Estelon Aura Loudspeakers $19,900 REVIEW
February 7, 2024 Comments Off on Estelon Aura Loudspeakers $19,900 REVIEW
The thought 25 years ago of a speaker as sophisticated in both design and performance was merely a daydream. In 1995 dollars the Aura would have cost a whopping $36,000. And even at that price the Aura’s abilities today were barely touched upon at any price then. While Estelon offers value at each tier they offer, I proffer the Aura is THE value among them.
It’s a wonderful time to be an audiophile. For under 30K one can put together a system that was bank account draining ultra -reference level a couple of decades ago. Estelon is uniquely positioned as a groundbreaking cutting edge manufacturer to continue leading the way while redefining what great sound reproduction is. Rarely does a manufacturer, especially a speaker manufacturer, hit home runs from the get-go. With the Aura, we have a bases loaded, game 7, two outs in the ninth inning, down by 3, 3-2 pitch crushing grand slam.
Simaudio Moon 791 Streaming Preamplifier $16,000 Review
February 5, 2024 Comments Off on Simaudio Moon 791 Streaming Preamplifier $16,000 Review
Simaudio’s Moon 791 has received much attention and much praise on SoundStage! Network sites during 2023, as did the Moon 740P ten years earlier. In the December 1 review, the 791 earned a Reviewers’ Choice award, as the 740P did in 2013. The next accolade came on December 15, when the 791 was recognized as one of the Products of the Year for 2023, as was the 740P before it. Now, the Recommended Reference Component award is yet another formal recognition the 791 shares with its predecessor. And while garnering the same accolades, the 791 far surpasses its predecessor with its DAC, streaming module, phono stage, and broad connectivity. That it does so without compromising performance is a stunning achievement fully deserving of every honor that the SoundStage! Network can bestow
DS Audio DS-W3 Optical Phono Cartridge Review
February 5, 2024 Comments Off on DS Audio DS-W3 Optical Phono Cartridge Review
https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/1218-ds-audio-ds-w3-optical-phono-cartridge
Diminishing returns kick in for every application, though. You want that really fast motorcycle to go just slightly faster? Be prepared to cough up serious bucks. Same with bicycles—you can throw additional thousands at a bike at a rate that will make your head spin, and you still have to pedal the thing up the hill.
But this is SoundStage! Ultra, right? I have to regularly remind myself that, yes, I’m chasing something I’ll likely never catch, and it costs a fortune to stay on the scent. If I were yelling out the window down at, say, Dennis Burger, who’s on the second floor of the SoundStage! building, I’d tell him to save some of his Access bucks and stick with the DS 003—it’s still a great cartridge. If I’m talking to you, fellow Ultra reader, I’ll say that, yes, the DS-W3 sounds better than the DS 003, the improvements are notable, and I thoroughly appreciate them.
Q Acoustics 5040 loudspeaker $1499 Review
February 4, 2024 Comments Off on Q Acoustics 5040 loudspeaker $1499 Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/q-acoustics-5040-loudspeaker
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Q Acoustics 5040. Other than the GoldenEar BRX, which costs $1900/pair, and the KEF LS50 Meta, which costs $1599.99/pair, the 5040 is the least expensive speaker I have reviewed in more than four years. The Q Acoustics is a tower speaker while those other two are standmounts, which means the cost of a pair of good-quality stands needs to be added to their prices. But even without taking its affordable price into consideration, Q Acoustics’s 5040 offers superb sound quality. It combines sufficient low-frequency extension and articulation with excellent clarity and imaging and low coloration. As the 5040 won’t play deafeningly loudly, it will work best in smallish to medium-sized rooms, and amplifier choice will be critical in getting the best from this speaker. Highly recommended.
BRISE AUDIO TSURANAGI REVIEW
February 4, 2024 Comments Off on BRISE AUDIO TSURANAGI REVIEW
In today’s market where we have incredible TOTL DAPs and good mid-range offers, where does the Tsuranagi stand? Does it make sense to pay a huge cash for a portable IEM amplifier, or is it complete nonsense? That’s a question I wouldn’t answer for you since everyone has different expectations and budgets. But I can give my two cents about this rather mysterious unit, so you’d have a certain idea.
The Tsuranagi is a true reference-sounding amplifier in my opinion. Its sound is so good, that you, in time, become obsessed about trying it with every possible high-end IEM in your possession. It lays down a fantastic picture of sound in a wide sound stage with an incredibly nuanced and effortless presentation. Simply put, this is by far the best-sounding portable amplifier I’ve ever tested. I couldn’t get the type of performance I get from the Tsuranagi from TOTL players’ output alone. I of course don’t count the likes of DMP-Z1 or Lotoo Mjölnir in super high-end.
SOUNDZ AVANT REVIEW
February 3, 2024 Comments Off on SOUNDZ AVANT REVIEW
The Soundz website features a configurator tool for personalizing CIEMs and UIEMs. This tool allows you to customize shell colors, faceplates, and logos, including premium options like gold plating logos or custom artwork. There are also more complicated and bespoke faceplate designs, such as the Galaxy, which is what the faceplates on my CIEM feature. This tool also allows you to add the excellent technology called Flex Fit Pro nozzle, which we’ll talk about in the next section. Moreover, the configurator tool includes optional choices for various ambient filters and cables to suit individual preferences, such as on-stage use. Soundz is continuously expanding its range of customization options, so it is better to keep an eye on the configurator. One caveat is that they don’t offer many shell colors, but I’m sure they’ll be adding these options in the near future.
Audiophile Visit
February 3, 2024 Comments Off on Audiophile Visit
Nordost QNet Network Switch $3199 Review
February 2, 2024 Comments Off on Nordost QNet Network Switch $3199 Review
https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2023/12/23/nordost-qnet-network-switch
No matter the genre or repertoire, the QNet (USD 3199.99) and QSource (USD 2749.99) will give you limousine-quality sound from your chosen stream. Be sure to feed it with the very best original “data’, or your investment may be diluted. But all things being equal, the QNet will take your streaming to the very highest level. Very highly recommended.
Benchmark Media AHB2 THX AAA stereo amplifiers $3,499 Review
February 2, 2024 Comments Off on Benchmark Media AHB2 THX AAA stereo amplifiers $3,499 Review
But just one pair of the A.R.T. XLR already surpassed the cost of the BM monoblocks, and there was $40k worth of cabling running from the M21 DAC through the Sound Lab panels. Any owner of the BM upgrading her/his cable system to what I have will experience the system as among the finest, but such an inverted investment strategy, in which cables cost several times more than the electronics, is unpopular. In this case, though, I think with the revolutionary THX Achromatic Audio Amplifier Technology, the Benchmark AHB2 deserves precisely that.
Børresen M3 Loudspeakers Review
February 1, 2024 Comments Off on Børresen M3 Loudspeakers Review
Is the M3 a perfect loudspeaker? Of course not, no speaker, or any audio product for that matter, is. Yet at its price, while clearly not within the means of most, these elegant and beautiful transducers boldly represent the realization of the striking potential possible when known boundaries are pushed.
What Børresen Acoustics and Audio Group Denmark have accomplished with the implementation of the wide-ranging scope of inventive and original technologies that they have created and champion results in the achievement of a new milestone. To dismiss the Børresen M3 loudspeakers because you are unable, or unwilling, to afford them would be to ignore their singular gift to music lovers, and those who do “get it,” will enjoy a specific level of playback that is, in my experience, simply unavailable from any other loudspeaker available as of this writing.
Audiophilepure 
You must be logged in to post a comment.