HiFi Rose RA280 Integrated Amplifier £2999 Review
May 23, 2024 Comments Off on HiFi Rose RA280 Integrated Amplifier £2999 Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/hifi-rose-ra280-integrated-amplifier
Anyone who has ever attended a live gig of the band will know the sensation of being overwhelmed by the sheer scale (and volume!) of their music, an experience the RA280 had a fair stab at emulating. This is a track in particular that benefits from a bit of roughness, and it’s testament to the RA280 that it doesn’t try and smooth things over too much. The amplifier packed a punch, especially with the large Focal Sopra No2s floorstanders.
Back to DALI’s Rubicon 2s and the Womack set sounded more reserved on these smaller, nominal 4ohm speakers, with the amp’s reduced bass emphasis being apparent. Yet there was still lots to love, such as the way it put all the intricacies of the violin playing of Janine Jansen, on the familiar ‘La Primavera’ of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons [Decca 475 6293; 96kHz/24-bit], on show.
TAD Grand Evolution One loudspeaker $65,000 Review
May 23, 2024 Comments Off on TAD Grand Evolution One loudspeaker $65,000 Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/tad-grand-evolution-one-loudspeaker
When I dropped the needle on “Black Cow,” my ears turned red from pure pleasure; you should have seen my face. Fagen and Becker went to extraordinary lengths to generate great drum tracks, chewing up drummers in the process. Pow! Each drum hit here was laid on me like it was some sort of firearm. Don’s unique vocals, delivered with that little lisp he has, were tactile and clear. Emerging from the TAD GE1’s, the diction was unique and excellent, each syllable precise, compared to my experience hearing this “Sgt. Pepper of the ’70s” album over so many years from so many stereos.
I had one more trick up my sleeve. The McIntosh C12000 preamplifier is part of Mac’s “Hybrid Drive” series. It is unique in having two pairs of XLR outputs, one solid state, the other tubed. I usually use the latter, as I am running the preamp into the solid state MC462 amplifier and like the hybrid mix. Would Aja, which itself is a hybrid of sorts (a blend of jazz with rock and pop), sound better full-bore solid state? Would the GE1 reveal this change?
Canor Audio Virtus I2 Integrated Amplifier Review
May 22, 2024 Comments Off on Canor Audio Virtus I2 Integrated Amplifier Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/canor-audio-virtus-i2-integrated-amplifier
This song feels like a nod to the trip-hop genre of Massive Attack and Tricky, with a spacious production and weighty, sluggish beats. It has a meditative aspect that suited the Virtus I2, as the amp’s warm but also slightly forward character created an encircling listen and delivered the synth notes with plenty of texture. This sonic signature was even more apparent during ‘Burning (For A New Start)’, where the reverb-heavy soundscape was perfectly matched to the Virtus I2’s rich balance
PlatiMon Virtual Coaxial One Speakers $6,000 REVIEW
May 22, 2024 Comments Off on PlatiMon Virtual Coaxial One Speakers $6,000 REVIEW
They also prove easy to drive, even with lower powered amplifiers. The BAT is big and dynamic, yet our reference ampsandsound Bryce monoblocks delivered the most delicate listening experience, with layer upon layer of inner detail. Should you purchase a pair of these, you will be surprised at how far you can keep upgrading equipment and still hear more musical information – these speakers are that good. The recently reviewed Enleum AMP-23R is a very close second place.
Dan D’Agostino Momentum C4 Preamplifier $50,000
May 21, 2024 Comments Off on Dan D’Agostino Momentum C4 Preamplifier $50,000
Utilizing no negative feedback anywhere, core D’Agostino circuit concepts include a signal path that is fully complementary, direct coupled, and balanced from input to output achieving a frequency response flat to 120 kHz.
All signal gain is realized in the current domain using proprietary multiple-output current mirrors with nearly 30 times the linearity of other designs. Executed with four-layer circuit boards for superior signal quality, the use of four-layer boards dramatically reduces distortion and propagation losses as compared to the more commonplace, two-layer boards.
HUMMINGURU ULTRASONIC VINYL RECORD CLEANER $430 REVIEW
May 21, 2024 Comments Off on HUMMINGURU ULTRASONIC VINYL RECORD CLEANER $430 REVIEW
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Most importantly, using the HumminGuru with any of the fluid variations resulted in pretty flawless-looking records. As far as the sound, the HumminGuru eliminated static and surface noise issues to the point I no longer heard them. While it may seem obvious how much of a difference this would make to the listening experience, I have to say it was even better than that. Specifically, I have noticed static and surface noise to varying degrees on almost every record I recall playing and, over time, I just accepted that was part of the analog experience. And I convinced myself this was true because I buy a good number of new records and the used records I buy are in good shape; I clean every record I buy before playing it the first time, and yet the static and noise would always be audible. In other words, the HumminGuru gave me a better result than I thought possible.
Musical Fidelity M8xTT Turntable $10,499 Review
May 20, 2024 Comments Off on Musical Fidelity M8xTT Turntable $10,499 Review
https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/1229-musical-fidelity-m8xtt-turntable
Supertramp’s Even in the Quietest Moments . . . is so heavily biased toward the midrange that it tends to dissolve into a gelatinous mess, given half a chance. Even the cymbals seem to descend into the midrange. I have a half-speed-mastered version (A&M Records SPJ 4634), but even that has generally left me cold. But the music is magnificent! “From Now On” has a regal sense of majesty that’s musical genius. The M8xTT actively decoded this mess. I could hear the rhythm guitar as a discrete instrument, whereas it’s normally buried beneath heaping dollops of piano.
Flipping over to side 1, “Give a Little Bit” starts off with an emo-style 12-string guitar that threads right through the whole track. It’s finely detailed in the opening, and it gets progressively harder to keep it distinct once the other instruments start to crowd it out. The M8xTT did right by that guitar.
No record in my collection showcased the M8xTT’s grip on the bass and its transition to a clear, open midrange better than St. Vincent’s MassEducation (Loma Vista LVR00448). SoundStage! founder and publisher Doug Schneider turned me on to this album. It’s entirely acoustic, mostly with an enormous piano riding under St. Vincent’s rich, evocative voice. With both the piano and voice sharing the same acoustic plane, the M8xTT concocted a vast soundstage; one that benefited hugely from a lack of noise, combined with a feeling of latent power in the lower registers.
Audiophilepure 
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