EARSONICS VELVET V2 HR EDITION REVIEW
January 8, 2021 Comments Off on EARSONICS VELVET V2 HR EDITION REVIEW
My story goes back to 2014 with the Velvet. At the time, it had a different shell and color, but it was one of the very rare earphones with user-changeable tuning. Earsonics company was not a very advertised brand in my country, and I would not have known about them without the success of the SM3. I cannot imagine such a timeline because Earsonics products played a big role in my audiophile adventure. The reason I used the first edition Velvet for a really long time was that I was able to optimize its synergy with different sources by changing the signature. The A&K 120 loved the Velvet in “Balanced mode”, whereas Cowon Plenue P1 synergized with the “Tight” mode, because it had a warmer, darker tonality. I prefer Earsonics’ potentiometer solution better than switches. Potentiometer lets you do much finer tuning whereas switches offer a limited adjustment range. Without further ado, let’s get to the review!
Cambridge CXA81 Integrated Amplifer Review
January 8, 2021 Comments Off on Cambridge CXA81 Integrated Amplifer Review
The integrated amp has traditionally been more popular in Europe than in North America. The reasons for this include smaller living spaces, lower prices, fewer cables needed, etc. If you view an integrated as a preamp and amp built together on the same chassis, you have to admit there are some advantages. There is a potential for better sound for the money, since the output jacks, interconnect cable, and input jacks needed between preamp and amp, and any sonic colorations they impose, are gone. As long as the designers take care to properly isolate the power supplies of the different stages from each other, very good results can be had when using an integrated amp as the heart of your main system.
At a little over $1000, the CXA81 could be the perfect start to a system that is one step up from entry-level high end. You could begin with this unit, some inexpensive cables and speakers, and a low-cost or hand-me-down CD player (use digital-out), and have a decent-sounding system. As time goes by, you could upgrade a cable here, a pair of speakers there, add the CXN V2, and bit by bit hear the improvements, until you arrived at a truly impressive setup. The whole time the CXA81 would be keeping up with the advancements and performing well enough to pass on the increase in fidelity for each change. Highly recommended!
PrimaLuna ProLogue One Integrated
January 8, 2021 Comments Off on PrimaLuna ProLogue One Integrated
When I got the ProLogue One back from my (now ex) niece a few years ago, I couldn’t have been more excited to be reunited with this old friend. And it cost me dearly – I had to trade she and her husband a new Simaudio NEO integrated ($3,400), along with some heavy convincing that having a tube amp around the house with a couple of toddlers was a really bad idea. The fatigued tubes were replaced with a new pair of PrimaLuna 12AU7s, a pair of EAT 12AX7s and a mint quad of NOS Siemens EL34 power tubes. Other than a slightly noisy volume control (with a little bit of contact cleaner took care of immediately) the PL One was back rocking with a pair of 1976 vintage Klipsch LaScalas. The sound was glorious, and with the coolio, upgraded tubes, even better than the day I unboxed it for the first time.”
Bowers & Wilkins 702 Signature Loudspeakers $6,500 review
January 7, 2021 Comments Off on Bowers & Wilkins 702 Signature Loudspeakers $6,500 review
Bowers & Wilkins 702 Signature Loudspeakers
Pretty much nothing really. Your decision will probably be B&W or the other choices, or between the Signature and standard models. However, in terms of what’s available in the $5,000 – $7,000 range that we’ve had the pleasure to audition, the Bowers & Wilkins 702 Signature is a solid player in terms of sound quality, engineering prowess, and aesthetic appeal. Not to mention, as one of the world’s largest speaker manufacturers, you can be sure of a great sales, service, and support network to go with your purchase.
Audio Analogue AAdac USB DAC £3299 Review
January 7, 2021 Comments Off on Audio Analogue AAdac USB DAC £3299 Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/audio-analogue-aadac-usb-dac
The secret of this DAC is its combination of detail and definition while delivering music on an entirely human scale, as is entirely apparent with Francesco Piemontesi’s second volume of Mozart piano concertos with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra [Linn CKD622; 192kHz/24-bit]. The orchestra opening to No19 is sprightly and gloriously captured in the Usher Hall acoustic, and then Piemontesi’s piano enters with an almost luminous tonality, albeit with each note crisply defined and a wonderful delicacy of touch.
The AAdac just loves this music, conveying it with spirit and real vivacity, maintaining excellent clarity while also revealing the entirely unforced balance of the recording. This really is the closest thing to having the best seat in the house.
KEF LS50 Meta Loudspeakers $1499 Review
January 5, 2021 Comments Off on KEF LS50 Meta Loudspeakers $1499 Review
https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/1502-kef-ls50-meta-loudspeakers
The KEFs and GoldenEars sounded more similar than different. With “Feelin’ the Same Way,” also from Norah Jones’s Come Away with Me, their bass extension was roughly the same, as were the tightness of and detail in the bass. However, the BRXes’ slightly greater upper-bass energy translated into a bit more punch with kick drum, as in Lou Reed’s “Dirty Blvd.,” though still not up to the level of the Diablo Utopias.
With “Feelin’ the Same Way,” the BRXes were able to cast just as wide and deep a soundstage as the LS50 Metas, though the specificity of aural images on those stages wasn’t as precise as through the Metas. But unlike the Focals’ highs, which were brighter than the Metas’, the BRXes’ highs were slightly duller. The Metas’ highs also sounded cleaner than the BRXes’, which were slightly ragged by comparison.
The biggest difference was in Jones’s voice, which was very tightly focused at center stage through the LS50 Metas, and through the BRXes was just as centered but more diffuse, and without as much detail and clarity. The Metas sounded more crisp through the midrange and highs than the BRXes, which made the latter sound slightly laid-back. I heard the same when I listened through both speakers to “Don’t Know Why,” the big hit from Jones’s
Nordost QRT QPoint and QRT QSource Resonance Synchronizer $2499 Review
January 5, 2021 Comments Off on Nordost QRT QPoint and QRT QSource Resonance Synchronizer $2499 Review
Nordost QRT QPoint and QRT QSource Resonance Synchronizer
If I was sold on the QPoints, it was also intriguing to explore the capabilities of the QSource. Thanks to the importunings of the North American dCS representative John Quick, I finally dipped a toe into the digital streaming waters by procuring a Roon Labs server. It turns out that you can jettison the flimsy wall wart that accompanies it and substitute the QSource, which in essence allows you to run the Roon off a linear power supply. This turned out to be a nifty upgrade. While I enjoyed opening the portal to a wealth of music by entering the streaming world, it never really sounded all that competitive with the dCS transport. I don’t think that the QSource can completely cover the gap, but it offered a substantial improvement in image density, resolution, and hall ambience. There really was no comparison between it and the wall wart, something that was immediately apparent on a Martha Argerich recording of a live performance at the Lugano Festival or Cat Stevens’ classic Tea For the Tillerman. Argerich’s piano just sounded so much more formidable and the hall more spacious with the QSource powering the Roon.
D’Agostino Progression Integrated Integrated Amplifier £18,500 Review
January 4, 2021 Comments Off on D’Agostino Progression Integrated Integrated Amplifier £18,500 Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/dagostino-progression-integrated-integrated-amplifier
Running them side by side, the Progression Integrated’s amplifier section is undoubtedly less bold, less forceful than the costlier Momentum Stereo. But the differences were so minute as to cause a bit of head scratching. I had to keep reminding myself of the Law of Diminishing Returns, acknowledging that the Progression customer is not the same as the Momentum client.
It was the subtlety of George Benson’s guitar work on The Other Side Of Abbey Road [A&M Records 82839 3028 2] that showed how two amplifiers from the same designer can sound different, yet share common ground.
Sorry about this, folks, but an analogy from the world of wine best illustrates this: the Progression Integrated is to the Momentum what ‘second growth’ wines are to Premier Cru. For someone like me, who can’t afford £800-a-bottle reds, there are, blessedly, plenty of astounding second growths. So, for you teetotallers: the Progression Integrated is to the Momentum what Le Volte is to Ornellaia. And that spells ‘Bargain’.
Helius Omega Tonearm and Alexia Turntable Review
January 4, 2021 Comments Off on Helius Omega Tonearm and Alexia Turntable Review
When it comes to matching phono pickups he has some decidedly unusual (and rather confusingly explained) ideas regarding effective mass, but the bottom line is that the Omega is “best suited to medium-to-stiff cantilevers” typical of moving coils. Downward force is applied by the main counterweight, designed to be as close to the bearing housing as possible, with three minor weights for fine tuning (you’ll need to supply the gauge). Height adjustment is via the usual collar-clamp and set-screw in the base plate; uncalibrated antiskating adjustment is provided, which means you set it by ear or with test records. Dan Meinwald, whose EAR-USA imports Helius products, prefers to leave antiskating unengaged; I tried it both ways with equally good results, which is to say I heard no mistracking that I could attribute to bias issues. The Omega’s cueing is among the most accurate I’ve come across. The captive cables are very short, terminating in a pair of enclosed RCA jacks that can be attached to the base, after which the user supplies his own interconnects to the preamplifier. The Omega is offered in four versions: Standard, under review here, with Tungsten bearings and copper wiring, retailing for $3695; Standard with silver wire for $3895; Silver Ruby with ruby bearings for $5225; and a 12-inch Silver Ruby for $5295.
VPI HW-40 40th Anniversary Edition turntable
January 3, 2021 Comments Off on VPI HW-40 40th Anniversary Edition turntable
This is the first VPI turntable I’ve reviewed that provides a high degree of isolation from the surface upon which it rests. Despite the cones, feet, inserts, bladders, and what have you that VPI has used over the years, this is the first one where, if you tap (or bang!) on the platform, nothing gets through to the stylus. According to VPI, two years of work went into producing this level of performance using a combination of mass loading, mechanical stiffening, selective damping, and a combination of elastomers.
In and of itself, the top plate is still somewhat lively, but compared to my memory of the Classic Direct, the HW-40 is better damped, letting through only a subdued, quick-to-settle “pop” when the top plate is struck. Bettinger told me that the outer frame is well-isolated, too. I was able to corroborate that: Tapping on it produces nothing through the speakers.
Audiophilepure 
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