Titanium Hestia II Loudspeaker & The Method 3 Monoblock Amplifier Review
June 28, 2023 Comments Off on Titanium Hestia II Loudspeaker & The Method 3 Monoblock Amplifier Review
JBL 4329P Powered Studio Monitors $4500 Review
June 27, 2023 Comments Off on JBL 4329P Powered Studio Monitors $4500 Review
https://www.soundandvision.com/content/jbl-4329p-powered-studio-monitors-review
I streamed a live reading of this memorial to the Ukrainian victims of Nazi genocide by Muti and the Chicago Symphony and Chorus, which won a best-engineered Grammy a couple years ago, from Qobuz as a 96/24 FLAC. Via the JBLs this very naturalistic recording stunned me with the great definition of instruments and voices, letting the ear pick out individual voices from the (mostly) men’s choral parts, and the dense, dark woodwinds—the bass clarinet, for one example—of the dark, somber opening. The brasses were plangent and sparkling, the choral consonants crisp and, where appropriate, realistically sibilant, yet the Chicago’s warm and gooey string sound was well evident
Connected Fidelity AC-2K Reference Review
June 27, 2023 Comments Off on Connected Fidelity AC-2K Reference Review
There’s no power cord provided with AC-2K; Connected Fidelity is primarily a cable company so upsell opportunities are available. The test unit was supplied with a new cable just added to the range, the Chronos 2 (£840). It’s based on a braided weave of cryogenically treated multistrand UP/OCC copper and silver-plated copper wires, totalling 12 square millimetre for each of the two power lines, terminated with Furutech IEC and MS HD Power UK plugs.
Inside the box, protection circuitry on the balanced output side is specified as two residual current circuit breakers with overcurrent protection (RCBO). On the input side is a soft-start relay switch to reduce switch-on surge. The toroidal transformer is mounted on a compliant anti-vibration support plate, with transit screws to secure the mass when packed for shipping. And in a bid to extract the best performance from this transformer, it undergoes deep cryogenic treatment prior to installation in AC-2K, cycled by a commercial specialist down to –195 °C in a process that is said to benefit the ferrous core of the transformer by increasing the proportion of martensite and decreasing austensite in the steel’s crystalline structure. And since the toroid is treated complete with its copper wiring, there may be positive effects of cold annealing on the primary and secondary windings.
DETHONRAY PEGASUS SG1 SPECIAL EDITION REVIEW
June 26, 2023 Comments Off on DETHONRAY PEGASUS SG1 SPECIAL EDITION REVIEW
The Honey H1 DAC/Amp was quite a buggy device when it first came out. The issues were solved later on, but the problem with the volume knob continued since it can’t be fixed without a hardware modification. The SG1 offers a much smoother experience though. You open the device, pair it with your source device and you’re connected. The volume knob is much better and the build quality has no flaws. Maybe Dethonray could’ve included a protective case since the design is sharp and angular so you might damage the corners. You can get a case from the web and the Dethonray AliExpress store also has one.
Goldmund Mimesis 37S NextGen/Telos 300 $40,000/$19,000 Review
June 25, 2023 Comments Off on Goldmund Mimesis 37S NextGen/Telos 300 $40,000/$19,000 Review
https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/goldmund-mimesis-37s-nextgentelos-300
We switch to Bizet’s Carmen Suite and the Goldmunds have no trouble delivering a sound of impressive scale and authority. The music’s dramatic dynamic sweeps come through forcefully and without losing track of low-level instrumental strands. Stereo imaging is expansive, extending well beyond the outside edges of our speakers. The stability of that stereo image is excellent as is the way this pairing focuses and layers the soundstage. This is a complete performance.
Our time with this Goldmund pairing is a blur of music. We move from Beethoven’s Symphonies to De La Soul’s rich back catalogue then to Bruce Springsteen’s early work, and never do the Goldmunds sound lacking or out of their comfort zone. These are excellent all-rounders that are balanced enough to treat all types of music well. That’s not as common a trait as it should be, even at this elevated level.
SONUS FABER OLYMPICA NOVA V SPEAKER $16,500 REVIEW
June 25, 2023 Comments Off on SONUS FABER OLYMPICA NOVA V SPEAKER $16,500 REVIEW
It pains me to say, but as much as I love the original Olympica IIIs that have anchored my media room setup for four years now, the new Olympica Nova Vs are superior in every way imaginable. The three woofers on the Olympica Nova Vs offer a significant improvement in bass output as well as depth. More surprising is that even with the additional bass, the Olympica Nova Vs were less sensitive to positioning in my room. This bass also seemed to blend better with the midrange, creating a more cohesive experience. The Olympica Nova Vs sound phenomenal with well-recorded classical and jazz yet can totally rock out if you prefer more dynamic styles of music, like EDM or Metal. The larger cabinet and improved construction seem to have made a fuller-bodied sounding speaker as well. Male and female vocals are handled with equal aplomb
Introducing the Sasha V | Wilson Audio Press Event
June 25, 2023 Comments Off on Introducing the Sasha V | Wilson Audio Press Event
KEF R3 Meta $2200 Review
June 24, 2023 Comments Off on KEF R3 Meta $2200 Review
https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/kef-r3-meta
That the new R3 Meta allow us to park our analytical observations after a while and simply enjoy listening to our music collection really says it all. To confirm: these are hugely enticing speakers in design and in performance.
We haven’t come across many stereo speakers at this price point in recent years that are so accomplished in all the ‘hi-fi’ ways and fun to listen to in the same breath. If your system and budget allow it, the new KEF R3 Metas are worth the plunge. We promise you will be entertained.
VTL • TP-6.5 Series II Signature Phono Stage $15,000 Review
June 24, 2023 Comments Off on VTL • TP-6.5 Series II Signature Phono Stage $15,000 Review
https://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/vtl_tp65_ii_signature.htm
At its best, the TP-6.5 II has that rare ability to shrug off its technological baggage, sounding neither overtly tubelike, nor dryly etched and solid-statey. Instead, it cleaves to the musical character of the recording, burrowing into its musical core and then giving it a healthy shove in the right direction. There’s more than one way to skin a musical cat, and allowed to do so, this phono stage can perform the task with such sleight-of-hand you don’t even notice it happening — and that’s the mark of a product that will deliver not just great performance but long-term satisfaction. Party tricks and the sonically spectacular will quickly pall. The TP-6.5 II’s core musical virtues are made of sterner stuff. If you’ve ever wondered how VTL gets all those Best Sound at Show accolades, now you know: they play records and they play them through a genuinely excellent phono stage. Time and again, in public and throughout this review, VTL’s TP-6.5 Series II Signature phono stage has demonstrated that it is more than capable of producing (and reproducing) performances that are both musically powerful and compelling, the very essence of what vinyl replay should be about
Audiophilepure 
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