Nordost Premium QKORE Wire Review

November 30, 2021 Comments Off on Nordost Premium QKORE Wire Review

The major impact of the Premium QKORE wires is purity of the high frequencies. Secondary effects include increased image mass, a boost in dynamics, and dialing in focus. On the subjective side, there’s more drama and impact.

I’m tempted to say the system is clean after installing Premium Wires everywhere, but I won’t fall into that trap again. You can be sure the RFI daemon lurks and will show up again after the next advance goes in, whatever that might be. That there will be a next advance is extremely likely, as RFI combating is on the frontlines.

Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G Loudspeaker Review

November 30, 2021 Comments Off on Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G Loudspeaker Review

https://www.hifinews.com/content/monitor-audio-silver-500-7g-loudspeaker

Generally speaking, the Silver 500 7G’s high frequencies are crisp, clear and airy. There’s some lack of sweetness, and I noted an occasional tendency for them to slip into bright, sharp territory depending on the recording. The high-fret bends during the guitar solo in The Marshall Tucker Band’s ‘Can’t You See’ [Tidal Hi-Fi download] appeared to find a place that the speaker’s C-CAM tweeter didn’t really agree with. Elsewhere, however, the loudspeaker’s warm, enveloping voicing is sure to please its mid-budget audience.

Time spent positioning the Silver 500 7G reaps rewards. My pairing imaged very well – I didn’t find them fussy regards toe-in to get them focused, and even when sat off-axis I still felt invited to the party. Yet the dual bass drivers’ output requires some management. These speakers have considerable low-end reach and impressive stop-start ability, but site them too near boundary walls and these admirable traits can suffer. Four foam bungs are provided for the bass-reflex system, giving flexibility over tuning, and with the speakers positioned 45cm from my wall, I found using them on the lower HiVe port tightened up the LF

Hi-Fi Spotify & Apple Music for BEGINNERS

November 30, 2021 Comments Off on Hi-Fi Spotify & Apple Music for BEGINNERS

HarmonicDyne Poseidon Review 

November 29, 2021 Comments Off on HarmonicDyne Poseidon Review 

Linn Klimax DSM network streaming preamplifier Review

November 29, 2021 Comments Off on Linn Klimax DSM network streaming preamplifier Review

A reviewer’s job is to trip products up, but the best products trip us up instead. When this happens, we play music that we think will show limitations in a device, and they end up highlighting their strengths instead. So it was with the Klimax DSM; I played the Overture to The Pirates of Penzance [D’Oyly Carte, Decca] which is a great test for imaging, but ended up being so musically bouncy and fun (as it should be) I felt like I should have mutton-chops and be wearing a smoking jacket. I played ‘Back In Black’ by AC/DC [Atlantic] on Tidal and air-guitared my way to dislocating a shoulder and I played some Miles Davis to check on that complex interplay on Shhh/Peaceful [In A Silent Way, Columbia] and now I have a $1,000 per day coke habit. And that’s the big thing about the Linn Klimax DSM; you feel rolling out the same old terms for audio performance when you are dealing with a product that is so very much about the music isn’t just wrong, it’s positively asinine. Of course, it ticks all the audiophile boxes of good soundstaging, outstanding levels of detail, excellent vocal articulation, superb image solidity and dynamic range and fluidity of sound that could give a turntable a run for its money, but that’s just par for the course in high-end streaming. What this gives over and above that is a sense of being as one with the musical intentions of the composer or musicians.

Monster JBL 4520-based Loudspeakers

November 29, 2021 Comments Off on Monster JBL 4520-based Loudspeakers

Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx V loudspeaker $151,000 Review

November 28, 2021 Comments Off on Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx V loudspeaker $151,000 Review

https://www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-audio-specialties-alexx-v-loudspeaker

Over the years I’ve been seriously interested in hi-fi, I’ve come to associate Wilson with emotional approachability—why else would their products have such passionate advocates? Their use of traditional driver materials—paper cones and silk domes—reinforced that stereotype in my brain: no analytical sound or harsh-sounding metal tweeters on a Wilson speaker!

There’s nothing wrong with that, but that assumption, which I held without evidence or sufficient experience, sold Wilson short. During the long audition leading up to this review, I heard nothing that would cause me to label these speakers as warm, or pretty, or endearing—no midbass emphasis, no rolled-off highs, no tweaking of the presence region (one way or the other) to accentuate the midrange or increase the sense of detail or immediacy. The Alexx V is distinguished not by any special warmth, approachability, or friendly coloration but, rather, by its evenness and consistency of tone, its ability to excavate detail effortlessly and without emphasis, and its clarity, accuracy, and naturalness of musical expression. My experience as a reviewer has taught me that those are difficult things to achieve all at once.

Line Magnetic LM-512 CA preamp/LM-845 Premium integrated/power amp £8,499 Review

November 28, 2021 Comments Off on Line Magnetic LM-512 CA preamp/LM-845 Premium integrated/power amp £8,499 Review

A reviewer’s job is to trip products up, but the best products trip us up instead. When this happens, we play music that we think will show limitations in a device, and they end up highlighting their strengths instead. So it was with the Klimax DSM; I played the Overture to The Pirates of Penzance [D’Oyly Carte, Decca] which is a great test for imaging, but ended up being so musically bouncy and fun (as it should be) I felt like I should have mutton-chops and be wearing a smoking jacket. I played ‘Back In Black’ by AC/DC [Atlantic] on Tidal and air-guitared my way to dislocating a shoulder and I played some Miles Davis to check on that complex interplay on Shhh/Peaceful [In A Silent Way, Columbia] and now I have a $1,000 per day coke habit. And that’s the big thing about the Linn Klimax DSM; you feel rolling out the same old terms for audio performance when you are dealing with a product that is so very much about the music isn’t just wrong, it’s positively asinine. Of course, it ticks all the audiophile boxes of good soundstaging, outstanding levels of detail, excellent vocal articulation, superb image solidity and dynamic range and fluidity of sound that could give a turntable a run for its money, but that’s just par for the course in high-end streaming. What this gives over and above that is a sense of being as one with the musical intentions of the composer or musicians.

Introduction to the Analog Mixer

November 28, 2021 Comments Off on Introduction to the Analog Mixer

Perlisten S7t loudspeaker  19,995 Review

November 27, 2021 Comments Off on Perlisten S7t loudspeaker  19,995 Review

https://www.stereophile.com/content/perlisten-s7t-loudspeaker

I compared the Perlistens to my Revel Studio2 speakers sequentially by moving each into their ideal positions, and by placing them side by side and using an A/B toggle switch. When comparing them sequentially, I noted that the Revels’ soundstage was consistently wider but their tonal balance was thinner, particularly in the upper bass. Conversely, the Perlistens had a more even tonal balance and, while the soundstage was not as wide, it was just as deep as that cast by the Revels. It was, as Dan Roemer said it would be, impossible to localize any sound to the individual Perlisten drivers.

I got similar impressions in the direct A/B comparisons, although in this round of testing, the tonal balance differences seemed less striking than I expected. I consistently preferred the fullness of male voices with the S7t’s, but that preference could be erased by invoking Dirac Live correction with the Studio2s. Overall, and without the advantages of Dirac Live, the S7t seemed more neutral and relaxed. The Revels offered a wider soundstage and also more midrange detail, but, in extended listening with the S7t’s, I didn’t miss them.

Where Am I?

You are currently viewing the archives for November, 2021 at Audiophilepure.