet, and won’t attempt to play safe by tempering any edges, but equally they aren’t going to be the source of any kind of boost.”
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Abbey Road Mastering Engineer Miles Showell Comments on Apollo/Transco Disaster
March 24, 2020 Comments Off on Abbey Road Mastering Engineer Miles Showell Comments on Apollo/Transco Disaster
“On Thursday morning (February 6), the Banning, CA building housing Apollo/Transco Masters’ factory and storage space burned. By far the biggest of the world’s two lacquer master disc manufacturers, most of the world’s vinyl mastering facilities (especially smaller ones) relied upon Apollo/Transco blanks, as well as their cutting styli for Westrex cutting heads. Ruled a total loss, 82 firefighters battled the blaze’s toxic fumes; thankfully, there were no injuries (Banning is located in the Southern California desert, approximately 2.5 hours away from Los Angeles).”
TECHNICS SL-1000R TURNTABLE £13,999 REVIEW
March 23, 2020 Comments Off on TECHNICS SL-1000R TURNTABLE £13,999 REVIEW
http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/technics-sl-1000r-turntable/
” Perhaps more importantly though, it’s an enjoyable experience as much as it’s a physical and a cerebral one. You understand the intent of the musicians and composer fairly quickly, and the combination of first-rate detail, an articulate and expressive vocal, wide and deep soundstage when needed, good dynamics, fine coherence, and lots and lots of bass depth coming out of a background noise that falls to almost nothing, helps bring that intent to life, but not in a po-faced or dry manner. The odd part in this is surface noise; the Technics combo doesn’t shy away from noise or mask it in any way. It’s just that surface noise comes and goes so fast, it barely registers. Leading edges do the same and the sound of percussion is, as a result, almost eerily ‘right’, but it’s that handling of surface noise that really highlights just how good this turntable system really is.
Focal Arche $2,500 Review
March 22, 2020 Comments Off on Focal Arche $2,500 Review
https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2020/2/2/3xfichq6a178lp8sbb20pdg17wevgn
“HeadFi is a growing market in audio, especially among young people, as my generation is far less likely to own a home, or have the space for a big HiFi system compared with previous generations. If one wants to forgo the space and expense of a 2 channel system, the Arche could itself make a complete, satisfying system with the addition of a laptop and a nice pair of headphones. So, does that make it worth the $2,500 cost? I think that depends. If you already own the Utopia, Stellia, or Clear, this box can complete the sound these cans strive for, and there is a certain piece of mind knowing that one was designed to compliment the other in a world where headphone compatibility is a hotly debated topic. However, as a standalone unit, one can’t help wonder if there aren’t more competitively priced options that have most of these features, the $1,999 Naim DAC V1 comes to mind, as well as offerings from Schiit Audio that fall under 1k. There is also the issue of the amplifier mainly being for lower impedance cans, which while best for the vast majority of headphones, still means this isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ solution.”
McIntosh Labs C53 Preamplifier $8,000 Review
March 22, 2020 Comments Off on McIntosh Labs C53 Preamplifier $8,000 Review
https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/reviews/mcintosh-labs-c53-preamplifier-review-r878/
“While my digital sources in form of AURALiC’s Vega G2 or Playback Design’s MPS-8 generally held court during the review period of the C53, I did spend quite some time with the built in, rather high quality, DA2 digital board input. Here, my MacBook Pro delivered the C53s data in both Redbook, high-res PCM and DSD variants. Did the DA2 board hold its own against the pricier DAC alternatives I have on hand? Yes, but unlike the genuinely far higher than the suggested price class performing preamplifier, the differences to my two references were a bit more pronounced. On a recent discovery, Earthtones – Bahamas, the last cut, Any Place, is a perfect example of how a modern release can in fact be recorded well and mastered in such a way as to bring out the full excitement of the track, without the need for you to hit your head against a brick wall. Streamed via Tidal within Roon, the C53’s digital input was correctly identified and all settings automatically applied, giving you the experience of genuine plug-and-play. Here, the all new DA2 model was able to flex its muscle, offering up prodigious, if a bit less articulate bass than what my two reference DACs are capable of. Clearly audible is the overall Gestalt of the preamp section, which is extended, dynamic and clear of hash. Cueing up Steely Dan’s SACD rip of Gaucho, the DSD64 file yet again performed at levels above the all-inclusive asking price of $8000 McIntosh charges for the C53. A little less definition here, a little more warmth there, the DA2 module will undoubtedly delight you. If you are coming from an older DAC or even CD/SACD player, I would venture to guess that the DA2 module will in fact outperform even a top of the line DAC from just a decade ago. “
Audiophilepure 
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