Magnepan LRS+ Quasi Ribbon Floorstanding Loudspeaker $995 Review
January 6, 2023 Comments Off on Magnepan LRS+ Quasi Ribbon Floorstanding Loudspeaker $995 Review
Before discussing the Plusses’ downside, I need to say a word about setup. In the old days, Maggies were typically listened to head-on, without any toe-in, for greatest neutrality. A lot of folks still prefer this alignment, but…it won’t work ideally with the LRS or the LRS+. Because of the smaller size of their quasi-ribbon panels and the fact they are two-ways, you may end up with either too much bass or too much treble and not enough in between — i.e., with too dark or too bright a tonal palette — if you don’t cant the speakers in a fair amount (at least 15–20 degrees). Though this may be room-dependent, Maggie also recommends that the speakers be situated with their tweeters (visible via a flashlight shined through the grille as the section of the panel with narrower, more closely aligned foil strips) to the outside and away from the wall and, with the requisite toe-in, their woofers to the inside and closer to the wall. My description of the sound of the LRS+ reflects Maggie’s set-up recommendations, albeit with toe-in painstakingly tweaked almost degree by degree until I achieved a balance that was neither too top-down or too bottom-up but audibly and measurably close to neutral.
SME Model 60 Turntable and Series VA Tonearm £49,950 REVIEW
January 6, 2023 Comments Off on SME Model 60 Turntable and Series VA Tonearm £49,950 REVIEW
I was enjoying the sound so much I ended up playing the whole album, and reveled in the ease with which this special system conveyed the beauty of Barry’s score. On “Try,” the plucked double bass had astonishing depth, articulation, and timbre, and the accompanying piano sounded incredibly natural. Best of all, the system effortlessly reproduced the dramatic climaxes when the orchestra was going at full tilt, even at high volumes. There was a sense of boundless headroom and dynamics, devoid of compression. Sudden transient blasts of trumpet and drums on “Ski Chase” actually made me jump with their force and speed.
In terms of imaging, the Model 60 offered a soundstage that was so stable it felt like architecture hewn from granite. Nothing moved or drifted in depth or width, instruments and performers stayed absolutely secure, and were thus more believable. The soundstage extended far outside the confines of the speakers and I was sometimes surprised at just how wide this felt compared to other sources. Of course, soundstage is affected by a whole range of things, from the loudspeakers to room acoustics, but if the turntable isn’t retrieving spatial information from the record groove then no loudspeaker can put it back.
ATC SCM50 $25,999 Review
January 5, 2023 Comments Off on ATC SCM50 $25,999 Review
https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/1135-atc-scm50-passive-active-loudspeaker
In summary, the ATC SCM50 is a benchmark design and a world-class loudspeaker, whether driven actively or passively. In the active configuration, it represents an incredible bargain in the high-end audio field—and that would be my choice if I were laying my money down. In my experience, there’s no other loudspeaker that comes even close to its immense power, neutrality, bandwidth, speed, and sheer visceral impact at anywhere near the price. If you choose to go the passive route, expect to budget significantly more than the $8000 difference in cost between the active and passive SCM50 variants for your amplification. The big Naim combination powering the passive SCM50s offered stunning sound—at significant cost—and the transparency of the ATC loudspeakers allowed all the virtues cherished by Naim enthusiasts to really shine.
CH Precision D1.5 £31,500 Review
January 5, 2023 Comments Off on CH Precision D1.5 £31,500 Review
We’re truly spoiled at the cutting edge of digital audio, and CH Precision D1.5 is very much at that cutting edge. I feel that any review that fully covers what this player does would probably run longer than a Proust novel, so this barely scratches the surface of what the player does and how it does it. Regardless, the sound it produces is so ineffably musical I can’t help but be drawn into listening to the D1.5 every time I walk past it. I just wish we had the vocabulary that matches its sublime performance.
Exposure introduces 3510 mono power amplifiers
January 4, 2023 Comments Off on Exposure introduces 3510 mono power amplifiers
https://www.hifichoice.com/content/exposure-introduces-3510-mono-power-amplifiers
Key features of the new monos include what the company describes as: “a high-capacity power supply circuit designed around a large custom-made toroidal transformer and massive smoothing capacitors to ensure a high current reserve for the output stage with electronic smoothing for low noise on the supply rails to the gain stage”. It’s DC coupled throughout with balanced and unbalanced inputs, enabling compatibility with a wide variety of preamps. It also boasts bi-wire speaker outputs using high-quality shrouded sockets and an electronic, non-invasive overload protection circuit and thermal trip to ensure longevity.
DAN CLARK AUDIO – DCA EXPANSE REVIEW
January 4, 2023 Comments Off on DAN CLARK AUDIO – DCA EXPANSE REVIEW
The DCA EXPANSE features DCA’s 4th generation planar-magnetic driver and their breakthrough Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System (see the next chapter). Other key elements are the V-Planar driver processing, which improves bass response and lower distortion, as well as DCA’s TrueFlow V2 technology. The latter increasing the resolution and improving dynamics in general.
The driver inside the EXPANSE is a 76mm x 51mm single-ended orthodynamic one, and the drivers are matched (0,25dB weighted 20-10,000Hz). THD is less than 0.03% 20-20KHz, ref. 1KHz at 94dB. The EXPANSE driver has a 23Ω impedance, with a sensitivity rating of about 86 – 87 dB/mW. The DCA EXPANSE is designed and built by hand in San Diego, California, USA.
The Stealth and EXPANSE headphones in my opinion are super cool and unique in sound, and I hope this review will bring over that feeling. The part on AMTS, used inside the EXPANSE, comes from DCA directly. Feel free to skip to the next part if you’re already familiar with it.
Aectual Soundwave Panels
January 2, 2023 Comments Off on Aectual Soundwave Panels
https://www.monoandstereo.com/2022/10/aectual-soundwave-panels.html
This connection between aesthetics and acoustics provided the point of departure for our team to create beautiful acoustic panels that are specifically designed to give rooms a pleasant and soft feeling,” Prof. Matthias Kohler at @gramaziokohlerresearch , ETH Zurich.
Audio Research I/50 Integrated Amplifier £5198 Review
January 1, 2023 Comments Off on Audio Research I/50 Integrated Amplifier £5198 Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/audio-research-i50-integrated-amplifier
Nothing had prepared me for what might be just another fine, mid-priced, 6550-powered all-tube integrated. ARC’s I/50, though, is so categorically musical, competent and complete
that I’m tempted to believe it signifies the ‘second coming’ of Audio Research, following a change of owners and the passing of its first half-century. This astounding amplifier heralds a golden age. Yes, it’s that good.
Van Gogh Loudspeaker Cable from Crystal Cable $29,200/2m Review
January 1, 2023 Comments Off on Van Gogh Loudspeaker Cable from Crystal Cable $29,200/2m Review
As implemented in the Van Gogh Speaker Cable, don’t expect a seismic quake that realigns the sonic firmament. You’ll find the lay of the land largely intact from where you started out (provided you began from a fairly neutral base). The differences show up on a finer scale, including: an expansion of dynamic range at both extremes, from the near silences to the ability to reach f and keep going to fff with conviction; the excavation of fine details that smooth and refine musical flow; and an increase in instrumental body.
But what really sold me was how the Van Gogh closely mimicked the way instruments speak and move on the stage, how they change shape and reform harmonics as they move around the scale. All of this excitingly nudges the home experience closer to what I hear in the concert hall. While I’ve heard other wires do this on rare occasion, it’s only attained from premium-priced cables and it was never to this degree. The Van Gogh is one of the select few that signify the end of the quest, one that I’d be happy to take to the desert island.
Momentum S250 MxV Amplifier from Dan D’Agostino $79,950 Review
December 31, 2022 Comments Off on Momentum S250 MxV Amplifier from Dan D’Agostino $79,950 Review
The Momentum S250 MxV shares minimal with its predecessor. It is an entirely new product inspired by the magnificent Relentless Epic amplifier series.
From the first night of listening to today, I still smile from check to check. My goosebumps are more common, and tears are shed frequently as I remember special memories of the past.
Sometimes upgrades impact certain areas of a product. I can safely say that the scope of the MxV changes has certainly moved all core areas to music reproduction.
The sound stage was tremendous; the unveiling of detail and associated dynamics will ignite and bring out the best in your loudspeakers. Instead of a symphony of audiophile words, I will summarize it as everything, and I mean everything got better. It brings so much of what inspired me in the larger Relentless Epic 800 and Relentless Epic 1600 to a smaller form factor and price point that matched my needs.
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