Schiit Yggdrasil + OG DAC $2699 Review
December 9, 2023 Comments Off on Schiit Yggdrasil + OG DAC $2699 Review
The Yggdrasil + OG delivers a very capable bass which is big bodied and full – retaining the elements of both macro-dynamic prowess as well as the incision of the original Yggdrasil. There is a good layer of smoothness with a sound which invokes both clarity and depth while also being faithful to a natural and organic sound.
Coming on to the midrange, the Yggdrasil + OG offers a beautifully textured midrange with excellent detailing and realness particularly with respect to acoustic instruments. One of the critiques of the original Yggdrasil was that it could come across as a tad incisive depending on the nature of the track. With the plus OG version, there is some sweet overtone added to the midrange which certainly makes it more forgiving compared to prior iterations.
Audeze LCD-5 headphones Review
December 9, 2023 Comments Off on Audeze LCD-5 headphones Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/audeze-lcd-5-headphones
When it comes to headphones, I’m not an easy fit. Most headphones need to be set to the smallest/tightest setting to stay securely on my noggin. The LCD-5 fit my head and ears with what felt like a very good seal with a couple of notches left over.
One final, well-conceived detail: The cable-connection sockets are positioned farther back on the ear cups than on many other headphones, which helps keep the cables out of the way—farther from your hands and out of your face. The cable’s “Goldilocks” length worked well for me: long enough to let me roll a comfy office chair around, but not so long that the cable dragged on the floor or found its way under the chair wheels in the studio at the radio station.
PSB IMAGINE T54 TOWER SPEAKER $1,499 REVIEW
December 8, 2023 Comments Off on PSB IMAGINE T54 TOWER SPEAKER $1,499 REVIEW
These are well-engineered speakers, but buyers will need to do a bit of room matching and think about augmenting them with a sub. If being used for home theater duty, I think a sub would be a requirement. For more casual listening the speakers will perform well. Their frequency response, dynamic range, clean undistorted audio, and imaging skills are something I don’t always find in similar speakers. A lot of thought obviously went into the design and manufacture of the PSB T54 speakers.
Although the T54 doesn’t reach as deeply as some other speakers I’ve heard at the $1499 price, I haven’t heard other speakers do so many other things as right as the T54 speakers. Since the deepest low end (if you want it) can be solved with a good subwoofer, I think the T54 speakers represent a solid and competitive value. If you’re not considering using them for home theater, and you have a good match for a room, I have high praise for these speakers.
FIIO K11 $129 REVIEW
December 8, 2023 Comments Off on FIIO K11 $129 REVIEW
Flipping the K11 reveals a well-thought-out back panel for the price, housing a variety of inputs and outputs, including USB, optical, and coaxial, alongside 4.4mm, 6.35mm, and RCA jacks. This assortment of connections makes K11 ready to pair with a broad array of sources, from consoles to phones and computers. The details extend to practical considerations as well; the big and wide silicone anti-slip pad ensures the device stays firmly in place, while the adjustable RGB logo lighting on the top adds a customizable visual appeal or can be configured to provide visual feedback on the audio format being played.
Dan Clark Audio E3 Closed-Back Headphone
December 8, 2023 Comments Off on Dan Clark Audio E3 Closed-Back Headphone
MCINTOSH MHT300 HOME THEATER RECEIVER $8,000 REVIEW
December 7, 2023 Comments Off on MCINTOSH MHT300 HOME THEATER RECEIVER $8,000 REVIEW
I have an extensive collection of surround SACDs and DVD-As that allowed me to test for clarity and general cohesiveness of sound and the MHT300 passed with flying colors. I could not play a DSD file from my computer to the MHT300, and with no analog inputs, I could not use my PS Audio PerfectWave Direct Stream DAC. I found a workaround by downloading Qobuz onto my TV and streaming from there. Unfortunately, it topped out at 48kHz, and I paid extra for the higher-resolution formats. In the end, you’ll only be able to play CDs, as you cannot cast to the MHT300. For surround music, I have some old standbys like Breakaway by Art Garfunkel and A Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten. Voices and instruments were dynamic and natural sounding. If you have an extensive surround catalog of music, the MHT will not disappoint. The FM tuner I did not test as I have not had an antenna in my system for over a decade.
Emotiva BasX TA2 Integrated Amplifier Review
December 7, 2023 Comments Off on Emotiva BasX TA2 Integrated Amplifier Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/emotiva-basx-ta2-integrated-amplifier
The initial impression of the BasX TA2 being a more muscular version of the TA1 is reinforced by its milled aluminium front panel, as except for some extra real estate, the two are identical. Above the central power on/off button is a thin black strip containing a VFD display, plus input selection buttons and a 3.5mm headphone socket. On the right is a volume rotary, backlit blue to match the VFD illumination.
It looks rather spartan, but the volume knob doubles as a push/twist controller for delving into the BasX TA2’s menus, and here there’s a fair amount of tweaking to uncover. For example, Emotiva provides treble, bass and balance controls, as well as the option of setting the brightness of the VFD illumination, all the way down to off. You can also use the menus to autotune or seek FM radio stations and save them to the amp’s 15 memory slots.
Meze Empyrean II Headphones Review
December 7, 2023 Comments Off on Meze Empyrean II Headphones Review
YG Acoustics Hailey 3 $63,400 Review
December 5, 2023 Comments Off on YG Acoustics Hailey 3 $63,400 Review
Great as everything else is, these speakers are equally smooth throughout the frequency spectrum. Those of you that enjoy this aspect of single driver or panel speakers will appreciate how well the three drivers in the Hailey’s work together. No matter how loud or soft the Haleys are played, they deliver the electrical impulses presented to them with one voice.
If you really want to blast the system, you will need more than 15 watts per channel, and though the Haileys reveal a lot at low volume, they are glorious when being played loud. Whether you’re listening to Deep Purple’s Made in Japan, The 1812 Overture, or grooving on some Slowdive, these speakers will take you anywhere you want to go.
Ironically when YG hit the market 21 years ago, under their original ownership they claimed to be the “world’s greatest loudspeaker.” While I can’t make that claim about any one loudspeaker, I’d certainly say that today, YG is in that small top tier of the world’s finest speakers without hesitation.
Audiophilepure 
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