Nordost • Blue Heaven Interconnects, Speaker Cables, and Power Cords
November 2, 2023 § 1 Comment
https://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/nordost_blue_heaven.htm
If you want to build a Nordost Blue Heaven loom but do so in installments, start with the QBASE and Blue Heaven power cords. I am firmly convinced that electronic devices cannot work to their full potential until power cords and power distribution/noise reduction are addressed. While power cords may not be as thrilling as purchasing a new electronic component or speaker, my experiences suggest that mixing and matching power components can result in poor performance. It’s also notable that the Blue Heaven power cords and QBASE were used on the listening tour, replacing cords and distribution pieces costing far, far more, yet the sound retained the same level of bass slam and the low noise floor I associate with good, clean power management. This was fairly remarkable for one of Nordost’s “budget” cable lines.
Next, purchase interconnects and then the speaker cables for their clarity and drive. With these two in place, you have the Nordost signature sound. Adding the speaker cables will bring the speed of attack and clarity I’ve discussed, while the RCA interconnects are more neutral, having less effect on the sound of my system.
Provided your DAC needs a USB cable, the Blue Heaven is a fine choice at a budget-friendly price. In my system, the USB cable gave excellent results and was an easy recommendation. Substituting an expensive, well-reviewed USB cable from a competing brand lessened my interest in listening. Timing was confused and the soundstage shrunk. A bit of dullness crept in. The USB swap was definitely more dramatic and clear-cut than swapping RCA interconnects. Even if you have opted to use various brands of cabling in your system, I encourage you to give the Blue Heaven USB a try.
Finally, for those vinyl users needing a DIN-terminated phono cable, the clever engineering Nordost included in their design is easily appreciated. While I’m not plagued with audible hum in the phono stage, the ability to add extra paths for grounding is a nice touch and could be a lifesaver in many systems.
Fyne Audio F502SP Review
November 2, 2023 Comments Off on Fyne Audio F502SP Review
https://www.hifichoice.com/content/fyne-audio-f502sp
Perhaps the Monitor Audio is the most appropriate warm up act as the F502SP takes that crowd-pleasing energy, ramps up the colour, luxury, clarity, spirit and sense of fun, and runs with it. As I’ve found with more modestly priced Fynes, neutrality isn’t necessarily a guiding principle, whereas distilling the music seems to be a natural gift. The SP is cut from the same cloth, but with the advantages of big-boy bandwidth and resolution, not to mention arguably the most solid and precise imaging I’ve heard in the room – a convincing vindication of the isotropic driver topology, I guess.
Hankering for some ‘cosmic’ funk as only Edgar Winter can deliver, Jasmine Nightdreams’ Sky Train streamed from Tidal sounds fresh, incisive and dazzlingly clear with oodles of inner detail and solid, well-shaped bass. My favourite Jools Holland collaboration – with Taj Mahal singing Outskirts Of Town – builds superbly to its balls-out climax, TM beseeching any future offspring to all: “Look-look-look like him”. This can often be a little overwhelming for some smaller speakers that struggle to separate out the competing elements and allow enough dynamic headroom for the song to swell. No problem here. From start to finish, the F502SP sounds beautifully open, expressive and lucid with clean, extended upper frequencies that are naturally textured and free from grain, intricately detailed yet gloriously unforced, the Fyne drawing colour, emotion and ‘substance’ out of the slightly grey recording.
Dan Clark Audio Corina Reference Flagship Electrostatic Headphones Review
November 2, 2023 Comments Off on Dan Clark Audio Corina Reference Flagship Electrostatic Headphones Review
Longdog Audio P6100M
November 1, 2023 Comments Off on Longdog Audio P6100M
https://www.hifichoice.com/content/longdog-audio-p6100m
This is helped along somewhat by the naturally gutsy, barrel-chested sound, but it’s not thuggish or brutish in any way. There is enough slam to really tickle the big 12in bass drivers of my loudspeakers. This power is swiftly deployed; the opening drums on Roxy Music’s More Than This for example, are wonderfully powerful and dramatic when the wick is turned up. Yet still there’s no obvious sense of strain, despite the amplifiers not having a ‘muscle amp’ look about them.
Extended listening ends up with me thoroughly enjoying these Longdog Audio monoblocks. They’re really good at pretty much everything; for example, soundstaging is excellent, with a really ‘out of the box’ presentation that is never less than expansive and three dimensional. Ultimately, perhaps, they don’t have the true grit and insight of some really high-end designs – yet they deliver massive amounts of sound per pound.
Margules Audio U-280SC 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Vacuum Tube Amplifier $12,000 Review
October 31, 2023 § 1 Comment
I learned that even in ultra-linear mode, this amplifier could easily drive the Scansonic speakers to a volume that I considered “realistic.” Not only was the volume more than satisfactory but so was their sound, due to the sound quality prowess of the Margules U-280SC 30th Anniversary tube amplifier. Even though the Scansonic MB5 B speakers cost less than half the price of the speakers that were used for the majority of the audition period, their midrange transparency made it so I felt as if I could hear not only details from the musical signal being sent to the speakers but the details from the musical signal that was sent to the Margules amplifier.
The above description might seem a bit obtuse. Yet, it was the relative amount of transparency of these speakers that led to a feeling that I could imagine hearing through to the Margules amp, and therefore could sense that I could clearly hear the intentions of the musicians, engineers, and producers that were responsible for the recording I was listening to at the time. The Margules amp’s level of transparency was often frighteningly lifelike sounding on some recordings.
crystal cable art series monet speaker cables
October 31, 2023 Comments Off on crystal cable art series monet speaker cables
Down low, the Monets sounded great. Good, tight, tuneful bass. That said, both my Audience and Nordost cables excel in the bottom octaves, and the Monets were more alike than different in this regard. This is still high praise, as I’ve been digging some of the best bass of my experience with both of these cables, and having the Monets keep up is a triumph.
More alike than different. That doesn’t mean identical. I just listened right through to the 1995 reissue of John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme remastered by Michael Cuscuna (LP, Impulse! GR-155), and despite years of familiarity with this recording, it’s still as fresh to me as ever—triumphant and soaring, crisp and snappy. As with most olde-tyme jazz recordings, the bass suffers most, but there’s still that thick, twangy intro to “Acknowledgement,” which feels like it’s coming out of a deep hole in the ground. It’s an easily hummable anchor that carries through the piece, and the Monets kept all of the weight (any loss of grounding here would be fatal to the integrity of this track) while adding just a small amount of detail to the sense of Jimmy Garrison’s fingers on the strings themselves.
Acoustic Energy CORINIUM REVIEW
October 30, 2023 Comments Off on Acoustic Energy CORINIUM REVIEW
All these ground-breaking new drive unit and crossover developments are housed in a beautifully curved, exquisitely finished inert enclosure. The hybrid ‘Resonance Suppression Composite’ (RSC) cabinets have a minimum thickness of 22mm and vary up to 50mm for optimal performance. The 4° tilt improves the time alignment of sound to listener, whilst the 6mm ultra rigid aluminim front baffle firmly houses the drivers and isolates any cabinet resonances from the listening environment.
Dynaudio Emit 50 Loudspeaker $2249 Review
October 29, 2023 § 1 Comment
https://www.soundandvision.com/content/dynaudio-emit-50-loudspeaker-review
The Emit 50 may be Dynaudio’s entry-level offering, but it serves as a shining example of the Emit line. These towers reveal an impressive amount of information, making them one of my favorite options in this price range. They perform admirably even in less-than-ideal conditions, a feat many speakers fail to achieve. When attention to the room is given, such as adding acoustic treatments and digital signal processing, the Emit 50s rise to the occasion, making the improvements audible and appreciated.
While not a “budget” speaker, the Emit 50 is within reach and a worthwhile investment for anyone seeking a quality pair of 2-channel towers or the foundation of a home theater system. Whether you opt for a minimalist 2-channel setup or a full-blown home theater, the Dynaudio Emit 50s consistently impress. Their exceptional soundstage and imaging capabilities make them stand out, providing hours of enjoyable listening and rediscovering familiar songs in new ways. Dynaudio’s commitment to quality shines through in the Emit 50, offering a natural, easy sound that anyone can enjoy.
Audiophilepure 
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