METERS OV-1-B-Connect Noise-Canceling Wireless Headphones Review
February 24, 2022 Comments Off on METERS OV-1-B-Connect Noise-Canceling Wireless Headphones Review
This is often used because it provides a lot of presence and excitement when listening to music. However, this type of sound can be overdone, which becomes fatiguing to the ear over time.
Unfortunately, this is the case with the OV-1-B-CONNECT, as I found the bass to be just a little too boomy on heavy bass tracks, and I also found the upper treble to be a bit too forward overall. This manifested in shoutiness on certain songs, especially with horns and high-pitched vocals.
Icon Audio LA4 MkIII Signature Line Preamplifier $3095 Review
February 24, 2022 Comments Off on Icon Audio LA4 MkIII Signature Line Preamplifier $3095 Review
Specifically, I was interested in trying out the 7N7 and 7AF7 loctals, 6SN7 near-equivalents via adapters, albeit with a loss in overall gain. Note that I only replaced V1 and V2, the gain stage tubes, leaving the cathode follower (V3) alone. In particular, the 7AF7 worked extremely well for the end result I was after; namely, textural sweetness galore. It wasn’t as focused or tight in the bass as the CV181, but it nicely vitalized textures when partnering solid-state designs. Neutrality or warmth—both are possible with the right 6SN7. And that is the important point about tube rolling: It allows the end user to voice the LA4 to match a particular system or sonic preference.
It would seem that David Shaw has cracked the code for preamp excellence. His classic recipe includes a 6SN7 gain stage, a tube buffer, and a tube-rectified power supply. This combination, together with excellent engineering and parts selection, makes the Icon Audio LA4 Signature into a formidable line preamp. This is one preamp I could live with happily ever after.
Wilson Audio Alexx V Loudspeaker £139,000 Review
February 23, 2022 Comments Off on Wilson Audio Alexx V Loudspeaker £139,000 Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/wilson-audio-alexx-v-loudspeaker
What the Alexx V represents, to this veteran Wilson listener, is the utopian midpoint between the WATT’s focus and scale of the Chronosonic XVX. This enormous system delivers the soundstage and presence expected of a coffin-sized construct, yet it produces detail and precision to rival any point-source. It’s dangerous to say these words, but here goes… the Alexx V is the best damned speaker I have ever heard.
Topping Pre90 line preamplifier Review
February 23, 2022 Comments Off on Topping Pre90 line preamplifier Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/topping-pre90-line-preamplifier
I bought three Pre90s. In principle, the volume on all three Pre90s can be controlled with a single carefully aimed remote control and monitored via the numbers on the front-panel display. But I tried that approach with the Benchmark LA4 and found it a less-than-ideal solution. It’s not ideal because the volume can easily get out of synch among the three preamps, and we already know that the Pre90’s remote control is finicky.
With the Benchmark preamplifiers, I improved things by buying an IR receiver/splitter on the internet for about $20. This little box accepts a tiny, wired IR sensor as input and has four tiny, wired IR transmitters as outputs. I attached one transmitter to the IR sensor on each of the three Benchmark LA4s. It’s a bit of a kludge, but it worked. I intend to try the same thing with the Topping preamps.
PMC Fact Fenestria $75,000 Review
February 22, 2022 Comments Off on PMC Fact Fenestria $75,000 Review
https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/pmc-fact-fenestria
They image superbly for such large boxes – thanks no doubt to the well controlled cabinet resonances – delivering a huge and expansive presentation that still has instruments and other sounds locked solidly in place. These PMCs dig up so much in the way of low-level detail that it’s easy to hear the acoustic clues that describe the scale and characteristics of the recording venue, making it a breeze to place the orchestra within that space.
These floorstanders are astoundingly good in the way they render dynamic shifts too. Forceful crescendos are rendered with conviction, which is no surprise given the price level. More impressive and unusual is the way the Fenestrias handle the nuances, the slight changes in intensity that communicate, say, the emotion in a voice or change in emphasis in the way a piano key is played. This is brought home when we listen to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and find it comes through with a level of authenticity that’s rare in hi-fi. We can’t recall testing another speaker that reproduces the harmonically rich sound of a full-size piano with such realistic dynamic expression and accurate sense of scale. There’s an authority in the Fenestria’s presentation that’s hugely appealing.
SVS PB-1000 and SB-1000 Subwoofers Review
February 22, 2022 Comments Off on SVS PB-1000 and SB-1000 Subwoofers Review
The SVS PB-1000 Pro and SB-1000 Pro Subwoofers
Thanks to said presets, if you happen to be an audio enthusiast that uses multiple speaker setups, or want to mix it up now and then, being able to store a few setups makes it a lot easier to engage multiple speakers. Using a pair of stand mounted monitors for a more intimate system, or perhaps swap for some large floorstanders, or drag a pair of Magnepans out? Easy, and I did just that, trying the 1000 series subs with a pair of small Maggies, a pair of Sonus faber Lumina 1s and a pair of Focal Arias. All were easy to mate with the SVS subs. I wouldn’t hesitate to use them with anything.
Fyne Audio F500SP loudspeaker Review
February 21, 2022 Comments Off on Fyne Audio F500SP loudspeaker Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/fyne-audio-f500sp-loudspeaker
The F500SPs seem to be low in distortion, which allows them to place each record in its unique place in time. 1950s mono jazz records cut at Rudy Van Gelder’s Englewood Cliffs studio sounded zippy and energetic. 1990s electronic dance records pounded and pulsed, their spectral synths and robot drum machines sounding creamy and enveloping—almost feline. Modern rock records had plenty of bite and drive, with crisp snares and guitars, palpable vocals, and well-imaged, well-defined electric bass guitar. Reproduced by the F500SPs, music sounded meaty, visceral, and full bodied and proved capable of spinning a deep, wide soundstage with clear spatial relationships among instruments. It portrayed music with gobs of air and space when those qualities were on the recording, as on Frahm’s Felt.
Chord Mojo 2 Review
February 21, 2022 Comments Off on Chord Mojo 2 Review
https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/chord-mojo-2
These refinements help give the Mojo 2 a more neutral, crisper and livelier character than its predecessor, whose presentation ultimately feels comparatively confined and a little coloured. Music has the vividity of a stained glass window here – bright, intricate and demanding of your attention. Unsurprisingly, the updated Mojo/Poly pairing (possible when the Poly is firmware updated to 3.0) is even more of a delight in light of the new Mojo’s expanded talents.
VPI Prime 21+ turntable £6,500 Review
February 20, 2022 Comments Off on VPI Prime 21+ turntable £6,500 Review
Perhaps the most noticeable change is the move from the JMW 3D-10 Reference arm to a 3D Gimbal tonearm. This still retains the VTA adjustment tower but a conventional gimballed arm means no more jiggling tonearm when it comes to lifting the cartridge on and off the record. In truth, you get used to this very fast, but can be off-putting to those new to high-end decks. Once again, it’s something that is perfectly fitting in a Prime Signature and beyond, but those viewing the Prime as their first real high-end turntable might get the jitters when they see the arm moving so freely. VPI spent a lot of time developing a gimballed tonearm that didn’t undermine the performance as they heard it; the development that first went into the Mark Levinson turntable and then to the limited edition HW-40 turntable meant that VPI felt it was possible to make a high-end gimballed arm without throwing the baby out with the bathwater, and with its 3D-printed arm, it offers a ‘best of both worlds’ approach.
Riviera Levante integrated amplifier Review
February 20, 2022 Comments Off on Riviera Levante integrated amplifier Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/riviera-levante-integrated-amplifier
If I were to speculate, I would wager that the RAAL develops a third-harmonic–dominant distortion spectrum while the Levante reverses that equation. I say this because high third harmonic and low second harmonic produces a sense of clarity and beat-keeping, whereas the reverse emphasizes space and atmosphere.
Thinking about this reminded me of what Luca Chiomenti wrote in his email. “A great part of the distortion and ‘character’ of the (Levante’s) sound is due to this first stage circuit, which changes simply by changing the tube.” Because there is no feedback or degeneration on the 12AT7 totem pole, every tube change can, and likely will, make a noticeable, possibly measurable difference in the Levante’s sound character
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