The Pass Labs HPA-1 – A Superb Headphone Amp
December 11, 2023 Comments Off on The Pass Labs HPA-1 – A Superb Headphone Amp
I employ the Dan Clark Audio Stealth headphones for the focused portion of this review, and to provide a more worthy comparison, I forego using my $650 SGA-1 Soncoz Headphone Amplifier that, while an excellent value for the money, is a lighter-bodied pinot noir to the bolder HPA-1’s cabernet sauvignon. Hence, I enlist the services of the powerful, but discontinued Cypher Labs Prautes tube headphone amplifier with a rebuilt power supply.
I had been very impressed by the Prautes when I reviewed it in 2019, and Joe Jerzec, who was a reseller and lent me the review sample when he ran JAM’n Audio (he’s currently a partner at Purity Audio Design), lent it to me again. A veritable tank, only 50 units were made, retailing for $3900 (that would be $4714 in 2023 dollars, according to Amortization.org). One of its standout features is an impedance selector switch to accommodate various headphone and speaker impedances, as follows: 300 Ω, 100 Ω: Standard for many Studio headphones, 32 Ω: Standard consumer headphones, 8 Ω: Speakers or very low impedance headphones, and IEM: In-Ear-Headphones.
Now, the Stealth headphones have a 23 Ohm impedance and a sensitivity of roughly 86 – 87 dB/mW, so they’re not the most efficient headphones, meaning you have to crank up the volume on a headphone amp to hear them properly.
Pro-Ject Award-Winning X2B True Balanced Turntable Review
December 11, 2023 Comments Off on Pro-Ject Award-Winning X2B True Balanced Turntable Review
Krell Illusion II/KSA-i400 Pre/Power Amplifiers Review
December 10, 2023 Comments Off on Krell Illusion II/KSA-i400 Pre/Power Amplifiers Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/krell-illusion-iiksa-i400-prepower-amplifiers
An Ethernet port is provided on the power amp for software updates, but the only means of control from the preamp is via 12V triggers for on/standby. The Illusion II itself has two sets of balanced analogue inputs and three on RCAs, plus two coaxial, optical and one AES/EBU digital input. Outputs are also on XLRs and RCAs, alongside 12V trigger in/outs, and a socket for an external IR receiver should you want to hide the preamp away.
Front panel controls are via traditional ‘pin-head’ pushbuttons, duplicated on the chunky metal remote handset. There’s no volume knob, but the balanced resistor-ladder adjustment has a rather a large number of very fine steps controlled by up/down buttons. This makes for precise if rather slow adjustment, but at least the blue light-bar on the preamp, which initially glows red in standby, flashes to show you that commands are being received and acted upon. There’s a mute button on the remote should you wish for a swifter pause or restoration of output level.
Marantz 40n Streaming Amplifier Review
December 10, 2023 Comments Off on Marantz 40n Streaming Amplifier Review
https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2023/4/1/yamaha-a-s1200-integrated-amplifier
Components like the 40n are priced well, feature and function-packed, and have a huge PR/hype push machine behind them at launch. Research the first two carefully, and ignore the latter by listening to lots of music you know and love. Your ears (and wallet) will eventually make the right design. The Marantz 40n Streaming Amplifier is a high-end winner in looks, functionality, and price. But even at a relatively reasonable $2499, you want your investment to sound good. Rest assured, it does. It’s a well-designed high-end product I imagine will fit into many modern, lifestyle systems. Is the sound right for you in the long term? That’s what an in-home audition is for. There are so many top integrateds of all stripes and topologies at this price point that it behooves the prospective purchaser to part with their money only when they are assured musical satisfaction. As for me, a warm recommendation.
Schiit Yggdrasil + OG DAC $2699 Review
December 9, 2023 Comments Off on Schiit Yggdrasil + OG DAC $2699 Review
The Yggdrasil + OG delivers a very capable bass which is big bodied and full – retaining the elements of both macro-dynamic prowess as well as the incision of the original Yggdrasil. There is a good layer of smoothness with a sound which invokes both clarity and depth while also being faithful to a natural and organic sound.
Coming on to the midrange, the Yggdrasil + OG offers a beautifully textured midrange with excellent detailing and realness particularly with respect to acoustic instruments. One of the critiques of the original Yggdrasil was that it could come across as a tad incisive depending on the nature of the track. With the plus OG version, there is some sweet overtone added to the midrange which certainly makes it more forgiving compared to prior iterations.
Audeze LCD-5 headphones Review
December 9, 2023 Comments Off on Audeze LCD-5 headphones Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/audeze-lcd-5-headphones
When it comes to headphones, I’m not an easy fit. Most headphones need to be set to the smallest/tightest setting to stay securely on my noggin. The LCD-5 fit my head and ears with what felt like a very good seal with a couple of notches left over.
One final, well-conceived detail: The cable-connection sockets are positioned farther back on the ear cups than on many other headphones, which helps keep the cables out of the way—farther from your hands and out of your face. The cable’s “Goldilocks” length worked well for me: long enough to let me roll a comfy office chair around, but not so long that the cable dragged on the floor or found its way under the chair wheels in the studio at the radio station.
PSB IMAGINE T54 TOWER SPEAKER $1,499 REVIEW
December 8, 2023 Comments Off on PSB IMAGINE T54 TOWER SPEAKER $1,499 REVIEW
These are well-engineered speakers, but buyers will need to do a bit of room matching and think about augmenting them with a sub. If being used for home theater duty, I think a sub would be a requirement. For more casual listening the speakers will perform well. Their frequency response, dynamic range, clean undistorted audio, and imaging skills are something I don’t always find in similar speakers. A lot of thought obviously went into the design and manufacture of the PSB T54 speakers.
Although the T54 doesn’t reach as deeply as some other speakers I’ve heard at the $1499 price, I haven’t heard other speakers do so many other things as right as the T54 speakers. Since the deepest low end (if you want it) can be solved with a good subwoofer, I think the T54 speakers represent a solid and competitive value. If you’re not considering using them for home theater, and you have a good match for a room, I have high praise for these speakers.
FIIO K11 $129 REVIEW
December 8, 2023 Comments Off on FIIO K11 $129 REVIEW
Flipping the K11 reveals a well-thought-out back panel for the price, housing a variety of inputs and outputs, including USB, optical, and coaxial, alongside 4.4mm, 6.35mm, and RCA jacks. This assortment of connections makes K11 ready to pair with a broad array of sources, from consoles to phones and computers. The details extend to practical considerations as well; the big and wide silicone anti-slip pad ensures the device stays firmly in place, while the adjustable RGB logo lighting on the top adds a customizable visual appeal or can be configured to provide visual feedback on the audio format being played.
Emotiva BasX TA2 Integrated Amplifier Review
December 7, 2023 Comments Off on Emotiva BasX TA2 Integrated Amplifier Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/emotiva-basx-ta2-integrated-amplifier
The initial impression of the BasX TA2 being a more muscular version of the TA1 is reinforced by its milled aluminium front panel, as except for some extra real estate, the two are identical. Above the central power on/off button is a thin black strip containing a VFD display, plus input selection buttons and a 3.5mm headphone socket. On the right is a volume rotary, backlit blue to match the VFD illumination.
It looks rather spartan, but the volume knob doubles as a push/twist controller for delving into the BasX TA2’s menus, and here there’s a fair amount of tweaking to uncover. For example, Emotiva provides treble, bass and balance controls, as well as the option of setting the brightness of the VFD illumination, all the way down to off. You can also use the menus to autotune or seek FM radio stations and save them to the amp’s 15 memory slots.
YG Acoustics Hailey 3 $63,400 Review
December 5, 2023 Comments Off on YG Acoustics Hailey 3 $63,400 Review
Great as everything else is, these speakers are equally smooth throughout the frequency spectrum. Those of you that enjoy this aspect of single driver or panel speakers will appreciate how well the three drivers in the Hailey’s work together. No matter how loud or soft the Haleys are played, they deliver the electrical impulses presented to them with one voice.
If you really want to blast the system, you will need more than 15 watts per channel, and though the Haileys reveal a lot at low volume, they are glorious when being played loud. Whether you’re listening to Deep Purple’s Made in Japan, The 1812 Overture, or grooving on some Slowdive, these speakers will take you anywhere you want to go.
Ironically when YG hit the market 21 years ago, under their original ownership they claimed to be the “world’s greatest loudspeaker.” While I can’t make that claim about any one loudspeaker, I’d certainly say that today, YG is in that small top tier of the world’s finest speakers without hesitation.
Audiophilepure 
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