Audiophilepure

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“Auditioning the dCS via the XLR and Coax inputs with Nordost Heimall digital cables, it was tough to hear a clearcut difference between the two inputs, though we all felt the XLR input was just a touch more revealing. You’ll have to argue amongst yourselves on this, but suffice to say this aspect of the internal DAC is excellent. Should you be an occasional silver disc listener, Rega’s new Apollo player at $995 makes for an outstanding (and very compact) redbook transport that we really enjoyed.

Putting the internal DAC in context with stand-alone offerings from other manufacturers in the $5,000 – $10,000 range, this is the way to go. The combination of functionality and sound quality can’t be beat. Vitus approach to digital, combining the top ESS DAC chips with meticulous execution on all levels is fantastic.”

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“My reference Simaudio Moon Evolution W-7M monoblocks nicely split the difference between the Merrills and Macs, though overall their sound is more akin to the Element 118s’. With most music, the Sims consistently sounded a tad darker than the Merrills. Bibb’s voice appeared somewhat farther back on a slightly less expansive soundstage, and the W-7Ms lacked just a hint of the Element 118s’ inner detail and airiness. Through the Element 118s, the kick drum in “I’m on Fire” was slightly more prominent, and microlevel details were a wisp easier to hear. This, combined with the Merrills’ greater neutrality, made them the more enjoyable amps to listen through — until I pushed them past that 7/10s mark. At higher volumes, the playing field leveled dramatically. The thump of the kick drum in “I’m on Fire” was now virtually identical through the two pairs of amps, as were the decay of the wood blocks, the body and dimension of Springsteen’s voice, and the size and spaciousness of the soundstage. The primary difference now was in tonality: the Element 118s were more neutral. At ridiculous volume levels I appreciated the Merrills’ unwavering bass control, but always found the Simaudio Moon Evolution W-7Ms easier to listen through, though not quite as inviting as the McIntosh MC1.25KWs.”

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“The longer I indulge in investigating audio components, the broader my perspective grows. My tastes have evolved, and my biases have diminished. This goes for all aspects of a system, be it speakers, sources, and in this case, amplifiers. My final frontier is low powered SET amps, but that is another issue. That aside, I have largely become a fan of it all. And now, having finally lived with such an exalted tubed amplifier in the Audio Research 160Ms, I really, deep down in the monkey brain, get why folks love tube amps. Timbre, resolution, space, macro dynamics, and liveliness all come together with the Audio Research 160M. Also, Audio Research has been around for 50 years and are only growing, which is no small point. They must be doing as well as any one in the business based on their longevity alone. With that comes customer service and a dealer network that ensures a far more secure relationship with the amplifier and the company.”

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The A30 is a component the likes of which we haven’t seen from Aurender. Sure it’s a server, streamer, ripper, with a DAC, but the company has never released a digital/analog product at this level. This is Aurender’s flagship product with a built-in digital to analog converter as well as all the other goodies that make an Aurender and Aurender. This company cut its teeth on digital music servers and has now made a complete product with analog output at a very high level. Even old school curmudgeon, set in their ways audiophiles, who don’t believe a manufacturer can build more than one type of product, should give the A30 a solid listen. Sure the digital side is fully Aurender like everyone expects, but the DAC and analog output stage are in a class higher than all previous Aurender products.”

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“The Amazon Echo Link Amp is a good way to bring both music streaming and Alexa’s convenience to a pair of passive speakers. Still, Amazon could have added more features like a remote, power switch, and better input selection to make it a total winner. But if you find yourself regularly listening to music through a basic smart speaker, the Link Amp offers a compact alternative that’s big on sound quality.”

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“The first thing I noticed on powering up the M2si was the low end. A relatively low damping factor of 36 means the M2si lacks the bottom end control of some rivals, but it makes up for it by putting that heavy supply of current to good use. The low end is deep and authoritative. Musical Fidelity have always had a tendency to produce huge muscular amps capable of demonstrating unflappable composure, even at high levels with demanding source material and driving a demanding load. While the M2si doesn’t quite possess the grunt of its bigger siblings, it has the same air of confidence and can unleash thunderous quantities of low end that is quite unusual for an amp of this price and rated power. With relatively high amounts of gain on tap, it only takes a nudge of the volume knob to get sensitive speakers rocking. And the M2si can get plenty loud with a more demanding load while showing no signs of strain or distortion.

Low end aside, the sound remains pleasingly neutral across the frequency spectrum with a slight tuning towards pace and excitement rather than absolute accuracy. The sound you’ll get from the M2si depends largely on your speakers and room, rather than the character of the amp itself. There’s plenty of detail and noise levels are low, with background noise only becoming evident at the top of the volume scale which it is highly unlikely you will ever reach. Detail is excellent at the top end and through the mids, and respectable at the low end though it does become a bit vague and blurred especially if you’re pushing larger drivers.”

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“For a bigger difference, you can choose, with the touch of a button, triode mode rather than Ultralinear. In triode mode, the REF160M is very reminiscent of the sound of the ARC Classic 60 and Classic 150 (which came wired in triode). The presentation is markedly leaner, a bit more midrange-centric (and more detailed in the mids), a bit drier, less extended, and less full and powerful in the bass and the treble—a presentation that in some (not all) ways is closer to classic ARC (or classic ARC triode). Of course, you lose half of the amp’s power in triode, but 70W is still enough to drive most speakers with a relatively high sensitivity (such as the M3s) to thunderous levels. All things considered, I preferred Ultralinear with the Magicos, though triode had (and has) its appeal, as did that 4-ohm tap”

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“High-end audio is so often about compromises, trading one quality for another. What sets the Soulution 330 integrated apart is its ability to strike just the right balance of musical and technical elements within a winning feature set, and to manage to deliver the sonic goods beautifully across so many recordings and styles. Moreover, the company has succeeded in keeping so many of its best sonic characteristics while paring down parts and pricing. The integrated gets out of the way of the music in the right ways but delivers the right stuff. This exquisite Swiss integrated might still cost a pretty penny but if you have the coin, I’d highly recommend auditioning it. For those yearning for Soulution’s Swiss sound and tech built-to-last, with the 3 series there’s never been a better time to invest in some of the finest solid-state around.”

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“To test out using the Ragnarok 2 as a preamp, I hooked up the Schiit Aegir power amp, and at first I couldn’t get any sound out of the Aegir. I checked and rechecked the connections. They were correct. The owner’s manual was no help, so I just fiddled about trying things, and when I switched off the Ragnarok 2’s speaker output and turned on the headphone output, the Aegir started playing! So in other words you need to turn on the headphone output to use the Ragnarok 2 as a preamp! That’s very strange, but easy to do once you know how to do it.

Teamed with the Aegir the sound was even more see-through, and the soundstage took on a more three-dimensional quality. The ‘2 was no slouch on its own, but the Aegir conjured more space and depth between instruments, and individual voices in choral recordings were easier to hear with the Ragnarok 2/Aegir combination.”