Spendor A4 $3795 Review
June 18, 2021 Comments Off on Spendor A4 $3795 Review
The Spendor A4s have a lot of positive aspects. They do not overtly attempt to redefine basic concepts of speaker design, the way the Gradient 1.4s do, for example. But they are small and elegant looking; they will play quite loudly with surprisingly good bass extension; they are easy to drive with no impedance glitches, although they are only medium in sensitivity; and they have a smooth and natural-sounding top end. Above 1kHz there is little to object to about them although there is a bit of excess energy around 7kHz and there is a (harmless and perhaps even advantageous) dip at 3kHz. But they have an unusual overall balance that is not really correct, and not really consistent with the sound of live music, unless the balance is corrected somehow. However, their smoothness makes such correction easy, and, fixed up properly, the A4s sound very good indeed, and very true to the source material. Smoothness counts, if it is balanced right.
HIFIMAN HE-R10P REVIEW
June 17, 2021 Comments Off on HIFIMAN HE-R10P REVIEW
Sound stage-wise the Hifiman HE-R10P scores very well in both width and depth, though the Susvara still outperforms it. For a closed headphone however this is really good and the layering and extension are really nicely done. What I am missing a bit in the R10P compared to the level of the Susvara is the note extension and decay, especially in the mid-section. Treble-wise the R10P is softer, very easygoing and more limited. It’s probably its least strong point, especially when compared to the Susvara.
As expected from a flagship headphone, the R10P also shines when it comes to PRaT, preciseness and detail rendering. You at all times get a very rich sound with excellent L/R balance and stereo imaging. From highs to lows, the R10P has a great dynamic feeling to it. The R10P produces a very clean sound, though the clarity could still be a bit improved (
AVM Ovation A 6.2 ME integrated amplifier $8295 Review
June 17, 2021 Comments Off on AVM Ovation A 6.2 ME integrated amplifier $8295 Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/avm-ovation-62-me-integrated-amplifier
Call it bad memory or confirmation bias, but after a month of daily listening, I concluded that the AVM A 6.2 ME sounded a lot like those classic class-A amplifiers of yesteryore, which sounded like they had full control and weren’t leaving any information behind. They sounded musically right and complete. The AVM A 6.2 ME integrated sounded that kind of right, with a little fairy dust sprinkled on top.
dCS • Bartók Digital-to-Analog Converter and Headphone Amplifier $17,250 Review
June 16, 2021 Comments Off on dCS • Bartók Digital-to-Analog Converter and Headphone Amplifier $17,250 Review
http://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/dcs_bartok.htm
I discovered that in addition to a wide soundstage, definite strengths of the Bartók are transient attack and driving rhythmic energy, so I cued up Winds of War and Peace [Wilson Audio WCD-8823], with its (in)famous bass-drum explosions during “Liberty Fanfare.” The monstrous bass drum at the 1:00 mark was ultra clean and powerful. With the Bartók, I was hearing better separation of mallet strike, the drum head and bass-drum body resonance than I’d heard before, maybe even better than in the rooms using Wilson speakers at AXPONA. My modest system will never match the big Wilson speakers’ bass power, sheer volume or unflappable dynamics, but with the Bartók in the system, I was able to re-create a better impression of bass-drum tone. As an aside, I play trumpet in some local concert bands and I’ve performed “Liberty Fanfare” for several patriotic concerts. I’m always disappointed when our bass drum isn’t as awe-inspiring as the crushing whacks Lowell Graham and the National Symphonic Winds produced on this great Wilson Audio recording.
Focal Aria K2 936 loudspeaker $5990 Review
June 16, 2021 Comments Off on Focal Aria K2 936 loudspeaker $5990 Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/focal-aria-k2-936-loudspeaker
It is, as well, a speaker of paradoxes. Like those mighty Grand Utopias that sang like nightingales at that Montreal audio show, the K2 936 combines qualities that would seem to work against each other, but here they work together: smooth and dynamic. Power with finesse. Rich and detailed; warm and transparent. The K2 936 played all genres of music in a way that made them engaging to listen to. The Focals breathed the music in and out. They sucked me in with their whispers and pushed me back with their force.
I can’t imagine the average audiophile, or music lover, not liking the K2 936. That’s not to say it’s for everyone; it might not be the best choice for, say, a small, square room, or if it has to be placed against walls or fed by overly rich-sounding electronics. But in the right room, dialed in just so, the Arias offer the whole package: smooth highs, warm and detailed mids, bass you can feel and that can carry a tune.
Gold Note Mediterraneo £4,990 Review
June 15, 2021 Comments Off on Gold Note Mediterraneo £4,990 Review
https://www.hifichoice.com/content/gold-note-mediterraneo
Piano always presents a fine test of a turntable’s pitch stability and even with the standard PSU in use there is a sense of exemplary control and grip on Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Switching from the standard PSU to the aforementioned PST-10 delivers no immediate benefit to speed stability, but does reveal a little more detail in the recording. The sense of hammers hitting piano strings, the sheer mechanical force and impetus of the playing and the rich tonality of the stringed instruments in Variation 18 all reach a higher level with the PST-10 taking charge.
IsoAcoustics Delos 1815M1
June 15, 2021 Comments Off on IsoAcoustics Delos 1815M1
https://www.hifichoice.com/content/isoacoustics-delos-1815m1
It measures 455 x 45 x 380mm, and consists of a solid ‘butcher block’ maple wood platform, designed to eliminate interference from external and structural vibrations and offer a stable platform for the equipment with a low noise floor. It can support equipment weighing up to 29.5kg.
When in use under my record deck, there’s an immediate tightening up of the bass, which suddenly has more attack and punch. Listening to a half-speed mastered LP of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon, the somewhat menacing heartbeat that precedes Speak To Me ramps in from nowhere and builds to a climax. The bass is noticeably firmer and tighter, while the vocals of Breathe are more clearly positioned and the complexities of the music flow more effortlessly.
Clearaudio Concept Active Wood turntable Review
June 14, 2021 Comments Off on Clearaudio Concept Active Wood turntable Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/clearaudio-concept-active-wood-turntable
Instead of just appraising it, I ended up buying Courtney’s collection, and I learned some things from the experience. Even with really dirty early-vintage pressings—even records with visible surface wear and scratches—a thorough cleaning makes the music sound almost pristine. I asked Fred Cohen of New York’s Jazz Record Center how that is possible, and he told me the grooves on these old records are spaced wider than they are on modern records, so surface scratches have less chance of damaging the actual grooves. Whether for that reason or some other, after a cleaning, these records sound great.
Rotel RA-1572MKII Integrated Amplifier-DAC Review
June 13, 2021 Comments Off on Rotel RA-1572MKII Integrated Amplifier-DAC Review
Lyngdorf Audio’s similarly priced TDAI-1120 integrated ($2199, review coming soon) has many more features, including streaming, bass management, and room correction—but it couldn’t drive my MartinLogan electrostats to the room-filling levels I could get with the Rotel RA-1572MKII. However, for driving smaller, more efficient speakers—e.g., the PSB Alpha T20s—in a smaller room, and/or for integrating a subwoofer(s) and using room correction, the Lyngdorf is an excellent choice at this price. But when used as a straight stereo integrated driving nearly full-range speakers, the Lyngdorf couldn’t compete with the Rotel.
In terms of general design and sound, a much closer match for the Rotel RA-1572MKII was Hegel Music Systems’ H120 ($3000). Both are class-AB designs, though the H120 features Hegel’s feed-forward technology. And while the H120, too, has a very good built-in DAC, its resolution maxes out at 24/96 for its USB input, while accepting signals of up to 24/192 for its S/PDIF inputs and supporting UPnP and Apple AirPlay.
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 $399 review
June 13, 2021 Comments Off on Bowers & Wilkins PI7 $399 review
https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/bowers-and-wilkins-pi7
We select one of B&W’s suggested tracks, Billie Eilish’s Everything I Wanted on Qobuz, and Eilish’s vocal is as nuanced and breathy as the artist intended within the PI7’s neutral presentation. The PI7 betters the competition when it comes to the layering of instruments and extra vocals, which join the mix with a modicum of extra space around them to shine. However, the intense rise and fall of this unique beat treatment is marginally more zealous and emotive through the Sennheisers.
B&W has served up a decisively transparent and detailed listen in the PI7, and one that will appeal to many listeners. It’s just that in aiming squarely at precision and clarity, the sound occasionally lacks an extra injection of dynamic excitement. The Sennheisers’ presentation is slightly richer and more full-bodied, making rhythmic musical passages and vocals through the low mids more impactful, without negatively affecting detail.
Audiophilepure 
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