Audiophilepure

https://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/0322/Pass_Labs_XP22_Line_XP27_Phono_Preamplifier_Review.htm

Regardless, the Pass Labs XP-27 didn’t magically transform this album into a live-in-the-studio recording. Much of the music on this album is the musical equivalent of CGI, yet they had no internet or computers when recording this album. The creativity dripped from the turntable as if it were a half-used candle. The gated reverb on the drums on “Intruder” and “Biko” passed through my body not because the bass frequencies were powerful and infinitely deep, as they shook my gut and the window frames in my listening room. But I mostly mean that they went through me emotionally, as the music on this album disregarded the laws of physics, and my music brain followed suit. Yes, the midrange of the XP-27 was scarily transparent. Even though I’ve been listening to this album all my adult life, I would still lean forward in an attempt to hear every nanosecond of, for example, the reverb trail of Gabriel’s voice on “Biko,” the last track on the LP.

For this album, Peter Gabriel instructed drummers Phil Collins and Jerry Marotta not to use their cymbals on their drum kits. This left space for the treble energy of other instruments. On this cymbal-free album, the XP-27 reproduced the highs as if they were magical, regardless of the instrument, voice, or sound effect it was reproducing.

The treble sounds from every instrument and voice would fill the enormous soundstage with sparkling, reflected sound waves that sonically resembled embers rising from a campfire – the paths of the individual embers presumably random but in actuality determined by air currents.

Specifically, I was interested in trying out the 7N7 and 7AF7 loctals, 6SN7 near-equivalents via adapters, albeit with a loss in overall gain. Note that I only replaced V1 and V2, the gain stage tubes, leaving the cathode follower (V3) alone. In particular, the 7AF7 worked extremely well for the end result I was after; namely, textural sweetness galore. It wasn’t as focused or tight in the bass as the CV181, but it nicely vitalized textures when partnering solid-state designs. Neutrality or warmth—both are possible with the right 6SN7. And that is the important point about tube rolling: It allows the end user to voice the LA4 to match a particular system or sonic preference. 

It would seem that David Shaw has cracked the code for preamp excellence. His classic recipe includes a 6SN7 gain stage, a tube buffer, and a tube-rectified power supply. This combination, together with excellent engineering and parts selection, makes the Icon Audio LA4 Signature into a formidable line preamp. This is one preamp I could live with happily ever after. 

https://www.stereophile.com/content/topping-pre90-line-preamplifier

I bought three Pre90s. In principle, the volume on all three Pre90s can be controlled with a single carefully aimed remote control and monitored via the numbers on the front-panel display. But I tried that approach with the Benchmark LA4 and found it a less-than-ideal solution. It’s not ideal because the volume can easily get out of synch among the three preamps, and we already know that the Pre90’s remote control is finicky.

With the Benchmark preamplifiers, I improved things by buying an IR receiver/splitter on the internet for about $20. This little box accepts a tiny, wired IR sensor as input and has four tiny, wired IR transmitters as outputs. I attached one transmitter to the IR sensor on each of the three Benchmark LA4s. It’s a bit of a kludge, but it worked. I intend to try the same thing with the Topping preamps.

In my estimation, the Bryston BP2-20 MM/MC is a top-flight example of what a phono stage should be. Unlike some phono preamps that provide so much adjustability that they become almost glorified tone controls; the BP2-20 is focused on simply amplifying those tiny cartridge voltage inputs in the cleanest, most robust manner possible. And while keeping distortion and noise levels impressively low it also manages to remain musical and full sounding with several different cartridge combinations. Its design also has plenty of headroom, pretty much guaranteeing you will not find an LP groove big enough to overload BP2-20 regardless of the cartridge used. No, the Bryston is not an inexpensive proposition, but its performance is competitive, and in some cases superior, to a few more expensive phono stages out there. If you are an inveterate tweaker then the BP2-20 may not satisfy your urges to dial in just the right sound. If you simply want to enjoy some of the best sound possible from your vinyl, without expending a ton of effort (or grief), the Bryston BP2-20 MM/MC is right up your alley. It could quite easily be the first and last phono stage you’ll ever need.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/hifi-rose-rs250-audio-video-streaming-da-preamplifier

For my first listening session, I selected the HiFi Rose RS250’s network connection as Roon’s active Audio Zone and played files from the internal hard drive I had fitted to my Roon Nucleus+ server. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Had the efforts of the HiFi Rose design team been focused on versatility and functionality rather than sound quality? The RS250’s diminutive chassis contained a powerful computer and what appears to be a hefty power transformer close to the signal circuitry; won’t the analog output be contaminated with noise? Finally, my system has been based on balanced analog connections for many years; would substituting the RS250’s single-ended analog outputs compromise the sound?

I started my auditioning with an album I know intimately, having engineered and mixed it at the end of the 1990s for release as a Stereophile CD: Jerome Harris’s Rendezvous (16/44.1 ALAC files, STPH013-2, footnote 3)). Electric bass player Harris had assembled an all-star band for the sessions at Chad Kassem’s Blue Heaven Studios: Art Baron on trombone, Marty Erlich on alto sax, Steve Nelson on vibes, and Billy Drummond on drums. Listening to “Cool Pursuit” played back from the USB stick, the RS250’s soundstaging accurately preserved what I had intended in the mix. Harris’s Taylor bass guitar was dead center, Erlich’s saxophone was positioned far right, Baron’s trombone slightly right of center, Nelson’s vibes, which I had miked in stereo, were spread across the left of the stage. Drummond’s kit was placed slightly behind the other players, his drums illuminating the studio’s churchlike acoustic. The kickdrum sounded a little tubbier than I was used to, and the bass guitar had a touch of extra upper-bass bloom.

I found the SPL Director Mk2 to be well-engineered and sonically without blemish. If you are looking to set up a stereo system, the Director Mk2 would be a good choice if you prefer musical detail and dynamics to be paramount in your system. It doesn’t stream, but a streaming device can be hooked into it. Same with a turntable or headphones (which SPL also makes line stages for). VOLTAiR is more than a novelty as the sonics of the Director Mk2 were impressive. Pair this with a quality amplifier and you’re ready to go. With its detailed instructions, I would not hesitate to recommend this unit to a novice. I wish I had the Director Mk2 when I was in college, just getting into the stereo scene. You know, when VU meters first came out on all the cool receivers. The SPL Director Mk2 is a great balance of nostalgia and high-end audio.

A reviewer’s job is to trip products up, but the best products trip us up instead. When this happens, we play music that we think will show limitations in a device, and they end up highlighting their strengths instead. So it was with the Klimax DSM; I played the Overture to The Pirates of Penzance [D’Oyly Carte, Decca] which is a great test for imaging, but ended up being so musically bouncy and fun (as it should be) I felt like I should have mutton-chops and be wearing a smoking jacket. I played ‘Back In Black’ by AC/DC [Atlantic] on Tidal and air-guitared my way to dislocating a shoulder and I played some Miles Davis to check on that complex interplay on Shhh/Peaceful [In A Silent Way, Columbia] and now I have a $1,000 per day coke habit. And that’s the big thing about the Linn Klimax DSM; you feel rolling out the same old terms for audio performance when you are dealing with a product that is so very much about the music isn’t just wrong, it’s positively asinine. Of course, it ticks all the audiophile boxes of good soundstaging, outstanding levels of detail, excellent vocal articulation, superb image solidity and dynamic range and fluidity of sound that could give a turntable a run for its money, but that’s just par for the course in high-end streaming. What this gives over and above that is a sense of being as one with the musical intentions of the composer or musicians.