Quad Revela 1 $2250 Review
August 31, 2024 Comments Off on Quad Revela 1 $2250 Review
https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/quad-revela-1
The Quads have a claimed sensitivity of 86dB/W/m and a nominal impedance of 6 ohms, with a minimum stated at 4.1 ohms. Those figures put them roughly in the same ballpark as rivals such as the Award-winning KEF R3 Meta (£1900 / $2200 / AU$3900) and the Neat Petite Classic (£1995 / $2500 / AU$3999). Regardless, you’ll need a decent amplifier to drive them to get the best results – a decent starting point would be the Arcam A15, but we wouldn’t deter you from going a little higher to the Naim Nait XS3 (£2499 / $3999).
Be aware that you’ll need to take care in terms of system matching with the Revela 1, as they can be fussy when it comes to flaws and harshness in recordings and partnering kit. There’s an overly hard edge to the soaring vocals on India Arie’s Ready For Love as the vocalist hammers home the high notes, a quirk that the Revela highlight rather than taking in their stride.
We angle the speakers slightly inwards so that their axis crosses behind our heads. Placing the Revela 1 too close to the wall makes an already rather soft bass feel excessively flabby and amorphous, while moving the units to their preferred \
Burmester B38 Review
August 30, 2024 Comments Off on Burmester B38 Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/burmester-b38
Listening to the B38, I was reminded of that famous commercial from Heineken about refreshing the parts that other beers cannot reach. The impact of this speaker’s 32cm woofer – unusually large for even a floorstander at this price – is immediately noticeable, delivering a bass performance with real extension, plus grip and control. Coupled to succinct, clean highs from the AMT tweeter, the resulting sound has plenty of dynamism, and the voicing shows no desire to add extra warmth to what’s already on the track. There’s energy and liveliness; a direct feel to the sound that’s simpatico with the loudspeaker’s physical style.
It’s a performance that worked wonders with Daft Punk’s ‘Da Funk’ [Homework; Parlophone CDV 2821], which begins with a deep, propulsive electronic bassline and rat-a-tat percussion underpinned by a thudding kick drum. Each element landed with rapid attack and decay, the space between beats making it easy to latch on to its nightclub groove. Furthermore, even at a listening level that could be described as anti-social, the B38 didn’t lose its clean, composed nature.
WELLS AUDIO V8 LEVEL II TUBE HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER REVIEW
August 30, 2024 Comments Off on WELLS AUDIO V8 LEVEL II TUBE HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER REVIEW
Once again Jeff Wells has shown that he can make a great amplifier whether solid-state or tube, and the Wells Audio V8 Level II Tube Headphone Amplifier has proven to be one of the better OTL amplifiers I have heard, with excellent detail, solid imaging, a linear tonal balance, a large soundstage, fantastic dynamic range and above all musicality. It works well with a broad spectrum of headphones, bringing out what that headphone does best.
Orchard Audio Starkrimson Mono Premium Amplifier$1249 Review
August 29, 2024 Comments Off on Orchard Audio Starkrimson Mono Premium Amplifier$1249 Review
Speaking of class-A amps, I compared the pair of Starkrimson Mono Premiums directly against my First Watt F5 stereo power amp (discontinued; $3000 when new), which is roughly their polar opposite. Both amps post near-cutting-edge distortion and noise specs, but the First Watt gets there from a different direction.
The F5 is a big, heavy, class-A push-pull transistor amp, with output MOSFETs bolted to chunky heatsinks, a hefty linear power supply fat with capacitors, and not much else—designer Nelson Pass favors designs that put as few parts in the way of the signal as possible. With these two amps coming from competing philosophies, I knew this would be a fun comparison.
At first, I was struck by how similar they sounded. Both amps circled closely around neutrality, but each offered its own distinct flavor. Replaying “Car Radio” with the F5, I heard the class-A amp thicken things up a touch, in the expected way. It provided more density and tonal color than the Starkrimsons, albeit at the expense of the micron-precise separation of the GaN amps. The flawless tonal presentation of the First Watt F5 gave the amp more verve and groove-factor, though it gave up some grip at the frequency extremes compared to the Starkrimson Mono Premiums. The Orchard amps let me hear everything in the music more clearly, however, and surprised me with their imaging prowess.
Vera-Fi A40 Power Amplifier – World’s 1st review!
August 28, 2024 Comments Off on Vera-Fi A40 Power Amplifier – World’s 1st review!
Keeping the A40 in context with the gear I’d probably pair it up with if I were building a system for about 10-15k is a home run. An out-of-the-ballpark, across the fence, into the parking lot home run. Using an older ARC SP-9 preamplifier (about $900 – used), the Naim CD5is CD player (about $2k new), a used SOTA Sapphire turntable (again about $1,500) along with the Harbeth Monitor 30 speakers, Magnepan 2.7X speakers, and the Vera-Fi Vanguards. Altogether, these Legos were combined to build systems worth about $6,000 to about $20k.
It’s also worth mentioning that the A40 does an excellent job driving the MartinLogan ESL9s we have on hand. If you have a pair of MLs around, this can be your amplifier, too, if you don’t need to blow the windows out. Great success was had with my vintage Acoustat 2+2 ESL speakers, so this might just be a FAB amplifier to pair up with a pair of Quad 57s too. Finally, the A40 perfectly matches the new SVS Ultra Evolution Towers. We’ve got a pair of those in on review, too, and their highly resolving diamond tweeter might be a bit too much for some, but the combination of the modestly mellow A40 and the up-front SVS speakers is a killer combo.
In conclusion, the A40 is an excellent anchor for a sub-$20k hifi system without having to go used or DIY. While you can’t bridge them (again, there goes the magic), using a pair of these in a vertical biamp type system could be incredibly good for those craving more dynamic headroom.
Acoustic Revive RHR-21 review
August 28, 2024 Comments Off on Acoustic Revive RHR-21 review
Westone Audio Pro X10 Review
August 27, 2024 Comments Off on Westone Audio Pro X10 Review
Listening to the Headphone Classics playlist on Tidal, I was pleased with the separation I picked up through these IEMs. I didn’t expect such depth from a single-driver IEM like this one. Everything I played on the Pro X10 had nice dynamics and was fully fleshed out. They sounded like a little hi-fi system plugged into my ears.
If I had any issues with the Pro X10’s sound, it would be a bit of shoutiness in the upper mids on certain songs, but for me, it wasn’t too distracting, and I truly enjoyed these earphones regardless. They could also use just a touch more warmth, but I’m nitpicking now. Overall, these earphones should make those looking for a balanced, mid-focused sound very happy.
Audiophilepure 
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