Audio Research DAC 9 $7,500 Review
April 26, 2018 Comments Off on Audio Research DAC 9 $7,500 Review
“Another amazing quality of the DAC9 is the ability to render layered depth. Images are placed with three a dimensional presence that is surrounded by air allowing for great separation and a front to back precision that keeps individual instrumental timbre distinct and untangled. The accuracy of front to back distances or layering goes back, all the way back with stunning clarity. Orchestras are mapped out to the performer. All the modern studio recordings I sampled benefited greatly by the hologram like presence put forth by the DAC9 and holds true to the reputation Audio Research has earned over the years.”
Brinkmann Audio Nyquist DAC Review
April 25, 2018 Comments Off on Brinkmann Audio Nyquist DAC Review
“Keep in mind for your reference; my own bias is for overall system balance to be ever so slightly on the warm/natural/neutral side of straight-up neutral. I like as much detail as I can get without the overall presentation getting harsh, yet I crave as much warmth as possible before things become slow, or sloppy. Tracking through the original Chicago Transit Authority, the enormous sonic landscape painted is tremendous, with a smoothness to the layers of drums and percussion incredible.”
RME ADI-2 DAC$1,000 REVIEW
April 23, 2018 Comments Off on RME ADI-2 DAC$1,000 REVIEW
“In the introduction I mentioned that RME searched contact with the audiophile headphone scene and this is the outcome. The trend for many IEM designers seems to be to push their sensitivity higher and higher. It becomes very difficult to control the earphones’ performance and they also pick up hiss more easily. Campfire Andromeda and Vision Ears VE8 being two examples.”
Cary Audio AiOS Review
April 20, 2018 Comments Off on Cary Audio AiOS Review
“MQA streaming from the handful of MQA tracks I had on hand (mostly downloaded from 2L’s excellent test track repository) showed a very subtle effect of non versus their non-MQA encoded versions. The MQA tracks showed a little more rhythmic ease and a little more light in the midrange and a more delicate high end especially on cymbal work, but I would not say that it was a super obvious difference. MQA streaming via Tidal Masters showed similar differences between 16/44 and MQA versions of the same tracks. Testing versus the MQA certified Mytek DAC showed again that there was a slight loss of tonal colour with the AiOS MQA decoding.”
DACs: everything you need to know
April 11, 2018 Comments Off on DACs: everything you need to know
“Finally, there are the DACs that are designed to work as part of a bigger home audio system. These will usually have even more inputs – particularly more niche sockets such as AES/EBU – and, potentially, more features too. They’ll support the full range of high-resolution music formats, for example, or offer Bluetooth connectivity for streaming wirelessly from your smartphone or tablet.”
dCS Rossini DAC $23,999 Review
April 2, 2018 Comments Off on dCS Rossini DAC $23,999 Review
“There are two other aspects to the dCS MQA implementation that are different from most other manufacturers. First, with many other implementations, if MQA encode is turned on then all audio passes through the MQA filter. With the Rossini and all other dCS devices the DAC or streamer determines whether MQA encoded music is playing before applying the filter. Second, having a choice of filter responses is in the dCS DNA. From he very beginning, when the company approached the MQA project it was important that dCS users still had the ability to select traditional dCS filters with MQA material. Again, it’s about flexibility and personal choice for dCS customers. ”
PRO-JECT AUDIO PRE BOX S2 DIGITAL REVIEW
March 24, 2018 Comments Off on PRO-JECT AUDIO PRE BOX S2 DIGITAL REVIEW
“Pro-Ject Audio seems to have also wrung out a lot of the dynamic range potential of the ES90382QM with a 124dB rating whilst retaining a very competitive THD rating of 0.0003%. I am used to seeing those numbers from the new Sabre Chipsets but still remain impressed when I see them. The total harmonic distortion plus noise of -120dB (THD+N) is also quite excellent.”
Chord Poly Dac Review
March 23, 2018 Comments Off on Chord Poly Dac Review
“Six months later I had access to a beta of Chord Electronics’ GoFigure app that, for iOS users at least, takes the hassle out of Poly setup: GoFigure exploits Poly’s Bluetooth connection for device config and operational mode change-ups (of which there are several). I began with Poly in Network Mode, connected to my home wifi network. Per the pinhole setup method, once rebooted, Poly’s LED flashes blue (on and off) whilst searching for the home network and locks green once connected.”
Chord Qutest Dac Review
March 22, 2018 Comments Off on Chord Qutest Dac Review
“Hold down both the input and filter buttons during the first 16 seconds after the Qutest has powered up – then you can select 1V (red), 2V (green) or 3V (blue).
Through the small circular window is another multicolour display representing the sampling frequency of the file being played – red for 44.1kHz, green for 96kHz, dark blue for 192kHz, purple 384kHz, white for DSD.”
”
Ayon Stealth DAC and CD-T II Signature CD Transport Review
March 11, 2018 Comments Off on Ayon Stealth DAC and CD-T II Signature CD Transport Review
“The DSD upsampling function is a 995 euro option for the CD-T II transport. Personally, I would leave it out when purchasing it, but this is very much a relative matter. I know that there are many DSD fans out there and depending on personal taste and system matching, one might have a view different from mine. As with virtually all aspects of these two high tech products, the choice is yours, all the options are there, for the user to freely choose between.”
Audiophilepure 
You must be logged in to post a comment.