Edifier S3000Pro  Review

November 9, 2021 Comments Off on Edifier S3000Pro  Review

Estelon Forza loudspeaker $163,000 Review

November 7, 2021 Comments Off on Estelon Forza loudspeaker $163,000 Review

https://www.stereophile.com/content/estelon-forza-loudspeaker

The 8″ aluminum sandwich midwoofer (also from Accuton’s “CELL” line) employs neodymium magnets, as does the 7″ CELL ceramic-membrane midrange driver. The tweeter is Accuton’s 1″, chemical-vapor–deposited inverted-diamond membrane tweeter. These three drivers are placed in a tight, vertical array with the lowest frequency driver near the baffle top and the tweeter in the lowest position, at ear height. The three upper drivers are positioned on the slightly concave baffle surface to produce distances from the listening position that are nearly identical. (One characteristic of the CELL series of drivers is that they all have the same acoustical center.)

Audiophiles critical of companies that don’t manufacture their own drivers might as well disparage automobile companies that don’t produce their own tires, which is all of them. It’s a silly distinction. You can argue for or against a company producing its own drivers or having a specialist like Accuton (parent company: Thiel & Partner) or Scan-Speak, for instance, manufacture them to its specifications, but overall, I think it’s a fatuous distinction (footnote 3).

Estelon does not provide the four-way design’s crossover frequencies, nor does it divulge the components used; what they do say is that the woofer networks are third-order while second-order networks are used for the midwoofer, midrange, and tweeter.

RX Studio carbon fibre 10.5-inch tape reel $198

November 7, 2021 Comments Off on RX Studio carbon fibre 10.5-inch tape reel $198

https://www.monoandstereo.com/2021/10/new-rx-reels-carbon-fibre-studio-reel.html

Each 10.5-inch, ¼-inch reel is handmade in the Pacific Northwest, USA and is laser-etched with an individual serial number. A laser-etched RX Reels logo on one side can easily be replaced on request with a studio, band or client logo. Delivery includes a durable custom-made storage box with foam insert to protect the reel for years.

Has Root been surprised by how well his reels have taken off? “A little,” he admits. “The reel-to-reel revival, while very real, is never going see demand as great as that for vinyl, so we always knew it would be a niche market,” he says. “But reviews and sales of our reels have been very strong, and of course it’s terrific to hear industry experts saying that we’re creating the world’s best tape reels! Then again, that’s exactly what we set out to do, and we’ve invested a lot in getting it right.” 

LINE ARRAY Speaker Build

November 7, 2021 Comments Off on LINE ARRAY Speaker Build

New United Home Audio SuperDeck & MBL Extreme System!

November 6, 2021 Comments Off on New United Home Audio SuperDeck & MBL Extreme System!

REL T/5x sub

November 6, 2021 Comments Off on REL T/5x sub

Audeze CRBN Electrostatic Headphones $4500 Review

November 6, 2021 Comments Off on Audeze CRBN Electrostatic Headphones $4500 Review

The Audeze CRBN Electrostatic Headphones are not only groundbreaking technology, an understatement for sure, but mightily push the envelope for reproducing recorded music in the home. Eclipsing all other electrostatics I have ever heard, the CRBN made my 009 headphones sound grainy and not particularly musical. With unprecedented elegance in construction, 21st-century carbon drivers, and weighing only 300 grams, the CRBN are the equivalent of $35,000 loudspeakers for your ears. The CRBN sounds like they are plugged into the studio as the performance is recorded. The experience of listening with these truly innovative electrostatics is immersive and magical. In my opinion, the CRBN from Audeze are the best electrostatics ever produced on our planet, and rival any other luxury, state-of-the-art headphone design, dynamic or planar, that I have auditioned in my half-century as an audiophile.

MBL Radialstrahler 120 loudspeaker $21,400 Review

November 5, 2021 Comments Off on MBL Radialstrahler 120 loudspeaker $21,400 Review

https://www.stereophile.com/content/mbl-radialstrahler-120-loudspeaker

The MBL 120s sound big and full—voluptuous at times, especially when you turn up the volume, which I did often, though not to excess. Because the Radialstrahler drivers radiate sound in all directions, they avoid the hazards of beamy tweeters and shout-at-you midrange drivers. I love how the sound seems to float in the air rather than be fired at you. Many instruments and voices sound natural. The 120s elevate musical material—they maximize but don’t exaggerate what’s there, like dressing to highlight your best features.

Unlike some speakers, the MBL 120s don’t favor one genre of music over another—which is essential for my eclectic tastes. Wallflowers they ain’t: Immersive and involving, these speakers are built for fun. Their sound, though always substantial, tends to stay detailed without getting thick or muddy.

The MBL 120s can be addictive. I’m not here to be a bad influence, but if you’re not careful, you might need to call your nearest dealer

CLASSÉ DELTA PRE STEREO PREAMPLIFIER AND DELTA STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER $12,999 REVIEW

November 5, 2021 Comments Off on CLASSÉ DELTA PRE STEREO PREAMPLIFIER AND DELTA STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER $12,999 REVIEW

This RTR tape has piano and violin. Violin is particularly edgy when there is harmonic distortion in the amplification signal path. The Deltas have very low distortion, so the violin sounded fabulous here, i.e., smooth but detailed. This smoothness can result from having low distortion but also from a rolled off high frequency response. The bench test results in this review show the reason.

The five tracks on this tape are “Danse Macabre” by Camille Saint-Saens, “Zigeunerweisen” by Pablo de Sarasate, “Bloch Nigun” by Bloch, “Introduction & Tarantella” by Pablo de Sarasate, and “Meditation” by Jules Massenet, all composed in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Again, the tape was recorded by UltraAnalogue Recordings, and it is a modern recording, not an old tape from the 1950s or 1960s. It is a copy of a copy of the original master tape. The owner of the recording company builds violins as his main business and records various classical musicians himself. He made the bow for the violinist in this recording.

I am more of a fan of the piano than the violin, but this paring is certainly wonderful. However, the violin “Meditation” track by Massenet is one of my favorite compositions.

Low-level detail is present in this tape as in the IPI tape reviewed above. This detail includes the rustling of clothing. It really adds ambiance that is just not there in digital recordings. This is what I wanted to hear with the Deltas, and it was there.

NEW Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Speaker 2021 |

November 5, 2021 Comments Off on NEW Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Speaker 2021 |