Audiolab 8000A integrated amplifier $999 Review
February 9, 2026 Comments Off on Audiolab 8000A integrated amplifier $999 Review
https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/2023-audiolab-9000q-preamplifier-dac
Peter Gabriel’s recently released Live at WOMAD 1982 (24/96 FLAC, Real World / Tidal) is an excellent live recording just bristling with energy. “Shock the Monkey” begins with what sounds like a drum machine combined with Jerry Marotta’s live drumming in a tight, funky, infectious beat; in my opinion, this arrangement is superior to the studio version of the song. Gabriel’s vocals are presented with a lucidity conveying the urgency in his delivery of the lyrics. I was impressed by how well the 9000Q unraveled the complexities of this live production, keeping the varying primal beats separated from the energetic vocals.
This clarity was even more evident on “Mercy Street,” from a 2000s-era live Gabriel album, In the Big Room (24/96 FLAC, Real World / Tidal). The closely miked a cappella harmonies in the opening had a palpable sweetness, and the gently undulating electric bass of Tony Levin sounded inspired. Even though his notes were incredibly slow to develop, each flowed smoothly into the next, with prominent weight and differentiation between successive notes. Levin’s ability to mirror the sombre vocals with his intensely expressive but subdued bass is brilliantly captured in this recording and was magnificently recreated by the 9000Q.
Pathos Acoustics InPoL Legacy integrated amplifier Review
February 7, 2026 Comments Off on Pathos Acoustics InPoL Legacy integrated amplifier Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/pathos-acoustics-inpol-legacy-integrated-amplifier
This was one of many ear/eye-opening performances I enjoyed with the InPoL Legacy, and I would have no trouble recommending it to anyone with the necessary budget and listening room space. Its sound might be better suited to some musical flavours than others – I had more fun listening to Marika Hackman’s ‘Claude’s Girl’ [We Slept At Last; Dirty Hit DH00063], with its dulcet vocal and light, sparkly acoustic guitar accompaniment, than I did the punkish rock of Velvet Revolver’s ‘She Builds Quick Machines’ [Libertad; Sony/BMG 82876888592] – but that’s not a criticism. Every audiophile, excluding perhaps those with a penchant for heavy metal, must hear this amp in action.
LETSHUOER Ember $499 Review
February 7, 2026 Comments Off on LETSHUOER Ember $499 Review
Slide that off, and the inner box switches gears. It is more minimal, less flashy. The top has that subtle LETSHUOER branding and a clean layout, and then you get this dual-door flap design in the middle, sealed with the brand’s logo badge. It feels nice to open, even if it is simple.
Once you open it up, the layout is straightforward and tidy. The IEMs sit on the top left in a foam cutout. Right below them is the carry case, round and clean, sitting snug in its own slot.
On the side, you have the accessory packet and the ear tips tray, stacked neatly so nothing is floating around.
A few accessories, such as a cleaning cloth, a cleaning tool, etc., are not present, so it is not like you are unpacking ten layers of stuff.
The included accessories themselves feel complete enough, but I still think the box is bigger than it needs to be. The box is half air with a lot of foam and a lot of space doing nothing. It could have been packed in a more compact, tighter way without losing that premium feel.
SVS’ SB-5000 R|Evolution Review
February 6, 2026 Comments Off on SVS’ SB-5000 R|Evolution Review
The recording quality is outstanding, and the vinyl release boasts incredible dynamics, which really push a sub like the SVS SB-5000 R|Evolution, but somehow still nowhere near its limits. The double bass, in particular, sounds enormous in the mix when played through the SVS SB-5000 R|Evolution active subwoofer. Even though I’ve listened to this album dozens of times on a wide variety of loudspeakers and headphones, I still discover new details, such as the buzz of a vibrating open string or a high fret on the bass, which is one of the hardest sounds to reproduce musically! My system, with the SVS sub integrated, makes it effortless. Their 15-inch dual voice-coil subwoofer driver handles the bottom octaves like a champ! I feel like Hans Zimmer better watch out!
Hornsolutions Masterpiece Series
February 6, 2026 Comments Off on Hornsolutions Masterpiece Series
The Hornsolutions Masterpiece Series is the undisputed pinnacle of horn loudspeaker engineering – the culmination of more than 20 years of obsessive refinement, relentless innovation, and an absolute refusal to make even the smallest compromise.
D’Agostino Momentum C2 Preamplifier | REVIEW
February 5, 2026 Comments Off on D’Agostino Momentum C2 Preamplifier | REVIEW
I am not a heavy believer in tweaks for their own sake. What matters most is system synergy, and I’ve carefully assembled a combination of D’Agostino, dCS, CH Precision, and Wilson components that work exceptionally well together in my room.
After running the C2 in stock configuration for several months, I made three changes that resulted in clearly audible, non-subtle improvements. These are optimizations I apply to every component in my system, including the Momentum HD it replaced.
Arendal Sound 1528 Monitor 8 Loudspeaker Review
February 5, 2026 Comments Off on Arendal Sound 1528 Monitor 8 Loudspeaker Review
The ability of the Monitor 8s to reveal details was illustrated by several recordings that Philip auditioned during the review period. For instance, with The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco, Philip describes how he “could hear everything through the Arendals” and that the pair “sounded as clean as any speakers” he’s ever reviewed. “Adderley’s band was spread wide across the front of my room, and the position of each musician was a cinch to visualize.”
Listening to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers’ Moanin’, Philip writes how “the wide stage conveyed by the Arendals was bookended by the rich tones of the trumpet on the left and the tenor saxophone on the right. The drum kit emerged with commendable clarity almost directly behind the right speaker, which seemed to disappear entirely.” He sums up his listening impressions of this song by explaining that the speakers “called little attention to themselves and simply communicated what was in the grooves of the vinyl.”
Philip compared the 1528 Monitor 8s with his reference speakers: a pair of Monitor Audio Gold 300 5Gs. The Gold 300 5G is a three-way design that is now discontinued. It sold for US$9500 per pair when Philip made his purchase. Like the Monitor 8, the Gold has two 8″ woofers, but it has a 2.5″ midrange and a 1″ AMT-type driver for high frequencies, and it’s a floorstander. Philip describes an extensive back and forth that demonstrated to him that both pairs of speakers have “a fair amount in common,” but in the end, he leaned more to the 1528 Monitor 8s, declaring: “At higher volumes, the Arendals were more effortless, betraying no sense of exertion whatsoever. That being said, the 300s could also play louder than I’m able to tolerate, but the Arendals were just more at ease doing so. . . . For this reason, I found they encouraged higher playback. If you have a large room and/or listen at high volumes, you’ll almost certainly favor the Arendals.”
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