VAC Sigma 170i IQ integrated amplifier Review $10,000
April 14, 2021 Comments Off on VAC Sigma 170i IQ integrated amplifier Review $10,000
https://www.stereophile.com/content/vac-sigma-170i-iq-integrated-amplifier
The VAC Sigma 170i iQ did well across criteria typically associated with tube amps, and more: sweet treble, excellent midrange, musicality, bloom. Timbres were more natural than warm. Bass was substantial, with good definition. The VAC amp seemed more powerful than its rating suggests, and often delivered solid attacks. It’s not inexpensive, but it is luxurious, and all its details are well-considered. It was a pleasure to set up and to use. It’s built by hand and meant to last at least one lifetime. There is value here.
Home System
April 14, 2021 Comments Off on Home System
https://www.monoandstereo.com/2021/02/magico-m3-installation.html
And many similar superlatives can be written about my sonic experiences while being voluntarily and gleefully drowned by Brendel’s work with James Levine conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra playing “Emperor’s Concerto, Piano Concerto, Op 110” and Mahler’s 5th played by the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vanska. Just grand with these pieces whispering confidently that they are superlative in every way. The resolution, Depth, Mid-Range purity, full-on holographic Imaging, Transparency, Dynamics, Impact, Bass definition, and the sustained teasing ephemerality of notes are all there — in spades!! I’m in Sonic Nirvana…and all this without completion of the system with the Boulder pre-amp and Magico Q15 sub-woofers.
Magnepan MG1.7i Loudspeaker REVIEW
April 13, 2021 Comments Off on Magnepan MG1.7i Loudspeaker REVIEW
An example of the musically accurate fine detail that the 1.7i conveys can be heard on the SACD version of Alison Krauss + Union Station Live on Rounder Records [11661-0515-6]. This live concert was performed and recorded in the beautiful and acoustically excellent 1927 Louisville Palace theatre. Especially with the SACD layer, natural detail and definition abound. This is audible from the individual bluegrass instruments (ranging from rapid-fire three-finger Scruggs banjo picking to the distinctive metallic tone of Jerry Douglas’ dobro to the plectrum-struck twin strings of the mandolin to Alison Krauss’ fiddle to the upright bass and various percussion instruments). The entire set is laudably three-dimensional and natural. The available detail goes all the way down to the sound of the audience applause, which is very much like what you hear at a concert in a small, acoustically distinguished venue like this. The separation of various segments of the audience applauding at different speeds and varying distances from the microphones is preserved by the Magnepans (almost, but not quite, the sound of one hand clapping). This fine sense of detail is also quite audible on the reverberant decay of a full orchestra when it completes a piece of music. Again, very natural, like an actual live concert.
Luxman SQ-N150 £3,000 Review
April 13, 2021 Comments Off on Luxman SQ-N150 £3,000 Review
https://www.hifichoice.com/content/luxman-sq-n150
No less importantly, provided that the speaker it’s matched with is suitably sensitive, the performance manages to deliver heavier and larger scale music without sounding strained or lost. The live studio edit of Bring Your Lovin’ Back Here by Gomez captures the heavyweight swagger of the band and the punch and drive of the music is central to the experience. Although certainly not a recording for the ages, the SQ-N150 takes the experience further with a level of refinement and airiness in the midrange that ensures any limitations of the music are avoided.
Estelon X Diamond Mk II Loudspeakers $78,000 Review
April 12, 2021 Comments Off on Estelon X Diamond Mk II Loudspeakers $78,000 Review
https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/1027-estelon-x-diamond-mk-ii-loudspeakers
The Estelon X Diamond Mk II is a fantastic loudspeaker in every regard. It excels at the frequency extremes, but its sound is also amazing everywhere in between. The big Estelons play low and authoritatively in the bass, and marry that to almost impossibly airy, silky highs and an entirely uncolored midband. And when that superb sound quality is considered in the context of the most beautiful enclosure I’ve ever had the pleasure of living with, you have a complete package.
T+A PA3100 HV integrated amplifier Review
April 12, 2021 Comments Off on T+A PA3100 HV integrated amplifier Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/ta-pa3100-hv-integrated-amplifier
The T+A PA 3100 HV integrated amplifier makes a strong, consistent statement about sonic realities and the pathway to pleasure. Its consistently musical presentation, which emphasizes smoothness and ease over strong contrasts and abrupt shifts, renders it a powerful transmitter of musical truth—specifically that delivered farther back in the orchestra sections of many acoustically superior halls I’ve visited as well as in some drier or less-resonant venues.
Anyone wishing to get as much as possible from a single, very solid box will also find its headphone amp, optional phono card, and APM with tone controls and room equalization quite attractive. Put it all together, and you’ve got an excellent, meticulously engineered, beautifully made integrated amplifier that seems tailor-made for many audiophiles.
Mark Levinson No.5105 turntable Review $6000
April 11, 2021 Comments Off on Mark Levinson No.5105 turntable Review $6000
https://www.stereophile.com/content/mark-levinson-no5105-turntable
Decoded by the No.5105 into the hybrid Hagerman, the vinyl version delivered timbral richness, particularly to the massed strings and Mutter’s violin, and textural sophistication that might have some screaming “coloration!” Not I! To me it sounds more real and definitely more pleasurable than the streamed digital, especially the piano’s presentation, both timbrally and in terms of transient attack. It helps that the Emil Berliner Studios did the mastering and that the Optimal pressing is outstanding. I could not hear any difference in dynamic range between the two versions. It’s possible though that the file was dynamically compressed for streaming but allowed to express itself fully in the grooves.
Icon Audio HP8 MkII Signature Headphone Amplifier Review
April 11, 2021 Comments Off on Icon Audio HP8 MkII Signature Headphone Amplifier Review
https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2021/2/1/0t4as8dlvsipy6zuup151430h32qvc
It drove my 52 ohm Focals just as well as my 300ohm Sennheisers, and I would certainly recommend this amp for statement headphones like the Sennheiser HD800/HD800S, Audeze LCD-3/4, the HIFIMAN HE1000 or the Focal Utopia. With 800 mW x2 of Class A power on tap (a number up there with many solid state designs), it has plenty of gain for all of them. This amplifier is, of course, just an amp, no frills attached, so it may not suit those looking for compact desktop all-in-one solutions with DACs, streaming, or other state-of-the art digital audio applications. If you have all those bases already covered in your chain, or want a high end headphone section for your main system, the Icon Audio HP8 MkII Signature is one of the best sounding headphone amplifiers I have heard, and its polished looks certainly makes it easy on the eyes as well as the ears.
Audiophilepure 
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