PS Audio Aspen FR5 loudspeaker
January 7, 2025 Comments Off on PS Audio Aspen FR5 loudspeaker
https://www.hifinews.com/content/ps-audio-aspen-fr5
As mentioned earlier, the speaker can be bought with or without stands. I’d certainly recommend considering them even if you already have your own, because they both complete the look and offer useful cable management. Self-assembly involves fitting the base plates (with spike-tipped feet pre-attached) to the main pillar, and mounting the top plate in one of two positions, depending on whether you want the FR5’s cabinet to align with the front or rear of the base. Slim speaker wire can be routed through a hole on the bottom of the base, while a larger opening on the back of the pillar accommodates thicker cables.
Also in the FR5’s packaging are sets of adhesive rubber feet to fit to the bottom of the speaker or the top of the stand, and spade-ended jumper leads. The latter must be attached to the speaker’s twin sets of binding posts unless you are bi-amping, though the resulting run of red and black cabling looks a little out of keeping with the rest of the FR5’s slick appearance. Solid metal links are more commonly employed these days.
It’s straightforward to set up the speakers, and PS Audio’s manual goes into decent detail regards listening distance and toe-in. The suggestion, as with its other Aspens, is for a minimum 1m distance from side walls and at least 50cm from the rear boundary, plus the cabinets angled so that they’re pointing at a space a little beyond your head.
Abendrot Colt DAC Review
January 7, 2025 Comments Off on Abendrot Colt DAC Review
Every one of my reviews starts with a straightforward yet profoundly simple premise: “If it’s interesting to me, it’ll be interesting to you”, with my pedantic brain focusing on the concentration of quality while keeping the enthusiasm unbottled.
Regardless of technology, novel ideas, or price tag, many modern DACs can still sound harsh and one-dimensional. This is often closely associated with streamlined manufacturing, which Abendrot escapes by all means, drawing its design choices from an impressive track record working with some of the most renowned studios worldwide.
TAD-CE1TX-K Stand-Mount Speaker Review
January 6, 2025 Comments Off on TAD-CE1TX-K Stand-Mount Speaker Review
I very much enjoyed having the TAD-CE1TX in my home. It brought back all the good memories of the original CE1 with its concentric driver magic that helps create that especially “alive” sonic picture. Yes, the speakers are voiced to a degree that helps them show off vocals and most midrange-centric instruments just enough. And while the bass response is very good for a stand-mounted speaker like this, it definitely benefits being closer to a wall as I discovered when I tried them out in my smaller home theater space. If anything, I am now intrigued by the idea of checking out the newer matching tower speakers that are now part of the line.
Beyond sounding very good, the CE1TX also looks the part, being a truly handmade artisan product in the finest Japanese tradition. These are gorgeous, beautifully crafted loudspeakers produced by a very small and dedicated team of technicians and craftsmen that are worth keeping and handing down to someone in years to come. These are not your typical off-the-rack, commodity products by any stretch. They both sound and feel special and as such, are priced accordingly.
GIK Acoustics Q7D Diffuser Review
January 6, 2025 Comments Off on GIK Acoustics Q7D Diffuser Review
The center image, which was my main goal for improvement, was enhanced dramatically. The anomalies I’d been experiencing were mitigated. Midrange bumps and dips were smoothed. Vocals became more lifelike. I felt more like the image was present in the room with me. This effect was consistent and mattered not whether the image was a male or female vocal, a solo instrument, or a combination of vocals and/or instruments. The area that was formerly bare wall had come alive.
Although fixing the center image issue was my main motivation for seeking out the diffusers, the benefits I heard in spatial dimensionality across the rest of the soundstage were not only welcome, but almost amazing. Before the Q7Ds were installed, the system was performing great in the Y and Y axis, and producing what I thought was a decent depth in the Z axis. The diffusers changed all this and brought the Z axis of depth to life. Most unexpected but very welcome. The depth of virtually every recording I listened to expanded with a lovely sense of air around each instrument and voice. It became much easier to pick out individual instruments and voices. Background vocals and other off-center musical cues were a delight, and in some cases gave the music a new meaning. What does all this really mean? For the first time in my room, my system was now producing a really superior holographic 3-D imaging. This was not subtle.
Topping Centaurus $1,299 Review
January 6, 2025 Comments Off on Topping Centaurus $1,299 Review
Let’s get the obvious out of the way, the Centaurus doesn’t sound like old triple-crown Philips TDA1544 implementations old guys keep around to listen to female vocals exclusively. Both Holo and Topping have created a very versatile DAC that excels with physical instruments but never falters if you throw it some Moderat or even Haus Arafna. The Centaurus will gallop along wherever your musical tastes will lead. I felt that my amp choices made a larger impact on the genre versatility of the overall system.
When it comes to timbre the Centaurus is more organic than most chip-based DACs I’ve heard but less coloured than other usual-suspect R2Rs. The highlight here is the mids which are rendered in a way that translates supreme realism. Of course, it has to be there in the recording in the first place. The bass is deep and insightful but to be honest I can’t remember the last time I’ve heard bad bass from a DAC. Treble is okay but I’ve heard more finesse from some AKM-based implementations.
Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4 Signature Loudspeaker $55,000 Review
January 5, 2025 Comments Off on Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4 Signature Loudspeaker $55,000 Review
The Occasion is dense as all get-out, featuring orchestral breaks interspersed with incredibly catchy hooks that swoop in from left field and set themselves real deep. The title track, “The Occasion,” goes every which way, with instruments snapping out from the edges, and the 801s did tricks with them. I heard a huge—huge, I tell you—soundstage, with Harkness’s guitar holding down the center. That snappy, expressive midrange placed trombones both left and right, so far to the sides that they sounded like they were beyond the outer edges of the speakers. Other little aural flourishes—and there were many—flitted between the speakers, showing remarkable variety in depth and position. Again, the term holographic came to mind.
That’s two highly produced studio albums so far. Switching over to jazz, I dug out an old favorite of mine, a reissue of Chet Baker’s Chet (LP, Riverside / Analogue Productions APJ 016), which is the juiciest-sounding album I own. Whenever I play this album, it sounds like I’ve swapped the Hegel H30A solid-state amp for a single-ended 300B tube amplifier. This lovely music is full of harmonic overtones on Baker’s trumpet and Pepper Adams’s baritone sax. There’s no shortage of high frequencies on this album. It sounds to me like the overtones on Baker’s trumpet span the midrange-to-tweeter crossover frequency. Here I could definitely notice some additional energy in this region. Baker’s spitty, breathy trumpet tone came forward a touch—not in space, as it remained in the plane of the speakers, but sounding just a bit higher in level than I’m used to. Despite the additional presence, that trumpet was clear, expressive, and utterly without grain.
Rotel A8 Review
January 5, 2025 Comments Off on Rotel A8 Review
https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/rotel-a8
Stereo imaging is fine. There is a good sense of focus and a decent amount of stability, though its Marantz rival does render a more expansive soundstage. Still, the Rotel counters with superior definition, particularly at low frequencies where it is considerably more articulate and textured than any alternative we have tested.
We try the Rotel’s moving magnet phono stage and find it perfectly acceptable. As is typical at this level there is a drop off in clarity and transparency compared to the line level inputs, but the A8’s unassuming but hugely likeable character still shines through. As we listen to Mary J Blige’s No More Drama set, it is easy to appreciate the amplifier’s musically engaging yet still composed nature
Spendor A7 review
January 5, 2025 Comments Off on Spendor A7 review
They time with pinpoint accuracy and are immensely transparent too, highlighting any differences in recording qualities.
Such qualities could easily nudge the Spendors over into ‘clinical-sounding’ territory, but instead they’re full of expressive melodies and undulating dynamics.
From sparse, mournful Ólufar Arnalds compositions to the chirpy hip-hop of Salt-N-Pepa, the A7 masterfully weave their way through whatever rhythm they’re confronted with, engrossing us with their performance along the way.
Despite their relatively compact size, these speakers go satisfyingly deep and keep a firm grip on the bassline of Massive Attack’s Angel. Each note is pulled taut, and the edges are precise but wrapped in layers of texture.
The song’s relentless, brooding momentum never lets up, and the Spendors remain agile and controlled throughout, handling each musical strand like a veteran puppet-master.
Audiophilepure 
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