AURALIC ALTAIR G1 DIGITAL AUDIO STREAMER M £1,999 REVIEW
December 15, 2020 Comments Off on AURALIC ALTAIR G1 DIGITAL AUDIO STREAMER M £1,999 REVIEW
AURALiC ALTAIR G1 Digital Audio Streamer
There isn’t a ‘game changer’ at the moment because so many aspects of the game of hi-fi are taking a bit of a rest right now. But I feel strongly that the nearest we get to a game changer is the AURALiC ALTAIR G1. Sure, it’s a more modest proposal next to the digital big guns (including the big guns from AURALiC itself), but I can’t help but feel it’s the right proposal for the job right now. Best of all, that ‘more modest proposal’ makes few concessions to performance in absolute terms. It’s easy to set-up, easy to use, fun to listen to, and is priced to appeal to a wider audio enthusiast base than many of its contemporaries. In the audio world of 2020 and beyond, it makes all the right noises and ticks all the right boxes.
STAX SR-007A ELECTROSTATIC HEADPHONE $4500 REVIEW
December 14, 2020 Comments Off on STAX SR-007A ELECTROSTATIC HEADPHONE $4500 REVIEW
In my conclusions, especially as I get older, I try to avoid heaping superlatives when I review a product that I genuinely like because I never know when that next better product will come along and take me by surprise. However, I’m finding it really hard not to just openly gush about the STAX SR-007A and both of the SRM-700 series headphone amps. Yes, it is a roughly $5000 dollar personal listening set and you may be saying, A- That’s crazy! Or, B- Well it’s $5000 dollars and who wouldn’t rave about a personal toy that cost that much? Both would be missing the point. Electrostatic headphones sound like nothing else out there and anyone who is serious about their headphone listening should experience a pair for themselves to understand what I mean. The STAX SR-007A themselves hit that sweet spot for me in terms of comfort and performance unlike anything else, from a headphone standpoint, that I have experienced thus far. They produce pure, weightless musical energy seemingly devoid of distortion and effort and at a volume that can well surpass reasonable need. And they produce all the bass I could want in the bargain. Combined with either one of the STAX SRM-700 amplifiers, one is presented with a reference level home listening setup that could ruin a person to accept anything less. Is there something better out there? Perhaps, but I’d wager not without a significant increase in cost and for an incremental gain at that. If budget were not an issue I would purchase these outright and use them as a reference. I find them to be outstanding in every regard and that I had every right to be in awe of their ancestors in my youth.
Rogers LS 3/5a Classic mini-monitors $3,350 Review
December 14, 2020 Comments Off on Rogers LS 3/5a Classic mini-monitors $3,350 Review
Small speakers are limited by their physique and I have yet to audition one that is of such superlative design and performance that a separate, outboard crossover box is utilized. But two-way small speakers are not expected to deliver the same volume as full-range floorstanders, and that very limitation is a blessing in disguise. Even then, I have auditioned bookshelf speakers from companies big and small in the past few years and the Rogers is the first pair that warrants a formal review.
Accurate speakers are an essential editing and mastering tool, and some designs I auditioned were revered by professional studios but tonally boring to my audiophile sensibilities. Food without flavor is not nice. The new Rogers LS 3/5a 15-ohm is accurate enough to reveal changes upstream and is full of flavor, and listening to it play music is quite an experience. Speakers of the Rogers caliber and stature selling for $3,350 the pair accords everyone the opportunity to experience the BBC sound at least once in your lifetime.
Spatial Audio Lab M3 Sapphire Loudspeaker $5000 REVIEW
December 13, 2020 Comments Off on Spatial Audio Lab M3 Sapphire Loudspeaker $5000 REVIEW
I pulled the Sapphires another foot out away from the wall and, voilà, something magical happened: tonal balance evened out, a rock-solid and articulate low-end seemingly emerged out of nowhere and a cavernous and finely layered soundstage dissolved the front wall. “Now we’re cooking,” I said, smiling.
A subsequent conversation with Clayton convinced me that there are two reasons that my revised positioning brought the speakers into their own. First, put the Spatial Audio Lab M3s too close to the wall, and the bass energy coming out of the rear of the M3 Sapphire may create out-of-phase bass reflections off the wall that cancel out bass response, resulting in the kind of “leanness” I had experienced. In other words, unlike most box speakers, placing an open baffle speaker too close to the front wall behind them tends to diminish rather than reinforce bass response.
Ayre AX-5 Twenty Integrated Amplifier £14,750 Review
December 13, 2020 Comments Off on Ayre AX-5 Twenty Integrated Amplifier £14,750 Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/ayre-ax-5-twenty-integrated-amplifier
The last aspect of the AX-5 Twenty’s performance that caught my ear is its soundstaging. This is highly impressive, and goes back to the amplifier’s overall sense of grip and effortless power. It drove my big NS-1000Ms like they were tiny little Wharfedale Diamonds, absolutely commanding them. This in turn made for a superb rendition of the recorded acoustic of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s ‘Country Girl’ [Deja Vu; Atlantic 7567-82649-2].
By no means would you call this an audiophile recording, yet the AX-5 Twenty picked through the murky soundscape to give a really clean, architectural sound with everything neatly in its place. There was no sense of instruments being placed in the mix incorrectly, or indeed vaguely. Instead, everything was practically nailed down to the floor. Depth perspective was impressively good too, giving a really immersive feel to this classic track.”
FOCAL ARCHE HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER/DAC/PREAMPLIFIER 2,495 REVIEW
December 12, 2020 Comments Off on FOCAL ARCHE HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER/DAC/PREAMPLIFIER 2,495 REVIEW
http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/focal-arche-headphone-amplifierdacpreamplifier-1/
“With the vast majority of headphones and in-ears I attached to the Arche I found no mismatch issues except with the highly sensitive 119 dB Earsonics EM10 CIEM. With EM10 there was a slight, low-level, hiss. With my most inefficient headphones, the Beyer Dynamic DT-990 600 ohm version, the Arche had more than adequate drive to produce high volume levels with lots of juice left over.
While not ergonomically perfect, the Focal Arche does most things right, both in terms of sonics and due to its built-in headphone profiles and amplifier options, making the Arche an impressive first-time electronic offering.
Audience frontRow powerChords $6700 Review
December 12, 2020 Comments Off on Audience frontRow powerChords $6700 Review
“Quite out of character, you’ll find me sporting a silly grin these days. I’m engaged in a project I have wanted to do for the longest time: rolling the power cords on my amps. My silly grin is because both rounds so far have seriously upped my game, and I’m not done yet—there’s at least one more round coming up. The price point I’m looking at (MSRP between 6-9K/2m) is chock-a-block with exciting contenders. I knew I should have done this a long time ago!
The frontRow powerChords from Audience excel in every performance parameter you might deign to focus on, with particular distinction in two areas: timbres that bring a splash of exciting color and texture; and a low-end that is tuneful and dynamic as hell. They sound delicate and bold at the same time. Try as I might, there is nothing to quibble about their performance, let alone criticize.
The frontRow powerChords from Audience ascend to the power cord executive suite and deserve a seat at the chairman’s table. Definitely a contender—they have proven themselves worthy.”
YG Acoustics Hailey 2.2 Loudspeaker $46,800 Review
December 11, 2020 Comments Off on YG Acoustics Hailey 2.2 Loudspeaker $46,800 Review
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/yg-acoustics-hailey-22-loudspeaker/
The Hailey 2.2 is a musically expressive, revealing speaker capable of deep-reaching, tuneful bass and agile, wide-ranging dynamics. It creates focused images within an expansive soundstage into which the speakers sonically disappear as sound sources. It reproduces power musiclike grand orchestral passages and hard-driving rock very well, as is also the case with subtle solo acoustic works (and all other kinds of music, for that matter). The Hailey is the lowest-priced model in YG’s line to offer all of the company’s defining engineering features except the cabinet-in-cabinet enclosures found in all the models above it. As such, it is a compelling way for listeners to enjoy most of YG’s technology at a significantly lower price. It is a fine example of trickle-down technology yielding good results. The Hailey 2.2 deserves to be on your audition short list at its price level. Another fine loudspeaker from YG and another recommendation.
PMC twenty5.26i Loudspeaker £8495 Review
December 10, 2020 Comments Off on PMC twenty5.26i Loudspeaker £8495 Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/pmc-twenty526i-loudspeaker
AC/DC’s ‘It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘N’ Roll)’ [High Voltage; EMI 494 6712] does not have the holographic imaging of other compositions, but while the speaker did not have to dig deep, neither did its midrange driver gloss over the distorted guitar riffs, retaining the distinctive layering. The wide soundstage also stood out, with Malcolm and Angus Young’s guitar parts enjoying a breadth that mirrors their on-stage setup.
There’s a cohesive nature to the twenty5.26i’s performance that’s addictive. The effect is that you can lose the sense you’re listening to a set of speakers, the sextet of drivers instead forming a balanced, even whole, from pure-sounding bass at the bottom to grit-free highs.
Thorens TD 1601 Turntable £3000 Review
December 10, 2020 Comments Off on Thorens TD 1601 Turntable £3000 Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/thorens-td-1601-turntable
Playing ‘The Dance’ from The Cinematic Orchestra’s soundtrack The Crimson Wing [Walt Disney Records 050087443269] was a joy to behold, with percussion leaping enthusiastically from the loudspeakers. Behind this, the double-bass was appropriately fruity and fulsome and, when The London Metropolitan Orchestra’s strings came in, they soared magnificently.
The TD 1601 has a lovely sense of depth and scale. It may not quite pull performers out into the room in the manner of some rivals, but it conveys good atmosphere, which fills the space between and behind the loudspeakers well.
Audiophilepure 
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