XACT S1 Music Server $13,900 Review
May 6, 2024 § Leave a comment
He succeeds more than you’d expect. This solid-state digital music server inspired thoughts of the Golden Age of Stereo, that high-water period in tube analog recordings dating from sixty years ago. It has the kind of frequency response and comfortable ear-feel that tends to make people smile. There’s even a bit of the golden glow.
The way the S1 reproduces space will make you do a double take. Digital has well-known issues regarding image depth, in particular roundness in space. The S1 overcomes that by fleshing out the missing dimension. Then it goes a step beyond and projects the images into the room, creating the kind of spatial holography we associate with tubes. To say the S1 is unlike other digital components is an understatement.
Bluesound POWERNODE EDGE $649 REVIEW
April 28, 2024 Comments Off on Bluesound POWERNODE EDGE $649 REVIEW
https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2023/10/10/bluesound-powernode-edge
In my office reference system driving the 91-dB / 4 ohm Care Orchestra Deep Breath Evo monitors the Powernode delivered what I can call a full performance. I heard surprisingly tuneful bass from these power-hungry boxes. Articulate and substantial midrange as well. Treble information was detailed and important for any budget audio component, it was free from uncomfortable grain and harshness. My AmazonHD stream of Leonard Bernstein’s 1987 live recording of Mahler Symphony No. 5 with the Vienna Philharmonic (Deutsche Grammophon) started with a convincing trumpet fanfare to open the famous funeral march. The rich tone drew me into the narrative and the decent spatial separation of orchestra sections helped paint a full picture of the performance.
Auralic Vega G2 2 streaming DAC Review
April 8, 2024 Comments Off on Auralic Vega G2 2 streaming DAC Review
Auralic Aries G2.2 Music Library/Server £5299 Review
April 5, 2024 Comments Off on Auralic Aries G2.2 Music Library/Server £5299 Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/auralic-aries-g22-music-libraryserver
Upsampling low-quality source material can be tricky, but when streaming MP3 renderings of Luka Bloom’s The Platinum Collection [Rhino Records; 8122-79993-3] via Amazon Music, the Aries G2.2’s processing came to the fore. Even though I was playing lossy 192kbps-encoded files, the semi-acoustic guitar on ‘Dreams In America’ or the fiddle on ‘You Couldn’t Have Come At A Better Time’ sounded pretty close to excellent. Listening to the same tracks from local files on a NAS was more satisfying, as dynamics and very high-frequency detail sounded more authentic. Nonetheless, the Aries G2.2 offered a very good performance despite the lacklustre file quality.
Ultimately, the mission of a digital transport is twofold: ensuring you can find and play your music with as little hassle as possible, and delivering a digital feed to whatever DAC you’ve chosen in the best quality. Logically, this last requirement means an ideal digital transport is transparent and lets the rest of your music system get on with it. This is what the Aries G2.2 sets out to achieve, and succeeds – unless you wish differently.
HIFI ROSE RS520 STREAMING AMPLIFIER $3,695 REVIEW
March 31, 2024 Comments Off on HIFI ROSE RS520 STREAMING AMPLIFIER $3,695 REVIEW
It has been a while since I reviewed a fun product. The RS520 is not only a solidly built audio component, but a versatile music player that is designed to be easy to use, customizable, and full of fun-to-explore features. If I were looking for a single component to showcase my full range speakers, the RS520 checked off almost all the boxes I have… and some boxes I didn’t know I had! All other amplifier streamers I review in the future will be measured against the benchmark of the HiFi Rose RS520.
Audiophilepure 
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