VPI Avenger Direct Turntable Package Review
January 30, 2023 Comments Off on VPI Avenger Direct Turntable Package Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/vpi-avenger-direct-turntable-package
The second change I made was to swap out the cartridge. The Miyajima-based VPI Anniversary has a sweet nature that suits the likes of soft, smoky jazz to a tee. Fed with ‘Love Dance’ from Diane Schuur’s The Diane Schuur Collection [GRP Records GR-9591], it made a good case for itself, offering up an emotive, warm performance. Unfortunately, outside of this fairly narrow window I found the cartridge wanting. None of the adjustments I made to VTA, tracking force, azimuth or loading made it sound anything other than a little too soft and vague for my tastes. Swapping it out for my regular Ortofon Cadenza Black MC transformed the performance of the Avenger Direct and showed what this deck and arm were capable of.
Now that smoky jazz still gave me a warm tingle of pleasure, but the violins of The Locrian Ensemble playing the ‘Allegro’ movement from Mendelssohn’s Octet [Chasing the Dragon VALLP015] had a proper sense of bite and realism to them. The horseshoe-shaped layout of the performers was also uncannily realistic as the Avenger Direct once more set up an almost holographic sense of imagery.
NAD C399 Hybrid Digital DAC Amplifier $1999 Review
January 30, 2023 Comments Off on NAD C399 Hybrid Digital DAC Amplifier $1999 Review
During the evaluation period two audiophile friends dropped in to listen a few times, both of whom have outstanding systems. The first was so impressed he asked if I could bring the C399 over so that he could hear it in his system, which consists in electronics that total over four times the price of the NAD. The other, who is into extremely expensive equipment, was so gobsmacked by what he heard as to leave him totally shaken, mumbling how that level of performance could come out of a unit this unpretentious in size, weight, appearance, and price. He visited again a week later, then again a few weeks after that, each time departing in a similar state of disbelief. Let me reassure you that with both friends, and myself, our reactions are most definitely not an instance of Dr. Johnson’s dancing dog—you know, it’s not that the dance is so good, it’s that a dog is doing it.
Halcro dm58 monoblock Review
January 29, 2023 Comments Off on Halcro dm58 monoblock Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/halcro-dm58-monoblock
It loved the Wilson WATT/Puppies, and a few minutes with the Apogees showed it to be oblivious to loads. Quad electrostatics? No sizzle, no sting, and a dose of control that had me fantasising about how these would sound in the SME Music Room.
Yeah, I’m glad I didn’t look at the reviews, or pay attention to the stories about the stunning amp from Down Under. It’s so good that the £20,750 per pair seems a veritable snip. So, here’s another amp to add to KK‘s Lottery Win list, alongside the ARC REF600. And to think DTS uses nine of ’em plus five of Halcro’s larger dm68s for multichannel…
New RDacoustic Silentmax3D Absorber
January 29, 2023 Comments Off on New RDacoustic Silentmax3D Absorber
https://www.monoandstereo.com/2023/01/new-rdacoustic-silentmax3d-absorber.html
Reduce echo and noise in a modern and simple way with the Silentmax3D acoustic panel. It is proven that noise has an adverse effect on human health. A large echo reduces concentration, the voice or the spoken word is difficult to distinguish. Listening to the spoken word in an environment with a lot of reverberation (reverberation time) is tiring and exhausting.
Shunyata Research Denali 6000/S v2 Power Conditioner $6000 Review
January 28, 2023 Comments Off on Shunyata Research Denali 6000/S v2 Power Conditioner $6000 Review
The Shunyata Research Denali 6000/S v2 is packed with proprietary technologies designed to keep your system safe and performing at its absolute best. It does this in a beautifully crafted package that comes with a lifetime warranty. Yes, six grand is a lot of money for a power conditioner. However, if you want to extract the best performance from your stereo—in my case, less noise and a more well-formed soundstage—I don’t think there’s any way you can go wrong if you buy the Denali.
I think the Shunyata Research Denali 6000/S v2 is a buy-it-once-and-forget-it component. If you get one of these, you can rest assured that the connected components are getting exactly the power quality they need. Then instead of worrying about power delivery, you can spend your time obsessing over the other gear in your system. That’s what I’m going to do now because the power conditioning is taken care of for good.
Pathos InPol Remix MkII integrated amplifier $5395 Review
January 28, 2023 Comments Off on Pathos InPol Remix MkII integrated amplifier $5395 Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/pathos-inpol-remix-mkii-integrated-amplifier
But the Remix doesn’t draw attention to what it lacks; rather, its lighthearted, sparkling mien makes all formats and styles of music satisfying and fun. It is immediate, resolving, and spacious, dependably delivering a big soundstage with an emphasis on that clean, full-bodied midrange, and its treble.
The Remix MkII is accurately named: It’s an interesting mix of tube and solid state traits. Its class-A, feedback-free output stage puts out modest power, with a specified impedance that’s high for a solid state amplifier (which, strictly speaking, it is not, so it probably works best with speakers of reasonably high sensitivity). Recommended for music lovers.
iFi Audio xDSD Gryphon balanced $599 Review
January 27, 2023 Comments Off on iFi Audio xDSD Gryphon balanced $599 Review
https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2022/10/24/ifi-audio-xdsd-gryphon
How we listen to music today reveals many things about who we are; music requires patience and desire, and if we make time for them, the components with which we listen to said music will also reveal moments of pleasure. The xDSD Gryphon is a beautiful, compact, complicated, and complete component. It’s the Swiss army knife of DAC/Amps. My only complaint is that it can be a little daunting if you’re starting in the world of DAC/Amps. Its features require time for attentive listening.
You do have to give credit to iFi for the retail price of the Gryphon of $599. You get features galore and solid engineering quality (not to mention firmware updates). With time you will understand all of the functions and you’ll get the most out of it. For audiophiles and music lovers, the iFi xDSD Gryphon is a welcome copilot. I highly recommend it.
Audiophilepure 
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