Red Dragon S500 stereo amplifier Review
March 31, 2016 Comments Off on Red Dragon S500 stereo amplifier Review
” Ryan seems to know intuitively that customer service is of paramount importance in today’s consumer climate. I found him to be candid and completely inoffensive, timely in delivering on his promises and paying attention to my requests. For not having met him in person it was a comfortable introduction and purchasing experience.
BOULDER AMPLIFIERS 2110 PREAMPLIFIER AND 2160 STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER REVIEW
March 30, 2016 Comments Off on BOULDER AMPLIFIERS 2110 PREAMPLIFIER AND 2160 STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER REVIEW
” I think there’s an instinctual recognition of transparency. It doesn’t need years of listening to increasingly expensive audio components, and it challenges the “I’m no expert,” mind-set of the neophyte. The Boulder 2000 series amps here are extremely transparent and faithful to the source, and that is not difficult to hear in test. It’s surprisingly easy, in fact. You know it’s right on some atavistic level, because the amps offer more of an insight into the recording with less artifice in the way. There are only a handful of amplifiers that offer that kind of clarity, and none of them come cheap.”
TECHNICS SU-C700 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
March 27, 2016 Comments Off on TECHNICS SU-C700 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
” As nice as the amplifier/speaker pairing was, I was somewhat surprised that the ST C-700 network audio player probably left the biggest impression on me. I really thought of it initially as more of a convenience add-on, but its internal digital processing made it so much more than that. Outside of the unit going into standby automatically as I mentioned before, the Bluetooth capabilities were flawless. Even limited to streaming Redbook resolution material, I was immensely impressed by the sonic effects of the ST C-700. I don’t know how to best describe what I was hearing, but it was definitely less audiophile and more musical.”
Benchmark Media AHB2 Stereo Power Amplifier $2995 Review
March 26, 2016 Comments Off on Benchmark Media AHB2 Stereo Power Amplifier $2995 Review
” I was further frustrated by the use of what appear to be the 0735 or 0765 safety series of WBT speaker binding posts. They sport a clear Makrolon protective cover and guide to prevent accidental shorting. However, this added safety measure affords only a very limited area of engagement for spade-terminated cables. Only spades up to a certain width will pass through the guide to actually engage the post, and then only from one fixed and immovable insertion angle. On the AHB2, cables may only be inserted up from the bottom of the posts. This prohibits the use of larger, less flexible cables in general, and of those with large spades in particular, like my Stealth Dream V14’s. I had to use a banana converter (my trusty ol’ Monster Cable Xterminators) to make a connection.”
AUDIO ALCHEMY DDP-1 PREAMP/DAC/HEADPHONE AMP, DPA-1 STEREO POWER AMP, AND DPA-1M MONOBLOCK POWER AMP
March 23, 2016 Comments Off on AUDIO ALCHEMY DDP-1 PREAMP/DAC/HEADPHONE AMP, DPA-1 STEREO POWER AMP, AND DPA-1M MONOBLOCK POWER AMP
“The Alchemy products threw a large and well-defined soundstage, with outstanding depth, dimensionality, and separation of individual instrumental lines. On “Mars” from The Planets (Mehta, LA Philharmonic, Decca), the insistent snare drum that drives the rhythm was well back in the stage, with a real sense of air and space around it. The call-and-response lines of the tenor tuba and trumpet were well differentiated from each other and from the rest of the orchestra. The sense of size and scale was outstanding. Other hallmarks of the products were clarity and transparency—the sense of nothing between you and the music. The soundstage lacked the veiling that diminishes the sense of realism of instruments at the back of the stage.”
Classé Audio Sigma Amp5 Multichannel Amplifier Review
March 21, 2016 Comments Off on Classé Audio Sigma Amp5 Multichannel Amplifier Review
” As I prefer to listen to music through only two speakers, I have few, if any, multichannel discs in my collection — so all of my musical listening was to two-channel recordings. I kicked things off with “When We Were Young,” from Adele’s 25 (16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC, XL Recordings). Two instruments open this track: piano and bass guitar. Not surprisingly, each was cleanly delineated by the Classé Sigma Amp5, yet with a vast difference in size. The piano filled the room, seemingly emanating from outside and slightly above both of my Atrias, while the bass guitar was neatly placed at center stage, sounding precise in scale. When Adele entered, she completely filled the center stage, sounding dimensional, powerful, and, frankly, massive — but something interesting was happening. Despite the room-filling piano and Adele’s soaring voice, I could still hear the picking of each string of the bass guitar. In fact, I found it easy to focus on whichever facet of what was happening on stage I wanted to, be it the bass, Adele’s voice, the voices of the backing singers, or the subtle shakes of the maracas to far left. Each sounded neutral, fulsome, dimensional — and, in the case of Adele’s voice, highly dynamic.”
Yamaha CX-A5100 AV Processor and MX-A5000 11-Channel Amplifier Review – Video
March 20, 2016 Comments Off on Yamaha CX-A5100 AV Processor and MX-A5000 11-Channel Amplifier Review – Video
Moon by Simaudio Neo 340i integrated amplifier Review
March 16, 2016 Comments Off on Moon by Simaudio Neo 340i integrated amplifier Review
” While it plays music beautifully, it’s unlikely that the Simaudio Moon Neo 340i integrated amplifier was created for the inexperienced audiophile. Its virtues are substantial and varied, but much of its wonderfulness is subtler than my descriptions suggest. The character of its lively sound was strong—but a quiet strength. None of its charms jumped out and mugged me. It danced and sang well, but at its core, the Neo 340i was really about refinement and consistency. Through it, music sounded fresh and subtly articulated, always in good balance and proportion. Like Marantz’s classic tube gear, which it resembled in sound and appearance, this integrated amplifier was created for audio cognoscenti—those who know how rare a really well-engineered amp actually is. For these reasons, I believe the Moon by Simaudio Neo 340i will hold its value: The way it satisfied this listener with its Champagne Brut audio aesthetic should never go out of fashion. Confidently recommended.”
Onkyo A-9010 Integrated Amplifier-DAC – Review
March 15, 2016 Comments Off on Onkyo A-9010 Integrated Amplifier-DAC – Review
“What surprised me, though, was how well the Onkyo’s phono section did against the Linn’s. With the Art Garfunkel and Earth, Wind & Fire cuts, the A-9010 sounded nearly as silky and smooth as the Majik-1P. I think the Linn was ever-so-slightly more detailed, with a minimally wider frequency response and a greater signal/noise ratio, but I’m splitting hairs. The Onkyo’s phono stage sounded better than it had any right to, given the amplifier’s low cost. And with the EW&F cut, the Onkyo strutted its punch as well as the Linn.”
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