CleanerVinyl Ultrasonic Record Cleaner $1698 Review
April 2, 2024 Comments Off on CleanerVinyl Ultrasonic Record Cleaner $1698 Review
Before I bring this evaluation to a close, I would be remiss not to mention how effectively the in-tank filter system performs. The pump efficiently cycles the tank, and throughout all the record cleaning sessions I never saw an accumulation of detritus in the tank. In contrast, with my 40kHz tank I needed to use a flocculant additive so contaminants could settle to the bottom of the tank. I then had to filter the fluid or change it for a new batch. The CleanerVinyl system effectively keeps the tank clean and eliminates any materials from redepositing on the records. Secondly, the 132kHz tank is noticeably quieter than my 40kHz unit. When I mentioned this point to Rudy, his response was that the harmonics of a fundamental 132kHz waveform are higher than the 40kHz tank, and either out of our hearing range or the subsequent fundamentals that do approach our auditory bandwidth have lost significant amounts of energy and have a lower dB level. When we finally get down to the harmonics within our hearing spectrum, there is significantly less intensity being radiated, so the process presents as “quieter.” The benefit of this is I can keep this cleaning system in a room adjacent to my listening room and have it running while I play music or take care of other activities. Alternatively, I keep the 40kHz tank in my garage, as it is distractingly loud. Finally, this tank is compact and does not take up a substantial portion of real estate. On the flip side, this also means that you need to pay attention to positioning the gantry and the in-tank filter system, to maintain sufficient clearances for the records. This is not a complicated task and after you work through it once or twice it will become second nature. This entire system is neatly laid out with a “form follows function” blueprint, and users have a purpose-built tool for cleaning their records that does not have an extravagant price tag
T+A Caruso R Review
April 1, 2024 Comments Off on T+A Caruso R Review
https://www.hifichoice.com/content/ta-caruso-r
The matching speakers haven’t been supplied for this review, but the unit has enough power to drive a wide range of third-party choices: the onboard amplification delivers 50W into 8ohm, doubling into a 4ohm load, with peak output at 50 percent more. That proves to be more than sufficient for the speakers with which I try the T+A, including the Scansonic M20 reviewed in the last issue and my own Neat Iota Xplorer (HFC 435), both of which are driven and controlled with authority, whether from network or online sources, or the excellent onboard CD player.
The balance here is more refined and mature than red in tooth and claw, meaning that the Caruso R puts up a fine showing with First Aid Kit’s live Who By Fire set of Leonard Cohen covers. A small tweak of the contour controls brings out more of the presence of the set, but that apart the immediate impression is of weight and richness allied to fine levels of detail, instantly involving the listener in the performances. There’s not quite the speed and drive you’d get from the similarly priced models in the Naim Uniti range, for example, or from NAD’s M-series all-in-one streaming amplifiers, but the generosity of the T+A sound combined with the ease of listening it offers is hard to overlook.
Vanguard Scout Loudspeakers Review
April 1, 2024 Comments Off on Vanguard Scout Loudspeakers Review
Even with the improvements from plugging the ports, the treble was still harsh right out of the box, and I correctly sussed that they’d need some break-in to really sing. Mark had told me in advance that it would probably take a minimum of fifty hours for a baseline break-in, and they’d only get better beyond that mark. Despite the treble harshness, they seem to be responding to the PrimaLuna tube amplification well, and no clipping occurred even during demanding passages. The Scout is fairly inefficient at 84.5 dB/watt, but the EL 34-based PrimaLuna (42-wpc in Ultralinear mode) still seems to be a good match with the Scout attached to the 8 ohm taps. The Scout produces a scale of sound and stereo image that’s quite large considering their diminutive size. After getting them into position, I also connected my Yamaha BD-A1060 universal player to assist with the burn-in process. I then loaded the compact disc of Jim Anderson’s recording of Cyrus Chestnut’s Revelations and set it to repeat play. It’s a great jazz album that’s very naturally recorded, and is one of my references for well-recorded acoustic bass. The Scout loudspeakers had arrived very late in the day; I came back four hours later around midnight to take another listen, and to my surprise, they sounded absolutely horrible! The treble was just grating—I shut the PrimaLuna amp down; it was late, and I crashed out disappointed that the Scout might not live up to my expectations after all.
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.
Auralic Vega G2.1 Review
March 29, 2024 Comments Off on Auralic Vega G2.1 Review
https://www.hifichoice.com/content/auralic-vega-g21
Less of a lowly DAC preamp and more of musical Swiss army knife, Auralic’s Vega G2.1 is seriously classy product. It does an awful lot very well indeed and offers a painless upgrade route out from the £2,500 DACs that many folk run – all the way up to the high-end where five-figure sums tend to change hands. It does so much so very well that it offers up seriously stiff competition for those, mostly British companies who have made this section of the market their own. As such, an audition is strongly recommended if you’re in the market for updating your system.
DALI Epikore 11 Loudspeaker $60,000 Review
March 29, 2024 Comments Off on DALI Epikore 11 Loudspeaker $60,000 Review
https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/1225-dali-epikore-11-loudspeaker
The Epikore 11 is near-as-dammit the same price as the Estelon, but these are wildly different speakers. Both are wonderful in their own way, and visually it’s no contest—the Estelon is a Jaguar E-type while the Epikore 11 is an AMG G-Class wagon. You want to sit and stare at it? The Estelon melts the soul. But if you need to get stuff done, call on the DALI.
I loved the Epikore 11s and was very sad to see them go.
Here’s my hope: Given that DALI has leveraged the Kore’s technologies into a smaller, more affordable package, and given that the Epikore has a suffix of 11, I’m thinking that there may be more Epikore speakers yet to come down the pike. If there’s gonna be, say, an Epikore 7 that has two 8″ woofers per speaker, and employs the same midrange, tweeter, and ancillary infrastructure, I think it would make an honest man of me.
B&W 805 D4 Signature Loudspeaker £10,000 Review
March 28, 2024 Comments Off on B&W 805 D4 Signature Loudspeaker £10,000 Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/bw-805-d4-signature-loudspeaker
Through the 805 D4 Signatures, the well-recorded (and blissfully short) jazz/blues fusion songs of Dominique Fils-Aimé’s new Our Roots Run Deep release [Ensoul Records; 44.1kHz/16-bit download] appeared grandiose but lost none of their authenticity. Layering Fils-Aimé’s smooth voice with background vocals during the title track, the speakers proved adept at handling complex compositions, keeping the trumpet clean and non-sibilant when it appeared. Furthermore, as with the Zelmani and Anna B Savage pieces, ‘Just Let Me Go’ really demonstrated that Bowers & Wilkins has mastered the art of uncovering the finest sonic detail without losing track of the musical picture as a whole.
If this Signature upgrade of the company’s 805 D4 does something well, it’s getting you closer than ever to the artist’s intent.
Sennheiser IE 900 Review
March 28, 2024 Comments Off on Sennheiser IE 900 Review
https://www.hifichoice.com/content/sennheiser-ie-900
I’m confident that Sennheiser’s new arrangements will turn out to be fruitful, but if the IE 900 is to be the end of an era it should be seen as the company going out on a high. This is a staggeringly talented in-ear and asks very little of you or the partnering equipment to sound sublime. It isn’t cheap, but the level of engineering means this is one of the very finest earphones anywhere near the price
Krell KMA-i800 monoblock power amplifier $73,000/pair Review
March 27, 2024 Comments Off on Krell KMA-i800 monoblock power amplifier $73,000/pair Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/krell-kma-i800-monoblock-power-amplifier
Given the KMA-i800’s huge power output—Krell says it can output 800W RMS into 8 ohms, doubling twice to 1600W into 4 ohms and 3200W into 2 ohms, and can drive speakers of 1 ohm impedance—I wondered whom Dave and Rondi envisioned as buyers. “There are plenty of people out there who have rather large rooms and want commensurately large speakers they can play loudly,” Dave replied. “No one is going to use this much power, but it makes average listening levels, which may go up to 100W, sound much better because that’s a small percentage of the total possible power output. It’s more linear than an amp that tops out at 100W, because as you approach the limit, your distortion goes up dramatically. A high-power amp gives you much more quality than an amp whose power exactly meets your needs.” As someone acutely aware of the arbitrary and frequently over-exaggerated divide between the two viewpoints commonly labeled “subjectivist” and “objectivist,” I asked Dave, “When you developed the KMA-i800, were you looking at measurements or at sound? What was the final arbiter that led you to declare, ‘It’s done!’?”
JDS LABS ATOM 2 STACK REVIEW
March 27, 2024 Comments Off on JDS LABS ATOM 2 STACK REVIEW
I will try to describe the DAC’s signature without the Atom AMP 2. For this test, I am pairing the DAC directly with my active reference monitors. Let’s start with the signature. Just like all the other Atoms, the Atom DAC 2 sounds transparent and uncolored. It is immensely clean and perfectly reflects the gear you pair it with, as-is, without any saturation. I am actually quite amazed at how JDS is able to achieve this level of performance with the old, reliable 9018K2M DAC from ESS. Of course, their precisely tuned trans-impedance stage utilizes six OPA1692 opamps, but still, it is one hell of an achievement and makes you question the must-have-latest-dac-chip race among Chinese manufacturers. JDS is once again showing off its expertise, a powerful reminder that implementation and execution reign supreme in audio design.
Audiophilepure 
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