Aurender N100SC caching music server and streamer $3,300 Review
September 21, 2020 Comments Off on Aurender N100SC caching music server and streamer $3,300 Review
“Primary auditioning of the N100SC took place in conjunction with the new $23,000 Esoteric K-01XD SACD player and the $19,000 Bricasti Design M21 DSD DAC, although the Aurender also saw action with the $150,000 Audio Note Fifth Element/Fifth Force 24bit/96KHz DAC and the $8,500 Audio Research DAC 9 Tube (review forthcoming). Operating the Aurender involved downloading the company’s app onto my iPad Mini, which would control the choice of accessing the internal hard-disk directly for playback, or to connect up to two external USB hard-disks, or to access the Tidal streaming platform via Ethernet. Digital cable was the Light Harmonics Lightspeed USB.
The Aurender was connected to my home network via an Ethernet connection through a pair of Zyxel Powerline adaptors, one near the Xfinity router in the other room that transmits and another one in the same room as the Aurender for the receiving end. During the review period, the transmitting module malfunctioned and derailed the auditioning process; good thing Zyxel sent me a replacement two days later. Price to pay for Ethernet until the day comes when a new standard would allow wireless connection all the way.”
NOBLE AUDIO ZEPHYR REVIEW
September 21, 2020 Comments Off on NOBLE AUDIO ZEPHYR REVIEW
“The Zephyr from 2-4k has a more of a bump than the Tux 5 but also less of a treble dominance around 5-7k. Female vocals have a smoother richer tone to them on the Zephyr, as do percussion timbre. The Tux 5 is a little leaner with more treble shimmer on the overtone down to about 2k so higher-pitching notes have this slightly more ethereal quality to them.
On the low-end, the Tux 5 is tuned for a deeper and more powerful response with an L-like dip from the sub-bass down to that 1k marker. The Zephyr does not have the same sub-bass weight, instead it sounds punchier with more of a mild mid-bass rise and a sub-bass response that is more or less linear to the mid-bass.”
Boulder 3010 Preamplifier and 2108 Phono Preamplifier $130,000 Review
September 20, 2020 Comments Off on Boulder 3010 Preamplifier and 2108 Phono Preamplifier $130,000 Review
“So what really let the Boulder strut its stuff? One of the most impressive albums I heard on it was the soundtrack of Super Fly with Curtis Mayfield. If one album lets you know that this equipment isn’t playing around, this is it. Take the track “Pusherman.” The deep, fat, and sassy electronic bass instantly emerges with propulsive power. The drums in back possess crushing impact. At the very same time, Mayfield’s crooning voice loses none of its insinuating silkiness as he announces, “I’m your pusherman.” Once again, total relaxation allied to stygian power.
As always, there are some caveats. If you’re wedded to tubes, the Boulder is not going to give you a sumptuous tonal balance or the kind of holographic soundstage that is often associated with glowing bulbs. The Boulder is after different game, which is to say that it’s seeking fidelity to the source. Its incredible rhythmic accuracy and clarity are pretty much bound to exert a spellbinding effect. At times, I was left looking rather like a goggle-eyed Bertie Wooster contemplating an acute observation from Jeeves. If you have a chance to listen to the Boulder gear, let it fly, as it were. I suspect that you, too, will find it a highly addictive experience.”
SCHIIT AUDIO MAGNIUS $199 REVIEW
September 20, 2020 Comments Off on SCHIIT AUDIO MAGNIUS $199 REVIEW
“Schiit is known for providing quality products at reasonable prices, and they have not failed in doing so with the Magnius. They have managed to create an op-amp based balanced amplifier that has lots of power, with a fast and detailed presentation, while remaining fairly neutral.
Despite being neutral, the Magnius manages to have a dynamic low end, texturized midrange, and a smooth and detailed treble. I wish they just moved the power switch to the front though, but that might be asking for too much from Schiit.”
qdc Dmagic 3D Review
September 18, 2020 Comments Off on qdc Dmagic 3D Review
“I do not know why companies have largely dropped the multi-dynamic driver design approach that seemed to be all the crazy a few years back. Ok, so some of them did not turn out to be all that popular, and the BA driver count wars were gathering a lot of marketing speed at the time.
Still, with a bit of time and studied tuning they can, and often do, have a much better timbre than balanced armature drivers, especially on the low-end. They have their fans and for good reason. the Dmagic 3D tuning and that gorgeous design should go some way to proving the doubters wrong. This is a very smooth tuning.Stay tuned for the main review which will include more detailed Dmagic 3D sound impressions, synergy/pairings, and those all-important comparisons in the coming weeks!”
DCS BARTOK $17,250 HEADPHONEAMP REVIEW
September 17, 2020 Comments Off on DCS BARTOK $17,250 HEADPHONEAMP REVIEW
“The Bartok experience is all about depth and width and more importantly generating excellent power from that depth. The low-end power is incredible, to be honest, and not just right at the lowest reaches but seeping up into the mids it carries that power and density with it if paired to the right headphones.
Despite the Bartok offering excellent headroom and a wonderfully black background, I would not consider this to be an ethereal airy staging experience. Unlike our tested competing amps, the Bartok does not really push the treble that far forward and you can hear that difference side by side. It is less dominant more coherent especially for percussion in recordings.
Cymbals and high hats have tons of texture and weight but its even-harmonic weight as opposed to odd-harmonic overtones that shine brighter so they are pleasing sounding rather than crisp and shimmering in tone.
The office Studio 6 SET actually sounds a little bit airier and a shade brighter from the upper mids onwards on the HeDD Studio HeDDphones but that is not to say the Bartok is relaxed or dark but rather it feels neutral in quantity and positioning.”
AUDIO TECHNICA ATH-WP900 REVIEW
September 16, 2020 Comments Off on AUDIO TECHNICA ATH-WP900 REVIEW
” The ATH-WP900 is intended to deliver a fun and engaging listening experience, no question. These babies are made to entertain, rather than analyse. These are the sort of headphones that you can hand over to someone completely uninterested in audiophilia, and they would plant an immediate smile on their face – they make music come alive in a visceral, exciting, and crowd-pleasing way. And you know what? I absolutely dig it. You only need to listen to four bars of Outkast’s ‘Behold a Lady’ to know that you’re in for a Good Time with the ATH-WP900. The WP900 is equally at home playing well-mastered and recorded audiophile material as it is churning out Top-40 ‘guilty pleasures’. Let’s just say that I went to town on both Phil Collins and Taylor Swift for the purposes of this review. You’re welcome. ”
AGD ANDANTE PREAMPLIFIER AND VIVACE MONOBLOCKS $15,000 REVIEW
September 15, 2020 Comments Off on AGD ANDANTE PREAMPLIFIER AND VIVACE MONOBLOCKS $15,000 REVIEW
“Comparing the two, the music, like the amps themselves, is lighter weight with the Audion. (6.5 pounds for each Audion versus 22 pounds for each Vivace.) The soundscape is equally broad, but the musicians seem more firmly anchored in place with the Vivace and there is a greater sense of physicality, not only in the musicians and the music, but of the space among the players — more room tone, if you will. The atmosphere of the venue becomes more prominent in live performances, whether rock ‘n roll, jazz, or classical. With the larger power supply, there is also greater control of power passages, whether crescendos in rock, classical or deep organ. Sustained notes extend without wavering. The similarity to tube amplifiers is uncanny with smooth, three-dimensional notes, particularly when used with a tube preamp.
What this adds up to is greater involvement with the music. It takes less mental energy to convince yourself that you are listening to live music and the music reaches out to you and pulls you in with realism that I have rarely heard before — and only in much more expensive systems, or with music that was not complex. This is not the pull of romantic musicality such as you get with a high-efficiency speaker driven by a 2A3 SET amp, but the pull of seemingly live music being performed in front of you right at home. This was my response to the Vivace driven by my Coincident Statement Line Preamplifier and Statement Phono Preamplifier. But read on. The story gets even better, and perhaps even worse.”
Acora Acoustics SRC-1 Loudspeaker $28,000 Review
September 15, 2020 Comments Off on Acora Acoustics SRC-1 Loudspeaker $28,000 Review
“My listening notes abound with specific examples addressing the rest of what TAS reviewer Anthony Cordesman has called “The Sonic Checklist,” but just one recording will suffice to underscore how consistently the Acora SRC-1s deliver more than a taste of the real thing. For several years now, Bernard Haitink’s 2010 recording of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 15 with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, specifically the first movement Allegretto, has been among the first selections I put on when I’m at the critical listening stage with a component. The Acoras met all the challenges this recording presented. The glockenspiel notes that open the piece were focused and precisely localized. Solo woodwinds were correctly scaled and timbrally believable. Each note of the two trumpets’ unison triple-tongued triplets registered with clarity, and the ominous-sounding bass drum thuds underlying nervously chattering strings were presented with a sense of the instrument’s volume and the kind of mallet used to strike it. The full orchestra climax five minutes into the movement crested majestically, and there was a superb sense of the Amsterdam hall, one of the finest places on earth to make a recording or, better yet, hear a performance. The Acoras did all that, without exaggeration or artifice.”
Olympica Nova V Floor Standing Speakers $16,500 Review
September 14, 2020 Comments Off on Olympica Nova V Floor Standing Speakers $16,500 Review
“Downsides? Very few if any really. Entry into this game is no small chunk of change. The lack of truly protective grills will cause some to hesitate, especially if they have animals and little humans around. Needing help to set them up could be seen as a concern, but once they are set minor adjustments are not difficult and who doesn’t have a friend that can give you a hand? I have truly enjoyed the speakers during their stay here. If and when I am in the market for a new set of speakers these will be on a very, very short list of candidates. (That list is no more than five so that is saying quite a bit). I would opt for the wenge finish, but that is just a visual issue and has nothing to do with the overall elegance and beauty. I could live just as well with these walnut ones. Perhaps one day the speaker fairy will drop a set in my audio room.”
Audiophilepure 
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