Parasound Halo Integrated 2.1-Channel Amplifier Reviewed
October 3, 2015 Comments Off on Parasound Halo Integrated 2.1-Channel Amplifier Reviewed
Again, what strikes me most here is the stunning precision of delivery. The nuance. The unveiling of even the tiniest details buried in the mix. And yet, the Halo Integrated never borders on what you might describe as “overly analytical.” It somehow manages to shine a light on beautifully recorded albums like The Swell Season, without punishing you for listening to the fun tunes in your collection that might not expect to hold up well to close scrutiny.
LINN MAJIK DSM INTEGRATED STREAMING AMPLIFIER
October 1, 2015 Comments Off on LINN MAJIK DSM INTEGRATED STREAMING AMPLIFIER
The next step was to put the CM10 S2 into a likely real world practical position. This left 18cm between the back of the speaker and the wall on both channels. Listening to Pink Floyd’s ‘Money’ [Dark Side of the Moon, EMI] after applying optimisation made a surprising difference to the realism of the cash till sound; suddenly they sounded like real trays full of coins rather than splashly metallic sounds. This was a convincing demonstration of the benefits to a part of the audio band that Space Optimisation doesn’t touch, but which clearly benefits from a removal of low end smearing. It’s often stated that the treble provides the leading edges that give bass more precision and impact but you don’t often hear the benefits that cleaner bass brings to the mids and highs. You can hear that the bass becomes a lot more controlled compared to its bloated nature at this near-the-wall position, but the clarity gained higher up the range is the real reward.
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Parasound Halo Integrated 2.1 Channel Amplifier With DAC
October 1, 2015 Comments Off on Parasound Halo Integrated 2.1 Channel Amplifier With DAC
Now I could get a much better handle on the imaging and deep bass performance. Certainly the Integrated can reach down deep, and maintain its pitch article all the way down. There is no noticeable roll off. It doesn’t quite maintain the absolute focus of the reference preamp / amp (EMM Labs Pre2 / ModWright KWA150 SE), or reach the same levels of resolution and speed, but this is still a strong performance. However the treble does not have the sweetness of the reference, sounding a little aggressive on material such as Benny Green’s Greens, particularly on the brushes.
DENON PMA-50 INTEGRATED AMP
September 29, 2015 Comments Off on DENON PMA-50 INTEGRATED AMP
A little surprised at the absence of the bottom octaves, I queued up Holly Cole’s album Temptation (DSD64/DSF, Acoustic Sounds). The track “Invitation to the Blues” opened with tons of bass power and detail. So what happened on “Folia Rodrigo Martinez”? Well, while there’s lots of bass on the Holly Cole album, it’s not as deep as the bass on “Folio Rodrigo Martinez”. In the midrange, Cole’s voice caressed the superbly recorded songs with rich harmonics and delicate vocal nuances—a real hi-fi showcase which contradicts the urban audio legend that excellent performances are invariably poorly recorded.
Dan D’Agostino Momentum Integrated Amplifier review
September 27, 2015 Comments Off on Dan D’Agostino Momentum Integrated Amplifier review
Vinnie Rossi LIO modular integrated amplifier
September 22, 2015 Comments Off on Vinnie Rossi LIO modular integrated amplifier
The unique, iconic sound of dropping the needle on a black disc with the volume turned up—that attention-getting scratch of stylus on vinyl—shifted my memory machine into Drive. Almost instantly, I could hear Dad’s voice and see his gold-toothed smile. The Rossi Tubestage plus phono stage presented my father’s favorite song as a deeply felt lullaby. The LIO was extremely good at getting out of the way and letting this music have its way with me.
GAMUT D3I PREAMPLIFIER AND D200I POWER AMPLIFIER
September 19, 2015 Comments Off on GAMUT D3I PREAMPLIFIER AND D200I POWER AMPLIFIER
The GamuT pair, especially the D200i, manage to combine power with tonal subtlety – a quality that serves whatever music you want to play very effectively. The D3i is not the most relaxed or natural-sounding preamplifier on the planet, but it can produce a vivid and entrancing sound that lets you hear the meaning in the music. It is extremely good at resolving reverb and timing, though not in the front league, is certainly not sluggish. With Barenboim’s Beethoven For All Symphony No.1 in C, Op.21 [24/96, Decca], the orchestra really breathes (again!): it’s too big for the room, but you get a strong sense of the power and dynamics on tap. Some might want a bit more authority
Classe Sigma AMP5 Five-Channel Digital Amplifier Reviewed
September 18, 2015 Comments Off on Classe Sigma AMP5 Five-Channel Digital Amplifier Reviewed
Despite being rated at a mere 200 watts per channel, the Classe AMP5 laughed at the challenge of this bombastic track. Control, poise, and presence were the notes I scribed through my listening session. While I am used to bigger Classe amps in the CT600 mono blocks, I couldn’t get to the end of the 200 watts here in the AMP5 when driving my easy-to-power Focal Diablo Utopias. Consider the difference in price between the reference mono blocks for two channels and the AMP5 at five channels, and you’ll start to see the overall value of the AMP5.
Ampsandsound Casablanca & Stereo 15 Review
September 18, 2015 Comments Off on Ampsandsound Casablanca & Stereo 15 Review
CLASSÉ CP-800 PREAMP AND CA-D200 AMPLIFIER
September 17, 2015 Comments Off on CLASSÉ CP-800 PREAMP AND CA-D200 AMPLIFIER
Day-to-day living with the Classé was both a pleasure and a real eye-opener in the way it illustrated the ever-shifting nature of the high end. Whereas once upon a time my source components were limited to a turntable and a Dolby cassette deck, I took stock of all the sources driving the CP-800 during the time of period of my evaluation, and it was a like a population explosion. There was the ever-faithful turntable, CD transport over SPDIF, an HD-DVR, Blu-ray player, Lumin Music Player on the network with twin NAS drives, Apple TV, and a handful of USB thumbdrives. And they were all playing nicely, thanks to the CP-800’s copious input selection and switching flexibility.
Audiophilepure 
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