DAN CLARK AUDIO AEON 2 OPEN HEADPHONES REVIEW
July 12, 2020 Comments Off on DAN CLARK AUDIO AEON 2 OPEN HEADPHONES REVIEW
“I’ve heard a lot of impressive headphones over the years. Some are standouts, most are very good. The Dan Clark AEON 2 Headphones are standouts. In terms of audio, it checks all the boxes. They equal any headphone I have heard at or well above this price range. In terms of comfort and design, they are the best headphones I have experienced. The folding of the headband to keep it close to the transducers is a small stroke of genius that makes you want to take the Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 headphones along on your next trip.”
Aesthetix Atlas Eclipse Power Amplifier $28,000 per pair Review
July 12, 2020 Comments Off on Aesthetix Atlas Eclipse Power Amplifier $28,000 per pair Review
“Of all things, I wrapped up my review by listening to some digital music from my computer—a brave new world for me. I’m working on an informational piece about Yarlung Records, a small company with which some of you may be familiar. Yarlung takes that bold step beyond reissuing older recordings: they make new recordings of interesting music with outstanding musicians. They are to be applauded for the effort alone. I have been to a few of their recording sessions and can report that along with the quality of the performance, they take recording and sound quality as their highest priorities. Many of their recordings are available on vinyl and CD, while all of them are available as high-resolution digital downloads. I downloaded many of their recordings to my computer, but for now I listened primarily to a new recording provided to me by Yarlung called Lifeline. Lifeline is a collection of beautiful spirituals recorded by Yarlung at Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa, California. The songs are performed by the Lifeline Quartet and feature spirituals from the Civil War era and earlier. The singers are spectacular; in particular, the power and range of Michelle Mayne-Graves will give you goosebumps. On this recording, the Atlas Eclipse monos were able to reproduce the full dynamic range of the singers, each in their individual space, with power and finesse and with no sense of strain or compression. On my Maggie 20.7s, the only other amplifiers that have exhibited the same effortless ability have been much larger all-tube amplifiers, at considerably greater cost than the Atlas. ”
Spectral SDR-2000 Professional D/A processor $8195 Review
July 11, 2020 Comments Off on Spectral SDR-2000 Professional D/A processor $8195 Review
“The DACs are four UltraAnalog 20-bit types, made of discrete and monolithic components encapsulated in a potted module, in a balanced configuration (left +, left –, right +, right –). The SDR-2000 Pro is unique among UltraAnalog-based processors in that the current-to-voltage (I/V) converters and sample-and-hold circuits are not incorporated into the potted DAC module. Instead, UltraAnalog makes a custom version exclusively for Spectral that allows Spectral to build discrete current-to-voltage and sample-and-hold circuits. The capacitors in the sample-and-hold circuit are the result of Keith’s years of searching for the ideal capacitor for this ultra-critical application. The I/V is an ultra-fast-slewing, direct-coupled, FET-based circuit that reportedly achieves fast settling time and low energy storage. According to Keith, this section of a digital processor is critical to sound quality.”
XDUOO XD-05 PLUS REVIEW
July 11, 2020 Comments Off on XDUOO XD-05 PLUS REVIEW
“Fortunately, it’s a good thing as both devices impressed me by their performances. The sound signature is flat, dynamic range excellent and all the good things I said about the previous version, remains true to this day : “The sound is sharp, with tight lows and clean highs”.
Switching from the AK4490 DAC to the newer AK4493 was a sweet move from the brand. Highs are more refined, voices softer and most of all, the dynamic range extends a bit more, so you can now discern subtler micro-details.”
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UNIQUE MELODY MEST REVIEW
July 10, 2020 Comments Off on UNIQUE MELODY MEST REVIEW
“The face plates of the headphones are specially designed according to the structure of the bone conduction drivers. Bone conduction driver delivers signals by vibrating the face plate. Then the signals are passed to the carbon fiber shell and finally delivered to your inner ear.The bone conduction drivers are made by metal vibration pieces that are covered by piezoelectric ceramics. The ceramic layers will bend the metal vibration pieces to make micro-vibrations according to the changes of input alternating voltage.”
Technics SL-1000R Turntable $18,999 Review
July 9, 2020 Comments Off on Technics SL-1000R Turntable $18,999 Review
“If there was one trait that was abundantly clear from extended listening, it was that the almost supernatural speed stability allowed complicated passages to resound in full glory without any of the attendant muddiness or blurriness that can sometimes plague vinyl playback. It is here, in many senses, that digital has over the years ruled the roost, but the newer generation of ’tables and cartridges has largely effaced this divide. Consider an album that I’ve come to listen to more frequently, a recording by the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 3. I must confess that I am not really a Tchaikovsky man, or at least not overly enamored of his later symphonies. But the earlier ones are less bathetic, and the Philips recording of Bernard Haitink conducting the Concertgebouw is really quite exceptional. The Technics could disentangle the more bombastic passages with ease; particularly impressive was the fidelity of the woodwinds and doublebasses. The ’table had no difficulty at all setting up an immense soundstage, conveying an impressively natural sense of the original acoustic in which the symphony was recorded.”
Monarchy Audio SM-70 Pro Amplifiers Review
July 9, 2020 Comments Off on Monarchy Audio SM-70 Pro Amplifiers Review
“Their naturalness of tone extended to the brass and woodwind sections of an orchestra as well. Brass instruments had bite and dynamics, but never lost correct timbre. Woodwinds displayed a natural texture, but were clean and airy. I did hear a slight thinness in the upper mids through lower treble through my ProAcs, but I put the blame on the speakers. When I switched to the Soliloquy 6.3s I heard no such thing. In fact, the pairing of the Soliloquy 6.3s—or the stand-mounted 5.0s—with the Monarchy amps made for a very synergistic match. Compared to the big Clayton mono blocks, the Monarchys do sound a smidgen thin, but as I said in my review of the Claytons, look at the price difference. While we are on the subject of matching components, a pairing that I would advise against (at least in my system) is the Monarchy amps and the Nordost Blue Heaven interconnects. This was especially true with the ProAc speakers. The sound was slightly thin and too bright for my tastes. An all-JPS set of cabling proved to be a great match in my system.”
PRO-JECT X1 TURNTABLE $899 REVIEW
July 8, 2020 Comments Off on PRO-JECT X1 TURNTABLE $899 REVIEW
“Both, the X1 and X2 sit above the Debut line, which sits above the Essential line of turntables offered by Pro-Ject. The X Series is heavier (a good thing), features an improved aluminum carbon fiber tonearm (another good thing), a better motor with easier speed adjustment (a super good thing), and upgraded styli from Sumiko. Sumiko is the US distributor of Pro-Ject, and they graciously outfit each Pro-Ject model with one of their cartridges. Of the two, the Pro-Ject X2 is quite a step up from the X1. It’s bigger, heavier, and larger in overall dimension and features a thicker plinth. That translates to lower resonances and therefore better sound. The X2’s platter is thicker too and a pound heavier than the X1’s. The X2 outweighs the X1 by a good bit, tipping the scales at 22 versus 15 pounds. To top it off, the X2 ships with the higher end Sumiko Moonstone cartridge. The bodies of the Oyster series cartridges are the same, so you do have the option of switching out the stylus on the X1 for an upgrade in the future. Lastly, the X2 is priced at $1299 where the X1 is priced at $899.”
DALI MENUET SE SPEAKER $1799 REVIEW
July 8, 2020 Comments Off on DALI MENUET SE SPEAKER $1799 REVIEW
“And so, my reviews of European speaker companies continue. As much as I like the DALI Oberons, I was really impressed with the performance of the diminutive Menuet SEs. The quality of the gorgeous walnut finish was amazing and the sound from these little speakers was much bigger than anything I thought you could get from a speaker so small. When paired with a sub, you could easily have a 2.1 system that would make many people envious. DALI has proven that size is in the eye of the beholder and if saving space is as important to you as having excellent sound, the Menuets may be exactly what you are looking for.”
Classé Delta Mono monoblock power amplifier $21,998/pair. review
July 7, 2020 Comments Off on Classé Delta Mono monoblock power amplifier $21,998/pair. review
“As you’d expect from a pair of monoblocks, the Delta Monos’ stereo imaging was superbly stable and well-defined. When I recorded male-voice choir Cantus performing Eric Whitacre’s “Lux Aurumque” in Indiana’s Goshen College in June 2007—it was released on While You Are Alive (CD Baby 5637240534)—the nine singers were positioned in an arc in front of the array of six microphones. Before I started capturing the performance, I got each singer in turn to say his name. That way, when I prepared the mixdown, I could make sure that I wasn’t distorting the stereo image. However, I accepted a slight broadening of the images of the singers at the edges of the soundstage in order to preserve enough of the bloom of the hall’s glorious ambience. Listening to the MQA-encoded 24-bit, 88.2kHz master file of “Lux Aurumque” with the Classé-driven Vimbergs, that is exactly what I heard: tightly focused images of the singers in the center and slightly more diffuse images to the sides, with excellent soundstage depth overall. To draw a photographic analogy, the Delta Monos offer superb image acuity.
Audiophilepure 
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