Audiophilepure

Read Here

“First, much like the XV, the 2.2 conveys both an immediate and lasting impression of offering superabundant sonic transparency. The speaker makes joyful child’s play of rendering small, elusive, low-level sonic details with effortless clarity and definition. Unlike many other speakers that claim to be good at detail retrieval, however, the Sonja 2.2 manages to be highly informative while also remaining uncannily smooth sounding and unflustered, whether playing loudly, softly, or anywhere in between (where competing speakers often achieve perceived detail at the expense of a subtly bright, brittle, and edgy sound). The upshot of this is that the 2.2 is a wonderfully natural sounding loudspeaker; there is absolutely nothing strained or forced about it presentation. ”

Read Here

“Perhaps the defining, nay, dominant characteristic of The Pure surely has to be explosive dynamic expressionism first, coupled with nuanced yet lively resolution of the incoming musical signal next. To wit, these also happen to be the strongest defining character traits of the entire EINSTEIN ecosystem, thusly adding even more juice to the all-important decibel knob, otherwise known as volume. Frankly, The Pure’s concept isn’t really new. Crossoverless speakers surely have been around for some time, and I’ve been a fan of them ever since I first got sucked into the zoo, that is Zu Druids and Definition speakers. Undoubtedly, that dynamic expressionism, the tonal correctness, and the otherwise effortless sound simply speak to me and my listening style. It’s full range or bust. You certainly don’t walk up to your favorite performer and ask him to compress his guitar, drums, or piano just because your system isn’t capable of reproducing it ”

Read Here

“The XT-5 scored major points: It always sounded great, whether I was playing an “audiophile recording” of the highest pedigree, or a rap track designed to sound good over a car stereo system with a couple of twelves in the back. It wasn’t forgiving in the sense of glossing over details — rather, it had a lighter, airier, nonfatiguing treble mated to a fairly neutral midrange and a largish, round bass. All of that added up to a sound that was never offensive, and worked well with a wide array of musical genres, whether recorded well or rather poorl”

Read Here

“These speakers remind me that the “entry-level” isn’t a bad place to be. Inexpensive components are getting better and better as high-end design trickles down into supposedly budget hardware. The Diamond 225s take everything good about high-end audio, the power of beautifully reproduced music, and they make it accessible to a wider audience. I believe the 225s would satisfy just about anybody looking for fantastic-sounding speakers designed by a respected manufacturer at a reasonable price. They’re not perfect, but man, they’re still more than good. I highly recommend them.”

Read Here

‘A dichotomy of performance with different amplifiers happens with all good speakers, but here the Persona’s preference for warmer sounding amps is extreme. Creating a balanced sounding system with the Paradigm speakers could require major changes to cables and source components, and even room treatments to make the listening room less bright and more dead. Due to the strong character of the Persona Bs, if they sound correct in a system, that system is probably not neutral. This disqualifies the Persona B from being included in the category of Reference Level. I think of this cutting-edge beryllium cone mid-woofer as a work in progress.”

Read Here

“In a way, this last paragraph highlights one of the problems with trying to describe sound in word form. It’s easy to give the wrong impression. A surface reading of a review of the Magico S3 Mk II might conclude that this is a good, if analytical loudspeaker with a dry-sounding bass. This would be entirely wrong, but also entirely understandable given the nature of the way the sound of the Magico is invariably described. What’s missing from this picture is the way you relate to this sound. It’s honest and accurate and able to play loud, but these points alone don’t do the loudspeaker justice. There is something deeper at work when you listen to the Magico S3 Mk II. You find the lack of character in a loudspeaker really begins to hit home after a few minutes of listening, and this happens in an entirely positive way. It’s not just about the great dynamic range or the three-dimensional, well-wide-of-the-speakers soundstage, it’s about being something of a musical intuition pump. The S3 Mk II invites you to listen deeper. Not in an analytical way (although you can certainly do that with these loudspeakers) but like the music is being presented to you shiny and new. Your inner musicologist is set free as a result”

Read Here

“The Signature One was fast on its feet no matter the listening level. While at the very lowest volumes it lost some of its sparkle (as do most speakers), at reasonable late-night, don’t-wake-the-family levels these condo-friendly speakers projected satisfying levels of dynamics. Then, when I jacked up the juice, the Totems woke right up and came alive. As I raised the volume, the bass tightened up and the highs gained presence, and that didn’t stop even as I pushed the speakers further, up past my usual comfort level for a stand-mounted two-way. The Totems are ideal for a small room, but I wouldn’t hesitate to use them in larger spaces.’