47 Laboratory 4739 Fudou power amp $10,000 Review
June 19, 2017 Comments Off on 47 Laboratory 4739 Fudou power amp $10,000 Review
“The Fudou attained superb definition reminiscent of the Gaincard S in driving the TAD and displayed a tonal affinity towards the likes of Electrocompaniet, slightly soft and impressively spacious. Pushing the Fudou to beyond 90dB peak sound pressure twelve feet away in my listening chair induced subversive compressions. Asking the Fudou to drive the TAD-E1 into party-level ruckus will be improper.”
Peachtree Audio nova300 integrated amplifier Review
June 12, 2017 Comments Off on Peachtree Audio nova300 integrated amplifier Review
“The very first impression I had of the Peachtree nova300’s sound, fresh out of the box, came while listening to the Brahms Violin Concerto with soloist Hillary Hahn and the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, conducted by Sir Neville Marriner—whose passing last year went largely unnoticed by the media (SACD/CD, Sony Classical SS 89649). The sound was slightly dry and grainy, but not without color, and certainly not without dynamic nuance, of which there already was an abundance. Clearly, some running-in was in order; before doing any further critical listening, I subjected the nova300 to a little over a week’s worth of steady use as a background-music workhorse.”
Pass Labs INT-60 Integrated Amplifier $9000 Review
June 11, 2017 Comments Off on Pass Labs INT-60 Integrated Amplifier $9000 Review
“The stage is wide, and layering of instruments and voices is excellent. Images have body and weight and are correctly sized. The Pass manages to throw that body and weight around the room with a feathery touch, and because the amp is so quiet, musical images flood and light up the stage”
PS AUDIO BHK 250 HYBRID POWER AMPLIFIER £8,000 REVIEW
June 10, 2017 Comments Off on PS AUDIO BHK 250 HYBRID POWER AMPLIFIER £8,000 REVIEW
” In the centre of it all were the pure saxophone tones of the master, Grover Washington Jr. It was a clinic on musicality and a joy to experience. While I was enjoying the rest of the SACD, I came over all alpha-nerd and perused the parts list of the BHK 250. PRP Resistors matched up with film and foil Rel Caps all hand soldered through the circuit board without surface mount components. An approach found primarily on gear running well beyond £10,000. Sonic quality with sound (no pun intended) value. The BHK 250 was ticking many of my ‘need to have’ audio boxes.”
CYRUS AUDIO ONE INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
June 9, 2017 Comments Off on CYRUS AUDIO ONE INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
“The fact that Cyrus updated the firmware several months after the One’s late summer launch implies that the company plans ongoing improvement, which is great. But more significantly, few brands have succeeded with Class D amplification as Cyrus has in making the One such an entertaining and well equipped amplifier at a reasonable price. The remote may be small enough to lose in minutes, but the app is a free upgrade that makes the One much more ergonomic. Add this to scorching sound and you have a product that should put this brand back at the top of the value for money tree
Classé Audio Sigma 2200i Integrated Amplifier $5500 Review
June 8, 2017 Comments Off on Classé Audio Sigma 2200i Integrated Amplifier $5500 Review
“However, despite these setbacks, the Sigma 2200i was not a one-trick pony. It has an extra surprise up its sleeve. Connecting via the Ethernet connection to a router makes the Sigma 2200i a network player via Apple Airplay and DLNA. I could use my iPhone to play both my iTunes and Tidal libraries wirelessly. And best of all, hitting the Airplay button on my phone automatically moved the Sigma 2200i from whatever input it was set on to Network. No muss, no fuss, just fast musical pleasure.”
Classé Audio Sigma 2200i Integrated Amplifier $5500 Review
June 7, 2017 Comments Off on Classé Audio Sigma 2200i Integrated Amplifier $5500 Review
“the Classé Sigma 2200i has abundant connectivity for all of your digital needs, handles audio and video well, and the lack of A-to-D then D-to-A conversion came as close to a “straight wire with gain” as I’ve experienced in my system. As long as you’re not exclusive with analog as source material, the Sigma 2200i can be the answer for all of your music needs. It will be a dream machine for many all-digital audiophiles.”
RYPHON DIABLO 120 AMPLIFIER AND MOJO S LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEM REVIEW
June 5, 2017 Comments Off on RYPHON DIABLO 120 AMPLIFIER AND MOJO S LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEM REVIEW
“The final part of the system equation was a complete set of Gryphon’s silver/gold alloy cables. I highly recommend their inclusion in your budgetry calculations, as they are both surprisingly affordable when compared to the competition and extremely effective when it comes to unleashing the performance potential of the Gryphon components. Past experience with other cables have shown the Gryphon electronics to be particularly cable sensitive, so the availability of a credible in-house solution is particularly welcome. There may be those who might suggest that the Gryphon cables bear more than a passing resemblance to high-end Siltechs, even if Siltech no longer makes cables for Gryphon.”
Benchmark AHB2 Reference Stereo Amplifier Review
May 24, 2017 Comments Off on Benchmark AHB2 Reference Stereo Amplifier Review
“The Benchmark AHB2 embodies everything that a solid-state amp should. It is a technologically advanced and remarkable amplifier that can hang with any amp in its class because it is sonically transparent, images beautifully, and produces authoritative bass. While costing only $2,995, it is hard to imagine asking for much more in a power amplifier. In fact, if the AHB2 cost another $1,000, I would still call it a bargain. Interestingly, while my Focal speakers are easy to drive, the AHB2 can probably drive a set of modestly inefficient floor-standing speakers to reasonable listening levels without any strain whatsoever. If you are looking to spend between $2,500 and $4,500 on a stereo, solid-state amplifier, it would be foolish not to consider the AHB2 a strong contender.”
BOULDER AMPLIFIERS 865 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
May 21, 2017 Comments Off on BOULDER AMPLIFIERS 865 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
“Bringing these qualities to a silky mid-range centric recording like James Taylor’s October Road album’s first track ‘September Grass’ [Columbia], I can revel in the joy of simple acoustic guitar, bass, and drums in a small group setting. Recordings like this are the audio equivalent to that favourite pair of shoes. They feel right and I can spend hours in them. I want to settle in for the afternoon and let the stress of the day roll away. What I do not want is edge or grain. I do not want coloration. I am seeking that hard to find accurate timbre and have the music create the gestalt of memory triggering the daydream qualities of returning to the moment – good times made possible by the time machine of music. Few pieces of kit make this possible. The 865 is one that does with aplomb.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.