NEXTLEVEL ACOUSTICS REFERENCE CINEMA IN-WALL SPEAKER AND CI-HV18 SUBWOOFER REVIEW $4,999 Review
July 3, 2022 Comments Off on NEXTLEVEL ACOUSTICS REFERENCE CINEMA IN-WALL SPEAKER AND CI-HV18 SUBWOOFER REVIEW $4,999 Review
There is nothing negative I can say about the NextLevel Acoustics Reference Cinema In-Wall Speakers and CI-HV18 Subwoofer. The in-walls perform better than most cabinet speakers I’ve heard, and the sub delivers the extension and volume of a ported cabinet with the precision of a sealed one. NextLevel Acoustics has bent the laws of physics here, most definitely in a good way.
If you want a discrete speaker system that sounds better than any commercial cinema, the In-Walls can literally disappear behind an acoustically transparent screen or behind color-matched grills. They are a zero-footprint solution. The CI-HV18 sub is easy to hide too thanks to its bandpass design. Put it up front behind a partition or along a side wall and prepare to have your room shaken.
The NextLevel Acoustics Reference Cinema In-Wall Speakers and HV18 Subwoofer are a premium and convenient audio solution that doesn’t compromise sound quality in any way, shape, or form. They receive my highest recommendation.
Mola Mola’s Grooving Tambaqui DAC $13,500 Review
July 2, 2022 Comments Off on Mola Mola’s Grooving Tambaqui DAC $13,500 Review
As I opined at the end of my Mola Mola Kula review (HERE), the Tambaqui is to DACs what the Kula is to toney integrated amps: a downsized mini-me solution to your 21st century digital component woes that sounds stellar. Like the Kula, the Tambaqui ain’t cheap. But the musical performance and setup flexibility that it delivers makes its just south of $14K price seem sensibly fair (at least in high-end terms). This is, in no uncertain term, a state-of-the-art digital design for which no apologies need be made. I’m thinking that maybe I ought to get one for my system.
FOCAL ARIA 906 BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS REVIEW
July 2, 2022 Comments Off on FOCAL ARIA 906 BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS REVIEW
I was surprised overall at how well these babies performed, but I feel that the mid-bass driver is being asked to do too much. Perhaps a small cap to roll off the bass sharply below 70 Hz. I know that would induce some phase shift, but that is not quite so noticeable in the very low frequencies. However, if you have room correction, this can easily be accomplished in the preamp or processor. If your preamp or processor has tone controls, then simply roll off the bass below 70 Hz.
Music Hall • Stealth Turntable $1649 Review
July 1, 2022 Comments Off on Music Hall • Stealth Turntable $1649 Review
https://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/music_hall_stealth.htm
Most of all, though, the Stealth gave me confidence that whatever LP I put on the platter would sound as good as it was going to at the sub-$2000 price point. A cartridge upgrade, perhaps to a high-output moving coil, raises that performance to a higher level still. Both value hunters and music lovers will be impressed with the Stealth turntable because it offers performance well beyond the threshold for high-end audio. For those who get their music from the grooves of vinyl records, the purchase of a Stealth turntable could be an endpoint. It will open the door to the high-end without breaking the bank. In the right system, it can deliver 85% of the magic found in systems costing much, much more. I view it as the foundation upon which a fine system is built. Music Hall Audio and Roy Hall have hit it out of the park with this one.
KEF KC62 SUBWOOFER REVIEW
July 1, 2022 Comments Off on KEF KC62 SUBWOOFER REVIEW
The KEF KC62 is a first-rate subwoofer for either a straight stereo system or a multi-channel home theater system. It’s specified to get up to 105 dB which is quite loud. Both my rooms are medium to small, so it’s possible in a larger room cranked up really loud it might falter, but when I drove it hard, I would have had to leave the room to tolerate the volume it could cleanly reproduce.
I haven’t heard any of the other well-regarded small subwoofers, and I have no doubt they are excellent. I can say that while expensive, the KEF KC62 certainly punches above its weight, and provided clean, distortion-free deep bass from every subwoofer killer demo I could throw at it. You could spend less on other subs, of course, but I doubt they would equal the breakthrough design and capabilities of something that is so diminutive. Listening to a 15” subwoofer I have in my living room audio system, the KC62 seems to go deeper, but of course, it’s in a smaller, more easily driven room. Still, with the right room and the right high-quality equipment feeding the content, the KEF KC62 is a winner and worthy of your consideration.
FIR AUDIO XENON 6 REVIEW $3900 Review
June 30, 2022 Comments Off on FIR AUDIO XENON 6 REVIEW $3900 Review
Bass has good impact, texture and speed. The most special thing about the bass, is the feeling you get, when the kinetic driver really comes to show. When it does, you get this extra sensation of vibrations coming from the outside of the canals, where you can really feel the bass. I have tried many different songs to push this experience to its boundaries. One song that really shows the qualities here, is DJ Shadow’s Three Ralphs. However, this feeling is best noticeable when you’re sitting in a quiet environment, or at least not in commute. When I am out and about, I don’t notice the vibrations as much as when I am in the office for example.
The Xe6 reaches very deep into the sub-bass segment, and does so with a lot of authority and force. If you are after a detailed and thunderous low-end, you might find pleasure in the Xe6 as it does exactly that to my ears. To me, the bass is undeniably in a front seat compared to mids and treble. Of course you can tone it down by swapping the gray module for the black one. Then the Xe6 becomes more balanced overall.
Installing My 7.1.4 Immersive Audio System
June 30, 2022 Comments Off on Installing My 7.1.4 Immersive Audio System
https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/immersive/installing-my-714-immersive-audio-system-r1116/
To get cabling to the ceiling speakers, I have access to the base of the angled ceiling drywall, in the crawl space behind the side walls of the room. Behind the walls of the angled ceiling is a thick layer of insulation inside clear plastic. The best way to get the this speaker wire from the base of the ceiling to the one inch hole behind the speaker, was to run it form the bottom to the top, not top down. Because the wire hole was only one inch, I didn’t have enough space to get my hand in their and push the cable downward, between the layer of insulation and the drywall. Gravity wasn’t enough to take the cable down the back of the wall by itself.
I taped a three foot long string to a thin fiberglass push/pull rod, then taped the speaker cable to the string. I pushed the rod up the back of the wall, attaching additional extension rods as needed. Once the rod, string, and wire were close to the hole behind the speaker, I used a lighted steel claw mechanical pickup tool with a Depstech endoscope camera attached, to grab the string and pull it through the wire hole. This endoscope camera saved me a ton of time because the fiberglass rod never went straight up the back of the wall and stopped right next to the speaker wire hole. The camera sent live video to my iPhone as I fished for the string.
Boulder 866 Integrated Amplifier $13,450 Review
June 29, 2022 Comments Off on Boulder 866 Integrated Amplifier $13,450 Review
The ergonomic beauty of the Boulder 866 is that with one chassis you can accomplish everything required (except transducers, a turntable system, and a couple of cables) to assemble a complete high-performance audio system. You can have a fully functional state-of-the-art audio system that does not entail large metal boxes on the floor tethered via cables to a phalanx of chassis on racks. For audiophiles with smaller rooms and space restrictions, the Boulder 866 has the capability to produce superb sonics in limited spaces at a level that can equal that of a multiplicity of separate boxes in a larger dedicated room.
If you’ve been a fan of Boulder’s sonics and build-quality but have been unable to field the space for their generously sized components, the new 866 could be the component of your dreams made into reality.
Audiophilepure 
You must be logged in to post a comment.