HIFIMAN SHANGRI-LA JR REVIEW
April 21, 2023 Comments Off on HIFIMAN SHANGRI-LA JR REVIEW
The mids perfectly connect to the bass and they share the same amount of body but also the character. Natural, but smooth that is. The mid timbre probably is the most impressive. Spaciousness, airiness and that bit of tube smoothness and warmth do it fr me here. The vocals are more to the front and the upper mids have a brighter, less smooth character. The typical vocal presentation doesn’t bother me in any way in this typical tuning, and it always keeps things exciting (but realistic).
The treble section is where the SHANGR-LA jr is less linear and starts getting peakier from around the 2K mark. It’s not so much an issue to me, and many fellow headphone enthusiasts like this typical tuning. Treble is never bright or sharp, but it is energetic, spacious and extends nicely.
VTL TP-6.5 Signature II Phonostage $18,000 Review
April 21, 2023 Comments Off on VTL TP-6.5 Signature II Phonostage $18,000 Review
Review complete except for this wrap-up: I still haven’t returned to either reference phono preamp. Grant Green’s Feelin’ the Spirit (Blue Note ST-84132/B0033488-01) plays at moderate level in the background, and both the “Tone Poet” and VTL’s 6.5 MK II nail this one. Transparency, transient precision and delicacy, harmonic richness (RVG got Herbie Hancock’s piano just right on this 1962 recording), and an enveloping sense of the large, open Englewood Cliffs studio space produce a “you are there” sensation (and I’ve been there!).
I greatly preferred the active JFET/tube input to the transformer-coupled input, though I most preferred my costly transformer into the mm input. A different cartridge or a different system might produce a different result, but I don’t think so. My only complaint about the 6.5 Mk II was that there was more background noise (“tube rush”?) than I like to hear, and I wish it had been quieter. But that’s it. Successful transplant. In an email, Luke Manley (whose signature could not be found anywhere on the “signature” phonostage) wrote that “we are selling all we can make of this design.” I believe it.
TAD DA1000TX $15,900 Review
April 20, 2023 Comments Off on TAD DA1000TX $15,900 Review
https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/tad-da1000tx
Despite all these great things, there are still a few areas where we feel there is space for improvement. One of them concerns rhythmic drive. There is real momentum to Cave’s Babe, I’m On Fire but the DA1000TX doesn’t quite capture that energy. Our feet are still tapping but we know the similarly-priced Chord DAVE would capture more of the verve and drive of the track. It seems TAD’s search for refinement, analysis and control has sacrificed a little of the music’s fun in the process. That includes the way it pulls its punches when it comes to delivering the leading edge of transients and powerful large-scale dynamic shifts. This DAC prefers to err on the side of politeness, and on some more aggressive forms of music, we can feel the loss.
Klipsch La Scala AL5 loudspeaker $13,198 Review
April 20, 2023 Comments Off on Klipsch La Scala AL5 loudspeaker $13,198 Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/klipsch-la-scala-al5-loudspeaker
The Klipsch La Scalas have been in constant production for 59 years, longer than all but a tiny handful of audio products, and this is surely not an accident. (Happily, it also means that secondhand examples, available for a fraction of their current price, are relatively common.) They aren’t perfect, and they require a large room and a suitable amplifier, but they offer the closest thing I’ve heard to a musical performance taking place in my home. They do this as reliably with solo viola as they do with Minor Threat. Best of all, they provide as direct a route as I’ve found to hours of musical engagement—to embodying what Sakuma-san described as “endless energy with sorrow,” to which I would add love, rage, humor, and elation. $13,198 is an investment, but it will buy you some of the most sonically irrepressible and musically communicative speakers in the known cosmos. They just may sustain you for life.
FiiO R7 Desktop Digital Music Streamer, Preamplifier, and Headphone Amplifier $700 Review
April 19, 2023 Comments Off on FiiO R7 Desktop Digital Music Streamer, Preamplifier, and Headphone Amplifier $700 Review
After hundreds of listening hours with FiiO’s R7 musical masterpiece on a variety of sound systems/headphones/IEMs, it was always easy to use and sounded great. While no one has heard every piece of audio gear at the under $1000 price level, for $699 FiiO has a big hit on its hands yet again. There are reasons why you see FiiO reviewed very positively within many publications all around the world. Overall, FiiO produces audio gear whose sound quality seems to far exceed the asking price time and time again.
If you love bass-heavy modern music, the FiiO never seems to run out of go-go juice. For naturally recorded acoustic music midrange mavens, you’re in for a real treat! For those whose ears are very sensitive to upper midrange and highs, your ears will be greeted with a delightful sound. The sound of the FiiO R7 is recording studio clean. I can not think of another product within the market today for under $1000 that offers as much usability, flexibility, and sound quality as the FiiO R7. But don’t just take my word for it. I encourage you to read other magazine reviews too. Then give it a listen and decide for yourself.
Playback Designs MPS-X Review
April 19, 2023 Comments Off on Playback Designs MPS-X Review
The first version of the PLINK interface was launched more than 15 years ago and supported DSD up to 5.6MHz. This version is called “Classic” and is implemented in the Playback Designs 5-series products and IPS-3 (unless they have been upgraded). As technology never sits still, the DSD sample rate has been expanded to 11.2MHz several years ago. Accordingly, Playback Designs also expanded the PLINK format and called it “Sonoma” reminiscent of its Sonoma workstation origin.
Interestingly, PLINK is compatible with NAGRA LINK. This means that the MPS-X Network Transport is compatible with NAGRA DACs that have a NAGRA Link input. And the same logic applies to the MPT-8 Transport. This is worth noting as there are currently no CD/SACD or Streamer Transports in the NAGRA catalog.
Alta Audio Alec Loudspeaker £10,000 Review
April 18, 2023 Comments Off on Alta Audio Alec Loudspeaker £10,000 Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/alta-audio-alec-loudspeaker
As an example, the bass guitar on Simply Red’s ‘Sad Old Red’ [Picture Book; Elektra EKT27 960 452-1] was superb – each note lithe, clean and crisp, along with hand movements along the fretboard. In contrast, on the Cigarettes After Sex track, the bass strings sounded indistinct and somewhat bloated. Moreover, the bassline on Jenny Jones’ ‘Blessed Northern Daughter’ [Go! Discs GODX 103] was gently glossed over, although the weight and punch of the kick drum went some way to disguise it.
Conversely, the vocal ‘pop’ in the second verse of ‘Somewhere, Somebody’ from Jennifer Warnes’ The Hunter [Private Music 261974], which is usually firmly in subwoofer-only territory, was easy to hear. In addition, the rib-tickling bass underpinning ‘Turning Ground’ on Caroline Lavelle’s Spirit [N-GRAM Recordings 4509 98137 2] was present and correct, and didn’t modulate the vocals at all – an unwanted effect I have heard before through lesser designs. When the Alecs get it right, they get it very right indeed.
Sennheiser IE600 £599 Review
April 17, 2023 Comments Off on Sennheiser IE600 £599 Review
And there are, it turns out, limits to these monitors’ powers of resolution. ‘Girls in Their Summer Clothes’ by Bruce Springsteen [Columbia] is a narrow, congested pea-souper of a recording, with competing elements piled on top of each other – and despite their best efforts, the IE600 can’t open it up or spread it out. The listener can almost sense a power struggle going on, as the monitors attempt to force some distance between the horns, the percussion, the piano and the voice. Still, that’s more about the recording than the Sennheiser IE600.
Having enough money to buy premium in-ear monitors and attach them to a high-quality audio player doesn’t automatically mean you only listen to glossy, high-fidelity recordings, of course. But as long as you’re aware of the limitations of the IE600 where the silk purse/sow’s ear interface is concerned, there’s very little else that should dissuade you from trying them out.
Kroma Atelier Stella Xtreme Loudspeaker £28,800 Review
April 17, 2023 Comments Off on Kroma Atelier Stella Xtreme Loudspeaker £28,800 Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/kroma-atelier-stella-xtreme-loudspeaker
A real eye-opener of a speaker, the Stella Xtreme marries high-spec drivers and crossover with a ‘next-generation’ cabinet material and gorgeous craftsmanship. Of course, all that would count for nothing if it didn’t sound every inch the high-end floorstander, yet in this regard it truly sings. Take a little care with setup and you’ll be rewarded with open, largescale soundscapes plus best-in-breed bass and soaring highs.
Audiophilepure 
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