Schiit Vali 2 amplifier
December 29, 2015 Comments Off on Schiit Vali 2 amplifier
” What could possibly be wrong with that? According to Schiit co-founder and the amplifier’s designer Jason Stoddard, quite a bit actually. For starters, one had to be tolerant of the subminiature tube’s possible microphonics; it didn’t play well with low impedance IEMs (that demand an amplifier with lower noise floor and of lower output impedance than the Vali’s 6.5 Ohms); no gain switching; no pre-amplifier outputs
Goldmund Telos Amplier/DAC $10,400 Review
December 26, 2015 Comments Off on Goldmund Telos Amplier/DAC $10,400 Review
” The Hifiman HE1000 soundstage is large and precise. The Telos and HE1000 were synergistic and a excellent match. The Telos was able to get the best out of the HE1000 and brought out everything the headphone had to offer. Art Pepper’s saxophone came alive on “Move” from “+11’’, Art was located in the center and each musician was in their own defined space with excellent separation. Each instrument had sufficient air and created a 3D image within the soundstage. Closing my eyes I could identify every musician in the stage easily.The Telos involvement with the music was as good as I have heard in any combination. The listening sessions sometimes went over a 10 hour period and never did I feel any distractions while listening. The music was involving and non fatiguing. ”
Ayre Acoustics Codex Review – Video
December 20, 2015 Comments Off on Ayre Acoustics Codex Review – Video
SIMAUDIO MOON NEO 430HA – REVIEW
December 18, 2015 Comments Off on SIMAUDIO MOON NEO 430HA – REVIEW
“The analogue signature comes to mind due to a slightly soft treble, one that doesn’t have the bite or attack of my Questyle Monos or quite have the upper mid clarity for that matter. It is an ever so slightly softer sound as well, not by huge margins but the bass doesn’t have the agility of the Questyle or rumble of the Tektron. But that fluidity. There is also a rather impressive body to the sound that solidifies the sound it already has. A thick and creamy experience that is really pleasant on the ears.”
iBasso D14 DAC/headamp Review
December 16, 2015 Comments Off on iBasso D14 DAC/headamp Review
” The backplate is similarly fuss-free: there’s an SPDIF in and a mini USB in that doubles as a charge point. There’s also an on/off switch to control whether the unit will draw power from its USB source or from the internal battery. Especially important when running it off a phone or a laptop that’s not charging, as it’s quite a power drain.”
Linear Tube Audio MicroZOTL 2.0 Headphone Amp & Preamp $1100 Review
December 14, 2015 Comments Off on Linear Tube Audio MicroZOTL 2.0 Headphone Amp & Preamp $1100 Review
” I note to readers that I am not a headphone expert and I do most of my listening through speakers, but the sound of the MicroZOTL 2.0 with the Grado and RHA cans were a real revelation. The word intimacy comes to mind. This feeling may have been brought to the forefront due to the total lack of background noise and virtually seamless tonal balance.”
JDS Labs Element Review
December 7, 2015 Comments Off on JDS Labs Element Review
“I still find it incredible that JDS Labs can produce a product this good at the price they do, I think if you only want one desktop solid state amplifier, this is the only one you will need. You don’t need to spend mega money on a good set up. I personally think this can take on amps twice its price and beat them, in refinement and also in its capability to drive all headphones.”
ENIGMAcoustics Athena A1 $1,490
December 4, 2015 Comments Off on ENIGMAcoustics Athena A1 $1,490
” SBESL technology is implemented in the Dharma D1000 hybrid electrostatic stereo headphone. The result, according to the press release, is high frequency response that extends to 50 kHz, and sweet, nuanced sound. The Athena A1, designed by a virtuoso engineering team, is the first headphone amplifier from ENIGMAcoustics. Chosen for their sonic purity and low noise, ECC82/12AU7 triode vacuum tubes, driven in pure Class-A mode, provide the foundation for Athena A1’s single-ended front end:
Pass Labs New Headphone Amp $3,500 Review
November 30, 2015 Comments Off on Pass Labs New Headphone Amp $3,500 Review
“The foundation of the HPA-1’s engineering is a custom, low-noise shielded toroidal power transformer feeding a discreet low noise regulated power supply for the audio circuits. The importance of the power supply is often overlooked and plays a large part in overall performance of the amplifier. The HPA-1’s amplifier circuits are low-feedback, wide-bandwidth discreet designs employing J-Fet input stages and Class A-biased direct-coupled MOSFET output stages. The HPA-1 easily drives headphones presenting loads from 15 to 600 Ohms, particularly excelling on planar headphone designs. The sound is rich and detailed.”
Trafomatic Audio Head 2 $1700 Review
November 29, 2015 Comments Off on Trafomatic Audio Head 2 $1700 Review
” The Head 2 uses ECC88 input tubes and 6N30P output tubes, one in each channel for a total of 4 tubes. The tubes are in a Class-A push-pull configuration with output transformers. The amplification is 100% tube based and can deliver up to 2W of power into 50 ohms or 26dB of gain if using the Line Out. I am a huge fan of the ECC88 tube family as most of them have low noise and a clean linear tube sound. The Head 2 comes stock with Electro-Harmonix 6922 and Sovtek 6N30P tubes which worked well and provided fantastic sound right out of the box.”
Audiophilepure 
You must be logged in to post a comment.