FIRST WATT F7 STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER REVIEW
July 12, 2016 Comments Off on FIRST WATT F7 STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER REVIEW
” Since just about all pop music is being recorded in a studio and mixed on a multitrack console, sound engineers are given the opportunity to play various games with the final mix, which may include vocal overdubs, canned reverb for individual tracks, pan-potting, eq, flanging, gain riding, and compression. The F7 was able to dig deep into a mix and resolve such trickery without much effort, a tribute to its superb transient control and laser-sharp image focus. The Eximus DP-1 DAC makes it possible to upsample a Red Book 44.1kHz input to 192kHz on the fly. Discerning a sonic change with some amps is not an easy task. That was not the case with the F7 in the chain. It highlighted significant sonic changes, the opening up of the treble range and tightening of image focus being two major ones. There’s no doubt in my mind that this amp is a high-resolution device.”
KR Audio – Vacuum tubes made in the Czech Republic – Video
July 9, 2016 Comments Off on KR Audio – Vacuum tubes made in the Czech Republic – Video
McIntosh Home Theater and Streaming Audio – Video
July 5, 2016 Comments Off on McIntosh Home Theater and Streaming Audio – Video
McIntosh MC75 Monoblock Tube Amplifier Review
June 29, 2016 Comments Off on McIntosh MC75 Monoblock Tube Amplifier Review
“One thing that always concerns me with tube gear is noise but with these two units it never became an issue. This combination of C22 preamplifier and MC75 amplifiers was a joy to have in my home. Not only did they sound marvelous but their throw-back look took me back to a time of my youth that was wonderful to remember. While it is impossible to go back to those days it certainly is possible to purchase these units with which to enjoy music today. Buying older McIntosh gear is fun but here with this combination you need not worry about restoring the units physically or electronically and guess what? They come with a McIntosh factory warranty and to me that means a great deal. If pushed to sum up my experience with the C22 and MC75 in just one word it would have to be “amazing”. I loved them both and each one gets a big thumb up! Bravo to the people at McIntosh Labs.”
BURMESTER PHASE 3 SYSTEM £23,800
June 26, 2016 Comments Off on BURMESTER PHASE 3 SYSTEM £23,800
” They need not apply because Phase 3’s only real weakness is a lack of upgradability. This system does not lend itself toward adding separate preamplifiers or power amplifiers, and neither is the amplifier open-ended enough to form the basis of an upgradable system. Whether this is a problem or not comes down to the listener. If you view an audio system in terms of future audio systems, Phase 3 is not for you. If you are done with all of that, and simply want a good sounding system with no eye toward future changes, then Phase 3 is ideal. Personally, I think Phase 3 represents a significant part of audio’s future, as people move away from multiple boxes and toward simpler, uncompromised solutions.”
Tavish Design Minotaur integrated stereo amplifier
June 25, 2016 Comments Off on Tavish Design Minotaur integrated stereo amplifier
“Paired with Bowers & Wilkins’ 805 D3 speakers, the Minotaur’s transparency came to the fore. In fact, I never once thought the Minotaur sounded like a tube amplifier. There was no added warmth or richness, or softened bass I associate with tube electronics. The Minotaur is neutral and clean, and the 805 D3s made that perfectly clear. It was also powerful and dynamics were uninhibited, so the Minotaur got out of the way while letting the music speak for itself.”
Mola Mola Kaluga Mono Amplifiers Review
June 23, 2016 Comments Off on Mola Mola Kaluga Mono Amplifiers Review
” Since the Ayre MX-R monoblocks have been a central part of my reference system for the better part of a decade, and as the Twenty upgrade of the MX-Rs (now $29,500/pr.) has itself been ear-opening, it was exciting to hear how far class-D, as implemented in the Mola Mola Kaluga, has scaled that height. Based on my experiences, a valid argument can be made in favor of the Kaluga, which in some parameters — iron-fisted bass control, absolute quiet — beats what I consider to be the best of the class-A/B topology. Both were wonderfully transparent amplifiers able to transmit the underlying performance and emotional appeal. Returning to the Ayres at the end of my listening to the Kalugas, I felt I could relax into the emotional aspect of the music through the MX-R Twentys just a skosh more — although this was perhaps due only to my long intimacy with the Ayres’ sound. Nevertheless, and all things considered, the Kalugas, fed by their companion Makua preamp, trumped the AX-5 Twenty currently presiding over my family-room system. That such an equality of excellence can be achieved with such wildly different approaches — zero-feedback, fully-balanced class-A/B vs. massive-feedback class-D — is a testament to the efficacy of Bruno Putzeys’s designs.”
Audio Research vacuum tube planet – Video
June 21, 2016 Comments Off on Audio Research vacuum tube planet – Video
YAMAHA A-S801 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER AND YBA-11 BLUETOOTH WIRELESS ADAPTER
June 20, 2016 Comments Off on YAMAHA A-S801 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER AND YBA-11 BLUETOOTH WIRELESS ADAPTER
” Finally, I challenged the A-S801 with full orchestra, playing Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony’s recording of a favorite piece: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 [Reference Recordings/NativeDSD]. (If you’re unfamiliar with NativeDSD.com, its rapidly growing catalog specializes in downloads of high-resolution music recorded in DSD and DXD formats, including DSD256.) The opening bars nearly blew me off the couch, since I had forgotten to reduce the listening level after playing Just a Little Lovin’. But even at that level, there was no strain to the sound. The DSD128 indicator light on the A-S801’s front panel came on verifying that the A-S801’s DAC was indeed playing that extra-high-resolution format, and the orchestral sound was gloriously natural—tons of detail, harmonically rich, with distinct but continuous dynamic levels.”
Mola Mola Kaluga Mono Amplifiers $16,500 Review
June 19, 2016 Comments Off on Mola Mola Kaluga Mono Amplifiers $16,500 Review
” During the months I listened to the Kaluga, and regardless of the preamplifier used — at first my Ayre Acoustics KX-R Twenty, then Mola Mola’s Makua, and finally Ayre’s Codex in variable output mode — I experienced an ease that I’d hoped for but could not assume I would hear. This ease not only defied the conventional wisdom regarding the limitations of class-D sound, but embodied the sense of musical reality often attributed to and associated most closely with class-A amplification.”
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