Focal Clear Mg Review
August 15, 2021 Comments Off on Focal Clear Mg Review
https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/focal-clear-mg
Rhythms are delivered in a surefooted and controlled manner rather than with overt exuberance, but there’s still enough in the way of drive to keep us entertained. The overall presentation retains an easy-going charm that makes longer listening sessions a breeze.
The Focal’s transparency is highlighted by the sizable lift in performance when we switch to our reference Naim streamer/Burmester amplifier combo. Here, we’re aware of a greater sense of control and dynamic expression. There’s clearly even more information and we’re pleased with the way the Focals arrange it with control and composure.
SVS 3000 MICRO SUBWOOFER REVIEW
August 15, 2021 Comments Off on SVS 3000 MICRO SUBWOOFER REVIEW
The proverbial icing on the cake is the SVS Subwoofer app which you can download for free on an Apple or Android phone. The app does everything you can do manually on the back of the sub, plus it provides parametric EQ, room gain compensation, and programmable presets. If you mess with the presets, just remember to hit SAVE, or else they will not “stick” when you leave the app. At this price point, having an app is a real plus! Only a few other companies offer this type of tool and it works well and is easy to use. That said, when I paired my RSL sub with the SVS, I EQ’ed everything via my Marantz SR 1650 receiver with Audyssey MultEQ XT32. With the Audyssey Editor app ($19), I was able to EQ each sub separately and then sum them together. I placed the subs on opposite sidewalls with the RSL one-third of the way down the left wall and the SVS two-thirds of the way down the right wall.
Métronome Technologie DSS Network Player and Streamer
August 13, 2021 Comments Off on Métronome Technologie DSS Network Player and Streamer
https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2021/5/31/metronome-technologie-dss-network-player-and-streamer
There’s no getting around it, the DSS is a very expensive little box, and has mostly the same features as many cheaper streamers. However, once you get inside the chunky steel housing and peak under the hood, the price makes a little more sense. The power supply is handled by a toroidal transformer from Talema, and feeds multiple capacitor banks. File recognition and playback are handled by a Korean manufactured board made specifically for Métronome, and clock duties are given to an AKM AK4137 chip. The company has spared no expense in assembling a streamer with impeccable build quality, fed by a dedicated and massive power supply to a first rate set of parts. You will not find these things in your cheap and cheerful Bluesound streamers, and this is how Métronome has distinguished itself in the digital source domain.
Aspen Acoustics Lagrange L5 MKII ribbon dipole speaker system $8,500 Review
August 13, 2021 Comments Off on Aspen Acoustics Lagrange L5 MKII ribbon dipole speaker system $8,500 Review
I cautioned him that I would vet the speaker first in demo before committing to an article, because I was not going to spend my time on an inferior speaker, and I did not intend to destroy a small manufacturer with a review seen globally if his early effort fell short. I have done enough reviews of ok but not scintillating products that I simply do not care to spend any more time on them. Reviewers can damn small enterprises with one article, and they need to be sensitive to the disproportionate power they possess over the welfare of a company. One component maker lamented to me that among several very positive reviews, a single one gone sideways due to what he felt was malfeasance on the part of the reviewer was a sticking point in the minds of many potential customers. They had no idea of the issues the manufacturer had to endure as a result of the reviewer and magazine not following the manufacturer’s advice in preparation and setup of the product. As another manufacturer of a preamp, who had brought it for me to hear, said out of the blue as we were listening, “If you don’t like it, I’m not going to give it to you to review.” I was taken aback by the comment. Is that collusion? Is it the evil industry? No, it’s self-preservation, as he said were I to have a negative disposition, “My family is on the street. I’m literally wiped out.” As it turned out, he was not able to leave the unit and never did send another.
Eggleston Nico EVO Review
August 12, 2021 Comments Off on Eggleston Nico EVO Review
REVIEW: Eggleston Nico EVO
Finally, these speakers offer a good deal of tonal correctness. It’s easy to discern the sound of stringed and horn instruments and pianos sound as they should. I always tell readers and friends to find a speaker they can fall in love with and build a system around them. The Eggleston Nicos are speakers that can give you that relationship for a reasonable price, and thanks to the high level of quality they offer, they will grow with you as you upgrade components. The final icing on the cake is that you can have them finished to suit your environment for a minimal additional charge – a major bonus.
Pegaso Audio P50A Integrated Amplifier £5750 Review
August 12, 2021 Comments Off on Pegaso Audio P50A Integrated Amplifier £5750 Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/pegaso-audio-p50a-integrated-amplifier
But I’m certain that if I was to own a P50A, I’d often find myself seeking out the best recorded music I had, because it deserves it. Aretha Franklin’s vocal on ‘Respect’ [I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You; 44.1kHz/16-bit FLAC] sounded as uplifting as ever, but the thin nature of the recording (I know, I’m a philistine) came to the fore.
I’ll end on that bass. Perhaps it’s a case of recency bias, but with suitable tracks I don’t think I’ve ever heard my B&Ws so competent, so fluid and so musical in the low range, outside of Pass Labs’ more expensive INT-25 [HFN Dec ’20], another Class A amp, but solid-state. It turned the unfussy three-note bass line of Chris Rea’s ‘Daytona’ [The Road To Hell; Tidal Master] into something to luxuriate in, while at the other end of the audio band, the delicate percussion rang through with spine-tingling clarity.
Cambridge Audio Evo 150 Review
August 11, 2021 Comments Off on Cambridge Audio Evo 150 Review
https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/cambridge-audio-evo-150
The Evo 150’s soundstage gains size and scale over its sibling, with a broader canvas on which dynamic peaks can bask in. There’s greater solidity to the way it presents itself, too, particularly through the lower registers. While the Evo 150 isn’t leaps and bounds ahead of the Evo 75 sonically, it is clearly a souped-up version – as it should be for its higher asking price.
The toughest task isn’t justifying itself against its sibling, though; the real test is how it stacks up against the benchmark at this level, the What Hi-Fi? Award-winning Naim Uniti Atom. We swap speaker cables and instantly miss the Cambridge’s breadth, depth and polish. The Naim is a comparatively cruder listen owing to its more confined soundstage and a more direct approach.
Naim Solstice Special Edition Review
August 11, 2021 Comments Off on Naim Solstice Special Edition Review
https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/naim-solstice-special-edition
It has designed compliance into the deck’s 47-ply plinth core to provide a degree of mechanical decoupling of the main bearing and arm from the rest of the turntable structure. Aluminium top and bottom plates are used to rigidly couple the arm to the main bearing, and other plates reinforce the plinth’s ply core where compliance isn’t needed. Even the feet are specially designed to filter out certain frequencies.
That chunky aluminium platter is topped off by a felt mat and doesn’t have fashionable extras, such as a clamp to hold the record down. There’s no lid supplied as standard, though Clearaudio does offer dust covers for its own decks that will do the job for the Solstice.
ampsandsound Rockwell Amplifier Review
August 10, 2021 Comments Off on ampsandsound Rockwell Amplifier Review
Switching gears to the Mountain Goat’s Jordan Lake Sessions, the acoustic and vocal heavy music really showed off the mid-range strength of the Rockwell. To be clear the Rockwell is not a one trick amp, it sounds awesome with dance, jazz, rock, classic rock, electronic, and modern pop. But, there is something special about its presentation with acoustic and vocal heavy music. This is not a surprise, DHTs are known for this, the thing that is incredible though is that Weber has created a DHT that performs universally well. Coming back to the Mountain Goat’s, when listening to “This Year” you can hear the emotional toll that this past year has taken on the band. The Rockwell provides this tight emotional coupling that once heard, is hard to forget.
Vienna Acoustics • Beethoven Concert Grand Reference Loudspeakers $13,495 Review
August 10, 2021 Comments Off on Vienna Acoustics • Beethoven Concert Grand Reference Loudspeakers $13,495 Review
http://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/vienna_acoustics_beethoven_concert_grand_reference.htm
The second movement of Peteris Vasks’ Concerto for Viola and String Orchestra (Maxim Rysanov and Sinfonietta Riga, [BIS-2443 SACD]) is both beautifully recorded and performed — and a one-stop shop when it comes to appreciating the qualities of the Beethoven Concert Grand. The dispersed, pizzicato phrases that scatter across the stage to create the staccato opening reveal the scale and nature of the church acoustic, the Concert Grands not just re-creating a coherent sense of that towering space, but locating each section of the orchestra precisely within it, defined in terms of height, lateral placement and depth, scale and specific tonal character. It’s a spatial tour de force, helped of course by the depth and transparency of the speaker’s bottom end. But that is only the start. The plucked notes have a real sense of life and attack, naturally rich harmonics and the size of the sound box behind them. There’s no confusing the violins and violas, or the identity and character of the solo instrument, with its plangent, almost melancholy tonality.
You must be logged in to post a comment.