AUNE S6 BALANCED t 599$ REVIEW
August 4, 2017 Comments Off on AUNE S6 BALANCED t 599$ REVIEW
“The S6 reveals layers in the stereo image, and gobs of positional detail. You float within the music. It is mildly warm, but more detailed that it is warm. Instrument detail is phenomenally clear and resolved. It is a bit drier than the LinnenberG Maestro but not as dry or warm as the Lynx HILO.”
HIFIMAN SHANGRI-LA ELECTROSTATIC HEADPHONES AND PURE CLASS A AMPLIFIER $50,000 REVIEW
August 3, 2017 Comments Off on HIFIMAN SHANGRI-LA ELECTROSTATIC HEADPHONES AND PURE CLASS A AMPLIFIER $50,000 REVIEW
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The headphones are physically transparent as well. There are no cones or magnets in the way to block light, so you can see through them. The open back allows the user to hear sounds in the room, so if your spouse says, “Put the headphones down, and come help me set the table for dinner,” you will hear her. I thought at first room sounds would be distracting, but I became so involved with the music from this incredible audio system, my brain tossed all external sounds aside.”
Pass Labs HPA-1 Headphone Amplifier $3500 Review
July 29, 2017 Comments Off on Pass Labs HPA-1 Headphone Amplifier $3500 Review
“Putting aside its prime directive as a headphone amp for a moment, the HPA-1 got right into the swing of being a dedicated preamp as it smoothly drove the active ATC SCM19A floorstanding loudspeakers (Issue 272). It exhibited the same lack of artifice, dynamic drive, and resolving power. Differences were subtle, subtractions minor (to some degree reflecting the added acoustic of my listening room); however, low-frequency pitch definition did soften slightly and soundstaging wasn’t as dimensionally immersive as that of my reference electronics. Even as a stand-alone preamp the HPA-1 is immensely competitive in its class, and for driving a powered desktop system (the likely goal) pretty hard to beat.”
Ampsandsound Agartha Vacuum Tube Stereo Amplifier And Headamp $3600 Review
July 24, 2017 Comments Off on Ampsandsound Agartha Vacuum Tube Stereo Amplifier And Headamp $3600 Review
“The only real knock on the headphone output is the relatively high amount of background noise. There was a distinct transformer buzz that was quite audible when music wasn’t playing. It was easily drowned out by music, but still faintly noticeable if you were really, really zoned-in on it. If you don’t need the world’s blackest background this should be just fine, and I think the amplifier’s many positive traits definitely outweigh this negative, but some people demand absolute silence from their amplifier, and those folks would likely be a bit annoyed by this hum,”
Grace Design m9XX DAC $799 Review
July 19, 2017 Comments Off on Grace Design m9XX DAC $799 Review
“Sonically the Grace m9XX performed with flying colors when used as a DAC/pre. The well-controlled and extended bass that I heard through headphones was readily apparent when auditioned in a nearfield or room-based system. The m9XX’s unfatiguing upper-frequency presentation made listening through my all-solid-state and Class D amplification system a very natural and relaxed affair. My only quibble is that if you have built a system that is already soft and forgiving the m9XX might be too much of a good thing. However, if you want a neutral, revealing, but still listenable DAC, the m9XX checks all the right boxes.”
KORG DS-DAC-100 REVIEW
June 30, 2017 Comments Off on KORG DS-DAC-100 REVIEW
” Everything else is exemplary. Neither frequency dips nor rises mar any audible surface. There’s hardly any jitter; and even under harsh loads, IMD and THD rise imperceptibly. You won’t get 120dB out of this thing in any metric, but you will artefact-free 107dB, which is a hell of a lot better than 99% of amps out there.”
QUESTYLE AUDIO CMA400I $799 – REVIEW
June 21, 2017 Comments Off on QUESTYLE AUDIO CMA400I $799 – REVIEW
” As for sound quality, it leaves little to be desired, it has excellent tonal balance and exemplary bandwidth and detail. The low frequency extension and control is a must hear to believe proposition. While it does not veil or sweeten the mid range, neither does it add anything to it, meaning it has a musicality that makes even listening to headphones that fall out on the bright or harsh side can be a pleasant and eye opening experience. While I attribute a great deal of the performance of the DAC to the amplifier section, and the wonderful ears of the designers at Questyle, you would be hard pressed to find one that has greater detail and low frequency performance.
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Schiit’s Jotunheim $400 Review
June 18, 2017 Comments Off on Schiit’s Jotunheim $400 Review
“For its five-hundred dollar asking price (US$399 if you don’t want the DAC or phono module), it’s unlikely there exists a headphone amplifier that can compete with the Jotunheim’s combined audible performance and feature set. The MK2 Soloist from Burson sells for US$499 but it isn’t modular or balanced. iFi Audio’s balanced iCan Pro isn’t far off two grand. We might journey to Audio-gd in China for their 8 watt NFB-1AMP muscle amp (US$450).”
JDS LABS EL DAC & AMP – REVIEW
June 4, 2017 Comments Off on JDS LABS EL DAC & AMP – REVIEW
” JDS Labs seem to be favoring a sleek build for the EL series, and I like it. The unit is made from anodized aluminum, and to correct what I said earlier, the anodizing process is actually handled across the river in St. Louis, so that is the one thing NOT handled in-house. Despite feeling pretty solid, the EL DAC is extremely light: 18oz to be exact. Simple and solid seems to be the order of the day.”
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