Audience aR12-T4 Power Conditioner $11,400 Review
September 6, 2022 Comments Off on Audience aR12-T4 Power Conditioner $11,400 Review
Sometimes you eagerly anticipate a product arrival, but when you put it in—zilch, nada—you don’t hear much difference. Then, if you throw a reference-quality CD in the tray—bam, it’s right there in front of you. That’s what happens when the product has very low coloration and high fidelity to the source.
This was the case with the adeptResponse Power Conditioner. The aR12-T4 doesn’t shift the frequency response one way or another or change the aural picture you already have. Instead, it’s a matter of good being made better. If you already have good sound, the aR12-T4 will make it better by applying the finishing touches, fleshing it out, and completing it.
Midway through the audition, my path forward was laid out. The Audience adeptResponse was going to become my reference for the entirety of my system’s AC needs. It is a serious investment: $11,400 for the aR12-T4 + $6300 if you spring for a 2m frontRow High Power powerChord upgrade. That makes a tidy $17,700 to handle the front-end gear. Later on, I would add an aR6-T4 and a frontRow High Power powerChord for my amps. That’s $6600 + $6300, another tidy
Meze Audio Elite headphones Review
September 5, 2022 Comments Off on Meze Audio Elite headphones Review
The Elite headset weighs 430gm. Its headband is made of carbon fiber, its headrest of leather. Inside the Elite’s leather headrest, on each end, where it joins the sliding earcup pillars, are springy metal leaves that Meze calls “pressure distribution wings.” According to Meze, these wings relieve pressure points (on the user’s head) by encouraging the Elite’s headband to conform to a greater length of the head’s circumference.
My Elite review sample came packed in an aluminum briefcase, with two sets of earpads (one real leather, the other a leather-Alcantara hybrid), held in place magnetically with Meze’s own “Isomagnetic earpad coupling technology,” and a 2.5m cable that attaches to the headset with four-pin mini-XLR plugs and to my amplifiers with a 6.3mm plug. The Elite’s cable may be ordered with 3.5mm or XLR input terminations. Meze also offers two types of upgrade cables, each with four termination options, one made of braided “Furukawa PCUHD copper” wire, which Alexandra Rizolu says “adds warmth and smoothness,”
Naim Audio Solstice turntable system
September 5, 2022 Comments Off on Naim Audio Solstice turntable system
“Not all these advances made it to market – though they certainly got a lot of use in our personal systems! – but they all helped maximise the music source to enable the design of better pre and power amplifiers. I still often think about Julian, and how he would have regarded the products we have designed since he died. I was a Naim customer for 11 years before I joined the company, so I’m well and truly steeped in the Naim vision. I believe he would have very much approved of the engineering solutions and final performance of the Solstice Special Edition.”
Solstice has got that combination of drive, excitement, foot-tapping energy, dynamic punch. Sure, it’s more even-handed as befits the more 21st Century approach to music replay and also the way Naim sounds today… but it’s also got that ‘put a smile on your face’ love of music that permeated really well thought-through ‘chrome bumper’ Naim products of yore. Which fits the only sadness I feel about the Solstice; those who are no longer around who would have absolutely loved the deck. Listening to the Solstice makes me think about the late Malcolm Steward shoe-horning in a pair of SBL loudspeakers into a room only slightly larger than the boxes in which they were packed, and playing Gregson & Collister and Richard Thompson albums at ‘Def Con 1’ levels on his Pink Linnk’s, Aro’d up LP12.
Paradigm Persona 9H Loudspeakers $30,953 Review
September 3, 2022 Comments Off on Paradigm Persona 9H Loudspeakers $30,953 Review
https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2022/4/25/paradigm-persona-9h-loudspeakers
The Paradigm Persona 9H Loudspeaker is one of the finest full-range loudspeakers available, and certainly the finest Canadian loudspeaker it’s been my pleasure to review. Yes, the $30,953/pair price is very expensive, but these are your big boy/girl speakers after a lifetime of work and audiophile craziness. That they play in big Wilson and Tidal pools at twice the price is a wonderful achievement. Bravo Paradigm.
Linn Klimax DSM AV DAC-Preamplifier $39,000 Review
September 3, 2022 Comments Off on Linn Klimax DSM AV DAC-Preamplifier $39,000 Review
https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/1124-linn-klimax-dsm-av-dac-preamplifier
Linn’s new Klimax DSM has taken me on a rollercoaster ride, and I am in desperate need of an emotional rescue. On one hand, I found the analog input lacking in terms of transparency and dynamics, and I remain skeptical of the efficacy of the Space Optimization software. I’m also leery of the idea of spending this much money on a flagship DSM knowing that, based on Linn’s history, an expensive upgrade could be in the works. On the other hand, for a product of such vast capability, the Klimax DSM is an ergonomic marvel post-setup. The front display makes excellent use of its real estate in providing valuable configurable track information to the user. The theater of how the display lights up, seamlessly transitioning between volume and track information, and the way in which the beautiful glass dial illuminates to communicate volume information is second to none. The Klimax DSM is also built like a tank, enthralling to look at, enticing to interact with, and beguiling to listen to. Put simply, this is the best sounding DAC-streamer I have ever heard.
McIntosh MP100 Phono Preamplifier $2,000 Review
September 2, 2022 Comments Off on McIntosh MP100 Phono Preamplifier $2,000 Review
McIntosh MP100 Phono Preamplifier: Review
The McIntosh MP100 Phono Preamplifier isn’t cheap at $2,000 and those looking for a warm sounding phono preamp that rolls off everything at both extremes might want to look elsewhere.
Detail, resolution, clarity, dynamics, and presence?
This little box from Binghamton brings that to the party all day and night.
The MP100 is neutral enough that I think one can get away with a wide range of cartridges if you’re looking to create a specific sound and perspective — I just wouldn’t go too neutral on the cartridge.
PMC fact fenestria $57,000 Review
September 1, 2022 Comments Off on PMC fact fenestria $57,000 Review
The PMC fact fenestria is a remarkable achievement for any loudspeaker company let alone a relatively small independent one. It conclusively proves that the transmission line or even the advanced transmission line (ATL) is a very serious contender for the best way to load a loudspeaker and makes one wonder why so few designers use it. This is an expensive loudspeaker for sure and it needs good quality and quantity of power for best results but it’s not extreme by high end standards, you will find several dozen more expensive designs at the High End show. But few of them can compete with the sheer transparency to the signal that the fact fenestrias offer, it will be a long time before I come to terms with real world loudspeakers when they are gone.
Monolith By Monoprice Belt-Drive Turntable $250 Review
August 31, 2022 Comments Off on Monolith By Monoprice Belt-Drive Turntable $250 Review
https://www.soundandvision.com/content/monolith-monoprice-belt-drive-turntable-review
No $250 turntable is going to be perfect, but it’s generally preferable if a product’s limitations are in its ability to give you the whole picture, rather than by adding some distortions or color of its own. The Monolith turntable stays on the right side of this equation, always sounding enjoyable and engaging and never harsh or rough. It brings you a somewhat downsized but clear window on why people like records, and is a perfect gateway into the world of vinyl. If Monoprice can sort out the issues I experienced with the factory speed setting and arm height, it would become an even greater value.
Jazzon loudspeacker Review
August 31, 2022 Comments Off on Jazzon loudspeacker Review
Isolation Speaker Stands. Worth the Money?
August 31, 2022 Comments Off on Isolation Speaker Stands. Worth the Money?
Audiophilepure 
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