Vincent Audio SV-737 Integrated $3499 Review
December 6, 2022 Comments Off on Vincent Audio SV-737 Integrated $3499 Review
When I first listened to the Vincent SV-737 amplifier, I immediately heard the sonic differences compared to my reference. But as time went by, and with a little tweaking, I quickly became accustomed to its sound and just enjoyed the music. Sure I was still aware of its particular sonics. I put this amp in a system that was very high resolution and it managed it with aplomb. But as soon as I switched the speakers the sound took on a whole new flavor and the differences to my reference were shortened. This amplifier has a clean, detailed top end, somewhat sweet midrange (those tubes aren’t there just for looks) and a lower end that captures the ebb and flow and power of dynamics with very good control better than a lot of amplifiers I have heard regardless of price. This aspect of its sound is what makes this amp truly exciting and fun to listen to. The styling is very nice, its loaded with features and it is built like the proverbial you know what. It runs a bit warm so give it space when installing. Maybe if one ordered it in silver the letters would be easier to read? Nah!
Esoteric E-02 Phono Preamplifier Review
December 6, 2022 Comments Off on Esoteric E-02 Phono Preamplifier Review
https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/1141-esoteric-e-02-phono-preamplifier
The Esoteric E-02 is as serious a piece of electronic kit as I’ve ever had in my system, revealing better qualities than I’ve experienced before in terms of its powers of resolution, textural detail and finesse, impressive soundstaging, bass presence, and slam. My reference Pass Labs phono certainly delivers the goods and has a mellower touch, particularly with orchestral music. But the E-02 is notably the more powerful of the two units—blessed not only with its own velvet hand for rendering acoustic music but also a closed fist in a velvet glove for rock, jazz, and dynamic vocals. What’s more, it has fine physical lines—with a luxurious though understated aesthetic to its build—and a plethora of useful features that are supremely elegant to engage with, all of which make it instantly recognizable as part of the Esoteric line of prestige electronics. If I could summon the great novelist Ralph Ellison from his “hidey-hole” in Heaven to experience just what the E-02 can get from the likes of Nat King Cole, Ellington’s Orchestra, and contemporary opera diva Anna Netrebko, I guarantee he’d join me in a chorus of hosannas and kyries, as Esoteric’s phono preamplifier extracts a music both jubilant and pensive from my mono and stereo cartridges that is a sonic séance of body and soul. If you’re in the market for one of the best phono stages at the $10k price point, I urge you to audition the Esoteric E-02.
Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Restored
December 6, 2022 Comments Off on Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Restored
Nordost QNet network switch & QSource linear power supply Review
December 5, 2022 Comments Off on Nordost QNet network switch & QSource linear power supply Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/nordost-qnet-network-switch-qsource-linear-power-supply
Rather than listing example after musical example, I’ll simply say that it is now much easier to follow each line in even the most complex passages of Mahler or Strauss and to understand, musically, the reasons behind the complexity. Thunderous organ now resonates strongly, without inappropriate boom. Tonal color inside my music room is beyond acid-rush intensity. Outside, however, it remains Pacific-Northwest gray.
It’s been a long time since I ended a review with “I bought the review samples.” But I did. And once I realized how vital the QNet was to my system—how a simple network switch allowed me to achieve so much more of what high-end audio is about, and how much more silent and revealing the QSource was than my other linear power supply—I bought a second QSource for my etherRegen and AfterDark clock. I didn’t think a second QSource would make another huge difference, but when the soundstage suddenly expanded beyond the front and side walls, my pleasure expanded concomitantly. Don’t you love when that happens?
TOPPING E30 II + L30 II REVIEW
December 5, 2022 Comments Off on TOPPING E30 II + L30 II REVIEW
My past experience with amplifiers using NFCA technology has been very positive. Amplifiers have come a long way from a year ago and I’m very happy with the technological leap forward led by companies like Topping. The L30 II sounds very neutral to my ears and does exactly what it’s supposed to do. It amplifies the sound signature of your source, IEMs or HPs without saturating, distorting, or altering it. It does a very good job of conveying the signature of your equipment to you. It has plenty of power to feed every headphone in my inventory.
When I hooked up the Fiio K9 Pro to the L30 II using the pure DAC mode, I got almost the same performance as the impressive integrated amplifier used by the K9. Honestly, there is nothing much to say. It also performs very well with monitors using multi-BA configurations with low impedance values. With the 8-ohm Yanyin Canon, the channel balance at the low gain setting is quite satisfactory. Overall, this is an excellent amplifier that does exactly what an high fidelity focused amplifier is supposed to do.
Aretai Contra 100S Review
December 5, 2022 Comments Off on Aretai Contra 100S Review
UK distributor Greg Chapman of VAL Hi-Fi brought the Contra 100S over with a pair of Solid Steel SS-5 three-legged stands which he said are a little short for my listening position, but he likes the way the speakers sound on them. Listening started with the Aretai being driven by a Moor Amps Angel 6 power amplifier with the speakers placed about a foot from the wall which worked well for the mid and treble, but the bass was a little boxy on some tracks. That said Joni Mitchell’s voice sounded rather good on ‘The Man I Love’ and the bass on Kraftwerk’s ‘Radioactivity’ had more gravitas than expected for a box of this scale, the reverb on the live mix giving real depth to the soundstage. Moving the Aretai closer to the wall meant that the soundstage got bigger, but the bass didn’t really change which was surprising, having an active rear bass driver clearly brings benefits in terms of control. Deadmau5’s ‘Seeya’ was delivered with real spatial precision at high levels without any sense of glare or hardness, a characteristic that was to become more apparent the further the listening went on. Aretai favour pro drivers which are generally designed to cope with higher playback levels without distortion and this certainly came through.
SCHIIT AUDIO VALI 2++ TUBE HYBRID HEADPHONE AMP/PREAMP $149
December 3, 2022 Comments Off on SCHIIT AUDIO VALI 2++ TUBE HYBRID HEADPHONE AMP/PREAMP $149
For first-time buyers, if you match it up with the Schiit Audio Modi DAC and say the HIFIMAN DEVA Pro Headphones you would have an audiophile quality system for less than $500. And for die-hard solid-state buffs, you can see what all the fuss is about and experience a whole new world of musicality for the cost of one less Starbucks a day for two weeks. If you like to tinker, and many of us started in this hobby for that very reason, the VALI 2++ is a great way to explore the world of tube rolling, something I really looked forward to, but as it turned out, none of my 50-year-old tubes fit the pinout of the 6N3P but as you can see by the list above, there are plenty that do (many for as low as $19).
GigaWatt PF-1e, PF-1 EVO, and PF-2 EVO Power Strips
December 3, 2022 Comments Off on GigaWatt PF-1e, PF-1 EVO, and PF-2 EVO Power Strips
The PF-2 EVO Power Strip is equipped with six high-quality power sockets GigaWatt G-040 Schuko, designed and manufactured by the company. The brass connectors of those sockets were silver-plated at the factory, without the usage of intermediary metals, like copper or nickel, which could introduce unfavorable series resistance and voltage loss. The increased area of contact and the thick layer of silver guarantee sure contact with the plug pins. The sockets were additionally subdued to cryogenic modification and a demagnetizing process. In order to effectively protect children, the G-040 sockets were equipped with integrated anti-surge shutters (increased protection against touching, conform with VDE 0620). The PF-2 EVO is also available with outlets of type NEMA 5-20R, used in North America and some Asian countries, and with Australian outlets of type AS/NZS 3112.
Being much taller and at 4,9 kilograms again significantly heavier, the PF-2 EVO’s chassis is built differently than the other two. All internal elements of the Power Strip are closed in a double metal chassis. This enclosure is a perfectly tight shield against RFI and EMI noise. The strip is also equipped with a LED indicating proper operation of the device and a circuit indicating wrong polarization of the power line or wrongly connected grounding.
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