Audiophilepure

https://www.hifinews.com/content/matrix-audio-element-x2-pure-network-attached-dac

The precision of this DAC’s delivery and focus of its soundstaging made clear the differences in production between ZZ Top’s Tres Hombres album from 1973 [Warner Bros; 96kHz/24-bit], and their best-selling 1981 set Eliminator [Warner Bros; 44.1kHz/16-bit]. The former shines a light on the guitars with a forward, open sound, while the latter – which saw the Texan trio add synthesisers and drum machines – puts Billy Gibbons’ six-string further back, aiming for a thicker, more atmospheric feel. Different approaches, but both thrilling.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/denon-dnp-2000ne-networked-attached-dac

What about that HDMI input? Well, there’s a lot of good music content to be found on your smart TV. One of my favourites is Bruce Springsteen’s Letter To You, a sweet and poignant Apple TV documentary covering the recording of the artist’s 2020 album of the same name, and touching upon Springsteen coming to terms with his advancing years.

I’ve watched it many times in its Dolby Atmos incarnation, but in stereo through the DNP-2000NE and the rest of the Denon separates it was equally delightful – crisp, enveloping and intense. Everything about the production – the black and white imagery, Springsteen’s voice-over, the excellent recording of the band – is made to pull you in. The well-featured DNP-2000NE was up to the challenge.

https://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/1223/LampizatOr_Pacific_2_DAC_Review.htm

The tube complement of the LampizatOr Pacific 2 extracted a more robust presentation of saturation and color. The Elektra is an exceptional tool for reviewing but demands equally statement level everything else to get all it can give. For $20,000 less, the Pacific 2 was an exceptional tool for listening, no matter what I moved into or out of the system. As I remember with the Golden Gate 2, the Pacific 2 is more forgiving of the imperfections in the remainder of the system, cabling, recording, file format, room, everything. I could (and did) make it more accurate and detailed with tube swapping, but it just didn’t feel right with Pacific 2. My final preference for tubes was the Tungsram 200/600 4V rectifier with adapter, EML PX4 driver tubes in a balanced quad configuration. The LampizatOr wants to give you a big hug, not just a simple handshake.

The Yggdrasil + OG delivers a very capable bass which is big bodied and full – retaining the elements of both macro-dynamic prowess as well as the incision of the original Yggdrasil. There is a good layer of smoothness with a sound which invokes both clarity and depth while also being faithful to a natural and organic sound.  

Coming on to the midrange, the Yggdrasil + OG offers a beautifully textured midrange with excellent detailing and realness particularly with respect to acoustic instruments. One of the critiques of the original Yggdrasil was that it could come across as a tad incisive depending on the nature of the track. With the plus OG version, there is some sweet overtone added to the midrange which certainly makes it more forgiving compared to prior iterations.

https://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/0723/LampizatOr_Horizon_DAC_Review.htm

One of the first attributes that stood out for me was how extremely well this DAC portrays dynamic contrasts and their prodigious modulations. One of my near-consistent disappointments with the performance of many other well-thought-of DACs is how they tend to compress or foreshorten the gamut and fluency of rather large dynamic contrasts in music, ranging from the blaring cacophony at the opening of Prokofiev’s “Scythian Suite,” to things as viscerally startling as the opening of Pink Floyd’s “In the Flesh?” from The Wall, or the bomb detonation near the conclusion of “Late Home Tonight, Pt. 1,” from Roger Waters magnum opus Amused to Death. While I will acknowledge that that are many lesser systems that are otherwise unable to recreate some of these dynamic contrasts faithfully, in a system like mine, or any that would befit the installation of the world-class Horizon, it allows that extraordinary level of transmission and expansive energy to flow with an unmatched might, ease, and authority.