Mytek Brooklyn Bridge Review
August 19, 2022 Comments Off on Mytek Brooklyn Bridge Review
https://www.hifichoice.com/content/mytek-brooklyn-bridge
While it’s unlikely that the main reason people will be buying the Bridge is for it’s prowess with vinyl, it seems rude not to at least put the phono stage to the test. Consequently, the Michell Gyro SE turntable is cued up with both Ortofon Rondo Red MC and 2M Black MM cartridges ready to mount in turn and a pristine copy of Chris Rea’s One Fine Day is given a spin. Despite expecting the unit to struggle with a low-output MC, the sound emanating from the speaker is sumptuous. Even better, switching to MM is a revelation, the album being delivered with all of its top-end sweetness intact. What’s more, bass lines are again punchy and taut.
Finally, it’s the turn of the headphone section. Putting it through its paces with a selection of different models, including the HiFiMan Sundara and Focal’s ultra-revealing Spirit Pro, proves no less impressive than what’s come before with the Bridge comfortably driving both the Spirit Pro and Sundara without any obvious issue. Differences between the in-phase and anti-phase sockets are subtle and more down to preference than outright superiority, but the overall sound is rich, detailed and difficult to fault.
JBL L75ms $1500 Review
August 19, 2022 Comments Off on JBL L75ms $1500 Review
https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/jbl-l75ms
JBL has a habit of making fun, party-starting speakers, and this one is no different. Listening to Beyonce’s Break My Soul, we’re treated to an upbeat, energetic rendition. There is, of course, plenty of bottom end, so kick drums can’t be missed (sometimes to a fault), and are given a real live stadium feel. Basslines have weight and texture and are almost inevitably on the warm and smooth side.
For a change of pace we give R.E.M.’s Man On The Moon a spin (a Tidal Masters played over AirPlay 2) and the JBL just about joins us, albeit preferring to keep the pace higher than it really should be – not quite managing to convey the relaxed, almost lazy feel of the track. We still enjoy what we hear; guitars jangle along jauntily and there’s plenty of scale and breadth to the sound, but the Naim Mu-so 2, for example, offers a more natural, realistic presentation.
Perlisten S4b Loudspeaker £7200 Review
August 18, 2022 Comments Off on Perlisten S4b Loudspeaker £7200 Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/perlisten-s4b-loudspeaker
If you’re partial to electronic music where effects are thrown across the soundstage, then you’ll appreciate this speaker pairing’s ability to lock in step for such acrobatics. With ‘100’ by Jon Hopkins [Contact Note; Linn Records; 96kHz/24-bit] it was a delight to follow the synthesiser effects as they moved smoothly between the speakers.
Not that such production techniques are new-fangled, as proven by the woozy breakdown of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ [Led Zeppelin II; Atlantic; 96kHz/24-bit]. Coming after two minutes of hard-hitting blues rock framing Robert Plant’s triumphant vocals, this near-psychedelic section felt like it was from another planet. Perlisten’s small(ish) cabinets concocted a wall of sound bigger than you might expect, casting Plant’s wails high and wide. Then Jimmy Page let rip on his Les Paul and I was grinning from ear to ear.
Parasound HINT 6 Integrated Amplifier $3,200 Review
August 18, 2022 Comments Off on Parasound HINT 6 Integrated Amplifier $3,200 Review
I listen to a lot of classical recordings and the HINT 6 really surprised me with how well it dealt with complicated orchestral pieces; instruments had excellent separation and I found myself often lost in how vivid the combination was. Voices were never lost in the mix and very easy to place.
The midrange resolution was also rather superb; Maggies excel with the human voice and the HINT 6 did not disappoint; texture, timbre, and so much presence with most recordings.
I also own a pair of vintage Klipsch Heresy II’s and I wanted to see if the HINT 6 had the headroom to drive them with rock, heavy metal, and other complex electronic pieces that can really load the room.
Mark Levinson No. 5909 $999 Review
August 17, 2022 Comments Off on Mark Levinson No. 5909 $999 Review
https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/mark-levinson-no-5909
The vivacious production of Toto’s Rosanna gives the Mark Levinsons a sonic canvas on which to truly showboat – those drums biting, vocals rich, and guitar lines and keyboards infectiously musical. They lap it up as enthusiastically as a dog eats spilled ice cream. No part of the frequency spectrum is given undue priority, and that, coupled with the headphones’ attention to detail and brisk nature, makes the No. 5909 utterly compelling to listen to in a way lesser wireless headphones are not.
They aren’t just concerned with having a good time, either, as impressively shrewd when delivering the subtle dynamics and lingering harmonics of Ludovico Einaudi’s piano playing, and when asked to convey the woodwind textures and hit the climactic heights throughout The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey soundtrack.
HiFi Rose RA180 Integrated Amplifier Review
August 17, 2022 Comments Off on HiFi Rose RA180 Integrated Amplifier Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/hifi-rose-ra180-integrated-amplifier
The high-pass crossover function allows you to filter the output of one of each amplifier pair – there are two amplifier modules per channel in the RA180 – above 600Hz-6kHz. You might choose to use this function to limit the bandwidth of the amplifier feeding the treble arm of a bi-amped speaker, for example, or set it to the top 6kHz filter before driving a supertweeter.
A typical stereo amplifier features four loudspeaker terminals. The RA180? Sixteen, which is astonishing even if you consider the A/B speaker option (note that’s an ‘either’, not an ‘and’, option, as you cannot enable the A and B pair at the same time). As previously mentioned, there are not two but four identical amplifier modules in the RA180 for a claimed total of 4x200W. But you’ll only use the four together when utilising one of its specialised speaker modes, either to bi-amp a pair of speakers (two amplifiers per channel) or bridging each pair into a higher-powered stereo configuration, where the claimed output becomes a whopping 2x400W.
7Hz x Crinacle Salnotes Dioko Planar Magnetic IEM $99 Review
August 16, 2022 Comments Off on 7Hz x Crinacle Salnotes Dioko Planar Magnetic IEM $99 Review
At first listen, I heard an overall neutral IEM with a gentle lift in the treble and bass, a signature some may call “u-shaped.”
The Dioko’s sound reminded me a lot of the Timeless (which I constantly compared during my evaluation), albeit with a slightly smoother lower treble and a cleaner midrange. That said, while the former has excellent detail and resolution for the price point, the latter is better in both departments.
PrimaLuna Evo 300 Hybrid $7295 Review
August 16, 2022 Comments Off on PrimaLuna Evo 300 Hybrid $7295 Review
https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/primaluna-evo-300
There are a number of areas that we feel are open to criticism. The most obvious of these is its inability to portray dynamic contrasts convincingly. There isn’t the requisite level of dynamic expression we would expect from a product of this price. The result is that this amplifier sounds restrained, almost as if it is gently compressing the music signal, losing excitement in the process. Want to listen to Beethoven’s Fifth or Help! by the Beatles with some of the energy taken out? No, neither do we.
A side effect of this is that regardless of the partnering speakers, we find ourselves constantly playing with the volume level. It’s a struggle to find the point where the music displays the required sense of life without pushing the volume level too high for comfortable listening. This is an amplifier with clearly defined upper limits. Push it hard and things become harsh and edgy very quickly.
Combine these shortcomings with relatively poor rhythmic drive and the inability to communicate changes in musical momentum well, and it’s no surprise to find that our musical enjoyment is diluted.
Wireworld Horizon Review
August 15, 2022 Comments Off on Wireworld Horizon Review
https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/wireworld-horizon
Play Kid Cudi’s Day And Night and there’s a more believable texture to Kid’s vocal and less of a rough surface to the track’s synths. The cable just helps to deliver a more satisfying overall sound: bass notes sound fuller and weightier and the song doesn’t sound as tonally grey. There’s more space around the different elements too.
Switch to Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven and the cable helps to communicate the harmonics of the piano and the differentiation between key strokes. The ebb and flow of the track is communicated with greater clarity. Notes sound natural and realistic. The speaker cable doesn’t allow dynamics to shine quite as brightly as the very best at the money, though, and there’s a slight emotional disconnect from the music.
Franco Serblin Accordo Essence £12,998 Review
August 15, 2022 Comments Off on Franco Serblin Accordo Essence £12,998 Review
The Accordo Essence is a truly unique proposition. They look stunning, curvaceous and fabulously constructed in a natural wood that assures the most anti-audio partners! Their sound, as I discussed earlier, bares a striking audio resemblance to the violins made in the golden age of Venetian violin making; not bright and sharp, but liquid and smooth, not known for their vast power, but a pleasingly balanced and warm sound. They seem to extract the best from a piece of music without being overly analytical and appeal to the actual music lover who just wants to enjoy their music. Even if that music arrives in a romantic rose-tinted way. It is worth careful partnering with a suitable amplifier. Valves are a sure-fire winner, but EL34s work best in my system. In these dark times, who wouldn’t permit this marvellous sonic indulgence?
Audiophilepure 
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