Audiophilepure

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“Its dynamic capabilities were also frighteningly good. In all my time with them, I never detected any hint of compression of musical scaling, no matter how hard I pushed them on either my Von Schweikert VR-55 Aktives or the new Vivid Audio flagships. Their exceptional dynamic competence had also been clearly apparent when listening to them drive the ground-breaking YG Acoustics Sonja XVs last fall. The speed and resolution they exhibited when recreating leading transients on percussion (and strings, piano, and horns) were revelatory, and their ability to deliver physical punch, producing chest-crushing impact from drum whacks or bass string snaps, was exhilarating.”

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“If the ultimate goal in this industry is to create products capable of engaging the listener so completely that we become transfixed by an entirely fabricated deception, unaware that the time and space of the events unfolding before us are merely auditory illusions generated by a complex reconstruction engine, a conglomeration of electro-mechanical devices, then Audionet has earned its place among the handful of manufacturers pushing the limits. If you are looking to spend upward into the mid-six-figures on your main electronics pairing, I urge you not to part with a dime until you seek out and hear what the PRE G2 and MAX can do. If you value performance over all else, you are going to save a pile of money.”

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“Playing these two longtime reference recordings sent me down a rabbit hole. When I listened to The Trinity Session yet again, I was struck by how natural Margo Timmins’s voice sounded, and by all the air I could hear around it — a small but significant increase in resolution and clarity from what I’d heard with other amps. In The Mission, the sound of the woodwind instruments grabbed my attention — a breathy quality I hadn’t noticed before that made them sound more real, with a bit more presence. After having heard both recordings so many times over the years, I was surprised to hear something new. Which makes me think that while I’ve already spent several thousand words describing these amps, there may be still more to say about them — a telltale indication of a great hi-fi product.”

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“The MA8900 was inserted in a system comprising SME 20/11 turntable, SME V tonearm and Koetsu Rosewood cartridge, Audio Research Reference 7 MK2 CD player, Elektra Audio pre and power amplifier driving Wilson Sasha speakers. Cabling used was Inakustik throughout, including the tonearm cable.

From the get-go, the new McIntosh drove the wicked Sasha speakers with arrogant ease. The sound was full-bodied, detailed, rhythmic, clear as a summer sky and effortlessly dynamic.”

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“During his auditioning of the XA60.5s, JA listened to a high-resolution recording of Mahler’s Symphony 2, “Resurrection,” with Benjamin Zander conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus (24-bit/192kHz ALAC files, Linn CKD 452). It was, he noted, “recorded by the team responsible for some of Telarc’s great-sounding orchestral recordings, including Elaine Martone as co-producer and Robert Friedrich of Five/Four Productions.” He went on, “The ‘Resurrection’ is an enormous, episodic work with huge orchestral climaxes contrasted against chamber-scaled sections in which a single solo instrument, a violin or a woodwind, takes the lead. Despite their modest power rating, the XA60.5s had no problem coping with the work’s huge dynamic range.” In my room, with this system and the XA60.8 monoblocks, the orchestra was huge, even as voices and solo instruments were reproduced with impact, sweetness, body, and texture. There was no hint of hardness.”

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“It is vitally important that the music’s inherent harmonic colors are fully fleshed out. The music’s true colors demand accurate reproduction of the harmonic palette. With the JA 200s, the upper mids turned slightly gray and dull, as if a dark cloud were blocking out the sun. The sweetness and sheen of violin overtones and soprano voice were blunted, at least to the point of fuzzing over some harmonic nuances. The vitality with which these instruments sang was subdued. But it doesn’t take much of a swing of the harmonic compass from sunny and sweet to overcast and gray to tick me off.