Hifiman Drops A $399 Closed-Back Version
August 4, 2022 Comments Off on Hifiman Drops A $399 Closed-Back Version
Hifiman’s Sundara was one of the first affordable Planar Magnetic headphones on the market, and due to the remarkably balanced and detailed sound, it’s also one of the most popular headphones amongst value-oriented audiophiles.
We have included the Sundara on many of our “Best Of” lists because until the Hifiman Edition XS came out, it was widely considered to be the best Planar headphone under $500. If the new version sounds better than the original, then it should be a massive hit.
miniDSP SHD Power Integrated Amplifier-DAC $1549 Review
August 4, 2022 Comments Off on miniDSP SHD Power Integrated Amplifier-DAC $1549 Review
Those differences became more apparent when driving the MartinLogan loudspeakers in my main system. The miniDSP was able to drive the hybrid-electrostatic ESL 9s with greater ease than the Lyngdorf, which struggled to unravel complex passages at high levels. Playing Sting’s My Songs: Special Edition (24/44.1 FLAC, A&M Records / Interscope Records / Qobuz), “Desert Rose” had greater depth and width of soundstage and well-defined imaging of the vocals and instruments with the miniDSP. While the Lyngdorf’s presentation was a little vague, it still had that invitingly smooth Equibit sound. Adding the two JLA E‑Sub e112 subwoofers to the mix tipped the scales in favor of the Lyngdorf. While both amps benefited from the addition of the subs, the effect on the Lyngdorf, now freed of the requirement of amplifying the lower frequencies, was truly transformative. The mids and highs remained smooth and inviting but were more sharply focused. The synthesizer sounds and vocalizations of Sting and Cheb Mami swirled effortlessly between the speakers with wonderful openness, warmth, and coherence. The miniDSP too sounded better with the subs, but the soundstage did not open up as fully—the voices and instruments remaining more closely grouped together, and the sound remaining a little cool and not as lush.
Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems
August 4, 2022 Comments Off on Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems
Totem Acoustic Metal V2 floorstanding loudspeaker Review
August 3, 2022 Comments Off on Totem Acoustic Metal V2 floorstanding loudspeaker Review
Sticking with Speakers Corner records (why not, they are the best after all), I can tell you that listening to Janos Starker’s suites for unaccompanied Cello [Mercury] was also a near-religious experience paired with the Totem Metals. The point is easily made on any of the tracks so start at the beginning with Suite No 1 in G Praeludium. The Metals push the cello right out into the living room in a way that was disorienting for the first few moments it was so untethered to the speaker cabinets. In a way that you would read the sound if someone were to break a wine glass on a wall close behind you, the Metals endowed Janos’ playing of the cello with that electric “in the room” crispness that can not be faked. When Janos draws the bow across the strings and you hear his physical mannerisms and body shifts coming through in space behind the cello; word to the wise, make sure you know who is presently in your house. You wouldn’t want to have to jump up to look in the other room for robbers (as I did more than I would like to admit) while getting used to the knife-edge detail and realism the Metals illustrate so well.
Primare I2S Prisma Review
August 3, 2022 Comments Off on Primare I2S Prisma Review
https://www.hifichoice.com/content/primare-i2s-prisma
Some amps sound great and have fine powers of resolution and separation but show a tendency to homogenise, making contrasts – both bold and subtle – seem more similar than they should. The I25’s sound, conversely, cleaves towards a valued high-end ability to discriminate with meticulous care, not just in broad strokes but also in the finest detail. James Taylor’s latest album, American Standard, while hardly a stretch for the folksy balladeer and in danger of familiarity overkill, sounds more involving and emotionally invested than you’d credit, simple as that.
Clarity, speed, grip, strong dynamics, neutral tonality – the Primare has all its hi-fi ducks perfectly aligned in a row. But this counts for little if it fails to communicate the intention behind the playing and, again, we’re back in high-end territory. Irrespective of source – whether streaming the smooth soul of Anita Baker’s Sweet Love on Tidal or playing the densely layered musical complexities of Pat Metheny’s Imaginary Day on CD – the Primare combines impeccable timing with tight focus and a firm grasp of microdynamics, which does wonders for its ability to resolve nuance and inflection. It offers strong in-room presence where performers and instruments are portrayed with body and dimensionality in a truly spacious soundstage.
Stromtank S 1000 computer-controlled battery power source $15,975 Review
August 1, 2022 Comments Off on Stromtank S 1000 computer-controlled battery power source $15,975 Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/stromtank-s-1000-computer-controlled-battery-power-source
One of the biggest revelations came when, during another listening session, I moved back and forth between the darTZeel NHB-18NS preamp and the Stromtank battery-powered D’Agostino Momentum HD preamp. I had previously declared the battery-powered darTZeel the most detailed and revealing preamp I’d ever heard in my system. With colors more direct and primary than the D’Agostino’s softer, more pastel-rich palette, and a soundstage neither as wide nor as far set back, the darTZeel seemed a champion of directness. With Stromtank battery power, the D’Agostino’s ability to convey detail increased to darTZeel levels, and its soundstage magic increased. I’d expected the Stromtank S 1000 to improve the sound of my system, but I never thought it would serve as the missing link to component greatness.
Audiophilepure 
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