T+A Solitaire P Headphones Review
July 28, 2020 Comments Off on T+A Solitaire P Headphones Review
“Tonally the Solitaire P resembles many other planar magnetics and runs true to what you’d expect from its frequency responses. While it lacks the shelved-up bass demanded by the latest Harman target response it conspicuously lacks treble energy. As a result it delivers a refined, low-grit and low-grain sound but can lack a little sparkle and analysis.
‘Now Is The Month Of Maying’ [96kHz/24-bit rip from Voices Unbound; AIX 80012], a track that I haven’t played for years, comprises an a cappella choir of male and female voices singing a well-known ballett written by Thomas Morley in 1595. As with all good choir recordings, reproduced at its best it allows you to ‘hear into’ the ensemble to individual voices within, which renders the performance altogether more real, more vital and engaging than a smoothed-over, lower-resolution equivalent. Arguably the Solitaire P errs slightly on the side of the latter.”
Rega io integrated amplifier $599 Review
July 27, 2020 Comments Off on Rega io integrated amplifier $599 Review
“The Rega io is so good, one is tempted to summon up a cauldron full of well-worn audiophile clichés. While it is excellent at first listen, the toughest part of reviewing a component offering such a high level of performance is that it begs being connected to much more expensive ancillaries to experience the depth of its true capabilities. You could grab a pair of budget speakers and a thrift shop turntable and live happily ever after with the io, but like that other legend from the UK, don’t be surprised to see this one in the company of much more expensive components. Watch for the audio forums of 2050 to speak of this amplifier in hushed reverence. Of course, the io is worthy of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2020, but that doesn’t truly explain a product that gets the essence of the music so right. Audiophiles beginning their journey here may be spoiled for a very long time.”
ANDOVER PM-50 $500 REVIEW
July 26, 2020 Comments Off on ANDOVER PM-50 $500 REVIEW
“One of the lesser flaunted features of the PM-50 is also its size and use case. The typical forum response to hearing that a new headphone was planar magnetic is that it’s meant to be a sit-down headphone due to its overbearing cup size and weight; I wonder if Audeze popularized this. The PM-50s run counter to this idea with a headphone footprint just slightly larger than that of an ‘on-ear’ headphone. With a DAP in hand, the PM-50s make a surprisingly apt companion around the house. Light enough to be used when doing chores yet with just enough clamp and weight to not fall off when your head is angled down. As Linus Sebastion (one of the most popular Technology Youtubers) famously demonstrated a while back, a headphone that falls off your head when you bend over isn’t exactly up to snuff
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YULONG DA-ART Aquila II $700 Review
July 26, 2020 Comments Off on YULONG DA-ART Aquila II $700 Review
“The synchronous mode is a little closer to the DA10 tuning with a softer overtone and a bit more bass warmth. Also, the upper mids and treble are a little more liquid soundings and not as aggressive.
That is not to say the async mode is brighter but you will find the mids and treble to have a bit more focus and the instrumental timbre a bit cleaner. It also sounds perceptibly the more articulate for percussion which might suit smoother sounding headphones like the Heddphone.”
CONRAD-JOHNSON ART27A STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER £24,500 REVIEW
July 24, 2020 Comments Off on CONRAD-JOHNSON ART27A STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER £24,500 REVIEW
“The question on people’s lips will always be ‘which one is best?’ but in fact it’s a false dichotomy at best. The ART300 and ART27A play to different strengths, work with different systems (especially in terms of loudspeakers and room, even if there is a lot of wiggle room on the part of the ART27A). The simple answer to the question is ‘yes’ or ‘they are both better than each other’. There is no set answer here. Both are outstanding in their own different ways and while there is a lot of crossover in terms of tonality and frequency extension. It’s much more than one has authority, the other has a sense of musical grace, just as it’s wrong to think one is for rock listeners and the other is for jazz fans. The truth is, you should listen to both, and then decide.”
NOBLE AUDIO SULTAN REVIEW
July 23, 2020 Comments Off on NOBLE AUDIO SULTAN REVIEW
“In a short summary, I’d call the Noble Sultan a well balanced monitor with exemplary low-end extension, lightly forward mids and a clear top section. It features very good resolution and texture, but absolutely shines in terms of depth and layering. While it doesn’t create the widest stages out there, it still reaches good measures. The Sultan is a nicely enjoyable monitor, that does many things right, but might miss out on a unique character for some.”
SMSL M200 Review
July 23, 2020 Comments Off on SMSL M200 Review
“Sadly, the M200 doesn’t have a headphone out, it is a pure DAC only and that makes it difficult to judge exactly what presentation the product actually offers. I have to rely on knowing my amps to connect it to, and how they differ in sound setup connected to this M200 vs other DAC’s I have experience with”.
I’ve found the M200 to be light on the low end, but moderately responsive to EQ and boosting if need be. You can drop in +5dB, or maybe even a bit more, and yield a more potent low end.
KEF R5 LOUDSPEAKER AND KF92 SUBWOOFER $5,000 REVIEW
July 22, 2020 Comments Off on KEF R5 LOUDSPEAKER AND KF92 SUBWOOFER $5,000 REVIEW
“Every single note projected from this system had a seamless and uninterrupted path from the formation of the note, to the sustain of the note and to the decay of the note. The low end of the R5’s without the KF92 is clean with the port plugs installed, without, the bass deepens and becomes more open and dynamic. Midrange and upper frequencies were absolutely full of detail and articulate but not bright or overbearing. Personally find myself able to listen for hours without any fatigue. The R5 does a good at being resolving, bringing you all the detail within a recording, all while being forgiving to recordings that are not of the greatest quality.”
Rockport Technologies Avior II Loudspeakers Review
July 21, 2020 Comments Off on Rockport Technologies Avior II Loudspeakers Review
“Listening to Sara Watkins’s Sun Midnight Sun (16/44.1 FLAC, Nonesuch/Qobuz), he noted that “her fiddle sounded rosiny, and her voice in ‘When It Pleases You’ was clear and tinged with emotion.” Jeff could also clearly hear that the recording “lacks wide dynamic range,” and pointed out that it “can sound too processed through some speakers because of their inability to reveal microdetail — sounds that should be distinguished from each other are instead mushed together. But I found that if a recording contains a detail, I heard it through the Avior IIs.”
REL ACOUSTICS S/510 SUBWOOFER £1,899 REVIEW
July 21, 2020 Comments Off on REL ACOUSTICS S/510 SUBWOOFER £1,899 REVIEW
“You can hear the difference between ‘musically integrated’ subwoofers and their more cinematic brethren by playing a simple piece of music with a bass line. It’s perhaps no wonder that REL uses ‘The Ballad of the Runaway Horse’ by Jennifer Warnes and the late bassist Rob Wasserman, either from the 20th Anniversary version of Famous Blue Raincoat by Warnes [Private Music, BMG] or from Wasserman’s Duets [MCA]. The recording is simple (effectively a voice and a bass), but tells you all about a sub. Switching a correctly set-up subwoofer in and out adds some depth and ‘shape’ to the bass notes, of course, but what it does when set properly is lock Warnes’ voice in the centre of the soundstage. The better the sub, the more precisely that voice is solidly rooted between the speakers and with the S/510, if her voice was any more rooted, she’d need watering.”
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