New Focal headphones for 2024! Azurys & Hadenys Review
May 9, 2024 Comments Off on New Focal headphones for 2024! Azurys & Hadenys Review
Sonus faber Lumina V Amator Loudspeaker Review
May 8, 2024 Comments Off on Sonus faber Lumina V Amator Loudspeaker Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/sonus-faber-lumina-v-amator-loudspeaker
While Sonus faber’s floorstander looks imposing in the pictures, the speaker is neither huge nor massively weighty, standing just under 105cm tall and, at 22.5kg, about light enough for one-person set-up, adding convenience to the room-friendliness. Positioning is no trickier, in no small part due to that downward-firing port. I spent some time moving the Lumina V Amators backwards and forwards in the room, finding very little difference wherever I placed them, and concentrated instead on experimenting with toe-in for the most coherent stereo image. Again, I was unable to effect any huge changes in this department, so stuck to my usual positioning with the cabinets aimed just slightly in front of the listening position.
With their rated 89dB sensitivity, 4ohm nominal impedance and a 50W minimum power requirement, these are not especially demanding speakers, and worked well with the various amplifiers I tried, ranging from Audiolab’s 9000A [HFN Aug ’23] up to my vintage Naim NAC 52/NAP 250 set-up. I should mention that magnetic grilles are provided, but it would be a shame to cover up the understated dark wenge or more exotic gloss red and walnut wood finishes on offer!
Telos 800 $85,000 REVIEW
May 8, 2024 Comments Off on Telos 800 $85,000 REVIEW
With an output of 300 Wrms (x 2) at 8 ohms and 390 Wrms (x 2) at 4 ohms, the Telos 800 is a leap forward in Goldmund’s offerings, presenting a formidable stereo amplifier capable of satisfying even the most discerning audiophile consumers.
To support its power output and audio quality, the Telos 800 incorporates a 3200 VA toroidal power transformer and an impressive capacitor bank of 93,600 µF. Compliant with IEC 62368-1 standards on rated power consumption, this amplifier delivers remarkable efficiency and power, rivaling the performance of two mono-power amplifiers.
Hegel Music Systems H30A Stereo/Mono Amplifier $19,000 Review
May 7, 2024 Comments Off on Hegel Music Systems H30A Stereo/Mono Amplifier $19,000 Review
In conclusion, Jason confesses that looking back over his review and seeing how effusive he’d been about the H30A made him a little uncomfortable. Granted, it is pricy and difficult to move to dust underneath, he concedes, but it also hit all of his “musts, wants, and needs.” With such high praise and the kind of measurements from our lab, the H30A earned a Reviewers’ Choice award when the review was published, a SoundStage! Network Product of the Year award in the Outstanding Performance category at the end of 2023, and a Recommended Reference Component award this month. Most complimentary and telling of all: Jason Thorpe still uses the H30A for his reviews to this day.
Aric Audio Super 300B SET Stereo Power Amplifier $6475 Review
May 7, 2024 Comments Off on Aric Audio Super 300B SET Stereo Power Amplifier $6475 Review
The Aric Audio Super 300B SET amp can get up and go! I did a lot of late-night listening with the system at low volume levels. Then it was time to let the amp cut loose. I played some classical recordings from Reference Recordings engineered and recorded by the world-famous Keith Johnson. Do you want dynamics baby? How about a full orchestra at close to realistic volume levels? Bing, check the box. The other thing about the dynamic range was what you didn’t hear. The amp is dead quiet! I believe the benefit of having a separate power supply allows for silent operation which increases the dynamic range. Every dB makes a difference.
I was surprised by how well-defined, and the fullness of the bass was presented by the Aric Audio Super 300B SET. This is not your father’s tube amp. It is quick, lively, transparent, and dynamic. Tonal contrasts and frequency responses were smooth in transitions. The high frequencies were articulate fully extended and natural sounding. I don’t think I’ve had an amp in my system that accomplished these feats! Do all 300B amps sound this way? Remember this is my first journey with a 300B amp. Is this the Super 300B SET a benchmark design? I’m inclined to say yes.
XACT S1 Music Server $13,900 Review
May 6, 2024 Comments Off on XACT S1 Music Server $13,900 Review
He succeeds more than you’d expect. This solid-state digital music server inspired thoughts of the Golden Age of Stereo, that high-water period in tube analog recordings dating from sixty years ago. It has the kind of frequency response and comfortable ear-feel that tends to make people smile. There’s even a bit of the golden glow.
The way the S1 reproduces space will make you do a double take. Digital has well-known issues regarding image depth, in particular roundness in space. The S1 overcomes that by fleshing out the missing dimension. Then it goes a step beyond and projects the images into the room, creating the kind of spatial holography we associate with tubes. To say the S1 is unlike other digital components is an understatement.
Naim Audio NAC 332 Preamplifier and NPX 300 Power Supply Review
May 4, 2024 Comments Off on Naim Audio NAC 332 Preamplifier and NPX 300 Power Supply Review
The substitution of Naim’s new NAP 350 monoblock pair ($8499 each) for my resident NAP 250 power amplifier brought more bass slam, improved dynamism, and a sense of greater ease. Drums and percussion hit harder, and the tom-tom drums and bass guitar had greater solidity. Bass was frequently more tangible, and at times seismic. After gunning the Naim combo on “Need You Tonight,” from the INXS album Kick (16/44.1 FLAC, Rhino Atlantic / Tidal), the drums and bass were really moving air in the room through my ATC SCM40s. This is an infectiously danceable track, and it had absolutely superb rhythm, timing, and groove via the all-Naim system. It was hard to resist the urge to slip into full Michael Hutchence mode and start pouting and gyrating across the room. I’ve had the experience of doing just that during a review, only to turn around and see three of my daughter’s friends, faces pressed to the glass, watching me through the window with a look of amusement. That was no big deal when they were kids, but now that they’re uber-cool young women, I fear all dignity would be lost.
New Record Doctor X $599 Review
May 4, 2024 Comments Off on New Record Doctor X $599 Review
Suddenly, Miller’s right hand “pops”—or pulls the bass strings away from the fretboard and quickly releases it, snapping it back into the board—and drops into a blazing thumb-slap fest! Williams joins in with loud cracks of his snare in four/four time as the crowd cheers and claps, with Sanborn and Grolnick leading, as Miller holds court with his sizzling solo. Then, the rich, resonant, and bright tone of Sanborn’s alto sax’s melodic wail cuts through the drums, bass, percussion, keys, and guitar to take the lead. One of the gems on this 1986 Grammy-winning LP for Best Jazz Fusion Performance, this song is even more gratifying with the increased clarity afforded by the Record Doctor X! The vinyl’s luscious, rounded, and full-fleshed waveforms, the balance of textural detail and tone, as rendered by the Ortofon MC Cadenza Bronze cartridge affixed to a GrooveMaster 3 tonearm with a Korf HS-A02 ceramic headshell—shines unencumbered with the elimination of tiny particulate matter.
Analog Audio Design TP-1000 Reel-to-Reel Tape Player
May 3, 2024 Comments Off on Analog Audio Design TP-1000 Reel-to-Reel Tape Player
Some additional company background now. Analog Audio Design was founded by Christophe Martinez in France in 2020. An engineer with extensive experience in electronics and firmware who worked on flight simulator design for 25 years, Martinez also had previous association with the Mulann Group, the French industrial conglomerate that “currently holds all the knowledge and the processes for high-quality magnetic tape that originated in Europe,” and owns the (all one word) RecordingTheMasters brand.
ARCAM Radia A25 integrated amplifier REVIEW
May 3, 2024 Comments Off on ARCAM Radia A25 integrated amplifier REVIEW
https://www.stereophile.com/content/arcam-radia-a25-integrated-amplifier
The original 1953 Columbia mono disc produced an exceptionally dense, life-like sound that intensified the effect of the Budapest String Quartet in delivering this soul-stirring performance. That old black disc is gone, but the hi-rez remastering (24/192 FLAC, Columbia/Qobuz), played through the Denafrips Terminator Plus DAC into the A25’s analog input, made exceedingly smooth, instantly engaging sound laced with tone that was more saturated and tempo-keeping that was more toe-tapping than expected. Playing Op.133, the ARCAM exceled at sorting all the sound molecules and not mucking them up. It felt good to hear a $1499 integrated amp make a piece of difficult music this affecting. Its natural ease invited me to lean forward and close my eyes.
Right now, my system is silent, but as I type these words, I can still hear Op.133 playing inside my head. I keep trying to imagine what was going on inside of Beethoven’s head as he composed these dark, quivering forms. Driving the Heretic speakers, the A25 presented the Maestro’s Grosse Fuge as a daring artistic invention performed by a brilliant quartet operating in peak form.
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