4 WATTS OF POWER $22K COMPLETE HIGH END AUDIO SYSTEM 4 WATTS OF POWER
May 25, 2023 Comments Off on 4 WATTS OF POWER $22K COMPLETE HIGH END AUDIO SYSTEM 4 WATTS OF POWER
Fyne Audio F704 £13,999 Review
May 24, 2023 Comments Off on Fyne Audio F704 £13,999 Review
Earlier, I described the F704 as an ‘absolute unit’, but that isn’t strictly true. Sure, it’s a big and heavy loudspeaker (especially for one made in the UK), but there’s no flab or excess weight to the sound. Bass is clean, deep and forceful, with a good lick of speed to it. It even passes the Trentemøller test, with fast, deep synth bass notes not choking up the down-firing port; a sure sign of some really intelligent loudspeaker design.
Practically everyone who has written about Fyne Audio’s products has used this wordplay, but the F704 is a ‘fine’ loudspeaker. It’s the antithesis of ‘boring but worthy’ loudspeakers yet can be extremely civilised and refined. Music is an upfront, vibrant and visceral experience when played through the Fyne Audio F704, and there’s nothing wrong with that at all. Sometimes we want a loudspeaker that hums along in the background, then we need a loudspeaker than can enthral and entertain, and sometimes we just need to party hard. The F704 is all those things!
IsoTek V5 Elektra power conditioner Review
May 24, 2023 Comments Off on IsoTek V5 Elektra power conditioner Review
As you climb the IsoTek ladder you get more smoothness and refinement, but if this is your first IsoTek rodeo, having heard the V5 Elektra, your first words on reading that might be ‘More?’ The V5 Elektra is an extremely impressive mains filter/cleaner/conditioner, one that makes a hell of a lot of sense in systems in and around £5,000. In that context, this is an upgrade that is all-but irresistible, and will set listeners on a path to include power products – and probably IsoTek power products – in their systems for good.
Sometimes power product reviews are a little difficult to write and place in context, but maybe that’s because we’re being polite about their performance. The IsoTek V5 Elektra needs no apologies or excuses; you plug it in, you hear what it does, you buy it. It will keep your system cosseted in great power until you reach some very high-end audio kit.
Shanling M3 Ultra Portable Music Player Review
May 24, 2023 Comments Off on Shanling M3 Ultra Portable Music Player Review
iFi Audio NEO Stream Network-Attached DAC Review
May 23, 2023 Comments Off on iFi Audio NEO Stream Network-Attached DAC Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/ifi-audio-neo-stream-network-attached-dac
While experimenting I also discovered the NEO Stream can actually handle two connected DACs, one via the rear USB-A, one via the USB-C port on the front. It won’t stream to both simultaneously, of course, but maybe the rule is: if you can think of a reason why you would want to hook up two DACs at the same time – a comparison listening test, for example – you’re smack bang in the target group of iFi Audio’s well-featured device.
Audio Technica AT-LPW50BTRW $499 Review
May 23, 2023 Comments Off on Audio Technica AT-LPW50BTRW $499 Review
https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/audio-technica-at-lpw50btrw
Spin Alice in Chains’ MTV Unplugged record and the AT-LPW50BT does a great job of bringing out the crunchy, sludgy textures of the guitar and fuzzy bass. The deck delivers enough clarity and subtlety to relay the tonal differences between Layne Staley’s nasal-edged, emotionally-charged vocals and Jerry Cantrell’s softer, more melodious singing. There’s a good sense of rhythm that drives the songs along and, while it could be more precise and punctual, it’s a hugely likeable presentation that’s comfortable to listen to.
Switch to Tom Waits’ Foggy Night live set and the atmosphere changes to a more intimate one, his wry vocals soaked in whiskey and smoke coming through clearly as he chats in between songs.
McIntosh MI502 Class D Power Amp Review
May 22, 2023 Comments Off on McIntosh MI502 Class D Power Amp Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/mcintosh-mi502-class-d-power-amp
I partnered the amp with sources including a Primare PRE35 [HFN Dec ’19] for a balanced connection and Oppo UDP-205 CD/SACD player [HFN Jul ’17]. Via both the result was a largely neutral sound, especially in the bass and lower-mid, and with the transparency to reveal the limitations of the source when given a CD rip of the title track of Prince’s Purple Rain [Warner Bros/NPG 9362-49132-0]. Pairing the McIntosh amp and Oppo disc-spinner created an easy-to-use two-box set-up that yielded a fine performance with Barb Jungr’s cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘Sara’ on SACD [Linn Super Audio Collection: Volume 5; Linn Records AKP 389], where the delicate handling of her haunting vocal was countered by the weight and body of the piano that accompanied her.
Fyne Audio F704 £13,999 Review
May 22, 2023 Comments Off on Fyne Audio F704 £13,999 Review
Practically everyone who has written about Fyne Audio’s products has used this wordplay, but the F704 is a ‘fine’ loudspeaker. It’s the antithesis of ‘boring but worthy’ loudspeakers yet can be extremely civilised and refined. Music is an upfront, vibrant and visceral experience when played through the Fyne Audio F704, and there’s nothing wrong with that at all. Sometimes we want a loudspeaker that hums along in the background, then we need a loudspeaker than can enthral and entertain, and sometimes we just need to party hard. The F704 is all those things!
Stein Music Bobby S Ultimate Loudspeaker $18,750 Review
May 21, 2023 Comments Off on Stein Music Bobby S Ultimate Loudspeaker $18,750 Review
Not inexpensive, the Bobby S Ultimate seemed high value to me with two-way speakers selling for $30,000 and more but not outperforming these beauties. Holger Stein, CEO and chief designer of these speakers, recently won the Counnas Innovation Award from the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society, a first for a designer from Europe. I have never tried anything he has designed that did not perform to the max for dedicated audiophiles and music lovers. The Bobby S Ultimate fit the bill for audiophiles who want the best two-way stand-mounted speakers available today and are most highly recommended.
Audiophilepure 
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