Audiophilepure

Alongside the DAC, in a separate white box, you’ll find a set of accessories. These include a USB-C to USB-A cable, a high-quality 6.35mm to 3.5mm gold-plated adapter, and iFi brand RCA cables, all of which add to the value you’re getting. I especially like that they included the RCA cables, which are good for those who already have a headphone amplifier. For those with active monitors, no luck, as the cable length must be longer for active speakers. A quick start guide, iFi stickers, and the brand’s signature smiley mascot are also included to add a retro touch. The included accessory kit lets users enjoy their DAC/AMP immediately.

https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/spl-phonitor-se

As the Mahler symphony builds we note the pleasing sense of space in the Phonitor’s presentation and its ability to avoid sounding cluttered. It helps that details are crisply rendered with little in the way of blur or vagueness when it comes to defining the leading edges of notes. This is particularly praiseworthy at low frequencies where the SPL delivers exceptional grip without sacrificing tunefulness.

That same bass quality works wonderfully with Massive Attack’s Heligoland set. Here, the SPL headphone amp delivers bass with considerable conviction, thumping it out with punch and power. Move up the frequency range and you will find that the midrange is crisp and clean while retaining the natural warmth of vocals. We are pleased to report that the Phonitor SE is the kind of product that you can listen to for hours on end without issue. For all its insight and resolution, it avoids sounding hard-edged and sterile. Feed it a poor or aggressive recording, we used Bruce Springsteen’s heartfelt Terry’s Song, and the SPL refuses to make a meal of things. It is highly revealing of the recording’s shortcomings but never goes out of its way to be rude.

100V on the tube plate, rather than 60V, for increased linearity and gain
Topological improvements that lower overall feedback and maintain performance
A new optimized layout with better signal flow and ergonomics
All-new attractive advanced-form USA-stamped custom chassis
Massively improved ventilation and lower operating temperatures
Like all Schiit products, Vali 3 is made in the USA. The vast majority of components, including chassis and PC boards, are made by US companies in the USA. Wall-wart transformers are made in China. All assembly, QA, and testing, including 100% instrumented test and 100% listening test, are done at Schiit’s Corpus Christi, Texas facility.

I will try to describe the DAC’s signature without the Atom AMP 2. For this test, I am pairing the DAC directly with my active reference monitors. Let’s start with the signature. Just like all the other Atoms, the Atom DAC 2 sounds transparent and uncolored. It is immensely clean and perfectly reflects the gear you pair it with, as-is, without any saturation. I am actually quite amazed at how JDS is able to achieve this level of performance with the old, reliable 9018K2M DAC from ESS. Of course, their precisely tuned trans-impedance stage utilizes six OPA1692 opamps, but still, it is one hell of an achievement and makes you question the must-have-latest-dac-chip race among Chinese manufacturers. JDS is once again showing off its expertise, a powerful reminder that implementation and execution reign supreme in audio design.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-81-feliks-envy-headphone-amplifier

I’ve worshipped at the altar of David Lindley, singer-songwriter and master of all stringed instruments. His 1981 debut album with his band El Rayo-X (Asylum LP 5E-524) is spectacular on black disc, but the digital streaming version (16/44.1 FLAC Electra Asylum/Qobuz) has never grabbed me; I never listened all the way through until I listened with the ZMF Verité–Feliks Envy combo. With that, “Mercury Blues” came all the way alive, and my feet weren’t tapping the floor; they were pounding it. My head was bouncing, and I was cruising on down the road. Plus! I can’t mention this album of full-tilt rhythms without a shout-out declaring Ian Wallace, once a member of King Crimson, the alpha dog of funky drummers. On “Mercury Blues,” Wallace was so good and having so much fun, he made me laugh out loud in the middle of a song.

After parking my new Mercury, I entered a seaside tango bar, and there she was: the beautiful Argentinian chanteuse Susana Natividad Rinaldi, sounding like Edith Piaf and looking like a singer in a David Lynch film. The seductive tones of Rinaldi’s voice forced me to adore her. The dense reverb that framed her voice and made the band’s instruments vibrant did not fog the recording’s transparency or soften its focus. The album that supplied that vision is called A Homero Manzi (16/44.1 FLAC RP Music/Qobuz), and I swear that every instrument and player in her small orchestra was delineated clearly enough to watch and follow what they were doing on the stage.