Mola-Mola Kula Integrated Amplifier Review
November 27, 2021 Comments Off on Mola-Mola Kula Integrated Amplifier Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/mola-mola-kula-integrated-amplifier
Meanwhile, if you have two turntables, or play older pre-RIAA records, you can set the Kula up for those too. You can even add polarity inversion of one or both channels, mono summing and just about anything else you’d need to play even the most arcane of recordings.
A wide range of adjustments are also available for other inputs, from renaming, adjusting relative level, designating an input as ‘direct’, or bypassing the volume control if the Kula is used with a preamp or AV processor. The digital option here is slightly unusual – yes, it has optical, AES/EBU and asynchronous USB, and can handle datastreams at up to 384kHz/32-bit and DSD512 via the last of these, but there’s no coaxial digital input, and the Ethernet connection allows the Kula to function as a Roon endpoint, a brief it fulfils rather well.
BEYERDYNAMIC T1 GEN 3 REVIEW
November 26, 2021 Comments Off on BEYERDYNAMIC T1 GEN 3 REVIEW
The sole accessory that Beyerdynamic has bundled with the T1.3 is a 3-metre detachable cable, terminated in a 3.5mm single-ended jack with Beyerdynamic’s standard 6.3mm screw-on adapter included. The cable is covered with a woven synthetic cloth finish that makes it more than a little microphonic when rubbed on shirt collars. Like the T1.2, it attaches to both cups with forward-angled 3.5mm mono connections, which makes finding after-market cables a pretty easy prospect. And you’re probably going to want to find one – firstly because it’s fairly microphonic, and also because it’s fairly light-weight and prone to twisting/tangling. I know what you’re about to ask: “Why no balanced cable?”. Good question – with many other manufacturers offering a range of cable options with the flagship headphones to pair with a range of amplifier outputs, Beyerdynamic has offered just one single-ended variety with the T1.3. On one hand, the T1.3 is pretty sensitive and doesn’t need much by way of power to perform well. On the other hand, Beyerdynamic also manufactures their own headphone amplifiers, none of which are balanced designs nor offer balanced outputs. I did muse that it might be a house engineering philosophy thing, but then again, Beyerdynamic does offer a balanced XKR cable as an aftermarket option for a not-inconsiderable $145 USD.
Auralic Altair G2.1 Music Library/DAC Review
November 26, 2021 Comments Off on Auralic Altair G2.1 Music Library/DAC Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/auralic-altair-g21-music-librarydac
It’s also as adept when growling out some driving rock as it is when playing more hi-fi-show-friendly music. This review period coincided with the demise of ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill, which almost inevitably led to a couple of evenings with me immersed deep in Texas boogie. I can tell you that from the slow-burn blues of ‘Just Got Back From Baby’s’ all the way through to the charging guitar solo of ‘Cheap Sunglasses’, this new Altair did proud the exhaustive Goin’ 50 compilation [Warner Bros 0603497851621].
Its analogue output drove the amplification, and thus the speakers, to suitably raucous effect, while still keeping those good-time rhythms rolling as the trio powered on. I even played the odd track – well all right then, quite a lot of them! – several times, just to immerse myself in all the thunder and snarl.
Andover Audio Model-One turntable with built-in speakers and Bluetooth
November 26, 2021 Comments Off on Andover Audio Model-One turntable with built-in speakers and Bluetooth
SCHIIT AUDIO JOTUNHEIM 2 REVIEW
November 25, 2021 Comments Off on SCHIIT AUDIO JOTUNHEIM 2 REVIEW
Flipping around to the back, there’s a pair of matching single-ended and balanced XLR inputs and outputs, while the panel on the left-hand side can be configured to suit the input requirement of the owner. Because I was able to review the Schiit Asgard 3 with their Multibit DAC input, and because I also have a review unit of Schiit’s own Bifrost 2 DAC in the house, I chose to tick the ‘phono card’ option on this review sample of the Jotunheim 2, which adds 42dB of gain to moving magnet cartridges, and features passive RIAA equalisation. Now I am more than a little bit “into” vinyl listening, but I was also curious to see how Schiit’s phono module performed, and how a phono-equipped Jotunheim 2 might pair with the Bifrost 2 to create a Voltron-like uber digital/analogue control hub for one’s desktop, or even two-channel hifi setup.
Wilson Alexx V Review
November 25, 2021 Comments Off on Wilson Alexx V Review
This has been done to make the speaker work better in many rooms and, honestly, I much prefer it over a speaker that has an audibly raised takeover point.
This design decision was the only minor observation that I could make. I wouldn’t even call it a flaw. In fact, if these speakers had any flaws, then I could not detect them. Just as well for a speaker that commands a starting price of 160.000 euros, I hear you say? Indeed, at that price level, one expects perfection. But if I have learned anything during all my years with audio equipment, it’s that perfection is rarely what one gets, even when the cost is no object.
Indeed, unless one desires the simple purity of a two-way or point-source speaker, and provided that one has the funds to obtain something in this price class, and the room supports them, the Alexx V ranks in the stratosphere where it is joined by only a handful of top-model speakers from brands such as Magico, YG Acoustics, and a few others.
NAD M10/PSB Alpha T20/Bluesound Pulse Mini 2i multiroom system Review
November 25, 2021 Comments Off on NAD M10/PSB Alpha T20/Bluesound Pulse Mini 2i multiroom system Review
As far as control of the overall system goes, the BluOS control app proves about as capable and reliable as any alternative that doesn’t say ‘Sonos’. It looks clean and reasonably uncluttered, and the ability to integrate any number of streaming services and internet radio services is very welcome. It’s not the most intuitive, it’s true, and it’s possible to flummox it by switching inputs much more easily than it really should be – anyone who (like me) is disproportionately annoyed by electronics not doing what they really ought to is going to find themselves frustrated on occasion. But as far as organising and operating a wireless multiroom audio system goes, BluOS is one of the very best of the rest. Even if you decide your system should feature 64 players.
Bluesound’s New Powernode Review
November 24, 2021 Comments Off on Bluesound’s New Powernode Review
This product pairing also taught me that even though the B600s are much more expensive than the Powernode, using them together wasn’t such an outrageous idea—because the Powernode wasn’t outclassed by the loudspeakers. Once again, it provided more than enough power for all the listening that goes on in this room in my house. That includes my wife listening to playlists of Latin music at high volume on house-cleaning day. I’m talking about volume levels such that the music can be heard in every room in the house, and high enough that the stereo can overcome the roar of the vacuum cleaner.
The sound quality from the system also took a significant step up with the B600s. For example, when I played “Pacing the Cage,” I heard quite a bit more detail in Cockburn’s singing voice than I had through the Albany IIs. The sound of his guitar was also better defined within the mix. I also heard better sound from Chemtrails Over the Country Club, as well as from every recording I played through the speakers. Chalk that up mostly to the PSB Synchrony B600s—but know that it was the Powernode driving them.
Kudos Audio Cardea C20 Loudspeaker Review
November 23, 2021 Comments Off on Kudos Audio Cardea C20 Loudspeaker Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/kudos-audio-cardea-c20-loudspeaker
Unleash the third symphony through the C20s and I defy you not to be thrilled with the crisp detail of the orchestra and the great crashing weight of the organ from which the work takes its soubriquet. The orchestra has power enough in the opening movement, but when those big bass pipes start energising the air in the concert hall, the sheer slam of these speakers down in the bass, and the tinkling piano above, are equally breathtaking. What’s more, they manage all this exuberance and brio with total control, not even hardening up when the devil on your shoulder mutters ‘Wonder what that would sound like a bit louder…?’.
Common sense tells me that speakers this compact really shouldn’t sound so weighty, wide-open and totally compelling, let alone do so across a wide range of musical styles and partnering amplification. Clearly no-one told Kudos about common sense.
Naim Audio Solstice turntable system £16,000 Review
November 23, 2021 Comments Off on Naim Audio Solstice turntable system £16,000 Review
In a way, the Naim Audio Solstice turntable isn’t something that unveils endless amounts of new information off the groove (although the turntable’s overall performance is extremely detailed); it’s how it ties everything together so well and makes that sound natural and entertaining. All the elements that contribute to good sound (dynamic range, good stereo soundstaging, etc) are there and represented well, but the same could be said of almost any decent turntable. The combination of turntable, arm, cartridge and phono stage is well developed, and the individual products work in harmony (as much as it’s possible to check given there are limited swappable options at this time), but so do many well-assembled turntable packages. What the Solstice does so well, however, is render all that academic. Most other decks you experience or enjoy; this one helps you enjoy the music, all else is at best a secondary concern.
The arm in particular is a joy to use, retaining all the easy ‘plonk it on the record and play the thing’ nature of the older arm, but with just enough of a lift/lower to make cueing up a record possible. Looking into the past, some of the limitations addressed at the Aro of its time (I used one in the 1990s; it was great, but a little rolled off top and bottom, it errs on the ‘easy on the ears’ side of things, and it doesn’t take well to complex layered classical music) are either simply not an issue or are reduced to near-total inaudibility. Yes, the Aro’s mid-bass bloom (which gave music its characteristic ‘bounce’) is still around in vestigial terms, but it only serves to make the sound more beat-oriented and exciting,
Audiophilepure 
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