HIFIMAN ELECTRONICS’ R9 CLOSED-BACK HEADPHONE REVIEW
February 19, 2022 Comments Off on HIFIMAN ELECTRONICS’ R9 CLOSED-BACK HEADPHONE REVIEW
HIFIMAN was founded by Dr. Fang Bian in 2007 and, two years later, introduced the acclaimed HM-801, the first digital audio player to feature true audiophile-grade performance from a pocket-size form factor. Since then, HIFIMAN, under Dr. Bian’s guidance, has developed an extensive selection of no-holds-barred headphones, digital audio players, and headphone amplifiers that are consistently recognized as the best in class, offering performance that belies their price point, no matter the cost.
Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G Loudspeakers Review
February 19, 2022 Comments Off on Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G Loudspeakers Review
I compared the 500 7G with another British speaker: KEF’s R11 tower ($5999.98 per pair). At just over 41″ tall, the Monitor Audio is of average height for the floorstanding models I’ve reviewed, but standing alongside the flagship tower from KEF’s venerable R series, it looked stout. At 49″ tall, the KEF is one of the tallest speakers I’ve ever had in my room, and its substantial height is needed to accommodate a total of four 6.5″ woofers. Furthermore, the R11 boasts the latest version of the company’s Uni-Q driver, a coaxial design that positions a 1″ tweeter at the center of a 5″ midrange driver. Additionally, the KEF weighs 83 pounds, or over 60% more than the Monitor Audio. While they might share basic DNA in that both are bass-reflex designs, there are more than a few factors that differentiate these speakers.
McIntosh MHA200 $2500 Review
February 18, 2022 Comments Off on McIntosh MHA200 $2500 Review
https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/mcintosh-mha200
There are valves at the heart of this unit – four in total – made up of a pair of 12AT7s in the driver stage and 12BH7As in the power stage. These run warm and are usually protected from prying fingers by a removable cage. Next to the valves is a trio of transformers: one for the mains and two that couple the amplifier’s output valves to the connected headphones. As with most valve products, a certain amount of care has to be taken over matching. Here, that takes the form of a front panel control that switches between four load options: 32, 100, 250 and 600 ohms. Simply switch to the one that’s closest to the nominal impedance of your chosen headphones for the best results. There’s no harm in trying an alternative setting, and it can be fun to try, but we would be surprised if doing so leads to a better sound.
iFi’s ZEN One Signature $349 Review
February 15, 2022 Comments Off on iFi’s ZEN One Signature $349 Review
Making full use of Qualcomm’s latest four-core QCC5100 Bluetooth processing chip, every current high-definition Bluetooth audio format is supported, including aptX Adaptive and aptX HD, LDAC and HWA/LHDC. Other codecs covered include regular aptX and aptX Low Latency, AAC and SBC (the ‘plain vanilla’ Bluetooth codec). This means that every possible source device is handled at the highest audio resolution its Bluetooth specification allows.
The ZEN One Signature is Bluetooth v5.1-compliant, ensuring the best possible range, stability and performance. Up to eight paired Bluetooth source devices can be stored in memory, making it easy to switch from one device to another.
Modwright Instruments KWH 225i integrated amplifier Review
February 15, 2022 Comments Off on Modwright Instruments KWH 225i integrated amplifier Review
It’s always interesting to try different speakers with any amp so I wrestled a pair of Bowers & Wilkins 802s into place. There’s an enthusiastic quote from an 802 owner on the Modwright website and it instantly became clear why this is the case; the sound they produce was nothing short of vivid in its transparency and three dimensionality. What’s more, a number of pieces created a soundstage that was so real and deep that it felt as if you could walk into it. The solid-state power amplifier serves to amplify the beguiling qualities of those two triode valves and produces results that are electrifying in their immediacy and atmosphere. The recording needs to be good to achieve this of course, but plenty of the tracks I tried did the trick including the distinctly lo-fi eponymous debut from Tortoise, the track ‘Night Air’ having a reach out and touch it presence that encouraged level and extended listening. In fact all the better sounding tunes encouraged me to push the volume, the 802 is a little reluctant in the midrange and this amp balances this perfectly so the end result is very pleasing.
Keith Monks Audio Works Prodigy Record Cleaning machine Review
February 14, 2022 Comments Off on Keith Monks Audio Works Prodigy Record Cleaning machine Review
The Keith Monks Prodigy leaves LPs looking and sounding very clean. Cleaning time per LP is somewhere between 8 to 10 minutes. Although a bit slower in operation, the Prodigy delivers excellent results that are fully comparable in every way to Keith Monks’s full-size RCMs. For those willing to pay more, Keith Monks also offers the discOvery Redux model (£2,995) which provides faster, quieter operation, and more automation. However, the Prodigy costs a more wallet-friendly £795 and looks more domestically appealing; it does a great job at a great price and comes highly recommended!
T+A elektroakustik Caruso Multi-Source System $3990 Review
February 14, 2022 Comments Off on T+A elektroakustik Caruso Multi-Source System $3990 Review
Living with the Caruso Multi-Source System was a fascinating experience, as it brought into sharp focus the differences in the way audiophiles and the other 99.999% of the music-consuming world listen to music at home—and how a tension between these two perspectives can develop in a product from a manufacturer with the engineering chops to make the best. It’s a tug-of-war between aesthetic values that must be finessed. Does the Caruso pull it off? Does it succeed in offering a compact design certain to appeal to interior decorators and the impeccable engineering of a famously tech-savvy German manufacturer? That T+A is on to something may be reflected by who is buying Carusos: Jim Shannon told me that the company estimates that, historically, at least 30-40% of them have been sold to women.
Kharma MIDI Exquisite 3.0 + system
February 14, 2022 Comments Off on Kharma MIDI Exquisite 3.0 + system
Mark Levinson No 5101 Network No 5302 Power Amplifier Review
February 13, 2022 Comments Off on Mark Levinson No 5101 Network No 5302 Power Amplifier Review
The end result is that the No 5206 gives you least three components—all designed with the same lack of coloration—for the price of one: A standard preamp, a DAC, and the kind of phono preamp that I wish were integrated into every preamp. The phono section fully complements the sound character of the high-level analog sections; it is unusually quiet, although best used with normal rather than ultra-low-output moving coils. The phono sound is about as revealing as the LP permits. It does a great job of handling low-level passages, and the cartridge and recording—not the preamp—will limit the accuracy of timbre and soundstage.
Another key feature of the phono preamp is that the DIP switches on the rear panel provide a much wider range of loading for moving-coil cartridges than usual. This is a feature that has real practical value in getting the best moving-coil frequency response, and one where I’ve found user experimentation can really pay off—particularly in smoothing the upper midrange and highs and in getting a smooth balance with the rest of the midrange and bass. Loading is a tweak that’s really worth several hours of listening, during which you may well find the cartridge manufacturer’s recommended load is not the best option. (Go for natural musical sound, not warmth or exaggerated highs.) There also are four capacitance loadings for moving-magnet cartridges. Finally, the No 5206 has a number of other features that are described in detail in an exceptionally well-written and detailed instruction book. These include the ability to update the No 5206 using your home computer, home-theater pass-through mode, and a subwoofer high-pass filter that can be switched between the RCA and XLR outputs
Rosson Audio Design RAD-O planar magnetic headphones Review
February 12, 2022 Comments Off on Rosson Audio Design RAD-O planar magnetic headphones Review
The implacable low frequencies of The Bug’s ‘Poison Dart’ are served up with depth and substance, carry an absolute stack of information regarding both texture and their origin – and yet they’re utterly controlled. Too often this kind of bottom-end presence is undermined by ill-disciplined entry into or exit from individual notes, but the RAD-O brook no argument – and as a consequence, Warrior Queen’s imprecations in the midrange are beautifully poised and defined, alive with both detail and malevolence.
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