Von Gaylord Audio Review
November 22, 2023 Comments Off on Von Gaylord Audio Review
Well, enough of the chatter about history and specs and time to discuss the sound of this little system. By my calculations this system would go for right about $21,000 and some change. That gives you a very symbiotic system sans front end. With a budget of $2000-3000 for a entry turntable, cartridge, phono stage, and another $2000 for a good streamer you are around $25-26,000 for a complete system. Twenty eight years ago I did a huge upgrade to my stereo system. I bought my Quicksilver KT88s, Golden Sound Tube Preamp with phono stage, a VPI 19JR upgraded to a MKIII, with a Sumiko Blue Point Evo cartridge, Parasound CD player, and Totem Mani-two speakers, all strung with Kimber Kable throughout. In today’s money that system would be roughly the same as this Von Gaylord system and it was a wonderful system in the day but I began almost immediately upgrading to the point where I am now.
Bella Sound Hanalei Monoblock Amplifier Review World Premiere
November 21, 2023 Comments Off on Bella Sound Hanalei Monoblock Amplifier Review World Premiere
The Bella Sound Hanalei monoblocks’ prodigious amount of power resulted in not only being able to reproduce the album as loud as I desired without a hint of overload distortion but also being able to reproduce the album’s colossal dynamic peaks with zero overload. The Sound Lab electrostatic speakers in my reference system are more than a cut above most electrostatic speakers in that they can play very loudly without breaking up. But they can’t defy the laws of physics, nor are my ears indestructible. I was quick to discover that both the monoblocks and the speakers were able to play louder than I could withstand.
Unlike the Bruckner symphony above, this Opeth album takes the real music recorded in a real space adage in a different direction. The Bella Sound Hanalei monoblocks expertly reproduced this multitrack recording. I would bet my last dollar that I was hearing a version of this album as close to the sound of the master tape as possible. With the Hanalei’s extended frequency response, combined with its marvelous soundstage and imaging prowess, I could put this album on repeat and listen to it all day with no “listener fatigue” setting in until it was very late at night.
MartinLogan Motion B10 Loudspeaker £1395 Review
November 21, 2023 Comments Off on MartinLogan Motion B10 Loudspeaker £1395 Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/martinlogan-motion-b10-loudspeaker
This was recorded in a club, quite audibly without the benefit of the microphones or recording equipment which enabled Graham Nash (above) to deliver such magnificent sounds. Even with these handicaps, the sound was rock-solid, detailed and hardly revealing of its limitations. It may have languished undiscovered for decades, and made no claims to audiophile quality, but, wow! was it engaging through these diminutive MartinLogan standmounts.
Then I put on 1990’s Dick Tracy soundtrack [Sire 7599-26279 1], music made to sound, via the arrangements, as if recorded in the 1940s. Stage width – deliberately, no doubt – was variable, while vocals ranged from Jerry Lee Lewis in full-on sinner mode to Darlene Love and k.d. lang. It boogied from track-to-track, the Motion B10 an open window. If you prefer the analytical, this speaker is a short-list must.
ELYSIAN ACOUSTIC LABS ANNIHILATOR 2023 REVIEW
November 20, 2023 Comments Off on ELYSIAN ACOUSTIC LABS ANNIHILATOR 2023 REVIEW
The IEM is constructed from high-quality materials, which makes it durable and sturdy. The shell is of excellent quality and put together very well. The cable is nicely braided, has good tensile strength, and ensures its quality. I particularly liked the 4.4mm jack which is incredibly durable.
The Annihilator 2023 comes with P-Ear (Pentaconn Ear) connectors that offer a more stable connection with less rotation than MMCX connectors, making them less likely to disconnect and easier to attach. However, the IEM socket itself looks a bit fragile with a single pin on top, so it’s important to handle it with care.
AGD Audion Mk III Monoblock Amplifier $7850 Review
November 20, 2023 Comments Off on AGD Audion Mk III Monoblock Amplifier $7850 Review
The new Audion Mk III, whether you buy it brand new or simply upgrade the GaNFET Class D power tube in an earlier version, represents a major advancement in this classic amplifier. While the outstanding Blue Note ratings below are only slightly improved from the Mk I and Mk II reviews, rest assured that the Mk III is an even greater advance than the Mk II. And a better value as well, despite the price increase. The Mk I and Mk II both received an annual Blue Note Award, so that should tell you where this one is headed.
CLARUS AQUA MARK II CABLES AND CONCERTO/DUET POWER CONDITIONER $2,520 REVIEW
November 19, 2023 Comments Off on CLARUS AQUA MARK II CABLES AND CONCERTO/DUET POWER CONDITIONER $2,520 REVIEW
I started this review process with the promise that it would be a thorough shakedown of this $20,000 package as a whole. Joe Perfito was confident enough that his entire response when I told him this would be reported on honestly, good or bad, he responded with ‘fair enough.’
Let us end this review with that honest assessment. I personally have enjoyed how much improvement my (let’s use rough numbers) $45,000 system has gained with the $20,000 Clarus/Concerto package. I do not believe that this system could have improved as much in performance by spending the entire $65,000 on the primary audio components and using the standard cables and power straight from the wall. It was not a surprise that the Clarus/Concerto package performed well. What was a surprise was coming away from this four-month experience with the revelation that this would be a tremendous way to improve one’s system without having to go through the process of replacing one’s components. In other words, to me, this $20,000 is a bargain.
Black Magic Ultra and Black Magic Gold Review
November 18, 2023 Comments Off on Black Magic Ultra and Black Magic Gold Review
Although chunky, meaty, well-paced, and foot-tappingly rhythmic, the cable sounds steadier and more relaxed than the Jorma Unity or my affordable favorite, the Driade Flow Link Reference 808. Both are leaner but also nimbler and subjectively faster, and both are airier and more refined. But while the Jorma is more impactful and timbrally convincing than the Driade, neither has the “live”-like robustness, stance, tonal saturation, “meat on the bones”, and overall weight that exemplifies the Mad Scientist cable.
As a final test, I connected the Black Magic Gold interlink with a dCS stack that happened to be on visit at this time: the Paganini Clock/USB interface and Puccini CD player/DAC. This turned out to be a particularly well-working combination, the Black Magic Gold’s body and tonal saturation marrying beautifully with the dCS combo’s slightly lean and highly detailed nature. The dCS combo’s inherent purity and cleanness were expressed well without leaning toward clinicality. But it must be said that, here, too, the treble did not quite have the level of nuance, air, and ultra-high resolution that the combo can produce with the Driade or the Jorma. Nevertheless, the combination sounds articulate yet energetic and, again, timbrally very natural, harmonically rich, and overall very convincing.
T+A Elektroakustik Solitaire S 530 Loudspeaker $44,900 Review
November 17, 2023 Comments Off on T+A Elektroakustik Solitaire S 530 Loudspeaker $44,900 Review
In conclusion, Hans writes that the S 530 is different from any other loudspeaker he has heard in more than a decade of reviewing high-end gear—different in the way it looks and different in the way it sounds, which was “profoundly, stupefyingly good.” He declares the Solitaire S 530 the best-sounding loudspeaker he had ever heard. Hans’s praise for the S 530, which pervades his review, earned this loudspeaker a Reviewers’ Choice award at the time the review was published. Those same words earned it our Recommended Reference Component award this month.
CLARUS AQUA MARK II CABLES AND CONCERTO/DUET POWER CONDITIONER $2,520 REVIEW
November 17, 2023 Comments Off on CLARUS AQUA MARK II CABLES AND CONCERTO/DUET POWER CONDITIONER $2,520 REVIEW
We audio enthusiasts are known for our devotion to finding that last ‘ounce’ of performance from our systems. We often see publications suggest that ‘this system performs at 90 percent of a system that costs 10 times more.’ We scour over our budgets. We want the type of system that makes our friends to be either jealous or to think we are crazy. Sometimes it is both.
I started this review process with the promise that it would be a thorough shakedown of this $20,000 package as a whole. Joe Perfito was confident enough that his entire response when I told him this would be reported on honestly, good or bad, he responded with ‘fair enough.’
Let us end this review with that honest assessment. I personally have enjoyed how much improvement my (let’s use rough numbers) $45,000 system has gained with the $20,000 Clarus/Concerto package. I do not believe that this system could have improved as much in performance by spending the entire $65,000 on the primary audio components and using the standard cables and power straight from the wall. It was not a surprise that the Clarus/Concerto package performed well. What was a surprise was coming away from this four-month experience with the revelation that this would be a tremendous way to improve one’s system without having to go through the process of replacing one’s components. In other words, to me, this $20,000 is a bargain.
Audiophilepure 
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