MERIDIAN REFERENCE TWO CHANNEL POWER AMPLIFIER 857 $12,000 REVIEW
May 28, 2018 Comments Off on MERIDIAN REFERENCE TWO CHANNEL POWER AMPLIFIER 857 $12,000 REVIEW
“The Meridian 857 is certainly one of the nicest looking amplifiers I have seen, but its power reserves make it both Beauty and the Beast. Kudos to the Meridian team for designing an amplifier that makes us want to reacquaint ourselves with our music. Meridian has created an amplifier that demonstrates their finest ideals for an audio product. It is certainly one of the nicest looking amplifiers I have auditioned, as most other amps look like plain metal boxes compared to the rest of our components. The real trick was to add clean, unadulterated muscle that can turn the 857 into an astonishingly powerful mono-block. If this is their statement, I heard it loud and clear!”
Cambridge Audio NEW Edge High End Munich 2018 HiFi Show
May 28, 2018 Comments Off on Cambridge Audio NEW Edge High End Munich 2018 HiFi Show
Gold Note IS-1000 Amplifier $5,000
May 25, 2018 Comments Off on Gold Note IS-1000 Amplifier $5,000
“Initial listening with both the phono and digital sections appear excellent. For our full review, we’ll compare the onboard phono to the PH100, try some different speakers, and move more digital files through the IS-1000. Best of all, it’s Roon Ready, so all you need to enjoy the world’s premier streaming software, is merely connect an Ethernet cable into the supplied port and fire up your phone or pad. Rounding out the picture is a wireless antenna, so you and your friends can share your favorite music via phone at your next party.”
Balanced Audio Technology VK-255SE Stereo Amplifier Review
May 23, 2018 Comments Off on Balanced Audio Technology VK-255SE Stereo Amplifier Review
“My impressions of its sound were mixed. The smooth-talking VK-255SE proved masterful at reproducing dynamic inflections, was fully capable of producing mesmeric levels of bottom-end fortitude and control, and its midrange was purer than that of almost any other solid-state power amplifier I’ve heard. However, the VK-255SE’s ability to produce a realistic sense of ambience or air, or to squeeze out that last iota of inner detail, notably trailed those of Constellation Audio’s Inspiration Stereo 1.0, Simaudio’s Moon Evolution 760A, and my considerably more expensive Simaudio Moon Evolution W-7Ms. The sound of BAT’s VK-255SE is therefore not quite my cup of tea — but if tube-like warmth, buttery textures, and arresting dynamics are what you find most inviting, then this amplifier deserves to be on your audition list.
Engström • Monica Preamplifier and Lars Mono Amplifiers Review
May 20, 2018 Comments Off on Engström • Monica Preamplifier and Lars Mono Amplifiers Review
“If the benefits of the analog original are really that apparent, how about resorting to LP? Comparing the Previn performance on LP to the CD version shows the same yawning chasm in quality that I’ve come to expect. The LP offers a deeper, broader and far more dimensional soundstage, richer colors, greater presence and a far greater dynamic range. It’s not so much that the LP goes louder, but it delivers more concentrated energy to greater musical effect. Comparing it to the Berglund recording again highlights just how clearly these amps differentiate between performers and performances. Berglund is hardly a shrinking violet, as witnessed by his EMI/BSO Sibelius cycle, but in this repertoire the Bournemouth simply can’t match the discipline and the resulting concentrated power and expressive contrast generated by the LSO, power that is essential to this piece.”
Constellation Audio Revelation Taurus Mono Amplifiers
May 18, 2018 Comments Off on Constellation Audio Revelation Taurus Mono Amplifiers
“Of the three speakers Doug used, the most difficult to drive is the four-way, five-driver Ultima2 Salon2 — but even with the Revels, Doug found nothing to dispute Constellation’s power-output claims: “the 500W each Taurus Mono could provide wasn’t excessive — they produced SPLs as high as I’ve ever experienced with the Salon2s, with utterly clean, effortless sound throughout the audioband with every type of music I played.” And the Tauruses provided far more power than the GoldenEar Triton References and Dynaudio Special Fortys — the former with its own powered bass section, the latter a compact, stand-mounted two-way — could ever need.”
Simaudio Moon 240i Integrated Amplifier-DAC Review
May 12, 2018 Comments Off on Simaudio Moon 240i Integrated Amplifier-DAC Review
Emotiva TA-100 integrated amplifier Review
May 11, 2018 Comments Off on Emotiva TA-100 integrated amplifier Review
“Next I brought out harder to drive speakers, namely my Ferrari red KEF LS50 bookshelf monitors. The TA-100 sounded fine, so I compared it with PS Audio’s newly revised Sprout integrated amp, which is now called the Sprout 100, it’s $599. With David Bowie’s final album, Blackstar, the Sprout 100 was clearer, and the sound of each instrument was more fully formed than what I heard from the TA-100. That amp sounded somewhat flatter and more two-dimensional than the more expensive Sprout 100, I’ll review it soon.”
AURIS AUDIO FORTINO 6550 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
May 8, 2018 Comments Off on AURIS AUDIO FORTINO 6550 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
“In fact, there’s not much wrong with the Auris Audio Fortino 6550. Yes, by comparison to the really large valve amplifiers from the usual suspects, it lacks some dynamic contrasts and cavernous bass, and compared to a good conrad-johnson integrated at a similar price, there is a foreshortening of contrast and ‘microdynamics’, but this might be gilding the lily. The flexibility of the Fortino (even if the remote control is at best perfunctory here) makes it win out over an amplifier that is essentually a passive pot with a power amp attached.””
Esoteric Grandioso D1 DAC, P1 Disc Transport, C1 Linestage, and M1 Monoblock Power Amplifier Review
May 7, 2018 Comments Off on Esoteric Grandioso D1 DAC, P1 Disc Transport, C1 Linestage, and M1 Monoblock Power Amplifier Review
“Comparing the Grandioso stack to my reference gear proved instructive. My Goldmund electronics are slightly faster and airier, thanks to their megahertz bandwidth and the speed that comes with it. The Goldmund gear also more accurately follows the shapes of notes. By comparison, these rise and fall a bit too quickly on the Grandioso stack; this is my one real complaint. On the other hand, the Grandioso series is more neutral than my reference electronics. And in other areas, such as dynamics and resolution, the Grandioso stack is among the scant few components I’ve encountered that can go head-to-head with Goldmund gear.”
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