AUDIO RESEARCH REFERENCE 75SE STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER
October 8, 2015 Comments Off on AUDIO RESEARCH REFERENCE 75SE STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER
By now, listening to classical and the obligatory well-worn test recordings was almost a formality. The Reference 75 SE harnessed that grace and fluidity of mid-range of great Audio Research amps, included the surprisingly powerful bass of its predecessor, and pulled everything together to make you want to bask in its presence for hours on end. There was nothing that fazed the Reference 75 SE and in partnership with the Wilson Duettes and especially with a Nagra HD DAC and ARC Ref 5 SE front end, this was the kind of sound you could listen to with no need to change for decades. Bigger, more upscale ARC buys you more power for bigger systems and rooms and gives you slightly more finesse to the top end, but as the best bang for your ARC-shaped bucks, you can’t get better than this right now!
MAGICO M PROJECT LOUDSPEAKER $129,000
October 6, 2015 Comments Off on MAGICO M PROJECT LOUDSPEAKER $129,000
While the D-5’s ported bass and contoured frequency response are laughably “inaccurate” by Magico’s linear, low-distortion standards, the D-5 is anything but laughable in the listening. The added mid-to-upper bass sock that this speaker generates, the dark, rich, beautiful tone color from top to bottom, the Magico-equaling transient speed, and the superb treble are, in the words of my friend and colleague Andre Jennings, “simply addictive.” Another way of putting this is that the D-5 and the Wilsons are gorgeous, powerful, and finely detailed on every kind of music. Whether they also sound plausibly like the real thing on every kind of music is a different question. But let me say something else here that’ll rock the boat. For most listeners, the absolute sound doesn’t matter. Let me repeat that again: For most listeners, the absolute sound doesn’t matter. For most listeners, it is the effect of the absolute sound (or of the canned one, for that matter)—the horripilating visceral excitement and ravishing beauty of music and not a fool-ya simulacrum of, oh, a violin or a piano—that matters most.
ASTELL & KERN AK380 HIGH-RES DIGITAL AUDIO PLAYER
October 4, 2015 Comments Off on ASTELL & KERN AK380 HIGH-RES DIGITAL AUDIO PLAYER
First and foremost, the AK380 consistently serves up a precise and firmly controlled sound characterised by transparency, openness, nuance, and an overarching sense of almost boundless attention to detail. Stated another way, the AK380 serves up clarity with a capital ‘C’ and an enchanting quality of musical lucidity that just won’t quit. In my experience, these qualities often caused even casual, first-time guest listeners to stop in their tracks and take notice of the pocket-sized player. I suspect this is because the AK380 tends to shatter preconceived notions of how a portable product will sound, instead delivering the sort of self-confident and self-assured sound that many would associate with premium-priced full-size components.
World’s Greatest Audio Systems- Rockitman, Wilson, Pass Labs, TechDAS, UHA Phase 12
October 1, 2015 Comments Off on World’s Greatest Audio Systems- Rockitman, Wilson, Pass Labs, TechDAS, UHA Phase 12
Dan D’Agostino Momentum Integrated Amplifier review
September 27, 2015 Comments Off on Dan D’Agostino Momentum Integrated Amplifier review
Vinylify makes individual record pressings affordable
September 26, 2015 Comments Off on Vinylify makes individual record pressings affordable
HIFIMAN HE1000 PLANAR MAGNETIC HEADPHONES
September 20, 2015 Comments Off on HIFIMAN HE1000 PLANAR MAGNETIC HEADPHONES
But can the HE1000 also compete with the mighty Stax SR‑009 electrostatic headphones? In a word, yes. My sense is that the HE1000 is on a par with the Stax in terms of speed, detailing, and transparency, but without—and this is important—the Stax’s occasional tendency to overlay the music with a subtle touch of treble ‘sheen’ that makes small details stand out in almost exaggeratedly sharp relief. Add to this the fact that the HE1000 offers arguably superior dynamics, better and more incisive bass, and can be driven by conventional (rather than purpose-built electrostatic) headphone amplifiers, and I think we have a winner.
ASTELL & KERN AK380
September 14, 2015 Comments Off on ASTELL & KERN AK380
Which is to say: the AK380 has the ability to perform, but you have to really coax it. It is held back by a poor balanced output the use of which I cannot with good conscience endorse outside of passing signal to outboard amps
CONSTELLATION AUDIO HERCULES II STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER £85,000 Review
August 29, 2015 Comments Off on CONSTELLATION AUDIO HERCULES II STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER £85,000 Review
“That speaker choice probably means big Magicos, or Wilsons, or YGs, or some equally top-of-the-tree transducer. Yes, you will get to hear what a pair of extremely good standmounts can do when fed the best possible signal, but if you have that best possible signal, you should put it to good use. Source wise, Constellation’s own ‘stellar’ contributions notwithstanding, you will be in the upper atmosphere of digital or analogue, at top dCS, Metronome, or Meitner levels to realise the potential of the Hercules II. Ultimately, the Hercules II is a world-class product and should be used in among its world-class peers.”
Noble Audio K10 Custom In-Ear Headphones $1,500 REVIEW – VIDEO
August 11, 2015 Comments Off on Noble Audio K10 Custom In-Ear Headphones $1,500 REVIEW – VIDEO
Audiophilepure 
You must be logged in to post a comment.