Esoteric F-01 Class A Amplifier Review
July 19, 2025 Comments Off on Esoteric F-01 Class A Amplifier Review
Cambridge Audio EXA100 Review
June 26, 2025 Comments Off on Cambridge Audio EXA100 Review
https://www.hifichoice.com/content/cambridge-audio-exa100
Taken across their prodigious functionality, superb sound quality and utterly hassle-free interfaces, there really isn’t very much at the price that can do as much as the EX units or as well as they can and, if you feel that they might be overkill as a pair, the good news is that they are no less effective individually. Cambridge Audio’s exceptional run of form continues unabated and these EX models might just be its strongest showing yet
Hypex DIY ClassD Nilai 500 DIY power amplifier Review
June 26, 2025 Comments Off on Hypex DIY ClassD Nilai 500 DIY power amplifier Review
Fosi Audio Q6 Review
June 25, 2025 Comments Off on Fosi Audio Q6 Review
At the heart of the device, you’ll find the AKM AK4493S DAC chip, supported by an XMOS XU316 USB processor, and a dual op-amp configuration—OPA1612 and NE5532DR. A setup designed to deliver reliable digital-to-analog conversion, compatible with a broad range of sources and formats.
What’s interesting though, is the fact that those DIP8 op-amp are now swappable, allowing you tot put much stronger solutions, like the one from Burson for example.
Upstream, the XMOS XU316 controller allows the Q6 to support high-resolution PCM streams up to 32bit/768kHz and DSD512 via USB, while optical and coaxial connections remain capped at 32bit/192kHz—pretty much covering any need you might have for home or office audio.
For the analog section, the brand selected a classic duo too, combining the OPA1612 and NE5532DR to maintain a wide channel separation, while keeping the noise low.
Numbers? Signal-to-noise ratio is rated at 121dB, with a quoted THD as low as 0.00012 – pretty good number for a $100 DAC, beating the SK02 to its own game!
FX-Audio L07 Integrated Amplifier and DS07 DAC/Preamplifier Review
June 23, 2025 Comments Off on FX-Audio L07 Integrated Amplifier and DS07 DAC/Preamplifier Review
I’ll be perfectly frank: I’m not a big fan of ESS Sabre delta-sigma DACs. That said, there are a number of aspects of DAC design that come into play in the overall sound quality of any given unit that can lift it above the constraints of a less-than-perfect chipset. And while I might have preferred to see an AKM, or perhaps a TI (Burr-Brown) chipset implemented in the DS07, there are plenty of high profile manufacturers at every demographic of the high end that are in love with ESS Sabre chipsets. In terms of audiophile acceptance, it’s the smart choice, and depending on the talent of the designer, ESS chips can obviously provide superb results. I can easily say that despite my reservations, the ESS 9068AS implementation used in FX-Audio’s DS07 is definitely among the very best I’ve ever heard. I didn’t know what to expect, but found the sound of this new DAC to be musical and accurate with a timbre that approached that of my own rig. That said, I’ve always been less than thrilled about digital volume control implementations in delta-sigma DACs, and with this one, there’s no clear way in the menu to defeat the volume control function. The best alternative is to simply turn the volume all the way up on the DAC, and control the output level from the L07 integrated amp. I heard no negatives in my listening through this approach.
Boulder 1151 monoblock power amplifier $47,000 Review
June 21, 2025 Comments Off on Boulder 1151 monoblock power amplifier $47,000 Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/boulder-1151-monoblock-power-amplifier
Thanks to the 1151’s manageable weight and modest size (compared to the behemoths that have crossed my threshold), it was a snap to put them on a pair of Grand Prix Monza amp stands. Because more weight is concentrated in the front half, I moved them far back on the stands to help even the load. I placed them atop the same Wilson Audio Pedestals I use under my reference amplifiers.
Boulder’s speaker terminals are extremely easy to tighten by hand. I chose the set that best separated the speaker cabling from the 15A power cord. Once everything was hooked up, I flipped the main power switches on the 1151’s rear panels. In short order, the amps settled into standby mode, the white LEDs on the front panel blinking on and off. It took just a push of the front panels’ only button to turn the 1151s on fully. I allotted a full hour for warm-up. Rosencrans thought that 15–20 minutes would be sufficient.
Fosi Audio V3 Mono Amplifier Review
June 18, 2025 Comments Off on Fosi Audio V3 Mono Amplifier Review
Unison Research S6 Black Edition integrated amplifier Review
June 17, 2025 Comments Off on Unison Research S6 Black Edition integrated amplifier Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/unison-research-s6-black-edition-integrated-amplifier
“The S6 Black Edition was created to exceed the musical performance of the standard S6 version,” Nasta told me in an email. “Compared to the standard S6, we gained more power, better sonic detail, and the lowest possible noisefloor. “In general, when we design an amplifier, we look for instrumental and musical performance as sound scene reconstruction. We try to recreate a sound event as close to reality as possible, without artifice, that can be listened to for the long term. All with a touch of Italian design.”
So far, this all sounds sophisticated but analog-purist: old school. But that’s not the whole picture: The S6 Black has a built-in DAC. The “DAC3” module uses a Sabre ES9018K2M DAC chip. Inputs include USB (supporting PCM up to 384kHz and DSD to DSD256), TosLink, and S/PDIF.
Audiophilepure 
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