Jeff Rowland Capri s2 and 125 pre- and power amp
March 1, 2016 Comments Off on Jeff Rowland Capri s2 and 125 pre- and power amp
” With the Capri/125 treble is every bit as articulate, if not better than with the Devialet, but with the Apogee Duettas at least, it’s a little bit too silent inbetween the notes for my taste. The Devialet 120 has something of a dip in the midrange which partially explains its “warmer” sound, but this also makes for the feeling of a richer sound, making the Rowlands come across as more analytical sounding. They are likely simply more precise, but in my setup at least, this makes them emotionally less appealing. Soundstaging with the Rowlands is mostly concentrated in between the speakers. The Devialet by comparison is more expansive both in the width and depth plane, and has better layering.”
Audio Note UK Ongaku Integrated Amplifier $95,000 Review
February 28, 2016 Comments Off on Audio Note UK Ongaku Integrated Amplifier $95,000 Review
” As a side note, the Audio Note AN-J./SPx speaker also use a generous amount of silver wire in the crossover, wiring and voice coils. Have always preferred silk soft domes to titanium, ceramic and other types or tweeters. There is something within the initial attack and harmonics they seem to get more right than others. Yes those supertweeters may be an exception and wish i had one here to be able to achieve frequencies above 20 kHz within my listening room. In some ways i am left wondering if the system is really producing everything the Audio Note UK Ongaku is capable of. Yes, a reviewer actually admitting his system might not be able to do a unit the full justice it deserves. The Ongaku is that good folks.”
MUSICAL FIDELITY NU-VISTA 800 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
February 26, 2016 Comments Off on MUSICAL FIDELITY NU-VISTA 800 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
” The enormous soundstage recreated here allows images to spread and individualise in all the perspectives; there’s a sense of gravitas to the music that commands the listener’s attention. This sonic weight is aided by the 800’s command of the low registers. Our speakers are a tough impedance load, in the 80Hz-100Hz range especially, but the 800 just held tight. No matter the bass content the amp reproduced it with phenomenal depth, punch, detail and rhythmic flow. And again, those scary transient attacks provided an entertaining and exciting factor to well-recorded rock.”
GRYPHON DIABLO 300 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER $25,000 REVIEW
February 26, 2016 Comments Off on GRYPHON DIABLO 300 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER $25,000 REVIEW
” The cinematic soundscapes of In a Time Lapse from Ludovico Einaudi’s CD release illustrated the Gryphon’s valve-like handling of tonal colours. This recording is rich with piano, violin and guitar, among other acoustic instruments, and the Diablo 300’s reproduction of the beautiful and moving compositions displayed natural and complex midrange timbre, with all the instruments having a sense of presence both in terms of transparent verisimilitude and that hard-to-describe sense of body… of image gravitas. That midrange kinship with the very best of valve amplification is something rather extraordinary for a solid-state amplifier – an integrated no less.”
Balanced Audio amps TAD CE-1 Speakers – Video
February 22, 2016 Comments Off on Balanced Audio amps TAD CE-1 Speakers – Video
Benchmark’s AHB2 Stereo Amplifier Review
February 22, 2016 Comments Off on Benchmark’s AHB2 Stereo Amplifier Review
“The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s performing Hovhaness’ Mysterious Mountains (Telarc 16/44.1) was sublime. Mount St. Helens Andante, Grazioso unfolds gracefully and with tip top double bass walking the piece along. The bass holds true and rings out even as the full strings come into glide the momentum along. The expansiveness of this orchestral recording is deep and wide with excellent localization. Acoustically, the AHB2 performs so cleanly and quietly that it resolves the hall and space between musicians distinctly- something professional engineers and audiophiles can equally appreciate.”
Conrad-Johnson MF2275 SE Power Amplifier $3,850 – Review
February 21, 2016 § 1 Comment
“As Rob mentioned, the MF2275 is slightly warm in overall tonal characteristic, where my Premier 350 was very neutral. This is an excellent thing 99% of the time, and personally, I’d always prefer a solid state amplifier to have a little more tonal saturation than not. Running a gamut of preamplifiers, both from C-J and others, proves this to be a very potent partner for your system and it even did a fantastic job driving the Quad 2218 speakers we now have in for review. Pulling my reference Conrad-Johnson LP120sa+ out and substituting the MF2275 makes for a bit more slam with the Quads and a bit less soundstage width and depth, but that’s an unfair comparison between a $10,000 tube amplifier and an almost $4,000 solid state unit. Those requiring a bit more warmth should consider a fine C-J tube preamp.”
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Rotel RB-1590 Power Amplifier Review
February 21, 2016 Comments Off on Rotel RB-1590 Power Amplifier Review
” I was very eager to get the Rotel broken in and warmed up as I had wanted to see how it would compare to my 50 wpc tubed Audio Research VS55, and a 120/240 wpc (4 Ohms/8 Ohms) Simaudio 760A. After a generous warm up, the first thing I noticed about the RB-1590’s presentation is how very deep the soundstage was. The music seemed to stretch back very far behind the speakers and spatial cues were easy to understand. A highly impressive start, as soundstage depth is more important to me as a listener than soundstage width. This is a personal preference.”
AudioPax MAGGIORE l50 REVIEW
February 20, 2016 Comments Off on AudioPax MAGGIORE l50 REVIEW
” These Brazilian amplifiers feature vertical design. Just like top Mark Levinson amps, these also are build in layers. There is a steel frame with aluminum plates bolted to it. The top cover is made of polished, stainless steel. This is where three EAT KT88 power tubes sit accompanied by three drivers – CV4024. Tubes work in single ended configuration in class A. Drivers are placed very close to the inputs. Input tubes deliver high gain (x35) and output tubes work mostly as current amplifiers.”
Bel Canto Design e.One REF600M Mono Amplifiers
February 19, 2016 Comments Off on Bel Canto Design e.One REF600M Mono Amplifiers
“Overall, the e.One REF600Ms sounded nearly as transparent as the M27, but with more power and weight. This gave recordings a bigger, more commanding sound that was simply more musical. I strongly preferred the REF600Ms to the M27, but considering that the M27 costs $991 less than a pair of REF600Ms and can drive up to seven channels simultaneously, I’m more than happy to keep it as part of my reference multichannel system. And as good as the REF600M was, it couldn’t equal the sound quality of the more expensive and more powerful Anthem Statement M1. But this does nothing to disparage the REF600M in my mind. Both the NAD and Anthem are standout products at their price points; the fact that the REF600M could hang with them in direct competition only speaks to its quality and value.
Audiophilepure 
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