Audio Research Foundation DAC9 Digital-to-Analog Converter Review
June 2, 2017 Comments Off on Audio Research Foundation DAC9 Digital-to-Analog Converter Review
“. The drum, which descends into the mid-20Hz range, extended quite deeply, but with a smidgen less heft and definition than through the best DACs I’ve heard. Savall’s viola da gamba carries the main melody, and Savall continually varies his loudness and speed, making it challenging for a hi-fi system to follow. The DAC9 didn’t break a sweat, effortlessly capturing even the slightest changes in rhythmic power. The ARC also portrayed a full, accurate harmonic picture of the viola da gamba, further revealing the realism of the recording.”
Chord Electronics DAVE D/A processor $10,588 Review
May 29, 2017 Comments Off on Chord Electronics DAVE D/A processor $10,588 Review
” The DAVE did indeed do well with piano. O’Riley’s notes were very well defined, placing the instrument solidly between and behind the speakers. I switched from Pure Music to the Tidal desktop app and called up Daniel Barenboim’s recent solo recording of Liszt’s arrangement of Solemn March to the Holy Grail, from Wagner’s Parsifal, from On My New Piano (16/44.1 Tidal HiFi stream, Deutsche Grammophon 289 479 6724). The deep tolling bass notes of Barenboim’s unique straight-strung piano sounded majestic with the DAVE in the system”
Audio Research Foundation DAC9 Digital-to-Analog Converter Review
May 27, 2017 Comments Off on Audio Research Foundation DAC9 Digital-to-Analog Converter Review
“The DAC9’s chunky metal remote-control handset provides all the controls found on the front panel, as well as some on the menu. The lid to the battery bay is secured by a screw — a welcome improvement over ARC’s plastic remotes of yesteryear, which had snap-on latches. The DAC9 has no volume control, so you can’t use it to drive a power amp directly. Decent volume controls aren’t cheap; its omission here has no doubt kept the DAC9’s price down. And, of course, ARC makes some fine line stages — such as the matching LS28, which looks really good next to the DAC9.”
Audio Research DAC 9 $7,500 Review
May 26, 2017 Comments Off on Audio Research DAC 9 $7,500 Review
” Track nine, Passacaglia, is always fun and a good system test. As the music starts from a barely audible creep, the strings are very sweet sounding. One can almost smell the wood of the instruments, if the listening room lights and one’s mind are turned off. As the horns slip in, they have great definition even at very low volume levels. This is always the mark of a good DAC.
AURALiC Altair Wireless Streaming DAC $1899 Review
May 13, 2017 Comments Off on AURALiC Altair Wireless Streaming DAC $1899 Review
“I remember being blown away by the AURALiC Vega playing DSD files. I can’t be positive because the Vega left my sound room many months ago, but I wasn’t as impressed with the Altair on DSD. Don’t get me wrong, DSD sounded great but just not as great as I remembered with the Vega. With DSD I had more of a sensation of listening to musicians playing in a definable space rather than in a studio. There was more air and separation more often on DSD than on .flac. ”
OPPO Digital Sonica DAC Review
May 11, 2017 Comments Off on OPPO Digital Sonica DAC Review
“The Sonica DAC on really well-recorded material can hold its own with any format with bass reproduction. Having said that, I must mention that with at least 75% of the digital recordings I have, the bass still seemed to have a one-note quality and lacked in air compared to my vinyl system. Admittedly, my vinyl system cost over $30,000 compared to $800 for the Sonica DAC. Still, this is no reflection on the Sonica DAC but the sad state of many digital recordings.”
Simaudio Nēo Ace Moon Review
May 9, 2017 Comments Off on Simaudio Nēo Ace Moon Review
” I spent many weeks over months listening to Ace, the company recommends 400 hours of playing before taking Ace too seriously, so it got to pass all kinds of music from Hoagy Carmichael to Acid Mothers Temple…, from Current 93 to Golijov, and from The Bug/Earth to Patsy Cline. And everything in between. And I always liked what I heard. If I try to imagine a person having purchased Ace and being unhappy about their purchase, I come up blank.”
Essence Audio Hdacc Review
May 6, 2017 Comments Off on Essence Audio Hdacc Review
“In a day and age where even a portable DAC / Preamp & headphone system can sound quite amazing in it’s own right while taking up less space than ever (even in the breast pocket of a suit—see my upcoming review of the ifi iMicro iDSD DAC from AMR Co.), I find this HDACC DAC / Preamp control center (with headphone amp output) just as miniature (produced by Bob Rapoport’s Essence For Hi Res Audio) a welcome change from the typical large scale monstrosities of the Big Box stores and decorating the interior of the internet en-mass. ”
OPPO Digital Sonica DAC Review
April 9, 2017 Comments Off on OPPO Digital Sonica DAC Review
” Musically the Sonica does not disappoint, although it required a few days of break-in to sound its best–especially in musical highs, where it initially sounded harsh. I listened to DSD, 24/96, and 24/192 sources, as well as Red Book titles in 16/44.1 via Tidal Hi-Fi. As I refer to my listening notes to describe the Sonica’s signature characteristics, I repeatedly wrote that it possesses a sweetness in the midrange and midbass, and it presents a more accurate soundstage than many other DACs I can think of”
AURALIC ALTAIR WIRELESS STREAMING DAC REVIEW
March 30, 2017 Comments Off on AURALIC ALTAIR WIRELESS STREAMING DAC REVIEW
” The AURALiC ALTAIR Wireless Streaming DAC is sonically a fast and musical DAC that offers unprecedented versatility. It handles almost every digital format currently in use including Quad DSD and DXD and wrings the most out of even the most humble recordings. Switchable digital filters means that you can tailor the sound to your own taste and a phase reversal switch means you can correct what was broken by the recording process (or possibly your streaming service). And they take the concept of streaming music seriously, not only giving you access to streaming services, but letting you stream from a NAS or uPnP/DLNA media server or Bluetooth device, and by allowing you to connect directly to an external hard drive, it renders the concept of a USB DAC obsolete, removing the computer from the signal processing entirely, guaranteeing the best possible performance.”
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