LOXJIE D30 REVIEW
December 10, 2021 Comments Off on LOXJIE D30 REVIEW
The Loxjie D30 can be controlled with the integrated volume wheel or the included remote controller. Both of those options are easy to use. It is very simple to use and access the menus and navigate through them. The remote control provides some additional features such as muting the device with one tap and toggling on the pairing state, etc. It is slightly faster to use included remote control so I recommend you throw in some batteries in it and use it to navigate through the menus. The UI is super nice and simple and it looks identical to SMSL’s S & M series. There are a lot of options on the menu and I’ll list them here, for you. For starters, you have the option to choose input & output, you can select a PCM filter out of three available filters (fast linear, slow minimum & minimum phase), you can toggle on the PRE-mode or DAC mode (vol-fixed), you can clear Bluetooth pairing list, you can toggle on the dimmer and adjust its timer, you can change the brightness of the device’s screen. Apart from that, during the playback, the screen provides vital info such as the decode details, sample rate, MQA status, active output, and input, plus the volume level.
XavianSTELLA ESCLUSIVA
December 9, 2021 Comments Off on XavianSTELLA ESCLUSIVA
The loudspeakers can perfectly show the properties of a given recording and a given release, but they are not malicious, they do not try to bring out the problems of the albums, but rather their advantages, their beauty. They complete the midrange with a soft, natural-sounding bass with great focus, and although they show a lot of treble, they are more like tube amplifiers – that is, with a lot of energy, and without a sharp attack. They show a very deep and stable sound stage, which, however, does not extend widely to the sides. At the same time, they seem not particularly sensitive to placement in the room – I assume that this is due to the passive diaphragm.
Because the XAVIAN STELLA ESCLUSIVA are very good designs with well-organized sound with its calm inner peace. They require a fairly powerful amplifier, that is, one with good current efficiency, and a quality source. Don’t expect fireworks from them, because they are usually fireworks of vanity, not quality. Here we have quality, truth and exceptional workmanship. They are truly worth your interest!
HiFi Rose RS250 audio & video streaming D/A preamplifier Review
December 9, 2021 Comments Off on HiFi Rose RS250 audio & video streaming D/A preamplifier Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/hifi-rose-rs250-audio-video-streaming-da-preamplifier
For my first listening session, I selected the HiFi Rose RS250’s network connection as Roon’s active Audio Zone and played files from the internal hard drive I had fitted to my Roon Nucleus+ server. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Had the efforts of the HiFi Rose design team been focused on versatility and functionality rather than sound quality? The RS250’s diminutive chassis contained a powerful computer and what appears to be a hefty power transformer close to the signal circuitry; won’t the analog output be contaminated with noise? Finally, my system has been based on balanced analog connections for many years; would substituting the RS250’s single-ended analog outputs compromise the sound?
I started my auditioning with an album I know intimately, having engineered and mixed it at the end of the 1990s for release as a Stereophile CD: Jerome Harris’s Rendezvous (16/44.1 ALAC files, STPH013-2, footnote 3)). Electric bass player Harris had assembled an all-star band for the sessions at Chad Kassem’s Blue Heaven Studios: Art Baron on trombone, Marty Erlich on alto sax, Steve Nelson on vibes, and Billy Drummond on drums. Listening to “Cool Pursuit” played back from the USB stick, the RS250’s soundstaging accurately preserved what I had intended in the mix. Harris’s Taylor bass guitar was dead center, Erlich’s saxophone was positioned far right, Baron’s trombone slightly right of center, Nelson’s vibes, which I had miked in stereo, were spread across the left of the stage. Drummond’s kit was placed slightly behind the other players, his drums illuminating the studio’s churchlike acoustic. The kickdrum sounded a little tubbier than I was used to, and the bass guitar had a touch of extra upper-bass bloom.
SPL DIRECTOR MK2 PREAMPLIFIER/DAC $3,699 REVIEW
December 8, 2021 Comments Off on SPL DIRECTOR MK2 PREAMPLIFIER/DAC $3,699 REVIEW
I found the SPL Director Mk2 to be well-engineered and sonically without blemish. If you are looking to set up a stereo system, the Director Mk2 would be a good choice if you prefer musical detail and dynamics to be paramount in your system. It doesn’t stream, but a streaming device can be hooked into it. Same with a turntable or headphones (which SPL also makes line stages for). VOLTAiR is more than a novelty as the sonics of the Director Mk2 were impressive. Pair this with a quality amplifier and you’re ready to go. With its detailed instructions, I would not hesitate to recommend this unit to a novice. I wish I had the Director Mk2 when I was in college, just getting into the stereo scene. You know, when VU meters first came out on all the cool receivers. The SPL Director Mk2 is a great balance of nostalgia and high-end audio.
MEZE AUDIO LAUNCHES FIRST CLOSED-BACK HEADPHONE POWERED BY RINARO’S ISODYNAMIC HYBRID
December 8, 2021 Comments Off on MEZE AUDIO LAUNCHES FIRST CLOSED-BACK HEADPHONE POWERED BY RINARO’S ISODYNAMIC HYBRID
Rinaro, a progressive audio engineering company, has been at the forefront of planar magnetic development since the 1980s. From its Cold War origins to today’s state-of-the-art R&D and manufacturing facilities, Rinaro have continued to innovate for the last 30 years, creating the revolutionary Isodynamic Hybrid Array found exclusively in Meze Empyrean, Elite and Liric headphones.
Tannoy Cheviot Legacy Edition Loudspeakers Review
December 7, 2021 Comments Off on Tannoy Cheviot Legacy Edition Loudspeakers Review
The unmistakable gravelly drawl of Louis Armstrong has a weight and grain to its character which over many years one becomes intimately familiar with. Ella and Louis Again (2×45 Analogue Productions, MG V-4017) remastered in 2012 by George Marino at Sterling Sound is one of the finest examples of a reissue I’ve heard. The amount of resolution pulled off the original tapes of this 1957 recording session is staggering. Every subtle nuance and detail to the recording studio – spatial cues, vocalizations from Fitzgerald and Armstrong, breathing, chairs moving, and the peccadilloes of play from each musician is laid utterly bare. Visceral, punchy, with astonishing speed to attack on notes and delicious decay to cymbal, high hat, guttural weight to percussion and adroit bass Pizzacato, it swings and romps with abandon with Fitzgerald’s airy, lilting counterpoint to Armstrong balancing the tenor of the entire experience. The emotion, the camaraderie to the relationship between the two leads… all devoid of artifice on any technical or cerebral level I could ascertain through the system feeding the Cheviot. Any change to cabling, cartridge, source or even the inclusion of spiked maple stands under the amps or turntable and CD player did not go unnoticed through the Tannoy.
Aurender N20 Music Server / Streamer Review
December 7, 2021 Comments Off on Aurender N20 Music Server / Streamer Review
https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/reviews/review-aurender-n20-music-server-streamer-r1066/
Aurender has wisely curated the features available in its Conductor application by accepting feedback and deciding which ideas don’t belong in the app. I’ve asked for some fairly technical features over the years and looking back on it now, I’m happy the team said, thanks but no thanks. I still want the ability to upload a convolution filter, but that’s a topic for another day.
One more note about Aurender’s Conductor application. The app works very well on Apple Silicon based hardware. I run the app on my Mac Mini (M1) with Pro Display XDR and enjoy seeing more album covers on one screen that I can possibly comprehend (OK, I counted, it’s 264). It’s just nice to sit at my desk and control the Aurender from my desktop rather than wake my iPad or iPhone (I know, first world problem).
64 AUDIO – U6T REVIEW
December 6, 2021 Comments Off on 64 AUDIO – U6T REVIEW
First of all it’s important to mention that the U6t plays perfectly with all kinds of sources, and it’s dead silent at all times with a pitch black background. My favorite modules for the U6t are the m15 ones (gun metal grey like the IEM color) and the below impressions are based on that.
Sound stage wise the U6t scores well, but there is margin for improvement, so let’s call it moderate. This is especially the case when it comes to the sound stage width. The U6t extends better at the bottom than it does at the top, but you overall get a more intimate presentation. There’s nothing wrong with that actually, and many people prefer this kind of tuning. What I do like is the depth in the U6t, and that both for the bass and mids. Together with the lovely depth, you get good layering and that’s something I always love hearing.
Rogers AB3a Subwoofer Review
December 6, 2021 Comments Off on Rogers AB3a Subwoofer Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/rogers-ab3a-subwoofer
Rather, you need to approach the AB3a expecting to free up the sound, if in ways that do not immediately spring to mind. Call them unintended consequences or, better still, unanticipated benefits. And what first made me realise this was the Nimbus Supercut of Miles Davis’ Kind Of Blue [CBS 62066]. The difference between with AB3a and without revealed itself throughout the entire LP, in various ways. The first was a sense of greater openness, the second was enhanced stage depth, while a third benefit was the exposure of fine details with improved clarity.
As this LP is a trumpeter’s creation, you’ll be pleased to learn that the punch, extension, clarity and, yes, the sound of Miles’ saliva, were a touch more vivid. Please bear in mind that the subwoofers were tuned to their least intrusive settings, such that I was wondering if they were even switched on. I couldn’t see or feel any woofer movement when I removed the grilles from the AB3as to check.
Cambridge Audio CXA61 review
December 5, 2021 Comments Off on Cambridge Audio CXA61 review
https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/cambridge-audio-cxa61
This is made clear when we listen to the Olafur Arnalds set, which relies on the system having a high degree of subtlety. It’s easy for an amplifier to sound ham-fisted when playing this recording, but it’s a trap that the Cambridge avoids. Instead it is confident and composed, but never overplays its hand.
This Cambridge is a rhythmic performer too, delivering Prince’s 3121 with verve. There’s plenty of entertainment to be had here from thumping basslines to intricately shifting rhythms with Prince’s distinctive vocals at the centre. The CXA61 ticks all the hi-fi boxes without forgetting that all the detail and tonal neutrality in the world doesn’t matter if the emotional content of the music is ignored.
You must be logged in to post a comment.