Usher Audio UA-50 Anniversary Three-Way Monitor Loudspeakers Review
January 16, 2024 Comments Off on Usher Audio UA-50 Anniversary Three-Way Monitor Loudspeakers Review
The Usher Audio UA-50 Anniversary loudspeakers are very impressive, delivering detailed, and wide-staged imagery, cohesive top-down from their diamond tweeters through a rich and lush midrange, into the mid-bass, and a little below. On their own, they render a variety of material from classical to jazz, blues, and rock. Combined with quality sources and electronics, they’re quite compelling. And if you need extra lower end, you can always deploy a quality subwoofer (or, better yet, a pair of subs) to your heart’s content. However, for the vast majority of time spent listening to them, the thought rarely crossed my mind. They really drew me into the music.
Summed up, if you’re into an immersive audio experience, high-performance three-way monitors with a slick retro 80s vibe, a lush and detailed midrange, and modern accouterments like an updated curved chassis and modern diamond tweeters, the Usher Audio UA-50s just may be your end game. But, don’t wait long; there are only a few left!
Simaudio’s Moon 791 Streaming Preamplifier:
January 15, 2024 Comments Off on Simaudio’s Moon 791 Streaming Preamplifier:
I’d be remiss to not point out that one way to better the 791’s performance is to opt for the company’s top-of-the-line streaming preamplifier, the Moon 891. Dimensionally similar to the 791, albeit taller, the 891 improves on its sibling through subtle circuitry refinements to the line stage, phono stage, and digital-to-analog sections, as well as to the volume control. The resulting improvements would undoubtedly show up on the test bench, but whether they’d be discernible to the ear, given the extraordinary performance of the 791, is questionable. The 791’s noise and distortion figures, and other performance parameters, already dip below the theoretical threshold of audibility. A side-by-side comparison would be the surest way to find out.
The takeaway
In implementing a large set of valuable features with no apparent compromises to its performance, the Moon 791 marks an extraordinary departure from the expected norm, linking fancy features to performance penalty. In fact, the outstanding test-bench results of the 791 led Diego to write to Dominique Poupart, “Bravo on a technically exceptional product!” Diego rarely offers such commendations, and rarely do I heap such praise on a component, but the audiophile-grade 791 is exceptional: it is a straight wire with gain and it has oodles of features. Have your cake and eat it too!
B&W 603 S3 Loudspeaker Review
January 15, 2024 Comments Off on B&W 603 S3 Loudspeaker Review
The most significant – and presumably most expensive – upgrade for this generation is to be found in the tweeter. Diamond or carbon domes, as used higher up B&W’s range, are not tenable in this price category, so instead the manufacturer has developed a new titanium dome tweeter. A two-part design, this features a 25µm-thick main dome framed by a marginally chunkier (30µm) titanium ring, and fires through a new mesh grille derived from the 800 D4 series’ tweeter assembly. For this generation, the positioning of the tweeter is also closer to the midrange below (their trim rings ‘overlap’) to improve driver integration.
The titanium dome is mounted into an elongated tube that’s hidden inside the cabinet. The principle behind this design is nothing new for B&W – albeit more apparent with its ‘Tweeter-on-Top’ models – and is intended to progressively attenuate the rear output of the tweeter, minimising rear reflections while also isolating the driver from pressure variations within the main cabinet.
HIFIMAN SVANAR WIRELESS IN-EAR MONITORS $499 REVIEW
January 12, 2024 Comments Off on HIFIMAN SVANAR WIRELESS IN-EAR MONITORS $499 REVIEW
The new HIFIMAN Svanar Wireless IEMs have some cool tech implemented including an R2R Himalaya Ladder DAC section, a Topology driver that features special Nanoparticle coatings on the driver diaphragm, and a custom headphone amplifier module. Among the Bluetooth codecs supported HIFIMAN has thoughtfully included LDAC for higher bitrate transmission. The advanced Active Noise Cancellation is claimed to reduce outside noise by up to 35 dB.
FiiO Q15 Desktop / Portable Hi-Res Music DAC And Headphone Amplifier $399 Review
January 10, 2024 Comments Off on FiiO Q15 Desktop / Portable Hi-Res Music DAC And Headphone Amplifier $399 Review
Using the FiiO Q15 with my Sony Walkman instead of the Sony Walkman without the Q15 wasn’t like night and day. An audiophile description I first used nearly 30 years ago was “a small but significant improvement in sound quality.” This perfectly describes the experience of using the Q15 with my Sony Walkman. Sound quality improvement was much more noticeable when listening to high-resolution files, especially DSD. There was an improvement in sound quality across the board, including the size and scale of the sound field, its apparent frequency response, micro- and macro-dynamics, and, most importantly, the perceived realism of acoustic instruments and voices.
Of course, the level of improvement the FiiO Q15 rendered depended on the recording quality and headphones used. Connecting the Q15 to the USB output of my music server was not to embarrass it when compared to my usual DAC in the main system in my dedicated listening room, the mighty EMM Labs DA2. Yet I was very impressed with this FiiO DAC, as it displayed the audiophile traits I listed above when used with my Sony portable player. A more modest desktop system would appreciate the FiiO Q15 much more than my high-end system.
Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800.2 integrated amplifier $10,999 Review
January 10, 2024 Comments Off on Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800.2 integrated amplifier $10,999 Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/musical-fidelity-nu-vista-8002-integrated-amplifier
This was a difficult review to write given that, like other 21st century solid state amplifiers that offer superbly low distortion and noise, the Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800.2 didn’t have a readily discernible sonic character. Yes, Michael Fremer did write in his review of the original 800 amplifier that “There’s no mistaking the velvety, delicate sound of a nuvistor front end,” and I did indeed find the 800.2 easy on the ears. But Michael also wrote that while “CDs with a touch of hard edge and brightness were suitably softened and corrected, those that were hopelessly hard and bright remained so.”
I found that to be the case with the Musical Fidelity amplifier. It is exceptionally revealing of what was on the recordings I played or, with the loudspeakers I used for my auditioning, their intrinsic characters. But with its tight grip on the speakers’ woofers, its sense of almost unlimited power, its superb soundstage definition, and—again—that sense of ease to its presentation, the Nu-Vista 800.2 gets an unreserved recommendation from this audio critic.
The Best Jazz Albums (mostly reissues) of 2023
January 10, 2024 Comments Off on The Best Jazz Albums (mostly reissues) of 2023
BOWERS & WILKINS 607 S3 BOOKSHELF LOUDSPEAKER $1200 A VIDEO REVIEW
January 9, 2024 Comments Off on BOWERS & WILKINS 607 S3 BOOKSHELF LOUDSPEAKER $1200 A VIDEO REVIEW
My favorite pair of speakers is the mighty B&W 685 S1. I bought a floor model pair from a store in Toronto. Since then, B&W has iterated the 600 series with newer models, and I have been super curious to see what they sounded like. When this most recent release of the 600 Series was released, I requested a pair. I was able to get my paws on the smaller sibling, the 607 S3. It is a beautiful small bookshelf/ stand mount and looks to be a more refined and far better-built speaker. But how does it sound?
Bryston BHA-1 Headphone Amplifier Review
January 8, 2024 Comments Off on Bryston BHA-1 Headphone Amplifier Review
The Bryston will never be confused with a tube amplifier, but texture and tone through the HD800?
Hell hath frozen over.
The Bryston BHA-1 blurs that line rather significantly offering up a cleaner sounding and more detailed presentation than any of the tube amplifiers in my collection, but with a warmer tonal balance than I would have expected.
Dan Clark Audio E3 Closed-Back Planar Magnetic Headphones $2000 Review
January 8, 2024 Comments Off on Dan Clark Audio E3 Closed-Back Planar Magnetic Headphones $2000 Review
I may have understated in this review the musicality of the Dan Clark Audio E3 Closed-Back Planar Magnetic Headphone, so let’s be clear, that is the E3’s strongest suit. I won’t say that it is exactly forgiving, that is not the type of musicality we are looking at here, believe me, if there are flaws in the recording, the E3 will not cover them up, but they make the experience so pleasurable that you won’t care about them. Like its predecessors the ETHER C Flow and the STEALTH, the E3 has an extremely neutral tonal balance, with deep well-controlled sub-bass. There might be a slight depression in the upper midrange, and a slight peak in the mid-treble, but this could just as easily be the speed of the E3 revealing information you didn’t notice before and not creating distortions you did.
It is hard to say, I can say that going from the E3 to the ETHER C Flow, the ETHER C Flow feels shouty, but going the other way, you don’t feel like you are missing anything with the E3. The bass appears to be stronger without being boomy as with open-back headphones, which may be an attribute of the increased dynamic range and bass control, in fact, increased speed, dynamic range, and bass control with lower distortion can account for pretty much everything I hear in the E3.
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