Audeze CRBN Electrostatic Headphones $4500 Review
November 6, 2021 Comments Off on Audeze CRBN Electrostatic Headphones $4500 Review
The Audeze CRBN Electrostatic Headphones are not only groundbreaking technology, an understatement for sure, but mightily push the envelope for reproducing recorded music in the home. Eclipsing all other electrostatics I have ever heard, the CRBN made my 009 headphones sound grainy and not particularly musical. With unprecedented elegance in construction, 21st-century carbon drivers, and weighing only 300 grams, the CRBN are the equivalent of $35,000 loudspeakers for your ears. The CRBN sounds like they are plugged into the studio as the performance is recorded. The experience of listening with these truly innovative electrostatics is immersive and magical. In my opinion, the CRBN from Audeze are the best electrostatics ever produced on our planet, and rival any other luxury, state-of-the-art headphone design, dynamic or planar, that I have auditioned in my half-century as an audiophile.
MBL Radialstrahler 120 loudspeaker $21,400 Review
November 5, 2021 Comments Off on MBL Radialstrahler 120 loudspeaker $21,400 Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/mbl-radialstrahler-120-loudspeaker
The MBL 120s sound big and full—voluptuous at times, especially when you turn up the volume, which I did often, though not to excess. Because the Radialstrahler drivers radiate sound in all directions, they avoid the hazards of beamy tweeters and shout-at-you midrange drivers. I love how the sound seems to float in the air rather than be fired at you. Many instruments and voices sound natural. The 120s elevate musical material—they maximize but don’t exaggerate what’s there, like dressing to highlight your best features.
Unlike some speakers, the MBL 120s don’t favor one genre of music over another—which is essential for my eclectic tastes. Wallflowers they ain’t: Immersive and involving, these speakers are built for fun. Their sound, though always substantial, tends to stay detailed without getting thick or muddy.
The MBL 120s can be addictive. I’m not here to be a bad influence, but if you’re not careful, you might need to call your nearest dealer
CLASSÉ DELTA PRE STEREO PREAMPLIFIER AND DELTA STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER $12,999 REVIEW
November 5, 2021 Comments Off on CLASSÉ DELTA PRE STEREO PREAMPLIFIER AND DELTA STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER $12,999 REVIEW
This RTR tape has piano and violin. Violin is particularly edgy when there is harmonic distortion in the amplification signal path. The Deltas have very low distortion, so the violin sounded fabulous here, i.e., smooth but detailed. This smoothness can result from having low distortion but also from a rolled off high frequency response. The bench test results in this review show the reason.
The five tracks on this tape are “Danse Macabre” by Camille Saint-Saens, “Zigeunerweisen” by Pablo de Sarasate, “Bloch Nigun” by Bloch, “Introduction & Tarantella” by Pablo de Sarasate, and “Meditation” by Jules Massenet, all composed in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Again, the tape was recorded by UltraAnalogue Recordings, and it is a modern recording, not an old tape from the 1950s or 1960s. It is a copy of a copy of the original master tape. The owner of the recording company builds violins as his main business and records various classical musicians himself. He made the bow for the violinist in this recording.
I am more of a fan of the piano than the violin, but this paring is certainly wonderful. However, the violin “Meditation” track by Massenet is one of my favorite compositions.
Low-level detail is present in this tape as in the IPI tape reviewed above. This detail includes the rustling of clothing. It really adds ambiance that is just not there in digital recordings. This is what I wanted to hear with the Deltas, and it was there.
NEW Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Speaker 2021 |
November 5, 2021 Comments Off on NEW Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Speaker 2021 |
Clarus Crimson Loudspeaker and Interconnect Cables Review
November 4, 2021 Comments Off on Clarus Crimson Loudspeaker and Interconnect Cables Review
Considerable thought and care has gone into the design of these cables. On its website, Clarus, or, to put it more precisely, Jay Victor, the chief engineer of the company, explains in detail the methodology that he has employed to construct them, including the use of three different oxygen-free copper conductors for the bass, midrange, and treble frequencies, all manufactured with Ohno Continuous Casting. While a white paper on the company’s website discusses in detail different approaches to constructing cables, it is (understandably) coy about the geometry it employs, other than to remark, “These are not simple cables, and many years of experiments and research went into their development. The conductor geometry itself is quite unique and complex, and there is nothing similar on the market.”
Maidstone Review
November 4, 2021 Comments Off on Maidstone Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/made-maidstone
Working initially with a modest amplifier and no special system alignment, first impressions were a little disconcerting. The Maidstone sounded rather low-key and distant, noticeably rich in tonal balance. I persevered and experimented with equipment combinations and placements, ultimately finding that I couldn’t short-change this speaker and get away with it. Thus a Krell FPB650/Conrad-Johnson ART/Krell KPS25s lineup predominated – some £60,000+ worth of drive electronics! Meanwhile, a Linn LP12 Lingo/Naim Aro/Koetsu Rosewood Signature II deck provided analogue material via XTC and Conrad-Johnson Premier 15 phono equalisers.
Rockport Technologies Atria II Loudspeaker $27,500 Review
November 3, 2021 Comments Off on Rockport Technologies Atria II Loudspeaker $27,500 Review
https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2021/9/12/m9484k93bdqrg5ihagdunk1qdm0yk2
Just before I left for Toronto, a pair of extraordinary, very expensive loudspeakers arrived on the island (Nov 19 review publication), and while in Toronto, I had a great listening session at Corby Audio in nearby Hamilton, featuring Don Corby’s spectacular home made speakers with JBL drivers, a horn, and crossovers by Allnic Audio’s Kang Su Park. I also got to listen to a pair of Avantgarde DUO Mezzo loudspeakers with a superb T+A DAC and spectacular AirTight 10W mono blocks. You’ll have to wait for the Nov 19 review to read about the newly arrived speakers, but comparison with the other speakers to the Atria IIs was instructive. The massive, brilliant homebuilts would probably sell for 200K plus if Don Corby ever made another set and the stunning Avantgardes were $90,000. Both speakers considerably more than the Atria II’s price of ($27,500/pair). So, a pretty silly comparison. But a comparison in almost real time, nonetheless. The Atrias held their own with these mighty masterpieces, remarkable for what is considered a somewhat reasonable price these days for a virtuoso loudspeaker of this quality. And a virtuoso is certainly what the Atria II is.
Grandinote Shinai Class-A integrated amplifier
November 3, 2021 Comments Off on Grandinote Shinai Class-A integrated amplifier
Even though the Shinai offers a nice dose of bloom and gentle warmth, importantly, there’s absolutely no excess of warmth and also no “saddle” effect, in which the midrange is structurally dialed back compared to the bass and treble. Principally, the amp just sounds linear, and it adapts to the music. When playing Toni Braxton or Anita Baker, the Shinai delivers the music with what seems like a subtle golden glow but as soon as you play something spicy like Robert Palmer’s You Are In My System, or basically, anything produced by Michael Frank, the amp immediately flexes its muscles, throws out any idea of sugar-coating and slaps me right in the face with its immediate dynamics! It may sound as if I am being overly dramatic, but really, I am not exaggerating. Whenever I play something spicy, it comes out as such, totally unrestrained.
It’s the seemingly impossible: a very neutral and linear amplifier that is fast, expressive, and dynamic but equally lush, liquid, and seductive, but this is exactly what the Shinai + Combo Stand achieves.
Audiophilepure 
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