MoFi MasterPhono – Phono Preamp Review
March 16, 2025 Comments Off on MoFi MasterPhono – Phono Preamp Review
Alta Audio Aphrodite Titanium Floor-Standing Loudspeakers $25,000 ea Review
March 15, 2025 Comments Off on Alta Audio Aphrodite Titanium Floor-Standing Loudspeakers $25,000 ea Review
I found these to be well-made and thoughtfully designed loudspeakers with a unique approach to their development and implementation. The result is a relatively expensive pair of large tower speakers that can command a big room, but will also play with subtlety and nuance when called upon. And, unlike many complex speaker designs, these babies have a high degree of boogie factor.
I did feel that at times the music didn’t always sound as if cut from whole cloth as one might say. However, that small bit of criticism did not detract from my overall enjoyment throughout a lengthy audition period. A great analogy is as if you were observing the galaxy with a small refractor telescope and then switching to looking through the James Webb Telescope. All of a sudden, you can see all the stars in all the colors and it can be so clear. That’s how I will compare the Alta Audio Aphrodite Titaniums to the majority of their competition. Heartily recommended.

EMM Labs DA2i D/A processor Review
March 15, 2025 Comments Off on EMM Labs DA2i D/A processor Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/emm-labs-da2i-da-processor
The DA2i enables you to stream from an outboard server—I connected the Innuos Statement Next-Gen music server via USB, which allowed me to play recordings stored on its internal drive, my NAS (which is located in my office in the main house), and the servers of streaming services Qobuz and Tidal—or to use Roon, mConnect, or other playback software to operate the DA2i’s internal streamer. I stuck to Roon at the request of the folks at EMM Labs, but the manual devotes nine pages to mConnect.

Chord Ultima Integrated Amplifier Review
March 15, 2025 Comments Off on Chord Ultima Integrated Amplifier Review
TIDAL Audio AP1 World Premiere
March 14, 2025 Comments Off on TIDAL Audio AP1 World Premiere
A few insights from the world premiere of the TIDAL Audio AP1 amplified speakers at Lotus HiFi. This is the very first pair delivered from the Tidal factory in Köln, Germany, and it was personally inaugurated by Tidal Audio’s managing director Jörn Janczak.

Moon 891 streaming preamplifier $25,000 Review
March 14, 2025 Comments Off on Moon 891 streaming preamplifier $25,000 Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/moon-891-streaming-preamplifier
Finally, I began to do something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. After switching to a pair of bridged Moon 861 stereo amplifiers—the 891’s intended complement—I grabbed the November 2024 issue of this illustrious publication and began auditioning music tracks cited by other reviewers. Because vinyl figured prominently in their choices, I couldn’t find all the digital equivalents in Qobuz or Tidal (footnote 5). When I did find them, they were often early CD-quality transfers replete with the deficiencies and limitations that current hi-rez digital has overcome. But at least I could begin to appreciate the superb musical choices of my colleagues.

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