hybrid Centaurus Major and Minor Review
August 17, 2024 Comments Off on hybrid Centaurus Major and Minor Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/major-minor
The Major, too, works best with a minimum of 18in clearance from the back wall, but you can just about get away with flush placement. With both speakers, fine-tuning involves the usual Apogee four-step, juggling tilt (using the screw-in spikes), toe-in, fore-and-aft placement and left/right positioning. What’s important for those who might consider the Minor due to its suitability for small rooms is the optional stand, which adds a few inches to the height but adjusts the tilt for nearfield listening.
My main concern with these speakers involved the amplifier selection. Using the familiar battery of sources – Lyra Clavis cartridge, SME V/Oracle front end, and CAL and Marantz CD-12 CD players – I spent most of my time swapping amplifiers, trying hard to find one which wouldn’t drive the Centaurs. Let me tell you something else: nobody has heard what an Apogee can do unless they’ve used valves. And, as we all know, this has been denied us due to the hideously low impedances of the full-range models. A Croft Series 5, Radford STA-25, a 35W/channel from Woodside costing roughly the same as a pair of Minors and some 100W monoblocks from Ray Lumley, drove the Minor to adequate levels – and the Major.
Audience frontRow Interconnects and Speaker Cables Review
August 17, 2024 Comments Off on Audience frontRow Interconnects and Speaker Cables Review
The frontRow cables excelled at their reproduction of the frequency extremes. The frontRows played back high-frequency instruments with consummate air, extension, and clarity, and without any accompanying grain, grit or brightness. Elvin Jones’ cymbal work on “Outlaws” from his Bill Frisell with Dave Holland and Elvin Jones CD (Nonesuch 79624-2) had a condign mix of bite and burnish, and was played back with seemingly endless air and extension. And Dave Holland’s bass playing was supple and rhythmic, with propulsive drive. The frontRows’ bass was chameleonic in nature, adding no innate editorializing to the musical message.
Grado SR325x $295 Review
August 16, 2024 Comments Off on Grado SR325x $295 Review
https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/grado-sr325x
Comfort is another area where these headphones divide opinions. At 340g, they’re not heavy, and there’s enough in the way of adjustment to cope with a wide variety of heads. But not everyone will get along with the new foam earpads, or the on-ear design – which is becoming increasingly rare in a world dominated by noise-cancelling wireless cans. These are firmly wired headphones aimed at home use, so we would warn against taking these out on the move.
Even as long-term Grado users, it takes us a while to get used to them due to their thinness and overall shape, but it’s worth persisting. A few days of acclimatisation makes us more kindly disposed towards them, particularly as the new earpads cause a subtle shift to the balance of the SR325x’s sound, making them a less demanding listen.
We compare the two types of earpads and it becomes clear that the headphones sound smoother and more authoritative in the bass with the new design. We try the new pads on previous generations of the SR325s (we have both the older ‘e’ and even older ‘i’ versions on hand) and in each case the sonic changes are consistent; a more direct presentation with greater top-end refinement and improved low-end solidity.
PS AUDIO STELLAR STRATA MK2 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
August 15, 2024 Comments Off on PS AUDIO STELLAR STRATA MK2 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
Testing the preamplifier by itself and using the RCA digital input jack, the results of activating the three available digital filters on the frequency response with 16/44.1 sampling are shown below in Figure 21. The digital input was 0 dBFS which means full DAC analog output into the preamplifier section, The Volume was set to 48. Each filter delivers a different roll-off response at 20 kHz. You just need to try them all to see which one you prefer. Filter 2 gives the most high-frequency roll-off, and this will make the sound a bit smoother. Since this Class D amplifier has quite a bit of high frequency distortion, start with Filter 2, and then switch to the others, using music that has a lot of high frequencies, such as violins.
VPI DRAGON TURNTABLE AND VPI SHYLA PHONO CARTRIDGE $2,000 REVIEW
August 14, 2024 Comments Off on VPI DRAGON TURNTABLE AND VPI SHYLA PHONO CARTRIDGE $2,000 REVIEW
The vertical tracking angle (VTA) has to be adjusted too. This means adjusting it so the tonearm is parallel to the surface of the platter when an LP is on the platter. For the VPI Dragon, there is a large black dial with markings on the sides for adjusting the angle. In the photo below, you can see the dial in the center, as well as the gimbal tonearm bearing, the cartridge electrical wires, the hydraulic tonearm lift lever, and the counterweight at the rear of the tonearm. There is a black knob at the rear end of the tonearm counterweight which is rotated to adjust the tracking force. There are two thumb screws you need to loosen in order to adjust the VTA dial. They are labeled “VTA Thumb Screw” in the second photo (diagram) below. You can also see a small nylon string that is attached to the tonearm and a weight at the other end. This is the anti-skate mechanism.
Pass Labs XP-32 Line Level Preamplifier | REVIEW
August 14, 2024 Comments Off on Pass Labs XP-32 Line Level Preamplifier | REVIEW
Pass Labs XP-32 Line Level Preamplifier | REVIEW
Colburn, an audio veteran, built his first amplifier when he was thirteen. It was for his younger brother’s Gibson guitar. His brother had spent all his money on the instrument and couldn’t afford an amp, so Wayne went to the local Radio Shack and started soldering from a kit and other things. He hasn’t stopped building electronics or looking for ways to improve audio equipment since. In college, he studied consumer electronics and broadcast gear for radio. And, in 1989, while working for General Electric’s radio division, he spotted what was a now famed “help wanted” ad placed by Nelson Pass in a trade journal. “High Pay No Work All Glory,” the ad said, regarding openings for audio enthusiasts with analog technical skills and experience constructing prototype audio equipment. “Apply to Nelson Pass, Threshold Corp.” and it gave the address of its original Auburn, California location
PrimaLuna EVO 300 Hybrid integrated amplifier $6995 Review
August 14, 2024 Comments Off on PrimaLuna EVO 300 Hybrid integrated amplifier $6995 Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/primaluna-evo-300-hybrid-integrated-amplifier
The PrimaLuna EVO 300 Hybrid disrupted my preconception that pure tube amps are superior to amps with a solid state component. From the first note, the EVO 300 established itself as a modern classic, reproducing music fresh-scrubbed, juicy, spatially adroit, dynamically adept, and powerful. It possessed the liquidity and richness of a good tube amp, never crossing over into syrup or schmaltz. It boasts an undeniable aliveness that grabs you from the first note and never lets up. It’s got drive. It engaged me in the music for many blissful hours.
I’m no longer agnostic regarding hybrid tube/solid state integrated amplifiers, let alone committed to the all-tube approach. At least when it comes to the PrimaLuna 300 EVO, I’m a hybrid believer.
EAT C-Dur Review
August 14, 2024 Comments Off on EAT C-Dur Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/eat-c-dur
I tested this by trying two other cartridges that are easily distinguished from the Jo No5, one rather ‘cool’ sounding, yet the vivacity of Wilson’s delivery was undiminished. I did the same with another singer of similar intensity but a completely different mien, Judee Sill via her eponymous debut from 1971.
While the Wilson album is brassy and bold in places, Sill’s exquisite singer-songwriter effort is in the early Joni Mitchell vein. As intimate as any work in the genre, the superb sound of this 45rpm 2LP pressing digs deeper, and both Sill’s delicate singing and piano playing were showcased perfectly by the C-Dur. Conversely, they enabled the deck to perform of its best – and please note that I was listening to it in absolutely stock form, as befits any review.
If any instruments embody the capabilities of the C-Dur, it’s the two most difficult to reproduce: voice and piano. In tandem, as Sill’s were heard here, the C-Dur displayed proficiencies so close to decks at twice the price that it is now my reference in the £3000-£5000 sector. Yes, it’s that good.
Eversolo DMP-A8 Review
August 12, 2024 Comments Off on Eversolo DMP-A8 Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/eversolo-dmp-a8
This live album contains recordings made at different locations over a two-year timespan, which gives some tracks a very different feel than others, and the precise portrayal delivered by the DMP-A8 revealed the changes. Maalouf’s ‘Beirut’ for example, which recounts his childhood story of wandering off into his war-torn hometown and witnessing something so horrible he can only relate it via music (which explains the mad Led Zeppelin-infused outro), was so pitch-perfect that I felt almost present in the Nantes hall in which it was recorded.
Maalouf has a customised trumpet with an extra valve to sometimes play shrill-sounding quarter-notes. On some playback systems this can be a bit much, but Eversolo’s DMP-A8 seemed able to steer clear of stridency. In any case, if the combination with certain loudspeakers had introduced some harshness, the DSP in the Eversolo streamer would have allowed me to slightly roll off the high frequencies, making for a more mellow representation.
MOJO AUDIO MYSTIQUE Y D/A CONVERTER REVIEW
August 12, 2024 Comments Off on MOJO AUDIO MYSTIQUE Y D/A CONVERTER REVIEW
PCM format files up to 24-bit/192kHz are converted via a galvanically isolated XMOS USB input module with incredibly accurate ultralow-noise Femto clocking, and an independent power supply powers the digital circuitry completely isolating it from the analog circuitry. Two Belleson SPX ultralow-noise ultrahigh-dynamic regulators are used to isolate the USB input from the USB output and from all other power supplies eliminating the need for USB bus power or any external USB reclocking or regeneration devices.
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