Eclipse TD307 Mk3 $750 Review

June 16, 2022 Comments Off on Eclipse TD307 Mk3 $750 Review

https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/eclipse-td307-mk3

There’s much to be admired in Eclipse’s approach to speaker design. While there are obvious limitations by conventional standards – a lack of bass depth and dynamic punch are the most obvious in this case – there are equally areas of performance where the TD307 Mk3 stomp all over their conventional rivals. It comes down to how they are used and what your sonic priorities are. For the right person, these speakers will be hard to beat.

Chario Aviator Amelia loudspeaker $7590 Review

June 15, 2022 Comments Off on Chario Aviator Amelia loudspeaker $7590 Review

https://www.stereophile.com/content/chario-aviator-amelia-loudspeaker

Plenty of thought and care went into designing and making the Chario Aviator Amelias. Their delivery seems unforced and easy—but not “easy” as in laid-back. Easy as in effortless. They possessed a smooth, vivid naturalism. They’re big on immediacy—not shy about delivering a punch.

The Amelias sound bigger than they are. They were easily able to fill my high-volume listening room with sound. They share a bit of “omni” character with my MBL 120 loudspeakers, perhaps because of drivers on three of six surfaces dispersing sound throughout the room. The impression was of a wider, fuller sound than expected, though not to the extent of the MBL 120s, which are true omnis. I’d consider buying these if the time were right. It’d be easy to spend a similar amount of money and get inferior sonic results.

Sonus Faber Minima Amator II $4500 Review

June 14, 2022 Comments Off on Sonus Faber Minima Amator II $4500 Review

https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/sonus-faber-minima-amator-ii

Things are sure-footed rhythmically, too, with the speakers conveying the energy of music well. They sound composed yet enthusiastic with tracks such as this, and remain comfortable even when pushed hard. We would still point you elsewhere if you routinely listen at ‘party’ levels, but for most people who have small to medium-sized rooms these Sonus Fabers will go loud enough.

A listen to Beethoven’s 9th Symphony shows that these little gems can generate a sound of impressive scale. They handle larger dynamic shifts well, without sounding like they have to strain to do so. Their impressive control comes to the fore when it comes to tracking a multitude of instrumental strands without losing sight of the music’s whole. These are the kind of speakers that put the spotlight on the music and allow the mechanics of hi-fi to fade into the background.

YG Acoustics DC2 Crossover Update in Sonja 2.2i Loudspeaker $88,300 Review

June 12, 2022 Comments Off on YG Acoustics DC2 Crossover Update in Sonja 2.2i Loudspeaker $88,300 Review

Soundstage depth became more layered, and the interstitial haziness that sometimes clouds the spaces between images was cleared up. The soundstage seemed to open up a bit more across the board. How could improving phase in the lower overlap help imaging and the rendering of “space” around instruments to the extent I was hearing? I would expect this sort of soundstaging improvement if the upper overlap, closer to the frequency range where imaging information exists, had been improved. I cannot explain it, but it’s there. Whatever technical reasons are involved, the DC2 crossover brought about the same kinds of improvements in resolution, soundstaging, and dynamic agility that I heard when the ground-breaking YG BilletDome hybrid tweeter was introduced in early 2018 (see my Sonja 2.2 review)—which is to say, very rewarding performance increases, indeed. Is the pre-DC2 Sonja 2.2 still a great speaker? Yes, but better is better, and DC2 advances the Sonja further.

YG’s DC2 crossover improves the Sonja 2.2i’s overall sound quality more than I imagined was possible, and I presume similar or greater improvements are conferred on the upper Sonja models, as well. It is as if a key piece of a building were put in place, and the integrity of the entire structure became more robust. The DC2 crossover “unifies” more of the listening experience. YG has pursued both flat frequency response and a low relative phase angle with excellent results. The DC2 update further validates its approach. The time domain matters a lot in this game. I continue to be impressed with YG speakers, and the DC2-equipped Sonja 2.2i is another resounding success.  

Wilson Audio Alexx V Loudspeaker $135,000 Review

June 10, 2022 Comments Off on Wilson Audio Alexx V Loudspeaker $135,000 Review

Staging and imaging flat out blew me away. There is no other way to say it except to say I heard things behind me. I invited audiophiles and novices alike over, and many novices asked me where the rear-surround speakers were. The stage extended from three feet in front of the drivers to well beyond the wall behind the speakers. Left-to-right staging was whatever the venue was. I must attribute this to the near simultaneous arrival of wavefronts as a result of the adjustable driver enclosures. I have heard tracks I know well project laterally on many systems, but the degree of projection, accuracy of placement within a 360-degree space (simultaneously in front and around me), and the capacity to impart a sense of visceral palpability were uncanny, almost unnerving, with the Alexx V. 

Focal Diablo Utopia Colour Evo Loudspeaker $20,998 Review

June 9, 2022 Comments Off on Focal Diablo Utopia Colour Evo Loudspeaker $20,998 Review

https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2022/1/26/focal-diablo-utopia-colour-evo

Magico A1 $7400 Review

June 8, 2022 Comments Off on Magico A1 $7400 Review

https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/magico-a1

Despite their compact dimensions, these speakers are able to convey the scale of the event brilliantly. Within the limitations set by size and science, they deliver the piece with an astonishing amount of confidence. As the music builds, we’re aware of the A1’s unshakable sense of composure; such is their level of control that they never sound stressed even when pushed to high volumes. Dynamic shifts are delivered with verve, though when judged by price rather than size standards it’s not too hard to buy an alternative that has more in the way of absolute punch and attack.

Similarly, when we switch to Bruce Springsteen’s High Hopes set we’re aware that the Magicos are surefooted with rhythms rather than particularly enthusiastic about producing results that really charge along. Still, they sound musically cohesive and manage to capture enough of the energy in The Boss’s performance to keep us listening. The longer we listen, the more we’re impressed that these speakers aren’t about showboating. They don’t hype up the sound to be more exciting or entertaining than it is. If the original recording is good then that will shine through. And if it isn’t you’ll know all about it, despite the speakers having more than enough refinement to prevent things from sounding worse than they should.

PureAudioProject Quintet15 Speaker System $11,140 Review

June 7, 2022 Comments Off on PureAudioProject Quintet15 Speaker System $11,140 Review

What can I say more about these that I haven’t already covered in the Trio review? They are more of everything! Volume, heft, SPL, and stature. If that is what you’re looking for—you came to the right place. And don’t worry about your room size too much—honestly, due to them being dipoles, you can run them in awkward rooms and get very pleasurable nearfield listening out of them. I can say this with actual experience (they currently are living in a 22′ x 12′ room) so they are quite versatile. If you have the Trios, consider this a major upgrade (if your room allows it) or if you’re considering a PAP system then I say skip the smaller one and just go with these! I can’t recommend the company or the speakers enough. 

Perlisten Audio S7t Loudspeaker Review

June 6, 2022 Comments Off on Perlisten Audio S7t Loudspeaker Review

https://www.hifinews.com/content/perlisten-audio-s7t-loudspeaker

Surprisingly, however, I felt I was hearing it in a way I hadn’t before, not in terms of microscopic detail, but in imaging. And at this scale, this resolution and with this dynamic flavour, you remember why it’s a track destined to lurk in every audiophile’s collection. It was spine-tingling, emotional stuff, and I never wanted Gilmour to stop wailing.

As for getting a sense of the recording space, and painting a visual picture, the S7t doesn’t fail. Rogrido y Gabriela’s furious flamenco guitar jam ‘Terracentric’ [Mettavolution, Rubyworks; 44.1kHz/24-bit] had a degree of physicality that was tangible. The feeling of air being shifted by these speakers was palpable, as was the evocation of the duo on a small stage. Again, these speakers do ‘loud’ with real class so, naturally, you wouldn’t buy the S7t (or SE) to play them quiet. But you should definitely think about buying them.

Simaudio Moon Voice 22 Loudspeakers Review

June 4, 2022 Comments Off on Simaudio Moon Voice 22 Loudspeakers Review

https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/1677-simaudio-moon-voice-22-loudspeakers

After a few weeks in the living room, I moved the 22s up to my main listening room, which is bigger—the ceiling is 8′ high again, but the main listening space is about 16′ wide by 18′ long. On top of that, the listening space behind my main listening chair opens into another 16′ by 18′ space that I use for storage. The speakers were atop the BBC stands, placed about 9′ apart from each other and 9′ from the listening chair, thus forming an equilateral triangle. The backs of the speakers were about 7′ from the wall behind them and 5′ to the walls beside them. This kind of setup puts small speakers at a severe disadvantage because they can’t benefit from room gain due to the significant speaker-to-wall distances, but it does allow me to hear more of the speakers and less of the room.

Powering the 22s through QED Supremus speaker cables was the Purifi Audio Eigentakt engineering-sample power amp I wrote about in September 2020. Driving the amp was an Anthem STR preamp-DAC (ARC room correction turned off), fed by streamed and SSD-stored digital music files from an Asus Zenbook UX303U laptop via a USB connection. Other cables and accessories were from Crystal Cable and Shunyata Research, as outlined in the equipment listing at the end of this review.

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