RUSSELL K RED 120 FLOORSTANDING LOUDSPEAKER REVIEW
June 30, 2019 Comments Off on RUSSELL K RED 120 FLOORSTANDING LOUDSPEAKER REVIEW
“This is an unusually revealing loudspeaker that more than makes up for its diminutive stature with the sheer level of detail that it can extract from the signal. It’s clearly a slave to whatever comes down the cable and manages to expose an awful lot of musical detail in a fabulously coherent manner. ‘Coherent’ is the key word; the Russell K Red 120 may not produce the biggest image in the world or have the most muscular dynamics but it can deliver the music precisely and effortlessly in time. There is no sense of time smear and in this respect it deserves to be ranked alongside the best that Rega, Neat, and a few others have done. The Red 120 doesn’t look like great value when compared with the other floorstander I reviewed this month (Audiovector QR5) but looks can be very deceptive. Musical enjoyment is not a visual thing it’s a sonic trick that only really works when the timing is spot on. And with the Red 120 that is always the case.
Wilson Benesch Eminence Loudspeaker $235,000 Review
June 29, 2019 Comments Off on Wilson Benesch Eminence Loudspeaker $235,000 Review
“Although many loudspeakers have very flat frequency response, the Eminence went a step further by combining tonal neutrality with a colorlessness that served as a blank canvas upon which instrumental timbre could be portrayed with sensational realism and vividness. The speaker didn’t impose its own tincture on tone colors that would have diluted their vibrance. Not only did instrumental and vocal timbres sound more “alive”; they were also differentiated from each other more clearly. The result was that each instrument in an ensemble was its own entity, more vividly present. It was like looking at a multi-hued photograph printed on pure white, rather than slightly grey, paper. This impression was heightened by a stunning sense of openness through the midrange and top octaves. There was a gossamer-like sense of the music existing independently of the speakers, unencumbered, and with the impression that a lid had been removed from the top octave.
The midrange had an electrostat-like directness and immediacy that were sensational. Brass and woodwinds were reproduced with an unfettered dynamic life and visceral presence. Trumpets had a full measure of high-frequency energy without sounding hard, brittle, or metallic. Freddie Hubbard’s instrument on his composition “Byrdlike” from the George Cables album Cables’ Vision was richly portrayed, with just the right balance of immediacy and liquidity. Piano was particularly well-served by the Eminence’s freedom from dynamic constraints, the purity and clarity of its midband, and its exquisite resolution of lower registers. I particularly enjoyed how the Eminence conveyed the way pianist Brad Mehldau’s left hand creates counterpoint with his right, weaving in melodic developments with equal facility in his right and left hands (and sometimes simultaneously) and in the process seemingly improvising an entirely new composition. The colorlessness of the midrange was apparent on vocals, rendering them with outstanding clarity. The Eminence’s reproduction of vocals was a bit understated spatially compared with many other speakers, presenting voices along the loudspeaker plane rather than projecting them forward. It was a more subtle and sophisticated perspective that tended to draw me in.”
Wilson Audio TuneTot £10,998 Review
June 25, 2019 Comments Off on Wilson Audio TuneTot £10,998 Review
“This is a very neutral and revealing loudspeaker and one that easily shows the characteristics of the components it’s partnered with. Both the aforementioned Musical Fidelity M6 500i amplifier and my resident Naim Supernait 2 integrated are able to provide perfectly solid bases for the TuneTot to demonstrate its incredible spaciousness and exceptional detail retrieval, but I have little doubt that moving further up market will yield even greater rewards – provided, of course, that you have a reasonable amount of power at your disposal.
Best of all is that the TuneTot never demands a constant supply of perfectly mastered material to deliver on its virtues. My music library contains more than a few rough diamonds and no journey into these areas leaves me unhappy with the results as it consistently delivers an engaging performance without fear or favour on every occasion. The balanced manner in which it allows you to hear the limitations on some recordings its fed while effortlessly connecting with and delivering the music’s emotional core is one that is perfectly judged.
Acapella Audio Arts: The $650K Sphaeron Excalibur loudspeakers
June 24, 2019 Comments Off on Acapella Audio Arts: The $650K Sphaeron Excalibur loudspeakers
T+A elektroakustik Talis S 300 Loudspeaker Review $13,900
June 21, 2019 Comments Off on T+A elektroakustik Talis S 300 Loudspeaker Review $13,900
“I do want to emphasize that the qualities described above were not evident when the S 300s were freshly unpacked—they needed 150–200 hours of playing music to come into their own. Before that, the speakers were quite “accurate” with loads of detail, yet provided only a very ordinary listening experience. With time, the preternatural clarity remained, joined by an organic ease and naturalness surely related to the tonal verisimilitude noted above. Loudspeakers under $20,000 are the class of products I cover at shows, and I’ve not heard ones better than the S 300s. Sonically, they hold their own with competing models from Wilson and Magico that cost thousands more, despite having to cross an ocean to get here, and the T+As will likely get higher marks for appearance than products from those other two fine manufacturers. Most importantly, the Talis S 300 can make you forget that you are listening to a recording. And that’s what it’s all about, right?”
Dali Callisto 6 C and Sound Hub Wireless Loudspeaker Review
June 19, 2019 Comments Off on Dali Callisto 6 C and Sound Hub Wireless Loudspeaker Review
“Get closer to the raison d’être of the Callisto system with the Sound Hub, and the good news is that the wireless transmission doesn’t bring a deterioration of the sound, albeit there’s little it can do to iron out the problems of the balance here. True, things are a little softer when using the hub’s two analogue inputs than when connecting sources using the optical or coaxial digital inputs – as one might expect given the extra ADC stage involved – but in general the Sound Hub, and its 96kHz/24-bit wireless audio transmission, is relatively transparent.
Not that this system is a hugely persuasive argument for the benefits of ‘hi-res’ sound, as its sonic characteristics tend to emphasise the high frequency energy, but fail to make much of the enhanced detail, insight and dynamics on offer. Florence & The Machine’s 2015 set How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful [Island Records 602547236050; 96kHz/24-bit] was delivered with useful bass weight and definition, but still had that upper midband softness and excessive treble fizz, almost as though a loudness curve was being applied. The result was a temptation to back off a bit on the volume in order to calm things down.”
Focal Kanta No1 Loudspeakers $5999 REVIEW
June 17, 2019 Comments Off on Focal Kanta No1 Loudspeakers $5999 REVIEW
“I’ve reviewed many Focal speakers over the years, and listened to more, and with all of them, two things have stood out: prominent highs and very punchy upper bass. This has resulted in what I call a Technicolor sound — not so far from strict neutrality to sound unnatural, but far livelier than what I typically hear from my reference speakers, Revel’s Ultima2 Salon2s ($21,998/pair), which exaggerate no frequencies, and which I and most listeners would describe as dead neutral.
Connected to the Constellation Revelation Taurus Monos or the JE Audio VM60s, the Kanta No1s sounded similar to but slightly different from other Focals I’ve heard. Yes, there was the same liveliness, but the highs weren’t quite as tipped up — and the upper bass, while punchy enough, didn’t seem as overemphasized. Granted, the lowest bass was missing — I heard nothing below 40Hz, which is only to be expected from a pair of two-way minimonitors. But low bass aside, the first thing I thought was: These are the most neutral-sounding Focal speakers I’ve heard.”
DALI Callisto 2C Active Digital Speaker System $4750 Review
June 15, 2019 Comments Off on DALI Callisto 2C Active Digital Speaker System $4750 Review
“Later my mind was blown, again. I did some close-in-time comparisons between the Callistos running off their included (generic, 2-conductor 18AWG) power cords, and a pair of AudioQuest NRG-Z3 (3-conductor, thick) cords. I had no idea AC cables could make such a large difference in the sound. It wasn’t just emerging from a blacker background; everything was more crisp and exciting. The soundstage was better defined, and the music seemed louder. Instruments had more separation, and their individual characters stood out more. And voices seemed to be “flesh-and-blood present” in the room with me. The incredible realism, accuracy, and liveliness that I had been enjoying for one month with the Callistos went one step further in the right direction.
Do not even consider running your Callistos with the included power cords. Since you are running D/A processor, preamp, power amp, and speaker off a single cord, it needs to be a premium one. Is it crazy to spend $500 on a pair of AC cords for a sub-$5000 system? Not after hearing the sonic improvements they bring. You may be able to find less expensive AC cords that also work well, so experiment. I was a doubter before; I thought at most AC cords could filter some noise, but no more. With a complex unit like the Callisto, they can actually render across-the-board improvements that add up to a serious upgrade. On both solo and choral vocals, a real acid test for any system, the realism was uncanny. Every emotion and delicate touch the singers were putting in there came across clear as a bell. On Siouxsie and the Banshees’ “Scarecrow” from the album Peepshow, the sound was so intimate I felt Siouxsie was trying to seduce me (though it’s not a love song). I never even realized how much she hams it up before; it’s on the border of overdone.”
AUDIOVECTOR QR5 FLOORSTANDING LOUDSPEAKERS REVIEW
June 14, 2019 Comments Off on AUDIOVECTOR QR5 FLOORSTANDING LOUDSPEAKERS REVIEW
“It’s one of those speakers that lets you relax with the music and that’s clearly not a bad thing, I like the way that it is pretty well unflappable even at higher levels and that the bass is so fulsome. This could overawe smaller rooms but with only about 40cm behind them the balance was very even in my medium sized space. I tried a track that is notorious for its sibilants, another Patricia Barber number called ‘A Touch of Trash’ [Modern Cool, Premonition]. On this the vocals did seem a little cleaner than usual, the emphasis on S sounds didn’t disappear, but they were reduced enough to stop it being a distraction. Lou Reed’s classic ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ [Transformer, RCA Victor] sounded appealingly open and his voice projected well over the fabulous tone of the double bass. It lacked a little of its edge perhaps, but none of its innate charm. Another bass heavy track, Hadouk Trio’s ‘Vol De Nuit’ [Live à FIP, Mélodie], showed how well the Audiovector can produce deep clean lows while giving the ‘voice’ in the piece, an oud, the space to express itself in a clear fashion.”
Audiophilepure 
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