The Lumin T3 Streamer, DAC, & Preamplifier Review
August 8, 2023 Comments Off on The Lumin T3 Streamer, DAC, & Preamplifier Review
SPL Diamond USB DAC Review
August 1, 2023 Comments Off on SPL Diamond USB DAC Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/spl-diamond-usb-dac
It might be the most basic digital device in SPL’s ‘Professional Fidelity’ range of consumer products, but the Diamond DAC is both superb-sounding and something of a high-end bargain. By focusing on essential flexibility only – no fiddly filters! – the company has come up with a design that’s both easy to use and capable of excellent performance across a wide sweep of musical genres.
PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream MK2 D/A processor Review
July 28, 2023 Comments Off on PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream MK2 D/A processor Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/ps-audio-perfectwave-directstream-mk2-da-processor
With the original DirectStream’s volume control set to its maximum of “100” and the Parasound monoblocks set to high sensitivity driving the KEF LS50s, I could hear no hiss with my ear pressed against a tweeter. (For my auditioning, I used the Parasounds set to their lower sensitivity and the PS Audio’s volume set to “76,” ie, 12dB below the maximum.) Repeating the exercise with the MK2, some noise was audible, but I couldn’t hear it if I moved more than a few inches away from the speaker. The level of this noise didn’t change if I lifted the USB ground via a Menu setting, and it wasn’t affected by the setting of the MK2’s volume control. It might be best, then, to avoid using the built-in volume control in a system with high-sensitivity speakers, like the Klipsch La Scala Alex Halberstadt reviewed in April 2023, where the music volume may need to be turned down to levels at which this noise becomes troublesome.
Lumin T3 Music Server/DAC Review
June 16, 2023 Comments Off on Lumin T3 Music Server/DAC Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/lumin-t3-music-serverdac
The T3’s pristine playback also has you looking at old tracks in a new light. I thought I’d heard it all from Bon Jovi’s rock ballad ‘Wanted Dead Or Alive’ [Slippery When Wet; Island Mercury, 96kHz/24-bit], knowing every beat, lyric, and artificial harmonic in Richie Sambora’s guitar solo off by heart. Through Lumin’s T3, however, the song took on a more polished, more detailed quality than I recall. Keyboards sounded fuller, percussion crisper, guitar riffs more cutting. Follow-up track ‘Raise Your Hands’ is more up-tempo and chaotic, and the player seemed to shepherd its various elements with precision while unleashing all the energy in the rhythm section and Jon Bon Jovi’s vocal yelps.
It’s an open sound, even with these dense pieces, but not to the point where the overriding feel or vibe becomes lost. So Ted Nugent’s ‘Stranglehold’ [Ted Nugent; Epic, 96kHz/24-bit] sounded as woozy and improvisational as ever, the guitar solo flourishing above the effects-heavy bassline, while the textural juxtaposition between David Bowie’s smooth vocals and Freddie Mercury’s snarls on Queen’s ‘Under Pressure’ [Hot Space; Virgin/EMI, 44.1kHz/16-bit] ensured the song still raised goosebumps, 41 years on
iFi Audio NEO Stream Network-Attached DAC Review
May 23, 2023 Comments Off on iFi Audio NEO Stream Network-Attached DAC Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/ifi-audio-neo-stream-network-attached-dac
While experimenting I also discovered the NEO Stream can actually handle two connected DACs, one via the rear USB-A, one via the USB-C port on the front. It won’t stream to both simultaneously, of course, but maybe the rule is: if you can think of a reason why you would want to hook up two DACs at the same time – a comparison listening test, for example – you’re smack bang in the target group of iFi Audio’s well-featured device.
TAD DA1000TX $15,900 Review
April 20, 2023 Comments Off on TAD DA1000TX $15,900 Review
https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/tad-da1000tx
Despite all these great things, there are still a few areas where we feel there is space for improvement. One of them concerns rhythmic drive. There is real momentum to Cave’s Babe, I’m On Fire but the DA1000TX doesn’t quite capture that energy. Our feet are still tapping but we know the similarly-priced Chord DAVE would capture more of the verve and drive of the track. It seems TAD’s search for refinement, analysis and control has sacrificed a little of the music’s fun in the process. That includes the way it pulls its punches when it comes to delivering the leading edge of transients and powerful large-scale dynamic shifts. This DAC prefers to err on the side of politeness, and on some more aggressive forms of music, we can feel the loss.
Audiophilepure 
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