PrimaLuna EVO 100 Tube DAC – Premier Review
April 25, 2019 Comments Off on PrimaLuna EVO 100 Tube DAC – Premier Review
“You never know what you are missing. After about thirty minutes of listening with the PrimaLuna EVO 100 Tube DAC, I was so immersed in the luxurious tonality of the reference system performance and the actual performance itself, I forgot about any comparisons. It was only much later when replacing my reference DAC, I heard the added definition and image layering. You would expect more for triple the cost. Nevertheless, the PrimaLuna EVO 100 Tube DAC is fully satisfying to me, and is the first ever really musical DAC to come in under the $5000 price point in my audio”
McIntosh Laboratory MC462 power amplifier $9000 Review
April 24, 2019 Comments Off on McIntosh Laboratory MC462 power amplifier $9000 Review
‘My own No.1 priority in the reproduction of music is the living, breathing re-creation of the harmonic series. That is the “nature” in music, the vibration of the spheres. You’ll want to be thoughtful in choosing what to pair the MC462 with, upstream and down—this amp interrogates whatever it comes in contact with with such authority that it could veer to the analytical side of the sonic spectrum. With a simpatico system the McIntosh MC462 will bring the breath of life to your music.
The McIntosh MC462 Quad Balanced power amplifier sits today on the bottom shelf of my rack like a stocky Buddha, calmly radiating energy as the forest creatures—eg, the red squirrels that winter inside the walls of our old Victorian—gather ’round, smile, and nod their heads. One thing they all agree on is the price—$9000 is more than fair for the excellence delivered, given the inflationary forces wafting through the High End. The senses of ease and literally quiet power created by the MC462 are palpable and most welcome. A first-round vote pick for induction in Class A of the next edition of our “Recommended Components.” Highly recommended—insisted on, even.”
Carver Silver Seven-t monoblock power amplifier Review
April 20, 2019 Comments Off on Carver Silver Seven-t monoblock power amplifier Review
“As for having the transfer function of a tube amplifier, I have yet to hear tubes that impart the affronting sonic characteristics introduced by the Silver Seven-t. Whether the review samples do indeed have a transfer function identical to the Silver Seven is an interesting question. If they do, then either an identical transfer function does not guarantee sonic duplication, or the tubed Silver Sevens do not sound good. I seriously doubt both of these explanations. On the other hand, if Stereophile’s review samples did not have the identical transfer function of the Silver Seven, then serious questions arise about the credibility of matching transfer functions in a mass-produced product.”
TEAC Reference NR-7CD Network CD Player and Integrated Amplifier-DAC Review $4999
April 17, 2019 Comments Off on TEAC Reference NR-7CD Network CD Player and Integrated Amplifier-DAC Review $4999
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Seattle-based indie electronic group Odesza was in heavy rotation during my time with the NR-7CD, and the latter’s reproduction of “Higher Ground,” from Odesza’s A Moment Apart (16/44.1 FLAC, Counter/Tidal), had an immediacy and bite that lent itself to the punctuality that characterizes so much modern electronica, including this. I loved this track’s air and reverb through the TEAC — it sounded enormous in my long, narrow listening room. I was also taken with the lazy falsetto of guest singer Naomi Wild — it was superdetailed, with excellent stereo imaging. The bass line was similarly impressive, the NR-7CD exerting above-average control over my KEFs’ 5.25” midrange-woofers. At low to medium volume levels I was seduced by the TEAC’s multitude of talents; its synchronized routine with my LS50s produced a sound as transparent as mountain spring water.”
Krell K-300i $7,000 Review
April 12, 2019 Comments Off on Krell K-300i $7,000 Review
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Compared to my reference McIntosh MB50 streamer, the Krell provides a more intense presentation to the Mac’s slightly sweeter rendition. If I didn’t already have an outboard streamer, I could happily live with the one built into the Krell. For the less than the price of a decent pair of signal cables and a power cord, you can have it all inside the chassis. A great thing for those craving simplicity.
Just a quick note about the HDMI performance of the K-300i. In a word, it is phenomenal. Watching Mary Queen of Scots, my wife and our friend agreed, it was like we had upgraded our modest Epson projector several levels. Color saturation and detail rendition was startling as was the contrast and brightness. If you are like me and your audio system does double duty as your home theater, the upgrade in video quality alone not to mention the ease of integration is worth at least half the overall cost the K-300i.”
NAD M10 BLUOS STREAMING AMPLIFIER $2,500 REVIEW
April 7, 2019 Comments Off on NAD M10 BLUOS STREAMING AMPLIFIER $2,500 REVIEW
“Interestingly, there is no physical headphone connector, as the provision for Bluetooth wireless headphones is there. There is also wireless internet connectivity to the M10, but without an ugly external antenna, although I strongly prefer a wired LAN connection for speed, reliability and sound quality. At least you have choice and flexibility.
Internally the M10 is operated by a powerful NXP 1GHz ARM® Cortex A9 Processor, and the digital to analog is handled by a high-end 32-BIT/384kHz ESS Sabre ES9028 DAC.
A feature that you don’t see every day on a product like the M10 is Dirac Live integration. Dirac Live is a patented room correction technology that is capable of correcting the frequency response and the impulse response of your loudspeakers within the listening room and is a very welcome addition at this price point. Unfortunately, our review unit has not had this function activated yet and is expected to be enabled within weeks.”
Modwright SWL9.0, PH 9.0 and KWA SE100 Review
April 5, 2019 Comments Off on Modwright SWL9.0, PH 9.0 and KWA SE100 Review
BOULDER AMPLIFIERS 1110 PRE-AMPLIFIER AND 1160 AMPLIFIER REVIEW
April 1, 2019 Comments Off on BOULDER AMPLIFIERS 1110 PRE-AMPLIFIER AND 1160 AMPLIFIER REVIEW
“Thirty-four years of engineering focus has given Boulder time to learn more efficient and effective ways to construct its gear, with build quality that routinely functions for a decade plus of set-it-and-forget-it life spans, better heat dissipation, plus ARM Chip inclusion for web capabilities as well as advanced power management and circuit protection. I have not found any area that has not been considered for improvement. And, the music! Absolutely musical! I could not detect any colour being inserted by the Boulder siblings. They did not offer a warm, cool, or shaded tonal signature. Everything was by the book, whatever was the disc, LP, or streaming bits. That is what I want from a solid state, state of the art system. ”
Parasound Halo P 6 2.1 Channel Preamplifier and DAC
March 31, 2019 Comments Off on Parasound Halo P 6 2.1 Channel Preamplifier and DAC
“While the overall connections are similar to that of the former P 5 preamp, the P 6 offers some upgrades comparable to the modernization of the A21 to the A21+. I think that says a lot about Parasound’s ability to pack performance where it counts. The improvements move the cash-out-of-pocket (or Bitcoin-out-of-server) needle to $1495 USD, which is $400USD more than its predecessor. But I am happy to report that the combination of functional improvement along with the audible performance of the P 6 justifies the increase. Let’s thumb through the most notable upgrades.
First is a Burr-Brown analog-resistor volume control. Most volume controls on preamps work via a device not much different than a slide-whistle, at least in principle. As you turn the volume knob up, less resistive material is in the signal path, so a stronger signal moves through to the amplifier, thereby increasing the volume. The name of the device that performs this action is called a potentiometer, and it works “fine.” However there is a mechanical component that rubs against a swath of resistive material in a potentiometer. The mechanical contact, and the existing swath of resistive material is prone to wear and can become noisy over time. The solution would be to have a separate resistor for each step in volume, and it is available in the form of a device called a stepped attenuator. The swath of resistor gunk is eliminated in a stepped attenuator, but that pesky mechanical connection still exists whether by manually moving the contacts, or electronically controlled with costly relays.”
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Mytek’s Brooklyn Bridge + AMP Review
March 29, 2019 Comments Off on Mytek’s Brooklyn Bridge + AMP Review
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